Paper-Embellished Luminaries

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Paper-Embellished Luminaries are a great project for both younger girls and older girls.  You can use these luminance bags to decorate for a awards ceremony, or theme them for a holiday to decorate a house hold.  This project shouldn’t require much skill and should be able to be done in about 45 minutes.  You can make a trip out of going to a craft store to learn more about scrapbooking papers and let the girls pick out their favorite sheets, or buy a multi-pack using a theme.  Another alternative to the decorative scrapbooking paper is plain construction paper.

Materials NeededMaterials Needed:

DirectionsDirections:

  1. Wash glass containers.
  2. Measure height of glass containers.  Cut a piece of scrapbook paper 12″ plus the height.  Use decorative-edge scissors along bottom and top edge.  Center this piece round the glass container.  It will fit the 3″ square glass overlapping by 1/8″.  On the large containers, the 12″ width will not cover completely.  Measure the height and cut 2 pieces, 12″ wide plus the height.  Wrap the tape measure around the containers to get the amount needed to cover completely and add 1/8″.  Cut this measurement from the second piece.
  3. Wrap scrapbook paper around glass containers and use your fingers to crease on all corners.  Remove paper and crease all folds.
  4. To make the cutout designs, place the paper punch along the folds to reach the center section and along the corner edges.  Make soft folds in the center of the paper to punch this area.  Align the punch along the soft folds.  Punch firmly.
  5. Once you have punched the entire area, including the extra piece, use double-sided tape to hold paper to the glass, beginning with the largest piece.
  6. Tape ribbon in place overlapping the ends slightly.  Secure with double sided tape.
  7. Place flame-less candles inside for a soft glow.

Safety TipsSafety Tips!

  1. Use flame-less candles instead of real candles.  The paper is highly flammable, of course, so the flame-less candles will make the project safe for girls of all ages.
  2. Paper trimmers for cutting the large initial pieces should be used by adults when working with younger girls, or with adult supervision when working with older girls.
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JGoode St. Patrick’s Day Coloring Page

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Illustrator Jen Goode of JGoode Designs, has put out another great color page for the upcoming holiday!  Her St. Patrick’s Day page is adorable and features a charming little leprechaun lad!  This is a great activity for younger girls to celebrate.

Download the coloring page here.

Of course, while mentioning St. Patrick’s Day, you should work some history into the activity.  Saint Patrick’s Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) colloquially St. Paddy’s Day or simply Paddy’s Day, is an annual feast day that celebrates Saint Patrick (circa AD 385–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17th.

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Girl Scouts to Take Action on Energy Awareness and Conservation through Trane Grant Project

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New York, N.Y.—Girl Scouts from six U.S. councils are exploring the importance of energy efficiency and conservation and discovering ways to make an impact on the environment through a grant project funded by Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and services.

Trane employees will engage in activities with Girl Scouts to help them understand how proficiency in science, technology, engineering and mathematics can make a difference in their communities and the wider world around them.

“We know that girls care deeply about the environment, and this is a wonderful opportunity for them to not only learn about energy efficiency and conservation, but conduct an actual energy audit,” said Kathy Cloninger, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA.

Trane volunteers, in partnership with council staff members, will work with girls to take action around energy efficiency as part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, the new leadership program. Girl Scout Juniors in grades four and five will team with Trane volunteers to conduct a building energy audit and other activities to learn about energy efficiency and conservation in buildings.

“Buildings consume more energy than any other sector in the United States,” said Jeff Watson, Vice President of Hussmann and Trane in North America. “Equipping girls with the skills needed to make buildings more efficient today will help ensure a better environment tomorrow.”

Most of the projects at councils in California, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey and New York will take place in late March and April.

The newly implemented Girl Scout Leadership Experience program engages girls in discovering themselves, connecting with others and taking action to make the world a better place. The first series of books for Girl Scouts that incorporates the leadership model, known as Journey books, was introduced in 2008. The second series of Journey books, It’s Your Planet—Love It, had an environmental theme and was published in the summer of 2009.

In addition to the collaboration with Trane employee volunteers, the grant from Trane supported the development of the It’s Your Planet—Love It Journey book for Girl Scout Juniors that focuses on energy and helps girls perform a simple building energy audit, analyze the results and present their findings and possible solutions.

CONTACTS:
Girl Scouts of the USA
Victor Inzunza 212.852.8529
vinzunza@girlscouts.org

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