Five Manifestos for the Creative Life by Kirstin Butler How a numbered list can start a personal revolution. Some days everyone needs a little extra encouragement. We’ve long been fans of the amazing work of Frederick Terral, the creative visionary behind design studio Right Brain Terrain. You may not be a Picasso or Mozart but you don’t have to be. We can’t imagine more sound advice. Guidelines to get you from Point A to finished product, The Cult of Done Manifesto was written by tech guru Bre Pettis (of MakerBot fame) in collaboration with writer Kio Stark in 20 minutes, “because we only had 20 minutes to get it done.” Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.” With iteration at the heart of its process, The Cult of Done Manifesto will banish your inner perfectionist (and its evil twin, procrastination). This is your life. There is an enemy. Even better, Do the Work is free(!) Donating = Loving
An Introduction to Square-Foot Gardening I grew up in the country — gardening meant a large plot, plowed and raked, and then planted with long, widely-space rows of vegetables. It also meant weeding and hoeing, weeding and hoeing. Gardening was a chore. When Kris and I bought our first home, we both wanted a vegetable garden, but we didn’t want the drudgery that came with it. The square-foot gardening concept is simple: Build a raised bed, divide the space into sections of one square-foot each, and then plant vegetables (and/or flowers) in just the amount of space they need. Our raised beds were similar to these (photo by johnyaya) We built our square-foot garden one Saturday in mid-April. Digging was less fun. After we built the raised beds and outlined the growing space, we followed the guidelines in Bartholomew’s book. According to the official site, the ten basic tenets of square-foot gardening are: Layout. You might, for example, plant a single tomato in a square, but you’d plant 16 carrots in another.
101 Timeless Lessons Life Teaches post written by: Angel Chernoff Email Take everything you’ve ever learned – all the crazy experiences and lessons – and place it all in a box labeled “Thank you.” What has life taught you? This is what our sister site, Everyday Life Lessons, is all about. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.In life, you usually get what you ask for, but it rarely comes in the package you think it’s supposed to come in.Never let one bad day make you feel like you have a bad life.Just because today is a terrible day doesn’t mean tomorrow won’t be the best day of your life. Photo by: Hartwig HKD If you enjoyed this article, check out our new best-selling book. And get inspiring life tips and quotes in your inbox (it's free)...
Last-Minute Halloween Party Ideas Wait… what? It’s that time of year already?? If Halloween has crept up on you this year to give you a fright, there’s no need to panic. Some last-minute Halloween party ideas will turn your Halloween holiday into a Thriller night no matter what time you started to prepare. Darkness falls across the land The midnight hour is close at hand… Quick Halloween Costumes These fun and easy homemade Halloween Costume Ideas are great for kids and adults alike. •Zippy Zombie: If you’re planning your Halloween party last-minute, chances are you haven’t gotten much sleep recently. •Minute Mad Scientist: White coat + vest + hair gel + thick-rimmed glasses + zombie-like makeup = instant mad scientist. •Where’s Waldo? •Nick-of-Time Ninja: This costume is simple—wear all black and tie a piece of black fabric around your head. •Nifty Neon Guy: Purchase a package of flexible neon glow sticks. Fast Halloween Finger Foods •Devilish Eye Eggs: Prepare deviled eggs using your favorite recipe.
Critical Thinking Worksite: Introduction I. Just What is Critical Thinking? When you hear "critical thinking", it is natural to think of criticism---that is, of unpleasant episodes involving your parents or your boss. One can think critically in episodes like these, but the term applies to many others as well. Critical thinking is evaluative thinking---it involves evaluating options for the purpose of reaching conclusions about those options. We can say a bit more about how it is intended to enhance your critical thinking ability. II. When your beliefs are at stake, it's time to think critically. At this worksite, we concentrate on argument analysis. Argument Identification: The first step in argument analysis is knowing that you are in the presence of an argument. In the next three sections, we develop each of these stages, exercising your mastery of them element by element.
Spring Cleaning Dust Mitt Tutorial I went to a great local rummage sale recently where you can get a bag of clothes for a dollar. I was a little gluttonous and grabbed everything that I thought I could cut up and use for something else - although I didn't have anything in mind at the time. Later when examining some of my finds, the materials dictated the project - and I ended up using three different garments together for this project. I used a sweatshirt, a terry cloth shirt (who wears terry cloth shirts?), and the cuffs from a shrunken sweater. You could do this same project with just a sweatshirt and a hand towel if you wanted. Typical of my sewing style, this tutorial has few actual measurements - just deal with it. First I cut the terry cloth shirt into a rectangle that was a bit wider than my hand and twice it's length. Lay one strip fuzzy side up, towards the left side of your terry cloth rectangle, and sew down the middle. Now fold the fringe on each long side in like this: Now get dusting! Made one?
