Two years ago, I was able to get a button maker from DonorsChoose.org. When requesting this, my goal was to use it during our Fine Arts Night as a way for everyone who attended to make and take their own Mobile Masterwork as a wearable piece of Art. 

Now that we have the tools to create buttons, we have been able to extend the use of this device to include events like our parent orientation as a way to draw people in to making something that does not take a lot of time and gets instantly satisfying results! 

Below is a breakdown of the basics with the button maker I requested for the project using Blick Art Supplies. Some additional helpful things include having a Cricut cutting machine that can precut the circles on paper, having students cut letters from magazines and store to decorate their button (using precut magazine images not only is great for recycling, but it also gives people who may be uncomfortable with drawing a way to still feel creative), and other 2D media to use with the cut paper. One thing to make note of is the thickness of the paper before you put it in your machine - it matters and can have an impact on the quality of the button made. 

I love using DonorsChoose.org for helping my classroom get fun new tools like this. If you use this link to create a DonorsChoose.org account, I will be able to help promote your project as a DonorsChoose.org Teacher Ambassador. It will let me know when you have signed up and posted your first project - I also have a code I can use to help you fund your first project! 

If you would like to help my class fund our current DonorsChoose.org request, please visit and donate here. 

Button making is a fun and easy way to invite others into your room to get creative with their ideas. If you happen to use this or have done this in your school, I would love to know how! If you do end up doing it, please give me a shoutout on Twitter or Instagram so I can see the results! 

Happy Creating! 

One fun thing about the end-of-summer-ramp-up-to-the-new-school-year is that you get to enacted ideas because there is time to stew on them and actually do them some justice. When the school year starts, much of what we are doing has been planned and tested and worked on during the summertime. 

This summer, I was inspired by teachers who use the word ARTIST as a way to chart expectations of behavior. As a teacher who leans heavily on choice in the studio, I wanted to also link these behaviors with Studio Habits and think I was able to come up with a compromise of language that both works for my students and will help foster a positive and productive environment in our classroom. I know it doesn't have everything, but hopefully when paired with the DICE design thinking (shared in the previous post) it will ALL be covered. 

Our school also focuses on "I can" statements, so I guess you can say I've got that covered, too! 

My husband and I just celebrated 15 years of marriage this week and when we got married, one of the first major decisions I had to make was whether or not to take his last name. Being a Warhol fan and the opportunity for imagery like these posters wasn't the only factor in my choice... but I would be lying if I said it wasn't - I mean, it is perfect! 

I have had multiple requests to post these for others to use (even some who want to pay me - how flattering!). I do not have a TPT or anything like that because I am ok with sharing resources, for free, with other teachers that are used to help students in the classroom. If you would like to use them as is or modify a blank version, the files are below for you to use.

I just ask that if you use it, you give credit or a shout out when you share/display (tag me so I can see it on Twitter or Instagram) and if you are feeling generous, you can donate to our DonorsChoose.org page - we are currently $168 from completing our current project. 

It is August and that means it is time to start thinking about how I am going to get myself organized for the school year. Thinking about what I want students to be able to understand and do becomes a central organizing principle for me as I ease back into the mindset of teaching and learning.

One thing, if nothing else, that I want to help my students understand about being creative is that you CAN DEVELOP a process for it. That if you are "bad" at art or making things or coming up with ideas that are interesting and new, you can use a process that will help you develop the stamina to push through roadblocks and find interesting solutions. 

About five or six years ago, I went to MACUL and attended a presentation by D'Andra Clark that explored design thinking in her classroom. She is an art teacher who had partnered with the technology teacher and they decided they needed to come up with a common language to help students see the commonality in their classes. They used DICE (illustrated by me above and below) as a way help reframe the approach to design thinking. 

I knew as soon as I heard this what had been lacking between Art and STEM all of these years at my school. We needed to adapt common practices and ways of working that would help students see a routine in the way we work and shared language in our content areas. 

You are welcome to download the files and print them out or make them into bigger posters. If you do, please just credit the illustrations and do not copy and sell them. I would love to see how you do use them, so please make sure you share what you do with them, including @campbellartsoup on Twitter or Instagram.

When I had shared that I was planning to post these, many teachers said they would like to offer some kind of something for their use. If you would like to support my classroom, you can donate to our current DonorsChoose.org project or purchase my illustrated works on items in Artsonia's gift shop (20% of purchases goes back to our school). All of these were created this summer using the app Procreate with the iPad and Apple Pencil.