My kids love to run their hands through the button tin, spend hours sorting them into colours and designs, and then in the end they always ask “what can we make with some buttons?” My daughter had a wonderful mail package from her penpal of a handmade button bracelet and was inspired to make something similar - which in turn inspired me to do some research on the subject of button craft for kids - so here we are.

First - button jewellery - see this previous post on that topic - they can so easily be adapted for children. The one we received and made was simple - a piece of fabric - this can be some leftover quilt binding or a wide ribbon with buttons of your child’s choice sewn on and then tied with string and a button or a snap closure or some sewn on velcro (some help from parents required for this one). see the pbs kids website for a button bracelet tutorial for kids. And this cute friendship pal braided bracelet with button face. Extra idea *try also button hair pins - buy some standard hair clips or bobby pins and hot glue or super glue some funky buttons on the end using a hot glue gun.

Next - button mosaics - use buttons to decorate pots and picture frames mosaic style, or decorate boxes and containers. Some simple materials are required such as tile glue and tile grout - see this tutoral at stork net for directions on mosaics and this tutorial to decorate this box.

Then - button flowers - I love the post on Kiddley a while back showing how to do a button bouquet here are the original pbs kids website instructions. - but Claires tutorial is much better. (image is from button bouquet on craftster)

Do you still have some buttons left … get your little one to help you decorate a bag, or make some button magnets or even a button clock.

Carla Pessoa is one of my favorite portuguese crafters.Illustration plus fabric plus imagination. And this is the result of her work:

Carla Pessoa es una de mis artesanas protuguesas preferidas. Mezcla la ilustración con materiales como la tela, un poco de imaginación y aquí está el resultado:

Wind by Brad Rickerby

I think that one of things I am most excited to get to share with the Whip Up readers are the vast array of extremely talented people out there creating affordable, quality art. Every now and then I will pop up with what I hope you will see as great finds.

One of my newest discoveries is a gentleman by the name of Brad Rickerby who is a photographer and Watercolor painter. The colors in these pieces are so vibrant. There is no way to capture their true beauty with a camera! I recently purchased 2 of his works for less than $50.00 total! These are large pieces that draw you in.

I really admire Brads thinking in regards to color. He says that “The colors go where they want. You talk to them, you tell them the plan, you cajole, flatter and plead. You think you have come to a meeting of the minds. You apply them. And - The colors go where they want. . . .” Best not to control them, especially when the results are this stunning!

Nora Fok is originally from Hong Kong, and moved to the UK to study ‘Wood, Metal, Ceramics and Plastics’ at Brighton Polytechnic. Nora Foks’ work is unique as she creates wonderful forms that are both solid and transparent….lightweight yet durable. She does this through the use of Nylon Monofiliment {often referred to as Cat-Gut or fishing wire}..this material is so versitile, and Fok utilises its ability to be kitted, dyed and formed to create some wonderful pieces of jewellery.

Waterstar Neckpiece, 1998 - Nora Fok

There is a great article about Nora Fok on the embroiderers guild site.

The work Nora creates is a source of great inspiration, not only to jewellers but also to textile artists, as the majority of techniques she uses are rooted in knitting and sewing crafts. Nylon Monofiliment can be dyed with Dylon dyes…used cold for very subtle colours, or hot for stronger hues {go experiment!!}…and it works wonderfully for french knitting, which kids can have great fun with and make some funky necklaces and bracelets as the nylon really holds its shape!

{If you plan to buy some mono-filiment for this kind of project..I would suggest visiting a fishing shop to buy a huge reel, as it is much more affordable than the smaller quantities usually available in a craft store….you can also sometimes get different thicknesses this way!}

only one day left to post your BAG for July entry in the whiplash entry - click on the big whiplash button on the right - yes there in the sidebar and upload your link.

Some great entries so far, can’t wait to sit down and look through them all. Make sure you do too. After the entries close tomorrow the list will stay there for a week to give everyone a chance to check out everyone.

Whiptips is an advice column for readers to ask questions or offer advice by leaving your comments. View the Whiptips archive here. You can submit questions, to whiptips@gmail.com. Please include photos with your questions!

A Whipup reader, Terry, wrote in to ask about how to remake her shirt wardrobe and bring it up to date. There seem to be alot of t-shirt makeovers posted online. These great ideas and patterns take advantage of the parts of the shirt and seams already there, and make it into something new.
But what about regular button-up shirts? As she said, “How can something look so “right” one time and so wrong a couple years later?”

