Crafting for Adults: Fall Wreath

I recently started a new program series at our library.  This new series will offer a craft type program once a month to adults.  This is the first time we have offered this type of adult programming. 

This first event was planned for 27th.  We ended up having 5 attend and we had enough supplies for 12.  This was a pretty good turnout and we were very happy with it.

The total cost of this wreath was about $15.  This could probably be reduced by changing some of the materials.

It took aprox. 1 hour to complete this craft if the foam board was pre-cut.  I found that the measuring and cutting took longer than I thought.  Especially when I was prepping 12!

Materials used:

1/2 sheets of white foam board (cut in half)
Quick Dry spray paint
Glue
Aprox 100 Fabric Leaves 
Ribbon (if you want to add a bow)
Exacto knife w/ cutting board (the knife may damage your tables)

Fall Wreath Craft

 Directions

1. Start with foam core board. You can cut this into a square/rectangle.  The 1/2 sheet is 30in long, so I cut it in half at 15".  Each person gets on 15" portion.

2. Determine how thick you want the whole in the middle to be and mark and cut accordingly. We measured 4" from each edge and marked it with a sharpie and then went back and cut it.  It will basically look like a picture frame. Remember: It doesn’t have to be perfect – you won’t see the exact shape when you are done! J

3. Do a quick spray of the edges with a similar color spray-paint. (Just in case the edges show through at all.)

4. You can purchase packets of leaves from the Dollar Tree during the fall season or online from a craft supplier.  I did not find leaves at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. If you get the ones with wire in the stems you can fluff them and make them more dimensional. (You can snip off the wire stems, just to have the leaves showing.)

5. Fire up the hot-glue gun or use a high tack craft glue and start arranging leaves as you would like. There is no rhyme or reason to it – just stick them on in whatever pattern you would like.  With the craft glue we found it best to put the glue on about 1/2 the board and then go back and add your leaves.  The additional few minutes helps the glue get tackier. I also found it unnecessary to go back and press down the leaves every few minutes because the fabric leaves aren't 100% flat and they needed to be coaxed a bit to stick down on the glue instead of on top of it.

6. If you have a door that is exposed to the wind, you’ll want to add weights to the “frame” because it is very lightweight.

**Honestly I cant find the site I ordered my leaves from, but I found some here and here.  They can be found online for between $5 and $15 per package.  Most packages I found came in 100 counts, but a few came in 200 counts.

**My favorite glue is Beacon 3 in 1 glue.  I find it at Hobby Lobby and Michael's craft stores and it ranges from $5 to $7 per tube.  Yes, this glue is expensive, but we use it on almost everything when we do crafts.  I have tried several types of glue and this is hands down the most versatile and it dries quickly and crystal clear.

Melted Crayon Art

We recently did melted crayon art with our teens and it was a blast!  Each teen ended up doing a completely different style project which surprised me because I thought they would all copy one of the examples I provided.

Basically we used 3 different methods:
1.) Glue peeled crayons on canvas in a pattern and melt with a hair dryer
2.) Glue peeled crayons on canvas in a pattern and melt with a hair dryer, but remove crayons and move them around as desired for a more abstract affect.
3.) Lay the canvas down flat and roll peeled crayons around the canvas while heating them with a hair dryer.

Notes: 
1.) This is very messy!  I thought the wax would stay on the canvas, but it melted and splattered everywhere!  Good news was the Magic Eraser cleaned it right up!  
2.) Also, we had trouble getting the crayons to stay glued to the canvas.  I dont know if this is a problem because of the glue we used or the nature of gluing crayons.  
3.) Some crayons glue and melt better than others.  Pink melted into a puddle immediately!  .... while blue-gray took forever to melt!
4.) Allow plenty of time.  This took most of the kids an hour and a half.  Peeling the crayons took forever and so did gluing the crayons down.  Also, melting time depended on the colors they chose.


Here are the directions to the two primary methods we used.


