DIY: IKEA Curtain Cat Print Dress

Yeah, yeah so pumpkins and black cats are so, like, a week ago (I've already busted out the Christmas decor, you don't have to tell me!) but, to my credit, I did finish this black cat dress a coupla weeks ago. It's just taken me until now to share it with y'all here!

I scooped up the fabric for this dress from IKEA and I'm in love. It's actually curtain fabric which means I'm like the Scarlett O'Hara of the sewing world. They did have this same print in orange with smaller cats but I really liked theses big bold babies and the black and white motif. So I picked up the last package of curtains and, when I was heading to the checkout (which took me 35 minutes because, you know, IKEA is about three miles long), I noticed that there was a hole in the curtains. The hole wasn't going to affect my sewing but, if it's anything I've learned from my mama-in-law, it never hurts to ask for a discount. And am I ever glad I did as the $25 price was dropped to $5! I only used one curtain panel for the dress which means, if you are super groovy at simple math like me, this dress only cost me $2.50. Sweet!

I warned y'all last time that I'd learned to create gifs. And I already apologized for it. So suck it up, buttercup. 

Now if you've seen one dress from me, you've pretty much seen them all as I FREAKIN' LOVE this style: large band at the waist, fit and flair. I have found this to be the most flattering for my body type and I have a hard time straying from sewing anything else. 

I often do a lotta gathered skirts but lately I'm kind of tired of them. Of course, gathering a fabric as stiff as curtain fabric wasn't gonna work in this sitch. Also, with a gathered skirt, I just can't get the fullness I dig. So circle skirts have become my new fave. In fact, the last dress I made, this Vincent van Gogh number, is almost identical to this one, sans bow. 

So, lately, life has been rather busy, to say the least. I've been so stinkin' fortunate to be asked to travel to the Wisconsin art conference as well as the one in Illinois (details on that this week, it was A BLAST!) to be their keynote speaker and present fiber arts workshops. I've loved every minute of it. And I'm getting ready to head to Texas for theirs in a matter of days. However, that means I've had to take a wee hiatus from sewing. I've missed it! I'm looking forward to getting back into my sewing room and making more messes soon.

OHHHH, yeah. I forgot to tell ya, those cats were a bit of a pain to work with as their faces are not exactly symmetrical. That means trying to match and align them was a total headache. The bodice I'm wearing is actually the second one I created as the first had cock-eyed cats...which is totally going to be the name of my first band: CASSIE AND THE COCK-EYED CATS!...but not a great look for a dress. 

When el hubbo and I recently traveled to Disneyland, I snapped photos in Cars Land. I flippin' love Cars Land and if only for the ambience. It has a whole Route 66/1950's vibe that I totally adore, especially at night. 

They have these fabulous neon lights that I love. Cars Land was my inspiration for the 1950's Diner Art Show we had last year!

 I mean, how cute are these signs?! Total inspo for this project. 

 One of my favorite shows growing up was Alice. I loved Flo and her "kiss my grits!" attitude. 

The food at the diner is very good and they have a great vegetarian Shepard's Pie option that we love. Must better than your usual lukewarm pizza park food. 

Because of how graphic this dress is, it gets a lotta comments when I wear it. I scooped up a lot of big and bold print from IKEA on my last trip. I'm looking forward to time in my sewing room to create more of these wacky and wild dresses.

And just because it's catty doesn't mean it's limited to Halloween, does it? I mean, shoot, I'm catty all year 'round!

 I really love it with these ska-wannabe kicks I recently picked up. 

It's super fun to wear. I just need to get better at that whole twirling thing...

Obviously. Pretty sure the neighbors know I'm crazy! 

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In the Art Room: Romero Britto Inspired Self Portraits

If you follow me here, then you already know that all my kids are currently creating self-portraits for our upcoming winter art show with Artome. I shared what my third graders are up to here (Y'ALL. THEY ARE TURNING OUT SO AMAZING). My second graders are making a variation of this Super Hero Selfie project that I did with my fourth grade last year...I'll be certain to share those with you soon. My firsties are becoming royal with these Royal Self Portraits while kindergarten is doing a variation of Ain't Gonna Paint No More selfies. Because the Artome frames fit 9" X 12" artwork and I usually have my kids work twice that size, I've had to really rethink and adjust some of these projects. I'll be sure to share them with you in the near future. To get the ball rolling, I thought I'd share with you this videoed Romero Britto lesson and the fourth graders' results. 

In case you don't know, Romero Britto is a Brazilian neo-pop artist who lives in Miami. I have shared his colorful work with my students when we did this project:

My fourth grade kids are so great at creating colorful designs and patterns that I thought this project would be perfect for them. 

 But I had to give 'em a little inspo first...

Before diving in to the video:

Here's what we cranked out the first day!

They did a bang up job and were pretty stinkin' proud. I teach doubled up fourth grade classes (meaning there are about 35 kids in the room). After doing the first portion of the video independently at our seats, we returned to the floor with clipboards, our papers and pencils to do a guided drawing together. I really liked having them watch the video as there were less interruptions. I did pause it every now and then to reexplain or allow the kids to catch up.

Once we were finished drawing on the floor together, the kids had mirrors at their seats. I told them that the guided drawing was a kind of template for them that they should alter and change once at their seats. I encouraged them to really study their faces, freckles, glasses and details and add them to their selfies. Once completed in pencil, they traced over their lines in Sharpie.

I really thought the kids would get further along than this...but they were so into drawing their likeness that I didn't want to rush them ahead. Next up, I'll provide them with some pattern idea sheets for them to draw their designs before adding color. 

I really can't wait to see how these turn out!

