aaawwww, you old softie, you!

my friend therese laskey has come up with a brilliant way to beat the late-winter blues: it's the First Annual Softie Awards! crafty peeps from all over the world can enter their masterpieces of softiness, and win prizes and fame. you can view the entries so far... competition's gonna be fierce! i hope to enter one of my amigurumis (i am working on a few new ones) and to top it off, i get to be a JUDGE!!! i will be judging the pincushion category, appropriately enough. and the other judges are all people i admire like crazy, so i'm indescribably honored to be listed amongst them. oh yeah, i'm also making the award ribbons!

here are the details for entry:

deadlines:
entries must be submitted to the flickr group by march 9, 2007.
the top five in each category will be posted on The Softies Awards site and then voting will be open to everyone. votes will be counted and winners will be announced after april 1st.

award categories:
1. Best Bunny or Bear (a special category for the always popular bunnies & bears)
2. Best Rest of the Animal Kingdom (2 legged, 4 legged, aquatic, winged, etc.)
3. Best Softie Cuisine (food, glorious food made of plush)
4. Best Creepy Yet Still Cute (everything from monsters to conjoined rats)
5. Best Inanimate Object (robots, plush vehicles, etc.)
6. Best Holiday Inspired (Santa Claus, Easter chick, pumpkin king)
7. Best Pincushion (let your imagination soar)
8. Best Cozy (ipod, cell phone, toaster, tea pot)
9. Best Needle Felted (any softie style using this technique)
10. Best Amigurumi (any small softie using this technique)
11. Best Functional Softie (other than pincushions, for example, a scarf with a 3D, stuffed element)
12. Best My-Softie-Doesn’t-Fit-Into-Any-Of-Your-Damn-Categories Softie (the wildcard category)

prizing: each winner will receive an official The Softie Awards ribbon (handmade of course!), as well as a special prize. prizes include an original print by Camilla Engman, a subscription to CRAFT magazine, and an ‘Ask the Editor’ phone conversation with a craft editor at Chronicle Books.

judges: each judge brings a unique perspective on crafting and design, and an eye for quality and originality. all are artists themselves.

Lena Corwin (textile designer and illustrator)
Jenn Docherty (softie artist)
Natalie Zee Drieu (editor, CRAFT)
Marie Kare (creator of The Sampler)
Jef Kaminsky (Kids TV development executive)
Leah Kramer (founder, Craftster.org)
Heidi Kenny (softie artist, My Paper Crane)
Hillary Lang (softie artist, Wee Wonderfuls)
Robert Mahar (owner, Mahar Dry Goods)
Chika Mori (softie artist, Chikagraphy)
Sarah Neuburger (artist, The Small Object)
Cal Patch (clothing & embroidery designer, Hodge Podge)
Alicia Paulson (designer/creator, Posy Gets Cozy)

for more information about how to enter, prizes, rules, etc. go to The Softie Awards site...