It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Craftiest Bastard of 2009, after thousands of votes is… My Paper Crane.

Heidi wins bragging rights and a $500 gift certificate to Urban Outfitters. Heidi not only makes giant plush donuts and toilets, but is one of the original Crafty Bastards. She is part of an elite group of folks who have done all 6 annual fairs!

The runners-up also walk away with something. Second place goes to b-kao, who wins Washington City Paper advertising ($500 value). And third place goes to Sardine Clothing Company, who wins a Crafty Bastards prize pack filled with Washington CityPaper goodies.

Thanks to everyone who voted! Now, here’s Sara with a giant My Paper Crane donut.

When we love something around these parts we usually use the word awesome to describe it. It might be overused, but it works for us. But I have to say that I am not really sure how to describe Crafty Bastards 2009. Awesome might not be awesome enough.

This past Saturday, the weather was perfect, the ATM trucks were stacked with cash and it felt like all of DC said, “Screw the bad economy, let’s go to Crafty Bastards!”

You can add your photos to the 2009 Crafty Flickr Group! We would love to see them!

To see more of what folks are saying about this year’s fair, check out this piece on Brightest Young Things: Damn! Those Crafty Bastards! and this one from the Washingtonian.

Thanks to the massive crowds who reaffirmed that this is the best, biggest and most awesome indie craft fair in the world.

** Photos in this post by Nestor Diaz. See more on Dots, Lines, and Polygons’ photostream.

You will love Carlybird Weaves.

Carlybird Weaves is a one-woman business that brings a modern aesthetic to traditional woven patterns. Her line of handwoven fashion accessories includes cuffs, scarflettes, pocket scarves and other items for the home. All Carlybird Weaves products are handwoven, one line at a time, in Baltimore.

In honor of her mother, Carly will be donating 5% of tomorrow’s sales to breast cancer research organizations.

You will love Home Sweet!

Home Sweet’s designs bring a fresh, modern approach to a grand old technique. Jenny Nelson’s blockprinted fabrics and home goods are luscious, ecofriendly and handmade from start to finish. She mixes the water-based ink, carves her own blocks and prints onto hemp & organic cotton ground fabrics, all in her home studio.

Here’s Jenny at work:

And some of her finished products:

Check out Home Sweet in Booth #5 at tomorrow’s Crafty Bastards at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan from 10-5!!

Diane Koss says that Cutesy but not Cutesy stems from a long standing need to carry a stuffed animal everywhere she went as a child. And the funny thing about this is that her signature monster has his own love-y in the form of a small bird usually perched on his head or horns. I love this small detail in her work.

Diane’s work is fun, unique and durable. Two pink monsters by her have survived kids and a dog in my house. Check out Cutesy but not Cutesy in Booth #152 at the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair on Saturday, October 3rd from 10-5 at the Marie Reed Learning Center.

Again this year, we will be tweeting secret codes and special sales during the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair on October 3rd. Follow us on Twitter, get our tweets sent directly to your phone, and we will send you special codes and secret sales throughout the day of the fair.

Not only will you get super secret messages from Crafty vendors and staff, but you will be able to join in on the conversation. The Crafty Bastards Twitter feed is posted on the Washington CityPaper web site. We will be posting updates all day during the fair. You can join in with your own Twitter updates by just adding @CraftyBastards to your posts. Tell us about all the neat stuff that you are seeing, live from the show!

So, here is what you need to do to join in the fun:
1. Follow Crafty Bastards on Twitter.
2. Set up your account to get our posts via your mobile phone. (Standard text messaging rates apply.)
3. ** Don’t forget to go to the Crafty Bastards twitter page while logged into your acccount and choose to get messages from us on your mobile phone.

4. Turn on your phone during the fair and get super awesome special secret messages.

Vendors, you can send your messages to us via email at craftybastards@washingtoncitypaper.com. We will then tweet them for you!

See you at the fair on Saturday, October 3rd!

