Under the Sea: Snorkel Selfies!

Yesterday we had so much fun creating our Snorkel Selfies and I think everyone would agree that their favorite part was creating the bubble print backgrounds. In case you missed, here is the video!

Here is the list of supplies I used:

If you would like to join the fun today, then you can grab these supplies:

To join my live art class, you can find me on my Instagram or my Facebook page at 11am CT. Or you can watch later on my YouTube channel. New videos are added to my channel everyday so you might want to subscribe!

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Toilet Paper Tube Crafts!

Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite lessons and projects created with the lowly toilet paper tube! I'll share the link to each of these projects so you can learn more details so be sure and click if you have more questions. If it's one thing we all probably have plenty of right now...it's TP tubes! 

I did this project with my...FIRST GRADERS, y'all! And they knocked it out in just two thirty minute art classes. Here's the video:

I'm guessing most of you don't have plaster strips at home. I know I don't! An easy papier mache recipe would be just a mixture of flour and water. Dip strips of torn newspaper into the mixture and use that as your plaster. The mixture should have a paste-like consistency. No measurements required!

Did you know you can make a castle with toilet paper tubes? My fourth graders created these beauties one year and loved it! All the lesson details here. 

What the world needs now is LOVE LOVE LOVE! You can create all kinds of prints with a toilet paper tube but printing hearts is probably my favorite. You can learn more about it here as well as some fun guided drawing projects! 

Got paper towel tubes? Well, you can make crayons too! Here's how the armature was created:

And if you have cereal boxes, you could even make some decor for your art room!

I have these hanging in my art room and my kids love them. I added a little spot of velcro to the backs of the crayons so they could be removed and shared with my students.

Last year we had an INSANE Pirate Art Show (like, it was the coolest thing ever, I'm not even gonna try to be humble about it. The kids ROCKED it). One of the projects we did was make pirate ships with toilet paper tube sails. Kids could create the ships with air dry, homemade or even modeling clay! A straw and tubes were added for the sails. Here's more of our art show. 

Want a seriously simple TP craft? Well, check this one out:

I also did this project with my students and it was a hit! Here's the demo video:

And here's what my students created:

 This was apart of a collection of handmade art supplies from our art show a couple of years ago. Here's a tour:

We even made "glue sticks" from toilet paper tubes! 

I hope that gives you some fun ideas for creating with TP tubes! Have fun, y'all!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #121 and Art Room Craziness

"Super Hero" Monday: I know, y'all have seen this here get-up before. You can read all the gory, near-death-by-applique details here, if you can handle the scandal. dress: vintage DIY dealio here; tights and wig: (yes, it's fake. So realistic though, riiiiight?) Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing

Hey, kids. How are ya's? 'Twas Spirit Week on my art teacherin' planet which is code for Dress Like a Crazy Person All Week. However, when you are the crazy art teacher who abides by this rule all the time (The Dude Abides, y'all. And I only say that cuz I JUST saw The Big Lebowski for the very first time. I know. I live under a rock. From the 1990's.), well, it's just another week. And the kids totally agreed. For 'zample, on Monday, aka Dress like a Super Hero Day, I was asked by a fourth grader:

"What super hero are you supposed to be, Mrs. Stephens?"

"Uh, I dunno. How about Super Crazy Art Teacher?"

"And how is that different than any other day?"

For this I had no words. You got me, kid. You got me.

Sometimes I wonder if these children realize the sacrifices I make for them. Do they even know how difficult it is to get into one's car and drive down the road in a 12" high wig? And don't even get me started on the complexities of navigating an elementary school restroom without bouncing one's foamy-wigged head back and forth on the stall walls like some sort of bizarro Super Crazy Art Teacher pinball game. It's all for you, kiddos. 

Speaking of crazily dressed art teacher, HOLY COW, Y'ALL! Did you check out the Dress Like a Famous Artwork/Artist Contest?! If not, y'all have just one day left to vote so, what are you waiting for?  Look for your faves then get out the vote. You can vote for more than one art teacher as it's just too tough to pick just one. 

