DIY: A Calligraphy Scarf by Lisa Beynon

Hey, ya'll! When I saw an art teacher buddy post an amazing DIY Calligraphy Scarf on Facebook recently, I asked her if she'd share the details in a blog post. Because, not only is it awesome but it's also awesomely simple as she'll break it down for you. Take it away, Lisa!

I wanted an article of clothing to go with a calligraphy lesson that I teach. I love using text as a texture in paintings,  art journals, drawings, etc. so I thought why not fabric? And I love scarves, so why not a scarf?

1. The first thing I did was get about a ¾ of a yard of fabric. Any fabric will do. But I recommend testing the fabric with a permanent marker to make sure there is minimal marker bleed.
   
   
2. Lay fabric flat and write desired quote, passage, song lyrics on fabric with a permanent marker. Just remember to try to evenly space the lines of text ( I chose M.J.’s “Thriller”.)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   3. My fabric was square, and it wasn’t going to wrap around my neck how I wanted, so I cut the fabric in half and sewed the two rectangles together lengthwise. Then fold long rectangle in half inside out, and sew up the longest side.
   
   4. Measure the length around your neck to your desired length.  You can flip it right side out, and sew the edges for a traditional scarf, or make sure the length of the scarf will wrap around your head twice for an infinity scarf. Then tuck in one side of the scarf to the other and sew for continuos circle.
   
   
   I ended up chopping off a bit of fabric because it was longer than I like.
   My students got a kick out of it, and just solidified why they love me so much…errr why they think I’m the weirdest!
   
   Lisa Beynon teaches art to some super lucky high schoolers in Genoa, Illinois. Please let Lisa know how awesome she is in the comments below, I know she'd love to hear from you. And if you're really feeling spunky, get to crackin' on your own Calligraphy Scarf this weekend, email it to me and I'll share it here!
   
   
   Thank you, Lisa!
   
   

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What the Art Teahcer Wore: What Some OTHER Art Teachers Wore

If you aren't reading Jena Love's blog, you really should be. She's adorable, energetic and, well, just look at her in her handmade Captain Color ensemble, she's amazing! I met Jena at NAEA and I can tell she's a crazily dressed kindred spirit. Check out her blog and let her know how rad she is!

Hey, ya'll! This week, instead of snapping photos of what I wore (which, by the way, involved me wearing camouflage pants on Wednesday for a supposed Duck Dynasty Day that, well, wasn't. Hard to imagine, right? Even harder to live down. Full story in an upcoming post) I thought I'd share with ya'll some other AMAZING art teachers in their super fun artsy get ups. These photos were shared with me by these teachers for the Best Dressed Art Teacher Contest! 

What's the Best Dressed Art Teacher Contest, you ask? 

Well, here's the details:

Nominate yourself or an art teacher buddy!

Simply send an email to me at cassieart75@gmail.com with a photo of your best artsy look. High resolution photos preferred, please.

 Please include a short bio about the art teacher and what inspired the look.

Photos and bio will be shared on this blog on April 30th.

Open voting on this blog will end on May 5th and the winner will be announced May 6th!

The winner will receive a magical prize along with an interview on this blog.

So far, these awesome art teachers (and a handful of others!) have sent me some photos...but I know that there are many more of you Crazy Art Teachers out there. Why not share your special bit of crazy with the world (or the 20 or so folks that read this blog -- hi, mom!). It has made opening up my email hilariously fun, ya'll! So, c'mon, what are you waiting for?! 

Bob Ross, er, Don Masse (of Shine Bright Zamorano fame) did! I've secretly been lifting ideas from Don's blog for ages...and was totally jealous to hear that he gave a tour of his school and such at NAEA! I think he makes a pretty great Bob, don't you think? Just wait till I share with you his other get up! 'Til then, check out Don's blog, he's an incredible art educator and a super nice dude.

Look, it's Phyl (There's a Dragon in my Art Room, ya'll. Check it)! Okay, so you know all those t-shirts you get at each and every conference? Well, Phyl's been hoarding them for ages (a girl after my own heart, truly!) and finally decided to appliqué them all together on a dress! She wore this one day at the conference and got so many compliments. 

Phyl goes into all the details of how she created this dress-terpiece in this blog post. It's funny, I have a mountain of teacher t-shirts that I've been wondering what to do with...and now I know! 

Kids, meet Lisa Beynon who teaches art to high schoolers in rural Illinois. She created that magical scarf she is wearing (a click on the photo should bring it up a little larger for you to see) with calligraphy writing as she's teaching a unit on, wait for it, calligraphy! I love this scarf so much that I've asked Lisa the details of this super cute DIY which she'll do later this week. Thank ya, Lisa! 

