Yep! It is here – the MADNESS!!! Basketball lovers everywhere anxiously await the end of football season, knowing that madness is just around the next corner. Scientists may officially list the seasons as winter, spring, summer, and fall – but sports’ fanatics include football, basketball, soccer, and baseball into the seasonal list as well. Native Texans include hunting season and, of course, all Texans have the unspoken understanding that sports’ seasons will overlap some.

Teachers, ohhhh teachers – bless them! March Madness means something totally different for them. Immediately following winter break, the symptoms of the madness begin to rear their ugly heads. Adrenaline courses through teachers’ veins and they begin to wake up in the middle of the night, haunted by recurring nightmares. Their sleep-deprived bodies will then toss and turn restlessly until dawn. Tension hangs heavily in the air throughout the halls of academic buildings. Alas, March Madness is what happens to educators as state standardized testing dates rapidly approach.

Seeking out moments of reprieve from the madness, is the only thing that keeps many teachers from going over the edge. I, too, am an educator. My escape is to start several craft or decorating projects.

Above is my muslin rag wreath with grapevine ribbon placed on an old window frame that was repainted and distressed.

This is a burlap canvas with a painted wooden monogram place on it. I also embellished it with one of my drop-cloth flowers! When my grandmother passed away, I found this old fan in her basement. It doesn’t work but it still has the cloth electrical cord attached to it. It was pretty rusted out, so I took it apart and repainted it. I love the way that it turned out!

I had two old metal bar stools that had ugly, ugly seat covers. I repainted them a sage green then went over the paint with an antique gel. After recovering the seats with drop cloth (I know, I know I seem to have an obsession with that stuff), I stenciled on the back of each stool. The small burlap pillow was made from some leftover fabric that I had purchased for another project.

My sewing machine will remain on my dining room table and my paintbrushes and paint cans will sit on my kitchen countertop until the madness is over!

This post is dedicated to all of my teacher friends!!!!! Good night, and please try to sleep tight!

With Love and MADNESS,