Showing posts with label TeamGKB. Show all posts

Monday, 26 June 2017

Soy Candle Crafts

Making your own candles is very popular. It has always been done with paraffin wax or beeswax. Soy candles are starting to emerge on the market as well. Soy candles are made out of 100% natural soy wax without any additives. Candles made of soy wax will have a wonderful aroma without having any type of fragrance added. Expert soy candle makers know how to mix the soy wax in several ways that give the natural scent a bit of a difference as well as make in fainter or more powerful.

Soy candles can be made with or without wicks. Those with wicks are used the same way as any regular candle out there. Soy candles without wicks work with electric candle warmers. The candle sits on the warmer plate and the warmer is plugged into the wall. There is no flame to cause a fire. Wickless soy candles are a great choice for dorm rooms, apartments, offices, and anywhere that there is a potential of a candle being left burning that can cause a fire. Many offices and dorm rooms have put a ban on burning candles for this reason, but they often do allow the wickless candles using the burners.

Most candle makers who have tried soy wax are very happy with the results. It has a wonder natural scent and the texture of the melted wax makes candles that are very glossy and smooth. It is not necessary to add additives to soy wax as you often have to with paraffin and beeswax. The additives for those types of wax are for hardness and gloss. Soy wax offers both on its own.

Soy wax is cheaper than other types of wax as well. If you want to make candles on a tight budget, this would be the way to go. You will save money on the wax and you won’t need to purchase additives or scents. If you are planning to make soy candles to sell, you can make a higher profit because your costs are lower. If you aren’t sure, you can purchase a soy wax candle making kit online for less than $20. It comes with all the supplies you need to make five candles, including the jars and lids.

Many people enjoy the scent of a burning candle, but find the smoke from them can be irritating. This is especially true of individuals who are on oxygen, have bronchitis, or even allergy sufferers. Since soy wax is all natural, there is no smoke or irritates in the air from it. This makes soy wax candles a great alternative for many who otherwise wouldn’t be able to enjoy using candles.

Candle making is an excellent craft that many individuals enjoy both as a hobby and as a home business. Soy wax is not used as commonly as paraffin or beeswax, yet it works just as well for candle making. Since soy wax is less expensive and very easy to work with, consider trying it. Soy wax melts faster as well, reducing your overall production time. Soy wax is not carried in all craft stores, but you can easily purchase it on line in amounts from three pounds to fifty pounds. The more you buy, the less you will pay per pound, giving you additional savings.

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Saturday, 24 June 2017

Personalized Crafts and Gifts with Embroidery

No matter what the gift giving occasion, a personalized gift always shows the recipient that you took the time to select a special gift just for them. Whether you are attending a birthday party, baby shower, or wedding, a personalized gift shows that you care and that you feel the gift recipient is special. One of the easiest ways to present your recipient with a personalized gift is through personalization with simple embroidery.

What is Embroidery?

Embroidery is the handicraft of decorating fabric with designs stitched with thread or yarn. Embroidery can be done by hand or by a sewing machine. It can also include the addition of beads, quills, pearls, metals, and other objects. Embroidery can be done free-form or with the use of a pattern.

The art of embroidery has been around for thousands of years or longer. People all over the world have been using it to personalize and decorate their garments and home décor for ages. Embroidery is simple to do and allows you the freedom to create some very beautiful works of art.

Personalized Gift Ideas Using Embroidery

Literally anything made of fabric or cloth can easily be embroidered on. You do not have to possess any special skills or “craftiness” to be able to personalize items using embroidery. All you really need is some colorful threads and a needle. If you choose to you can also purchase iron-on transfers of designs or you can free-hand your own design if you want to.

Some of the easiest things to embroider on are clothing and towels. If you will be attending a baby shower, for example, embroidering the name or initials of the new baby onto a towel, blanket, or small onesie makes a perfect gift. It is simple to add blocks or a duck to the design for that extra added touch as well.

One of the best gifts to receive for your wedding is something personalized with your name, your spouse’s name, and the date of your wedding. This can be in the form of a set of guest towels, a simple wall hanging, or even a fabric picture frame to place a wedding photo in. Each of these ideas is easy to make and shows your thoughtfulness to the recipient.

