In the Art Room: Walk Around the Room

 Did you know that today is National Walk Around Things Day?! Me neither! That is, not until I checked my calendar. What is this day? Well, apparently, it's open to interpretation...personally, I thought it sounded like a fun way to get the kids up, moving, doing something new AND having them search for mini-masterpieces by the artist we are currently learning about: Vincent van Gogh! Here's how I introduced Walk Around Things Day and this hunt to my first graders: 

Y'all, this was so much fun and so interactive! When I explained what they were to do, one of my students said, "like an Easter egg hunt, but for Vincent van Gogh!" My fourth graders are also learning about van Gogh and I did the same activity with them. Because I have doubled up fourth grade classes, I skipped over the "walking around like a giant bit"...I'm certain they would have loved it but I know my crowd: they are a little wild. I can only give the a little bit of leash, if you know what I mean. So, instead, we reviewed what we knew about van Gogh before going on our hunt. I managed to snap one photo of the fourthies as they walked around the art room. 

When they returned to the floor with our found masterpieces, We chatted about them. This lead to many more discussions about van Gogh as well as the difference between a still-life, a land and seascape and portrait vs. self-portrait. After this bit of moving around, we were ready to settle in to our lesson for the day. What a great way to get moving, thanks National Walk Around the Things Day! We'll have to do it more often!

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DIY: Creating a Home Studio

 The second big project on my Spring Break To Do List was carving out this brand new home studio space! This was the second big endeavor I set out to accomplish over my break (check out the others here and here) and I'm so excited with how it turned out. This room is our bonus room (dubbed the "bogus" room by me for years as I literally just piled stuff in it!) and it sits right above our garage. It's a big space and filled with light and windows. This room serves many purposes: it's my yoga studio on the 3 times a year I decide to practice; it's a book writing space; a lesson planning and video recording spot and where I host Facebook and Instagram LIVE every Wednesday night at 8pm, CST. While it's always had many jobs, I never felt like this space was my actual studio. My drafting table was in another part of our house and my art supplies were scattered about. Over break, I decided to change all of that.  

 I started by clearing out the accent chairs and the end table that previously sat in this space. If you'd like to take a tour of my bonus room, you can see it all right here. Those chairs are now sitting in a heap in my front room...another space that I've yet to figure out. And, before you ask, no, we didn't just move in to our home. I'm just a VERY SLOW decorator/figure-er out of life-r. I then moved my 1940's drafting table to this space. 

Let's talk about my drafting table for a minute. I scored it a couple of years ago from a Craigslist seller. I had always wanted one after I broke mine in college (how does one break an iron drafting table? These are questions only those in college under the influence of Zima can answer). The vintage light was an ebay find. 

Despite the fact that I like ALL OF THE COLORS  I'm trying to approach decorating my home in a less crazy manner. For that reason, when deciding on framed pegboard and an accent color, despite my knee jerk reaction, I decided to go with ONE accent color...not ALL the accent colors. Yellow was my color of choice. I thought it was bright, happy and would compliment the slate gray of the curtains. My vintage desk lamp was originally gray. After priming it with a white spray paint, I hosed it down with a sunshine yellow. It makes me so happy!

 Now let's talk pegboards. After I decided I wanted to hang pegboards up, I thought they would look better framed. Since this in my house and not my garage, I just thought it would elevate the look. I am a hoarder of all things but frames in particular. When I found three in my stash that would work, I took them with me to the hardware store to have pegboard cut to size. Why not just measure them, you ask? Well because the frames are a touch wonky. I wanted them to be certain the pegboard would fit. I'm glad I did...each pegboard had to be trimmed down at least two times before they fit the frame. 

While at the hardware, they had a couple of pegboard kits. These came with the supplies needed to hang the boards and the hooks for supplies. 

 Here's my advice for hanging pegboard...and take this with a hunk of salt as I'm not handy AT ALL: hang the frames with a heavy duty hook. I happened to have these Monkey Tail hooks that could hold up to 20 lbs. They slide right in to the wall and work fabulously. 

