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  • Activities and Competitions

    Organizing activities and competitions can be fun but there are times you need some fresh input. In the activity drop-down menu below, you can find heaps of ideas. What about a Paper Plane Competition?

  • Activities

  • TIP: Think inside the hat!

    Party hats, store-bought or made from pages of an old book or scrap paper are very useful for a display. You can staple the hat to the board as a container for whatever you want to showcase. Or hang them in front of the board filled with little notes, poems, toy animals or whatever takes your fancy

  • TIP: Staple at an angle

    Removing old display items will be much easier when you hold the stapler at an angle when you tack items to the board. The staples will stick out at one side - perfect to get hold of and pull them out when you change displays.

  • TIP: Use a glue gun

    Glue guns are the most fantastic tools for creating displays. You can attach all sorts of materials like hard plastic, metal, fabric and everything else you can think off. Be careful with your fingers (blow - blow) the glue is very hot and you easily get blisters

  • TIP: Create a 3D effect!

    Create a 3D effect by hanging objects in front of the display board, like fish in a Sea Life display or lanterns in a Spring or Garden display.

  • TIP: Don’t overdue it!

    Too much text, images or books on display too close together distract the eye. It all becomes a blur. Each object needs its own space. Think of a shop window that is more than full with appliances, you can’t distinguish one object from the other, while carefully placed objects attract the attention.

Christmas table decoration made with- no kidding – road cones

Posted on January 10th, 2008 by Anita

No, I didn’t take them from the road! We have a fantastic maintenance team at our College and when I asked them if I could borrow some spare cones for a couple of weeks, they brought some over. (securing for themselves a block of chocolate). I ripped an old Chris Ryan book to pieces because the yellowing  pages coloured beautifully around the edges. Even withdrawn books have their value.

 

On the photos they look a bit bare but in reality they were very stylish. I made 8 of them to be placed in the middle of the round tables used for a Christmas party of 40 people. Guests could place their glasses and finger food around the base of the tree. The Pohutukawa flower on top gave it a real NZ feel. I could have put some on the base but I didn’t want to get caught pruning the Pohutukawa (with old scissors in hand) so I had to be quick…….

What you need:

  • A couple of roadside cones –  legally obtained!
  • Old withdrawn book with yellowing pages 
  • Green from conifers and flowers from Pohutukawa

Of course you can decorate it in all kinds of ways. This is just a basic example. Christmas balls, fairy lights, more green or flowers, tinsel. An angel on top or a bird. You name it. Let your imagination grow wild and have fun.

What to do:

  • Cut or tear the pages from the book(s) Wrinkle the bottom pages a bit to shape them so they fit around the cone
  • Attach them to the cone with tape
  • Rip a tear in the layer that covers the lowest part of the vertical side of the cone. That makes it easier to shape it so it follows the circular form
  • Now you can start folding the pages around the cone, taping it to the underlaying pages. This makes it easier to remove the paper when Christmas is over
  • When you have reached the top you need to make sure the pages are at least 5 cm or more higher than the top of the cone, so you can put a ball, flower or angel in the paper cone without it falling out. I didn’t secure it but if you have a heavier object you might need to
  • Put green branches or Christmas decoration around the bottom. I secured the conifer twigs with tape but hid the tape under the overlapping page

Filed under: Celebrations, Education

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  • An idea for your next display? Wishful thinking

    Keep on the lookout for unusual, funny or cartoon-like images in magazines, on internet or in the daily paper like the image above. Cut or copy them and store them for when you need inspiration.
    One of those unusual images can be the basis for a great display. You don't need to do the whole design yourself.

  • Or what about this one? Free will, an illusion?

  • TIP: Use old umbrellas as a display unit!

    Old umbrellas without the fabric but with a good frame are fantastic as a display item You can hang little objects like birds, light bulbs, little books and art objects from the frame. Fluffy fabric draped over the frame will give it an extra elegance.... let your imagination run wild and experiment!

  • TIP: Keep an action list

    I am not particularly good at it myself - I'm an ad hoc person - but it is one of my recommendations when I give display workshops. It helps you keeping track of what you're going to do. Make a rough sketch of how the display will look like and write down what materials and tools you're going to need Create a time-line / checklist: This week copying and laminating - Next week: buy or beg materials - Two weeks: covering display boxes with matching paper - Three weeks: collect books matching the display etc. till you reach D-day and start getting nervous....

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