Dunkin Donuts Box O'Joe Gingerbread House Craft!

I have a really cool project for you today that my daughter and I are super-excited to share with you! One of my family members had brought a "Box O' Joe" from Dunkin Donuts to Thanksgiving dinner and since I am a hoarder, ahem, art teacher, I couldn't throw the weird-shaped box away. I thought it would be perfect as a gingerbread house!

Box o' Joe Image Source: dunkindonuts.com

I thought of having my daughter create her own decorations for the house, but she's six and I thought she might get frustrated creating all of the "bits" from construction paper. Then I thought I could print out a couple of coloring pages that have candy on them, have her color them and then cut them all out. A good example of a *free* candy printable you could use is here. Now my daughter's good with scissors, but you know who would actually get stuck cutting all of those little bits out!

Then I was out at Hobby Lobby the other night and happened to see foam candy shapes. The package had 100 foam shapes for $5.99 but it was on sale for $3. There were gingerbread people, red and green glittery gumdrops, and red and green starlight mints (all peel and stick). Unfortunately, I do not see these on their online site, but you could probably get similar items near you.

This was a great craft for us to do together but with little involvement from me. I love crafts like that where I don't have to set the pace and she can really go on her own and make the project her own. I was there just there to make the windows and use the glue gun, if needed. It was a relaxing, calorie-free project that will last throughout the holiday season!

Enjoy!

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And in case you are looking for step-by-step directions, here they are!

Materials Needed:

• 1 empty Box 'o Joe from Dunkin Donuts (remove the bag of liquid and discard)
• A piece of red corrugated cardboard for the roof and windows (our piece was 12" square and came from our recycling bin)
• Scraps of yellow or orange paper, optional, for the windows
• Scraps of green paper for trees
• Hot glue and glue gun
• Scissors and an X-acto knife
• Tempera paint (brown, white, red (for roof, if you can't find red cardboard))
• Paint brushes
• Glitter glue (totally necessary!!)
• Bag of sticky-backed foam candy shapes (or you can make your own decorations)
• A base for your creation--ours is a cardboard used when cake decorating

Directions:

1. Paint the outside of the box with brown tempera paint. Let dry.
2. Cut a square for the roof and edge with white paint. Let dry.
3. Cut a slit in the roof and slide it over the handle of the box. Adhere with hot glue.
4. Adhere the entire box to the base now, if you'd like.
5. Create some windows by cutting 6 little strips of red cardboard and glueing them to make a window. Glue the window frame to a piece of yellow or orange paper, if desired to create the illusion that a light is on inside the house. Make as many windows as you like and glue to the house with hot glue.
6. Now's the fun part--stick candy all over the house! I love peel-and-stick foam shapes so that the kids can to it themselves and don't have to wait for glue to dry.
7. Create trees from paper and stand-up gingerbread people and attach them to the base with hot glue.
8. Glitta it up baby!! I squeeze glitter glue on a paper plate and have my daughter use her finger or a paint brush to add some bling all over everything!

You are done! Enjoy your easy-peasy gingerbread house!

Box o' Joe Image Source: dunkindonuts.com

Foam Reduction Shoe Prints With Grade 5

Before I got all caught up graduatin' and getting an art teacherin' job, I posted a WHOLE BUNCH about the long-term art sub gig I had at Fairgrounds Elementary School in Nashua. If you didn't see the posts, I did a series of them by grade level (Kinder and grades 1-4). I also taught grade 5 while I was there and did some fabulous projects with them. I thought that I'd break those projects out into individual posts, though, since they require a bit more detail to explain, etc. Here goes...

Sassy boots! This print was done on white paper.
First printing: red ink, second print: black ink.
The yellow you see is a piece of paper I matted the print on,
the red is the mat board.

The first day I met the fifth graders, I decided to do a simple winter-themed foam printmaking project with them to catch their attention and size 'em up. I had them create snowman images on foam and them print with one color (white) onto their choice of background paper--you can see this post here.

This print was done on white paper.
First printing: blue ink, second print: black ink.
The yellow you see is a piece of paper I matted the print on,
the red is the mat board.

It went so well, that I thought I would continue on with printmaking and do a 2-color printmaking project inspired by the “Killer Heels” exhibit currently at the Currier Museum of Art (actually, I don't think this is currently on exhibit anymore, but it WAS at the time).

