Posts Tagged "Meeting Activities"

Clothespin Reindeer

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This Clothespin Reindeer is a great easy craft for younger girls.  I used to make these with my grandmother too, so it’s a great family craft.  You can use these very basic instructions or allow the girls to embellish the reindeer clothespins more with paints, glitter, ribbons, etc.  Super easy and super cheap.

Materials Needed:

• Wood spring clothespins
• #12 flat brush
• Water container
• Palette or plastic plate
• Red mini pom poms
• Small wiggle eyes
• Hot glue gun
• Hot glue sticks
• Thick craft glue
• Honey Brown acrylic paint

Directions:

1. Paint wood area of three clothespins Honey Brown.  Let dry.
2. Position two clothespins side-by-side and adhere with glue.
3. Position third clothespin in opposite direction and adhere to small end of double clothespins for reindeer head.
4. Position and adhere eyes and pom pom nose.

Safety Tips!

1. Adults should work with the hot glue gun only.

Gobble Gobble T-Shirts

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Gobble Gobble T-Shirts are great crafts around Thanksgiving.  As well, this craft can very easily be done while teaching the girls more about the origins of American Thanksgiving and the importance of tradition and family.  If t-shirts are a little outside the budget for your troop during this down economy, you can change the medium to poster board and make the same design on posters for decorations during Thanksgiving.

Materials Needed:

• White t-shirt – pre-washed
• Fabric paint (nontoxic): red, gold, green, orange, brown, and white
• Alphabet foam stickers
• T-shirt board or wax paper
• Paper plate or pallet paper
• Paper towels
• Sponge brush

Directions:

1. Place the t-shirt board inside of the t-shirt.
2. Use the sponge brush to place paint colors on the girl’s hand and fingers.
3. Have the girl steadily place her hand on the shirt to print the turkey, pressing gently on each finger to make sure the paint prints.  You may need to hold her hand to help keep the print from smearing.
4. Carefully lift her hand straight up off the shirt to avoid smudging.  Immediately wash her hands with soap and water.
5. Brush red paint on foam alphabet stamps and press on shirt and let dry.
6. Use fabric paint to add detail to turkey, such as legs, beak and eye and let dry.

Safety Tips!

1. Adult supervision is required at all times.
2. Ensure that all paint is dry before you let the girls take their t-shirts home.
3. Double check that all paints used are nontoxic.

Remember that if you don’t have a t-shirt board, you can place a sheet of wax paper inside the shirt to prevent transfer of the paint.

Etched Glass Canisters

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This is one of my favorite crafts to do even as an adult!  Etched Glass Canisters are a lovely gift or organizational container, and are super simple.  Even younger girls can make these with supervision.  Older girls may get a kick out of this craft since it is a more functional craft that can be used in many ways at home, in school lockers, etc.  Etched glass is completely dishwasher safe and the etching is permanent, so these items can be used for years.  Feel free to experiment with other glassware like drinking glasses, vases, and candle holders.

A word to the wise – I have not had good luck with frosted or colored glass, so for best results stick to the clear glass.  This tutorial will tell you how to do basic knock-out style lettering, but stencil kits can also be purchased from most craft stores for around $12 for a few pages worth of rub-on single use stencils.

Materials Needed:

• Armour Etch Glass Etching Cream
• Glass canisters
• ¾” vinyl letters
• Masking tape
• Disposable gloves
• Paint brush

Directions:

1. Using the masking tape (or blue painters tape, both work fine) to make a rectangle about half an inch larger than the encased lettering.  Spell out the desired contents of the canister inside the taped rectangle (canisters can be used for all kinds of things in the kitchen, like rice, sugar, beans, etc, or for smaller craft items like buttons, safety pins, needles, etc.).
2. Put on the plastic gloves for protection and apply a thick layer of the etching cream, within the masked off area.  Spread the cream evenly over the entire stenciled area, being careful not to extend outside the lines.  You should overlap the making tape boundary a little, but not over the outside edge.
3. Follow the directions on the etching cream for how long to keep it on the glass.  Usually it ranges between 30 seconds and 5 minutes, depending on desired results.
4. Without removing the stencil, wash off all of the etching cream with tap water.  Remove the tape and letters, then thoroughly clean the glass with dish soap or window cleaner.

Safety Tips!

1. Adult supervision is required when using the etching cream.
2. Adults can allow younger girls to apply the desired stencils and take care of applying and removing the etching cream themselves.

Clay Picture Frame & Pencil Cup Set

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This can be a fun project for older girls with a little more motor skills for the modeling of the clay.  Younger girls can still have a great time with this, but the finished product will not be as polished.  You can make the frame and cup themed for school mascots, holidays, seasons, or any other theme you want to tie a craft into.

Materials Needed:

• Crayola® Model Magic® Craft Pack
• Wooden frame
• Plastic cup

Frame Directions:

1. Flatten a piece of Model Magic® slightly larger than the frame, about ¼” thick.
2. Cover the frame with the Model Magic®.
3. Decorate the frame with additional pieces of Model Magic® as desired.
4. Allow the modeling compound to air-dry.

Pencil Cup Directions:

1. Roll a piece of Model Magic® flat, about ¼” thick.
2. Cover a plastic cup with the Model Magic®.
3. Decorate the cup with additional pieces of Model Magic® as desired.
4. Allow the modeling compound to air-dry.

Safety Tips!

1. Adult supervision is required.
2. Have tweezers on hand in case of splinters from the wooden frame.

You can also use the Model Magic® to make figures for the tops of pencils to match the set.

Quick Shopping for This Project

• Crayola Model Magic Craft Pack
• Mulicraft Imports Natural Pine Photo Frame, 7.25″ x 9.5″
• Creative Expressions 12-Oz. Premium Plastic Cups – 20-Pack, True Blue

JGoode Halloween Coloring Contest!

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A friend of mine, illustrator Jen Goode of JGoode Designs, is hosting a great coloring contest!  It’s open to anyone, so a great filler meeting activity would be to print out the picture and let the girls color and submit them!

Download the coloring page here.

The directions to submit your colored page to the contest are very simple.

1. Scan your finished page or take a digital photo.
2. Upload the photo to Facebook or Flickr.
3. Tag the image “jgoode halloween coloring contest 2009″
4. Visit the Halloween coloring page at JGoode.com and leave a comment with the location (web address) of your finished masterpiece.

The contest ends on Halloween, October 31, 2009.  Winners will be announced November 6, 2009.  Print out the pages and enter today!