DIY: El Dia de los Muertos

So I went and did it. I went El Dia de los Muertos-loco. Like, muy loco, ya'll. And I blame it entirely on the sleeves of this dress. 

Actually, now that I think about it, this dress (and it's sleeves) is all the fault of my husband. And his wincing-face when he saw me don my Horror Flick dress again before we ventured out into another night of haunted houses. 

"What?" says I. 

"Um, maybe you should make another Halloween dress. You know, so you don't have to wear that one all the time."

"It's not all the time, it's just when we go to haunted houses." 

{side note, in October, at Casa de Cassie, that is all the time.}

"Okay." 

Ugh. I hate that "okay." It's like the "okay" of doom. In hubs-speak, it translates to "okay, if you wanna be wrong, that's fine with me, Wrongie-Pants."

And I just can't be a Wrongie-Pants. I don't even like pants. 

And that's how I found myself in my sewing room working on not one but two Halloween dresses: One To-Be-Announced and this one, El Dia de los Muertos. 

I had picked up this skull fabric a couple of autumns ago. And I remember it like it was yesterday because the fabric cutting lady and I had an odd exchange. I'm feelin' very dialog-y in this post, so I'll give it to you like this:

Fabric-Cuttin' Lady: How many yards?

Me: I dunno. Um, how about one. No, make that two. Oh, let's just say one and a half.

FCL: Well, what are you making? 

Me: Oh, I don't know. I just like the fabric. One and a half sounds good.

And this is where the FCL went all soothsayer on me. She slowly brought her eyes up from the fabric, pointed her scissors right at me and said:

Buying things without a purpose is how hoarding begins. 

{shivers}

Needless to say, I took my yard and a half and got outta there quick. I didn't have the courage to tell the soothsayin' FCL that she was about 10 years too late to be warning me about hoarding. I'm just a couple boxes shy of my own episode. 

And I don't believe in those anti-hoarder people anyway. I mean, it worked out perfectly that I had this fabric on hand. And that extra half a yard made it so I could add sleeves to this dress pattern (which I have sewn half a dozen sleeveless dresses from) for the very first time.

Ah yes. Sleeves. 

Which, after the less-than-pleasant experience of putting those bad boys in, I have decided is my new substitute for a bad word. As in:

Oh, that FCL, she is so full of sleeves!

or

I don't give a sleeve if you are tired of seeing me in this dress!

or maybe

Oh, sleeve. I've got one sleeve in this dress, does it really need two sleeves? This is bullsleeve!

So, that last bit, the one about getting just the one sleeve in? Yeah, I totally stopped working on the dress after the fun-ness of that first sleeve install. So I did what I do best: found something else to do. Like make this banner with my fabric scraps. I hung it in the kitchen on my Tennessee-themed chalk board. And that smart-alecky skull ain't lyin.

Wanna make your own Halloween banner? Sewing it is super easy. I cut out a billion triangles, tucked the ends of them into some quilt binding tape (not really tape, just a small folded strip of fabric, check your craft store) and used a zigzag stitch. I thought the turquoise was a little boring after the fact. So, in the photo above, you can see I've got a paint brush and what looks like an empty lid. There's actually a teensy bit of bleach in there.

I painted cobwebs and skulls onto the turquoise with the bleach. I'm sure a bleach pen would have worked just as well, but this is what I had on hand. If you do this, I recommend practicing on some scrap fabric first. The bleached lines tend to bleed so paint with a thin, delicate line.

After making the banner, I ventured back into my sewing room. Noticed I had cut the fabric of the other sleeve so that the skulls were going the wrong way. And, using my new naughty word substitute, I was all like "Aw, sleeve, are you kidding me?!" At which point I decided to go look at pretty pictures on pinterest.

And that's where I saw El Dia de los Muertos planters! The above are my creation but you can click here to see the original. Sadly, the link from pinterest to the actual site appears to be broken. I'd love to give credit where it is do but I cannot. If someone happens to know the site, would you mind sharing it in the comments? Gracias!

Now I love to paint planters. You can see my floral planter DIY here. I learned a lot from painting those, most importantly, after watching hubs break one of my painted terra cotta pots, buy the plastic planters. They're cheapo and hubs-breakin-proof. 