“Years ago I thought I looked great in oversized shirts. I was wrong. I have a large investment in beautiful cotton, linen, velvet, etc. shirts that are too broad in the shoulders, too big in the armscye, too wide in the body, often too long as well…what to do? I want to keep the shirts as shirts: I do not want to make sleeveless tops or button-front skirts. I want to make new shirts from old. And I want them too look good. Any help in coming up with a method to redo my shirt wardrobe would be greatly appreciated.”

I know Terry mentioned no skirts with buttons up the front… but this skirt by Three Cat Night shows one using 2 men’s shirts. However, it looks like a great skirt that could be made from any fabric, rather than taking advantage of the parts and seams already existing in the shirt. I think that’s what makes the t-shirt surgery ideas so appealing. Hopefully there might be some ‘quick’ tricks for button down shirts out there?

In highschool, my friends and I used to raid the second hand shops for men’s shirts. On nice thing you can do is cut the collar off first. Then make an empire-waist with a ribbon-belt. The bagginess in the sleeves is nice then- albeit a bit more whimsical than you may be looking for. Come to think of it… it was the late 80’s early 90’s when we were doing that!

Has anyone seen any good tutorials on how to make flattering, fitted and stylish shirts out of the baggy mess that was the 90’s?

Copyright and the internet are hot topics right now and if you’ve ever had any of you intellectual property taken without your permission, you know how frustrating it can be. One way to help prevent the hijacking of photos is to insert a watermark, but just what the heck is a watermark and how do you create one?

Well, if you pop on over to Green Kitchen’s blog you’ll find her post on the subject, which includes a nifty tutorial. Turns out, it’s easier than it looks!

I knew last spring that I wanted to plan a small surprise party for my wonderful husband and partner Bill’s 40th birthday. The whole invitation thing was a little intimidating because he teaches graphic design at Dominican University and I knew I would be inviting his very-talented colleagues from the art department.

Then I read a fascinating article in the Chicago Tribune about using vintage stamps. Here in the US you can use most any stamp printed in the last century as long as the total postage on all of the stamps adds up to the current letter rate. For example, our current rate is $.39 for the first ounce, so any combination of stamps that add up to $.39 can be put on an envelope and mailed.

Given that Bill was born in 1965, I decided to use a collection of stamps from the 60s that reflected his interests of travel, art, education and his love of our national park system. I played with several compositions of them on the envelope very carefully before I licked (they are that old) them so the overall layout didn’t leave awkward spaces.

Vintage stamps are available through www.askphil.org, www.stamps.org and www.stamplink.com. For anyone living in or visiting Chicago, I got mine in the basement stamp booth at Marshall Field’s on State Street. FYI, I got the giant green circle sticker, which I thought worked nicely with the edge of the stamps, at the Paper Source.

I don’t know what regulations are in other countries governing the use of vintage stamps but call your local postmaster for details.

By the way, he was really surprised.

have a heap of old unflattery t-shirts and want some ideas of what to do with them?

#craftster - big mens t-shirt turned into cute baby doll style top
#long off the shoulder t-shirt dress - with some how-to sketches.
#cute two tone cap sleave top made from two t-shirts (see image).
#twist front top with pattern.
#craftster corset from t-shirts
#baggy sweatshirt reconstruction at deborah merlo
#wardrobe re-fashionista miss twiss has a couple of tutorials - making some very groovy t’s from old ones - here and here.
#Cute clingy mini dress from old T.

STOP PRESS
I want to say a sad goodbye to Zoe (you can still catch her at her blog which has had a facelift) and Nikki (and at her blog), who have made a fabulous contribution to whipup. You will both be sadly missed.

Very sweet pincushion. Excellent tutorial over at Blueberry Mama.

Whilst trawling through the pincushion group discussion I found a link from Redwork in Germany to a tutorial for a Dress Form Pincushion tutorial.

The pincushion gallery over at flickr is really growing, go on over and have a gander. Here’s a random sample below, using FD’s flickr tools.

I have to admit I hadn’t heard of Pamela until today, I know, my slip is showing isn’t it? *blushes*

For all you crafty entrepreneurs, Pamela’s written an ebook “How to Start a Creative Manufacturing Business”, sounds like the perfect title, doesn’t it.

Excerpt from the book, there’s also a sneak peak, so off you go…

I love my job. But like they say about the army, it may be the toughest job I’ve ever loved. There is the constant pressure of coming up with the next big idea. The grind of trade shows. Customers who cancel orders or don’t pay their bills. Companies who steal your ideas and feel no guilt about it.

But for every employee who is pain in the ass, for every bounced COD box, for every customer who closed up shop in the middle of the night without paying for their goods, for every bad experience, there is the unbeatable joy I get from making my living making things of my own design.

