DIY: The Crayon Tote

Hey, friends! I'm coming to you from the magical land of Orlando with free time provided by the amazing gift known as Spring Break! Hence the big smile and bright sunshine...tho you may have to wear sunglasses to view this post as the sunlight reflecting off my pale legs is blinding. 

Usually when I have a break, I spend the first half of my time off ignoring my To Do list and binge watching junk on Netflix...which is then followed by the end of my break where I am scrambling to accomplish at least one To Do. This time around, I decided to flip flop: before we cut outta town, I managed to edit a couple of videos (which, if you've not seen our school talent show vid, y'all are missing out. Catch me getting roasted followed by my uke debut at minute 47 here) and finish off this here Crayon Tote. All before cuttin' outta town for a few days. I'm mighty proud of my procrastinatin' self. I'd say that perhaps this is a sign of me turning over a new leaf...but I'm willing to put money on it that this is a one time dealio.

But, let's return to the subject at hand, shall we? This here Crayon Tote!

 So I started this tote MANY moons ago. It was a weekend, I'd had this idea for a crayon-themed bag in my head and without much of a plan, I started sketching, creating a paper pattern from my drawing, pinning the pattern pieces to fabric from my stash, and stitching it together. By the end of the weekend, I had completed the front and back of the bag. And I had no idea of how to proceed from there.  

And so it sat in my sewing room for months and months. Finally this past Saturday, I decided I was going to figure it out and finish it. I recalled that one of my very first sewing projects I created about 7 years ago, when I first started stitching, was a tote. I had used Lotta Jansdotter's book Simple Sewing and, following her directions, churned out a bag that I got quite a bit of use out of. The boxy nature of that tote lead me to believe that the concept just might work for this bag as well. So I cracked up the book and followed the directions once again. 

 Now, you can purchase that book used and on the cheap over on Amazon. The pattern is simple really. Create a front and back panel, a bottom panel and two side panels. With right sides together, stitch the side panels to the front and back panels creating a tube. Flip inside out and pin the bottom panel to the bottom of the tube and stitch. That part is a pinch tricky...just remember to turn those corners and you'll be fine. 

 Because I had already created my front and back panel before settling in on this pattern, I did not follow the measurements in the pattern. Instead I used my pre-created front and back panels to determine the size of my end and bottom pieces. 

For the lining of the bag, I was just going to use yellow fabric...until my art teacher friend Michelle suggested I use this vintage Crayola fabric. I've had this fabric in my stash for some time (it was gifted to me by a sweet art teacher) and had recently shared it on my Instagram. I had planned to use the small stash of fabric to create a top but when Michelle mentioned that it would be great for the lining, I couldn't have agreed more!

The lining was created in the exact same way as the bag itself. From there I stitched the handles. The pattern calls for short handles...but I knew I'd want something I could throw over my shoulder so I doubled the length. 

By the way, the first bag I created was very slumpy. In the pattern, it doesn't mention adding anything to stiffen or firm up the fabric. So whenever I would set my bag down, it would kind of dissolve like the Wicked Witch getting water thrown on her. I def didn't want that happening with this bag. I wanted it to stand up and look adorbs even when it was empty. So I sandwiched some thin quilting batting material in between each part of the bag...even the handle. And I'm so glad I did. Not only does it make the bag look more like a box of crayons but that cushion in the strap makes it much more comfortable on my shoulder.

Just a fun side pocket for pens and random other things for me to misplace and lose. 

 I love me some applique. It's so perfect for creating graphic imagery with hard lines. 

 Ah! That peak of lining! 

Of course y'all know I had to wear every color in the crayon box to coordinate with my bag. 

Whew! Another thing off my spring break To Do! Now back to my usual program of watching mindless telly. Toodles!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #151

 Monday Was Technically STILL November, But...I just couldn't wait any longer! I've been itching to bust out all things red and green since the sugar buzz wore off from Halloween! I was all, "Get outta here, November, I'm done with you! I only have 25 days to wear every piece of festivus clothing I own (which exceeds 25 days. Surprised? Thought not)". blouse and Santa suspenders: thrifted; skirt: vintage; tights: Amazon; shoes: made by yours truly! 