Children love to get gifts with their names on them. Remember back to when you were a child and got a gift of personalized pencils or another item. Personalized gifts are the ones you likely remember the most from your childhood even though they were likely not the most expensive gifts you were given by your loved ones. Fun items to personalize and give to a child include; backpacks, lunch bags, sleeping bags, clothing or even a special beach towel just for them. You can embroider their initials, their name, or even a small motif of one of their interests as well.

The best thing about personalizing a gift with embroidery is that it is quick and simple to do. There are many great books on the subject available for purchase or from your local library. Craft books and magazines are generally loaded with ideas you can adapt for the occasion you will be attending. You can also find patterns online and in your local craft store for just about any occasion or design. And, you can find embroidery threads and yarns anywhere from a craft store to your local drugstore.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with embroidery and come up with your own unique designs. There are no mistakes in embroidery; it is as unique as you and your gift recipients are! If you make a mistake you can easily cut your threads and pull them out. This allows you to start your project again with a clean canvas.

Personalizing your gifts with a bit of embroidery will make your recipient happy and at the same time show them that you went the extra mile to give a gift which is personal and special.

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Thursday, 22 June 2017

Crafting Your Candle Making Business

Making candles can be great fun. Some people choose to take their love of this art and make money doing what they enjoy spending their time on. There are many areas of the candle making business you need to consider before embarking on such an adventure. Knowing how to make quality candles isn’t enough. You need to educate yourself on ways to promote your candles, ordering supplies, offering customer service, and determining a price for your candles.

We all know candles are a very popular item, so the market for such products is out there. However, that market can’t purchase your candles if they don’t know about it. You will need to establish a plan including where you plan to sell your candles, and then come up with a handle of ways to get attention to them. There are many places to sell candles. You can do so from your own home or rent space at craft shows. Often word of mouth will result in orders. You can also choose to advertise on the internet.

Advertising online can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. Write about your business on a blog or purchase services from a web hosting company. They often offer excellent tools for setting up a web page and directing traffic to your site. In addition, they provide the shopping cart and even credit card processing for you. Most web hosting companies charge $20 per month, which isn’t a bad investment.

Placing your candles on Ebay or other online auction sites is a great way to generate sales. As you accumulate feedback for selling a quality product you will get more buyers. Before you can do any advertising, you will need to decide what types of candles to sell. You will generate more sells if you show pictures of your work with each type of candle you sell. People buying candles want to visualize the product they are purchasing. Once your business starts turning a profit, consider buying supplies in large quantities to get a discount.

The secret to being a successful candle making business is selling the product at a fair enough price that the consumer will buy it. Yet you also need to cover the cost of your time and supplies, while making a reasonable profit. Don’t be tempted to cut corners on the quality of your supplies as this can greatly alter the quality of your product. Once the word is out that your quality is poor, you will have a hard time maintaining sales.

To generate business, offer promotions. You can offer free shipping for your candle products at the online auction sites to have an advantage over the competition. Many auction surfers will buy a product with free shipping over one with low shipping. You can also offer a free candle with the purchase of three or even to send a personalized card if the buyer is going to use the candle as a gift.

Many successful candle making companies offer personalized service. This means customers can ask for a particular type of candle in a color and you will make it for them. This often costs the customer more, but they are likely willing to pay it. Make sure you communicate well with your customers and know exactly what they want before committing to such a project.

Every business experiences issues that come up. This is to be expected. Customers are likely to be more forgiving of such issues if they are provided with quality customer service. Make sure customers have a way to get into contact with you. Work out a resolution to any issues that you will both be happy with. It is best to outline return policies on your website as well so that there is a place customers can review such information.

Choosing to start your own business is a wonderful and exciting time. Selling your own candles gives you a business where you can be proud of the quality product you are making. Taking the time to learn the basics of the business before jumping in will help ensure this is a fun business venture for you and hopefully one that is going to be quite profitable.

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Wednesday, 21 June 2017

Crafts That Work For Halloween

If there is ever a time of year when the ghosts and goblins roam the streets of the modern world, that time would be Halloween. Today’s ghost and goblins are probably a little more frightening than at any other time in history but they are often tempered by a princess seeking frogs and a few witches and wizards along the way. Halloween is a great day to be a kid but can also be a great day for grown ups as well. Decorating for Halloween can be almost as fun as going out and begging for candy any day of the week.

