Monday, November 17, 2014

DIY: A Crayola Sweater and a Giveaway!

Because I'm nothing short of an epic genius, I've come up with a desirable scent that will most assuredly be all the rage once it hits department store counters. I've decided to call it Eau de Art Class (which, upon googling, I've found means "water of art class". Like, ew.) or perhaps Parfume de Back-to-School. Regardless, it's gonna be a Big Fat Hairy hit and I'm bound to become so rich my bling's bling will have bling. 

So just what is this Super Smelly Special Sauce I speak of?
Das right, y'all. Scent de Crayola. Just dab a lil behind your ears and let the good times roll. I hear this is how baby crayons are made. 
Oh, snap! Blue Crayon Babe, you's busted!
In other non-related/I'm-a-secret-super-genius news, I made a new sweater! As if you hadn't figured that out already. Sorry to underestimate your intelligence. We geniuses (genii?) do that a lot. 
Now I totes can't take credit for the idea behind this here felted sweater creation o' mine. In fact, I dunno if you know this about me but I rarely have an original thought. I blame Pinterest and too many years of drowning my sorrows in liters of Diet Coke (y'all. The hubs and I just watched a documentary on manufactured foods. I beg of you, step away from the aspartame!). I have this habit of googling such silliness as "art teacher clothes" and "palette dress" or "crayon sweater" into the wee hours of the night. One eve, this divine-ness popped up on my screen (it's still available, yous guyzzz). And I was all, "OMG, I have to have this!" which was promptly contradicted by "OMG, I have to make this!" 
And so I did. 

But, how?, you wanna know. 'Twas cake, I tell ya. Needle Felted Crayola-Goodness Cake. Lemme show ya.

I started by hitting the thrift store with the sole intent of just buying The Perfect canvas (aka a cream colored sweater) for my masterpiece. Which I totally found. Along with this here gem which I HAD to HAVE. Like, duh. 
I mean, a hat with glasses?! Are you kitten me? (ya see what I did there? Made a cat joke cuz I'm wearing a cat sweater, in case you didn't notice. Aw, don't be all peanut butter and jealous of my super rad sense of humor, y'all. No need to get catty. Ahem.)
So when I got home, my first order of biznatch was to sketch up my design. Which I promptly did and then pinned to my sweater. Now, y'all now I loves me some needle felting. Like, lurves. I mean, just check out Exhibit A, B, C, D, E, and, well, you get the idea. What first got me hooked was watching a youtube vid clip where some British lady spoke these magical words: You can needle felting on ANYTHING. 

That's right, kids. Any surface. Anytime. Anywheres. So, what's stopping you? 
I decided to approach this sweater the same way I had my Crazy Cat Lady number: outline with 100% wool yarn (it's gotta be wool, y'all. And it's gotta be 100%) and fill in the rest with wool roving. I happen to have been gifted a giant sack of wool yarn as it was abandoned in my art room one afternoon (do the rest of y'all art teachers receive art supply abandons? I gotta know, what's been your fave? Mine was this here wool. And your least fave? Um, that'd have to be the three garbage bags of toilet paper rolls. Gee, thanks but, um, no thanks.) 

'Kay, so I know I'm doing a lousy job of 'splaining how I felted this here number. So sorry. My bad. But if you follow this link, you'll find all the answers to life and needle felting. Yes, suriously. 
After needle felting in my outline, I was set to start using the wool roving to fill in the blanks. Or color in the lines. Whateves. 
And, BOOM, after power-watching two episodes of Project Runway, I had my box o' crayons complete. 
And then came the crayons. For that I used my wool yarn again and this here crayon template. I just needle-felted/outlined my crayon...
...like-a dis...
And then filled it in with two different values of roving per crayon (you see what I did there? I just threw in one of the Elements of Art. Because an Art-Teacherin' job is NEVER done, y'all.)
SPEAKING of ART TEACHERIN'...have I got a Crayola-tastic Giveaway for you, y'all! 

