DIY: A Christmas Dress

Merry (almost) Christmas, y'all! Ima gonna hafta keep this here post short -n- sweet as I'm so stinkin' tired I can't even think straight. I was up last night workin' on this lil number until the wee hours of the morn. I was only down to a sleeve and zipper install but that still took me til 1am. Which should mean that the whole thang is gloriously perfect. Howeverness, I created it. Therefore, 'tis not.

 If this dress pattern looks vaguely familiar to you that's cuz I used the same Emery pattern that I had in the creation of this Christmas dress. In fact, I created them both in tandem with the exception of the sleeves and zip. I've never created two dresses simultaneously before and I kinda liked it. Despite the slight sweatshop vibe, I loved that I was busting out two frocks as once. 

However, even though I love the Emery pattern, I kinda feel like it's a lil too high waisted for me. The dress waist seems to hit a good inch or two above my true waist. With a belt, I don't think you can see the dif but without, I kinda look like I'm in a kid's dress. Or is it just me? What do y'all think? 

I would also like it if the dress was about 3-4 inches longer. A longer length might give it more of a vintage-y vibe? However, I do love the fitted bust and the simplicity of the sleeve install. 

On a dif note, I gotta say that as an artsy type, I really don't know if I should be dabblin' in such things as knitting (oh, I've not shared that mess with you yet.) and sewing. Cuz they are, like, precise kind of crafts, for lack of a better word. I mean, you gotta get those pieces cut and stitched just so; those knits and purls just right or else the whole thing is a disaster. But as an artsy type (I hesitate to use the word "artist" cuz, well, have you seen half of my DIY's?!), my solution to an oops is to hot glue something over it. Which, sadly, you can't do to a dress. Or a knitted scarf. Cuz I've tried. 

Despite that, my desire to create uber tacky art teacherin' garb overrides my slight dislike for the technicality of stitching. I just need to find a fabric friendly hot glue, I guess. 

By the way, did y'all notice the serious furry photobombing that's been happening in this post?

So I got the genius idea to attempt some kitty-cat Christmas pics. Someone was not convinced this was a good idea.
 
 Like really not diggin' it. 

 And game over. "I said, put me down right meow!" Yes, ma'am. 

 And now for the final giveaway of the year...

A Build Your Own Alpaca Pack! I'll give you one of my handmade alpacas (and a hand painted card!), the supplies to create two alpacas (minus the papier mache) and plenty of ribbons and yarn for embellishments. So, here's how you can enter to win:

1. Tell me just one of your New Year's resolutions. Does it involve creating more? I know mine does!

2. Don't forget that email addy, kids!

 And yesterday's winner? Young by Design! Congrats, buddy.

And Merry Christmas, y'all! Have a wonderful time with friends and fam. 

In the Art Room: 4th Grade Snowflakes

So this lil repousse snowflake by my fourth graders just might be the fastest art project we bust out this year. Not that I'm bragging. I do believe those canvases coulda used a lil more work. However, I needed something short, simple and fun after our super long Mexican Sun/Moon weavings and this did the trick nicely. 

Just like this third grade paper cutting project, we discussed Mexico and the art of papel picado. I stumbled upon a couple of prezies on the art form which was great to share with the kids. I also have several examples of papel picado hanging in the art room so they could get the idea. So our first course of action: Cut some paper designs (I hesitate to call these "snowflakes" as they don't exactly meet the criteria but whateves).

Once the kids' designs were cut, they brought them to me where I placed them on a piece of 5" square matte board that I'd ready cut and doused in spray adhesive. Another hit of spray adhesive and a piece of 7" square aluminum foil was placed atop. The kids were instructed to return to their seats, fold the excess foil to the back and massage the surface with their finger tips only (no nails, y'all) until their design appeared. With the long winded chat and all that work, this took us about an hour.

In preparation for the following class, I'd spray painted each of the boards very lightly with the cheapest spray paint I could find (the dollar a can stuff from Home Depot is my jam). When the kids arrived, they were instructed to use 000 steel wool to burnish off the spray paint. They were thrilled when their design started to appear. That took them no more than 7 minutes. If this process looks vaguely familiar, I've done it with leaves as well. If you follow this link, you'll get a better glimpse at the step by step process. 

