What the Art Teacher Wore #152

 Monday, Monday: I know it looks like I'm wearing a completely oversized pair of culottes (80's friends, 'member those?!) but I swear I'm not. Instead it's just an oversized dress with a super oversized crinoline underneath. I mean, y'all. I can't even fit through most doors with that partic'lar crinnie on! sweater and dress: Anthro; shoes: Clarks; brooch: vintage

Hey, buddies! First of all, I wanna say thank you for all of your kind words after last Sunday's blog post. I appreciate you allowing me to whine and the happy thoughts y'all sent my way. I took a little day off this week to have some time to myself and it truly made a world of a difference. Mental health days are always a good idea, in my book! 

Second thing is HOLY MOLY, Y'ALL SUPER DUPER WANT YOU A PALETTE HAIR CLIP! If I had all the time in the world, I'd open up my very own Palette Hair Clip biznatch and start rackin' in the big bucks! But until that day, I'll just have to award the Palette Hair Clip to (drum roll please...)

CHALLEN BAKER! Here's what she said about creating a homemade gift: 

My favorite gift that I ever created for a loved one: a paper dress that I made for my mom when I was a wee preschooler. (My parents always said that I was the creative type). I wrapped little pieces of paper around my mom so I could measure out her size and then I proceeded to tape them together. I even made her matching paper shoes! I recently inherited a sewing machine so I would love to start making some dresses out of fabric. Once I get the hang of this sewing machine I would LOVE to make some paint palette hair clips for myself and my friends! (Thanks for the tutorial Cassie!).

Yay! Congrats, Challen! And thanks to everyone for playing along. I've not done a giveaway in a while, this was so stinkin' fun. Might have to get all Oprah and start giving stuff away more often. Until then, have a super fun week, kids!

 Holiday Party Tuesday: So holiday party season has begun and I'm lovin' it! In fact, I had a wee Christmas craft night this past Friday (more details on that this coming week, our craft was epicly awesome, if I do say so and I just did) and I'm heading to one tomorrow night. I love any reason to get all dolled up, eat delish food and chat with buddies, don't you? sweater: DIY, here; dress: thrifted; dotted tights: Target; shoes: Shii

 "It's Tacky...And Yet, Somehow Tasteful" Sweater Wedensday: Says the checkout clerk at the grocery. I swear, I get more tips and tricks on my ensembles from the grocery store, y'all. Also, did I tell you that I have kindergarten convinced that the color of my legs is all dependent on the food that I eat? This time, with my sparkle tights, it was speculated that I had eaten glitter. They are so funny! sweater: thrifted; skirt and tights: Target; shoes: Dolls by Nina

 Blue Christmas Thursday: I dunno if you can see it very well but this dress is about as lit as I was Friday night (ahem). The kids loved seeing that my dress could light up and I loved sharing with them how I made it. I think it's good for them to realize that you can create your own clothing, you know? Of course, they kinda know that about me at this point, I suppose. sweater: thrifted; dress: DIY here; shoes: DIY here; belt and crinoline: amazon

 Craft Night Friday!: I love hosting craft nights, y'all. It's become one of my fave things and it's really the only time I bother with cleaning the house so it's nice to not see dust bunnies the size of my head for a change. I'll share more details soon but I will say that we dined on breakfast, complete with big a## pancakes, egg scramble and cheesy potatoes (along with Bloody Marys and mimosas!) before diving into a glitter-tastic craft. If you follow me here, you've already seen a sneak peak! dress: DIY here; tights: Amazon

I sometimes get asked if I get all fanc-ified on the weekends. Well, only if I leave the house...and how could I possibly do that when I have this hunk of love holding me down. It's nearly impossible for me to even write this here blog post. Until next time!

DIY: Paint Palette and Crayon Hair Clips Giveaway Closed

What do you do when you need a present for an art teacherin' buddy? One who is just as adventurous in her crazy art teacher ensembles as you? Make her a couple wild and crazy hair clippies, of course!

If you've been around this blog for a hot minute then you know I have a thing for wearing a wee palette in my hair. It's kinda become my signature look. So much so that when the kids draw pictures of me I'm usually only recognizable by that lil palette in my 'do. Strangely enough, even tho I made my palette clip, I never did a proper DIY blog post about it. While making this clip for a friend (and one for YOU, dear readerz...deets in a minute), I decided to lay out the steps so you could make one of your own!

