happykatie :: katie rocks out the interwebs

Cupcake Monday: Loving your Liners

This week's Cupcake Monday is going to focus on an aspect of cupcake love that you may not pay attention to all the time, cupcake LINERS!!!

Typically, I just cross my fingers at the grocery or dollar store when having to make a last second liner purchase for a cupcake project.  Sometimes I come across AMAZING finds, sometimes they are just so-so.  Don't get me wrong, I've got a great mom and set of pals that pick up cute cupcake accoutrement when they see it - but sometimes your cupcake cookery needs a very particular special something.

So what happens when you've got a drawer full of fabulous cupcake liners, but no cupcakes that need immediate baking!?  Oh yes, it's Cupcake liner crafty time:

Cupcake Liner Garland
Ingredients:  A needle, some thread, cupcake liners and a wall hungry for cupcake love
Resources:  happy.blissful blog + Petunia blog (where the lovely image above was found)

Kiddo project:  Cupcake Liner Fireworks Explosion! 
Ingredients:  Cupcake liners, paint, glitter, glue, scissors, little fingers and construction paper
Resources:  Not time for flashcards blog

Cupcake Pin Cushion
Ingredients:  Silicon cupcake liner, felted wool, needle, thread, stuffing
Resource for inspiration (or purchase):  Dottyral Etsy shop

Besides batter, icing and love - what are some unique ways you've used your cupcake liners?

Cupcake Monday: Vegan knitted cupcake toppers

A video how to (with frigging MARTHA STEWART) on a great VeganYumYum knitted cupcake topper post that I saw last year - somehow I missed that she was hanging with the Martha.  Awesome!

Life drawing for fashionistas

Ever get that fashion design bug or incredibly strong desire to draw random outfits on random people?  Check out this great Threadbanger how-to fashion sketching video from their recent visit to the Simplicity design headquarters.  Awesome.

She's Crafty at Mom 2.0 Summit

IMG_0434.JPG
Originally uploaded by giovanni gallucci

I had boatloads of fun talking Craft, DIY, magazines, re-purposed materials, SEO, Blogging, felt, beads, knitting and 2-year-olds at my 'blink and you'll miss it' She's Crafty table at Mom 2.0 Summit yesterday.

Ladies - you were a pleasure. I wish I had more time to talk to each and every one of you. As a reminder, here are my 'She's Crafty' notes for online inspiration, how-to helper links and suggestions on managing the craziness that is the Interwebs.

Don't forget about that Laptop Mama Coloring Contest!

Mom 2.0 Summit starts today - and so does the Laptop Mama coloring contest!

Calling all Internet-loving mothers and marketers - the Mom 2.0 Summit starts today featuring an enormous variety of super duper lady Bloggers and a few dudes (including Ed Schipul and Guy Kawasaki).

I'll be speaking this evening, but as my table chats last only a few minutes you might blink and miss me - so here is a 'She's Crafty' page outlining some of my favorite spots for inspiration, how-to help and links to help monetize your crafting obsession.

I am also running a 'Laptop Mama' coloring contest for Mom 2.0 Summit attendees and YOU!!  Download your favorite Mama Online coloring sheet (created by the AMAZINGLY talented Illustration Dan, he's so rad).  You have 2 choices:  NAUGHTY or nice.  Choose wisely.  Or don't choose at all - you can color both and submit, I'm not a coloring page nazi here.  Visit the www.happykatie.com/shescrafty page for further details.

Word to yo' mama!

Crafty Tuesday: Let there be (LED) light

Today's Crafty Tuesday covers something very near to my heart, yet hugely unexplored in my house:  crafting with LEDs.  I love seeing multimedia sewing projects that incorporate electronics in wearable objects and toys - particularly when they sparkle like lightning bugs.

Wearable Light by Sparklab
I saw Syuzi at the High Tech Craft panel at SXSWi 2008, hands down one of my favorite panels of the year.  I love this leather cuff design - very modern and minimalist (PDF tutorial here).  There is such poetry in circuitry sometimes. 

Light up Purse by iheartswitch
Alison Foley was another gal I saw at SXSWi 2008 (and a former Schipulite, incidentally) and she introduced us to this awesome light up purse (see tutorial video here).  Basically it's a purse hack that lets you turn even your worst lip gloss and spare change eater of a purse into a user friendly clutch by illuminating the contents within.

LED Hula Hoop Kit by Make Magazine
This isn't a sewing project, but darnit - hula hoops are awesome.  It's my favorite game to play on the Wii Fit, they can be as punk rawk as you want 'em to be and light up like an alien-looking round Christmas tree.  Beautiful, almost like your own little personal rave.

Craftivism = Craft + Activism

Terms to think about today:

• Craftivism
• Radical Cross Stitch
• A Lonely Craftivist
• Street Knit Project

Happy 7th day of Advent - how quickly the seasons fly

December 2008, Sunday 07
Originally uploaded by Vincent Caplier

I love these Advent calendar cards posted by Vincent Caplier. There is such an enormous variety of Advent calendar ideas this year, it's a bit overwhelming. In an awesome way.  Here's a super post on Threadbanger on Christmas wreath ideas as well.


Info from Vincent's 12/07/08 Advent card:
Advent 2008, Day 07
Feast Day: St. Ambrose, St. Fara,.
2nd Sunday of Advent
-------------------------------

The Advent wreath is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent. It is usually a horizontal evergreen wreath with four or five candles. Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, the lighting of a candle can be accompanied by a Bible reading and prayers. An additional candle is lit during each subsequent week until, by the last week before Christmas, all four candles are lit.

Scrapblog wants you to 'Get Crafty!'

Check out Scrapblog's new 'Get Crafty' vidcast!  Their premiere episode looks at online photo cropping tools that Scrapblog has recently updated.  I look forward to when they showcase not only their own *awesome!!* software, but bring in outside designers and external creative influences as well. 

About Scrapblog's 'Get Crafty!':  Get Crafty! is the new show produced by Scrapblog that will showcase designers, new features and crafty ideas for preserving your digital memories. Get Crafty will introduce you to online scrapbooking and new techniques that will rekindle your love of crafting.

It's embarrassing that i haven't Scrapblogged more, but you can always find me here:  www.scrapblog.com/happykatie.  Perhaps now that I've gone public I'll shame myself into working some more Scrapblog magic...

High Tech Craftiness at SXSWi 2008

They blinded me with crafty geeky science!  A group of lady crafter fanatics chatted online technology and the role it plays in the ever-growing DIY community at SXSWi 2008.

I've heard various review on the panel, but it's funky and inquisitive nature really hit home with me.  Panelists brought in objects they've been working and a lots of super how-to resources for DIY/crafty typs everywhere.

Natalie Zee Drieu  Senior Editor,  CRAFT Magazine
Syuzi Pakhchyan SparkLab
Alison Lewis  Producer,  IHeartSwitch
Mouna Andraos Electronic Crafts
Diana Eng  Fashion Designer,  Diana Eng

Read on for cool projects the panelists brought to share and other awesome goodness.  Photo thanks to Natalie Zee's Flickr stream