Arts and Crafts Articles

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Genie Balfour @ Monday, 21st January 2008 @ 7:50 PM

Have you wondered how to start scrapbooking on a budget? We have 10 tips that will get you off the starting blocks fast. I gave a class of Seniors their first scrapbooking lesson a few weeks ago. One of the questions I had to answer is: "What is the basic 'tool-kit' that a beginning scrap booker needs to get started? It seems that so many of the supplies cost a lot; especially if you are starting from scratch. I just have trouble determining what is essential to get ... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Katherine Durkes @ Sunday, 20th January 2008 @ 12:35 PM

Making soy candles is a wonderful, creative hobby; in fact, it is so fun that it has become incredibly popular! There are so many people who make candles that the competition is getting tough, even for gifts. I certainly had gift competition this year - people gave Bluewick, Pacifica, and White Barn as gifts to the same people that were on my candle gift list. Luckily, I had a 'secret weapon,' which I'm going to teach you... Whether you're making soy wax candles for... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Friday, 18th January 2008 @ 1:33 AM

Birthday invitation messages are sometimes even more important than the design of the invites. For one, these words express the celebrant's feelings. But words in invitations can only be effective if you chose the right ones. In choosing your birthday invitation messages, you need to keep in mind a number of considerations. Here are some of them. Sources of messages If you would like to go beyond the standard where, what and when in invitation wording, adding a few personal... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Katherine Durkes @ Friday, 11th January 2008 @ 2:28 AM

When making your own candles, there are so many fragrances to choose from! How can you make a decision when you want to try everything? If you're having a hard time deciding, here are six fragrances that are sure to please a wide range of people. These are especially helpful for a starting line of candles to sell. Based on personal experience, the six fragrances described below conjure many beloved associations that attract people like an ice cream truck at the beach. The "Bi... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Friday, 11th January 2008 @ 2:07 AM

Your 40th birthday invitation should reflect the type of party that you will be holding. It should be informative and creative enough to encourage guests to show up at your celebration. Keep in mind that the success of a party starts with how effective your invitations are in convincing guests to attend it. The 40th birthday invitation that you are going to send out should give an idea of what type of party is going to be held. Is it a formal event or a casual one? An outdoor get-together... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Vicki Churchill @ Monday, 7th January 2008 @ 9:51 PM

Understanding basic terms when card making or scrapbooking is half the battle.Armed with this knowledge you are well on your way to creating wonderful cards and scrapbook page layouts Acetate - Acetate is a plastic film that has many applications. You can stamp onto it using rubber stamps, use it for making shaker cards, and use it to make an image or embellishment appear to hang independently. You can also paint Acetate with glass paints and glitter glues. Acid Free - Anything th... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Friday, 4th January 2008 @ 2:45 AM

Birthday invitation wording should be more than just a source of party information. The venue and the date of the celebration are, of course, important, but good wording in invitations should also include a personal touch from the celebrant and should observe proper etiquette. If you're not too familiar with composing birthday invitation wording, a few of these guidelines will help lead you to the right path. 1. The age issue. Let's face it; some people (or most people) a... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Friday, 4th January 2008 @ 2:45 AM

If your birthday party budget is limited, then you have to make some smart organizing decisions. A minimal budget, though, should not discourage you from holding one heck of a birthday bash. Surely, there are ways to save a bit and still hold a spectacular celebration. One way - make invitations free! Deciding to make invitations free does not mean that you will have to send inferior invites to your guests. Actually, this can be a chance for you to explore your creativity by making the in... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Anthony Smith @ Tuesday, 1st January 2008 @ 11:52 PM

Bonsai trees have often been thought to have originated from Japan. However, records of more than 2,000 years old show that bonsai trees have been growing in China, not only as part of landscapes, but also in shallow containers. Approximately 1,500 years ago, Bonsai trees were first grown individually after being collected from mountainous regions. Bonsai trees can be seen on many ancient Chinese line drawings. It was several centuries later that the Japanese began to grow and train the tre... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Sunday, 30th December 2007 @ 3:26 AM

Before making your 30th birthday invitations, you have to understand that turning 30 is an important event. This is the period of a person's life when he or she is usually settled and has already built a career for himself or herself. Well, at least, it is as it should be. However, if you haven't established yourself career-wise or family-wise yet, turning 30 is still a reason to celebrate. For 30th birthday invitations, the important thing is to make sure that these invites giv... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By MIKE SELVON @ Wednesday, 26th December 2007 @ 10:40 PM

