How to Design Your Own Fabric!

If you've been hangin' around this blog for a while (I thank you!) then you might know that I love to make my own clothing. It started with a desire to craft clothing to teach a lesson in (a la Miss Frizzle) and then morphed into wanting to make everything in my wardrobe. One thing I never seemed to be able to accomplish: Designing my own fabric.

Well...when my book Larry the Line came out, I was able to do just that! But it was easy as the pattern from the book was a stripe pattern. So it naturally repeated making for the perfect pattern. 

However, there were no stripes in my new book Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes. So I thought it would be a good time to learn how to design my own fabric. I was so excited with how it turned out! When I shared it on my Instagram, I promised I'd give a tutorial...and, so, here we are!

I hope this helps!

Now I always get dress-making questions too...which I share a little about in the video. However, I'm no dress-making expert. I just know what I like and what works for me. 

For the bodice of my dress, I use a vintage Simplicity pattern #4343. If you search around on eBay or Etsy, you may find it. For the bottom, I use a circle skirt pattern and always add pockets. 

Creating a pattern was very hard for me to comprehend initially. So I thought I'd kick the video off with a little Post-It tutorial. I hope that helps!

And, of course, if you'd like a copy of my book, Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes, I'd love to sign one and send it your way! You can find my books here. And THANK YOU for supporting my small business! I'm an independent seller so...I'm the author, illustrator, social media person, shipper, handler, you name it! 

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How to Read Children's Books in an Engaging Way!

When I was in art teacherin' school, I could have really benefited from a class about how to read books to kids. I thought that if the story was good, the kids would just listen and enjoy. Oh no...there's so much more to reading a book to children and keeping them engaged! So that I would never forget, I created an acronym: SIMPLE. And in this video, I walk you through it!

Reading and engaging students with books is a fine art but...I've cracked the code! If you follow these easy steps, you'll have em hooked and saying what every teacher wants to hear: READ IT AGAIN!

AND...if you are interested in my books...you can find both Larry the Line and Alfred the Ape Knows his Shapes here! I'm working on a series of books on the Elements of Art for kindergarten through third grade. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

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Favorite Art Lessons for Spring!

The weather here in Tennessee has been hinting that spring is on the horizon! Of course, if we all wait a good 15 minutes, then that will change but, for now, I'm embracing the notion of spring! And, with that in mind, I thought I would put together a blog post of my very favorite art lessons for this time of the year. 

Be sure and tap the link I've created for these lessons. Many of the lessons contain free hand-outs and/or kid-friendly videos. I know this time of year, before spring break, is exhausting. I do hope to help you out a little bit! 

Okay, let's get started...

This first lesson is one I loved doing with my second grade students in the spring. We used HUGE pieces of paper, ink-filled bingo daubers and were inspired by the contemporary artist Heather Galler. Once our drawings were complete, we added color with liquid watercolor. 

Here's the link to my first blog post about this lesson. 

And here's a link to the follow-up blog post with more details on how we finished our creations!

Seeing these large and colorful beauties in the hallways always brightened our days!

Of course, what better way to celebrate spring than with CLAY! My third graders spent a couple of 30-minute art classes creating these. This lesson was posted to my blog before I created video content...so that lets you know it's an oldie! But I do share step-by-step photos...which would be perfect to print out and provide for students. 

Lesson can be found here. 

This lesson could also be done with air dry clay! I shared that in my book Clay Lab for Kids which is FULL of 52 clay projects for those who do not have a kiln!

If you do have a kiln...I've got a lotta videos and blog posts all about clay. If working with clay frightens you a bit (trust me, I get it. I melted down a kiln once at the expense of $500...so, I GET IT), you might want to start here. 

Since we are on the topic of clay, another fun lesson for spring would be these clay butterflies!

Not only are these super fun to create but also super fast! My kindergarten students created these butterflies in just one 30 minute class period! 

All the details here. 

If you are looking for more kindergarten clay lessons, check out this blog post where I put 'em all in one place! 

