Stuff I Like/Stuff I'm Doing

We shall, my friends, start off with stuff I like. Because, let's face it, you need my help. (Oh my God, I am so just kidding. I love you!) (Or am I? Do I?) (I am. And I do.) (Okay. I'm done.)

-First of all, CRAFTSTER.ORG! I think I might have been the last crafter on Earth (or Uranus... hahaha) to hear of the Craftster forums, but oh man, am I glad I did. Got a question that's even tangentially related to any form of craft or art? A quick search on Craftster will yield you all you ever wanted to know and more. It's a great place to show off your stuff and receive feedback, and to learn all about various techniques you're interested in. The forum is well organized and enormous, and the people are super friendly and helpful. I love it. I also love the Swap forum, where you can sign up to craft around a specific theme for another person who, in turn, crafts for you. You end up with a lot of really cool stuff and the satisfaction of giving someone else something really cool.

-Next up, my XYRON STICKER MAKER. I am in love with it. Seriously. We'll be announcing our engagement any day now. It was only $7.99 at Wal Mart (you'll pay about $5 for replacement cartridges) and will make stickers out of anything flat and an inch and a half or less wide. I've used it to make stickers out of magazine and newspaper clippings, computer printouts, random doodles, shapes cut out of cardstock, and even fabric. This thing is AMAZING. You'll be suprised how many different things you want to put stickers on once you can make them yourself.

-Another link in my favorites list is TACKORAMA.NET. First off, everything on the site is free, which fits riiiight into my budget, and secondly, everything on the site is awesome. There are retro/vintage fonts, dingbats, clipart, stock photography, wallpapers, and more. I use a lot of Tack-o-rama stuff in my (poorly executed, few and far between) graphic design endeavors, and they always make things look extra-classy. I also like to print random stuff out from that site to use as embroidery patterns.

-POPGADGET.NET is a blog with multiple contributers all about what they call "personal tech for women." It is about that and so, so much more. For example, on their front page right now they have news about the new Google Click-to-play ads, mp3 player sunglasses and shoes, a new portable DVD player, and a novelty mouse. The writing is concise and witty, and they feature some truly interesting/useful/bizarre stuff. If not for PopGadget, I would have never known about the upcoming Nintendo Edition of Monopoly. And trust me, that is something I needed to know about.

-I'm pretty sure that in my version of heaven there will still be REPRODEPOT.COM. I have to actually limit my visits to that site because every time I look at it I find at least 15 new things that I want to buy. They sell the most adorable buttons, ribbons, patterns, and fabrics on the web. I want to use their fabrics for every project I attempt, and were it economically feasible, I probably would.

Speaking of projects I'm attempting, here's some stuff I'm doing:

-I was so inspired by these Log Cabin pillows that I've decided to try my hand at, well, not a pillow, exactly, but a pin cushion. It's a work in progress, but I'm liking the way it's looking. Once I've perfected them (give me a week or so) I'll probably be listing a few in My Store.

Funny tangent: When I told one of my sisters that I was making a log cabin pin cushion she thought I was constructing a tiny little home fit for the likes of Johnny Appleseed or Paul Bunyan or whatever out of brown felt. She, obviously, is not a quilter.

I really dig log cabin stuff. I've got big plans for it. I think I'm going to work on sixteen inch pillows and even journals like these other ones I've been working on for my store.

-I really love these journals. They're the perfect way to get rid of all my good-sized scraps of fabric, and they're so deceptively simple to make! Well, the paper folding can be a bitch, but I get through it. I've already sold two, but I had a hard time letting them go!

Okay, I can hear tiny little kitten voices begging for me to come and play with them, so I'll end this here.

Happy crafting! (Oh, was that a little too... yeah. From now on I'll just say have a nice day.)