In the Art Room: Weaving, Part 1

Woven pouches created by fourth grade artists. You can see more of their masterpieces at our school-wide art show here and here.

Since I shared with you photos from our art show, I've had several questions about the woven pouches that were featured. Because this project is so easy and fun, I thought I'd share it now that the kids are out of school and getting a little...well...restless. It's the perfect summer what-can-we-do-now-? craft.

In the art room, this project has become a rite of passage for my fourth grade students but can easily be created by kids as young as second grade.  Because this craft involves multiple steps, I've divided it up into four posts: Weaving Part 1: Getting Started; Part 2: Weaving the Flap; Part 3: Removing the Weaving and Finishing; Part 4: Weaving a Cord

Please, fellow art teachers and parents, leave comments below on how you teach this lesson differently. And, of course, questions if you got 'em. Have fun!

 Supplies: 

• Scissors
• Tape
• a loom. I purchase ours through Sax but you can create your own with thick cardboard.
• Thin cotton string. This was bought for a couple bucks at Walmart but in a pinch, you could use yarn.
• Big-eyed needles. Again, Walmart would carry these in their craft department.

 Preparing your loom:

These looms that I purchase through Sax have notches in them that are too far apart. When you weave with them like this, it creates a pouch that is a little too loosely woven, in my opinion. So I have the kids cut the part that sticks up (we call them "teeth") in half. It's a struggle because the cardboard is thick and there is some moaning and groaning but they can do it. 

If you are creating your own loom from cardboard, you will want to space your notches about 1/4" apart. I'm not really into exact measurements, so I say just eyeball it. However, make sure that you have the same number of notches on the top as the bottom.

 Warping your loom:

Warping your loom is the process in which you are putting the string on your loom that you will weave over and under. To do this, start at one corner of your loom and tape your warping string into place. I have the kids put the tape at the bottom of the notches. This will prevent the kids from accidentally weaving over or under this small string.

Now begin wrapping the warp string all the way around the loom. For example, from the taped end, go down to the bottom cut notch, wrap string around the back and up to the top notch and then go to the bottom again. You should have strings on both sides of your loom, making certain not to skip any of the pre-cut or notches-you-cut.

While you are warping, keep the string attached to the cone. I do not allow the kids to cut the string from the cone unless I have checked their loom. If they have skipped a notch, this allows them to go back and fix it without wasting any warping string.

 Once you've checked the loom and are certain no notches were skipped, cut the string and tape it down. Again, tape as close to the notches as possible. Use your creepy bending finger (shown above) to scoot those other warp stings over to tape the string underneath.

 Weaving:

The process of weaving is that of going over and under the warp strings in an A-B pattern. The string you weave with is called the weft. No long needle like this one? Tape your string to the end of a pencil or skewer stick.

 Pull yarn through until you have left behind a 1" tail. Turn the loom over and weave over and under on the back. Once finished with that side, turn loom over to the original side.

 Now, this time, weave the opposite of the previous string. For example, in the photo above, I wove over and under because the string underneath was under and over.

 You know you are weaving correctly when you see something like this. Looks a little like the netting of a tennis racket.

 But it's too loose. Do you see all of those white warp strings through your weaving? Well, you don't want to. Use a fork to pack down your weaving until those warp strings disappear and all you see are the weft strings.

 Adding a new weft: 

Okay, this one is debatable. Technically, you are not to tie two stings together but overlap the strings to add another. Or something. But at this point, if I throw one more piece of info at the kids, they are likely to have an aneurysm. So, we simply double knot tie a new string to the old, snip the "tails" and keep on weaving.

 Incorrect weaving: 

How do you know if you are weaving incorrectly? Well, you'll see a lot of vertical warp strings, like you see in the yellow portion of my weaving above. This happens when you are not weaving the opposite of the previous string, but weaving the same over and over again. If you see this, you have to take it out and redo.

 Weaving away...

