art with kiddos, part 1

Hey, y'all!

If you've browsed my little corner of blogland you may have read that I taught pre-school for a year.

Yes, willingly. And rather enthusiastically! :)

I had a class of 3's all to myself and we had a blast.

I taught at a small private school and art was a huge focus of each day, regardless of the age of the student. Each spring was a huge "art show" that showed off artwork from each class throughout the school year.

In addition, there would be a school-wide theme (this particular year was children's authors) and each class created a room full of artwork especially related to the theme.

What made this project even more near & dear to my heart?

I attended this school as a child, and have awesome memories of my own art shows.

The art show was a huge deal, and preparation began after Christmas for the spring show. So from 8-11:30 when lunch for my kiddos began, I had to cram in circle time, story time, music, letter & numerical lessons, and...

ART!

Which usually culminated in my desk looking like this come lunch time:

So I wanted to share the artwork with y'all today, and just a little mention of how it was made. I wasn't blogging much then, so I don't have tutorials or step-by-step instructions, and all the projects were my idea, so no links to show you. My apologies :)

At this point, I would like to offer up a little challenge...can you tell me who my author is? Remember, the theme is children's authors...so take a peek at our art and see if it reminds you of any books!

No tangible prize, just a shout-out to anyone who guesses correctly :)

Here we go.

*Cupcakes made using styrofoam balls, cupcake liners, paint and real sprinkles! The kids loved painting on the pink "icing"!

*Sweet piggies! Made with small, heavy-duty paper plates, googly eyes, fun foam ears, pipe cleaner mouths, and egg carton noses. Tempera paint and fun foam were my BFF's when I was teaching! Ha!

*Unfinished moose. Each kiddo glued on a felt face and googly eyes; they also got to show off writing their own names! Something we worked super hard on during the year.

*Cats! Again with the fun foam, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners! Oh, and little pink pom-pom noses!

*Muffins! Regular fun foam, glitter fun foam, and "berries" made from the punch outs of red construction paper.

*Sand castles! This was probably one of my favorite projects. Each kiddo painted on tons of white glue to a fun foam castle I cut out, poured sand all over, shook off excess and let it dry. Then they picked their craft sea shells and glued them on.

Any guesses as to who our author was? Leave it in the comments below!

Come back tomorrow to see the finished products! I'll take you on a tour of my class and reveal the author.

art with kiddos, part 2

Hey, y'all!

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed part 1 of "art with kiddos"--my adventures in art when I taught pre-school!

So in addition to displaying the art of the show's theme, art from throughout the school year is displayed all over the school. Huge posters are made highlighting the best pieces from each child in each grade, and are hung outdoors lining the sidewalks in front of the school.

Here's a look at the year's artwork from my kiddos on display:



Did any of you take a guess as to who our author was???

Laura Numeroff!!!

We chose to create art from "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"...

{cookies: foam board, brown/white blended tempera paint, coffee bean "chocolate chips"}

{mice: tempera paint blended with sand for texture, buttons, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, denim cutout for overalls. Crayons and sketches that the mouse draws in the book!}

Here's "If You Give A Cat A Cupcake"...

{beach balls, cats, sand castles}

Here is "If You Give A Pig A Party"...

{pigs, ice cream cones from fun foam, actual party hats decorated by the kiddos}

And art from "If You Give A Moose A Muffin"...

{moose on canvas with kid's names written themselves; muffins and jam in the background}

{cupcakes on display with worksheets from Laura Numeroff's website}

The most awesome thing for the kiddos? We wrote a letter to Laura Numeroff herself, and received a reply! I found on her website where she mentioned she always replies to fan letters...so I though, why not? We told her about our art show, and each kiddo signed their name. I included a picture from our Christmas musical. She replied with a sweet letter and bookmarks for each of the kids!

{refreshments table, books on display, and a letter from Laura Numeroff!}

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to teach these awesome kids! I'm still in touch with almost all of them (thanks to Facebook). It's been awesome to see them grow; I'm sad that they're big enough now to go to "big school"!!! The kids taught me so much, showed so much love, and really encouraged me to get back into my realm of creating as well.

Shoe Love

When I saw the post on Wildflowers & Whimsy about a shoe love linky party I immediately bookmarked the post to be sure and join in! I have such a love affair with shoes...particularly heels. I remember watching (and loving) Dirty Dancing, and my mother had a pair of shoes that looked almost identical to the one's Baby wore in her 'final dance'. Mom's were navy, but the style, heel height, even the t-strap were so similar...that in my little-girl mind, these WERE those shoes. I walked, ran, and danced in heels from the time I can remember. I probably walked better in heels before I did out of them.

(image found here)

So let me introduce you to some of my favorite shoes in my arsenal. It was way too difficult to narrow this down, because I have more pairs of shoes than I'm willing to admit to you :) This first pair I bought of my BFF for $10...I can't remember the brand, but they came from Off Broadway Shoes, which I *love*. They're a gorgeous emerald green, with a faux-croc look and a velvet bow...I wore them for some pictures I had made for the hubby a couple years ago.

This pair reminded me of wingtips and men's suits. I purchased them when I was teaching pre-school for the annual art show the school had, and built an entire outfit around just the shoe. (I told you, I'm obsessed) The brand eludes me again, but they came from Shoe Carnival.

In this picture, the pair on the right belong to moi. They are Say What and again...bought for a rehearsal dinner for my cousin's wedding and built an outfit around them. I know, I know. The pair on the left belong to my equally-shoe-obsessed sister-in-law and are Steve Madden.

