Showing posts with label valentines crafts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label valentines crafts. Show all posts

Saturday, January 14, 2017

What the Art Teacher Wore #172

Allow me to just kick off this here What the Art Teacher Wore by saying No, I did not create that AMAZING felt flower Frida-esque crown I am wearing. It was created by art teacher Linda McConaughy who was so sweet and kind to send it to me. You can check out and purchase Linda's designs here. If there is something you have in mind, message her! And, if you've ever been to NAEA, you might also know Linda by her paint brush crown pieces (you can see me wearing mine here!). In fact, she'll be at NAEA in NYC this March (as will I, so excited) so you can check out more of her wares there. Thank you so much, Linda, I LOVE my flower crown and my students did as well. Matched my color wheel shirt completely!
 Target, You have the Best Kid's Clothes: I ain't ashamed to admit I just about purchased the entire Cat and Jack line at Target...for myself. Yes, it's kids' clothes. No, I don't care. That color wheel shirt is currently on clearance for something crazy like $2, y'all! top and skirt: Cat and Jack for Target

So. Did y'all survive Friday the 13th, the full moon and Mercury Retrograde (I'm not exactly sure what that is but if it had anything to do with the painting of one's hands and then licking it off episode I witnessed this week, I ain't down with it)? Thankfully, I have a long weekend to recover. It was my first week back after the break and we hit the ground running: weaving, sculpting, painting, printing. You name it, we were doing it. And all of it was in the name of LURVE...
 Before break, my firsties had finished these weavings. Honestly, I had NO idea what we were going to do with them until Monday morning. I remembered that before break, these kids had whizzed through weaving. So I decided to see if they could handle a little bit of hand stitching. Y'all, they rocked it! You can check out the complete lesson here
With all the possible bad luck floating around, I decided to ward it off with some freaky evil eyeball jewelry. You can see more of this craziness here. I'm so on a 80's kick right now, y'all. I've had a hair crimper in my Amazon shopping cart for a week now. 
 The Problem with Wearing Kid's Clothes: Is that half of your students wear them too. I was told that I match several kiddos in our school, a couple in kindergarten and a few in first grade. Yep. I've got the fashion sense of a 6 year old. Sounds about right. top: Cat and Jack; skirt and tights: Target; boots: Frye
Second grade printed this week and learned about the artist Chris Uphues. I love his artwork but his street art hearts are my faves. The kids really got into his work. Lesson to come!
 Wonderful Wednesday: I was so excited about Wednesday because my fourth graders started on their Candy Heart Sculptures! sweater: thrifted; pins: vintage; top: JCrew; skirt: resale find at Buffalo Exchange (I knooooooow!); yellow tights and hot pink fishnets: who knows
We got out armatures complete and started on the process of cutting the plaster into strips. I wasn't about to do that myself so I put the kids on that one. Next week, we cover in plaster!
 When You Look as Ridiculous as You Feel: All day long. That's what happens when you dress like a kid, y'all! top and skirt: more Cat and Jack. I done told you I bought everything they had. Gift cards from Christmas came in mighty handy; shoes: Aldo
Second grade had so much fun printing hearts that I decided to create more stampers and have kindergarten do it as well. You can see how I made the stampers here. More to come on this lesson! 
All Eyeballs on Me: Yep, I had to. Details on this dress here. Shoes from Modcloth
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Tuesday, January 10, 2017

In the Art Room: First Grade Fiber Arts

Every year I do paper weaving with my first grade artists...and every year, when the weavings are complete, I think, "well, now what?"