Whilst needle felting away, I got the idea to contact my buddy Barb Reinke who works for Crayola. She was kind enough to send some goodness my way to share with y'all in the form of this here giveaway! Cuz, really, who doesn't love Crayola?!
So just how do you enter to win? Well, lemme tell ya in the form of bullet points as they make me feel all organized and intelligent:

  • Leave a comment in the comments (der) describing your FAVE CRAYOLA PRODUCT. Not cuz Crayola wants to know but I do. My fave are their Watercolor Paints called Mixing Colors. They're my jam.
  • I'll enter your name into the drawing once. But if you want your name in the drawing twice, well, then you gots to follow me here. C'mon, let's be twits together!
  • Winner will be announced Tuesday, November 25th. International friends, you may apply. Non-art teacher buddies, you know I loves you, apply as well. This here give away is for all y'all.

Lookin' forward to hearing from y'all and let the giveawayin' begin!
(P.S. in the meantime, do an google image search of "crayon poop". You won't regret it.)

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62 comments:

  1. Anonymous11/17/2014

    Eeee! Can I please have the lurvely felted bobble necklace you're wearing, too? I LOVE me some Crayola! They were the holy grail of art supplies back in the day and I still love them as much today. I'm a traditionalist and love the big box of 96 Crayons avec sharpener, no? Because it has SILVER and GOLD crayons, not to mention periwinkle and magenta. Fingers crossed.....my daughter would love, love to win those goodies for some mama-daughter crafting time!

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  2. I love me a crayon and watercolor combo! The things you can do with those two products!

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  3. My favorite are stick sticks!

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  4. For my classroom it's the Crayola oil pastels, class pack for the basics and the smaller boxes that have the gold and silver ones. When the pastels get all worn down, I throw them in a big box and the kids "treasure hunt" for the precious gold and silver nuggets of color. Your Crayola sweater is fabulous! Although my regular art class fashion leans more toward colored jeans, basic tops, and an occasional colorful scarf, seeing your latest fashions always makes me smile!

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  5. I will always love the classic box of Crayola crayons of my childhood...like the ones on your sweater, which is adorable btw.

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  6. I like working with plain Crayola markers, Classic colors. The colors are rich and vibrant! Better than all the rest !!

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  7. Crayola Construction Paper Crayons are the bee's knees!

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  8. My favorite Crayola product would have to be........like Abby said, construction paper crayons!! That sweater you made is A-class RADICAL!!!

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  9. I enjoy using the watercolor colored pencils and their thin markers.

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  10. Color sticks in the classroom:) I love their versatility. However, I still LOVE the box of 96 crayons. Way back, in another life down in Baton Rouge, I spent most of my second year in grad school making a body of work with them. All the drawings were about 30x40" in size. That's a lot of crayon!
    http://shinebriteproductions.blogspot.com/2010/07/back-in-day.html
    http://shinebriteproductions.blogspot.com/2010/07/when-heat-rose.html

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  11. Still love the original crayola crayons and colored pencils. Would love to try the cool products in this giveaway. I already follow you and love all your cool outfits and wackiness. Thanks

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  12. My Fav are the original crayola crayons and the Construction Paper Crayons!!!

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  13. Super cute sweater! My favourite is the good ol' fashioned crayons. Gosh, I love the way they smell.

    knittinging AT gmail DOT com

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  14. I like crayola watercolor pencils!

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  15. Jane Shores11/18/2014

    Love your Crayola sweater! My fav Crayola products: Right Start colored pencils, construction paper crayons and oil pastels!!!

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  16. Tell Kathleen Turner that my favorite crayola product happens to be their crayons. I know it's "boring" n'all... but they are far superior to all other crayons. ;)
    (Liz)

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  17. I love the construction paper crayons! They're da bomb! Use them for everything...but I'm loving this giveaway because I haven't seen some of this stuff! So "Pick me! Pick me!" So picture me jumping up and down like Donkey in Shrek! :)

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  18. I ordered a new pack of construction paper crayons this year. The previous art teacher had just a few nubs. I love them so much, I don't want to share them with the littles. I'm very stingy with them and only bring them out for special projects.

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  19. Anonymous11/18/2014

    Construction paper crayons .... most definitely!!!!

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  20. Anonymous11/18/2014

    construction paper crayons are amazing!

