WHY DO I KEEP TRYING CRA-Z-ART?!?!?!

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again,

 and expecting different results."

Though attributed to Einstein, there is no proof he actually said this.

Once again I bought a Cra-Z-Art product hoping it might possibly be a better art supply than it had been in the past.  I really am a positive/glass half full guy, but I may need to give up on Cra-Z-Art.  

I recently purchased their scented crayons hoping that the addition of scent might change the formulation of the crayon enough that it would be a decent product.  I do have to admit they smell great.  However, the same issue persists.  Cra-Z-Art colors extremely patchy.  The colors build up upon themselves that create uneven color.  They are also difficult to blend.  I like to use crayons as a beginning blending medium, but Cra-Z-art cannot be used for such things.  I'm sad about it.  I want it to be a good product.  Their price point is so much better for my students.  I just can't recommend them though.  

Dandelion Dup

Colors of Kindness has two dups for Dandelion.

The center is the original Dandelion. Top is regular Yellow from a "normal" box of 24.  To the right is Banana Mania. At the bottom is Hello Sunshine. Though I would love Dandelion to return, the two from Colors of Kindness are pretty good. 

TESTING CRAYOLA SPECIALTY CRAYONS FROM DOLLAR TREE

As an art teacher and a dad, I was curious to all the specialty Crayola Crayons in stock at Dollar Tree.  Some I had experience with, but most I had never used before.  I wanted to test them to see if they were really  something I'd purchase for my students or my own kids.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER

BOLD & BRIGHT

Crayola's first version of construction paper crayons were good, but they leaned more towards pastel/muted tones. Sargent came out with their own version that was really wonderful.  The colors were truer & came in a wider range.  The Bold & Bright version of Crayola's construction paper crayons are really wonderful.  The 8 pack(what is available at Dollar Tree) is nice, but the 24 pack offers so many colors that are truly beautiful & work so well together.  

PEARL & PASTEL

I liked both the Pearl & Pastel crayons.  I'm not sure I'd say they are MUST HAVE's, but they would be nice editions.  The colors are nice & I feel they deliver on what they claim to be! 

NEON

The neon are just ok.  I think kids would enjoy them.  However, the color does not go down as well as regular colors & they really are a niche selection with limited use in most works of art.  

CONFETTI, METALLIC, GLITTER

Save your money!  I don't really get the Confetti crayons at all?! The ones that actually show other colors present kind of make mud.  The ones where the color doesn't show up just look like regular crayons. So why bother?  The Metallic & Glitter both have very little sparkle.  If you hold the paper just right in the perfect light, maybe.  Once again...why bother? Your money can be spent else where(like on the Bold & Bright!).  

Don't take my word for it...go to Dollar Tree and pick you up the ones you are curious about. You may love the ones I didn't?!? 

(One last test...all on black paper.)

New Classroom Decorations for Next School Year!!

 

A friend and former parent contacted me to see if I wanted some of the decorations from their VBS. They had done SPARK.  It is a VBS that is themed like an Art Camp! HOW FUN IS THAT!!  So, if you see churches doing SPARK this summer near you....you may want to contact them and ask what they will be doing with the decorations after VBS is over. Never hurts to ask!  

Crayola at Wendy's!

So yesterday I took my 3 kids to Wendy's to spend some quality time enjoying a Frosty.  THAT WAS MY ONLY REASON FOR GOING TO WENDY'S.....REALLY!!! (wink wink)  

I was so impressed!  NOW THIS IS A KID'S MEAL TOY!!!  It comes with 3 colors related to the container (here you see red violet, blue violet, and purple), and it comes with an activity sheet that goes along with that theme!  HOW FUN!  I was really hoping yellow would contain dandelion, but it did not (yellow, yellow green, yellow orange).  I feel like they missed an opportunity there! ha ha 

 

Testing Peeps Crayons

THEY ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE!!! 

Check out my review of Peeps Crayons that I found at my local CVS.

Testing Jolly Rancher Scented Crayons

I love FIVE BELOW!  Their arts and crafts section has some...SOME....great products.  Not everything is worth your money though.  They currently have Jolly Rancer, Mike & Ikes, and some other "scented" crayons.  I did not read the label and thought that each crayon would have a unique scent.  Not only do they each not have a unique scent(the box was suppose to be watermelon), but there really was no scent at all?!?!?  SAD!!!  Then I tried them out on paper.  Check out my review. 

 

Spider Web Value Study

I wanted to work on pressure control with my students. They often work either extremely heavy handed or applying very little pressure. Value studies can be a bit tedious/boring, but they absolutely loved creating these value webs!  This a great lesson to do with online learners! 

Crayola Colors of the World

Have you seen the Colors of the World crayons by Crayola?  I’m so happy that there are more flesh tone options. I have children from all over the world at my school...and the smaller packs of skin colors just was not sufficient. I still feel that we need more options, but this is a step in the right direction! 

Have you tried them out yet? What are your thoughts? 

 

Color Blending Demonstration

Here is a demo to show you how to improve your coloring skills! 

Try it in your drawings or in a coloring book. 

Art Supplies: Crayons & Paper

Humor in Art: 2nd Grade

I've seen this project EVERYWHERE on line for several years, but I've never tired it before in my classroom.  As we near the end of the school year, I'm wanting to review some skills & keep students interested/engaged....and thought that this lesson would be a great way to do just that!  Also, I think students need to be reminded that art can be FUNNY!  We aren't ways making "beautiful" work of "beautiful" things.  Sometimes art makes us laugh! I think that is also a great idea for this time of the year!! ha ha  I'm proud of the work I'm seeing, and may do this again next year!! 

Check out the results!!!

Emotion Birds: Kindergarten

The 4th nine weeks has a lot of skill checking for kindergarten!  I don't want it to be repeats of projects though!!  I really love this lesson.  I start by talking to them about moods/emotions.  We discuss what colors would be good to represent which emotion.  I really is a fun discussion...and you can see how much they've grown by their thought process!  

After we make a chart of what colors go with which emotion....I reviewed spirals.  They then created a background of spirals using the colors of the emotion they chose to show. 

Next they selected paper out of the scrap box to create their bird. This is a new thing for my kindergarten students.  Usually with collage, I have paper pulled for them to use prior to class, but I wanted to make sure they'd be ready for 1st grade when they must select their own from the scrap box!  We reviewed the colors once again to make sure they would pick the right colors for their emotion(most of them did?!? ha ha).  I did a demo on how to create their birds, reviewed scissor safety, and reviewed proper glue use.  I was thrilled that the birds did each have their own little personality.  

Chirpin': 1st Grade

         

As you may have read...I'M SO READY FOR SPRING!  Nashville is warming up...so my projects are taking on a much springier feel!!!! ha ha  I LOVE THESE 1st GRADE BIRDS!!!  I told the students we were going to create fun, colorful, springy birds.......and man did they deliver!! After drawing their picture with pencils...I had the students trace their pictures with black crayon to form a bit of a resist. We used markers to outline/color their picture next.  Lastly, I sprayed their work with water.  I love the look...and the kids were so excited when the colors started moving.  The resist does create a small wall between colors so they don't get totally mixed up.  

CHIRP ON FRIENDS...CHIRP ON!!!

There's a Bug in My Fruit: 2nd Grade

My students created these still life drawings from their own imagination.  They were asked to include a bug somewhere in the fruit bowl.  After coloring with the fruit & bowl with crayons, we used watercolors to create the background.  They used one color for the wall, and two colors for the table.  I had them place plastic wrap ontop of the table area to add a bit of texture.

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