Posts Tagged ‘crafts’

Easy Pointers For Woodworking Projects

August 3rd, 2011 by Owen Jones

There are a number of places you can look if you are searching for help or advice on a wood working project. One of the best pointers when searching for tips, is to ask a retired carpenter in your neighbourhood. Many retirees miss their job but also miss the days when there were apprentices to whom they could hand on their knowledge.

You could learn a lot from a retired carpenter, because anyone who is retiring now would still have done a proper, old-fashioned apprenticeship, by which I mean tech college, day release from college then then work experience.

After leaving tech, gaining a diploma and finding a position, the young carpenter would do maybe a year or two in the machine shop before being permitted to go out on site to learn how to fit what he or she had made, under the supervision of a skilled carpenter.

That was a very all round apprenticeship, but it all started to alter in most countries in the Nineties or even in the mid-Eighties. I am not decrying ‘modern’ apprenticeships, yet these days people seem to be more specialized than they used to be. If you are looking for help or advice on a wood working project, look for a retiree – they will have more time anyhow.

If you would like to make something, but you are inexperienced, get a wood working plan. You might think that you do not have need of one to only create a table with benches or a bird table and perhaps you do not, but it is better to get into the habit of learning how to read and decipher simple plans first, so that once you move onto harder projects, you can understand the plans.

If you are concerned about the costs, there is no need. You can get hold of fairly decent plans for wood working projects free on the Net or you can acquire really top-notch plans for only a couple of pence each, particularly if you buy a CD with thousands of different plans on it.

The difference between a decent plan and a mediocre one is enormous. A decent plan will advise on the type of timber to use and the best tools to do the work well. It may even give you an idea of the level of skill needed to make the article and an notion of the cost too, although the usefulness of this aspect is eroded by time.

So, what type of items should a beginner start making? Well, a bird table is a good beginning place and so is a garden table and two benches. In general, all garden furniture is a good place to start, because, let us be frank, if it is a bit rough, it does not matter. It is a good manner of getting experience without attracting too much criticism.

Indoor stuff is a different kettle of fish, yet you could try a jewelery box or a wine rack. If you want to learn marquetry or inlaying, make a chess board out of timbers of two different colours, say, beech and mahogany. They look really nice!

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, wine rack plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our site, where we have 14,000 wood working plans.

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How To Make Dolls’ Dresses

July 29th, 2011 by Owen Jones

A great deal of folk get a real thrill out of making dolls’ dresses and other clothes whether they be for their own dolls, a relative’s or for sale. However, as with each hobby or craft there are a few ground rules, a few dos and don’ts which will help you enjoy your new hobby straight from the start until you gain enough experience to create your own judgments. In this piece we will explain the basics of how to create dolls’ dresses.

The first thing to do to make making dolls’ dresses easier is to think that you are making a new outfit for yourself. This is easier for you because you already know yourself and have improved from making mistakes in the past, but how well do you know the doll for whom you are going to be making clothes?

If you are making clothes for your own doll or for retail, this is not a difficulty but if you are manufacturing dresses for a friend’s doll, it would be a wise idea to see her, hold her and get a feel for her before you purchase any textiles.

You might prefer to get a pattern for a doll’s dress if this is your first one, but you can probably make it up as you go along, or be really professional and create a few sketches with notes first.

This is certainly very useful, because you can change the pattern in light of experience and create notes about problem regions. Who knows, once you have twenty of them you may be able to publish them.

The apparatus that you will require to facilitate manufacturing dolls’ dresses is basically the same as any tailor or seamstress would require. That is: a sewing machine, pins, needles, shears or a rotary cutter, glue, pinking scissors, thread, tracing paper, pencils and a marking chalk or pen.

You will almost certainly require other things too depending on what you intend making, but they could include: ribbons, elastic, sequins and lace. Then you are ready to prepare your sewing machine for use. If you have not used it for a while, give it a quick service as described in the instruction manual that came with the sewing machine.

