Saying Goodbye to The Old Town Bay Minette Arts Council and Butterfly DIY Project for Kids

As some of you know (if you follow me on facebook) I co-founded the Old Town Bay Minette Arts Council around three years ago, with a small group of friends, when I co-owned an art gallery.  Bay Minette was really lacking in the arts department, with no organized effort at all, so we decided to fix that problem.  The butterfly was chosen as our logo because it represents something becoming more beautiful...our plan for Bay Minette. We set out planning and organizing.... We grew from seven to over forty members during three years, and celebrated the arts at many different events, our most popular event being our seasonal monthly Market Days in Blackburn Park.  When I left the gallery business to center my attention on my work as a board member with our North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, we were able to bring chamber events to the old downtown area to coincide with our OTBMAC happenings. We built a thriving arts community, while  working to revitalize the old downtown area. Sadly, the same few individuals were carrying the load of planning and organizing everything for the arts council.  Burnout happened...  We tried many different ways to get people to step up and serve in the leadership positions on a rotating basis, but still could not get enough help. On a positive note, what we do still have is an organized arts community...we all know one another, communicate on a regular basis, and have a facebook page on which to stay connected.  The NBCC has offered to keep the Market Days going, since it has become such a successful event and the community at large has asked for it to stay.  We are saying "Goodbye" to the OTBMAC;  it will now become a "club" without a board of directors and the formalities.  We will plan random events from now going forward, and it will be the responsibility of the planner to accomplish planning, booking,  marketing, advertising, etc.  We will rely on social media, the chamber and city to get the word out about these events.  In order to celebrate our accomplishments and to thank the citizens of the city and beyond, we are throwing a big Art Party at Blackburn Park this Saturday.  We will center our projects around the butterfly and will have a butterfly release during the party.  

The poster...

I just finished the samples of our Butterfly Art Project for kids.  Here are the pictures and "how-to" for the fun little project.

Gather supplies:  Scissors, hot glue, tissue paper, pipe-cleaners and plastic beads with large hole, and magnets.

From the tissue paper, cut ovals in two different sizes.  One should be just a little smaller than the other one.  I stacked and cut multiples at once since I need many for the party.

Lay them out like the picture above shows.  Large one on top, smaller on bottom.

Now, "scrunch" the ovals in the center.

Fold pipe-cleaner in half.

Put the pipe-cleaner around the two ovals where they were scrunched.  Crease it down into place so that it becomes the body of the butterfly.  Now, twist it at the top, where the bead will go for the head.

Slip the bead on over the pipe-cleaner and curl the pipe-cleaners.  That completes the basic butterfly.  Now, just think of the possibilities!  

Here's one with contrasting colors for the wings.  You could add glitter if you wanted a little sparkle.

I hot glued a magnet to the back of this one to make a refrigerator magnet.  This is what we will do at the park on Saturday.

A paddle stick could be added so that it is easy to hold during a party, and later it could be stuck into a potted plant.

Well, I've gathered the needed supplies and cut the ovals to simplify things at the park.... I need to grab a table to hold the project, a tablecloth,  and I believe I'm ready to go!   Thanks to my friends Sherrie and Nancy Dean, who will help the children assemble their butterfly art projects Saturday.

I'm looking forward to my Fed-Ex package that should arrive tomorrow morning with the butterflies...the real ones!!!  

Now, if you will,  please pray for good weather!  ...and I will now go call the performers to confirm everything one last time.

Pictures of our Art Party will be posted in a few days.

Thanks for stopping by...I always enjoy having you.

Judy