Showing posts with label how to sew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to sew. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

In the Art Room: String Art!

Tonight, on Facebook LIVE at 8pm CST, I thought we could talk about how to prepare for a sub. I'll share with you what I do to insure that I'll won't come back to a Hot Mess Express. I'd love to hear your tips. ALSO...I have BIG NEWS about our LIVE chats that I think you are going to love love love! So I'll see you real soon.

My lovely and sweet (ahem) spring-break-ready third graders are starting their string art project this week. We have prepared the boards by painting them (we are using cardboard pizza rounds purchased in bulk via Amazon) and adding texture. We also punctured holes in them to prep them stitching. Next week, we'll sketch out our designs and start stitching. Here's the video I created to introduce the kids to this process. Feel free to use and share in your art teacherin' world.
Even if you don't do this project with the kids, you might wanna watch it for the needle threading trick alone. Or you can just follow me here and catch a short clip.
There are many methods of string art but I'll be introducing my kids to ones that I call Spectrum and Radiating Design. I found the above, the one I call Radiating Design, to be a little more taxing simply because you have to get more yarn to make the lines go all the way around the board. 
This one I'm calling Spectrum. This one is fun because you can use a lot of different colors. It's up to the artist just how much stitching happens within the design. 
 My third graders were at the end of this project when I introduced this new one. So during the second half of one art class, when they were finished with their candy sculptures, I had them quickly color, paint and scrape a texture onto their boards. 
Today, the first half of class, we did this. I had a handful of kids that were absent the day so they worked on coloring and painting while the majority did this. Thankfully, we had this project to also work on. Have I ever told y'all that I have a habit of having the kids work in exactly 37 projects at once? I ain't proud. 
The kids are stoked! I can't wait to share with you what they create. 
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Sunday, February 26, 2017

DIY: Kid-Created Self-Portrait Dress

Last spring, I found this amazing frame-covered fabric and my head just about exploded from excitement. I wish that were an exaggeration but it's really the little things, like AMAZING fabric that get this girl all head-explode-y. I had really wanted my kids to create selfies on it then and debute their work at last year's art show...but between frantically finishing projects and slapping them on the wall, we just ran out of time. Not to mention, we ended up going with a 1950's diner theme and the kids ended up splatter painting my ensemble instead. So there's that...er splat. 
So this year, I decided to just bust the fabric out for my earlier finishers and leave it as an option for them to create on. It seems I have more early finishers with my kindergarten through second grade. Those are the grade levels that contributed the most. I didn't give much direction other than to draw their portrait with a black marker, color it in and do their best. 
In fact, earlier this week when I said, "Remember, please do your best!" 

First grader: Yes, Boogey.
Me: Who in the world is Boogey?
First grader: That's my mama's love name for me.
I laughed and that's when the rest of the class chimed in: Ms. Boogey!
Me: Let's just stick with Mrs. Stephens, okay?
First grader: Okay (whispering)...Boogey. 

There are so many happy memories tied to this dress! 
 On Friday, I had a kindergartener look me up and down and say, "Why do you dress different everyday?!"
Me, knowing full well what he meant but still...: Don't you dress different everyday?
Kindergarten: Not THAT different. 

Touche, kindie, touche. 
When the kids grew tired of drawing themselves, they started to draw me...or me with them. I'm so loving my big hair day on the bottom left. 
When the kids finally finished the fabric this weekend, I was determined to get it stitched up. I really wanna wear it next week at NAEA in NYC. When I told my second graders that I was going to make the fabric they were drawing on into a dress, they were completely stumped...even though we've done this before.

Second grader: Wait. This {pointing to the floor} is gonna be a dress? 
Me: Yes! And a bunch of other art teachers are going to see it.
Second grader: Wait. {is this a new thing? Why am I always "wait"ing?!} Are we gonna be famous then?
Me: Oh yeah. Totally!
And the crowd went wild. 
Many of my kids had colored the IKEA Coloring Book fabric that I stitched into a dress and they know the drill. They love that dress and have so much fun pointing out the spots they colored. It's my favorite dress to wear when I travel to art teacherin' gigs as the folks at airport security seems to know me based on that dress. It doesn't stop them from going through my luggage of oddities tho. 
Final touch: a French hook to close the top of the dress. We'll see if I ever get around to that. Why do the smallest of tasks seem like mountian-moving to me?!
 I love that I didn't give the kids any direction as it really allowed their artistic personalities to shine. I have highly detailed drawings all the way to scribble-ville and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I was so surprised that I knocked this dress out so fast...tho I should't be. This is only the MILLIONTH dress I've created in this style. I cut the fabric Friday night, got the bulk of the work done on Saturday and today I just added the second sleeve (ugh. don't get me started on slllleeeeeeves), put in the zip and stitched the hem.
I think the kids are gonna love this dress!
I know I smile at the little faces on it! 