See your handbook if you do not know how to set up your machine to pin tuck otherwise look it up on the Internet. It is a good notion with some textiles to spray the fabric with starch before you start this stage.

After you have finished your doll’s dress or even before that stage, you should take into account whether the style calls for any lace, ribbons, embroidery or sequins. You can create or purchase tassels if they are called for.

You can get a lot of fun out of making dolls’ dresses for yourself or a niece and the look on their face whilst they realize that you have taken the time to make something so special and unique only for them and their doll is reward enough.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with Silver Cross Dolls Prams. If you want to know more, please go over to our website at Doll Prams.

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Beatrix Potter Crib Bedding

July 29th, 2011 by Owen Jones

Have you ever encountered a gift registry? present registries began so that people could buy a newly married couple co-ordinated gifts.

For example, if a couple had set their hearts on an elite, and therefore expensive, set of porcelain crockery with a particular unusual motif or pattern, or if they wanted a costly set of glasses, they could register their wishes in a department store and people could go there to buy what they would like to give knowing that everybody else’s gifts will be in the same set.

That is a pretty good idea, although it is taking wedding gifts into a different orbit from tea towels, a teas maid or a toaster. This idea has now gone a couple of stages further. You can now just keep a wish list in a department store for all the gift-giving holidays during the year.

So now, when someone’s birthday is coming up, you can go down to the store, look up the lucky recipient’s name and see what they would like.

Numerous people are uncomfortable with this way of ‘asking’ for a gift, but many like it too. Amazon has long encouraged its members to post a wish list so that friends and family can buy a present that will be appreciated and not merely put in the back of a cupboard or on auction on eBay as soon as they can.

Baby registries are the latest spin-off of bridal registries. When a couple knows that a baby is on the way, they can start dreaming up presents for it and resister them on the store’s web site for people to buy for the baby shower.

One of the most well-liked gifts for a newborn baby is bedding for the crib and just about the most well-liked baby bedding of all time is Beatrix Potter cot bedding. Beatrix Potter cot bedding features pictures of the animals to be found in the books of Beatrix Potter stories of rabbits, foxes and other animals.

Beatrix Potter crib bedding provides a great theme for children’s bedrooms. It comes in many colours, styles and qualities, but the most popular style is yellow cotton. You can get entirely co-ordinated sets of bedding which may include a pillow case, a duvet cover and a bottom sheet.

As the baby gets older, you can replace the crib bedding with full size bedding in precisely the same style. Most of this bedding is manufactured of cotton, but you can also find it in wool and chenille. If you would like to theme the whole bedroom, you will find it easy to get hold of Beatrix Potter wall paper, Peter Cottontail pyjamas, Peter Cottontail bed socks, bootees, socks, slippers and bonnet.

As the child gets even older there are the books themselves, which will bring to life the characters that your child has known for years on its Beatrix Potter crib bedding and bedroom theme.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with Personalized Throw Blankets. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Woollen Blankets.

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Selecting Home Decorating Fabric

July 11th, 2011 by Owen Jones

If you want to redecorate, you should be thinking about the textiles that you will use in your redecorating scheme. There are quite a few fabrics that can play a role in a redecoration project, such as carpets, some wall papers, such as flock, furnishings, cushions, lamp shades and wall hangings like tapestries and embroideries.

You can use the textiles in these items to fashion a decoration theme more than any other set of items. You can purchase old furniture, but it is costly, you can purchase old paintings, but they are expensive, but textiles can be new yet still convey different atmospheres for little money. Think of the textiles and colours that you would need to convey primitive, Eastern, Hispanic, Victorian or contemporary themes.

Let’s say that you would like to decorate your home in a Victorian style. It is a fact that it would be right to have some old furniture, but what will definitely make the style scream ‘Victorian’ is the textiles. You have to think of Victorian houses: they were fairly substantial (unless you would like to live in a hovel), and they were drafty.