Besides, having a well decorated home for this holiday gives you the perfect excuse to scare the evil out of some young ghoul or vampire that thinks he or she has the market cornered on frightening. The really cool thing about decorating for Halloween is that it is not one size fits all. You are perfectly free to find some very scary home decorations for this delightful holiday or take on a kinder, gentler, more kid friendly style of decorating. Either decision is yours and yours alone and should carefully monitor the scare-ability of your own children when deciding. You certainly don’t want them afraid to come home.

For a more frightening Halloween scene you will probably want to use some strobe lights, frightening music and sound effects, dry ice in order to incorporate spooky fog, and plenty of spider web type netting in order to give those who dare approach your door bells a complete and thorough case of the willies. Doesn’t this sound like so much fun? Coffins with headless straw men are also a great addition as well as skittering spiders and the occasional chainsaw or two. A glow in the dark hockey mask may also be a good choice. Bodiless heads suspended by fishing wire are also quite the highlight for a true and robust fright.

If your goal is to create a kid friendly Halloween atmosphere there are cheerful pumpkin decorations that can be found in many shapes and sizes as well as Casper the friendly ghost, Frankenstein piñatas, and countless other fun party favors that are designed to bring entertainment and delight rather than terror and far. String pumpkin lights around the porch for added lighting and another friendly face in addition to keeping plenty of candles and lanterns lit nearby. Not all trick or treaters are older kids who appreciate a good scare so keep this in mind as the little ghosts, goblins, princesses, and super heroes arrive.

For adult gatherings all bets are off when it comes to home decorating for Halloween. There are all kinds of themes that can be followed from the incredibly zany and outrageous to the frightening or flamboyant. The biggest suggestion in these matters is to have fun at all times and bring the be the life of the party rather than having the decorations upstage your efforts. Far too many people spend more time concerned with how they will decorate their homes rather than wondering how they will decorate themselves for the festivities. If you find the perfect costumes all eyes will be on you and not your decorations.

Favorite suggestions for adult parties would include strobe lights, much like the frightening scene described above, low additional lights, perhaps black lights near the food and drink area of the party. More dry ice (if tolerable some people have difficulties with the smell particularly those with allergies or asthma so you may want to avoid this inside your home and leave it for the exterior). Bales of hay in the corner make excellent additional seating and can contribute to the harvest/autumn/Halloween atmosphere you are attempting to create. Just remember that the underlying goal is for you and your guests to have a great time. Have good food, good music, and good friends, and the decorations really and truly should be a secondary concern.

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Sunday, 18 June 2017

Decorating Tool of Champion Craft Addicts

We all know intellectually that color can have a significant impact on any room in the home. However, knowing and seeing the truth in action are two entirely different things. The true impact of color on the overall look and feel of a room is nothing short of phenomenal. If you have any doubt, try painting a room in a color you do not like and see how little time you are willing to spend in that room-even if it was a favorite room before it was painted.

For this reason you need to consider carefully the combinations of colors you wish to incorporate into each room of your home and how these colors will affect the rooms they will be ‘overflowing’ into. It is true that most people are attempting to trend away from the idea of having the same color in every room of the house. Instead more people are opting to have every room as a fresh palate whenever possible. This allows for maximum options when it comes to decorating a home and allows each room to be similar to some degree but maintain its very own unique personality if that is your wish.

Paint is an amazing instrument for home decorating when you think about it. In addition to the ability to change the color of a room, paint can actually do so much more when artfully or craftily applied. You can create beautiful murals on your walls that tell stories about your family or simply that express an emotion or sentiment of the moment. Paint can be used in order to write messages to occupants of the home or visitors on the wall as well, or to stencil borders that are sure to delight all who enter. All of this and so much more can be accomplished with the simple application of paint and a little bit of skill.

In addition to these things above there are faux finishes and textures that can be created with the use of paint. One that is a current favorite on the market is a faux plaster affect that is achieved with paint, a lot of hard work, and a rock solid set of instructions. The result of this labor can be nothing short of stunning as a design or home decorating affect. Taking the time to learn skills such as this can not only improve your enjoyment of the painting process but putting these skills in action can greatly improve your enjoyment of your home.

