Girls Camp Crafts 2012

I was in charge of crafts this summer at Girls Camp.   I scoured the web for easy-ish crafts the girls could do that didn't require electricity (like glue guns or sewing machines) that would be useful and "cool" and would teach them something they could do at home.  Holy moly, this is harder than you think.  I became so grateful for all those other Craft Ladies who have posted their projects each year, so I'm giving back.  Thank you ladies.

Here's what I finally narrowed it down to:

• Friendship Pins
• Hemp Macrame Bracelets
• Fishtail Bracelets
• Tee-Shirt Yarn Finger Weave Bracelets
• Pom Poms

I put together a tutorial for each and printed out the pictures to mount on poster board so the girls could use those as a reference.  Then I made an 8x10 collage of the tutorials and laminated them so they'd also have instructions at their tables.  I have to admit, they didn't use the tutorials, much.  Once in a while I'd see some girls huddled around a card, but they'd eventually end up wanting to be shown. So we'd get a small group together and show them how, then once they got it they would help other girls learn.  It was great watching them teach each other.

We had the crafts available during free time - about 2 hours each afternoon. They could choose to swim, nap, canoe, hike, or craft.  We had a pretty steady flow of girls in and out each day.  I would introduce a new craft each morning but we kept the supplies out for the craft from the day before so they could choose what they wanted to work on.  They could make as many as they wanted, and they totally did.

I made these boards before camp to make it easier for the girls to work on their bracelets.  They were fantastic.  They made it so much easier, especially on the hemp bracelets.  I highly recommend making a couple of these if you ever do bracelets.


I will post the tutorials I used for each of these crafts, plus supply lists and links to where I bought most of the stuff {Our budget was $600, and I spent every penny}.  I'll link each tutorial back to this page for quick reference.

Here's a link to my Girls Camp Crafts Pinterest board for more ideas.

I love camp.  I wanna do the crafts forever.  please.