What the Art Teacher Wore #160

 Clay Week Monday, Here We Go!: Since we are studying the food-sculpture artist Peter Anton and making our own food sculptures, this Modcloth number seemed totes appropriate. sweater: Buffalo Exchange; dress: ModCloth; belt and crinoline: Amazon; tight: Target; shoes: Aldo

I shared with y'all earlier this week that it was Clay Week up in my art room. In preparation, I spent my weekend filming videos...which made for a less-than-relaxing weekend. But, in the end, it made for a much easier Clay Week experience! I'm so glad I did it. For each lesson, I shared an intro to Peter Anton, our artist inspiration for our food sculptures. Then I jumped into our clay lesson. For my 30 minute first and second grade classes, that meant I showed them the first phase of the sculpture. At the end of the 30 minutes, they bagged their project and completed it the following art classes. For my 60 minute classes with third and fourth grade, I would share with them the first half of my video, allow them time to work and then have them meet me again on the floor for the second half of the video. This allowed them to not become overwhelmed with directions. 

The best part about sharing the videos was that it allowed me a little time to breathe and prep. As y'all know, clay lessons can be taxing. This video freed me up to wedge clay (lil known secret: just put the leftover clay back in the back with some water and smack the back on the floor several times. Viola! Wedged!), cut clay and prep supplies. My master plan is to film many videos this summer to have ready for the new school year. Stay tuned!

 Clay Week = Comfy Week: When picking my clothing out in the mornings, I was all about the stretch jersey, y'all. AND washableness. Clay is so stinkin' dusty that I just knew I'd be covered. So wearing dry-clean-only/hand-wash-whateverness was not gonna happen. top: Buffalo Exchange, originally from Forever 21; dotted dress and tights: Target; shoes: Aldo

All week long I heard, "I love clay", "I want to be a clay creating person when I grow up...what's that a called again?", "Thank you for letting us work with clay!" It made me realize that I need to provide more than just one week of clay for these kids...so next year, I plan to do clay week in the fall and the spring!

 All the Emojis, All at Once: Not gonna lie, telling kids whom I normally allow to work on projects for extended periods of time that they have ONE DAY AND ONE DAY ONLY to complete their project is a lil stressful. Both for me and the artists. So I was feeling all the emojis, all the time. Happy! Rushed! Surprised! Annoyed (DID YOU REALLY JUST THROW THAT CLAY LIKE A BALL?!). You get the pitcher. top and jean jacket: Buffalo Exchange; skirt: Target; tights: Amazon

This is what our tables looked like on MONDAY. By Friday, those paper coverings were trashed. I spent my Friday throwing them away, cleaning all the clay tools and putting them up and just de-clay-ifying my entire art room. Whew! It felt so good to get all that dust outta there!

 Thursday, Don't Make Me Cut You: While I did love me some Clay Week, it truly was a looooong week. Holy Smokes! You don't even wanna know how many days this week I woke up thinking it was Friday. Only to discover...well, you know the rest. sweater: thrifted; top: Urban Outfitters; skirt: ModCloth; tights: Target; boots: Aldo

I'm sure y'all have your own methods for teaching clay. I learned everything I ever needed to know about teaching clay to children from Danielle McDaniel, aka The Clay Lady. If you aren't familiar, I strongly recommend you check out her books, supplies and videos. She is FABULOUS!

 I Ain't Too Proud, Friday: A coupla weeks ago, a sweet kindergarten student of mine wore this amazing jacket. I was all, "oh my word, where did you get that?!" To which she replied, "I dunno, my grannie got it for me". You better believe I checked the label of her coat. I immediately went home and looked up GapKids and found this jacket...in the biggest size I could get it. It's still pretty snug but I'm a lil on the small side up North with the chest of a 12 year old so it works for me! dress: altered by me. It was too short so I added the leopard print jersey; belt: Amazon; boots: Frye; jacket: Gap Kids; necklace: Anthropologie

I mean, right?! I had to have it! Granted, I coulda made it but...I currently don't have time to do squat diddly so I decided to treat myself. It's good to do that once in a while (and by "once in a while" I mean thrice daily). xo!

