Gifts & Crafts – halifaxwritersfest.com

In the past, making candles was a matter of having light for the hours of darkness. Candles burned much cleaner than some other ways of getting light for homes before the invention and widespread use of electric lights. Today, making candles is an enjoyable hobby and a creative way to prepare gifts for friends. Soy candle making supplies are readily available on the Internet and instruction can be found in any of the many candle making kits.

Soy wax is the most important component of a soy candle. Soy wax is economical and burns longer than some of the other types of wax. Soy wax is clean burning with a steady light. Soy wax comes from the same soybeans that are grown for food and animal crops. Some soy waxes are mixed with small amounts of beeswax to make them even more attractive to the chandler hobbyist.

You will need wicks for most candles. There are several different types of wicks that can be used in your soy candle. If you prefer, you can create a candle with no wick. If you choose to use wicks, they may be made with a cotton core or with a hemp core. Either type of wick is firm enough to use in a candle. Using a cotton core wick reduces carbon build-up, since the flame burns hot. A hemp core is enclosed in cotton fibers.

If you want to add soft color to your candles, dyes that are environmentally friendly are available. These colors are available in different intensities from pale to deep, depending upon the amount of pigment that you add. Pigment can come in liquid, gel or solid form so that you can determine the preferred way to add color. Liquid dye or color blocks can be melted into the liquid wax, or they may be used separately for dipped and sculptured candles.

Many chandlers like to add their aromatherapy oils to the soy wax for home or gift use. In this instance, only a few drops of scent are needed to permeate the entire room as the wax in the candle warms. You may use standard scents, including floral, spice or musk.

Inventive chandlers use all sorts of jars to form a holder for the candle wax and wick. Unless you are experienced in candle-making, you may want to limit your experiments to smaller containers at first. Once you become familiar with how the wax behaves in different environments, you can branch out and let your imagination be your guide. Standard decorative jars can be purchased online.
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These days, there are as many candle companies as there are candle scents to choose from. Some companies have wonderful products, while others are less than desirable in both product and service. With decent candles available at local department stores and online, why would you want to make your own candles? Candle making is a fun and affordable hobby. Candle lovers spend hundreds of dollars annually on ready made candles, so why not learn how to make them yourself and perhaps not only save some money, but learn a new skill and develop a pleasurable past-time?

We are all familiar with the basic paraffin wax candle. There are, however, many different types of candle waxes that can be used to make candles. Beeswax, soy, and other vegetable blend waxes are available on the market that make candle creation easier and healthier for everyone. Natural waxes such as soy are safer not only in the fact that the wax does burn when touched, but also because when burned it does not emit toxic fumes into the air. There are also many decorative and useful containers that you can use to create candles in. Mason jars are a very popular candle container. You can also learn how to make decorative candles that look and smell like food and desserts. Your choices are really limited only to your imagination and ability level.

Some basic information about candle making is to have a safe area in which to make candles. Especially important when you’re first learning, a safe and ventilated area will ensure you learn the process correctly from the beginning and will not cause harm to yourself or your home. If you have a wax spill, just make sure to clean it up fast so you aren’t risking getting hurt from falls or having a big mess afterward. Read the rest of this entry »

I just love gift baskets, don’t you? They are so much fun! They make a very nice presentation and can cost so little. Put them together for any occasion–new baby, new bride, new home, Christmas, birthday, anniversary, graduation, or any special day.

A special package of happiness specially put together for your special person.

First–select a basket or some other container to gather your goodies in! I find many of my baskets and containers at yard sales or thrift shops for under $1.00. If they are a little worn or scratched, they can be spray-painted any color you choose. Think creative when looking for containers!

Next, fill the basket, box, tin, colander, flower pot or hat with shredded paper, a square of fabric hemmed or trimmed with pinking shears, cloth napkins, a towel, colored cellophane “grass” or crumpled tissue paper.

Basket Ideas

For the crafter…use a plastic storage container for a “basket” and fill with a glue gun and glue sticks, craft glue, acrylic paints and assorted brushes, paint, small nails, small hammer, wooden items to paint and other craft supplies such as beads, pom-poms, wood sticks, buttons, stickers, dried flowers, craft patterns or how-to books.

