I think this summer may go down as the one I went to Walmart, LOST MY MIND, purchased all of their round beach towels and stitched them all into circle skirts. And you know what? I'm okay with that.
Cuz now I'm the proud owner of an assortment of super absorbent, albeit VERY warm, food-tastic skirts. Perfect for all occasions. National Pizza, Donut, Watermelon, Kiwi, Orange and Hamburger Days. I should know cuz I've already marked my calendar.
Because I know you will want to make your own, I've provided a handy tutorial. What this tute is missing is...pockets!
That's right. After I made my pizza skirt, I realized that not having pockets was just THE WORST. What kind of monster makes a skirt without pockets? This one, apparently. I knew adding pockets to the last five skirts would add more time but, c'mon. Pockets are always worth it.
After I made the pizza skirt and it was so simple, I literally hit Walmart and bought EVERY round towel they had. The lady at the check out counter asked me what I planned to do with so many towels. I was wearing my pizza skirt at the time and I said, "Look! I'm making them into skirts! This one was a towel too!" She just gave me the side-eye and was like, "oh, okay." She does work at Walmart tho...they see IT. ALL.
Some towels translated to skirts better than others. Like this donut...I thought it would be my fave but it's not.
The orange one, however, makes me so happy. I didn't think much of it until I put it on. It's so cute!
The hamburger one...well, I'm still on the fence about it. It's wacky tho and that I can totally deal with. In other news, GUESS WHO HAS BEEN BANNED FROM THE ROUND TOWEL AISLE AT WALMART?! If you see any cute ones, pick 'em up for me, would ya?!
Hey, kids! In my last post I shared that during our LIVE chat, we'd be sharing our WHYs. Why do we teach? It's such a simple and important question that I can honestly say I've never been asked or given thought to. WHICH IS JUST PLAIN CRAZY. The question was brought up during our online bookclub chat. We are currently reading The Wild Card by Hope and Wade King. You are always welcome to join our chats, even if you are not reading. This summer, I've been going LIVE every Wednesday at about 9:15pm CST. Last week, during our chat, we decided it would be fun to come up with our WHYs, put them in kid-friendly terms and make a work of art featuring our WHYs for our classrooms. I started to paint mine while live last night and, in usual form, it looked like a flaming hot turd. However, now I'm pleased as punch with it! So here is my WHY:
I've had this round canvas forever and I thought it would make a fun surface to paint my WHY on. Once I decided upon my WHY, I came up with the palette idea. I finished that off after our chat:
Here's a lil behind the scenes of the process:
I'm THRILLED to see so many other teachers jump on the paint-your-why train. I think it will be so wonderful to share with out students at the start of the school year. Check out these amazing WHY works of art created by other teachers. Be sure and give them a follow on their social media as they are all amazing and inspiring!
My sweet buddy Ashley created this precious WHY for her art room. In case you don't know, Ashley is INSANELY talented and known for creating teacher caricatures. You'll have to check out her IG to see more. Side note: her husband is a super talented art teacher also who just opened an Etsy shop with posters for the art room!
Kim's rainbow-tastic WHY is the stuff of art teacherin' dreams. I love how simple and colorful and PERFECT this is!! I want one! Be sure and give Kim a follow. She's fabulous!
Another rainbow-lover! Crystal's WHY is another one that is just perfectly simple and kid-relatable. That's what I feel is so important...so the kids can read them and understand just why we are there!
Isn't this quote just the most amazing thing? I LOVE this so much, Phyllis! Sharing what art means to us and why we value it's place in our student's lives is such an important thing to share with our kiddos. Beautifully put, Phyllis!
If you don't follow this Disney-loving art teacher, you are not livin' your best life. Everything Mrs. Cook shares is sprinkled with pixie dust including this quote!
Over on Facebook, during our LIVE session, folks were painting right along! Check out Raquel's reason for teaching art...the kids are like a fountain of youth!
Michele's WHY is perfect for the kiddos to see and understand...but my favorite part is the heart, the palette and the 3D element with the paint brushes. LOVE it!
Jacqui's art makes me so happy. I know my students would LOVE that happy faced, big-eyed Earth and would probably love to replicate it. I think her quote and image are just magical.
YES, Shelby! This is kinda what I was going for too with my quote. You put it into words perfectly...and with a rainbow to boot.
Hilary, this just makes me so happy. The different fonts, the rainbow order and THE MESSAGE. Y'all...you nailed it!
My goal this summer was to stitch up one dress a week. After sewing this beast a couple of weeks ago...I've since changed my lifetime achievement goals. BECAUSE THIS DRESS WAS A MOTHER-LOVIN' BEAST.
Here, lemme show you why:
Now look, don't get me wrong. I LOVE this dress and wanna wear it every day and make about a million more in a variety of colors. But.You.All. I cherish the sliver of sanity I like to think I have left. And therefore I will not be making another dress like this for a while. It's gonna be like the Halley's Comet of Dresses that only makes an appearance every 75 years.
