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. 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. 2. 3. how to make labels for the drawer pulls
50 Treat Ideas for Valentine's Day - Heart shaped macaron with raspberry/ strawberry from Mad Baker - Marshmallow for hot cocoa from The Decorate Cookie Love love love love this idea! - Homemade Valentine's Day mints from Busy Mommy - Hot chocolate for your Valentine from Martha Stewart - I heart cupcakes! - Strawberry ladybugs from Wing- It Vegan - Heart shaped roasted potato from Haniela's Food & Photography - Valentine coffee via Gusto di Vita Looks easy! - Gumdrop flowers from Craftberry Bush - Heart shaped cinnamon rolls from Pinch My Salt What a lovely Valentine's Day breakfast! - Chocolate covered pretzel from Creatively Christy A fun and Simple idea! - The cutest Valentine's Day card! - Heart shaped rice ball (onigiri) via Deviant Art - Red wine lollipop from Sprinkle Bakes Treat for grown ups - Chocolate dipped strawberry rose from Babble These strawberry flowers would be good for Mother's Day too! - Bake a heart into the cupcake! - Brown sugar blondies for Valentine from Baked Perfection A simple recipe! - Candy necklace.
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. It's better than a big woodstove chimney, but still iffy. 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
DIY: Memories In A Jar Give an antique look to a photograph inside a glass jar. You just need to be a black and white photo, fill the jar with oil (preferably olive oil), add some dried flowers or branches and place the photo inside. It will look amazing! Memories in a bottle … Just put a picture inside a glass jar and add objects related to that time. A beautiful way to display a memory …. Look here for some ideas:
How to make an Outdoor Candle Lantern Inexpensively Last week I made a candle chandelier for my deck. It looks so pretty when lit, but the rest of my yard was looking kind of neglected. I was determined to find a way to spread some more candle light around the yard to balance the light and provide more ambiance. I used to have Tiki torches, but they unravel and have to be filled up with oil that makes a mess. I remember years ago seeing candle lanterns at a wedding that I thought were pretty clever and decided I could try to make them myself, but I needed to find some glass hurricanes. Usually when I go on my weekly thrift store excursion I run in and do a quick cruise around the store to see if anything pops out at me. Total cost of my glass haul – $2.70. Here is what I made with the hurricane. It was very quick and easy to make. How to Make a Tuna Can Lantern I used a tuna can, wood screw, copper adapter, and an old paint stick. Then I used a awl and hammer to make a hole in the center of the tuna can. Screw the screw into the stick.
Flower Tea Bags Flower Tea Bags painted with tea! Flower Topped Tea Bags make a perfect gift. We started experimenting with tea for Mother's Day and loved the results. Can you believe this color is actually tea? Make them for yourselves or as gifts! Click on "READ MORE" for full tutorial To make these, I used a tea called Lov's Red Berries Tea ---- both to fill the bags and to use as "paint". Supplies: 1. 2. Kitchen String Leaf Shaped Gift Tags (I used green tea painted tea bags that I cut into leaf shapes) Hole Punch Scissors HOW TO: 1 Gather Supplies. 2. While the flower tea bags are drying, punch a hole in the corner of the leaf gift tags, draw a string through this hole to make a gift tag. 7 - 10. Something you might:(tea example, as seen above)Alphabet ContainersAn Apple Sachet for TeacherMint Tea
7 Survival Life Hacks That Could Save Your Life Please Share This Page: Google + stumbleupon tumblr reddit If you are a first-time visitor, please be sure to like us on Facebook and receive our exciting and innovative tutorials and info! I had so much fun watching this short but informative video by HouseholdHacker! Candlelight from Tin Cans What I love about this is that using an empty soda can will make use of the candle in a more efficient way! How To Get Clean Water This method of using a piece of cloth is just genius. Natural Mosquito Repellant I don’t know about you but I HATE mosquitoes. Cereal Box Microwave Wouldn’t it be great to cook your food in a cereal box? Needle And Leaf Compass If you don’t have a compass (or a super smartphone) you can use this clever method to help you tell which way is north.