Fill a small “desk basket” with…note cards, note paper, a variety of envelopes, note paper with matching envelopes, letter opener, a special pen, a personalized seal and some sealing wax or personalized return address labels.

Do you have a new neighbor? What about a family who has just moved into a new home? Instead of Mom having to search through boxes for everything she needs to cook a meal, why not fix up a special bag? All you need is a paper grocery sack with a 2-liter drink, paper plates, paper cups, napkins, plastic forks, pizza coupons, home-baked cookies and maybe even $20 for pizza. Maybe some of the other neighbors will help with this.

Bath Time Basket…filled with a neck pillow, a gel eye-pack, scented bath salts or bubble bath, aroma therapy oils, scented candles or relaxing music CD, special soaps, lotion or powder.

Children’s Coloring basket…fill a plastic storage box with crayons, non-toxic markers, stamping markers, assorted paper with a variety of colors and textures, coloring books, assorted stickers, a paint box and brushes, one of dad’s old dress shirts or an apron. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever had a wonderful day, returned home, and realized you had no photos of this very special day? Or has something spontaneous occurred and you wished you had photos to add to your scrapbook?

Why not create a layout with journaling, stickers and embellishments? Here is a great personal example I can share. My dog went into my daughter’s bedroom. Her bedroom is on the second floor. The window was open. The dog was able to push the screen out of the window and jump. Thankfully he was ok, but boy were we worried when we couldn’t find the dog and we saw the screen caved in. We never thought about taking photos of the bent screen. We never thought about taking photos showing the distance from the window to the ground. However, several months later, in telling the story to a friend, I thought how neat it would be to scrapbook this event.

This is a great example of a page that can be made with journaling, stickers and embellishments. We once found paper with paw prints on it. Using a sheet of that paper as my base, I can then add stickers, diecuts and journaling of the incident. We buy all types of stickers, some in cartoon format and some in real format. A cartoon format of a dog wearing a cape like superman would make a wonderful addition to this page.

Just yesterday, my parents paid us a visit and we spent the day in a small town about 40 miles away. We had a wonderful day, however we did not bring along a camera. To create a scrapbook page, I can create a title with the name of the town at the top and then stickers of women shopping, a shopping cart, a cash register etc along with journaling of our day together. A wonderful page can be created with out any photos.

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Air-drying flowers is a simple, fun hobby that can save you money by providing free material to make dried flower decorations for your home or to give as gifts.

It’s very simple to air-dry flowers. All you need is a place to hang them out of direct light, rubber bands and either paperclips or florist wire. I have used wooden pegged coffee cup hangers and pieces of lattice attached to the kitchen wall as places to air-dry flowers. You can also insert cup hooks into a wall and use those.

Once you have a place to hang them set up, you can begin to find flowers to dry. Hopefully you have a variety of flowers growing in your yard to experiment with. If not, you can find wildflowers growing alongside roads or in forests. If you are using these flowers, be sure to take care of the plants you take the flowers from. This ensures that there is plenty of plant growth for insects, birds and other wildlife to use.

Some flowers that have air-dried well for me are: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), pompon Dahlias (Dahlia hortensis), Poppy seed heads (Papaver somniferum), Roses (Rosa), Marjoram (Origanum vulgare), Delphinium, Larkspur (Consolida ambigua), Lavender (Lavandula Augustifolia), African Marigold (Tagetes erecta), Strawflower(Helichrysum bracteatum), Globe Thistle (echinops ritro), Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), Statice (Limonium sinuatum), Globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), and Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena)seed heads.

To find flowers that air-dry well, it’s good practice to experiment. If it doesn’t dry well, you gain the knowledge not to use it next time. Sometimes, an air-dried flower that doesn’t look good to one person may look pleasing to another.

With most flowers, the best stage to dry them is when they are just beginning to open. Depending on the flower, if you hang it too late, the petals will fall off. You will learn this as you experiment. Others, you will want to wait until the seed head is developed because this is the decorative part.

The best time to cut flowers for drying is late morning after the due has dried and on a dry day. I like to take a wicker basket with a handle and my scissors with me and take a walk around the yard snipping what looks appealing.

