EMBLEM HELPS Explorers

3-D ART

3-D Art is an emblem that can be “creatively re-invented” to suit your troop and their interests.

THEMES Using a theme makes your planning easier and makes the requirements work together. Choose a theme such as a season, an event, a scripture passage, a holiday, and so on and come up with related projects to meet the emblem’s requirements. For example, if you chose the theme, “snow,” you could cover a candle with whipped white wax to resemble snow. For the ceramic requirement, you might choose to make and paint snowmen. Make a snowflake mobile and a paper Mache penguin out of an old light bulb.

Or try working everything around a holiday theme. For Easter, try making small flower-shaped floating candles; paint a pre-shaped plaster of Paris cross; color copies of spring songbirds for a mobile on a hanger and make and decorate an Easter egg-shaped paper Mache piñata.

BUNDLE ACTIVITIES Another way to approach the 3-D Art requirements is to come up with projects that tie into other emblems that you are working on simultaneously.

Here are some helps for bundling 3-D Art with a “nature” theme:

REQUIREMENT #1 – Candle Making

Pinecone Fire Starters:

Here is a safer option for making candles. Naturally, whenever you are working with hot wax, you will need to use extreme caution. Review the safety rules that are listed in the emblem book. As with any project, make a trial sample before having your troop do the project to work out any glitches that might pop up.

Materials needed:  Pine cones  Muffin Pans  Paper muffin pan liners  Candle wicks(purchase at craft store)  Combination of a variety of the following: crushed leaves, pine needles, shredded bark, bits of pine cone, shredded pieces of paper towel cardboard, saw dust  Cinnamon scented essential oil(optional)  Wax (paraffin wax chunks, crayon pieces)

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 2. Line a muffin pan with paper (not foil) cupcake/muffin liners. 3. In each holder place a 4-5 inch piece of wick with part hanging out and over the side of the cup. This will serve as the wick to light your fireplace starter. 4. In each holder, place broken bits of crayon—one color per cup--- and pieces of wax so that the cup is 1/3 to ½ full and about an inch’s worth of the dried leaves and other similar materials. 5. Set in oven at 300 degrees until melted. 6. Add scented oil, if desired. 7. Press a pine cone, bigger bottom first, firmly into each cupcake holder in an upright position. 8. Place the entire pan into the refrigerator to harden. 9. When the wax has completely cooled, remove from the pan and your pinecone fire starters are ready to use! They can be placed in a fire in a similar manner to kindling---with other larger pieces of wood and kindling around it. Light the wick and it should burn close to 10 minutes.

OPTIONAL IDEA: You can add a little color to your starters. Certain chemicals will react in fire to create different colors. Once the starters are completed, you can brush a little glue on the edges of the pine cone scales and roll in one of the following chemicals: borax for a green flame, table salt for a yellow flame, salt substitute for a violet flame, and Epsom salts for white flames.

REQUIREMENT #2 – Ceramics

Clay Nature Prints:

Ahead of time, you will need to take the boys on a nature walk to gather things to imprint or bring in some nature items yourself or have the boys gather things at home to bring in. Some things that work well might include: herb leaves, flower leaves or small flowers (such as dusty miller, yarrow, butterfly bush, Indian paint brush, dry hydrangea, fern, ivy etc.), pine needles, acorn top, shells, and so on.

Materials needed:  Nature items to imprint  Blocks of sculpey clay  Tweezers  Old cookie sheet  Straw(optional)  Twine or self-stick heavy-duty magnet(optional)  Watercolors and paint brushes(optional)

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. 2. Cut blocks of sculpey clay into ½ inch pieces. 3. On a flat surface, roll sculpey clay into even and smooth balls. 4. Place your nature item on the table. 5. Center clay ball on top. 6. Push down very evenly on top of the ball with the palm of your hand, until the leaf or whatever is sufficiently covered. 7. After turning the clay back over, use tweezers if necessary to remove the leaf or other nature item from the clay. 8. Place clay discs on the cookie sheet as you complete them. 9. If you want your discs to have a hole, use a straw to poke a hole in the top of them 10. Bake for 45 minutes. 11. Allow to cool.

At this point, your nature imprint disc can be complete as is. They can sit on a table, book case or window sill. Other options for finishing include: a light watercolor wash to bring out details, stringing with twine to use in a mobile, as a necklace, or just hanging wherever you’d like.