Can we be real for a sec? I've kinda sorta been suckin' at this whole photo-a-day thing for a while. And I feel really bad about it for a coupla reasons. One because it shows I'm outta my usual routine (not that one was ever really established for the likes of a crazy person like me) which means that most mornings I'm running behind and out the door before snapping a pic. And I really hate starting my morning in a rush and a fluster because it has lately been effecting my entire day. Another reason I feel bad is, well, cuz I put together some mad outfits, y'all! That need to be shared with the WORLD. Or at least the five folks that read this blog.

In all seriousness, I've been actually feelin' pretty low this week. I feel like I'm swimming in a mess of a mess (like, for realz. My art room is gonna be the end of me, y'all) and it's all I can right now do to slap on a silly outfit and a smile. I'm not sure just what is going on but I'm determined to snap out of it soon. So, cheers to a new week and another chance to do my very best...at dressing crazily that is!

I must confess...another reason I've been lousy at snapping photos daily is because I do a good amount of sharing on Instagram. You can find me giving new meaning to the word "oversharing" here. 

Thrifty Tuesday: So the other day, I walked into Goodwill and walked out with this entire ensemble. I know, right?! The Tacky Christmas Sweater gods were lookin' out for me, what can I say? sweater, top, skirt: thrifted; belt: Amazon; tights: Target; shoes: Clarks

I Actually Hate Candy Canes Wednesday: Nope, never been a fan.  I pretty much hate peppermint anything and want to know what tastebudless pleasure-hater created it so I can go pee on their tires. I know that sounds harsh but don't you recall how razor sharp those sucked-on canes could be? Tongue-killers, y'all! Not to mention trying to pull the plastic wrap around the curve of the cane. Geesh. Don't get me started. Makes for a super cute pattern for tights, tho! dress: made by me; sweater: Anthro; tights and crinoline: Amazon

More from my Instagam feed. I told you I wasn't shy on sharing! And, oooooh-kaaaaay, candy canes are good for something: super cute pattern-y-ness. 

Totes missed out on snapping photos of Thursday and Friday. Your loss, kids. I did wear these bad boys on Friday complete with jeans (gasp!) and a pair of socks that say "It's My Parents' Fault". Truer words were never spoken. Later, friends!

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DIY: Pencil Inspired Dress

Well, would you lookie here, I finished my Halloween costume! I know, I know, I'm a lil late to the party (wait, there was a party?And I wasn't invited?! Story of my life, y'all). But I actually like to think that Halloween and the wearing-of-costumes is something that should be celebrated all year long. Kinda like my birthday. Or that part in Christmas where people give me stuff. A daily birthday/present-opening/costume-wearing celebration would be fine by me. We'll call it "Everyday Give Cassie Stuff And Wear a Costume". Or something. It's a working title so I'm totes open to ideas.  

While you're shopping on Amazon for my prezzies (I created a wish list to make your life easier because I'm a considerate soul), lemme chat for a minute about this here dress. I got the idea into my head about a year ago to create this pencil-tasticness. I don't know if you are like this but when I get an idea, one of two things usually happens: I act on it right away, despite having a messy house, a missing cell phone, a mountain of other projects and probably a misplaced sandwich or three. OR, as in this case, I sit on the idea for a while, let it germinate (read: I procrastinate because figuring out making something is sometimes hard when you are thick between the ears) and then, one morning having woken up with a wild hair or three, decide to act on it with rick-rack-less abandon. 

Now for me, the best part of coming up with a new idea is shopping for the supplies. Which proved to be a pinch difficult in the case of this dress. My first order of business was finding big a## rickrack which, by the way, I DON'T recommend you do a google image search for. Ahem. I still wish I could have found an even bigger rack (double ahem) but this one did just fine. I also struggled finding a woodgrain fabric as I believe Kelly from the Deli was using it all for her runway collection (that joke was strictly for the PR fans out there. Holla!). Seriously tho, I ended up having to sacrifice a perfectly decentish wood grain skirt that I purchased from Target years ago. You can see it in it's former life in this post. 

Part of the inspo for this dress came from the pattern seen above. When I first used this pattern I thought the sleeves were just so crazy big like some sort of bat wings. I mean, I liked the dress and all but the sleeves were so stinkin' big that I kept seeing them out of the corner of my eye and smacking myself imagining there was something on me. Which FUR REALZ makes you look like a crazy person, slapping your own self silly. You can see that dress here.