Because I was making two, one for my buddy and one for a winner of this here giveaway (okay, if you just can't wait, deets at the bottom of this here post), I simply folded the felt in half, drew a palette shape, pinned and cut them out. 

 Oh, look. A photo of the pinning stage. Fascinating.

I did add a bit of interfacing in-between the two layers of felt to give it a little bit more body. Nobody likes a floppy palette, know what I'm saying? 

 From there, I cut out "paint" shapes and used Witch Stitchery to hold them in place. If you aren't familiar with the magic that is The Witch then, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! Yes, I'm shouting. And you will be to once you discover the amazement of this hold-in-place-without-pinning magicness. 

Okay. When it comes to stitching, you don't need a fancy machine to impress your friends with your mad stitchin' skillz. What you do need to do is set your machine to the zigzag stitch, change the width of the stitch so it is medium width for the smaller shapes (for zample, the paint blobbies and the palette hole opening) and the widest stitch for the outer edges of the palette. 

The needle will hop back and fourth on either side of the paint blob. It's hard to turn those round shapes but don't you worry your pretty little head about perfection. It is a paint blob, after all.

For the outer edges, set your machine to it's widest stitch. This time, when you sew, allow the needle to go to the very edge of the shape and back in. This may feel odd but this will seal in the edge. 

AND done! Time to add the brush and clip. I done told you perfection was overrated. The paint brush and your massive 'do will hide any mishaps. 

I used hot glue to adhere the paint brushes to the back of the palette. 

As well as an alligator clip. Now time to stick it in that top knot!

But wait, why stop there? Let's make a Box O' Crayons clip too!

Also, would you please take a moment to appreciate that sweater of mine? Because, let's face it. It looks like crayon worms are crawling all over me. And what could be more creepy/bizarre/fantastical than that?

 Alrightie, so, kinda repeat of the palette. Folded fabric, trace, cut out, cut out a piece of interfacing, you get the idea. 

 So that I'd have my designs placed correctly, I cut out my template and traced the places I knew I'd want to stitch certain lines. 

Does it look like that box of crayons is wearing a diaper or is it just me?

 Oh, my. Somebody is definitely bikini ready. 

 Crayons cut...

 And tacked into place with Witch Stitchery. 

 And the sewing commenced. 

Without the tight curves of the palette, sewing the boxes of crayons was a lot easier. 

I did add a small stitch around the tops of the crayons just to add more of a design and further adhere them. Clips were hot glued to the back at a diagonal. 

And viola! Certifiable Crazy Art Teacher Hair Clippie! Let's talk about how you can get your hands on One Palette Hair Clip:

1. Leave a comment about your fave gift you ever created for a friend or loved one. DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so I can let you know if you are the lucky winner!

2. If you are on Instagram and don't currently follow moi, I'd love it if you would!

That's it! Looking forward to hearing from you and sending the lucky winner their new head ornament. 

What the Art Teacher Wore #151

 Monday Was Technically STILL November, But...I just couldn't wait any longer! I've been itching to bust out all things red and green since the sugar buzz wore off from Halloween! I was all, "Get outta here, November, I'm done with you! I only have 25 days to wear every piece of festivus clothing I own (which exceeds 25 days. Surprised? Thought not)". blouse and Santa suspenders: thrifted; skirt: vintage; tights: Amazon; shoes: made by yours truly! 

Can we be real for a sec? I've kinda sorta been suckin' at this whole photo-a-day thing for a while. And I feel really bad about it for a coupla reasons. One because it shows I'm outta my usual routine (not that one was ever really established for the likes of a crazy person like me) which means that most mornings I'm running behind and out the door before snapping a pic. And I really hate starting my morning in a rush and a fluster because it has lately been effecting my entire day. Another reason I feel bad is, well, cuz I put together some mad outfits, y'all! That need to be shared with the WORLD. Or at least the five folks that read this blog.

In all seriousness, I've been actually feelin' pretty low this week. I feel like I'm swimming in a mess of a mess (like, for realz. My art room is gonna be the end of me, y'all) and it's all I can right now do to slap on a silly outfit and a smile. I'm not sure just what is going on but I'm determined to snap out of it soon. So, cheers to a new week and another chance to do my very best...at dressing crazily that is!

