WELCOME SEASONAL DECORATIONS Welcome to the Seasonal Decorations Project! Please read through this guide carefully, as it contains information and suggestions that are important for your project. 4-H Leaders can obtain further resources and locations of resources from the PEI 4-H Office. Hopefully you, as a member, will “Learn to do by Doing” through hands-on activities that will encourage learning and enjoyment. If you have any questions, contact your District 4-H Officer or your 4-H project leader. May 2013 4-H YEAR COMPLETION You complete a project by: • completing the project Achievement Day requirements • completing a communication project • completing a community project • completing an agriculture awareness project • taking part in Achievement Day You must complete all of the listed aspects in order to show at Fairs and Exhibitions. ACHIEVEMENT DAY REQUIREMENTS Table Top Decoration* Wall Decoration* Sample , one of the following ... Valentine Halloween Treat Bag Easter Egg Collection of three (3) Christmas Tree Ornaments 30 30 10 30 100 Marks *Suitable for a special holiday such as Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day or Thanksgiving. It is recommended that as you complete these required items, you store them safely together in a box or container. When Achievement Day arrives, all your project items are together and ready to be judged. Carefully label all of your items with your name for Achievement Day. EXHIBITION REQUIREMENT One Table Top Decoration OR One Wall Decoration OR One Door Type Decoration If sending your exhibition requirement to the 4-H Fairs, consider making a sturdy decoration that will withstand the packing and unpacking and travel. You are encouraged to package your decoration exhibit carefully to protect it from breaking or crushing in travel. KEEPING IT ALL TOGETHER! It is recommended you get a duotang or a three ring binder in which to keep this member guide and any other project materials you receive from your leader. The duotang or binder can be displayed at your Achievement Day with the above listed requirements. HELPFUL RESOURCE SUGGESTIONS! www.marthastewart.com www.kidsdomain.com/craft www.familycrafts.about.com www.crafts4kids.com www.allfreecrafts.com/familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/ www.makingfriends.com www.craftbits.com www.make-stuff.com www.familyfun.go.com A variety of books are available at the PEI 4-H Office which can be borrowed for a two week loan period. To book these, call 368 -4833 or drop by the PEI 4-H Office at 40 Enman Crescent, Charlottetown. BE A GOOD SPORT! PLAY IT SAFE It is very important that members follow safety procedures when making crafts. Remember: Glue guns are HOT! The glue comes out quite fast and can burn your skin if you are not careful. Keep your fingers away from hot glue. Use a toothpick or craft stick to hold pieces in place until the glue sets. Be careful with sharp pointed items like scissors, knives or other cutting tools. Always carry and pass scissors with the handles turned toward the other person. When doing handstitching, use a thimble to prevent needles from stabbing your fingers. In the spirit of learn to do by doing, all those involved in 4-H are encouraged to practice good sportsmanship, use common sense at all 4-H activities, and the work in any 4-H project should be the member’s own work. YOUR PROJECT Your Leader’s Project Guide has some ideas and some instructions for projects, but you are free to select patterns and ideas from other craft magazines, books or web sites. Check out the PEI 4-H Web Site www.pei4h.pe.ca Ages for 4-H members as of January 1st of the 4-H year: Junior: 9-11 years Intermediate: 12-14 years Senior: 15-21 years JUDGES WILL BE LOOKING FOR... • • • • • • • • • • • Is the article clean and neat? Is the article completely finished and ready for its intended use? Is the article safe to use? Are the ends of yarns or threads finished appropriately without knots or loose ends? Do the articles fit the intended use? Are wooden figures well sanded and finished on all sides? Are the materials used suitable to the design and the intended use? Are the colours suitable for the design and well matched? Are stitch tensions even? Are tole painted articles free from smudges, smears and obvious mistakes? Are stuffed items securely stitched and well joined? Is the stuffing even? STANDARDS FOR JUDGING HANDCRAFTS 45 25 15 15 General Score Card for Handcrafts Workmanship Creative Design General Appearance Colour SAMPLE (Achievement Day Requirement) As an introduction to your Seasonal Decorations Project, you are required to complete ONE sample item. Use your imagination and be as creative as you can. The sample should be ONE of the following… • A Halloween Treat Bag, or • A Valentine, or • A Decorated Easter Egg You will find it more enjoyable to do these at their particular