I was flipping through the latest edition of How Magazine when I came upon this rather hysterical card:

I was sitting on a train with headphones on and almost laughed out loud (except I didn’t want people thinking I was nuts or something.

At any rate, it’s pretty freakin’ funny and fits the mantra of Amy Smyth Made It, which is “Send a freakin’ card.”

There are some other goodies on the site, like these two cards:

There are about 175 cards available for everything from engagements to birthdays to just about every holiday under the sun. There are also notecards and invitations for when you want something better than the store-bought, cookie-cutter invites for your next cocktail party. You can also get cards customized for just $5 a box.

Do check it out.

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Take a look at these treasures from Tulip’s Treasure Box:

That is just a sampling of the amazing and intricate work that can be found in the shop. If you love seeing woven bead work (and wearing it, of course), or you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind item, this is the place to go. Many of the woven works are one of a kind — understandable when you think of the time patience involved in making some of those pieces!

There’s also a wide array of other beaded jewelry to check out, and even some destash supplies.

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The lovely Tamie Snow of Roxycraft has a new book of crochet patterns coming out called Tiny Yarn Animals: Amigurumi Friends to Make and Enjoy (see above cover).

The book was actually released earlier this week, but if you live in the Sacramento area, you can see Tamie at a book signing at Borders tonight at 7 p.m. She will be at the Borders in Fair Oaks, 2339 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95825.

If you’re not in Sacramento, but love to crochet cute animals, you can buy the book at Amazon.com.

Tamie has been featured on indie*galore before for her awesome patterns. Take a look back and read about her here.

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The very cool indie blog Indie Fixx is sponsoring a contest to celebrate the blog’s second anniversary!

Basically, if you’re the crafty sort, you’ll have to craft something that incorporates the number 2. You could make something that has two colors, two of one thing … the sky is the limit. All that’s required is it be handmade!

Awesome prizes are in store for the winners!

Check out more details by clicking this logo:

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If you love nature and you love jewelry, you’ll have to check some of these pieces out:

These lovely pieces are the work of UK-based Joanna Rutter. Joanna hand-fabricates all her jewelry, which features many things found in nature: birds, leaves, squirrels, clouds. Since each piece is hand-cut, no two things are exactly alike!

There’s a really nice selection of items, from big dangly earrings to studs to good-sized pendants to rings that won’t get in the way of your holding a pen. What’s especially cool are the earring pairs that aren’t two of the same thing, but related items. For instance, there’s this robin and a branch or this squirrel and a branch.

Joanna’s style is simple and elegant, and definitely worth checking out.

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Colorful and glassy … it makes for some eye-popping jewelry. Take a look:

And this isn’t big and bold, but it’s nonetheless really pretty:

You can find this jewelry at A Keeper’s Jackpot. Visit the shop and you’ll be sure to be mesmerized by the shiny, pretty glass beads.

If you’re looking for something bold and elegant, this is the place to look. Plenty of chunky bracelets and big glass pendants. There’s also some very nice wire-wrapped and wire crochet pieces in the store.

Custom items are also available, including some custom word bracelets.

And prices are really reasonable. That’s only a plus.

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Ah, embroidery. It’s not just for marking your initials on your clothing or a hankie or a bag anymore. It’s for adding pizazz to everything from clothing to some curtains to purses.

If you’re looking for really cute embroidery patterns, you might want to stop by and check out PimpStitch, a new site devoted to bringing folks original patterns.

PimpStitch was started by Tamie Snow of Roxycraft and Missy Ballance of Mohair Circus. They also recruited Amy Cluck of Peptogirl Industries and Lauren Brandy of Goody-Goody to contribute patterns.

You’ll find everything from animals to kitchenware to cute sleeping kids and something for your favorite homie (or homeskillet):

(Look carefully at the collection because the macaroni pattern there is also priceless!)

There’s also this cutie:

Another neat thing about PimpStitch is that some of the patterns have been adapted from other mediums, like this turtle. Tamie originally created the pattern as a crochet pattern and now has it for embroidery. You can create an army of turtles for yourself if you like.

Patterns are released every week, so there’s always something new to see. You can also keep up with the PimpStitchers on their blog, where you can even pick up a few free patterns.

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Maybe in a perfect world, we would be living on idyllic streets with colorful houses and perfectly manicured bushes and dainty flowers. It might look something like this:

(The houses are available for sale too!)

If you have a hankering for creating your mini village, check out Foxgloves, where you can find this landscape and other felted goodness!

You’ll find brooches, collectibles, jewelry, magnets and even a few art prints. Custom orders are also available.

Maybe you’ll be feeling one of these:

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If you ever sit around and debate with your friends over the old adage of “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”, you can get yourself a visual representation to make your case:

It’s actually a knitting pattern for a plush toy that turns inside out, from cracked egg to spiffy chick. How ingenious!

This pattern was dreamed up by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. In her shop, you’ll find all kinds of fun plush patterns, many of which involve a) some whimsical character and b) lots of individual moving parts (the more for you to play with, silly)!

Among my favorites: Sleepy Snake and Mischievous Mouse and Sausage Dogs (I have a great love of Dachshunds).

And there are, of course, the stackable cats:

There are just so many fun things to choose from. And each pattern is a mere $5! Knit up some fun toys for yourself. If you don’t know how to knit, Anna occasionally has toys in her store, but that’s very rare, so you’re best served finding a friend to knit the toys for you.

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