Updates: The Get Off Your Ass Manifesto: How to Motivate Yourself to Actually Achieve Your Goals By Thorin Klosowski Starting something new is hard. It can even be a little terrifying. We all have unfinished projects, and a lack of motivation is one of the biggest reasons we don’t accomplish them. (1) I don’t know how, (2) I can’t afford to pay someone else to do it, (3) I have to do it, (4) hey, that wasn’t so hard! Getting off your ass and getting things done is not easy—nor will it ever be—but it doesn’t have to be hard. Find your goal: You don’t even have to do anything—just sit and think about what you want to do.Research: The more research you do, the easier the task in front of you is going to be. The whole process of getting off your ass and motivating yourself really is that easy. Find Your One Goal and Write Your Manifesto It is no coincidence that the motivation to think and the motivation to act seem to strike us at different times. This is where the manifesto comes into play. Research What You’ll Need Of course, what you’ll need depends on what you’re working toward.
Seed Starting Containers: The Real Dirt – Part 1 The weather may be warming a bit and it’s been many months since we had our green thumbs in the soil so it’s no surprise that folks are just itching to get seeds started. I’m hearing about or seeing a lot of different seed starting blog posts floating around the web, from rookies who picked up a kit at the local hardware store to seasoned pros with pretty sophisticated grow ops (no, not that kind). I’d like to share my experiences with all those super-adorable containers you can make at home (Part 1) as well as some thoughts on the store bought stuff (Part 2). So here goes, the good, the bad, and the ugly of seed starting containers. Note: for more information on the whole process of seed starting, check out Seed Starting 101 for the basics. You absolutely, positively, do not need to BUY anything to be successful at seed starting. Newspaper Pots Toilet Tissue Roll Pots These pots are a bit sturdier than the newspaper pots and again readily available. Egg Shells and/or Egg Cartons
Removing Super Glue | Super Glue Corporation Super Glue is renowned the world over for the strength of its bonds, its versatility of use, and easy application. Whether a hole needs a seal or a crack needs repairing, Super Glue is the first thing that craftspersons, hobbyists, and contractors use for all their construction or repair needs. Because Super Glue is so strong and bonds so fast, some people may find that they have accidentally glued two fingers together, or found that that small piece of balsa wood or plastic from a model they were building has completely bonded to their skin! Not to worry, for even though Super Glue is incredibly strong, it has one weakness: acetone. Acetone is often found in household nail polish remover, and a small amount on the end of a Q-tip or cotton swab applied directly to the glue should dissolve the bond without damaging the skin. Be careful - straight acetone will discolor a number of fabrics and can mar the finish of laminated counter tops (mainly the darker colored ones).
Helpful Hints, Home Remedies - Texas Gardening Forum Found this on another forum: 1. Budweiser beer conditions the hair 2. Pam cooking spray will dry finger nail polish 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30 To keep goggles and glasses from fogging, coat with Colgate toothpaste 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 100 Amazing How-To Sites to Teach Yourself Anything Posted by Site Administrator in Online Learning May 7th, 2009 Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are loads of free resources on the Web that can help you find instructional videos, tutorials and classes to learn a wide variety of skills from fixing basic car problems to speaking another language. With 100 sites to choose from, you’re bound to find something here that will help you learn just about anything you could want. General Tutorials These sites offer a wide range of tutorials and videos. Around the House Want to know how to fix that broken cabinet or hang up some great wallpaper? Business and Management If you feel like you’re seriously lacking on business and management skills at work, no need to worry. KnowThis? Language and Writing Those who want to learn a new language, improve their writing skills or just learn more about literature will be well-served by these instructional sites. Technology Math S.O.S. Science Creativity
Yarn wall Whattya need? Two different color yarnsScissorsPush pinsA wall How do I make a yarn wall? Step 1: Set push pins in a horizontal line on wall (let spacing between be random). Step 2: Cut lengths of yarn appropriate for your room. Step 3: Tie one end of yarn around each push pin. Step 4: Sit and stare at wall. Created by Dane Holweger Top 5 Essential Oils for Bug Bites - Mosquito, Spider, Tick & Ant Essential Oils for Bug Bites For those who spend time outdoors, insect bites may be a common occurrence. Bites from various bugs often happen before a person has noticed the presence of the insect, and bites frequently show up as inflamed, red, and itchy skin. While some bug bites need to be treated by medical professionals, most can be treated at home. Some people are happy to use over the counter products to treat bug bites, but many may wish to avoid harsh chemical ingredients and steroids that are traditionally used in traditional products. For those wondering how to treat bug bites, how to reduce bug bite swelling, and how to stop bug bites from itching without resorting to using harsh ingredients, essential oils offer a promising solution. The Best Essential Oils for Bug Bites Are: Lemongrass Essential OilPeppermint Essential OilBasil Essential OilTea Tree Essential OilLavender Essential Oil Lemongrass Essential Oil for Bug Bites Peppermint Essential Oil for Treating Bug Bites