Purple Wren

Cast your vote in the Doodle 4 Google contest

If you're like me, you probably use Google a lot and don't always pay attention to the links on the home page. Yes, the changing designs of the name are neat to watch (like on holidays). It's the strength of the Google brand that allows them to be creative with the look and yet people still know what it represents. I don't always take time to see what's going on though.

To get to my point - for some reason I clicked on this link recently and read about the Doodle 4 Google contest. The contest was open to K-12 students and the challenge was to play with the Google logo and come up with new designs. This year the theme was "What I Wish for the World" and open to U.S. kids.

Go ahead, take a break and see what the kids are thinking about. It's thought-provoking and their art is amazing. And best part is you still have time to cast your vote in the online public vote through May 18. The winning art will be showcased on May 21st.

Support the Artists: Give Handmade Gifts

Looking for gift ideas? If you can't get to a craft show this year, here's the next best thing.

Maybe you're an artist looking for a place to display your crafts.

Etsy is a neat site where you can buy handmade items. There are 30 categories from Accessories to Woodworking. My personal favorite category is "Geekery."

With that many items, it's a good thing they have  a well-designed site with clear photos and neat tools to help you shop:

• Showcase allows you can see the top items from 36 different sellers
• Time Machine and Time Machine 2 display recently listed items
• Geolocator helps you find gifts by location

Disclaimer: I don't have any items for sale here and don't know anyone who does.

I just like the shop and the idea of supporting artists and craftspeople.

I've always enjoyed handmade and it seems like the right thing to do. It's fun to build a relationship with the person who creates the item. My favorite items are those that are not mass produced.

How about you? Where's your favorite place to shop online? or off?

What the Heck are ATCs?

Today I came across ATCs or Artist Trading Cards when I was reading a post at 37 days, "Carry a talisman." She talks about and displays an ATC that a reader - Donna Miller - designed for her with a quote from her blog. It's fabulous. (I put a small version below so you know what to look for.) But you really have to visit both those blogs.

Reading that post sent me on a journey to learn more about ATCs. You can read about them at Wikipedia if you are interested. The only standard is that the measurements are 2.5" x 3.5" and can be either portrait or landscape. Oh, and that they are traded and not sold, although I did find some for sale, too.

Where have I been? These are so great! I have been enamored by the philosophy of reducing clutter and simplifying life for years. And we have a very small house (by 2007 standards).  So, for those of us who don't have a place to display large works of art, this seems like a neat way to collect and enjoy art in miniature. And they make unique gift items.

Here's a neat tutorial from CedarSeed.
And a site called Artist Trading Cards.
And Artist Trading Card Forums.

Do you collect ATCs?