New year....new energy...new direction?

Greetings and salutations blogging world!

I'm baaaaaaaccccckkkkkk! :-)

Now that I'm a full time "Dopey Kid" and can find time on a regular basis:  I'm back in the blogosphere!  I had tried to maintain a blog throughout the first year the store was open, but as an overscheduled family, blogging was always my absolute last priority.  But with the recent (HUGE) change in my professional focus, not to mention the gaggle of UBER-creative kids in our after school program, I figure it's time to move this up the priority list a bit.  I promise to try to use fewer exclamation points than usual....I'm very excitable though!

My name is Danielle and I am still the original dopey kid (thanks, Pop!), proud owner and (now) operator of a small town Creative Studio and Toy Store called Dopey Kid Originals.  For all the wherefore's and why's of our name and concept, take a peek here.

Milking it! Easy Paper Mache Masks

Ahhhh....Paper Mache!  Remember art when you were in grade school?  I just loved paper mache and was always eager to get messy when these projects were on the agenda.  Of course, back then, we used chicken coop wire to form the project base, which was a total pain to manipulate when I was 10.  Then we added copious layers of ooey-gooey newspaper mess to that in the hope the project would slightly resemble the item we were making.  Those were the days....

Now, paper mache is so much easier:  we have options!  We did a paper mache project at camp a couple of weeks ago.  For that project, we started with a simple balloon as the base of the project then added layer upon layer of mache'd newspaper to get our final layer of white paper.  Admittedly, I find the balloon base is still not the easiest to start with unless your finished project is meant to be balloon shaped!

Brownies and Girl Guides and Sparks: Oh My!

WAGGS (Stock photo)

One of my favourite things about being a Brownie leader is the camaraderie of the girls, their willingness to try anything and their enthusiasm for their crafts.  

This past weekend, 27 Sparks, Brownies and Girl Guides spent two nights and a day at Camp Rolling Acres to celebrate being a Girl Guide this 2010/11 season with us, their leaders.  It's like our end of year bash!  The girls learn all kinds of great camping and cooking skills, independence, empathy, cooperation and of course, there's lots of fun stuff going on too.  We always make a bunch of cute crafts!

Each of the four leaders worked with the girls to make a unique and simple camp craft.  We always feature at least a few hat crafts to secure to our Girl Guide bucket hat to proudly remember how many years we've been going and all the great memories we've made.  Okay, so this was my first year at camp, but the spirit of past years was with me as we made a fly swatter from plastic canvas, a caterpillar from pom-poms and a butterfly from pipe cleaners.  Simple, creative and cute!  Here's what we did:

Are you ready for the summer....

My memories of "summer camp" are limited;  I went to camp twice as a kid and both were sleepover camps, no day camps.  (Best darn 2 weeks of my entire life were at Camp Kemur in Guelph, a horse riding camp).  The mystique of day camp always created a little green envy imagining those great summer adventures other kids got to have.

Face Painting

The mystery is finally solved for me.  Though it's a little different being on the other side of the camp experience, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  July 4th began the first week of Creative Summer Camp for Dopey Kid Originals at the Nottawasaga Community Centre in Duntroon.  We put on an extremely busy week and by the end, everyone was extraordinarily exhausted!  (In a good way) 

This week's theme:  The 5 Elements.

Colouring Contest

Our Colouring Contest to celebrate our grand opening officially launches today.  Unfortunately, I'm not a techie and couldn't figure out how to have the page available here. :(  sad  But, the proper 8.5" x 11" version is available from our website at www.dopeykid.com to obtain and colour.  

The contest is open to all ages and winners will be selected in 3 different age categories:  under 5, under 10, and over 10.  Winners will be notified by email, so please be sure to include your email address or you can't win!

Our theme is about caring for the world.  I always wanted a tattoo that pictured the world, with many different hands clasping across it in a rainbow of colours.  That's probably how I would colour this and probably will! :)  Talking about compassion with kids is easy to do and will help to create a world full of understanding.  I found the page at www.edupics.com and they had lots of free downloadable pages to keep your kids busy for hours and beyond.