Alrighty, friends! There you have it, some Crazy Art Teachers doing what we do best -- having fun and teaching creatively. Love to see what you wear in your art room! Until then, go put some clothes on and teach art!

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What I Wore #94 and Adventures in San Diego!

Coronado Beach at the Del Coronado Hotel in Sunny California: Wish I could say I stayed at this lovely place but at close to $500 a night, that's just a wee bit outta my teacher budget. The most I could manage was a $6 single scoop of ice cream whilst soaking up the sun on the beach. dress: vintage; sunglasses: Target; sunflower sweater: thrifted DIY, details here; sunflower tights: amazon

 Ya'll, I'm not gonna lie. It was super hard coming back to home and school after several amazing days in sunny San Diego. In fact, I can hardly remember what life was like before San Diego. It's like all those sun rays, amazing sessions and fun experiences meeting old-new friends zapped my brain. But in this post, Ima gonna try! And I thought I'd share with you just a handful of my favorite moments at NAEA.

 The Beginning of a Crazy Week Monday: There was a lot that went down last week and I was really worried I'd not be able to manage it all. I kinda did...but just barely. I thought my outfit should reflect my crazy week ahead. sweater: old, Anthro; dress: vintage, Buffalo Exchange; tights: Target; necklace: The Paper Source; hair clip: made by me; shoes: Dolls by Nina

 Field Trippin' Tuesday: Do art field trips stress you out as much as they do me?! I usually have nightmares that the kids are going to morph into an unruly mob that storms the museum and eats the artwork. Thankfully, that didn't happen this time and we had an awesome time exploring The Frist Center for Visual Arts. dress: Anthro, found at Buffalo Exchange; blouse: gift; boots and belt: Anthro; necklace: DIY by me

Sharpen Your Pencils Wednesday: After buying this dress, I coulda kicked myself as I think I coulda totally felted it! I mean, I did something similar here...but sometimes it's nice just to splurge. And, being polyester, I don't have to worry about ironing the thang! sweater and shoes: thrifted; dress: pyramidcollection.com; tights: Target

 School Carnival Thursday: Because I'm a glutton for punishment AND whipped cream, I volunteered to pull a double shift in the pie-in-your-face booth at our school carnival. Now, you're SUPPOSED to sit behind some plastic curtain and poke your head through, but where's the fun in that?! So I donned my Disney rain poncho, my shower cap and googles and let the kids fire away. 

 And they got me pretty good! Now you'd think whipped cream would be tasty but it starts to smell like spoiled milk the minute it hits skin. Nastiness!

 Off to Sunny San Diego Friday!: I was so lucky to travel and room with two of the most fun art teachers I know (hey Rebecca and Allison!). We had such a great time together! dress: Modcloth; tights: gift; boots: Lucky Brand

 Man. I seriously could go conferencin for a livin if it looked like this. San Diego, I loves you!

Me and my super fun roomies who are both incredible art teachers in Nashville. They teach at the same school and have so much fun that I wish I taught with them!

Super Saturday: Of course, I was totally starstruck for a good portion of the trip. I mean, look who I'm surrounded by! My fave bloggers and pinners! Starting from the left, there's Phyl from There's a Dragon in my Art Room, Patty from Deep Space Sparkle, Rina of K6Art, and Donna Staten, the Pinterest Queen! Each of these ladies was so delightful, meeting them totally made my trip.

 I was so happy to sit and chat with Phyl. We share A LOT of the same views on teaching so it's like talking to myself. Which I do anyway but this was way better because no one stopped and stared.

Seriously Awesome Sunday: I started my day presenting on a carousel concerning art advocacy on the elementary art level. I was so happy to be carrousellin' with (left to right) Nancy Walkup, SchoolArts editor, art teacher/tech-guru extraordinary Tricia Fuglestad and STEM/STEAM advocate, Christine Besack.

 One of my favorite parts of the day was the Blogger Meet and Greet hosted by The Art of Education.  These are folks that I feel such a virtual connection with...so it was awesome to meet them in person. Not to mention meeting all the amazing art teachers who dropped by to say hello! I feel like I'm coming home with a buncha friends in my suitcase. In the back, from left to right is Ian Sands (Art of Apex High School), Jessica Balsley (founder of AOE), Donna Staten - pinterest queen!, Ted Edinger (Mr. E),  and Amy Zschaber (Artful Artsy Amy). In the front row from left to right is Nic Hahn of Mini Matisse, Rina, Phyl and Tracy (Don't Drink the Paint Water).

