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There's always something really lovely about pencil crayons. Simple cylinders of distinct colours. You can hold every colour in your hand, spread them out on the table, arrange them in infinite colour combinations... and, of course, draw with them to create whatever you like, in whatever colours you want. Today's Craft Rock Friday features Melbourne musician Hudson 's song "Against The Grain". And a whole rainbow's worth of pencil crayons.

I just made my first Etsy Treasury. It's a pretty fun process, getting to curate a little collection of Etsy items. My Treasury's called "Mountain Love: Art prints for rock climbers and mountain lovers..." Click here to see it on Etsy!

Today it's a lovely Spring-like day in Vancouver. We even sat out on the patio for lunch. So it's somewhat out of place that today's Craft Rock Friday video is from a band called Winter Gloves . It'd be tough to flip through a flipbook with your mitts on though.... WINTER GLOVES 'Let Me Drive' from the album 'about a girl' Winter Gloves | Myspace Music Videos

This world map, which helpfully lets you plan your world domination , is ridiculously cute. When I finally stopped clicking through the photos over and over again, I read the description and said, "Oh, it's by Oliver Jeffers . Of course it's cute."

This week's Craft Rock Friday is a 2-for-1, as Lenka has a bunch of crafty stuff goin' on in her music... Here are a couple of her videos that use collage, paper cutting, drawing and painting... "The Show" "Trouble is a Friend" Lenka's album artwork also has a nice crafty style to it - as do her site and MySpace . ( Thanks for the link, Alexandra! )

Soccer fans, get ready to freak out, just a little. Look at these amazing sculptures of soccer players.... made from crayons! The pieces were created by artist Diem Chau - who you may know for her lovely work combining ceramics and embroidery . She carved a whopping 66 crayons for this year's Nike World Cup press kits , on a commission from Wieden + Kennedy - the same ad agency that created this year's epic Nike World Cup ad . Each kit contains 6 crayon sculptures of soccer players: Fabio Cannavaro in Antique Brass, Didier Drogba in Copper, Franck Ribery in Gold, Robinho in Silver, Cristiano Ronaldo in White, and Wanye Rooney in a colour called Timberwolf. Check out more photos of the sculptures on Diem Chau's blog, The Pleasure of Tiny Things . (She also does supercute crayon sculptures that don't involve soccer !)

One more for the June event calendar... This weekend is Vancouver Draw Down ! Described as "a celebration of drawing in everyday life", Vancouver Draw Down runs Friday June 11 to Sunday June 13. All kind of events are planned, including a comic jam at the Roundhouse, button making at the Museum of Anthropology, and chalk street drawing across the city. The "Making Place" event at the Vancouver Art Gallery sounds like lots of fun: join in the creation of a gigantic, collaborative, chalk pastel drawing of the perfect neighbourhood. Also, over at the Roundhouse, you can even ride your bike or skateboard through paint to create a big collaborative painting. Check out the Vancouver Draw Down site for the full schedule of events.

One of the things that got the whole city of Vancouver excited this week was a visit from a grey whale... He swam right into town! Here's a video of the whale swimming up False Creek. Not to worry, he found his way out. Today's Craft Rock Friday is a tribute to the False Creek Whale (who even has his own Twitter account , btw!). Neko Case's song, "People Got A Lotta Nerve" features these great lyrics about a whale: We know, they call them 'killer whales' But you seem surprised When it pinned you down to the bottom of the tank Where you can't turn around It took half your leg, and both your lungs And I craved I ate hearts of sharks I know you know, that I'm a man, man, man Man, man, man eater But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya Yes, I'm a man, man, man Man, man, man eater But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya The video also starts out with some crafty goodness: girls knitting (though in a somewhat dub...

I just saw this over at Share Some Candy , and I had to re-post it here. At first I thought it was a paper cut, but I think it's actually an illustration. Still, pretty darn awesome. "The Dark Side of Switzerland" by Alberto Russo

Today's Craft Rock Friday brings you a sweet song, a sweet story ... and some sweet stop-motion paper-cut action. Using cut paper and pen and ink drawings, artist Liam Stevens ( whose other drawings are pretty great, too ) has created a truly lovely little music video for the acoustic version of My Robot Friend 's song, "Waiting", featuring the lovely guitar of Jay Kauffman . Listening to the song, I hadn't pictured a traditional Japanese setting - but I think it works quite well. The palette and the hand-drawn feel - as well as the charming story - all really complement this version of the song. Oh! And one more delicious piece of crafty goodness for you - I'll leave you with the brilliant artwork for My Robot Friend 's album, Soft-Core. Ha! (Today's Craft Rock Friday tip was sent to me by the ever-awesome Dan - a big admirer of both paper and robots. Thanks, dude!)

Not only is The Museum of Vancouver (aka MOV) screening Handmade Nation this Friday , they're also hosting another DIY Night! MOV AT NIGHT: DIY @ MOV 2 April 09, 2010 / 7:00 PM Back by popular demand! A social-crafting night featuring workshops and a craft market by Birkeland Bros. Wool, Collage Collage, and Got Craft?. An event for craft newbies and seasoned creators. Music – Bar – Free Materials – Workshops $15, Members free The first DIY Night was lots of fun. I could hardly believe the line-up to get into the event! The museum was filled to the brim with creative, crafty people. My advice: get there early! Most of the supplies were already taken before I got there (except for the insanely huge pile of yarn!). But there was still lots of paper and pens left, so I grabbed a pink marker and spread out the floor to draw.... I left my drawing there (on purpose), and guess what? The MOV used it on their website to advertise the new DIY Night! Nice!! Kirsti Wakelin (who also designed ...