This year, my first graders FLEW through weaving without much help or reteaching from me. I was so excited that I decided to throw some simple stitching into the mix and I'm so glad I did. The kids nailed it and created a beautiful heart-tastic quilt to boot.
Day 1: If you've never done paper weaving with kids before, here is how I teach them to cut their looms. We used painted paper for our looms. Cutting our looms and weaving a couple of strips took us one 30 minute class. 
Day 2: On our second day, we reviewed the weaving process. We sit in a circle and weave together. I like to use peer tutoring for those who understand weaving to help others. I find the kids do an excellent job teaching one another!
Our Love Quilt now hangs outside my art room! This is the work of two classes. My next two classes will have a different color scheme. I'll be sure to share when they are complete. 
Day 3: The next art class, students chose a 12" square piece of construction paper. We learned all about symmetry as well as positive and negative shapes and how to cut out a heart! This was then glued over our weavings. We saved the positive shape hearts for our next project. As a wrap up, we had a drawing sheet full of symmetrical and asymmetrical images for the kids to draw.
Day 4: I had to do some prep work for this day, not even gonna lie. I hot glued another square paper on the back of the artwork to anchor the weaving (see below) and I hole punched the sides. For two classes, that took about 20 minutes. Then I cut the yarn to about 18" strips and had pieces of tape on hand for the kids.
To begin, each child anchored their yarn with tape on the back. I showed them out to do a whip stitch and they went to town. To end the stitch, they added another piece of tape on the back. 
Early finishers helped those those who needed assistance. Everyone finished in under 20 minutes. This gave us time to add our names with silver Sharpie!
Once the kids were done, I laid the pieces out on the floor and decided to display the artwork quilt-style. 
For that, I simply hole punched the tops and bottoms of the weavings and tied them together with two pieces of yarn. This created long pieces of art that I hung next to each other to create the illusion of a blanket. That took a mere 30 minutes! 

I was so excited that with 4 30 minute art classes, the kids learned about weaving, symmetry and stitching...all while having a blast! I am so glad to have this beautiful masterpiece outside my art room. 

Love to hear about your favorite projects that involve paper weaving!
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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Hearts with Wings Sculptures

GOING LIVE TONIGHT, JANUARY 4TH AT 8PM CST RIGHT HERE. We'll be chatting about What We Wish We Knew our first year(s) teaching. Chat soon! Until then...

How about a fun heart sculpture project where kids discover an artist and use them as their inspiration? That's exactly what I had in mind when I came up with this simple and effective project using papier mache pulp and plaster! My buddy Natalie Waggenspack over at smART Class (one of my favorite art teacherin' blogs!) inspired this lesson. Here is the process video with an introduction to the artists I found inspiring:
Originally I was calling this project the Jim Dine Hearts Sculpture...but I didn't want my artists to feel limited to one artist. Shoot, they don't even have to use an artist's style as their inspo, they can come up with their own. But if you are looking for a project where your students do a little bit of artist investigation, I think this would be super fun.
I think this project would best be suited for students from third grade on up. I'll be doing the Candy Heart Sculpture with my fourth graders so I might either reserve this lesson for next your or try it with my younger kids. Here are the supplies needed:

* Aluminum foil. I really liked using the sheets of foil as they were precut and just the right size.

* Activa Product's Celluclay or Fast Mache. Both are very similar and work great. If I were doing this with my kids, I would definitely premix the clay. 

* Activa Product's Rigid Wrap Plaster. Used for the wings.

* Tempra or acrylic paint.
 I love the work of contemporary artist Chris Uphues (I know my students will as well...check out his street art, so fun!) and he inspired this heart. 
And I had Frida in mind when I painted this heart. I really loved creating these hearts and see so much potential with this project. 
Love to hear from you if you give this project a try! Don't feel limited to the sculpture supplies I used. I really think a variety of mediums could be used to create these fun hearts.

Full disclosure: Activa Products and I are working together to create fun projects with their products. I received these sculpture supplies from them. Thank you, Activa Products! 

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Monday, January 2, 2017

In the Art Room: Candy Heart Sculptures!

Hello, Cutie Pies and Love Bugs, won't you Be Mine on this Candy Heart Sculpture adventure? I'm so excited (and maybe a pinch sugar'ed up from one too many candy hearts) about this project I've got planned for my fourth graders. I've been kicking this idea around for sometime...but there were some issues I thought the kids might struggle with. After finding solutions that will make their sculpture making adventure a little easier, I put it all together in this here video.
To make your own Candy Heart Sculpture, you'll need the following: 

* Tag or poster board, one 2" X 24" and two 8" squares
* Scissors
* Stapler
* Tape
* Rigid Wrap Plaster Cloth from Activa Products 
Approximately 24" of wrap per student. The wrap comes in a width of 6" so I cut it in half for this project. My plan is to have the kids do the cutting when they finish their armature.
* Tempra paint
 I played around with a couple dimensions with the heart and decided that the 2" edge would be the best. It's the most accurate appearing ratio and it requires a lot less plaster wrap. Having the kids create those tabs of tape and fill in the gaps with excess tape will really help when they are creating their armature.
 I also played with several ideas for putting the wording on the heart. I first toyed with the idea of just letting them write on their hearts but my students do not have the best of handwriting, not even gonna candy coat it for ya (pun intended). Giving them a guide like the sheet which will ultimately become their carbon copy paper seemed like the best solution. 
I will definitely keep y'all posted on how my fourth graders do. While their projects dry, they'll be working on another sweet project that I'll be certain to share with you soon. Check ya later, Love Bugs!
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Thursday, February 2, 2012

