Circle Art

This is a fun activity that I used a few years ago when we were doing an Arts (Scissors create-a-challenge) badge. This was wonderful at the start of the meeting, while waiting for everybody to arrive.

I made my own template based off a design I found, however, I forgot to write down the source... I have a feeling it was an old Girl Scouts Science and Technology pack.

I loved the unique the designs!

More wreath designs

One last wreath post, which will hopefully catch me up on the last few years of absent photos.
All these wreaths were made by the Brownie and Guide units (with some adult assistance!).

You can view all our past handmade wreaths by searching through the Anzac Day and Remembrance tags.

Please let me know if any of our projects inspire you - we'd love to see photographs!

Making a Wreath of Remembrance (with kids!)

I found some photos, taken a few years ago when we added purple flowers to our wreath to commemorate the animals in war.

I cannot see that I have posted these before, so I thought it would be fun to show the basic process in how we create our Anzac Day wreath each year.

The ring shape is created from tracing a large plate onto cardboard - which becomes the size of the inner circle. For the outer circle, I just eyeball the correct distance, and sketch it out with pencil. Cut out using a sharp craft knife. I always do this step myself with the size of the wreath determined by how large my Guide unit is at the time. (The flower making takes quite a while, so don't make your wreath too big if you don't have many members - I've made this mistake too many times!)

The Brownie Guides do the remainder of the wreath themselves, with supervision.

Wrap the cardboard in crepe paper and glue the ends down.

Create your flowers. These were all made using felt.

Add a ribbon across the wreath and hot glue the ends onto the back, so they are not seen. Test your pens before you write across the ribbon, as many will bleed. 

Hot glue the flowers down.

Add a bow. I usually find a Youtube video for one of my oldest members to watch and follow. Example: Ribbon bow (we don't sew, instead just use hot glue). 

Hot glue the bow onto the wreath. Add a glue dot to each of the loops and tails of the bow, so that it holds its shape.

Your wreath is complete!

This is the basic design that we use almost every year. For the most part, the only thing that changes are the plates I measure the wreath shape and the flowers the Brownies make.

Here are some photos of the flowers on our 2018 wreath, to show how the look can change completely, even when the base design is identical.

This was such a fun design - even though it was definitely the busiest wreath we've ever created!

I Can See A Rainbow

ANZAC Day always brings another handmade wreath.

And this one has been a long time coming.

It was many years ago that we were first inspired by a rainbow wreath lain at the Sydney cenotaph. The Brownies admired it, I took a photo for future inspiration and then years went by. Each year we discussed creating a rainbow effect and time after time the wreathes morphed into something else.

This year wasn't looking any different, with pink being the dominant flower colour created, despite a discussion and vote that the unit wanted to create a rainbow! During our second wreath-making meeting, I decided to add more structure than I usually give during crafts, in one last attempt to create the rainbow before scrapping the idea for good.

We grouped the flowers already completed into colours. As each Brownie was ready to create the next flower, we looked over the groups as a whole to identify which colours were missing or lacking in numbers. Finally a rainbow started to form and with it, the excitement to contribute the various coloured flowers that were needed.

The actual creating of flowers is never a problem. We are lucky to have cupboard of miscellaneous supplies to draw from, and the creativity of the Brownies always astounds me. This year was especially lovely as I watched members teach each other new skills and challenge themselves to try something new.

I'm glad that we finally conquered the rainbow.

Back to the drawing board next year.

Recycling Programs

During my time as a Guide Leader, I can't recall a time when I have EVER reused an entire program. Sure, I rely on old favourite games when I need a filler, but for the most part I try to use new material - for both meetings and camps. I think that it challenges me to keep things exciting and fresh, rather than letting things get stale. (Plus, I have to try and make a dent in the craziness that is my Guiding Pinterest board!)

However, lately I've been thinking about the merits of reusing my programs, especially ones that have been successful!

It all started on Thinking Day, when one of my Guides came back to Brownies to run a themed night. It was was well put together, and everyone had a fun night. However, some of her discussions and activities made me realise that my current unit really did not have enough of a foundation in World Guiding. 

Back when my Guide was in Brownies herself, I was constantly running activities and games about World Guiding. In fact, she was in the unit when I ran the program I plan on recycling - my World Guiding and India/Sangam program back from 2015.

Over the past year, with new members joining and older Brownies progressing to the Guide unit, it really feels like I'm running an entirely new group! It's a strange feeling, but I think it will be nice to go back to basics.

It will be be interesting comparing how the program runs with a new unit four years later.