Happy Winter Break! Now, Let's Talk Shop . . .

Paint shirts! Who uses them? I do, but I know many art teachers who avoid them all together. At my old school we used old lady polyester shirts that were hilarious and totally awesome, but now, at my current school we use former man business button downs that have seen better days.  They get GROSS.  Like, sweaty-kids-after-recess gross, sneezed-on-coughed-on gross, rubbed-all-over-the-table-and-floor gross.  Thus, they come home with me for some real washing periodically.  Christmas break is a definite time for paint shirt washing. Several years ago I also made the switch from sponges to clean tables (ewwww) to cheapie wash cloths to clean tables (much less ewwwww), and they make it home for washing as well (as they seem to always be full of paint).

After years of washing cloth diapers (five or so) I learned that the rinse and spin cycle is truly a friend of mine.  The rags and shirts seem much cleaner using a rinse and spin cycle or two prior to washing.  Isn't this a fun and informative post?!  That's why I get the big bucks (totally kidding).

Speaking of big bucks, I made a Gelli-printed sketchbook to house all my documents and information for my new position as elementary division rep:

Cover

I literally used leftover demonstration pages from my sixth grade Gelli print unit from last year:

Inside cover with a pouch for writing/drawing instruments

I had to add an extra strip of Velcro for when I need to tighten it down.

I used some more scraps to make folders on pages that double as tabs:

That's a built-in bookmark and an article copied from School Arts that we were
discussing in our collab group one day.

Hard to see in the photo, but the folders DO function as tabs.

It was a fun project, and I hope it comes in handy.  Enjoy your break, friends--rest, relax and re-energize for the next semester!