Susan Caplan's Blog
Dec 10, 2009
Posted by Susan Caplan
Whether you are holding an arts and crafts birthday party for young children or a party for tweens, hosting a craft booth at a school fair, or are teaching an art-oriented school or scout program, here are some sanity-saving tips.
Organize Art and Craft Supplies
Make certain that you have everything that you need – this seems obvious, but keep in mind that only three or four kids will be able to reach the supplies that you set on the table for sharing. That means, you’ll need duplicate materials – two sets of markers or colored pencils for eight kids. For some things, like bottles of glue, glue sticks, and scissors, plan on having one for each child.
Whatever the project(s), read the directions and list all of the materials you’ll need. This also gives you a chance to review how easy or complicated the project is and how much work you and any other adults will need to do for the children. Tying strings onto a dozen
paper plate masks will be frustrating for the kids who have to wait and then the adult who keeps saying, “I only have one set of hands.” Think of ways to make things easier for you.
When possible, keep materials on the table in separate bins, cups, or bowls for the different materials – a box to hold scissors, a bowl for glue sticks, and a cup for colored pencils.
Doing Craft Projects with Several Children
Let kids know what project they’ll be doing. To benefit different learning styles, try to prepare a sample so kids can see where they’re headed. Introduce the final project and describe some of the main steps. Explain that you’ll be giving step-by-step directions as they work on the project, particularly if the project involves more than three actions. If reasonable, and the directions are brief, type up the procedure the kids will be following.
This last part is useful if there are numerous children or the children will be filtering in and out of the area (such as at a fair), and therefore will be working on different parts of the project at various times.
Teaching Children to Use Art and Craft Supplies
Given free use of supplies, children will use a lot more glue, tape, paint, glitter, etc than they need to complete their project. If limiting supplies is an issue, tear off pieces of tape for the children to take instead of giving them an entire roll of tape. To conserve glue, pour small amounts of white glue onto paper plates and give kids cotton swabs to apply glue to their crafts.
If supplies aren’t an issue, allow children to pour glue from bottles and use tape straight from the roll. Many kids will use more materials than necessary but this way they learn how to use and conserve supplies. Really, their concern is that their project will fall apart if they just use a few pieces of tape or small dabs of glue.
Doing art and craft project with a group of children is different than working with one or two children. Make certain that you have enough supplies and materials for everyone’s use to stave off waiting and arguments. Let kids see a sample of what they’ll be making and give them clear directions both verbal and written. Have fun!
Dec 3, 2009
Posted by Susan Caplan
For her wedding reception, a friend filled a tall glass jar a third of the way with dried beans and used them to anchor a single silk flower. I’ve seen websites highlighting variations on that idea, which then set me off in a fit of brainstorming for my own wedding next fall.
Recycled Jar and Glassware Table Decorations
Given enough time, you can save yourself purchasing glass containers by collecting assorted sizes with the help of friends and family. Use an adhesive remover to get rid of dried on label glue and rinse in a mixture of one cup vinegar to one gallon of water. Allow the glass to air-dry. Avoid putting lotion on your hands before making or setting up the arrangements so you can avoid greasy fingerprints on the glass.
Depending on the space you’ll have on the table (is the table round or rectangular?) and the sizes of the containers you’ll be able to cluster several together in an arrangement. If the table decorations seem too low, try stacking jars and glasses. Use glass glue (check craft and hardware stores) to attach pieces is you’re afraid of mishaps.
Make Your Own Wedding Centerpieces
Set a lit tea light or votive candle in each jar. Make certain that the jar is higher than the candle and be sure to bring along fireplace lighters to reach the candles. Wrap a bit of garland around the top of the jar. The garland can be bits trimmed from evergreen branches (do a few days before the event to make certain they won’t leak sap), silk flowers or leaves, star garland, etc. that will complement the theme or color scheme.
Emphasize the wedding’s color scheme and fill the jars with colored aquarium sand or gravel, silk rose petals, silk autumn leaves, or even water tinted with food coloring.
Fill the bottom of the jar with sand, aquarium gravel, glass “rocks”, tumbled gemstones, dried beans, etc. and set a single silk flower inside the jar. The size of the flower should be proportionate to the jar – the petals can just graze the glass without being squashed. Avoid too much empty space around the flower which will give the piece an unfinished look.
