Cindy Crushes Programming: Where Do I Get My Craft Ideas? By Teen Librarian Cindy Shutts

I have made a lot of crafts over the years. Sometimes I repeat and sometimes I modify what I’ve done. I am always on the lookout for a fun, affordable craft I can do with my teens. I am going to tell you a secret I did not craft until I was a librarian – I learned on the job. It was never a hobby for me. But now I find myself doing a lot of crafting. Here are some tips for finding the right craft for you and your teens.

Ask Your Library Teens

This is the first way of course to gauge their interests. Now some of the crafts might be too expensive but it gives you an idea of what they are interested in. An example of a craft I was not able to do, was DIY phone cases. The cost was too high and also there were too many types of phones so I would have to get different cases to decorate. A craft I was able to do was Riverdale. I had a whole programming series around Riverdale because the teens talked about and were interested. I taught them about fandom collages. The teens have good ideas.

Pinterest

I think we all use Pinterest. I know I do for craft ideas. I love using the website. I love looking for fandom crafts. Pinterest is where I first found out how to do lighted Fairy Jars which is one of my “go to crafts”. I can always find something new on Pinterest.

Other Librarians

I love seeing what other librarians are doing. I look at their webpages and a lot of the time I can figure out how to do their crafts. I always ask if I do not understand some of the steps. I think librarians are really great at sharing craft ideas and instructions.

Myself

After learning how to do so many craft ideas. I have learned how to figure out new ones. Such as fandom passports. I came up with the idea and was able to find a way to make it work. You are creative and you can come up with good crafts ideas as well. You do not have to be the best at crafts to do well at programming.

Predone Crafts/Kits

There are a lot of popular fandoms that have crafts on their webpage that are easy to do. Disney will have crafts in some of their newsletter and I like to look at them. My new favorite craft spot is  https://play.nintendo.com/printables/crafts/.  So many of these crafts are just printables and so easy and cheap just ink and card stock and have been great for take and make.

Where do you get your craft ideas? What are some of your favorite crafts to do with the teens?

Cindy Shutts, MLIS

Cindy is passionate about teen services. She loves dogs, pro-wrestling, Fairy tales, mythology, and of course reading. Her favorite books are The Hate U Give, Catching FIre, The Royals, and everything by Cindy Pon. She loves spending times with her dog Harry Winston and her niece and nephew. Cindy Shutts is the Teen Services Librarian at the White Oak Library District in IL and she’ll be joining us to talk about teen programming. You can follow her on Twitter at @cindysku.

Filed under: Cindy Crushes Programming, Programming, Teen Programming