Okay, it wasn't a complete and total disaster. The kids thought it was great. It's just that I had a vision, and it didn't quite come together the way I had hoped it would.
I decided to have a super hero themed 100th day celebration. I bought plastic table cloths from the dollar store, cut them into eighths, and sent them home to my kids with notes asking them to put a collection of 100 objects on the back of their cape, and bring them back on the day of our celebration. This part went well.
Then, I realized that if my students were going to be super heroes, I had to be one too, right? But - I didn't want to make myself a plastic tablecloth cape, I wanted to do something more! Since it wasn't anywhere near Halloween, I took to the internet, and I found the perfect purple (my favorite color) cape on amazon.
Next, I needed my own collection of 100 to put on the back of my cape. I enlisted the help of a friend, and after searching pinterest, I decided to put 100 gems on the back of my cape in the shape of a light bulb, and the words "100 days brighter". The picture that was my inspiration used fabric puffy paint for the writing, but I didn't want to do it in my own handwriting, so I decided that I would try to find iron on letters. I couldn't find iron on letters and numbers that matched, but I did find iron on inkjet printer paper, so I decided to go that route.
In the meantime, I also decided that my students needed to have super hero masks to go with their super hero capes. I found a mask template online, cut the masks out of foam that matched the colors of the capes, stuck some glitter foam star stickers to each mask, and tied on some elastic. They turned out super cute, and were going to be a surprise for the kids.
Now it's Thursday, and the 100th day of school is on Friday. I am preparing for a long night! I read the directions for the iron on paper, and it says to iron on a hard surface, but not an ironing board. All of my tables are glass (no, I don't have any kids), so just to be safe, I put a towel down on my dining room table, and then put the cape on top of it to get to work. I started by using fabric glue to painstakingly attach all 100 gems to the back of my cape in the shape of a light bulb. It looked great, if I do say so myself. In retrospect, I really wish I had taken a picture at this point. Really.
I decide to let the glue dry, and pause to go make my super hero mask. Since I don't have any purple foam, I decide to make my mask black, with purple glitter foam stickers. Next, I print out the letters that I'm going to iron on, and get the iron heated up. I take another look at the directions for the iron on letters. They say for use on cotton or cotton/polyester blend. I ignore that, and proceed to try and transfer the first letter to my 100% polyester satin cape. It doesn't work too well.
At this point it's almost 3 am. I did print the letters on plain paper, so I figure that I will tape the letters on, or something like that, but it's going to have to wait until (later in the) morning. I get up in the morning and get dressed, and add purple lipstick and a few purple streaks in my hair, to match my fancy purple cape. I am about to cut out the paper letters and attach them, but then I realize that the iron on letters are already cut out, so I grab the fabric glue, and start to glue them on. They don't stick well, and they're curling up at the edges. I have to leave right now, so I'm going to just grab it and take it to work, and figure it out when I get there. I pick up the cape, and it's stuck to the towel I laid it on. And, as I gently pull the cape away from the towel, the jewels pop off. This is what I was left with.
Well, I went to work. My coworker helped me find an extra tablecloth. It was red. I had made some super hero emblems with the number 100 on them for the students who would inevitably come to school without their capes. I taped one of those on to the back of my red plastic cape. The red plastic cape that completely clashed with my purple lipstick, purple hair, and black and purple mask!
But, as far as the the kids were concerned, the 100th day of school was a success, and I guess that's what's important. They loved seeing each others capes, they loved their masks, and they had a fun day. We took a walk to visit a couple of other classrooms to show off our capes and masks, and everyone we visited was impressed too!
So, here's what I learned:
1. Read the directions, and follow them. If the directions say that you can't iron on to 100% polyester satin, you probably can't.
2. Fabric glue will go right through polyester satin and stick to whatever is underneath it.
3. Don't wait until the last minute. If I had not waited until the night before to make my cape, I would have had time to come up with a backup plan.
4. We spent half the morning helping the kids put on their capes. I was lucky enough to have an extra adult in my room that morning, or I might have lost my mind! If I do this again, I'll have the parents get the capes completely ready at home.
