DIY: Gone Cuckoo

I know, I think it's sacrilege to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving as well but I was just dying to hang my new cuckoo ornaments on my tree. If it makes you feel better, I still have Halloween decorations up. From last year.

 As you might recall from my previous post, I've gone completely cuckoo. More so than usual. Remember I told you I was crafting a new dress from some super cute fabric by Kelly Lee-Creel's Storybook Lane collection? Well, here it is! And not only is it a brand new dress...it's a brand new pattern (cuz you know I usually just sew this dress...over and over and over and over). It was a pattern that truly tried my patience and made me question humanity so it's a marvelous miracle I was able to pull it off.

 The Simplicity pattern and Storybook Lane fabric I used.

Now I've only sewn from two dress patterns, this one and the aforementioned. One was vintage, this one contemporary, both Simplicity. I like their patterns because the directions are clear(ish) and come with plenty of pictures (that I had a lot of fun coloring when I wasn't gouging out the eyes of the model in frustration).

My first dress with pockets!

Sometimes, whilst frustrated, I dubbed this the "Nine Levels of Hell" dress after Dante's Inferno. I ain't even gonna pretend I'm the least bit literary, I've never read the book. Or poem. Or is it a limerick? Dunno. What I do know is that at least eight of those levels of my Dress Making Hell where trapped in the land of The Sleeve.

Would you believe I had to take several photos of this sleeve because my ugly-old-lady-wrinkly-elbow kept photo bombing the picture? Hence the hand-on-elbow.

 This sleeve had many a problem. Firstly, look at that inverted "V" thingie. Cute, right? Not so much when you've had to seam rip it seven times and redo. And just look at it. It's still as wrinkly as my elbow. In the other photos, you'll see that the sleeve is tufted or puffy or pleated (can I get a correct word here, please?) on top. Boy that was fun. The first sleeve actually took me just under two hours to complete. Do you hear me? Dos horas.That translates to something like "too freakin' long!"

 You know, because inverted "V" sleeves just aren't hellacious enough, why not add one to the neckline? This one was actually not nearly as bad as the others. Prob because I'd had all those hours of practice.

Can we please pause a moment and take a look at my hair? Because it actually did what I told it to today. All thanks really to my amazing new hair dresser Jesse Linares. Not only did I get a great haircut, but, after removing my bumpit like a doctor would an alien baby (complete with appalled expression and wonderment), he gave me an amazing teasing comb. That's right, this big 'do is sans bumpit.

 As usual, when the dress making hell just became too much, I resorted to crafting. I had all of these adorable cuckoo clock scraps that I just couldn't bear to part with. So I decided to create some ornaments out of them.

 A friend of mine gave me a bunch of jewelry gift boxes in various sizes. I painted the brown boxes completely white and once try, I added lilac or light blue to the lids. Using a tiny brush, I added a pattern of lines.

 I cut out several of the clocks (using my tiny sewing scissors for the job) and Modge Podged them onto the lid. I bedazzled 'em with some gold glitter glue, drilled holes in the top for the string (and bottom of a couple for the buttons to hang from) and viola! Cuckoo Ornaments!

 After making the first batch of ornaments, I went back upstairs and tried to decide if my dress actually needed two sleeves. I mean, I could bring back the asymmetrical look, right? I decided to go back to crafting.

 These guys were created on the larger lids with random bits of wood. Did you know you can cut popsicle sticks with scissors? It's the truth, Ruth. I hot glued these together and spray painted them in my neighbor's yard. Didn't want to mess up my own grass.

A little work-in-progress photo.

After some spray painting, bedazzling and gluing, I was ready to hang these guys too. I used cinnamon sticks at the bottom of this clock.

 After all that crafting, there was nothing left to do but return to my dress. It turns out that the hard part was over as attaching the skirt, taking up the hem and inserting the zipper were all things I'd done before. And that's a good thing, because I've already cut out a couple more versions of this dress that are waiting to be sewn. These new ones, however, will be sleeveless. 

Thanks for dropping by!

