Calling all crafters! Warm up your hot glue guns, gather your beads and ribbons, and line up your glitter tubes. March is National Craft Month! Sponsored by the Craft & Hobby Association, specifically the CHA Foundation and Cre8time.org, National Craft Month is a time to reignite your creative spirit and connect with the large and diverse community of crafters.
Crafting is the perfect hobby; it can be done alone, in groups, and for very little money. The key to crafting is in learning how to see the ordinary as having the potential to be extraordinary, new, and unique. Soup cans can be turned into lamps, the cork from a bottle of wine can be made into a pair of earrings, and spare buttons can be turned into a wall collage. Get in the habit of keeping spare odds and ends for future projects; an empty cookie tin or an extra box where you can throw in buttons, bits of material, missing parts of board games, even old placemats. In fact, upcycling–basically the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” put into motion–is still a big trend. Visit Popsugar to view their fantastic, inspiring list of 221 Upcycling Ideas. Personally, I think the Globe Bowl and Paint Chip Star Mobile are especially cool. If you want a steady stream of new supplies and fresh ideas, you can look into subscribing to craft boxes. These monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly boxes come in different themes, like “Craftsy Quilty Block of the Month” “Doodle Crate,” or “MakersKit,” each with its own supplies and ideas to get you making.
For support and inspiration, you can visit the library, where imagination and creativity flourish. In addition to our many, many books on crafting (check out the nonfiction section, specifically in the 740’s), we also have a wide array of magazines that either focus solely on the Arts or include sections on Arts & Crafts, including: American Craft, HGTV Magazine, Martha Stewart Living (visit MarthaStewart.com for ideas on National Craft Month projects), Make: Technology on Your Time, and Quilter’s World.
If you have not yet had the chance to visit our Innovation Station, stop by the Media Department for a tour. We have equipment for paper crafting, button making, sewing, embroidery, 3D printing and other technologies. There are also some great programs coming up for adults, teens, and children: Scrapbook Club on Wednesday nights, Springtime Serving Dish (March 31), Poetry Book Display for teens (April 19), Zentangles (for teens, March 22), Agate Necklace and Mosaic Gift Box (for teens, May 2), Flower Burst Mixed Media Painting (for teens, April 29), Willem de Koonig: Painting Out of the Lines (for teens, May 11), LED Night Light Art Kit (for grades 4 to 6, April 7), and Acrylic Painting (for grades 4 to 6, May 12).
There are just so many ways to be creative that there is no excuse to not give it a try. Here is a brief (very brief) list of crafting techniques: painting, coloring, pottery, knitting, sewing, cross-stitching, crocheting, decoupaging, stamp making, embossing, scrapbooking, jewelry making, woodworking….The list goes on and on and on. And for every method, there are multiple ways to make something, and in turn, an endless amount of creations. Experiment with them all and share your stories of creative success with us! We would love to hear from you.
Happy Crafting,
Jess