This meant that the textiles were weighty to hold back drafts. You could hang flock wallpaper, have weighty, lined curtains, lamp shades with tassels and weighty bedding with a real eiderdown or patchwork quilt.

The funny thing is that although Victorian textiles were very weighty, they tried to make them look very feminine, or perhaps that was why they tried to make them look more feminine. However, men provided the earnings and women ran the home in those days, so that may be why as well.

Therefore, there were lace edgings, lace trims, tassels, beading, velvet and brocade. Embroidery exam pieces can occasionally be picked up quite cheaply , but they are often handed down through families as well.

A modern style or theme would have lots of bright and frequently contrasting colours. An extreme variation of contemporary style is minimalist with plenty of black and white but with maybe one splash of yellow in a corner somewhere. This style can be hard to achieve, can be unsettling, but can be dazzling as well. It is suggestive of the Sixties.

Some people endeavor to recreate an Eastern or Oriental style, but you have to be cautious because otherwise you will end up with something that no Easterner would recognize. A bit like Charlie Chan and western style curries. You will be told to use pictures and figurines of elephants, tigers, dragons, carp and geese or ducks. This is all very well if you want to persuade your Western friends that you have an Oriental theme of decoration, but few Orientals would recognize it.

It is very difficult to get this theme looking authentic unless you are from the Far East or you get an Easterner in to assist you. Jades and silks could form a part of this styles along with some figurines. Be very cautious of trying to imitate a style you know nothing of.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with the waterproof mattress pads. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Egg Crate Mattress Pad For Sale.

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Wooden Garden Furniture For Home Use

July 10th, 2011 by Owen Jones

What do you do when you get a bit of extra time on your hands? If you are an outdoor person, that could be when the winter comes and the nights draw in or otherwise it could be in the summer when the days are longer, depending on the kind of person you are. In either instance, do you look for a project to fill your time? A lot of wood workers do. They look for a long term wood working project.

Working out your next long term wood working project is not at all hard if you have a garden. There is always something to be added or replaced in a garden. Maintenance is never over.

If you are looking for a long term wood working project for indoors, then I recommend a dining table with eight matching chairs or, if you are very experienced and meticulous, an intricate display cabinet.

However, to return to our medium level, long term wood working project of wooden garden furniture. Hardwood garden furniture is the best because it will last longer than softwoods such as pine, if it is well maintained.

However, timber such as Red Wood, Mahogany, Maple, Oak and especially Teak are very expensive, because their supply is restricted in many parts of the world.

Therefore, the first thing to do when searching for a long term wood working project, is to decide what sort of timber you can afford to use. Then, when you have the finances ready and know of a stock of the wood you want, you can get a good set of wood working plans for that job. You can get these plans from a hobbyist or craft shop, a DIY store or online at a specialist Internet web site.

The wood working plans will probably give you an indication of how much timber you will need, but if it does not, then you will need to work it out from the exploded diagram and the dimensions on the drawings. This is not difficult, just a little time-consuming.

The plans might also suggest which nails, screws, glues and tools you will need to have at your disposal before you begin. I believe that it is best to have everything in one place, before you begin, with the exception of any glass you may require.

It is also a good suggestion to make sure that you have all the tools essential for the job and that your tools are in good working order. The saws must be set well and sharp; chisels should be of the correct size and sharp as should be the planer and the router.

Put a new blade in your knife as well and check your supply of sandpaper in the various grades. You should also have preservative on hand to treat those cut ends and seal the backs of everything.

It is a true gift that most people would love to have: the ability to select a long term wood working project, stay with it and produce a beautiful, unique set of fine wooden garden furniture that will last your family for decades.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, bench woodworking plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our site, where we have 14,000 wood working plans.