What the Art Teacher Wore #43

Matching my Mini-Me Monday: So I have this third grade student that refers to her self as "mini-Mrs. Stephens" (poor girl) and tries her best to imitate my tacky-tasticness. The day before her art class, she informed me to wear "a vest, a tie, a puffy skirt and a big bow in your hair like Lady Gaga so we can match." We were quite the sight, if only I'd snapped a photo. dress: old, Francesca's; vest: vintage, thrifted; tights: Target; boots: Hunter, ebay 

Hey there. I come to you on my wonderfully long Thanksgiving break. That's right, I've got a week off for the occasion. About which I'd be just a bit more excited if I wasn't surrounded by bottles of Nyquil, wadded up tissues and half empty cups of tea, coffee and gluhwein. Gluh-what, you ask? That's fancy German-speak for a traditional mulled-wine which is perfect on a chilly evening when you are feeling as I do. I've been using this recipe here.

Speaking of Germany, that's the country my students are going to be studying after Thanksgiving break. AND after they finish up these French-themed projects. Which seem to be taking forever. I've got my passport station set up, photos of Jes in Germany printed and now I'm onto the research of the great country of Germany and their traditional crafts. I've decided that one grade level is going to create their own version of a cuckoo clock. Since I've been doing research on these bad boys, I thought I'd share it with you as apart of this week's art history lesson. I hope you enjoy. And to my friends in Germany, please feel free to add info I'm sure to miss. Thanks for dropping by!

Cuckoo clocks hail from the southwestern part of Germany called the Black Forest (or Schwarzwald  in German). The Romans originally gave the Black Forest it's name because of the dense growth of coniferous trees that block out the sunlight. The story goes that the first cuckoo clock was created around 1730 by a clock-maker who added a moving bird to his clock that would announce the hour with it's cuckoo call. The clock maker got his idea from a church organ. 

Feelin' Squirrely Tuesday: Just a matter of days before our Thanksgiving break and the kids and I are just trying to make it. I tried very hard to get most of our Parisian projects wrapped up so we could begin our study of Germany after break. sweater: sale! right now! Urban Outfitters; skirt: vintage, gift from a friend; tights: Target; boots: Seychelles

Okay, when I think of cuckoo clocks, this is what comes to mind. However, the first clocks actually had a flat panel of wood with a floral or fruit still-life painted on it. There was a little door for the cuckoo and, of course, the clock. These clocks were usually sold door-to-door by clock-peddlers who wore huge backpacks depicting the clocks, the dials and the movements. In the year 1850, a cuckoo clock competition was held and an architect by the name of Friedrich Eisenlohr won for his design that depicted imagery very similar to what is seen above. This style is called the Bahnhausle.

Oh, Wednesday. Always the middle child: Okay, check out this new-to-me Anthro sweater. It's inspired me to root through my rarely worn sweaters and give them a new DIY life. I just love that big ole applique flower. sweater and dress: Anthropologie, picked up for cheap at Buffalo Exchange; tights: Target; boots: Frye

I totally love this style. It's called the Swiss Chalet style cuckoo clock because it originated in Switzerland in the late 1800's. These clocks feature more than the appearance of a cuckoo bird at the beginning of each new hour. Popular animated figures include beer drinkers, wood cutters and dancing couples. Notice that the weighted pine cones are also on these clocks.

Amelia Bedelia Thursday: My second graders totally had an Amelia Bedelia moment in the art room. When I gave them used envelopes to keep their small cut out shapes in, I told them to "scratch out" the other persons name and write their own. I knew I had misspoke when I heard the following convo: (kid #1)"I just can't seem to scratch out the name!"...(kid #2)"here, let me try, I have really long fingernails". Ha! sweater, red dotted top, skirt: all from Goodwill; tights: Target; shoes: Fluevog

I am totally in love with these cuckoo clocks by contemporary artist Stefan Strumbel. He's from the Black Forest region and uses some very traditional methods in his non-traditional work. I love how he plays on themes of folklore and popular culture. You can check out more of his work here.

Catching a Cold/Surprise Observation Friday: That's right, an observation of my last class of the day before break. Did I mention I was also sick? To be fair, my insanely sweet vice principal asked if it was okay and I agreed. We'll have to wait and see how it went as I've decided not to open my score results until after break. jacket: Anthro, picked up at Buffalo Exchange; skirt: vintage, thrifted; boots: good ole Seychelles

In my research, I found this adorable fabric here. It's by the fabric designer Kelly Lee-Creel and it's from her Storybook line. I promptly ordered myself a couple of yards and I am mid-way through a new dress. I can't wait to share it with you. Sadly, I made the unwise decision to include sleeves...and if you've been reading here long, you know how I feel about ... sleeves.  If you don't know, let's just say, I ain't cuckoo over 'em.

