A few days ago, I asked your feelings on glitter: love it or hate it? And while the strongly-worded options may have influenced folks' answers, I think Laurel was onto something when she commented that people tend to be "vehement one way or the other about glitter." After 22 comments, here are the results:

• Pro-Glitter: 14 comments (63.6%)
• Anti-Glitter: 5 comments (22.7%)
• On the Fence ("Love/Hate Relationship", etc.): 3 comments (13.6%)

Looks like I am in the minority, as a crafty "glitter-hater" -- but at least I'm not all by myself!

As for the drawing, the randomly-selected winners are:

• Penni Jo for her pro-glitter comment: "All glitter has its own charm and place in the world."
• Beth for her anti-glitter comment: "Add glue to the mix and it becomes a blob monster determined to get me! I can't handle it without it taking over every thing I own."

I'll be contacting the winning commenters shortly -- so if you're one of them, be sure to keep an eye on your email for instructions on receiving your prize.

If you haven't read through the comments yet, there's a lot of fun ones. My faves include these:

• Dez likes the glitter cloud that rises up when she sits in her favorite chair.
• Jenny's son was born with glitter on his head.
• France mentions the difficulties of being taken seriously in a business meeting when you've got glitter on your face!

Thanks for all your great comments -- & for helping me get rid of those yucky old glitter bottles once & for all! :-)

Posted in: Blog News , Supplies & Tools | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I used an online random number generator to select the winner for the mold putty giveaway. (Speaking of random.org, their coin-flipper has been a life-saver in helping me & hubby decide what to eat for dinner! But I digress.)

The winner of the mold putty project pack is Vicky. Vicky, I've sent you an email to get your address info, so I can send the goodies your way.

Thanks to everyone who shared their ideas for using molds!

Posted in: Blog News | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Just wanted to pass along information about a couple of charitable opportunities going on right now. I hope you'll participate if you're able!

Bottles of Hope On-Line Auction: Some of the top Bottles of Hope from last year's challenge are being made available through this online auction. All proceeds go to Hasbro Children's Hospital. This is a wonderful opportunity to purchase beautiful polymer clay work from well-known artists (such as Dotty McMillan & Lisa Pavelka) -- while also helping a great cause. Auction ends June 20.

Swap A Goat: With a name like Swap A Goat, you know I couldn't pass this one up. This Swap-bot swap encourages swappers to donate to a charity -- "buying" a goat or a chicken (or some portion there-of) to send to a part of the world that needs it. Here's info on how to participate from the swap listing:

1. Choose a charity you want to support.
2. Choose a gift you can afford. This is not a competition to show how much spare change you have though - the smallest gift is all that is required and will be a very generous thing to do for someone.
3. Nominate your swap-bot partner to receive the gift.

If you don't already have a charity in mind, I would recommend Heifer International. (My husband & I met on a college trip to Heifer -- so it's a sentimental favorite!). Their gift catalog shows available options (or click Express Giving for a complete list) -- with giving levels including a share of a goat ($10), a flock of chicks ($20), honeybees ($30), goat ($120), and more. Sign up by June 8.

Posted in: Blog News | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Congratulations to Jackie Young! My husband randomly selected her comment, so she won her choice of my "That's Clever" projects. Jackie selected the Mailbox Desk Set, so I'll send that her way.

Thanks again to all those who entered.

Posted in: Blog News , That's Clever Show | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

My craft desk is always pretty crowded... but it's absolutely overflowing now that I've moved all my "That's Clever" stuff back in. I've got at least a dozen projects from the show -- in various stages of completion -- that I don't quite have room for.

So I thought I'd do a little giveaway here. The winner will receive their choice of either a Mailbox Desk Set or a Poker Chip Coaster Set. There are two ways to enter:

• Leave a comment on this blog post, telling me what's on your craft desk.
• Leave a relevant comment on any other post on this blog.

Leave your comments between now and Monday, May 28. Make sure to fill out the email address on the comment form, so I can contact you if you're the winner (don't worry, that field isn't published). I'll randomly select a commenter, then announce the winner on May 29th.

Good luck!

Posted in: Blog News , That's Clever Show | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

Just a quick note to say I'll be in Austin this week attending SXSW. I recently joined my husband full-time on our web development business, and I'm really looking forward to an inspiring week with some exciting online innovators.

I haven't had a chance to decide my whole schedule, but I do know I'll be at BlogHer's Friday night Meetup and Boss Lady's Saturday session. If you're going to SXSW, let me know -- I'd love to chat!

Posted in: Blog News | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ooops -- sorry about that! Please let me know if you come across any more buggy stuff...

Posted in: Blog News | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

How do you design a crafty blog? Well, with Photoshop, a little imagination... and of course, some polymer clay! At least that's how we did the recent design here at CraftyGoat's Notes.

The site design has been a work in progress, and there's still a few tweaks to make. But now that it's mostly complete, I thought I'd share a little about how we did it.

Continue reading "Web Design Gets Crafty: How to Use Polymer Clay on your Web Site" »

Posted in: Blog News | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hey, folks! Welcome to my new blog, devoted to all things crafty. I plan to use this spot to talk about projects I'm currently working on and review new crafting products I've tried. And I'll probably post some craft instructions now and then, too. I work primarily with polymer clay, paper crafts, and hemp jewelry, so many of the posts will relate to these materials.

I believe crafting -- like life -- is all about trial & error, experimenting and tweaking to get the best results. So I plan to share some craft tips and techniques that have -- and some that haven't -- worked for me. Feel free to tell me about your experiences too -- if you've found a better way to do something, I'd love to hear from you.

I make and sell crafts for CraftyGoat.com, so I'll probably also talk now & then about Crafty Goat, and more generally, about the business of crafting.

I hope you'll stick around -- I look forward to chatting with you!

Posted in: Blog News | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)