Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Marcy Lundy!!!

Marcy Lundy (Marcy, #170) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning an Intermediate Level Ink Slinger Merit Badge!

“I love to write and I have been working on stories for as long as I can remember. I am always writing something. I just finished the outline, almost 300 pages, of a young adult novel. Now that the outline is finished, I have to flesh it out and make it more real.

It’s coming out great. I can’t wait until my characters start dragging me this way and that as they tell me their stories.

Last year I challenged myself to write a full length historical novel for my Expert badge. I did and I titled it ‘Caroline’s Promise.’ The novel has 367 pages and 90,408 words. I love working on it. It was hard work, especially when writing was the very last thing that I wanted to do, but I put my butt in the chair, my hands on the keyboard, and I got it done. Now it’s printed and stowed away where no one else can see it! I am sending it out but I haven’t had any luck yet. Now, if I can get it published, that would make my wish come true!!

Awesome! I challenged myself to get this book done and I did it! Sometimes I didn’t think that it was ever going to be done, but I kept going and I finished it. Now if I could only publish it…”

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Arlene Woods!!!

Arlene Woods (Whirlwindwoman, #7241) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a Beginner Level Backyard Farmer Merit Badge!

“I have 15 laying hens. (Started out with 18, but a hawk was killing them.) I finally learned how to butcher a chicken! One of my friends showed me how to do it without the boiling water—just butcher them like we do the rabbits! So much easier.

I feed my girls organic grain and they free range for insects and have pasture.

We have enjoyed the large brown eggs and good meat that we know is healthy. My son wants to add Russian meat rabbits this year and we are doubling our flock to include a heritage breed. (Right now we have a hybrid – Golden Comets.)”

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The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 7,328 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—10,420 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! ~MaryJane 

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …   

For this week’s Stitching and Crafting/Weaving In and Out Intermediate Level Young Cultivator Merit Badge, Piper, Andy, and I stepped up the ante. Now that we were pretty proficient at how to braid and make our own friendship bracelets,

photo by Nina Helmer via Flickr.com

we had to branch out and …

make another using a different material this time and give one away.

Seemed simple enough. Aww, naiveté, thy name is Jane …

We already had enough friendship bracelets to adorn most of the neighborhood (and in Andy’s case, the local football team), but we were fresh outta yarn. We pondered and pondered: what else could be braided?

Well, that was a loaded question for Lil’ Miss Pipes.

“What can’t be braided?” she rephrased, in delight.

Umm, turns out that became a list.

Things That Cannot Be Braided:
• Rocks
• Granola bars
• Chicken feathers
• Beef jerky
• Sticks of gum
• All the electrical cords behind the entertainment cabinet (but only cuz Dad says no)
• Toothbrushes
• Dog’s ears (but only because they won’t sit still long enough)
• Kitten’s tails (see above)
• Forks
• Spoons
• Knives

And how do we know these items aren’t braidable, you might ask? Because we didn’t attempt them, naturally … sigh.

The next list seemed more fun (not to mention, more applicable).

Things That CAN Be Braided:
• Yarn
• Ribbons
• Shoelaces (not while people are wearing them, though. Not nice, Andy)
• Some flower stalks or long grasses
• Strips of cloth or lace
• Rickrack
• Your mom’s purse straps
• Your dad’s belts
• Curly ribbon on packages/gifts
• Headbands and hair ties
• Curtain tie-backs
• Fringe
• Shirt sleeves (Don’t ask. I think they were making homemade strait jackets or something.)
• Fruit leather (sticky, but worth the flavor combination)
• Licorice sticks
• Dental floss
• Bungee cords
• Bread dough
• Embroidery floss
• Men’s dress socks or girl’s knee-highs

I think the list would have gone on all day and night, but we needed to get crackin’ on actually accomplishing a few completed bracelets and then gifting them. This likely would have led to another list, but I snagged the pencil from Piper. Sheesh, if there’s a badge for List Making that kiddo would be Chapter Leader in no time.

photo by Bunches and Bits {Karina} via Flickr.com

There are approximately 7.4 billion people in the world right now.

We have nearly enough friendship bracelets for everyone.

I’m. Not. Even. Kidding.

photo by Diane Industrialart Purdie via Flickr.com

Piper and Andy picked out the very best, the most beautiful, the one that took the most work and time, the one they treasured out of them all, and they gave it to …

Me.

Don’t be jelly of my fruit leather, hollyhock stalk, dental floss, and ribbon bracelet, my farmgirls. It is one of a kind, yes, but you too can have a priceless symbol of your neighbor kids’ affection. Just teach them this badge!

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Hadassah Schaap!!!

Hadassah Schaap (Farmerette of Heidi Schaap #3752) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a Beginner Level Entrepreneurial Spirit Merit Badge!

“I dreamed about my business, chose a name, and put it under my pillow. My mentor (Mom) taught me how to write a business plan using http://bizkids.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/Kids-Business-Plan.pdf.

After deciding what I’d like to do, I presented my business plan to my father and he approved it.

I researched how to set up an Etsy business and set up my home page. I transferred money from my savings to buy sewing fabric and necessary items. I printed off business cards. I had to learn about fees, shipping options, etc.

It was nerve wracking to put all that work in wondering if anyone would place an order, but it was great practice for future online endeavors.

I launched my business on Etsy! You can find it here.

It has been wonderful so far! I’ve made plenty of sales, received two 5-star reviews, and been asked to create a custom order for a new product. I am learning more every day and appreciate having a way to create income from our family’s homestead.”

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Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)

Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)

My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Debbie Klann!!!

Debbie Klann (debbieklann, #770) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an Expert Level Community Action Merit Badge!

“To get more interest in participating in our fair, I worked with the local paper in getting the fair premium book ready to print with the contests that our family was sponsoring. I also spent time getting those premium books out to people that wanted to enter items and helping those that had never entered anything before. People were surprised by how many different categories of things could be entered and it got a lot of new people excited about participating!

We also had a group of young farm wives all encouraging each other the week before fair, getting baking down and produce ready to enter and entering the different food contests. We really worked hard to get the word out to enter and have fun!

For my own personal challenge, I decided to enter ALL of the bread entries! I started early in the month and put things away in the freezer. I wanted to see LOTS of things entered on the shelves in the building! I also entered some quilts in the open class building next door. I had debated on doing so but was really glad that I did, as there weren’t very many and the ones that I took down there really helped to decorate the empty space. Between working at the fair and all of the time spent baking, I put in far more than the 15 hours required for the Intermediate and Expert level badges. It was time well spent! I saved several premium books to start planning ahead for this coming fair. This is a picture of all of the baked bread entries before I took them in to enter. I also shared a bit with my online chapter about this experience.”

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