Pass the Crayon

Take an old glass jar, add a dash of colour, et voila- a gorgeous glass lantern, perfect for all those tea lights you never use ;)

(Sorry pumpkin... we won't be needing you anymore!)

You will need:

• x1 glass jar (or more!)

• glass paints & paint brush

• OR marker pens

• thin craft wire

Method:

1. Wash your glass (This is probably the most important step...you don't want your lovely candlelit bath spoilt by the smell of singed passata)

2. Plan your design (Or not)

3. Get drawing/painting

4. Let your paint dry (if you have used paint)

5. Attach your craft wire to the rim of the jar by simply wrapping it round a few times

6. Make the loop by bringing the wire up and across in an arch, and re-attaching it on the other side of the rim (this sounds complicated, but just look at the pictures; it's very easy, I swear)

7. Re-enforce the wire if needed

8. Add your tea light, run that bath, light the incense. OMMMMMMM.

"There are 65 million forcibly displaced people worldwide... More efforts are needed to find pragmatic and human-centred solutions."

We are excited to announce that on 21st September, Pass the Crayon will be taking part in "Innovation Knows No Borders", a conference co-organised by Wikistage and Migration Hub Network. The event will be hosted at Migration Hub, our co-working space which we share with many other awesome non-profits such as MigrationMatters, RESTART andWefugees.

Migration Hub Network (an umbrella initiative which aims to unite non-profit start-ups to form a cooperative network) has organised this full-day event in order to showcase the diverse range of refugee innovation, which so often gets overlooked...

Wikistage is a non-profit online platform (similar to TED),  committed to "strengthening democratic debate worldwide" by providing mini-talks from a wide range of speakers. Their dedication to the spreading of ideas is an important one, particula...

"In the beginning we collected money, clothes and other donations to help with refugee accommodation, but it did not seem to be enough..."

This is the the story of a group of friends living in Germany, who were inspired to start their own initiative through witnessing the struggles of the refugee community; not just to find food and shelter, but the more complex struggle... for acceptance.

Saddened by the fear and mistrust directed at the migrant community, but confident in the essential goodness and humanity within their fellow citizens, they vowed to help change attitudes and nurture the integration process by providing a platform for discussion and innovation. Thus, WelcomeCamp was born.

On 15th July 2017, Pass the Crayon, attended the second annual WelcomeCamp, a barcamp which saw over 150 people and 26 different projects including UNICEF, and Change.org and the UNO come together to exchange information and ideas, make connections, and ultimate...

This craft is super-easy and extremely effective.  The scalloped edge of the paper plate perfectly mimics the texture of a fish's fin; who would have thought a simple paper plate could be turned into such a convincing fish!?

Make sure you use your most vibrant paints, and dont hold back-- be as creative as you can be... because guaranteed... there will always be something crazier in the sea!

...... nam sayin?

You will need:

• 2 disposable paper plates (or more if you want to make lots of fishies)

• paints

• paint brushes

• scissors

• glue

Method:

1. Take your first paper plate (this will be the fish body), and get painting. 

2. Take your second plate and cut out 3 fin shapes (or more). This will make the tail, dorsal and pelvic fins (top, bottom,        tail)

3. Paint your fins

4. Attach your fins to the main body with glue

5. Stick on the goggle eye... Viola!

These paper plate fish are seriously simple, but look wonderful- it's a...

Summer is here, the flowers are in full bloom, and baby birds are leaving their nests and venturing out into the world... Why not give them a helping hand by installing a bird-feeder in your garden, or your local park?

This groovy, recycle-friendly craft isn’t just fun to make … it also benefits nature! Help foster your child’s passion for wildlife, by making this simple bird feeder.

You will need:

• Empty milk carton or plastic bottle

• A wooden chopstick

• Scissors

• Glue

• String

• Pens and crayons for decorating

• Bird seeds

Method:

1. Cut a window in the middle of your milk carton (it should be big enough for a bird to poke it’s head through)

2. Take your stick; poke a hole through the milk carton just underneath the window, and pull the stick through (this creates a fake branch, where the bird can stand)

3. Make a hook to hang your feeder by poking a hole through the top, and looping through some string 

4. Now get decorating! Let your imagination go wild ;)

5....

Emilie Hamadi, one of our Pass the Crayon volunteers, writes about her WelcomeCamp experience; the sessions she attended, her thoughts, feelings and hopes for the future...

"More than a gathering of people acting, or working together in the same sector; WelcomeCamp provided the chance for dialogue, constructive exchanges, and genuine connections. One of the most valuable aspects of the day was everything which surrounded the formal sessions: the casual encounters, shared feelings, and questions discussed with other professionals, volunteers and activists.

During the day, I had the pleasure of attending two lively and interactive sessions, both dealing with the 'refugee welcoming challenge' in Germany, and exploring different approaches, visions and perspectives for the future...

Session 1: "Was passiert in Saarland?"

The first presentation was: "was passiert in Saarland", a relatively small region in South-West Germany, where twice as many refugees were welcomed in 2013, as in the whole of...

1 day, 200 people, 26 sessions, 40 organisation, 19 sponsors, and 1 awesome BBQ... this is WelcomeCamp 2017: a barcamp designed to unite individuals, start-ups and NGOs to discuss and build solutions to refugee integration, and to forge connections and friendships with others involved in the German welcome culture movement. www.refugeeswelcome.berlin

Barcamp… what, like bandcamp, but with booze? Er… NO.

For those of you (like me!) who are unfamiliar with the term ‘barcamp’, a barcamp is an innovative type of conference (or ‘unconference’), which is characterized by an emphasis on audience-participation. Instead of a rigid timetable established weeks in advance, a barcamp is completely participant-driven, with sessions decided upon on the day itself via discussion and consensus. This relaxed and democratic approach allows for sessions to be tailor-made to the specific wishes of the participants, and offers everybody equal chance to participate.

(Actually, there WAS some...

Dear Readers,

Welcome to the official Pass the Crayon Blog :)

We are very excited to be launching our blog; with it, we hope to raise awareness for the work of Pass the Crayon, and for the refugee community as a whole.

We wish for our blog to be a voice for Pass the Crayon; a reflection of our passion for art, our commitment to providing art classes for refugee children, and our engagement and support  of the wider refugee welcome culture movement. It is important for us to provide a platform, not just for ourselves, but for all people and organisations working to promote the welfare of refugees worldwide.

The Pass the Crayon blog will contain not only news and updates about our work here in Berlin, but also provide a commentary on the global activities of governments, individuals and NGOs within the refugee sector.

This will be a team effort from all of our volunteers at Pass the Crayon, so get ready for a multi-lingual explosion of personal stories, arty tips, event re...