Hobby and craft info galore

googler@evpl — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:26:00 GMT

Hobbyists and crafters will be in heaven browsing our new database, the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center. It contains content from more than 740 magazines and books, as well as access to more than 720 videos and over 140 hobby reports, with detailed "how-to" instructions and creative ideas to meet the interests of virtually every hobby-enthusiast.

Accessed through the Library's databases page (the category is "How-To"), the user is presented with a user-friendly screen dividing the many topics into categories for fun browsing, such as collecting, model building, needlecraft and textiles, paper crafts, etc. For more immediate access to a specific topic, use the search box at the top of the screen.

The result list contains both specific projects, when available, and general information articles (and searchers can use a tab to go directly to the projects, if that's what they're after). The searcher can also use the list of more specific terms that are presented, to narrow the results.

Patterns and instructions are taken from popular magazines and presented in PDF or HTML format. And take note of the "video" tab found for a number of crafts. The short videos are quite informative, and any new knitter needing to learn to cast off, for example, will be happy to have them.

Grown-up dollhouses…

SuDocQueen@evpl — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:28:00 GMT

Have you stopped by Oaklyn to check out their Miniatures display yet? Or at least taken a look at the great pictures we have online? I admit I haven’t gotten over to Oaklyn personally, but I have enjoyed looking at the pictures on our website. They reminded me of how much fun I’ve had looking at other miniature collections, like the Thorne Rooms in various museums around the country, Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and the Museum of Miniatures in Carmel, Indiana.

But just as you don’t have to actually go to Oaklyn to enjoy Marian G. William’s Miniature Collection, you can also enjoy other miniature collections through our books. There’s the Period Rooms of Ruth McChesney, Treasures in Miniature, Dollhouses, Miniature Kitchens, and Shops from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, and for a bit of whimsy Fairy Island: an Enchanted Tour of the Homes of the Little Folk.

And if your tastes run more to doing than looking, try these subject searches. An easy start is dollhouses. You’ll find books from A Beginners’ Guide to the Dolls’ House Hobby to The Modern Dolls’ House and The Dolls’ House Wedding Book. Another good search is doll furniture. You’ll get some overlap with your dollhouses search, but you’ll find additional books like 55 Embroidery Projects in Miniature and Simple Country Furniture Projects in 1/12 Scale. If you’re more into making accessories rather than building furniture miniature craft would be the search for you. You’ll get embroidery, cross-stitch, and needlepoint projects as well as learn how to make miniature food.

Research Blog : crafts, evpl

Hobby and craft info galore

Grown-up dollhouses…