Friendship Bracelets.

Little Gifts for our Girl Scouts from the Leaders......

"Our Troop Would KNOT Be The Same Without You!"
*And if your husband is an outdoor person like mine, he will go into the various situations you can use these type of KNOTS.

S.W.A.P.S

Troop Leader Carolen had the Brownies get to know each a bit at the first meeting.

They talked about what they did this Summer...filled out their Summer Thrill Charts if they hadn't done so already and made these adorable S.W.A.P.S.

They then went around to the different Troops and handed them out.

This Lollipop is so simple but adorable...!

Basically, what our Troop is doing on S.W.A.P.S....

We have a box that has 2 different SWAP Materials in it.

Whenever one of our Troops has time or finishes early....they get to work on some SWAPS.

These will be handed out at all the Council and Other Troop Events that we go to, so we're not empty handed.

I like this because the girls aren't standing around wasting time when done early. It's a great idea from my Leaders...!

No Soliciting...!

This is going to be one of my first craft projects when I move...!

Going to make a board to put outside like this...!

Mini Scrapbook

Last meeting, the girls decorated a chipboard Girl Scout.

It's actually going to be the front page to their mini scrapbook album that they will be doing all year round.

We will keep adding pages onto it.

For Homework: I needed them to decorate the back of that girl. They could use whatever materials you have on hand. The sky is the limit!

Bring them back at this Tuesday's meeting....!

I will be putting them in their own bags so they don't lose them. I will also be giving them pictures throughout the year to put in them.

If you ever take pictures and would like to share, please email me at bobbicamacho@hotmail.com

I have a few girls that left them at the meeting. I have them with me. If your GS did not take one home, please get it from me this week to complete. Thank YOU!

*These turned out adorable. We did one page a month for each holiday or season. At the end of the year, I bound them into Mini Albums {I kept their pages in gallon sized bags all year at my home so they don't get lost} I printed out wallet sized pictures and they put them in the last meeting. The very last Award Ceremony, they all got a Scrapbook Patch.

Dues....!

This year we are doing things a little differently with Dues.

Instead of paying at the door, the girls are going to collect them within their own Troops.

We had a cute box at the front of the girls to put their Dues in when they Sign-In.

 One way of having my girls be more responsible with the money is to have them carry their Dues on their own. My little Daisy wears dresses sometimes and doesn't have pockets so I thought having them carry some type of pouch would be good so they don't lose their money.

I envisioned a smaller see-through pouch when I made it up in my mind...but these were .97 cents at Walmart....so they work. They are the binder pouches with the holes, so I put flowers to cover them up. The little lace is actually elastic so they can slip it on their wrists.

Hopefully, they work well....! We'll test them out this week.

T-Shirt Make-Over.

If you are looking for a fun way to dress up your Girl Scout Shirts, here is an idea...!

I was asked to put this tutorial up for you all and in perfect timing too...!

For Vacation Bible School this year, the kids all got T-shirts and they were a little too big. So I thought that I would make them over for their performance. I actually timed myself because as we were heading out the door to go to church, Maelyn says "Mom, I do want my shirt like Patience's now." It took me 7 minutes to make hers...!

Take your t-shirt.

 Cut each side from the bottom up to the armpit/sleeve.

 Next, cut a series of slits. Make sure to cut the front and back at the same time so the slits are the same length. I make mine about 1 inch wide....you can do up to 3 inches. How far in you cut depends upon how tight you want the shirt. If the shirt is really big, cut further in.

*Just realized we could have done this with our Cleanup Shirts*

 Tie them together. Make sure you double knot.

Simple as that...!

Have your child model with a goofy face and you are done...!

Pinwheels.

For our last ceremony, we decorated the Food Table with some Pinwheels.

I just thought they looked Rainbow-y and fun.

They are super duper easy to make and great for any occasion...!

Start off with your scrapbook paper or cardstock and cut it into a square, or for a giant one leave it the size of the paper which is 12 X 12.  The one below was cut into 8 X 8.

 Next make a Criss Cross design like an X covering your paper with a ruler.

 Cut your X on the lines, but leave the middle in tact. Do not cut the middle....!

 These are not my hands obviously...! LOL Noe was helping...!

Take every other corner and fold it in to the middle.

 Put a Pin threw the middle if you want it to spin.

For the Awards, I just used a cute Brad and tapped a dowel to the back for a decoration.

 To spin, put an eraser on the back to stick the pin threw.

 It could also be a pencil with an eraser to stick it into the ground. This will make it spin...!

 How easy and cute are they to make?!

The girls can make them easily. They are fun for party decorations as well.

VALENTINE CRAFTS

Last meeting, our craft time consisted of a couple simple Valentine Crafts.

I thought I would post them because it's kind of fun doing crafts with the family and also I've been getting some Girl Scout Troop Leaders commenting me on my other family blog.

This first Craft is a Lollipop Flower.

*BTW...these are both Dollar Tree finds. Everything is from the Dollar Store.

The first craft uses only tissue paper, floral tape and a lollipop.

 I had cut the tissue paper in circles ahead of time. The girls got 3 circles per flower.

 Have them push the Lollipop through all tissue papers.

They then need to crumble up the tissue to make a full flower.

 We used floral tape for the stick part. Honestly, next time....I'm just going to use tape to make the tissue paper hold up. The girls had a very hard time with the floral tape. Live and learn...right?

