How To Make Felted Soap

by Kim

Hey guys,

Maddie, Ellen, Elizabeth, and I made felted soap on Monday night.

So here are some pictures, and the directions!

So gather all your supplies first. This includes wool, a bar of soap, hot and cold water, a sleeve of pantyhose, and bubble wrap.

It’s best to use a sink.
Wrap your soap up in the wool and cover it with pantyhose.

Alternate between cold and hot water for several minutes.
Then take it out, squeeze out the excess water, and rub it against the bubble wrap. This friction causes the wool fibers to shrink around the soap.
Be sure to rub all six sides against the bubble wrap.
You’ll know that you’re done when the wool fibers start to show through the pantyhose.

Our Finished Bars

When you’re done, pull off the pantyhose and smooth the fibers down on the soap.
Let it dry, and then you’re done! :)

Try It! Decorate Recycled Jars

by Maddie

Kim and I decided it was time to a crafty post and here it is!  We looked through The Homemade Home by Sania Pell and found recycled jar decorating on page 106-107.  This book used the jars as small candle holders, but we thought they’d make great pencil holders too.

You will need:

  • Jar(s) (we used salsa)
  • Glue
  • Old magazines or scraps of fabric
  • Something to put in your jar
  • Optional:  Buttons, hot glue, wire

Step 1: Gather your jar.  I had a bunch of old salsa jars in my recycling bin, but any glass jar will do just fine.

Step 2: Cut out pictures or shapes from your magazines and fabric scraps.  The discard shelf at ICPL is a great place to find old magazines and books to use for projects.

Kim kept it classy with her magazine cut-outs, while I attempted a magazine/fabric hybrid.

Step 3: Glue time!  Go ahead and glue your cut-outs to the jar.  We used Mod Podge and a brush, but Elmer’s or a gluestick will work just fine. Try to use a thin layer as it can get slightly bubbly with too much glue.

Step 4: Add a small candle, change, pencils, candy, or anything you want to your new, improved jars!  You can also hot glue buttons to the jar as well, or make your jar a button-y necklace with wire.

There are tons of great craft books at ICPL, so if you are looking for a cure for the back-to-school blues, stop by the library and get craftin’!

Teen Tech Zone YouTube Contest

by Maddie

From July 20th to August 16th Teen Tech Zone will be hosting a YouTube Contest.  If you are up to the challenge, you can chose to make a video on:

“Why I Love My Library”  OR Recreate a scene from your favorite book

HOW TO

1)  Sign up for a YouTube Account at www.youtube.com

2)  Check out a Flip Cam from the front desk or from TTZ

3)  Record your video!  Be creative :)

4)  Edit and upload to your YouTube account

5)  Send a link of your video to marmstrong@icpl.org by 5 p.m. on August 16th

RULES

  • Video must be between 1 and 5 minutes long
  • Must include a scene at the library
  • You can work together in teams
  • Must be appropriate and respectful
  • Do not record patrons others than yourselves

Prizes for all participants…plus a grand prize to be announced!

Stop by Teen Tech Zone Monday through Friday 1-4 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Computer lab to work on your video or use a camera!

UPDATE: Examples of videos after the jump!

UPDATE 2: Congrats to Antoine and Nahja, whose video won the contest after their number was chosen via random.org .  Here is  the winning video:

Read more…

Tweet Your Own Adventure with Meg Cabot

by admin

Meg Cabot

Calling all Meg Cabot fans: help her tweet a new story next week! Meg Cabot (@megcabot) will tweet the first line of a new story on February 16 at 11:00 a.m. CST, and then Twitter users everywhere will be able to tweet what comes next.  For more details, check out the press release from the BBC website.

If you want to join in, but you’re not really sure what’s up with Twitter, tweeting, hashtags, and all that fun stuff  — just drop us a note at teens@icpl.org and we’ll help you out.  We love tweeting (@ICPL)!

Doodling Improves Your Memory?

by Darian

JFK doodle

I found this article while I was doing some of my biology homework and I thought it was interesting because my aunts told me a while ago that it worked and I did not know if I believed them.  So here is an article that proves them right.

A group of test subjects who were directed to doodle while listening to a series of long, dull conversations remembered the details much better than the group who simply sat and listened.

Invent-o a Bento

by Zoe

As a crafter and food enthusiast, creating a bento box would seem to be the perfect project for me. What you may not guess, however, is that I hate cooking. Luckily, my bento required absolutely no heating beyond a microwave to warm up leftover rice!