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What the Art Teacher Wore #159

 Tuesday Because I Forgot to Snap a Pic on Monday: Sorry, y'all. This here blog post only features the four outta my five day work week. I've slipped into the habit of forgetting to take pictures until the end of the day when 1. I look haggard (and by "haggard" I mean not that far from looking like Merle Haggard) and 2. I've already changed outta my dressy duds into my workout ware. So, long, uninteresting story short, I missed Monday. Aren't you glad I 'splained all that to you? scarf, sweater and top: vintage; skirt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: Anthro

Hello, besties! I hope y'all had a fan-fabulous week and are ready for more! I know I'm not alone when I say that this time of year is BANANAZ. 

(Okay, seriously? I could watch this for the next five hours and not get bored). And I don't like that feeling of everything being bananas. In fact, I dislike bananas ALMOST as much as this guy...

I mean, how do y'all deal with stress? Personally, I know when I'm getting myself in too deep when my eyes start twitching. I'm a naturally lazy person who likes to do things in her own time (read: NEVER) so having things pile up on my To Do list kinda wears me out. To prevent myself from becoming overwhelmed, I like to have certain sayings on a constant loop run thru my head: One Day at a Time; Easy Does It; When Eating an Elephant, Take One Bite at a Time...

Dude! I was kidding! I'm not gonna eat you, I'm a vegetarian. Although I might chase you for those sweet converse!

So, what stress-relieveing tips and tricks do y'all have? I'd be welcome to some. Mostly cuz I'm having the darnest time Sharpie-ing my newly sprouted gray hairs with a twitchy eye. 

Until next time, kids!

 June Cleaver Wednesday: When I recently found this vintage dotted number at Buffalo Exchange, I knew I had to have it. I felt like a cross between Lucille Ball and June Cleaver all day long. Prolly not the wisest thing to wear vintage on a painting, sculpting, and weaving day but when has that ever stopped me before?! brooch, scarf, dress: vintage; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; shoes: Dolls by Nina

 Artsy Thursday: One of my lil kindergarten students came in with the most amazing outfit: a splatter painted jean jacket with the words ARTIST stitched across the back. Y'all better believe I checked the label on her jacket to see where it was made: Gap Kids. They make an XXL, y'all. If you don't think I ordered one over my lunch break than you just don't know me by now. top: Forever21; art supply skirt: vintage, etsy; belt: Amazon

Fri-YAY, y'all! Knowing that I'd be spending my day prepping for CLAY WEEK, I wore my fave flats: those hawt pink Minnetonkas. I can't wait for the kids to get elbow's deep in clay next week. I'm so excited about their projects, can't wait to share! skirt and shirt: made by me, more here; spool necklace: made by me, more here

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What the Art Teacher Wore #157

Squidward Monday: I scored this Artists Only Squidward shirt at a resale shop and love it as did the kids. It was the perfect comfy thing to wear on a Monday because, let's face it, Mon-daze are no bueno. top: Buffalo Exchange but also available at Forever21; Matisse-inspired skirt: estate sale; tights: Target; shoes: Fluevog

Sup, buddies?! I do believe it's been a good coupla weeks since I've shown y'all what I've been a-wearing but it's totes not my fault. I've not worked a full week since the holidays, I swear! And it currently seems like I'm buried under my To-Do lists, swimming upstream from the piles of student artwork, stacks of personal projects and just mounds of STUFF. Every weekend, I try and catch up and every Monday, I'm all...

But, whateves. We're all busy, right? It's just a matter of managing the messes. Which, as it turns out, I'm suck-tastic at doing. Oh well. I take heart in knowing that I've got another shot at getting my life together every Monday. Wish me luck, y'all! 