Fill the jars with candy-coated or foil-covered chocolates. In the autumn or winter, use nuts in the shell.
For a winter wedding, fill the jars with ball ornaments. The smaller the jar, the smaller the ornaments should be.
Fill the jar with part of a metallic garland or with shredded gift bag filler.
Add height, by filling taller jars with ting, branches spray painted gold or silver, dried grasses, etc.
If you can find enough recycled jars, containers, glassware, etc. this part of your centerpieces is free. If you use a common element in each of the containers (candles, candy or nuts, ornaments) and set enough jars on the table, these could also become your party favors (which will also mean that there will be less to clean up at the end of the event).
You can also mix and match what will go inside the jars on each table – use color to hold the pieces together (in one jar set purple silk rose petals; in a second, purple shredded gift bag filler; and a purple votive in a third jar). It isn’t necessary to make the arrangements at each table exactly the same – so don’t freak out that you have nine mayonnaise jars but ten tables. Have fun brainstorming ways to fill the jars!
Nov 11, 2009
Posted by Susan Caplan
If you have a kitchen cabinet filled with coffee mugs from holiday grabs and business giveaways, you can give them a new life as gifts to others. Does this create a vicious cycle of mugs that get passed around from person to person? Perhaps, but look at it as a way to clean your cabinets and reuse resources while pulling together an inexpensive gift.
If the mug will be used for beverages, then give a mug that hasn’t been used. Otherwise, give a new life to mugs that still look good on the outside but have permanent stains inside the mug by using it as a planter. Use these ideas to brainstorm your own ideas for reusing mugs.
Repainting and Decorating Mugs
To hide the logos from businesses, or just give a new life to a mug that will not be used for beverages, rough up the surface with coarse sandpaper and paint with acrylic paints. Or try a collage of tissue paper or scraps of paper glued onto the mug and then cover with a few layers of a decoupage glue. Add a bit of glitter glue or rhinestones to add some sparkle to an existing pattern.
Catnip Garden in a Mug
Look for a mug with a cat or floral design. Set some aquarium gravel or marbles in the bottom of the mug for drainage. Add dirt within an inch of the opening. Scatter catnip seeds and water. Allow the plant to grow and give to your favorite felines. If growing this plant in advance won’t work, then set the gravel, dirt, and seeds into individual plastic bags and place in the mug with directions for growing and care.
Floral Planter or Centerpiece in a Mug
Use these centerpieces to decorate a breakfast or brunch table. They could also be used as a non-obtrusive centerpiece at a baby or bridal shower. Fill the mug with water and cut flowers. Or, add gravel, dirt, and seeds of a low-growing flower, like dwarf marigolds, to convert the mug into a flower pot.
Quick Edible Gift with a Mug
Give a little something to co-workers or acquaintances. Fill a mug with tea bags, packages of flavored instant coffee, or packets of hot chocolate mixes. Pop them into a cellophane gift bag, tie a ribbon to close the bag and set into the mug. Or, fill the mug with a bag of wrapped candy. Or, add a stack of home baked cookies.
Art Supply and Stationary Set in a Mug
Give a mug filled with colored pencils to a child or artistic teen. Fill a mug with pens and pencils; self-sticking notes; mini clips, staplers, and tape rolls – useful for adults but fun for kids. Set an assortment of colorful paper clips in assorted sizes in the mug and add a gift tag calling it a sculpture or construction kit (this may work for adults as well as kids ages eight and up).
Other Gifts in Mugs
Fill a clear glass mug with colorful tumbled gemstones found a toy or science & nature stores. Set a short pillar candle in the mug to turn it into a candle holder or pour a homemade candle in the mug. Give the adult or child crafter a mug filled with beads, chenille stems, paper punches, etc.
Find a new purpose for unused mugs while creating inexpensive gifts or table centerpieces. Keep in mind that it’s what goes inside that count, as you pull together a mini garden, craft kit, or edible gift in a mug.