Rachel asked me to make a bento box in preparation for the Anime Festival on Saturday, February 13. How romantic, eh? Anyway, bento boxes are yet another wonderful Japanese invention, like washi tape and pokémon. Bento, roughly translated, means, I believe, “ridiculous amount of energy to create tiny, adorable, somethings.” Or something like that. They are basically little portions of food like sushi, rice, vegetables, fruit, etc. arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way. They can be quite elaborate. Google image it.

You can use anything. A pimento and mento bento would be quite a cento.

Ahem. Here’s the how-to.

MAKE YOUR OWN BENTO BOX
Total time: 1 hour

What I Used:supplies use

  • one box (I used a round gift box from Ikea, but tupperware works very well. Or, if you’re a bento snob like Jason, something like this. Or, cuter, that.)
  • aluminum foil
  • 2 slices sourdough bread
  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 clementine
  • plain cream cheese
  • fruit jam/jelly/preserves
  • rice
  • vegetable peeler
  • sharp knife
  • ice cream scoop
  • rolling pin
  • wax paper

Instructions:
1. Line box with aluminum foil, set aside
2. Scoop a ball of rice with ice cream scoop, place in boxrice ball use
3. Wash vegetables, peel cucumber
4. Cut a few round cucumber slices, starcucumber star use
5. Cut long, thin strip of cucumbercucumber use
6. Score 2 cherry tomatoes

score tomatoes use

7. Peel clementine, cut thin slices
clementine use
8. Flatten slices of bread with rolling pin, between wax paper. Cut off crusts, roll again

roll bread use

9. Spread slices of bread with whatever. I did one with jelly, one with cream cheese and thin slice of cucumber
assemble rolls use
10. Roll up bread (like a sushi roll), and slice into cylinders approximately 1.5 inches long
cut rolls use
11. Arrange everything in some cute way in the box

THE BIG REVEAL…
closed use

open use

detail use

Enjoy!

enjoy use

Fahrenheit 451: A Movement of Epic Bookness

by gomerman

7035141If you haven’t heard, the library is doing an amazing thing this February. “The Big Read” is an activity that a lot of Iowa libraries are sponsoring and is possible because of the “Summer of the Arts.” Now, you might be thinking “but February isn’t even close to summer” but the “National Endowment of the Arts” doesn’t care. They let our library and other libraries get over 2000 copies of Fahrenheit 451. This book is not all that long, and is easier to read than Shakespeare.

I was volunteering, as I do on Friday nights, and I picked up 7 copies of Fahrenheit 451. Some people might think I’ve picked up too many copies, but I am slowly nudging them onto my friends who are unfortunate enough to not be in TAG.

Crafty Teens @ Home Ec Workshop 12/19

by admin

Felting Soaps

Hey all, we’re heading over to Iowa City’s Home Ec. Workshop (207 N. Linn St.) on Saturday, December 19th for a free crafty outing.  We’ll be learning how to make felted soap!

Meet in the ICPL lobby at 12:45 and we’ll walk over to Home Ec. Workshop together.  Registration is limited to 15, so sign up soon.  You can register here, or email teens@icpl.org, or call Jason at (319)887-6075.  Remember to include your name, address and phone number.  If you include your email address with registration, we’ll send you a reminder email the day before, too.

No Shave November

by gomerman

So this month is almost over and you may have noticed some rather fuzzy people around iowa city that you normally wouldn’t see fuzzy. Me, for example, have been growing my beard since a couple weeks before November started, and rather like the almost end result.

Some people have asked me why i’m doing this, and to them i’ve replied, “It’s part of City High tratition.” On the contrary, however, I’ve discovered that it is not only a City High tradition, but an American tradition. Why people do it is because of their own reasons, varying from the “i don’t like shaving” excuse, to the “i don’t have enough money to buy a new razor right now” excuse.

Whatever the reason it’s really cool to see the bushy faces of friends for a month

Relax!

by jason

UAY What with school life, homework, jobs, clubs and sports you’ve got a lot going on!  Well UAY’s Youth Center staff is there to help with stress relief by offering a free yoga class for teens on Tuesdays from 5:30 – 6:15.  The website says:  “Sign up ahead of time, or drop in a few minutes early for this informal weekly class. Bring a towel, comfortable clothing, water, and an open mind! (Free and open to youth ages 12-18.)”

Of course they also have tons of other resources and fun free programming, you can see listings here.  Never been there?  Here’s the directions.  The staff there are super friendly and welcoming too!

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