Fairy Wand

This would probably not go over well with our older campers, but I think our younger girls would enjoy making their very own magic wands. Okay, actually, I want MY very own magic wand.

I have shyed away from this project in the past, since I wanted to appeal to all ages, but I think this could be a really fun activity for our junior girls...and also...me.

Instructions can be found here.

Sunflowers

Our Art Center offers Craft Activities such as Jewelry Making, Rocketry and Ceramics. Now and then, I love to offer lessons in Fine Arts, and I am always amazed at what our campers produce. One of my favorite lessons was based on Van Gogh's famous Sunflowers. We set up a vase of silk sunflowers and offered the campers acrylic paints. The finished products were varied and amazing. Even the youngest campers created impressive works.

More information on this project can be found here.

An Oldie But a Goodie - Paper Clay Bowl

This was our first project EVER at camp. In fact, the bowl pictured above was created by my daughter when she was 8 years old. It is so simple and useful, and considering this one was made in 2003, it has held up pretty well after all these years.

The bowl above was made with Paper Clay, we softened with our hands, and then folded in glitter specs. We eventually started adding tempera paint right into the clay. When you work the paint into the clay, the clay changes color. Super cool. We rolled the clay out and molded around little plastic bowls from the dining hall. They dry overnight, feather light, yet surprisingly sturdy.

I found instructions for a similar project from Crayola.com

You can find project instructions here.

Now This Looks Like Fun! Packing Tape Casting

I just found this amazing project at TapeSculpture.org.

If you Google "Packing Tape Casting", there are a ton of websites that give instructions. In a nutshell, you basically wrap any figure or object in packing tape, cut it off and then repair the seam.

This will be a huge hit with the campers, and I think a worthy exception to my "It should be useful" rule of thumb. This is one project that's just fun.

I can't wait!

Here's a Youtube video that shows exactly how it done.
I can't wait! (Did I already say that????)

Topiary, I Want One!

Not sure that 14 year old girls would appreciate a topiary, but, once again this is something they can make look beautiful without having to be terribly talented artistically. Fake-o flowers from Walmart are inexpensive and a perfect addition.

These could be made in one class or 4, depending on how elaborate we would want to get.

The instructions call for Topiary forms, but I would opt for a foam ball attached to a wooden dowel.

Ribbons and pretty paper embellish this.

Instructions can be found here.

Gel-ly Bowls

Dick Blick does it again. What a beautiful project! This is constructed with wire mesh, collage materials (i.e. tissue paper) and "gel medium". I wonder if you could simply use mod-podge (I love mod-podge)...I'm going to look into that.

I got to meet the creative forces at Dick Blick at a recent conference. Once again, I was not disappointed. They have a boatload of amazing projects that they haven't even posted online yet...I'll have to keep checking back...but they never fail to inspire me.

Again, I love this because it is useful, fairly inexpensive to construct, and a camper doesn't need to be Picasso to end up with a thing of beauty.

Instructions can be found here.

Tick Tock Block Clock

Hello! How adorable is this. We have done clocks in the past, but this one is so original. The colors on the blocks are actually paper which is decoupaged on. And if Mod-Podge is involved, I'm totally into it.

I can see using different coordinating patterns to get a really cool effect, or we could simply paint these.

This is a great older girl project, though I think the younger girls would probably do well.

We need clock works, wooden blocks, mod-podge (of course!) and general embellishments.

From the geniuses at www.DuncanCrafts.com
Click here for instructions.

3d Chalk Drawings

Okay, I'm pretty sure we are NOT going to do this project, but oh my, it is incredible.

Home Made Checkers

I love when projects are USEFUL. Something that our campers will use during the winter and think about warm summer days. Something that their moms won't want to toss in the trash the minute they come home.

Several summers ago, we made our own Checkers Sets.

The campers painted checkerboards with acrylic paint on wooden boards. We sealed the paint with acrylic spray, or we could have used Envirotex for an extra shiny finish.

My daughter made hers in pink and green by first painting with the lighter color, and then masking off the areas to be checkered and then painting the darker color.

Checkers were made out of Sculpey in complimentary colors. It was just precious, and I think its time to pull that project and put it back into circulation.

Sculpey Swirley Frame

We have used Sculpey clay every year. The colors are vibrant, the clay is easy to work with and the funnest part is when you can mix the colors to make new beautiful marble-y patterns.

Sculpey has come out with a new product called "Studio" by Sculpey. The colors seem richer, the finish is suede like, and they say that the finished product is more durable than projects made with traditional Sculpey.

