Handicraft Idea - Paper Quilling

We were recently introduced at KEEPERS to this engrossing, antique handicraft. I had never heard of it before! Perhaps this will be new for you, too, although it has been around since at least Renaissance times. It's a great creative outlet, and also very inexpensive! All you need is a Paper Quilling tool (under $5 at Michael's), colored typing paper or recycled colored paper, and a paper trimmer to make 1/8" strips of paper.

The girls were taught the basic shapes, and then put them together with their own uniqe designs. We had some pattern ideas out, and they could use these for ideas or come up with their own. Each young lady made four cards.

This is a wonderful way to embellish cards and scrapbooks. It is fun and easy! Miss M has been having a ball with this handicraft, and made some beautiful cards along the way. You can Google "Paper Quilling," for more info, and here are some of the sites I found. Have fun crafting!

What is Quilling?

Basic Shapes

Easy Crafts

Directory of Quilling sites

Card Inspirations:
http://www.cardinspirations-usa.com/demo/quil1.htm
http://www.cardinspirations-usa.com/demo/quil2.htm
http://www.cardinspirations-usa.com/demo/quil3.htm

KEEPERS Meeting - Weaving Skill/Badge

We had our second KEEPERS meeting this morning. Here is a run down:

Opening: Prayer & Devotions

• We presented the girls with their earned "Scrapbooking" badges from last meeting.
• After a short prayer, we sang "Take My Life and Let It Be" together.
• Discussed how our hymn relates to our current character trait, "Meekness."
  
• Read the second chapter in Beautiful Girlhood.
  
• Girls recited memory work from Romans chapter 12.
  
• Discussed the lesson from our Meekness book, and looked up and talked about the meaning of the Scriptures listed. The girls copied Galations 5:22-23 into their notebooks.
• We made "Meekness" notecards with personal notes and put them in our Bibles to remind us to pray for God to help us learn and apply this character trait every day.
  

Skill/Badge Time

• Moved to the dining room table where Mrs L. has weaving materials ready for the girls. She demonstrated the skill and taught the girls some of the weaving vocabulary outlined in the Keepers Handbook.
  
• Girls completed a woven coaster and began a woven placemat. Each girl will complete their placemat at home, and bring it to show everyone at our next meeting.

Lunch & Friendship Time

• Enjoyed a delicious and healthy lunch that Miss A prepared for us. Afterwards, Miss A cleaned up and we all visited a while before ending our second meeting. Another great time of fellowship and fun!

KEEPERS Kick-off

Our first Keepers At Home meeting was today. We are meeting with one other family twice a month to work on homemaking KEEPERS skills, promote character development, and spur each other on to memorize longer Scripture passages.

My friend opened up the meeting at 10 am by explaining the KEEPERS purpose and motto and praying the KEEPERS prayer. Our young ladies were presented with their KEEPERS charm bracelets with pink hearts and first membership charms attached. Each time a girl completes a skill/badge, she will get to add a charm to her bracelet. The girls were excited to put on their pretty bracelets and eager to earn more charms! Next, we read the girls a chapter from Beautiful Girlhood and discussed the character trait we will be working on as a club, "Meekness." We ended our devotional time by looked up some Scriptures suggested in the Keepers "Meekness" book, and writing responses in our notebooks.

Then came badge/skill time. We moved to the dining room table where scrapbooking materials were waiting for each girl. We used the "Easy Patterns" section of a "Creating Keepsakes" magazine for our inspiration. Working page by page, we completed a 5-page album! The catch? Our first meeting lasted 5 hours, counting Bible study, lunch, skill/badge time and short breaks between pages!!! We decided to go ahead and finish our projects today, rather than have homework or have a second KEEPERS scrapbooking session. It was a long meeting, but an awful lot of fun!

This is a really easy Club to start, either within your own family, or with friends/church group. It is a wonderful, Christian alternative to Girl Scouts. Even if you don't form a Club, I highly recommend the Handbook as an all-inclusive home-ec program and record of all you have accomplished with your child!

Here are the pics:

I am so excited! My best girlfriend and I decided to start a KEEPERS At Home Club with our girls this semester. Meeting twice a month for two and a half hours, we are going go try to learn 2 badges/skills a month and memorize Romans chapter 12 as a Club. On their own or with family, the girls will read a specific portion of Scripture and earn the Bible Reading skill/badge. The first four skill badges we will learn as a group are: weaving, scrapbooking, paper quilling and cake decorating. During Devotions time, are going to focus on a character trait and look up verses on that trait, starting with the character trait "Meekness." Moms will also be reading and discussing a chapter from Beautiful Girlhood with the girls.


Mom/daughter teams are going to take turns hosting, teaching skills for badges, and leading opening devotions. Each week, the hosting girl will also prepare lunch for everyone, and then the girls will clean up themselves. What a great way for the girls to use and develop their cooking and hospitality skills while earning their Cooking badge at the same time. I can't wait for our first meeting! I like the idea that the skills learned are practical and that an obedient life of service to God and others is the focus.

If you've ever thought of starting a Girl Scouts club, consider a KEEPERS club instead! If you have a KEEPERS handbook sitting on your shelf unused, why not call up a girlfriend and start your own KEEPERS Club! All you really need is a handbook, and you can get started with this wonderful program! See my KEEPERS right sidebar for a few helpful links.

Please do not be intimidated. I am certainly not the most skilled, domestic Mom on the planet, so if *I* can do it, so can you! (I have no idea how to decorate cakes, but there is always a Michael's class and a stack of library books!) We are all learning and growing together, and my friend has many skills that I don't have and (hopefully) vice-versa. Get with another Mom and just get started. I believe that God will bless our efforts, however imperfect. My goals are to be more submitted to God, to learn new skills with my daughter that will serve others , and to devote myself more to Christian fellowship and breaking of bread. I am bubbling over with excitement like an over-filled glass of champagne!

I'll post how our first meeting goes.