DIY: The Embroidered Eiffel Dress

Bonjour, ya'll! 

As you might have guessed from my art room windows and my French poodle dress, I'm on a bit of a Parisian kick. I finished the embroidery for this dress during our last couple of road trips and, despite a wee bit of a disagreement between the hubs and myself (which I'm going to need your help settling), I'm excited with how it turned out. Especially since it began it's life looking like this...

This little hook in my sewing room usually holds half a dozen of work-in-progress, in-need-of-TLC, please-iron-yesterday dresses. I moved the mound so you could focus on this little bitty dress.

I spotted this dress at Goodwill. I recall this style from a couple years ago, you know, that elastic-waist-band-thing. Most of the tops of these dresses where usually tanks, which I never cared for. The sweet yellow blouse is what drew me to this dress. It's tragic flaw was the fact that the skirt was, like, 14" in length which is just a wee bit of a problem for this never-shave-above-the-knee-caps gal.

I began by letting out the hem and removing the pockets. I found this formerly-a-curtain vintage floral fabric in my stash and decided it would look lovely at the bottom of my dress. I had this idea that I wanted it to look like I was walking through a flower garden. Or being eaten alive by vintage fabric. Which, with my hoarder ways, the latter is more likely the case.

Before adding the vintage fabric to the skirt, I hemmed it and created a circle of fabric that was the same circumference as the bottom of the dress. Then I pinned it to the dress and appliqued stitched around  the edge of the flowers. Once that was complete, I had the super duper fun pleasure of trimming all of the excess fabric off the top. I managed to cut into the skirt accidentally only once...which I promptly patched after saying a few naughty words and throwing a couple of things.

Hubs and I have been enjoying some road trippin' during his time off. My favorite car-traveling craft is embroidery. I've worked on my Naughty Nautical Girls dress, my Pin-up Cowgirls dress and my Presley Poodle all while on the road.

Can you guess my inspiration for the dress? You know I love to go all Miss Frizzle what with my clothes matching my teaching unit. I drew out a sketch of the Eiffel Tower on paper, traced it with a Sharpie, pinned that drawing under my dress and (gasp!) drew the tower onto my dress in pencil before embroidering the Eiffel.

Aw, look at young Brigette Bardot in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing what looks to be a vintage Snuggie. This is actually the hair do I was aspiring to. With flowers, of course.

Okay, remember that disagreement between the hubs and myself? Well, I think I needed to add something to the top, to balance out the dress. My idea is to applique some of the flowers onto the left side of the blouse, as seen in the photo on the left (if you click on the photo, I think you'll get a better look). 

Hubs seems to think I need to leave it alone as seen in the photo on the right. I say it's too "business on the top, Parisian party on the bottom". He says I have a habit to taking things to another (read tacky-er) level.

So, dear reader, what do you think? I'd love to hear your input in the poll at the top of this post on the right (which took me far too long to figure out how to install!)...and a comment if you have the time. Thanks for playing!

What the Art Teacher Wore #26

Back-in-the-Saddle Monday: I ventured into my classroom for the first time since the last day of school on Monday. So much to do, so little time! dress: Anthro, sale from a couple summers ago; sweater: Anthro, great sale going on now; rope sandals: Nomadic State of Mind. bird belt: made by me

Well, I suppose I should have titled this post What I Wore Last Week as I'm a bit late getting this up. I've got an excuse though: hubs has a lovely week's vacation and we are currently taking multiple road trips. We just spent the last couple of days in a very hot St. Louis visiting good friends, dining at awesome spots (Ted Drewes Frozen Custard -- oh my!) and hitting some of the best vintage shops I've been to. This town is a thrifty girl's dream as I've never seen so many vintage, consignment and thrift shops in one area. I'll be certain to share those shops and my finds with you in the nearish future.

