Keep calm and craft on

Hey, U of T, how long has it been since you sat down at a table and played around with markers or crayons or tubes of paint? Or actually attempted one of the many DIY projects you keep adding to your Pinterest board? (maybe that’s just me)

Kindergarten? Fifth grade, perhaps?

But, I mean, it makes sense - who can be bothered to go down to the dollar store, pick up supplies, pull out instructions and carefully read and follow them when there are readings to be completed, TV shows to catch up with and long commutes back home to embark on (in my case)?

Which is why I was quite excited to come across this giant turquoise sign in the Hart House corridor on Thursday:

that’s right- free.

drop-in.

all materials provided.

naturally, I was sold.

So Hart House’s Get Crafty program is a series of weekly, drop-in craft workshops held in the Reading Room where you can come by any time between 11-1 p.m. and work on the take-home craft project of the week.

Last week, we had little bulletin-boards that we could paint and decorate - the session before that was button-making and projects from previous sessions have included mini-piñatas, card-making, handmade beads, lip balms, bath bombs and lots of other cool stuff:

colorful keychain resting on newspaper — source: https://instagram.com/harthousegetcrafty/

photo of table strewn with markers and plain white sneakers waiting to be decorated — source: https://instagram.com/harthousegetcrafty/

pink ombre flowerpot — source: https://instagram.com/harthousegetcrafty

black butterfly-shaped mini-pinata with polka dots — source: https://instagram.com/harthousegetcrafty/

For more info, you can check out on their Facebook/Instagram aaaaaaand their Pinterest page.

P.S the poster doesn't mention that there's also free tea, cookies and (if you're lucky) granola bars to be had!

photo of tray of apples, granola bars and milk cartons — mid-painting snack
my apple got a nice blue paint splodge but who cares?

Here are some photos from Thursday's Get Crafty session:

photo of reading room while the crafting is in session- purple wall and people sitting and working at the long table

paper with paint blobs and newspaper covered-table

a piece of paper covered in blobs of blue and purple paint

cokrboard covered in tape and blue paint (looking like a right mess) — attempted to create perfect lines using tape

the corkboard with tape carefully peeled off to reveal frustratingly wobbly lines but nothing that cant be fixed with a coat of purple paint — attempt to create perfect lines: semi-successful

corkboard fully covered in blue and purple paint and drying on my knees — post-painting

photo of the corkboard pinned up onto my wall and lovingly adorned with pushpins and tiny post-its — the mini-bulletin board now up and functional on my wall

I had a really great time last week. The whole session really helped me forget about the stress-y thoughts of readings, assignments and commitments dancing around in my head.

And it felt indescribably good to actually create something tangible and colourful after a year of only having produced hundreds of black and white essay pages. (thanks, political science class)

Everybody around me was absorbed in their project and happily chattering away and it was so refreshing to not be surrounded by conversation about lectures or assignments or deadlines and just focus on the task at hand.

I know I’ll be coming back for more! If this sounds like your kind of thing, come on out and get your craft on!

0 comments on “Keep calm and craft on”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply