If you’re on Facebook, I’d totally love it if you’d go Like our Facebook Page! I’m planning on using it more in the future, but right now I post cool crafty links there, plus it gets the Dabbled RSS feed so you can see links to the most recent Dabbled posts there too. I’m planning on doing some contests and other fun stuff there too! So go share your love for Dabbled there!

If you’re a twitterer, there’s a great crafty community on Twitter. I’m DotatDabbled – if you friend me, be sure to send me a message so I know to friend you back!. And let me know if you need some recommendations on other cool people to friend… come on, come to the dark side!

You of course already get Dabbled via email or in your feedreader, right?  I’d be remiss if I didn’t provide a link: Get the Feed (RSS) or Get Dabbled via Email :)

I like twitter.  Within the loosely knit community of crafty folks I hang out with on Twitter, we’ve been having discussions about the right and wrong ways to use Twitter, and about effective (and SOOO not effective) ways that twitter is used by both large and small businesses.  (Check out @kpwerker’s mystifying exchange with an organization that obviously has no clue!)

So I tweet.  And along with posting cool links and interesting stuff I’m doing–and chatting with my buds (hi guys!)–I also occasionally give kudos and/or rants about companies I do business with.  Like how I will never buy another camera from Pentax due to their awful customer service, or how Snapfish really impressed me with their fast delivery and issue resolution.

So I tweeted the other day about helpful customer service from Sears in setting up an appointment to level my new washing machine (which, by the way, is an LG and I really like!).  Then I had to take back my kudos via tweet when they didn’t show up for the appointment.   Within a short while I got a message from @MySears, which apparently watches twitter for what people are saying about the company.  They were concerned about my bad experience, and offered to have someone contact me.   Their Care team contacted me the next day, and researched the problem, were incredibly helpful!

This is a perfect example of a good use of social media by a large company — they found about about my problem while it was still fresh, addressed my problem, and made me feel like a valued customer.

Related:

• If you’re using twitter to promote your small business, you should check out @craftypod’s e-book on the subject.  (I reviewed it here)  Although it’s targeted at “crafty” businesses, it has some great Twittering tips.
• Some insights (and suggestions) for better tweeting from @dudecraft.

A few people to follow on Twitter

(this quick selection is crafty related – I’ll do more lists later)

• @craftypod
• @kpwerker
• @dudecraft
• @someartmama
• @avgjanecrafter
• @seschloss
• @croqzine
• @obajoo
• @dotatdabbled, of course!

FTC Stupid Disclaimer – I am not a pawn of Sears, LG, Snapfish, or even Craftypod!  Don’t you feel protected by your benevolent government now?

Feel Free to Steal the Come to the Dark Side Twitter icon!

Thoughts on good/bad twittering?
And if you’re on Twitter, feel free to share your Twitter name in the comments!

Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend… Here’s some fun links to get you inspired for the next week.

Recently Twittered Links:

• ooh! Check out these adorable sandwich ideas… http://bit.ly/T5V1Y
• Thrift Store Halloween ideas http://bit.ly/iQYB9
• Wow. Long but interesting New Yorker article on the impossibility of getting rid of incompetent teachers in NYC – http://tinyurl.com/kjq99o
• Funny article about the dangers of the food police/nanny state. http://www.slate.com/id/2229194/
• New @ Dabbled: Nancy’s art featured in the Museum of Science: I mentioned this was coming s.. http://bit.ly/bztHS
• This looks like a really neat technique for printing on fabric: http://bit.ly/QHMOk
• Found in the Dabbled flickr group: A crochet tennis shoe with severed leg! http://tinyurl.com/knwsrt
• I was having issues with Trackback spam lately, so …Plugins for controlling wordpress spam: http://tinyurl.com/mfj5oa
• Great roundup of weird foodstuffs (includes some of mine!)
• this marinated zucchini sounds fabulous! http://bit.ly/nZIIO
• Clever giftwrap idea: http://bit.ly/QL3s8 Make bows out of old catalogs.
• This paper winebag is really cute. chk out the tutorial here (via @whipup)
• How to make California Rolls at norecipes
• I’m never a big fan of video, but @sisterdiane’s Kanzashi demo is really nice!
• I love this idea for Sticky Note Clipboards at Dollar Store Crafts (@croqzine)

Note:  All pictures taken on my blackberry, so quality is not so high, but you get the idea.

I used my basic blueberry pie recipe, but substituted orange zest & juice for the lemon.  I also added slices of orange to the top which candied up nicely for a little different twist.

And instead of doing this in a pie pan, I used a tart pan (I love the one I have, and it’s on sale for half-price at Amazon right now!)

So, here’s the tweets… Click through on the twitpic links to see the pictures!

DotatDabbled http://twitpic.com/fm4l5 – How to make a tart. Live recipe tweet ! #makeatart

DotatDabbled http://twitpic.com/fm7up – Mixing flour, sugar, spices #makeatart

DotatDabbled http://twitpic.com/fm894 – Blueberries mixed with dry ingred – ready to pour into pan #makeatart

DotatDabbled http://twitpic.com/fm9yv – The 4 year old helped put some top pastry on..#makeatart

DotatDabbled http://twitpic.com/fmb8t – And now we wait… #makeatart

DotatDabbled For those following along on #makeatart, here’s a link to the recipe I’m using (modded to fit a tart pan) http://tinyurl.com/npwdom

DotatDabbled http://twitpic.com/fmz48 – Oh yeah . Its as good as it looks. Nomnomnom #makeatart

Since I was lazy and didn’t make my own crust, (and my pan is 11in), I had to tack on extra crust from the top crust onto the bottom.  Not the neatest job every, but hey, it looks homemade, right!?

