Photojojo is giving away three Nikon D3000s, just because they love you (we do too)! They've opened up the giveaway to you, the talented, creative, awesome readers of MAKE and CRAFT. Just think of all the how-tos you could make with this thing! I'm getting jealous just thinking about it. There are many ways to enter, please do so as many times as you like! In addition to the ways to enter on the Photojojo site (like following them on Twitter), here are the ways to enter through MAKE and CRAFT:

• Subscribe to the MAKE and CRAFT Newsletters. Each subscriber gets an automatic entry to win the camera! These are monthly newsletter to keep you up to date on what's going on in our neck of the woods. (We won't spam you, scout's honor!)
• Follow us on Twitter. That's MAKE, CRAFT, make_tips, and craft_tips. All our Twitter followers are automatically entered!
• Submit a tip! What special tricks do you use when making and crafting? Send a reply to @make_tips or @craft_tips for yet another entry.
• Become a fan of MAKE and CRAFT on Facebook!

The giveaway ends at 5pm PST next Monday, November 23rd. Best of luck to you!

More:

Project Excerpt: Photojojo! by Amit Gupta with Kelly Jensen

It's here! The Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest launches today! Put on your thinking caps and dream up some awesome gadgets! To celebrate the release of the newest Alex Rider book, Crocodile Tears, and the Kids of All Ages edition of MAKE (both at bookstores today), we're thrilled to be running this contest.

All of you adventure-seekers and gadget lovers out there are invited to join in. If you were Alex Rider, what gadget would you want in the upcoming adventure "Crocodile Tears"? Design your dream Alex Rider gadget, inspired by an everyday object (i.e. an iPod, toothpaste, a pen). The winning gadget will be built right here at the MAKE Labs. Send us a schematic of what your gadget is made from and how it works. (Your schematic can be a diagram, a drawing or an explanation by you). Remember that the winning gadget will be inspired by an everyday object that one could realistically build (as much as we wish we could create a pair of scissors that could fly us to the moon)!

So what do you do? Dream up a gadget, of course! And what could you win? We're so glad you asked:

Grand Prize (one winner):

• A signed collection of hardcover Alex Rider novels
• iPod nano with a personalized message from author Anthony Horowitz
  
• A backpack full of goodies and gadgets from the Maker Shed
• The opportunity to have the winner's dream gadget produced in MAKE Labs and featured on Make: Online
  

Runner-Up Prize (two winners):

• A signed hardcover copy of Crocodile Tears
• An Alex Rider t-shirt

With prizes this good, how could you not want to enter?! The Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest is open to kids ages 8 to 18, so get your kid, nephew, niece, grandkids, and yourself involved!

Need some inspiration? Check out these gadgets and book excerpts from previous Alex Rider novels to get those brain juices flowing:

• Alex Rider's Radio Mouth Brace
• Alex Rider's Smokescreen Bike Pump
• Alex Rider's Geiger Counter Game Console
• Alex Rider's High Tensile Yo-Yo
  

The Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest launches TODAY! We're giving away two copies of the newest Alex Rider book, Crocodile Tears, by Anthony Horowitz! The book comes out today as well, so win one here before others have a chance to scoop them up in stores. Just leave a comment in this post and tell us why you or your kid(s) needs one of these books. That's all you need to do to enter! Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (it won't be published). All eligible comments will be closed by Noon PST on Sunday, November 22nd. Good luck!

More:

• Alex Rider's Radio Mouth Brace
• Alex Rider's Smokescreen Bike Pump
• Alex Rider's Geiger Counter Game Console
• Alex Rider's High Tensile Yo-Yo
  

MAKE, Volume 20 is on newsstands today! Check out this preview video to get a tour of our best edition yet (we know, we say that every time)!

Want to know how to build a hydrogen rocket? How about a laser light show in a lunchbox? Or a simple remote-controlled videocam car? Or maybe you want to go old-school and build a wooden mini sailboat or toy car launcher? All this and tons more, plus revealing photos of Adam Savage's maker childhood, can all be found in MAKE, Volume 20, "For Kids of All Ages." Get your individual copy in the Maker Shed, or subscribe now to get access to our awesome Digital Edition.

