This introduction is clearly the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Generation T: Beyond Fashion is now available in Russian — and in hardcover, no less. Добро пожаловать, русские читатели! (Welcome Russian readers!)

What do you think about the changes from the English-language cover? Do you like to see more projects pictured? Do you prefer the purple to blue on the spine? What about the halter top I’m wearing (do you prefer it in red or white)?

Head on over to the books section of the website to check out the full library of the Generation T and Generation T: Beyond Fashion editions (foreign and domestic) that have hit the shelves over the years.

Materials:

• Main Color (MC): 2 skeins of Habu’s 20/12 Bamboo, 100% bamboo. This is the color White. For Habu’s Dyed Bamboo options, click here. If you wish to substitute a different yarn, you will need 765 (880, 990, 1100, 1200) yards.
• Contrast Color (CC): 1 (1, 1, 2, 2) skeins of Koigu’s Koigu Premium Merino (KPM) Needlepoint Yarn, 100% merino wool. This is color 1133.
• A US #4, 24- or 30-inch circular needles
• A US #4, 16-inch circular needles
• A set of US #4 double pointed needles
• Stitch marker
• Stitch holder or scrap yarn

Make it:

For the pattern how-to, visit Laura’s Loop on PurlBee, the Purl Soho sewing and knitting blog.

Now that is a T-shirt I wouldn’t touch with scissors!

They say that April showers bring May flowers. And in some parts of the country this year there’ve even been April flurries to herald in the blooms! While Mother Nature keeps us on our toes, here’s a colorful springtime project that really brings the flowers when it rains. It’s just one of a slew of ways to decorate an umbrella with paint (because let’s face it, sometimes a purple umbrella isn’t quite bright enough). It’s part pop art (a gumball machine!), part impressionism (Monet’s gardens at Giverny) — and a whole lot of color to brighten any dreary day! We often think of fabric paints in the context of T-shirts and other wearables, but it’s fun to experiment with paint on other fabric-based surfaces: embellished pillows, couches, canvas director chairs, curtains, and…umbrellas!

What you need:
-plain umbrella
-Tulip Soft Fabric Paint in a variety of colors (I used Azalea, Lime, Mandarin Orange, Linen, Crimson Red Matte, and Holiday Green Matte)
-Tulip Sponge Pouncers (foam paintbrush)
-paper plate (to use as a paint palette)

Make it:
Click through to the the iLoveToCreate Blog to watch the how-to video I did for About.com, and follow the step-by-step photos.

What a nice vibrant splash of color while we wait for more flowers to poke through!

And this one (green T-shirt, right), inspired by the butterfly variation on the slashed “Brokenhearted Tee” (project #2 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt):

Happy Earth Day to all! What sweet T-shirt hacks are on your creative calendar? What are you making next?

When I was little, I used to quiz my younger siblings with BrainQuest decks on long car rides. My older brother and I diligently worked through the pages of Kids’ Big Book of Games. We flipped through a well-worn copy of All I Need to Know I Learned from My Cat, sure that several of the cats featured had to be ours. We crafted from books like Snips and Snails and Walnut Whales and nerded out building the skeleton from the Bones Book & Skeleton (the original edition).  We went on family hikes with the Birds and Trees Fandex tucked into our backpacks; my college roommates and I engaged in existential ruminations over a tattered copy of The Book of Questions; and I consulted 1000 Places before I went on vacation to Puerto Rico. When I became pregnant years later, I turned, as many do, to What to Expect When You’re Expecting. And today, copies of Sandy Boynton’s Belly Button Book and Pajama Time and Rufus Butler Seder’s Gallop! are in constant rotation when I read to my toddler before bed. These are books that one can live by.

On Sunday morning, the founder and publisher of the company whose name is printed on the spine of my two books and countless more titles that have impacted my childhood and my life, died at his home in New York City.

Peter Workman‘s passion for books, for ideas, for trying the unexpected and having faith in the unlikely, was infectious for those of us lucky to have worked with him. He was a generous spirit, a visionary publisher, a wise teacher, a brave dreamer, and an extraordinary human. He will be missed by so many.

May his spirit and vision continue to live through the fine works that populate our bookshelves and engage our minds.

The day, which was founded in response to an incident involving a boy being bullied for wearing pink, has become an annual tradition at the school (which has been featured before on Generation-T.com!) — and this particular photo was from a February 2011 celebration. T-shirt sleeves were transformed into hats, scraps were braided into headbands and belts, and students wore handmade superhero capes all day to show support for the anti-bullying message. And, of course, they had a blast doing it.

Materials:
-Colored paper (for headband)
-Decorative paper (for ear exteriors; check your wrapping paper stash!)
-White paper (for ear interiors)
-File folder (as stiffener, for perky ears!)
-Tacky Dot Runner or glue stick
-Paper scissors
-Clear tape
-Pen or pencil

Make it:

Click below to follow along with the Paper Bunny Ears video tutorial I made for About.com!

And here’s additional proof that these ears are for bunny-wannabes of all ages:

Happy Easter!

Materials:
-eggs (blown or hard-boiled)
-food coloring
-8 oz.clean, empty jam jars (or similar, for containing the dye)
-white vinegar
-warm water
-glass measuring cup
-measuring spoons
-skewers
-rubber bands or tape (to hold the skewer and egg in place in the jar)
-timer (kitchen or smartphone timer work well)

Make it:
1. Mix up your dye: Measure 3/4 cup of warm water. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of white vinegar and about 20-25 drops of food coloring (in desired color).  Note: I mixed 3/4 cup of dye in order to cover an egg completely in an 8-ounce jar–if your containers are bigger, mix more dye at the same ratio.
2. Click below to follow along with the video tutorial I did for Ombre-Dyed Easter Eggs for About.com!

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Materials:
-eggs (blown or hard-boiled)
-food coloring
-foaming shaving cream
-plastic spoon or knife
-bamboo skewer
-drying rack
-paper towels
-a timer (4-5 minutes)

Make it:
-Click below to follow along with the video tutorial for Marbleized Eggs with Shaving Cream for About.com.

Update: I heard from a commenter that you can do this technique with Cool Whip, too! Have you tried it?