The Slide Show

Neckerchief Slide Ideas

Collected by Lorie McGraw

Etowah Creek District Roundtable Staff
Columbia, SC USA

"There are millions of possibilities, for every age and skill level, every purpose and activity. If your unit uses neckerchiefs as a part of the uniform, making a neat slide can be an interesting event.
    Slides can commemorate special events (Summer Camp 2000), be awarded as a "welcome to our unit" award, be used for recognition (remember, temporary patches are just that, but a slide can ALWAYS be worn), and so forth. With the upswing in jewelry making and other crafts, materials to make slides are easier than ever before to find and afford. Many kids are put-off by whittling, many are too young anyway, so be sure to include a lot of other possibilities as you plan.
    Virtually anything with a hole it in can become a slide (maybe reduced in size a bit!), and virtually anything else can be attached to a good slide base."
Quote from the Slide Idea file at the Scouting Library on AOL: Submitted to AOL by Mark Adkins.

Slide Show Table of Contents

• Materials
• Tips and Hints/Care and Feeding of Slides
  • Slide Basics
  • Keep That Slide On!
  • Boys and Knives
  • Finish Ideas
• Slide Ideas and Instructions
  • Neckerchief Slide Potpourri #1
  • Octopus
  • Magnet Slides
  • Nature Slides #1
  • Nature Slides #2
  • Picture Slices
  • The Knot Sampler

• Decal Slides
• Leather Shapes Slides
• Display/Showoff Slides
• Turkey Neck Bone Wolf Slide
• Bone Slides
• Real Skull Slide

• The "Neckerchief" Neckerchief Slide
• Neckerchief Slide Potpourri #2
• "Scouting Is My Bag" Slide
• Fly Slide
• Mini Clipboard Slide
• Stress Indicator Slide
• Cottonball Ghost Slide
• Leather Arrowhead
• Tom-Tom Slide

• Beaded Indian Headdress Slide
• Beaded-Look Slide
• Beaded Circle Slide
• Cut Glass Slides
• The Invisible Slide
• Woodbadge Bead Display Slide
• Drill Press Slides
• Useful Slides
• Quick Slides
• More Quick Slides
• Using Plaster of Paris
  • Making Molds from Clay
  • Pirate's Face Slide
  • Halloween Jack-o-lantern Slide
  • Using Candy Molds
• Film Canister Slides
  • Oscar the Grouch
  • Oscar the Grouch #2
  • Popcorn Neckerchief Slide
  • First Aid Kit
  • Leader Survival Pills
• Resources
  • Internet Links
  • Books to try
  • Legal and Copyright Information

Materials

Return to Table of Contents

As you go through the list of slides below, you will notice many different materials.

• I have found that for the loops, the best things are pipe cleaners (chenille stems), loops of leather, and my new favorite, clear flexible PVC (also known as Taigon (sp.?) tubing at the aquarium shop). You can get this hose material at the hardware store, it is very cheap (20-35 cents per foot) and you can cut it with a good, heavy scissors. Plus it is invisible!
• For leather, look to old purses, old leather coats (fur ones, too), leather belts, etc. Check the Goodwill or Salvation Army.
• Any leather or felt pattern can be duplicated easily using a material called Fun Foam. It comes in brilliant colors plus shades, can be cut with a scissors, and is so easy to use and very inexpensive if you watch for it on sale. Check your local craft store.
• A good leather substitute is vinyl (naughahyde) fabric. Go to an upholsterer's shop and ask for scraps. Also ask for scraps of trim, lacing, leather, and other materials.
• Plastic milk cartons have a very nice plastic that cuts easily for bases, loops, or cut-out slides.
• Paint-stirring sticks are great sources of free, good wood for slides and other projects.
• Check Clearance sales after Christmas and other holidays for wooden ornaments. I have some exquisite hand-carved cowboys and birds that were originally intended for a Christmas tree.
• Pins and large earrings also make good slides.
• Laminated Countertop samples make great backings for slides and also mini clipboards. Look in the cabinet section of the local Home Depot/Lowes/Do-It-Yourself Centers.
• Milk/orange juice jug caps make great 'frames' for plaster, cotton balls, cardboard circles covered with felt or pictures, etc.
• Refrigerator Magnets are a great, cheap resource. Hot glue a ring on the back. Check the "Dollar" stores for some real deals! Some even light up and make noises!
• Keychains, same as refrigerator magnets. I found one that is a miniature Coleman Lantern that really lights up. Drove my Scouter friends wild the first time they saw it.
• My best finds are in the hardware store. Go cruising, and use your imagination.
• The Butcher shop will give you leg bones cut into slices. Try scrimshawing them (older Scouts, only).
• Your local Pet Store will have rawhide dog chews that can be soaked, stretched, and made into various Indian styles of slides, such as drums, stretched hides, tiny shields, etc.
• Check WalMart, Woolworth's, and the Dollar type stores for plastic frogs, insects, snakes, etc. They look great crawling across a neckerchief. Hot glue a clear PVC ring to them. Nature stores have these small model animals, too, but you should never pay more that 25-50 cents each for them. Puns abound with these (Don't get bugged about it, Hop to it, etc.).

