by Yisu Kim, News Correspondent

The next time you pass by the local Starbucks, think about this: For the price of a tall frappuccino, you can create your own bottle cap jewelry, vinyl record bowl or hanging mobile instead.
The Northeastern Arts and Crafts Club meets every other Thursday in 15 Snell Library. Led by Club President Abigail Daggett, a fourth year psychology major, anywhere from 12 to 20 members can be found making predetermined crafts in a close-knit environment. Members pay a $3-5 cost each meeting to cover supplies for projects that can range in complexity from friendship bracelets to cassette wallets, which are made by splitting a cassette tape down the middle and lining the inside with fabric.
Dagget said since the club’s unofficial founding in 2008, its main goal has been to provide an outlet for members to exercise their creativity and make intricate, affordable crafts.
“One of the reasons that we first started the club was because we were in a store that had this decorative headband and it was 32 dollars,” Daggett said. “We looked at it and we were like, we could make that for five dollars. So now, we try to make things that people can use, but make it really affordable.”
Throughout the years, members of the Arts and Crafts Club have come together to make an array of different crafts with inexpensive materials. By putting their own twist on regular day-to-day objects like bowls and household decorations, members have the opportunity to create pieces with character.
“We started out easy doing friendship bracelets with the colored strings,” Daggett said. “People loved it. We also did vinyl record bowls, which are really cool because you melt them in the oven and form them into bowl shapes. We’ve done bottle cap necklaces with resin, and we recently just did cassette tape wallets.”
Aside from being fun, the club members’ projects have come to serve a double purpose. Vice President and fourth year sociology major Victoria Hanau said that members in the past have used the projects to create revenue on their own time and to share with friends and family.
“I never thought that we’d have all these people that were so gung-ho about crafts,” Hanau said. “We had a member who made bulletin boards as a craft and sold them, making a profit. I’ve actually used the vinyl bowls for many Christmas and birthday presents, and it’s just really fun.”
The Arts and Crafts Club is a growing organization on campus that ultimately encourages creativity and closeness within its members, said Daggett. Students who attend today’s meeting at 7:30 p.m. will get the chance to make an origami mobile, and the next meeting will be Nov. 3.
“I want students to know that we welcome [artists] of any level,” Daggett said. “Even if you’re not interested in arts and crafts, just come and hang out. It’s just a fun way to get away from the stresses of school and co-op and just take an hour to hang out with fun people and try something new.”