Little Ida

Shower me, baby!

Here's an interesting twist on the typical baby shower... A network of blogging moms is throwing a virtual baby shower for "three of the awesomest ladies in the blogosphere – Liz of Mom-101, Christina of A Mommy Story, and (first-timer!) Tammie of Soul Gardening..."

The online shower features games and lots of prizes including a chance to win a cherry blossom felt cake kit and artfolio from Craftsbury Kids. It goes on through the weekend. Check it out, try your hand at the games, and enjoy the impressive list of links to some of the best mom blogs around.

Sophie the Giraffe

 
Babble has written a nice review of Sophie, the squeaky giraffe who hails from the French Alps. Thank you Babble!

Fabric Covered Thumbtacks

 
Get the tutorial to make these fun fabric covered
thumbtacks at How about orange.

Baby Clothes Swatch Book

I still have a tiny dress that I wore at around the age of two, and even a pic of my two year old self wearing it. I'm glad my mother saved it for me.

Personally I've tended to pass-on a lot of my kids' clothing, but have put aside some special pieces to save for them; This may be just as much for me, as it is for the kids. I love looking back at what they wore when they were babies.

I saw this great idea for a baby clothes swatch book over at apartment therapy - the nursery (via Wonder time). I think this project would work well in tandem with making a quilt from old baby clothing, as an alternative to saving the pieces individually.

Here's a beautiful quilt that Hilary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls made from her son's clothing. It's nice that she also has photos of her son in each outfit she used to make the quilt.

Market your Crafty Business on MySpace

Hey, did you know MySpace is crafty, and brilliant, and offers an amazing opportunity to market your small business or blog for free? It was awhile before I realized the potential, then took the plunge and started a MySpace page.

I was impressed when after a little poking around I realized just how many businesses, even *big* businesses, are part of the social networking site; you can find everyone from the company who owns Annie's Macaroni and cheese to American Idol there.

If you don't already have a MySpace page for your business, here are two good reasons to consider making one:

1 Network with others in your industry
2 Connect with your fans (i.e your business' potential clients, customers, and readers)

Putting up a page can be done in just ten minutes or so, sprucing it up will take longer but there are lots of free graphics and layouts available especially for MySpace; you can create a professional looking page in no time.

Once you've established a network of MySpace 'Friends' you can keep them up to date with news about you and your business through bulletins, blogs, and personal messages. Here are some suggestions for like-minded friends if you're looking to start (or add to) your own craft-related MySpace page:

Craftsbury Kids (that's me and I'd be happy to be your friend :), munieca, Monica Burnett, Adorn, Bust, etsy, clare nicolson, handmade galleries. You'll find lots more people by looking at your friends' friends pages. Have fun getting the word out!

Anyone out there who already has or is considering a MySpace page? I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on how it's working out for you.

Amy Rue's Lumplings

Rumor has it my favorite family of plush toys--the Lumplings--will soon have movie stars among their ranks. Amy Rue was asked to create ten of her Lumplings for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, a Zach Helm film slated for release November 16, 2007. The film will star Natalie Portman who plays the manager of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, the most fantastic toy store in the world, and Dustin Hoffman, the 243 year old eccentric owner of the store.

    
It's no surprise these little guys have been chosen to join the amazing sounding 'Wonder Emporium. With names like Hobo, Filly & Buster, Sprinkle & Tinkle, charmingly hand-stitched faces, and carefully hand-picked coats of vintage mohair, cashmere sweaters, velvet and the like, Lumplings really are over-the-top adorable.

A while back, I managed to snag Snow, a sweet Lumpling made of sparse white mohair. My daughter was elated. Snow splits her time between Talia and little brother Liam, since they both adore having her as a bedtime snuggly pal.

      
Every now and again Amy puts a herd up for adoption, but the elusive Lumplings almost always get snapped up within 20 minutes of her doing so.-- The Cabbage Patch doll craze of the 1980s has nothing on these modern day plushies. If you're quick on your feet, and with your mouse, you may be able to catch a Lumpling of your own. Amy maintains a mailing list through which she notifies subscribers a day or so before she offers a new batch of Lumplings for sale. You can join at amyrue.com, and see the Lumplings that have already gone to new homes there too.

Paper Mobiles

    

Heather Frazier of Frazier & Wing constructs whimsical mobiles from magazine images.

Button Clock

Got spare buttons? Show off twelve of
your best with this button clock idea
I found at design mom. I haven't tried
my hand at one yet but I think it would
be a fun way to teach the younger kids how
to tell time. The prevalence of digital clocks
seems to make that a challenge these days.

Paper Beads

If you're like me you probably have a collection of
pretty scrap papers waiting for the perfect project.
Making these paper beads from 'being natasha fialkov'
would be a quick and easy way to put some of those
scraps to use, with stunning results. For (almost)
instant gratification, you could leave your beads
un-coated like those in the picture above...

Or get fancy with glue, varnish, or utee coatings;
you could even paint your beads, or add glitter or ink.
I think these would be really fun strung up and used to make
door hangings or window treatments, maybe in a child's room,
or any window with a gloomy view.
Take a look at Natasha's tutorial for more ideas and great photos!