Christmas Decor

 I made some garlands out of some stuff I had around the craft room.  I'm thinking they can pass for Christmas, New Years and even Easter.  We used to have some of those little pink chicks as ornaments when I was a child, they bring back Christmas memories.  I had to repaint and glitter these ones I found at a garage sale.  I also used felt balls that I took from a purse that I bought years ago at a flea market, plus ribbon and glitter stars. 

 I saw this idea in a store in the Orange Circle.  They took an old branch and hung it with twine, then addes silver oraments hanging down.

 Here is my tree.  I love all the oraments we have collected over the years.  Just like songs, they remind me of specific events and memories from year to year.  I'm going to need a bigger tree soon.

And, my hutch that I thought would be fun to decorate with red and green and silver.  I hope I remember to look back on this post next year for inspiration. 

Some of my Favorites

I love looking at the Christmas ornaments that get put away for 11 months out of the year.  Some of my favorites this year include the giraffe and owl that I got at Target last year at the after Christmas sale, the snowman face and hula monkey I ended up with at ornament exchanges, and well, I'm a sucker for a cute snowman.  They are all now all put away.  See you in 11 months.

Cookie Exchange

I went to a cookie exchange this weekend and made a yarn wreath. Getting into the Christmas spirit.

December Art

 Mary, Joseph and Jesus.  These were done with markers and sharpie, and then cut out and pasted onto a blue background.  the students painted beams of light with wihite tempera and creditcards.

 Polar Bear, Polar Bear, done with my Preppy K's.  We read the book and then painted them with shaving cream and glue.  Then they added the eyes and nose. 

 Go Tell It On The Mountain- sharpie patterns in the mountains and then crayon bursts in the background.

 Angels We Have Heard On High- Oil pastel angels on blue construction paper

 Paper Quilling Christmas Tree: colored construction paper and white glue.

 The Grouch Lady Bug: contruction paper and sharpie.

Victory Vasarely the Hungarian Op artist, created abstract art that looked 3-D though they were only 2-D.  My 6th graders used oil pastels on rubber circles.

Fall

 I have really gotten into fall this year.  My fifth grade drawing class drew pumpkins last week and they did such a great job that we drew leaves today.  We went out on campus and they picked their own leaves looking for nice values and details in the veins.  Next they brought them back to the art room and they drew them.  When it was time to move onto another assignment they didn't want to. 

 Yesterday in after school art we made leaves out of coffee filters.  The students cut out the leaf shapes and then colored them with waterbased markers then they painted them with water to make the color from the markers bleed.  I pinned them on my tree.

We also made pumpkins from brown paper lunch bags.  We stuffed them with newspaper and created a stem from the leftover bag that was cut off the top.  We added a leaf and brown string to tie it up. 

Fall Pumpkins

Easy Peasy Fall Pumpkin:
1. paint a cardboard background with green paint
2.  stamp black circles with lids or small cups in tempera
3.  paint orange pumpkin shape orange with a green stem, let dry
4. cut notches around the pumpkin with scissors
5. wrap yarn in yellow, red or orange around the pumpkin fitting into the notches.  tape the ends to the back
6. add leaves with a chenelle pipe cleaner
7 glue to background

projects

 My middle elementary students have studied the artist Reggie Laurent and his non-objective art.  We then glued on colored organic and geometric shapes onto a black construction paper background.  Lastly, we added lines, shapes and patterns in oil pastel, using one long continuous white line to tie it all together. 

 Preppy K's read the boo "Rainbow Fish" and learned how he shared his scales to make friends and get along with the other fish.  We then painted blue water on cardboard and stamped bubbles with small cups.  Next we added colorful and shiny scales to our cardboard fish.  These look so nice on the bulletin board. 

And, the monkey showed up again in the art room, so we made sock monkeys in honor of him.  I hope he learns the art room rules so he can stay.