Her Etsy profile says that her motto is “Stay silly and drink as much coffee as possible.” Heh. I could not agree more!

Here’s an excerpt from her description:

This is a zine within a zine with some extra bits! ‘Make your own…Borrowers Zine’ has 20 A5 (half-sized) pages, plus a micro-zine & rescued page inserts (see below), a magnifying lens, an embroidery chart, not to mention a pair of miniature knitting needles modelled on Homily’s own! There are illustrations throughout, borrowed from the many different editions of ‘The Borrowers’ that have been published, over the years.

Based on the premise that Borrowers do, in fact, exist (there is yet to be a satisfactory alternative suggestion proposed for the consistent disappearance of small, everyday items), this zine traces the history of Borrowers from Lilliputian times onward in a comprehensive chronology. It also examines their representation in the literature of Mary Norton & others, and consideration is given to the most likely habitats for contemporary Borrowers.

Go read the whole description on the Etsy listing. It sounds so worth 10$!

The style is so easy and recognizable.. if that makes sense. It makes me feel like a kid and reminds me of the maps I drew when I was little and so they are super comforting. I think these would be a great way to decorate a kids room.

Alison Murray Whittington is the Chief Mapmaker nd you can find her online:
Blog: http://paintandink.blogspot.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/interimaginational/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/paintandink
E-mail: paintandink [!at] gmail.com
Facebook Fan Page: http://tinyurl.com/57jth6

Oh the macabre cuteness! It slays me with it’s vacuous round eyes and coy little curvy smile!

I came across this monster illustration by the small cat club on flickr. Do not look at it too closely or it might steal your head.

The small cat club has an etsy store in which resides many things that I would like to own. Such as the happy mix tape pillow and the animal mermaids stationary set.

16Bit has some ear flap knit hats with the space invaders guys on there. This red one is my fav.

The Girl Gamer has some cute space invaders key chains in her etsy shop PixelatedCreations.

There’s the space invaders quilt that CraftGossip reported on recently.

And Pardalote’s etsy shop is crammed with awesome beaded Space Invaders beaded jewelry. That space invaders necklace is teh awesome!

I have to admit that sometime in teh early 90’s I was also hit with a space invaders nostalgia and I have a t-shirt from that time with Space Invaders all over it. I think I am inspired to go cut it up and make it into a baby blanket (CPSIA be damned!).

I know there are a ton of other space invaders crafts out there. Add them to the comments!

Jorgo

Originally uploaded by Swiedebie

I have to admit it *prepares to duck* I don’t like sock monkeys all that much. I KNOW! But they’re so cute, everyone loves a sock money.

But could you really truly in your heart of hearts choose a sock monkey over this stripey sock monster?!

If you said yes than you are lying or haven’t read the description that comes with it:

Jorgo likes hanging around your candie corners looking/snooping for candies. Look at his white sharp teeth. Harmless they are… no worries. Keep them brushed 2 times

Do not be deceived by his fierce look, he has a big heart for kids.

I like my toys to imbued with _some_ personality but not too much so that I can still have some fun imagining. Swiedebie walks that line perfectly for me, her monsters have a cute name and just a short bio giving you a hint of what you are in for.

Own The Hour (http://etsy.ownthehour.com/) is the most recent one I’ve noticed.

The Own The Hour home page is a 12 spot showcase and for 50 cents you can purchase an hour long spot for one etsy item (your own or for another seller)!

Here’s what their site says about how they promote their site:

OwnTheHour purchases advertising on Facebook, Twitter, through Google, and other direct advertising partners that directly targets DIY and Craft related websites to attract sellers and Shopping, Gift, and Consumer based sites targeting keywords relating to handmade, unique gifts, and art to attract buyers.

Right now you can get 20% off your spots on OwnTheHour using promo code: holiday08

Go try out this very cool beta etsy promotional tool!

A while back a friend of mine (Hai MamaPajama!) sent me a link to these cute pillows by Joom. I really like these, the designs are original and the prices are perfectly reasonable. She has a website and an etsy shop.

Sometimes I see a beautiful pillow for 60 or 80 bucks and I think, “OH RLY?” or “WANT! please to make more affordable!”. There have been a lot of discussions about pricing of handmade items on the internet lately and I am a strong advocate of people making a living off creative handmade stuffs. But 80 dollars for a pillow is crazie, so I think those people should CUT A FEW CORNERS or STREAMLINE their process. End Rant.

The thing that just made me pee my pants a little in excitement was the link at the bottom of her shop announcement… a nice little link (everyone should link to a friend on their shop announcement!) encouragement to go visit her friend prettyrandomobjects’ etsy shop.

BEHOLD! The squirrel vase! This baby is designed and handmade by Ms. prettyrandomobjects herself, here is her description of the process:

the vase was slipcasted from molds made from my original designs, the tail was added after pulling the vase out of the mold. Handcarved details on the outside of the vase

This has made my day.

Yabette takes solid wood furniture and hand paints with in amazing colors and with amazingly creative and beautiful details.

She sells her large work on craigslist and her smaller sewn items on the Swankety Swank etsy shop. She has a blog where she announces the fashion and art shows she organizes.

Swankety Swank
1808 McAllister St. (at Baker) SF, CA 94115 Ph: 415 440 6996
Open Wednesday to Sunday 11am-6pm,
Closed Monday & Tuesday

There are more and more creative people opening shops to sell local handmade goods and we should all make an effort to support the creative and entrepreneurial people who have opened them!

Is there a local handmade shop in your town? Email me and tell me about it!

If you haven’t heard of Spoonflower it’s a service that let’s you upload a design for printing on high quality fabric and you can order a swatch, a fat quarter or by the yard.

The web site has a clean and simple design that is easy to use with FAQ’s and tutorials on how to prepare your image for printing. You can even browse through other peoples designs to get inspiration.

This  amazing service, created and run by a husband and wife team, will go a long way towards helping independent artists and crafters realize their creative visions.

Check out the Spoonflower site and blog.

I’m particularly loving the Berrysprite fabric that I found in the Spoonflower Flickr pool. You can check out Berrysprite’s Etsy Shop to see how she is using her custom fabric.

If you’ve used Spoonflower I would love to see your designs and hear about your experience.

Wear the laser-cut wooden Obama lapel pin or the shrink-plastic McCain earrings with pride while you watch the second round of the presidential debates tonight.

You can read more about these unique campaign pieces — as well as check out some of Michelle’s non-political jewelry — on her blog.

Now that it’s October, I can officially start thinking about my favorite holiday: Halloween!

Not only is it the season for costumes and candy, but it’s also a wonderful time for crafts of all types, from cuddly to creepy.

Jodi Cain’s Zombie Rag Doll is a little of both. Completely hand stitched without patterns and embellished with vintage buttons, this is definitely a one-of-a-kind gift for any living dead girl.

Jodi has some other wickedly cool creations for sale in her etsy.com store, Tattered Rags. If these pique your interest, check out her online gallery featuring her extensive portfolio of goth, punk, and horror-inspired handmade rag dolls.

Craftster.org member Hollistercobabe whipped up these cool and colorful Tape Measure Bracelets with some scraps of measuring tape and jewelry fixtures.

Perfect for the punk rock crafter who finds herself in need of her trusty measuring tape on the go (you know, for measuring very small things)! For sale in her Etsy.com shop.

Kimberly, a Toronto based artist and former chef whips up cute polymer clay food charms in her indie shop Monster Kookies.  I don’t know if it’s the heat wave we’re having here in SF, but these snow cone charms look so yummy! What better way to celebrate a heat wave than sporting a pair of sno cone earrings…do you prefer Cherry flavored or Lemon Lime?