Sunday, January 28, 2018

#0069 Casa Grande TOPS News


Good Morning Casa Grande TOPS Members

Hope you all have had a Great weekend!
Our meeting on Tuesday, January 30th, we are going to be starting the Octopus Contest.  We will have the round styrofoam heads and yarn at the meeting.  If you have some yarn that you can bring to share please do.  Also, please bring a pair of scissors and any decorations for your octopus to dress it up. This contest will go for 8 weeks, since there are 8 legs to the octopus.
** KOPS members do not have to participate if they don't want to.  Since KOPS have to stay in their box and don't really have a gain or loss except from their goal weight, you don't have to participate.  But to have the fun of making an Octopus go right ahead and make one.
Those of you that have made one in the past please bring yours to show the other members.  Thanks.

The OCTOPUS Contest

Have one meeting at the start of the contest set aside to make your Octopus'. Each member that wants to participate in the contest will make their own Octopus.
To make them... take a styrofoam ball
that you can buy at any craft store. Cut a LOT of yarn (probably at least 24) to a length of twice the circumference of the styrofoam ball or longer. Hold them all together at one end and tie a knot. Put that knot on top of the ball and arrange the yarn down the ball. Gather the ends at the bottom of the ball and tie a small length of yarn around it securely. What you should

have is the ball covered with yarn and the ends of the yarn hanging down at the bottom end. Those ends you will divide into 8 sections. If you used 24 pieces of yarn, you will have 3 ends in each section. braid each section and secure the ends with a small piece of yarn. These 8 braided sections are the Octopus Legs and the ball covered with yarn is his body. Now you decorate your octopus any way you want. You can put wiggly eyes on him. You can buy little hats at craft stores or make your own. Or you can put a bow on the head. You can put ribbons on the end of each leg. Whatever you want to do to make YOUR octopus special. You want to make sure that each member makes their own so they feel attached to their little work of art. What we are planning on doing is supplying the styrofoam and yarn and wiggly eyes but asking each member to go out and buy whatever extra stuff they want to decorate their own octopus with and bring them in before the meeting night we make them. Now... the point of the contest... The contest will start the following week. Each week the Octopus' will be lined up on a table in the meeting room. If you come in the next week with a loss or a turtle, your little Octopus buddy gets to stay just like he is. But if you GAIN..... during roll call you have to go up and CUT a leg off your poor little critter! After making him and decorating him and getting attached to him, you are NOT going to want to cut one of his poor little legs off. Contest runs for 8 weeks.

Secret Pal

Also, don't forget to bring your cards or gifts for your Secret Pal.  We still have a few more weeks of the Secret Pal.  It will end on February 13th.