 Now you can't put the frames right up to the wall. You'll need a little bit of space in the back for the backside of the hook. The pegboard kits I purchased came with long screws and a bumper. The bumper goes in the back and forces the frame to sit some distance from the wall. 

 When putting in the screws, you'll want to be sure to put add them to the stud. This will further anchor your pegboard so that the weight doesn't cause it to simply fall off your wall. I used this cheapo thing called a Stud Buddy (heehee) and it worked great at helping me find the studs. It's really just a high powered magnet that finds the nails in the studs. 

 The baskets were a purchase from Target and work great at holding my small bottles of paint. I hate having all of those bottles of paint laying around on tables...this seems to be such a colorful solution.

 As for the tubes of acrylic, I decided to hang them store-style.

 I'm such a visual person who loves to have EVERYTHING OUT so I can see what I've got. These pegboards allow me to do this without having a mess of stuff all over the place. 

 The added bonus is that I can change the configuration of the arrangement at any time. Now I want WALL TO WALL PEGBOARD: for my jewelry, for my sewing room, for my LIFE. 

I also have a stand alone easel that I'm contemplating bringing up to this space also. 

 I did purchase a drop cloth to go under my table as I really don't want to mess up the hardwood floors any more than I already have (ahem). You can see the drop cloth in the basket I've got hanging from the table.

Eee!! Y'all don't even know how happy this new space makes me!

Do you have a home studio space? In what part of your home is it in? What are your favorite parts of your space? I'd love to hear! 

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DIY: How to Create a Gallery Wall

 I've been redecorating my art room so much that I've started to feel the itch here at home. Last summer, over on the blog A Beautiful Mess, the author Elsie shared a show stopper of a gallery wall. As soon as I saw that post, I knew I wanted one of my own. We have a very large wall at the top of our stairs between our bedroom and a spare bedroom (that I use as a closet...don't judge). It's been home to these two paintings I created a couple years ago. While I still love those paintings, I wanted something new, big and impactful...like a gallery wall!

 I actually purchased the frames way back when I first saw Elsie's post. So for those of you that think I do things overnight...don't be fooled! These frames have been stacked in my bonus room collecting dust for MONTHS. I did wait until they went on sale for $10...you can find the frames I used here. 

 I then spent a part of my spring break pouring over boxes of photos. I knew I wanted to get photos that meant a lot to me and Mitch so I really took my time. However, I keep telling myself that when I tire of these photos, I can simply print more!

 I took the photos to CVS where I scanned them and printed them in black and white. Not all of my photos were originally black and white but that didn't matter, they could still be printed that way! 

Then I came home, framed em all up in 30 minutes flat. That was on Monday of spring break and I was feeling mighty accomplished. Knowing that hanging them would take math and measuring, I totally procrastinated until SUNDAY, the last day of my spring break. It was then that I decided "It's now or NEVER" and set about hanging this wall.

I have no idea why I put it off. I mean, it was a COMPLETE pain in the butt but once I had a system, it went pretty quickly. In fact, in the video, you'll see I manage to get that last row up without much effort. I did use my favorite Martha Stewart trick of hanging paper the size of the frames first...this really helped with placement. Also, in the video, you'll see me stop and talk to someone...that someone was my husband offering all sorts of measuring advice. Did he actually help to hang anything? HECK NAW! He just talked to me about math and measuring and y'all already know how I feel about that. I can easily say, after 2 hours, I DID IT MY WAAAAAAAY. (YES, 2 hours. And, YES, that would have taken less time had I done it HIS WAAAAAY...but that would be admitting defeat, y'all!)

 I was going to hang another row at the bottom...but in the end, I decided that would be too low. I was going for a museum/gallery vibe and I just didn't think that would look right. ALSO I was so over hanging pictures at that point!

 Some of my faves: my maternal grandparents and my mom and her siblings. My mama is the one with the glasses and the big mouth. Pretty sure you figured that out.

