DIY: A Color Wheel Circle Skirt, Blouse of Many Colors and the Crayola Experience!

Well, Happy New Year, all y'all! I hope this here blog post finds you bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and tackling that short list of resolutions...and not nursing a hang-over pondering the poor life choices you made last night (Not judgin'. Just sayin'.) Myself, I finally managed to finish off this here ROY G. BIV(and M...for Magenta) skirt complete with a blouse o' many colors and ginormous headband. It's only been on my sewing table for something like a month so hurray for finally finishing something! 

 

I got the idea for this circle skirt way back in November when I took my second sewing class at Craft South. Y'all might remember the music-themed skirt I made with fab-o instructor Devon Iott, aka Miss Make. The skirt was created from an Anna Maria Horner pattern and it comes with a coupla of different stitching options. One of them being a circle skirt that is made up of eight sections. I thought it would be fun to connect each section with a colorful satin stitch and have a corresponding quilted colored pencil at the base of the stitch. 

And while I was mid-stitch on el skirt-o (like, seriously, mid-stitch. I have this habit of getting an idea, dropping WHATEVES it is I'm doing and starting on Thing 2. It's really the worst habit ever and I don't recommend it), I got the notion of making a top AND headband to match. I decided to use the Scout Tee pattern from Grainline Studios because, y'all. That is one easy pattern to follow and one simple top to slap together in, like, 60 minutes or more. 

Hey! Speaking of stopping whatever you are doing mid-stream and totes doing something dif, I hereby interrupt this sewing talk with a chat about my trip to Orlando's Crayola Experience! (That was a segue, kids. A really crappy segue).

So way the funk back in September, the hubs and I made a trip down to Orlando for Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights. While we were there, we drove past the Florida Mall and I spotted that hallmark yellow and green. I was all, "Hey! That's a Crayola WONDERLAND! Like Chuck E. Cheese for art teachers. Can we go? Please?!" It was then that Mitch reminded me he'd told me all about this place before we left and I'd been all "meh, whateves". Silly me. I was so happy to find that teacher's get in free! Sadly, el hubbo did have to shell out something like $35 for his ticket. I told him he could stay in the car but that only got me the side-eye. 

 

If you cats and kittens ever get the chance to go to this place, y'all best do it. It's simply fascinating -- like a history lesson on Crayola and a science lesson on the making of crayons. Not to mention a look at their vintage ads which were just so fun to see. 

And tons o' other fun stuff. One of my faves was this station where you could name your own crayons and have them made. We made a handful of our own personalized crayons called such things as "Mrs. Stephens' Lipstick" for a red crayon and "Martian Blood" for a green one. 

Another fave of mine was this encaustic station where you could paint with melted crayon juice. Is there anything better smelling than a melted crayon? By the way, I've installed Scratch -n- Sniff technology in this blog post so feel free to scratch that photo above, stick your nose to the screen and breathe deep. Don't mind the stares, other folks just be jealous. Oh, it didn't work? Keep trying. You can stop when the men in the white coats come to get you. 

My ultimate fave was this melted crayon spin art machine. You get to pick your color combos and while the melted crayon is dripping down onto your paper circle, you can control the speed of the spinning. This results in some seriously cool and trippy masterpieces. 

 Like, far out, dude. 

But, if I'm gonna be all fur realz-ies with y'all, I've gotta admit that the real Experience was to be had in the gift shop. I mean, just take a look-see at that sock assortment. Need I say more? 

Even the check out counter was neat mosquito -- it's made up entirely of upright crayons! 

And now, I interrupt that interruption to bring you back to what I was originally chatting about. Before I interrupted my own dang self. Ahem. The skirt! Which was heavily influenced by all things Crayola Experience-y. And BOOM. I just segue'd my segue. 

 So the first thing I had to do was figure out the colored pencil (do y'all say "color pencil" or "colored pencil"? Because I've always said the latter but now I'm not so sure). Anyway, I sketched it out on paper first and used that as my template once I was happy with el sketch-o.

After cutting the pieces, I started stitching with right sides togetherness.

 Like-a dis. 

 And like-a dat.

 Press with an iron and...

 Viola! Eight colored pencils, one for each section of the skirt. 

Once I had cut out the eight panels of the skirt in black and stitched them together, I started the process of appliquéing the pencils to the skirt. I measured 12" down from the bottom of the waistband and held the pencils in place with some Stitch Witchery. Then I set my machine to a wide satin stitch (it's the one that looks like a zigzag) and sewed the pencils in place. 

Once all the pencils were in place, I simply followed the pattern to complete the skirt. That pattern is cake, by the way. The only thing that is a total drag is hemming that beast. I mean, the circumference is about three miles long so it takes forever to get through. 