 Daw, look how super cute and retro Nic Hahn looks! I have a feeling I could sit and chat with this girl all day (I mean, look at those earrings!). Sadly we didn't have much of a chance -- next time!

 Isn't Amy Z so super cute?! She has so bright and happy, I am certain her students adore her and her energy.

Flowers from Old Town: Coming home was so hard...but I missed the hubs and the cat. Oh! And my students. I think it just might take me several days to really digest all that I learned...but when I do, I'll be certain to share it with you. Until then!

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What I Wore #92 and Back to the Drawing Board, er, Sketch Book

When Everyone in the World Gets a Snow Day But You: You wear a sad-looking puppy sweater, smear read lipstick on your face and make the most of the day. Granted, we did get Monday off...but Tuesday we had to return. Meanwhile, the rest of ya's slept til noon (or later, how glorious!), ate bonbons and got caught up on Days of Our Lives. Jelly! sweater: Old Navy; dress: Francesca's a million years ago; crinoline: Amazon; boots: Lucky Brand; tights: dunno; leopard scarf and headband: gifts

Hey, kids! I hope there's some super happy sunshine in your neck of the woods as we are finally seeing some blue skies here. This weekend, I've spent time outside drawing and painting and the sun felt like heaven on my skin. Wouldn't it be so super rad if spring just decided to kick winter to the curb and make herself at home? I'd be down with that. 

Since the weather is so divine and...it's mah burfdey!...Ima gonna keep this post short with just a little of What I Wore and what I've managed to draw for the Artsy Book Club. However, I do wanna throw out a coupla questions to ya'll:

1. Are you going to the NAEA conference in San Diego at the end of the month?

2. I wanna have a meet up! Would anyone be interested in a little Crazy Art Teacher gathering? I know, the whole thing is One Big Crazy Art Teacher get-together, but I dunno. I'd just love to meet ya'll!

3. I'll be presenting! -Ish! I'll be presenting on a panel titled Elementary Division Carousel of Learning and Advocacy (side note: there will not be any actual "carousel" at the presentation. I already asked) on Sunday, March 29th from 9:30 - 10:20am in the Hilton Hotel/Indigo 2014B/Level 2 (you got that? Because I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need your help finding the place when the time comes). I plan to have a couple gifty-surprises for the first 20 folks that make it to my panel. Yay!

Alright, that's all I got. Off to roll around on the floor, eat copious amounts of cake and cookies and holler "it's my birthday, I'll do what I want!" to the cat and hubs. Have a great week!

So a couple of years ago, I took a pastel class from this seriously fun and kind dude named Paul DeMarris. Not only is Paul a fabulous teacher and artist, he is also the creator of his own line of oil sticks. They are like working with butter saturated in the most glorious of colors. He's recently branched out into the "crayon" market (I use that term loosely as they were more oil pastel-esque than waxy crayon). He sent me a sample of the primary colors and white to play with...and I cannot stop using them. They blend beautifully and when layered they almost have the appearance of oil paint. You should totally contact Paul (he's honestly the nicest and most friendly dude!) if you'd like him to lead a class or are interested in his sticks.

Blue Willow Pottery Wednesday: My art teacher BFF (Hi, Mallory!) did this amazing art lesson last year on Blue Willow Pottery. I borrowed pretty heavily from her lesson, especially telling the kids The Legend of Blue Willow Pottery. To set the mood, I went with this blue willow-wannabe dress. sweater: vintage, thrifted; dress: vintage; shoes: Anthro; tights and necklace: Target

Having worked for days on my sushi hat/dress ensemble, I had a hankerin' for the stuff. I picked up this lovely tray at the grocery and it was a battle of willpower to draw it before devouring it. I actually had to lock myself in my sewing room to draw this as the cat could smell it and kept pounding on the door. This drawing was also created with Paul's sticks.

Let's Go to the Art Museum Thursday: I had an inservice after school on Thursday that involved seeing an Asian art exhibit. I decided my sushi ensemble would be appropriate. Surprisingly, I was the only one wearing sushi that evening...what's wrong with people?! hat, dress, shoes: DIY by me, go here; bag and sweater: thrifted; tights: Target

The last two days have been this lovely. I seriously could have sat outside and soaked up the sun all day. This is a little watercolor meets Paul's crayons.

Thanks, Mom! Friday: So I may have dropped some not-so-subtle hints to the mom that I needed this skirt in my life for my birthday. And it managed to come in the mail just in time for me to wear on Friday which was perfect because I almost didn't have a stitch to wear (ha, I kid. I have enough clothing to blanket the state of Tennessee. Sometimes it gets cold). Thanks, ma!! pencil skirt with pencils skirt: Anthropologie; sweater, blouse: thrifted; necklace: The Paper Source; shoes: Dolls by Nina; tights: Target; palette pin: gift from a friend (thanks, Paul N.!)

