What the Art Teacher Wore #105 and an Orlando Vacay

Photo Bomb Monday: Let's not even pretend that this cat is looking at something out the window. She knows when I'm about to snap a photo...and she also knows that she totally makes my photos better. I loved my Monday as it involved two of my favorite things: insane amounts of sushi and good-bye time with this girl. Send your good vibes Rebecca's way, she's heading out to Salt Lake City to teach art! dress: vintage, gift from a friend (thanks, Ann!); shoes: Anthro; hair bows and belt: H&M; daisy brooch: gift from a friend of moms-in-law (thanks, Dean!)

Hey, friends! I trust ya'll had a super fantastical Independence Day (aka just-another-Friday for those of ya'll outside of the states). We're currently in the final hours of our Orlando vacation and, ya'll, it's been incredible. We've done Disney, hiked some trails, visited with fam and, best of all, got to experience Diagon Alley, the newest addition to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. I gotta warn you, if you plan on going to Universal anytime soon, this post is a serious spoiler, so go no future. But the whole experience was just so amazing, I just can't help sharing exactly One Million Photos of the place. It's just that nutz.

But before I get to all that, the Artsy Book Club winner is (can I get a drum roll? No? How about a Tootsie Roll? Thanks): Printmaking Unleashed! Yay, I'm so excited, I've already purchased my copy! I do hope it's a good one and offers a lotta new ideas for us. Now, for those of ya'll that are new to the Artsy Book Club train, here's how it works: Next Monday-ish, we'll begin dipping our artsy toes into the book. Please post on the Artsy Book Club page any printmaking projects that you attempt based on ideas in the book. This way we can all share ideas and thoughts together. If you can't get your kitten mittens on the book, no worries! You can still join the fun and post what you create. Ya'll! I'm so excited.

But Wait, There's More!

(do you know how many years I've had the blog and wanted to use that line?! Yearz, people.)

Many of you voted for Dave Burgess' Teach like a Pirate...and I've been meaning to restart that book for a while. So! I propose that if you had your artsy-heart set on that book, read it! Just like Printmaking Unleashed, we'll start plowing through chapter one of Teach like a Pirate next Monday-ish. What ya'll think? Who's in and whatcha reading? Can't wait to hear your thoughts and see your creations over at the Artsy Book Club!

Now, without any further jibbery-jab, let's take a look at these endless vacay photos, shall we?

So the hubs and I arrived in Orlando last Thursday evening and zipped straight over to Disney World. Since it was close to closing time and there was a pretty ugly looking storm on the horizon, we thought for sure that the crowds would have died down and we'd be able to easily hope on some rides. 

Whut in the World we were even thinking, ya'll? It's Dis-natch for crying out loud, The Happiest (and most crowdedest) Place on Earth! We did managed to squeeze in some Space and Thunder Mountain time but the throngs of people were just so throngy. One eve was enough.

Sew Awesome Tuesday: A sweet sewing buddy of mine popped over Tuesday and after a lil lunch, we set to work chatting and stitching. She's working on the cutest apron ever and I'm in the midst of what I've dubbed the Fiesta Frock. Fingers crossed I finish it in time to share with ya'll next week. Sewing with a buddy -- such a fun way to spend a summer day. dress: vintage; sandals: Frye

On Friday, we headed over to Islands of Adventure for the real reason behind our trip: Diagon Alley. Now if ya'll've never been to Islands of Adventure (the sister park to Universal Studios), you really should check it out. The entrance to the park alone is pretty amazing and, as an art teacher, I find it super inspiring.

It's seriously been the inspiration behind the way I attempt to create the environment of my art room (I just read that sentence three times and it made no sense. Good luck to you, kind reader). I heard that Steven Spielberg himself helped in the design of the entrance and I can totally see that, can't you?

After a short walk through Seuss Landing and The Lost Continent, we entered the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and were super stoked to see that the Hogsmeade train station was open! The grand opening isn't for a coupla days so we got super lucky that the train was open and had a 10 minute wait time (just to give you an idea, they are expecting thousands of folks for the grand opening with wait times up to six hours!). We practically fell over each other boarding the train.

