August 2009 e-bulletin

Welcome to August at Play Resource, another busy summer month! Face Painting is always one of the most popular offerings at any summer scheme, festival and outdoor event, so stock up from our range of Face Painting products in the Shop. Don’t forget our range of Hire Equipment is available and suitable for summer play!

We have lots of new and exciting waste materials arrived in the Scrap Store this month! Bring your imagination, have a rummage and you are sure to be rewarded.

BMC Community Arts & Craft Training Course OCN Level 2 is back at Play Resource, call 028 9035 7545 to register. Plus see the full package of Ideas & Inspiration on offer……we now have 5 different ways to access them! Designed to suit each group based on the level of involvement and detail you want.

Art & Play Shop

Face Painting is always one of the most popular offerings at any summer scheme, festival and outdoor event. Stock up from our range of Face Painting products, and take inspiration from our new detailed Face Painting for Beginners Craft Sheet to get started. The Seasonal Price List features our complete range of face paints but the Face Paint Palette including 6 colours for £9.25 offers great value as a starter set.

Why not try out Aqua pastels? Just dip them in water and colour away for a watercolour effect. (Box 50, various colours - £5.99) They are fun and easy to use and its like two products for the price of one – a crayon and a paint! Just ask the Shop Team who tried them out this month and created a lovely display. Take a look!

Plus don’t forget the range of Hire Equipment available to support your summer scheme activities, including Parachutes and Badge Machines.

If you are planning your summer scheme shopping list just download the new Shop Price List for the full listing of all products available. The format has been simplified to make it even easier to plan your shopping and estimate costs to fit your budget.

Scrap Store

Just in
More exciting arrivals this month including….

• Plastic lids – Bright blue they make excellent Frisbees..trust us we tried & tested ‘em!
• Buckets – White plastic 10L buckets with handles, we’ve got bucket loads and now we have the lids to match!
• Corex sheets– Giant 3m x 1.5m, use for signage or even build a Wendy House!
• Pouches – mini clear plastic pockets– great for name badges
• Plastic pie trays –make perfect paint or glue pallettes
• Brown paper strips – 5cm in depth but metres long
• Silver paper –giant rolls, good for embossing and all shiny projects!
• Plastic containers – Deep, funny shapes but so versatile they could be used to create masks, fireman’s hats or lifeboats, you choose!
• Carpet offcuts – various patterns and sizes
• Beer tubing – sturdy rolls, approx 15m

What variety eh?!…..Bring your imagination, have a rummage and you are sure to be rewarded!

Plus all the usual scrap favourites! See the full Scrap Store Materials List for all that’s on offer. If there is something in particular you are looking for but can’t see it – just ask one of the Warehouse Team who are happy to help!

Creative Paths Arts Programme

The popular BMC Community Arts & Craft Training Course OCN Level 2 is back at Play Resource, starting on Tuesday 8 September for 10 weeks. If you looking to improve your own Art & Craft skills and knowledge, or looking for training and development for your volunteers, youth workers or staff working with children and young people in a community setting then this is the course for you and your team. Level 2 Units: Materials Exploration and Design Project (mosaic). For full details of course content and structure download the attached course flyer.

This course is aimed at anyone who works with a community group, with no formal entry requirements, simply an interest in Arts & Craft although completion of Level 1 would be an advantage. To register or for further information contact course tutor Anna O’Kane or call 028 9035 7545.

Watch out for the new Play Resource Seasonal Events Calendar, it will be available at the end of the month….listing all our forthcoming workshops in preparation for Halloween and Christmas.

The Craft Sheet Library includes new colour step-by-step Craft Sheets, like this colourful Face Painting for Beginners. If you are eager for more ideas for working with groups using scrap materials start collecting these craft sheets or visit the website Publications for more ideas!

Membership News

Being conscious of the need to come up with new ideas and inspiration that range from a quick activity to complete within an hour, something seasonal, to opportunities to learn new arts & crafts skills, or to offer a range of arts & play activities that will encourage a young person’s learning and development. We have now developed a whole range of ways to collect Ideas & Inspiration:

Source                                          Available from                             Created/Led by
1. Quick Ideas Shop                     web, e-bulletin                               PRW Staff
2. Craft Sheets Ideas                   Gallery, web, e-bulletin                  PRW Staff
3. Exhibitions & Displays              Ideas Gallery, Art Space, web        PRW Staff, members
4. Arts Training Workshops          Play Resource                                seasonal, Artists
5. Arts Outreach Workshops        Community settings                       Artists

Our aim in offering this range is to fit the various needs of groups and offers a sliding scale of detail and involvement. All of them incorporate an element of scrap materials and shop products.

As well as collecting scrap materials why not collect some Ideas & Inspiration from the variety of work exhibited in the Ideas Gallery this summer at Play Resource:

1. Our day at the seaside… continues to make a splash in the Ideas Gallery
2. The Teenage Project Art Exhibition remains on show with clear messages to other teens “Get rid of your fears – don’t be pressured by your peers”.
3. Healthy Eating with the Hungry Caterpillar for Early Years is featuring in the Shop
4. The importance of creativity and art across the NI primary school curriculum is highlighted in scrap artworks like: The World Around Us, Creatures Large & Small, Circus and Aerial View.

Plus don’t miss the range of free Quick Ideas A5 recipe cards available from the Shop now, offering more like this one.

Member to Member News

Excellent opportunity for artists looking for training in community arts now available! Community Arts Forum (CAF) is inviting artists to apply for an artists’ training programme. This comprehensive nine week programme includes the theory and practice of running a community arts workshop, funding, group dynamics and evaluation. For full details download the Programme.

The training programme will commence on 4 September 2009 and will run on Fridays between September and December 2009 in venues across the region including Belfast, Derry and County Down. Sessions will usually run between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm. Each session costs £15 for CAF members and £20 for non members. If artists attend more than five weeks, there will be a reduction of £5 per week. Please apply by email, stating which sessions you would like to attend to and your experience as an artist and of working in the community to hfloyd@caf.ie.

Feedback Forum

We would like to hear from you each month, to help us improve the services we offer to our members. Question of the Month:

How are you finding the new Shop? Easy to find what you are looking for?

Respond via email to fiona@playresource.org. We look forward to hearing from you!