Children's Button Stamper Booklets

  

I did the button stamper project with the kiddos in both my preschool art classes the week after posting the lesson plan here. I prepared a little 6 page booklet for each of them to stamp in, using 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of white paper folded in half. I had gotten a box of this paper at the ReUse Zone at the Drop Off Center and it was the perfect weight and texture for this activity - not too thick, and pretty smooth. I put one staple on the folded edge, and then covered the staple with a piece of silver duct tape so no-one would get scratched. Although the silver duct tape might seem an odd choice, it works great to cover the staple, create added flexibility to the "spine" of the little book, and it is SHINY! This little booklet also creates the slight cushion that makes the stamps make their best impression. (Pun intended).

I put out some colored pencils with the stampers and ink pads. Some chose to use them, but on this particular day many just went with the stampers and did not do much additional drawing.

As always, the children explored the materials freely, and used some of the materials in slightly unusual ways as you can see from the photos. The large color blocks are made by stamping with the inkpad directly onto the paper, and in some cases dragging it across the page like a paintbrush.
Enjoy the gallery!

Winter Crochet

I do love the wintry weather here in Vermont for staying indoors and doing creative projects. I have long found that the inward gaze brought on by the long cold winters feeds my imagination and increases my creative output.

I have crocheted a few more toddler sized hats for my etsy shop in a soft warm wool blend yarn. I am also working up a few infant sized hats in the same pattern in a beautiful pima cotton yarn. They would make the perfect baby shower gift any time of year. I love the basket weave pattern I am using, and the shape of these little chapeaus. They are fun to work on, and because of the nature of the pattern it is easy to keep track of where I am, without pesky stitch or row counting, so my mind can wander while I work. Most enjoyable. The style satisfies my love of texture and sculptural forms as well.

Here are a few photos of some of the toddler sized ones I have made thus far. You can see more in my shop  - www.etsy.com/shop/dotandswirl

 

Button Stampers

I have some collections. A couple few… One of my favorite collections is my stack of vintage craft books – or should I say Kraft with a K books – as these are the KITCHY kind from the 50’s and 60’s that are chock full of unique projects using everyday materials to create the strange and unusual. This is the stuff I grew up on – which explains a lot. 

I will do a separate blog post about this treasure trove of delightful tomes some other time, but the point of this blog post is to say that this button stamper is not my original idea, but in fact came from one of these books.

I made my button stampers many years ago for a workshop I gave at a teacher’s conference. I have used them on numerous occasions since with children and adults and they are good as new.

Here ya go –

Materials –

 *old buttons with cool designs and some raised areas

*old corks – either the real deal or the new fangled kind

* strong glue - a strong white glue like Elmer’s or Aleene’s

*ink stamp pads

*slight padding for work surface like folded newspaper

*fine point washable magic markers or colored pencils

*paper or card stock

Procedure –

*glue one button with design side up, to the end of each cork

* let em dry overnight

*put the folded newspaper on your work surface for padding

* stamp button stamper on ink pad

*stamp button stamper on paper

*sometimes you need to rock ‘em slightly to get a good print

*add details with markers

*they make great:

  wheels for vehicles

  flower centers

  sun

  animal heads

  and more

*after your work session is done wipe them clean with soft rag

* you can wash them with warm water and towel dry them, but wiping them off is usually sufficient, and makes them last longer

 

Dot & Swirl

A new year and a new beginning. I launched my new Dot & Swirl etsy shop on Jan. 1, 2013. I am excited about the new focus for my creative explorations. Dot & Swirl is named for two of my favorite things; the polka-dot - the world's smallest harbinger of joy, and the swirl - the universal symbol of energy and spark.

I am feeling sparkly and inspired to share my creations and my ideas for children and the child in us all. I have begun stocking my little shop with soft toys created from my stenciled images formerly seen on clothing in the 80's and 90's under the name Hand Painted Clothing By Jude Bond. The little critters have been making a ruckus packed away in the studio, so I have let them out, this time printed onto fabrics and backed and stuffed to create squeezable softies for play or display.

So far in the shop there are bunnies, sheep, chickens and trilobites (soft rocks!). I am working on some kitties and some horses today. There are  also several crocheted hats for toddlers with more to come. I am working on prototypes for wrist bands for dance and dramatic play, and crocheted and felted headband fascinators for young girls.

I plan to also sell PDF downloads of crochet patterns I have designed, and art lesson plans I have created over my decades of art teaching with young children.

In this blog you can read about my new creations and explorations in the studio, as well as get some free instructions for art and craft projects to do with your young friends; whether they be your children, your students, or adults you know who wish to get more in touch with their child self through creative play.

Here is the link to my new shop!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dotandswirl

Happy New Year!
Jude