Crayon-tastic Tuesday: My fourth graders are in the middle of some crayon-inspired projects. They are making three-dimensional papier mache'd crayons as well as team-work collaborative two-dimensional designs. That lesson (with video!) will be up on my blog this week. I wore this lil ensemble for some inspo! crayon sweater: made by me, DIY here; crazy art teacherin' skirt: made by me, DIY here

Honest speaking: I don't do many team projects. Okay so maybe I've NEVER done a team project. Mostly cuz I didn't know how it would pan out...would the kids get along, would I need to intervene, would they be able to pick their teams, etc. Well, I gotta say, I'm a convert! This has been such a success so far. I only had to step in to tell 'em to stop and clean up! Like I said, this lesson will be up on Tuesday this week so stay tuned (but if you wanna see the lesson video now, go here)!

If you follow me here, you've already seen a sneak preview of how these are turning out! 

Hump Day!: My mission of late is to be as comfy as possible so this sweatshirt and stretch pencil skirt is the new yoga pant, says me. Also, I'm totes on a combat boot bender, y'all. I've bought two in the last month. I love the stacked heal but also the comfort. It also reminds me of my 1990's alternative-dressin' days! Keith Haring top: Forever 21; skirt: old, Target; boots: Aldo

I shared my firsties Mad Scientist lesson with y'all here. Here was our final installment of the lesson: bubble printing! It was just about the most funnest thing ever and reminded me about everything I love about teaching art. Lemme tell you how we did it... 

Firsties at their finest!

To make the bubble printing paint use the following: aluminum pie pans, dish soap, water and paint. I add about two table spoons of soap to the pan with nearly a 1/4 cup of paint. Then stir in about 1-2 cups of water. There really isn't any exact science to it, I just dumped stuff in but for those of you that like measurements, there you go. Stir it around and it's ready! I had four students at each table with four different colors in each spot: red, blue, black and yellow. The kids were armed with a straw and a piece of construction paper (any thicker stock paper would work). 

I then told the kids our routine. When I hit my chime once, they place their paper in the corner of their table and blow into the pan in front of them. When I hit the chime again (10 seconds or so later), they were to "Smash Them Bubbles!" which quickly became our new chat. Then I would say, "Move to the right, move to the right, take your paper and your stray and move to the right, show me you're ready!". The kids would place their paper in the corner of their table again, bend down in front of their new pan and wait for the chime. It worked great! The next day, I spent about 10 minutes gluing their artwork to their new frames. They look fab, says moi!

We're Almost There, Thursday: So the rumors went to flying about bubble printing! My kindergarteners came in asking if they were going to do it because their sibs had told them all about it. Made me so happy! AND I had totes planned on them doing it as well so they were thrilled! sweater: Boden, thrifted; dress: Modcloth; boots: Frye; necklace: Paper Source; belt: Amazon

Finally Friday!: By the way, if you are curious as to why I am standing in front of the same stinkin' back drop this week, it's because my art room has become the armpit of the school. Between bubble printing, papier mache, printmaking, chalking, painting and collage, the art room looks like, well, an art room. But I thought I'd spare you the gory. sweater: old, H&M; paint drip scarf: flea market; scissor skirt: old, Modcloth; boots: Frye; palette hair clip: DIY, here

Just in case you were wondering what my cabinet said! You can take a tour of my art room if you are interested here! 

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DIY: A Paint-Splattery Needle-Felted Winter Coat!

Let's get deep for a second shall we (I'm of kiddie-pool depth, it truly will only take a sec). Can we talk about what rattles around in your head, what keeps you up at night, what has you biting your nails, twisting your hairs and wringing your hands? For me, it's pretty much a slew of first world probs that can best be summed up in a series of memes: 

First bite is always a lava-hot fiery inferno whilst the middle is freaking Antarctica. WE CAN PUT A MAN ON THE MOON BUT WE CAN'T FIGURE OUT THE SCIENCE OF A HOT POCKET?!