 The next Valentine Craft looked like a Heart Flower.

Double Sided Tape, Lollipops, and Construction Paper all from the Dollar Store. The yarn was from our pumpkin project in October.

 Have the girls make 2 hearts. One bigger than the other. They also used decorative scissors for the bigger one to give it a cute touch!

{Many of the girls had a hard time cutting hearts....so maybe drawing them out with pencil would help for next time?}

 They used the Double Sided Tape to adhere them together.

One piece of tape was put on the littler heart in the front to stick the lollipop.

 Tie your ribbon or green yarn to the stick to make it look like leaves...!

Cute right?
All the Troops can do these very easily...and not be bored.



Girl Scout Cookie Favors.

Next year is my 10th Wedding Anniversary and I am planning our Vow Renewal.

I was trying to come up with one of my very favorite things in the world for favors.

Why not Girl Scout Cookies?! Ya, why not? They would be delicious and adorable as favors.

I looked around the web to see if it's ever been done before when I came across these cute favor bags for a wedding with Girl Scout Cookies in them...! Aren't they great?

I found them here at Wedding Tidbits.

Why not stop there? They would be fun for birthday parties wrapped in bags that matched the theme.

The best part is....Girl Scout Cookies freeze really really well. So, if you have a daughter whose birthday is months away...you can stock up, freeze them and use them as favors still....!

Cookie Bundles.

Cookie Bundles are when someone buys three or more boxes of cookies from your Girl Scout.

A nice way to hand them their cookies would be to bundle them up with ribbon or cellophane paper. Use your creativity...!

I've seen a few ideas on the internet on how to create a cute Thank You to your customers.

Aren't these adorable?!

Last GS Meeting, some of our Troops made little Thank You notes to hand out to the customers as well.
If you need more, here are some that you can save and print to give out. ABC Cookies also has more to choose from...!

Putting on Badges....

Although the Badges and Patches are fun for the girls to earn them....they are not fun for Mom's to put on...!

Granted, we don't have to sew them on anymore like my Mom used to. However, they seem to not stick very well when you iron them on. My daughters troop numbers have been also coming off!

I decided to try it a different way...!

I have this package of Heat N Bond from Jo-ann's Fabrics {across from the mall.} I am pretty sure Walmart carries this also in the craft section. It makes the fabric, or patches in this case really sticky.

 Open your roll of Heat and Bond and measure out a piece that covers your patch.  These Pumpkin Patch ones did not stick very well before.

 Cut the Heat N Bond.

 Next, cut it out into the exact shape and size you want it to be. {I put a towel under when ironing} Iron the Heat N Bond to the patch on Wool Setting and No Steam. Maybe 30 seconds or so until you know it's on good?!

 Now, peel the backing off of the Heat N Bond like so...

 Place it where ever you want on the sash and put it on just as you would normally. Iron from the back and the front {when ironing from the front, place a towel over...do not put the iron on directly to the patch!} The Heat N Bond makes it extra sticky.

 Avoid looking at my poor iron. I never ironed until recently with GS..! My iron was always used for crafts!

I hope this helps you Mom's some...! It helped me.

These are a pain to put on...!

Gum Ball Decoration.

For the Christmas Party, Amanda and I set out to look for Gingerbread Decorations.
We couldn't really find any for the theme. So..we decided to make alot of them to stick within some type of budget.
From Walmart, we bought the same supplies for me and for her. We talked a little about what we could do with them...and then went home to make some decorations. Well, with the same supplies we came up with totally different ideas. I love when that happens. Just like the Girls. We give them supplies for a project and they all interpret it differently!

I went with these super simple Gum Balls.

We got a package of 2 Styrofoam Balls at Walmart.

I just painted them whatever colors I had at home and set them on top of a cup to dry.

 In the wrapping paper section of Winco, I found a roll of cellophane paper {this clear wrapping paper for packing baskets} for .88 cents!

I cut a piece of it and wrapped it around the dry "Gum Balls."

I had a bunch of ribbon at home already so I just tied the ends with Christmas Ribbon.

Instant Christmas Decorations...!



PUMPKIN CRAFT

The link for the Pumpkin Craft that all the Girls made this week at the meeting....... is right {HERE!}

If you want to make more, it has a great tutorial.
I have three girls, so I lucked out with the three the girls made!
Also, if your Girl did not finish...go ahead and finish it up!

Have fun Craftin'!

Pilgrim Hats.

Leader Amanda had the Brownies and Daisies make some cute crafts last meeting.

The girls made Indian Hats and some girls made Pilgrim Hats. We ran out of time...!

I thought I would post how to make them in case you want to make them at home as well.

Here are the instructions Amanda gave to me....

Take a long piece of white construction paper. Fold the top upwards about 2 inches.

 Next, from the left side go 6 inches over and cut straight up.

Do the same on the right side, go 6 inches over and cut straight up.

 Fold the cut part like so and staple.

My big stapler broke, so I had to use this littler one. It doesn't reach very far.

 Punch holes on the side for the ribbon and tie the ribbon through.

 Cut some cute flowers and attach with a brad or glue. Whatever you have on hand.

 Put on your little Pilgrim's head and tie...!

*My darling daughter lost more teeth this weekend*

She talked with them about getting along with others just as Pilgrims got along with the Indians.
I just thought they were adorable and had to post...!