Further Proof That We Have No Real Crafting Skills

Every so often, we get an undeniable desire to craft. Inviting a few friends over, we set out with a goal of creating a clever present or fun piece of decor. However, a few hours after setting out with a lofty craft goal, our plans to create a card made from old magazines or a personalized iPod cozy are generally little more than a distant memory, replaced by a few bottles of wine and some bad TV.

As such, for those lovely ladies (and gentlemen) who posses the patience, skill and dedication to be a craft maniac, we have the utmost respect. We were pleased to find a new Website dedicated to some of our city's such people that have a presence on the craft-lover's mecca, Etsy.com. Chicago Style Crafters is home to The Etsy Chicago Street Team, and a corresponding Flickr pool is dedicated to images of their wares.

If you're in the mood to support some local artisans, some of the pieces from the Chicago Style Crafters that immediate caught our eye include a variety of truly awesome journals by Donovan Beeson, as well as uber-cute and affordable totes from Chic Boutique.

If you're more of the producing than purchasing mindset, the site also reminded us that Chicago-based Venus Zine is looking for the best DIY project's under $50 for its Third Annual Craft-Off contest. So if you're skilled with a glue gun, sewing machine, or an X-acto knife, get to work! In the meantime, we'll be enjoying our bottle of Riesling over a rerun of What Not to Wear.

Miniature journals by Donovan Beeson.