Tag Archives: necklace

What We’re Making: Leis and Surfer Shirts

September 15, 2016Creativity/Spirituality, What We're Makingleis, necklace, paint, paper craft, surfer shirts, watercolor

Maybe it’s almost fall, but here in Texas, it still feels like summer. And to me, summer means going to the beach! In August we made our own leis and surfer shirts with our groups to really get in the spirit of the season.

The leis were made from construction-paper flowers interspersed with sections of straw. Kaye prepped the flowers and straw pieces ahead of time, and also wrapped one end of the string in tape for easier stringing. Once on site she taped the strings to the table at each participants place, leaving enough room to knot the leis after the participants were done. She said this made tying the final necklace together much easier!

For the surfer shirts, Kaye cut shirt-front shapes from butcher paper. To decorate the shirts, we provided both watercolor markers for drawing, and sponge stampers and ink pads for flower-making.

Then everyone could pin on their surfer shirts and put on their leis and be all set for the beach!

Did you go to the beach this summer? Show us your fun beach attire!

What We’re Making: Rodeo Wear

March 27, 2016Creativity/Spirituality, What We're Makingcowboy, cowboy hat, cowgirl, hat, Lone Star, necklace, rodeo

March means many things for Austin, one of which is Rodeo! Yes, the rodeo was in town this month and we made cowboy hats and Lone Star necklaces to celebrate.

For the cowboy hats, we cut out the hats and the headbands and stapled them together ahead of time. That way the participants could just decorate straight away, then we’d size the headbands to their heads and staple them to fit! We used posterboard cut into strips for the headbands, and we made sure to have extra strips to size participants that wear helmets and need a little extra head room. 🙂

For the Lone Star necklaces, we cut out stars from foam board ahead of time. The participants used large plastic needles to thread the cord through their star. Then they knew that point would be the top of the star, and could get to decorating! We used Sharpies, glued on jewels, and tied on plastic strips for a great overall effect.

Such fun to make and wear! Keep on ridin’, all you rodeo folk!

What We’re Making: Mardi Gras Masks and Beads

February 8, 2016Creativity/Spirituality, What We're MakingArt, beads, craft, mardi gras, mask, masks, necklace

Mardi Gras is upon us once again! We made festive masks and beaded necklaces with our groups last week.

Some tips if you’d like to do this activity with your own group:

We chose to do four different mask shapes; our participants love the variety!
You’re going to want good scissors to cut out the outsides of the masks, and a sharp craft knife to cut out the eye holes. Trust me on that part.
To help the cords stay put in the masks, we put a piece of tape over that area of the back of the mask before punching the holes. The tape doesn’t hold down the cord, but it does help reinforce the posterboard of the mask itself.
We actually tied the cord to one end of the mask ahead of time, even before the participants had decorated them, as it eliminated a step (we didn’t have to hand out cords that the participants would need to keep track of, nor tie them twice for every participant). Streamlining the process can be very helpful!
For the beaded necklaces, we pre-cut the cord to a certain length, and made a mark on the cord about two inches from the end (using white cord, we just added a dot with a marker). We then explained to the participants to please keep their beads between the two dots, so there is enough room to tie a knot. The visual reference seems to help.
Of course green, yellow, and purple are traditional Mardi Gras colors, and we mentioned that to our participants, but we provided markers, feathers, and sequins of all colors. Everyone could use whatever they gravitated toward that day.