Here are directions to make luminaries of your own at home. They are quick and easy crafts and can be done with a variety of ages.
What you need:
A glass container with a wide opening.
tissue paper and/or paper napkins (I chose some with fun Valetine’s Day Patterns)
Regular white glue or Mod Pog (either will work)
Scissors
A paint brush for the glue
Candle or electronic candle
How to do it
Decide what you want to put on your luminary. We cut shapes out of plain tissue paper and some of the shapes out of patterned paper napkins. Just be sure to split your napkins so you’re only using one layer.
Using the paint brush, brush glue onto the container where you want the things you’ve cut out.
Carefully place tissue paper or napkin in place and gently smooth out with your thumb or finger.
Continue until you have all the shapes, patterns or pictures you want on your container.
Lightly spread glue over the top.
Allow to dry
Place candle or electronic candle inside your completed luminary and watch how the light shines through your work.
Enjoy the new ambiance.
As we made them, the design will wash off with a little soap and water. Feel free to do this again and again for each holiday. Or if you want to keep your luminary, take it outside and spray paint with some polyurethane clear coat on top and allow to completely dry before using. Now your design will last year after year.
We have a few take and make kits for these in the library. Please stop in to pick one up. When you’re done, take some pictures and share on our Facebook page what you have done.
This time of year, I get nostalgic. I think most of us do when one year ends and we look at starting a new year. When I started working at the library in March, I had no idea what was in store for me. All I had was a vague idea of what libraries did for communities, experience with my local libraries no matter where I lived, and enthusiasm to learn something new. Boy, what a year it has been!
I was also so lucky this year with great patrons that brought me ideas of things to do for the community. We had fantastic author visits from local writers: Sue Berg and John Armbruster to name a couple. Plus, we hosted a Rhino and Dino party brought to you by the authors and illustrators of the Rhino and Dino books, Erin and Kent Barnard. All of them were a wonderful time and so open about their processes and their skills. Without the suggestions of the patrons and what they wanted to see in the library, I would probably not have found out how to get these wonderful people into our library. So, if you have any ideas of who you’d like to see in 2023, please just let us know.
Beyond that, we had some fantastic activities for the community. Music and Movies in the Park during the summer, the Halloween Party, the Lighting of the Gazebo, and finally the Christmas Party. These would not have been successful without the amazing community support we have here.
So, one last, large and heartfelt thank you to those that have supported us in 2022:
Wilton Americal Legion and Auxiliary
Wilton Village Board
Wilton Police Department
Wilton Fire Department
Wilton Public Library Board
Brookwood High School
Endless Paschabilities
Hardware Hank
F & M Bank
The Hitchin’ Post
And so many of our patrons who brought ideas, selflessly gave of their time and energy and donated funds so that we can put all this together and keep doing it again in 2023 and beyond.
And, if you thought this year was fun, just wait to see what we have going on next year! We are already planning things for Easter and this summer. Oh, and the summer reading theme for this year is “All Together Now” and it is all about community, kindness and supporting each other.
If you haven’t been inside your library lately, I invite you to come on in. We have made several changes and we’d be happy to talk to you about the changes we have planned for 2023 and improving our services for you. And if you want to help out and join in on the fun of planning and orchestrating events in 2023, we have a lot of opportunities to help out. If organization and finding a place for everything, we have a lot of opportunities to help with our projects and need people who love to do those things too.
By visiting your library, you’ll find all the best things about living in and around Wilton. Lots of entertainment, a sense of community, and a lot of great activities. Your library is so much more than books, but we have those too.
Here is to closing out 2022 on the best and most positive note and seeing all of you in 2023. We’re going to make this a year to remember!
We are pleased to announce that Wilton Public Library has a new service to offer local residents. We have purchased a laminator and supplies for 8 1/2 x 11″ pages and 11 x 14″ pages. Like our copy services, we request an in-kind donation for using the laminator. Suggested donation for the 8 1/2 x 11″ size is $0.50 and the 11 x 14″ size is $1.00 per page.
If there is enough interest, we will consider adding other sizes, but these are the ones that are most common.
Let us know if we can help you laminate something!
Wilton Public Library is happy to announce that we have new computers and not just any new computers but laptops! With laptops you will have the ability to check them out and take them anywhere in the library or on the grounds you would like. I know it is now winter and probably not the time you want to spend time working outside, but in nicer weather it is possible now. Laptops may not be removed from the library’s property though. But we are hoping to make it more flexible for you to use them in the way you would like to.
Plus, these new laptops are much faster than they were before and have access to the full web, all of the resources that come with having a Winding Rivers Library Card, and workspace flexibility. Frankly, I believe the ability to work where you are most comfortable; inside or outside, is key to raising our personal productivity.
Since this will create space inside the library, we are looking at creating a maker space, and I have a wish list of items to go in it. Do you have a wish list of things that Wilton Library had available to you? Please let us know in the comments or stop by and talk to us about what you’d like to see in the new maker space. We’d love to hear from you.
Since I have been here, we have had Chess Club on our calendar. But we have had no body participating. Which that isn’t a good thing. So, to hopefully entice you to gather together, we have changed Chess Club to Board Game Club. Board Game Club is still on the First and Third Tuesdays at 4:00 pm but each week, there will be a different board game featured. Better yet, you can also check out the games and take them home for more board game fun.
Introducing Lego Club on the 2nd and 4th Mondays at 4:00 PM. Lego Club is a great place to meet together with other Lego lovers, and who doesn’t love Legos? Come and build your unique creation to the weekly theme. We will display your creation until the club meets again in the little display case by the circulation desk.
Both these clubs are open to children of all ages and those of us who are still children at heart. The idea is to just get together, have some fun and make some new friends. Plus, it is now officially winter (its white (snow) out there today folks), so this is a great way to get out and fight the winter blues.
Hello Wiltonians! It is that time of year again where the Wilton Library’s Second Saturday Writer’s Group hosts the annual winter writing contest. First prize is a $25 gift card and second is a prize basket geared toward writers! There will be a first and second place winner selected from each of 2 categories of writers: over 25 years old and under 25 years old.
Submissions will be accepted November 28, 2022, through January 13, 2023. Winners will be announced January 27, 2023.
We can only allow 1 entry per person. Double entries will be discarded. Each entry must be a poem, story, or general essay on winter and/or a holiday theme. Each entry must be 500 words or less. Please submit 2 copies, one without your name and contact information and one with your name and contact information (we need to be able to let you know you’ve won!).
Ideas for submission include, but are not limited to childhood holiday memories, what is enjoyable about a wintertime activity, or any other holiday or winter activity that appeals to you.
The Writer’s Group hopes to hear from all of you this year! And one group member has been quoted for saying “It’s winter! Write something!”
Good luck, Wiltonians! And if you have questions or need clarification, please call the library at 608-435-6710, email at wiltonlibrary@wrlsweb.org, or just stop in and talk to Kelly or Kelly. We would be happy to help you out!
