In a small room near the back of the library is where Jackie McDonald puts her arts and crafts skills to the test. On the evening of Sept. 24 at the Williamston Capital Area District Library, she led the first of three paper crafting events happening this calendar year.
The library was host to a Fun with Paper Crafting event for adults. In this class, participants made a Dahlia cone flower made of pages from an old book. The library planned on recycling the book without the project.
Paper crafting and the library
Librarian Jackie McDonald is the teacher of the class. She said the library has had a history with paper crafting but had restarted the program in March.
“We’ve done paper crafting here over the last 20 something years on and off through different programs,” she said.
The library offers paper crafting because it is easy to learn and affordable. Some of the most common types of paper crafting include origami, cardmaking and scrapbooking.
“It’s a fun way to spend a couple hours in the afternoon,” McDonald said. “You end up with something pretty.”
Getting involved
Retired teacher and brand new paper crafter, Lois Markyvech, said she finally had the time to try out the activity.
“Finally, my grandchildren are in preschool,” she said. “Now that they are gone all day I actually have time to do fun stuff like this.”
With the holiday season coming up, McDonald said she is preparing fun ideas for decorations.
“This is the first holiday season we have coming up and I do have some holiday cards planned in November,” she said.
Bernadette Dobias, who is also a retired teacher, has participated in many of the paper crafting events. She says she used past projects to decorate her home and have craft time with her family.
“A couple of them came in handy with my grandkids,” said Dobias. “They saw my project, so we made them.”
Other projects she said she used to decorate her home.
“We made a solar light from mason jars and now that’s up at my cottage,” she said. “I find different ways to use the projects.”
McDonald said the number of people who come varies from month to month but she would love to have more people try out paper crafting.
“We’ve done paper folding, some origami, cards,” she said. “We are doing one different craft each month.”
The library offers a couple more opportunities to try paper crafting the next two months. The next events scheduled are Oct. 22 and Nov. 26.
The Williamston Capital Area District Library also offers many other opportunities for adults and children. For more information on upcoming events, contact the library at 517-655-1191 or check their website, cadl.org.