In other non-crazily dressed news, I thought I'd share with ya's just a snippet of what the wee artists in my world have been creating this week. I'll be sharing complete posts with art lessons to come but I was just too stinkin' excited with what was goin' down this week not to share a snippet. What excitement has been happening in your world this week?

Oh! AND, I almost forgot to mention, I'm now on twitter! If you follow me, I'll follow ya right back. Chat soon, y'all!

 'Kay, so I really don't know what's cuter, this dude, that toothy grin or the artwork. My friends in first grade-land zipped right through this project and loved it! We spent the first day using our Gelli-Art plates for printmaking and created these leaf prints on fabric. Then we hit the sewing machines, stitched the two pieces of fabric together and added the Sculpey-beaded hanger. I'll be sharing the complete -n- detailed lesson here next week.

 "Dress Like a Farmer" Tuesday: Look, I dunno who came up with these days but this particular day certainly reminded me of high school. I attended schoolin' in rural Indiana surrounded by acres of corn fields (still have the corn-detassellin' hands to prove it) which was great and I loved it. I do recall that there was always one day outta the year that was called something like "Drive Your Tractor to School Day" (couldn't even make this up, y'all). I never owned a John Deere (hence my low high school standing) but if I could travel back in time, I woulda totally wore this get-up. Cuz at the time I was prolly either in my goth- or hippie-phase. Neither of which were as farmer-chic as this. blouse: thrifted, Anthropologie; jeans: Target; boots: Seychelles, old; leg warmers: dunno

 I decided that our word of the week this crazy week would be "popular culture". This was just perfect as we chatted about Roy Lichtenstein on Monday (whilst wearing that Super Hero thangie), Grant Wood's American Gothic on Tuesday and, well, for Rock Star Day we chatted about Warhol. It was so easy and super fun to tie in these artists with our wacky attire. I could totes do a wacky dress day every day of the week! Oh...wait. By the way, can you even think of a better farmer than the one in Grant Wood's painting? I wore it MOST of the day EXCEPT when I needed to use the restroom. Lesson learned from Monday, sigh. 

 I'd not revisited my tree weaving lesson since first sharing it with you a coupla years ago. I decided to give it another go with this group of third graders and, of course, they loved it. Mostly cuz the kids love weaving. It's that tactile thang, you know? My early finishers then learned about the history of Ojos de Dios and began creating their own...

 Holy mackerel, yous guise, I can't get these kids to STOP weaving! They love it. And for some reason, giving them the option to weave on the floor, standing up, walking around the room (without your scissors, please and thank you) is like a party for them. I'm just hoping they'll be cool with taking a break from 'em next week to begin a new project...if I can get the dern things outta their weaving-manical lil hands!

 "Dress Like a Rock Star" Wednesday: So I pretty much think Katy Perry is the bomb what with her super fun throw-back to the 80's style and pop-y tunes. Although, truth be told, I'm a die-hard Springsteen, Beastie Boys and G-n-R fan. Unfortunately, since none of those dudes qualify as "cute", I opted for the pop star look. nasty-kids wig that pinched my scalp and made me question my life's choices: Walmart. Barf; jacket and dress: Modcloth; tights: Target; boots: Lucky Brand; crinoline: Amazon; necklace and headband: made by me. That headband is made from the scraps of Monday's dress!

 Of course, my second grade was not to be left outta the Ojos de Dios loop. They created these guys in just under two 30 minute classes. I have a giant box of donated bells from India that seemed to be the perfect addition to these God's Eyes. 

 "Dress in Your College Colors" Friday: After spending most of the week feeling slightly under the weather, I decided to give myself a break on Thursday. Howeverness, there ain't no way I'm dressing in my boring college t-shirt. Nah, that sounds like a snooze fest. Instead I opted for more Mexican attire as we are still neck deep in our journey through Latin America. blouse: Olvera Street; skirt: thrifted, vintage; belt: Anthro

 Here's another project that the kids are wrapping up this week, the fourth graders relief-sculpted/Sharpie-colored/painted and woven Metepec-inspired Mexican suns! All the gory deets to come. I'm just glad they muscled through this lengthy project. They are pretty stoked with the results!

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