Thursday 29 November 2012

Pine Cone Skier Craft


This is the craft my Guides had made at tonight's meeting ... they loved making these!  

I found this idea on Pinterest but as usual it has taken on it's own look.  Crafts always seem to turn out differently from the original inspiration pic... the look depends on what supplies I have available.

The pine cones were closed and frozen on the ground but I put them in the oven so they would thaw and open. {Thank you to my hubby Stephen and his co worker friend Craig for collecting pine cones the day before the meeting...There are huge Pine trees at work!} I put them on a foil lined cookie sheet for several hours on about 85 degrees C.  It took a while for them to dry out ,warm up and open!  {tons of seeds fell out ...they are interesting looking...like tiny fairy wings...hmm what can I make with those??}

Here are some of the Skiers that the had Guides made...so cute and easy to make!

The hats and scarves are the fingers of a glove, the head is a mini Styrofoam ball, the ski poles are tooth picks with fabric snowflakes....pipe cleaner arms, mini Popsicle sticks for the skis...and google eyes.  We used a low temp hot glue gun as opposed to white glue.  Then they painted their Skier with silver glitter glue.  All supplies {except for the mini Popsicle sticks from Walmart} were from the Dollarama

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Christmas Crafts

This is a portion of my collection of Christmas crafts from the past several years.  Most crafts were made at Girl Guides , a couple were crafts made by others given to me as a gift, and some I made for my own Christmas tree and decor. Since my Christmas decorations are still packed away during this time of year I do not have access to get close up shots for all of these crafts...but luckily I found most of them. These pics were taken last Christmas.  If you see anything you like just let me know and I can attempt to describe how they were made...otherwise you can just look and try to figure it out.
Christmas Card...Dollarama Santa suit...mini clothespins, string, card stock
Peace & Love Angels...terracotta pots, 
wooden head, hair, wings, pipe cleaners, bells
Plastic sandwich Baggie skirt, pipe 
cleaner body on Popsicle stick, pompom
Felt Skates , ribbon, glitter glue
Wooden Building Block , felt, wooden head, pompoms
Fimo clay Santa Star...a gift from my niece Rebecca
Felt Teddy Bear...made by my sister-in-law Karen
Wishing Spool-Wooden Spool, paper, ribbon...
looks nicer painted
Snowman handmade Pom Poms...
Guides made these last year
Recycled Christmas Card star
Film Canister Soldiers...
idea from Pack o Fun Magazine years ago
Sugar Plum Fairy...
made from Dollarama supplies- fake flowers
Water Jug ring wrapped with a 
Pipe Cleaner and tiny ribbon bow EASY PEASY
more samples of Pipe Cleaner water jug ring Wreathes
Wooden Ice cream Spoon Reindeer
Two Peanuts Reindeer
Pipe Cleaner Santa
Faux Stained Glass -tissue paper ...hang in a window
Reindeer- two old style clothespins 
wrapped in embroidery floss
Half Walnut shell sleepy kitty-pompom, felt, fabric scrap
Mouse-Wooden ice cream spoon, felt, pompom,ribbon, paint
Large Paper Star from 12x12 scrapbook paper
Tissue Paper faux stained Glass Card
I made this many many years ago...
Bird on a Wreath wrapped in Ribbon
Believe it or not I have more Christmas Crafts! but do not have a photo of them.  If I get a chance to take more photos I will post before Christmas.  Thanks for viewing my blog! Have a great week! and enjoy your Christmas Crafting!

Friday 23 November 2012

Rebus messages


If you have ever visited my website, "Lee Ann's Girl Guide Notebook", you may have already seen this Rebus activity.  I had originally scanned it from the Friendship Flyer that once was distributed to Guiders years ago around Thinking Day or as an insert in the Canadian Guider magazine.   I did not see a date on the flyer but it refers to Canada's 125th Birthday so I am guessing it was distributed around February 1992.  Guide, Pathfinder, and Senior Branches {now Rangers} are the suggested age groups for this activity but Brownies and Sparks can do it too!  I can see many possibilities with this activity.  

It would be great for a gathering activity or as a Guide Patrol activity. Guide Patrols could make a Rebus then exchange it with the other Patrols.  

First explain/show what a Rebus message is. {a puzzle consisting of pictures representing syllables and words. For example in such a puzzle the word hear might be represented by H followed by a picture of an ear}.  