So, I may or may not have a shoe addiction. Here are a couple that I love (despite what my feet say). These were such fun to draw that I might actually have to sketch some more from my growing shoe collection. This was drawn in crayon.

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DIY: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Dress

After reading the title of the book to a class of kindergarten friends, I asked, "Why shouldn't we let the pigeon drive the bus?" 

Kindergartener #1: Because he doesn't have arms, he just has feather-thingies!

Me: What are those "feather-thingies" called? 

Kindergartener #1: Bird arms!

{ermkay}

 Kindergartener #2: He can't drive because he doesn't have a driver's license!

Me: Do you have a driver's license?

Kindergartener #2: {look of shock} What?! No!

Kindergartener #3: His bird legs are too short to reach the pedals!

Hmmm. All legit answers I suppose. But, kids, this pigeon has dreams! Can't we just let him drive the bus once?!

All of kindergarten{with a look of is-this-lady-actually-crazier-than-we-thought?}: NoooooOOOOOooooo!

Last week was Read-Across-America Week which ended on Friday with a Dress Like Your Fave Book Character Day. Last year, I was Mary Poppins and another time I dressed as Madeline (which was actually for Halloween but whateves, I was still bookish). This year I had no idea who I would be until I came across this fabric at a local fabric joint during their biannual sale. I walked into the place, saw it right away and started seriously flipping out. The cutting counter lady was all, "ohhh, people have been buying this to make curtains for their children's bedrooms" and I was all, "ohhh, Ima gonna make a dress!"

She looked up from cutting with a frozen smile on her face and a twitch-tilt of the head. "Huh," said she.

End. Of. Conversation.

 Eh, whatever. I'm used to cutting counter snobbery.

I decided to try the vintage pattern on the left for this dress. If you notice, it's a pattern by my long-time pattern nemesis Butterick (go here for my tales of Butterick woe). Turns out vintage Butterick #7201 is a pinch easier to follow, praise little baby Jesus. The bodice came together easily and I especially loved that the sleeves were raglan (because I also have a hatred for sleeves. Funny thing about that link, it also contains a cutting-counter-lady tale!). However, I didn't buy enough of the skirt fabric to create the circle skirt shown in the Butterick pattern. That woulda required some serious yardage. So I went with the gathered skirt pattern from Vogue #8571, aka The Crayon Dress.

I gotta admit, I think this is probably the cutest fabric ever. I love the color and Mo Willems' retro-inspired illustrations. The fabric is an organic cotton created by Cloud9 Fabrics. After doing a little homework, I found that Cloud9 is pretty rad and committed to some warm -n- fuzzy, feel-good kind of stuff. Here's a blurb from their website:

Cloud9 Fabrics uses only 100% certified organic cotton in the manufacturing of our base cloths and eco-responsible low impact dyes for printing and dying. We work closely with mills that are committed to ethical and responsible conduct.  This includes respecting the rights of all individuals, a devotion to sustained social compliance, and an accountability to the environment.

And to think some people just use this amazing fabric for curtains. Geesh.

Oh! But back to kindergartenland!

After reading the book to the children for the second time (I had read it that morning during our televised "morning announcements". When I went to read the book again to the class, one girl shouted out, "Hey! That lady on the T.V. already read that book to us!" Yeah, I said. That lady was me. Moving on...). Then we did a little (choice-based teachers, brace yourselves) guided drawing (did I just hear a collective choice-based, "Eeeeewww!"? That's what I thought.)

 I actually got the idea for this drawing/watercolor project from the super fab blog Mrs. Knight's Smartest Artists. It was such a fun lesson that the kids loved!

(Again with the paint-splattery tables! I actually took all ya'll's suggestions of cleaning the tables and put 'em to the test. Whoever said Greased Lightening and Magic Erasers, I thank you! They work {despite what this photo shows} and makes my room smell so pretty.)

My wee artists were told they could paint their pigeon in any ole situation but most didn't have the chance to finish before class was over. I loved their colorful beginnings. My kindergarteners have painted with watercolor quiet a bit this year and I daresay they have a better understanding of cleaning their brush between changing colors than my older students. Way to go, wee ones!

So many of the children dressed up for book character day that it inspired me to possibly do a themed-dress day with the kids leading up to our school-wide art show. Dress Like Your Favorite Artist Day? What do you all think? Have ya'll done a daily-dress day for an art occasion at your school?

