Get A Piece of Your Childhood Summers Back

Things We Make is hosting a friendship bracelet swap!!

Remember them from summer camp when you were a kid? My memories are full of lanyards, embroidery thread, and those beads you'd set up on little plates with spikes, then cover with wax paper and iron (you know what I'm talking about!).

You can make any kind you like, with any type of material.

Sign up by May 25th and send your piece to Amy by June 20.

She will arrange for you to receive a bracelet from the artist who gets yours.

These are the kind I'll be sending :)

Sign up here!

{all pictures from things we make}

Networking at Noon!

As you know, I heart swap-bot. One of the most recent swaps is one of the coolest ones I've ever seen - it's called the At Home Business Swap and the first installment is focused on Networking. I was partnered with some really talented, interesting women, so I thought I'd give them a little shout-out!

Jenny is a stay at home mom in Northern Ireland who has a super cute kawaii stationery shop with goodies like Care Bears deco tape (!) as well as her own handmade cards.

Have you seen this ad? Well, Jaz is responsible for this awesome illustration! Click through to see her deviantart gallery and her etsy store!

Ingrid is a talented artist with a gorgeous deviantart gallery and a website.

Naomi is a stay at home mom who is an independent consultant for Scentsy, a fabulous company that sells fragrance warmers and plug-ins.

The Green Griffin is a mother/daughter etsy store that sells all kinds of happy, fun products and also has a blog.

Mish-Mashy Post of Fun!

This is going to be a big fun mishmash post and I hope that's okay with you. :)

First off, I want to mention a few lovely giveaways that I've seen in the blogosphere.

- wire scribble necklace - ends 2/21 -

- knot ring - ends 2/22 -
- notebook map set - ends 2/24 -
- set of fabric posy pins - ends 2/23 -
- set of 2 handmade soaps + a felted wool soap from Joan's Garden - ends 2/21 -

Second, I'd like to say thanks to all those who have made my giveaways such a success. I've really enjoyed getting to know the artists behind my favorite etsy shops and I hope you've found some new items you adore. If you haven't entered yet, don't forget to enter the current ones
- set of 6 vintage bicycle screenprinted cards from Orange Twist -
- set of 3 pocket mirrors from Little Pink Plum -
- the mystery giveaway I'm participating in over at The Lost Earring -

Third, I have to tell you about an amazing deal I got on Craigslist. I regularly scour the garage sale, arts and crafts, materials, and free sections on Craigslist, hoping to find amazing deals. And sometimes I do! I've found over 500 sq ft of Pergo for $100, I've found a free Pilates reformer, I've found a gocco for $200 (I didn't end up purchasing that one). Most recently, I found a listing for a bunch of yarn for $25. The first picture was unpromising, so I almost wrote it off, but after scrolling down further, I saw that this was a HUGE lot of yarn. When I picked it up (from a guy at his body shop who sheepishly told me, "It's my mom's."), I saw that it was a lawn and garden sized trash bag full of all different kinds of yarn. There was a whole bag inside the bag full of Lion brand boucle yarn. Those retail for $5 a skein, and I have at least 10 of them! It was a super find and I am very happy with it!

Fourth, I am obsessed with Swap-bot. I think about my swaps all the time. I obsess over what to send people. It's awesome and sad all at the same time. There are swaps for CDs, postcards, surprise boxes, granny squares, blog comments, facebook friends, everything! One of my favorites are the Quick Etsy $1 Wishlist swaps. You just make sure you have at least 10 $1 items on your etsy favorites and then you buy things off of each other's lists. The best part about swapping is that you get to get rid of things you have, but don't want or can't use, while getting things you CAN use. And if you can't, you just send them back again. I filled a whole shoebox yesterday with stuff I had that I know I'll never use, but that I can use for a swap! Some swaps are time-consuming (like altered journals) and some are quick (like blog comments or mix CDs).

Here are some of the awesome packages I have received so far!

{from a brighten your day swap - only supposed to be a card,

but she sent along tons of fabric and other goodies!}

{fabric sent along with a mix CD}

{tea kit swap - handmade coaster and bookmark

plus 2 packets of tea}

{5 surprise items swap - just like it sounds!}

{big fat stuffed envelope - stuff an envelope

with what you think your partner will like!}

You guys should totally join and then we can swap!!  If you're already a member, tell me your username so we can be SB friends! I am totally obsessed. But I guess it's better than a lot of other obsessions :)