Great Videos For Your Teen Page: Super Cute Puppy Web Cams

Free Webcam Chat at Ustream
OMG cute alert! USTREAM's super cute puppy and kitten webcams are a great resource for your teen page. All the loveliness of puppy love without the cleanup! There are all kinds of neat programs on here, but the pet ones are the best. Here are some of my faves:

Beagle Puppies:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/beagle-pups

Golden Retriever Puppies
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sophie-golden-retriever-puppies

Shiba Inu Puppies
http://www.ustream.tv/sfshiba

Huskies
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/siberian-husky-wolf-hybrid-litter

Doggie Day Care
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hound-huddle-doggy-daycare

Maine Kittens
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/maine-coon-kittens-born-12-21-09

Teen Craft Program: Junk Drawer Jewelry

One of my most popular teen programs has been "Junk Drawer Jewelry" workshops. In these workshops I provide a couple of bowls of random beads and charms and plenty of jewelry tools and findings, so that my teens can make whatever they want. They go absolutely nuts whenever they see it listed on our monthly bulletin, and beg me to bring out the Junk Drawer Jewelry all the time.

Junk Drawer Jewelry was inspired by sister and a fateful yard sale two years ago. My sister is a jewelry designer and has accumulated an uncountable amount of beads in her lifetime. While preparing for our family yard sale, my sister asked if I wanted some of her old beads for any of my library craft projects.  I happily accepted and put them into my blue plastic bowls at work.

Over the years I have added random bits of plastic, glass and metal beads and charms into the mix.  My teens go gaga every time I bring out these bead and charm bowls, thrilling themselves with the discovery of random cute bits for their jewelry projects.  I'm really impressed with what my teens have put together, everything from oh-so-cute food charm bracelets, and skull bead chokers, to random beaded masterpieces.  If you are looking for a sure fire hit program, Junk Drawer Jewelry is the way to go.

To set up your own Junk Drawer Jewelry program you will need:

- A couple plastic large and shallow bowls for all the beads and charms
- Jewelry findings (earring hooks, clasps, jump rings, metal chain, etc.)
- Jewelry making tools (needle nose, flat nose, long nose pliers, side cutters for soft metal wire)
- Black stretchy rubber bead string (for easy bracelets)
- Lots of random beads and charms

The best place to find cool beads is to ask family and friends if they have any beads they are no longer using. Most kids go through a beading phase, and there are likely many grown adults willing to part with them.  If you need to develop a bead/ charm collection from scratch, I highly recommend Michael's Craft Stores (they're always having clearance sales on cool beads and charms) and Oriental Trading Company (OTC) (they have so many cute things).

Once you start accumulating an awesome mix of jewelry bits and bobs,  all you have to do is put the bowls of Junk Drawer Jewelry and jewelry making tools out and your teens will come running. If you are unfamiliar with jewelry making techniques look on Howcast.com for some great tutorials, or just provide black rubber beading string (available at Michael's and OTC) for quick and easy bracelets.

One last thing! Teens really love novelty charms in shapes of food (cupcakes, burgers, fruits), animals, anime characters (available on ebay) , skulls, hearts and everyday items. Make sure you have plenty to go around and encourage your teens to treasure hunt fairly and cooperatively.

Have an idea you would like to share on 4YA? I'd love to hear from you! Email me (Andrea) at 4yastaff@gmail.com

Teen Craft Idea: Angel Wing Earrings

Now that the vampire/ werewolf mania has calmed down a bit, angels (of all kinds) are proving to be a fair contender for teen's fantastical attentions.  To celebrate the refreshing popularity of such titles as Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush, James Paterson's Maximum Ride series and Lauren Kate's Fallen, wow your teens with a angel wing earring workshop. To make these earrings you will need the following:

These supplies can be found online at Oriental Trading Co.

- angel wing charms

- jewelry pliers

- earring hooks (silver for sensitive ears)

- jump rings

To make these earrings simply open a jump ring and slip through both the angel wing charm and the earring hook. Close the jump ring and voila! Totally cute angel wing earrings!

