Follow The Leader: Decoupage Necklaces

This is my second go around for Brownies. I have made every attempt to use many of my activities from when my oldest daughter was a Brownie, but the changes in the program have made this difficult giving me far more work as a leader. Nonetheless, when possible I do the same field trips and activities I completed with my older girls. So recently I received a call from our art teacher that she would be unable to teach the pottery class this month because her mother is ill, so I had to get inventive at the last minute. I remembered my Brownies favorite Try-It Badge was the Art to Wear so I decided we would enjoy these activities and earn the "My Great Day" Badge. It's a bit of a stretch, but I am firm believer Girl Scouts is about having fun and not about earning badges. Besides my girls love crafts of any kind and if you asked them, a fun-filled day of crafts would be a GREAT DAY!
So I broke my troop into 8 girls in each group and we had 3 stations. The girls created decoupage necklaces (as I describe in this blog), flower barrettes and Best Friend Socks at the different stations. I also hired a fantastic face painter to paint the girls faces.
The first station the girls created simple decoupage necklaces. Prior to the meeting I glued stamp blanks, using E 6000, on the back of Rummy-O tiles. You can find stamp blanks at almost any craft store in the jewelry department. I purchased these stamp blanks at Hobby Lobby, 5 stamps came in one bag (to the left) for about $3. Square or Circle will do.

Rummy-O is a tile game much like dominoes. The Rummy-O tiles are lightweight resin, plastic tiles and the perfect size for a girl's necklace. You can purchase the game at any toy store or in my case I bought the game at Wal-Mart for about $10. The game includes 104 tiles.

I have also used the tiles for Kaper Chart chores. I simply write the names of the girls on the tile using a fine marker and place them in a cloth bag. The girls can then randomly choose names for various activities, reciting the law or pledge, dividing into groups and chores.

I love E6000! It is a very strong glue perfect for jewelry crafts. It is about $6.00 a tube and can be purchased at craft stores. It dries clear and creates a heavy duty bond which means it is better used by adults. The girls could potentially stick their fingers together :-)

Next, I scoured the internet for fun pictures and scaled the pictures down to fit the tiles. I printed the pictures out on glossy brochure paper to give the most professional look. I created Girl Scout, Best Friends and cute Doggy and Kitty pictures. The animal photos seemed to be the biggest hit. The girls had to cut the photos out and make sure it will fit their tile just right. Then they simply decoupaged the photo, using Modge Podge and a foam brush, to the front of the Rummy-O tile. Finally they must decoupage the front of the photo to seal it creating a water-proof surface.

Then the girls simply strung the necklace pendant with 20 inches of elastic cording that come in several fun neon colors. We just tied off the ends and the girls simply slipped the necklaces over their heads. I like the elastic component to the cording, it seems safer and less potential for a choking hazard. I have included my necklace photos to make your job easier. Feel free to use these pictures to create your own troop necklaces. This craft is really very simple and enjoyed by virtually any age.