In the Art Room: More Art Room Decor!

Well, hey there, strangers! It's been a beat since I last chatted with you here. I've been away in Seattle at the art teacherin' conference and took a short hiatus from blogging. BUT now I'm back. You're welcome.

As y'all know, I've been on an Art Room Redecorating Bender since the start of this school year. And I've not slowed down. I realized the other day that I'd crafted and hung a bunch of new things in my room and I'd failed to post 'em here. Of course, I OVERSHARE here...in case you need more crazy in your life. 

 Let's start here, shall we? This is the main entrance/exit to my art room (I also have an exterior door, an office door and a side door. I'm very door-y) and this here is a view from the inside. That fuzzy thing you see thru the window is the Rainbow Wreath that hangs on my door and beyond that is our giant It's Okay to be Different mural. I've long since had this saying on my door but the original was simply hand written on a piece of laminated poster. It was started to look sad and faded. And, while I loved the message, I hated the sign. So I painted a version and it's now on my door. The mermaid was one I found at the Nashville Flea Market (a must go to if you are ever in town...last weekend of every month!). Originally she had a blue tail and blond hair. I was going to hang her in my house but she never seemed to look right anywhere. One night I painted her all rainbow-y and now she loves above my doorway! 

Right next to my Rainbow Mermaid and my door, I hung this chalkboard and my heart sculpture.

 I found this chalkboard on the cheap at my local craft store. I've always wanted a chalkboard but was afraid the kids would wipe off what I had written...so I picked up some chalkboard markers! My plan is to change the sign up every now and then...but my money is on me leaving this up until the end of the year. 

 Every since making this heart, inspired by artist Chris Uphues, I've wanted to hang it up. You can find a complete video tutorial on how to make a heart with wings right here. 

 Now, I know what you are thinking...how are you getting these things to stay on your walls/doors?! Okay, my secret is: Command Velcro Strips. Y'all, they are THE BEST. I use them for nearly everything on my walls and nothing ever falls. I go for the 16 lbs Velcro just to make sure everything stays anchored. 

 This canvas was one that I had previously painted some other nonsense on and decided to paint over it. I added chalkboard paint to the middle so that I could change up the signage. Again, my money is that my lazy butt never gets to it. I hung it one Storage Closet of Horrors #1. My painting was inspired by Rifle Paper Company. 

 You can also find a PDF of my ART sign here, if you'd like! I painted those right before the school year started. 

 K, so I actually HAVE been cleaning out my closets and pitching MOUNTAINS of junk...but I still have so much to do. Being in a space for 12 years AND being a natural born slob/hoarder means you acquire some stuff. One fun find was a huge bin of magnetic letters. I've been leaving messages for the kids above every door. Info on my tints and shades sign can be found here. 

 Speaking of finding stuff...I discovered that I had several of these blank wooden plaques. One night I painted a Matisse-esque background for a SMILE sign. I hung it on the small sliver of wall space that I have left near my Roy G. Biv paintbrush wall. 

 This area of my art room, I call The Store as that's where the kids go to gather their art supplies. You can learn more about Art Teachers in Training here (we no longer use badges but aprons) and more about The Store here. 

 Some seriously sweet artists have gifted me amazing artwork. I want to look at it all the time...so I decided to hang it in a prominate place in my art room. 

 It makes me all kinds of happy. Let me share who made what because each is a seller of their work. The Tennessee sign is from @artroomantics and she can paint any state you like. Chris Uphues, who I mentioned early, sent me the poster of a rainbow from an exhibit of his. Joy makes all kinds of amazing things from customized stationary to my Broken Crayons Still Color sign! My INSANELY motivated buddy Jennifer has been creating a painting EVERY DAY for the last several years...and painted that portrait of me as a super woman. My buddy Stephanie stitched the Small World. 

And my friend Ashley, who is INSANELY talented, made this caricature of me. You can commission her to make one of you too, my buddy Virginia just had one made and it is amazing! 

 One night I slapped some paint on more of those wooden plaque thingies and made this...

One of my favorite books and one of my favorite messages. Right now, it's sitting here but I do think I'll hang it properly soon. As soon as I find some wall space. 

