My Art Therapy: Halloween DIY Decorations

Teaching junior high was one of the hardest things I have ever done.  Convincing eighth graders the importance of subject verb agreement, especially when a prepositional phrase came between the two, was excruciatingly difficult.  

I remember the day this mom came in to dispute her daughter's homework grade.  She demanded that the verb should agree with object of the preposition.  When it agreed with the subject, it sounded "ghetto."  (Her words, not mine).

I tried not to be spin into a downward spiral of rage as she questioned not only me, but the grammar book’s instructions that were clearly printed *on the same page;* however, I was completely distracted that she looked and sounded just like Joey's agent on Friends.  The only thing missing was a cigarette, but judging by the smokey smell emanating from her poufy hairdo, I’m guessing she had one in the parking lot before she arrived at my classroom.

On soul crushing days like that, I would need to do something to alleviate the anger and frustration. And since I wasn't the kind of teacher to keep a flask filled with alcohol in my desk, I kept a box of Crayola crayons (the 24-count box to be exact; 8 and 16 never seemed like enough, and I didn't have space in my desk for the best box of 64) and my Celestial Seasonings Tea Coloring Book.  No matter how much I wanted to tell someone to go to hell, my anger always dissipated when I had completed coloring and created something pretty.

Earlier this week, I needed some art therapy. For the past few days, I had let the fear and frustration of others bring me down.  So I took out some cards stock, Modge Podge, and some Halloween cutouts that I bought for a rainy day. 

I had some calming chamomile lavender tea and played my Andrew Sisters Pandora station.
I may be 94 years old.

Here is what I created.

I took a Halloween cutout and used some glossy Modge Podge to glue it on some brown card stock.

I let it dry overnight before I cut it.

I then used these double-sided foam stickers and stuck it on orange card stock.

Then I stuck it to the paper. . . 

and cut out the outline . . . 

then used a hole punch.  

I took some jute and tied a knot.  I hung it up with some other decorations.

I always wanted to use these chipboards, but I never knew what to do with them.
I traced the shape with orange construction paper.

I used some Matte Modge Podge to glue it to the chipboard.
.  Here's a tip: less is more. I had to work out all of the air bubbles before it dried.

I took another cutout and traced it on brown card stock.  I glued it with a regular glue stick.

I glued it to the chip board with Matte Modge Podge.

I used some scissors to push through the holes that were already there
and tied the jute in a knot.

I then hung it from our cabinet.  I am not going to quit my day job(s),
but I am pretty proud of how it turned out.

This was a final product that didn't turn out quite like I had hoped.
I used the Matte Modge Podge, but it kind of curled up more than I wanted to.
I still used it and punched a whole to hang it up.

For this one, I just used those double-sided foam stickers and cut around it.

Same for this one.

Here is what they all look like hanging above my kitchen sink.
I almost used orange curling ribbon, but I am glad I used the jute.
It goes nicely with the brown card stock.

When I was done, I felt that same sense of accomplishment and peace when I was done coloring.  Plus I had some cute decorations to hang up in the home.

Do you have a favorite activity that saves you from stress?