I started with a sketch...where all bad things take form:
And, like, I'm kinda thrilled that my dress actually kinda-sorta looks like my drawing. That NEVER happens! Mostly because my drawing looks bananas but also because I can't sew and 99.9% of the time, I'm just winging it.
I decided to go with a 1950's pattern bodice and my trusty Anna Maria Horner circle skirt pattern. Now the 50's pattern did lead me astray as it had me install these horrible, puffy-topped, too-long sleeves that had me lookin' VERY 1980's Working Girl. I mean, I had shoulders for DAYS. I promptly ripped them out and went with a cap sleeve.
But the sleeves were the least of my worries. It was THE APPLIQUE. What in the world was I thinking?! I cut out and appliqued no fewer than 29 sprinkles. I think that was how many there were. I dunno. TOO DANG MANY, THAT'S HOW MANY. I'm sorry for shouting but if you had to live thru this, YOU'D.SHOUT.TOO.
Okay, I thought. Bodice done. Surely the skirt will be easier as it's only too colors. Well, first of all: Don't call me Surely. AND no. A circle skirt is massive...and appliquing around that alone takes a bit. Add the squiggly line of melting ice cream and you have a project that takes FOR.EVE.RRR.
Insert all the annoyed face emoji's here.
But once the skirt was complete, I was in the homestretch. Just had to attach the top and bottom, throw in a zipper, toss in a hem and BOOM! Done! 3 hours later...
Hurray!
Lady at the grocery: What are you supposed to be? Me (going all existential on her): I don't even know anymore. Lady at the grocery, shaking her head: No, I mean, are you in a costume? Me: No. Literally, that's all I had. I was so tired from sewing, I couldn't even give her more than a NAW, LADY. THIS HERE IS MY ENSEMBLE. Now, move, I gotta go figure out what I'm supposed to be!
Now, I say all this because y'all know good and well I'm gonna have to applique me some more dresses...I have them all sketched out and ready to go. Wish me luck!
I got a joke for you: Crazy art teacher walks into Walmart and sees these:
Totally ignoring the words "beach towels", she immediately thinks CIRCLE SKIRT and the rest is extra pepperoni history...
Now if you've been around this blog during the holidays, then you already know that I have a thing for buying tree skirts and making them into lady skirts. When I spotted these round beach towels, I thought of doing the same. I mean, why should such an amazing print like this be limited to just the beach?!
While stitching last night, I filmed the process so you could see just how stinkin' easy it was. I wasn't quite sure if it was all gonna work out so at the time, I only bought the pizza towel. Y'all better believe I went back to day and bought ALL OF THE REST OF THE TOWELS. Can you even blame me?
I totally went to Walmart in my skirt. As I was leaving the house, a neighbor drove by and shouted "is that a PIZZA skirt?! AWESOME!" I didn't get much attention while at Walmart (I mean, it's WALMART, there's a whole website dedicated to the crazy stuff people wear there. Pretty sure I flew under the radar!) but I did get a lot of giggles and stares from little kids. Which means my students are gonna love it.
I can't wait to wear this skirt during the upcoming school year...we just might have to make Pizza Pillows again!
I'll keep you posted on the many more beach towels to circle skirts to come! If you decide to make one, the supplies are: * One round beach towel. Mine was 58" in diameter, the perfect length. * One circle skirt pattern. I used Anna Maria Horner's circle skirt pattern in the video. Any one would work. You could probably even find a tutorial online to make the pattern yourself! * One 7" zipper. * Fabric for the waistband.
And the steps are just as easy. I'd go through them all but, meh, I'm lazy. Just watch the video, y'all! And have fun!
Oh, snap! This just in: Walmart commented on my IG...AND quoted the one and only Tim Gunn! WHHHHHAAAAAA. I'm dead.
Today I'm excited to share that I'm guest blogging over on the amazing Spoonflower! If you are not familiar, you really outta be. Spoonflower is the magical place where you can design and print your own fabrics, gift wrap and more. I've not ventured down that avenue (yet) but I have purchased fabric created by other creatives there. Case in point, this fabric from dmitriylo.
This was another dress I created at the start of the school year with fabric from Spoonflower. This fabric was created by seasonofvictory.
So hop on over to the Spoonflower blog and read more about the making of this dress...and how it helped inspire an entire art room transformation!
Happy October 1st, guys and gals! I'm SO EXCITED that my favorite month which is also home to my favorite holiday is FINALLY here! I've been sharing my favorite DIY's for the season as well as my favorite art projects for kids...and today I'm sharing my TOP TEN SPOOKY ENSEMBLES! Can you tell I'm excited based on my excessive use of the caps lock and the exclamation points? Sorry, I just can't control myself.