I took mine outside and spray painted them a satin white. Once dry, I penciled in circles for the eyes with either a daisy or a heart for the iris. Upside-down heart for the nose and ovals for teeth. So easy. If you are not comfortable painting tiny details, block in the large areas with paint and use sharpies for the little stuff. I gave these a coat of clear varnish to protect them from the elements when I was finished.

How do I love this dress pattern? Let me count the ways: Empire Strikes Back Dress, the Elvis Presley Poodle Dress, the I-See-London-I-See-France Dress, the Horror Flick Dress and now this little number. Oh! And one TBA. Wow. Think it might be time to move on...?

After all that avoidance-crafting was done, the only thing left was that sleeve. What a piece of sleeve it was. But I did it. I showed that little sleeve who was boss. Or, should I say, El Jefe.

That's right El Jefe of all things El Dia de los Muertos. At least in the this Casa.

Adios!

What the Art Teacher Wore #39

Last Day to Dye Monday: Tie-dye that is. We managed to get all 400 plus shirts rubber banded and dyed just in time. I've been asked by several of you just how we went about the process of organizing (which is not handled by me but an amazing parent), preparing and dying all of those shirts. I'll share that with you in a future post. birdie top: Old Navy, last year; dress: thrifted, Isaac Mizrahi; tights: Target; shoes: Fluevog; poodle pin: antique shop; belt: gift from a friend

What's happenin', hepcats? Nothin but lazin' and loungin' on this here Sunday before my lovely week off. Usually on Sundays I'm dreaming up what kind of mischief we are going to get into in the art room but not so today. I've managed to spend my day sewing (I'm just two zippers and two hems away from finishing two dresses!), running errands (I had to venture into The Mall-shivers-), and dining out. Usually on my days off, I'm lucky if I manage to get out of my 'jamas and shower, so today I'm feelin' mighty proud. 

While I share my what-I-wore's with you this week, I have to share this British portrait artist I just discovered: Gerald Leslie Brockhurst. When I came across his paintings, I had a serious, "Where have you been all my life?!" moment. I love portraits of women, especially these with their beauty and incredible fashion sense. These paintings are well over 50 years old and look as though they could have been painted yesterday.  My personal favorite is the one below: those puffy velvet sleeves, those barely-there eyebrows and That Stare.

I hope you have a lovely week and I'll chat with you soonish!

Ophelia 1937, Oil on canvas Gerald Leslie Brockhurst was born in England on Halloween in 1890. Apparently his drawing skills were so awesome that by the age of twelve he was enrolled in the Birmingham School of Art (that would be the B'ham in England, not in 'bama).

Tent Dress Tuesday: I needed it on Tuesday. Had to save room for an afternoon of fro-yo.  sweater: Anthro; dress: BCBG; tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

Portrait of a Girl I love paintings with an unfinished look about them. I feel like it allows you to see into the artist's process, how he drew with his brush and built the colors over time. Brockhurst's amazing talents won him a scholarship to study art in Italy and France. That happened to me once. But I decided not to go.

Painted Dress Tuesday: It was a wild day in the art room and my dress reflected it. I'm used to having visitors hang out in my room, but on this particular day, it just felt a little crazy. I actually didn't wear these boots but my DIY splatter paint shoes which you can see with the dress DIY here. dress: thrifted Target dress, painted by me; tights: Target; boots: Frye; belt: Anthro; scarf: picked up in Germany

Sorry, can't seem to find the title on this one. While Brockhurst was studying in Italy, he fell in love with the work of Leonard da Vinci. I think you can see that influence of a dark and mysterious background in this painting. It's very similar to the background in da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

Thursday, The New Friday: Thursday was our last day with kiddos before they were off for Fall Break. We still had one more day of professional development before we could call it quits. dress: anthro; top: anthro, gift from a friend; tights: Target; boots: old, Seychelles

Portrait of Mrs. Lebus In the 1920's Brockhurst became a pretty big time portrait artist, painting the likes of Marlene Dietrich and the Duchess of Windsor. His portrait etchings are equally amazing.

Fall Break Friday: Can you find the creeper in this photo? dress: Anthro; tights and necklace: Target; shoes: Sofft

Awww! Well isn't dat the cuddest widdle kitty eber?! All 20 lbs of her (just kidding, we've managed to wittle her down to 16).

