Posts Tagged "scissors"

First Aid Kit for Aquatic Activities

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Spring and Summer are coming soon, which means all sorts of swimming, boating, and other water-based activities to cool down under the hot sun.  It’s important that every troop have a water safety kit (or two!) with them when playing in, on, or around the water.  This does vary a bit from a traditional first aid kit with some specific items.  For girls of all ages, this can be turned into a fun meeting activity in preparation for a water-based outing in building their own mini kits or assisting in putting together the main troop kits.

To put together smaller, personal water safety kits, buy large packages for the contents in the kit.  Portion out any liquids in smaller, travel size containers.

Case

  • Durable in extreme hot and cold
  • Waterproof
  • Sized for personal or group needs.

Contents

Include the following additional items in delayed-help environments

For more, read Basic Water Rescue, a booklet published by the American Red Cross.

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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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Trick or Treat Yarn Wreath

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This Trick or Treat Yarn Wreath is a super easy project for younger girls and just in time for Halloween.  The colors of yarn chosen can easily be changed to fit any holiday or theme, so feel free to adapt the colors!

Materials NeededMaterials Needed:

DirectionsDirections:

  1. With pliers, shape hanger into circle, then bend hook for the hanging loop.
  2. Wind yarn 20 times around the cardboard.  Slip these strands off the cardboard.  With a separate 8″ strand of yarn, tie strands together at center (see Figure 1); do not cut the yarn loops.
  3. Using the ends of the 8″ strand, tie the bundle to the ring, positioning the bundle perpendicular to the wire (see Figure 2).  If necessary, trim off the ends of the 8″ strand.
  4. Make another bundle and tie to the ring adjacent to the previous bundle.  Continue to make bundles and tie them to the wire in the same way, positioning each bundle against the previous bundle and working around the ring until the entire wire circle is filled.
  5. Make a bow from the ribbon.  Wind yarn or fine wire through an area that can be hidden and tie or twist around wire ring.  With hot glue, attach smaller decorations.

Safety TipsSafety Tips!

  1. Always supervise young girls when using the hot glue gun.

Here are the figures I referred to above:

 

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Foam Water Bottle Holder

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With all the outdoor activities that girl scouts do, it’s important to bring along a lot of water to stay hydrated.  This is a great craft for a meeting before a camping or hiking trip.  Remember to get a variety of foam stickers so the girls’ creativity can run wild with different designs to fit their personalities.  The alphabet stickers are important for personalization, but if the girls would rather just use stickers to personalize the bottle holders, you can always write their names on the bottom of the can hug with a permanent marker.

There’s not much mess involved with this project – just the paper backings from the stickers that need to be cleaned up at the end of the meeting.

Materials NeededMaterials Needed:

DirectionsDirections:

  1. Cut three 24″ pieces of ribbon.  Braid the ribbons together to create the handle.
  2. On opposite sides of the can hug, punch 2 holes for attaching the handle.
  3. Thread the braided ribbon through the holes and secure with a knot.
  4. Remove the paper backing from the foam stickers to decorate the bottle holder as desired.

Safety TipsSafety Tips!

  1. Always observe the children when using scissors.

Try looking at craft stores for the pre-made can hug.  If you cannot find one, use foam sheets and glue to make one.  Use a standard 16 oz. water bottle to judge the correct size.

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Recycled Glass Vase

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Last week’s vase project was really more of a project for older girls, but this vase can be made by young girls and older girls as well.  It emphasizes the importance of recycling as it uses clean, re-purposed bottles.  Seek out unique and interesting shaped glass bottles, and involve the girls in collecting these glass bottles.  Make sure to let the parents know what you’ll be using the glass bottles for; they will need to have the labels removed with the inside and outside both thoroughly cleaned.  Collect some glass bottles to bring as extras for any girls that are unable to collect bottles on their own.

Materials NeededMaterials Needed:

  • Empty glass bottles (or a regular glass jar or vase will work)
  • Tissue paper
  • Scissors
  • Mod Podge (or 2 tbsp. white glue mixed with 2 tbsp. water)
  • Paint brushes

DirectionsDirections:

  1. Cut out shapes of your choice from the tissue paper.  Cut out several of each shape.  Feel free to trace out shapes with pencil before hand.
  2. Paint on the Mod Podge (or glue solution) onto a small section of the bottle.  Stick on a tissue paper shape.  Paint more Mod Podge or glue solution over the top of the tissue and add another layer.  Continue until the shape is as opaque as you would like. Don’t worry about getting one layer exactly on top of another layer. It looks fine if they are a little off.
  3. Continue adding tissue shapes all over the bottle or jar. When you are done, paint a coat of Mod Podge over the whole thing.
  4. Let dry. The Mod Podge will dry clear.

Safety TipsSafety Tips!

  1. Use scissors with blades sized appropriately to the age of the girls you’re w0rking with.
  2. Ensure that girls are not getting the glue or Mod Podge in their mouths.

Be aware that the adhesive you’re using is water soluable, so you should use these primarily with fake flowers or have adults take great care in washing the insides ONLY if used with real flowers.

shopQuick Shopping for This Project

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