But before I go any further, I have some super spooky and fun news to share with you: I've been chosen by Treetopia to one of their 2017 Halloween Queens! What does that mean? Well, that they sent me a CANDY CORN CHRISTMAS TREE which I've just spent the last 48 hours crafting and decorating. And you'll be able to catch a sneak peek right here tomorrow on October 9th. I'm so excited to also share that I'll be hosting a HUGE giveaway then. Ya'll won't wanna miss this!
I will admit, I'm mighty nervous...I mean, check out this line up! If you are not familiar with these DIY rock stars, then hop on over to their blogs! BriteandBubbly is an ABSOLUTE DOLL, y'all have to check out her blog. 100directions blogger Jen is a girl after my own heart: her blog really is going in 100 directions and I love them all! Chloe at CelebrateandDecorate has such a fun and colorful blog that I cannot wait to explore more. If y'all are looking for some fun DIY's for yourself to create for your home, Natalie at Natalme has some amazing ideas. CraftyLumberJacks is AMAZING...I just got lost exploring their blog and all of their amazing ideas for Halloween. JenniferPerkins is where I get so much inspirations...she's a girl after my own heart with her love of anything vintage, weird, colorful and...well, weird. I'm thrilled to be in such good company!
So be sure to pop back by tomorrow on October 9th for some fun news! Until then...let's talk Spook-tastic Ensembles!
Zombie Dress! I found this amazing Walking Dead-esque fabric at Joann's last season and knew I had to make a dress! I wore it to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. Mitch snapped the photo...knowing full well that there was a psychotic chain saw gal with great hair creepin' up behind me. More details on the fabric and the dress pattern used right here.
Needle Felted Haunted Mansion Eyeball Pants! Okay, I know that's a lengthy description but that's exactly what these bad boys are. I found the stretchy pants at Target and knew right away that they'd make the perfect Haunted Mansion pants...as the print reminded me of the creepy-eyeball wall paper at the place. The Haunted Mansion at Disney is one of my most favorite things ever. I was so excited to create these pants. And, PANTS! I never wear 'em. In fact, I have three pairs and this is one of them. More details here.
El Dia de los Muertos Dress! I've actually made a couple...I love all things Day of the Dead. These planters were super fun to paint as well. I'm excited to wear this dress this year. But I'm on a heels boycott so, sadly, I won't be wearing the dress with those super cute heels! More dress and planter details here.
Monster Mash Dress! I think one of the reasons I love Halloween so much is because of the music. It's like Christmas music in that we listen to the same songs every year...and they bring back so many fun memories. Monster Mash makes me think of bobbing for apples, trick or treatin' and wearing our costumes to school. This fabric inspired me so much, I needle felted a matching sweater! More here.
Classic Horror Movies Dress! The classic Universal Studios horror movies are my favorite thing ever. Well, maybe not the movies so much as just looking at the posters, the movie stills and photos Boris Karloff getting into so many amazingly spooky characters. This fabric is some of my favorite and I always get stopped when wearing this dress. You can read about it right here.
The Scream! Granted, this dress wasn't intended to be a Halloween dress, but I'm gonna stretch and say that it qualifies as Munch's the Scream is spooky as all get out. Not to mention, despite the fact that this dress is sleeveless, it's COMPLETELY made of felted wool on the front thereby making it the hottest sleeveless dress in history. It's been confirmed. Read all about it here.
Another el Dia de los Muertos Dress! I had a lot of fun adding the colorful pompoms to the bottom of this dress. I'm telling you, seeing the colorful art of this holiday makes me so happy. I wish I had more of it in my home! For now, I'll have to settle on this here dress. Read all about it here.
Black Cat! I knew as soon as I spotted this curtain fabric at IKEA that it was coming home with me and becoming a dress. I now am ruined for fabric because of this dress...because now all I wanna sew with is big and bold print (preferably from IKEA because it's so incredibly inexpensive!). More about this cat-astic dress here.
Naughty Kitty Club Jacket! Okay, so one could argue that this is not Halloween specific but I disagree. If you know your vintage Halloween cat decorations (what?! You don't!? Shame on you!) then you'll recognize this cat. He's the one on most vintage Halloween decor. I loved him so much, I decided to needle felt him onto the back of this cheapo jacket. More here.
Spooky Owl Sweater! Have you noticed a trend? In the fall, I LOVE to get back into needle felting! Every season, I return to it and don't stop stabbing stuff (ahem) until spring. I'm excited to get back into needle felting soon...just don't know what I'll be up to yet! More about this simple project here.
Now y'all have a super start to the best month ever! AND remember to pop back by here tomorrow for a HUGE giveaway and some exciting fun-ness to share. Until then!
Labels: elementary art, vintage clothing
cassie stephens,
circle skirt,
donut day,
how to sew,
how to sew a skirt,
pizza day,
round towel,
round towel to circle skirt,
sewing,
sewing skirts,
what the art teacher wore
