Blog: Arts, Crafts and Hobbies

20 Hockey Books for Kids

It's Hockey Night in Toledo as we welcome the Walleye back to the ice. Before enjoying a little family fun at the Huntington Center, be sure to share a few great hockey books with the young skaters and readers in your life.

5 Books to Help You Knit Socks – The Possibly (Im)perfect Last Minute Holiday Gift

Early Christmas morning / Sneaky as can be / I creep across the carpet / And I peek under the tree / Pick out a gift from Mom to me / And bring it to my ear / Give it a little shimmy shake and what do I hear? / Socks / This is the worst gift I ever got / It doesn't beep or buzz or bop or rattle in the box / Hey, why'd you waste the paper on a lousy pair of socks? - J.D. McPherson, 'Socks'

15 Tony Award Winners

This Sunday night is the 76th Tony Awards, the biggest night in American theater. Or at least the biggest night in a certain fourteen-square-block section of American theater.

History of Crayons

Crayons have been around for a long time! Here are some great titles featuring crayons and their history.

8 Books to Help You Make Comics

Your one-stop-shop to get you started making your first comic or graphic novel. Writing, storyboarding, drawing, and publishing!

10 Fun and Quirky Comics for D&D Nerds

Whether you're a TTRPG veteran, looking forward to your first campaign, or Stranger Things just has you curious, these comic and manga series are sure to get you ready for adventure.

Photography at Your Library

Do you appreciate good photography? Do you enjoy taking photos with your phone or camera? The Library can help you pursue those interests!

Children’s Library & Teen Recommends – Summer 2021

Youth Services Librarians love to read, too! Check out what your favorite Children’s and Teen Librarians at Main Library are reading, whether it be a picture book about penguins, a middle grade adventure in a treehouse, vampires in Louisiana, or a time-traveling phone booth!

Small, but Mighty FUN!

Cards are super-portable and can make for great games and magic tricks to boost the fun factor on a rainy day.

Grow Your Own Food at Home

Creating a kitchen garden is not only a fun hobby, but can provide your home with fresh produce all year long.

Learn about Birds

In the spring, warblers, a tiny, colorful classification of songbirds, fly through our area on their journey of thousands of miles between Central and South America, and the Caribbean, on their way to Northern North America.

You Grow, Green!

Need a way to brighten your home this winter? Get some houseplants! Studies have shown that keeping houseplants have many benefits. Among them are improving your mood, reducing fatigue, and boosting healing and pain tolerance. They also improve air quality, releasing oxygen and moisture. Here are some titles that will help you start going green.

A Happiness Reading List

Here are a few books that may help you keep a lookout for the small moments, practices, and words in life to lift spirits and find the wonder in the world around us.

The Human-Nature Connection

The Library and Metroparks are great community resources that enrich the quality of life in the communities in which they serve.

Handy Handmade Gifts

Crafty projects to help inspire your creative spirit. Have fun designing and creating unique gifts year-round.

5 Day Summer Itinerary for Toledo, Ohio

Are you visiting Toledo, Ohio this summer and wonder what to do and where to go? Or, are you a native Toledoan looking for something different? Check out these unique ideas for this summer!

Small-Space Gardening

Small-Space Gardening is an activity everyone can enjoy with just a little creativity! With specialized small-space garden kits available commercially at local home stores for do-it-yourselfers, this can be done in even the smallest spaces with some ingenuity.

Book, Humbug!

The new movie The Man Who Invented Christmas purports to tell all about Charles Dickens and his most famous creation. But there's more to it than that.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Kids and Teens

If you're looking to give the gift of reading this holiday season, take a look at this year's recommendations for kids and teens - compiled by our expert Librarians at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library!

Sports Roundup

Do you have a favorite sport or are you one of those sports-in-general fans? One thing’s for sure, if you’re not playing it, or watching it, there’s always something to be learned from sports books and movies.

New Year, New You

No resolutions necessary! You can always work on improving (fill in the lifestyle issue of your choice); it just takes a bit of time and baby steps in the right direction. Here are some titles that will help.

Super Mario Run

Libraries aren't just for book reports and never ending education. Super Mario Run launched December 15th on iOS and the Library happens to already have an event scheduled for this March with Nintendo of America.

Makerspace Your Holidays

Putting a unique touch on the holidays just got easier thanks to your Library! Here are a few quick ideas to inspire you using some of our Makerspace equipment and programs!

DIY Holiday Gifts

Learn how to create personalized gifts for family and friends this holiday season and beyond.

Building Community Around Pokemon Go

It's been almost five months since Pokemon Go officially launched in the US. A lot has changed since then, both good and bad. It's fun to reflect back and see what's been accomplished in a short amount of time.

Holy 50 Years, Batman!

Sanger Branch is celebrating 50 years of Batman in film with a special showing of the 1966 Batman movie, the movie that started it all.

The Wrong Side of Magic

I found a charming magic in a new book, a magic that leaps off the page with humor and heart in Janette Rallison’s latest novel The Wrong Side of Magic.

DIY Lava Lamps

At the West Toledo Branch Library, we like to do what we call "pop up programs." Each week we do a different activity. So far, our favorite is the Bubbly Lava Lamps.

Variety Makes Creativity

At the Kent Branch Library, we do our children's programs a bit different from most other branches. We allow any age 0-18, we do not have registration, and children come in late and leave early. So, when the Make U Mobile Art Labs were offered to Kent, I knew it would be interesting.

Getting Crafty with Make U Mobile Art Labs

​As we mark the half way point in our grant funded Mobile Art Labs, we are pleased to share that the reception we have received has been great! Kids and parents alike have been very responsive to the goals of the Curiosity Creates Grant, and most importantly, everyone is having a lot of fun!

Libraries are a great place to think creatively

Get lost in a fantasy world through a book, breathe new life into a community organization in your local library’s meeting space, or explore the digital world of a computer game. The Library has a new opportunity to offer creative exploration to its patrons through Make U: Mobile Art Labs with programs in drawing, painting, printmaking, installation art, 3D sculpture and digital photography.

2016’s Color(s) of the Year

It’s that time of year again–Pantone has announced their Color of the Year for 2016! This year’s selection is especially exciting because for the first time, Pantone selected not one, but two shades: Rose Quartz, a warm and subtle pink, and Serenity, a cool and serene blue.