Welcome to Part 2 of the Merida party post!  It seems that blogger finally let me post part 1 in its entirety, and though I've already lost a pic on this post and I've just started writing, I'll keep my fingers crossed that we'll get through to the end.  Because what good are bows without ARROWS?!?  NO good, I say! And of all the tutorials for bows that I found online, I found very little about arrows and had to make it up as I went along, so I need to share and make the world a better place - it's what the blogosphere is about, right?! ;)

Supplies Needed:
Wooden Dowels (I chose 5/8" - the orange tipped ones)
Duct tape
Foam (I used pipe insulation left over from bows, but pool noodle foam or batting would work too)
Paint (optional)

Step 1: Cut dowels to 18".  I bought 36" dowels and cut them in half using a saw.  I sanded the edges a little so they wouldn't be rough.

If you want the arrows colored, now is the time to paint them, before putting the tips and fletchings on.  We faced a dilemma here because we wanted to stay authentic to Brave, and make realistic looking arrows, but we also knew that the arrows were likely to go missing deep in bushes in trees.  Therefore, we opted to paint them neon glow-in-the-dark and attach neon fletchings.  This is the BEST part for kids - they LOVED painting the arrows neon camo - which is a hilarious contradiction in terms ;)

Step 2: Add fletchings. Cut three pieces of Duct tape, approximately 2 - 3 inches long. It doesn't really matter, as long as all three are the same length.

 - Lay the dowel on an approximately 2 1/2"-3" strip of duct tape, leaving about an inch of the dowel at the end to grab on to when shooting (I learned this one the hard way, putting my first flight right at the end).

- Line up a second piece of duct tape, cut to be the same length as the first, along the edge of the first piece, with the dowel coming to the center of the second piece of tape as it does the first one.  Make sure to not let the two pieces of tape touch on the other side of the dowel - leave their sticky sides open.

- Line up a 3rd piece of identical duct tape along the final sticky edge of the original piece of tape.  Smooth to center and the dowel, then match up with second piece of tape and press all tightly to each other and to the dowel.

Looks like this

Step 3: Shape fletchings. Cut each flap into a triangle shape, tapering toward the front of the arrow. (Learned this one the hard way too - tapered my first one the wrong direction and my triangles faced the wrong way.)

Triangles need to look like this

Step 4: Safety Arrow Tips. Cut foam about 1 1/2", then cut in half.

- Wrap foam around tip of dowel.  I used a little glue (E6000) at first, but after a while I realized the tape alone held them on very securely.  *Note, my kids wore through these tips in only a couple of days and we added extra layers of foam.  On subsequent arrows, I started off double thickness and they have been fine - though I recommend checking them regularly as they do need to be re-tipped from time to time for safety.

-Wrapping a strip of duct tape around the fom tip keeps the foam from coming off in chunks when the arrow hits anything abrasive. Then using either electrical tape or more duct tape, wrap the base of the foam, around the dowel joining them securely.

Finished Arrow

Oh, I almost forgot that the arrows do need little notches for nocking them on the string.  You can see it in the Finished Arrow pic, that there is a tiny little groove in the bottom of the arrow.  I just used a file out of the toolbox.

Go to A very BRAVE birthday party - Part 3: Goodies & Fun Stuff

I don't know about you, but I ADORED the movie Brave.  Not sure if it's the celtic thing, or the mother-daughter thing, or the nature thing, but the whole film just resonated with me.  So I was thrilled when Chloe chose Merida as her princess to emulate for her 7th birthday.

Immediately my mind whirred with big, BIG plans!  As usual, barely a fraction of those plans made it to fruition.  I dream on the scale of Disneyland-- I live on the scale of reality.  Reminding myself that even if I don't have 10 ft tall clan banners lining the walkway to my house as guests arrive, we can still have a grand time together keeps me focused on what matters. ;)

This series of posts includes everything I did (if not everything in my imagination) for a fun Brave themed birthday party.  Including:

