We’re going to Luthersville!

Yee-ha!  Camp Meriwether is our first new Girl Scout camp in at least seven or eight years.  Pat’s talked to Kat, the camp director, and Kat says that we will go SOUTH on I-85 (This alone is a culture shock!) to exit 41.  Travel 7.7 miles to Luthersville, where there is a flashing light (Shades of Warm Springs and Camp Conchartee), turn left watching carefully for pulpwood trucks that don’t feel a need to pay attention to speed limits or flashing lights, and travel 1.2 miles on a road named variously East Oak Street and Luthersville-Rocky Mount Road. 

Having traveled the said 1.2 miles, we come to Meadows Boone Road.  We know that we are there, in spite of the sign being kind of knocked down, because there is an outhouse with a crescent moon cut in the door on the right.  It’s planted with flowers, so we think it’s strictly ornamental.  Turning left onto Meadows Boone Road we may see the very sign with the road name.  We count four houses, and as we follow the road making a 90-degree angle turn, we note the black four-board fence that surrounds the camp.  We disdain the construction entrance and continue to the real entrance with the nice sign and the gravel road.  We will be in Village 2.

All this information is for the benefit of parents who may wonder where in the world we are going.  Who’s driving?  Who needs a ride?  Who’s called Mrs. Lott?  Unless you are providing your own transportation, you need to call Mrs. Lott and get into a carpool.  Late callers may have to ride in the truck, and you’re not so little anymore!

The Weekend Plan

Pine Cone Wreaths

For our arts and crafts projects, you can certainly bring along whatever you are working on the knitting, beading, or other line.  So far only two girls say they want to learn to make a pine cone wreath.  If you want to do it, you will need to bring some stuff with you, so it can’t really be a spur of the moment decision.  Here’s a list for your Michael’s shopping trip.

Straw wreath form – probably 12” or less is big enough.  Remember that you will put pine cones all around the outside, which makes it much larger in diameter.

Pine cones that you have baked in a 250-degree oven for 1½ hours to kill the bugs.  This step is only necessary if you want to hang your wreath indoors.  If it’s going to be outdoors, you can use found pine cones.  I expect that Kat will not mind our picking up pine cones.  She probably won’t want us to pick anything live.  You will want assorted sizes to make it interesting.  If you have a bunch of small fir cones at home, bring more than you need and trade with someone else.

Ribbon and scissors if you want to put bows on your wreath.  It takes about 14” of ribbon to make a bow on a pick.  How many bows you need determines how much ribbon you need.  If you’re putting a few on among lots of cones, etc. you need less than if you want to have inner and outer circles of pine cones with stripe between filled with bows.  Your pick.  Pat likes plaid ribbons.  You might also want about 3 yards of something wider to make a big bow, too or instead.

Picks to put on bows and other stuff.  These are those sharp green sticks with fine (usually) copper wire attached to the not-sharp end.  You will want the short ones (3-4”).  Get a big handful of these.

Hot glue gun and glue sticks – the really hot glue works better than the not too hot.  Pat will bring the troop ones, but only a few of them are the hot kind.

Other stuff you might want to put on.  Do you have an old bag of nuts from last Christmas?  They look great glued into the wreath.  Some people get carried away with a theme like peanuts (in the shell, please).  Dried flowers, cotton bolls (that’s bolls, not balls), dried weeds, dried leaves.  Whatever, but check for bugs.  If you want to add sparkly things, a few go a long way, but they do look great.  It’s fun to spray a few small pine cones gold and put them in with the natural ones.

Wreath pins – these are wire things like big hairpins but with the curve of the hairpin bent inside into a really funky shape.  These are good for putting on dried flowers, weeds, leaves, etc.  Another big handful.

Clippers – the kind you use in the yard.  These are NOT for cutting live things at camp.  Just for making whatever you’re using the right length.  Name on them, please.

Wire clippers – name on these, too

Wire – It’s good to have some relatively fine gauge for little stuff and some that is more toward medium weight wire for putting on the outside layer of pine cones.

Clear acrylic spray  – Pat will bring this, the gold spray paint, and some yardsticks.

An open mind about what you plan to do – Often what you think you wanted to do is not what you actually decide to do.  Don’t get all tied to one idea.  You may have a better inspiration while you’re working.