And, since I'm such a sharer (actually, not so much, I got poor marks on such in kindergarten), I thought I'd share with you some little-known-kinda-embarrassing facts about me along with my outfit photos. I'm calling these little segments True Confessions aka I Was Too Lazy to Find Artwork that Matched My Outfits So I Went With Random Photos on my Camera Instead.

True Confession #1: Because I take my own outfit photos with a ten second timer, I have to scramble to get in front of the camera. This scrambling often leads to the cat getting stepped on, me running into chairs and, well, the unexplainable, like what you see above. I have more doofus photos like this then I care to admit.

When It Finally Rains, It Pours Tuesday: And pouring rain plus rope sandals, it turns out, do not go together well. Der. dress: my fave vintage shop in Knoxville Four Seasons Cottage, so excited I get to go there at the end of the week! flower: H&M

True Confession #2: I love GnR. Yes, seriously. This is my ride-into-work rockin-out music. I play Appetite for Destruction loud and proud with my terrible singing to boot. What can I say, I was an influential tween in the late '80's with a severe case of hair envy. And who doesn't wanna be Welcome(d) to the Jungle? I mean, after all, they've got fun and games.

A Little Work, A Little Play Wednesday: I used to have these Strawberry Shortcake Sheets that said: A Little Work, A Little Play, All Add Up to a Berry Nice Day. I couldn't agree more. I worked in my room and then met up with a good friend. We shopped, dined and shopped some more. dress: The Hip Zipper, a vintage joint here in Nashville; headband: Pangea, a groovy little shop in Nashville as well.

True Confession #3: My hubs and I have a severe addiction to haunted houses. Not the kind that are really haunted but the ones where we pay money to enter a dark building and actors chase us with chainsaws and bloody masks. Starting as early as September, we begin attending these houses and we love every minute. So much so, I recently purchased the above fabric to sew a dress for the occasion. Muwahahaha.

Finishing It Off Thursday: Dress, done. Windows, done-r. Feelin' pretty accomplished, done-est. And to think they put me in AP English school. Silly teachers. dress: made by moi, you can read more here; sandals: Frye

True Confession #4: Aside from having multiple doofus moments on my camera, I also have way too many of this sweet girl. Every time I see her all snuggled up and sleepy, I take a dozen photos which I promptly download and doctor on picassa. Can you really blame me? I mean look at dat sweet widdle fuzzy face!

Friday: I forgot to mention that on Wednesday, when catching up with my buddy, I also was the recipient of her closet-clean-out. And her closet is Uh-Mazing. I managed to score some dresses, a coat and this top from Anthro. skirt: Anthro, picked up at the resale/vintage shop Paris Market; belt: by me; sandals and necklace: old, Target

True Confession #5: I have a mad sweet tooth. I mean, it's bad. Candy must be consumed after every meal (even breakfast). I almost always have a bag of candy with me...although these 110 temps have made that nearly impossible. I just might have to invest in a mini-candy-cooler.

 And there you have it, all the things you never needed to know about me. If anything, I'm sure this is a boost to your self esteem: "...well, at least I'm not as crazy as that candy-eating-for-breakfast, Guns-and-Roses-singing, haunted-house-addicted cat-lady." 

Yep. It could always be worse.

Enjoy your week, kids!

In the Art Room: Let's Go to Paris!

Having haphazardly cleaned my art room at the end of the school year, I managed to hide all of the paintbrushes from myself. Seriously, I've no clue where they are. So this here window mural was painted in sponges, paint rollers, fingers, window paint markers and a sumi brush. 

Each year, students, their parents and faculty friends ask me the same question: "So, where are we going this year?!" I began this tradition of decorating my room around our theme of study many years ago. I'd say I do it (in my best Sally Struther's voice) for the children, but the truth of the matter is, I just love doing it. The bonus is they love it as well.

I'm so excited for them to see this year's theme: Traveling Europe. As you might have guessed, we are starting off our journey in Paris! Which is just a pinch different from where we traveled to last year...

