DIYthing

Are you an indie designer who is itching to bring your brand to market? If so, you may want to check out POSHGLAM’s designer call.

POSHGLAM.COM will host the INDIE STYLE MARKET on December 15, 2007 in the fashion capital, NYC.

The market will highlight indie fashion, beauty and accessory brands from around the world. POSHGLAM is looking for complete polished collections and brands that are ready for promotion.

They are also looking for volunteers to help out the day of the market. POSHGLAM is a company that targets undiscovered brands and new, talented designers. So, if you are ready to submit your designs or you just want to volunteer to help prepare you for a future launch, check out their designer call and sign up today.

Etsy and a host of sponsors have a fun and spooky contest for you this Halloween it’s their - Costume-a-thon! We really love the green category - what a great way to use all of those items you have been recycling. You need to get to thinking about what will be your handmade costume. You will need to put the costume up for sale in your Etsy shop no later than 11:59 EDT, October 26, 2007. There will be eighteen winners with over $2,000 worth of goods and prizes. There are six categories: Pet, Kid & Baby, T-Shirt Costume, Sci-Fi, Green, and General Awesomeness!

Etsy has lined up judges from Treehugger.com, Boingboing.net, Craftzine.com, Makezine.com, Babble.com, Threadless.com, and Tcritic.com.

You can read all of the details on Etsy’s site.

t-shirt reconstruction is all the craze right now and Compai is inviting you to send in photographs of t-shirt and denim creations that you’ve created from the 99 ways books - 99 Ways to Cut, Sew and Rock Your Scarf!

Include name, age, location and a picture of the item, plus the item’s name and number from the books and you will be entered to win a box set of the denim book, the t-shirt book– and
the scarf-book all signed and in a reusable gift box created just for you by compai–PLUS a top made from the scarf book– 99 Ways to Cut, Sew and Rock Your Scarf!

for more details or to submit photos: 99ways@gmail.com

Submissions are due November 1st– and feel free to submit as many projects as you wish!

Compai is a small company run by eco-fashion designers Faith Blakeney, Justina Blakeney, and Ellen Schultz.

You can check out Compai’s Flickr stream for some user contributions. And check out their cool blog.

Hurry there is not much time left for this great contest! Teen Vogue and Flip team up for this contest.

Every fall, Teen Vogue brings together its top editors, power players from the fashion industry, and a select group of students for a weekend of studying style in New York City. This year’s speakers include Vera Wang, Doo-Ri Chung, Jill Stuart, Phillip Lim, Tim Gunn, photographer Kevin O’Brien, Vena Cava, and the next Target GO International designer.

What to do: Make a flipbook about your favorite designer.

What you could win: A two-night trip for two to New York City and admission for one at Teen Vogue’s Fashion U. event.

Tips: Upload pictures of favorite looks past and present from your #1 designer.
Give us a short bio of them and how they’ve made an impact on fashion.
Tell us how this designer has influenced your personal style.

see more details on Flip

So you know DIY is edging into mainstream when car makers want our attention. DIYs, here is your chance to win a big prize - a brand new 2008 Scion.

Scion is challenging the “Do It Yourself” crowd to channel their inner “craftiness” and
design hand-made car accessories for a Scion vehicle in a craft making competition
that reinforces Scion’s commitment to creativity. The winner will take home a 2008
Scion xD five-door subcompact. Inform Ventures is producing the Craft My Ride competition.
“Similar to indie films, underground music, and the street art movement, we believe
the arts and crafts community harbors undiscovered talent,” said Alan Mimaki, Scion
business operations manager. “We want to support raw talent in any form, and to
build a lasting relationship within these burgeoning artistic groups. Many of our
competition winners have continued to work with Scion long after their contests have
finished, and we hope the same goes for this challenge as well.”

Well, don’t miss out - this contest may be your chance to shine.

“Craft My Ride” Retail Partners:
The Work*Shop – Austin, TX
Stuff – Kansas City, MO
Fancy Tiger – Denver, CO
The Paper Doll – Bellingham, WA
Bluebottle Art Gallery – Seattle, WA
Handmade Galleries – Sherman Oaks, CA
Stitch Café – Valley Village, CA
Etsy Lab – New York, NY
Green Jeans – New York, NY
Mew Gallery – Philadelphia, PA
Wholly Craft – Columbus, OH
Young Blood Gallery and Boutique – Atlanta, GA
The Glitter Workshop – Madison, WI

For all the details visit “Craft My Ride“.

We thought you might like to hear about a few new contests for DIYs in case you are looking for something to do over Labor Day weekend.

Enamor’s Boxie Fawn Contest
You download the pattern and print on a standard piece of copy paper. Then send in the most creative photo of your finished Fawn for a chance to win a 15% off coupon to Enamor’s Etsy shop and a small surprise. You can email the pictures to enamor_etsy@yahoo.com
But hurry the deadline for entries is September 4th, 2007.

3rd Annual Venus Zine Craft-Off Contest
You are tasked with creating the most creative DIY creations imaginable and you can only spend $50 to create it. The best projects will be featured in the winter 2007–2008 issue of Venus Zine. Plus winners will receive a four-issue subscription to Venus Zine — there will be additional prizes announced soon. To enter you must e-mail your entries to craftoff@venuszine.com by September 20, 2007.

