What the Art Teacher Wore #171

Happy Holi-daze! These photos are completely random and outta order which is fitting for this week, don't you think? disco top: UAL; Christmas tree skirt to lady skirt: found at Big Lots, made by me last year with my tacky teacher buds; tights: Amazon; silver chucks: Journeys; big red bow turn hat: Hobby Lobby

Hello, Craziest Time of the Year! I know I'm not alone when I say WOW. Could things be any more bananas right now? And yet, would we really have it any other way? I think not. 

Adding to the craziness, I also decided to start sharing short videos on Instagram with y'all this week. Stay tuned for more of those. And if you've missed any, I'll be archiving them here. 

I also hosted my first Facebook Live chat this week! It is still up in case you missed. I'll be back this Wednesday at 8pm CST to chat about classroom management...something I know I'll be cracking down on after the holidays. Hope you'll join me! 

I'm still in school until Wednesday...here's to makin' it, y'all! 

Last year, my kindergarten teacher friend Heather (left) and my second grade teacher buddy Bethany made these skirts from tree skirts found at Big Lots. We wear them every year for our annual Tacky Holiday Sweater day! Aren't they the cutest? We're so famous for our tacky, we were even featured on BuzzFeed! 

Fourth grade is rockin' and wrapping up their Faux Stained Glass project. I am so in love with their work!

Light Up Dress Ain't Got Nuthin on No Elf: Seriously, after showing the kids the Elf Cam 2016, they were so not interested in my light up dress. They're all, "nice but WHERE IS ESMERELDA?!" sweater: vintage, thrifted; light up dress: made by me, details here; shoes: Aldo

Second grade is weaving right now and it's just the most perfect project for this time of year. I see my second graders at the very end of the day when we are both tired. For the last week, we've been siting on the floor in a "Weaving Circle" while chatting, reading books and helping others learn to tie knots. It's just been the best way to end our day!

Polka Dotted Holidays! I so love this noisy dotted dress. It was a lucky estate sale score and it's one of my faves. sweater: Target; dress and brooch: vintage; boots: Frye...paint splatters by me

This week, I went LIVE on Facebook! If you weren't able to join the fun, it is currently archived here. I'll be back this Wednesday at 8pm CST to chat about Classroom Management. I think that is on everyone's mind at this time in the school year. I hope you'll join the fun!

I forgot to snap a photo on this day...but I did make a run to the grocery store. I was stopped by one woman who said, "My nana had a tree skirt in that same print!". I didn't have the hear to tell her that I probably was wearing her nana's tree skirt. Then a dude stopped me and said, "OMG, I was so going to wear that exact same outfit!" I told him it was a good thing he didn't seeing as how I looked so cute. Nobody wants to be the loser in a Who Wore It Best, right? 

First grade had a blast painting their Bebo-inspired birds. I heard comments like, "I'm a serious artist!" and "I love painting" the entire time we were working. It was so sweet. 

Friday Funday: I think everyone's schedule is cray right now what with programs, plays, etc. I've decided just to let it go and ride the crazy rollercoaster. Having a wacky outfit certainly helps. dress: made by me, here; tights: Amazon; candy cane chucks: Marshall's years ago

One of my favorite things ever is to host a craft night. I try to do one every coupla months but life just got so crazy this summer and fall, I just couldn't squeeze it into my schedule. I was determined to make a Christmas Craft Night a thing this year. So I through out an impromptu invite and we had a house full of food, booze, crafts and laughs. We missed y'all who couldn't make it and so sorry we didn't get a photo with everyone! Our Christmas Crafts of Holidays Past here and here. 

 The next morning, I went to my first ornament exchange at my friend Camilla's home. I had the best time opening ornaments from these sweet ladies. What a wonderful way to share our talents! You can see my ornaments here. 

I hope y'all have a fabulous week! May it be full of friends and fun. 

Top Ten Winter Projects for Kids!

It's that time of the year...where, if you live in Tennessee, that means it's 70 degrees one day and chance of snow the next (y'all better believe there'll be some ice cubes in my toilet, pj's inside out, white crayons on ALL the window sills and whatever else I gotta do to make a light dusting happen). With that in mind, I thought I'd share my Top Ten Winter Projects for Los Kiddos!

I'll actually be sharing more about my thoughts on holiday art and alternatives to that on this week's podcast. Y'all know I have a podcast, right? You can take a listen here and be sure and subscribe...cuz the sound of my voice is pretty close to that of angels singing (if they were being tortured, that is). 

Now, without further ado, lemme share my faves with you. I'll be linking back to the original blog post where you'll find the complete lesson (and sometimes video instruction!). Here you go!

1. Heather Galler-Inspired Patterned Hot Cocoa Cups! This is a lesson I did a couple years ago with my second graders...a lesson that we had to wash down with a cup of hot cocoa, of course!

2. Printed and Collaged Winter Self-Portraits! Need a good printmaking lesson for your kiddos? Try this one on for size. I did this lesson with my second graders but could def work for kids as young as first and as old as fourth grade. Also, if you don't have brayers and printing ink, try THIS super amazing and simple printmaking alternative that just involves markers and water!

3. Fourth Grade Faux Stained Glass Windows! Hey-hey, there's a video lesson included in this link! I LOVED this project and so did the kiddos...but I think that adding the layer of liquid starch would have made this much less messy. Check out using liquid starch with your chalk pastels here and prepare to be AMAZED! 

4. Charley Harper-Inspired Woodland Animals! Video instruction here! I can promise that there will be cuteness. Charley Harper has so many amazing animal-themed works of art that you'll find endless amounts of inspiration from him with just a quick google search. 