Jeunesse Dorée, 1934 Just like every great artist, Brockhurst life involved a scandal. You see, he was married at the time he met the model of the painting above. Their affair became public when she gave an interview with a magazine that was probably the 1930's version of InTouch or People (my personal faves). Oops.

His wife at the time was already a little miffed because he'd messed around with her sister, Marguerite. Double oops. He eventually divorced his first wife, moved to the U.S., became a citizen and married Dorette, the woman he dubbed Ophelia in the first painting. This just in, this painting is actually NOT by Brockhurst but Gerald Festus Kelly. Sorry for the mistake...and thank you, kind reader, for the correction!

 Portrait of Margaret, Duchess of Argyll 1931

Regardless of that scandal, there is no denying these amazingly beautiful paintings. I am just in awe. You can find more here. This has me in the mood to get some canvases and paints out and go to town. Maybe I'll even manage to squeeze a kitty in the background.

Weekend Adventure: Halloween Horror Nights

So for the past, I dunno, 7-ish years, hubs and I have made the trek down to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida to attend their Halloween Horror Nights. We cannot get enough.

 Don't hate me, but I as I write this here blog post, I am on this magical and amazing thing called Fall Break. That's right, for a whole week, no more pencils, no more books, no more kiddo's dirty looks. Nothin' but pajama parties and craftathons. That is until hubs and I take off on an adventure to Lalaland. I'll fill you in on that trip in another post. 

In the meantime, here's a slightly belated post on a trip we took a couple weeks ago to Tampa and Orlando. Every October, we travel down there to attend Busch Garden's Howl-O-Scream and Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights. This year we also visited Busch Garden's Williamsburg's Howl-O-Scream and I chatted about that trip here. Because we attended Universal's event several nights, I thought I'd share that spooktacular experience with you.

Just like the Walmart Greeters, these creepy dudes met us at the entrance of HHN (because I'm too lazy to type out Halloween Horror Nights, I'm abbreviatin'). They towered over the crowd at about 14' tall.

 So, lemme tell you how HHN works. It takes place at Universal Studios (not Islands of Adventure, aka Harry Potter World). At around 5pm, they kick everyone out of Universal to prep the houses and the scare zones. If people have paid to "stay and scream", as it's called, then they get to hang out in a holding area until the gates of doom are open. Those lucky folks get to enter a pinch early and experience the haunted houses first.

'Bout as friendly as a Walmart Greeter too.

 That's how we did it. My hubs is crazy about going through these houses, so he has our whole route mapped out: skip all of the houses at the front where the crowds head first and run straight for those in the back. There were seven different haunted houses to go through, with lines up to 45-100 minutes long. So it's good to have a hubs with a plan. And a front-of-the-line pass, if you can swing it.

 One of the most popular houses (though not my personal fave) was the Walking Dead. This haunted house was created by the dude behind the AMC show. I've only caught snippets of the first episode online (we don't have a telly) and this house made you feel as though you were walking right through the set. It was frighteningly amazing. 

These zombies were not in the actual haunted house as they won't allow photography. They were apart of something called a scare zone. Scare zones are areas within the park where scare actors continue to frighten people...which means no where within the park is safe. This zombie-themed scare zone was right outside of the Walking Dead house.

We had the most beautiful weather while we were there. During HHN, all of the rides continue to run. Which means you can stop screaming at spooky stuff long enough to go scream on The Rip Ride Rocket or The Mummy.

Only during HHN do they change the sign to read Mel's DIE-IN. Love it.

Most of the haunted houses are in sound stages, meaning they are inside buildings used for filming. Universal Studios is an actual working studio. Those particular houses are usually the best...but lack an outdoor entrance worth photographing. This particular house was designed by the magicians Penn and Teller and was not inside a sound stage. It's theme was that a nuclear meltdown had happened in Sin City. Best part? The casino girl with three ta-ta's.

Alice Cooper also designed a house called My Nightmare. This entrance was hands-down the best. Alice's songs were blasting through this house along with some very nightmarish things.

Me and a super cute Jell-o Shots girl. They sell the shots in those hilariously nasty blood bags.

Did you notice I'm wearing The Horror Flick Dress? We went with some friends and family to HHN and I shamelessly wore the dress Every Single Night. The joke became that the scariest thing about HHN was the smell comin' from my dress. Thank you Jen of Peachy Tuesday for crafting me a matching headband!

