Card making creativity at the Bartlett Library
On Tuesday, January 10, 21 patrons enjoyed the "Cultural Card Making" program at the Bartlett Library.
Program Presenter Glenda Travelstead, demonstrator for Stampin' Up and paper crafting teacher in Bartlett for over 15 years, brought supplies for patrons to make five cards: A Valentine's Day card, a birthday card, an all-purpose card, a congratulatory card and a Mexican-themed party card.
It's only fitting that there was a Valentine's Day card in the mix when February is just around the corner. This card featured in the center a delicate piece of red paper that held an intricate dot design. On top of that paper was a white ribbon with red dots, and then a white circle crossed over both the ribbon and the red paper. Stamped on the circle was "Happy Valentine's Day," and had a row of four pink hearts underneath the words.
The birthday card had many layers of different colored paper, specifically red, blue and white, and then had a strip of paper with a variety of colored presents on it. This card had a different element than all the rest due to it being uneven: The side of the card jutted out so that you could see the presents while the card was still closed. This feature gave great dimension to the card.
On the front of the birthday card was stamped "Hope you have a super fantastic birthday!" It was made into the shape of a birthday cake, candles and all.
The all-purpose card was very elegant in its design. In the center of the white card was a girl wearing a turquoise dress with white polka-dots on it. Her back was turned towards the viewers, and she was holding an open umbrella. Or, patrons could choose the same girl, but this time she had her arms and leg extended as if she were dancing. Patrons also had a variety of stamps to pick from for the words, such as "Celebrate," "Wishing you brighter days to come," "Happy birthday, gorgeous" or "Life may not be the party we had hoped for, but while we're here we might as well dance."
For the congratulatory card, there featured a cut-out of a blue hot-air balloon in the center. Miniature clouds floated behind the balloon, and then behind that was a blue ribbon with white polka-dots. On the bottom of the card read "You soar above the rest. Congratulations!" Patrons could even add a few silver gemstones to give the card some sparkle.
Lastly, the Mexican-themed party card perhaps got the most smiles out of the patrons. On the cover were cut-outs of streamers, with a little sign that read "Fiesta like there's no mañana." On the bottom half of the card there was a couple of cacti and then a llama wearing a sombrero. Each piece had to be cut out individually, but all that effort was definitely worth it for this cute card.
The Bartlett Library is no stranger when it comes to card-making programs. Last year, they hosted a "Christmas in July" program where patrons made Christmas cards in the summer. For this, Travelstead also ran the program.
Besides Travelstead, there were four more helpers from Stampin' Up available to assist patrons in creating the crafty cards.
To wrap up the program, a door prize was given out, which was a card-making kit that had the makings for 20 cards, stamps included and everything.
If you missed this program, an upcoming Adult Services program at the Bartlett Library is "Magic and Medicine in Ancient Egypt" on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. Egypt was renowned for its magical and medical lore. Scholars traveled from afar to learn the wisdom of its priestly scholars. The categories we label as magical or medical were not nearly as distinct in Egypt as we believe them to be in the modern world. This program is presented by Foy Scalf of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
There will be a $25 gift card given out in a drawing at the "Magic and Medicine in Ancient Egypt" program, so make sure to stop by!
For more information and a complete listing of scheduled programs, call 630.837.2855 or visit www.bartlettlibrary.org.