Category: Miscellaneous

This week we are making cardboard flower presses. There are so many fun activities to do with pressed flowers. This is an easy way to press and keep track of your flowers as you are out gathering them.

All you will need is a piece of cardboard ( whatever size you want for your press to be), two rubber bands, scrap paper like newspaper, copy paper, or even tissue paper, and whatever you would like to use to decorate your press.

To make and use:

Cut your paper sheets to roughly fit the size of your cardboard press. You will fold the cardboard piece in half, so the paper inside will also end up folded with it. It will resemble a book. Decorate the outside however you wish. When you press flowers, try to go for ones that have the same thickness and then just lay them on one paper sheet and close the press. You will rubber band the top and the bottom of the press to keep the paper and flowers inside. Then when you are home, just lay several books on top and let them dry for a week. Check on them and if more time is needed, wait another week.

Here is an example one:

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This craft is available as the first take-n-make kit for adults participating in the Adult Summer Reading Challenge. ( Ages 21- on up). Registration is required and that opens on Wednesday, May 26th. Once they are gone, they are gone! Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdI1gWE6ibn29To2MV-Q6CLJiDgtmuWSzOHWVz442dIhiyCfA/viewform?usp=sf_link or stop in at the library to register. For anyone else wanting to make their metal ring wreath using their own materials, the instructions are as follows:

For our first adult craft, we are going to make these wreaths! Since it is a take-n-make style craft we had to use fake flowers. However, if you wanted to gather your own fresh greenery to use instead, you could totally do that!

We included in each bag:

A ribbon

Sprigs of Eucalyptus and Lavender

A metal ring

Floral tape

Floral wire

A coloring affirmation card

You also will need a wire cutter and possibly hot glue.

To make the wreath:

Decide what you would like to use for your greenery. We wanted to give you options so that is why we included both lavender and eucalyptus! You can see how each of them turned out in the example wreaths. Or, as mentioned above, use fresh ones if you would like!

Once you have decided which you would like to use, I did a mock-up of how I roughly wanted them arranged. I personally enjoyed the slightly asymmetrical look and found the eucalyptus was the easiest to lay out since it is one piece. The lavender needed to be cut down a bit. Once you have a rough idea of what you want yours to look like you can either use the floral tape or wire to begin securing it on the ring. There are a few ways to do this.

For example, the eucalyptus has a very long stem. I had to cut mine down a bit, but you could leave a bit of a tail and wrap that evenly with wire (or jute if you had that) so that it looks nice left visible. You can then do small wraps hidden behind the flowers and leaves in other areas for extra support. The floral tape can be used too, it just depends on how heavy your items are and your personal preference for wrapping.

But if you want to hide the wire in all places, then I would suggest doing small sections with the wire and using hot glue to add pieces of greenery or flowers over the areas you need to cover up. You can also work with twisting and arranging your greenery to cover most of it and hide it towards the back. The lavender was easier to do this with! I could cut a few flowers and glue them over my wire at the base. I just had to clamp the glue down a little longer to get it to hold.

I started with one sprig and worked from left to right, getting it attached and working on hiding the wire the best I could, then adding the next, going on until I was satisfied with the arrangement and weight. Here are some photos of the backside of the wreaths and how the wire looks:

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Once you have your greenery secured, the last step is to tie your ribbon so you can hang it!

Just use a simple larkshead knot for the ribbon. Fold your ribbon in half. Take the end that makes a loop and bring it up under and behind the ring. Bring the loop down over the top of the ring, and then grab the two loose ends up and pull them through the loop. Then pull it tight and you have your larkshead knot.

 Lastly, tie a small knot at the top and you are ready to hang and enjoy your wreath!

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Here’s a final look at the finished piece!

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I hope you enjoyed this project and stay tuned for two more! Registration for those opens on June 23^rd and July 21^st! The June box will be a tutorial on needle-felting and the July box will be creating teacup moss topiaries!

This craft is available as the first take-n-make kit for teens participating in the Teen Summer Reading Challenge. ( Ages 13-20). Registration is required and that opened on May 12th. Once they are gone, they are gone! Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSew0_VmOA_4rNMQcx0VuPoSxKZcjZxOuH5F1-XS2jv7mLYsow/viewform?usp=sf_link or stop in at the library to register. For anyone else wanting to make their own junk journal using their own materials, the instructions are as follows:

The instructions are attached, just hit download! And here are some further instructions on how to make your own stickers for you journal.

Cardboard Yarn- Wrapped Birds

Recycle some cardboard by cutting out a bird shape. Cut a hole in the chest area of the bird. We used a circle punch. Decorate your bird however you wish. Then take a piece of yarn and wrap it around your bird. Just tie it off and hide the knot by tucking the end in.

Take another piece and do the same in another part of the bird.

As our Summer Reading Program is taking off, we had the idea to start adding the take-n-make craft instructions here! That way, if you missed out on any of our offerings you can recreate the crafts at home using your own supplies. Or, if you know of someone who would love the crafts we are doing, but they live far away, they can also recreate them from anywhere!

We have limited quantity for all our kits so they are first come, first serve. They are all optional!

Right now we are offering the following kits for summer:

Every Tuesday we put a new take-n-make out front of the library in our take-n-make bin in the “New Craft” basket. This craft kit is mainly geared towards pre-k through elementary, however, all ages are welcome to participate. We are able to offer a slightly larger quantity of these kits so registration is not required, but once they are gone, they are gone. Any leftovers get moved to the “Old Craft” basket in the bin. And those are also free to take if you missed one! You do not have to be participating in Summer Reading Programs to participate in these ones.

For our teens participating in Summer Reading, there will be 3 craft kits to take home. These must be pre-registered for because there is a limited quantity. Teens must be participating in the Summer Reading Program to get a kit. Registration for the May Kit-Junk Journals, opens on May 12th. To register, either stop in at the library or sign-up through your Beanstack account under “Events”. Once registered, you may pick up you kit. We can also leave them out curbside! The June Kit-Making Bubble Tea will be open for registration June 9th, and lastly, July 7th-Make Your Own Squishie will end our teen crafts for Teen Summer Reading. Registration for each craft opens on the day mentioned above!

The adult Summer Reading craft kits will be similar to the teens. There will be 3 take home kits, registration required before pickup. Must be participating in our Summer Reading Challenge to register. Register online through you Beanstack account under “events” or stop in at the library. We can do curbside or in-person pickup. The May Kit- Metal Ring Wreaths will be ready for registration May 26th. The June Kit-Learning To Needle Felt will be available June 23rd, and lastly, July 21st- Moss Topiaries will round out our crafts for Adult Summer Reading. Registration for each craft opens on the day mentioned above!

So check back in to get instructions on our crafts!!