Oct 8, 2009
Posted by Susan Caplan
Some people may call me antsy. Whenever I have to attend a meeting (particularly an all-day affair) or a workshop, I bring along yarn. I have knitted and crocheted scarves, hats, gloves, afghans, and even once, a cat bed while in meetings. Non-crafters may think that I’m not paying attention but I actually feel better attuned to what is going on around me if my hands are busy.
Knitting and Crocheting Projects for the Car
If someone else is driving and we’ll be in the car for more than an hour, I’ll be working on something simple. This is a bit of a challenge because I can get horribly car sick. I have difficulty reading map directions in a moving vehicle. So, I look for easy projects that require little or, preferably, no, reading. Looking down at a project can be queasy-making. I feel the project with my fingertips and hazard quick glances at the fabric.
Obviously, this means easy projects – which is probably why everyone I know owns a hat that I’ve made. A lot of people I don’t know own hats that I’ve knit or crocheted because I donate them by the bagful to charities. I once knit a hat from my
yarn stash that earned $40 at a silent auction for a nonprofit organization.
Crafting on Vacation
Soon I’ll be heading on vacation. My boyfriend plans on doing the majority (if not all) of the driving for a 400 mile trip to Pennsylvania. Once there, some of the places we want to visit are an hour or more away from where we’ll be staying. He will groan and roll his eyes when he gets into the car and sees the dozen skeins of yarn crammed into a tote bag.
But crocheting means that I can carry on a conversation and watch the scenery in ways I couldn’t do if I was reading a book (which really isn’t going to happen in my case). I have requests for fingerless gloves. Actually, someone who watched me crocheting gloves at a meeting last year just requested a few pairs to give as door prizes at this year’s meeting/holiday gathering.
Crocheting projects has the advantage of filling idle time. I also enjoy sharing the results with others (surely I’ve met new people this year who’d appreciate a hat or a pair of fingerless gloves). I do have a few projects lined up that require a little more focus (movie night at home?) – a draft stopper for a raffle table, a few small Christmas presents, maybe some cat toys. My crochet hooks are at the ready.
Sep 21, 2009
Posted by Susan Caplan
Someone recently emailed me through Suite101.com asking me how I got started in Environmental Education and how they could switch from their current profession into EE. This made me realize that I got started on a life-transforming path without giving it any forethought. I didn't have a background in Environmental Education when I started working for the Massachusetts Audubon Society as a teacher - I had worked in retail, in the art department for technical magazines, and as an English teacher (I was an English major in college). I had been downsized from my teaching job when I saw a press release in a local paper in which a wildlife sanctuary was looking for teachers to lead field trips - training provided. I loved the week of training! I started reading everything I could about nature. I also started taking classes at that and other nature centers.
Going for a Career Change
I taught school field trips whenever the sanctuary was looking for teachers. When they needed someone to teach school vacation camps, work the reception desk on weekends, scrub toilets, lead scout programs, do data entry, coordinate programs, etc., I grabbed at the opportunity. Some weeks I worked 50+ hours a week while still not being recognized as a full staff member. Five years passed before I became a part-time staff person at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
Volunteer as a Way of Learning
If you're interested in a career change, I would suggest looking for volunteer opportunities around your area. These opportunities will give you a look at how different environmental organizations are run and how their focuses are different. Working at the reception desk a couple of hours a week or even stuffing envelopes gives you a chance to talk to local people who do the job you would like to have someday.
Volunteer at your children's school, offering to lead schoolyard nature explorations or walks in the area. I honestly don't believe that your current profession should hinder your interest in changing your career. It likely will not be an easy switch but you can still do things that will show potential employers what you are doing for your new field of interest.
Learn about the Profession through Classes and Books
Take classes (alone or with your children) at parks, museums, and other nature centers (this also introduces you to people in EE whom you can talk to about volunteer and employment opportunities). Read books not only about nature but about people in nature or teaching in nature - David Sobel has a few books about children learning about math, history, and literature through nature. Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods offers insights into the challenges of getting kids outdoors.
Join environmental organizations that offer classes, workshops, or conferences - use the membership, don't just donate money.
Recreating your professional self is part luck in being at the right place at the right time to meet an available opportunity and preparing yourself for that "luck." Don't forget that your enthusiasm for sharing a love of nature with others is a key factor.
Thank you Elanor for asking the question that got me thinking about all the things that I did and that others can do.
