Blog Post
Jean Pocket Purses
by Bertha
We'll have the jean pockets, ribbons and beads for you to create a masterpiece purse. Join in the 'Make It Happen' summer theme and create something crafty. If your handiwork leaves you inspired, later you may branch out and try something else along the lines of jazzy jeans. See you there at Pittsfield, Wednesday, July 14, from 2 - 3:30 pm. Grades 6-12.
Blog Post
Reading about 'Making it Happen' with Crafty Mysteries!
by KristinL
Considering the theme for our 2010 Summer Reading Game: Make it Happen, it would be prudent to mention that crafts are great! Creating something with your own two hands is very satisfying, especially if it turns out better than you planned! Unfortunately for me, I was not born with the DIY gene and my crafting skills do not pay the bills. Instead of crying into my hot glue sticks, I found that I prefer reading about people who do have the skills that I do not possess. Here are some great crafting themed cozies for all of you DIY loving people out there:
- Dead Men Don't Lye: A Soap Making Mystery
- At Wick's End: A Candle Making Mystery
- The Gourdmother: A Gourd Craft Mystery
- Death Swatch: A Scrapbooking Mystery
Blog Post
Summer of DIY @ AADL, for the Kids
by manz
This summer at AADL our goal is to MAKE IT HAPPEN, with a ton of DIY and MAKE programs for all ages. As always, there are many craft and DIY related books to help get you on your way with some new projects. Here are a few to get the kids started:
Kid Made Modern, by Todd Oldham is new, hip, colorful book, that talks about basic craft supplies, and has oodles of projects to work on, including vases, rugs, printed t-shirts, duct tape totes, pillows, zines, printmaking, jewelry, forts, and more. All are easy enough for children to work on. D.I.Y. Kids is another great find. This books features a lot of crafts and projects that recycle and repurpose supplies you probably have lying around. You can make toys, kites, castles, decorated boxes, clothing, accessories, and beyond. And for the younger kid set, ArtStarts for Little Hands! Fun & Discoveries for 3 to 7 Year Olds has simple projects for kids to make out of every day household finds. Help those little ones make sailboats, animals, cars, trains, puzzles, and more.
Happy making!
Blog Post
Printmaking Workshop @ Pittsfield on June 15
by manz
Get a head start on AADL Summer Reading’s MAKE IT HAPPEN theme and come take a stab at screen printing! During this hands-on workshop you'll view a quick presentation on how screen printing works, and will get a chance to screen print an original Summer Reading themed logo onto a tote we supply, OR on a cloth item that you bring in. Don’t want a tote and have a blank t-shirt… bring it in!
You’ll also get the inside scoop on other ways of printing, including methods using rubber stamps, foam, potatoes, and stencils. You'll have plenty of play time to make your own designs, choose your method, and print on note cards and/or paper.
This DIY event is for Grades 6- Adult, and takes place at the Pittsfield branch on Tuesday, June 15, from 6:30-8:30pm. See you there!
Blog Post
The Urban Homestead
by manz
The urban homestead: your guide to self-sufficient living in the heart of the city, by Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen, features a wealth of information for eco-conscious city dwellers looking to do their own food harvesting and preserving and get involved in urban homesteading. Recently released is also a revised and expanded edition of the book that features new projects. For further information, the authors also maintain an excellent blog (The Homegrown Evolution) for those interested in this topic.
The Urban Homestead focuses on how to depend less on big box living and features ways of living a more self-sufficient life by growing your own food, saving energy or producing your own, preserving food, all while living in an urban area with limited land.
Blog Post
Teen Stuff: The Crafty Girl's Guides to Almost Everything
by Caser
Are your everyday items becoming a little too ordinary? Does your calculator need some sparkle to its numbers? Is your handbag looking lifeless these days? Good news: the Crafty Girl series has a solution (more like hundreds of them) to all of these problems. Author Jennifer Traig is fantastic at transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary with easy-to-follow steps for the crafty girl looking for some daily inspiration. Each book in the Crafty Girl series is dedicated to making one part of your life really sizzle, from Beauty to Accessories to Hair. Happy crafting!
Blog Post
National Craft Month
by manz
March is National Craft Month! Which means it’s time to dust off those knitting needles, bust out the sewing machine, grab the fabric, glue, ribbon, scissors, paint, and paper, and get making! It could be something big, something small, something quick, or something that will take a year to complete. It doesn’t matter, as long as those brains are thinking and those fingers are creating. Does that bookshelf need repainted? Does your bathroom need new curtains? Now is the time! Need ideas for new project? Check out CraftZine online (an amazing resource, former print magazine, and the sister of Make magazine), or try the Maker Shed, if you’re more into gadgets. There are also MANY books available at AADL with craft ideas, ideas for craft gatherings, and craft business related books. A few of my recent faves are One Yard Wonders and Handmade Nation.
Happy crafting!
Blog Post
The Rugged Manly Art of Knitting: Some titles you may not know about.
by DavidQ
Wonder of wonders, you can still get Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men on MelCat. For those of us in the boy knitting community, this is an iconic title, but I figured it had been banished to the realm of triumphant find on eBay or the local rummage sale.
Fortunately, others have picked up the mantle of fiber arts books for men. Knitting with Balls is all about men who knit and even gives some of the history of men knitting. Sailors and soldiers once had to learn how to knit just to make things like nets and socks.
The current grand dame of knitting herself Debbie Stoller even got on the bandwagon and wrote Son of Stitch and Bitch.
On February 21st, we will host The Rugged Manly Art of Knitting at the Pittsfield Branch Library from 2 to 3:30. Men of all experience levels are welcome. We will provide yarn and needles, and a couple of the guys on staff will be there to show you simple projects. I've put the word out in the knitting community here in Ann Arbor, and I think some experience knitting guys will also emerge from their yarn stashes and show up for knitting fun. It should be a good time. And for further proof of the legacy of men's knitting, here are pictures of Franklin Roosevelt and Cary Grant knitting.
Blog Post
More Energy Meters Available!
by Beth Manuel
Are you curious about how much energy your appliances are using? You can borrow one of our 19 Energy Meters to find out. The City of Ann Arbor has given AADL 7 meters for our patrons to use. You can borrow these kits for 4 weeks or longer if there are no holds on them. Need to research new appliances? Nothing beats Consumer Reports for unbiased information about products on the market. Even better: You can access this info from home with your aadl log in by going to our Research Page and clicking on Magazine articles!
Blog Post
More Energy Meters Available!
by Beth Manuel
Are you curious about how much energy your appliances are using? You can borrow one of our Energy Meters to find out. The City of Ann Arbor has given AADL 7 new meters for our patrons to use. You can borrow these kits for 4 weeks or longer if there are no holds on them. Need to research new appliances? Nothing beats Consumer Reports for unbiased information about products on the market. Even better: You can access this info from home with your aadl log in by going to our Research Page and clicking on Magazine articles!