REQUIREMENT #3 – Mobiles and Stabiles

Simple Nature Mobile:

Materials needed:  Large branch…any branching off will make for an interesting shape  Nature objects such as leaves, pinecones, small stones, acorns, etc.  Yarn or colorful string  Tape or glue

Directions: 1. Tie and glue or tape nature items onto a colorful piece of string or yarn. Use various length pieces of yarn and/or colorful string. 2. Tie the yarn or string onto the branch. 3. The branch can either be anchored into something or an additional piece of the yarn or colorful string can be attached for hanging. You may have to experiment with where to tie the string or what objects to move around in order to get the balance the mobile needs.

REQUIREMENT #4 – Piñata

Spider or “Bug” String Piñata

Materials needed:  Balloons (water balloon and larger!)  Black or “bug” color crochet string or other string or yarn  Black or color of your choice construction paper strips(approximately 1 X 11 inches, depending on the size of the balloon “body”)  Liquid starch or Elmer’s glue  Large adhesive “googly” eyes(from craft store)  Pipe cleaners(optional, color based on choice of “bug”)  Old pie pan or disposable pie pan  Wax paper  Newspaper  Scissors  Small wrapped candy

Directions: 1. Cover table with newspaper and give each boy a piece of wax paper for a work surface. 2. Blow up balloons to desired size for a “bug body.” 3. Pour liquid starch or Elmer’s glue into pie pans. If using Elmer’s glue dilute with a little water to make it easier to work with. 4. Decide on what kind of bug you are making and choose a color of yarn and string accordingly. Cut string or yarn into 12-20 inch pieces, depending on the size of the balloon, and soak a few at a time in the starch of glue mixture. 5. Start wrapping the string or yarn around the balloon, going every which way! Go sideways, diagonal, vertical and so on to get an interesting pattern. There should be open spaces, but you don’t want them too wide if you are using this for a piñata. 6. Let dry thoroughly on a new piece of waxed paper that is labeled with the Explorer’s name. This takes a good two or more full days of drying. 7. Pop the balloon. 8. Accordion fold the paper strips and glue on for the spider or other bug’s legs. 9. Stick on the “googly” eyes and hang your spider or whatever kind of bug you have decided to make. You could even add pipe cleaner antennae. 10. If using as a piñata, cut a small hole in the top and fill with some candy. (Do not use too much candy or the weight may cause the piñata to break.) Then tape the opening and add a longer length of string or yarn for hanging. It is ready for the piñata game! Or, just hang it in your room for a “buggy buddy.” DEVOTIONAL

It's What's Inside That Counts

(This devotional can be used to help with Requirement #5.)

SCRIPTURE: “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

SUPPLIES: a beat up, old book; a buckeye; a chrysalis; a geode with a beautiful and colorful interior. If you don’t have the objects, you can find nice color pictures on the internet to display

Theme: Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the inside.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” (Hold up a beat up, old book that you have enjoyed. Allow some discussion and lead to the conclusion that sometimes a book that sounds boring or looks so beat up that you wouldn’t choose it to read could end up being a really good book.)

We can see similar examples around us in nature where something may not look so inviting on the outside but on the inside there might be a treasure. Take a buckeye…so nice and smooth and shiny and such a beautiful color….but when they were growing on a tree, they were inside a very prickly, and dull colored shell that would never make you think something so neat would be inside of it.

(Hold up the geode to focus on its exterior.) Here is another example….how would you describe the outside of this rock? That’s right. It is rather rough and dull-looking. But, when we look at the inside, what do we see? We see something that people want to display on their bookshelves because it is so neat looking with all the crystals and quartz designs.

And, we all know about a chrysalis, don’t we? (Allow one of the boys to explain.) Out of something so ordinary looking, a beautiful butterfly with distinctive colors and patterns on its wings emerges.

All these examples in nature show us that we can’t make judgments about what something will look like on the inside by only looking on the outside. The same thing is true about people. You can’t always tell what a person is really like by looking at the outside. Some people may be very good looking on the outside, but they may be very mean, selfish, or hateful on the inside. Some people may not be very beautiful to look at, but on the inside they are loving, gentle, and kind.

The Bible says in 1 Samuel 16: 7 that “the Lord does not look at the things that man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We might spend a lot of time making sure we look good on the outside, but what are we doing to make sure we look good on the inside?

(Allow discussion and lead to things we need to do to look good to God on the inside and outside….pray, read Bible, fruits of the spirit, and so on.)

When we look at people, or even ourselves, we need to remember that we can only see what is on the outside, but God can see what is on the inside…and that is what is important. Dear God, We are thankful that you don’t judge us by how we look on the outside. Help us to be more concerned about becoming what you want us to be on the inside which will make us behave how you want us to be on the outside. Help us to look at others the same way you look at them. Amen.

Submitted By: Sharon Waiksnoris Territorial Christian Education Director USA Central Territory