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Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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Reading Rainbow & DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-Ups

June 2, 2014 6 Comments

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Last week’s Reading Rainbow Kickstarter launch made quite the splash. It ushered my beloved childhood TV show back into the zeitgeist, and apparently, into my creative brain. Between that and the imminent start of summer reading, I have got books on the brain! As a librarian, summer reading is when we shake our professional money makers (kinda literally). We work our butts off creating an as-close-to-magic-as-we-can-get summer of encouraging informal learning, parents’ involvement in that learning, and making learning fun.

Some teacher friends of mine forget that summertime = showtime for us informal educators. Essentially, what I do during the summer at work is try to keep kids from losing what they worked all year to master in school so they don’t start the fall behind. (For more of my thoughts on summer learning, and what’s different about it today then when I was a kid, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Summer Reading for Grown-ups!

This week I decided to embrace my currently-bookish creative mind and share a simple idea for grown-ups to get in on – and DIY – summer reading. To celebrate the start of summer reading around the country,* I decided some library crafting is in order!

*Globe? I don’t actually know if summer reading is a thing outside the US. Please advise, international readers. 

While your local library might have summer reading programs for adults, I’ve worked at only a few libraries fortunate enough to afford programs for adult summer reading. This log is for us grown-ups who are sans-summer-reading who are looking to get a little nostalgic and make a dent in our reading lists. As a bonus, making your own log gets you stretching your creative muscles too!

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Supplies

cardboard
paper in a variety of colors
tapestry needle
embroidery floss
push pin
ruler
pen
scissors

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Directions

Cut your cardboard and paper into rectangles that are all the same size. My cardboard was 5×7 inches, so I just cut all my paper into 5×7 rectangles. Fold your cardboard and papers in half widthwise.

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Mark the inside of your cardboard with little notches that are 1/8 of an inch apart.

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Use your push pin to poke holes right in the crease of your cardboard along the notches you drew.

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Here’s what the cardboard looks like on the outside as you go.

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Next, use your cardboard as a template for punching evenly placed holes in the spines of all of your folded pieces of paper. I recommend poking the holes as shown from the inside of the cardboard. The cardboard can more easily take a beating than your papers.

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

When all your papers are punched, stack them up in ROYGBIV order, aligning their tiny holes. You can set the cardboard template aside.

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Sew the spine of the book together with a basic running stitch, knotting the end on the inside of the book.

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

Trim your thread and you’re all set! Tune in later this week for my summer reading recommendations and ideas for DIYing your summer reading, learning and crafting. 

DIY Summer Reading Log for Grown-ups at handsoccupied.com

A final note on summer learning…

Summer reading isn’t just summer reading anymore for many public libraries. It’s a well-rounded, often-hands-on learning program incorporating reading, creating, and STE(A)M skill building. These days, summer learning programs in Chicago require reading 20 minutes a day, completing creative activities (doing a craft, producing a music video, etc.), and discovering something new (like learning an animal fact at the zoo). What would motivate kids and teens do so much work? Completing the requirements means they win a prize at the end and are eligible for a large prize raffle.

BTW, Chicago has great programs to help families get access to museums and zoos for free with a library card. In case you were wondering. ;) Libraries have come a long way, even from my 90s childhood, when library marketing was all about the books.

(Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always love Arthur. And this video and song are everything. Ev. ry. thing.)

This post was not sponsored. The supply list, as with many of my tutorials, contains affiliate links. All of my opinions about summer learning are my own, and not reflective of my past or present employers. 

Filed Under: Back to School, How-to, Summer Tagged With: chicago, diy, diy notebook, levar burton, reading list, reading log, reading rainbow, summer learning, summer reading

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Comments

  1. Amy Plunk!

    June 3, 2014 at 9:18 am

    Wait! What is this STE(A)M skill building program?? I want more details on that for sure!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      June 3, 2014 at 1:18 pm

      Hi Amy! There are a lot of programs throughout the CPL system designed to teach kids and teens science, tech, engineering, art and math skills. To earn a “discover” point on their summer reading logs, kids have to do something stemmy, whether that’s attending one of CPL’s STEAM programs, visiting MSI, or reading an encyclopedia entry about manta rays and telling us what they learned. I meant it when I said summer reading has evolved! :)

      Reply
  2. Alexis @ Persia Lou

    June 3, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    I grew up on Reading Rainbow too, and I love this little log and the idea of keeping an adult reading log! If you had a second to come by and link up with us at The Makers link party over on my blog, that would be great!

    Reply
    • Heidi

      June 3, 2014 at 1:19 pm

      Totally! Thanks for the invite :D – looks like it’s full now, but I marked my calendar for next week’s!

      Reply
  3. danielle @ this picture book life

    July 7, 2014 at 11:42 am

    I love this idea!! So good.

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

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There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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