Money Salad! Finding funding for your Art program!

There is this little place near my school called Zoe's Kitchen. It is a Greek fusion kind of place with yummy salads and grilled meats with a Mediterranean flair. On ridiculously long days when the teachers stay after school for a special event, sometimes our parents will bring dinner and I always love to get something from Zoe's...chicken kabobs, spinach rolls...my mouth is watering just writing this! Yes, I know, I am spoiled and I have wonderful people at my school feed me when I volunteer to put in a 13 hour day, once or twice a year. Just keep reading, I'm getting to the "money part"!

Anyway, I recently noticed that a Zoe's had opened between my house and school. Later that same week a parent emailed me that the new Zoe's Kitchen was looking for a school partner that would make art for their store! The manager emailed me and we set up the details. They wanted something seasonal and would donate the canvases to be painted. When I stopped by to pick up the supplies I found that not only did they supply 48 canvas boards, but large tubes of acrylic paint and even brushes as well! As it turns out, Zoe's Kitchen stores are designed with set of ledges that go all the way around the store that the canvas boards fit into. It is part of the package!!

I set about devising a plan to make this work...I sent out a note with a registration slip to be returned the following Monday. The deal was that the first 24 k-1-2 students who returned their forms would paint one day after school and the first 24 3rd/4th grade students would paint the next day after school. Both classes were full by 7:55AM!!! I was amazed! By the end of the school day I had collected over 200 forms to paint the 48 canvases! We painted after school and the parents signed permission for Zoe's to sell the art work in the store. I have never done this before!

Here is the money part...Zoe's hosted an Art Show/ Eat Out Night. Our school will receive 15% of the profits for that night from 4-9, and parents can make a $20 donation to purchase their child's art work. Because Zoe's donated the supplies and I donated my time to help students paint them, I am surprisingly not feeling guilty about selling the art work! I will let you know how we do with the sale, but this is worth it just for the free paint and brushes!! Something to think about when the budget gets skimpy!

This is my daughter with her snowman dance party!

This is my son with the Christmas Creeper window!

Winter fun bulletin board!

We are always working on landscapes and atmospheric perspective so I threw this up for the new year! I would love to have the teacher's write a  goals for the new year on a snowflake and post it on the board for the children to see. You never outgrow goal setting!!

sNOw goal is too high this New Year!

Last year, my school goal was not to be at school past 4:00 unless I was sponsoring an after school activity. I did pretty well by setting my setting my phone alarm to go off at 3:45!

Making Hardcover Sketchbooks, Step by Step

So, I was showing someone the sketchbooks we made this year and I realized that I never posted the steps we used to make them! Here they are!

You need an inexpensive sketchbook and canvas board twice the size of the cover. Scissors to cut the fabric, a light weight fabric scrap the length of the book and a paper cutter to cut the canvas board.
Let the sketchbook maker paint the canvas board.


Next, add glue to the cover and stick one side of the fabric into it. Add some glue on top of the fabric and place one half of the canvas board on the cover and hold it. I like to put the cut side towards the spiral binding.

Flip the book over and repeat these steps.with the second half of the canvas board.

Cover the spiral binding with the fabric. 

The fabric will keep the spiral covered and keep other decorations from sticking to the binding. We used craft tape to cover the fabric. Some of the stiff glitter stuff could use a bit of tacky glue, but the fancy patterned Duct Tape works like a dream!