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Wednesday, January 25, 2017

In the Art Room: Stitched Monsters!

Going LIVE tonight, Wednesday at 8pm CST to talk about some art teacherin' issues! Hope you'll join me over here. See you real soon! 

As my fourth graders are wrapping up their Candy Heart Sculptures and drawing, I'm thinking ahead to a fun fibers unit for them. Last year, this group explored embroidery and did a really fabulous job. I know they will love expanding their knowledge and creating these fun stitched monsters!  
I wanted a stitching project that would introduce them to the following: pattern cutting, pinning, sewing, stuffing and embellishing. I also wanted a fun contemporary artist tie-in and I found the artist behind Cotton Monster, Jennifer Strunge, to be perfect. 
Aren't her monsters just the most amazing thing ever? I need one in my life, stat. 

Here's the video I created to introduce my kiddos to Jennifer and all things stitching! Feel free to use it in your art teacherin' world. I think it would be perfect for 3rd grade on up.
We will be using the following supplies:

* 9" X 12" sheet of Smart-Fab or felt
* Additional felt for arms, legs and details
* Tacky glue
* Sharp tapestry needles
* 4 pins per student
* Scissors
* Embroidery floss or crochet thread
* Paper needle threaders

I anticipate this project will take my students 3 one-hour art classes. When I share my video, I show it to the kids in short bursts. I then allow them to go work and set my timer for the amount of time I expect it will take them. When the timer goes off, finished or not, all kids report to the floor for the next video viewing. 
On Day 1, we'll learn about Jennifer Strunge, cut out arms, pin them in place and, hopefully, stitch one side. The following day, we should be able to wrap up the stitching, turn inside out and start working on the face. We will pulling out our Monsters of Creativity collages and looking at those for inspiration! 
Day 3 (and, let's be honesty, probably Day 4) will include gluing the parts of the face down, stuffing and stitching closed. 
I'm thinking of tasking my early finishers to think of themselves as toy creators and their monsters as their creation. As such, they'll need to think of their monster as a product. Who will it be sold to? How will it be packaged? What will be the price? Why should people buy it? I'll keep you posted on this adventure!
Have y'all done stitched monster projects with your students? Love to hear what you've done! And if you do this project, please be sure and let me know, I'd love to see your student's creations. 
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Sunday, November 6, 2016

DIY: IKEA Curtain Cat Print Dress

Yeah, yeah so pumpkins and black cats are so, like, a week ago (I've already busted out the Christmas decor, you don't have to tell me!) but, to my credit, I did finish this black cat dress a coupla weeks ago. It's just taken me until now to share it with y'all here!
I scooped up the fabric for this dress from IKEA and I'm in love. It's actually curtain fabric which means I'm like the Scarlett O'Hara of the sewing world. They did have this same print in orange with smaller cats but I really liked theses big bold babies and the black and white motif. So I picked up the last package of curtains and, when I was heading to the checkout (which took me 35 minutes because, you know, IKEA is about three miles long), I noticed that there was a hole in the curtains. The hole wasn't going to affect my sewing but, if it's anything I've learned from my mama-in-law, it never hurts to ask for a discount. And am I ever glad I did as the $25 price was dropped to $5! I only used one curtain panel for the dress which means, if you are super groovy at simple math like me, this dress only cost me $2.50. Sweet!
I warned y'all last time that I'd learned to create gifs. And I already apologized for it. So suck it up, buttercup. 
Now if you've seen one dress from me, you've pretty much seen them all as I FREAKIN' LOVE this style: large band at the waist, fit and flair. I have found this to be the most flattering for my body type and I have a hard time straying from sewing anything else. 
I often do a lotta gathered skirts but lately I'm kind of tired of them. Of course, gathering a fabric as stiff as curtain fabric wasn't gonna work in this sitch. Also, with a gathered skirt, I just can't get the fullness I dig. So circle skirts have become my new fave. In fact, the last dress I made, this Vincent van Gogh number, is almost identical to this one, sans bow. 
So, lately, life has been rather busy, to say the least. I've been so stinkin' fortunate to be asked to travel to the Wisconsin art conference as well as the one in Illinois (details on that this week, it was A BLAST!) to be their keynote speaker and present fiber arts workshops. I've loved every minute of it. And I'm getting ready to head to Texas for theirs in a matter of days. However, that means I've had to take a wee hiatus from sewing. I've missed it! I'm looking forward to getting back into my sewing room and making more messes soon.
OHHHH, yeah. I forgot to tell ya, those cats were a bit of a pain to work with as their faces are not exactly symmetrical. That means trying to match and align them was a total headache. The bodice I'm wearing is actually the second one I created as the first had cock-eyed cats...which is totally going to be the name of my first band: CASSIE AND THE COCK-EYED CATS!...but not a great look for a dress. 
When el hubbo and I recently traveled to Disneyland, I snapped photos in Cars Land. I flippin' love Cars Land and if only for the ambience. It has a whole Route 66/1950's vibe that I totally adore, especially at night. 
They have these fabulous neon lights that I love. Cars Land was my inspiration for the 1950's Diner Art Show we had last year!
 I mean, how cute are these signs?! Total inspo for this project
 One of my favorite shows growing up was Alice. I loved Flo and her "kiss my grits!" attitude. 
The food at the diner is very good and they have a great vegetarian Shepard's Pie option that we love. Must better than your usual lukewarm pizza park food. 
Because of how graphic this dress is, it gets a lotta comments when I wear it. I scooped up a lot of big and bold print from IKEA on my last trip. I'm looking forward to time in my sewing room to create more of these wacky and wild dresses.
And just because it's catty doesn't mean it's limited to Halloween, does it? I mean, shoot, I'm catty all year 'round!
 I really love it with these ska-wannabe kicks I recently picked up. 
It's super fun to wear. I just need to get better at that whole twirling thing...
Obviously. Pretty sure the neighbors know I'm crazy! 
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Sunday, November 22, 2015

