Sunday, October 11, 2015

Halloween BOO Blocks

As with almost everything in my life, I try to find the easiest way to reach my goal.  For my latest project I wanted to make some a Halloween decoration that wouldn't take all day and would cause very little stress.  This is what I came up with.  It was simple, quick and very little frustration involved. 

Here's how I did it:
First, gather the materials you'll need:
Okay, time to go to work.  Sand your blocks so they are fairly smooth.  Really, the only part that you need really smooth is the side you'll be gluing the paper on.  Afterall, this is a Halloween decoration. Once you've got it smoothed to your satisfaction paint all of the sides.  Yes, I paint the back just to make it look finished and I can put the blocks out anyway I like.  Let these dry thoroughly. 

While they are drying cut out the BOO letters.

Once the blocks are dry and the letters are cut out you're ready to put them together.  Place the letters on the blocks without glue so you'll know where each one goes and you can make sure they're going to fit right. 

When you've got things in order, spray the backs of the letters with the spray glue.  Be generous.  Carefully and fairly quickly rub from top to bottom with your fingers or very lightly with a credit card to make sure all the air bubbles are out.  Once you've done this go around the edges to make sure you get a good seal.  Repeat this with the other 2 letters.  Let these dry for 15-20 minutes.  This is longer than you probably need to let them sit but I like to make sure they're very dry before moving on.

When you're sure they're dry, using your sponge dauber and your black ink go around the edge of the letters to give it an old, used look.  You don't need a lot, just enough to  help the letters blend in with the paint on the block.

I then took the sandpaper and went around the corners and a bit on each of the sides.  Again, this was to give it a worn, old look. 

Finally, to finish the blocks off I tied a ribbon around each of the blocks.  This is the ribbon I chose but you could use what ever you wanted.  This is where the only frustration came in for me because I'm not a ribbon tier.  It probably took me as long to tie these bows as it did for the whole project!


Happy Halloween!

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Bear Claws Made Easier

While preparing for the Bear Claw adventure, a required adventure for the Bear Rank, I came across some great resources that I wanted to pass on. This adventure is all about pocketknives and there are few things that Cub Scouts like better than pocketknives.  This will definitely be of the more popular adventures. 

The first was found on the Cub Scout Ideas blog.  Here you can find information on three different types of pocketknives (Requirement #1).  You can download a graphic that allows the boys to make play knives with paper and brads. Brilliant!

You can see more of the resources I found on the article I wrote for The Boy Scout.
 Click here for the full article.