Return your completed page to us via email at info@dopeykid.com, please to be sure to be entered.  You can also upload to our Facebook page.

Until next time:  Inspire...imagine...invent!

Grand Opening Extravaganza!

This Saturday, February 5th, is Dopey Kid Originals Grand Opening Celebration.  wha?  Wait.....that's THIS SATURDAY!!!  (EEEYYYHHH)  I can't believe the day is coming so quickly!  

We have a full calendar of events, demos, gifts and giveaways and it continues to growing so we can't wait to share them.  It should be an exciting day for everyone.

We've actually had the store open for about a week now - they call it a "soft opening".  Thank goodness for soft openings too because we really found some glitches that needed to be worked through before we could have our big party.  But we are as ready as we'll ever be - let's face it, I'd tinker till the end of time waiting for perfection, so we have to go with what we've got, right?!

We've got a full calendar of events lined up to delight and entertain all of our guests.  Dopey Kid is focusing on the kid in all of us, of course, but there will lots of fun for the old at heart next door as we celebrate together with Dianne & Jeanne.  There is no charge for any of the events or demos during the celebration, however, we will be accepting donations for Kids Help Phone throughout the day and encourage you to give generously. 
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10:00 am - Ribbon cutting ceremony - Mayor Ken Ferguson (or Deputy Mayor Alicia Savage).  Other local dignitaries will also attend, including the office of the Honourable Helena Geurgis, MP.

10:00 am - Free Gift for the First 30 kids in the store!   Be one of the first 30 guests under 10 to pick a plush friend from the treasure chest as our gift.  The first FRIEND to comment on our Facebook page will also receive a free TY gift from Dopey Kid.

10:15 am - Refreshments served.  Enjoy hot chocolate and treats while you browse or enjoy our many demos and entertainment

10:30 am - Colouring Contest officially launches (the contest page will be uploaded here and on Facebook for distant entries!)  Colouring Contest will close February 13th at midnight.  Winner(s) will be selected from a panel of local judges and announced on Facebook after being notified.

10:30 am - Try-Me - our first demo will feature PlayMais, a unique modelling material made of corn so it's completely biodegradable, renewable and clean.   Kids will get an opportunity to try the product, make their own creation and take it home!  (this demo is free)

11:00 am - Face Painting!  Come out and get your face painted by local body artist, Sherry.  (This event will end by 2:00 pm.)

11:00 am - GIveaway Alert!  We will feature hourly giveaways in store, starting at 11 am until 3 pm. All you have to do to enter is sign up for our e-mailing list  - yep - that's it!  Great hourly prizes for kids aged 3 to 12 to meet a variety of creative interests!

One lucky online winner will also be randomly chosen at 4 pm.  Entries can be made here or via www.dopeykid.com.  Only one winner will be chosen.  No purchase is necessary to win.  Winner must "like" Dopey Kid Originals on Facebook to be eligible.  REMEMBER:  This GIVEAWAY will take place on Saturday, February 5, 2011 only.  All entries must be received by 3:59 pm EST to be eligible. 

1:00 pm -  Stampin' Up demo and workshop - enjoy a fun papercraft workshop with Stacey from Stampin' Up in store.  Make a fun pillow box and fill it with kisses for your sweetheart.  This is a great time to sign up for our first official workshop on February 12th.  This demo will run from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

We want to say a huge THANK YOU to our volunteers in advance of the event because  I'm not sure you girls really know what you've gotten yourself into, but we thank you for taking the leap with us:

Skylar, Taylor and Michelle - hugs and kisses! 

Hope you can join us on Saturday - with all the plans we've made, it should prove to be a pretty fun day.  Of course, even if you can't make the in-store event, stay tuned via Facebook as we'll be posting updates and perhaps a few surprises throughout the day.

Until next time:  Inspire...imagine...invent!

Wordless Wednesday - Pride and Patience

Patience is a virtue

Let me start by admitting the only time you could use the word "patient" to describe me is at the doctor's office.  I'm a stickler for a schedule and I don't care for having to repeat myself, along with a few other quirks that scream: "no patience"!