Subscribe to the MAKE Podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

Berkeley-based Vaska, makers of botanical-based laundry soap, is holding a Get Cozy With Vaska Contest, which sounds like it's right up our alley.

Twelve winners will get $300 in cash and a page in the 2010 Vaska Cozy Calendar, sure to be a collector's item (or so they claim). The contest ends at midnight Jan. 4, 2010, with winners announced on Jan. 10. So now's the time to get making cozies! The cash would be a nice help in paying off some of my holiday debt, is what I'm thinking.

And I appreciate the fact that their PR efforts are focusing on crafters and our mad crafting skills:

"The Get Cozy Contest is a way of introducing the crafts community to laundry care products that conserve the integrity of their designs and, at the same time, we can reward them for their creativity. We know crafters will appreciate Vaska's softer, brighter, greener results," says Julia Fry, Vaska creator. Fry is a former fashion designer, whose love of textiles led her to create the herb-based detergent.

All the details, contest rules, and info on where to buy Vaska detergent can be found on their website.

For folks interested in the intersection of arts and science, the PBS series Independent Lens is presenting a fascinating in-depth look into origami titled Between the Folds. The film documents "a determined group of theoretical scientists and fine artists who have abandoned their careers and scoffed at their graduate degrees to forge new lives as modern-day paper folders."

Featured in the film are MIT's youngest-ever tenured professor Dr. Erik Demaine; mathematician, sculptor, puzzle maker, and self-taught computer scientist Marty Demaine; master free-style folder Vincent Floderer; pioneering Israeli educator Miri Golan; mathematics professor Dr. Tom Hull; trained artist and instructor Paul Jackson; one of the most technically accomplished folders in the world, Eric Joisel; one of only a few handmade origami papermakers in the world, Michael LaFosse; origami "hyper-realist" and physicist Dr. Robert J. Lang (who was profiled in CRAFT Volume 05); material artist with a masterful understanding of patterns and geometry, Chris K. Palmer; and the father of modern origami, Akira Yoshizawa.

Screenings are part of the Independent Television Service's (ITVS) Community Cinema series, which are free, followed by discussion panels and access to resources.

Between the Folds will be showing in the Bay Area in Oakland on Tuesday, November 17 at 6:00 p.m. at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 18 at 5:45 p.m. at the San Francisco Main Library. For a list of screenings taking place across the country, check out the film site.

Here are a couple of interesting excerpts from the documentary to get a flavor for it. The following clip features Paul Jackson, an origami artists and art teacher living in Tel Aviv, Israel, speaking of the "one fold":

And this clip shows Michael LaFosse, a master artisan who not only makes origami, but is one of the only handmade origami paper makers in the world, providing a window into his workshop and processes:

Non*Mart design studio and shop in San Francisco is having their grand opening this Friday, November 6th from 6 to 8 p.m. and part of the festivities include Miriam Dym's Logo Removal Service. Dym writes: "I remove unsightly, unwanted logos from otherwise decent products, replacing the absence with plain or patterned material, creating a poetic form in the process. Love your North Face jacket but hate seeing the logo every time you zip up? Special interventions are sometimes required." Awesome. Opening night special events also include a Swapstyle clothing swap and Bookswap. Check out the site for more details.

As a special preview for MAKE's upcoming Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest, we're giving away two copies of Eagle Strike by Anthony Horowitz, part of the Alex Rider series! Just leave a comment in this post and tell us why you or your kid(s) needs one of these books. That's all you need to do to enter! Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (it won't be published). All eligible comments will be closed by Noon PST on Sunday, November 8th. The winners will be announced next week on the site. Good luck! For a sneak peak at Eagle Strike, check out a sample chapter at MAKE.