This print was done on purple paper.
First printing: yellow ink, second print: blue ink.
The navy blue is the mat board.

Students created their own printing plate by using pencil to “carve” a picture of their shoe into a foam “plate.” Students then used brayers to apply ink to their plates and print 1 print. Week two, students added a ground line and background, chose a contrasting color of ink and reprinted their designs. These prints were mounted on mat board and displayed at the Currier Museum of Art during the New Hampshire Art Educator’s Association Annual Members Reception in March. 

All prints were mounted onto mat board to look fancy.
I think added little paper hinges to groups of three to four
and ribbon ties so that the pieces could be displayed accordion-style
or create triangular displays such as this
(I didn't know how they were going to be used exactly).

WOW! What place of honor--the buffet table,
right where everyone can see these fabulous prints--
although I think people were too busy looking at the awesome food
they were piling on their plates--YUM!

The final week, students worked as a class to create an assessment rubric that contained the important vocabulary words from the Shoe Reduction Print project. They also determined four attributes that should be found in their finished work. Now, having students create their own rubric was something I had only done with high school, but I really wanted the students to be able to see the value in their work and begin to see that assessment isn't something we teachers pull out of thin air. Was walking the students through the rubric creation difficult. Not really. Was it work to keep them focused? Yep. Did it take a lot of time? Nope--we had it done in about 15 minutes. Was it worth it (really)? You bet. They did a great job and I think it lent credibility to me, the art process and what they do in the art room. Creating rubrics with your students is also a great way to review vocabulary and objectives! Win/win! ENJOY!!

Here's the rubric the grade 5 students created.
Normally, I would type up my rubrics to look all fancy,
but I wanted the students to see that this was the one we
created as a class. Pretty good for a first try.

Detail of the top of the rubric--the vocab section.
They needed to think of three vocab words from the lesson
and decide as a class what a good definition would be. 

Detail of the bottom of the rubric--they needed to come up with
four objectives of the assignment. This was fun walking them through
being objective instead of saying "it looks cool!" I put #5 on there. :-)

Fourth Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig

Here are some of the projects from my long-term sub gig that appear in the collage here so that you had a bit more info on them...ENJOY!! For the background about where I've been/what I've been doing lately, scroll to the end of the post...

Ahhh...Monet's waterlilies--what's not to love?
For details on this project, scroll on down...

Fourth Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig:

Week 1: Winter Assemblage (1 day) Full post here.

A getting-to-know-you project inspired by Louise Nevelson.

Students worked individually or with a partner to create a folded paper “box.” Students then used strips of paper and various paper folding techniques to create a dimensional relief inspired by winter. Individual student work was mounted together to create a whole-class composition displayed in the artroom.

What a fun project--it ended up being a great whole-grade
project and allowed students to collaborate--something I'm a HUGE fan of! 

Week 2 through 4: Monet Relief Landscapes (2 days) An alternate form of this project can be found here.
Inspired by Monet’s Waterlily paintings

Students used oil pastels with short strokes or color to create the “impression” of the water, vegetation and flowers seen in Monet’s gardens. The "base" for these pictures was a 4" x 6" index card from the dollar store (cheap!).

On week two, students could add dimensional details to their work such as tissue paper water lilies. Pieces were mounted onto mat board and presentation was discussed. I had picked up some mat board scraps that were sized perfectly for this project. Check around your area to see if you can find a framer who'll give you some scraps--mounting students' finished work really makes a difference (and "presenting" is part of the National Common Core Arts Standards!)

These came out so nice! I had wanted to do a display of them for the hallway (complete with a HUGE postcard from Monet), but I was afraid little fingers would pick off the lily pad tissue paper flowers--and many of the students wouldn't part with them and wanted to take them home ASAP!)--that is also why I don't have lots of examples of their work (I can't teach and take photos at the same time!).

While I encouraged students to add tissue paper water lilies,
I didn't force them. I love how graphic this bridge it--
it really stands out!

This is one of my favorites. I love the addition of the fish--
it looks like a koi pond.

Students needed to completely cover the white of the card
and use MANY colors in every section. 

Week 5 and 6: I am a STAR Project From the great Cassie Stephens, y'all

We talked about what makes us special (a.k.a. a "STAR"). Students created a folded 3D paper star and used Sharpie to add designs to each section of their star. They then used markers to add color to each section. 

