Whiptips craft advice column for readers to ask questions or offer advice by leaving comments. Whiptips archive here. Questions to whiptips@gmail.com.

I need help with making the covered button hair bands. I made my covered buttons-no problem-but have tried to figure out how to attach the covered elastic band to the button shank to no avail. I’ve tried to jam it through the shank-I’m trying to use the thick goody bands-and that only worked once. I’ve tried to pry the shank to make it less narrow and that didn’t work. And I tried to pry the shank out of the button back but it won’t securely go back in to the original hole and be bent back to secure it-help please! Thanks in advance, Toni

Knitted Walking Stick Cosy Competition 2007: WIN £40 IN YARN VOUCHERS! Inspired by the dignifying powers of health-related knitting projects
everywhere, The Missability Radio Show is organising a walking stick cosy knitting competition. With your great ideas, knitting skills and visionary
powers, you can transform even an ordinary grey walking stick into a fantastical design!

The competition is open NOW and all entries must be received by 7th September 2007.

What could be better than gazing longingly into a glass of white wine? How about gazing into that same glass and seeing someone gazing right back at you? :) That might sound a tad creepy now, but take a closer look at our awesome photo wine glass photo frames and pretty soon you’ll be scowling, growling, and grinning… whatever it takes to make the perfect cup-bottom portrait. How to at Photojojo

Idle hands has a cute tutorial on making journals - linkable journals

check out Tante Sophie knitting studio

Joan at Lazy girl says I love buttons! They are such an easy way to add fun to many projects. I use buttons a lot and I wanted to give my readers my tips for perfect placement.

I am an unschooling mom of 3 (5,3,1 yo) and often feel like my daily adventures should earn me merit badges. Well, none existed (I searched!) so I created them! They are meant to be fun and irreverent but I think they have a certain
subversive aspect to them too. I am thinking about hosting a performance/event where women share tales (like on the website) and are awarded merit badges in a ceremony.

Saturday Aug 4 is officially ‘Apron Day’! read more at Pat Sloan

Jennifer wrote: Hi, love this site! I posted a tutorial on using double knit for a button band that your readers might find useful.

Spring Maxfield wrote:
I absolutely love the work of ceramic artist Todd Barricklow. He’s very traditional in his attitude about art, but completely unconventional (in
regards to modern uses, but drawing heavily on ancient sgraffito) in his use of ceramics as a medium.

Every summer 600 “vikings” from Denmark and abroad gather at the annual Moesgård Viking Moot Festival,

Scandinavia’s largest and probably oldest Viking market.It all started with some viking-style crafts courses in the 1970′ies and year by year the craftsmen attracted more and more attention and more and more people made a picnic out it and came from Århus to watch. The idea has developed to an event that has 25,000 visitors during the weekend. The date is always kept close to the Saint Olai Day at 29th of July known as the traditional marketday in the old Århus (Aros). As Moesgård is less than 8 km. away from where I live it´s an obvious opportunity to go and see what’s up. A unique source of inspiration within reach: A colourful and festive market just like it was more than 1000 years ago where you can meet and watch craftsmen, traders, warriors and riders of Icelandic horses acting out the life of the Vikings.

To most of the visitors the crowning moment is when the warriors engage in fierce fighting and when the riders show off their horse-riding skills, what they do twice a day - Saturday and Sunday - at 12 and 3 pm.

To me the highlight is the opportunity to enjoy all the varying crafts, especially the design of clothes and jewellery, and tools.

Bitter Betty is hosting a hand-printed fabric swap (signups are closed on this one), and the fabrics people are making are really great and showcase a variety of techniques.

Tumbling Blocks, screen-printed pitcher plants

crafty mcgee, Gocco+sponge brush flying squirrels

Doll, lots and lots, printed by all sorts of stamps. This one’s with a piece of string glued to cardboard!

For more, check out the swap’s Flickr group

Whip Up is now taking article and tutorial submissions.