In addition to the faux finishes that can be achieved with paint there are other textured paint affects that many people are learning to their great joy and amazement. The results of many of these efforts is a beautiful and tastefully decorated home at significantly less than half the cost that hiring a professional to do the work would have cost. Many of these things can be achieved with paint and a few special brushes or rags alone further indicating the profound affect that a can or two of paint really can have on almost any room in your home.

If you are inclined to learn a little more about paint and the impact it can have on your home all together check with your local home improvement store and see if they are offering any painting workshops in the near future. These workshops provide excellent instruction and information that will prove useful many times over while you are making your home decorating decisions and improvements.

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Friday, 16 June 2017

Making Chunk Candles To Sell

Chunk candles add a great alternative to the standard pillar candle of yesterday. These colorful candles add a vibrancy and life to them. Looking at chunk candles, they appear to be very difficult to make. However, just the opposite is true. In fact, many candle makers claim they are easier to make than basic pillar candles. This is because pillar candles have to be perfectly smooth. If they aren’t, it is easy to see the visual defect. Such blemishes aren’t visible in chunk candles. While chunk candles aren’t recommended as a beginner project, they can be made once you know the basics of the candle making process.

There are two phases to making chunk candles. To make the process easier, it is recommended that you keep the two separate. Attempts to cut corners often result in chunk candles that are of poor quality and don’t burn well. The first phase of the project is making the chunks. The second is the process of turning those chunks into gorgeous candles. Some individuals choose to purchase pre-cut chunks at craft stores or online.

To make your candles their prettiest, select colors that compliment each other. To start making the color chunks, spray a cookie sheet with a non-stick cooking spray. You only want a thin film on the cooking sheet. After the wax you are using has completely melted, add a color to it as well as any fragrance you want. Pour the mix onto the cookies sheet. Fill the sheet to the level you want the depth of your candle chunks to be.

Keep an eye on the cooling color chunks. Once it is the consistency of cookie dough you will want to use a sharp utility knife to cut it into chunks. Allow the chunks to continue cooling. If you are making several colors of chunks you can mix them together or leave them separate. Some people choose to let the colors mix together on their own while others like to create a design by adding the amount of each color they want.

Using the same molds that are used for pillar candles, insert your candle wick through the bottom of the candle mold. Fill the mold loosely with color chunks. You can put one color on the bottom with another color on top or even layers of three colors. You can also use only one color. The choice is all yours. Do not stack as many chunks as you can in the mold or the candle won’t form properly. Just toss them in and let them lay where they end up.

You are now ready to pour the melted wax over the color chunks. It is recommended that you do leave the melted wax colorless, but some people choose to add a light color to tint it and add a uniqueness to their chunk candles. As the candle cools, the chunks will adhere to together with the hot wax. Once the molds cool the chunk candles should slide out with ease.

Making chunk candles is really quite simple if you have the basic candle making concepts under your belt. These candles add flare to any décor as well as make great gifts. They are a bit more time consuming to make since you will be making your color chunks, but well worth the results. Remember that you can purchase color chunks to save you time. That is a great option for someone who plans to make large quantities of chunk candles.

For those who want to get even more creative, consider using embeds on the sides. You can place them in the candle molds first. They will stay in place once you put the chunks in the mold. You can adjust the embeds as needed prior to adding the hot wax to the mold. There are excellent books available on the various patterns and embeds you can add to make specific chunk candles. There are also great pictures and step by step instructions available on the internet.

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Tuesday, 13 June 2017

Sewing Projects For Your Craft Business

It’s always fun to look at the latest issue of Vogue and other fashion and decorating magazines, and see what the latest upcoming styles will be. This helps us home sewers and crafters get good ideas for things we can make to wear and for decorating our homes. Keeping up with fashion is a good idea for all sewers because it insures that your sewing items are current to the times and will be able to be used for the longest period of time possible.

The look coming in Spring 2008 appears to be a throw-back to the 1950’s. Such items as high heeled pumps, slim skirts, large belts, and loose blouses with puffy collars and sleeves appear to be becoming all the rage once again. It appears that the days of butts hanging out of low-rise jeans are ending and a more sophisticated look is returning to the mainstream. For many of us, this couldn’t have come at a better time; unless you are a six foot tall pencil, the fashions of 2007 just aren’t that flattering.

