DIY: A Pencil-Print Dress with a Peter Pan Collar, Simplicity 1419

Dear friends. I awoke this morning at 3am for some unknown reason (okay, known reason: the cat was hungry. And when the gentle face-pats morphed into to kitty-cat b$tch-slaps, I was awoken {side-eye to cat who could care less because SHE'S currently sleeping}.) After a cup of too-strong coffee and a thirty minute blank stare at the wall, I decided to make something of my morning (er, night? I mean, it was 3am, people. Well, technically, if you are following this story closely enough and decent at math, it was 3:30am. Give or take). I mean, the left sleeve on that dress wasn't going to stitch itself. Which I'd kinda been hoping for having only stitched one sleeve in that dress and leaving it that way for a handful of days. Which y'all were witness to if you follow me here.  

But, whateves. At around 7:23am, this bad boy was complete and I took a nap to celebrate. Because I'm a party animal. 

While I was taking my sewing class at Craft South a couple Thursdays ago, I spotted this fabric by Alexia Marcelle Abegg of Green Bee Design and knew I had to have it. In fact, I do believe the words, "Um-hum, Ima gonna git me some o' dat" came outs my mouth. The draw back to taking a sewing class in a textile shop is that, in-between instructional time, I'm all loading up on yardage, saying things like, "Just put it on my tab, hehe." It's kinda like having a liquor store in a bar. Get the patrons all intoxicated and loopy and then offer 'em a lil sumpin'-sumpin' for when they get home. I see what you've done there, Craft South. I see it...and I like it. 

I decided to marry the fabric to this sweet Simplicity Lisette pattern #1419. I'll admit: the only reason I picked up that pattern was for that sweet lil collar and key hole opening.  

Since I was coming off my high from making yet another dress from this pattern, I decided to experiment in a lil cross-pollenating of Simplicity #1419 with #8087. This is okay in sewing-land, right? Or is this totes looked down upon like when my neighbors stuck a hamster in their bunny crate in hopes that the two would mate and create a new breed. Please say it isn't that bad because my mom wouldn't let me hang out with those kids after that episode. 

If you're curious how one cross-pollenates two dress busts, um, it's super glamorous. I simply finished off the bodice of the Lisette then laid the cropped bodice of the other pattern on top and chopped away. I know all you sewists out there just fell on the floor and are having "but-you-can't-do-that" convulsions but, y'all. That's how this self-taught, not-super-great-at-this-stitching-thing girl operates! 

In other news, Dear Simplicity/Lisette/Whoever-Designed-This-Dress-Pattern: it woulda been real swell of you to tell me what I was to do with that lil button loop thingie whilst adding the collar and the facing. Because both the hubs and I looked at all the pretty pictures and read the wordy-words and never found a mere mention of said loop thingie. Therefore I was left to my own MacGyver-esque sewing devises. Which, if mentioned here, would only throw the sewists into another fit of convulsions. 

 A word about why I am addicted to the waistband of Simplicity #8087: it's slimming as hail! Also, please ignore the giant opening at the top of the dress. I've yet to add a hook and eye. Or velcro. Or tape. Hot glue would work in a pinch, I betcha. 

 A close-up because Peter Pan collarzzz. So cute! 

 When I shared the making of this dress on my Insta-gram Crackerz, a friend was all, "wow, you have a thing for pencils!" and I was like, what?! No I don't! Lemme just check my blog and see how many pencil-y things I've made...oh...snap. I DO have a pencil-problem!

Case in point: My Jeffery Campbell knock-offs. 

 And this pencil-y appliquéd skirt. 

These two pencil-themed tops bright to you buy super pale and vein-y hands (like, ew. Why do my hands look like a skinned turkey? WHY?!)

That one time I had, like, two weeks of due to snow and stitched this colored pencil frock. 

 Or how about that one time I forgot I'm junior-sized in the bust department and made a big ole v-neck pencil-y number? 

Ugh. And this was just LAST WEEK, wasn't it?! Okay. So. I've got a problem. Just add it to my many, y'all. 

On a dif note, I hope y'all have a super duper fab-o fantastical Thanksgiving! Safe travels, happy dining and I'll chat with you soon. Toodles, turkeys! 