Once they were done their star, students used metallic markers to write why they are a star (why they are special) onto the background paper. Once the star was adhered to the background, students used chalk pastels to add accent colors to their background. 

I don't have any picts of the stars the students did,
but here's the "test" one I did with my daughter who is in kindergarten.

The fourth graders didn't get quite as much art time with me as the other grade levels did. One week, they were on field trips another week I was at the NAEA conference in Chicago. Bummed about that, but I enjoyed getting to know them and creating art with them!

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Backstory for this post:

So, it's been a busy Spring for me since I finished student teacherin' in December--I subbed a bit in preschool, kindergarten, elementary and high school and then landed a wonderful 6 1/2 weeks long-term sub gig at an elementary school nearby teaching art to grades K-5. What a blast I had--the students and staff at Fairgrounds rock and I was sad to go (it's hard to stop doing something you love when your next big thing isn't settled upon yet). Since then, I haven't blogged much because I've been daily subbing and working on my dang art teacher portfolio (more on that in a future post or ten). Check the sidebar (over on the right side of the blog) for other posts in this series (k-5 at Fairgrounds Elementary School). ENJOY!!

Third Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig

Here are some of the projects from my long-term sub gig that appear in the collage here so that you had a bit more info on them...ENJOY!! For the background about where I've been/what I've been doing lately, scroll to the end of the post...

"I am flying over the Eiffel Tower. I had a dream to go near. I am so happy."
Check out the post about this project below...

Third Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig:

Week 1: Snowglobes (1 day)

A getting-to-know-you project.

Students used construction paper and construction paper crayons to create 3D snowglobes with winter scenes in them. You could use oil pastels for more vibrant colors. The blue background paper is double-thickness so it stands up better and doesn't curl. The pieces could also stand up due to a ringed base. Glittery “snow” was added for sparkle! This one is a keeper in my opinion!

Since I did this project in one day with the students (and they took them with them),
it was a whirlwind and I didn't get any photos of student projects :-(

Week 2 and 3: Jasper Johns Numbers (2 days) 

A continuation of a project started prior to my arrival

Students used pencil and Sharpie to create numbers within a folded grid. Once inked, students could use crayons and paint to add color to the negative spaces within their work.

Jasper Johns, Numbers in Color (1958-59)  

Sorry, I don't have pictures of this, 

but the project was similar to this one, but numbers-only.

Week 5 and 6: Faith Ringgold Story Quilt A similar project can be found here.

Inspired by the book, “Tar Beach,” by Faith Ringgold

I feel that this project is sort of my go-to project with all students--I just love it and it so adaptable. I saw the write-up of a version on scholastic and decided to do that the time. Scholastic has a TON of related activities--check out this wonderful link.

For this version of the project, students looked at the book, “Tar Beach” by Faith Ringgold and used drawing and collage to create storytelling quilts about flying away to someplace special. Students then wrote a description of their piece to be displayed with the work. Individual student work was mounted together to create a whole-class composition displayed in the hallway. Note: the glare on the photos below are due to the glitter glue "stars" we added. Everything is betta with glitta!

The finished quilt--beautiful! 

A quote from the book, "I have told him it's very easy,

anyone can fly. All you need is somewhere to go that you can't get to

any other way. The next thing you know, you're flying among the stars."

The little white pieces below each square are the students' write-ups about

what is going on in their work. 

"Hi. I am Liz and I'm in New York where there's cars and good food
and on the 4th of July we put fireworks up in the sky but right now
I'm flying. Do you want to fly with me?"

"I am the fastest superhero and I like basketball and soccer.
I am speedy."

Week 7: Kandinsky group mural Check out the original post here.

Inspired by Kandinsky’s color studies

Students used paint to create a composition of concentric rings based on the color studies by Kandinsky. Individual student work was displayed with other grade levels to create a multi-age group mural for the hallway.

A close-up of the individual 6" squares all glued together
onto the larger roll of paper using Elmer's glue (a dot in each corner).

The finished mural. Beautiful!!

Second Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig

 Here are some of the projects from my long-term sub gig that appear in the collage here so that you had a bit more info on them...ENJOY!! For the background about where I've been/what I've been doing lately, scroll to the end of the post...