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Simple Woodworking Projects – Decking

July 7th, 2011 by Owen Jones

Timber, or wood, is still the first preference for furniture and other home and garden projects like decking. However, there is a large variety of sorts of timber to select from. The first alternative is whether you will use hardwood or softwood. Hardwood is a lot more expensive, but it will not decay as quickly as softwood.

Both hardwood and softwood are attractive or can be made to look attractive with a suitable finish. Softwood generally takes more looking after, but can last just as long as hardwood, if it is sealed properly. If you want to paint the wood, then softwood is the better option, because hardwood does not permit paint to soak in very well, but it will take staining, oiling and thin varnishing.

Once you have decided which type of timber you are going to use, you can think about which variety you want to use. If you are going to use hardwood, you have many alternatives, such as teak, mahogany or oak et cetera. If you choose softwood the most common timber used is pine. Whichever you eventually use, select each length of timber with care. You do not want warped, curved lengths of timber or lengths with an unwarranted number of knots in it. A good carpenter will inspect each length individually.

Then you will need something to hold the decking down. Nails or screws? Screws are almost certainly best because they will not come loose if the timber dries out. If you are using softwood, it will be alright to use stainless steel screws, but if you are using costly hardwood, then I would use brass screws.

You will almost certainly need three inch screws and they should be neatly countersunk, so that the screw’s head is just below the surface of the wood. You can then plug it or not. Yes with steel screws, not with brass screws, but it is really up to your personal inclination.

Prepare the area before you begin. It is almost certainly best to use a concrete or slabbed base. This should be level and above the normal flow of rain water in your garden. If it does get wet, as when you hose it down, the water should fall through the boards and then flow away. You do not want it to stay under the decking so that mosquitoes can breed in it.

It is not difficult to lay a wooden deck, but it a good idea to obtain a set of decking plans to work by. They will make certain that you do not miss a stage. They will also give you good advice and tips about which materials to use and how to finish your deck so that it does not rot quickly.

Once you have laid your own decking according to the plans, you could put an advert in the local paper and hire your services out to neighbours and locals. Everybody loves the idea of lounging out on their deck or porch in the evening and once you become a regular customer at the builders’ merchant or lumber yard, you may qualify for substantial discounts on materials, which will make your pricing more competitive.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, wood furniture plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our website, where we have 14,000 wood working plans.

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Free Woodworking Plans

July 3rd, 2011 by Owen Jones

If you are going to create a stick of furniture, especially if it is fairly complicated or you have never manufactured anything like it in the past, it is a good idea to get a set of wood working plans. These furniture plans are not expensive and free woodworking plans can be found too.

However, it is prudent to be suspicious of free wood working plans as they may not be precise and you will have little recourse to complain if they were free or even copied illegally. Free wood working plans could be fine, but you do not want to find out that they are not half way through the job.

A good set of wood working plans, free or not, will give a clear exploded view of the item to be made and a narrative explaining the different steps and procedures. The plans may also make suggestions about the timber and tools to use, the length of time it could take to make in man hours and the difficulty level.

If you want a large collection of wood working plans, there are CD’s around which have 14,000 on them for $30-40. They are a good bargain. Other places you could look are online forums, the library and craft or DIY shops. Shops are almost certainly the dearest alternative.

Once you have chosen an object to make, you should think about which design you would like. A kitchen cupboard could be hardwood or softwood. It could be a Welsh dresser or a Scandinavian design. It could be modern, traditional, Georgian or Victorian, to name but a few.

Once you have answered these questions you can go searching for your wood working plans. You might be lucky or you may have to find the middle ground if you cannot find exactly what you fancy. This is why I think that it is better to buy a CD of plans that have been sorted into a database, so that you can easily find out what is available in your collection.

You could search for ‘kitchen cupboard’ and 100 woodworking plans might recommend themselves to you. Or you could enter ‘Victorian Welsh Dresser’ and only get two recommendations. The point is that you will not be wasting your time chasing a pipe dream, when there are no plans obtainable for the exact object you are looking for.