DIY: How to Dress Like a Kindergartener

Warning: This blog post is full of the World's Most Annoying Photos. But I have excuses! I have a head cold; it's really early in the morning; I'm all jacked-up on herbal tea and sudafed. AND I was born this annoying. So, what can you do?

Hey! Look! It's a thirty-something dressed like an over-grown 6 year old! Listen, folks, I'm just trying to keep it real for the under 10 set, 'kay? Thankfully, I teach the littles. Can you imagine what middle school kids would have to say about my look? I shudder to think.
 Okay, I know I look like I've been put in the corner (which if my parents had done more often, I'd probably be a much better person), but I'm just trying to give you a view of the heart in my dress. And my giant slinky-esque hair.

The idea for this dress came to me on my recent visit to San Francisco. I found this most incredible creme-colored dress with a heart cut out of the back. Despite the despicable number 4 size, I was determined to try it on. And. Get. It. Zipppppped! After which I couldn't breath nor feel my fingertips. Right before I passed out from lack of oxygen, I managed to break free of the dress and return the ugly ole rag to it's rusty wire hanger. I didn't really like it that much anyway. 

But who am I kidding? It was one of those dresses that haunts you. It comes to you in your sleep and whispers in your ear, "celery and water for the next thirty days and we could be together!" Hmmm...

"A grapefruit and a couple of prunes a day for a couple of weeks and I'll be all yours!" Well...that doesn't sound too bad...

"Give up chocolate for a week and that zipper will glide over your ---"

Wait, what?
Did that dress just say "give up chocolate"?! Ho, no. That ain't even in my realm of possibilities. Sorry, dress. But that's where I draw the line.


Sorry for the grainy photo...just trying to give you a closer look. I told you my hair looks like a slinky! Wiggles like one too.

So I decided to make my own version. With this sad little plaid jumper I'd picked up a Goodwill ages ago and worn just once. I had always liked it for it's vintage-y Catholic-school-girl jumper look but it was really long. Like, down to my mid-calf long. It made me feel as though I'd been swallowed up by some giant kilt. It seemed the perfect blank canvas for my dress-terpiece.

I was seriously nervous about cutting the heart out of the back but it turned out to be the easiest part. I used a paper template, cut around it, notched the heart, tucked and ironed it under, sewed around the heart and I was done. Seriously. That simple.
Another grainy number. Sorry.
And I had thought the pocket would be the easy part. Ha! Silly me. I tried to create the pocket the same way I had the opening in the back. Cut out a too-big heart, cut notches, tuck notches under and sew.  But the velvet proved to be too flimsy and my heart looked lumpy and weird.

Plan B proved to work much better. I cut out the heart in velvet, mustard yellow linen and some slightly stiff backing. I sandwiched the backing in between the two fabrics and did a tight zigzag stitch around it. Which, by the way, all sewing machines have. My ole Kenmore had this same function. From there, I sewed the pocket onto the dress.
Could I be anymore annoyingly excited? I warned you.
I also took up that hem several inches. I used the excess plaid fabric as a bow for my hair. Kinda hard to see as it blends in with my 'do. I also made the belt. I'm rather matchy-match like that.
My Peter Pan collar which was referred to thrice as a bib. Yeah...not exactly what I had in mind but whatever.
I created the Peter Pan collar after seeing a similar idea here: http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com. The tutorial there used leather for the collar but I decided to use my mustard colored linen again. Just like the pocket, I sandwiched a piece of backing in between two pieces of mustard fabric and zigzag stitched around the edges. I stitched very small button holes at the top and bottom of the collar to feed the ribbon through. Once I had the ribbon at the right length, I cut it and waved a lighter under it to seal the ribbon and keep it from fraying.
My finished kindergarten look. The best part about this dress? The always-forgiving elastic waist band. Which means I can eat as much chocolate as I like. Take that, Size 4.
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Sunday, January 29, 2012

DIY: Lovey Dovey

My completed yarn-wrapped heart now hangs over the mirror in my foyer. I hate that word, foyer. Makes me sound so fancy. But it sounds better than "front entrance" which is what I initially typed.