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  21. Anonymous11/18/2014

    My TRUE favorite was this interior design kit that I had as a kid - http://www.pinterest.com/pin/173599760606146211/. But I have serious love for the 96-crayon box with the built-in sharpener!

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  22. Construction paper crayons blew my mind. Favorite! Your blog is so fun, Cassie!

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  23. Anonymous11/18/2014

    I LOVE Crayola Construction Paper Crayons! (Especially on black construction paper!)

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  24. I gave a really long comment here and it went POOF!! I'll try again later. Don't have it in me to type all of that again!

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  25. 8 pack twist able crayons. They last forever and keep the same dullness at all times so the kiddos never complain. They also come in nice packaging that can be reused forever.

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  26. Teaching my Kinders color mixing with model magic is the bomb! Also I love color sticks, no more sharpening colored pencils= genius!

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  27. Sara Slater11/18/2014

    I use classic markers with my 6th graders, metallic colored pencils with my 7th and 8th graders, and my elemantaries use model magic during the summer school class I teach. I love the hair clip! I may have to make one and wear next year to my state art teacher conference. @slaterscreators

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  28. I'm hooked on color sticks! Love their vibrant color. And construction paper crayons, of course!

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  29. I love to use Gel FX markers to draw fireworks on black paper with first graders. I love their reaction to the color pop. The oohhhs and ahhhs are perfect for fireworks!��

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  30. One of my favorite scents is new box of crayola's. Seriously, crayola can you turn that smell into a scentsy block for my wax melter. my fave products besides crayons are the crayola oil pastels and the iron-on transfer crayons.

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  31. I can never get a post to POST! But I'll try again. I always have a brand new box of Crayola crayons in my dresser drawer. Always. My mom used to give me a new box for Christmas. Once we were cleaning out her Sunday School cabinet and on the crayon storage shelf we found teeny tiny colorful bits...roaches do the rainbow poop thing too!

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  32. Anonymous11/18/2014

    I love a new box of crayons. Crayola is the bestest! I always have a box of 64 stashed in my desk just for me! btw love all your outfits! I don't know how you have time to make so much, teach, present and blog…you must be the energizer bunny of art teachers!

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  33. I am one of the many Crayola fan followers! I've been collecting Crayola products my whole life. I even went to the Crayola Factory for Spring break my junior year of college! Crazy art teacher! Personally, my favorite Crayola product is the Crayola Crayon Maker. I have used it to make personalized crayons as part of a gift for so many people! Professionally, I love Crayola Watercolor palettes! They are affordable and great quality. They have not let me down! I've used them with all K-12 grade levels I have taught in the past 7 years!

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  34. Denise Warf11/18/2014

    I love their oil pastels! The construction paper crayons are also wonderful.

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  35. I love crayons and markers- all types of Crayola colors and types. We use them almost everyday in art class. My students love them almost as much as me. I would love to wear the super cute Crayola sweater. Now to Google crayola poop!

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  36. I liked the markers where the cap contained another colour and if you pressed them together, you got a third colour for a while until the original colour is ink flowed to the tip. They were way cool.

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  37. Anonymous11/19/2014

    OK, not that I am not excited as the next art teacher to get free art supplies but, I have to say I thought for a quick second you were giving away your sweater and I scrolled to the bottom as quick as I could to see. Actually, I would be over the moon with the whole outfit - skirt and necklace. Loving it all, babe. As far as my favorite I am with you, I like the Watercolor Paints called Mixing Colors. They are awesome.

    christy.davis at knoxschools dot org

    BTW, your comments box does not like me. I can't just comment and be done.

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  38. Definitely Crayola crayons. No other brand even comes close when it comes to quality! It would be their construction paper crayons, but that type doesn't have a good strong red. I live within day trip distance of the Crayola factory and I brought my nieces there years ago. I was WAY more excited than they were, and they were only 4 and 6 at the time! I even blogged a tutorial on how I made my green crayon sneakers... inspired by Cassie's crayon shoes, of course!

