Heads up, Angelenos! Tomorrow in Venice, there's a great Swap-o-Rama-Rama event happening and I'll be on hand to help out! Come by with a bag of your unwanted clothes and leave with a spanking-new customized outfit. There will be sewing stations galore, DIY silkscreening, applique and embroidery stations and much more. I'm even bringing a few CRAFT teeshirts to add to the donation pile, so come by and trick one out for yourself! The veent is organized by the folks at Hipline Media, and volunteers include Social Studies, Kokoleo, Four Idle Hands, LA Craft Mafia, Sonya Nimri and many more!

Swap-O-Rama-Rama
Saturday, June 28, 11am - 5pm
Venice Center for Peace with Justice & the Arts
located @ Venice United Methodist Church
2210 Lincoln Blvd (@ Victoria)
Venice, CA 90291

Mary at Shelterrific shares her experience with trying out non-toxic solutions to rid her garden of mites--and is thrilled to find out that they work! Just take a peek at her healthy-looking rose bush, pictured above. Find out more here.

The Creativity 350 contest is actually two contests in one: A 350-themed craft contest and a 350-themed T-shirt design contest. For the craft contest, participants are invited to craft any project that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350, using any crafting technique. For the T-shirt contest, entrants may create an original T-shirt design that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350.

Entries will be accepted from July 15 to August 15, 2008. Then the public will vote for their favorites from August 16 - August 31, 2008. Valuable craft- and green-themed prizes will be awarded to the two winners. A complete list of the prizes can be found at the contest web site. The winning T-shirt design will also be utilized by 350.org on t-shirts that will help the organization raise money and create awareness of its mission.

Co-founded by environmentalist and educator Bill McKibben, 350.org centers itself around the number 350 to provide focus on a clear, concise goal for reducing global warming factors: "350 is the red line for human beings, the most important number on the planet. The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth."

Instructables user shellberry made this how to on urban gardening. From the site:

We're turning the concrete jungle backyard of our townhome into an experiment in sustainable urban homesteading. Here's how you can add some OCD (i.e. easy to maintain) gardening space using an adaption on Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening practices (build up, don't dig down and organize in sq. ft.). Super easy, lots of fun.

Via the Instructables Weekend Builder

Cindy at Skip to my Lou made this tutorial for sewing a reusable oilcloth lunch sack. She's included a pattern, detailed instructions, and excellent photographs.

The Small Object has come up with a great method for making reusable sandwich wraps, which wipe clean and fold up like a cute present.

Amber points us towards this easy tutorial for making a recycled cardboard playhouse for kids. These would be so simple to customize with paints and other fun decorations.

Decor 8 links to this tutorial by Sweet Jessie showing how to make a fabric-covered corkboard in an embroidery hoop. What a great place to pin up your crafty inspirations!

Tiny Birds Organics shares this free knitting pattern for a "soaker"--which, if you're not familiar with the term, is a breathable pair of bloomer-type shorts used to cover cloth diapers. Knit Soaker Pattern

Better Homes and Gardens has a slideshow of ten eco-friendly yarns, highlighting the unique characteristics of each. I like this yarn pictured above made from recycled sarongs.

Megan from Plum Pudding shows you how to create Nature Cans from fabric scraps and recycled oatmeal containers, which your kids can take on walks to collect leaves, rocks, and other fun stuff

Kootsac makes these colorful, reusable bags for produce and bulk foods, which are a great alternative to those flimsy plastic bags they offer at the grocery store. In celebration of Earth Day, they are offering a free small sized spice bag with every purchase of a set of Kootsac bulk food bags. The offer is good today only! Kootsac Reusable Food bags

CRAFT Pattern Podcasts (PDF patterns):

• Repurposed House Slippers
• Craftivity - Felt Pillows
• Clutch Duo by Craft Leftovers
• Make a Messenger Bag out of Trash Bags

CRAFT Video Podcasts:

• Create Junk Mail Art
• Refashioned Denim Pouch
• Plastic Bag Crochet

Visit the CRAFT Podcast Archives to check out the rest of the videos and patterns available.