Now, I'm not so mean and rotten that I would ruin the train ride for you. If you are dying to know, I'm sure a short google search would land you video clips of the experience. However, lemme just say that Universal spared no expense and it went way beyond what I coulda imagined. And I'll just leave it at that.

Totally Botanical Wednesday: One thing that I loved about going all the way to NAEA in San Diego was that I made friends with art teachers that live in my own town! On Wednesday, I met up with one of those fellow art teachers and after lunch, we headed to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens for their Big Bugs exhibit as well as their Warhol. I was so thankful for the indoor exhibit as summer temps in Tennessee can become unbearable in a blink! dress: thrifted, vintage; shoes: DIY, go here

Our train ride delivered us to jolly ole England, chaps! Right in the heart of London to be exact. We strolled through this area taking in the sights and feeling a touch confused: Where in the world was Diagon Alley?! When we asked an employee, her response was perfect: "Diagon Alley? Hmm, I've never heard of it!" In the Harry Potter books, muggles (that'd be non-magical types) are unfamiliar with this magical place. In fact, there aren't even any signs on how to get there...but we managed to turn a corner and found it...

I know, right? We seriously just stood there with our jaws dropped. And then this happened... 

Ya'll. That dragon (sorry, Potter fans, I've not read the books much to the hubs' dismay, I'm unfamiliar with his name) is simply amazing. I do believe Mitch and I made about twelve video clips of him blowing fire between the two of us. 

You could feel some serious heat when he did. My favorite part was that after every blast, the crowd went completely insane clapping and cheering. 

Leavin' on a Jet Plane Thursday: This here's the day we took off to Orlandoland. And tomorrow (Monday) we return. Le sigh. dress and silver clogs: Anthro; belt: gift from a friend (thanks, Anna!)

Don't let the name Diagon Alley fool you, this place was huge! And every bit of it was so creative that you could spend days (and we did!) just walking around and taking in the sights. Every couple of paces, there was a place for you to wave your wand (given that you picked one at the wand shop...or it picked you, as the story goes) and something magical would happen: a fountain would squirt you, it would rain, lights would flicker and full bodies of armor would come to life. 

All this magicalness can make a magician seriously hungry and dining was super fun. The coupla restaurants have menus based on British fare which is great...unless you don't eat meat. However, they did offer a veg option in the form of a cheese plate that sounded delish...but we decided to test out the crazy ice cream flavors (Butter Beer Ice Cream, anyone?) instead.

One of the key draws to Diagon Alley is the Gringott's ride which wasn't open quite yet. We were bummed about that for sure...but honestly, with this part of the park being as amazing as it was, I didn't really feel like I was missing out. Although, I'll be excited to go back and ride it when we can.

I did warn you of the excessive amounts of photos in this post, riiiiight?

Fourth of July Friday: We managed to catch Universal's fireworks display which was pretty rad. dress: Anthropologie

 I know I should really stop posting photos but, doggone, this place just didn't stop, ya'll! In this area of the alley, you could craft your own drinks with a variety of elixirs, swap your money out at Gringott's Bank, catch puppet shows (and I'm not talkin' Lambchop stuff, ya'll) and 1940's style big bands. There was something at every step.

 This kind of thing ALWAYS inspires me as an art teacher. When I'm here or at Disney, I think: can I make my art room as magical as this place? Can I create a space that constantly has my students curious, engaged, entertained and enthralled (sorry for the Triple E's, ya'll). Seriously. I wish my art teachin' space were Just. Like. This. 

 After our adventures in Diagon Alley, we hopped the train back to Hogsmeade. The train ride is a totally different experience going the other way so when you go, be sure to ride it both ways. 

 Hubs decided to hop on the ride there while I opted to take in the scenery. I've done that ride before and while it's amazing, it's a touch too realistic for me. I've managed to get motion sick the last couple of times I've been on it.

 Saturday Hike: Proof we didn't spend every minute in a theme park! 

 The hikes in the Orlando area are pretty stinkin' flat but they do offer sights like these.

If you made it this far into this super Harry (Potter, people. Harry Potter) post, you are a true fan, my friend. 

Now! Got get yourself one of those (or both!) Artsy Book Club books and get to reading/creating. I can't wait for our bookish adventure!