Some of the latest staples of your wardrobe should be:

* A slim skirt

* A wide belt

* A great fitting pair of slacks

* A fitted jacket

* Shaped t-shirts

* Wrap blouses and dresses

* Metallic accents including grey metals and gold

* Denim items

This short list should give you a million and one ideas of items you can sew. Wraps are simple to do as are straight skirts and belts. Another easy thing you can do is purchase something ready to wear, or take something already in your closet, and add some metallic embellishments to it. This is a great way to recycle your older styles and make them current so you can get more wear out of them.

The colors for the coming seasons appear to be shades of grey, black and red. Use these colors to add to your classic wardrobe in unique ways. Belts make great accent items as do simple wrap blouses.

As we all know, the best thing about being able to sew our clothing is that we can make what we want, in our own colors and style, and have it fit our unique body types exactly how we want them to. Use this advantage and create some items for your wardrobe which will make you stick out from the crowd and have the other ladies at work asking; “Where did you get that?”

I was shopping recently at the mall and found a wonderful, simple slim skirt and the price tag blew me away at almost $200. If you can make one, and others like it, you could easily pay for your sewing by making a couple extra to sell. Or, you can simply delight in the fact that other people think you spend a fortune on your outfit, but the truth is that you made it all for yourself!

No matter what your level of sewing experience is, you can sew yourself some wonderful items which will be in fashion for Spring 2008. Take a bit of time and look around to see what the new up-and-coming items will be and decide what you can make for yourself. The hardest thing about sewing is getting started – so do it today!

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Monday, 12 June 2017

Handmade Valentine’s Day Crafts

Stores and florists spend a great deal of time, money and effort promoting their products as perfect for Valentine’s Day. This is done for good reason as most people turn to commercially available products on Valentine’s Day to give a great gift to their loved ones. However, with a little effort you may find you can give your partner a really great gift on Valentine’s Day which comes straight from your heart. This can be done in the form of a homemade gift. Despite what you may be thinking it does not take a great deal of time or talent to make these great gifts. This article will provide a few ideas for homemade gifts you can give to your loved one on Valentine’s Day.

A scrapbook is one of the most obvious homemade gifts you can give to your partner on Valentine’s Day. It is also one of the easiest homemade gifts you can make and also one of the gifts which is most likely to be greatly appreciated by your partner. This is a great combination if you want to give your partner a spectacular gift on Valentine’s Day. To make a great scrapbook start out by selecting the pictures you want to use in the scrapbook. You can select pictures of each of you individually, pictures of the two of you together, pictures of places the two of you have visited together or any combination of the pictures previously mentioned. Once you select a series of pictures you really like there will likely be an obvious theme for the scrapbook. Once this theme emerges you can search for the scrapbook as well as accessories for the scrapbook such as stickers, ribbons or other graphics. Finally, assembling the scrapbook is as easy as gluing the pictures and accessories to the page and putting everything together in an order which makes sense.

Homemade candles are another great gift you can give your partner for Valentine’s Day. Making candles is actually quite simple. You can find kits in craft supply stores which will not only include everything you need to make a great candle or two but also provide you with simple step by step instructions on how to melt the wax, insert the wick, pour the candle and allow the candle to set before releasing it from the mold. Also, there will likely be the opportunity to use dyes and perfumes to create a candle of a customized color and scent. When adding color or scent to a candle, care should be taken to add the dye or perfume at the appropriate time for the best results.

One final idea for a homemade Valentine’s Day gift is a CD filled with your partner’s favorite music or a DVD with pictures of videos of the two of you together. You can even combine the videos with movie clips or music which you think fits well with the rest of the images or video. This may sound like it is extremely difficult but it really is not. With the technological advancements being made, many of us would be surprised to learn that we can do a lot of these things on our own computers at home. However, if you are having a great deal of trouble, you might want to consider consulting a friend or family member for advice on how to accomplish your goal. This way you can still give your loved one a homemade gift for Valentine’s Day but you will have some help with the most difficult parts of the project.

