No Preparation Necessary

My big plan for Summer Reading 2011 is to create programs that can run themselves with little work during the actual program. With staff shortages and budget cuts, it has been very difficult to offer the same type of programs as often as I used to and it is very hard for me to accept. I don't think the time to cut back on programs is now. If libraries are to stay alive, programs are going to be a big reason they do.  

In an effort to keep the programs running without cutting the amount we offer, I've come up with a few that can be offered with minimal effort. Too much planning, preparing and how much staff time is used on program day is the reason we're told we have to cut some programs. The more time spent on them, the less time is spent working on a desk. Speaking as someone that does the desk schedules for the entire staff, I know how hard it is to get the desks covered. Obviously, covering the desk, no matter which one it is, is the most important part of a library staff's job. 

I started Knit/Crochet Club, Parachute Play and Beat the Librarian last year as a way to keep me on the desk, but still offer special programs. Parachute Play is for ages 2-4 years and only lasts 30-45 minutes. Everything I need for the program is contained in a bucket. No preparation necessary after that initial "buy everything you need for the program." 

Same goes for Beat the Librarian. I have this program right at the Children's Desk. Kids of all ages can drop in and try their best to beat me in whatever the game is that day. If they beat me, they get a small prize. I don't know if the prize is even necessary since bragging rights to  "beating a librarian" seems to be enough, but I like giving prizes, especially when they aren't expensive. We play games like Guess Who, Battleship, Connect Four, Cooking Mama on the Wii, Mancala, Scopa, etc. Some of the kids have played the games before, but a surprising amount had not played so I was exposing them to some new things. My favorite games to play with them are games from other countries, which I'm relying heavily on this summer since it fits the theme so well. 

Knit/Crochet Club is my favorite program. I host it every Monday night (library hours, my schedule permitting) and its very popular. Its drop in and I consistently have 12 or more kids and adults every week. And its not always the same people! This program consists of skeins of yarn that I separated into balls of yarn for practice and they have to bring their own crochet hook or knitting needles. I teach the basics, how to read a pattern and get started on making projects. I run this from the Children's Desk so I'm doing a program WHILE working the desk. 

This summer I plan to host puppet shows. I have always wanted to have puppet shows, but we never had a good puppet theater or good puppets (the puppets were old and creepy). I got a design together of what I wanted my puppet theater to be and asked my dad to help me build it. It is built and ready to be painted, which I will get to once it gets warmer. I've started working on puppets.


I am going to do Cinderella stories around the world this summer and will put on a Cinderella puppet show! During the summer, we have teen volunteers so finding extra hands to do this won't be hard! Teen volunteers are a good reason why we can have so many things going on to promote summer reading. I wish we were allowed to have them all year! I have been working on these puppets while I'm working on a desk or at home, so it isn't taking EXTRA time, which is awesome. I did the same with the flannel board stories I make and the public don't seem to mind the felt spread across the Check Out Desk when they want to check out their materials. :)


So these are Cinderella and Prince Charming in progress:

 I also have outfits for the 2 stepsisters and the stepmother ready to be sewed. I'm just nervous about their faces. I'm not sure how I'm going to go about them. I'm deciding between google eyes or just sewing the features on... I'm sure I'll have a bunch of faceless puppets before I decide what to do.

I have a few store bought puppets that I plan to use with different puppet shows, so hopefully by summer I'll have quite a collection to choose from and I can put on puppet shows all year.

Flannel Board Stories & American Girl Craft

I started doing Mother Goose on the Loose story time for babies one Saturday a month, which means that I needed to develop props from scratch since we really don't have anything like that at the library. The few sad musical instruments that we have are from when I attended story time a million years ago. They're just gross.

So I started my own collection of flannel board stories. I am still in the process of making a bunch, but these are the characters I made for the very first Mother Goose on the Loose program in January.

These are for the nursery rhyme Hey Diddle, Diddle...

spoon, dish, fiddle, cow & a random mouse

dish & spoon

fiddle!

 

 

cow

 

 

 

pig

cat

moon... or banana!

dog after my very own dachshund

bunny in progress

I have plenty more planned-I'm doing a bug theme this month and a food theme in March, so I'll have more to post! I'm alternating between felt and paper with velcro to stick to the flannel board. I don't want to get overwhelmed with all the sewing. 

I had a really easy craft for February's American Girl Love Tea program! I love the American Girl aisle in Michaels because they have all these ready-to-go crafts with the American Girl theme. Some of them are pretty pricey, but I get great ideas since I can just come up with similar things for cheaper. I couldn't resist getting this pack of patterned paper though for chain bracelets. One pack was less than $5 and it made 10 bracelets, so it was perfect for me!









The bracelets were really easy to make, but they did take up the whole 1.5 hours of the program (which is a plus! I always have kids that take their time and kids that rush to get it done) and the girls had a little trouble with getting the paper chains to slide into each other. Eventually they got it and some even made more than one.