DIY: Pee Wee's Playhouse Bibs

Well hey there, kids! Just when you thought I was done talkin' your ear off about that Pee-Wee Herman Baby Shower, I hit ya with another round of the Playhouse, this time in the form of a trifecta of Pee-Wee's Playhouse bibs!

Modeled after my three fave characters from Pee-Wee's Playhouse: Pee-Wee, Miss Yvonne and Cowboy Curtis. Look at 'em just chillin on the set. Better yet, catch all three of 'em, along with the rest of the Playhouse gang, in this montage which contains all the totally inappropriate-for-children/sexual innuendos that aired every Saturday morning for all the under-10 set to see:

Gah, so good. 

Now, I'll admit, I decided to stitch up these bad boys for Mallory in the final hours of Pee-Wee-party-preparations. When I get a crazy idea like this that I know I don't really have time to do, I immediately dive right in before that logical party-pooper part of my brain wakes up to my antics and is all, "WHAT are you doing NOW?! No time to wash your hair today but make Pee-Wee Bibs, suuuuuure!" Like I said, total party-pooper.

In making the Pee-Wee bib, I knew I needed light gray, white and red fabric. The best part about this here DIY is that I just so happened to have all the supplies on hand. Even that fringe for the Cowboy Curtis bib. Ah, the perks of being a hoarder.

I knew that I wanted to make the bib symmetrical, so I folded a piece of paper in half and transferred my drawing to the other side. Then I pinned my drawing to the white, gray and terrycloth (used for the back) fabrics and cut 'em out.

From there, I cut up my paper pattern and pinned the suit jacket portion to the gray fabric and commenced cuttin'. 

Pee-Wee's bow tie is actually the size of a child's tie, it's comically tiny. I tried to create one that little even though I knew stitching that would be a drag.

Once everything was pinned in place, I set my sewing machine to the appliqué stitch (your machine has it, it's the zig-zag setting with the width of the stitches set close together) and got to work. I decided to piece the bibs together first and then add the binding last...mostly because I had no idea how I was gonna do the binding and making the characters was just so fun I didn't wanna stop to figure it out!

A thought I never thought I'd thunk came to mind as I was working on this bib:

Is cleavage on a baby bib a bad thing?

Answer: Not if you're making a Miss Yvonne bib!

Now originally, I was just gonna make a Pee-Wee bib. But when I was finished, I realized I'd made it a pee-wee-sized Pee-Wee bib. So I decided to create a set of bibs each one slightly bigger than the last. So the next size up (so to speak) was the Miss Yvonne bib!

Oh man did I crack myself up with this bib, ya'll. Again, I started with a symmetrically drawn pattern,  pinned that to my fabrics and cut. I decided to add a wee flower to jazz up her dress some. The pearl necklace was made outta buttons that are a definite safety issue...but I'm pretty sure Baby Mama Mallory isn't gonna have her kid in a cleavage bib anytime soon. 

Well, howdy, ya'll! I think Cowboy Curtis was just the sweetest character on Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Always well-mannered and fabulously dressed. Hubs was a little ticked that I chopped up his favorite bandana but 'twas a good cause. This baby bib be pimpin Cowboy Curtis style.

I know, Cowboy Curtis. I'm just as surprised as you are!

After each bib was complete, I pinned the terry cloth to the back. Then I stitched quilt binding to the top of each bib...

And a loooong band of it around the bottom. I left the ends of the binding extra long so they could be tied in the back.

Of course each character bib had to come in it's own character package! I really couldn't resist. 

I tell ya, these bibs were just about the easiest and most fun to make. I mean, I was seriously giggling the entire time I was stitchin' em up. Course, I did have Pee-Wee's Playhouse playing in the background for inspirations so that certainly helped!

Alrightie, kids, that's the last of this Pee-Wee series...although I have a sneaky suspicion that there might be more Big Adventures to come (I so wanna Pee-Wee-ize my art room, ya'll!). Until we chat again, please be sure to cast your vote for our Artsy Book Club and have a great 4th of July weekend!

DIY: A Pee-Wee Herman Baby Shower!

