This week’s featured swap is The Twitter Swap hosted by ladyrose. The Twitter Swap is a very simple electronic swap in which you send your Twitter username/url to each of your 10 partners. For example, Swapbot has two Twitter accounts that you can follow: SwapbotNews and swapbot. The swap is open for sign up until August 18th, so even if you do not already have a Twitter account you could create one and start tweeting in anticipation for the swap!

So what is Twitter? “Twitter is a free service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” It is really fun and easy way to update friends, or family, or anyone on what you are doing.

Swap-bot is having some technical issues and may be down for the next few hours. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.

This amazing (and very large) Ernie the Envie tote bag was crocheted by RobinT – the same fabulous crafter who made the previously posted Ernie plushie. She made it just for fun, not for a specific swap, but what a great way to carry Swap-bot packages to and from the post office!!

Summer is here and I have the crafty summer-time links to prove it! Lots of projects for kids and adults alike… enjoy!

• Aren’t these adorable <a href=http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-ginger-bathing-beauties?lnc=ec04452be04c1210VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&backto=true&backtourl=/summer-fun?lnc=ec04452be04c1210VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=slideshow_holiday_fun&contentid=73a8fc3b3c7f0210VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD#slide_1”>Chocolate-Ginger Bathing Beauties cookies</a> too cute for words? You can find the recipe and instructions on MarthaStewart.com.
• Need some ideas to keep the kids busy while school is out? The Long Thread has a list of 50 Summer Crafts for Kids.
• Omg! Spud & Chloe has the cutest, FREE, knitted froggie pattern available for download on their blog.
• Hello Kitty turns 35 this year! She even has a special website to celebrate the occasion.
• Craftzine.com and Crafty Chica are hosting a craft contest. To enter, post a photo of a tote bag you have embellished in the <a href=http://www.flickr.com/groups/craftychicachallege/”>Flickr pool</a> by July 24th. The winner receives a huge craft party package of supplies from Crafty Chica.
• Diane at CraftyPod has just published a new eBook all about weaving and she is offering one of the tutorials from the book as a free download: Woven Wall Art tutorial. Thank you, Diane!
• A little self-promotion: I reviewed Amy Butler’s book, Midwest Modern, over on CraftCritique.com this week. Check it out!
• UPDATE: Travis found this awesome photo tutorial on how to make cheeseburger cupcakes by KateDW on Flickr.

** We use recycled materials to utilize the wealth of existing materials, cutting back on use of new materials and natural resources. Plus we never know what kind of colors or patterns we will find. Using recycled materials ensures that each bag will be funky and unique!Why Free?Our bags are free so no one is excluded from actively participating in this simple lifestyle change. We want our bags to be a truly positive experience that will create dialogue and instill environmentally conscious thought while cutting back on plastic bag usage. Furthermore, for us, it is about our environment and making positive change, not making money.”</i>The group hosts bag making events around New York City for all ages, including school children and the elderly. They also give out their free bags at green markets around the city. Anyone can write to Bags for the People (and send a a self addressed and stamped envelope) and they will send you a free bag! Or, you can download their free tutorial for making a bag out of an old t-shirt. There is a lot more information about the organization on their website, and I think you should check it out! If you get inspired by Bags for the People’s mission, you can also donate fabric and/or equipment to the cause. What an easy way to make the world a little more green!

We have a fun new profile feature to tell you about! We have partnered with Wishpot.com – a free social shopping service that makes it easy to save and share interesting things you find in stores and online – to provide an animated, graphical wish list widget for your Swap-bot profile page. The widget is a fun (and totally optional) way to add a little spice to your profile page while letting your partners know a little more about you.

Wishpot is a free website that allows you to easily create wish lists, registries, or collections of cool things you find online. You can learn more about using Wishpot here. Once you have created a Wishpot account, you can add a graphical wish list to your Swap-bot profile page.

To add the Wishpot widget to your profile, click on the “Edit Profile” option either on your profile page or in the drop down under the Profile link at the top of all Swap-bot pages. On the Profile Edit page you will now find a “Add-ons” link. Click there to find the Wishpot widget option. Below is a screen shot of what you will see on the Add-ons screen:

You must authorize Swap-bot to access your Wishpot account by logging into Wishpot.com via the ” authorize Swap-bot to add a Wishpot” link. You will then be re-directed back to Swap-bot to select which of your wish lists you would like to share on your Swap-bot profile page. You could share you general wish list just for fun, or you could create a special swap-specific wish list just for use on Swap-bot. Wishpot allows you to create multiple different lists and make them private or public as you choose. However, the list and items you display on Swap-bot must be marked as public in order for your widget to work.

