Kids' "Primitive" Angel Yarn Doll Ornament

My daughter and I had a great time yesterday spending the afternoon make yarn dolls and yarn doll ornaments (her idea). This is such a great craft project for kids, and can be used as small gifts, ornaments or package decorations. 

I tend to forget that not everyone knows how to make these little people, since I learned as a child too. When we made "witch" yarn dolls (see photo below) for our mother daughter book club, I was reminded that not only kids...but some adults have never learned to make these little treasures. And that both can have such a good time with them because they're "do-able" even for non-crafty types.

So here goes:

Find a small piece of cardboard or plastic (the height you wrap around will determine the height of your doll), and begin loosely wrapping yarn around it. For this particular angel, I wrapped 150 times around. You can do less for a "Biggest Loser" version of an angel...I just like mine "plump."

Slide a short length of yarn underneath one end of the wound strands and tie it to secure. This will be the top of the doll's head.

Gently slide the yarn off of the cardboard.


Hold the "head end" of the lengths, and tie another short piece around where you want the neck to be. Figure this out by how large, visually, you want your "head" to be. (Or rather, the angel's head...)

Separate out a few strands on each side to become the arms, and tie at the wrists. Then trim the loops at the ends of the arms to create the pom poms for the hands.

Next, tie a waist for your little figure, and cut open the bottom loops to form the skirt.

Need hair? You can make a little wig in the same manner. Wrap the yarn around a narrow strip of cardboard, and knot on one end. Slide the loops off and cut open the loops at the opposite end from the tie.

Insert a little yarn underneath the tie at the top of your figure's head, and use it to tie on the wig. Then "style" as desired.







The wings are simply two pipe cleaners bent into wing form and tied on the back.

You can always make her a bit fancier with a ribbon belt, googly or stitched eyes, or dip the bottom edge of her skirt in glue and glitter. We used to add pipe cleaner halos when we were little, too.

As promised, here's the witch version we did for Halloween.

One skein of yarn, a pair of scissors and cardboard can make quite a few of these and keep the little ones crafting for a while.

I'm linking up with the fun at:

Dolling It Up

I received a couple of emails asking if there were any dolls at the International Quilt Festival...of course! Here is a little sampling from the talented doll artists included in the show. Enjoy!

 

Learning About "The Great Olympics"

I love being a Girl Scout Brownie troop Leader! I have just as much fun as the girls do learning about new things, crafting, connecting with international troops, being outdoors, doing philanthropy projects, taking field trips and gaining new skills.

If you’re a Brownie leader (or an elementary school teacher!) the try-it books (try-its are the current earned badges for Brownies) are a wonderful resource for activities. But the oppor

tunities certainly don’t stop with those 60-some-odd options.

Certain Girl Scout councils offer “Council’s Own” try-its in an amazing array

of topics. These programs are developed locally

across the U.S., and most are available to be shared with other councils. Mythology, bats, chemistry, election processes, Renaissance times, candy making, oceanography and volcanoes are just a few of the 100’s of choices.

Our Brownies will be earning a timely try-it next week: “The Great Olympics” from the wonderful Virginia Skyline Council. http://www.gsvsc.org/

Here’s an overview of the badge requirements, and websites that provide all the source materials needed to accomplish them. I hope that whether you’re a leader, teacher / homeschooler, youth leader or mom you’ll find them fun to try with the kids in your life.

"The Great Olympics"

The first Olympics were held in Greece in 776 BC to honor the god Zeus. Now the great athletes of the world participate in Olympics every two years, alternating between summer and winter games.Find out more about the Olympics by completing four of the following activities.

1. Find out about the first Olympics.

• In what events did the athletes compete?

• What clothing did they wear?

• What prizes were awarded?

• Who participated?

• Who watched?

For a well-written, kid-friendly version of Olympic history, visit:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/games/olympics.htm

Olive wreath craft: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/make_an_olive_leaf_crown.htm

2. The symbol of the modern Olympics is five joined circles. Find out what the colors represent and draw the symbol.

An explanation of the rings and why the colors are significant is at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_symbols

and for directions for an inexpensive (love that!) craft to make their own set of rings, go to:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/paper_plate_olympic_rings.htm

3. Draw a picture of at least 10 sports played in the modern summer and winter Olympics. OR Play Olympic Charades. Act out the sports in the Olympics and see if your friends can guess the sports played in the modern summer and winter Olympics. List of sports (summer,winter or all)

A complete list of the sports can be found at: http://www.olympic.org/en/content/Sports/

4. Find out about a modern female Olympic champion and her sport.

The photo slideshow of women Olympic champions makes a great visual.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/05/olympics-women-athletes-forbes-woman-time-sports_slide_4.html

5. Learn about a sport played in the Olympics that you know nothing about. How is the sport played, how many are on a team if it is a team sport, and how are points scored?

• Look for a book in the library.

• If it is the time of year for the Olympics, look in the newspaper or watch

the Olympics on TV.

• With your parent’s or leader’s help

, go to the Olympics website.

6. Each country in the Olympics designs uniforms for its athletes to wear. Design and draw a uniform for the United States team to wear in the opening ceremony or in their

individual events.

Adorable paper doll and clothing templates for their own designs can be printed from: http://www.makingfriends.com/f_Friends.htm

7. Hold a mini-Olympics with your troop, complete with opening and closing ceremonies. Participate in at least three different sports and acknowledge the first, second, and third place winners with awards that you make. Adapt the events to your skills. Try team and individual events. Check Safety-Wise for safety standards.

Here's a plan containing easy events, awards and more that kids will truly enjoy:

http://www.pepperspollywogs.com/blog/index.php/olympic-party-ideas-for-kids/

Nice "toppings" for your plans...

A simple overview of the Olympics:

http://australianjoeyscouts1.4t.com/olympic/rings.html

Don't forget the 2010 Mascots and a cute kid-friendly website: http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot

Lesson plans:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/education-programs/project-showcase/olympic-primary-unit_236452oo.html

An if your participants are Brownies, just contact the Virginia Skyline Girl Scout Council at the website mention above to order the try-its! They're the next best thing to a gold medal.