Harriet’s embroidered bear bookmark from the Funk & Weber Designs Bookmarks 101: Simple, Smart, and Swanky Finishes online class.

The Monday “What have you done lately?” accountability post, where I announce my Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy program promotion goal for the week and fess up on last week’s goal.

Last week, my goal was to get started on the overhaul of this website. Check. The ball’s currently in the web guru’s corner. I keep coming up with new thoughts to add, though.

I also wanted to do more for a possible local program, and I failed again. See? This is how time gets away from me. So I’m making that my one and only goal this week: contact the PBI president and make firm plans, if it’s not too late already.

In other news, we had a lovely shout out from Emma Broidery on the DMC blog and the DMC Facebook page.

We’re also getting a shout out from the Scrapbooks etc. Craft it Forward program.

Heads up, this is cool!

Scrapbooks etc. is asking crafters to craft for charity in 2011, and they’re offering prizes for those who do. When you craft a project for charity, you can share your story online for a chance to win $500 in cash and a $500 donation to a charity (maybe Stitching for Literacy through TNNA Cares or a literacy non-profit)—plus a chance to see your story featured in Scrapbooks etc. magazine and online.

Note: This contest is void outside the 50 United States and where prohibited. Sorry Harriet, Mel, Janie, and all our other non-US friends.

Every month, Scrapbooks etc. will feature a suggested project which can be crafted and donated locally to the charity of your choice. However, according to the FAQs, crafters are free to create their own projects, too. I propose we enter into the contest bookmarks we create for the 2011 Bookmark Challenge.

The official rules note that projects must not infringe on intellectual property rights, among other things. Projects must be original or you must have the right to use a design. If you want to use a Funk & Weber Designs pattern, as a starting point for your own design or in its entirety, we’ll extend the necessary rights to you. Contact us at mail AT funkandweber DOT com.

Now, keep in mind that this is Scrapbooks etc. offering this contest. Take a look around their website. Embroidery and scrapbooking overlap in many ways and can be mixed and matched to great effect. Consider using scrapbooking materials in your embroidered bookmarks. And bring on the Membroidery bookmarks!

• Altered Embroidery
• Scrapbroidery
• Multi-media Embroidery

I’ve been dabbling in those areas for a while, but with this contest as incentive, I’m going to make a sincere effort this year. To that end, I will begin a series of posts brainstorming ways to mix-and-match scrapbooking and embroidery in bookmarks.

Craft it Forward winners are chosen every week. When you get a bookmark for the 2011 Challenge finished, upload a picture, and enter the contest.

All right, who’s in?