Keep your eyes peeled and look more closely at everyday materials. You may be surprised!
Lorie McGraw
Return to Table of Contents

Tips and Hints/ Care and Feeding of Slides

Slide Basics

A few tips common to all slides:

• To prevent choking, slides should be loose enough to allow the neckerchief to be pulled off. Neckerchiefs should NOT be knotted instead of using a slide (although some units knot the two ends together, or tie overhand knots in the very ends)
• To make a loose slide fit better, use a rubber band or clean rubber O-ring under the slide.
• Pull the slides up to about the top button. With the collar flipped up (if worn above the 'chief), you should be able to lift the ends of the 'chief and hit your nose with the slide.
• A wander through a hobby shop, leather shop, craft store, hardware store, etc. will often reveal the best slides. In hardware stores, look especially in the plumbing and electrical sections.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins
Return to Table of Contents

Keep that Slide On!

Here is a "trick" I learned at our Scout Shop. Okay ... let me see if I can describe this ... you roll the neckerchief, put it on, and put the slide on ... then before it starts sliding off (working quickly) grab a relatively small diameter rubber band (1 to 2 inches across) place the rubber band around the neckerchief above the slide, cross it behind the slide and pull the tails of the neckerchief below the slide through. This makes a figure-8 of the rubber band with the "loops" around the neckerchief and the cross-over on the prongs of the slide. The rubber band "hides" behind the slide and keeps it in place (so they don't come off "on accident") ... but it's still fairly uncomplicated to remove on purpose -- just pull it off. (LOTS neater and easier than the parent who lined the inside of the slide with aquarium silicon sealant to keep it from sliding). Hope this helps someone. (Note from Lorie: I tried this with a favorite slide that is very heavy, and it works like a charm!)
Kyna Hendra www.macscouter.com Variation:

I agree with you about the rubber band trick to keep the slide on and tight. We have not lost a single slide in the past two years since I showed it to my son.

We have found a slight improvement to the regular rubber band idea that makes it easier to remove and put on. Instead of a rubber band, try using a small girls ponytail elastic band. They are just the right size, don't have to be double over, don't catch on the fabric and get all twisted when it is being removed, and can be selected to match the neckerchief to be even more invisible.

Bill Ebbott  WillieCE@m6.sprynet.com  Webelos Den Leader   Pack 1313, Wilmington, DE
Return to Table of Contents

Boys and Knives

I don't have a specific idea for slide design, but I have noticed two things about boys. As soon as you teach Tote 'N Chip and they are allowed to safely use a knife, they want to use the knife. Also, the boys always have a hard time keeping slides on campouts, summer camp, etc. After teaching Tote 'N Chip, give the boys a piece of wood to carve a back up slide.
Randy Thacker Merit Badge Coordinator Troop 173, Carlisle Barracks, PA
Return to Table of Contents

Finish Ideas

A mediocre slide can be 'totally rad' with the right paint job:

• Many hobby and hardware stores carry paint kits to create a variety of finishes- stone, marble, splatter, etc. A plain wooden slide becomes a chiseled stone if painted right.
• A huge variety of model paints can be found at a model hobby shop- they have metallic flakes, super-high gloss and more.
• Various egg-decorating and other specialty techniques can be applied to slides- painting with melted crayons, batik-style resist and dye methods, etc.
• A woodworking stain technique that is quite interesting is to stain the wood lightly in whatever color(s) you want, then paint the images with very thin acrylic paints that allow the wood tones to show through. Let dry well and finish off.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins)
Return to Table of Contents

Slide Ideas and Instructions

Neckerchief Potpourri

Try these slides that I showed at our Council's 1997 Supertrain (Powwow). I have linked these to the instructions elsewhere in this page, if the instructions are here. (if you need specific instructions for any of the others, contact me at lmcgraw@sc.rr.com---LLM)

• Spider (sweetgum ball, wobble eyes, and pipe cleaners for legs)
• turtle (walnut half, cardboard-ed felt with cut-out head, legs, tail, pipecleaner...extremely cute!)
• stressed out slide (telephone wire, really cute as a hair barrette, too, not that my wolves think so)
• Indian head/Eskimo head (could also be pirate, cowboy, etc... nut with drawn eyes and yarn hair)
• false Turk's-head (vinyl or leather. Look in the BSA Cub Scout How-to Book) (this can also be done as a bracelet)
• cube slide (wooden building block, painted with scouting colors, add a scouting sticker, drill hole through top)
• fireman's badge (from a sticker given out by the fire dept. "Jr. Fireman" with pipe cleaner loop)
• tooled leather (pre-formed blanks) in tube, flat with weave, etc.
• Pinewood car award (micro-machine car hot glued on leather blank with Pinewood Derby date title on it)
• Valentine's hearts (fun-foam slide, cut out hearts and put on loop)
• "Big shot" (shotgun shell on a split-ring holder)
• Spaceman (toy space ranger, hot glued to a backing)
• Patches slides, using old patches, flat and tube. Roll your old patches and hot glue them around a piece of tubing or water hose. (Not those special patches)
• Trash can and popcorn sales (film canister)
• bird/cowboy ornament (keep an eye out on those after Christmas sales... hot glue loop on back )
• bird house (was a Christmas ornament)
• Halloween bat (fun foam, same as above)
• refrigerator magnets (bear, eagle, trout, see ornaments)
• blank for pins (like tiger cubs, arrow of light, popcorn sales, etc. out of fun foam)
• US Marshall's badge (plastic one given to the cubs after a visiting Marshall spoke to us)