Miraculously, I persevered (but not without mucho whining...to myself. The cat and the hubs don't seem to heed my complainingness). 

And I'm super happy I did because I do kinda dig this thing. 

It's great for sitting on the floor and doing a Wicked Witch of the West "I'm melting!" impersonation...

And for twirling away. I do hope you kids have a wonderful New Years and we'll chatty chat soon enough!

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DIY: A Pencil-Print Dress with a Peter Pan Collar, Simplicity 1419

Dear friends. I awoke this morning at 3am for some unknown reason (okay, known reason: the cat was hungry. And when the gentle face-pats morphed into to kitty-cat b$tch-slaps, I was awoken {side-eye to cat who could care less because SHE'S currently sleeping}.) After a cup of too-strong coffee and a thirty minute blank stare at the wall, I decided to make something of my morning (er, night? I mean, it was 3am, people. Well, technically, if you are following this story closely enough and decent at math, it was 3:30am. Give or take). I mean, the left sleeve on that dress wasn't going to stitch itself. Which I'd kinda been hoping for having only stitched one sleeve in that dress and leaving it that way for a handful of days. Which y'all were witness to if you follow me here.  

But, whateves. At around 7:23am, this bad boy was complete and I took a nap to celebrate. Because I'm a party animal. 

While I was taking my sewing class at Craft South a couple Thursdays ago, I spotted this fabric by Alexia Marcelle Abegg of Green Bee Design and knew I had to have it. In fact, I do believe the words, "Um-hum, Ima gonna git me some o' dat" came outs my mouth. The draw back to taking a sewing class in a textile shop is that, in-between instructional time, I'm all loading up on yardage, saying things like, "Just put it on my tab, hehe." It's kinda like having a liquor store in a bar. Get the patrons all intoxicated and loopy and then offer 'em a lil sumpin'-sumpin' for when they get home. I see what you've done there, Craft South. I see it...and I like it. 

I decided to marry the fabric to this sweet Simplicity Lisette pattern #1419. I'll admit: the only reason I picked up that pattern was for that sweet lil collar and key hole opening.  

Since I was coming off my high from making yet another dress from this pattern, I decided to experiment in a lil cross-pollenating of Simplicity #1419 with #8087. This is okay in sewing-land, right? Or is this totes looked down upon like when my neighbors stuck a hamster in their bunny crate in hopes that the two would mate and create a new breed. Please say it isn't that bad because my mom wouldn't let me hang out with those kids after that episode. 

If you're curious how one cross-pollenates two dress busts, um, it's super glamorous. I simply finished off the bodice of the Lisette then laid the cropped bodice of the other pattern on top and chopped away. I know all you sewists out there just fell on the floor and are having "but-you-can't-do-that" convulsions but, y'all. That's how this self-taught, not-super-great-at-this-stitching-thing girl operates! 

In other news, Dear Simplicity/Lisette/Whoever-Designed-This-Dress-Pattern: it woulda been real swell of you to tell me what I was to do with that lil button loop thingie whilst adding the collar and the facing. Because both the hubs and I looked at all the pretty pictures and read the wordy-words and never found a mere mention of said loop thingie. Therefore I was left to my own MacGyver-esque sewing devises. Which, if mentioned here, would only throw the sewists into another fit of convulsions. 

 A word about why I am addicted to the waistband of Simplicity #8087: it's slimming as hail! Also, please ignore the giant opening at the top of the dress. I've yet to add a hook and eye. Or velcro. Or tape. Hot glue would work in a pinch, I betcha. 

 A close-up because Peter Pan collarzzz. So cute! 

 When I shared the making of this dress on my Insta-gram Crackerz, a friend was all, "wow, you have a thing for pencils!" and I was like, what?! No I don't! Lemme just check my blog and see how many pencil-y things I've made...oh...snap. I DO have a pencil-problem!

Case in point: My Jeffery Campbell knock-offs. 

 And this pencil-y appliquéd skirt. 

These two pencil-themed tops bright to you buy super pale and vein-y hands (like, ew. Why do my hands look like a skinned turkey? WHY?!)

That one time I had, like, two weeks of due to snow and stitched this colored pencil frock. 

 Or how about that one time I forgot I'm junior-sized in the bust department and made a big ole v-neck pencil-y number? 

Ugh. And this was just LAST WEEK, wasn't it?! Okay. So. I've got a problem. Just add it to my many, y'all. 

On a dif note, I hope y'all have a super duper fab-o fantastical Thanksgiving! Safe travels, happy dining and I'll chat with you soon. Toodles, turkeys! 