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Friday, 9 June 2017

Creating Your Own Organizers

Do you dread going to your closet? Is it full of clothing, shoes, and accessories? Do you have to dodge falling objects, and then search endlessly for something you know is in there? If this describes the closets in your home, that you should look into custom closet organizers. They come in many styles and are made from various materials including plastic and wood. This is a great way to divide your closet into sections, making a space for each item. You will love being able to open up your closet and see everything neatly arranged and very simple to find.

The first order of business is to take everything out of your closet! I know this can seem overwhelming at first but it is necessary. Go through each item and place it in a pile depending on how you want things to be organized. Some people choose to organize their closet by colors of the clothing; others do it by the style of the clothing with piles for blouses, skirts, sweaters, etc. Pick a system that is going to work well for you. Once you have all of your piles in place you can start allocating closet space to meet those needs.

Custom closet organization doesn’t have to be difficult. You can be creative or you can use the internet or magazines to help you make a decision. Adding a second clothing hanging rack to your closet is a very simple solution if you have too many clothes to hang up. You can also use various types of hangers that put several pairs of pants onto one, reducing the amount of storage space they take up.

You can choose from various dividers, shelves, and baskets to customize your closet storage space. Many closets have a deep shelf on top but it is hard to keep piling more stuff on it. Putting in shelves or dividers will help you use more of that available storage space at the top of your closet. These products are quite inexpensive so organizing your closet won’t be too harsh on your budget.

Shoes are a common issue when it comes to closet organization. Install a shoe rack or even a wooden shoe storage box that attaches to the inside door of your closet. These are great ways to get your shoes together without taking up a great deal of space. It will also ensure you are able to find the shoes you want quickly on any given day.

Once you have installed the items you are going to use to keep your closet organized you are ready to start putting items in. This will be the really exciting part of the entire project. As you see your closet transform into an organized location for your clothing, shoes, and accessories, it will look more approachable and less like a jungle that swallows up your things. This memory compared to your old closet organization will help you stay motivated to put things back into their place.

Custom closet organization may seem overwhelming at first, but if you break it down into small tasks it will be easier. The time it takes you to complete the transformation will be a very worthwhile investment. You will save time each day as you go to your closet and find everything in its place. Who knows, you might even create enough extra space that you have an excuse to go on a shopping spree!

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Thursday, 8 June 2017

Candle Making For Profit

There are eight distinct candle making additives used in the candle making process. Some makers choose not to use them at all while others take advantage of what each type of additive has to offer to their candle making process. Candle wax additives are inexpensive and work well if you are educated in how to use them and why to use each kind.

Kemamide is a fine powder. It has a hint of ivory in the color, but it is close to being transparent. This type of additive becomes clumped if it is exposed to humidity so keep it in a closed, dry environment. Use this type of additive as a release agent. Add one teaspoon for each pound of wax.

Poly-AC is a fine powder, white in color. It has a dry texture and should also be stored in a dry environment to prevent clumping. This additive is a hardener. To be effective, add one teaspoon for each pound of wax.

Chimasorb 81 is a powder with a yellowish tint. Of all the additives, this one is the most likely to clump, even in areas of low humidity. Chimasorb 81 is used to enhance color. You do not need much of it, 1/10 of a percent for each pound of wax.

Stearic Powder is flaky. The color is white. This additive doesn’t react to humidity at all so it is an agreeable product to use for hardening. They amount you will use depends on the type of candles you are making. This additive helps reduce the temperature needed to melt the wax. Add about three teaspoons for each pound of wax. Be careful not to over use Stearic Powder as doing so will cause damage to the wax.

103 Vybar generally is sold in the form of very small beads. The beads flow loosely and do not stick or clump together, even in areas of high humidity. 103 Vybar is a hardener as well. It will add a very creamy texture to your candle wax. This is a perfect hardener to use for scented candles. Add one teaspoon to for every pound of wax.

Paraflint is another hardener. It comes in beaded form similar to the 103 Vybar. However, the beads are much larger. You will want to use one teaspoon for every pound of wax.

Poly 400 comes in the form of beads that vary is size and shape. This is a UV inhibitor, which will keep your candles from fading in the sunlight. This additive is also to be used at the rate of one teaspoon for every pound of wax.

BHT Crystal is a yellowish powder. This is an antioxidant for wax that has been stored in liquid form for a length of time. Using this crystal will also add a very pretty luster to your wax.