Oh, my bad. They were friendly enough to stop for a photo.

 Hubs just looked over my shoulder at these photos and said sadly, "I can't believe our trip came and went so fast." It's truly our favorite thing. If you can't make it to such an event, then get yourself to your local haunted house. You seriously won't regret it!

DIY: Anthropologie Style Part 2

I promise you I'm not wearing some make-shift neck brace for an insurance scam. Our fall mornings have been just crisp enough for a little scarf-age. Of the neck-swallowing variety. Outfit details: belt and hair clip: Anthropologie, sale room (I don't even bother with the rest of the place); boots: Frye; scarf: Germany; dress: Anthropologie-copy made by me!

So I once heard in a meeting that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I have many a problem, but my biggest one of all is (drum roll, puh-lease): Starting 5,000 projects. And finishing one. 

I blame it on my begats disease. As in, one idea births, or, begats another. For example, my students are currently learning about how the first hot air balloon flew over Paris. Which begat the (unfinished) Hot Air Balloon Applique Dress. But there were a few hiccups in that project, so my frustration begatted (?) another Halloween dress. Which begat-a-micated a third Halloween dress. This one with a skull fabric. And then I saw these amazing skull flower pots on pinterest which lead to the begatimacation of some Day of the Dead painting. 

And when all of that became too overwhelming, I decided to feed my other addiction: online shopping. At which point I stumbled upon the above dress at Anthropologie.com. In the sale section of course. What a dream dress for an art teacher, right? But for $129 (and that's the sale price, people!) I declaired: "I can make that!" and another idea was begat's'ed.

Oh sad, rumbled Target dress. I thrifted you for a mere $7.99 but your boringness put you at the back of my closet.

What's that? You wanna make a Anthro-knock-off? Lemme tell you, it is so stinkin' easy. Here's what you need:

• demin-ish dress. Or really any dress that's drab and just sitting around in your closet unworn
• fabric paint. I picked up Tulip Soft Fabric Paint in Matte Sunshine Yellow, Marine Blue, Turquoise, Chocolate, Linen Matte and Azalea at Joann's. By the way, never go in there without coupons: they have a mailing list (get on it), feature them in the Sunday papers, they take all competitors coupons and they offer 15% teacher discounts.
• paint brushes. Duh.

Now you might recall that this isn't the first time I've tried my hand at replicating Anthro looks. I made a copy of another too-expensive sale dress and a pair of sandals. So much of their clothing has a DIY look about it that it's easy to mimic.

Now I have to tell you, I am not an abstract painter. In fact, not long ago, I took a class on painting abstractly and the instructor laughed at my work. Laughed, I tell you! So I was a little nervous painting on this dress. I attempted to copy the Anthro dress at first...but that was...boring. After I started loosening up, I thought of my amazing kindergarten abstracts and realized: if they can do it, so can I!

I really enjoyed painting with the Tulip fabric paint. It worked just like acrylic. In some cases, I had to brush on two coats but that seemed to add to the dry-brush-stroke look. I used the brightest of colors like yellow and turquoise, for accents.

And then I went all crazy town and splatter painted my shoes. This is, of course, what the students liked best. I used the same fabric paint just diluted a pinch to make it more splatter-able. You can see more DIY shoe madness here , here, and here.

The fabric paint is dry within four hours. After 72 hours, it can be washed. But I was too excited to wait that long. I spent two evenings painting it (I had to allow paint to dry before painting other areas. That slowed me down a bit). Just enough time away from the other 4,999 projects I've yet to finish.

Today a kindergartener said to me, "Mrs. Stephens, your legs are purple!" To which I replied, "That's what happens when you eat too many grapes." Looking at me in horror and taking a step back she whispered, "...really?"

I gotta tell you, painting this dress was a lot of fun. I hope you'll be inspired to do the same! And save yourself $129 while you are at it. Thanks for dropping by!

In the Artroom: Abstract Painting and Troubleshooting

I teach this abstract painting lesson to my kindergarteners every year and each time, these fun and funky paintings remind me of them: energetic, colorful and full of life.

 As the tiniest of artists that visit my room finish these paintings, I thought I'd share them with you. Each one painted is like a little celebration of life. They make me pretty happy. I mean, how can you not smile just lookin' at em?