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Scented candles are all the rage. They’re great for adding that inviting air to any situation. A favorite fragrance can bring back fond memories like grandma’s apple pie cooling in the kitchen or the first day of spring when all the flowers are in full bloom. If you want to add scent to your homemade candles, read on.

There are a couple of different techniques for making scented candles. You can use specially designed fragrance oils, scented wax beads, or even fresh cut flowers from your garden. One thing you should remember is any additive to your wax must be oil based. That means you shouldn’t use your favorite perfume or cologne. Perfumes are alcohol based and wont mix with the wax well, and they tend to evaporate quickly before you even poor your candle. We’re going to look at using fragrance oils and fresh flowers.

Use Natural Materials

To use this method, you only have to go as far as your own backyard. Pick any of your favorite fragrant flowers. You can use fresh flowers or dried if you prefer. Melt your wax as you normally would. Now when your wax is good and molten, add about half a cup of flowers for every pound of wax. You’re going to want to let this mixture simmer for about a half hour for the wax to become infused with the fragrance. Remember your candle making safety lessons, and never leave your molten wax unattended. Now all you have to do is strain your wax through a bit of gauze. Now you have naturally scented wax you can pour into your molds. This method is a bit more complicated than using oils and may take some trial and error, but you have the satisfaction of knowing you used your own hand grown flowers to scent your hand made candles.

Use Fragrance Oils

The most commonly used method for scenting candles is to use a specially made fragrance oil.  These oils are made specifically for candle making and combine well with wax. All you do is add a few drops to your molten wax. That’s it. You want to add the fragrance oil just before you pour your candle, that way you minimize the amount of scent that evaporates. The bottle of oil you use will tell you just exactly how much to add per pound of wax.

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Would you like to have a tranquil place in the garden where you could sit, relax and contemplate? It may be time to look at the possibility of building a fish pond and stocking it with fish. A garden pond can be easy to construct, be lovely to look at and add value to any home.
Before you grab a shovel and start digging spend some time evaluating the location of the pond. Does the area get enough sunlight? If you want to grow plants in your pond many of them – water lilies for example – will require sunlight. Do not choose a low-lying location where runoff water from rain or hosing accumulates. Runoff water can easily contaminate a fish pond, causing algal growth and disease in fish. Choose a location that will accommodate seating. There is little point in placing your fish pond in an area of the garden that is inaccessible.

Another consideration is overhanging trees. Falling leaves and debris from trees can contaminate the pond or create an unattractive mess in the bottom.

Once you’ve chosen the location the next step is to determine what shape the pond will be. There are several types of liners available to install in your fish pond. One type is a pre-fabricated liner where the shape is already created. This is made from a durable material, and can be placed directly into the ground. More flexible liners can also be used and may be a better choice when a particular shape is desired. They are more like a cloth, and need to be unrolled and placed in the pond and then secured. Underneath both types, an underlay of old rugs or other material should be added to protect the liner from stones or other sharp objects.

Another consideration when building a fish pond is what type of fish would you like to stock in your pond? If you would like to raise Koi fish, the pond needs to be deep enough to allow for these fish. In a Koi pond, the fish will need a depth of at least three feet. However, if you do not have the space or the depth for a Koi pond then consider a gold fish pond. These graceful and colorful fish are long living and provide a great deal of pleasure and they will be happy in a shallow pond.

Any fish pond would be incomplete without plants. Some states have restrictions on certain water plants, like water hyacinths. These plants are not allowed to be sold or stocked in a pond. Make sure you understand which plants are legal in your state. Pot the plants according to their needs but place a layer of gravel or small rocks on top of the soil to help retain the soil in the pot and to protect the plant roots from the fish. Read the rest of this entry »

Childhood is the best time to lay foundations for a bright future. If your child is creative and has imagination you should encourage their abilities. They may grow up to have a career in the Arts or to just enjoy crafting as a satisfying hobby.

To help your child develop their creativity you should offer them a range of craft items such as; glass beads, foil beads, wooden beads, candle moulds, chenille sticks, magnets and wires, and various other general craft items. Let them make whatever they like. It could be toys, cards, cars, lampshades or simply a “creature”.