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What the Art Teacher Wore #150

 Monday Selfies: So several of my classes are still deep in self-portrait land. To celebrate the occasion of drawing the best looking kids we know (ahem, ourselves), I wore this lovely sweater that a sweet friend gifted to me several years ago. As crazy as it sounds I'd only mustered up the courage to wear this bad boy THIS WEEK.  After removing the shoulder pads, that is. And I have no idea why! The kids loved it and it was a great topic of discussion. Silly me. sweater: Michael Simon, thanks, Ann!; dress: vintage, Buffalo Exchange; blue tights and hot pink fishnets: Target; shoes: Clarks

Well, here 'tis. The 150th What the Art Teacher Wore post. I really thought y'all were gonna throw me a surprise party with cuppie-cakes and those cans of "beans" where snakes pop out. Because those get me every.time. Actually I contemplated for a hot minute about doing something extra special here on el bloggo but then I started thinking about cuppie-cakes and snake-bean-can-thingies and got all sorts of distracted. Big surprise, amirite?

In other news, don't hate, but I have exactly 4.5 days until Thanksgiving Break! Which, for me, means a whole freakin' week off! Thankful? You betcha! Like, when I was a kid, we got Thursday and Friday off and it usually entailed makin' the rounds to the grandparentals house for weird a## food like congealed salad and mystery stuffing covered in even more mysterious gravy. {Shivers}. I don't miss the culinary disasters of those days. I do miss my grandparentals thou, hold the gravy. Really, grandma, I'm full. I honestly don't think I can spit anymore into my napkin. 

On that delightful note, I hope y'all have a fab-o week! Be sure to pop back by on Tuesday as I FINALLY finished my Halloween costume (shuddup). If you follow me here, you've seen glimpses of the pencil-tasticness that I managed to wrap up this weekend. Also I'll be back with a quick video tutorial on how to teach 3-D lettering to your under-10 kiddos. Until then, stay away from that mystery gravy, y'all! NO ONE HAS SEEN GRANDPA FOR DAYS. Just.Sayin.

 In case you need a closer look at the awesomeness. The kids loved the different images and, of course, it was a great segue into Pop Art. My third graders are currently creating superhero selfies and learning all about Lichtenstein, Warhol and Pop Art. 

 Of course, there's always that one rando class that's a millennia behind. Case in point: this fourth grade class wrapping up their It's Okay to be Different selfies (so I can finally work on that mural, y'all!). This artist told me, "I wanted my self portrait to have those eye-thingies like you have!" Eye-thingies, cat-eyes, you say tomato, I say shuddup. 

 Mad Mod Tuesday: This dress was a super big hit, y'all! I'm so glad I procrastinated cleaning the house for yet another day (er, week) to bust out this number. I do have to say that the kids were even more curious about the boots (we learned the monkey and the mashed potato to celebrate the awesomeness that is The Boots) and my tights. Most asked question of the day: Where did you find two-toned tights? Answer: I didn't. I'm actually wearing two pairs of tights and awkwardly tucking one leg. You see? It's really best you don't ask. dress: made by me, more here; boots: thrifted vintage

 Most of my younger artists wrapped up these selfies this week and we started hanging them in the halls. Don't tell but this one is secretly my fave. Lesson details here. 

 Onomatopeia Wednesday: The first phase of my third graders super hero selfies is that they have to come up with an onomatopoeia, draw it in block letters, 3-D-ize it and add it to an action-packed background. Teaching the under-10 set how to draw in 3-D is a challenge but I think I figured it out. Stay tuned for a video clip all about the process later next week. sweater: Target, last year; dress: Buffalo Exchange; tights and fishnets: Target; Frye boots: Journeys

 Sew Happy Thursday: My Thursdays are my busiest days class-wise. But, no bother, I had a sewing class at Craft South with Miss Make that I was super stoked about! We're working on a circle skirt with a lapped zip and I'm thrilled with how easy it is. Which is only the case because Devon is an excellent teacher. I'll be sure to share my circle skirt with you once it's complete. sweater: felted by me! More here; dress: anthro; necklace: The Paper Source

 Happy Mixed Pattern Friday!: Okay, don't judge but this week, I totally busted out my Christmas decor. I'm just so excited! I'm slowly weeding out my non-vintage dec for vintage and I'm so happy with how everything is looking. I'll be sure to share with y'all soon. I NEVER decorate for the holidays before Thanksgiving, just so you know. But the level of excitement just was too much for me not to bust out the Kitsch-mas! dress: Plato's Closet with leopard print added by me; belt and crinoline: Amazon; scarf: Charleston market

 Turns out someone else was equally excited about the vintage decor. Asha immediately made a bed for herself in front of the color wheel as soon as I set up the tree skirt. 

Fingers crossed she doesn't take out any of my Shiny Brites like she did last year. Behave, kitty! 

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