----Lorie McGraw Columbia, SC
Return to Table of Contents

Octopus

Materials needed:
green yarn
matching color thread
wobble eyes
hot glue
plastic curtain ring for the slide.
Instructions: Cut twelve 6" long strands of yarn for each slide. Fold in half and tie at the neck area, leaving about two inches for the tentacles. Next divide the strands into sections of three. There will be eight sections) Braid each section, and tie off with thread. Hot glue on the wobble eyes. Put octopus down over the curtain ring with a few tentacles inside the ring and rest over the front to cover it. Hot glue in place.
Return to Table of Contents

Neckerchief Potpourri #2

• How about a neckerchief slide to match every theme in the book? For "Fire! Fire!" we got "Matchbox" fire engines and ambulances and glued them to PVC pipe slices. A little heavy when you used the hook and ladder, but were considered "really cool!"
• Candy molds at craft shops can offer a world of slides.
• Carved shrunken heads made from apples and covered with urethane can be glued onto rings.
• Popsicle sticks can be made into the Scout sign, small wooden furniture parts from craft stores as well as doll house accessories can be used.
• You can take pipe cleaners and make a frazzled slide for leaders. Each limb is wound on a thin pencil and as the Scouts "frazzle the nerves of the leader," another limb is extended.
• Small lids can be used as frames for pictures.
• Party favors can provide another source...the boys got a big kick out of making squirt-gun slides that worked.
• You can make those puppets that move when you pull a string. Make them small, but they will work too.
• A store like Radio-Shack can sell you all the parts, including the little batteries, to make light-up, noisemaking slides!
• Or you can sometimes buy keychain toys and take them apart and use the pieces.
• You can also make miniature weather rock slides.

I'm sure there is a limit on what you can do to make a slide, but beyond size and weight, you would have to look to the sky. In addition to PVC pipe slices, rings from many water and soda bottles work well, some even have little plastic things that help hold the neckerchief up!
I hope that these ideas give you a starting point for your own ideas.
Patrick Driscoll PDris1995@aol.com   CM P244 & 699, Alamo Area Council, San Antonio, Texas
Return to Table of Contents

"Scouting is My Bag" slide

A slide that I like is to make a paper bag -- using pinking shears and, of course, glue. Stuff in some tissue paper and glue. Then write "Scouting is my bag!" on the front of the bag. Glue on pipe cleaner, twist tie or whatever for the neckerchief holder.
Barbara L. Ford bford@scs.unr.edu
Return to Table of Contents

Fly Slide

The tie slide I like best is the Fly Slide. You take a milk cap lid and fill it with Elmer's glue and have the Cubs check their windows for dead flies and the flies are put in the Elmer's glue. I used plastic flies for the ones I made.
Yvonne Graham YLGRAHAM@aol.comBuena Park, CA
(Note: I did one with a dead June bug from my porch, and my Bear Cub son went wild over it...next meeting we will be doing dead bug slides, for sure! ---LLM)
Return to Table of Contents

Mini Clipboard

Saw this in Boy's Life some years back and have had lots of comments on it. Cut a rectangle of thin plywood about 1 x 2 inches (paint stick, or laminate sample, too). Stain and varnish to taste. Screw a small spring clip to the top. (or use a binder clip) Attach something to the back to hold the neckerchief--I used a small ring of metal but you could use a ring of leather or a ring of plastic pipe.
Get some of the smallest post-it notes--I think they're about 1 x 3/4 inch. It not only looks good but it's handy--you always have some paper.
---Mark W. Arend arend@centuryinter.net Beaver Dam, Wisc. Scoutmaster, Troop 736
Return to Table of Contents

Stress Indicator Neckerchief Slide

Materials: several 12-inch pieces of telephone wire, various colors

1. Put two or more pieces of wire next to each other.
2. Make a 1-inch loop near the center by twisting them together. (It's like putting a twist tie on a bread wrapper.) Or tie a square knot.
3. Wrap each piece of wire around a pencil until you get to the end of the wire.
4. Remove the pencil.
5. The loop is now the part that goes around your neckerchief; you can adjust it by twisting tighter or loosening it up a bit.
6. The coils can be scrunched together to tell people you're really wound up or stretched out to indicate that you're relaxed.