time of year, and you may also find it easier to find ideas when everyone is decorating for the particular event or holiday. Halloween Treat Bag You are free to design your treat bag as you wish. But here is one design you could use. Using a large brown grocery bag, glue a 7 cm hem at the top of the bag. Then add a handle for carrying the treat bag. A strong paper handle glued to each side of the bag should be sufficient. Now you are ready to decorate your bag. Decorate with felt, fun foam, fun fur, fabric, markers, crayons, paint, glitter, stencils, etc. Again the options are endless. A Valentine You may decide to make a Valentine for your sample. This may be made of fabric, lace, paper, baker’s dough, or any other suitable material. If you make a card, it should be a least 11cm x 15 cm. A Decorated Easter Egg Eggs to be decorated can either be hard-cooked or blown. Blown eggs keep from year to year. Various means of decorating eggs include the following… • Shadow Box • Decoupage and Collage • Batiking • Coloring • Sequined How to Blow Eggs • • • • • • • Wash and dry eggs Pierce both ends of the egg with a large needle Slightly enlarge the hole at the small end of the egg Push the needle well into the egg, to break the yolk Hold the egg over a bowl with the small end down Blow into the hole at the opposite end Rinse shell with cold water Tips for Egg Crafts • • • • • • A piece of thin wire strung through holes of blown egg and knotted at one end makes a handy tool when dip-dying or for hanging to dry. After drawing designs with felt tip pen, let dry and coat with clear nail polish to prevent smearing. To make stands for decorated eggs, glue on small plastic curtain rings, buttons, spools, stones, pieces of wood or bottle caps. Liquid lacquer will discolour paper cut-outs of certain kinds of paper and some dried flowers and feathers. Try out on scraps before applying. Pearl nail polish will give a beautiful effect when used in place of varnish. Shells are highly porous. If you plan to eat the eggs later, do not use felt tipped pens or rubber cement for decorating eggs. Decorated eggs to be eaten should be kept in the refrigerator till you are ready to serve them. COLLECTION OF THREE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS (Achievement Day Requirement) Trimming the tree is always a fun part of preparing for Christmas. Homemade Christmas tree ornaments add a special touch to your own tree or are nice to give as gifts to your friends or relatives. You are required to make three Christmas Tree Ornaments as part of your project. There are a wide variety of materials and methods from which to choose when making tree ornaments. You may wish to make three ornaments of similar but not identical design, or use three different designs and techniques. There are lots of ideas as to materials and how they might be used for your tree ornaments. Felt Bread dough Knitted or crocheted Plastic canvas Cross Stitch Nut Shell Beads Fun Foam Chenille Old Christmas Cards Beach Finds (i.e. drift wood, sea shells) Clothespins (soldiers, reindeer, etc.) Lightbulbs (angels, santas, reindeer, etc.) Birch branches Thread spools Small clay pots Embroidery floss (angels) Styrofoam balls and pieces Candy Canes Leaves (wreaths) Bells (wreaths) Buttons (wreaths, snowmen, etc.) Paper (some beautiful scrapbook papers available to use—use cookie cutters for designs) • Glass ball ornaments (stuffed with • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • TABLE TOP DECORATIONS (Achievement Day and Exhibition Requirement) Food is an important part of many holiday celebrations. Because of this, particular attention is paid to the table and how decorations are used to add to the appeal. Using decorations on your table greatly enhances the appearance. Remember, we eat first with our eyes. In this segment of your Seasonal Decorations Project, you are required to make one Table Top Decoration suitable for a special holiday. You are free to select any type of Table Top Decoration that you choose which is easily recognized as representing a particular day such as Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc. The ideas of what you might like to make are endless. Take a look through some craft or home decorating magazines, check out the internet for some great ideas and patterns or visit a craft shop for more ideas. Creating a centre piece is fun. You can use whatever materials you have available and your imagination. Create a CHRISTMAS centre piece using a combination of candles which you can make yourself, acorns, ribbon and a sturdy base. The combinations are endless. Use one or more candles. Combine a bit of greenery with the acorns if you wish. What about a Gingerbread Sleigh with goodies. For a Ghostly Centre Piece for HALLOWEEN, use a foam base, pompoms for pumpkins, small popsicle sticks for a fence, include a candle and some