DIY: The Anna Maria Horner Full Circle Skirt

I present to you, along with my super cute circle skirt, the relaxed and happy face that only a week off can bring. That's right, y'all. One whole week of puttin' pie in my pie hole, craftin' it up, spending time with friends -n- fam and shopping. I've been feeling a little sluggish in both art teacherin' land and at home (you are currently in view of the ONLY non-unsightly spot in casa de Cassie) so I'm excited to have this week to relax and recharge. And to find a better means of getting that caffeine pumping in my veins on an average day. Are coffee eye-injections a thing yet? Cuz I'm ready to give it a go. 
While you google that, lemme share with you a sewing class I just completed over at a place that's just about as close to sewing heaven as Ima gonna get: Craft South. Y'all. If you are ever in Nashville-land, make sure you drop by this amazing place. I took a class there this summer and loved it and the instructor, Devon Iott, aka Miss Make
I've had a couple people ask me why I was taking a sewing class because some folk assume I know how to sew. And I kinda do...but I'm self taught which means in my stitching world, there's a whole lotta half-a##-ery. Watching YouTube videos, reading blogs and, in desperate times, even asking the hubs ("Like, you read this! DOES THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE?!") can only get you so far. Taking a class, especially from a teacher that is as good at explaining things as Devon, really makes a huge difference. 

So when I saw that Craft South was offering a two-day circle skirt sewing class with Devon as the instructor, y'all better believe I was all over that like whipped cream on pumpkin pie (in other news, the hubs insists on pronouncing the word pumpkin "punkin'". This kinda makes me wanna throat punch him. In a good way.)
FYI: circle skirt blog posts require a large amount of obnoxious-faced skirt twirling. Sorry not sorry, punkin'z.
For the class, we had to bring our own fabrics so I did a lil digging in my stash and found this awesomeness. I can't recall where I got it and the salvaged edge had no markings. I settled on this print because I thought it would be the best thing for a circle skirt. You've gotta be very aware when picking a print for this kind of skirt because if it's directional, it can look kinda weird when finished. Picking a random print is the best way to go, says me. I did stitch up a circle skirt this summer with a shower curtain which you can see here
The class was a two-parter/6-hour deal. For our first class, we cut out our pattern and all of the pieces. Turns out you need a boat load of fabric for a circle skirt. It even says that on the pattern envelope: Fabric Allotment: BOATLOAD. Thankfully, I had just enough. We also learned how to stitch in a lapped zipper which was 1. Super easy because Devon explained it so well and 2. Super cute! Way better than my zipper-install method which involves Scotch tape. Don't judge, y'all. I told you I'm self-taught and full of half-a##-ery!
During the second session, we created the waistband, attached that and hemmed the skirt. Which, by the way, if you've never hemmed a circle skirt, takes for freakin'-ever. But after that, it was complete! Me and the two other sweet ladies taking the class were so thrilled. We couldn't stop holding our skirts up to our waist and twirling!
In other not-related-to-the-skirt news, I had to cancel my travel plans this week. This sweet little girl had a spooky episode on Friday night that left us afraid to leave her alone. She seems back to normal and better now...but she did have us scared! 
We've had Asha since she was a kitten (her mama gave birth to her on our bed...my side, of course. That was a delightful moment, ahem.) She's 14 now which is hard to believe. She still thinks she's a kitten and so do we. If y'all have pets you know they are family. It's so hard to see them not their normal happy selves!
 I mean...
 Who else is gonna critique my outfit, right?!
Special thanks to Craft South and Devon Iott for the great sewing class, I can't wait for the next one!

I'll be back with y'all next week for my latest stitched dress-terpiece as well as some videos on teaching kiddos how to draw winter animals! 
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