There is nothing more fun than making your own jewelry and this program is letting girls do just that. The girls pound their materials, including pennies, bottle caps and copper wire, flat. The girls created personalized charm bracelets that included various charms such as marbles, letters and even pennies.

The art of cold forging often works with softer and more malleable metals, such as brass and copper, which are used without having to be heated and are pressed like that. Hot forging is when tougher metals end up being heated and getting worked, such as steel and iron. The girls used cold forging in their session led by Guider Malak.

The leader of the program told me that “the reason she chose to lead this program was to give girls opportunity. The opportunity to use tools and to develop skills that they would not have used otherwise.” Some tools the girls learned how to use were wire-strippers, hammers, anvils, drills and a variety of pliers. Guider Malak also told me she was incredibly happy with how well the girls were doing and how amazing their pieces were. She believed the girls learned by touch, and was extremely happy when she saw their eyes light up by participating and making their personalized piece of art.

While we were there we also asked Alyssa L. from Calgary, Alberta why she wanted to do this program. She responded with “I thought it sounded interesting and cool and I wanted to show my family what I learned at Guiding Mosaic”. She wanted to try her skills and she found it worthwhile to challenge herself while having fun.

In conclusion, this program was a challenge for some and easy for others, but that’s what guiding is all about — getting better at what you already know or learning a new set of skills along the way.