Provide catalogs, magazines, stickers, clip art etc for each Patrol...or they can just draw the pictures themselves.   Allow about 15 minutes for making the Rebus message. {Advise them to choose short messages otherwise it will take the entire meeting! You could assign certain Guide laws for each Patrol to turn into a rebus message...or anything else relating to Guiding...the possibilities are endless}.

Then switch Rebus messages with other Patrol groups..allow 5 minutes to decipher.  Provide each Patrol with a blank piece of paper and pencil so they can write down the deciphered message.  Then gather all Patrols together and take turns reading the messages. 

Here are the answers for the above Rebus if you can not make out the writing on the bottom:
A) You are my friend.
B) I can't wait to go to my Guide meeting.
C) Will you take me to a Pathfinder meeting?


Here are a couple of Rebus messages that I made...I just have way too much fun making this stuff! This one has a lot of words to decipher so read the rows carefully from left to right as best as you can. {It is a little crowded since I wanted it all on one page}

Thursday 15 November 2012

McCall's 1973 & Vintage Sash

  
McCall's Magazine September 1973 
{I can't remember where I found this...online }
This is so cute! I love a blast from the past any day.  Dig those shoes , knee socks, tunic, and turtle neck!  {I remember wearing knee socks with my shorts in the 1970s!} Such a sharp Uniform...and lots of options for the Girl Scouts.  

There is just something about artwork from the 70's that I love.  I can just imagine how happy little girls were to see this paper doll set in a magazine.. I would have cut that baby out and slapped it on a piece cereal box cardboard asap! {back in my childhood we did not have access to much from the art dept...it was imagination and make do all the way...maybe that is why I love art as an adult}.  

This badge sash that I own looks like the one in the McCall's magazine.

I found this badge sash at an Antique/Used Bookstore a few summers ago.  {This is not a good photo sorry!}  It says Lake View...and the 373 is the Troop number.  Not sure about the other pins and badges though.  Here are some closer views with descriptions... 


The red pin says " Be Prepared" in gold letters and has a green trefoil on a gold  background in the center...the red looks like it may represent the tie perhaps..and there is a stamped "R" on the back.  The yellow flower looks like a Daffodil Patrol Emblem. 


Above we see gold wings, five brass coloured stars {one is backed with a round piece of white plastic...I'm guessing to signify senior year or patrol leader perhaps?}... a Trefoil Pin which is brass coloured with a purplish blue coloured background {it appears royal blue on this screen but it is not...and on the back of this pin is a stamped "R"} The green and white pin says "Girl Scouts of the USA 1912-1962" with a "50" in the center of a trefoil {there's a stamped image on the back but I can't identify it}

All of the badges appear to be hand sewn by the owner of the sash perhaps?.  I will attempt to guess the names of the bagdes but I am not sure of the proper names.  The top left looks like an artist palette with brushes so probably "Artist"...the top right side looks like five books with bookends so most likely "Reader"...the second row to the left looks like a Milk jug/mixing bowl/red jar so most likely "Baker" or "Cooking"...the same row to the right appears to be an outdoor fireplace so most likely "Outdoor Cook"...the third row to the left is three ABC blocks so I would say this is "Child Care"...the same row to the right looks like a girl scout on a flying carpet with a blue sky/clouds and green land so this could be anyones guess! {Traveller?Story teller?} The bottom badge is a dog and cat with a food dish so must be "Pet Care".  The badges are cloth with an embroidered edge and very thin compared to modern badges.  The sash appears to be handmade by a home sewing machine.  


It would be interesting to know how this Badge Sash ended up here in Canada and made it's way into my collection!  If the pins are any indication of it's age then it would be 50 years old this year!  If you know anything about this sash or its insignia please leave a comment!

Friday 2 November 2012

Girl Guides in Wartime

Hello readers! Remember this layered book from my "Guides World Guiding Badge" lapbook post?  I now have PDFs ready with the printables that I had used for my Girl Guides in Wartime meeting. This meeting is appropriate for November since Remembrance Day is just around the corner.  It includes pages to hang on the wall and their mini version of pics used to put in the layered book as well as the meeting plan.  Go back to my post , "The Role of Girl Guides During Wartime", for a little more insight about how my idea for this meeting evolved.

Here is the Lapbook Lessons video of how to make a layered book. {This person shows a 3 paged layered book but I used 4 pages in mine}. 

If you are interested in my Girl Guides in Wartime meeting plan you may email leeannfraser at hotmail dot com.