When you have a set of appropriate plans, I think that it is best to get them enlarged, or maybe that is just because of my eyesight. However, it is a nuisance to have to remove your safety goggles to put on your spectacles every time you need to check a measurement. This is effortless from a CD because many printers have a facility to print poster size. If yours does not, take the CD to a printer’s, an architect’s or a technical office. They will be able to print A1 straight from the CC.

Then you can affix this enlarged wood working plan to the wall or an easel and you are all set to start making your furniture in style.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with a favourite subject, wine rack plans. If you are interested in Desk Woodworking Plans, please click through to our site, where we have 14,000 wood working plans.

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The Story Of The Cushion And The Pillow

June 10th, 2011 by Owen Jones

In American phraseology, the words ‘cushion’ and ‘pillow’ are practically synonymous, but in the remainder of the English speaking world, a pillow is used on a bed for supporting the head and a cushion is used on elsewhere for supporting other parts of the body. A pillow is normally much larger than a cushion nowadays.

The cushion and pillow were most likely first used by wealthy Asian men to lounge on. They would probably be referred to as throw cushions nowadays. However, we are going back so far in history that dyes and textiles were very expensive, so pillows and cushions were just for the wealthy and the patterns were so intricate that they became pieces of art in themselves.

Needlework became a skilled profession as did weaving. Cushions were large sacks or cases filled with feathers, hair, wool, straw or something comparable. These days they are more likely to be filled with man-made fibres such as polyester. Down is the most costly filling particularly down from the eider duck.

Due to international trade, the idea of the cushion started moving westward and had arrived in Egypt by the time of the Pharaohs. Cushions have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. By the Middle Ages, cushions were to be seen in all the royal palaces of Europe. Cushions were still regarded as denoting wealth.

The cushions of the royal palaces were substantial enough to sit in, a bit like modern beanie bags, and even started replacing traditional chairs. In those days, cushions were very large sacks made of leather, many of which had needlework patterns on them.

Cushions were also used in churches for the wealthy to kneel on whilst saying their prayers. These special but small cushions were known as carreaux because they were square (from the French).

Nowadays cushions are everyday items because they are much cheaper. Most cushions in the West are 17 inches by 17 inches and the reason for this is the traditional size of a roll or bolt of fabric. A roll of fabric is traditionally 54 inches wide, so it could be cut into three pieces of 18 inches, allowing for seams, this permits the manufacturer to make a 17 inch cushion.

Japanese cushions were much and still are, but they have a different task. In the West they are used for support, whereas in the East they are used for sitting on on the floor. In Japanese they are known as ‘zabuton’ and measure 20-30 inches square by a few of inches thick, which is less than a quarter of the thickness of traditional Western cushions.

Zen meditators will frequently sit on another special cushion called a zafu or meditation cushion, which is placed on top of the zabuton. A zafu can be round or square but is small, often just 8-10 inches in diameter and 4-8 inches in thickness.

Zabuton are used in all aspects of Japanese life especially those facets that have religious overtones or traditions such as sumo. Spectators of the sport will sit on zabuton while watching the bouts. If there is a foul or a dispute, spectators often throw their zabuton into the ring in disgust.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now involved with decorative sofa pillows. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

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The Two Types Of Electric Blankets

June 10th, 2011 by Owen Jones

Have you ever used an electric blanket? Some individuals are frightened of lying on something that is plugged into the national grid and I have to admit that when I think of electric blankets in that manner, they do sound pretty frightening.

However, there are two kinds of electric blankets: there are those that are meant to stay on all night and there are those that are intended to be switched off and unplugged before you get into bed.

The second type is obviously the one to be recommended for those of a nervous disposition. I have never owned an electric blanket, because my father thought that they were for ’sissys’, but I have slept in beds that made use of electric blankets.