From there, the kids were each given a 6" square canvas. They traced the placement of their piece (I showed them an example of a diamond placement or a square. Guess which one was more popular?) and then commenced painting. I limited their palette to the cold colors (these are kinda sorta snowflakes, y'all. So we went with a winter palette for that reason). The only instructions I gave was a reminder to clean that brush between color switching and to keep the painting abstract (lines, shapes and color). The last 30 minutes of the second art class were spent quietly painting these canvases. Once dry, I added a touch of hot glue to the back of the repousse and attached. Boom! Done! Ready for hall display.

And now, on to the giveaway! Check out this huge pile of packages that I took to the post today. I hope y'all have been enjoying this giveaway as much as I have. It's been super fun. And, to be honest, what I've loved the most is reading all of your comments. So often, it's hard to leave comments on a blog or, quiet honestly, it's just easier not to (I'm very guilty of this so I totally get it). Which means, at times, I feel like I'm talking to myself because I don't often hear from y'all. So having this exchange with you has really meant a lot to me, thank you so very much for playing along. 

So, what's up for grabbies today...?

All sorts of glorious vintage goodness! Two lovely vintage alteration booklets, two packets of vintage buttons, a little needle booklet and an iron-on embroidery pattern set. So many pretties in one giveaway, ya'll! Vintage-lovers, this is right up your alley!

Here's how you can enter to win...

1. So, it turns out that A LOT of y'all want that needle felting kit! My question to you is...if I were to sell them, would you be interested? Would there be any other artsy kits you'd be interested in?

2. Don't forget to add that email address, kids. Tomorrow is THE LAST of the giveaway goodness, eeee!

And the winner of that needle felting kit?! Tracy Evans! Congrats, buddy!

DIY: A Christmas Craft Night

 Can't take credit for this lovely. It was created by my super talented friend Tamara. Isn't it so stinkin' sweet?

Just so you know, my house only gets cleaned when company is coming. Now, not the entire house, mind you. Just the places I think peeps be seein'. And if Ima gonna go all out and decorate for the holla-daze, then somebody best come around for a visit. For that reason, 'tis the perfect time to host a Christmas Craft Night, says moi.

 When I popped in to visit my buddy the other day, I totally stole her little lovely off her tree and promptly placed it on her front door for a photo op. What you can't see is her standing just on the other side of the door asking, "Is it cute? Do you have it on the wreath straight?!" Oh, if these poor blog photos could talk, y'all. The stories they'd tell. 

'Kay, so I super duper love having buddies over for crafting. For the occasion, I usually make a big ole pot of soup (minestrone is my fave), have some bread/cheese/wine handy and a dining room table all covered in crafts. As folks trickle in bearing gifts of apps and zerts we usually vent about the day's teacherin' events (as expected, most of my buddies are art teachers) before bucklin' down with a bowl of soup and get to crafting.

On this particular craft night, we did some needle felting. I thought it'd be fun to just needle felt whatever (like I said, most are art teachers, you give 'em the goods and they'll go to town) and frame it in an embroidery hoop. As for supplies, you can see (from left to right) I had some foam cushions for underneath the felting, wool yarn, wool roving, fabric (not necessarily wool), embroidery hoops and needle felting tools. I loved seeing the variety of what everyone created.

So simple and sweet, right? Meredith outlined her R in wool yarn which really made the letter stand out. 

My best gal Mallory made a sweet little "L" for her daughter Lydia Dot who's celebrating her first Christmas this year. You might recall we had a Pee Wee themed baby shower for the arrival of El Dotto. 

Here was my lil 'zample that I busted out about 10 minutes before everyone arrived. Mostly cuz I was running around like a crazy person attempting to get my home to look less an-army-of-clown-hobos-live-here-esque. 

