Everything comes poinsettias in the library

Decorative paper can be used for more than just wrapping Christmas presents.

Handmade paper flowers adorned wreaths as they walked home with half a dozen local residents who attended the Paper Poinsettia Centerpieces program which was held on December 18 at the main library of the Lorain Public Library System in 351 W. Sixth St. in Lorain.

The program had full registration, but the cold and rainy conditions – and the onset of the holiday season – likely kept some people away, said Katie O’Keefe, utility professional and leader of the crafts for the day.

In the meeting room in the basement of the library, everything happened in poinsettias.

“When you make them yourself, the materials and your imagination are the limit,” O’Keefe told the group. The library also has a number of craft enthusiasts on staff, so they’re never short of new projects, she said.

Paper craft programs have become easier to mass produce using Cricut knives in the design space, a room with do-it-yourself crafting materials, O’Keefe said. Previously, O’Keefe would cut the designs by hand, which made it difficult and time-consuming to produce the tens or hundreds of pieces needed for the flowers.

The kits of the day were in the form of a vine wreath wrapped in a ribbon and a pine garland.

Participants folded the petals of the pre-cut flowers, then glued them together in layers for added depth.

O’Keefe used hot glue with paper dots to add threads to the finished flowers. They were strung on the wreaths, but remained to be taken for different seasonal flora in the future.

The group included artisans Janet Devine, Brenda Carpino, Laura Julian and Doris Rogers, sister of painter Lorain Jeff Pye, who painted the mural in the library children’s room.

Julian, originally from Lorain, is now based in Florida, but returned to his hometown for family matters. She praised the library and said her counterparts in Florida don’t offer the same level of programming.

“It leaves me speechless that we have these opportunities,” she said. “It’s amazing what they have to offer.”

Creative space can be reserved for two hour blocks of time for various arts and crafts projects. More information is available at lorainpubliclibrary.org.