This book won’t give you the grit it takes to start your own business. But if you read carefully, you’ll find everything else you need to know to get you started.

via Oh Joy!

Russ Morland

1.Tell us about your artistic background.

I studied Graphic design in England, learnt how to do typeography, magazine layout logo design marketing etc. Kinda different to what I’m doing now but it helped me develop my style. While studying Graphics we had to do art history courses and fine art these two courses opened my eyes to the world of art and i got kinda hooked.

2.Tell us about your influences and style of work.

I was mainly influenced by Marc Chagall, Picasso, Javier Mariscal and Mambo. African art was another huge influence. So I started to develop my own style based around this. More recently i have been influenced by comics and low brow art. Graffiti and murals are also an influence. I’m not sure what you would call my work, maybe pop surrealism?

3.What inspires you to paint and how do you get motivated in the studio?

People, comedy, cartoons, storys, inner demons, money you know the usual. For the most part I feel like I have to be creative, like it’s just part of my daily routine. I love entertaining people and the joy they get from my paintings is a motivation for sure. Motivation in the studio involves music and deadlines. I like the feeling of being a factory. I guess I’m like the class clown that also has a little something more poignant to say.

4.You use the word ‘Lurk’ in your work, can you tell us why?

“Lurk”, came from (yet again) joking with friends about how bad the Junkies and the general transient people were in our very small downtown in Nanaimo. So
many people lurking. Then eventually they became characters for me, people loved to see the lurkers. I have become the lurker, and my paintings lurk everywhere. I want to do murals around the city, but I have a very distinct style and the cops would be onto me right away.

5.You put your art onto shoes, can you tell us about that?

Yeah, I started doing that at an art festival in Montreal (art in the park). Its nothing new lots of people are doing this but its a hit for me so I will keep doing it till it gets old. Etnies Canada hooks me up with shoes and sometimes they give me extra to paint on, works well for promo for both of us.

6. Where can we get a pair?

My website is the best place, I can be contacted through there. If you can find a pair of Etnies then this is what I prefer. I will paint any shoes though. I like them to be new, no smelly shit. The shoes cost $200 canadian.

7.What’s in store for the future?

I have Vinyl toys coming out, also i just helped start a skateboard company called Kitsch. Ermm….plush lurker toys. Limited tshirt designs and bigger paintings, I’m working on a 6′x 4′ piece right now. Looking to get shows in the states and Japan, maybe Australia? Oh and I’m hanging a show July 10th in Vancouver check my website for details.

mediocre at best

Russ is a friend of mine and we’ll be collaborating on a little something in the near future.

I’d also like to let you know that this is my last post for Whip Up, i’m leaving to concentrate on other things and would like to thank Kath for all the work she puts into Whip Up and for having me on board. Thanks to all the other authors and of course all you readers too.

Hey everyone, do you have a bag to enter in the Whiplash BAGS Month of July? you have a few days left until July 15 to be exact. I am pretty excited by the entries so far - if you have time to check them out there really are some great bags and new blogs to discover.

Don’t forget that we also have some great prizes to give away 9 packs of fabric, handles and patterns - all you need to make your own great bag.

There will also be a chance for readers to tell us your favourites in each category - feel free to leave a comment here about what you think so far and if you have any questions or comments -

We love the paper bag hand puppet at our house. So simple and fun, grab a plain paper bag, draw on a face, decorate it with paper, string etc and put it on your hand - oh and make lots of random animal noises.

But what else can you do with a paper bag, and how about paper plates while we are at it. … Well masks of course.

The images in this post are all from the montessori page where they also have an excellent tutorial for the brown paper bag mask.

To make a basic paper bag mask you will need
*A plain brown or white (or any colour really) paper bag.
*textas or crayons, scissors, glue and bits of coloured paper, string, feathers and glitter
*first mark where the eye holes will go by placing the bag over the childs head for minute then removing it to cut out the holes.
*you may want to make a mouth too
*then decorate with tiger stripes or clown makeup by using crayons or collaged paper.
*for a slightly more advanced paper bag mask try the tutorial at the montessori site.

To make a basic paper plate mask you will need
* Bright coloured paper plates
* Paint stir sticks, coloured feathers
* Craft glue, Scissors
* coloured construction paper
cut 2 holes in the plate for eyes, cut a beak from the coloured paper (for a bird mask) or a trunk for an elephant mask etc and glue in place. decorate the plate with crayons and feathers etc. and use sticky tape to tape a stick to the back for holding the mask over your face.