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! 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: Tissue paperScissors2 large paper clipsPipe cleaners (chenille stems) or floral wireColoured marker penOptional: floral wire, floral tape, wire cutters
Epsom Salt Luminaries: Some Winter Beauty Recently I’ve seen a few crafty ideas around the internet using epsom salts, but I wanted to come up with something different. I’ve been itching to make some new luminaries, something that would be elegant and pretty against winter’s white snow. Something that says Christmas, but isn’t limited to the holiday. Something that could be kept out all winter long. UPDATE: Please see my article on crafting with epsom salts for important information (including info on discoloration, see the picture below of them all white), especially if you plan to make these for an important event such as a wedding. The moisture in the salt will eventually evaporate, leaving you with white salt on your jars. These should be one of the last things you make, no more than a week before the wedding. Recently I saw some really pretty sea glass luminaries in white, light blue and light green. To get the effect, I made a little video for you. Note about jars: You can use any type of jar you want for these.
DIY Christmas Trees Ideas 1- Snow Cone Christmas Tree (Link) 2- DIY Pretty Paper Christmas Tree (Link)3- DIY Ribbon Christmas Tree 4- Coffee Beans Christmas Tree (Link) 5- Strawberry Christmas Tree 6- Toilet Paper Rolls Christmas Tree For Kids (Instructions)7- Candy Cane 8- Tissue Paper Christmas Tree 8- Mesh Christmas Tree 9- Sparkly Glitter Christmas Tree
$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. It’s a super-easy project and the design of the washing machine drum is perfect for a fire. 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) Step One: Strip the drum. Step 2: Remove center spindle. Step 3: Cut off metal lip.
DIY Christmas Star Ornament Christmas is only a month away and people are getting anxious. Shops around the world are getting filled with all kind of toys and decorations. People also start to buy food to prepare the most delicious dinner in the whole year. Let’s put away hunger for now, and focus our attention on the Christmas decorations, because you can save a lot of money if you make them at home; and you will have fun as well, in the meantime. Try to make this simple and stylish Christmas star ornament. some wool;a polystyrene tray (you can take one from the supermarket);toothpicks or wooden sticks;white glue;a star template previously drawn and cut out of a piece of paper; First, soak the string of wool in some glue mixed with water in equal parts. Don’t take much time for this process, because the glue will dry. As you can see, this technique can be used to make many types of Christmas decorations. Source: decorareciclaimagina
How to Make Your Own Wicks for Candles Candle making is a popular crafting activity. They make fun and unique gifts, are customizable and give of lovely scents when lit. Many crafters create their own candles but wicks are often purchased at a hobby store. For a completely handmade candle, use just a few steps and simple materials. Things You'll Need Cotton Kite Strings Or TwineClothespins And LineTable SaltScissorsOld NewspapersPaper And Binder Clips show more Dissolve two tablespoons of table salt and four tablespoons of borax in 1-1/2 cups of warm water. Soak a 1-foot length of regular cotton kite string or twine in the solution for 15 minutes. Hang the string with a clothespin for five days to be sure it is completely dry. Use a paper clip to dip the string in melted wax three or four times, coating it completely. Store wicks rolled up in a newspaper. Add only one chemical for color variation.
Tin Can Christmas Tree Activity - Babble Dabble Do Recycled crafts are always a winner around my house and this easy Tin Can Christmas Tree Activity for kids was the perfect way to upcycle some cans and provide the kiddos with a design challenge! I have to admit this is my favorite Christmas DIY post yet. Not only did I have fun creating it but my daughter actually loved doing the activity! This idea was inspired by the tin can robot idea that floated around the craft circuit a few years ago, originally published in Parents Magazine I believe….only this involves a Christmas twist! The fun part about this is that tree decorations are removable/repositionable. Have the kids decorate them, take the decorations down and start all over again. Note: This post was originally published in December of 2012. Materials 3 empty, clean tin cans, small, medium, and large. Instructions Step One Spray paint your cans. Step Four Cut your magnetic sheets into pieces. Step Six Make a star for the top. You’re done! Shared on Made By You Mondays!