*PVC Bow construction

*Wooden dowel safety tipped arrow construction

*"Magic" Merida cakes & bear cookies

*Bear ears for those who may, unfortunately, eat the cakes

*A few decorating ideas and links

An absolute necessity for a proper Brave party are bows & arrows - making this a BRAVE party on more than one level.  What kind of COURAGEOUS(insane) person plans a child's party with projectiles?! And on a budget, to boot.  I didn't want cheap dollar store bows that break in moments - I wanted bows that really work!  I was so excited when I found this tutorial and this one too on how to make bows out of PVC.  However, as I did modify and made some changes of my own, including clarifying some issues I found missing in other tuts, I'm going to outline my process:

BOWS

We wanted our bows to look more wood-like and less PVC-like, so we went with brown and opted to wrap the bow in duct tape rather than paint it.  Why?  Well, I got very excited about the tutorials, ran to the hardware store, got my supplies, came home and was looking online for more measurement details when I ran across several warnings that PVC shatters under pressure and should not be used to make bows. Now, granted, this was talking about 8 ft bows that were being used to hunt elk, not little kid bows that wouldn't have nearly the poundage of pressure applied, but it still scared me.  PVC slivers are crazy scary!  After some more research though, multiple recommendations of wrapping the bow in duct tape re-established safety precautions and we were back in business - if the bow splinters at all, the tape holds the splinters in until it can be disposed of instead of going into the operator's hand.

Supplies needed:

1/2" PVC (comes in 10 ft lengths - I got 3 bows per length)

Foam pipe insulation (comes in 6 ft lengths)

Nylon chord

Duct tape

Electrical tape (optional)

Step 1: Measure PVC to desired length.  I was able to get 2 longer and 1 shorter bow (older and younger kids) out of each PVC length.  *Note, I made shorter bows for younger kids (5 and younger) but the older kids told me that actually the shorter bows were more powerful and accurate.  I'm not sure how right they are about that, but it was a unanimous opinion.

Step 2: Cut PVC to length.  I've been told you can get this done at Home Depot when you buy the PVC, but I enjoy using power tools, so I did it myself.  Remember to use safety goggles!  This stuff flies everywhere!

Step 3: Wrapping at a diagonal, cover the entire length of the PVC in duct tape.  The options for fantastically wild colors here are endless, but we wanted ours to be BRAVE-like, so woodish brown is what we chose.

Step 4: Drill a hole through tape and PVC approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inches from the top in only one side of PVC.  Repeat at other end of bow on the same side.

Step 5: Thread nylon chord through hole and out the end of the PVC.  Tie off with a solid knot.

Step 6: Using your feet (or one of your older kids if they're around) to hold the bow & bend it to desired shape, thread the chord through the opposite hole and tie a firm knot, keeping bow string taut.

Melt ends of nylon chord so that it doesn't come unraveled.  This will also keep your knot firm.

Step 7: Add the Grip. Cutting the pipe insulation to whatever length you like (I used 6" grips on my bigger bows, 5" for the smaller), open up the seam and wrap the foam around the center of the bow, right where it arcs the most.

Wrap grip in tape - either electrical or strips of duct tape - remembering to keep it tight.  We had issues in subsequent weeks with the grips spinning due to loose tape.

Step 8: Finish off by wrapping the raw ends in tape - again either electrical or duct, whichever.  I had some of each because I ran out of electrical tape, and both have been about the same as far as durability, though I might give the edge to the duct tape, if I had to.

I was running out of time and turned to my kids to find a solution for personalizing the bows.  I showed them a picture of Merida's bow and how she had carved it, explained we couldn't carve our PVC bows but would like some distinguishing decoration, and they - brilliant children - did this! Electrical tape and curling ribbon from our wrapping paper supplies! I think they're marvelous.  It gave me all sorts of ideas for washi tape, but for being spur-of-the-moment, they worked really well, and surprisingly, 7 months later, after a LOT of use, most of the decoration is still perfectly in tact.

*Note: Due to blogger constantly deleting half my pics, etc as I was typing it, this lengthy post kept getting shoved back in the file out of frustration.  So I've decided to post it in parts - one piece of the party at a time, to shorten the post before it can get deleted - again.  Bonus for readers though, I can now add notes as to what did and didn't stand the test of time and much, much abuse from the kids!

Go to A very BRAVE birthday party - part 2: Arrows

Go to A very BRAVE birthday party - part 3: Goodies & Fun Stuff