On Tuesday April 1st, the JLB’s Wartburg Committee hosted their monthly event for the residents of the Wartburg senior home in Mount Vernon, just off East Lincoln Avenue. After months of many great projects such as designing Jack-o-Lanterns, assembling holiday wreaths, decorating picture frames, creating bottled sand art, and others, the challenge was put to April’s event co-chairs Kristine DesMarais and Elizabeth (Liz) Ottley to come up with a project that would measure up!

As luck would have it, Kristine has a special flare for “advanced crafting,” as another Committee member termed it, and introduced a fun new activity to both Wartburg residents and the Committee itself. With ballpoint pens and floral tape, each person was able to make at least one of the popular flower pens. By winding the green tape around the pen, then gluing a large decorative silk flower on the top, the pen became a festive and useful tool for each resident to take home.

Participants were also invited to create flowers out of pipe-cleaners of different colors and Kristine gave everyone a demonstration in the many types of petals and leaves that can be made from pipe-cleaners! All of these items were then “planted” in each resident’s flower pot—crafted from a real terracotta pot filled with uncooked rice to make the flowers stand in it and with decorator’s moss to cover the rice.

Spring has sprung—just ask the Wartburg Committee! Next month is our last session for the year. We plan on playing the ever popular game of Bingo and end off the season with an Ice Cream Social!