Come on in, and pull yourself up a chair (like Chairry!)
Let the fun begin, it's time to let down your hair!
Pee-Wee's so excited,
'cause all his friends have been invited (that's you!)
To go wacky, at Pee-Wee's Playhouse! *

Hey, kids! Whatcha see here is one of the most bad a## baby showers this side of puppet land: A Pee-Wee Herman Baby Shower! That's right, ya'll. When my best bud (who happens to be a super fantastical art teacher) shared that she was expecting, we -- along with another art teacher buddy -- decided that the theme should be a common bond of ours: Our Love of All-Things Pee-Wee!

Did ya'll watch Pee-Wee's Playhouse ** as a kid? I admit, I wasn't a kid when the show was in it's prime but a teen with a penchant for all-things-kitsch. I spent my Saturday mornings watching it with my kid bro, cracking up at the cast's insane antics. That show has had a huge influence on my crazy-art-teacher style and I strive to be Pee-Wee-esque on a daily basis in my art room ('twas the reason I started the Word of the Week!). So when we settled on a Pee-Wee Herman baby shower theme, I was beyond excited to play hostess!

Because we also have a love for the movie Pee-Wee's Big Adventure *** (just watched it the other day, ya'll. Still as amazingly awesome as ever!) this shower was a combo Playhouse/Big Adventure. My mom, an avid bike-rider and bike-stuff collector, really came through with some bike-themed decor. That's her image hanging on my front door!

I'm pretty sure the whole shebang woulda made Pee-Wee proud. Or at least have him making this face.

Now, this party was not without some work on the part of me and my co-host and fellow art teacher Stephanie. She created these amazing signs that greeted baby-mama and guests as they entered the shower. Aren't they the best things ever?! My favorite part is Randy and his mis-matched nostrils, ha-ha (read in your best Pee-Wee laugh).

While Stephanie and I were plotting and planning, we decided to dress as characters from the show. She settled on Pee-Wee while I decided to dress as my all-time favorite femme fatale, Miss Yvonne. Now, if Ima gonna be totes honest with ya'll, I gotta admit Miss Yvonne is my fashion icon. Seriously. I mean, what's not to love? Big hair, big, um, skirt, big flirty personality, she's got it all! I've always loved her the bestest.

But I just didn't have the right dress. That is until I remembered this 1991 prom number of mine. That's right, kids, I still have my prom dress. Along with photographic evidence of a bad perm and a prom date who thought a stone-washed jeans/tux combo was the sh$$. Now before you go all, "OMG, you can still fit into your prom dress?!", let's take a look at this dress, shall we? It's only fitted through the bodice with a nice open skirt for the girth that has become my hips. I never did manage to fill out that bodice despite sleeping with my training bra under my pillow since age 13. Boobie Fairy, why hast thou forsaken me?! Lil known fact: did ya'll know I went to prom with Abe Lincoln? Just kidding, he opted to go to the theatre that night.

Now a pure white dress just wouldn't do for Miss Yvonne. I mean, did you see that cleavage -- she's  no angel, ya'll. So I gave that dress a make-over with a bath of Procion's robin's egg blue dye. And I'm so excited about the results, I might have to find me another prom date! Anyone know here Lincoln went after that theater production? He's not returning my calls. 

Stephanie (aka Pee-Wee) and I came up with a magnificent munchie menu that went a lil something like this: mac -n- cheez, basil-moz-tomato sammies, crackers made to resemble Pee-Wee's iconic suit -n- tie and Playhouse-themed cuppie-cakes!

This wee arrangement greeted guests when they entered the kitchen. My mom gave me the go-ahead to spray paint her mini-bike red (looks way better, ya'll). I sketched up the cupcake decor, made a buncha copies, colored 'em in and glued a flat wooden stick to the back. I had fun looking up lines from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure...although I can't believe I forgot, "I love that story!". Oh well, next Pee-Wee Party!

Now I've never thrown a baby shower before and I've only attended one (I just don't get asked to these sorts of things. Never been in a wedding either...and for that I count my lucky stars!) so I was kinda just making it up as I went a long. I knew that we should have some sort of craft as most of the guests were art teachers. So in the dining room, I set up a coupla stations (the fact that I just used the word "station" gives away that I'm a teacher, doesn't it?!): a onesie decorating area and a scrapbook decorating activity.