Just as a side note, mine has two pieces of wire which result in 4 coils coming from the loop. It looks like a little man and I keep him on the shelf near my computer where he keeps me company!
Mary Lee Foley mlfoley@earthlink.net
Return to Table of Contents

Cottonball Ghost Pin / slide

Pull/manipulate one cotton ball into a ghost shape and glue two "eyes" to it. Use a looped piece of masking tape (rolled sticky side out) to attach to clothes.
Pack 114 Library
Barb Stephens bsteph@creighton.edu Pack 114 Pages
(Note: for slide, glue the ghost to an oval of cardboard and then attach a slide ring. -LLM)
Return to Table of Contents

Leather Arrowhead

This slide is an arrow head made out of thin leather or heavy soft plastic like found on the sides of a one gallon plastic milk carton It is an arrow head shape about 4 inches tall with two large holes cut out in the middle. (One on top, one below) The neckerchief is fed through the top hole from the backside, then down and through the bottom hole.
Dale Fulkerson, ASM    Santa Monica CA
(Note: this 2 hole treatment can be used on any shape of your choice. It also can be drilled out of flat wooden slides at least 3-4 inches (~10 cm.) long, again in your choice of shapes. I have a lovely one made of a polished myrtle wood rectangle, with a lightly carved shock of wheat in the lower left corner. A design could also be burned onto the leather or the wood ----- LLM)
Return to Table of Contents

Magnet Slides

A good and easy way to craft a neckerchief slide is from a refrigerator magnet and then make the neckerchief slide saver from Lance Wilkerson's web page:
http://perdita.lcs.psu.edu/BSA/woggle.htm#SAFETY
I have made two slides from different magnets with a holiday theme: Halloween & Christmas. My Webelos fixed the Halloween slides and used the slide saver. The designs were bats and pumpkins. We used that plastic craft string and beads.
Then at Christmas I gave each boy a slide made from a magnet with Santa and used bells on the slide saver instead of beads. They came out real cute.
You can find magnets real cheap from a store like Big Lots. Usually two to a package from .79 to a buck. You need to try and remove the magnet from the back though. I had trouble with the Santas as the whole magnet would not come off most of them but the Halloween ones came off perfect.
I made some neat ones for my husband and me from owl magnets and use water hose pieces described on the slide saver page.
Ginny Gillam Pack/Troop 164 Edenton, NC
Return to Table of Contents

Nature Slides #1

Hot glue a pipecleaner ring to the back side of a 2" diameter slice of branch. Or drill 2 holes in the slice and thread the pipe cleaner through to make the loop.

• Glue pieces of twigs, nuts, pebbles to the front side.
• Press flowers or leaves and glue to the wood
• sand smooth and draw animal tracks on the slide
• Use a rubber stamp on the cut and sanded side, then use colored pencils to add detail.
• Make a pattern (like a mosaic) of different seeds, corn, beans, dandelion fluff, etc.. Draw the pattern on, then apply glue to one section at a time. Sprinkle with one kind of seeds. After each section is covered, then use the next kind of seed. How about the fleur de leis as a design?

Barb Stephens   bsteph@creighton.eduand Lorie McGraw  lmcgraw@sc.rr.com Return to Table of Contents

Nature Slides #2

This one is made out of 1/2 inch plastic pipe. Get a plastic pipe cutter and cut off neckerchief lengths of plastic pipe. Have the boys glue nature objects. stones, twigs, nuts and seeds to the plastic pipe. Or they could cut out pictures from magazines and glue them on like decoupage.
Dale Fulkerson     ASM Santa Monica CA
Return to Table of Contents

Picture Slices

Materials

• 1/4" slices of a log or branch, (largest diameter was approx. 3")
• 1/4" slices of 1" diameter PVC pipe for loop
• cut-outs of pictures from magazines (can be anything from sports equip. to pets-anything that would interest a boy)
• spray adhesive
• Polyurethane or spray acrylic

Glue the PVC ring to the back of each slice of wood. Boys choose what picture they want on the front. Spray the adhesive on the front of the wood, place the picture. Spray with polyurethane spray to seal.
*Note: Do not use spray adhesive to "seal " the wood. Use Polyurethane or spray acrylic.
Cathy Carver carvfam@ix.netcom.comPack 581 Arvada CO Denver Area Council
Return to Table of Contents

Knot Sampler Neckslide

Start with your basic tree cookie. I prefer to keep them in the 2" diameter range. (My saw has a maximum cut of 3").

I finished the wood by burnishing it. That means rubbing it with something hard until it gets smooth and shiny. You could also use wax or some other type of wood finish.

Using darning thread, or very light yarn, of contrasting colors (blue and gold work well), tie 5 or 6 different knots. Use knots appropriate to the Leader (Square knot, bowline, sheet bend, two hitches, tautline hitch, clove hitch, timber hitch, water knot, figure 8, grapevine, etc.) Glue knots to the front of the tree cookie.

Name plates for these knots are created using a laser jet printer and text in 3 or 4 point font. Cut them out and glue below each corresponding knot.

Glue a ring to the back of the tree cookie. I suggest 1/2" PVC.

I have made only three of these in total, used to honor very important volunteers.
Bob Peters   Bob_Peters@countrywide.com  'Beaver Bob WCS-39'  Verdugo Hills Council, Glendale, California
Return to Table of Contents

Decal Slides

BSA puts out some decals, six-eight to a sheet, of wolfs, bears and Webelos, they are about 1X1inch. From molding or some wood of same size cut pieces to fit decal. Take PVC pipe, about 3/4 inch and cut rings. Let boys hot glue ring to back of wood and place decal on front.
Jacobo Caceres jcaceres@PSS.MsState.EduMSU Plant & Soil Sciences
Return to Table of Contents

Leather Shapes Slide

Materials:

• Leather shapes with holes already punched (triangles, squares, circles, whatever)
• colored pony beads
• leather strips.

