We had an extended snowflake unit this winter that included a biography of Wilson Bentley, the snowflake man, and studying the science and structure of snowflakes. Each student and faculty member was invited to create their own flake and help us decorate the library with them! Every flake had the name of the person who made it and the title of a good book they recommended.
I am a book hoarder collector with collections from my childhood, college classes, and lately as a parent. Sometimes those books aren’t as lovely as I’d like. When I am not quite ready to part with a falling apart or ugly book I have taken to covering it with paper or fabric. Thicker wrapping paper is my favorite, it isn’t too thick to fold but makes a sturdy cover for me to use, not just keep on the shelf. For some of my older hardback books with damaged spines I used a neutral fabric and it worked just as well. I can also keep some favorites in any room and match them to fabrics there if I choose. Have you tried wrapping up your ugly books?
Everyone has their own way to melt and reuse crayons, even Martha. My son and I enjoyed making these for friends this month so much that we made a few batches for his official class party and some to give away as prizes in the library. (I have Mrs. Morris to thank for the idea and loan of the great pan) After some experimentation we came up with a few of our own twists on this easy craft. See our little crayon heart tips below, happy coloring!
Getting the paper off the crayons can be annoying. They come off of Crayola brand crayons the easiest, and soaking them in a bit of water helps too. Some of the hearts have defined layers, to achieve that effect allow the first layer to melt then add more crayons on top and bake longer.
1. Printed “labels” so after all of the fuss of the big day they remember who gave them a heart. This was applied with a tiny drop of glue versus #3 which was melted on.
2. Glitter will coalesce in most instances unless you stir it in early. I added it on top and this is the form it took.
3. When they are cooling place your label on and the wax will adhere to the paper, no glue or effort to get them to stick.
the big green bookshelf 