I tell the kids that their weaving must be somewhere in between 4-7" tall. This allows room at the top of the loom for weaving the flap and tying off the weaving. This should keep those kiddos all tied up (heehee, tempting, right?) until next week. I plan to take mine on an upcoming trip to keep me occupied.

Remember, you are weaving on both sides of the loom, front and back. Ya hear?

 So stay tuned!

Next week, we'll learn how to weave that flap. Again, feel free to leave any questions or comments and happy weaving!

DIY: Ode to Nashville, Tennessee

Greetings, outta-towners and in-towners alike!

You may recall a couple of weeks ago I showed you around my Tennessee-themed home. In that post I mentioned wanting to create another Tennessee-inspired painting. Well, here 'tis! All 2' X 5' of it. I'm all about the Go-Big-or-Go-Home, can you tell?

The original postcard that inspired the painting.

Interested in creating your own city/state souvenir postcard? Well, it's actually pretty simple. You'll just need the following: 

• Canvas, any size 
• Enlarged copies of the postcard lettering if you are not comfortable drawing your own
• Acrylic paint, brushes
•  State/city maps (I picked mine up for free at AAA)
• Chisel-tipped sharpie and black brush pen
• Tissue paper and stick pins
• Modge Podge

DIY Disclaimer: I am prone to take the more-difficult-and-frustrating road when crafting. Don't ask me why. For your sanity, I've also included an easier version of the same directions which you will find under the heading "Or you could just...".

Eye-ballin' it. Not something I recommend as it wears out the eraser and the patience.

I began with a sketch. I started with a line that all of the letters would rest on and then created a parallel line 8" above that. Lightly, I drew in the letters giving each one about a 3-5" width. 

Or you could just...enlarge copies of the postcard. Enlarge each letter, cut it out and play around with the positioning on your canvas. Once you've got it where you want it, tape them down and trace around the letters with pencil.

The color in this photo is slightly off, as it's much more a mustard-yellow, not a poop-yellow.

From there, I mixed up a giant batch of the background color. Always mix up more paint that you think you'll need. Why? Because it is impossible to mix the exact color twice. You may think you can and then you put brush to canvas and realize Homer-Simpson-slap-to-the-head-"duh!" style that you needed more white/yellow/black/wine. Trust me. Keep paint covered in Saran Wrap until the very end of your project as you never know when you might need to touch up a spot (this I did not do and you'll see why I wish I had shortly).

Or you could just...take the easy no-paint-mixing road and just buy the color of paint for the background. In that case, buy two tubes.

Tissue paper tracing.

To insure that my map letters were going to fit my canvas, I created letter patterns using tissue paper.

Or you could just...remember those letters you so cleverly xerox copied? Those will be your letter patterns.

Creating the map letters.

With my letter patterns pinned onto my map, I cut out each letter for my sign. If you are using your original xerox copies, you could do the same.

Ta-dah!

Making the letters three dimensional.

With the letters cut out, I began the background painting. Before putting paint to canvas, I used a pencil and lightly sketched in where I wanted the drop shadow to be. This shadow helped the letters really pop out and gave them a three dimensional quality. Again, mix up way more paint than you'd ever thought imaginable and dive in.

Once the drop shadow was complete, I began Modge-Podging the letters into place. Using the matte Modge Podge, I covered the area of the canvas where the letter would go, placed the letter on top and then added another layer of 'podge on top of that. Once dry, I began using the chisel-tipped Sharpie to create a black shadow on the right side of the letters. You can see this best in the photo below

Guess who can't spell Tennessee? Although, I do believe Teene-see would be a pretty cute name, don't you?

Now, when it came to adding the other written text, lemme just say I thought I was so clever. I wrote out the text on tissue paper and then traced it with a Sharpie. The thought being that the Sharpie would bleed through just enough for me to trace them with my brush pen. Sounds great, right?

