What the Art Teacher Wore #55

Lovely Monday: In keeping with last week's WIW promise, I decided to go all Valentines-y again this week. Hubs and I hit a Goodwill in Jackson, Tennessee recently and I snagged this entire outfit there. I've been hitting the thrifting jackpot of late which is good because I practically have nothing to wear (yeah, that was some serious sarcasm. This here cloths horse could outfit an army or two. Given they're okay with wearing dresses and fishnets). dress: Talbots, thrifted; sweater: Express, thrifted; sparkly fishnets: TJMaxx; butterfly brooch: vintage; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: Fluevog; necklace: ancient, Target probably

 Greetings, lovelies! I do hope Valentines Day treated you nicely. I decided to get my sweetheart a box of Krispie Kremes fresh off the convertor belt while I received an assortment of trashy mags and dark chocolate bars. So I guess you know what I've been up to this weekend.

When not catching up on the lives of the Kardashians (dude, how do people so utterly lame become famous? Ah, yes, because equally utterly lame people like myself keep reading about them), I did do some research on an upcoming self-portrait project for my first grade artists. Since we are learning about the United Kingdom, I've decided they are going to portray themselves as royalty, complete with the Crown Jewels. Not to be confused with "family jewels" or "Royal Crown" which will find you in a google-y place you might not want to be.

So I share with you just a bit about the Crown Jewels and I bid you a royal week. Ta-tah!

The Queen holds the Orb and Sceptre used at her Coronation, 2 June 1953. Doesn't she look divine? And so...young! I love how her wide-eyes read "holy cray, I'm queen!" yet her firm lips say " and ya'll better recognize." They do say "ya'll" in the UK, right? So the Crown Jewels are treasures (like those shown above) used in ceremonies. They've been collected by English kings and queens since 1660.

Ketchup and Mustard Tuesday: Because that's what this outfit reminds me of. Both my second and fourth graders are currently weaving. Once they (finally) get the hang of it, I enjoy reading a chapter book to them. This keeps them focused on what they are doing and allows me to introduce the United Kingdom through fun fiction. I'm currently reading Dodsworth in London to the littles and Mary Poppins to the biggins. dress: vintage, Amsterdam; belt, sweater, boots: Anthro; flower brooch: vintage, thrifted; tights and hair clip: Target

The British Imperial State Crown. Okay, growing up in the 80's, all I know about the imperial crown is what I learned from those Imperial Butter commercials. Turns out there's a little more to the crown than that. This solid gold crown is covered in 3000 precious stones including diamonds, rubies and sapphires (you know, what you got on Valentines Day). A couple of the jewels on the crown were worn by royalty centuries ago. In fact, the oldest gem was worn by Edward the Confessor in 1042.

A Gnomey Valentine: I attended a meeting at school this particular morning and a parent, looking me up and down, said, "You know, you were made to teach art." Now this could either mean I look like a crazy person or an artsy one. I'm not kidding myself, I'm going with crazy. gnome dress: made by me; tights: Target; shoes: Miss L Fire; sweater: Ann Taylor, thrifted

When not worn, the Crown Jewels are kept on display in the Tower of London.

Oh, look, it's a Yeomen Warder of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Member of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary. Yeah, how 'bout we just call 'em Beefeaters, 'kay? These dapperly dressed dudes are the supposed guardians of the Tower of London but mostly they act as tour guides and attractions themselves. Why call 'em beefeaters? It seems they used to receive beef as a part of their wages. 

Happy Valentine's Day! Thursday: Oh the joys of teaching children jacked up on sugar. It was most def one of those "if you can't beat them (literally), join 'em." When you are as high on sugar as they are, it makes for a really fun time. Not. dress and sweater: DIY here; tights: Target; shoes: Fluevog; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing

The Crown Jewels are the following objects: the crowns, sceptres (the long wand-like thing with either the cross or the dove on the end), orbs (that gold sphere with the cross on the top used to signify authority), swords, rings, spurs (think cowboy), colobium sindonis (this plain tunic worn to symbolize a shedding of vanity...worn under some pretty fab robes, of course), dalmatic (an even bigger plain tunic), armills (a bracelet), and the royal robe.

Freaky Face/Wrinkly Dress Friday: Yeah, it was one of those days. dress and belt: Supayana on etsy; tights: Target; shoes: Miss L Fire

Speaking of jewels, remember that thrift-score run I bragged about earlier? Well, lookie what I found this past weekend in Lewisburg, Tennessee? Holy moly, can you believe these finds!? I am so excited to welcome these crown jewels to my royal family of beaded cardis...

I betcha the Queen of England ain't got nothin like this in the Tower of London. Poor thing.

 Until we chat again, enjoy your week!