Picture frames are always divine, everyone can use and enjoy them, and this project seems simple enough. Even though this is shown with the new Sculpey, I'll bet the good old classic Sculpey will work just fine.

Instructions for Sculpey Frame

Nature Necklaces

Family Fun Magazine and website has a very clever array of original craft ideas. I kind of like this one, part nature, part jewelry.

The campers could spend the first ten minutes of their class hunting for beautiful stones, and then the balance working with wire to turn their finds into cool necklaces.

I think the younger campers would find this particularly appealing, and think this would be one of the few jewelry projects that might appeal to younger boys as well.

At our camp, we hold on to all projects until visiting day. I think our biggest challenge with this one will be keeping the campers from sneaking these back to their bunks!

Nature Necklace Instructions

Just for Monkey Girls

We have offered a sewing class at camp for one season. Last year we made a lot of pillows, pillows, pillows. I'm hoping that we expand our repertoire this year, and thought what could be more appealing than the classic sock monkey.

I'm thinking this might be appropriate for our older campers only, since the younger girls might not yet have the fine motor skills needed for this craft.

My measure of a good project is whether or not I can do it. Sounds silly, right? Not really. I am a craft lover, not afraid to get messy and open to trying new things. But, I'm not patient! My skills aren't much different from our older campers...and believe me, some of the girls talents far eclipse mine!

So this one, I'm going to attempt myself...I'm a sucker for stuffed animals, and I have a soft spot in my heart for monkey girls. Assuming I finish, I'll post the results...and if it's really cute, there's a certain New York City Monkey Diva that'll get to keep it.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SOCK MONKEY CRAFT

NEW! Carol Duvall Video - How to make a Sock Monkey!

Beaded Bottles

Dick Blick is an Art Supply Company that I love. They come up with fresh project ideas every year, that are above and beyond any other company that I have worked with.

I'm extra lucky, because I'm going to meet the crafty geniuses from Blick tomorrow, when I attend the American Camping Association Conference. They always have amazing samples that I love to see.

This craft struck me as a simpler, yet more intricate kind of mosaic project. The beads are stuck onto the bottle with wax, and can be removed fairly easily if needed.

Instructions

I love Shrinky Dinks.

Cute earrings, huh? Can you believe they're made with good old Shrinky Dinks? So simple and the best part is watching them shrink. Just when you think they are going to fold into themselves, and be ruined forever, they magically flatten out.

One caveat, always punch the hole in for the earring hook BEFORE baking, or else...

Great for key chains, necklaces, book marks, scrapbooking embellishments...endlessly wonderful.,

I love Shrinky Dinks.

Button Frame and Flowerpot

What can I say, I'm a sucker for punishment. Mosaic work can be tedious, and is usually a big mess when we start the grouting process, but the end result is really wonderful.

This project is a little different because it uses buttons instead of tiles, and I think it looks really quirky and cute.

The how-to's can be accessed here:

Inspiration Card

We have offered Scrapbooking to our campers for the past 4 or 5 summers, and this year, I'm planning to extend into Paper Crafting.

Here is a pretty card that can serve as a starting point for a lot of other cards.

We'll need some card stock, pretty scrap-paper, some embellishments, a nice choice of rubber stamps and colored pencils.

Another option would be to emboss the rubber stamp area as well.

Instructions for this card are here.

Painted Rocks

This might be the simplest craft yet, I don't understand why we haven't ever done this. This would be great for boys and girls alike, and can run the gamut from simple to extremely detailed.

I love this most as a rainy day craft, since we need so little prep to get it ready. Just nice smooth rocks and stones and acrylic paint. Then we'll seal them with acrylic spray. Voila!

All Natural Bath Products

Last summer, we created custom bath salts using
2/3 cup Epsom salts
2 or 3 drops of candle fragrance
A few drops of food coloring.

We stirred our mixture with wooden craft sticks, and poured our bath salts into glass jars which we decorated with pretty gem embellishments.

This was a great craft for our youngest campers, and though we didn't get a chance to do this with our oldest campers, they all seemed very interested. This summer, we will definitely give the older girls a chance.

I found a cool site called www.kitsforcrafts.com. They have all kinds of project kits and recipes for homemade, all natural bath products, just right for kids. Perfect!!!

Day One

Every summer, I pack up my three children and head for 2 months as camp art director for a Pennsylvania overnight camp. Though I'm only at camp for 8 weeks, I spent many months preparing project ideas for our campers. This blog is going to journal the different project inspirations and ideas that I have.

Today, I have no inspirations, other than to start this blog! But, as soon as I start coming up with stuff, you'll be the first to know.