Recycled Tree

I am all about recycling whenever possible.  I have some old shirts I retired in a pile waiting to be cut up and turned into a rug, old pillows are waiting to be turned into stuffed animals, and sheets found at Salvation Army have been turned into dresses or skirts.

In turn, my recycling habits have entered my work life and I began to find annoyance at recycling newspapers when we were using fresh paper for our bulletin board.  And so, an idea was born, when presented with the opportunity of reusing newspapers I decided to make a tree.

Newspapers prior to rolling

Papers are opened, rolled into tube-like pieces and staple it like crazy to the bulletin board in tree form!

I've done this design for the spring, having children write their names on leaves to add to the board, in the fall spraying the leaves with watered down red, brown and orange paint to give the perfect fall look.  This time we had ornaments and snow flakes for kids (and some staff) to color

Fairy Doors at the Library

Close up of my favorite door. Guess the book title.

One of the local Girl Scout troops asked me if they could put fairy doors in the library and I couldn't say no. There are 5 little doors hidden around my branch and I love it. We have a handouts at the desk that show the doors, but don't tell where they are located. So far, we have only had a few kids find them all. One is so well camouflaged that you almost don't see it. They aren't all low to the ground, either, which probably makes it harder to spot. Anyway, here are our fairy doors.

Hidden by the exercise and how-to DVDs.

Hiding in the board books.

Extreme camouflage.

Fairy Library entrance.

I know what you're thinking...Full House books actually still check out like crazy. I credit the reruns.

The kids love hunting them down, and we hope to add more in the coming years. Thanks for stopping by!

Decoupage Harry Potter Pumpkin

Crafter skill level: Beginner

Okay, so, I am going to preface this post by saying that I am not the craftiest librarian around. I’m not the most creative, nor am I the most motivated to become that way. That being said, I do like doing simple crafts that look harder than they actually are. I saw a decoupaged something or other on my favorite craft-stealing site, Pinterest, and I then thought to myself, “Meg…your library has a hideous, old, yellowed plastic pumpkin. Do this.” So I said, “Oh glorious brain, your wish is my command.” Or possibly something less dramatic, like, “Okay.”

Required supplies:

·       1 pumpkin or whatever

·       Pages torn from a book or books

·       Plain Mod Podge and (optional) glitter Mod Podge

·

The first step was to pick a book to use. Well, kids love pumpkins and Harry Potter, and the branch had a copy of The Sorcerer’s Stone (book 1 for the non-Potterheads) that had reached a stage of near decay from constant checkouts. Seriously, it had over 60 circulations and the binding was disintegrating. I had already purchased a replacement for it, so I went ahead and weeded it from the shelf. 

Look at the hideous pumpkin.

 The second step was to tear out all my favorite parts and illustrations. And when I say “my favorite parts and illustrations,” I obviously meant the children’s favorite parts, duh. You know, the best scenes, like when Harry finds out he’s a wizard in the shack on the rock in the middle of the ocean. Or when Harry goes to Diagon Alley with Hagrid for the first time and is amazed to see so much magic in one place? Or, what about when Hagrid hatches little Norbert the dragon in his hut and Malfoy spots him through the dusty window? Or when Harry gets on a broom the first time? And, finally, what about when Harry, Ron, and Hermione take on the mountain troll on Halloween? Okay, fine, I’ll stop. You get the point by now, anyway. 

The third step was to take a small sponge brush and dip it in the basic Mod Podge and then apply it strip by strip to the pumpkin until it looked how I wanted and there was no pumpkin showing through.

Not too shabby so far.

 The final step was to use the sponge brush and slather the entire pumpkin surface with a couple layers of the awesome glitter Mod Podge. Do thin layers because thick ones result in clumpy dried glue. Don’t ask how I know this. Also, mod podge that touches clothing may never come off…don’t ask how I know this one either.