When I stayed over at my maternal grand-parents’ house or my Aunty Lil’s there was always an electric blanket in the bed. My aunty used a pre-warmer and my grand-parents used the ‘always-on’ variety. As a young boy, I have to say that the ‘always-on’ variety of electric blanket was too warm for me.

However, in those days, in the Sixties, houses were not as draft-proof as they are now and I did not know anyone whose house was centrally heated or double glazed. In fact, everyone that I knew used to put an overcoat on the bed in winter if it got especially cold. It did not cross my mind that that was odd, everyone did it.

The fact is that some individuals feel the cold more than others and there are many reasons for this ranging from frailty to age and sickness. Another reason for using electric blankets is if it is too costly to heat the whole house or bedroom. It is always going to be cheaper to heat a bed that it is to heat a bedroom. The price of pre-heating a double bed is still pennies compared with utilizing an electric fire.

Some people, my wife included, likes to maintain the background temperature in the bedroom cold. OK, cold in Thailand is around 20c, but when we were in the UK, she insisted that we slept with the windows open in winter and it was truly cold. She is not alone in liking to sleep in a warm bed while her face is cold. She says that she gets a better night’s sleep in this way.

If you or a sick or old relative would like to try an electric blanket, be cautious where you get it from. In saying this I mean be wary of buying a cheap electric blanket from abroad off eBay in case it is not manufactured to run off the electric supply that you have in your country.

You also need to make certain that the blanket conforms to the health and safety regulations in your country. Electric blankets are safe if you follow basic health and safety rules, but be careful of ‘always-on’ blankets if you eat in bed.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a variety of topics, but is now concerned with Personalized Throw Blankets. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Woollen Blankets.

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Which Dorm Room Bedding Do I need?

April 28th, 2011 by Owen Jones

When you go away to college or university, it is likely that you will be staying in rented accommodation, perhaps in a college dorm or in a guest-house. In these cases, normally all basic furniture is provided for you and in a guest-house, you may be given bedding every week too, but you might have to provide your own. You have probably never purchased bedding before, if going away to college is the first time that you have lived away from home.

Bed linen does not have to be expansive, but it is not wise to go for the cheapest sheets and blankets either. Exactly what you require will depend on the level of heating in the property and the locality of the university.

It is worth giving some consideration to colour. You might spend a lot of time in your room studying on your bed in your day clothes. If you are in a dry dusty location, that means that your top blanket or quilt could become dirty pretty quickly.

If you are dead set against washing this blanket often, then get a darker colour, but that is not the perfect solution. It is better to be able to see the dirt and clean it off.

Therefore, it is better to get light coloured bedding and rather than mess about with sheets and blankets, it is easier to get a few of duvet covers and a duvet. If you buy a 6 tog duvet, it will be warm enough for the summer, and if it gets too cold in the winter, you can purchase another 6 tog duvet to slip in with it making a super warm, very fluffy 12 tog duvet that will be warm enough for any winter.

Another tip is to get matching duvet cover, sheet and pillow case sets, because if you are sharing a room with a room mate, you might end up doing your laundry together. Having easily identifiable matching bedding makes it very easy to sort the laundry out when it comes back. It will forestall any arguments or misunderstandings.

The last piece of information that you will require before you can go shopping for dorm room bedding is the size of the bed. It is more than likely that you will get a single bed which is sometimes confusingly known as a twin bed.

However, even single beds come in different widths and lengths, normally 4′, 4′ 6″ or 5′ wide and 6′ or 6′ 6″ long, but as you can see you cannot take the size for granted. You do not want a duvet or bottom sheet that is a foot too narrow, do you?

So, in summary, the perfect dorm room bedding should be the correct size for the bed. You should get two light-weight duvets and at least two sets of matching duvet covers, pillow cases and sheets and the duvet covers should be light in colour so as not to be depressing in a normally cramped college dorm room.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of topics, but is now involved with Personalized Throw Blankets. If you want to know more, please go along to our website at Woollen Blankets.

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