Basic Melted Crayon Art
Watercolor style Melted Crayon Art

2011 AUTIS GRANT

In 2011 our library received two technology grants: $8,000 from Praxair and $1,575 from AUTIS.  Our library was able to significantly improve access to technology for our patrons with these grants.  Tomorrow I will be presenting to AUTIS on how our grant monies were used to increase access to technology for our patrons.

Fun with Crafts - Sidewalk Chalk

A week or so ago, I tried my first Pinterest craft at the library.  Our craft day activity was called "Fun with Sidewalk Chalk" and the plan was to make our own sidewalk chalk and then go outside and make sidewalk art.

 I found the tutorial for the homemade sidewalk chalk on Pinterest, as pinned from Oh My Handmade.

The project was fairly simple and the ingredients were cheap and easy to acquire.  In fact, the hardest material for me to find was the palster of paris.  I looked at all the local craft stores, to no avail.  I ended up buying mine online at S & S Worldwide, but since then my fiancee has informed me that hardware stores such as Lowes should have it in stock.

I will note that the recipe says that it will make 3 tubes of chalk, but I found that it made closer to 1 1/2 tubes.  In order to gather the toilet paper tubes we needed, we just requested donations from our patrons a few weeks in advance of the activity.

Overall, I was very pleased in the success of our program.  The project is MESSY!  But so fun!  I also loved how many different colors we could make rather than the standard 4 or 5 colors in the store bought variety.

Due to the fact that the homemade chalk takes 3 days to dry, we had store bought chalk on hand for the art portion of our program.

 I will include the directions for creating the chalk at the end of this post for ease of access.

Sidewalk Chalk Art:

Making our own sidewalk chalk:

Here is how the Finished product turned out:


*The wax paper was hard to remove, and I couldn't get it all off, but the chalk still worked fine.

Directions for making your own sidewalk chalk:


What you will need:
•    Toilet paper or paper towel tubes
•    Scissors
•    Duct tape
•    Wax paper
•    Small bucket or disposable container to make the recipe
•    ¾ cup of warm water
•    1 ½ cups Plaster of Paris
•    2-3 tablespoons of tempera paint
•    Paper bag or a “mess mat”

Step 1: If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half, so it is roughly the length of a toilet paper roll tube.

Step 2: Cover one end of each tube with duct table to hold the contents within.

Step 3: Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes. Roughly 6 inches X 6 inches. Roll the wax paper loosely and insert into the tubes so as to effectively line the tubes. The top of the wax paper will be higher than the tubes. The wax paper liner will keep the chalk mixture from sticking to the cardboard tubes and will eventually be peeled off.  Fold the excess wax paper over the sides of the tube to keep it from falling down into the tube while you are filling it.

Step 4: Pour the warm water into your bucket. Sprinkle the Plaster of Paris over the water and stir the mixture with a plastic spoon. The Plaster of Paris roughly starts hardening within 20-30 minutes, so you need to work fast so that it does not harden too quickly.

Step 5: Next you will want to pour the tempera paint into the Plaster of Paris mixture and stir so that it is mixed thoroughly. If you would like brighter colors  add more tempera paint into the mixture. We wanted to make a variety of colors of chalk, so we spooned about 1/2-3/4 cup of Plaster of Paris in each separate container and mixed in the different tempera paint colors into each bowl. We ended up making six different colors and next time might mix more.

Step 6: Stand each tube with the tape side down on a cookie sheet/flat baking dish/box lid to make the project easier to transport to a drying location.  Pour or spoon the colored Plaster of Paris mixture into the wax paper lined tubes. Lightly tap the sides of the tubes to release the air bubbles (so you do not have holes in your chalk). After you have poured the mixture into the tubes start another color. When done trim the excess wax paper so that it is closer to the cardboard tube.


Step 7: It took 3 days for our chalk to dry. On the last day, we peeled off the duct tape so that the underside could dry. When the chalk dries, peel off the paper tubes and wax paper. Your chalk is ready!

I love my job, or I wouldnt be here.

I started my career almost 5 years ago, in September of 2007.  My first professional position, was that of a Library Director in rural Arkansas, serving a county of 30,000 people.  I am still in that position today.

