Ada Billman Capstone

My capstone is 12 handmade stuffed animals based on fourth grader’s drawings from Waring Elementary School. I taught a 30 minute art class with activities. The activity included three sections where students were asked to draw animals native to PA for 30 seconds, 3 minutes, and 10 minutes. I decided on this activity because a lot of these kids have trouble focusing and I wanted them to be able to engage. After the presentation I hand-sewed stuffed animals that each included unique colors, hair, eyes, and mouths. This project took months to complete and was extremely challenging. I worked countless hours on sewing the main shapes in the drawings, limbs, and eyes/other features. This capstone took lots of time and effort to complete.

Annotated Bibliography:

“Stuffed Animal Sewing Patterns: Squishy-Cute DesignsHow to Do the Ladder Stitch | Hidden Stitch | Squishy-Cute.” Squishycutedesigns.com, 2024, www.squishycutedesigns.com/ladder-stitch/.

This source is a journal style website. It contains different types of hand sewn stitches such as: The ladder stitch (for attaching or closing an opening), the backstitch (for line stitching details), and the whipstitch (for sewing the sides of the fabric). I will use all of these techniques for my different types of stuffed animals depending on their design. I will use the whipstitch for all of my pieces because it is the best stitch to use to make the seams secure on a stuffed animal. Other stitches are optional like the backstitch which is for extra details that may or may not be in the kids drawings.

“6 Tips for Effective School Visits.” Open-Book.ca, 2022, open-book.ca/Columnists/6-Tips-for-Effective-School-Visits. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.

This source is highly valuable to me. It is stock full with resources on how to present to kids depending on their grade using scientific research. They give advice to do small hands on examples of what you’re trying to teach, short tasks (not ones that take the entire period) and to ask their teacher what tasks/topics are challenging for the students. Other tips include waiting to answer questions till the end, and leading with an example activity and then letting them do it with my supervision. This source is an educational resource for teachers, scientists, or other presenters that teach students short term lessons.

VanDerMolen, Mariana. “6 Fantastic One-Day Art Lessons to Engage Your Elementary Students.” The Art of Education, 24 Jan. 2024, theartofeducation.edu/2024/01/jan-6-fantastic-one-day-art-lessons-to-engage-your-elementary-students/.

Though this source is less formal, it is definitely valuable. Since I need the kids to create something fast but authentic so I can recreate it this source gives me some tips. A few of the tips are to give multiple different options for sensory art tools to use like googly eyes, cut out pieces of paper, and other 3D features. Borsellino, Regina. “How to Write an Email That Gets the Results You Want.” The Muse, 3 Feb. 2021, www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-write-professional-email-examples. This source was sort of a “just because” source to mainly help with my anxiety to email. For my capstone I have to reach out to a school’s principal and ask for permission to teach an art class. I want to make sure I can sound trustworthy and serious in my email to them. This source gives tips on the basic format as well as other tips like whether it is the appropriate format to discuss my topic or if I need to request an in-person meeting.

“Hand Embroidery for Beginners - Back Stitch Tutorial.” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkXhtkO0zK0.

This youtube video is a great source to clear up some confusion I have with the backstitch. I know how to do two stitches, one proficient. This slow, clear, and easy resource allows me to better understand how to do the backstitch. Since this resource is less than a minute long and only shows one stitch this resource was just for my confusion.

“How to Sew the Ladder Stitch”, 2026, youtu.be/XOIywYsDT-c?si=ZxSMg-Frzq_kFZ96. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. This source was also used to teach me one of the more complicated stitches more clearly. This is also known as the invisible stitch which can be difficult to do. This is the number one stitch used by seamstresses and toy makers to design hidden strings in clothes and stuffed animals. This stitch will allow for a more concise look as well as a nicer finished look.

Youtu.be, 2026, youtu.be/oC2eKmtpAKg?si=D8DgeUb-kXZ7at5B. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. This youtube video looks as close as possible to how professional I hope my final product will be. Of course because of my limited supplies I won’t be able to achieve this exact look, but if I can achieve something slightly as clean I’ll be happy. Though this video is more challenging to understand it also helps for just the motivation for my final products.

Youtu.be, 2026, youtu.be/mhck8T249lU?si=CFdMVJPyqInPQ6Cv. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. Another issue I’ve run into is safety eyes and noses. These are small plastic screw-like sewing supplies that are seen on plushies for eyes and noses. In the past I’ve struggled to not tear the fabric, have them fall out, or keep them even. This video shed light on those issues pretty straightforwardly.

Mason, Barbara. “5 Strategies for Teaching Art in the Classroom.” Golden Road Arts, 12 Mar. 2024, www.goldenroadarts.org/art-resources/5-strategies-teaching-art-classroom/.

This source was less professional than I had hoped for but ended up providing lots of useful information. This article gives tips for long term teachers instead of visiting school teachers. A few that stuck with me were: make sure to make the lesson about the students and not just focus on getting it done. A lot of the time I struggle to “naturally” present presentations and not sound robotic. This article reminded me to definitely practice before presenting.

“How to Make Stuffed Animals More Sensory for Kids - Google Search.” Google.com, 2024, www.google.com/search?q=how+to+make+stuffed+animals+more+senspry+for+kids&rlz=1CAKLUN_enUS1112&oq=how+to+make+stuffed+animals+more+senspry+for+kids&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTIzMjE3ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026. This source is especially important to the goal of my project. Sensory details are important to me for these stuffed animals. Developing minds require lots of sensory input to process information, change, and emotions. This source suggest varying soft textures, adding weight, and consistency.