<

On November 17th, MAKE will be launching the Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest, to coincide with the release of the next chapter in Alex's adventures, Crocodile Tears. The book comes out the same day that MAKE, Volume 20 (the kid-themed issue) hits newsstands! In case you're unaware, Alex Rider is a young spy whose exploits are chronicled in a popular series of teen spy/adventure books. Alex uses all sorts of crazy high tech contraptions, made from things in his school backpack, to get out of sticky situations.

MAKE is teaming up with the Penguin Group to present The Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest.

Attention all adventure-seekers, gadget lovers, and closet inventors. You are invited to join in the fun! If you were Alex Rider, what gadget would you want in the upcoming adventure Crocodile Tears? Design your Alex Rider dream gadget, inspired by an everyday object (i.e. an iPod, a toothpaste tube, a pen). The winning gadget will be built here at MAKE Labs. Send us a schematic, tell us what your gadget is made from, and how it works. Your entry can be a schematic, sketches, and/or an explanation by you. Remember that the winning gadget should be inspired by an everyday object that one could realistically build (as much as we wish we could create a pair of scissors that fly us to the moon)!

MAKE and Penguin are sharing some of Alex's coolest gadgets and excerpts from the books, as well as giving away a pile of books! Get on over to the post on MAKE to leave a comment for your chance to win these for you or a special kid in your life.

The 2nd Annual Great West End & Railroad Square Hand Car Regatta & Exposition of Mechanical & Artistic Wonders is happing this weekend in Santa Rosa, Calif. Known to those in the know as the Handcar Regatta, the eclectic steampunk-styled event is centered around a wild race down the train tracks. Teams with hand built cars will push their limits competing for the prize and all the glory. The MAKE fire truck will be there, not in case of fire, but to entertain and educate the public. I, your dedicated blogger and author of Feltique, will be on hand, along with the editors of MAKE magazine and Craftzine, to help you create your very own custom felt mustache! Don't Goli and I look dapper in our photo from last year?

For more details and inspiration, check out the Regatta photo and video gallery, and my flickr set of mustaches from the Oakland Fire Arts Festival. Can't wait to see you Sunday!

A new design studio and shop is opening in San Francisco and they are looking for product submissions. Non*Mart, as the shop is aptly named, touts an interesting alternative to traditional commerce by promoting the barter system. Artists are invited to submit pieces for inclusion in the shop. From the site, "To be considered, your piece must be made (in part or whole) of post-consumer waste and/or address ideas of consumerism, waste, and the ramifications of our consumer culture." Upcoming events at the shop include the opening reception on November 6th and a special event on November 27th to commemorate the annual Buy Nothing Day. Great idea!

If you're in the SF Bay area, don't miss the segment on Maker Faire tonight at 7 p.m. on CBS 5's Eye on the Bay!

Our "Cozy Up to Yarn" theme starts tomorrow so break out your knitting needles and crochet hooks because we're jumping into fall with lots of great projects. Sign up for our monthly CRAFT newsletter which goes out tomorrow and you'll be one of the firsts to get this free pattern online to make a cozy pair of knit and felted house slippers by Liecel Tverli Scully as featured in CRAFT: 05, before it hits our site later in September. And it's easy to subscribe with our new newsletter system! All you have to do is enter in your name and email address. So what are you waiting for?!

Also running throughout September is our very first Crochet-Along! Tamie Snow of Roxycraft will show you how to make this adorable fuzzy panda amigurumi. The materials list and pattern will be available starting tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Thank you to this month's sponsor and our friends at Lion Brand Yarn! Becky and I will be taking a visit to the Lion Brand Studios in NY for special CRAFT Video Podcast to debut later this month. Search the Lion Brand site for thousands of free knititng and crochet patterns. Follow @lionbrandyarn on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

The Maker Shed is continuing our summer clearance sale featuring a wide range of products. The sale will run for the rest of the summer, but only while supplies last. Be sure to check back regularly since we will be adding daily specials throughout the summer on some of our popular products.

Here are some of the things I've had my eye on in the Shed:

i Craft: things- Leatherman "Squirt" S4 (scissors version)

Was $39.95, sale price $29.95!