I hope you have a wonderful start to your week tomorrow! Chat with you soon.

DIY: The Turkey Apron with Special Guests: Kindergarten Turkeys

 Do you know what it feels like to have children point and laugh at you? 

Chase you down in the hallways, look you from head to toe and run away, giggling? 

Call you names? Like "big turkey lady" and (for the not-quite-gettin'-it set) "chicken girl"?

If you do, then you probably fall into the "crazy art teacher" category. 

If you don't, well then, you're missin' out. Big time.

 I bring to you the DIY Who-You-Callin'-a-Turkey? (said in your best "whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" voice) Apron. And a welcome to my world.

 Now I don't normally go in for the holiday stuff in the art room for a coupla reasons. One, my little artists have enough projects going that by the time their procrastinatin' art teacher realizes there's a holiday approaching, there isn't time to create anything. And two, I'm not a big fan of holiday art. I guess I created too many hand-turkeys as a kid that it kinda left me with a this-ain't-art feelin'.

This week, however, my kindergarten friends managed to finish up their masterpiece which left me with one 1/2 hour art class to fill before our Thanksgiving break. Because we had just finished a project including shapes, I thought we could use our shape knowledge to draw our own turkey. The librarian loaned me this gem by the author of the Captain Underpants series. Being a vegetarian, I totally appreciate it's anti-turkey-eating storyline. 

I can't decide what I love more, those little dimply knuckles or that colorful turkey.

 We chatted about the shape of a turkey's head being like that of a small circle while his body is a large one. Details of the face were added as were feathers and his little legs. The kids had previously used oil pastels and recalled that you can overlap lines, hence the details created on the feathers.

 After reading the book and discussing how to draw the turkey, we were left with just enough time to create our own turkey-tasticness.

Love those knobby knees.

Can you say perfectionist? This girl is it.

Early finishers added an environment and some turkey friends to their background.

"Mrs. Stephens, you're a turkey!" To which I reply, "Who you callin' a turkey, turkey?" And it never gets old.

But enough of about the kid's creations, lemme show you how to turkey-ize yourself! I know you are dying to impress your friends and fam with your very own Turkey Apron. To create one, you'll need to rustle up the following supplies:

Please pardon the dirtiness of my apron. It's several years old and seen many a messy art class.

• Yard and a half to two yards of a heavy neutral color fabric. Denim would work. I went with this gray fabric I had in my stash.
• Variety of felt with corresponding colors of thread.
• Buttons
• Something for the belt and the loop around the neck. I went with some woven ribbon I had thrifted.

Need more apron-inspiration? Check out my DIY Art Teacher Rock Star Apron.

1. I began by laying another apron on top of the fabric. I cut around that apron, leaving about an 1" for the seam. The seam was ironed under and hemmed.
2. I then traced that same apron onto a large sheet of paper. This allowed me to sketch out my design and try it on in front of a mirror. Once I had the drawing complete, I used it as the pattern.
3. After cutting out the pieces of my paper pattern, I cut them out again, this time with felt. To tack the felt in place, I used Witch Stitchery. 
4. I set my sewing machine to the applique stitch and went to town. That part's easy. Just have plenty of thread on hand as you'll use plenty of it with that stitch. 
5. Add the buttons, the belt and the part around the neck and Bam! You're a Turkey!

My turkey butt itches. Hat courtesy of my P.E. teachin' buddy.

I'm hoping you'll give this turkey apron a go. If you do, please let me know, I'd love to see what you created. If not, I totally understand. Only a crazy art teacher would walk around in a get-up like that. 

Happy (soon-to-be) Turkey Day!

In the Art Room: Collage Paris

A collage montage. Brought to you by some hard-workin', Parisian-lovin' second grade artists.

 As you know, the kids in my art room have been spending some time in Paris. So you'll have to bear with me as every upcoming project I feature for my "In the Art Room" series, is gonna be something Parisian. You might recall last week was the third graders Printed Paris Project. This week, I present to you the second graders Collage Paris. I'm bringing these to you fresh off the drying rack...be careful, the glue is still wet.