Need a coupla needle felting toots? Cuz I've got some for ya. Check here to see what you need to shop for and here to see just how you can go about creating. Oh, and a lil more here. AND if you need a barrage of my needle felting DIYs, you can go here and follow the linkzzz. 

Now whilst everyone was needling away, I got the notion that the hoops would be super cute wrapped in this amazing gold leafed yarn I picked up at Joann's. 

It actually was easy to do and I think looks great. But I think a lotta things look great so what do I know?! To start, use the outer hoop an remove the screw. Hot glue the end of the yarn to the start of the hoop and commence wrapping, you rapper, you.

AND hot glue the other end of the yarn! Now, the yarn will make the hoop so large it won't be able to close with the screw. So we used some jewelry wire and closed the hoop with that. Which was pretty unsightly so we covered that with a lil pompom. 

 Like so! Totes adorbs, amirate?! By the way, in case you are wondering, that's a fox that has hyper extended his neck. 

What that lovely lil dinning room table looked like near night's end.  Sadly, I didn't get a pic of everyone's creation. Although, I did manage this gem...

Not only are my friends so exceptionally good looking that it's almost criminal, but they are a super talented crew too. Meredith, top left, is an art teacher and incredible paper flower fabricator whose lovelies you can see here and here. And Aimee, red apron in the middle, sells the most fabulous vintage classes in her art teacherin' spare time. Crystal, who is just to the right of Aimee, creates incredible jewelry with guitar strings from her husband's band Old Crow Medicine Show. All of these ladies are awesomely wonderful, I was simply thrilled to get my Christmas craft on with them.

Which brings me to my most exciting giveaway goodies of them all (mostly because needle felting is my ab fave!). A slightly used needle felting tool and cushion. AND two pieces of lovely fabric and roving! Here's how you can enter to win...

1. I'd love to know...if I shared more DIY video clips on this blog, would you be interested? Would you view them or is that simply not your thing?

2. Please leave your email so I can reach ya!

As for yesterday's winner...congrats to Debbie! I'll get those lovely magazines out to you soon. 

What the Art Teacher Wore #127

 Monday Mayhem: Oh, the Monday before break, always a beast. But I seriously had so much stuff to do that I couldn't seem to focus on anything else but my Titanic-sized To Do list. vintage dress: etsy; belt: Pin Up Girl Clothing; tights: Target; shoes: thrifted

Hey, y'all! I hope you dudes and dudettes have had a super fantastical week before the holi-daze that you're sure to experience. I feel like I definitely bit off more than I could chew this past week (blogging everyday? giving stuff away? what was I even thinking?!) but I've really enjoyed every bit of it. And I hope y'all have as well. I truly appreciate y'all playing along. I've got a coupla more fun goodies in store for you before the big day (including in this post!), so be sure to keep dropping by!

In other news, I recently discovered that my craziness has been shared on Buzzfeed's 21 Teachers Who Nailed the Holidays (I'm #14 and #15, yippie!). Something tells me y'all aren't surprised, le sigh.

So, without further jib-jab, here's a lil what I wore and a look-see at today's giveaway. Until tomorrow, friends!

 Well, Hello There, Boots Tuesday: So I was not completely prepared for the response that these kicks would receive. The kids loved them and the dude at the grocery store really loved them. My feets? Well, by the end of the day, not so much. dress: made by me, DIY here; belt: thrifted; tights: Amazon; boots: ebay

 Don't Nobody Get Paint on this Skirt Wednesday: I mean, really. This here outfit is not art room safe. And, yet. Ima wear it anyway. Just everybody keep their distance. tacky Christmas sweater: DIY here; tulle skirt: DIY here; gold-leaf shoes: DIY here

 Santa Called, He Wants His Clothes Back Thursday: Oh, whatever, Santa. I look way cuter than you in this, you just peanut butter and jealous (anyone else so sad about not being able to see The Interview on Christmas Day?!). sweater: Anthro; blouse: thrifted; skirt: DIY here; boots: Lucky Brand

 Guten Tag, Friday: The last time I wore this dress, I was asked if I worked "at one of those sausage places in the mall". Um, no. Just an art teacher. Sorry to disappoint. dress: A lovely find in Germany; two-toned Christmas tights: Amazon; fishnets: Target?; boots: Seychelles

 Sunday on the Appalachian Trail: The hubs and I are in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for the weekend before joining the fam for the holidays. We've been spending our days hiking the AT (not staying overnight, mind you. I do enjoy me a hotel bed). Today we discovered that this patch of the trail had been decorated! It made me so happy, we had to stop and snap a picture!

