In the Art Room: Why Bingo Daubers are an Art Teacher's Best Friend

My name is Cassie Stephens and I'M IN LOVE WITH BINGO DAUBERS.

There. I've said it. It's finally off my chest. And I'm here today to tell you that if you've not discovered the magical wonders of bingo daubers and all that they have to offer your art room, allow me to introduce you to "a whooole neeeeew wooorrllllllddddd..."

If you are unfamiliar, than you might be thinking: 

What ARE bingo daubers? Simply put, they are the little dot-makin' things that folks use when playing bingo. You can purchase them with ink in them...or empty so you can fill with what you like. I prefer diluted India ink but other art teachers have also used liquid watercolor. TEMPERA PAINT, even when diluted, does not work...I know...I tried.

Why are they magic? Because they provide a seamless line, much like that of a marker. In fact, in my art room, we call them "paint markers" and have three rules for using them properly: DO NOT SHAKE THEM, DO NOT PRESS HARD but, most of all, DO NOT SQUEEZE THEM as an endless stream of ink my flow out of the bottle if you do. Sometimes, the ink dries at the tip providing a scratchy line. If I know my kids are going to be using them, I test each one out during my plan time making sure they work and GENTLY squeezing them to get the ink to flow. 

Where can I get them? Here and here is where I get 'em!

How do I fill and refill them? Like I said, I put slightly diluted India ink in mine (I don't have a brand recommendation because it seems all India ink is created equally). When it comes to refilling them, I know you can buy some sort of contraption to remove the top but I just use a pair of pliers to pry them off. Over time, the felt on top of the marker may become worn out. You can buy just the replacement tops!

What can I do with them? I'm so glad you asked! Here are my Top 11 Fave Things to Do with Bingo Daubers (it's a workin' title...don't judge, naughty pants).

 1. Make Giant Painting Sheets! For our upcoming art show, I wanted to inspire excitement and decorate the walls to announce the event. I sketched out my pirate-y design in charcoal and then laid out paint for the kids to go to town. 

When they were finished, I went back over the black lines on spots where they'd gotten a little excited with the paint (that's putting it mildly) and added white highlights. 

And ta-da! Giant banners to announce our art show! I've seen many art teachers create huge coloring sheets in the same manner for their art shows or art activities. 

 2. Make Welcome Back Banners! If you are like me, you have a CRAZY schedule at the end of the school year. Field day, field trips, assemblies, you name it...it's nuts! And so are the kiddos. Last year, when our field day was rained out and my station was cancelled, I decided to have the kids create Welcome Back banners so that we'd have some color on the walls come fall. They had a blast, we used up excess art supplies and made a rained-out field day super fun. 

Much like the art show banners, here is our paint set up!

3. Heather Galler-Inspired Florals! What I love about the daub is that it forces kids to draw BIG! We never use pencils first, we just dive right in. It's a little scary but it's a great chance to talk about turning a "boo-boo" into something "boo-tiful!" 

More on this lesson (with video!) here...perfect for Mother's Day!

 4. Dean Russo-Inspired Animals! Our mascot is the tiger...and it was so fun creating these massive colorful tigers for our hall. 

We finished them off with our chalk pastel in Sta-Flo trick (see video here!) and oil pastels. 

5. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Kindergarten uses my bingo daubers the most in my art room. Many teachers have told me that they've not had success with kids and daubers...that might be because you gotta remind them of the three rules...with rule numero uno being DON'T SQUEEZE THE PAINT MARKER! This Mo Willems project is always a hit! Lesson with video here. 

6. Jasper Johns-Inspired Kindergarten Alphabet! This is a fave lesson of mine and many others. You can find the lesson details and the lesson video here. 

7. Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom Kindergarten! We follow our first alphabet work of art with this one, a huge hit with my students. We watch the video version of Chicka-Chicka on YouTube and the kids love to sing along with it. You can find the lesson and video here. 

8. Romero Britto-Inspired Hearts! Easy and super great for learning about line, shape and pattern! All of these dauber works of art are HUGE too which I love. Details here. 

9. Fauve-Inspired Self-Portraits! Self-portraits are not my students fave thing to do...or my fave thing to teach. I think it's because the older my students get, the less confidence they have in making their artwork look "real." With that said, the bingo dauber frees them up, makes them relax and not get hung up in the details. Check out this post to see how we added color to these lovelies! 

10. First Grade Penguins! Oh yeah. These are pretty much the cutest...or, wait...are THESE cuter?!

11. Kindergarten Snowmen! I mean...look at them! Lesson and video here. 

 My third graders created these abstract name designs earlier this year with bingo daubers and I loved how they turned out. I don't have a lesson for this one yet...but will work on soon to have available for you and your kiddos!

 I've been in the middle of Art Show Prepland and the bingo dauber is saving my behind! I was able to crank out this pirate ship (which will be a photo-op prop) with a little help from the dauber. 

And I've even made SEVEN massive backdrops like this for the art show too, all with the dauber. So...if I've not convinced you yet that you need to get some bingo daubers in your life then I've just failed at life. Have a super week, y'all! 

Read more »

What the Art Teacher Wore #64

She's a Handful Monday: My students are portraying themselves as royalty in their latest self-portrait adventure. When I asked why one "king" appeared to be yelling (complete with angry eyebrows and wide open  mouth), I was informed that "the king is upset because the queen is a real handful." Trying my best to hide my laughter, I had to ask, "A handful of what...?" After some thought I was told "pain". These kids keep me rolling. top: gift from a friend; scarf: Orla Kiely; skirt: vintage, etsy; tights: dunno; shoes: DIY, here; mini beret: DIY; belt: Anthro

Bonjour, ya'll! I hope this week has been a lovely one. It's been pretty busy here in Cassie-land what with art-show-preparations and feeble attempts at art-room-tidying. But that's okay. I do believe I could have handled just about anything this week threw my way knowing that this Sunday I'm heading to...