Affix a leather strip to create the slide. Then let the boys determine the length of the other strips as they attach their beads. Tie knots in the end of a leather strip, and push through one of the holes, with knot in the back.
Attach the pony beads and knot off the end.
Cathy Carver carvfam@ix.netcom.comPack 581, Arvada CO/ Denver Area Council
Return to Table of Contents

Display/Showoff Slides

To display fossils, arrowheads or other small trinkets:

1. Make a 'base' tube for the slide out of a piece of copper pipe or other thin, easy to paint or work with tubing.
2. Paint the 'base' a neutral or contrasting color. usually, it is best to only use one color.
3. Hot glue or epoxy the item to be displayed on the tube.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins.
Return to Table of Contents

Turkey Bone Wolf Slide

Take a vertebra from a turkey neck, boil it clean, add pointed ears, green eyes, and a red tongue. It will look like a wolf head.
Jacobo Caceres jcaceres@pss.msstate.edu MSU
Return to Table of Contents

Bone Slides

Neckerchief slides can be used for a variety of team-building and recognition. Since we have several avid outdoorsmen registered as adult leaders, we have a wealth of materials to choose from. Two that have proven popular with the lads are deer vertebrae and the leg-bones (circular bones) from the center of a venison steak! The leg bones are usually about one inch long, and the vertebrae are just the right size! Our lads also discover the bones during hikes. I carry a number of the "steak" bones with me, and use them to recognize "on-the-spot" excellence. By the way, the adults seem to like them too!
Sam Poulton   Otetiana Council, Eagle District/Asst. District Commissioner
Note: You can try your hand at scrimshaw on these, but be very careful. It would probably be best to leave that to the older scouts ---LLM
Return to Table of Contents

Real Skull Slides

When I was a boy, I found a dead woodchuck once and used the skull for a neckerchief slide. Once everyone at camp saw it, none of the woodchucks were safe, so I'll leave it to your judgment whether you want to publish this. (Note: encourage use of Roadkills, etc-- LM)

Boil the skull, or leave it on an ant hill until it is clean. Remove the two front teeth. These are the teeth that the woodchuck gnaws with. Glue the teeth in place on either side of the skull like the horns on a steer. Once this is done, the skull looks just like a mini-version of one of those "Old West" skulls of steers found in the desert Southwest. A loop can be glued on the back to form the slide. You can leave it natural or paint it to your liking. These are particularly popular because they are rare. I don't advocate collecting enough woodchucks to make this a project, but if you have a varmint hunter in the family, they can provide a source. Farmers are usually happy to have these animals removed.

Vic Sands Vic.Sands@camcare.com Buckskin Council, Charleston, West Virginia

Return to Table of Contents

"The Neckerchief" Neckerchief Slide

Using fabric dyes, paints, etc., decorate the fabric to look like your neckerchief. Let dry well, iron if recommended for color-fastness.

1. Dip the fabric in thinned white glue, about 1/3rd or 1/4th glue and tap water. (see note below) Add more water as needed. Lay out flat and face down on waxed paper or aluminum foil. Roll up as if it were a real neckerchief. Do this while still damp so it holds its shape.
2. Take a piece of dowel or pipe with an OUTSIDE diameter equal to a neckerchief and wrap it in wax paper or foil.
3. Lay the pipe on the neckerchief and wrap the fabric around it as if it were a boys neck, pinching it together where a tiny neckerchief slide would go- maybe tying a thread at this spot. Let it dry fully. If necessary for more stiffness, repaint with thinned glue or use fiberglass resin or epoxy with an adults close supervision)
4. Fabricate a tiny neckerchief slide by gluing a bead or sequin to the thread above, or wrapping a piece of shiny wire around the pinch point, or taking a mother's pin and pinning/gluing it in place.
5. Slide the finished slide off the pipe or rod.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins
(Note: Go to the fabric or craft store and get Fabric Stiffener... easier and less mixing. ---LLM)
Return to Table of Contents

Tom-Tom Slide

We are making these. The boys chose it themselves. Instead of painting them we are going to use a woodburning tool to make the design. I got a bag of leather scraps for $1.00 at Tandy. (Note: Chamois is a light weight leather that can be found in the car washing supplies at any store--LLM)

• Heavy cardboard ring 5/8’ high, 2 1/4’ diameter
• Piece of chamois
• Glue
• Paints

Cut chamois large enough to cover cardboard ring, leaving ends long enough to tie in back. Put a bead of glue around one end of cardboard ring and press into center of chamois. Pull ends around and tie in back, trimming ends. Glue edges of chamois down around outside of cardboard ring. Paint Indian designs on front. Or woodburn the designs in.
Submitted by Pam Hughes djpe@msn.com (from Heart of America Council "Lazy Days of Summer" 1998 Pow Wow book )

Return to Table of Contents

Beaded Indian Headdress Neckerchief Slide

originally from Judy Scholefield

Materials:

• 15 safety pins ( I used small brass ones )
• "E" beads ( I used a variety of colors )
• 6 mm round beads ( I used faceted ones )
• approx. 8" of 20 gauge wire
• 1/2 pipe cleaner ( I used gold )

Instructions:

1. String "E" beads on pin in desired pattern. Do 14 pins the same way. ( I experimented with different colors. Each of the above will represent a feather so you may want to use a pattern here. )
2. Pinch heads of pin closed, so that they don't open while wearing. IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE!
3. String 6 mm beads and heads of pins on wire. Start with a bead and fold wire back over bead to keep it on. Alternate beads and pins, being sure to put all pins facing the same way. (This is where I created a pattern. Ex. blue faceted 6mm bead,1 pin w/red beads, blue faceted 6mm, 1 pin w/white beads, blue faceted 6mm, 1 pin w/blue beads, blue faceted 6mm, 1 pin w/white beads, blue faceted 6mm,1 pin w/red beads, etc.....) End with a 6mm bead, leave enough wire to fold back over bead as you did at start, then trim excess wire away. Be sure ends are folded back enough so that there is no sharp point.
4. String pipe cleaner through loops at bottom of pins, pushing pins close together, and centering pipe cleaner.
5. On ends of pipe cleaner string several beads, either "E" or 6mm. ( I used 3 blue faceted 6mm beads on each end) Form excess pipe cleaner into a loop, and twist to secure.
6. Take your last pin and pin the first beaded pin and last beaded pin on the back of the slide. This will help to form shape, and is used to create area to put neckerchief through.
7. Adjust shape, pull "tails" straight, then wear with pride.

To tell you the truth, Lorie, when I received the directions from Judy, I was very grateful but not quite sure what this was supposed to be. When I finished, I had a gorgeous Indian Headdress Neckerchief Slide to show my scouts and asked if they wanted to make it. YES, and ooooo's could be heard. I brought the finished slide to a Den Leader's meeting and they all wanted the directions. I am a Den Leader for my 3rd grade son's Bear Den. My 2nd year Webelos son loved it and wanted to show his den. He got so excited he designed a flag of the United States to wear as a slide. I'll get you those directions when I have more time.
Laureen De.    DL, Advance Chair.  Knox Trail Council, MA
Return to Table of Contents

Beaded-Look Slide

1. Using the leather neckerchief slide kit from the BSA or any similar leather project, dampen the leather surface as you would for tooling or carving the leather.
2. Score the leather in a grid pattern with a swivel knife or Xacto knife. Use smaller grids for older kids.
3. Hand out a piece of grid paper that roughly matches the slides to each kid. Have the kids figure out what they want the finished slide to look like.
4. Using water-based acrylic paints (such as those available through the BSA or most hobby stores), paint each square in the grid as if it were a colored bead. Let dry. Seal with a coat of leather protector or polyurethane sealant.
5. Make the slide as per kit directions.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins (Note: Any counted or graphed design will work. Check out the web for Cross-stitch patterns, etc . -----LLM)
Return to Table of Contents

Beaded Circle Slide

I just spent the afternoon making these with my Bear den while we waited for plaster casts of footprints to harden in the driveway. I learned how to do this at the Western Alaska Council powwow recently.

Materials

• 5 1/2-inch wooden beads (note, use more if your bead circle is too small)
• 20 inches of plastic lacing

Instructions

1. Put first bead at middle of lacing.
2. Take second bead and put one end of lacing through one side and other end of lacing through the other side. Pull until the two beads are next to each other.
3. Then continue with next 3 beads in same manner.
4. Check size. Add more beads if needed.
5. Tie off and put ends through a bead and cut.

That's all there is to it.
Rebecca Graham      Western Alaska Council
Return to Table of Contents

Cut Glass Slides

(for older boys)

Special needs: Bottle Cutting Kit (look in your hobby shop)

1. Using the bottle cutter , cut about 1 1/2 to 2" off the top of a clean, interesting pop or other bottle.
2. Using the tools and techniques in the kit, smooth off the bottom of the cut neck. It will become the slide.
3. Decorate, if desired, with paints, glued-on items, model decals, etc. An etched-look can be accomplished with the paints available for the purpose at the hobby shop.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins)
Return to Table of Contents

The Invisible Slide

Instructions

1. Find some clear vinyl tubing (3/4" or larger Taigon tubing or flexible PVC) the right diameter to be used as a slide (look in hardware stores or aquarium supply stores). You will need about 1 to 1 3/4 inches per slide.
2. Cut off the length you need, and about an extra six inches. Uncurl it by soaking it in very hot or boiling water, then letting it hang with a weight on it to cool and set. An easy way to do this is to clamp it on both ends with a Vise Grip tool and hang the lighter tool on a hook and let the heavier tool pull it straight.
3. When cool, cut off any damaged parts, then cut to size.
4. Decorate as desired, or leave invisible.

Decorations can include:

• -- the embroidered stickers sold by the BSA or hobby shops
• -- any other sticker that will fit.
• -- often, you can pin a Mother's Pin or similar item onto the plastic and still thread a neckerchief through.
• -- self-adhesive letters will allow you to add your initials, unit or den number, etc.
• -- virtually anything that can be glued or screwed on from behind!