This time last year, we were heading back in time to Ancient Egypt. I painted the windows, sponge stamped those dollar straw mats and created the batiks in the window and behind my chair. All of that's now packed away. Somewhere. Possibly with some paint brushes. 

I did learn something having lost my brushes: painting goes a whole lot quicker if you use a paint roller to block in the background. Another lesson learned: beware of paint-roller-splatter. Especially when wearing vintage, argh!

I began with a really rough sketch of how I was hoping the windows would turn out. The left bank of windows proved to be the easier side as I had a clear idea of where I was going: Eiffel Tower, some hot air balloons, a background of buildings and some flowers in the foreground. Not quite three hours later, done.

Remember I told you I was on a poodle kick?

This side proved to be a pinch more difficult. I knew I wanted a street, a bike and a poodle. I created an extremely rough sketch on my window with a washable marker and just went for it. Thankfully, I had plenty of photos from our trip to Epot and their version of Paris to help me out.

I love Epcot. There is nothing to do there but shop and eat. Which go together like hot fudge and ice cream, says moi.

Knowing that I'd be creating my room around this European theme, hubs and I went to Epcot on our trip to Disney at the very beginning of the summer. Can you spot my inspiration in these photos? Hello there, street lamp.

Another thing I love about Epcot is that they hire folks from the actual counties to work in that portion of the park. Or they manage to find people with really great accents. Either way, it's very cool.

Table for two? Oui, s'il vous plaît.

In between and above my windows are concrete blocks. Not exactly the Euro-vibe I was going for. In my search for paint brushes, I found that I had a mountain of French painting reproductions. So, I set about mounting them and creating some faux advertisement posters. I was inspired by the post of adverts I saw at Epcot...

From Epcot's Paris.

FeeFee and her suitcase, ready to travel the world.

Because my art room used to be a library, I have an enormous book shelf beside my windows. Normally I fill the shelves with treasures from the countries we are studying, but my stash of European souvenirs is pretty slim. So I scooped up this old plastic Samsonite suitcase at the thrift store and covered it with some royalty -free travel images I printed off the interweb.

Which was inspired by this display at Epcot.

My new favorite spot in the room. Now where is that waiter with my cappuccino? I hope he's not buried under paint brushes some where -- I'll never get my coffee!

So one area of my room complete! Notice I'm not sharing with you photos of the rest of the place...in my mad hunt for paintbrushes, I opened every cabinet and pulled out every drawer. It looks like a poltergeist swept through my room.

Au revoir, Jes! Do you remember our school mascot? He's traveled to Germany and the Netherlands and this week he was shipped out to France! I cannot wait to share photos of his travels with the kids.

It's such a relief to have one portion of my room complete. Now I'm just down to moving tables, prepping first week supplies and hanging up my class rules. I've already started to rewrite my rules:

Rule #1: Find Mrs. Stephens paint brushes.

Rule #2: What? Have you found my brushes yet? Then you need to revisit Rule #1, kid.

(Thanks for dropping by!...Cassie)

DIY: The Gladys Presley Poodle Dress

Look, ma, no arms!

 Today I can proudly say I accomplished somethings. That's right, plural. Most days I'm lucky if I can accomplish a good hair washing (which, ahem, today was not one of those days) but today I was all about finishing somethings off: decorating the thematic area of my art room (cannot wait to share that with you!) and this here dress.

Now you can see the real reason I was hiding my hands. And why I couldn't wash my hair today -- I'd never remember to pick up bananas if I did!

 You might recognize this dress pattern if you've been reading for a while. It's the same pattern I used to create my Empire Strikes Back dress for Star Wars Weekends. You remember, the one where I almost got Boba Fett's digits if hubs hadn't blown my cover. Take a look-see here if you need a refresher.

I'm currently on a big time 1950's poodle kick. When I share my art room decor with you, you'll see what I mean.