Remember that flea market I told you about? Well, I found this amazing work of art there. The artist sold it to me for $5! I added orange to the frame so that it would pop as the original color matched my walls. 

Also at the flea market, I found these! They actually open and close and I've been using them to talk to the kids about scissor safety. It's pretty hilarious. I did punch them up a bit with some silver and red spray paint. 

I attached them to the wall with some velcro strips so that I can take them down easily. Also new: I spray painted my magazine rack to look like a rainbow! That was gifted to me when another teacher moved away. Not sure what they'll hold. Also, I spray painted my storage bins by grade level...just need to get the teacher names on them. The big clipboard was a thrift store find. My idea is that it can be a drawing center for my early finishers. 

Whew! So, that's all that's new. Thank you for letting me share a tour!

Art Teacherin' 101: Episode 30

Don't forget to join the chat tonight, Wednesday, at 8pm CST over on my official Facebook page. We'll be talking about the Art Teacher in Training badges: how we are using them, how they've been working and the rest. We're also sharing our favorite art supplies. AND, lastly, let's chat about that dreaded thing called CLEAN UP. See you then!

Today I thought I'd share with you how I've been using the Art Teacher in Training badges in my art room and how they've been working for me. I LOVE THEM! Check out this episode of Art Teacherin' 101 to find out more. 

I often times will talk myself out of introducing new things to the kids with the mindset that "I'll do it at the beginning of next year". But now my motto is: Why wait?! I actually think it's the perfect time when the kids are starting to get that spring fever. Anytime I introduce something new and present it in an exciting way, the kids are always game. Here's the video that I've been showing them to explain the badges. Feel free to use it in your art room. 

Be sure and check out these other badges created by art teachers and how they are using them too. See y'all tonight! 

In the Art Room: Chalk Prints and Shaving Cream Marbling

In second grade we are working like crazy with our short 30 minute art classes to try our hands at two different paper treatments: floating chalk prints and shaving cream marbling. My goal has been for all of my students to attempt both processes twice before the end of class. It's a go-go-go kind of class but it's a lot of fun. When I shared a couple short videos of my students working on these papers, I got a lot of questions about the process. So I created a video that will walk you through each. I'll also go through the supplies needed in this here post. Here's the how-to video:

Supplies for floating chalk prints:

* Paper. I used 6" X 9" papers. These will be used for the covers of their Rainbow Book. I only order between 80- 90 lbs paper for the art room. 

* Chalk. We used Freart Chalk by Prang. I like this chalk because it's high in pigment and thick like sidewalk chalk.

* Tongue depressors. We used the big ones which you can get cheap at the Dollar Tree.

* Tub of water. I made it so each my students had their own tub to save on time. I see my second graders at the end of the day so this meant I didn't have to hustle to move the tubs for my next class. 

If you watch the video, you'll see just how easy this process is...and how beautiful the results are. 

I have a feeling the kids are going to have a hard time deciding which beautiful papers to use for the covers of their Rainbow Book!

When doing these chalk prints, you can even use stencils to create a really cool look. Check out this blog post where we used star stencils. 

The best part is, you don't have to "set" these creations as you would normal chalk pieces!

 For shaving cream marbling, you'll need the following:

* Shaving cream. We used cheap dollar store stuff.
* Liquid watercolor.
* Paint brushes.
* Tongue depressors.
* Paper. 

This process required more steps so some of my students would get excited and forget those steps. I made sure to appoint my Art Teachers in Training who did a wonderful job reminding kids of the steps. Yay! 

I did not change out the bins of shaving cream or water. For the floating chalk prints, it was not necessary. For the shaving cream, it just meant that the following prints had more color. 

 Again, so pretty! I can't wait to see these on the covers of their books. Here are the books they are creating:

I have done shaving cream prints before...but never in a closed container. I am never going back, y'all! The mess is contained...like, literally.

Have y'all done these kind of prints before? I'd love to hear about it! I'm also curious to know what you did with your beautiful papers. 

I'll be sure and update you with our completed Rainbow Books!

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!