This is another pair from Off Broadway Shoes...I love that place. The brand is Michael. I was attending Shannon's graduation from MUSC, and my dress was this wild black and white print...I thought I needed a punch of color. They had them in a divine royal blue as well...*sigh*

If I have a weakness within my weakness...it's for two brands...and this is one of them. Jessica Simpson. I don't know if she truly has a hand in designing her line of shoes and bags, but whoever it is...It's like they're in my head. My parents got me these fabulous patent polka dot peep-toes for my 25th birthday. *love*

Another pair of Jessica Simpson's. I love everything from the platform to the 4 inch heel to the pointy toe...to the fact that they were less than $30 at TJMaxx. Score!

I purchased the next pair on a whim, thinking "no way I should buy these for myself, they cost too much, I don't have any reason to" etc. etc. But once I got them home on my feet and started putting them with a pair of my fave dark wash jeans...oh dear. Zero buyer's remorse. Nothing but love ;) Vera Wang from Kohl's.

And last but not least...the other brand name I have a major weakness for? Michael Kors. I spotted these one day in Belk and they spoke to me. Promise. Okay, not really, but I had to try them on...and then I proceeded to check the price (yowza)...the name (Lolita)...and call my mom and beg for them for Christmas. Hey don't judge! It's shoes, I'm not too proud to beg! :)

Do you have shoe favorites? A style favorite? How about a brand? I could do another entire post just on my casual shoes, flats, and flip flops! I wonder if there's a Shoe-aholics Anonymous. I need it!

Guest Post: Nursery Reveal from Lucky 7 Design

Hey everyone...It's me Melanie from Lucky 7 Design again. I'm here at LP's and figured since she is probably is the nursery with Baby C......I would show you some photos and projects from my newly relocated nursery for my daughters Maya & Meme; (nicknames of course this is blog land) they are 4 and 1.

This room was original the master, but was a waste of space as I'm never in my bedroom except to sleep which as most of you know doesn't happen often. I blog from 10pm.-2 a.m. and in between those hours making bottles & changing diapers.

Here is the baby blue master before I started painting.

I used Valspar - Atlantic Gray for some furniture and accessory pieces (it looks like Robins Egg Blue)

You remember my little Valspar kit

Here is the antique bed after I refinished it.

Here it is in the room....next to the baby's cherry crib.

As you can see the walls were painted to Valspar Woodrow Wilson Linen (it's one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation colors)

Old wooden shutter w/ a scratchy coat of paint

Here is an unorganized look when I starting moving things back into the room

This vintage birdcage & stand was bought especially for this room and it's theme

Some handmade wall art from Home Goods Frame and coordinating blue HG frame

Our little vignette wall over the changing table

More homemade wall art from broken, glassless frames

I like 2's

The left wall of the room is Mama's craft office (lol)

Peep that bowl on the desk...LP made that! I won it in a giveaway and we've been blogging buddies ever since.

I started to refinished this cabinet (painted the inside with the blue) but not sure I want to touch the original finish on the outside yet.

On top of the cabinet are vintage frames that I painted out and placed on top with a bird house I bought in South Carolina.

Still a few things to be done...I will do an official reveal at some point.

AGAIN, BLESSINGS TO LP AND HER FAMILY....WISHING HER MANY PEACEFUL DAYS & NIGHTS IN HER NURSERY.

look what I got!

Jennifer from Life, Crafts, and Whatever nominated me for this:


How awesome is that? This is my first time getting something like this and I am pretty pumped about it! Thanks Jennifer!
Here are the rules that go along with this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

I know I recently shared a few things about myself so lets see if I can come up with 7 new or different things to keep y'all entertained!

1. I am left handed...I'm the only lefty in my family that anyone knows of, alive or deceased. However, the only thing I do exclusively with my left hand is write. I can eat with either hand, but I cannot brush my teeth or use scissors except with my right hand. Strange, I know. It's a righty's world ;)

2. I love the beach. It doesn't much matter where it is (although given the time and money, I do have preferences) as long as it's warm, sandy, and there's an ocean. I live in a city that lays at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains and while it is pretty, I could take or leave any mountain view or trip. Give me the beach any day.

3. I love cars, especially hot rods, antiques, muscle cars...basically anything you'd see in any type of car show I'm open to. I love the sound of the exhaust, the speed, all the shiny fun...and I can change the oil in my car or a flat.

4. I hate hate hate the lake. Any lake. I will not get in that grody water. I don't mind being in a boat or a pontoon but I'm not getting in the water. Yuck.

5. I love football. I would totally play football if I could. I have a small anger-management issue ;) I want to be on the defense so I can plow into some big dudes and maybe faceplant the guy trying to make the touch down. That sounds like super fun to me.

6. I have never traveled outside the United States. I don't even own a passport. I went to the USVI for my honeymoon, but that's still US soil, so...yeah.

7. I am deathly afraid of bugs. I say bugs to encompass spiders, anything that hops or flies, snails, etc. So stuff that may not technically be a 'bug'...but you get the idea. You put Freddy Krueger on one side of a room, fill the other with bugs...I'll take my chances with Freddy.

Now without further adieu here are my nominations for this lovely award:

1. Aubrey Plays

2. Peas and Crayons

3. Bugaboo Mini Mr. & Me

4. Craft Couture

5. Life Buy the Beach

6. Mama J and Her Little Fashionistas

7. Tragic Sensation

8. The T-Shirt Diaries

9. Mrs. Beach Bride

10. From The Kitchen of: Mrs. Bettie Rocker

11. art of amy

12. Happy House Happy Home

13. A Diamond in the Stuff

14. Krafty Kat

15. Family Fashion and Facts