We are looking for tutorials and submissions that fit within Whip Up’s feel - read our Manifesto for more information. We are looking for thematic articles and tutorials to fit within the months themes - see monthly themes below - but also timely articles outside of these themes will be considered , such as exhibition and pattern reviews, craft memes, fun, frivolous and extreme ideas, etc that cannot wait and do not fit within the theme.

Submissions now being accepted for August, September and October

- August: Simple crafts - children’s crafts - good ideas and fun and quick projects.
- September: Recycle - re-use - upcycle, refashioned.
- October: Selling - entrepreneurs

Submissions must be new — not previously shown in another mag or site or on your own website or blog. Once posted on Whip Up - of course you are welcome to link to the article with an image. And after a month you are free to do as you wish with the tutorial or article, which includes submitting it elsewhere or self publishing.

*We don’t accept knitting or crochet patterns, however tutorials on technique or use of alternative materials or ‘recipes’ for making something are welcome, and articles and reviews on published patterns are also welcome.

Whip Up is currently a non profit site and we do not pay for article submissions. However this is an excellent opportunity to show your writing skills and work to a large audience + there will be a link back to your own website accompanied by your bio at the end of the article.

You [the creator of the work] will retain all copyrights to your own work. By submitting work to be published on Whip Up you are giving your permission for your tutorial or article and all related images to be included on Whip Up in its current format and all future formats and to be archived for future reference.

To submit your article or tutorial you need to send it via email to whipup[@]gmail.com. We will endeavour to contact you as soon as possible about the suitability of the article and when it will go online. We choose articles and tutorials based on various factors - such as suitability to Whip Up, whether or not we like it, does it make us think or laugh or help us learn something new. It is interesting and does is shine a different perspective on something old. Are the images fantastic, is well written and researched, is it funny, intelligent or thoughtful.

We accept articles that are theoretical discussion pieces, essays on thoughts on craft, reviews on exhibitions, craft shows, patterns, websites, podcasts and new craft technologies, discussions, essays or reviews on artists, designers or crafters work. We accept original tutorials and ‘recipes’ for craft traditional craft techniques and new designs.

Submissions

Your work will be edited as appropriate. Attach images to your e-mail along with a word doc of your tutorial or article - you may note in your article or tutorial where images are to be inserted - with a full list of images and image captions if required - this includes the artists name, the title of the work as well as dates etc. Also please include all relevant information about exhibitions and publications of work you are writing about, as well as links to relevant websites etc.

Images - photos or sketches must be submitted as an attachment to the email as a jpg file 72dpi and between 300 and 400 pixels wide. Please make sure images are of good quality - good light - clear and focussed with good details on what you are talking about - artistic images are fine.

Please include your contact and personal information in the submission - including:

- Your name as you wish it to be published
- an e-mail address where readers can send questions or feedback
- the URL to your website or blog, if you wish us to link to you
- a short bio [50 words], written in 3rd person
- the name of any models featured in photographs you submit and the photographer’s name (if not you)
- websites and names of featured objects and artists.

By submitting a tutorial or article to be published in Whip Up, you verify that you are the original creator of the tutorial or writer of the article , and that you have not infringed and/or violated the existing intellectual property rights of any third person. You understand that you will not be paid for your submission.

Please send all submissions to this address.
whipup[@]gmail.com

There’s a new environmentally friendly quilting batting on the block called Eco-craft. It’s made from corn (I know–corn?) but looks in every other way like polyester batting. Mountain Mist, the manufacturer of Eco-craft, and The International Quilt Study Center are hosting a competition using all natural materials. I’d love to hear from anyone who has actually quilted with it.

There are also some new offerings from Quilter’s Dream, the makers of my favorite batting. There’s a new polyester batting called Dream Puff that the manufacturer claims is warmer than down. Given that I live in Chicago which sees its share of cold weather, I’ll be trying this one out as soon as I can and will report back. I’m already a huge fan of their cotton and wool batting, both of which can be machine washed and dried. The really great thing about Quilter’s Dream batting is the soft drape that it gives to the quilt.

