Next Cards and Tags

Cards and Tags.

Every so often the Guides want to be creative.  Making cards and gift tags is a simple fun way to let the creative juices and communication begin.  Work the creativity around a theme. Take photos along the way.  Safety of equipment, respect of other people and their endeavours, culture and outlooks is encouraged. It is amazing how the Promise and Laws discussion may fit through this activity.

To make flat for cards or tags you will need:

•  card to make head and feet
•  eyes (draw or purchase)
•  a little wool to make hair
• 1 pretty doily
• drawing or painting stuff.
• Glitter and a 'Large' ground sheet.
• glue

Instructions:

Fold the doily as per the illustration and glue feet under the

doily. Draw or attach features and hair to the head. Glue the

head in place and use to decorate Christmas cards, gift tags

and so on.

Sitapon

Ever think what your going to do with that tatty looking foam padding that used to be comfortable under your sleeping bag?

Is there an area that is about 30 cm square?  Good.  Having cut this to shape this will be your light weight camp sit-upon.

Woolly bag

Snug as a bug in a rug this piece of equipment is. Light weight to.

To keep super warm knit yourself a woolly bag. Use very fat needles - as fat as you can get and thin wool. Cast on about 60 stitches and knit loosely twice your length. Sew up the sides. Your bag should be very lacy - the more holes the better as it is.

Sleeping bags

The basic Sleeping bag

Firstly you will need a sleeping bag. There are basically two types of sleeping bags -ones filled with down or feathers and ones filled with synthetic material.

Down-filled ones are generally lighter, less bulky and warmer but they are mere expensive and harder to dry if they get wet.

Bags come in all sorts of shapes and thicknesses. Bags with a hood and drawstring around the neck will keep you warmer than those without. The warmest shape is called a "mummy" bag.

Choose a bag that has an insulated flap along the zip so that you don't get cold along the zip line and one that can be unzipped from the inside and outside of the bag.

Most sleeping bags come with a cover or stuff bag. Down sleeping bags are simply 'stuffed', feet end first into this bag. Synthetic sleeping bags are generally rolled up and slipped into their cover. If you don't have a cover for your sleeping bag you could make one or make a couple of strong bands of elastic to hold it together.

When planning on what to include in making a bedroll you will need a ground sheet made of any sort of waterproof material. You can buy ground sheets from a camping store, use heavy weight plastic or builder's plastic or an old shower curtain. Your ground sheet will need to be about 2 metres x 1 metre, a little longer and wider than your sleeping bag when it is rolled out.

I found that having the builders plastic really makes crinkles and russling sounds at night.  Also the builders plastic is 'slippery'.  The ground sheets that appear to be made of the matted plastic wear down slowly but you do not slip down wards so many times.  As things should have at least two uses on camp have you considered how the ground sheet itself would be protected from ripping if you had to use it for an emergency shelter?

When you are sleeping, your ground sheet protects your sleeping bag and sleeping mat or air mattress from moisture and protect you from the cold. The warmth of your body draws the dampness up out of the ground and the underneath of the ground sheet will be quite wet in the morning even if the ground appeared dry when you laid the ground sheet down.

During the day your ground sheet will form the waterproof outer layer of your bedroll.