When I started library school, I originally wanted to work in a high school library, but fate sought a different path for me.  I never thought my first professional library position would be that of a Library Director.  That being said, I love

The great thing about being a small town library director is the variety in my day.  I don't do the same things every day.  I am lucky that my Board supports community activism and outreach, because I get to be involved in numerous local organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis, Boys and Girls Club, etc., which provides both professional and personal benefits.

From day to day my schedule may include: programming, creating book orders, attending community meetings, troubleshooting computer problems, moving furniture, updating our website, promoting our library via facebook, soliciting donations, writing grants, responding to emails, writing reports, working at the circulation desk, shelving, moping the floor, or hosting a story hour.

In the past I have had the pleasure of patrons screaming at me, climbing a ladder to hang a banner, moping a flooded room in new shoes, cleaning feces off the bathroom walls while wearing a suit, wearing a silly hat from craft time while out running library errands,and dancing silly dances with kids at a music program.

The life of a rural librarian is never dull!

I love my job and overall I think I am appreciated by my community, but on occasion I interact with people who dont see my dedication or do not appreciate the fact that I dont sit and read books all day.  Im mean, would I ruin new shoes or scrub mold off the building if I didnt love my job?!

The joy is when the kids I visit in their classrooms remember me when they come by the library and want to give me a hug or when an email is sent to my Board complimenting me for a job well done (and getting surprised because I didnt know it was going to be sent).

Sometimes you have to remind yourself that regardless of the trials you face as a public figure and public servant, you are making a difference.

The Library Volunteer Mystery

Where do you find volunteers and how do you get them to keep coming back?

I have been with my library for five years and we have struggled with the volunteer issue.  We primarily advertise for volunteers within our building although I do make requests and announcements at local community events and civic meetings as well.  In the past we have also offered a Teen Advisory Board with a volunteering component.  None of these methods have been overly successful.

I have found that high school students seeking volunteer hours are often only seeking to complete a handful of hours.  While one might say, anything is better than nothing, I disagree.  It takes time and effort from an already short staff to train volunteers, so when those volunteers do not stay very long they have cost us more time than they have provided by their attempt to help.

Once or twice we have had adults volunteer on a semi-regular basis as a requirement for some type of unemployment benefit, but these normally quit after they have found a job.

I will say that this year I can claim some relative success in regards to our Summer Carnival.  This year is our 3rd  of our annual carnival and this year we had 9 volunteers!  This is more than we have had in the previous years, combined!  In the first year we had 5 volunteers sign up and only one show up for the carnival.  Last year, I think we had 3 volunteers.  This year we had 9!!  This year we actually were able to open all of our games and I was able to act as a runner to bring water to everyone and relieve people for potty breaks.

What really makes me sad is that I see other organizations doing so much better.  At the last Chamber of Commerce event, they had over 50 volunteers and every year at the Literacy Council's Haunted House they have enough volunteers to build, decorate, and "haunt" an entire building for several weeks!

I send emails, I call local businesses, I ask patrons, I promote volunteering at the schools, but the volunteers are just not there.  Is my community unique or is there ambivalence towards library support and volunteering in most communities?

Twitter style book reviews

I was in a car accident on March 3rd and cracked my left wrist, which is my dominant hand.

Due to my accident, my ability to write book reviews has been limited. This is my attempt to do "twitter style" book reviews.


Starters by Lisaa Price: young adult novel dystopian, parents dead, rent-a-body, live over 200 years, prisons for orphans, disappearing kids, secrets

Secret Letters by Leah Scheier : young adult novel, Victorian time period, Sherlock Holmes, solving my stories, family secrets, undercover maid

Watchers Last Stop by Peter Lerangis: tween novel, finding missing missing dad, crazy neighbor, alternate worlds, subway tunnels

Patient One by Leonard Goldberg: adult novel: president is sick, poison at state dinner, terrorists, doctor who was special ops trained

Stone Girl by Alyssa Scheinel : young adult novel, teen romance?, anorexia, bulimia, depression, self dialogue