Strawberry Tie Slides

 

I made strawberry tie slides for our cub scouts out of walnut halves.  I thought they turned out pretty good.

 

I found the best way to cut the walnuts in half was to boil them in water for a short time.  It softens the membrane between the halves and then you can insert a butter knife between the halves and crack the nut open.  Most of the nuts cracked right in half but if the nut already had a crack in it that was not on the seam they cracked that way.  I had about five halves that cracked in the wrong place and I was able to glue them back together with E-6000.  You could not even see where the crack was at. 

I painted the bottom part red then painted the top green.  I put tiny dots of yellow on for seeds.  Due to the fact that it is so cold outside I decided not to spray the nut halves with a clear gloss.  I tried painting the halves with Mod Podge.  I think I like the clear gloss better.  The Mod Podge tended to build up in the dents of the walnut and and you can see it.

Back to those shells that cracked and I glued back together with E-6000.  I filled them with hot glue, and put a wire in while the glue was still soft.  Then I backed them with felt.  I just cut a slit where the wire was at.  You could not even see where the crack was at.  The hot glue will hold the nut together.

 

Those that did not crack, I did not fill them with anything.  I tied different backs for them. The felt seemed a little slack so I used fun foam on the one in the middle and a piece of milk jug on the one on the right.  The milk jug worked great if the nut half was smooth but if it were rough at all the fun foam worked the best.  The tie slide rings are cut pieces of a milk jug handle. 

I thought they turned out pretty good.  I had so much fun making them. 

When I give them to my boys I am going to talk about the Law of the Pack.  One line says that the Cub Scout helps the pack go.  I will tell them that without them our pack would not run.  Therefor they are very important to our pack.  Then I will give them the tie slide with a card that says You are "Berry" Important.

Safety Goggles

As I was checking out a mini-marshmallow guns I saw an idea for a way to make safety goggles out of a 2-liter pop bottle.  I liked the idea so I thought I would post it here.  The ones I saw on Pinterest added duct tape around the edges to keep the goggles from cutting into the face. 

If you would like to learn more go to The Idea Room and you can see how she made the mask and her mini-marshmallow shooters.  Enjoy!

Knife

So, I am on Pinterest, and I see a wooden knife craft project that teaches kids about knife safety.  Well, how cool is that?  You buy the kit and it has everything you need to make a lockback, folding knife out of soft wood.

You could teach knife handling and safety in your den without the fear of anyone cutting a finger off.  Once boys show the skill and responsibility necessary to earn their whittling chip card, they could be ready to graduate to a real knife.  You would begin to feel like they might be able to do some of the carving on their own pinewood derby car.  Weeell....Maybe!

At any rate check it out here.  I know that I want one!  My husband says I am always ready to spend money on scouts.  Which reminds me, I saw a quote on MacScouter.com that really fits.

If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a Professional.
If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer.
If you pay to do Scouting, you are called... ... A Scouter.