This and more amazing vintage posters here.

What?! I know, I can't hardly believe it myself. When hubs recently told me we'd be traveling to Germany for a wedding, I asked if we could please include a short trip to Paris. If you've been following this blog for a bit (for which I thank ya), then you know that I began this school year with an introduction to Paris, complete with art room decor and Parisian-themed DIY dresses. I had no idea that the opportunity to travel there would present itself. I'm so excited!

Grannie Tuesday: One of my first grade students told me I was looking "not like Mrs. Stephens" on this particular day. When I asked her what she meant I was told, "You look like a grannie. It's your sweater. It's a sweater for grannies." Thank you but I prefer to call my style Grannie-Chic. sweater: vintage, thrifted; skirt: vintage, etsy; top: gift from my moms-in-law; fishnets: Target; shoes: Softt; headband: Anthro

Image here.

Which is all to explain my Parisian-themed looks for this week. It was fun digging these outfits out of my closet because it reminded me of the very beginning of the school year. The kids were thrilled to see them too and greeted me with many "Bonjour"s...and a couple of "Hola"s. So it looks like we've got some reviewing to do.

Special Blood Vessels Wednesday: One of my kindergarten students informed me that the reason he's so good at art is because he has "special blood vessels that pop!" when he comes to art class. I'm thinkin' this might be gas. Regardless, I thought it was adorable. sweater: thrifted; dress: DIY by me; tights: Target; shoes: vintage, thrifted

Students of mine gave me these sweet earrings at Christmas. Perfect.

Image here.

The funny thing is, I never had a super strong desire to travel to France until we began our study this school year. And after seeing those pictures of Jes all over Paris, the desire to travel there hit me like a stale baguette.

Fancy Dress Thursday: A couple of days ago, a group of my third grade girls informed me that Thursday was Fancy Dress Day. One girl said, "so don't forget to dress fancy, okay?!" At which point a third grade boy said, "why would you tell her that, she dresses fancy [pause to look at my silly outfit of the day] and weird everyday." Really? You had to throw that "weird" in there? sweater: thrifted; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; dress: Bernie Dexter; fishnets: Target; shoes and mini beret: DIY

A couple of weeks ago, one of my sweet students drew this picture for me...before she even knew of my plans. I'm totally diggin' those ballet flats!

A high school buddy of mine sent me this adorable brooch for my birthday and I just love it! And, speaking of buddies, on Thursday evening, I blew off some much needed steam with a great couple of girlfriends just shopping, trying on makeup and shoes and eating entirely too much.

Image here.

Oh! And speaking of Jes, since his last update, he's been to England and Iceland! I will certainly share those amazing photos with you soon. He's such a get-about.

And I'm Outta Here Friday: It wasn't until 6:30 pm when I was finally finished with lesson plans and room-tidying that I realized I hadn't snapped a picture for the day. This one goes down as one of the worst. And that stuff in the background? Hundreds of pieces of artwork for our upcoming art show, yay! smock: vintage, etsy; skirt and tights: Target

Image here.

So I'll be taking a wee blogging break as I'm out and about. But I'll be certain to share my adventures once I've returned and recovered from jet lag. Until then, au revoir!

Read more »

In the Art Room: Weaving, Part 3

Weaving by one of my fourth grade students.

Hello, crafters! This week I am going to show you how to remove your completed weaving from your loom. If you have not started your weaving, no worries, you can begin here at Weaving, Part 1. Or, if you've finished your weaving and are now ready for the flap, you can catch up by reading Weaving, Part 2.

However, if you've done it all, then let's get to taking that weaving off the loom! This doesn't take long at all so you should be done in a snap.

You may begin on either side of your loom. I am starting on the side with the flap. Cut two warp strings close to the top. Never cut the warp strings close to the weaving as that will cause your weaving to unravel.

Tie your first knot so that it sits right on top of the weaving or weft strings. Do not pull the knot too tightly or it will cause the weaving to smash down and become uneven.

For the second knot, pull very tightly so that the double knot is secure.

Continue this process of cutting two strings near the top and double knot tying them until you have gotten to the end. If you have an odd number of warp strings, you will encounter three warp strings to tie at the end.

If you have this issue, simply put two strings together as one and tie it to the left over string. Double knot tie it as you have done the other warp strings.

Double check and make sure all warp strings are tied off and secure. At this point, you can snip the warp strings shorter.

When you flip your loom over, you will do the exact same thing. I like to pull the warp strings out from the other side or you could simply cut two as you have been.

Again, cut two, double knot tie two and continue until all strings are tied and secure. Trim warp strings.

Now you are ready to remove the weaving from the loom. This might be a bit of a struggle, especially if you have woven very tightly. But you can do it. Just put the end of the loom between your knees and start pulling the weaving off the loom. In art class, we say it's like taking a too-small sock off of someone's foot.

Don't worry about messing it up because you can't. Although it may look like you are.

And if you see this, don't panic.

Just flip it inside out and flatten by hand. Viola! You've woven a pouch!

Next week, I'll walk you through sewing on a button and making that little warp tail (seen in the photo above this one) disappear. Then we are on to creating the handle which is very easy and fun. Please feel free to ask questions or leave comments if you've got 'em. Happy weaving!

Read more »