ghostly creatures. For EASTER, a centre piece could be as simple as a basket created out of hobby dough, filled with you decorated Easter eggs. Make a pompom chick, bunny or duck to add a little extra to your Easter basket. For THANKSGIVING, use natural craft items to create your centre piece—use gourds, or corn husk dolls and perhaps include ears of corn. Placemats can also add a special touch to your table. Imagine placemats tailored to the occasion—make your placemat at least 25 x 45 cm. Use fabric and/or felt and your placemat may be quilted, appliquéd, or patchwork. By changing colours or the design, you can create different placemats for Christmas, Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s, Easter, Thanksgiving, or Halloween. You may make matching or complimentary napkins and include a novel napkin ring or holder. WALL OR DOOR DECORATIONS (Achievement Day and Exhibition Requirement) Wreaths, wall plaques, wall hangings, decorative straw brooms or even large Santa Socks can be used to decorate your door or walls for a special season or occasion. Wall hangings can be tailor-made to any season or holiday. Make it from burlap and felt or use finer fabric and make a quilted wall hanging depicting a particular special holiday. You can use embroidery or needlepoint if you wish to create a design. Your wall hanging may range from a quilted hanging depicting an angel heralding the Christmas Season, to a fabric Advent Calendar, to a ghostly scene to hang for Halloween. The choice of designs and materials is almost endless. Create a wreath to hang during the Christmas Season. There are many different types to choose from. You can make fabric wreaths, evergreen ones, or how about a pine cone wreath. More great wreath ideas can be found by searching the internet. Stockings can be hung on your wall or mantel as a Christmas decoration. Socks may be knitted, crocheted, or sewn. They can be decorated to suit a particular person. Names can be added to make it more personal. PROJECT ENROLLMENT DIRECTORY From time to time throughout the 4-H year, you may wish to contact your leader(s) or another project member for one reason or another. Just fill in the information below, and you will have a handy Project Member—Project Leader Directory! MEMBERS’ NAME E-MAIL PHONE NUMBER LEADERS’ NAME E-MAIL PHONE NUMBER How To Make Pompoms 1. Cut two identical cardboard circles that are the desired pompom size. 2. Cut holes in the centre of both circles so that the cardboard circles look like flat doughnuts. The larger the hole, the fuller the pompom. 3. Place the two cardboard circles one on top of the other. 4. Cut several strands of your chosen yarn to a manageable length. 5. Place one strand at the centre hole and wrap yarn from the centre to the edge and back to the centre again. Continue wrapping yarn in this manner until the centre hole is packed with yarn. Distribute yarn evenly around the circle. 6. Insert the blade of the scissors through the year and in between the outside edges of the cardboard circles. Cut evenly the circle until all the yarn has been cut. 7. Pull the cards apart slightly and wrap a length of yarn tightly between the cards—around the middle of the yarn strands—a few times. Secure the yarn tie with a double knot. Leave a trailing end of yarn long enough to hand the pompom with 8. Adjust and fluff the pompom. Trim away an excess yarn. PROJECT MEETINGS DIARY Most projects will require at least six to eight project meetings to complete the project. Meeting Date Location Time At this meeting, we... COMMUNITY PROJECT Each year you are encouraged to provide a service to your community as a 4-H member. This introduces you to the responsibilities of citizenship. You must participate in your club’s plan for a community project and you should have a role to play. Describe your involvement with your club’ community project this year. Our Community Project was _______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ I helped by _____________________________________________________________________________ It was beneficial because __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ I learned ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ AGRICULTURE AWARENESS PROJECT Agriculture is one of PEI’s main industries. You are expected to participate with your club to complete a project (or provide a service) which helps your club or others become aware of the importance of agriculture in our lives. As in the community project, you should actively participate. Our Agricultural Awareness Project was _______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ I helped by _____________________________________________________________________________ It was beneficial because __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ I learned _______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________