Been known to use the following milk substitutes: ice cream, yogurt, apple sauce (not recommended) and water. Desperate times, y'all. Don't nobody wanna see their Fruity Peebles go to waste!

Or a dress because, let's be real, I ain't got no pants!

Honestly, what had me up in a panic the other night was realizing that this year's NAEA (that'd be a big fat art teacherin' convention for those of y'all outta the loop) in Chicago was more than likely gonna be a cold one. Chi-town? In March? I know I'll be wrapped in a coat 99% of the time which is when I realized, OMG, MY COAT MUST BE CUTE! Because, priorities. 

So a week ago, I popped by the thrift store and picked up a couple of wintery coats that I thought would be fun to artsi-fy. This here little black belted number and a white one (which, if you follow me here, you already know the plan for that coat!). Dontcha know I was all kinds of thrilled to receive the gift of a snow day yesterday so I could work on this bad boy! 

It was a super easy make and went together surprisingly quickly! 

Even if it looks like I got into a paint ball fight and my bum was the target. 

 Now y'all know that I have a lurve for needle felting. In fact, my last two DIY's have been needle felted (I always over do it in the winter, it's such a cozy craft). Folks always ask how to needle felt, if it's hard to do. Y'all. I'm not gonna lie...this is the EASIEST craft you'll ever do! For starters, you'll need a needle felting tool and a bristle brush cushion. I recommend the above by Clover which can be found cheapest on Amazon. While you are there filling up your cart, be sure to pick up a pack of wool roving too. A variety pack of colors is the best place to start. Unlike wet felting, needle felting does not require a bunch of roving. These packs are sold by the ounce so don't be surprised when it comes in the mail and is no bigger than a ping pong ball. 

A coupla of years ago, I made some demo videos. I def need to update but in the meantime, here you go...

Keep in mind, you can needle felting on pretty much anything. ANY.THING. I once thought you could only needle felt on wool but that isn't true. I know my coat isn't wool and it worked just fine. I've needle felted on jersey, wool, knit, cotton, you get the idea. Fabrics like denim and twill would probably bust some needles.

I love that little tool because I can control the design. However, they do make a tool which holds many needles that would be grand for doing big stuff...like paint blobs!

Now, I must confess, one reason this coat came together so quickly is because the hubs bought me a needle felting MACHINE. So for the paint blobs, I just lightly tacked them down with my tool as you see above. 

And then ran it under my machine! The machine was also picked up from Amazon. It's made by Simplicity and called 12 Needle Deluxe Felting Machine tho I don't know what's deluxe about it. It's the simplest machine I've ever used. You simply put your fabric underneath and hit the petal to commence needle stabbing. There are no feed dogs so you do have to maneuver the fabric yourself. I just take it nice and easy so as to not bust any needles.

And, viola! From there, I clean it up a bit, add more roving to the translucent areas and refine edges with my little tool. 

 And that was pretty much how I spent the majority of my snow day. Stabbing and watching Mad Men because, you know. Don Draper and vintage clothing. I could handle that scandal all day long. 

Meanwhile, in CatTown...

 Now just in case you wanna see what a Tennessee Snow Day looks like, I thought I'd bring you outside. A good couple of inches is all it takes. Growing up in Illinois and Indiana, we very rarely missed a day for snow. I mean, we'd have it up to our eyeballs, slipping and sliding off roads, pulling each other outta ditches and strapping chains to our tires before they'd even think about it. So this kind of snow day I can handle!

 And I'm super excited to wear this in Chicago, back in my old stomping grounds-ish (I grew up in Joliet so not too far!). If you happen to be signed up in my hands-on class at NAEA, hurray! This is what we'll be up to! It is sold out...so sorry, friends. If you see me at NAEA and wanna talk needle felting shop, just holla at yer girl!

Until then, stay warm, dry and happy, y'all. And for heavens sake, PUT YOUR PANTS BACK ON BEFORE THE PIZZA IS DELIVERED!

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