Crochet Boot Cuffs

These are the new Boot Cuffs I've been working on. They are like short leg warmers that tuck into your boots, then stick out for just a bit of "leg warmer". Just a little bit extra leg warmth does the trick, and I've discovered they are very good when you need to go out in the thick snow to shovel yourself out. Once you're all done with your shoveling, you just take them off, and your pants are still warm and dry.

 

They are reasonably priced at $15 plus shipping. 

They should be in my poppycat Etsy Shop soon!

Leo ~ Astrology Sign

I've finally continued with my zodiac series. Here is Leo the Lion. Five down and seven to go! Hopefully I won't wait as long for the next one which will be Virgo!!!

Tissue Paper Collage ~ Fall Trees ~ 4th Grade

This is a lovely art lesson to do during the Autumn season with the lovely colors a changin.

I talked a little about Autumn, but didn't spend a lot of time on this since by 4th grade the students are pretty educated on seasons already.

First, I had them draw the structure of the tree with a sharpie marker. I did the drawing with them, encouraging them to draw a large tree, and having them draw the trunk thicker then gradually get thinner until very thin at the ends of the tree. I also had them draw the tree a little to the side, with part of it going off of the page, instead of directly in the center, just to maybe making the composition a little more appealing.

I then talked about the color wheel with an emphasis on warm and cool colors. I had a variety of pieces of tissue paper in groups for the kids to share. They used a watered down glue to glue the tissue. I gave them pointers on glueing the tissue down, and had them first tear a lot of pieces of tissue in preparation. I emphasized to not use too large of pieces, and it's easier if you have a lot of pieces already torn, since your hands can get messy with glue once you start. They were to make the tree only warm colors. After they were done with the tree, I had them do the background in cool colors, but not until the tree was finished.

It's also good to have them do a light coating of glue over the tissue as well as under, to make sure the pieces are glued well.

A friend of mine suggested maybe using a Japanese maple branch as the tree structure. I think this would be a good idea to try, if you had the supplies, and the time was allowed. You would have to glue the branch first with a tacky glue, and it would probably be best to allow this glue to dry a little before starting the tissue with the watered glue. Might be something to try though.

This is a very colorful project that looks very lovely in the classroom window as a group.

New Sweater for Bosley

There is a new man in my life. His name is Bosley, and I love him! My boyfriend has adopted him and I'm lucky to get to enjoy him also! He is so funny and cute!!

So it's getting cold, and this little one has sleek, short fur... not the best for high elevation living! So I got right on it and designed and crocheted this sweater for him. I learned the ribbed stitch to make a nice collar.

I will take custom orders, since it seems hard to match to the many different sized dogs there are. Contact me and we can discuss details for your dog!

Art Lesson - Color Wheel Zebras ~ 4th Grade

I'm trying to catch up on some of my art lessons that I've done in the past months, I'm a little behind still!

I did this lesson with 4th Graders. The materials needed are paper, permanent sharpie marker, watercolors, paintbrushes, water containers, paper towel.

I first showed and talked about the color wheel. I did a little directed drawing with them, having them use pencil first. I started with the eyes, then the face, adding ears, mane, then the chest part of the body. I also had them draw the stripes. Then they traced over their pencil with the permanent marker. I'm always sure to remind them that this is a permanent marker, and that I trust they will use it properly!

I then paint with them, starting in the middle with red, then following around to mimic the color wheel, asking them as I go which color would be next. After they are done with the mandatory colors of the color wheel, they are allowed to continue the painting on their own, using whichever colors they want.

I like the combination of structure with the kids following along with the color wheel so that I'm sure that they touch on each color. Then the free structure after that allows them to experiment with the watercolors a little further. I also showed them a few tips with the watercolors, such as wet-on-wet technique, and blending a little. These are very fun and festive for sure! This idea came from Elementary Art Fun

Art Lesson - Autumn Trees "Batik" Oil Pastel Resist - 3rd Grade

I forgot to blog this art lesson from last year.

I did this with a class of 3rd Graders. The materials are oil pastels, watercolor and regular typing paper. The cheaper paper works better and absorbs the paint into the creases better.

First I had them draw a tree in pencil, with my guidance - just a basic shape of the tree, with the branches. I then had them use the oil pastels to color in the tree trunk, and the leaves, in Fall colors of course. I made sure that they colored a thick layer of color, not lightly. Some kids seem to not want to use their full saturation of color with their materials, but it's best to have good solid color with the pastels for this project. I also gave them the idea to maybe have some leaves falling from the tree as well, and on the ground.

Then the fun part (well for most, at least!) I had them crumple up their paper to make the creases. Since I hadn't shown them a finished product yet, they were pretty surprised by this, and thought it was pretty fun! All but one boy!! Guess he couldn't get into crumpling up his hard work, he actually cried... nothing worse than kids crying during art. Of course I had to encourage him and tell him how it would turn out neat and it was the technique. OH well!!

After they did their best to smooth out their papers, they watercolored the entire paper.

Over all, I'd give this a good rating for a project, and it was well suited for 3rd grade.

Restaurant Review ~ Palm Greens Cafe

I was lucky to have a wonderful birthday lunch with my Dad and my son yesterday! We ate at Palm Greens Cafe in Palm Springs. This restaurant is not completely vegetarian, but it's has mostly vegan/vegetarian options, and lots of fresh and organic ingredients. Friendly service, good atmosphere with nice art. I wished I would've gotten a freshly made juice of some sort.... well next time!

I ordered the Vegan Haystack. It's a tempeh patty, tempeh bacon, vegan pepper jack cheese, BBQ sauce, pickled jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, red onion on whole wheat sunflower bun. I'm quite a pro on veggie burgers, nationwide, and this one is one of the tops! If you enjoy BBQ sauce, this is for you! The avocado wasn't on this burger, it's just that my son didn't want so much avo, so I was lucky to get some extra (LOVE the AVO!!)

Son got the Vegan Black Bean burger. This was a plus because it's soy free. It had an ample amount of avo, and that's A+ for me! Both of us ordered the vegan potato salad as our side dish. There was a choice of that, cole slaw or chips, in vegan or non vegan varieties.

Dad got the Breakfast Bowl. It was a generous helping of eggs or tofu, potatoes or brown rice, swiss chard, kale, and spinach sautéed in sunflower oil with mushroom, zuccini, onion, carrot, ginger, and garlic, black beans, salsa, with a whole wheat tortilla. Dad's was all vegan, and he mentioned that the cheese was exceptionally good vegan cheese. I think it's a filling meal for sure!

Their drinks and juices are wonderful! Our neighbors got the fresh coconut, served straight out of the nut, and I was envious for sure. Coconut water is a new obsession of mine. I wanted to first order a Thai Iced Tea, or a Lavender Lemonade but was instead persuaded by the mystery of these Dry Sodas. My first choice of the dry Lavender Soda was not available, so I went with the Vanilla Soda, my son got the Lime. They both were so delightful and refreshing with not a lot of sugar. Wesley thought his was like incense, and I did agree.

For moderately priced vegan/vegetarian food I highly recommend Palm Greens Cafe, and am hoping I will return very soon!