I always loved Jambi and secretly make wishes to him on a daily basis. Why "I wish to live in an ice cream truck" hasn't happened yet, I've no idea. In the basket, I stitched up a buncha little draw string bags (have ya'll ever made those before? I snapped a how-to picks for a future DIY post if ya'll are interested) and placed a wee onesie inside. Stephanie came through with an assortment of fabric markers that were great. So that the drawn image wouldn't go through to the back of the onesie, I cut thick paper to be placed inside the onesie while working. These turned out so amazingly cute, ya'll, but you'll have to take my word for it. We were all so busy crafting, I forgot to snap photos!

Don't you love those sweet flowers from the Playhouse? Stephanie created 'em outta felt and I totally want to make some for my art room. While I was working on this party, I watched an amazing documentary on Wayne White called Beauty is Embarrassing. If you've not seen it, you really should check it out. Wayne was one of the puppeteers from Playhouse and did voices for several characters including one of the flowers. 

For the party, Stephanie had the great idea of a photo booth. We decided to have the photos in an album to give to Mallory (aka Baby Mama) along with some sweet scrapbook'ed notes from us. So after onesie making, we stamped, glued and drew ourselves silly. Speaking of silly...

Holy cow, was that photo booth a ball! I had a buncha props like hats, glasses and scarves while Stephanie had some cute handmade ones. Hubs got me a remote control camera clicker (I'm sure there's a better name but I'm sticking with that one) for Christmas and it was perfect! I just set the thing on "continuous" and snapped over 100 photo booth pics.

My fave photos are the outtakes. This one of my sweet former student teacher ('member her?!) and Mallory is one of my faves. By the way, wish Rebecca luck, she just landed her first art teaching gig in Salt Lake City! She's gonna be fantastical!

For present-opening time, I just knew we'd have to have a Chairry! He came together super fast: just covered an armchair in blue fabric, added the felt mouth and attach the goggly eyes. The funny thing is, Malloy had given me those goggly eyes for my birthday!

Stephanie did an awesome job creating the wallhangings in the background. I spy Mr. Kite, Clocky, Mr. Window and Terry! AND, I dunno if you noticed, but Mallory's shirt is the door to Pee-Wee's Playhouse! She felted it just for the occasion. WHO MAKES A SHIRT FOR THEIR BABY SHOWER?! This awesome lady. That bunting was stitched up by me and was the simplest thing ever: get yerself some quilt binding, cut some triangles, pin 'em inside the binding and stitch. Cake.

Here's one of the prezzies I made for Lil Miss Lydia Dot. Stay tuned for the Pee-Wee bibs I created too! I'll share that with ya'll later this week.

I'm thinkin' Chairry had a good time...although, he looks like he's had a few too many, dontcha think?

It was such a super fun shower for one super awesome friend that I'd do it again tomorrow. And everyday after that. Although I don't know if hubs would agree.

But I bet I know one guy that would!

Thanks for dropping buy this photo-heavy post, ya'll! I hope you enjoyed hearing about it as much as we did putting it together! Stay tuned for one more Pee-Wee post soon! 

Until then, I KNOW YOU ARE BUT WHAT AM I!?

* Pee-Wee's Playhouse Fun Fact: The theme song for Pee-Wee's Playhouse was both written and sung by the one and only Cyndi Lauper! Take a listen here.

** Many a folk got their start on Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Probably the most famous one was Laurence Fishburne who starred as the always-county-always-polite Cowboy Curtis. But did you know that Rob Zombie served as a production assistant? Or that Jimmy Smits played a mechanic (for a hot minute)? Of course, Phil Hartman was Captain Carl and a writer for the show. The list goes on...

*** Pee-Wee's Big Adventure was directed by non-other than Tim Burton! He'd just been fired from Disney (what?! silly mouse!) after creating a lil film known as Frankenweenie. Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee) saw the film and asked Burton to direct his movie...which lead to Beetlejuice that lead to Batman and Tim Burton Fame -n- Fortune. Thanks, Pee-Wee!