Sure it woulda been had I been able to spell correctly. My horrendous spellin' ways always take me back to that Frightening Fifth Grade Spelling Bee where I spelled...wait for it..."morning" incorrectly. That's right, I thought it should be "mourning" as in "We are all mourning the dreadful spelling of this poor dimwitted girl." 

Thankfully, this spelling error was corrected with a little bit of acetone (that'd be nail polish) and a q-tip. I managed to wipe off my boo-boo just enough...as well as remove a wee bit of paint. Remember how I told you to save your paint? Yeah, this would have come in real handy if I had. Der.

Nash, Tenn., yo.

Just a closeup of my Sharpie-outlining skillz. There is no way I'm ever going back to painting hard edges with a brush. No. Way.

My vintage record player has the best acoustics. I decided to sample my latest thrifted records during a painting lull.

Finished sign now hangs out in my kitchen.

So you can handle this, right? Just follow my much easier or you could just... and you'll be well on your way to your very own souvenir sign!

Or you could just...take a nap. That's my plan anyway. 

Thanks for stopping by!

What the Art Teacher Wore #20

Strawberry-Fields-Forever-Monday: On this day we returned to Nashville from our Orlando vacation. And you know what returning from vacation means: laundry. Thankfully, that's hubs job. So I took a nap. top: this place in Nashville called UHL or something. URL? I forget, it's on West End if you are local; skirt and belt: thrifted and vintage; flower: H&M; shoes: nada, it's summer

Happy End-of-the-Week to you, friends! I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but in Nashville, Tennessee the weather has been divine. A couple of months ago, when we were supposed to be transitioning from winter to summer, Mother Nature, in all of her in-need-of-some-serious-prozac glory, decided to skip spring and deliver us endless days of hot sticky heat. This week she relaxed a little bit and we had the most beautiful and mild of spring-like days. 

Maybe I was a little delusional because of the lovely weather, but each outfit this week reminded me of a song. So, for your listening pleasure, here you are. I'd love to hear which song strikes a cord with you. Hope Mother Nature is on your side and your day is just lovely!

Love this video of the four running around being their silly awesome selves. See it here.

I-Never-Promised-You-A-Rose-Garden-Tuesday: This day was a fun and full one, meeting up with some art teacher buddies for a birthday celebration. dress: vintage; sandals: old, Target; sunglasses: ebay; flower: made by me

Love this song...but in the short clip, her floor-length minty green striped dress with matching shoes is a sight to behold. Take a look-see.

That's-Amore-Wednesday: This was an errand-running-catching-up-on-a-belt-order kind of day. I felt very much like I should be out on a gondola in that top. top: Forever 21; belt and skirt: vintage, thrifted; sandals: Lucky Brand

Okay, you must stop what you are doing and immediately go check out Dean Martin here. You won't regret it.

Girls-Girls-Girls-Thursday: Our terrific trip to Graceland which you can read more about here. On Quincy: swimsuit: Lena Hoscheck; skirt: Quincy has her own vintage-inspired clothing line and this skirt is from there. You must visit her shop here. On Emma: Emma's make up and hair is always stunning, which you can see on her beautiful blog. dress: Anthropologie. On me: dress: vintage, The Hip Zipper

Nothing says summer like this short clip by our friend at Graceland. Thank you, Elivs, for all of your awesomeness.

Summertime-Friday: On this day a buddy and I scored big at several garage sales. Thankfully this buddy noticed that I'd been walking around with my dress only half-way zipped up (eep!) before I went off to catch up with friend I'd not seen in years. I can't imagine what impression that would have made! dress: You tired of this dress yet? It's my summertime fave. Forever21; sandals: Sseko with straps sewn by me.

I love Sam Cooke and I really love his version of the song Summertime. He actually did another version here ... to be enjoyed with a video of some guy doing crazy stunts down a water slide...whah?

But I have a big soft spot for Janis. I love her...and I love seeing this recording session with her and the Big Brother Holding Company.

