What do you mean s-t-r-e-t-c-h your buttons? That’s impossible! Surely, that could not be possible, you might say. But what I mean is of course for you to use up your leftover buttons and put to good use. It doesn’t really matter if its made of plastic, metal, vintage or othervise. It can be transformed into a beautiful piece of wearable art.
Most of us would have tons of sewing odds and ends, and in our trusty little sewing kit will reveal some buttons that are rather long forgotten. Although we normally have what we call spare buttons, you know, just in case we have those …read more

The Artful Crafter:
Eileen blogs about learning photography – one frame at a time.

The Crochet Dude
Drew is giving away all his latest designs that are included in his new line of patterns that just launched nationwide! To enter you just leave a comment on his blog!
The Impatient Crafter
Make a super cute pair of flip flops with your kid or teen for your end of summer vacation! Madge shares the 411 in this post for I Love to Create
About Family Crafts
Hurry on over and submit your photos and ideas! Sherri is now accepting Halloween …read more

The autumn quarterly issue of Altered Couture is on the horizon, and I thought that looking at Nancy Judd’s amazing recycled wonders a couple weeks ago might be just the inspirational push you need to get you going this time.  You’ve got two months before the deadline, but don’t procrastinate…you know how time can sneak up on you!

A hand-me-down sweater … a raggedy old skirt from the thrift store … a plain T-shirt … Using just a few tools coupled with your creativity, all of these items can be transformed into fantastic works of wearable art!  The publisher of Belle …read more

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world:
At Craftside there is a bling-tastic video on hand lettering with Lisa Engelbrecht, from the new book The Crafter’s Devotional a how to make a leather book cover and flag cuffs made from a book cover, an “actual size” silver heart using PMC, and a fun snack recipe.
Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy shows off her cool new sewing cabinet that was surprisingly inexpensive.
Cross Stitch at About.com
Why no knots in Counted Cross Stitch? Find out why and how to secure your floss in alternate ways.
Mixed Media Artist
A report on …read more

Nancy Judd of Santa Fe is brilliant!  She creates what she calls “eco trash couture” as her statement to the world about conservation, and shows them at Recycle Runway.  Nancy has been commissioned by major corporations to design fashions for them too.
Nancy teaches workshops that aim to have the participants create functional pieces, with the goal of at least 90% recycled material going into each project.
Each of Nancy’s original hand sewn garments like the ones shown below take between 100 and 400 hours to make.  Her work is exhibited in airports all across the country:

Fan Mail Dress, 2000.   Junk mail.

Plastic …read more

Big hats, little hats, fancy hats, plain hats (this is starting to remind me of a Dr Suess story…), all hats are welcome as entries in the juried exhibition sponsored by TLD Design Center and Gallery.  Hats 2009 is open to all artists and designers doing original work. Only hats of your own design and individual effort are eligible. All entries must be wearable.
High quality photos or slides which are tightly focused must be submitted by July15, 2009 with a non-refundable entry fee of $3.00 per hat entry. Up to 5 entries per person.
All information on submission
Tammy L Deck, …read more

Altered Couture
A hand-me-down sweater … a raggedy old skirt from the thrift store … a plain T-shirt … Using just a few tools coupled with your creativity, all of these items can be transformed into fantastic works of wearable art! The publisher of Belle Armoire and Somerset Studio invites you to submit your own altered and embellished clothing and accessories to be considered for the second volume of this exciting publication. Chapters will include Skirts & Dresses, Pants & Overalls, Jackets & Vests, Shirts & Tops, Children’s Wear, Sassy Shoes, and Accessories.

Deadline for artwork to be received: June 15, 2009. …read more

1000 Fabulous Knit Hats
Editor: Annie Modesitt
Quarry Books
Deadline for submission: July 1, 2009
Quarry is looking for submissions of images for possible publication in 1000 Fabulous Knit Hats, a definitive and inspirational collection of hand knit hats presented by Annie Modesitt.
There are cash prizes for original designs!
Publication date: July 2010
More information and submission forms

Image: Quarry Books

Stampington & Co is getting ready to publish another issue of their special publication Haute Handbags. The deadline is May 15, 2009, so get out your supplies and get going!   Here’s all the important submission information.

How do you carry it? That’s the question Somerset Studio would like to help answer through our new and exciting special publication titled Haute Handbags. Whether we use purses, clutches, totes, portfolios, sacks, bags, or attachés, there are many styles made with an astounding array of materials emerging from all corners of the creative world – all vying to be carried and used with style. …read more

This is one of my favorite tutorials – I actually wrote it a few years back, but the photos got eaten – ack!  I’ve re-written it and dug up all the photos from my old computer – boy, thank goodness for portable hard drives
Click the image for the complete tutorial:

Fiber fusion is a great way to use up little scraps of yarn, thread trimmings – or even scraps of fabric left over from fussy-cutting motifs.  You can make fiber art, wall hangings – even clothing or jewelry with it!
image: © C Findlay-Harder