Teen Craft Idea: Colorful and Natural Dryer Balls

Hand felting has to be one of my favorite programs for both the little ones and for the teen set. There is just something about squishing the felt and layering the beautiful colors of wool that puts a smile on my face. There is also a ton of projects you can do with hand felting, including making ornaments, cat toys (by adding a bell inside), easter eggs, and toys for toddlers. One of my favorite ideas for felting wool is making natural laundry anti-static dryer balls. They make great gifts (especially for Mother's Day and for Earth Day) and they are simple and fun to make as well.  If you would like to learn how to make felted laundry balls please visit Judy Coates Perez's Painted Threads Projects blog.

Teen Project Idea: Mini Bamboo Gardens

Super rad librarian Kristine Sabia, sent me this awesome project idea for mini bamboo gardens. Check it out!

"I had my teens make their own bamboo garden, and I gave them each a terra cotta pot.  They painted it however they liked and I even handed out a sheet with Asian symbols to represent happiness, wealth, etc. if they wanted to try to paint the symbols.  I explained to them the history of “lucky bamboo,” and gave them a sheet of bamboo care tips to take home.

After the teens painted their pots, I handed out small stalks of bamboo.  I actually had bamboo growing at home so I just used that.  Some of the florists sell bamboo stalks, and there are also many places such as Home Depot that sell the three-tiered bamboo pots that one can just break apart and distribute to the kids.  Supposedly the number of stalks also has meaning, so I gave them each three stalks for happiness!

After the paint dried, I had each table come up one by one so we could scoop colored gravel into the pots (fish tank gravel from Petco works fine). I had three different colored gravels for them to choose from.  After we had potted our bamboo stalks, I had hemp string (neutral and rainbow colored) as well as red raffia string for the teens to tie around the stalks (sometimes red ribbons are tied around the stalks which represents the positive flow of energy (“chi”) in the room).  I encouraged the teens to water their plants as soon as they went home.

This program was very successful; the finished project was awesome and the teens enjoyed themselves!"

Do you have a project or article idea you would like to see on 4YA? Please email me at 4yastaff@gmail.com

Teen Craft Idea: Etching Glass

As you may already know, I'm a total Etsy.com fangirl. I visit almost everyday to search for project inspiration, to window shop, and yes to occasionally indulge myself. One of my favorite shops is Placidrain, who specializes in geekery and cookery. Placidrain etches video game and anime characters onto glassware as shown in the pictures above. I've been very curious to see just how this is done, and thanks to Craftster, I have found a really easy tutorial that uses puffy paint and etching cream. With endless possibilities, this super easy and affordable project, would be great activity for youth groups. If you can, try to use blue glass drinking glasses. The results are even more stunning.

Check out the links below for tutorials and inspiration.

Craftster tutorial by Skarinja that uses pint glasses
A slightly more detailed Craftster tutorial by Onyxnox that uses glass canisters 
Placidrain's Hi-O Etsy store with pictures of really cool video game and anime glassware

Teen Television: MTV's Silent Library

I have to admit, after watching these videos I may have just cracked the case on a bunch of weird happenings at my library. MTV's Silent Library is a game show where young people compete in Fear Factor type challenges (licking mud of a boot, getting slapped in the face with a fish) while remaining silent. I haven't decided yet if this is pure genius or just plain old boneheadary. Anyone courageous enough to try this program with their teens? I don't think I have the heart lol.

Silent Library - MTV Shows

Silent Library - MTV Shows

Music: Vampire Weekend's New Album Contra

The kids are going to go bonkers for this one.
Vampire Weekend "Contra" Order multiples for sure.

Tech News: 1-10-10

Erick Schonfeld's Tech Crunch article "10 Technologies That Will Rock 2010" has brought up some really interesting ideas about what tech to expect in the new year. As teens are almost always early adopters of shiny new tech, we are going to have to hit the ground running.