Summer Adventure: Graceland

Outside Graceland with some lovely gals: Emma of The Fiercest Lilliputian and Quincy from Q's Daydream.

I have this thing. 

I love to look inside of peoples homes.

As a kid, if my neighbors left their heavy plaid curtains open, I would crane my neck to catch a glimpse of their patriotic-themed wallpaper, the macrame owl with the wooden bead eyes and the green globe light fixture that hung above the dining room table by a chain strung across the ceiling.

Yeah. I know. I sound a little like a crazy person. Neighbors must have thought so too because they had a chat with my mom...and started closing their curtains.

Upon entering Graceland, on your immediate right is the formal living room. Photos of a young Lisa Marie can still be seen on the end table on the right.

But I don't mean any harm. I just love to see how people live. How they decorate. What goes on inside of a home with a macrame owl with wooden bead eyes.

So when the opportunity to see what the inside of The King of Rock 'n' Roll's home looked like, I jumped at the chance. Especially with two of the sweetest vintage-lifestyle bloggers I've come to know.

It's a three hour drive from Nashville to Memphis but with the aid of Starbursts, Starbucks and great conversation, the trip flew by in no time. Quincy, our awesome navigator, leading us straight to Graceland, a place she has visited countless times.

Our adventure began even before setting foot onto The King's property. As we cruised down Elvis Presley Boulevard, we passed by a convertible full of well-tanned -n- topless dudes. They could have easily been mistaken as stunt doubles for the Jersey Shore crew had they not had a British flag flapping from their trunk. We had a couple laughs over their too-tanned-bare-chested silliness and promptly forgot about them.

That is until the unmistakable smell of Abercombie and Finch cologne washed over us as we were standing in line to board the bus to Graceland. Low and behold, our friends were right behind us. Thankfully, they'd found out that Graceland has a strict No Shirt, No Shoes, No Elvis rule and had donned wife-beaters. Which can pretty much pass as church clothes in most Walmarts in the south.

But I'm just being harsh on the guys. They turned out to be a friendly bunch who were excited to be exploring "the states" in their convertible and cologne. And how can you not like that? Especially since they had placed Graceland on their list of Must-Sees.

The television room in the basement of Graceland.

Speaking of Graceland, after we had explored the living, dining room and kitchen, we took the mirrored ceiling stairs down to the television room. We all agreed that the wrap-around blue suede couch was sheer decorating genius.

That's right, I did say "mirrored ceiling". We're having one installed next week.

Across the hall from the t.v. room was the pool room, complete with wall to wall to ceiling drapes. We all placed our bets on the amount of yardage used to complete the room.

Up the stairs from the basement, you enter the famous Jungle Room. My favorite part in this room, aside from the green shag carpeted ceiling not shown, was the fur covered lamp shade on the far left.

Apart of our tour, we were able to see Elvis' vast car, golf cart, and motorcycle collection. My personal fave is this bubblegum pink Caddy. Just need a vintage Airstream Trailer hitched to the back and I'd be in heaven.

After a tour of the mansion, we took in the huge grounds surrounding Graceland. Across the street, a building housed his vast car collection, famous pant suits and his plane The Lisa Marie.

Don't you love Quincy's top? It's actually a swimsuit! And I have a feeling that one day this suit will swim in that pool.

Elvis' famous suits designed by the name that knew how to put a beadazzler to good use, Nudie.

Elvis is buried alongside his mother, father and grandmother right on the property.

With all of this Elvis-excitement, we worked up quite the appetite. We met some lovely friends of Quincy's (also from England, like our Jersey-Shore-wannabe friends) and had the most delightful lunch.

Our day ended with a surprise photo shoot outside of Graceland. We were snapping photos of each other when a journalist began to do the same. And look what appeared in the Memphis paper the following morning! Our happy memories in print.

Eat your heart out, Jersey-Shore Brits. 