Have I mentioned that we have over 30! new vendors at the fair this year? Yes, I think I have mentioned that. Well, it is still true. While I can’t promise that you will love super love all of them, I can promise without a doubt that you will love Berkley Illustration. The magical pairing of animals in suits in Ryan Berkely’s drawings is truly a gift for any occasion. I totally plan on stocking up on his silly/awesome prints to give as gifts. What better than this as a gift for your brother’s wedding?

And, this print is a perfect baby shower gift. If you want to make a statement about how awesome YOU are, you will check out Berkley Illustration in Booth #44 at the fair.

This year’s Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair is on Saturday, October 3rd from 10am to 5pm at the Marie Reed Learning Center in Adams Morgan.

Read Etsy Success Stories: Berkley Illustration to learn more about this awesome vendor.

Twitter is buzzing with this year’s Crafty Bastards vendors working hard on products for the fair on Saturday, October 3rd. I found myself enjoying the feed this morning, clicking through to see all the photos of new stuff. Then I remember that I likely should be making something, too. Some of what I have seen recently:

From Folktale Fibers (Booth # 2 at the fair), a yarn preview:

Read more on their blog or follow them on Twitter.

From Something’s Hiding in Here (Booth #60 at the fair):

Follow Something’s Hiding in Here on Twitter or check out their photostream for their progress.

From Home Sweet (Booth #5 at the fair), some hand stamped fabric is drying:

Check out more on her blog, or follow her on Twitter.

Vendors, keep posting your process (or lack of!) to @craftybastards. I am watching and will be posting more.

Remember that you, too, can follow Crafty Bastards on Twitter. This is a good idea for two reasons. One, you can see what the vendors are working on. Maybe get inspired to make something yourself (or to buy something!) And two, you will be able to get special sales and codes sent directly to you during the show in a few weeks.

And now, you can also follow the vendors directly via links in the vendor gallery, like so:

Ok. I should totally go make something now.

If you have kids or know people who have kids, you are completely worried about the amount of plastic in our lives. I often see my twins’ bedroom with the a million and one Polly Pockets and huge Dora play house and wonder what all this bright orange material is doing to us.

Enter Helicopter Studios. A brand new vendor at this year’s Crafty Bastards, they make these fantastic chilren’s playsets. Take a look.

These handmade playsets are not only amazingly beautiful, but also completely portable.

The idea that my kids could have a cityscape or a countryside or a campfire kit and then close it up into a little bag to take with them is just brilliant. And the fact that there is no orange plastic in site is double plus awesome.

I talked to Shannon Duffy about how she came up with these and just how long they take to make. Shannon says:

I have my Master’s in metals and had been working with metal for the last 10 years or so. While living in NC, we bought a house with a studio and I moved from a remote location to home. I also, have two young children who were home with me all day at that time. So, working in metals was not the best choice of mediums due to fire, chemicals and intense concentration. I decided to try something different that I could do around them and put down and pick up without a real problem. Sewing it was.

I came up with my first one which was the race track, and then it just evolved from there. My landscapes are by far my favorite to make, I worked at an architecture firm for a few years building scale models. I think that’s where they came from to start. Plus, just being an earth/nature lover, I really wanted to present something that evoked imagination. There are so many crappy plastic battery operated toys that leave no imagination.

Also, as a parent I am always trying to organize toys and keep the chaos down so I love the way the totes work as beautiful storage too!

I would say new ideas that go to the prototype stage take about four to six hours to produce.

Even if you don’t have kids, you are going to love Helicopter Studios. A great concept, amazing color choices and lovely craftsmanship make these playsets something not to miss at this year’s fair. Check them out in Booth #91 at the Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair on Saturday, October 3rd from 10-5 at the Marie Reed Learning Center.

Each week, the Hello Craft Podcast collects stories of making and buying handmade.

In this week’s episode, Tina Seamonster (that’s me!) learns to embroider! And relax!

Listen!

Click here to download the episode (right-click and choose “save as” on PC, or control-click and choose “save as” on Mac)

* Above photo taken by Anya Seamonster, age 4.