You Caught a Fairy! West Valley’s Crafts Night is Magical

By Avi Vieira
Glendale

Despite its use as a derogatory slang term for homosexuals, the term Fairy largely tends to conjure images of small, often winged magical beings that inspire mystical and enchanted childhood beliefs and memories. This week West Valley one•n•ten got a chance to create its own pixie magic in what seems to be its most popular crafts night when it made Fairy Jars. Led by West Valley’s own Commander and volunteer Avi; who spoke a bit about discovering the project last summer through a close companion who mentioned a Pinterest idea that then had to tested and adjusted. The jars were introduced at last year’s OUTdoors! Camp where they were a favorite cabin project by several cabins. With the back-story out of the wayWater Bounce House, Avi broke out the supplies and demonstrated to the youth how to capture their very own fairy in a jar.

Beginning with mason jars, the youth mixed silver, diamond, and white glitter into their jars. Next, a small piece of white tulle fabric was cut and added to the jar, which helped to suspend the glitter inside the jar. Finally, glowsticks of all colors were cracked and lit before being cut open and the contents added to the jars. With a little shake, the jars quickly came alive and “Fairies” could be seen floating in the middle of the glittering and glowing jars. The youth were quick to mix colors, creating their own custom shades of magic and feeling like wizards, or a certain Hylian hero in their creations.

The remainder of the evening consisted of social time, as the school year for many of our youth is drawing to a close. The youth feedback was tremendously positive, with many stating that this project has been their favorite crafts project. Beyond the wonderful creativity of our youth, the evening seemed to spark childhood excitement and wonder in them as well – which is the most powerful magic of all.

 

*Special Thanks to Gabriel Durante for his suggestion and inspiration of the original project.