These are the best crafts.  No real planning or preparing, they're simple and a big hit. I even have enough paper left over that I could do it again next year!
 

Purple Sequins!

My niece loves all things purple and sparkly. What 6 year old girl doesn't? I found this yarn at JoAnn Fabrics while picking up yarn for my library Knit/Crochet Clubs and passed this purple sequined yarn called Sensations: Beaujingles, manufactured for JoAnns. I thought, "AWESOME. My niece will LOVE this." So of course I bought 2 skeins of it, thinking I can always come back for more, right?

WRONG! 

I haven't been able to find it ANYWHERE. Not online and not in the store. It is almost as if it doesn't exist. I did manage to find the same yarn in green, but no other colors. I'm going to keep checking back because, of course after seeing the finished products from the purple sequin yarn, EVERYONE wanted something made out of it!

I used 1 skein and a few inches of another to complete the scarf. I was going to make it longer, but realized I might not be able to find more yarn, so I decided to end it. I think its pretty long for her now and I'm glad I made it a skinny scarf.

I finished the rest of the 2nd skein to make the hat to match. She requested a big red flower on the hat so even though I don't think red & purple go together, I gave her what she wanted. I didn't have enough yarn to complete a final round on the actual hat, but I did have enough for a small flower, so I decided to add it to the front of the big red flower. Toned down the red a bit. 

 She did complain that the flower wasn't "big enough" which I thought was ridiculous. How big did she want it! And who cares?! There's sequins in YOUR HAT!! :)

That's one set of completed Christmas presents now.  So many projects, only 2 weeks to go! crap.

Cards before Christmas

I've been on a card making frenzy this past month, which is good preparation for Christmas card making. Here are my favorites:

birthday card for bf's brother

Making cards for boys causes me the most trouble. The paper I have is so pretty! And honestly, you know boys are just going to throw the card away, which makes it more difficult to spend a lot of time on a card. 
For the panda card, I combined pretty paper (see the glitter!) with a cute panda from the Cute Critter Cri-Cut cartridge. This was relatively easy to make and it turned out super cute.

My friend asked me to make a wedding card for her friends that recently got married on Martha's Vineyard. I had been eyeing the stamp of the silhouette of the couple almost kissing forever and finally had a reason to buy it. The card worked out because they actually got married under something similar to the sticker. I love when that happens. It was like the card was meant to be for them.  

I even like how the texture of the paper made the stamp come out weird in places. Usually this annoys me, but I really like how it matches the texture. 

1st birthday card!

I'm really into bows on the card right now. Probably because it is so easy to do. All you need is a few glue dots and ribbon. I like to put glue dots on the bow to keep it down because it makes it easier to put in an envelope.




I made 2 more just like this for my grown up friends. I just used fancy paper and added a ribbon & bow to tie it together. That's really all you need sometimes.

baptism card

Religious events are the most difficult for me, so I'm glad they don't happen too often. I made this one for my nephew's baptism. The inside says "Have fun in the 'splash zone'!" My boyfriend came up with that and I thought it was cute. My favorite part is the afterthought of the cross on a string on the whale's flipper. In my opinion, add a cross to something and it makes it religious!

Enough with the cards! Here's my nephew wearing a customized hat that I made for him. His head is bigger than the average 9 month old, so I made him one to match his jacket since the one that came with the jacket was too small.

Looks like I'll have to make this kid lots of things. Between him and his sister, I'll never make any money doing this. :)

I really enjoy making anything and I can't wait to really get into my projects that I have lined up to do in time for Christmas.


I have a sequined slouchy hat, blues brothers cross stitch, purple sequined scarf, pink & blue elephant, Pokeball hat & a black winter hat.  I should be able to get all that done in a month, right? Right?

hats, hats, hats, hats, hats, hats

I have crocheted 3.5 hats in a little over a month and will be sad when this last one is done. Probably because it is the only one that's for me. I'm trying to make it last forever.

Two of the hats were ladybug hats that I crocheted from a pattern I bought from Busy Mom Designs Etsy shop. I modified it for a bumblebee and was really happy with the results!

I've sold 2 of the hats by accident, which is awesome. But honestly, I was sad to see them go. Mainly because they went to a library patron for his nieces. Random. In the meantime, I'm trying to catch up on reading before its Christmas-card-making-time! My favorite time of year because the possibilities are endless and I get to make a bunch. Not like a birthday card here and there. I love using my Cricut and have my boyfriend help me. (hey, its lonely making cards sometimes. I appreciate his company... and help!)

I'm horrible at taking pictures and really need to take them because the etsy shop can't happen without pictures! Maybe I can get my boyfriend to help with that...

And the journey continues...

What is this all about?

I make many things. For my job and for fun. This blog is to document those things. Some things will be library related, personal and gifts. Here we go!