FRANKLIN
The Oak Street Seniors arts & crafts instructor, Barbara Barnes, has had some of the members of the senior group busy over the past few weeks working on a variety of various arts and crafts projects.

“There is none thing more satisfying than designing and making beautiful things for your home by giving familiar old items a new look,” said Barnes.  Old items as a jar, a No. 10 can, and an old straw hat, with a little paint, flowers and glitter can be given a new life/purpose in the home or to be worn as with the straw hat.”

Barnes and her always-eager group of seniors at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center have been very active in converting the list of items into a new beautiful project. The empty No. 10 can from the kitchen has been decorated with old magazine book images, ribbons and lace to be converted into a toilet paper holder. The use of the cans is furthered as two cans are joined together to make an umbrella holder. A discarded jar or name more familiar for many seniors, a canning jar, easily can become a lovely centerpiece in a room. The improvements with it as well can come from use of magazine images, ribbons, lace, flowers, glitter and paint.

Lastly, the old straw hat gets a new look when a touch of flowers in a variety of colors, a grosgrain ribbon bows with streamers that are glued to it to produce a one of a kind new designer hat.

“The key to success,” said Barnes, is “combining imagination with practical know-how with crafting and decorating with clear step-by-step instruction for each project. Each project means you can work at your own speed, even if you have no previous experience.”