She have always been crafty, but she never imagined she would be making a living at it

Who is Kathy Cano Murillo?

I’m a chica who is additced to making bright and shiny things, and thensharing them with whomever is interested! I feel very blessed because I’ve found ways to make aliving from my art. I not only make it to sell, but I also share ideas so other people can make things too. I write a syndicated newspaper craft column, I have six published books and am working on my seventh. I run my web site, CraftyChica.com, it gets 2 million hits a month!

I’m currently working with Carnival Cruise line for the 2nd Annual Crafty Chica Cruise. It is in March of 2008 and we got to Cabo and Ensenanda and make lots of art. It is $557 and includes all your food, room, tips, cocktail hours and art supplies! I have the sign up info on my site.

What do you create?

Anything and everything! I love to dabble in all kinds of crafty genres. I draw, paint, sew, embroider, woodburn, sculpt, crochet - just about everything! My personal designs all have a Latin flavor to them because I can never find anything in the stores, so I make my own accessories and clothing. But when I share ideas, I like to make them universal so people can do whatever they want for their own style. Right now I’m big on making fabric collage purses and paper mache sculptures.

I recently got hired hired by a large craft manufacturing company (http://www.duncancrafts.com) to design, develop and launch a Crafty Chica product line that will be sold in stores nationwide. In addition to my artwork, I’m doing this. My line has more than 100 products and they are mostly Latinocentric - for us hip chicas who like to sew and paint!
Where do you get your inspiration for your projects?

I look at everything out there and then try to find the holes of what has not been done yet. From there, i think of how to come up with something that has that “wow” factor, and that is easy and clever. I can’t help but use all my faovrite colors, and I love glitter and high gloss varnish, so I use that as a metaphor for life to inspire others! Because I’m a third generation Mexican-American, my culture plays a huge part in all my designs.

Your big inspiration is “México”.Who are some of your favorite indie designers/artists from this country?

The colorful tinwork of Arturo Sosa makes me drool. The way he combines the detail of the tin designs and then makes them pop with rich colors like teal, red and hot pink. I’d love to have a whole wall in tin created by him! i also adore the paintings of Antonio Lopez Vega. By far, my favorite jewelry designer is Mercedes Salazar. She is from Columbia, but went to art school in Mexico. you can find her work at Kitson in Los Angeles. She relays positive messages using phrases, hearts, imagery, all with hip Latin style - yet they are alluniversal. That is exactly what I strive for!

Talk about your books, please.

Of the six, I have four that are easy to find. One is called “THe Crafty Chica Collection” and it is my first two books combined, and re-released under a new cover. I also have “Crafty Chica’s Art de la Soul”, which is also full of general craft type of projects. And then I have tow books for tween girls. I’m currently working on two new books. One is a sewing bok that will come out in 2009, and the other is a novel. I love writing! Up until April, I was a full-time feature writer for the Arizona Republic. i used to get paid to write about other people, now I get paid to write about making art! I love it!

And, finally, please could you do a little tutorial for the whipup´s readers?

Sure! I’m really into fabric trasnfers right now. A super easy one is to take two new cloth napkins and iron them. Using your computer and fabric sheets, print out a picture for each one. Use a contrasting color of felt or another kind of fabric and sew it behind the picture to act as a frame. Now sew it to the napkins, in the center. Sew up three sides of the two napkins, insert a pillow form and sew up the last side. Now you have a super cool toss pillow for your couch or bed! I have mroe complete directions on my web site.

¡Gracias por todo Kath!

* Esta entrevista será publicada en castellano en el próximo número de welovecraftsmag.com

so many inventive ways to re-use and recycle - love this group

tablecloth dress

sweater gloves

plastic bag and recycled denim crochet bag

To celebrate their 25th silver anniversary Vogue Knitting are giving away the patterns featured on their 10 anniversary covers.

Get on over and download some silvery goodness.