Fairy Art Mother: Evolution of a Costume

The original sketch for my costume

by Elizabeth Van Allen

scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com/

Aaah, Halloween.  The one day a year when anyone can dress as anything and totally get away with it.  Of course as an art teacher, you tend to get a free pass for dressing a little oddly throughout the year.  We like to call it creative, others may label it eccentric, but I digress.  

My costume this year is nothing less than, well, a concentrated version of me.  I was inspired by a few posts I saw online to transform myself into your very own Fairy Art Mother.  Being  the person I am, it was accompanied by a one-day lesson complete with powerpoint, because what teacher's costume is complete without a curricular tie-in?

A more refined sketch developed as I assembled the costume

What is a Fairy Art Mother?  I'm so glad you asked!  Accrding to Tanya Cole,  a fairy art mother is a creature who will 
'banish any unwelcome gremlin sitting on my shoulder whispering negative thoughts in my ear.' Basically, she's someone who gives you encouragement to keep going when you feel like giving up and trashing your own artwork.  The idea originally came from Tamara Laporte’s Lifebook course (http://willowing.ning.com/), I drew inspiration and borrowed text from http://tanyaannecoleartist.com/2013/01/02/latest-creation-my-fairy-art-mother/.

The Finished Costume

I started each class by announcing that Ms. Van Allen was in a very messy and colorful accident involving quite a bit of paint and that I, her Fairy Art Mother, would be taking her place for the day.  The Costume was a complete success.  My principal couldn't look at me without laughing, my colleagues loved it, and the students actually started telling each other to call me fairy art mother instead of Ms. Van Allen.  I'll always remember being swamped by students within 30 seconds of stepping out into the schoolyard.  I'm not sure how I could possibly top this costume, but with only a year to plan I'd better get started! 

What are some of the most memorable teacher costumes you've seen or worn?

Semi-Homemade: Art Fairy Wand

by Elizabeth Van Allen

for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com/

My self-proclaimed crafting specialty is semi-homemade.  This skill developed out of a serious annoyance that kept on popping up.  I was just never able to find exactly what I needed or wanted until two years after I'd settled on something else.  I'm not kidding, it always takes two years for my ideas to hit the market.  I don't know about you, but I just don't have the patience to wait that long.  From personalized sneakers to tailored tops, from specialty-use aprons to custom-painted coffee tables, my lack of patience often ropes me into hours of enjoyable/frustrating/fulfilling crafting and sewing time.

That being said, you can imagine that I just can't settle for a bagged halloween costume. No, no, I have to go that extra mile, mile and a half.  This year I have developed/obsessed over/spent way too much time on a Fairy Art Mother costume, complete with wand and headpiece.  You'll see the whole thing put together in another post, but for now enjoy a little fairy wand DIY!

My Supplies

Materials:

• Captain America Wand from a local party store
• assorted ribbon
• old paint brushes
• 2 miniature paint palettes from a craft store
• glue gun

Process:

1. Design your wand. What's your theme? Figure out what you need, sketch it or write it down, and gather your materials.  If you have to buy anything, remember your coupons!
2. Get a cheap, prefab wand.  Why reinvent the wheel?  Since this wand is for my Fairy Art Mother costume, I chose one that already included two of the three primary colors.



Step 4- Attach Wand Base Pieces

3. Prepare your working area by covering the surface with newspaper or cardboard.  I used a cardboard box top so that I could move everything quickly and easily from our dining room table and store it all together just in case I had to finish up at another time. If you are using a glue gun remember to put it on a non-flammable surface like tin foil or an old baking sheet!



Step 5- Ribbon

4. Attach any extra base pieces to wand. I chose to add a few old, broken paintbrushes using a silver twist tie and some hot glue.
5. Fasten ribbon to the wand base. You'll cover up messy knots and gloppy hot glue in the next step.
6. Add finishing touches like buttons, patches, bows, pictures, old barrettes, or in my case miniature paint palettes. These cover up any messiness and tie together your wand's theme or color scheme.
7. Remove hot glue strings. Take another glance and make sure they're all gone.

Step 6-Finishing Touches

Step 6- Covering the Knots

What are some of your favorite 

semi-homemade shortcuts?

Fascinating Fascinators DIY

My first fascinator

by Elizabeth Van Allen

for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com/

On a whim this summer, I decided to make a fascinator.  Of course at that point I had no idea they actually had a name, I just referred to them as those saucy little hat thingies.  Originally I made one to go with a dress I wore to volunteer at a childrens' fancy tea party.  It was being held at the library where my mother works, so of course I had to make one in a different style for her to wear.  Funny enough, fascinator making was one of the activities they had for the kids!  Apparently I'm not alone in my fascination for these little hats.  Maybe that's why they call them fascinators!  

Mom's mini top hat fascinator

Pretty soon I was trying to find an excuse to make another one.  Enter my Fairy Art Mother Halloween costume.  Yay for halloween!  Of course I went crazy coming up with ideas.  Eventually I settled on a painter's palette with other assorted rainbow-colored goodies thrown in there.  I sketched it out and got to work finding my supplies.

Planning my Halloween costume!

Materials:

• Painter's palette- make sure it's the size you want.  I couldn't find one in the right size, so I traced one in the right shape, sized it down, cut it out of cardboard and covered both sides with wood grain contact paper. 
• Crafty crap in assorted colors- that's my general term for the beads, shells, macaroni, sequins, feathers, puzzle pieces etc. that is inevitably in a box somewhere if you have kids, are artsy or are/know a teacher. 
• A sturdy headband that fits your head without slipping OR a pre-made fascinator headband.  Believe it or not, I found mine for cheap at a drug store.
• Ribbon
• Felt



El-cheapo fascinator



Pay close attention
 to step 2!




• Glue gun (of course)

Process:

1. Fit everything together BEFORE you take the tags off.  There's always something that doesn't quite work, even if you planned it out beautifully.
2. Fully assemble any major pieces before attaching them to the headband.  This prevents the burns often associated with the combination of awkward angles and hot glue guns. 
3. Securely attach the major pieces to the headband or base piece.  It's really tempting to break out the glitter and finishing touches, but if your base isn't firmly secured to the headband, it will fall apart before anyone sees it.  You can add a piece of felt under the base and headband to keep your hair from catching on any part of the headpiece.
4. Work from the base up, making sure each piece is attached securely.
5. Make sure that the fascinator is balanced when it's being worn.  If it's too heavy on one side you'll spend the whole time trying to keep it on your head.  Give it a test run for at little while, just to be sure!

The Finished Fascinator

Inspiration From A Likely Source

Cassie Stephens

by Elizabeth Van Allen

for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com/

My most recent guilty pleasure has been stalking a blog by one of the craziest-dressed art teachers I've ever seen, Cassie Stephens, who teaches in the Nashville, Tennessee area.  

What sets Cassie apart from other creatively costumed counterparts is that she dresses on a subject-specific theme, using her clothing as a teaser for new student projects!  I consider this a brilliant everyday use of creative energy.  

While I'm not nearly as bold or adventurous (yet) as she is, I've been seriously inspired by her re-designed shoes and dresses.  I especially like how she doesn't just buy everything new, many of her creations are of the semi-homemade variety.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

These pictures are from the blog 

cassiestephens.blogspot.com and are being used with permission.  Thanks, Cassie!

Stay tuned for a Cassie-inspired shoe DIY from yours truly!