How to make your Rocket Stove more rockety (rocket stoves forum at permies) Everything seems to be going nicely here. I do want to make the point that rocket mass heaters were not designed to maximize "rocketyness" (meaning WHOOOOSH factor). They are designed to minimize the amount of fuel you need, and most particularly the amount of smoke you create, in order to get a comfortable and practical heat for most indoor purposes. A faster draft in the heat riser might lead to unburned smoke being pulled through too quickly, and incomplete combustion. A larger fuel box means the burn tunnel becomes a bottleneck. The one in the video was a cool experiment, but the occupants are having some trouble now with smoke escaping from the woodstove when they go to feed it, and planning to replace it with a 'real' rocket mass heater. A similar hybrid run by a forester friend in southern Oregon works fine, so it may just be a problem of that particular woodstove or the way we set it up. -Erica
Fall Leaves Garland / D.I.Y. Project A few years ago I made a cute little leaf garland at the start of September. Now, it's a mini tradition and I always enjoy making something cute and decorative to ring in the new season every year. Would you like to make one too? Here's how I did it...1. Here's the original garland I made back in 2008. Here's our cute little garland decorating our register at Red Velvet.
Creative Guest: Nike from Choose to THRIVE Is it just me, or does guest posting on Ucreate seem a little like sitting down on the couch with Oprah? I’m just a bit excited to be here people, and am trying my darndest to keep the couch jumping and fist pumps to a minimum… Anyway, I’m Nike. … the lady behind Choose To Thrive and stay-at-home-mom of six kids age nine and younger. My crafting adventures have taken a hard left the last few years since the Layoff Fairy visited our house--twice. Case in point: Recognize these beauties from the Ballard Designs catalog? I adore them. So I made my own. May I introduce my amazingly strong Ballard Designs inspired wall pockets made using only materials I had on hand. Cardboard + Fabric = Catalog awesomeness for $0! *Swoon* And making a sleek, customized organizer for all those homework folders/workbooks/mail/bills/receipts without spending any money makes me feel like Superwoman, even if I’m a week behind on laundry. Want to make your own? For the base and pockets you’ll need: No biggie. Ahhhh.
Flower Week: Tissue Paper Carnations Today is the start of Flower Week on Folding Trees. Every weekday, I will be showcasing different types of paper flowers. You may be surprised at the variety of flowers you can make using different paper craft techniques! If you know of any amazing flower tutorials I should include in my round-up, let me know! When I had the idea for Flower Week, I thought I would kick off the week with some flowers that I made myself. A vase of pretty tissue paper carnations! Want to make your own? This tutorial is Donationware – the instructions are available for free, but if you like it please consider sending me a donation (via my other website, PlanetJune) to show your appreciation: Send me a donation and receive the easy-to-print PDF version of the tutorial as a thank you! Donations of any size are much appreciated. The complete instructions are available below, regardless of whether or not you choose to pay for them You will need: Continue to colour around the edge. ..Erm, yes.
Aging Brass Technique | How to Age Brass | Brass Aging | InMyOwnStyle I like brass. Yep – I admit it. I favor the gold finish over silver or bronze. It adds warmth and a nice patina and contrast to the furnishings in a room – plus it is classic – always be in style. For the sideboard I painted, I wanted to add aged brass drawer and label pulls, but the un-lacquered ones that Vandyke’s sells, were on backorder until mid July. They did however have bright brass in stock. That is what I did. I read about using salt and vinegar, lemons, and other solutions, but they took time and the results were not satisfactory. How to Age Brass supplies needed: First you have to determine if the brass you want to age has lacquer on it. If you are not sure if it has lacquer on it or not – dip it in some nail polish remover or acetone for a minute or two. If it starts to look like this… it has lacquer on it. I bought the can of acetone at Lowes. The “000” steel wool does not rough the surface, it only removes some of the Brass Ager so you can achieve the exact look you desire. 1.