Bead Simple-Vintagesque Necklace Kit

Was $12.00, sale price $5.00!

Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business

Was $16.95, sale price $12.00!

CRAFT: Ladies T-Shirt

Was $15.00, sale price $5.00!

ReMake America Water Bottles

Was $15.00, sale price $7.50!

Mind's Eye Kit

Was $69.95, sale price $49.95!

MAKE, Volume 19 features a special section on robots. Learn how to make a model plane with an autopilot and a small built-in robot brain. We also show you how to make a comfortable plywood chair, a bicyclist's vest that shows how fast you're going, and projects that introduce you to servomotors. There's a free downloadable papercraft diorama featuring a robot picnic with his human and feline friends. MAKE, Volume 19, on newsstands today!

Subscribe to MAKE, or log in to check out the Digital Edition.

Subscribe to the MAKE Podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

Got a favorite author here at CRAFT? Need to cut down on your daily blog intake, or just want more ways to organize your information? We now have RSS feeds for each author here at the CRAFT Blog:

• Shawn Connally (Managing Editor)
• Natalie Zee Drieu (Senior Editor)
• Rachel Hobson (Contributing Writer)
• Goli Mohammadi (Associate Managing Editor)
  
• Brookelynn Morris (Contributing Writer)
• Arwen O'Reilly Griffith (Staff Editor)
• Becky Stern (Associate Editor)

Of course, our site's full RSS feed is available too, if you haven't already subscribed. There are many more ways to read CRAFT, too, including a daily email digest of all posts (sign up in the sidebar), our Twitter feed, our Facebook page, YouTube channel (MAKE and CRAFT together), our iTunes podcasts, and daily tips service.

Today is Craftzine's 3rd birthday and we couldn't have done it without you our lovely readers -- so thank you! If you can believe it, I posted our very first post back on this day in 2006. The site now has well over 9,000 posts with seven of us editors working hard to bring you the best in crafts each day!

Pictured above are some fun memories of the team covering events from the last 3 years. (Clockwise) Katie and Goli at Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago 2006, Arwen at the SF Giants Stitch N' Pitch 2006, Brookelynn at Renegade Craft Fair Chicago 2006, Becky, Rachel, & Natalie with Crafty Chica at Maker Faire 2009, and Shawn & Natalie at Maker Faire 2007.

Thanks for a great 3 years and here's for more fun to come!

Grand Prize Winner:

Royal Flush Cover-up by KJMA

There's an awesome sale going on in the Maker Shed for the dog days of summer. Get your hands on great kits, CRAFT t-shirts, and more this summer in the Maker Shed Summer Sale. Here are some of the things I've had my eye on in the Shed:

i Craft: things- Leatherman "Squirt" S4 (scissors version)

Was $39.95, sale price $29.95!

Bead Simple-Vintagesque Necklace Kit

Was $12.00, sale price $5.00!

Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby Into a Business

Was $16.95, sale price $12.00!

CRAFT: Ladies T-Shirt

Was $15.00, sale price $5.00!

ReMake America Water Bottles

Was $15.00, sale price $7.50!

Mind's Eye Kit

Was $69.95, sale price $49.95!

We're ecstatic about iTunes' recent DIY spotlight feature, showing off CRAFT and MAKE video podcasts, as well as some other great DIY podcasts. Remember check out our video/pdf podcast archives and if you like what you see, subscribe to CRAFT in iTunes!

If you're in the Bay Area in August and are interested in homemade zines, be sure to put this event on your radar. The annual SF Zine Fest is a "free two-day conference for independent and underground publishing. Exhibitors come from all over the West Coast, and while the focus is on zines, all walks of DIY life are represented — comics, arts and crafts, literary presses, and more." Their special guest this year is Xeric Award-winning cartoonist Andy Hartzell. If you've got something you want to share as an exhibitor, now's the time to get your application in. Everything you need to know is on their site.