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What the Art Teacher Wore #150

 Monday Selfies: So several of my classes are still deep in self-portrait land. To celebrate the occasion of drawing the best looking kids we know (ahem, ourselves), I wore this lovely sweater that a sweet friend gifted to me several years ago. As crazy as it sounds I'd only mustered up the courage to wear this bad boy THIS WEEK.  After removing the shoulder pads, that is. And I have no idea why! The kids loved it and it was a great topic of discussion. Silly me. sweater: Michael Simon, thanks, Ann!; dress: vintage, Buffalo Exchange; blue tights and hot pink fishnets: Target; shoes: Clarks

Well, here 'tis. The 150th What the Art Teacher Wore post. I really thought y'all were gonna throw me a surprise party with cuppie-cakes and those cans of "beans" where snakes pop out. Because those get me every.time. Actually I contemplated for a hot minute about doing something extra special here on el bloggo but then I started thinking about cuppie-cakes and snake-bean-can-thingies and got all sorts of distracted. Big surprise, amirite?

In other news, don't hate, but I have exactly 4.5 days until Thanksgiving Break! Which, for me, means a whole freakin' week off! Thankful? You betcha! Like, when I was a kid, we got Thursday and Friday off and it usually entailed makin' the rounds to the grandparentals house for weird a## food like congealed salad and mystery stuffing covered in even more mysterious gravy. {Shivers}. I don't miss the culinary disasters of those days. I do miss my grandparentals thou, hold the gravy. Really, grandma, I'm full. I honestly don't think I can spit anymore into my napkin. 

On that delightful note, I hope y'all have a fab-o week! Be sure to pop back by on Tuesday as I FINALLY finished my Halloween costume (shuddup). If you follow me here, you've seen glimpses of the pencil-tasticness that I managed to wrap up this weekend. Also I'll be back with a quick video tutorial on how to teach 3-D lettering to your under-10 kiddos. Until then, stay away from that mystery gravy, y'all! NO ONE HAS SEEN GRANDPA FOR DAYS. Just.Sayin.

 In case you need a closer look at the awesomeness. The kids loved the different images and, of course, it was a great segue into Pop Art. My third graders are currently creating superhero selfies and learning all about Lichtenstein, Warhol and Pop Art. 

 Of course, there's always that one rando class that's a millennia behind. Case in point: this fourth grade class wrapping up their It's Okay to be Different selfies (so I can finally work on that mural, y'all!). This artist told me, "I wanted my self portrait to have those eye-thingies like you have!" Eye-thingies, cat-eyes, you say tomato, I say shuddup. 

 Mad Mod Tuesday: This dress was a super big hit, y'all! I'm so glad I procrastinated cleaning the house for yet another day (er, week) to bust out this number. I do have to say that the kids were even more curious about the boots (we learned the monkey and the mashed potato to celebrate the awesomeness that is The Boots) and my tights. Most asked question of the day: Where did you find two-toned tights? Answer: I didn't. I'm actually wearing two pairs of tights and awkwardly tucking one leg. You see? It's really best you don't ask. dress: made by me, more here; boots: thrifted vintage

 Most of my younger artists wrapped up these selfies this week and we started hanging them in the halls. Don't tell but this one is secretly my fave. Lesson details here. 

 Onomatopeia Wednesday: The first phase of my third graders super hero selfies is that they have to come up with an onomatopoeia, draw it in block letters, 3-D-ize it and add it to an action-packed background. Teaching the under-10 set how to draw in 3-D is a challenge but I think I figured it out. Stay tuned for a video clip all about the process later next week. sweater: Target, last year; dress: Buffalo Exchange; tights and fishnets: Target; Frye boots: Journeys

 Sew Happy Thursday: My Thursdays are my busiest days class-wise. But, no bother, I had a sewing class at Craft South with Miss Make that I was super stoked about! We're working on a circle skirt with a lapped zip and I'm thrilled with how easy it is. Which is only the case because Devon is an excellent teacher. I'll be sure to share my circle skirt with you once it's complete. sweater: felted by me! More here; dress: anthro; necklace: The Paper Source

 Happy Mixed Pattern Friday!: Okay, don't judge but this week, I totally busted out my Christmas decor. I'm just so excited! I'm slowly weeding out my non-vintage dec for vintage and I'm so happy with how everything is looking. I'll be sure to share with y'all soon. I NEVER decorate for the holidays before Thanksgiving, just so you know. But the level of excitement just was too much for me not to bust out the Kitsch-mas! dress: Plato's Closet with leopard print added by me; belt and crinoline: Amazon; scarf: Charleston market

 Turns out someone else was equally excited about the vintage decor. Asha immediately made a bed for herself in front of the color wheel as soon as I set up the tree skirt. 

Fingers crossed she doesn't take out any of my Shiny Brites like she did last year. Behave, kitty! 