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins
Return to Table of Contents

Woodbadge Bead Display Slide

Instructions

1. Get a nicely colored 'push-button' toggle, such as that used to close drawstrings, a length of rawhide thong or parachute cord thin enough for your beads, and your beads.
2. Thread your beads on the thong, making sure to leave about 4" unused.
3. Tie an overhand or Figure 8 knot in each end.
4. Push the middle of the thong into the toggle so you form a loop that you can tighten by sliding the toggle.
5. Put the neckerchief ends into the loop and snug it down to hold.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins
Return to Table of Contents

Drill Press Slides

(for adults only) If you have access to a good drill press:

• A piece of branch with the bark still on it can be drilled out to make a nice slide. Avoid woods with a lot of pitch or sap. Varnish or Polyurethane the whole thing to protect the bark.
• With the correct bit, an interesting stone can be drilled out. Rock collectors, rock shops, or Rock and Mineral Clubs can advise you on the bits and speeds to use on the different minerals and stones.
• Large beads, bones, wooden knobs, balls, etc. can be drilled pretty easily. Small ones are harder and more dangerous to drill.
• I knew one kid whose dad drilled a hole down through the top of a "Hot Wheels"-type car for a slide and it looked pretty cool. Many small toys can be drilled as long as you follow basic safety precautions. Some flimsy toys can be reinforced by filling them with "Durhams Rock Hard Putty", epoxy, etc.

***NOTE: Be sure to use the right bit, speed, clamping and safety equipment, including safety glasses. Making slides should not be a death sport!***
Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins
Return to Table of Contents

Useful Slides

Make a slide that will hold a neckerchief and perform some other function:

• 1.) You can take a film canister, pill box, small plastic box (such as those with magnifying glasses built into them), or other small container and attach a ring to the back- either with hot glue, epoxy, screws, bolts, rivets, etc. depending on the container and make a carrier for:
  • - First-aid kit
  • - Survival kit
  • - Repair kit
  • - Fire-starter kit (camping only, OK?)
• Make a Display Slide as described above and attach a whistle on a short chain or with Velcro so you can still work it without removing the slide.
• Wrap thin, strong cord (mason line, parachute cord, etc.) around a plain tube base- leather, pipe, even cardboard. With a little practice, the string can be wound attractively, and you will have a pretty long chunk for emergencies.
• A simple, inexpensive watch can be made into a slide so you will always know the time .

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins
Return to Table of Contents

Quick Slides

Can't find your slide? Try these fast answers:

• Most costume jewelry rings or inexpensive rings make interesting, but rather small slides.
• Key chains can be interesting slides if they are the right size and have interesting things that hang down right. Those with tabs usually work the best.
• Pieces of clean tubing, such as plumbing pipe, conduit, chromed tubing, etc., can be used if smooth and de-burred.
• Napkin rings usually make good slides. Look for exotic slides at import shops.
• Some of the big 'conchos' with two big slots in them make good slides.Thread the neckerchief up from behind the top slot, then back down into the bottom slot.

Slide Idea File: Scouting Library on AOL: Mark Adkins
Return to Table of Contents

More Quick Slides

I have used the following as impromptu slides:

• Hair barrettes (especially for tying back long hair)
• Decorative Pins (clay art ones and Indian design ones)
• Scarf holders and T-shirt loops (flat pieces of wood or plastic with 2 holes to gather your extra long T-shirts at the hem for that sporty, fashionable look. I have one that is a ceramic fish that is super!)

Lorie McGraw
Return to Table of Contents

Using Plaster of Paris

Making Molds from Clay

Use oil based clay called plasticine. Place a hunk of clay the size of your fist on a plastic table top or paper plate. Have the boys take a bear head, or other large toy animal and stick it into the clay. Carefully pull the head out. ( you may need to spray WD- 40 on the head - practice first.) Then fill the opening with plaster of Paris mixed in a paper cup. Put a loop in the back before it dries. Should take 20 minutes before the plaster set up hard enough to pull the clay off and pick the plaster out. Knead it back together and start on the next.
Dale Fulkerson     ASM Santa Monica CA
Return to Table of Contents

Pirate's Face Magnet or Slide

(Note: This form could be used for any oval face shape --LLM)
Pour a small amount of plaster into the bowls of plastic spoons. If making a slide, insert the ring before the plaster sets. When hardened, pop out. Brush all surfaces with a mixture of glue and water to seal the plaster. Draw a pirate's face on the smooth bowl side. Attach a felt eyepiece. Make a felt pirate hat by cutting two hat shapes from black felt. Glue them together, leaving the bottom open to slide down over the plaster head. Glue it to the head. Or make a bandanna with fabric scrap. Glue a magnet strip on.
---Chris CRH1954@aol.com
Return to Table of Contents

Halloween Jack-o-Lantern Slide

(Note: This form could be used for any round shape, plus the aluminum can mold could be scored with a nail for more relief.-LLM)
We used the bottom of a soda can (Turn it upside down) as a plaster of Paris mold. A drop of oil or Pam spray put on the mold first makes it easier to remove the blank. After pouring the plaster in, embed a green pipe cleaner that has been shaped like a Halo. The stick end will stick out on the edge (the stem of a pumpkin) half of the hoop will stick out just above the centerline (the slide) Note: having the slide above the center allows the slide to hang properly when it is worn. Have the scouts scratch initials and year on the back.
After they have set up, remove from mold and paint a base orange with a fast drying paint, then put the face on. Permanent magic markers can work well here.
Kevin Henderson hendrson@home.cybertron.comASM Troop 28 Meridian MS
Return to Table of Contents

