Libyan Cooling Fan Tutorial

Today my ten year old did the Ramadan craft all on her own.  I was in the kitchen, making dinner, when she came in and informed me that she had not only created the craft, but she had also documented the whole procedure and the camera was ready for me.

Unfortunately, our evening got away from us with preparations and now I find myself downloading her photos, but without a narrative since she has long gone to bed.

So I will show your her craft contribution to our month, and tomorrow when she gets a moment she can come on here and fill the narrative part of the tutorial.

Libyan Cooling Fan Tutorial

Sleep well all!

Supplies
8.5 x 9 inch white cardstock
Ruler
Pencil
Red, green, black drawing pencils
Green ribbon

On the long side of the paper, mark off three inches from each end.  Do the same to the other side.  Draw a line between the two marks so that your paper is now sectioned off into three sections.

Color the section on the right red with your drawing pencil. And the section on the left you'd need to color green. 

In the middle section, draw a crescent moon with a star next to it.  Do not worry if your star is not in the middle, as you can see mine is not centered and still looks great I think. After you draw out your moon and start, color the rest of that section black, except for the moon and star!!!

Start on one end of the long section of your paper and fold over back and forth accordion style.

Once you are done with all the folds, add a ribbon to the bottom of your fan.  Use this fan to make yourself cooler on these hot summer days!

Mr. Galabeya Card Tutorial

The galabeya ( جلابية‎ ) or jalabiya  is a traditional Egyptian garment native to the Nile Valley.  At the Startalk Language Camp I taught at last week, we created this Mr. Galabeya cards to use as thank you cards for the parents. 

When I showed my daughter these cards, she of course wanted to make them to give out to family as Eid Mubarak cards.  So what better way to start our 2013 30 Day Ramadan Craft Challenge then with a craft that my daughter picked!

Mr. Galabeya Card Tutorial

Supplies
Pencil
Scissors
Red 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch cardstock
Grey 2 x 2 inch cardstock
Patterned 2 1/2 x 3 inch cardstock
Glue stick
Sharpie
3 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch card

Draw out the patterns below on each of the three cardstocks.  I helped my six year old with the biggest shape, but she was able to do the other two shapes herself.

In fact, she wanted to make sure that you saw that she created the shapes herself and wanted me to take extra photos of that. :)

Then you'll need to cut out all three shapes.

Now lay out your card flat and start gluing down the shapes.  Remember that Arabic cards open in the opposite direction then English cards, so you'll need to glue down Mr. Galabeya to the left side of the card.

For the eyes, you'll want to take the Sharpie and drawn on two dots.

Mr. Galabeya's mustache is made from drawing two Arabic sideways fours (٤) on top of each other and then color in the space between.

For the top of Mr. Galabeya's fez hat, first draw a circle at the top of the hat with the Sharpie.  Then you'll need a line going down on the side of the fez.  Add a few more smaller lines to look like a tassel.

Your Mr. Galabeya card is done and ready to give out as a Eid Mubarak card to all your friends and family!

Ramadan Craft Challange 2013

I wanted to wish everyone a Ramadan Kareem. Our family is once again doing the Ramadan 30 Day Craft Challenge and hope to start with our first craft tomorrow, insha'allah.