August-September calls...

are going out right now! Watch your inboxes! Sorry the magazine's not about a hundred pages bigger, we had to choose between some really great handmade submissions. Thanks, guys, for being such talented crafters!

April/May Sneak Peak!

Oh yes, it really is almost April. And to celebrate, here's a peak at some of our favorites in the April/May issue of Simply Handmade. If you don't already have it, you might want to get it so that you can get rolling on VERY important craft projects like springtime décor and cute butterfly creations.

And did you know we have a breakdown of some of the industry's top die cut machines in this issue? Get the low down on cost (both the machine and the accessories), size, compatible designs, and material capabilities of our five favs. And if that's not enough to get you excited about cutting everything in sight, maybe this will: we're hosting a giveaway in April and you could win a die cut machine of your very own. Don't forget to check back for more details and directions!

Your Daily Dose of Doilies

Doilies are back, baby! Some may say it's debatable, but we will agree to disagree. Doilies are cuter than ever and they're all ready to make your next project granny chic. (So... does it make the concept uncool to even use the word "granny"? I think it might. No offense to actual grannies! They are the best and we love them to pieces!) Anyway, check out these great ideas, some using doily designs, and some using actual, factual doilies:


Doily Bird Framed Print from tracemyface's Etsy shop


Vintage Doily Needlebook from ravenhill's Etsy shop


Doily Pillow Cover from nuka's Etsy shop


Doily Necklace from lostintheforest's Etsy shop


Doily Clock from andfurthermore's Etsy shop


Cream Corduroy Tote from marmadesigns's Etsy shops (this is a peacock doily -- double trend)


Lace Doilies in Grey - Tea Towel from jezze's Etsy shop


Handmade Pillow Cover from pixieblossom's Etsy shop


Messenger Style Laptop Bag No. 2 from trackandfielddesigns's Etsy shop


Some darling Emily Martin dolls from her blog, Inside A Black Apple


A simple tutorial from Martha Stewart Living for adding a doily image to a cookie tin lid, plus 9 great pdfs of colored doilies ready for printing.

*LUCKY* Winner

Pardon the pun....

The random winner of our Almost Spring Giveaway is number NINETY TWO! So, Scrapper With the Catch of Her Life, email your address to Tammy at tammym[at]northridgemedia[dot]net and start planning how to use those pretty things!

Thanks to everyone for playing and have a happy St. Patty's Day!

Etsy roundup: All Things Green

I've been reading your comments about spring, and it's been making me so happy! It has brought to mind some beautiful images: spending time with the little ones outside in the grass, planting pretty flowers, getting pink-cheeked from riding bikes. (And I have never hung sheets outside to dry, but now I really want to give it a try.)

Thanks to all of you for sharing.

In honor of St. Patrick's day tomorrow, here are some cute green things we've spotted on Etsy.


Pale pink on green damask Mary Janes, from Gracious May's shop. (I know, drool.)


Organic Cotton Spring Deer Tee (L), from Bonspiel's shop. (I have purchased from her before, she makes really great quality stuff.)


Felt flower hairband, from jenmenkhaus' shop. (Lots of cute little felt & fabric creations.)

Almost Spring Giveaway

Leave a comment by midnight on Monday, March 16 saying what you're most looking forward to about the coming season. (For me, it's fresh air in my house from keeping my windows open all day and night.) One person will be chosen at random (winner posted Tuesday, March 17th) to win all of the following:


3 sheets from Pink Paislee's Enchanting Line...


3 8x8" transparencies from Anna Griffin's Flora line...


16 sheets (2 each of 8 designs) of paper from Anna Griffin's Flora line...


4 sheets of paper and 1 sheet of die cuts from Scribble Scrabble's Ruth's Collection (color's a little off on this, sorry, it's more vibrant IRL)...


Stamps from My Favorite Things, felt flower & star from Total Class Creative, Ribbon from We R Memory Keepers, dimensional stickers from Anna Griffin, and 2 sheets of stickers from AdornIt.