Many people passionately believe that the future can be divined by the positions of the planets and sun and moon. Astrology may not be a science, but it has still proven to be eerily accurate. In this article, we'll uncover how the heavens may impact life here on earth. Astrology is a group of systems, traditions and beliefs by which astrologers acquire information about a person's personality, strengths and weaknesses. The zodiac is the belt or band of constellations through w... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Jimmy Cox @ Tuesday, 25th December 2007 @ 2:53 PM

One of the advantages of watercolor painting is that it calls for but little in the way of equipment. We shall consider briefly the materials needed before you can start to work. Brushes Brushes are of great importance. Cheap ones on the whole are of doubtful value. As one needs but few brushes, he should buy the best. Those of red sable hair are generally so considered. The round, sharply pointed type is probably the most popular, but flat square ones can also be useful at times. ... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Jimmy Cox @ Tuesday, 25th December 2007 @ 3:22 AM

Pottery is a wonderful hobby, and below are details to construct two objects: a hand sculpture and a pinch bowl. 1. Hand sculpture Material - gray stoneware, gray or terra cotta sculpture clay, one handful, Tools - use your hands only. This exercise will help you get the feel of the clay, but you also will produce a piece of ceramic sculpture. Take a mass of clay as large as you can conveniently hold in one hand, wedge it thoroughly and shape it into a ball or egg shape. Each t... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Monday, 24th December 2007 @ 8:22 PM

There are tons of online sites that offer free invitation templates for birthday celebrations. If you're not that creative when it comes to words, you can always go to the Internet and look for ideas from party-planning sites, paper printing resources and even art-related sources. Whatever the occasion might be, the Internet can provide you with a lot of ideas and suggestions on how to go about composing those invitation words. For the busy organizer, printing free invitation templat... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Friday, 14th December 2007 @ 1:11 PM

In composing a birthday invitation message, the writer should choose the words that best express the celebrant's character and his or her desire for the invitees to join the celebration. If the person writing the message and making the invites is not the celebrant himself, then that person should know the birthday girl or boy well. A birthday invitation message should tell guests what to expect at the party, what kind of party they are being invited to, who the celebrant is, and most... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Trevor Mulholland @ Thursday, 13th December 2007 @ 7:44 PM

Making 40th birthday invitations will be much easier if you already have a party theme from which you can pattern your invites. In most cultures, turning 40 is a big event and celebrants and friends often give a lot of thought on how the special day should be celebrated. In creating 40th birthday invitations, the importance of the event should always be taken into consideration. If you're at a loss on how to design these invites, the pointers below might be of some help. 1. Co... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Christine Gierer @ Wednesday, 12th December 2007 @ 9:47 PM

Imagine injecting your sterling silver with blue, red, or chartreuse. I'm not talking about beads or gemstones (although I looove those too). Here's a pop quiz: What materials can you bond, glue, or drip onto metal to add colour? I can think of a few intriguing but common materials that you can experiment with. Can you guess what they are? The first is... If you can mix glue with a stick, you can use this low-tech material in your work. This relatively i... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Shelley Green @ Wednesday, 12th December 2007 @ 7:37 PM

Seed beads are called this as they are so tiny like little seeds. They are produced usually in mass so sold by weight rather than amount. I for one would not want to be counting out little tiny beads one by one! They are about 1mm in size but they do vary. There are different sizes of seed beads. Seed beads range from under a millimetre to several millimetres in size. The term "seed bead" is a term used for any small bead which is normally round. Different shops and so... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Susie Cortright @ Sunday, 9th December 2007 @ 5:56 AM

I love the look of sewing on all my papercrafts, from scrapbooking layouts to greeting cards. Sewing and embroidery adds dimension without a lot of bulk and has the added benefit of attaching elements to the page in the process. You can sew by hand or with your machine. Both techniques are easier than you might think. Here is a simple how to. Hand Stitching and Embroidery Get Ready Use a pencil to lightly draw the design on cardstock (regular paper generally is not str... more...

Hobbies » Arts and Crafts | By Jamie Jefferson @ Thursday, 6th December 2007 @ 4:37 PM

Scrapbooking has long been a popular hobby. It is so rewarding to get together with friends in order to capture and share the memories that make up your life. Each scrapbooker has a unique motivation for spending time and money to scrapbook photos. Here are some common reasons that so many people, around the world, have chosen to create scrapbooks: 1. Showcase your memories. Your children and future generations will appreciate the time you have taken to record the memories... more...