Recycle Halloween Candy Wrappers into Colorful Eco-Jewelry Share on Tumblr Email Now that Halloween is over and you’ve filled up on sugary sweets , a ghoulish pile of non-recyclable candy wrappers remains to haunt you. Here’s a trick for bringing your dearly departed treats back from the dead: Turn the discarded plastic packaging into wearable gems. Clean candy wrappers Toothpick Scissors Clear tape Non-permanent marker Bead template Jewelry findings 1. : If you’re candy wrappers are too short for the template, you can always tape them together to make them longer. 2. 3. 4. Looking for other things to do with your candy wrappers?
A bit of green :: Crafts :: Plastic Cup Lamp Now that my university is closed for winter holidays, I finally have more free time to do all the crafty things I’ve been wanting to. One of these is a lamp made from plastic cups I’ve seen at taf, the art foundation, in the Monastiraki region in the center of Athens. When I first saw it at taf, I was amazed; I looked closely and I couldn’t believe my eyes! Disclaimer: There have been some concerns about the safety of this construction (see the comment of user “when” below for example). I only needed a couple of things: 200-250 large plastic cups (recyclable, at least )600-700 staplesa staplera lamp socket, lamp cord and plug – mine came from a broken IKEA lamp! That’s all you will need. Start stapling the cups together as shown. Staple again and again and again… Until your lamp goes from this… …to this! Staple carefully the last cups to form the top of the sphere (if it’s a sphere, because it’s likely that it won’t be that round if some cups aren’t perfectly aligned). You might also like:
Tinted Mason Jars in Rainbow I love using mason jars for decorating and a seemingly endless supply of craft projects. But rainbow tinted mason jars, just like the vintage ones you can never find anymore? This one might be my favorite project with mason jars yet! Mason Jars Mod Podge in Gloss (buy it here) Food coloring Ramekins to mix colors Newspaper or paper bag Mix food coloring with a T or so of water into individual ramekins. Add a couple T of mod podge into your mason jar Add one ramekin of color into the jar and stir to incorporate it all together With a bowl underneath, carefully twist the jar around coating the whole inside with the mod podge/food coloring mixture. Let dry upside down on the paper Do the same with the other colors. Place the jars face down on top of wax paper and a cookie sheet into an oven, set on warm. When they're ready, they'll look clear and the mixture should lose most of its streaks.
$10 DIY One Hour Upcycled Firepit | House & Fig Happy weekend to you. Yesterday Joe and I wanted to do a fun and quick project for the house. We thought a firepit would be fun but didn’t like the looks of the ones sold at Home Depot and this geometric firepit at DWR is out of our budget. Eventually, Joe will design his own and fabricate it himself but since that will take a fair amount of time and energy we decided to make something quick in the interim. A few years ago while on a trip to Joshua Tree Joe’s friend Jens introduced him to the washing machine drum firepit. Materials we used: 1 Recycled Washing Machine Drum (we got ours at a used appliance store for $10) Angle grinder (optional) Cup wire brush, Cut-off wheel, and Flap-wheel sanding disc (for grinder, also optional) Safety Glasses Angle-stock and Flat-stock steel (optional) High heat black paint (optional) When we got the drum home we thought it could also make a fun, diy, side-table with lights inside. Step One: Strip the drum. Step 2: Remove center spindle.
Daily Danny » Blog Archive » Upcycled Denim Napkins - Green Living Expert Danny Seo’s eco-friendly and crafty ideas for everyday living. I bought a pair of VERY VERY large jeans at Goodwill the other day. The power was out, it was not about to be turned back on anytime soon, and here I was in my daylit home with nothing to do. So, I upcycled the VERY VERY large jeans I bought into something useful and fun. Projects needs: jeans, pinking shears and a bleach pen. With the pinking shears, I cut out the legs from the jeans and made four rectangular napkins. After you cut them, use the bleach pen to make a pattern on the. And here are two finished ones…. one is a monogram with my initials, the other is the polka dotted one. Playing around with this and might put it in my next book Upcycled Celebrations.
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