high school craft club

[TheCraftettes]

hey i just started a craft club at my highschool. We've just gotten started-so far we've only had two meetings. anyways, you could check out updates on the club's blogs. i'd also appreciate eco-friendly craft ideas and advice on time management. not to mention, if anyone has any great links to crafts that can be donated to charities, please share them with me! so far, the club plans to make baby hats and such.

[allyourown]

Love that you're using a blog. I really like your banner. Kudos to the person/people who worked on it.

Eco-friendly craft ideas:
http://craftingagreenworld.com/ seems to be a cool resource
http://www.squidoo.com/eco-crafting
(the older) threadbanger channel on youtube
I like to search upcycling/recycling/reuse/etc on sites like craftster/etsy/artfire/etc to see what people are up to.
Maybe make some lunch/produce bags from old bedsheets...and screen print names/images on them
Cut non-traditional materials into long strips (yarn) and crochet/knit/weave/braid (bedsheets, clothes, plastic, etc)
There's so much out there...maybe picking a topic/theme will help direct the crafts.
It might be fun to have part of your eco-friendly craft time to talk about what it means to be eco-friendly. For example: is stocking up on plastic bags from the grocery to make some plarn considered eco-friendly?

Ooh! Fundraiser idea. what if you took all the eco-crafts you do and bind some books and sell them...? If you're writing it up and posting on the blog, you've already done most of the writing You'd just have to format it for your publication.

In regards to time management, could you clarify what you're looking to time manage.

[TheCraftettes]

sorry about not replying to you earlier

i really appreciate your suggestions-i checked out the websites and and found that they make great resources. thanks so much 

as for time, each meeting, we only get 1 hour and 30 minutes. sometimes we have after school meetings (we get out early every friday) and meet up at a local starbucks or something. when we hang out after school, we get as much time as we want. the only problem is that not everyone can come after school so its more convenient when we have our meetings on school grounds

[allyourown]

I'm not super clear on what you'd like some time management suggestions for, but here's some thoughts I have...

Do you have an agenda? If not, I would highly suggest having one especially if there's business stuff to talk about. Keeping time is pretty important. It happens even when you do have an agenda that it takes forever to get through it! One strategy would be to have a facilitator, someone to lead the meeting, go through the agenda, keep the flow going. Another strategy would be to have designated time for each topic. Like, 5 min to talk about the next project, 15 min to talk about fundraising. Since you have only an hour and a half, and doing is so much more fun than the business-y stuff, I would limit it to 15-30min. Nearing the end, you could table some stuff and/or continue the discussions via email. Then on with the crafting! For the times you're on school grounds, it might help to have some stuff prepped. Example, if you were to screenprint, you'd want to have all your screens ready and inks, fabric/paper, etc. ready to go. If you were going to learn to crochet with plarn, the first part of the meeting could be someone showing how to cut the plastic bag up, but have some ready for people to practice with. Or have everyone bring some they cut up at home.

I hope some of these thoughts help

[jcorn]

I love this idea, and I'm so proud of you guys for doing this!  I am now hoping/planning how to do this in our town!!  Thanks so much for being an inspiration to young adults everywhere. 

"Do not believe that a small group of committed citizens can not change the world - in fact, it is the only thing that ever has!"

[kuckyjune]

Check out crafthope.com

[chez artiste]

I love this idea and wish I'd thought about it when I was in high school.  In fact, I've been trying to think of how to start an art group for adults in my neighborhood, so I might steal some of the great ideas posted here.  If you are thinking about using craft to do some good, there are some really simple, green, fun projects that you could do in a volunteer setting with children or the elderly:

Egg-carton flowers:  Cut up the individual egg cups from a washed egg carton, the foam ones work best.  Punch a hole in the bottom of each cup.  String a pipe cleaner through the hole, and decorate the egg cup to look like a flower using paint, Sharpee markers, stickers, glitter, fabric, ribbon, or whatever else your heart desires.  You can enlist people of all ages and abilities to help decorate.  The individual flowers are lovely or you can put a few in a boquet for a real creative pop! You can also "plant" these flowers in a home-made pot.

Blooming Seed Planter:  Take an empty can (the large ones for canned tomatoes or pumpkin work best), remove the label and the top lid completely.  Punch holes in the bottom lid.  Decorate the outside of the can using Sharpee markers, stickers, foam cutouts, etc.  Fill the can with potting soil or compost.  Plant seeds in the soil and water.  Take foam egg cartons.  Cut out each egg segment into individual cups.  Color each cup to look like a flower.  Punch a hole in the bottom of the cup.  String a pipe cleaner through the hole to make a stem.  Bunch together the completed egg carton flowers and wrap around the top of the can.  Alternatively, you can push them into the soil so they look like they are growing, just be careful not to put them on top of the seeds.  Place the can in a sunny window or outside on your porch.  Water regularly and watch the real plants grow!

Bird Feeder:  Take an empty plastic bottle with a handle (large vinegar or milk bottles work best), remove the label and cut a large hole or window in the side opposite the handle. Decorate the outside of the bottle using Sharpee markers, stickers, foam cutouts, etc.  Use heavy wire or a wire clothes hanger to form a hook around the handle. Fill with bird seed and hang outside in a tree.  Watch the birds gather.

[World.Of.Hoard-Craft]

If you want to make cards, WWW.OPERATIONWRITEH OME.ORG will gladly collect them to distribute to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. All they ask in No Glitter.
You can make simple greeting cards with pre made bases, or by cutting and scoring(folding) car stock (like oaktag). Stamps can be carved from potatoes and paint used as ink. Sentiments can be printed off the computer. Check out their website for card sketches (layouts) and free resources to get you started.
Is the craft group all female, all male, or a mix? That might determine some projects.
Are you looking to only craft for charity, and how do you all choose a charity to support? If you have a lot of knitters, maybe WWW.PROJECTLINUS.OR G, which collects baby blankets. I *think* they may take sewn blankets, you could up cycle material.(fabric, sheets and blankets are usually under $1 at a thrift store like Goodwill or Salvation Army).

[World.Of.Hoard-Craft]

If you can sell items at a school bazaar to raise club money, maybe salt dough ornaments around next Christmas, they can be made with cookie cutters or hand formed.
 You can also do TP magnets, using candy molds, wet toilet paper and smush it in real well. Once dry, pop out of the mold, hot glue magnet on the back, and paint with acrylics. Cheap TP works best.
You can cover Composition Books with fancy paper as journals, at Back To School sales you can get the books for 25 cents. For paper, you can use scrapbook paper or wrapping paper.
Does your group have any budgets? Or are you starting from the ground up?
If your parents, especially your dad if he's a big guy, checks on Craig's List, he may be able to find your group free supplies. I DO NOT suggust you as a teen EVER go visit or meet any people from Craig's List, there are a lot of weirdos in the world. Also, if there are any craft stores near you, maybe they would donate to the school?