Since we are on the topic of butterflies...check out these created by kindergarten! My other students were so interested in this lesson (and loved the printing process) so much that I ended up doing it with multiple grade levels. 

I created a video for students to follow along here. 

A couple years before that, I did a similar lesson with second graders but used chalk for the wings. I thought they turned out so pretty! Lesson with video here. 

The trees are already starting to blossom here so that means it's the perfect time for THIS lesson! I did this one with second graders when we were learning about Japan and each turned out so beautiful!

Vincent van Gogh's cherry blossom tree paintings are always so beautiful and they inspired this lesson here!

Got teachers asking for lessons for Mother's Day? This is one that my kindergarten students created that they loved! You can find the lesson video here. 

In the mood for printmaking? My students LOVED creating these Warhol-inspired prints. We used sunflowers I found at Dollar Tree but real flowers would be fun to use too. Of course, when I busted out the Puffy Paint, that's when the real party started! Full lesson with video here. 

When I shared this printmaking lesson many years ago, GelliPlates were not a thing. I made my own plates! However, I wouldn't recommend it as it's not vegan friendly nor does it last long. Also, who has time to make them?! So if you have GelliPlates or something similar, you will LOVE this lesson!

Each printing plate yields two of these gorgeous prints!

Bringing nature inside is always fun! I've done so many variations of this leaf relief lesson and it's always a hit! You can find all of the details here. 

I love this one with the watered acrylic painted on top!

Bright and cheery landscapes are always fun this time of year! A great way to review color mixing and mark making too. This was a hit with my fourth graders. 

And just look how pretty! Full blog post here. 

Got a million-trillion popsicle sticks?! Behold! A lesson that is super fun and uses 'em all up! Lesson details with video can be found here.

Details on this cute, little painted paper collage by kindergarten can be found right here!

My third graders really knocked it outta the park with this lesson! They loved creating the details on the vases. I loved watching them explore warm and cool colors for their backgrounds. This lesson can be found in detail here. 

If you've never tried using liquid starch with chalk and seeing the AMAZING results...consider this your sign! This lesson comes with a full video created for fourth grade students. They will love it!

In the mood for some fibers lessons? I'm not gonna lie: this project took A LONG TIME. So if you need something to carry you through to spring break...this might be it! 

I promise this lesson won't take nearly as long...and the kids will love it! Especially once they get the hang of weaving. Video lesson here. 

If you are looking for even more fibers lessons, you might want to check out my book Stitch and String Lab for Kids!

So...this lesson is labor intensive because you do have to put the mural together...but when I do large murals like this, they stay up for as long as the walls will hold 'em! This was hung at the start of the school year and left up until the end! Full details here. 

Of course, the idea for that mural came from this one! I created this spring-y mural for Dot Day but I think it would also be fitting for spring. All the details here. 

And there you have it! Over 20 art lessons for spring. I hope you find something here that you can use or are inspired by!

In case ya missed it...I wrote a children's book! Larry the Line can be found right here. This 48-page rhyming book for kindergarten up to second grade (and beyond!) will introduce all lines to students in a fun and engaging way. I promise, you'll love it!

AND...I've not told anyone this yet so...STAY TUNED! This is a series of books on the Elements of Art and the next installment is coming SOON (I'm so excited!). 

If you've not checked out my other book Art Teacherin' 101, you might wanna! You can find the details here, just scroll down.

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My 12 Favorite Winter Art Lessons!

Need some fun winter art lessons? Here ya go!

Greetings, art teacherin' and art-lovin' friends!

I got such a wonderful response from my last blog post where I shared my 25 Favorite Lessons for Valentine's Day that I thought I'd continue to share. 

Today I'm sharing with you my very favorite WINTER lessons! Around here, we are just now experiencing the cooler temps with winter on the horizon. What better time to incorporate it into your art teacherin' world?