OK, I just think this is the cleverest solution to the "Beautiful OOPS" project
described below--this tiger is just TOO cute!!
Check out the post below to see how it was made...

Second Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig:

Week 1: Winter Landscapes (1 day) Original Post here.

A getting-to-know-you project.

Students used crayons to draw a winter landscape focusing on foreground, background and atmospheric perspective. They then added watercolor to their work (watercolor resist) to add a colorful sky (sunset, nighttime, etc.).

Week 2: van Gogh Vases (1 day) 
This one was from my mentor teacher, Meagan Read, at Riddle Brook Elementary School, but she may have found it here.

Inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers

Students used Sharpies to create radial designed “sunflowers” and used oil pastels to add color to their work. Students then cut out their flowers and individual student work was mounted together to create a whole-class composition displayed in the hallway.

Oops, a little glare on the reproduction in the middle...
This display used two bulletin boards. This is display #1.

Display #2. Each second grade class had a vase of flowers.
My mentor teacher did this project with grade 1, this was done with grade 2,
but I think it could be done with a variety of grade levels.

A close up of one of the compositions.
The "table" is dollar store contact paper--easy!!

Week 3 and 4: Beautiful Oops! (2 day) 
This one was from my mentor teacher, Meagan Read, at Riddle Brook Elementary School

Inspired by the book, “Beautiful Oops!” by Barney Saltzberg

Students looked at the book, “Beautiful Oops!” by Barney Saltzberg and then moved through a series of stations where they made six “Oops!” on their papers.

• Table 1: tear or cut a scrap of warm colored paper and glue to your background paper (up to 2 times).
• Table 2: tear or cut a scrap of newspaper and glue to your background paper (up to 2 times).
• Table 3: tear or cut a scrap of cool colored paper and glue to your background paper (up to 2 times).
• Table 4: Dip the side of a cardboard scrap into paint and stamp onto paper to make a line (up to 6 times)
• Table 5: Dip a mug into paint and stamp onto paper to make a ring (up to 3 times)
• Table 6: Write your name on your background paper and then trace a circle tracer onto your background paper and cut it out (make a hole in your paper--1 time).

The next week, we looked at the book again and discussed how we could turn mistakes into masterpieces. Students then used markers and crayons (and imagination and innovation) to transform their mistakes into wonderful art.

The write-up that was part of the display.

A cute little guy!

"The Big Monster:"
This is me, the big monster.
I like to roar--it's fun.
I am roaring now.

"The Rainforest:"
The rain is in the trees and (dropping?) from the tree. 

"The Snowman Winter Clean-up"

The finished display got a TON of attention by staff and students alike.
It was colorful and creative and I often saw people stopping and reading
the captions written by the students about their work.
Note: If you are looking for cookie-cutter, pretty projects, this many not be
the project for you--but it is fun and creative!

Week 5 and 6: Juan Miro’s Fantastical Creatures! Check out my original post here.

Inspired by the work of Juan Miro that Mrs. Pettus saw on her trip to Chicago

Students looked at the work of Juan Miro and noticed the shapes and lines he used to create his images. Students then used dice to randomly select pieces and parts for their own creatures and fantasy compositions. Once the creatures, shapes and lines were drawn with oil pastel, students added a wash of watercolor (water resist) to the background to add mood. This was a wonderful project to follow the Beautiful Oops since students needed to adapt and use their imagination.

Week 7: Week 7: Kandinsky group mural Check out the original post here.

Inspired by Kandinsky’s color studies

Students used paint to create a composition of concentric rings based on the color studies by Kandinsky. Individual student work was displayed with other grade levels to create a multi-age group mural for the hallway.

A close-up of the individual 6" squares all glued together
onto the larger roll of paper using Elmer's glue (a dot in each corner).

The finished mural. Beautiful!!

----------------
Backstory for this post:

So, it's been a busy Spring for me since I finished student teacherin' in December--I subbed a bit in preschool, kindergarten, elementary and high school and then landed a wonderful 6 1/2 weeks long-term sub gig at an elementary school nearby teaching art to grades K-5. What a blast I had--the students and staff at Fairgrounds rock and I was sad to go (it's hard to stop doing something you love when your next big thing isn't settled upon yet). Since then, I haven't blogged much because I've been daily subbing and working on my dang art teacher portfolio (more on that in a future post or ten). Check the sidebar (over on the right side of the blog) for other posts in this series (k-5 at Fairgrounds Elementary School). ENJOY!!