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DIY: Artsy Sew Along Skirt, Completed!

Well, heyyyyy. Look who finally finished her Artsy Sew Along skirt! Actually, I shouldn't say "finally finished" because this lil number was completed a while back. I should say look who finally got around to editing and posting her how-to vid clips. Yikes, y'all! My apologies for the delay! I told my hubs, "I am never gonna do another sew along again, I'm terrible about making and posting all the videos!" and he was all, "Wait. You mean you didn't just make the skirt all in one day while recording it?" Um. No. That woulda been, like, the smart thing to do! And, y'all. There's not to much of that smart biznatch happening 'round here. Juuuust sayin'. 

But now it's done, the vids are complete and I've got this goofball lil number to show for it! 

So, stitchers, what have you thought of this pattern? I did some homework before cutting into the pattern and discovered that several folk said the waist sat low. I'm all about hitting-at-the-waist kind of vibe as I don't think the blow-the-waist looks good on me. So I did have to take the waist in a pinch while stitching. What did y'all think? Love it? Hate it? Ever make another one? I gotta be honest, this skirt pattern ended up being a lil "meh" for me. I don't know that I'll be making more. Tho I did love those pockets, y'all. And this was my first time making belt loops so that was cool. 

Now that the skirt is done, I gotta admit, I flipping hate that pop of yellow in the pocket. WHUUUUT was I thinking. It just looks...weird. Especially on the side. Although, I didn't even think twice about it until hubs said, "I don't like that yellow thing" and now that's all I hear when I wear the skirt! So, it's his fault. Tis the reason men should not be allowed in sewing rooms. 

And now, vid clips!

 

In this blog post, we about to do bunches of stuffs...

Like making a waistband! Remember, try this on after you make it to see if you like that dropped waist fit. 

Put in a zipper! Don't tell your home ec teacher you used tape to put in a zip, okay? Shhhhh, our secret!

Let's hem! I do love a sewing gauge for hemming tho it's not necessary. But they are cheap and I bet you have one laying around...you just didn't know what it was for (like me!).

And there you have it, the last of the Artsy Sew Along for now (or forever, talk to me in about a month). I'd LOVE to see your skirts, kids! You can share them on the ASA page or shoot me an email at cassieart75@gmail.com. 

For the rest of the ASA blog posts you can start here, then go here! 

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In the Art Room: What to Wear

Sure you can buy a fur realz pair of Jeffrey Campbell pencil shoes (because, ya know, we teachers got money to burn) or you could have way more fun and make your own! I simply painted a thrifted pair of kicks with acrylic paint and covered that in ModPodge. I've seen other fine-footed art teacherin' types take a more sensible route and paint canvas shoes in the same style. With lots of wear, mine have started to cracked at the crease. If I were gonna do it all again, I'd prolly invest in some leather paint as it's got a bit of a give. 

On this here blog that I call home, I thought I'd run a lil series called Back to Art Teacherin'. If you are an art teacherin' type like myself, the end of summer vacay is nigh and what better time to prep for the Return of the Children (of the corn) then meow? So in this here series of Back to Art Teacherin', I'll be chatting at y'all about the following:

* What to Wear (which, hello, is this here post!)

* How to Decorate Your Art Room to it's utmost fabulousness (always a blast)

* An updated version of that dreaded Art Supply Order 

* And, best of all, what to teach those chillins on those most important first daze of schoolin'!

So, without further ado-ness, let's talk about sumpin near and dear to my baked, battered and blackened heart: Clothes!

 Just admit it, one of your fave things about getting back to art teacherin' is the smell of sharped pencils and freshly cracked boxes of crayons. So why not have an outfit or two to match? Pencil appliqué skirt here, needle felted crayon sweater there. 

What's a crayon sweater without crayon shoes? I mean, really? 

I didn't always have an obsessions with What I Wore. Nor have I always created my own clothes. Naw, y'all, this here is a new-ish thing for me. So if you don't know how to sew, felt, embroider or appliqué (yet), don't you fret! I taught myself simply cuz 1. We don't have cable and I get bored easily and 2. Because I've always wanted to create my own clothing! It's been that nagging creative outlet that I'd ignored for years thinking, eh, it's not real "art; I should be painting, drawing, sculpting, whateves-ing!" How lame was I to put off something I was truly interested in? If you find yourself doing the same with whatever it is you are intrigued by, tell that Sally-Self-Doubt, Negative-Nelly, Trash-Talking-Tina to hush it and go make you a Rock Star Apron if you wanna!

