CHECK IT OUT

When boredom threatens to derail summer sanity, it may be time to get

back on track with cutting, pasting, painting and other craft activities.

If you’re clueless about where to start, look for Georgene Lockwood’s

“The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Crafts with Kids” in the Newport Beach

Public Library’s e-book collection, in databases at o7

https://www.newportlibrary.orgf7 . Along with projects made with such

traditional materials as construction paper and pipe cleaners, there are

directions for working in wood, metal, leather, clay and glass in this

crafts primer for all ages. Loads of tips make it easy to get comfortable

working with different media, while suggested age levels contribute to

user friendliness.

Instructions for 100 other creations, including bread dough monsters,

sea creature mobiles and eggshell mosaics, are in “The Muppets Big Book

of Crafts,” from the inspired craftspeople at The Muppet Workshop. While

it’s geared for kids 4 through 8, this treasury of crafts includes ideas

for printed pillowcases, pine cone baskets and tin-can lanterns that

teens and adults may enjoy creating.

For crafters interested in specific art forms, slim volumes in the new

“Step-by-Step” series are devoted to printing, papermaking, mosaics, clay

modeling and creative lettering. Background information, color photos and

easy-to-follow directions make these good books for kids in grade school.

Crafts can be launch pads for learning, and they open windows to other

cultures in Meryl Doney’s “World Crafts Jewelry.” Using such everyday

objects as seashells, curtain rings and clay, young designers will be

able to fashion Indian trading beads, African friendship bracelets and

Chinese hair ornaments with this guide for making exotic accessories.

An ancient Japanese art form is the focus of “The Usborne Book of

Origami,” in which Eileen O’Brien and Kate Needham provide directions for

folding colored paper into hats, gliders, frogs, pinwheels, beads and

balloons. For more advanced paper artisans, there’s Norman Schmidt’s

“Fabulous Paper Gliders,” a guide for assembling and launching 16 types

of aircraft using glue and index cards.

Paper and pencil are just about all burgeoning artists will need to

use Laura Murawski’s “Kid’s Guide to Drawing” series. Separate titles

concentrate on airplanes, cars, cats, dinosaurs, dogs and horses. Each

includes easy directions for using shapes, lines and shading to create

realistic drawings, along with background about the subject and Web sites

for further research.

After all this activity, it may be time to get out of the house for

more creative fun. And when you’re stumped for where to go, head for your

nearest library, where books, books on cassette, videos, CDs, Web sites

and live programs provide a virtually limitless supply of suggestions for

things to do.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Gina Moffitt. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by

accessing the catalog at o7 https://www.newportbeachlibrary.orgf7 .