Games, Games, Games is an absolutely superb resource for Woodcraft groups. Not only that but I believe it must be one of our most popular publications that finds a home outside of the Folk. In all the groups I have been a member the two major components of a group night were games and craft. Craft Craft Craft is just what is appears, it the Woodcraft games book only for craft activities.

What makes the games book so special is that there are so many ideas crammed into one place, hopefully Craft, Craft, Craft can become an equally good resource.

Contents

• Group Craft
• Paper Craft
• Recycled Craft
• Fabric and Wool craft
• Natural Materials
• Seasonal Craft
• Special Materials
• Quick Ideas
• Links

Contributions

I should like to encourage everyone to contribute something to Craft, Craft, Craft. I plan to add as many craft ideas as possible to these pages. Ultimately I may have to screen ideas but until that point I will be happy to accept all contributions. Please email them to the link at the bottom of this page as text files.

Any book on craft must contain pictures. Almost all pictures will be black and white unless that particular craft requires the use of colour. There are two reasons for this. Firstly downloading colour pictures over the Internet can take time that modem users do not want to waste. The other is that if this project is successful it may spawn a printed version, obviously large numbers of colour pictures may cause problems. I will perform any required conversions of pictures from colour to black and white.

Running Craft Activities

There are several things to bare in mind when planning and running an activity.

• What are the ages and abilities of the children involved
• Where are you running the activity
• How large is the group
• How long have you got

If you group varies in age and ability then you may find you need to run more than one activity. It is a good idea to have something else ready for children who finish early and have several people available to help those who are having problems.

If you meet in a carpeted room then you may find it difficult to run messy activities, you can try using sheets of plastic or newspaper to protect the floor (thought beware paint tends to run off plastic and soak through newspaper so you may need both) or you could think about going outside to run a craft. How about painting in your local park , go for a walk and gather some stones to hold down your paper and you're off

For most activities the size of the group is not a problem for running the activity but for the preparation beforehand. If you need to collect something (such a cereal boxes) then give people plenty of warning and you will be able to collect enough for a large group. If you need things cutting out before the group you can split this between several people or ask a few parents to stay at the beginning of a session to do it. Finally if your activity need some piece of equipment and you only a small number of you may have to split you group and run several crafts.

It is quite hard to say how long an activity will take, some children will spend only a few minutes making a model or painting a picture while others will carry on as long as you let them. However you should leave time at the end for everyone to help tidy up

Equipment and Costs

Craft activities do not have to be expensive. Most of the activities described in craft craft craft require no special equipment and use materials which are easily available.

Paints
Powder paints can be cheaper than the ready mixed typed. Red, yellow, blue, black and white should be all you need. Paints can be mixed in any old plastic food containers

Glue
A larger bottle of PVA glue will work out a lot cheaper than glue sticks. Pour small amounts into old plastic food containers for use. Spreaders can be made from card (plastic coated card from juice cartons will last longer)

Paint brushes
It is not worth buying really cheep paintbrushes as they tend to loose their bristles. Old toothbrushes make an interesting pattern, as do pieces of sponge or fingers.

Scissors
Poor quality scissors are the cause of much frustration. Round and ones are safer but avoid plastic ones, they don't cut well and break easily. Make sure you have right and left handed scissors and keep them clean and dry.

Pens, pencils and crayons
Felt pens seem to be the most popular with children as they give bold bright colour. Make sure they are stored with the lids on firmly, dipping the tip in water can sometimes revive ageing ones. I have found very cheep ones to be a false economy as they dry up quickly and the tips are easily squashed.

Keep pencils sharpeners and a couple of erasers handy for those times you don't want a permanent mark.

Things to collect and save

• plastic tubs, cartons and bottles (for mixing paints as well as model making)
• buttons and beads
• wrapping paper, coloured paper, old magazines
• wool and fabric scraps (save old clothes for larger pieces of fabric)
• cardboard boxes, tubs and tubes
• seashells, pebbles, pinecones, twigs
• newspaper (for covering tables)

Printing Craft, Craft, Craft

In order to make it easier to print Craft, Craft, Craft ew have provided PDF files of each chapter.

• Introduction
• Group Craft
• Paper Craft
• Recycled Craft
• Fabric and Wool craft
• Natural Materials
• Seasonal Craft
• Special Materials
• Quick Ideas
• Complete craft craft craft (zip file)

If Craft, Craft, Craft makes it into a serious and useful resource then a properly bound and printed version may be published, but for the time being that is a long way in the future.