 You might also recall this little prissy poodle. This was my traveling DIY I worked on while overseas. I based the poodle off of the little pups found on the wallpaper in Gladys Presley's bathroom. You can read all about that and my trip to Graceland here.

How do you know when it's time to wash your hair? When hubs refers to it as "troll hair". Since when do trolls rock bump-its, I ask you?

 I was so excited when we returned from our trip to finish this dress. I've decided to create a couple of thematic dresses for this school year and this one ties in perfectly with one project idea I have in mind. 

A close up of the wallpaper in Gladys Presley's bathroom. Do you see the poodle I used as my inspiration? I added the beret.

 Despite the fact that I've now sewn three dresses from this same pattern (what? practice makes perfect-ish), I struggle with it every time. I blame bad memory and an inability to understand long sentences that don't involve multiple pictures. In color. With cute cartoon characters. Talking poodles would be good.

Did I mention that part of the problem might also be my undiagnosed ADHD?

Oh, look, I'm having another one of my pharmaceutical-drug-ad-photo-moments: If you suffer from the inability to read multiple sentences without talking cartoon poodles, ask your doctor about NotBeingaCrazyPerson. Possible side effects of taking NotBeingaCrazyPerson include: acting like a grown up, not wearing bump-its, and washing your hair. Use as directed.

 But it all came together. Finally. I can actually say that I no longer dread putting in the armhole facing-thingies. I mean, as a self-taught sewer (well, with the help of my Memphis bud) but I can easily say that sewing from a pattern really is just a matter of following the directions. And seam ripping. Lots of seam ripping.

I am so in love with this puppy print. I'm sending some off to the amazing Jen of Peachy Tuesday. I cannot wait to see what adorable hair accessories she creates with this.

 Along the way, I discovered this fabric designer: Tammis Keefe. Have you heard of her? This fabric is actually a reproduction of a printed pattern from many years ago. It's funny, without my knowing it, I have recently purchased three of her fabric designs. I love her style, it' so stinkin' cute.

El Fronto.

La Backo. Looks like someone needs to add a hook and eye to the top of the dress. Or just lay some dirty hair over it. Which is most likely.

 Well,  now that it's finished, I wonder what Gladys would have thought of my dress...or better yet, her hunky son...

Well, that looks like a wink of approval to me, E. Thank ya.

I keep having these dofus moments where I don't make it in front of the camera in time. Which results in these kind of shots. Whatcha think, E?

Yeah, it's a stare I'm used to.

Do you know this lady? Elvis did, if that give you a hint.

So, there you have it. My completed Gladys Presley Poodle Dress. Now, if I could get my hair to Priscilla Presley Perfection, I'd be out of Troll Hair Land and into Mushroom Cloud Hair Territory. It's good to have something to aspire to. 

Be sure to drop by within the next couple of days to see my art room. Here's a hint on the theme: it is Tres Magnifique!

Summer Adventure: TN Arts Academy

Warm Color Lady Bugs Buggin' Out by Emily Moseley of Memphis

One of my favorite annual summertime adventures (second only to this summertime fun) is Tennessee Arts Academy. I've already went on about it here, so I'll save you the displeasure of hearing me repeat myself (I'll save that for dear ole hubs). However, I did want to share with you some art lessons and techniques from the instructors and my fellow art buddies.

For the week of the academy, the art teachers are separated into two groups: elementary and secondary. Each group attends a two day workshop with one instructor and then another two day'er with a different instructor. For the elementary art teachers, we had the pleasure spending our first couple of days with the awesome art teacher Elizabeth Willett.

One of my favorite things is seeing the different takes on a single project idea. I love how this elementary art teacher incorporated nature into her sculpture.

Elizabeth has taught elementary, been a rep for Crayola and is now back in the classroom. She's also in charge of putting together the NAEA Conference which is in her hometown of Fort Worth. I've never been to Texas before, so I'm really stoked about the conference.