 My paternal grandma and I with fish that were caught on a fishing trip. My grandpa Hobe LOVED to fish and my grandma did all of the cleaning and frying. We ate a lot of deep fried bass growing up!

 Mitch went on an epic Boy Scout adventure when he was 12 and it's one of his favorite memories. 

 Each photo makes me so super happy!

 And now I can say I got at least one of my home decorating To Do's off my spring break list. 

 Stay tuned because tomorrow I'll be sharing my other big project. I'm so happy to scratch these things off my list!

Thanks for letting me share a little piece of my home with you!

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DIY: One Skein Rainbow Cowl

 Hi. My name is Cassie. I have crafts and will travel. 

(okay, I contemplated erasing that last sentence as I kept reading it as "I have crabs and will travel"...it's CRAFTS, people. Not crabs.)

If you follow me here, then you know that I'm fresh off the plane from Seattle. I loved Seattle (my two faves were Chihuly and THE FOOD! I've never had better food in my life, y'all!) but that is one heck of a flight. Heading to Seattle, I traveled with my good buddy David which was great as we had all the time in the world to chat and figure out what we were going to explore and do while in town. However, knowing that I'd be flying solo home, I decided that I'd need something to occupy my time and my hands. So, while on Capitol Hill in Seattle, I popped into a sewing shop and picked up a skein of rainbow yarn.

Now...I know what you are thinking: Cassie, don't you already have a RAINBOW SCARF?! Yes, I'm the proud knitter of a 24' (we measured!) scarf of rainbows. However, that thing is a BEAST. It's heavy, super warm and INSANELY HUGE. So I thought for these less-chilly spring temps, a cowl would be nice...and the rainbow yarn totally sold me. The sweet woman working at the shop gave me some tips on how to make a cowl and I got about this much accomplished on the flight home. Side note: I also watched 3 Billboards while knitting...if you have not seen that movie, DO IT, it's fantastic. I also attempted to watch Happy Death Day. DON'T DO IT. It's no bueno.

Because I've been sharing knitting projects lately, I've been asked by several of y'all to do a knitting tutorial or video. I hesitate because I'm THE WORST KNITTER. You don't want to learn from me! I can strongly recommend this book, it's my knitting bible. Yes, it's for kids...but it's the most clear book on knitting for beginners that I've ever found. Buy it used, you don't need to get the kit. Just purchase the supplies they recommend. 

So, if you do decide to knit a one-skein cowl, I'll tell you how I did it:

I started by casting on 40 stitches. In the end, I think I could have cast on less and had a wider cowl. So I would recommend casting on 30. It will seem small but I think it will be fine (again, not a knitter!). Also, I like size 10 needles for a more hole-y knit (not to be confused with holy). Then I simply knit until I ran out of yarn. From there, I used yarn, a tapestry needle and a whip stitch to connect the ends of the scarf. This tube thing is what I ended up with. 

Look, maw! I made a tube top!

Putting on a cowl is just as glamorous as one might imagine. 

 What I loved the best about this knitting project is that it was short! Way faster to knit than a scarf...especially a 24' rainbow scarf!

And quite cozy too. 

Perfect for these kinda-chilly/kinda-springy days ahead!

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In the Art Room: More Art Room Decor!

Well, hey there, strangers! It's been a beat since I last chatted with you here. I've been away in Seattle at the art teacherin' conference and took a short hiatus from blogging. BUT now I'm back. You're welcome.

As y'all know, I've been on an Art Room Redecorating Bender since the start of this school year. And I've not slowed down. I realized the other day that I'd crafted and hung a bunch of new things in my room and I'd failed to post 'em here. Of course, I OVERSHARE here...in case you need more crazy in your life. 

 Let's start here, shall we? This is the main entrance/exit to my art room (I also have an exterior door, an office door and a side door. I'm very door-y) and this here is a view from the inside. That fuzzy thing you see thru the window is the Rainbow Wreath that hangs on my door and beyond that is our giant It's Okay to be Different mural. I've long since had this saying on my door but the original was simply hand written on a piece of laminated poster. It was started to look sad and faded. And, while I loved the message, I hated the sign. So I painted a version and it's now on my door. The mermaid was one I found at the Nashville Flea Market (a must go to if you are ever in town...last weekend of every month!). Originally she had a blue tail and blond hair. I was going to hang her in my house but she never seemed to look right anywhere. One night I painted her all rainbow-y and now she loves above my doorway! 