An online store that you should consider for wholesale craft supplies is Arbee Craft. It enjoys a prominent name in the Australian craft industry. It offers craft items, general craft items, children’s craft, coat hanger craft, lampshade frames, mosiac tiles, craft felt, craft books, and a lot more in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

At Arbee, you may also choose from about 2000 different craft products including glass beads, wire lampshade frames, poly balls and shapes, embroidery hoops, craft felt and embossed paper. Arbee also stocks a huge variety of chenille sticks (pipecleaners), pom poms and beads in various colours and shapes.

As well as wholesale craft items, Arbee also offers a wide variety of craft kits which include everything kids need to complete their craft projects. Some of the popular craft kits include dinosaurs, bugs, cars as well as Christmas and Australian themes.

The know more about general craft items, Christmas craft supplies and wholesale craft, you may log on to their website at arbee.com.au and select the items to give your child the best gift he has ever received. Read the rest of this entry »

A home work space should look nice whether your clients come see you or not. This is where you think and generate ideas. Your surroundings should induce your creativity and energize you.  You should keep it neat, stylish and functional.

Your office furniture should be functional. Chairs with wheels on them make it is easy to move around. Chairs should also be able to rotate and should match your desk and other pieces. You need a table if you plan on having customers or clients in your office.

Keep the look simple and uncluttered. This can be achieved with antique pieces, colonial or European designs as well. Don’t add furniture just because you like it if you are limited on space. Make sure each piece has a function and matches the other decor. All the better if it can be used elsewhere, too. You might want to consider decorating your office with modern furniture.  Modern can be refreshing and stylish. Use your open ceiling with metal ducts if you want to create an industrial look. By all means do not use a regular cheap drop ceiling if you can help it.

Neutrals are great colors for offices. Use the natural color of a brick wall-don’t dry wall or paint it. Natural colors always give a rich feeling. Then you can use bolder colors sparingly for accent pieces.  Black, white, gray-greens, and metals go well together.

Green plants are nice for an office.  You can relax your eyes with green plants. And some plants can block the radiation caused by computer. There are really great watering tools on the market. You should try one before giving up on plants.  Fountains are nice but they must be maintained. Nature photos such as oceans, mountain and landscape pictures and framed posters are good.

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The stove top coffee maker is undoubtedly the easiest and fastest way to make coffee at home. This popular equipment generates pressure inside the chambers on the freshly ground coffee beans until it brews evenly. It is due to this unique mechanism, the coffee also goes by the name of “machinetta.”

There are various sizes and capacities of stovetop coffee maker available in the market these days. They range from single to dozen coffee cup capacities. Everybody has their own preferences when it comes to espresso makers. The double or triple cups capacity version is very handy for the travelers who can enjoy the best taste of coffee wherever they go.

Since, the stove top espresso maker is portable you can use it anywhere you like. Just supposing, you are out on a camp, then the coffee maker with less capacity is of great use. Imagine enjoying the aromatic brew of your favorite coffee in the midst of a forest.

The stovetop espresso makers are very reasonably priced and are available in many sizes. The biggest one amongst them can make twelve cups of coffee and it is very handy for big families who enjoy their coffee. Companies with ten to twelve employees also enjoy the convenience of this particular size coffee maker. You get that great cup of coffee in a very short time.

A normal espresso cup has the capacity to hold 4 ounces of hot coffee. In order to get the maximum aroma and tasteful delight, it is traditional to pour only 1.5 ounces of coffee into the cups. The stove top coffee pot with 6 cups capacity produces approximately around 9 ounces of coffee.

However, you cannot enjoy the actual taste of espresso coffee if you do not know the actual process of making one. Hence, to enjoy your coffee you have to know the best way to make the finest espresso from home or office. Below you can find the best way to make coffee using a stovetop coffee maker.

Take off the top and bottom chambers of your stove top coffee pot. Remove the coffee basket below and fill the bottom chamber with water till the safety valve which is noticeable from the outside and inside of the lower chamber. Then replace the coffee basket inside the lower chamber and fill with fine grind coffee. Firmly fix both the chambers.
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