Why you mad, bro? Jelly of my kick arse art teacherin' apron? This is one of the first things I stitched up several years ago. It was so much fun to make and the kids loved it! That inspired me to create even more craziness. 

 What to wear on those painting days in the art room (which is pretty much everyday, right)? Why a palette dress, of course! I love the vintage charm of this Michael Miller fabric, y'all! 

 Tho if your wee artists are anything like mine, there's likely to be paint ever.ee.wheres. In which case a dress that you've painted or one stitched from Jackson Pollock-esque fabric is prolly the way to go. 

All of which calls for paint splattery shoes. 

Now I know that if y'all have been by this blog before, you've prolly seen just about everything I've got here for ya's today. Like, for instance, this here montage of artist-inspired numbers. 

 

 So it turns out I double downed on my Monet ensembles this year but I just couldn't help it. What's not to love about that painterly dude? That stitched and needle felted number took exactly two sessions of Project Runway reruns to get thru while that summery dress was a snap. 

It's funny, the other day I saw an article about people who take a buttload of selfies (FYI, not the actual title of said article. Tho "People Who Take a Buttload of Selfies" is a killer title, if I do say so. And I just did.) and, according the the author who apparently has NEVER taken a selfie in her LIFE (hair flip), those that do are manipulative (CHECK!), selfish (CHECKITY-CHECK) and, basically, just arsehole-ish. Well! There you have it! Me, in a nutshell. It's like she could see my manipulative, selfish sssooooouuuuuulll. 

 

 Last year's Kandinsky show at The Frist was the inspo behind these two numbers. Maybe it's cuz I'm totes clueless but not until seeing them now, side by side, am I realizing how opposite they are. Lil black dress here and wild -n- crazy in white here. 

It never fails, every winter, I take up needle felting all over again. That Scream Dress is one hot lil number to wear what with the completely wool lined inside (I think the screaming is actually due to the smell comin' off me). The Starry Night took all of eternity what with the embroidery (which you can't really see so why'd I do it, y'all? WHY?) and the lights.  

 

 Oh, applique. I always forget what a super fun pain in the rear you are. Fur serious tho, I do love changing the look of my clothing with appliqué. It gives a great flat look (perfect for pop art!) that you just can't quite get with needle-felting. Applique was one of the first methods of sewing I learned. I think I liked it because it reminded me of collage. In fact, to get over my fear of sewing, I told myself that the stitches were just like glue holding everything together. For some reason, likening sewing to collage (something I'm comfortable with) made it a whole lot less frightening. Lichtenstein-y here, Warhol-ishness there. 

 I was chatting with our weather-predicting custodian today and he claims that we are gonna get MASSIVE snow this year (which, for we Tennesseans means, like TWO WHOLE INCHES). We had quite the winter this past year which for me meant Snow Days/Sew Days. I got so much stitched! This here tribute to Mondrian was one o' em. 

 

 Now even if you can't sew, felt or appliqué, you can draw, right? That there Keith Haring number was just doodled on some pleather with a white Sharpie paint pen. And that Great Wave dress was the thing that started this whole Artist-Inspired series! The most easy artist dress made: that Magritte number. All I did was make the hat and add the birds! 

 For the last couple of years, I've made a Back to School dress. You know, one complete with school supplies and artsy whut-nots. Like that crayon and chevron thing and that crazy art supply number (with sleeves big enough to fly away with!). 

 My fave thing on the planet? Shopping for fabric, y'all. And when I find me some artsy fabric like that pencil fabric on the left and that marker fabric on the right, my palms get all sweaty, my heart skips a beat and I might cry a lil bit. 

 

 I love me a great big skirt, y'all. The kind that when I walk past a table, my big swooshiness knocks over cups, glasses, small children, you name it. That giant shower curtain skirt on the left does the trick quite nicely but that puffy pencil number isn't too snabby neither. 

 Wait...giveaway. DID SOMEBODY SAY GIVEAWAY IN THE TITLE OF THIS HERE POST? 

Yes, sir and madams, I most certainly did. I've got a small grab bag cache of art teacherin' books that I'd love to send your way (not pictured. Obvi.) But here's the catch (there's always a catch): you gotta tell me your most fave back-to-school shopping memory! Mine involved my dad taking me jeans shopping at the dollar store before my eighth grade year. THE DOLLAR STORE, Y'ALL. All this girl ever wanted was some Guess jeans! Pretty sure this is why I don't wear pants to this day, the flashbacks are killer. Lemme hear your tale and don't forget to leave your lovely lil email addy so I can be sure to send these awesome art books your way. Until then!

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