(P.S. I'm totes awares that this here paragraph is centered while the others are not. Blogger has decided that despite my numerous edits and grumblings that this here para shall be centra-fied. So just deal, y'all.)

The hem of the skirt had to come up a lot to account for the fabric needed for the sleeves. I picked up a pink crinoline from Amazon to hide the fact that my skirt isn't art teacherin' length appropriate. As if ANY of my wardrobe is art teacherin' appropriate. 

And, like, I have no idea how it happened but this dress is one tight mother-lover. Well, I DO know what happened, I'm not detail oriented, totes screwed up my measurements and ended up with a dress so form fitting that I can only manage to squeak into a sports bra when wearing it. Not to mention that the only zipper I had on hand was one that is 18" which means I get to do my most embarrassing contortionist performance whilst getting dressed. There's a lotta of naughty words dropped putting this thing on as you can imagine.

While sewing away, I started toying around with one of the sleeves before sewing it in and thought, "this might be the wine talking but wouldn't this make a super awesome pencil-tastic hat?!" (note to self: the reason my measurements were prolly off...wine talking.)

Sewing that up wasn't too bad as I actually just used the sleeve pattern with some of the "lead" stitched to the top. The lead of the pencil is ACTUALLY yellow...til the hubs walked in and said, "shouldn't that pencil led be black?" and I was all, "UGH. WHERE WERE YOU 15 MINUTES AGO, BRUH?!" So for a quick fix I just wrapped this gray linen around the top. 

And there you have it! One ever-so slightly belated Halloween pencil-inspired costume complete! 

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What the Art Teachers Wore//Back to Art Teacherin' Contest!

 Dorie Mishael! Isn't Dorie just the cutest thing?! I totally wanna join her on that fun -n- funky carpet and create some art. Check out that super cute skirt she made AND that rug for her art room that she's both sewing and needle felting. What a fab-o Back-to-Art-Teacherin' ensemble!

Welcome to the What the Art Teacher Wore/Back to Art Teacherin' Contest! These incredible educators got all dressed up to teach the best subject ever, ART! If you would take a moment to vote for your favorites, that would be much appreciated. If you are viewing this from your laptop, the poll is to your right. If you are on your phone, click on "view web version" way at the bottom of the page. These contestants stand a chance to win a free subscription to SchoolArts Magazine as well as an opportunity to see their beautiful faces there! Thanks all y'all who sent me snaps and for those of you taking the time to read about these hard working art teacherin' peeps. 

 Amanda Holloway and her mama! I seriously think that I just about died of cuteness overload when I saw this sweet mama/daughter art teacherin' duo. They made their dresses outta just about the cutest fabric I think I've seen. Both teach elementary art in Jacksonville, Florida to some seriously lucky young artists!

 Jennifer Love Gironda! If you don't read Jennifer's blog, you really should. She's truly inspirational to me because she's creating art ALL THE STINKIN' TIME! Truly! I believe she creates a painting a day all while whipping up super cute crayon necklaces like this one. I need one of these, stat.

Cheryl Burchett! Cheryl is a serious art teacherin' force to be reckoned with. She recently switched to teach at a new school and then raised over $2000 for the art program. And she stitched up this art teacherin' dress which I seriously love. You can follow Cheryl's awesomeness on her blog here! 

 SuzAnne! SuzAnne wore this super awesome get up on the first day to go over rules. Her school's theme is S.A.I.L. which stands for "students active in learning". To incorporate that theme as well has Monay she created that Capt. Mona you see on the left. What a clever and fun way to welcome her students back!

 Amanda Koonlaba! Amanda is a seriously sweet art teacher in Tupelo, Mississsippi. She welcomed back her students wearing a flower crown inspired by everyone's fave unibrow artist, Frida Kahlo. I'm sure her students were thrilled by her floral headpiece awesomeness!

 Karen Williams! Karen has amazing taste, I mean, check out that super cute palette fabric she used for her dress! Karen has recently started stitching again and is excited to begin creating more art teacherin' outfits (it's additive, Karen!). I love how she accented this dress with different colors at both he waist and the hem. She looks so colorful and cute.