    ~Liz Van Allen from scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com

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  39. Model Magic! Because it is so versatile for a quick 3D project, lightweight so shipping is not a fortune, and you can decorate them not only by painting, but also by drawing on it with markers. The primary-colored ones are fantastic for coloring mixing with K's, because as they roll and marble them the new color slowly appears, then they can use the new color to make an art work. I love Model Magic in places that clay would be too heavy but paper-mache would be too coarse, like students making a garden of flowers that you want to stand upright.

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  40. Oh man, so many great products to pick from! I recently discovered the Crayloa Gel fx Crayons. So pretty!

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  41. I just LOVE crayola. It's hard to pick a favorite product, crayola brand is my go to. But if favs be needed; I guess I'd say their new truly washable water color markers. They work really fabulous for mono-prints. Did you and Mr. E get together and decide to both go crayola this week? You should be walking the halls together somewhere, you in your sweater and him in his box costume!!! Such creative minds out there in Nashville!!!

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  42. Love the new sweater! I thought of you Cassie when I went shopping this past weekend at the Nashville Christmas village. There was wool felting items in many booths! The purses were wonderful and I saw one that looked just like Kandinsky! I ALMOST bought it and thought... nah, I will make me one! :) I ALSO was in Chattanooga this weekend and walked up on the Anthropology store decorating their store window with some beautiful pinecone/winter branch decorations and AGAIN thought of you! Now, I want to have a friend who works for Crayola... how do you pick a favorite? Alas, I too shall go with the classic box of Crayola crayons. There really is nothing more spectacular than a new box of crayons (and the smell!)

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  43. My current favorite is the Crayola Portfolio Oil Pastels. Love!

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  44. Anonymous11/19/2014

    My favorites are the oil pastels and gel markers. So smooth!

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  45. I love regular crayons, construction paper crayons, the water color pencils, and model magic :)
    Loooove the sweater!!

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  46. I especially like the hexagonal oil pastels becuz they don't roll off the table and get stepped on and smear all over the floor like the round ones. Plus the sets have gold and silver, too, and nobody else's do! But of course, that means that everyone fights over them, so maybe they shouldn't be my favorite after all...

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  47. The metallic markers are gorgeous on dark paper!

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  48. Anonymous11/20/2014

    I am a HUGE fan of their metallic markers, and often use them to start drawings that inevitable become mixed-media pieces with paint & stickers, on cold press watercolor paper. Also, their traditional & classic 64 Crayola crayon box w/ the good ol' sharpener is just a happy must-have. yay!

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  49. Gabby P11/20/2014

    I always loved to use the special box of 64 crayons because it has the built-in sharpener! I would always beg my parents to buy them for me, but they never did... This still makes me a little sad. :(

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  50. I'm a big fan of their construction paper crayons! I use them for so many different projects now. The kids adore them too and get so excited when I pull out the classpack!

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  51. Construction paper crayons!!! Vibrant and will write on bogus paper, kraft paper, and even bisque ceramic.

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  52. Anonymous11/22/2014

    I wish I could marry their oil pastels. They are a coveted item in my art room!!

    Morgan Garcia (morgandgarcia@hotmail.com)

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  53. I love Crayola's dry erase markers, they're great and easy for my kids to use!

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  54. Cassie I'm that brand new art teacher who wouldn't have had a clue without your supply list post...and I love the Crayola watercolor mixing colors you recommended! Nothing beats sniffing brand new Crayola crayons though...except Mr. Sketch markers, of course. Duh. And it sounds like I need to try out these construction paper crayons!

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  55. Love the portfolio oil crayons. Color like butta'!

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  56. My favorite Crayola product is the Portfolio Oil Pastels, too! My students love to dip them in water and make the colors really pop!

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  57. Ooooooh, model magic glaze. I'd like that!

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  58. Just started following you on twitter. There are a lot of crayola products I love (watercolors, too!) but those glitter markers are catching my eye for my current illuminated letters project! :)

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  59. missfiggie11/26/2014

    Old-school classic Crayola crayons, I have to say. :)

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  60. ❤️��������������❤️������!!!!!!!

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  61. I want to know how to make the necklace! !!

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    Replies
    1. Oh, friend, I didn't make it! I found it at The Paper Source for $12! They still have them available on their website. But be warned: they are itchy!

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