Crafty Imitations

Now that school is out for the summer, it's time to gear up for camp season! Parents are always on the look out for some stimulating and fun activities for their children to keep them mentally and physically active during those long, hot summer days.
Our school offers a 2 week summer program during the months of June and July.  It's my feeling that you can't offer a summer program without having something artsy/craftsy involved, so I am always one of the first teachers to sign up for our summer academy.
Two years ago when we ran the program, I offered "Fashion Runway", which was based very loosely on the show "Project Runway".  I had the middle school aged students start off the week with a t-shirt and with the embellishments and sewing techniques they learned throughout the week, they created their own designs and modeled them for their families at a mini fashion show in the school cafeteria at the end of the week.

This year, I offered a class entitled "Crafty Imitations" which was based on knock off ideas from stores like Anthropologie, J.Crew, Pottery Barn, and more. I wanted to strike a balance between accessories and decorations, so we created some jewelry, containers, sharpie "tie dye" t-shirts, sharpie mugs, yarn wrapped coil pots, and patterned paper dress designs on canvas.  The beginning of each week began with a power point showing various products from various companies and their knock off versions to show the girls what they would be creating during the week. Our first project both weeks were pom pom pens.  These were a big hit, and came out very well.

One of the students I taught the first week said she didn't know how we were going to finish all of the projects in one week. I smiled the smile of a very experienced art teacher and told her that she would be surprised.  As promised, at the very last minute of the very last class the final project was completed.
I took a few photos of their projects, forgetting to capture some of them, but the results of the 6th graders were very cute and they really seemed to enjoy each project. The second week I taught 7th and 8th graders and tried and a few different ideas with equally successful results.
When the second week was over, I closed up my classroom one last time for the remainder of the summer, ready to embark on my own creative journey!