Candle making additives can add a variety of features to your wax. The type of additives you choose to use will depend on the types of candles you are going to make as well as the climate in your region. Be careful to use candle making additives in the right amounts or you will cause damage to the wax, resulting in ill effects in the visual aspects of the candles as well as their ability to burn properly. There are many great candle making books out there to help you figure out which types of additives to use for the various types of candles you can make.

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Tuesday, 6 June 2017

Candle Making Crafts

Making your own candles is a favorite craft and hobby many individuals. They find the process to be enjoyable and relaxing. Candle makers have been know to turn to their hobby in times of stress. For some candle makers, once they learn the basics they are ready for new challenges. Purchasing books on candle making can provide you with everything from basic instructions, tips, and creative ideas to make beautiful candles. Most candle making books offer wonderful illustrations as well as step by step instructions.

The type of book you want to purchase will depend on your candle making experience, the types of candles you are interested in making, and if you are making candles for fun or to sell. Take the time to explore what each book has to offer you before making a purchase so that you won’t be disappointed. You might also check with your local library for books on candle making. If you find one there you really like then you have the option to purchase it. You can also find great discounts on used candle making books online at Ebay and Yahoo Auctions.

“The Candle Maker’s Companion” by Betty Oppenheimer and Deborah Balmuth is considered to be the “must have” candle making book. It offers information for everyone including beginners and advanced. Another great choice is “The Encyclopedia of Candle Making Techniques”. This book has gotten rave reviews for providing quality information in an easy to understand form.

For those of you who have a solid foundation of basic candle making processes, consider trying “The Complete Candle Maker Techniques, Projects, and Inspirations”. The book offers great photos of forty different candles you can make. There are step by step instructions to help you make any of them that interest you. This book includes great tips and points as well to help candle makers avoid the common mistakes that affect the results of their candles.

For those of you who enjoy making candles for special occasions and holidays, the book “Creative Candles: Over 40 Inspiring Projects for Making and Decorating Candles for Every Occasion” by Sue Spear is a great book to consider for your collection. This book features candle making ideas for Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. There are also ideas for creating candles to use as center pieces and for wedding decorations.

If you are interested in doing candle making with your children, “Great Candles” is especially designed with fun candles that are easy to do with them. The book is also written in a way that children will be interested in reading it as well. The internet is a great resource to find other great candle making books to meet your expectations.

Candle making is a great pastime. You can educate yourself on the areas of candle making by exploring various books. There are books designed for all candle making levels of expertise as well as on particular themes of candles and types of candles. The market is flooded with resources in the area of candle making, so the process of tracking down a few good books on the subject should be easy as well as fairly inexpensive. Remember to check the library, local book sales, and yard sales for these books as well. Compare prices online to make sure you get the best price for the ones you are interested in.

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Sunday, 4 June 2017

Embroidery Digitizing Crafting

Machine embroidery has been around for many years. However, all of the machine embroidery of the past was done by very large and expensive machines housed within specialty businesses. In the past if you were a business and wanted your logos sewn onto baseball hats or other promotional items, then you went to a custom embroidery business and they did it for you. Thanks to the declining costs of computers and technology advances, home sewers now have the capability of doing custom machine embroidery in their own homes.

The art of creating custom machine embroidery is called embroidery digitizing. Embroidery digitizing involves using a personal computer, an embroidery sewing machine, and a special digitizing software application.

Using digitizing software install on your personal computer, you can transfer a design into one which can be embroidered. However, this is not a simple “click-of-the-mouse” conversion; it is done by hand and takes some time and skills. To digitize a design you need to dissect the design into sections and layers and design how each area will look with another.

Once you have your basic design digitized, you then have to spend time with the special software tools tweaking out the design so that it will look good once your embroidery machine embroiders it. Because thread embroidery designs are three dimensional not all designs will look good once they have been digitized. The software is very helpful in this area and in showing you which areas to change.

To be successful with embroidery digitizing software you must be an experienced sewer and knowledgeable of the various types of fabrics on the market. Fabric moves differently when sewn and you will have to account for this in your designs.

Embroidery digitizing software requires you to have a fairly powerful personal computer. You will need one with a lot of system memory, a strong processor, a USB port, and a lot of free disk space. The better the personal computer you use, the easier it will be for you to design your embroidery projects and the easier it will be for your computer to transfer them.