I must confess...another reason I've been lousy at snapping photos daily is because I do a good amount of sharing on Instagram. You can find me giving new meaning to the word "oversharing" here. 

Thrifty Tuesday: So the other day, I walked into Goodwill and walked out with this entire ensemble. I know, right?! The Tacky Christmas Sweater gods were lookin' out for me, what can I say? sweater, top, skirt: thrifted; belt: Amazon; tights: Target; shoes: Clarks

I Actually Hate Candy Canes Wednesday: Nope, never been a fan.  I pretty much hate peppermint anything and want to know what tastebudless pleasure-hater created it so I can go pee on their tires. I know that sounds harsh but don't you recall how razor sharp those sucked-on canes could be? Tongue-killers, y'all! Not to mention trying to pull the plastic wrap around the curve of the cane. Geesh. Don't get me started. Makes for a super cute pattern for tights, tho! dress: made by me; sweater: Anthro; tights and crinoline: Amazon

More from my Instagam feed. I told you I wasn't shy on sharing! And, oooooh-kaaaaay, candy canes are good for something: super cute pattern-y-ness. 

Totes missed out on snapping photos of Thursday and Friday. Your loss, kids. I did wear these bad boys on Friday complete with jeans (gasp!) and a pair of socks that say "It's My Parents' Fault". Truer words were never spoken. Later, friends!

In the Art Room: A Winter Mural Collaborative

So this story of Winter Mural Collaborativity begins with a simple request from my amazing music teacherin' friend: to create a piece for the winter program. The making of this beast involved multiple grade levels with one incident of two classes working simultaneously and another where third grade created alongside kindergarten "buddies". Confused yet? Not as much as my art teacherin' friend Jennifer's daughter was when she popped by for a visit. "I just don't understand why this is on the floor!" Girl. At well over eight yards in length, it was the only place I had for it!

But at least that meant there was plenty of room to spread out and paint!

So just how did the kids create this masterpiece of monstrous proportions? 

 Like, I mean, mammothly monstrous. 

It started when two of my second grade teacher buddies both had to be out for an hour. I offered to take their classes which they thought to be super gracious...what they didn't know was that I was gonna put their kids to work. We called it a Painting Party! The kids were to go to their usual seats but, because of lack of chairs, were told not to sit. They'd need to stand to reach the entire paper anyway! A pattern was started on their large bulletin papers by me and their goal was to finish the patterns. Once complete, I'd pull their paper off their table, ask them what color paper they'd like to tackle next and what they thought they'd like their winter-y pattern to be. After an hour, we had a dozen large painted sheets of paper. My music teacher buddy Kiera and I assembled the papers to create the landscape the day before Thanksgiving break. I even put that girl on painting duty, she outlined all of the hills! Sadly, no photos were snapped...but you can see a very similar process in this mural creation and this one! 

On our half day before break, I arranged for a kindergarten class to come at the same time as a third grade one. I did this mostly because my poor kindergarten kids have fallen a pinch behind due to scheduling. I thought it would be a fun way to catch them up. Little did I know just how much the third graders would LOVE working with their "little buddies!"

Once all of my kinder and third graders were seated, I gave them the basics on building a house. Pick out two squares, cut one into a triangle, glue as the roof. Decorate. Add details. DONE. For my third grade kids, this was a larger version of the houses they created for the Houses to Help. 

By the end of the thirty minutes, we had a stack of these colorful beauties. 

When I told the kids that class was over, the third graders seriously said, AW! and hugged their sweet little friends good-bye. It was the cutest thing ever and I can't wait to do something like that again!

 On Monday of this week, back from break, I laid the mural out and had some second graders go to town painting some trees. It was a fun review of value (dif greens), shape (of the trees), texture (of the branches) and space (painting different sizes of trees). AND collaboration!

Did I mention we played the music program songs the entire time? We got our practicin' in, y'all!

 Love them trees!

NOT TO MENTION, the program was fabulous! Special thanks to Kiera for the awesome program (and mad painting skillz), my P.E. teacherin' buddies for helping me hang that masterpiece...and the young artists that made it all possible!