This may be the coolest thing I’ve seen all summer! Over at Skip to My Lou they have a fabulous tutorial on how to make a Duct Tape Bullwhip!

I’m frequently asked if I have craft classes and activities for boys. I always answer in the affirmative because I think boys can and should sew, knit, paint, make books, felt, etc. etc. But in all honesty, it isn’t always easy to find projects that would interest boys. Add to this the fact that I’m a Mom of two girls who grew up in the shadow of two older sisters. I do have an older brother but he is 10 years older than me so I don’t really remember him as a kid. So I’m stuck in a no (wo)man’s land of having no clue what boys like to do and make.

I would really appreciate any ideas, links, books, or suggestions to help me add to my crafty repertoire some boy friendly projects and activities.

 
I finally finished a project I’ve been working on for a few weeks. E and I started this one Saturday morning. The idea was to make a cork tile wall where we could pin pictures and other stuff. Then I got the brilliant idea to make it an eclectic mess.

I wanted each tile to represent a craft medium or product in the store. E and I brainstormed some ideas and got to work. She made the paint palette and the button on the bottom row.
  
This one with the scissors and real fabric stitched to the background paper was my favorite one. It was also the first one I made. I learned a valuable lesson. Always paint on a coating of gesso first, even if you are covering the entire thing with paper. It keeps the cork from warping as the glue dries. This one ended up so buckled that it would stay on the wall and when I tried to flatten it out, I broke it!

E’s palette has the same problem, I’m attempting to remedy it by gluing another piece of paper on the back side to counteract the warp. I’ll know if it worked tomorrow.
   
   
Click on the above thumbnails to view a larger image of the details.

That black, silver and purple one? That is duct tape! It was the last ditch replacement for the paper and fabric scissor one that broke. I think it is really cool. I can see variations on a traditional log-cabin quilt squares done in duct tape.

The purse is made from Amy Butler fabric and is slightly stuffed with a layer of batting under the fabric and then machine stitched to the background polka-dot paper. The “beaded” handle is made with paper circles covered with Diamond Glaze to give them dimension and shine.