I am not, nor have I ever been, and I predict I won't ever be, sappy. When I lose my Burt's Bees, I become chappy; with a tiny amount of wine, I am slaphappy; and my middle-aged lady arms are starting to look flappy; but sappy is not a word that would describe me. Lovey-dovey, mushy, huggy-kissy sweet stuff kinda makes my skin craw, my eyes roll toward the back of my head and my finger make a gagging motion down my throat.

Supplies: Styrofoam heart and pink yarn: Hobby Lobby; baker's twine: Anthopologie, last Christmas; buttons and paper measuring tape: from my stash; vintage photos: from my mom

However, this is not all my fault. I inherited the unsappy gene from my mother. Case in point: If I tell her I lover her, more often than not, I'm greeted with a "whatever." It's just not in us to give a sap. 

So it's kinda funny that I decided to spruce up the pad for Valentine's Day. Honestly, it's because I had so much fun decorating for Christmas, that I didn't want to stop. Never mind that the floors haven't been swept in years and that the laundry is a 6' mountain of funky smells, look! I made a yarn wrapped heart!

Are they not the cutest? My mom brought me a stash of old family photos, some of people neither of us knew. Doesn't it look like he's tickling her ear and she's trying to stop him? I wonder where they are now.

And it was really easy to make. If you've been on pinterest for a millisecond, you've seen yarn-wrapped wreaths. I made one at Christmas...but this one was a wee bit trickier because of the points in the heart. If you've never tried it before, here's how I went about it: tie yarn around styro wreath and wrap yarn around it. That's it! When I came to the points in the heart, I plugged in my hot glue gun and glued in strips of yarn to fill in the gaps. It's really the easiest and most mundane craft ever. 

Another nunno-who-they-are photo from my collection. I love how she's on her tiptoes in her sweet loafers...and is he coping a feel?


When I was finished with that, the fuschia heart was rather boring. So I decided to add some blue striped  baker's twine which I double knotted in the back. I backed the photos onto matte board and hot glued the board to the frame so as not to ruin the photos. The vintage buttons were hot glued on as well. I had initially used a black ribbon to hang the heart but it seemed too domineering. I swapped it out for the paper measuring tape. In all, it looks pretty crafty, but that's okay by me. It'll do for the month of Feb.

Right under the yarn-wrapped-heart mirror in the foyer is a little table with this display. My collection of vintage children's books comes from the throw-away pile at in my school's library.
These little cupid houses have actually been up since Christmas. As if you couldn't tell. I've decided that the hearts on top of them mean I can leave them out just a pinch longer. Again, this idea was pulled from pinterest.

If you have access to clay and a kiln, here's how I created these: for the trunk, place a texture down on your table. I used a large stamp that had a wood grain design. Place the clay on top of the stamp and flatten it with a rolling pin. Remove clay from stamp and roll into a tube shape. For the roof, lay a different textured surface onto your workspace. I like to use vintage lace. Repeat the step of flattening the clay. Now, instead of forming a tube, roll clay into a waffle cone shape. Slip and score to the top. Add details and, viola! A house for cupid!
My Valentine garland. The easiest craft ever.
This is the last of my Valentine's decor, I swear. If I do anymore, my anti-sap status is sure to drop greatly. This here Valentine's garland was the easiest to make. My school has one of the Edison die cut thingies. I die cut some of my scrap booking paper (picked up a JoAnn's)  that I thought might compliment the colors of my living room. Which, as you can see, is just black and white. Easy to match.
If you've never sewn before, this is the project for you. When I got my first sewing machine about 6 years ago, I started by sewing paper. There's no fear in "messing up" and ruining expensive fabric. For this, I just pushed the heart through the machine. To make the blank space, I just continued to pull the heart so the machine would keep intertwining the two threads. Once the space was long enough, I fed the bird through the machine. Simple, right?

So, there you go. Valentine's decor for the un-Lovey Dovey set. I keep thinking to the next holiday I can decorate for...which is St. Patrick's Day, I believe. Nothing is coming to mind. Except to leave my little clay houses out just one more holiday and call 'em Leprechan Houses. That'll work, right?
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