Right next to my Rainbow Mermaid and my door, I hung this chalkboard and my heart sculpture.

 I found this chalkboard on the cheap at my local craft store. I've always wanted a chalkboard but was afraid the kids would wipe off what I had written...so I picked up some chalkboard markers! My plan is to change the sign up every now and then...but my money is on me leaving this up until the end of the year. 

 Every since making this heart, inspired by artist Chris Uphues, I've wanted to hang it up. You can find a complete video tutorial on how to make a heart with wings right here. 

 Now, I know what you are thinking...how are you getting these things to stay on your walls/doors?! Okay, my secret is: Command Velcro Strips. Y'all, they are THE BEST. I use them for nearly everything on my walls and nothing ever falls. I go for the 16 lbs Velcro just to make sure everything stays anchored. 

 This canvas was one that I had previously painted some other nonsense on and decided to paint over it. I added chalkboard paint to the middle so that I could change up the signage. Again, my money is that my lazy butt never gets to it. I hung it one Storage Closet of Horrors #1. My painting was inspired by Rifle Paper Company. 

 You can also find a PDF of my ART sign here, if you'd like! I painted those right before the school year started. 

 K, so I actually HAVE been cleaning out my closets and pitching MOUNTAINS of junk...but I still have so much to do. Being in a space for 12 years AND being a natural born slob/hoarder means you acquire some stuff. One fun find was a huge bin of magnetic letters. I've been leaving messages for the kids above every door. Info on my tints and shades sign can be found here. 

 Speaking of finding stuff...I discovered that I had several of these blank wooden plaques. One night I painted a Matisse-esque background for a SMILE sign. I hung it on the small sliver of wall space that I have left near my Roy G. Biv paintbrush wall. 

 This area of my art room, I call The Store as that's where the kids go to gather their art supplies. You can learn more about Art Teachers in Training here (we no longer use badges but aprons) and more about The Store here. 

 Some seriously sweet artists have gifted me amazing artwork. I want to look at it all the time...so I decided to hang it in a prominate place in my art room. 

 It makes me all kinds of happy. Let me share who made what because each is a seller of their work. The Tennessee sign is from @artroomantics and she can paint any state you like. Chris Uphues, who I mentioned early, sent me the poster of a rainbow from an exhibit of his. Joy makes all kinds of amazing things from customized stationary to my Broken Crayons Still Color sign! My INSANELY motivated buddy Jennifer has been creating a painting EVERY DAY for the last several years...and painted that portrait of me as a super woman. My buddy Stephanie stitched the Small World. 

And my friend Ashley, who is INSANELY talented, made this caricature of me. You can commission her to make one of you too, my buddy Virginia just had one made and it is amazing! 

 One night I slapped some paint on more of those wooden plaque thingies and made this...

One of my favorite books and one of my favorite messages. Right now, it's sitting here but I do think I'll hang it properly soon. As soon as I find some wall space. 

Remember that flea market I told you about? Well, I found this amazing work of art there. The artist sold it to me for $5! I added orange to the frame so that it would pop as the original color matched my walls. 

Also at the flea market, I found these! They actually open and close and I've been using them to talk to the kids about scissor safety. It's pretty hilarious. I did punch them up a bit with some silver and red spray paint. 

I attached them to the wall with some velcro strips so that I can take them down easily. Also new: I spray painted my magazine rack to look like a rainbow! That was gifted to me when another teacher moved away. Not sure what they'll hold. Also, I spray painted my storage bins by grade level...just need to get the teacher names on them. The big clipboard was a thrift store find. My idea is that it can be a drawing center for my early finishers. 

Whew! So, that's all that's new. Thank you for letting me share a tour!

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