I have noticed that teaching self portrait drawing to older kids is pretty tough. Not cuz they can't handle it but because they are so hard on themselves! So I really REALLY discourage any erasing until they are back at their seats. I tell them that it is "just practice" and that they are learning something new...and to go easy on themselves. Only when they return to their seats are they allowed to change and erase...but I don't allow them to get another piece of paper. When I had a students say, "I don't like mine," I asked, "what do you not like?" When she replied with an "everything!" I told her to pick one thing she liked the least and we worked on that. Then we picked the next thing and we worked on that. Within five minutes, she was much happier with her drawing. It's a process with this age group. You gotta do what works without letting them throw in the towel. 

Next up, we'll add patterns of things that interest us (I used paint splatters and music notes in mine to give them some ideas) as well as color. 

I'll be sure to share our progress! Until then, feel free to use this video and lesson in your art teacherin' world. I'd love to see what your kids create! Shoot me an email if you do. 

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DIY: Celluclay Book of Spells and Potion Bottle

So by now y'all know that my love for Halloween and Celluclay run strong. I discovered my love for Celluclay this summer when working on that clay book I wrote (stay tuned, we're getting closer each week to being finished with it and I'm so excited!). About a month ago, I used Celluclay and old trick or treat buckets to create these retro-inspired Halloween decorations. Then I went all Zombie-fied and made these Walking Dead Head Planters. This time around, I decided to create a Book of Spells that serves as my treat holder for all the trick or treaters!

And I learned how to make a gif. My apologies in advance. 

When the hubs and I were in Orlando last month, we hit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which is INSANE. Everyone should go there, it should be required by law. It is so incredibly inspiring and wonderful that you just gotta stand back and soak it all in. With a Butter Beer, of course. Now, I've not read any of the Potter books (much to my husband's dismay, he's a HUGE fan) but it's on my To Do. In the meantime, I'm just going to continue to be inspired by the park, the movies and create Halloweenie-themed stuff like this. 

 So I went to the thrift store on Monday with the intention of scooping up a large hardback book. I already had reservations about the idea because I thought the water in the Celluclay would cause the book cover to warp. But I was all set to cross that bridge when I got there (cuz planning head really isn't my thang).

But what was waiting for me at the thrift turned out to be much better: this old jewelry box! Best part is that I can use it tomorrow to serve up some treats to the neighborhood kids. The jewelry box does have that special old-lady-perfume-smell but I'm pretty sure no kid is gonna turn their nose up at a pack of skittles that smells like The Golden Girls. And if they do, they don't deserve to taste the rainbow anyway.

 So just what is Celluclay and how do you work with it? I made a video when creating the pumpkins that walks you thru the simple steps. All you need is the clay (which can be found on Amazon and at your local craft joint) and water. 

I did try to air out the old-lady-perfume smell but it really doesn't bother me. Since I wear a lotta vintage, I'm kinda used to smelling like a lil ole lady. Shoot, man. I kinda am one!

Now usually when I go about creating, I start with some sort of plan in mind. This time, I decided to live life dangerously and just start slapping the Cellulclay onto the surface. 

Disney's the Haunted Mansion and it's silly/spooky ghouls were what inspired the faces on both the spell book and my potion bottle below.

 I worked on this guy a little each night. It took some time to cover the entire book, the sides and the binding. I was worried it wouldn't have enough time to dry so I placed it in front of a fan during the day. Also...the great thing about Celluclay is that you can continue to work on it and add to it even if the other parts are dry. This is totally different than kiln fire clay. I dig that about Celluclay. Also, I made a huge batch of the clay for this project. When I wasn't using it, I just wrapped it in plastic wrap and stored it in the fridge. 

Once dry, it got a coat of black acrylic...and from there, I forgot to snap any more photos of the process. Sorry, my bad. However, I used the same dry brush technique that I've used in the other Celluclay projects I've shared. 

I had a lotta fun with the details...like this little knob that was on the side of the box that I transformed into a shrunken head. 

 Please pardon the cat hair, we save it for the magic spells. 

So, like I said, I started this on Monday. On Tuesday, I went to a different thrift store (guess who has a shopping problem? GUESS.) with the idea in mind that my book needed some potion bottles. I had seen folks using cheesecloth and liquid starch for projects and I was excited to give that a go for some bottles. However, when I got home, I realized that I had forgotten the cheesecloth at the grocery (anyone else make grocery lists and then LEAVE THEM IN THE CAR?! My life). But I was so excited to get started that I used my left over Celluclay to create a matching bottle for my book. 

Boom! Take that grocery-list-lookin-all-smug-sitting-on-my-dashboard.

 I started with this funkily shaped bottle (yes, funkily is a word).

 After hastily sketching my idea on the bottle, I set to work. This took all of 15 minutes to create. I put it overnight in front of the fan and started to paint it this morning. 

This time, with photographic evidence! Try to ignore the pj pants who are making a feature in this photo. I stay in pj's during the weekend. True story.

 Painted black. Y'all, I gotta tell you, I am loving this crafting outside thing. The weather is perfect and great for drying.

 Dry brushed it with some gold and done! This was one of those crafts that looks complicated (says me) but went off without a hitch. I really would love to do something like this with my students sometime. Sans skull and crossbones, of course. 

 I love how they look together. Just a coupla goofy guys. 

 And a weird chick. But you knew that already.

Mitch had the idea of putting some pillow stuffing in the bottle for smoke. He's so clever. 

 Of course I had to see if it was really poisoned. 

 It wasn't...but, seriously, what used to be in that bottle?! Yuck!

I actually have TWO more Halloween crafts to share with y'all after this one...so be sure and pop back by soon. I just might have to do a double header tomorrow. 

Happy Halloween!

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