Here is what my Wishpot wish list widget looks like:

<img style=”visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;” border=0 width=0 height=0 src=”http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNDY4ODkxNTAwMzgmcHQ9MTI*Njg4OTE3NzAyOSZwPTE5MDI1MSZkPSZnPTEmdD*mbz*1NWU3YTgzZmI3ODc*ZDBkOTk3ZTk5MTIwODYyMjI2YiZvZj*w.gif” />

One activated, your Wishpot widget will be automatically placed at the very bottom of the text section of your profile page, just above your ratings. Your widget will update automatically any time you add a new item to your Wishpot list. (Wishpot makes it super-easy to add items to your lists with their browser bar button.) You can remove your widget at any time by going back to the Add-ons page in the Profile Edit screen and clicking on the “Deauthorize Wishpot and remove widget from profile” link. Because this is a brand new feature, there may still be a few kinks to work out. Let me know if you have any trouble or questions. In the future we hope to add more widget options that integrate your favorite online services with your Swap-bot account.

Do you want to break into the world of zines? This week’s featured swap, Mini-‘zine swap #6, will help you do just that! This beginner-friendly, international zine swap is being hosted by zoey1440 and the sign up deadline is coming up very soon on July 12th! After signing up, you’ll have a little less than a month to get your zine finished and sent out.

The Mini-‘zine swap #6 description says it all:

“Whether you are new to zines or a pro, this is a swap to share your unique mini-zine and also send each other your comments. This is a great way to start out if you are new to this or help each other with ideas and tips. In this swap you will create a mini-zine (1 page folded into 8 mini-pages) and send to 5 partners. Can be color or black-and-white, pics or text, whatever you like! Format is also your choice – make it unique to you!! Journal style, mini-articles, photos, recipes, news, opinions, absolutely anything goes!! Newbies are welcome, we all had to start somewhere!!”

Zines are handmade, indie magazines that are usually produced in multiple, so you will be sending copies of your single finished product to all five of your partners in the swap. The mini zine format (made from a single sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch paper) is a great way to try out making zines without requiring a huge commitment or a huge amount of content. There are some great mini zine tutorial videos here and here to help get you started. Have fun expressing yourself in zine form!

Once again, your links are running late this week. An anniversary and a national holiday got in the way…

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! Enjoy:

• I just found out about Zibbet.com. It is a handmade marketplace based in Australia. It is still in beta and I have not actually bought or sold anything on the site yet, so let us know if you have had any experience with Zibbet.
• Check out this cool, wind-powered, vintage knitting machine.
• Whip Up recently published a nice round-up of recycled and alternative yarn brands and resources .
• The Martha Stewart Weddings website recently released a whole new section dedicated to <a href=http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/templates-and-clip-art”>DIY Weddings</a>. There are tons of free downloadable clip art and project ideas that would work great for all types of event, not just weddings.
• The newest issue of MixTape zine (#9 in full color!) looks pretty fabulous. You can read a nice review of it on CraftyPod.

Jinjerup is the adorable online home for the designs, patterns, and illustraions of Chan Lynn, a professional designer. Lynn posts her new patterns nearly daily with short and cute explanations for how she came up with the ideas.

This little snippet from the Jinjerup about page will give you a feel for Lynn’s sweet personality:

“I am constantly amazed by the small wonders of nature, science and the pleasure of the little things in life. They are unbelievably great sources of inspiration for anything. Seeing a well crafted typographic piece, acquiring a beautifully printed new publication are small yet just as meaningful notions which make my heart swell with design joy. What really takes the cake, is of course, coming up with designs to call your own.”

The best part of Jinjerup is that Lynn gives away a new, free download every week!! This week you can download adorable Caterpillar Express labels.

You can also purchase items, like t-shirts and mugs, with Jinjerup designs from the Jinjerup Store. Lynn also has a personal blog, Bric.A.Brac, and a Twitter account. All of her posts are friendly and fun – a joy to read!

This amazing crocheted Ernie the Envelope was created by RobinT for the “I love Swap-bot handmade item” swap (hosted by Meitalt). Such an accurate depiction and amazing craftsmanship, too! I love the stamp and the perfect airmail stripes. Thanks for sharing him with us, Robin!

If anyone else has any Swap-bot-themed crafts to share, please email me a photo at rachel [at] swap-bot.com. I would love to feature them here on the blog! And, as always, feel free to use any of the graphics on the Stuff page in your creations.