 Paris, day and night.

We began this project shortly after completing our suitcase portfolios and our passports. Interested in creating a collaged landscape (it doesn't have to be Parisian, check out our Egyptian version from last year)? It's a whole lotta fun. You'll need the following:

•  12" X 18" paper
•  12" X 6" paper
•  washable tempra paint (I prefer Crayola because the other stuff is junk. Trust me, I've tried it all.)
•  texture combs 
•  construction paper
•  glue cups and glue brushes (I gave up on glue bottles long ago. They clog and the kids stab 'em with pencils and scissors. Give them a little cup with glue and a small paint brush and you'll never go back to the bottle. The GLUE bottle, that is.)

 We began this project with a lesson on with color and value. The 12" X 18" piece of paper that the kids were given was folded into six sections: three at the top and bottom. On the first day we chatted about creating shades and a gradation. We began right above the middle fold, painting the first section blue and adding a bit of black. Each section above that was to be a darker value. 

The following art class, we chatted about tints. Each section below the middle was to be a lighter value of blue. And, viola! A gradated paper.

 On our third art class, we learned how to mix green and created a textured  piece of paper with our texture comb. Don't have texture combs? You can make them by cutting notches into pieces of cardboard. I did that for years. Then I caved and purchased these plastic doohickeys. And I was like, where have these been all of my life?! I love 'em so much, they tend to make an appearance in just about every one of our art projects.

You know my art classes are 1/2 an hour, right? You've heard me belly-ache about that before. I'm an expert belly-ache-r, if you didn't know. So if it seems like my project is broken down into teeny-tiny bite-sized bits, now you know why.

 The following art class, we chatted about collage which is like French for paper and glue. How perfect! The kids were given the choice of having an evening or day time sky by either having the dark value or the light at the top of their paper.. Most opted for the Midnight in Paris vibe. Once that was decided, they were to tear their green paper diagonally, position the torn part on their paper so it created the River Seine and glue down. 

After a chat about painting clouds (if they are near the horizon line, they should be small and grow larger in size as they approach the top of the page) and stars/moon (with a glance at Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night for a ring-lit look) and the sun (all I ask is no sunglasses, puh-lease!), the wee artists were permitted to make their masterpiece their own.

 Before: plain landscape. After: Parisian Paradise!

 After the completion of our collage landscape, we began our study of the famous structures of Paris. After learning the history behind the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame, we learned how to create them. We chatted about how each was symmetrical and could easily be created with a folded piece of paper. The above and below bulletin boards were on display at the front of the room. This allowed the kids to work on each structure at their own pace.

 As we worked on our structures, we kept them safe in an envelope until each was complete.

 Do you remember that groovy group of college kids I had hanging in my art room earlier this school year? Well, I've got a new group and one of them created this awesome bulletin board to help introduce symmetry and the famous Parisian structures to the kids.

 Of course, no introduction is complete without the help of Jes, our school mascot! A kind French friend snapped these photos of Jes around Paris. Thank you so much, Sophie. This has been a wonderful way to excite the kids about exploring the world.

Gotta love an innovative thinker. One of my students wanted his buildings to "pop out". Recalling our paper collages from kindergarten, he folded feet onto the bottom of his houses and glued it so his structures would stand up. Genius!

Love that crooked row of buildings!

Thanks for joining us on our Collage-Landscape Fantasticness! I hope you enjoyed these masterpieces as much as these artists did creating them. Next up: First Grade Hot Air Balloons over Paris. Stay tuned!

What the Art Teacher Wore #42

Full of Hot Air Monday: Because my first graders are learning all about hot air balloons, I decided to dedicate some of my wardrobe to this theme. I was thrilled when I found these hot air balloon tights on etsy...and even happier when I discovered they were made in Nashville! top: anthro, gift from a friend; skirt: vintage, picked up in an antique shop in Germany; tights: Carousel Ink; boots: vintage, thrifted

 Greetings from Slacker-land. Apart from the loooong hike hubs and I took today (eight miles! total keister-kicker!), this week has found me doin' a whole lotta nuthin. Which I blame entirely on a book I've had my nose stuck in. Because we don't know each other that well, I'm embarrassed to tell you what I've been reading (I swear it's not 50 Shades!). What I will tell you is that I'm not allowing myself to read the next book until I complete some unfinished DIY bidness. But enough about that.

