Brownie Maker Badges: What Crafts Did You Do?

I recently promulgated three surveys on Girl Scout leader Facebook pages in which I asked questions about the Maker badges GSUSA released this year, one survey per level.   The post gives some of results from the Brownie survey.  To read other posts in this series, click on the "Maker Badge Survey" tag beneath the post.  

Art and Design

The Brownie Art and Design badge focuses on color, line, texture and composition in art.  VTK offered a number of suggested crafts, and gave written directions for making a paper quilt. Only two troops chose to do the quilt. 

Of the 28 troops that responded, 71% chose to come up with their own crafts, 4% used the VTK ideas and 25% used one of GSUSAs ideas and one of their own.  

The VTK plans call for two drawings as pre-meeting activities and two crafts .  36% of troops did two drawings and two crafts. 21% did one drawing and one craft.  11% did two crafts and no drawings. 

Projects people did to earn this badge were:

• We did a 3 marker challenge where they had to blindly pull three markers out of a bag then make patterns with them inside their name in block letters. I drew their names ahead of time. Each letter had to be a different pattern.
• We had one meeting where we learned all the techniques, then the next meeting we just supplied every art supply we could, and let the girls use their imaginations.
• We did drawings, most girls drew rainbows on their own, and a multi-media sculpture using a foam block as a base and pipe cleaners, beads, wire and other materials.
• Went to a local art museum that used to lead painting badge. They tested new badge with our group. Museum tour, discussion of lines, shapes and forms, and made one art piece to go with each.
• We had 5 stations. Mosaic frames as mentioned, draw a picture based on favorite song, panograms, for lines I had girls draw on each other's backs and the girl being drawn on had to put it on paper for abstract art, and I added Trefoils decorated with edible markers for snack
• I provide a drawing half completed and they had to use symmetry to complete the picture. (Half of a butterfly, half of a cat, etc.)
• There was a council-wide program for this badge and the girls made several Christmas crafts.
• Paper collage self portrait, air dry clay, watercolor techniques
• Pottery
• Draw the person in front of you, explore materials and create something, a group mosaic
• We went to a pottery studio and did 2 projects, we also had a free craft times to create anything, painted with bubbles, painted with out a paintbrush
• Primary color clay, watercolor painting
• Painting. We replaced the painting badge with this new badge.
• We shaped clay into sculptures or cutouts for ornaments, and pressed in natural items such as holly branches and pinecone to create texture. After drying, the girls painted them to add color.
• We also did self-portrait painting projects
• We went to an art studio and the teacher had them do a semi-directed project while she taught them about all the required subjects
• Felt pennant banner
• We did symmetry with shapes and our bodies
• Folding painted paper for symmetry, pottery
• Create a color wheel, shadow silhouette (black paper and chalk), still life pencil sketch, Andy Warhol emotions with puffy paint (acrylic paint and shaving cream)
• We did a favorite things collage with stickers and their own drawing.
• 3 seasons painting, fold in half butterfly painting
• The girls designed their own clothes for scarecrows including patches and hat.
• Had lots of supplies and mediums and told them to make something using at least 3 mediums and let them go for it
• Clay sculptures at an art studio after a lesson on art and design

Create and Innovate

On the Brownie level this badge focuses on the design process to solve problems and user-centered design.  The VTK plans call for two different crafts and 67% of the troops did two different crafts. 8% only did one and 25% did three or more.  

VTK offered detailed instructions for three different crafts. Only 25% of troops used at least one of these.  VTK also offered a variety of other possible crafts for each meeting.  25% used one of GSUSA's ideas for the first meeting and 33% used one of the ideas for meeting two.  

These are the projects people did for Create and Innovate:

• I don’t remember. Event was held by another group.
• I don’t recall. I didn’t run the program.
• Friendship Bracelets and Mothers Day gratitude jar
• Bridges but with an assortment of materials, balloon powered cars, basket weaving
• Sun catchers, seed balls, painting, drawing,
• Seed balls
• Cat toys out of felt and fleece. Leftover fleece from fleece tie blankets. All were donated to the humane society.
• My girls designed their own scarecrows, made a pattern for clothes, cut and sewed the clothes, sewed the head, assembled the scarecrow and designed the face. Hands down, one of their favorite projects and they learned a ton while doing it.
• Journals
• Girls chose their own projects

Craft and Tinker

Brownie Craft and Tinker looks at form, features and function of crafts and the process of tinkering--changing it to make it better.  The plans call for two different crafts. 25% of the troops did one craft, 35% did two and 40% did three or more.  

VTK provides written directions to make a musical instrument, sculpt a coil pot, make a mask or make a paper basket. 35% of the troops who did this badge did one of these.  VTK also suggested a variety of other crafts and 25% of the troops did one of those, while the rest came up with their own projects. 

Here are the projects people did:

• We made a pinch pot, coil pot, then they were allowed to make something that met some kind of need.
• Hand sculpted pottery
• Leprechaun traps out of recycled materials
• We made recycled paper hearts and then the girls painted them. We took them to a local assisted living facility.
• They sketched and created their wings for their Fly Up Bridging ceremony.
• Birdhouse, coil pot, wood picture frame
• Used hand sewing to make felt needle book. Used machine sewing to make pillow case.
• Cross stitch pictures and frames
• The girls made a variety of objects using play doh and circuits
• Pop up science toy
• Duct tape purses, tissue paper outfits, string art, clay pots with lids
• Leather stamping, personalizing a photo frame as a gift, homemade suncatchers using gemstones, multimedia canvas art, yarn weaving/finger-knitting.
• clay work, twig picture frames, box cars out of recyclables, homemade beads from paper
• Each girl made her own depending on what she wanted (decided from exploring form, fit, function): My troops have a rather sizable hoard of all sorts of craft supplies, so I just brought it all in and gave them free reign. We did this badge at the beginning of the year, so I honestly cannot remember what any of them made, haha.
• Fleece tie blankets, bean/seed mosaic, birdseed ornaments for measuring.
• My girls designed their own scarecrows, made a pattern for clothes, cut and sewed the clothes, sewed the head, assembled the scarecrow and designed the face. Hands down, one of their favorite projects and they learned a ton while doing it. We did this badge series and the Create and Innovate series
• Made bracelets with told, make a sit upon with materials meant for something else, make a sock puppet to learn sewing and having a toy
• We did string art and made stamps and then stamped what we suggest could be a sunbather… but mostly was just free form art.

My Comments

I love reading about the variety of things troops were able to do with these badges, and I think that's what GSUSA was going for.  For a group not dedicated to a particular craft (like the knitting club or the painting club) is it more important to learn techniques associated with a particular craft to to learn how to think about crafts in general, and then to apply that knowledge to a lot of different crafts?