 David Meade! Oh my goodness, this photo just cracks me up! Elementary art teacher David wore this glorious tie-dye number to greet the kids on their first day back to school. David crocheted his beret and wears his tie-dye coat daily to teach art! Imagine how thrilled the kids were to have this fun -n- funkiness open the door for them. I can't decide if the mustache, the beret or those pants are my fave. So much colorful goodness!

Cynthia Gaub! This pop-art themed dress worn by the lovely Cynthia Gaub is so fun! In fact, sewers, you can find this fab-o fabric at fabric.com! AND, non-sewers, have no fear, this dress can be found at ModCloth. Thank you, Cynthia, you look delish!

 Marcia Beckett! Y'all might recognize Marcia from her awesome art teacherin' blog, Art is Basic. What Marcia doesn't know about this back to art teacherin' t-shirt of hers it that I have the very same one in black from Forever21. If y'all haven't picked up their artist-inspired duds, you might wanna. You could look as cute as Marcia!

 Katie Romantic! Okay, this girl, lemme tell ya, she's killin' it. Katie made this entire zentangle dress using Tulip brand fabric paint. Now, while you digest that, I'll have you know that she also embellished those shoes and that hair bow. Not to mention, this is one of a handful of incredible outfit snaps that Katie sent me! You know I dig her style!

 Lauren Luna! Lauren sent me so many super cute photos that it was hard to chose! Isn't she totes adorbs? I'm lovin' this t-shirt of hers. Y'all have go to check out her art teacherin' blog here and her personal art making blog here! Love her energy!

 Amy Neiwirth! When super cute art teacher Amy Neiwirth sent me her photo (love that dress, gurl!) she failed to mention that she's also an incredible creator of cuteness. You guys have gotta check out her website, you won't believe the adorable jewelry this art teacherin' rock star creates!

Ashley Gonzalez! Doncha just love Ashley's apron? So did her student! She dressed just like her on one of their first days back to school, complete with a Starry Night apron! I love Ashley's hand painted apron, don't y'all?

Natalie Friedl! Can I just go all pun-tastic on y'all? I mean, let's face it, Natalie is looking sharp. Her dress is on point. She's not in the slightest bit sketchy in this super cute ensemble. I love this dress so much I have one myself. That's right, Natalie and I are twinkies! 

 Carrie Mann! Okay, y'all. I think Carrie should when in the special Awesomely Electric Ensemble category. Did you see, her skirt LIGHTS UP! She created it to read to her students The Very Lonely Firefly. You know they'll remember that experience for years to come.

 Jamia Weir! Sometimes, when I see people have a genius idea, I shake my fist at the heavens and say, "Argh! Why didn't I think of that?!" This here TWISTER GAME APRON was one of those times. That's right, Jamia created her back to art teacherin' apron from a vinyl Twister mat! How smart is that, y'all?!

 Joan Wheeler! Joan has caught the needle felting bug! I am so loving her Forever21 dress that she needle felted the palette onto, aren't you? Not only that but she created her jewelry using paint from a watercolor tray. How smart! I love her happy, colorful look.

 Kim Schulster! Kim doesn't know this but I have some serious fabric envy. If you look closely, there are lovely Frida's around the bottom of her dress! She looks absolutely fabulous. She and Amanda need to teach a Frida Kahlo unit together, doncha think?! Adorbs, Kim!

 Nicki Leatherwood! Art teacher Nicki from Austin, Texas chose her fabric based on her students love for Dr. Who. I'm sure they loved her skirt! She stitched it herself from the book Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes, a book I'd love to get my kitten mittens on. It looks like she did a fabulous job!

Teresa Euken! I have been going bananas over Teresa's top every since she sent me this photo. I love that fabric, a JoAnn's score, as well as that blouse pattern. She looks fabulous! I'm sure her students got a kick out of her back to art teacherin' top!

Lisa Hirkaler! Lisa is a high school art teacher who wore this dress back to school to introduce her students to Monet! You know, I bet not too many high school teachers go too wild -n- crazy with their outfits so I'm sure Lisa's students were thrilled to see how she'd coordinated her lesson with her flowery frock. Way to go, Lisa!

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