So I present to you my favorite winter lessons, ALL FREE! Just tap the link listed with each lesson and you'll find a kid-friendly video, handouts and lessons. Feel free to use in your art room but, please, be sure and give credit if you decide to post on social media. AND, of course, please do not repackage my lessons and sell on TPT. I know what you are thinking, "Cassie, people do that?!" 

YESSSS! All the time! SMH.

Anyway, let's get started!

If you are looking for one of those lessons that, let me be honest, takes a while (sometimes those can be a good thing!) this Snow Globes is for you! The kids do love it! Drawing buildings is their favorite part but we also do a lot of painting and, despite my custodian's protests, we do bust out the glitter. Here's the full lesson with video!

This lesson could totally be shortened with less painting! We painted these papers to draw on but you could always use colorful construction paper or copy paper to eliminate that step.

One of my most popular lessons both with teachers and students is the one inspired by Jen Aranyi! Just tap the link and you'll find a video as well as a handout! 

You'll notice we are working on cardboard circles here...one of my very favorite surfaces! You can buy cardboard circles at your local food supplier. I get mine at Gordon Food Services (GFS) where they sell them in a variety of sizes. I like the brand Circle King.

Ya know how "you live and you learn"? Well...after having done this lesson and others involving "black glue", I'm going to share with you a different and much easier way to get the effect of black glue without making it! 

But before I do that, you can find a video for this super fun and colorful lesson here. 

So, don't make black glue. Seriously. Unless you hate yourself and have more time than you know what to do with. Because, honestly, it's the worst and there is a MUCH better way!

When doing this lesson, for example, have students draw their trees with black washable markers. I prefer Prang markers (always! Trust me!). Then, using ELMER'S GLUE ALL (never EVER School Glue), have students trace over their black lines. Overnight, the waterbased marker and the glue will mix and mingle and create...a black glue line! Don't believe me? Check out this blog post and video where I share the process. 

So I've shared with you some lessons I've done with my older kids so let's now focus on kindergarten and first. Here's a lesson I did many years in a row! I love it because it teachers value. Students create tints for the snow and shade for the sky. We also practice our cutting skills with collage. Full lesson here.

Okay, kindergarten!

Another super popular winter lesson (and one that the kids love) is this Winter Penguin lesson I did with my first graders. All the details can be found, including a video, here. 

We kick things off with a painting review as well as warm an cool colors. The first graders painted the warm color papers while the kinder did the cool for their lesson, details below. We talked A LOT about holding our paintbrush and brush control. 

Using one of my favorite art supplies: the bingo dauber; we created these penguins! Again, the lesson has all the details so be sure and check it out!

And here's some kindergarten cuteness! Same method as the first grade project except we did snowmen instead. Full lesson with video here. 

We used chalk after drawing our snowmen to add the pops of color. 

Got that one class that's ahead of the rest and you need a one day lesson for? Well, here ya go!

Looking to dip your toes into some printmaking? This one is always a hit with my second graders. No printing ink? No problem! Tap the link and I'll show you how to do printmaking with markers!

Such a fun way to create winter selfies!

How about a cup of hot chocolate? In this blog post, I share with you this quick lesson as well as five other quick winter projects!

Don't you love a fast and effective art lesson?!

One of my favorite all time lessons is for kids to create their own mugs and drink hot chocolate out of them! For all of THOSE details, just tap here!

Speaking of printmaking: if you have Gelli Plates and have been dying to bust them out, here's your sign. And your lesson!

Now we took ours a step further by printing on fabric and stitching the into banners but...let's be real: how many of us have sewing machines?! So you can try it with a small group or just enjoy the printmaking process!

Tis the season to remember just how important collaborations in art can be! For that reason, why not try a big ole winter collaboration on for size?!

Look how colorful and fun!

What to do with all of those paper snowflakes you teach the kids how to make? Try THIS project on for size! Faux metal tooling with fourth grade -- stunning!

Thanks for checking out this post on my very favorite winter lessons! In case you haven't heard, I've written two new books and have self-published! You can take a closer look and find them both here. 

Thank you as always for all of the support, y'all!

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