First Grade Projects From My Long-Term Sub Gig

 Here are some of the projects from my long-term sub gig that appear in the collage here so that you had a bit more info on them...ENJOY!! For the background about where I've been/what I've been doing lately, scroll to the end of the post...

Here's lookin' at YOU! Check out the projects below for some
first grade ARTSY inspiration!

Grade 1 Art Projects From Fairgrounds Elementary School:

Week 1: Winter Windows (1 day)

A getting-to-know-you project.

We looked at the book, “Snowflake Bentley” by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Students folded their paper to make four “window panes” and used crayons to draw four six-sided snowflakes (just like real snowflakes). They then added watercolor to their work (watercolor resist) to add a colorful sky (sunset, nighttime, etc.) and enhance the snowflake designs. The wet work was sprinkled with salt to add texture and interest to the work.

A close-up of one of the "Winter Windows"--
this light yellow crayon was easier to see than a white crayon on white paper.

Week 2: Aboriginal Bark Paintings (1 day)

A continuation of a project started prior to my arrival

Students used crayons to create mini circles within a photocopied Aboriginal design. They then added a black tempera paint wash to their work (watercolor resist) to enhance the designs. Finished pieces were mounted onto construction paper backgrounds.

No image of these--sorry!

Week 3, 4 and 5: Feathers For Lunch Collage (2-3 day) From Fine Lines

Inspired by the work of Mrs. Pettus--that's ME! (I've been doing collage work lately) and the collage artist Lois Elhert and her book, “Feathers For Lunch”

Students looked at the book, “Feathers For Lunch” by Lois Elhert and used different shapes and papers to create a collage composition of a cat and a bird. Details could be added using crayon and a real feather was attached to represent the one that got away—just like in the book!

Our inspiration!!

We talked about using shapes to make our cats and birds.
We used real feathers and oil pastels for fun details.

If a student wasn't in class the first week, they could make just the bird on week two.
This student was fascinated by the hole punches he found on the supply cart.

I love this cat's expression!

The finished display I copied from Fine Lines Blog--
it was perfect, so I just had to do it!

Here's the write-up that I displayed near the bulletin board-
it really helps everyone to see all of the details of this project
(as well as the National Common Core Standards in Art)

Week 6: Line Study With Pastels (1 day)

The attributes of line were discussed (length and direction) and then students took turns drawing different types of lines. Students then cut out a shape of their choice (emphasis on something that moves such as an animal or vehicle, etc.) and attached it to a piece of white paper. They used Sharpies to drew eight different types of lines coming from their shape and going off the edge(s) of their paper. Lastly, they used chalk pastels to trace their lines and smudged them to add the illusion of movement to their work.

Beautiful shooting star!

Some students chose to have a limited color palette, but they still turned out beautifully.

A flying airplane.

And this is a football flying back and forth between players--LOVE it!
We also had flying pigs, a giraffe or two, cars, superheros, a UFO, a couple of rockets,
LOTS of footballs, a unicorn, some cats and much more!

Week 7: Kandinsky group mural See post here

Inspired by Kandinsky’s color studies

Students used paint to create a composition of concentric rings based on the color studies by Kandinsky. Individual student work was displayed with other grade levels to create a multi-age group mural for the hallway.

A close-up of the individual 6" squares all glued together
onto the larger roll of paper using Elmer's glue (a dot in each corner).

The finished mural. Beautiful!!

----------------
Backstory for this post:

So, it's been a busy Spring for me since I finished student teacherin' in December--I subbed a bit in preschool, kindergarten, elementary and high school and then landed a wonderful 6 1/2 weeks long-term sub gig at an elementary school nearby teaching art to grades K-5. What a blast I had--the students and staff at Fairgrounds rock and I was sad to go (it's hard to stop doing something you love when your next big thing isn't settled upon yet). Since then, I haven't blogged much because I've been daily subbing and working on my dang art teacher portfolio (more on that in a future post or ten). Check the sidebar (over on the right side of the blog) for other posts in this series (k-5 at Fairgrounds Elementary School). ENJOY!!