thank you to the etsy favorites feature, i have hearts, you have hearts, we all have hearts! here, we’ll hop from heart-to-heart each week, progressively adding to our heart trail as we follow the favorites from one seller to the next.

Last week we left off with…
… yogagoat {hand-thrown porcelain mum cup}, who hearts…
… irregular expressions {crocheted, beaded necklace}, who hearts…
… karen myers {recycled sweater purse}, who hearts…
… woolly fabulous {eco-friendly felt beads}, who hearts…
… natural at heart {maple wood pendant}, who hearts…
… le pied leger {crocheted guillerminas}, who hearts…
… tune in next week to find out!

april… april fools… april showers… easter… taxes… earth day!

what are you doing this month to celebrate the earth and be more conscious of your impact on the planet? scoutie girl is so lucky to be participating with an amazing group of blogs in the “april stash bust!” here’s the idea, we’ve all got major stashes of craft supplies, leftovers, and discards. your goal is to take a look at them and see them in new ways. what can you create using only what you already have in your stash?

here at scoutie girl, you know we love to get our eco-friendliness on – and this idea was just too awesome to pass by!

i’ll be sharing interviews with artists & crafters who do some of their best work when using what they’ve got and seeing supplies in new ways. there will even be a few tutorials for simple projects that you can do to use up common craft stash items!

in the meantime, check out the other participating blogs, the stash bust contest, and stash bust swap!

• dollar store crafts
• craft leftovers
• cosa verde
• crafting a green world
• glue and glitter
• swap-bot

And to encourage you to do the same we will be hosting an April Stash Bust contest!

To enter, take the Stash Bust pledge to not buy any new materials, tools or supplies for the month of April. Place the awesome April Stash Bust badge (created by Liz at cosa verde and available at the Stash Bust home page) on your website or blog. Create a project from your stash using only what you have on hand. Submit your finished project detailing the stash materials you used with a link to your finished project by Earth Day, April 22nd. A team of crack judges from x, x and x (to be revealed) will review the projects and choose a winner.

So what could you win?!

A lucky creative type will receive:

• “Alabama Stitch Book” by Natalie Chanin from Swap-bot.com
• A one year showcase on cosa verde for your repurposed & eco-friendly crafts
• A one year membership from Hello Craft
• A cup glove kit from Glue and Glitter
• A mini box set of volume 2 of Craft Leftovers zine (issues 1-4) from Craft Leftovers
• A Modeling Chocolate kit from Dollarstorecrafts.com

Other April Stash Bust Events:

• Super Secret Stashbusting Challenge: 10 lucky crafters will be chosen to craft with a super secret envelope of goodies from dollarstorecrafts.com [click here to apply by April 5th]
• April Stash Bust craft supply swap at Swap-bot
• Stashbusting Blog Carnival: submit what you made from your stash here.

I hope you take this opportunity to challenge yourself and your creative vision in an effort to be more conscious about the products we consume as crafters & artists! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

my mom is the fabric shopper, blogging about the best of the best fabric, patterns, and sewing goodies online. i call her “mom” but you can call her “rosie.” she’s been sewing for much longer than i’ve been alive (without making her sound too old!) and she’s a real expert. that being said, we’ve always had problems finding patterns that worked correctly with my rather, shall we say, buxom figure. this tunic is perfect for me!

but, ya know what? i think it would be perfect for just about any figure! i wore mine at our crafty brunch on sunday morning and got so many compliments i knew i had to share this tunic-y goodness with the whole world! my mom purchased the pattern from melanie, at modern organics – all organic fabric all the time – for just $14.95.

p.s. on a less happy note, my mom is a bit under the weather right now. if you’ve got a minute, please wish her well on twitter!

more great instances of brown paper packages tied up with string! these “snowflakes” are 20 yards of baker’s twine available from midnight crafts for $2.

marichelle, from creature comforts, have teamed up to create a lifestyle brand for outfitting your packages with indie & vintage-inspired treasures! definitely check out the all-new nice package before you buy another mass-produced piece of gift wrap, string, or ribbon!

{image from the nice package blog}

if you’re looking for a unique way to hang a new pendant or string a few handmade beads, you’ll love the hand-dyed ribbons from queen creek supply.

each ribbon is 100% silk and is sewn by hand.

hand-dyed silk ribbons by queen creek supply :: $4.95

need a way to use up those fabric scraps that just aren’t big enough for anything useful? cherie did! so she came up with patterns for two small objects: luggage tags and mirrored key rings.

and be creative. these two patterns could be used to outfit more than keys and luggage!

luggage tag & key ring patterns by studiocherie :: $6.99

m is for moustache stamp by corrabelle :: $7

ginkgo stamp by corrabelle :: $14

psst! if you love gingkoes, check out the finding passion post featuring tasha mckelvey!

top. lucky star beads by gemmabeads :: $7.50

middle. amy butler lucky flowers paper beads by lilithevy :: $3.90

bottom. whole whirld beads by artspell :: $7.50

here’s another of those crafts that’s been recycled from our childhoods into something completely different and really rad (ya know, like the word “rad!”). paper beads seem to be back in a big way.

in this grouping, the middle is an example of the usual paper bead – albeit it extra special in an amy butler print. but i like how the top & bottom examples are slightly different – and if you know me, i’m a sucker for anything you can put text on!

i can remember one girl-scout-craft-project-gone-bad that involved junk mail, a blender, and goopy goopy gunk. something tells me that greenpost never had this problem.

handmade paper is one of the ultimates in upcycling: turn something as annoying as credit card offers and publishers clearing house letters into beautiful, functional high-end paper.

greenpost’s goal is to “make art responsibly.”

handmade paper by greenpost :: from $3.50