"Wiggly snakes and a pokey tree." Seriously? I don't even think Picasso could have painted such awesomeness.

 Interested in doing a little abstract painting? It's not just for kindergarters, ya know. Although they sure do make it a lot more interesting. 

We began our paintings with black tempra paint on 12" by 12" squares of paper. We'd spent a lot of time talking about lines, learning their names and even sculpting with them. We chatted about avoiding the temptation of just painting our entire paper black (oh, the lure of the Dark Side) and simply filling our paintings with lines. Because many of the kids where just getting the feel of painting for the first time, we painted two line paintings. The examples above show the big difference between our first and second attempt at line painting.

We were all set to add color to our masterpieces when this happened...

You see that big empty spot on the bottom left? That's a hole in the paint tray. Notice the crack in the red paint spot as well. Yeah, no bueno.

I love to use tempra cakes with the little ones and as I was getting them out that morning, I noticed huge holes in the paint trays. This really bummed me out. The company that makes these cakes sells replacement ones with the idea that you can simply add refills to the tray. Sadly, the plastic they use for the trays is so thin that over time (like, one year) the trays crack and break. Obviously, that wasn't gonna work.

 Not wanting to waste any of the cakes, I had the idea that I could just add the bits and pieces of dried tempra paint to cups with water. My fingers were crossed that by the time the kindergarteners got to the art room, the paint would have dissolved a pinch and be ready for use.

 How I set up for painting: 

• One paint tray, cup of water and "dirty Ol' Sponge Bob" for every two students
•  Above supplies sit on a "messy mat" 
• Messy mat (which is usually just junky newsprint or manilla paper) under each painting

When I demo to the kids, I tell them that their paint brush is like a ballerina, she is always dancing on her tippy toes. We should never see our Paint Brush Ballerina scooting across our paintings on her bottom (you know, when they scrub that paint brush into their painting, ruining the bristles and their work). I also show them how to give their paint brush a bath in the cup of water (where no splashing is allowed) and dry off on Dirty Ol' Sponge Bob before changing to another color. To avoid drip drops, the kids learn to wipe excess paint on the lip of the cup with this little rhyme: "if it starts to drip, wipe it on the lip...(pointing to our own lips) but not these lips!"

We also learn that there are three parts to a paint brush: the bristles (aka Ballerina Toes), the handle (it's called a handle because that's where your hands go. If they called it a foot-le or a nose-le, we'd have a hard time painting) and The Danger Zone (technically the ferrel). We call that metal band The Danger Zone because if you put your fingers there, they are in Danger of getting mighty messy.

 The end result? I think the paint was actually more vibrant than previously. There was also less struggle with the kids when it came to loading their brush with paint. As you can see in the photo of the tray, they have a tendency to gouge out the middle of the paint  and claim they "don't have anymore" when there is obviously paint around the edge.

 Back to the project. When chatting about adding color to our paintings, I asked the kids if they would please add color to the white areas. The areas with black paint were already filled in, so no need to paint that.

 As they finished up adding color, we moved on to adding patterns. This proved to be a great exercise in fine motor skills for the kids. They delicately worked that ballerina brush with stripes, dots and lines.

Love the overlapping patterns.

I absolutely love this painting. This artist painted everywhere, skipped that part about Ballerina Brushes and avoided those fussy patterns. And it worked out beautifully.

Favorite part about this photo? That little red Mary Jane.

How do you know you've had a good day in the art room? Masterpieces on the drying rack and a sink that looks like this.

 And...since we are on the subject of the art room, I have a little something to share with you:

 I have a project idea in mind for all 400 of my elementary students: I want them each to create an animal sculpture out of clay. Once glazed and fired, these sculptures will be sold to their parents for a monetary donation of their choice. The funds we collect will then be donated to our local no-kill humane society called Happy Tales Humane. I really want my students to learn the importance of using their artistic skills to help others.

The problem? We lack the funding. We need close to $200 to purchase 200 lbs of clay and glaze. I'm using DonorsChoose.org to help raise the funds. If you'd like to donate any amount (there is no such thing as too small), you can visit this link. Also, if you enter the code INSPIRE, DonorsChoose will match the amount dollar for dollar. 

Thanks for reading!