Happy New Year!

 I found these glitter letters at the after Christmas sale at Walmart.  They were about 48 cents each.  I couldn't find a "y" and really wanted to spell Happy New Year, so I settled for CELEBRATE.  Maybe that's a good thing, I can use the banner for birthdays or any other celebration too. 

 And, then I wanted a new decoration for my door, so I came up with this party hat.  Happy New Year!

 So I was browsing pinterest this morning and I found a great tutorial on how to make an knockoff anthropologie necklace here, and I was thinking I could totally do that and I wouldn't even have to buy a thing, cuz I have a bunch of junk jewelry already.  And, I might even have enough to make two!

Also, amother project that I've tried my hand at is duct tape wallets.  Don't buy the cheap tape at Big Lots, get the thicker stuff at Michaels.  There are lots of tutorials on youtube.And, one more gift idea for the holidays, reuse used leather belts for bracelets.  I bought one at a flea market in L.A. and have been making them since. 

Learned how to make this on bighugelabs.com, guess it's official now that I have a badge, I'm on the yearbook staff.

Christmas Crafts

 My Jr. Highers made 80 of these crosses for the Missions Christmas Dinner.  We hot glued popcicle sticks together painted them with acrylic paints and then decoupaged a heart to the middle and added a string. 

 I've started a collection of these little pearl snowmen.  I've been saving little glass bottles over the year and throw in some pearls and a form head and then embellish with eyelets, buttons, broken jewelry, etc....

 Snowman ornaments made from sheet music and a stripy scarf paper with a button.

Made some wool and felt flowers for Mistletoe Mall.  I just buy colorful wools sweaters from the good will and repurpose them.  Sew them together with a button and add a pin  back and any extra layer of wool on the back.  super easy and fun.  I great way to cheer up your wool coat or sweater.

Rizzi Taxi

 So we've been inspired by James Rizzi.  Love his bright colors and how he uses up the canvas space.  Students drew using just oil pastel, no pencil first.  Only had one melt down, but we pushed through and it didn't have to be perfect. 

 Next we painted with water colors, trying to conserve the yellow for the next classes.  Also, I asked if the kids could come up with different windows for every building and I even let them put a happy face on the sun, which is so against every grain in my art teacher mind, but so Rizzi, so I said, do it.

Genius of Love

And, remember this song?  I found out that James Rizzi did the artwork for this video, so cool.

One more Taxi Cab pic that I liked.  I love the horizontals and verticals happening in this one with all the building scape in the background, and the sun and the moon.

James Rizzi

Some call him a pop artist, some call him Urban Primative

He was born and raised in NYC, and paints his experience growing up.

He was inspired by cartoons and cereal boxes.

 This one is called Be a Good Sport.  I love how whimzical his art is, look at the faces on the buildings.  He paints, beauty, love and happiness.  We can all use a little of that right?

 Intensly detailed city scapes......

 Love is in the Air......

And the NYC Taxi Cab......

Getting Ready for Christmas

 Been making some little house Christmas ornaments for Misletoe Mall.  Super easy with , cardboard, scrap paper and an eyelet and a key embellishment.

 And I saw something like this on pinterest and found the frame and joy ornament at the dollar store.  I had all the ribbon, and the balls, so this cost me about $1.20 to make.

 More headbands for Mistletoe Mall, to decorate your head.....

And, my pillow I made from one of the stitchery tree scenes I've been working on.  Hope you are getting in the Christmas spirit.

Christmastime, it's almost here!

Started working on a few of these little tree scenes.  I think they might become pillows for Misletoe Mall.  Can't wait for Christmas.  I think I have more fun preparing for it though cuz that takes weeks and Christmas is just one day. Hmmmm........

Angry Birds

Tell me you do not love an angry bird when you see one.  They are so angry they make me laugh.  My mom and I made 30 something angry birds today for Mistletoe Mall.  They are bean bags, so if you are feeling angry you can throw one at someone, (slingshot not included).  And, I'm not sure that we will make any pigs, cuz they just antagonize the birds, and they are already angry, plus they are not as fun to throw...... 

Frame Foto

My yearbook staffers wanted to do a photo with a frame, so this is what we came up with.  I have two boys, so they held the frame and the girls posed in the background.  Notice the tape sculpture foot dangling in the picture almost kicking Niki in the head.  Nice.

November

 Got this art project from deepspacesparkle.com, printed leaves with white tempera paint on black paper and then sponged fall colored paint around the leaves.  These look beautiful and display very well.

 Kinders learn about Paul Cezanne and his still life pictures and create this still life with apple, pear and an orange.  We highlight the fruit with chalk and add shadows with charcoal.

 Black glue and oil pastel leaves.  Kids have fun rubbing in the oil pastels.

Preppy Kinders are working on lines, pattern and shapes.  Happy November.

October, almost November

 Been learning a little more about the Mona Lisa.  Do you know that she came to the U.S. in 1963 for three months?  This is the only time the Mona Lisa has been on our soil.  The French Minister of Cultural Affairs accompanied her and she was displayed in the White House guarded around the clock by U.S. Marines, and then the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  After she visited the U.S., she went to Japan for a special exhibit and then back to the Louvre where she was encased in a special bulletproof glass case that was a gift from Japan for the loan of the painting. 

 In other news.  I have been recycling, and making bookmarks to give away for great behavior in art class.  The kids love them. 

A project from summer art camp.  draw several shapes on a large piece of colored construction paper.  paint those shapes using bright colors.  add lines and patterns inside and outside of the shapes with black and white paint.  Keep going until u have filled up the space. 

September

 Been busy in September, made carmel apples with Emma's friends, yumm! 

 Put this tree up in my classroom.  Saw a cute one on Pinterest, and had to have one of my own. 

 We had a monkey visit the artroom so we went over the rules for monkeys in art class, by the way, the rules apply for students too....FYI

 Started these farm landscapes using a little bit of perspective, and my tractor is a John Deer.

 More monkeys, for the older kids, they practiced symmetry.

and, from last year, I put up their portraits again, so they can see how they have grown over the summer....

Food Art

Ymmm! English Muffin Pizza

Fall

With the start of school comes the fall season and fall decor, which I love almost as much as Christmas. Got the Fall decor boxes down from the rafters, and enjoyed putting them up, especially in the entry way.

Some metal decorations, the ghost is a candle....Made this room freshener into a formaldehyde poison bottle....Got the crows out and added them here and there around the house. My mom gave me this pumpkin a couple of years ago, I love the white with the black writing, give thanks....

Been keeping my eye out for lanterns lately. I think they are really cool and good to have incase of a black out......

These are some of my favorite decorations. The cat is missing a wisker, but he's still cute and the candle is one of those battery operated ones.

and.... a put together a cone for a door hanger, with a crow of course.