Raygun Robyn is a one woman army, uniforming us all one monster-y shirt/dress/bag at a time. Watching Robyn’s business grow is fascinating and inspiring. She’s funny, too! Listen as Tina Seamonster (me!) chats with her about wholesale, doing shows and being who you are.

Click the little arrow below to listen to the episode, right here on page:

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

Before we officially say goodbye to 2009 and usher in a brand new year of crafting, Hello Craft would like to thank all of our friends, family, dedicated bloggers, members and readers for supporting our organization during it’s inaugural year.

… and what a first year it’s been!

We hosted our Shopper Show & Tell at craft fairs around the country…

Launched our Hello Craft Podcast…

Produced the first annual Summit of Awesome in Mid City DC….

Took a Field Trip to the Biggs & Featherbelle factory…

Co-produced the Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair…

and brought our Make Something Awesome Area to the One of a Kind Show NY!

So here’s our toast to everyone who supported not only Hello Craft, but the global handmade movement in 2009.

We hope that this year has been most prosperous and inspiring for all, and we look forward to another fabulous year of hand-sewn, hand-drawn, decoupaged, silk-screened, baked, soldered, embroidered, knitted, crocheted, felted, and letter-pressed items to get excited about.

XOXO,
Kimberly, Sara, Tina & Kelly
Hello Craft Directors

In this week’s episode, Tina Seamonster (that’s me!) learns to embroider! And relax!

Click the little arrow below to listen to the episode, right here on page:

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

* Above photo taken by Anya Seamonster, age 4.

Two lucky crafters could win one of the books in the Making Stuff series; Making Stuff: An Alternative Craft Book or Making Stuff for Kids.

Re-released to coincide with the publication of its sequel, Making Stuff has tons of projects for both the seasoned crafter and the craft dabbler. The beginning of the book lays out the basics so you’ll have no problem crafting any of the 50+ projects that include making a notebook out of old records covers, sewing a smock-dress, or making origami lights.

Black Dog’s latest book, Making Stuff for Kids, contains 176 pages of craft projects geared for 4-11 year olds, but packs enough kitschy coolness for kids of all ages.  Parents are even provided more advanced projects such as knitting and sewing, so they can craft for and with their kids, but at a more grown-up pace.

Kids’ projects include making cereal box theatres and soft toys, to creating paper flowers and making smiley house pin boards — a project by plush crafter extraordinaire and Crafty Bastards vendor Heidi Kenney, of My Paper Crane. Kenney’s house also adorns the colorful cover.

Wanna Win?
Entering this contest is super easy! Just make a comment on any Hello Craft blog post from today through August 31st, and you’ll automatically be entered to win.  You can double your chances of winning by recording your craft story on our Handmade Podcast, or by registering for our upcoming Field Trip to the Biggs & Featherbelle warehouse in Baltimore.

Exclusive Discount!
The nice folks at Black Dog Publishing have offered Hello Craft readers an exclusive discount of 50% OFF(!!!) both of the Making Stuff books. To take advantage of this offer, simply email Jessica at jess@blackdogonline.com and mention the code HELLO CRAFT OFFER. This discount is good thru August 31, 2009.

Tina Seamonster and her crafty clan will be testing out the projects in the latter book, so stay tuned for her official review of Making Stuff for Kids!

This week, Lhay Browning Thriffiley shares the story of Avalon Sewing Co and how she had to close up shop.

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

Each week, the Hello Craft Podcast collects stories of making and buying handmade.

This week, we have three stories from crafters who will be presenting their work at the American Craft Council Show in Baltimore at the Baltimore Convention Center, February 27 – March 1, 2009. We hear stories from Caitlin Phillips of Rebound Designs, Rania Hassan of Goshdarnknit and Shannon Delanoy of Sweet Pepita. All three tell us about past events that have made them the crafters they are today. For more information about the show, including times and ticket prices, check out craftcouncil.org/baltimore.

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

Learn how to contribute to the podcast!

This week, Kay Noble shares her story of making and living in an Athabascan native village in Alaska.

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

Kay also has a podcast called The Incredible Edible Moose.

Learn how to contribute to the podcast!

This week, Mara Bradford gets creative with a gift for Uncle Bill. Check out Mara’s colorful world of crochet, here.

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

Uncle Bill opening his gift:

Close up crocheted Rainbow Trout:

Learn how to contribute to the podcast!

Hello Craft is putting together a holiday episode of our podcast and would love to hear from you!

The theme of the episode is getting and giving handmade for the holidays. Maybe grandma made you something really weird one year, maybe you gave someone the most amazing handmade treasure and they didn’t appreciate it. Maybe you are making all of your handmade gifts this year and it is changing your view of the holidays completely. Call our toll free voice line at 1-888-317-3785 and tell us your story in 5 minutes or less. Start your call out like this, “Hello Craft! My name is…” and then tell your story.

Calls for this very special episode are due on 12/18, so call right now!

>>Image is from The Decorated House.

This week, Tripper Dungan tells us about the shadow puppets that he makes from cereal boxes.

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

This video from March Forth Marching Band showcases Tripper’s shadow puppet magic. You can check out everything else that Tripper does at numberstar.com

Learn how to contribute to the podcast!