Before we start, a reminder to check out all the MSCE April participants — we’ve had some new joiners in the last week. See the list here.

Connecting with Dabbled – All that social networking stuff:
I generally roll my eyes at the phrase social networking, but I will admit I do quite enjoy twitter, and I have managed to get a small Dabbled presence up on Facebook.

Twitter: If you’re on Twitter, feel free to friend me (DotatDabbled).. I can’t friend everyone back (but occasionally I do!) but do message me and introduce yourself.. You’ll find out when new Dabbled posts are up, I post cool links that may not ever make it to Dabbled. Plus just my random musings and pics of my child covering himself in masago. (PS, if you use twitter, I totally agree with Craftypod’s assessment of how to manage twitter) Oh, and if you have a love/hate relationship with twitter, feel free to grab the Come to the Dark Side twitter bird, here.

Facebook: Just started a Dabbled group on Facebook, so if you’re on Facebook, do join, and invite your friends! I post some cool crafty links there (right now I’m featuring those participating in MSCE April). And you’re welcome to post your own links, pictures, or whatever… And if you don’t blog, this is a great way to share your stuff with me and the Dabbled readers! It’s a really small group right now, so I’m not sure where it will go, but I’d love to have more of you guys really involved, especially those who are really into facebook. (PS, you can also find me on Facebook in my artist guise, here. I haven’t done much with this yet, but do join if you like to follow my art, and I’ll try to keep it interesting!)

Flickr: I’m Dot D and the Dabbled Group is here. I’ve met a ton of cool people by friending them, or them friending me, on flickr… and it’s really easy to join the Dabbled group and share your projects there with other Dabbled readers.

I think that’s the limit of my ‘social networking’.. if you’ve got something else you recommend, let me know!

Keeping up with Dabbled and it’s offshoots

Of course you can always follow the Dabbled RSS feed (and if you follow many blogs, you DO need a feedreader, seriously–I recommend Google, cause they aren’t evil, right?)

… and I sometimes add secret messages, prizes, and such to the bottom of the feed, so if you’re reading this on a feedreader right now, don’t forget to scroll to the bottom.

If you want to see even more of my cool links (plus stalk me, if you’re not on twitter) you can check out my link blog here, or follow it here (RSS)

And of course, my Art Portfolio is here, for those who like that kind of thing.

Supporting Dabbled
I do this site because I really enjoy it, but it is nice to make a few bucks to pay the bills and keep the site going.. Otherwise I’ll have to really go get a real job and who wants that? How would I keep you amused and challenged?

So if you want to support Dabbled, there are a couple of easy things you can do.
– Like something I posted? Link to it, share it with your friends! And you are welcome to use one of my pictures as long as credit/link back given.
– Buy Nancy’s Art. Prints, originals, and commissioning information is here.
– Buy Dabbled stuff. Actually, you can’t right yet. But that is in the works. I’ll keep you posted! If anyone has any ideas, let me know!
– Dabbled Recommends Amazon Store, and buying Amazon through the Dabbled links. (I just started playing around with the store, mostly to save off links to cool stuff I wanted, or wanted to recommend. If you have suggestions of products I should feature, do let me know!) It’s not much, but if you’re buying anyway…
– Also in the far right sidebar, buy from iTunes or buy magazines through Dabbled links. Honestly I’ve pulled most of these ads off, because I don’t think they are that effective. But as long as I have them here, if you’re going to buy anyway, go through Dabbled! :)

– oh, and if you’re a rich art patron or someone who’d like to offer me a dream job, feel free to drop me a line!

Recent

• A more realistic Twitter icon for your site…
• Last week’s Illustration Friday – Impossibility (+ bonus Robot!)
• Rubber Band fun things…
• Make a Hot Wheels Car Launcher — Fun!

Here is another version –> , more suitable for a webpage, maybe. (I created this one in Illustrator, as my MSCEApril for yesterday — I swear one day I’m really going to learn that program). These are CC licensed, so feel free to use them (though of course credit is appreciated).

And without words, HERE.

And even as a “Piece of Flair” for Facebook, here (no text, larger) and here (“come to the dark side”)! Tempt your facebook friends over to the Tweeting Side.

[I was inspired to create this after seeing some of the cool alternative twitter icons that Superpunch linked to!]

Tomorrow… more fun with twitter and social networking sites!

By the way – My Cafe Chairs from Champagne Cork Wire has made it’s way around the web (I noticed Treehugger), but since many of the links are to my Instructable, I have no idea where. So if you saw a link to it somewhere else, let me know :)

Crafting With Cat Hair is doing a Crafting Through the 80’s Craft-along! I’m so there.

More cool stuff: I was being lazy, so I asked my twitter buds what cool stuff they were working on that I should blog about…

-Becky at Hamblog has an ultra cool Science quilt she’s working on. What a fabulously geeky idea!
-Aaron just started a new webcomic – and is posting alot of new artwork and sketches on his LJ.
-joshpincus just claims I should blog about him because he’s pretty interesting. I figure he was teasing, but I think he is–go check out the great artwork!

About Twitter:
I love twitter… I’ve connected with some cool people on there, and it’s a great place to dump out my brain with stuff that may or may not make it to dabbled. If you’re on twitter, feel free to follow me (dotatdabbled), but do message me telling me you’re a Dabbled reader so I know you’re not just a random advertiser :)
And I like these guidelines of following on twitter here and here! (thanks SisterDiane!)

If you just want the cool links (like the at the top of this post) but don’t do twitter, you can find them at a Smidgen of Dabbling.

Take me to your (feed)Reader!