Kotaku reports that Microsoft is gearing up to release its new motion control system "Project Natal." Check out Kotaku's article and Microsoft video for a really neat look into this new technology.

Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning has posted a insightful interview with youth culture anthropologist   Mizuko Ito, who is studying how young people use digital media.

Wired reports that LEGO has released a photo pixelation program. Fantastic phone and great for large scale pixel art projects.

Looking for a great music video site to recommend to your teens? Check out VEVO. VEVO features the most extensive catalog of premium music content found anywhere on the web. Teens can also make playlists and discover new artists in their favorite genres.

IGN visits CES and takes a look at the highly anticipated LEGO Universe MMORPG

AP News looks into the new 3D television revolution at CES.

Percy Jackson Project Ideas

I've got to say that the previews for Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief are looking pretty awesome. Knowing that this film will make the already massively popular Percy Jackson & the Olympians book series even hotter, I looked online for some cool ideas for Percy Jackson activities. Here are some of my favorites:

Make a Camp Half-Blood bead necklace:
Using polymer clay and leather cord teens can make their own Camp Half-Blood necklace. The beads used in Rick Riordan's book series are the following:
1. Black bead with a a green trident
2. Blue bead with a brown cyclops eye
3. White bead with a black crossbow
4. Red bead with a golden maze
5. Blue bead with a gold Empire State Building

Check out Brigham Young University's A.R.T.S blog for a similar clay bead project 

Make your own Camp Half Blood T-shirts
Using orange t-shirts and fabric markers let your tweens/ teens customize their own Camp Half Blood tee.

- Orange t-shirts can be purchased at Amazon
- Great fabric markers can be found at Amazon

Visit Rick Riordan's website for ideas on decorating your t-shirts 
Here is an idea of what the official tee looks like 



Show the Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief film
Show the film during or after your DIY projects! Add some fun by making some bingo boards.

Buy Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief on DVD and Bluray at Amazon

Cook up some tasty blue food treats and chocolate chip cookie milkshake nectar:
To make Percy Jackson's chocolate chip cookie nectar milkshakes add vanilla ice cream, chocolate chip cookies and milk into a blender. Blend till smooth and serve chilled. Click here for Nestles Toll House recipe.

For some Percy Jackson inspired blue food ideas check out the wonderful blog My Enchanted Musings


Deck out your youth area with Percy Jackson themed decorations
The Gatesville Intermediate school in Texas did an amazing job decorating their school for Rick Riordan's author visit. Check out Rick's page for some great photos an ideas

Host a Percy Jackson and the Olympians "Camp Half-Blood" event 
The amazing Austin, Texas bookstore BookPeople hosted a brilliant full fledged Camp Half-Blood event last year. For some really great ideas check out Rick Riordan's blog

Prize Ideas:
Book: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Ultimate Guide
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Soundtrack
Percy Jackson and the Minotaur action figure set

Official Camp Half-Blood t-shirt
Official Hero in Training t-shirt

Other cool Percy Jackson related sites:
Rick Riordan's official website
Rick Riordan's blog
Percy Jackson series website
Percy Jackson and the Olympian's: The Lightning Thief movie website with trailer

Prize Ideas: Stapya World Japan

One of my favorite places for finding neat giveaway ideas is Strapya World at http://www.strapya-world.com/. Starpya World is a Japanese import online shop that specializes in Japanese character cell phone charms (video games, kawaii and manga), mp3 player and gaming accessories, and fun Japanese novelty items.  Most items are under $10 USD and totally teen approved.


To see all the cool stuff at Strapya World visit them at http://www.strapya-world.com/
Keep up with what's new @ the Strapya World Blog http://strapya.typepad.com/

Here are some of my favorite items:

Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts cell phone charms
ChoroQ mini remote controlled cars
Star Wars mini LED light sabers
Hello Kitty goods galore
iPod Touch stylus pen
Mini boombox mp3 speaker
Octopus camera/mp3 tripod
Kawaii character cell phone charms
Super cute key covers