Variations and resources:
halloween paper bag mask
hats, masks and wigs from paper bags
monkey mask
heaps of ideas at soccer and scouting website - I think I will be back and back again to this page for weekend activity ideas.
paper bird paper plate mask where the above paper plate instructions are from.
paper plate wolf mask
another monkey mask
paper plate craft
make a doodles mask at bbc cbeebies website
scary witch mask

The Textile Worker by Terese Agnew: A quilt made entirely of garment labels collected from others made to protest the conditions of sweatshop workers.

1. You will be reminded that you don’t need money or power to effect change, only creativity and an idea.

2. You will never look at the label in a garment the same way again.

3. You will, even just for a moment, think about sweatshop labor.

4. You will want to show it to other people because of its beautiful workmanship and elegant execution.

5. You will be a little more creative having absorbed a bit of her unforgettable art.

Chuculeta con ratón. Olivia is a restless and curious galician who always discovers us something new in each post. I enjoy her works in crochet (amazing siren), her famous chuculetas, her zakka books favorite readings and some tutorials.

If you want to know more clic here: her current and finished projects, pictures from her zakka books (here and here) and the interesting links that she offers in her blog.

Chuculeta con ratón. Olivia es una gallega inquieta y curiosa que nos descubre siempre algo nuevo en cada uno de sus posts. Disfruto con sus trabajos en crochet (impresionante sirena), sus famosas chuculetas, sus lecturas preferidas de libros zakka y algún que otro tutorial.

Si queréis saber más cotillead en sus proyectos en marcha y acabados, sus libros zakka (aquí y aquí) y los interesantes links que ofrece en su blog.

Lolita is superwoman, she weaves and sews with an amazing speed. She can do anything: from a derss (she made the one in the picture) to this cute boxes; but she has more, including this tutorial. Since short ago her blog is bilingual, so don’t let it go!

Lolita es superwoman, teje y cose con una rapidez asombrosa. Ello puede con todo: desde un vestido(el de la imagen lo ha hecho ella) hasta estuches de distintas formas, incluyendo algún tutorial. Desde hace poco su blog es bilingue,así que ahora no se lo puede perder nadie.

Gisela, from Portugal, is Ox-hill´s editor. I love everything she does, specially her work with buttons and fabric. She says: “For me, happiness is to able to create, to search through my stash, put colors together and make something with my own hands. I love making jewelry and I like to use different kinds of materials in it. Sewing is my later addiction and I’m having lots of fun combining jewelry and sewing.”

Gisela, de Portugal, es la editoria de Ox-hill. Me encanta todo lo que ella hace, especialmente sus trabajo con botones y tela. Nos dice: “Para mi, la felicidad es poder crear, revolver entre mis cosas, conjuntar colores y hacer cosas con mis propias manos. Me encanta crear joyería y me gusta emplear para ello distintos materiales. La costura es mi última adicción y me divierto horrores combinando joyería y costura”

Hi! I am Michelle and I have been asked to post on Whip Up about Mixed Media and Paper Arts. I am a mixed media collage portrait artist and I run my own business creating personal commissions for people and selling my own pieces on the web. I have my own blog where I talk about my work and inspirations. I also have a blog called Creative Swoon where I feature creative people and projects in all genres as well as feature an amazing Etsy artist/vendor each week. I cant wait to share some of my favorite artists and finds with you! The world of collage has really exploded as of late, and there are so many talented artists out there. Image from Silverfishes

To begin I would like to share a few great links to resources. While going to flea markets and rummaging through estate sales is fun, these sites are happy to provide outstanding ephemera, photos, book pages and items that are perfect for collaging with.

One Good Bumblebee-One Piles of Paper
An outstanding selection of papers and ephemera all wrapped up in a neat little package!

Mantofev-Book pages pack and online Flea Market
Offers packs of individual bookpages in various amounts and catergories! The flea market offers all kinds of one of a kind finds.

Siverfishes-Ephemera Packs
Packs offered in a few different sizes and types.

Snapatorium-photo resource
Fantastic resource for vintage photographs!

(image from gravelart.com)

This Ask Metafilter post led me to the glorious world of gravel art. I can’t find much information about it on the internet, but it’s a good bet that gravel art was a staple of the midcentury American (and possibly European?) living room. It evokes tiki bars, and split-level ranch houses. And for some reason the pieces usually come in pairs. I wonder if they were sold as completed works or as kits for the home crafter-cum-artiste, a la paint by number? You can see many examples of vintage gravel art on eBay.

(image from eBay)

Susanna Anna carries on the tradition today, offering kits and supplies for sale. (You may have caught her segment on the HGTV show That’s Clever). Everything about gravel art screams retro kitsch — I wonder what a modern take on it would look like?

Sooz has a tutorial on how to make a Steiner doll.

More information here

Basket bag tutorial using a woven plastic mat.