Using Candy Molds

One year our den leader made plaster slides using plaster of Paris and candy molds in the shape of various animals. My son came home with a parrot. She had the boys choose which animal they wanted, then they poured the plaster of Paris into the mold and used a heavy wire shaped in a "U" shape to make the backing. This was inserted after the mixture began to harden a little. The next meeting the boys painted them and took them home.
Cathy Carver carvfam@ix.netcom.comPack 581, Arvada CO/ Denver Area Council
Return to Table of Contents

Film Canister Slides

Oscar the Grouch

A few years ago at a computer fair I ran into a family table where the 9 year old girl decided that SHE wanted to sell something, too.
She took a film canister, hot glued a green fuzzy ball into the open end, hot glued the cap to the top of the ball a la Oscar the Grouch. A couple of small craft shop eyes completed this Sesame St. character, with his "can". This could be made into a woggle, by adding a loop on the back.
 Dave Loomis   dloomis@nh.ultranet.com Greenland, NH
Return to Table of Contents

Oscar 2

For Oscar, you punch two holes in the back of the can, and two holes in the cap. Thread a black pipe cleaner through one hole in the can up through the top, back down through the other hole, and out through the second hole in the back. Twist the ends together to make the loop. This keeps the lid on (as in Oscar's garbage can). Glue two green 1inch pompoms together. Glue two 'eyes' on the top pompom and a short piece of red embroidery thread for the mouth (keep it straight - Oscar rarely smiles!). . Use a regular cotton ball as a filler in the bottom of the can, so Oscar peeks out the top.
Return to Table of Contents

Popcorn Neckerchief Slide

Materials:

• Film canister
• pipe cleaners
• red or white adhesive vinyl
• marker
• cotton balls
• plaster
• popped corn
• clear acrylic spray.

1. Cover the film canister with red or white adhesive vinyl.
2. Make two small cuts in the back to insert a pipe cleaner ring.
3. Make a sign "POPCORN" and tape to front of can.
4. Put one or two cotton balls in the can and pour a small amount of plaster over them for weight. Let dry.
5. When dry, glue popped corn in the top part of the can. (Use enough to make sure popcorn will stick.)
6. When dry, spray with clear acrylic spray.

Cindy P-1373/T-1373 DR/DAC
Return to Table of Contents

First Aid Kit

(Great for Webelos Readyman)
Paint a film canister white with a red cross on the front. (or use white film cans and colored tape) Attach a curtain ring to the back side of the canister, or poke 2 holes in the back and use a chenille stem for the loop. Fill the canister with useful first aid items:

• 1 adhesive bandage
• 1 alcohol wipe
• 1 tube antiseptic ointment
• 2 safety pins
• coins for telephone call
• emergency phone numbers
• Tylenol wrapped in aluminum foil
• Basic First Aid instructions reduced to small laminated card, rolled up inside

-Lorie McGraw , Barb Stephens, and TomB, formerly CM of pack 469 in NJ

Return to Table of Contents

Leader Survival Pills

• Film canister or an unused pill bottle
• Mini M&Ms
• cotton ball
• chenille stem or loop
• label (below)

Make canister with loop, glue label (below) on the outside (make it look like a prescription label) Put the new mini M&M's in it, with a cotton ball on top.

Leader Survival Pills

Directions:

Remove cotton, tear in half, place in ears
Take pills as needed:
red for stress relief
blue for noise reduction
yellow for patience
brown for instant game idea
mixed colors for sense of humor
Call your Cubmaster in the morning!

Return to Table of Contents

---

Resources

Using the Internet

Books

Cub Scout Books include the Cub Scout How-To Book, each of the books at each scouting level have hints for slides (Wolf, Bear, etc.). Also check the Program Helps, available in the Council office. Contact other districts and ask for their Powwow books. Or e-mail me at lmcgraw@sc.rr.com and get more info.

Return to Table of Contents

Legal Stuff

Copyright ©1998    Lorie McGraw.

This collection may be freely copied and distributed for all non-profit youth groups or schools. Please keep the sources with the slides. This may not be copied for sale, inclusion in a book or magazine, (unless the book is being given away) or distributed for monetary consideration. In other words, if you are giving it away, great, copy it and have fun. If you are trying to make money with it (including submission to craft magazines), then no, you may not copy these pages.
Councils, Leaders, and Roundtables may freely include any of this information in their Powwow books, training aids, and RT handouts. Please include source and web page information with it. If you would like a Word version of these slides, please email me and I will gladly send it to you for your use at Roundtables, Powwows, your unit, troop, or den etc.
Other distribution will be granted only with permission of Lorie McGraw or the individual who contributed the item.
Individuals retain all rights to their submissions. These slide ideas were not necessarily invented by the people who submitted them for inclusion on this web page. Please feel free to link to this page (a courtesy email telling me about it would be nice), but do not open this page on your site in frames, copy it to your site, or otherwise change, alter, add to, subtract from, borrow, or copy the source code. I spent many hours writing this page up. Updated 2008

Return to Table of Contents

Thank you and
Keep the Spirit of Scouting alive each day.

This site has been visited a whole lotta of times since February 1, 1998