I was also thrilled with the lessons she shared with us. We worked with Crayola's Model Magic to create the insect sculptures that you see. All of the lessons Elizabeth shared incorporated math, science and language arts. We were given a fantastic bibliography and a ton of Crayola's Dream Maker's lesson plans. This lesson focused on science with the theme being insects and their surroundings.

Okay, I'm just gonna say it: whenever I attend these art teacher inservices I feel soo intimidated. And is it any wonder why? These art teachers are artists. What lucky kids their students are!

Another wonderful lesson was mask making. The mask base was one made from paper that I believe was picked up from Dick Blick. From there, themes about cultures and/or identity could be covered. Again, it was a thrill to see the assortment of ideas. The above was created with Model Magic which will adhere to the paper mask without glue.

My friend Ann Wolfe created this mask. She told me that she added the Model Magic and once that was stuck, she painted the entire mask with watercolor paint. The black accents were created with a sharpie and the texture on the paper part of the mask were created with the back of her brush.

I am working on creating a Venetian Mask lesson for my fourth graders this year and this lesson has given me so many new ideas.

Yes, those are paperclips protruding from van Gogh's hat. Just in case you wanna lend him an ear. Sadly I didn't catch the artist who created this piece.

This lesson was one that integrated language arts. The premise was that the children create a tin foil armature and attach that to the lid of a jar with masking tape. Flattened pieces of Model Magic are shaped over the armature to create the face. Paper clips are added to the head to hold words that are being learned. Once the vocabulary is mastered, the paper strips of words are placed in the jar.

Model Magic is a different world that clay. I found it to be like sculpting with a marshmallow (which apparently I suck at). This art teacher had the right idea by adding the 'Magic on in bits.

Just adorable.

This one was created by Nashville elementary art teacher Tina Atkinson. If you know her, you know this looks just like her! Minus the purple/pink/blue hair of course. You can see the vocabulary words on her paperclips here.

My friend Ann's adorable gyotaku.

For this lesson, Elizabeth focused on geography and took us on a trip to Japan. We sampled some food (sea weed, anyone?) and created these gyotakues on muslin. The Japanese tradition is to make a print of a fish that was caught to remember the size and the beauty of the fish.

Beautifully bound and decorated book by an elementary art teacher.

The following two days were spent with Bookbinding Pros David and Julie Williams. We created several books and learned many different bookmaking techniques. I learned that as much as I love embroidery, sewing these books up was more than my pea-sized brain could handle. Thankfully, I made some buddies that bound my books for me when I was busy thumping my head against the wall.

Stunning, right? I will never understand those that can watercolor.

Now, on to the secondary art teacher folks. Since I wasn't in their class, I am not sure what they were instructed on but their work was too beautiful not to share. For this class titled Mixed-Media Blitz, the had the super sweet and amazing Linda Peterson.

Pretty Poppy by Jo Ellen Thatcher.

Hilarious! Not sure of the artist but love this just the same.

Darling Dachshunds by Michelle Malencha

Linda Peterson, the instructor, is an incredible calligrapher. She showed me some calligraphy tips and she made it look so easy (and, honestly, it was!). For this lesson, a simple animal was drawn, calligraphy was added and shading was the final touch.

Created in two days. Wow.

The other instructor for the secondary art teachers was Sheri Treadwell. Sheri's class was amazing, I so wish I could have attended hers as well. She demonstrated creating a bust and adding a head. None of the artists were allowed to create a sketch prior to beginning their sculpture. This really helped the artists step out of their comfort zone and create something that even surprised them.

Love the snotty snout and the spiral repeated in the bun, the earrings and the necklace.

Sigh. Can you see why I just love the Tennessee Arts Academy? I was in my art room today with a bah-jillion ideas bouncing around my head. I'd say I can't wait until school starts...but that'd just be crazy talk.

TAA friends, if I have shown your artwork here but failed to recognize you, please leave a comment below with your name and I'll be certain to give you credit. Thank you!