Teen Make-and-Take Crafts

I just wrapped up the Teen Summer Reading Program at my library last week. Whew! The teens did a lot of reading, and I think we all had a lot of fun. Just like last year, I hosted "Boredom Busters" as part of the program, which is a series of simple, fun make-and-take crafts that teens can do at the Reference Desk in about 5-10 minutes.

To go with this year's Summer Reading theme, "Own the Night," I adapted one of my favorite craft concepts: pocket shrines. Depending on your library's community, you may want to avoid the religious overtone of the word "shrine," so I called this craft "Constellation in a box." 

Supplies: 
Altoid tins (or similar)
Acrylic paint
Paint brushes
Adhesive rhinestones (lots and lots)
Silver paint pens
Glitter pens
Sparkly ribbon
Sparkly pipe cleaners
Any other sparkly doo-dad you think teens might use creatively
Mod Podge - both sparkle and regular types
Paint sponges

Method: 
I collected empty mint tins from family and colleagues during the months preceding this craft, and painted them black in advance of the Summer Reading Program. I've hosted an event where the teens painted the tins themselves, and that was okay, but the paint takes a while to dry, and can be messy-- since these Boredom Buster activities are largely unsupervised, I decided to simplify.

I printed out images of some well-known constellations for the teens to use as a reference. Participants chose their favorite constellation and recreated it using adhesive rhinestones and drawing the lines between the rhinestone with paint or glitter pens.

Other than the constellation element of the craft, the teens were free to decorate the inside and outside of the tins however they liked. I printed out star-related quotes and explanations of the constellations for them to Mod Podge onto their tin, but those weren't mandatory. The teens got creative and decorated according to their whims. Sparkly things are hard to resist, so they had fun!

The other craft I really enjoyed this summer was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest: book page votives!

I followed the directions from Sarah at Arrow and Apple, using small votive candle holders instead of mason jars.

Book page votives are a great way to creatively recycle pages from books you're going to weed from the collection anyway. I gathered a pile of damaged books and allowed the teens to cut out the pages of their choosing for this craft.

Supplies: 
Votives (I found the best price at Quick Candles.)
Discarded books (manga too!)
Mod Podge
Paint sponges
Craft thread - the type used to make friendship bracelets (optional)
Small beads (optional)
LED tea lights (optional-- but it gave me peace of mind to supply a flame-free option.)

Now to start thinking of next year's crafts...

Summer Reading Craft: Matchbox Louvre

Continuing with the post I made several weeks ago about my Teen Summer Reading Program crafts-- I present the Matchbox Louvre.


I was inspired by the concept of teeny-tiny crafts called matchbox shrines or pocket shrines. It's a great craft idea that can be adapted to any theme- I did a Twilight-themed version for a Breaking Dawn party back in 2008. Since I'm centering each of my Summer Reading crafts around a different region of the world to go with the "You Are Here" theme, I thought these miniature works of art would be the perfect showcase for more famous works of art-- from France! After all, when you think France, you think Paris... and when you think Paris, you think the Louvre.

Well, actually, I think of delicious pastries when I think of Paris, but there's that whole "no food in the library" rule, so... art it is!

I bought the matchboxes on Amazon from a seller called Party Favors Plus, and all other supplies came from my local Michael's. I bought scrapbooking paper (they even have small books of 5x5 papers, perfect for the diminutive size of this craft!), Mod Podge, and plenty of adhesive sparklies.

By the way? It bears mentioning that when working with Mod Podge or any other type of glue, always dole it out in small containers for the teens to work with. Never put out the entire container. Just, um, trust me on this.

Creating this craft was fun! I covered the front of the box with a piece of scrapbooking paper and then decorated with adhesives.


The matchbox slides open to reveal a tiny work of art. I printed out selected images from the Louvre's online gallery of paintings that the teens can choose from.


A tiny label with information about the painting can be affixed to the inside of the box, so the teens know what they're looking at when the make this craft. (Shhh, don't tell them it's educational!)


I finished up by covering the back and sides of the box with a vintage map of Paris. In addition to a few different maps, I'm offering the teens various images of antique French stamps, and photos of famous spots in Paris to chose from. The images come from Microsoft Publisher's clip art or flickr's Creative Commons photos.


I can't wait to see the results of this craft. Teens are always so creative-- each little matchbox Louvre will be unique. I know not all teens are into art or museums, but I think the lure of creating and customizing an adorably tiny craft will have wide appeal. And if nothing else, there are the adhesive sparklies to play with! You can never go wrong with sparklies.

Summer Reading Ideas: Passive Programs

This summer's travel-themed program lends itself to some really fun event ideas- but my library's budget dictates that staff-facilitated programs are on hold for now. In this economy, I'm sure I'm not the only librarian faced with budget-related challenges, so I thought I'd share what I'm doing to keep the summer reading program FUN. Instead of running events for my library teens, I am planning a series of passive programs I call Boredom Busters.

WHAT? Each week during my library's summer reading program, I'll feature a different make-and-take craft with an international theme. This gives the teens something to do while they're hanging out at the library, and hopefully they'll learn a little something about the world around them while they're at it!

WHERE? Our reference desk has a section that's used to store things like the stapler, hole punch, and a brochure display. It's easy to relocate those items during the summer, cover that area of the desk with decorative butcher paper, and designate it the Boredom Busters zone. Hosting these crafts at the reference desk is great because it's an opportunity to interact with the teens and make them feel welcome in their library. It's also convenient for keeping an eye out for spontaneous glitter fights. Not that my library teens would ever do that! I'm just saying.

WHO? This question has two parts: "Who can participate?" and "Who's running this extravaganza?" The program is intended for ages 13 - 17, but we're not going to turn away an interested child or adult. As far as who's responsible- I am, of course! But since I'm not always at the reference desk, I email my colleagues each week to explain the craft, note the location of extra supplies, and so on. It's all about communication!

HOW: I'm going to kick off the summer with something simple but popular: origami, the traditional paper craft of Japan.

Photo by Flickr member tussenpozen

I purchased patterned and solid 6 inch papers from The Origami Paper Shop.

A lot of the teens at my library will probably know how to make their favorite origami patterns already, but I'll display instruction diagrams with step-by-step examples of the folds for the crane, cicada, and tulip.

I'll accompany the instructions with a brief history of origami and its significance in Japanese culture. Good sources for this information include PBS and Kids Web Japan.

I'm thinking of adding on some kind of fundraising effort for the earthquake/tsunami relief efforts in Japan. Maybe something as simple as a change jar for donations?

Next stop: France. Watch for the details of the next craft in a few weeks!