5. Kindergarten Starry Night Winter Landscapes! These are such a joy to watch the kiddos create! We learn all about tints, shades, Starry Night, collage and more. This is a lesson I bring back each and every year. 

6. and 7. Snowflakes and Snowflake Prints! I used to make oodles of snowflakes at the dinner table growing up...but kids don't really do that anymore. Time to change all that. What do you do with snowflakes once they are cut out? Well, you could use them as stencils and print! We printed on Gelli Arts gelli plates when we were finished cutting out our snowflakes. We printed on fabric and then learned how to sew to create these wallhangings. My third graders had a blast creating these. 

8. I NEVER get tired of Foil Relief Projects! I mean, really. Hang around this blog long enough and you'll find several versions of foil relieve. This was a fun way to create something magical with our paper cutouts.

9. Mural Making! What do you do when your music teacher needs a little bit of decoration for the music program? You put your students t work!

They'll take ownership, responsibility and have so much fun doing so!

Don't need a mural for a program but still want to crank one out? This one has something in it from every student in the school! You can find out the details here. 

10. Winter Guided Drawing! Let's be real, people: there's nothing more crazy than these last few weeks before school is out for winter break. I find that guided drawing really is a great way to calm kiddos and review the elements of art. Here are some of my faves...and if you click the link, you'll find more details.

What I love about winter themed projects as opposed to holiday art is that 1. IT'S ALL INCLUSIVE! I work at a very diverse school and I would never want anyone to feel left out. Therefore, winter art is the best route for me. 

Another bonus: there's no deadline! With holiday art, there's the pressure to get the artwork complete before the holidays arrive...but with winter art, if we don't finish before winter break, well, we'll return to it after the fact. 

Um, is there anything cuter than a winking bunny?!

MAYBE a scarf-wearing penguin! LOVE to hear your favorite winter themed projects, please share below...and if you have a blog or IG where you share your students' masterpieces, please feel free to add the link so we can all learn from your amazingness. Have a great week, y'all!

In the Art Room: My Favorite Chalk Pastels Projects and Techniques!

Hey, friends! We are currently up to our elbows in chalk projects in my art room and it got me thinking...I should share my Top 12 Chalk Pastel Projects with y'all AND my tips and tricks. I steered clear of chalk for the longest time because of the mess; the lack of understanding how to set the stuff and because the chalk I had on hand for my kids was, well, crap. So I'm gonna debunk all of this chalk nonsense and hopefully help you get excited to bring this beautiful and vibrant medium into your art room. In this post, I'll share my fave projects but if you want even more details, check out this podcast episode:

Sandra Silberzweig Inspired Abstract Portraits I don't often repeat lessons, but this one is a hit year after year. Follow the link to a video that you can share in your art room. 

 Symmetrical Butterfly Project with Second Grade This lesson includes a video! It was a fun project that I did with my second graders and each one was a beauty. 

Claire West Inspired Landscapes with Chalk and Liquid Starch If you've never used liquid starch with chalk before, oh boy, y'all are in for a treat! This hack is magical and I cannot wait for you to give it a go. More details in this blog post. 

Faux Stained Glass Project We did this a few years back and the results were so striking! You can find more details here. 

 Sandra Silberzweig Inspired Fish! I love Sandra Silberzweig and her work as do my students. Anytime I can share her with the kids, you better believe I'm gonna. This project did just that. Video included!

 Crayon Chalk Collaborative Working together, my students created these large pieces that were so fab. You can see all the details here. 

 Fourth Grade Fauve Portraits This project uses the chalk and liquid starch trick and the results are so vibrant. More details here. 

 Desert Landscapes with Third Grade Stencils and chalk go so well together. More details on this fun lesson here. 

 Floating Chalk Prints! Behold! This is the coolest thing you can do with chalk. Don't believe me? Check this link! 

 James Russo Inspired Animals with Chalk and Oil Pastel We're the tigers at my school so this project was just perfect. More here. 

 Glennray Tutor Inspired Marble Project This one was fun and had the kids so excited to work in the third dimension! 

Annual Ceiling Tile Legacy Project! This is a massive undertaking I do every year with second-grade students. They create chalked ceiling tiles that are then placed in the ceiling permanently. How fun is that? More here. 

In the Art Room: Color Coded Trash Cans!

As y'all know, I'm revamping and rainbow-izing the art room. NOTHING stands a chance at not getting spray painted (my hands included) and I couldn't be happier. I mean, maybe it's the paint fumes a-talkin' but don't these trash cans look so stinkin' happy?!

I actually picked these cans up a couple of years ago and was going to use them as planters (say what now?) and then never did. So in my garage they sat. Meanwhile, the art room seriously had ONE little trashcan that overflowed on the daily. So I brought in these bad boys and they are great. I have four color coded connected tables (see last pic) and I love having one trash can at the end of each table. However, what drives me bonkers is how much they seem to move around my room. I find myself constantly bumping in to them and asking "where does THIS can go?!" Now, no more. But first, lemme walk you thru how easy peasy this was!

I started by just taping the cans off. I used a painters tape called Frog as I heard it was the best. I'd had it on hand for painting the murals in my room. That took me about 20 minutes. I didn't have any rhyme or reason, just started taping.

 My tables are red/orange, yellow/green, blue/indigo, purple/magenta. I used that color combo to paint the cans. I did prime them before painting them. 

 After pealing the tape, I did some touch ups with black house paint. I know that seems nit-picky but I just knew those little color bleeds would drive me bonkers. 

 Today was a 2-hour day before winter break...it's been so nice to crank my tunes and get some stuff done! 

 My tables each have a drying rack and now a trash can at the end. 

 Color-coded cuteness!

They look like fun stained glass windows...I'm in love! I hope the kids dig 'em when they return from winter break.