There is a cute new feature you might want to check out. We now have a selection of pre-made avatars for you to choose from. You can pick one of the avatar options by going to the Profile Edit page and then clicking on “Picture”. We plan to keep adding to the pre-made selection over time. Of course, you can still upload your own avatar from your computer, but we realized that many people were having a bit of trouble re-sizing and/or creating avatars. This makes it quick and easy for new users to pick an avatar for their profile. You can still change your avatar image at any time. Enjoy!Dance of the Dead release

Another random assortment for you to peruse:

• Ultra Kawaii, a website showcasing super-cute pets.
• Natural Historie is the just-opened jewelry shop of <a href=http://www.jennyvorwaller.com/blog/”>Jenny Vorwaller</a>. She creates very interesting and beautiful stuff.
• For all you ATC lovers out there: check out this cool Artist Trading Card circular holder tree-thingy.
• I am pretty sure collectedmess posted this somewhere in the forums: Drama on These Here Innerwebs. It is a blog post by Adorkable Grrl all about understanding drama on internet forums. Very interesting.

I just found Brenda’s Secret Agent Josephine blog

via the Inspiration Boards blog via the Craft:blog. I have obviously only been reading it for the last few days, but the adorable graphics and funny stories really sucked me in. Brenda is a graphic designer and a mom of one Babybug. She mostly writes about her daily adventures. Her posts are kind of long, but they are funny and down-to-earth. Also, she has a monthly drawing for free web banners. How cool!

[Sniper 3 movies](http://www.websita.com/?sniper_3)

Another ATC swap for this week. I chose the Sharpie ATC swap, hosted by ClareyFairy The Italian Job film , because I love Sharpies and I am always interested in spreading the word about how great they are for all sorts of projects. They come in every color, including metallics and white, and they write on just about any surface.

For the swap

Law Abiding Citizen divx

you make two ATCs for each of your two partners, for a total of four ATCs. The only medium you can use on the cards is Sharpie markers. The swap is open for signup through November 10th. You must have a 4.6 rating to join. New users and other can message ClareyFairy for exceptions.

I’ve got some wild links for you this week:

• Check out Martha Stewart’s new attic craft room. It is a little TOO organized for my taste… but I would take it.
• This to That is a glue calculator. It tells you what type of glue you should use for different craft projects. (found via Craft:blog)
• A hearty, healthy fall cookie recipe from hogwash. (found via not martha )
• This is crazy: a Hello Kitty assault rifle! (found via Boing Boing)
• MindBites is a new website where you can watch and share video tutorials on how to do almost anything! Most of the tutorials cost, but you can earn credits by adding your own lessons. (found via <a href=http://www.craftypod.com/”>CraftyPod</a>)

A solid article about Swap-bot </u> by Tonya Froemel for Associated Content, and another by Marina Otin on How To Keep Your Swaps from Overtaking Your Life.

You all know that Artist Trading Card swaps are popular, but this one has a bit of a twist. The With One Palette: Harvest Colors swap was created and coordinated by linpengierhody (who, btw, has 104 hearts!). You have three partners in the swap, to whom you send one ATC each. “You will use ONLY Orange/Brown/Red/Yellow (although a little bit of white or black in addition to the 4 colors is acceptable if it’s part of a piece you are adding to the card).” The twist is that even though you will use harvest colors, the cards canNOT have a harvest theme. No Thanksgiving imagery!

With One Palette: Harvest Colors

is open for sign up through October 31st (Halloween!) and items must be sent out by November 12th. You must have a 4.85 rating to participate. If you are new, message linpengierhody From Within rip with information about yourself.

Have fun exploring harvest colors!

A very random assortment of links for you today:

• A bunch of people have asked for this, so here is the template from Mirkwood Designs that I use to make matchboxes out of cardstock.
• I know we have a lot of cat lovers on Swap-bot, and if you do not already know about the site ICanHasCheezBurger.com you are missing out on the best LOLcats. So funny!

• Liquid Paper’s pom pom pumpkins tutorial

  is just too cute for words. I am not sure what you do with the mini pumpkins when you are done, but I don’t care.</li>

  • My partner in my christmas (fun) time matchbox swap is definitely going to be getting some of these adorable Making Memories “Deck the Halls” chipboard buttons in their matchbox. I love those things!</ul>

  Have a great weekend! xoxo

We have created two new swap categories: Kawaii and Handmade.

User request was strong for these two groups, and they seem to make a lot of sense. Are there other important categories that we are overlooking?

Some may feel that a blog called [i] LoveLife Fire Down Below movies may be a little too “Pollyanna” for their taste. That may be true, but I suggest giving the blog, written by Kal Barteski, a chance. Kal is an artist, designer, and photographer who lives in Canada. Her artwork is colorful, fun and vibrant. Her attitude is cheery, but also realistic, and her blog is both a personal journal and display vehicle for her artwork. It is truly worth reading for the images alone! Try it out. Kal’s day-to-day story may just inspire you to love life, too.