Looking for an app for your smartphone that's both useful and inspiring at the same time? If you love looking at awesome handmade arts and crafts, CraftGawker could be just the thing to make your year.

"There’s an app for that" has been a mantra of smartphone users for the past half-decade. And with 2012 rapidly approaching, that statement has never been truer. With literally tens of thousands of apps available and only a finite amount of gigabytes on our phones, how do we decide who gets those coveted slots? The debate is relative, but if my personal experience has given me any insight it’s we don’t always fill those slots with the most "productive" apps. Those of you out there with that Geico Brostache app know exactly what I’m talking about.

So during my routine patrol for new apps, I ran across a really cool app that happens to be a companion piece for a website. This trend that seems to be all the rage nowadays, which only makes sense considering the proliferation of smartphones and tablets on the market. Some are amazing; others, not so much. Thankfully for us all, the new app from Craftgawker.com falls squarely in the former category. Now I’ll completely assume that if you clicked on this review, then you might already have some leanings to the left, and I don’t mean politics.

For the uninitiated, Craftgawker is a photo gallery that allows you to visually search and discover handmade arts and crafts to inspire your own projects. Artsy types submit and publish their photography to the website. To get more details about a photo, simply tap on the image and you'll be taken to the submitter's blog post, where you may find a tutorial or the inspiration for the item. If you register and create an account with them, you will be able to save your favorite photos by tapping on the heart icon.

This application boasts an easy interface to use to find DIY crafty ideas, like how to make holiday-themed cookies how to use blackberries to dye fabrics. The directions that I have read are clear, and are often accompanied by step-by-step photographs.

I just discovered this app this past week and at last count I saw well over ten thousand incredible blogs already posted to the site. It’s an extensive archive of arts and crafts that you can browse and search by category, tags and popularity.

To say that this app is addicting would be an insult to addictions. Once you’ve gotten hooked on "gawking," I can promise that you'll fine yourself constantly checking it out for inspiration, or even just to see what’s new. Images are published on a daily basis, so there’s always something new to check out.

Once you set up an account, your favorites will be synced from your mobile app directly to Craftgawker.com, and you can also share your faves with friends via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, even Tumblr.

My personal favorite feature was a simple one. The shuffle option lets you randomize the postings by shaking your device. This means hours of orgasmic geekdom for an A.D.D. fella like myself. 

Now whether or not I’ll actually ever get around to tackling some of these projects is anybody’s guess, but it’s a joy knowing that they’re there. So instead of annoying the heck out of my digital koi or designing adorable zombies, I have been spending some of my free time in the Arts & Crafts with Craftgawker. Download your copy online today and see what all the fuss is about. Oh, and bring a lunch, because you’re going to be there awhile.

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