Calling all crafters: October-November issue

We are now taking submissions for the October-November issue of Simply Handmade. We want to see your lovely creations for the following categories, due to creations@northridgemedia.net by Tuesday, May 5.

• Halloween Mini Albums – Whether you showcase several years of costumes together or document a single year’s preparations and decorations (or something else entirely), we want to see the cool little books you put together for Halloween.

• Halloween Fun/Décor – Devilish decorations, spooky sweet containers, frightening party favors – all the ghoulish and ghostly things you craft by hand during the scariest time of the year.
  

• Giving Thanks – Gratitude journals, fun ways to do “thankfuls” at Thanksgiving dinner, place cards, greeting cards.
  

• Thanksgiving Décor – Fall wreaths, table settings, framed quotes about gratitude/fall, etc.
  

• Where the Heart Is – This is all about HOME as a motif – homes pieced from fabric or paper, stitched with thread, painted, framed, put on a pillow, canvas, etc.
  

• Holiday Cards – From extra-special creations to cards that you can realistically recreate in bulk for everyone on your list.
  

• Gifts – Make it a handmade holiday with one-of-a-kind creations that you craft for the ones you love. (Could be anything!)

Include in the email: Your contact info (name, address, phone number, email address, blog/etsy), what materials you used to make the project, and anything interesting about it that might not be noticeable in the picture.
Other info: You can send more than one thing, but it's better to put them in separate emails. You get your project back, along with two copies of the issue and some product (currently it's mainly scrapbooking supplies, but we're working on expanding that to include general craft supplies, too).

We can't wait to see what you come up with -- look for calls for this issue around the 15th of May.

P.S. We just went through the August-September submissions and loved what we saw. Calls for that issue should be going out early next week, so watch your inboxes.

Handmade Animals

We just found the work of Tamar Mogendorff and fell in love. The bird houses on the wall are my absolute favorite, but I can't stop there. She has a a bunch of beautiful creations on her website that I've been looking at over and over...and over.

CARDS Cover Contest! VOTE TODAY!

We are jump starting a new blog for CARDS with a cover contest! And not just any cover contest, a cover contest where YOU decide the winner! Head over to the CARDS blog today to vote for your favorite. It's only open a few more days!

Home Sweet Home

I had another post in mind when I sat down to write, but then I found this:

(From Holly Becker's flickr photostream -- also, check out Holly on Haus Maus -- such a lovely blog -- and Decor8.)

And this:

(A scan from German Country Homes Magazine, found on Boxwoodcottage's flickr photostream.)

And this:

(From ohdeedoh. They have great inspiration for beautifully decorated -- but real, not catalog-y -- children's rooms.)

Just a few pretty places to browse through and feel inspired. I wondered if I should even post decorating-related pictures since our magazine is about crafting, but I feel like there is so much overlap in the worlds of crafting and decorating -- when you're interested in one, you're usually interested in the other, too. It's all about creating, you know? When you decorate, you're creating an environment, and when you craft, you're creating beautiful things to put IN your environment, or to give to other people to put in theirs. It's all domesticity.

At any rate, it's nearly spring and I couldn't resist these lovely, happy colors!

Spring Ideas from the Feb/Mar Issue

Ikat & Blackboards

Photo by Simon Upton for Elle Decor, (March 2009)

Sue me for saying so, but this is the first Ikat I've seen that I would actually put in my home. Ikat is making the rounds in the interior design & fashion worlds, but I didn't catch the fever until seeing this antique print. What do you think? Will it translate to the scrapbooking world? I don't know...but I'd put one of these framed up on my wall any day!

And another thing that I'd like to grace my wall: these blackboards by Spell It Out Designs. I have never seen self-adhesive vinyl with a blackboard surface. So cool!



via the poppytalk handmade blog, one of our favorites. Thanks!