Crafts & Hobbies Information
Blown Glass: They Do Still Make It Like They Used To
Blown art glass is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing hobbies in North America... and it is about time. Glassblowing has been around since 27 BC in Syria, though the first evidence of manmade glass products occurs in Mesopotamia in the late 3rd century BC. But the advancement of actual "blowing" glass using a tube transformed the materials usefulness. The new technique quickly spread throughout the Roman world.
Why You Should Race RC Cars, and Not Just Bash
For those of you who have been racing your RC cars for years,
and have a friend or two who you have been trying to get out to the
RC tracks, this article is for you. Feel free to forward it to
them.
Leather Work Tips
For leather work, consider the basics: an awl and spare point, a retractable X-acto knife
and spare blades, a retractable knife with a break-off blade and a rotary punch. In
addition, you?ll need needles, a lump of beeswax and some waxed linen thread.
Be Your Own Way, but Still Use the Safe Tools
It is so often that people are not aware with the tools they use when doing their home improvement. Sometimes they use wrong tools just because they want something quick to be done. Well, you must change that attitude. You have to understand that by using the correct tool it can avoid you from hurting and damaging the project you are trying to repair. Well, it sure does. Don?t think you know everything about tools before you really search for tools information.
Why Do You Need to Have Your Tools Blade Sharpen After Work
If you like to do wood carving or making sculpture as your hobby, you surely need tools to make your creation. If you just starting this hobby, knowing your tools and how to treat your carving tools probably the best way to make everything easier for you, thus make efficient time when doing your work.
Marking Tools and Laser Marking Machines for Marking on Metals
Marking tools are used for marking metals and non-metal surfaces. Mark can be a company logo designed with alphabets, numeric pattern or any graphical shape. It distinguishes one company from others. Marking also keeps you ahead of your competitors. Customers usually recognize companies with their logo or mark. Marking is the quick and easy way of identification among other products.
Kona Cotton: The Quilters & Embroiderers Dream Fabric
What, Exactly, Is Kona Cotton?
Kona(R) cotton is a premium, 100% cotton broadcloth from Robert Kaufman Fabrics in Los Angeles. The company introduced the fabric in the 1980's in response to the then rapidly emerging quilting industry, an interest that continues unabated today. It is a soft, light fabric, often called the 'Quilter's Cotton', that is also ideal for fine apparel such as children's clothing; soft, comfortable shirts; dresses; applique and home decorating. It has a 'meaty' hand, which means you can really feel the difference when you touch the fabric and that makes it a joy to work with.
Warps. And Wefts, Too
Kona cotton has a high 60 by 60 thread count. This means there are 60 warp threads and 60 weft threads per square inch of fabric. Until I did some research, I didn't know what warp and weft threads were. (I had never even heard the word 'weft'.) A warp thread is a support thread in the loom, long and strong and usually tied down onto the loom; a weft thread is passed back and forth between the warp threads to form cloth. It is that high thread count, all those warps and wefts playing together, that make Kona cotton a soft, light, yet very durable material; one of the best woven fabrics available for hand or machine quilting.
Pre-use Care
It's a good idea to launder the fabric to remove any sizing/finish before using it in your project. Treat it as you would any new 100% cotton fabric: Gentle wash, mild detergent, tumble dry low, remove promptly and iron. Expect about a 1-3% shrinkage.
What About Color?
Kona is available in plenty of colors, 170 solid colors according to the manufacturer's web site, RobertKaufman.com. And a quick search for 'hand dyed Kona cotton' will pop up vendors offering hundreds of colors and patterns of beautifully dyed Kona cotton fabric.
But Aren't You an Embroiderer?
Yes, I am a machine embroiderer and those same qualities that make Kona cotton ideal for quilting and sewing apply to machine embroidery, too. That meaty feel I mentioned makes it very easy to hoop and quick to stabilize. The push/pull factor is minimal and, best of all, the stitched out designs are gorgeous on it. Even though there a many cheaper fabrics, I test all my embroidery designs on Kona cotton and turn to it first for any finished embroidery project I have.
Starting Your Own Scrapbook Club
Before I discovered the world of scrapbooking, I was inexplicably drawn to my local office supply store. I loved to stand in an aisle surrounded by the different colors of copy paper. And the pens!
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
The song says it all, "Hot Fun in the Summertime.? Our summer was certainly full of fun: outdoor barbeques, neighborhood cookouts, making ice cream, 4th of July parades, a trip to grandpa?s house, sleeping late, moving my oldest daughter into her first apartment? It never seems like the season is long enough to do everything we want to do.
More Than A Memory- A Legacy
Everyone has that box of pictures either in a close or in a garage. Even worse yet in a magnetic album. Years go by and unless there is a date notation from the picture process, the dates and places fade into the recess of time.
Scrapbooking Those Memories!
You will find scrapbook supplies for photos and pictures in a craft store or online. Scrapbooks are used to combine photos and pictures to make a picture story album. Today with the advent of computers and image editing software it has become easier than ever to make your scrapbook.
Working With Leather
This can be as simple & basic Or advanced & professional.
The Surprising Popularity of Cigar Smoking
The practice of cigar smoking has been on the rise in the U.S. since the early 90?s. In part due to a reputation as a glamorous alternative to cigarette smoking, the increase can also be tied to its popularity among celebrities, as well as to the social nature of its practice. But whatever the reason, it is clear that cigars are big business in the U.S. with higher sales of premium brands each and every year.
Preparing For a Leather Craft Project
Once you've decided on your leather craft project, you'll need the right tools and room to do the work. Being prepared ahead of time will make your task more enjoyable and give you a sense of satisfation when you're done. If you're like most of us you'll probably be working on more leather craft projects over time, so creating a designated area is probably a good idea.
How To Make a Pinata
MATERIALS
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Getting Started Selling Your Crafts
My first career was as a special education teacher. After 15 years of teaching I earned an MBA degree followed by CFA (Certified Financial Analyst) certification. After 15 years in finance I was a vice-president and portfolio manager of a major insurance company before I was downsized. Tired of the rat race, I opted for early retirement. Looking for something to do with all my free time, I started crafting and am now making a nice supplemental income from it.
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