And now for today's giveaway...

 A vintage collection of Workbasket magazines! These lovelies have retro knitting, crafting and sewing patterns on each and every vintage-lovin' page. Here's how you can enter to win:

1. Lemme know what your fave crafting/artsy pastime is. Do you knit? Sew? Decoupage? When you have time, what are you creating?

2. Don't forget that lovely little email address so I can reach you!

As for yesterday's giveaway, the winner is...Darlene! Congrats, my friend and enjoy your art doll and fabric stash!

In the Art Room: How to Draw Penguins!

Ask any teacher, "What's the worst time of year to teach children?"

And, if you can get that biggie-sized glass of grape-flavored adult bevvy out of his/her hands long enough for 'em to answer, they're likely to say, "The time before a break. Particularly winter break. NOW GIVE ME BACK THAT SOLO CUP!"

So, what's an art teacher before winter break to do, you ask? Come up with something that is 1. Not so taxing. Judge if you wanna, Judge-y Pants but, c'mon. I mean, a teacher's got presents to wrap (oh, what am I saying, s/he's not even started shopping yet!), a room to tidy (as if that ever happens) and countless Tacky Christmas Sweater parties to attend. Not only that but there's a classroom of chillins to keep entertained which brings me to 2. Something that will hold the kids' attention until the bitter end. 

Friends, look no further, I do believe I have just the solution for you. Enter first and second grade penguins! 

Hurray! Originally this lessons was just for my first grade kids. I only saw them for one more art class this week. They're actually in the middle of another project where the next phase is painting. But, c'mon. If I prep all that paint, it's simply going to dry out before we return and can use it again. So I decided a lil one-day guided drawing thing might just be what the doctor ordered (really? A doctor ordered a penguin? Is this doctor even certified?!) 

Now, as stated, this lesson was meant for my first grade friendies. However, when my second grade class waltzed in and spotted these bad boys, they were all, "When are we making that?!" and "Why didn't we make those last year?!" After I explained to 'em that I only do the fun lessons with the classes I like (heehee, yes I say that. After a beat, they always give me a "hey, wait a minute!"), I asked them if they'd like to draw a penguin too. And after a resounding "yes!" we did just that. 

So here's a lil visual of the directions we followed to make our variety of penguins. I went over the steps to drawing a Cool Dude/Dudette Penguin, one with ear muffs and one wearing a bow. While the kids enjoy guided drawing, they really love having choices thrown in the mix. 

After we finished our drawings, we laid them all out on the floor for a little chat. The kids are always so pleased with themselves and their drawings that they naturally wanna show them off. We take turns saying something nice about each work of art. 

Like how this cool snowboarding dude has a rad patterny scarf that matches hit rad patterny snowboard.

Or how this sweet pony-tailed penguin appears to be twirling in the air.

Or this sweet sleepy penguin just snoozing in the snow.

You'll have to lemme know if you give this penguin project a try. I assure you, your lil friends will love it!

And now, for today's giveaway...

This doll and some super fab artsy fabric! I've had this doll forever with the idea that I'd make an artist doll out of her/him. And yet, I never did. So, now I challenge you to do it! Here's how you can enter to win this stash:

1. Tell me what you'd make with him/her and how you'd use it in your classroom (I just might have to steal the idea and make one myself!).

2. Leave your email in the comments. Some of you are forgetting that lil step and I can't consider you without it! Sadly, it's my only way to contact the winner. So don't forget, friends.

As for the winner of yesterday's giveaway...congrats to Victoria Smith! Yippie! I'll get that vintage book out to you soon!