Where My Creative Juices Hath Flowed

A couple weeks ago I promised I would show you the project I had been working on; one that involved large pieces of paper, a copy of To Kill a Mocking Bird, and lots and lots of glue. 

I don't know what you thought I was making, but it probably didn't occur to you that it was a poster for Teacher Appreciation Week at my son's school (not exactly the first thing that comes to mind, eh?)

I'll show that poster in a minute.

But first, let me tell you my history of making posters for my son's school.

Once upon a time, I knew the PTA President, and she asked me to make a poster each month for the birthdays at the school. This project was perfect for me because I could help out at the school without having to work with other people (I try not to proclaim this too loudly, but I don't like working with other people) (plus, I refuse to drag my children out in public to work with other people - it's a nightmare).

I started in November with a giant turkey. Seriously. GIANT. This thing took up most of my living room, and I had to assemble it at the school because I couldn't transport it in my van.

November

Then in December, I featured Christmas lights on a much smaller scale. (The kids' names, of course, are on the light bulbs).

December

Then over Christmas break, I whipped up a snowman for January. 

January

 

And February was the month I was most excited for! I plotted for months in advance to make an Olympic-themed poster. After all, this can only happen every four years!*

(Also, this poster looked so much better in my head! They always do! Turns out, it's really hard to make good circles out of paper loops).

February

For March I was up for anything non-St. Paddy's, so I took advantage of Dr. Seuss' birthday (which is probably a little over-used in the schools these days, but hey! I drew that Cat in the Hat by hand, and I was pretty proud of how he turned out!)

March

For April, I felt pretty non-creative, especially when the awesome 3-D umbrella I envisioned in my mind ended up having to be a flat umbrella (apparently I am not the paper engineer I imagine myself to be).

April

For May, I was all hopped up on the last of our Easter candy, so naturally, I made a jar of sweets.

May

I also had the chance to make a poster for the school's Jump Rope Club as a "thank you" to Walmart for a grant they gave our school. 

(The children signed their names on the stars).

And, of course, the poster for Teacher Appreciation Week. 

I was asked to make one for the librarian, which was perfect because...

BOOK GEEKS UNITE!

So I had to involve books, you know, and after running through ten thousand ideas, I came up with this:

And that, my friends, is where the copy of To Kill a Mockingbird came in. 

It looked better in my head, of course.

(Like, a thousand times better).

And after I got all of the book pages cut, I had to go back and check them all for racial slurs (just a word of caution, should you ever make book art for an elementary school, I don't recommend To Kill a Mockingbird as your paper source). 

Now, here's hoping that the librarian gives a hoot!

And there you have a run-down of every ounce of creativity I have mustered in the past nine months. Please forgive my horrible photos taken on my out-dated cell phone. 

*Every time I explained this to someone, they said, "But what about the summer Olympics?" We don't have school during the summer Olympics!