Article and Photos by Abigail Crawford. Feature Photo courtesy of the Creative Commons.
With the Spring 2026 Semester now in full swing, a student may wish they found activities to pass the time when not in class or doing homework, making Crafternoons an ideal options for on campus students.
Crafternoons takes place in the Creative Commons, a corner tucked away on the Miller Center’s second floor. This event occurs once a month, with each event focused on a different type of craft and instructed by the staff of the Commons.
Sarah Martini, who runs the Miller Center, gave a tour of the Commons, ecstatically showing off the items free for use for every student at Saint Cloud State.
“The Creative Commons is the newest addition to the Miller Center,” said Martini. “Everything here is donated.”
The Creative Commons includes a vast variety of crafts and activities, as well as digitizing supplies for student use. A pair of sewing machines lay in the back, along with thread and bulk fabric to sew with. Rubber stamps, paper, and ink lay at another station, along with blackout poetry pages. Knitting, crocheting, and weaving supplies, along with other yarn and loom crafts line several tables, with bins upon bins of yarn scraps providing abundant material to work with.
Perhaps the most popular attraction of the Commons is the button-making machine. This simple mechanical machine takes a piece of paper, along with a slice of plastic laminate and a backing, to make a simple metal button. This is an easy and fun way to show one’s school pride, or just for fun. Many of the paper cutouts either feature the Miller Center’s logo, or the characters of many children’s books and movies.
The event began at 1400, with Jiayi Wang, a graduate student, attending and beginning the event. This month’s activity was Block Art, where students were encouraged to paint, glue paper onto, and accessorize wooden blocks as decor.
Although the attendance to the event was modest, it provoked lots of entertaining and friendly conversation between the attendees.
Crafternoons will be held again on February 17 in the Miller Center.
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