12 Favorites of 2012

Favorite Memories: Star Wars Weekends at Disney. We had so much fun that plans to return are already in the works. This dress I crafted from my childhood bedsheets got some serious attention with complete strangers asking if they could snap photos of it. Sketches of the next SW dress are underway. 

 Happiest of New Years to you! I hope you managed to ring in the new year in style. And, if your style is anything like mine, you were in your pj's fast asleep wondering who was blowing up your cell phone at midnight. I know, I'm such a party animal. 

Since I woke up feeling all reminiscent-y, I thought I'd share with you my 12 faves of 2012. I started this blog back up again a year ago as one of my resolutions of 2012. I wanted a place to share my DIY's, the art projects of my students, what I wore and, just, life stuff. While scrolling through my blog this morning, I picked out some of my favorites and thought I'd share them with you. So, here they are, 12 of my Favorite Memories, What I Wore, DIY's and Art Class Projects of 2012.

Favorite Memories: A Day Trip to Graceland: I have been a big follower of both Quincy and Emma's blogs for a while. So when the stars aligned for us to all take a day trip to Memphis, I was thrilled. One of the funniest things that happened was at the end of the tour, we decided to have our photos taken. Suddenly, a newspaper dude came up and started snapping away. And then some publicity guy for Graceland. And then complete strangers who asked to have their photos taken with us. It was a hilarious moment I won't soon forget.

Favorite Memories: A European Vacation: Well, for me anyway. Hubs spent most of his days working while I tooled around Germany in my VW exploring cities, eating entirely too much gelato and shopping for souvenirs. We did spend several days vacationing in the Netherlands with Amsterdam being my favorite. 

In the Art Room: Fantastic Frogs: Our clay theme for the end of last year's school year was Monet's Garden and these frogs created by my third grade artists were such a hit. I love the different personalities of each frog and how much it reflected that of the artist.

In the Art Room: Leaf Printing. I learned about this process from a fabulous art instructor at the Tennessee Arts Academy. The results of each print was just breath taking and such a wonderful learning experience for positive and negative space, printing, texture and nature. Complete details of the project here.

In the Art Room: Pouch Weaving. Not to be confused with purse-weaving as the boys would never go in for this project. And it turns out that this one is always a hit, especially with the boys. Each year my fourth grade students complete these pouches as a rite of passage. I wrote out the many steps to completing these pouches in my weaving posts. You can find the first installment here.

DIY: The Blue Christmas Light Up Dress. One of my resolutions for 2012 was to sew my own clothing. Before this year, I'd only sewn one dress completely on my own. This year, I sewed nine! This light up dress was one of my favorites, from it's adorable fabric to the pattern and, most especially, the lights at the bottom (which was my genius hubs idea!).

DIY: Memories of Marilyn. I began creating these ceramic paper doll dresses after finding a bunch of photos of my maternal grandmother Marilyn. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the dresses but I created about a dozen of them and shared a tutorial here. When a friend mentioned putting them in a shadow box with the photos that inspired them, I knew that was the answer. You can see more of the end result here. I think my grandma Marilyn would have loved this tribute to her.

DIY: Pencil Skirt and Shoes. Okay, I'll just go ahead and admit it: I've got a little bit of an applique addiction. It's kinda my version of be-dazzling something. Got a dull skirt? How about a blank apron? Need to jazz up that boring dress? Just applique the crap outta it! And you'll notice I've got the same issue with painting on shoes. Oh well. My students loved this end result.

What I Wore: Madeline for Halloween. Since the kids were learning all about Paris, France at the beginning of the school year, I decided to go all Madeline on them. This tied in so nicely with the beautiful bulletin board created by one of my practicum students. How I miss those awesome girls!

What We Wore: Dressing like Monet's Garden meets the 1950's. I had the pleasure of having one of the most incredible student teachers this year. We shared the same goofy brain and often dressed alike to teach our lessons. Her middle school students are very lucky to have such a talented and dedicated art teacher.

What I Wore: Read Across America Rainbow. Don't let my expression fool you, you know I'm lovin' this ridiculousness. This photo was taken during Read Across America week and on this day it was silly hat day. The best part about this hat was that I managed to cloud slap anyone that got to close with just the turn of the head.

  Another thing I have loved about this past year is getting to know so many of you! I have been thrilled with your comments, words of encouragement and the discovery of so many other like-minded folk. Thank you for following my blog and my dorkiness. I truly appreciate all of you. 

Happy New Year!