I've been writing tutorials for CRAFT since Vol. 2, and I am very happy to be a new part of this online iteration. I'll be contributing tutorials and in-depth technique based posts. My favorite craft is the one I haven't tried before! I love the challenge of teaching myself something new. Current obsessions include: hydroponic gardening, recycled sweater accessories, and collecting tiny bits of nature. I also think I craft with words. I take writing just as seriously as I take crafting, because it's important to me that I always give readers clear, concise instructions. My tutorials should be inspiring, never daunting. Cheers!

Here's Brookelynn's needle felted fruit on the cover of CRAFT: 02. You can pick up a back issue in the Maker Shed!

Also, check out her beautiful new book, Feltique!

Tonight the Bluebottle Art Gallery in Seattle is hosting an art opening reception for Tiny Repetitive Motions, a show featuring the amazing woolly art of our beloved miss Moxie and the sweet embroidery of Dana Robson. This collaborative display showcases work that "explores the intersection of craft and art, focusing on humanity and its collective nature." The reception tonight is from 6 to 8 p.m., and the exhibit runs through June 30th. Moxie's work will also be featured in the Fiber Arctic exhibit, which opens at Schmancy in Seattle tomorrow, June 12th.

The always talented and crafty Brookelynn Morris made this forget-me-not bridal headpiece pictured above back in April during our Crafting with Nature month. She'll be back again this month to show you how to make a flowers for the whole wedding party with a tutorial on making a bridal bouquet, bridemaids' bouquets, and groomsmen's boutonnieres. Next, Cathy Callahan will show you how to craft up the reception decor with paper flower centerpieces and Andrea deHart of CraftyBitch creates a bird's nest ring-bearer pillow and flower girl basket. That's just a taste of what we have cooking so keep checking back here. We've also collected lots of DIY wedding projects over the last couple years, so in the meantime, feel free to take a peek at our wedding archives for past projects and inspiration.

Tell us about your DIY Wedding! If you'd like to share your story, a quick project or tip from your wedding, crafty photos, and anything else, please send an email to nat@craftzine.com. Also, feel free to leave a comment to this post if there's a particular wedding craft you are interested in seeing.

Today is the release of Feltique! The book is beautiful, if I do say so myself, and I am happy to announce that Potter Craft has graciously decided to let me give 5 copies away to CRAFT readers. There are many ways to make felt, and make projects with felt, and Feltique covers them all, including wet felting, needle felting, fulled felt, and commercial felt crafts. Feltique has 46 projects for every skill level, from jewelry and accessories to toys for babies and repurposed clothing. More than 15 of the projects were created by contributors from around the globe, representing an amazing number of creative craft styles.

This book is relevant not only because the projects are fashionable and interesting, but because of the low cost of the materials needed. They will fit into your craft budget, and help you build your affordable gift stash. My personal favorites include a necklace made from commercial wool felt using a scrapbooking punch, the needle felted cuff bracelet, and the stunning wet felted scarves, including one that's nuno felted.

Besides just projects, the book gets into some heady felt territory, including tackling the question: what IS felt? The answer, in a nutshell? One basic tenet covers each type of felt: generally speaking, any non-woven fabric can be considered felt. But in the craft world, and in Feltique, we consider fabric that has been knitted and washed until the stitches shrink together to be felt. Strictly speaking they are "fulled," but we include them in the category of felt because if fulled fabric can be cut without unraveling, it has the properties of felt. Feltique also hits on the origins of felt and the science of felt, all while presenting beautiful art that's accessible for every crafter.

To win a copy of Feltique, leave a comment on this post telling us why you need this book. Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (won't be published). We'll close the contest at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 21st, and announce the winners on Friday. Cheers, and good luck!

P.S. If you are in Sebastopol, Calif., I'm hosting a book launch party at 7 p.m. at Copperfield's! There will be cupcakes, champagne, and felting. Come visit!

Thanks to everyone for following us on Twitter! Not following us yet? You can get the latest updates in the craft world as well as ask us questions.