Have you met Jim Flora? I've loved his cartoon-y kitsch style of paintings, drawings and prints for some time and I thought I'd share them with you this week. I love how his work is so energized that is seems to wiggle around the canvas. I hope you enjoy seeing his work as much as I do.

The artist and a self-portrait. James "Jim" Flora is an American artist born in 1914. He's best known for the album covers he created for RCA Victor and Columbia records during the height of awesome design: the 1940's and 50's. What I find more interesting is his personal work that often had some biazzro overtones.

Florals and Balloons Tuesday: When I'm attempting to mix and match patterns, as I tried to here in the above ensemble, I hold garment after garment side by side until a sudden "ooohh, that works" happens. Later, I often think, "what in the world was I thinking?!" but today, I think I'm okay. dress and belt: sale, Anthro; sweater: Ann Taylor, thrifted; fishnets and tights: Target; boots: Frye

Mambo for Cats, 1955 I mean really. How great is this? I love the Picasso-style face one the middle cat as well as the mustaches. You can listen to this album here if you are interested. And you should be because it's fantastic. Apparently, Flora was a huge lover of music, calling it his muse, and I think this album cover shows that love.

The Panic is On, 1954 I noticed that in many of Mr. Flora's work, he'll either use a solid white or black background. No interference from the background for his imagery in the foreground. Simply awesome.

Dirty Looks Wednesday: So I'm at the bookstore buying that paperback I haven't been able to put down, when I turn around to see an older gentleman nudging his wife and pointing at me. She looks at me and makes this flinch-y face at my outfit, particularly my blue-fishnet-over-green-tights legs. By the time she finally looks up at my face, I made sure to give her the biggest I-just-caught-you-staring-at-me smile I could muster. Despite my annoyance. I mean, it's one thing to not like what someone is wearing, but do you really have to be rude about it? Me thinks not. still on our hot air balloon kick top: Anthro; tights and skirt: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

I can't seem to find the title of this work, but it looks very similar to one titled The Big Bank Robbery. You know my love for It's A Small World artist Mary Blair. This work reminds me of a wonky Small World. Both artists worked during the same era but it's apparent that Mr. Flora had a different wacky flair.

Manahattan. Not only did Mr. Flora design album covers, he's also the author/illustrator of 17 children's books. I'm dying to get my mitts on them. While he worked on books and album covers, he also worked on his personal art which is often described as playful, erotic and macabre. And subtle. Apparently during one of his last exhibits, his body of work had a nautical theme. Inside the tiny boat images where naughty little scenes that could only be made out by magnifying glass.

Pencil Perfect Thursday: My goal for Thursday was to have completed my DIY Hot Air Balloon dress...but that book! I couldn't stop reading! So, it still hangs in my sewing room, mocking me. So I went all pencil-y instead. sweater: Urban Outfitters, on sale now!; skirt: DIY by me here; shoes: another DIY, look here; pencil hairclip: yeah, that's by me too. As if you couldn't tell.

Would you just look at that tiny wood cut?! Amazing. I spent last weekend at an art teacher conference where we carved into linoleum blocks. And I thought mine was at least kinda sorta detailed. Mr. Flora put mine to shame. I'll share my block and what I did with it in an upcoming post.

This print reminds me of another of my favorite artists, Thomas Hart Benton. I love the crooked street lamp.

Tiger Run Friday: It was our school's third annual Tiger Run! I think I ended up going a good four miles around the track with the kids. It was the perfect day for it. tie-dyed shirt: tie-dyed in art class, DIY'ed at home with ribbons and scissors; skirt and black top: Target; tiger tights and tiger ears: amazon; shoes: Earth Shoes

Connecticut Shore, 1954. Jim Flora lived a long life that ended in 1998. His artwork seems so familiar to me mostly because of how many other artists have since been strongly influenced by his style. His style is so popular that when googling around, I found that you can even purchase Jim Flora wallpaper. Pure awesomeness.

I hope you have a wonderful week!