Indie Fixx 1st Anniversary Contest
Indie Fixx is ready to celebrate its 1st anniversary and you can win cool prizes. They are giving away $485 in prizes donated by 15 different indie shops. You just need to sign up for the Indie Fixx mailing list before October 6th to be entered into the random drawing.

Enjoy the weekend - DIY style!

Are you an artist that is yet to be discovered? Here’s your opportunity. And you don’t have to be based in New York to apply. Artists Wanted is currently accepting submissions from all over the world. If your work is accepted, they will even install your work in the gallery if you can’t make it to the opening.

So hurry and sign up. They will choose three finalists by the end of September, 2007. If you are unfamiliar with the group you can read more about the collaborative project here at their web site. They are a group of New York City artists and creative organizations who are seeking to provide opportunities for emerging artists.

You can submit: sculpture, photography, painting, print making, motion graphics, illustration, installation, industrial design, graphic design, as well as film & video.

If you are chosen you will get a solo show in the gallery, $2,007 in cash and “a huge publicity push throughout the vibrant New York City art community“.

If you have questions you can e-mail: info@artistswanted. org. There is a $25 submission fee. You can submit your work by uploading your images on the web site or mailing them directly to Artists Wanted.

Etsy and instructables have chosen the winners in the SewUseful Contest.
First Prizes
Each winner will receive a Singer QUANTUM(r) 9940 computerized sewing machine. (Wow! - That’s so exciting!) Congratulations to all the winners and to all the contestants that participated. DIYthing loved all of the winners, but we thought we would bring some of our other favorites as well.

Sew Educational:
Rain or Shine Solar Charger for SewUseful
by BlondietheBlond

Sew Hybrid:
Fire skirt by caballera

Sew Helpful:
Hearing aid drying pouch
by kerri9494

I am originally from Louisiana and although I was living in NYC when the Gulf Coast was struck by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I have family who were directly affected. On my trips down to visit family I am awed by the incredible strength of Gulf Coast residents. It is in their honor that I contribute this instructable to the SewUseful challenge. I feel that this piece of art may be very useful as a healing tool for many and more than that I believe that art is perhaps the most useful thing we do as humans. The ability to create, process, and reflect allows our mind and often our bodies to heal. So, I hope these photos and instructions are useful in bringing about some measure of healing for those who have endured so much. That said, it is difficult to price art. The price I have decided on for my listing in my jessiecreations’ Etsy shop is part payment as artists should be compensated, but half of the proceeds will be donated to relief efforts. Specifically, if the Katrina Memorial Cube Sculpture sells, I will donate $500 to a Katrina/Rita relief organization that benefits local Gulf Coast artists. The charity organization is to be chosen by the buyer.

The Katrina Memorial Cube Sculpture is fiber art that contains images of Louisiana that are dear to me. One of the images is of a crab. As I child I remember crabbing with my family, and later 4.when I became a mom I also took my children crabbing in Lake Ponchartrain. I have also included a pelican, cattails, a traditional New Orleans “shotgun” house, a turtle, and a child next to a growing oak tree. I hope each of these images carry messages of resilience for those along the Gulf Coast.

The other important thing about this fiber art is that all of the materials used are recycled. One of the themes in my art is sustainability. This is important to me simply because I believe that it is important to take care of our habitat. But also, I love to think about the history of found objects and materials. It is always more challenging to create a project and seek out the colors and texture you need from what you happen upon. Too, the Katrina Memorial Cube Sculpture seemed to beckon for reclaimed materials. Many of my favorite artists working in New Orleans today use reclaimed materials in their work. This is a tribute to them as well.

This is a project for the Etsy/instructables SewUseful Contest.
Here is a link to my instructable. You should check it out. Not only will you find instructions for making one yourself for all of you DIYs, but you will also finds notes as to how and why I designed the cube sculpture.

To buy the work of art click here to visit the Etsy listing for the Katrina Memorial Cube Sculpture.

Well tonight I entered the Etsy + instructables Sew Useful Contest. I created an Etsy account and an instructable account under the user name jessiecreations. Yes, we have a DIYthing Etsy account but this other one is for me to use personally. I choose my user name ”’jessiecreations ”’ for my mom Jessie. She taught me to sew and it is a gift I will always treasure. She even taught me using Singer sewing machines. I can still remember the holiday when my dad bought her a new one. She used it to make so many cool outfits for us. Well, you never know, maybe I have a chance to win one as well in the Sew Useful Contest. Check it out. You can see my instructable at instructables.com/member/jessiecreations/ Hope you like it. I will tell you a little about it.

Do you need a way to help cut down on the dust in your apartment? Or are you tired of looking at that old lampshade? If so, then you might want to make your own ”Removable Skirt Lampshade Covering”. A removable lamp shade covering will allow you to easily wash it before it accumulates dust. This instructable tells you how to take an old skirt and ”’upcycle”’ it to cover an old lampshade. See my Etsy listing.

Deb