Walking In A Creative Wonderland

Alex Brower

Information Services Director

The holidays are here! It is a time for eating, spending time with family, and more eating. MLC's patrons have access to the CreativeBug database from home any time they want, and it is one of my favorite places to go to find fun art, craft, and food ideas. I was inspired by a program at the Carthage-Leake County Library where the Mississippi State Extension Service showed library patrons how to make charcuterie boards, so I wanted to share some Creativebug classes that have delicious recipes and holiday ideas to make you the host with the most! 

Along charcuterie lines, their video showing how to make a snacking board will make you the winner of the holiday potluck this year. All you need is a large dish or board wrapped in parchment paper and any dips, spreads, berries, crackers, or other snacks your heart desires! You can find the full video here.

(photo courtesy of Creativebug)

If you are more of a dessert person, you can impress your guests with hand-rolled truffles here, homemade peanut butter and jelly cups, or professional-looking sugar cookies.

(photo courtesy of Creativebug)

Planning a holiday party and need to decorate? Fear not! Creativebug has plenty of classes with instructions on that, too. You can make paper clay bowls to hold all of your delicious treats or holiday decorations using this video. Boring walls? Cover those things! You can make a mixed media wall hanging that will impress all your guests using the instructions found here. If you have artwork that you need to hang and frame to impress that one pretentious cousin, you can learn how to cut a mat and frame your work at home using this class.

(photo courtesy of Creativebug)

The holiday season also means schools are out, so keep your kids busy, or put on a library program to keep other kids busy, using Creativebug. Quick Classes and For Beginners classes are available under each crafting section (Art & Design, Food & Home, Holiday & Party, etc.). Make stamps out of carved erasers, learn how to watercolor, and make book covers for when it’s time to go back to school. If you are a public librarian and need some supplies for crafty programs, check out MLC’s kits! Our soapmaking kit, crochet and knitting kits, and even ukulele kits will keep kids entertained through these short, dark winter days. The best way to learn more about MLC's kits is to visit our Special Collections libguide, found here.

For other tasty treats and holiday ideas, visit Creativebug from MLC’s online databases page. You will need an MLC card! If you don’t have one already, state and public library employees can sign up remotely, and all other interested parties only need to stop by our building with their ID and local library card.

Curious about how the charcuterie boards turned out for the Carthage-Leake patrons? They sent us some photos. Check out how good this looks!