Nienke of Nosey Nest has come up with a super idea for a series of sewing patterns, and she’s sharing that idea with us today! Rather than paraphrase, we’ll let her explain the series:

“Have you ever been afraid of the dark when you were a kid; of critters under your bed, squeaking stairs and shadows on the wall? So frightened you couldn’t fall asleep, woke up at night or didn’t want your parents to leave you before they’d checked under your bed a thousand times?

Did you ever suspect that these so-called scary creatures aren’t that scary after all? That you even could become friends with these monsters?

Nosey Nest introduces the first two in a downloadable pattern series about children’s fears.”

First up is Mini-Monster Manfred:

Second is The Daring Dragon:

Both patterns are downloadable PDFs that are available through the Nosey Nest’s blog.

If you’ve ever spent more than five minutes around a cat, you probably know one thing about them: cats have attitude. It seems that Alyssa of Penguin & Fish spends a lot of time with cats because she has really captured their essence with these awesome kitties.

Also, a quick reminder that the current Craftershock & Awe contest ends one week from today! If you haven’t yet started, get to work!

Have a craftacular weekend!

Vintage typewriters are awesome, but have been functionally replaced by computers and their boring keyboards. Elizabeth Marie of Keys And Memories, a self-described “junkyard freak,” has come up with a way to save those old typewriters from dusty basements (or worse) by making these fantastic accessories.

Electronic gadgets such as MP3 players can be expensive and fragile — not the kind of thing you want to shove down into the bottom of your bag or pocket. Anna Lee of annamatic has come up with an extremely cute solution to that problem with these iPod cozies.

We have two huge announcements today that we’re super thrilled to tell you about! First, Craftershock & Awe is finally here! You may remember a while back we announced this fancy contest of ours, but if not, here’s how it works: We will supply you with a theme and a list of craft supplies, and it’s up to you to create your best craft, creatively representing the theme and using only the listed supplies. You don’t have to use all of the listed supplies, but you cannot use anything that isn’t listed! The winner will get a very special prize — more on that in a minute. But first, without further ado, we proudly present…

Theme: These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Supplies:
» 10 buttons
» 1 spool of ribbon
» 5 colors of fabric paint
» 3 fabric squares of any color or pattern (each square no larger than 36″ x 36″)
» 1 wild card supply of your choice
» needle/thread
» scissors
» glue

Deadline: Friday, July 25, 2008.

Winner Announced: Friday, August 1, 2008.

Prize: Winner will be featured in the very first issue of…

That’s right, folks! We’re so excited to announce the launch of Craftershock Magazine!!! Inside, you’ll find even more crafty goodness including tutorials, templates, showcases, and craft resources not found on the site! The first issue will be available in August and will feature a special showcase of July’s Craftershock & Awe winner.

How to enter: First, download the Craftershock & Awe entry form (PDF). Email completed entry form and 3-5 photos of your finished craft to showcasethis@craftershock.com by July 25 11:59pm EST.

Good luck!