One of my sweet and quiet 4th grade students really surprised me with her colorful and outrageous outfit for Dress Like a Book Character day. When I saw her, I said:

"Wow!! Look at you, girl! You look fantastic! What book character are you?!"

"I'm Fancy Nancy...or Mrs. Stephens."

Ha!

Oh, and before I forget, I'd like to thank the ever-awesome Mo Willems for his fantastic books, particularly one called...DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #90

Primary Colors Monday: Because I saw three of my four kindergarten classes back to back on this particular day and we were (re)learning about the primary colors, I decided to dress for the occasion. top and tights: Target; dress: I forget; shoes: Anthro; belt: thrifted; palette hair clip: made by me

Ya'll. Trust me when I saw I had much bigger plans for this here blog post. Howevers. I currently feel as though I'm carrying half my body weight in my head and nasal passages. Without getting too graphic (which is a ridiculous way to start a sentence as you know I'm about to get all sorts of graphic), I'm more snotty than a cheerleading squad. (Aw, former cheerleaders, don't hate. I speak from a sad 8th-grader-who-wanted-to-be-a-cheerleader-but-my-dad-made-me-play-basketball-instead place.) For that super snotty reason, I've only got the energy to share wit ya what I wore and what I drew this week. I'm hoping to be back again with you soon with a post on a vocabulary update and maybe a DIY...if I can manage to pull myself off the couch. Until then, enjoy your weekend!

There have been so many amazing drawings pouring into the Artsy Book Clubs facebook page that it continues to surprise and thrill me everyday! It's such a motivation and inspiration to see what these artists have created. If you'd like to join the fun, it's okay to begin drawing and sharing your work any time. You can go here for all the details.

Poodle-tastic Valentine Dress Tuesday: My plan had been to wear something Valentines-y all week...but I actually have so many heart-themed ensembles that I shoulda started the week before. Sad but true. Oh well, next year. poodle dress: made by me, DIY here; sweater: made by me; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; tights: Target; hair clips: DIY here; shoes: Sofft

I'll be honest with you, I don't always love the assignments in the One Drawing a Day book that we are using in our Artsy Book Club. And because I'm drawing for myself and the desire to get back to more fine arts work, I've decided to only take the drawing assignments as suggestions and then draw what I want. If I want. I don't want these drawings tasks to become just that, a task. So I'm enjoying the process if it speaks to me. On this day we were to draw a picture of someone in a variety of pens. I drew my grandpa from his senior high school photo.

Our First (and probably only) Snow Day Wednesday!: Well, what a happy surprise that turned out to be! Granted, it woulda been a whole lot more exciting if it had actually snowed but I try not to ask for too much. A day of sewing, drawing and blogging turned out to be exactly what I needed to make it through the rest of the week. dress: Betsy Johnson, used; sweater: Target; scarf: Urban Outfitters; leg warmers: I forget; boots: Frye, Journeys

This drawing I definitely wasn't feeling. The assignment was to just basically doodle a bunch of stuff, trace your hand, write words and numbers...I dunno. I wasn't into it. I found myself drawing things that I thought I should draw like a cupcake and other stuff. I think I'd actually have to create a couple of these drawings to really get to the root of what would inspire me. I was also not in love with drawing in crayon...but that has since changed after the last two assignments.

Dots and Leopard Print Thursday: We had a two hour delay on this day which basically means my day is gonna be jacked up. Sure I get to sleep in a pinch but then I spend the rest of my day runnin' like a crazy person trying to figure out just what in the world my jumbled schedule is gonna look like. But it was fine, we made it though and even created some masterpieces to boot. Looking forward to sharing them with you soonish. sweater: Old Navy; belt: thrifted; dress: I added the leopard to this too-short number that I bought at the thrift store; scarf: gift from a student

Self-portrait in crayon. I sketched it out first in yellow marker and then built it up with crayon. I enjoyed working on this a lot...even if the perspective is off and I have a super large side-forehead.

Happy Valentine's Day Friday: Our school has a tradition where the kids are allowed to spend about 10 minutes in the morning delivering Valentine's to their teachers. I love getting sweets, cards and gifties from the kids. My favorites are always the handmade cards with the personalized notes. Those I keep forever. dress and sweater: DIY here; shoes: Modcloth

Still life in crayon. Seriously, ya'll. I don't even use crayons in the art room because I'm kind of a snob about them. But I might be inclined to change my mind after working so much in crayon these last couple of days. 

And that's all I got, ya'll! I'm off to go take a Vick's Vapo-Rub bath and soak my head in a bucket of hot water!

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