Thanks for reading! And if you happen to see some oddly dressed lady sneaking a peak at your dining room furniture on her drive by your house, pop out and say hello!

In the Art Room: Walk Like an Egyptian

Our amazing second grade singing and dancing to a rewrite of the Bangles hit "Walk Like an Egyptian."

 Well, here it is, folks, the final installment of The Art Show. It seems like a million years ago that I shared  Part 1 and Part 2 of our school wide art show with you. I decided to save my favorite part of the art show for last: the second grade production "Walk Like an Egyptian."

This year, in the art room, our theme was Ancient Egypt. I chose that theme because of an amazing exhibit at The Frist Center for Visual Arts. Not only did my second through fourth grade students visit this exhibit, but the entire school studied Egypt throughout the year. My first graders created Egyptian Landscapes and Nile Crocodile puppets. The third graders created a life-sized sarcophagus. Egyptian god portraits were created by my fourth grade students. And the second grade created Egyptian collar necklaces and gave this magical performance.

 I wrote this short and silly play set up just like the game show "Jeopardy". The program began with the two hosts (shown on the left) kicking off with the song "Walk like an Egyptian" Our fabulous music teacher rewrote the lyrics to The Bangles song (you know, because that little bit about "smoking on a hookah pipe" just might not go over well) and taught the kids the lyrics. One of our incredible second grade teachers taught the kids some sweet dance moves.

After that intro, King Tut (our friend in the middle) comes out as the Alex Trebek of the show. He lobbed questions, as well as some jokes, at the contestants: Cleopatra, a Mummy and Queen Nefertiti. The kids sang a rewrite of Steve Martin's "King Tut" ("he's my favorite honkey" didn't seem like the best thing for the kids to be singing, 'specially since dude was Egyptian). The show ended with the mummy busting free of her bandage strips (er, toilet paper) and stealing the show as well as winning the prize of 100 shabti (shown on the right).

After the production, the kids were all smiles, even the toothless variety.

 The play was a ton of fun and a huge hit, especially with the performers. They lit up the stage with their excitement and enthusiasm. It was such a delight to work with the incredible music, P.E., second grade and many other teachers in the school to make this play possible.

Egyptian collar necklaces are now the latest in second grade fashion.

 My part in preparing the kids for the program was the costuming. I knew I wanted to keep it simple for the parents, so I asked the kids wear over sized t-shirts, shorts and sandals on the day of the performance. During art class, we studied the history of Egyptian jewelry with a focus on Egyptian collar necklaces and scarab beetle jewelry.

Okay, I'm not a macaroni-art kind of teacher but I will admit, this was kind of fun. If you do this, do not use the textured pasta as it cracks when it dries.

 One group of kids was given a wide variety of colorful pasta that they glued onto their gold-painted cardboard collars. We chatted about patterning and design.

 Once the glue dried, we added designs to our necklaces by printing. The kids used cardboard, q-tips and marker caps dipped in gold paint to create their unique designs.

 Knowing that they were going to be wearing their creations in their performance, the kids really worked hard on crafting beautiful necklaces.

The little actor that played King Tut is the son of one sweet mama. She came up with the pipe cleaner idea as a way to hold the necklaces on. She simply hole punched, fed the pipe cleaner through one side and twisted to keep it in place. The other side she left like a hook. This way the kids could take their necklaces on and off on their own.

 Some of my other classes created these scarab beetle necklaces. For these, the kids used cardboard to cut out the shape of wings. These cardboard shapes were then wrapped in tin foil and then colored with sharpie. Can you guess what the beetle's body is...? One of the many uses for bottle caps in the art room!

Two proud Egyptians showing off their necklaces.

I love the anch design, don't you?

 This program was such fun and a great way to kick off the art show. However, having an art show AND a performance on the same day most certainly gave me some new gray hairs. So, while I'd love to work with these amazing kids and teacher on another production again...let's just say I might pick a less insanely busy day. Thanks for dropping by.