When you are looking to purchase digitizing software there are a few things you should be looking for. The first is that the software itself should be easy to install and use. You should be able to digitize on your computer screen by being able to control scaling, match components to the onscreen grids, zoom in and zoom out, and pan from one area of a design to another.

Many digitizers today can easily allow you to expand or shrink your designs and they will automatically adjust your stitch count and density to meet the new design size. This is very important and can save you a lot of time.

Another important thing you want to have in your digitizing software is the ability to see the true thread colors both on your computer monitor and on your color printer. This allows you to make sure you use just the right colors in your designs and that the embroidered design meets any logo requirements as well.

As you can see, computer digitized embroidery is not a simple process. However, once you learn the basics it can be a very satisfying craft or business venture for you. You will be truly amazed at your results after learning the software and creating your first few designs.

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Friday, 2 June 2017

Sewing in Your Craft Business

Congratulations on your decision to start a home sewing business; before you is a very exciting time in your life! To ensure that your business is the best it can possibly be, and has the best shot at being successful for the long-haul, you will need to follow some time-tested home business strategies. Let’s take a moment to briefly look at each of them:

The Business Plan

No matter what business you decide to start, you 100% have to have a solid business plan. There is no way possible to have a successful business venture without one. The best way to develop your business plan is to think about all of the variables which go into your unique business, and what your ultimate short-term and long-term goals are for the business. With all of this information, you can sit down and formulate a business plan without it taking you a lot of valuable time.

If you are attempting to obtain financing for your sewing business, you will have to have a business plan in place to show your potential lenders. Your business plan shows lenders that you are serious about your business, and also how it will be profitable to allow you to pay them back. Do not attempt financing without a good solid business plan because you are simply wasting your time.

Licensing and Regulations

Depending on the city, county, and possibly state you live in, you may have to get a business license to have a legal home-based business. The way to determine what the local rules and regulations are is to call up your local city and county government offices and ask them what you need to do. If you live in a state with sales tax, you should call up your state Controller’s Office and ask about obtaining a seller’s permit. You will most likely find that most government offices are supportive and helpful in getting you situated in a place where your business is legal.

Insurance

If you are conducting business out of your home, then you need to have a business liability insurance policy. Your regular homeowner’s policy will not cover any aspects of your business in the case of disaster. Home business liability insurance is fairly inexpensive and an absolute must have.

Financial Records

The best thing you can do for yourself is to keep good business records from day one of your business. Start with the fees to get a business license, and start recording every single business expense that you have. By doing this as you go you will save both yourself and your tax preparer a ton of headaches come tax time.

Setting Your Prices

The number one mistake many home-based sewing businesses make is to charge too little for their services. You need to make a living, and you need to be pricing your items and services accordingly. Whatever you do, do not sell yourself short! Ask a going rate for your items and services and expect that people will pay you what your time and product is worth. This allows you to work smarter and not harder!

Marketing

Marketing is simply getting the word out and letting others know your business exists. You can market online, through a press release sent to your local newspaper, flyers, brochures, craft fair booths, etc… Anywhere you come into contact with potential customers you can market your items and services. You can even do simple things like always carry business cards, available these days very inexpensively online, and hand them out to everyone you meet as you go through your days.

The absolute best way to market your business is through word-of-mouth. Once your business gets going, if you treat your customers well, then they will tell their friends and family about you; this will bring you more customers without having to pay a dime to advertise.

As you can see there are a lot of things for you to consider when you are thinking about starting a home-based sewing business. However, your business can be very successful and profitable if you take the time to make it so.

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Tuesday, 30 May 2017

Sewing as a Viable Home Business

As the predictions continue about the economy of the world, and the sustainability of our planet, many people are starting to look back at how our forefathers chose to do things in their lives and are trying to learn from their experiences.

One of the things than many people today cannot do well, and yet want to learn to do, is sewing.

Sewing allows you to make useful and decorative items; however, it also allows you to reuse fabrics in a new way once an original item is not longer needed or wanted. With some simple sewing skills people can take outgrown clothing and make quilts for beds. They can take unwanted skirts and make pillow cases. The sewing options are limitless once you know the basics of how to sew.

Because many young people of today were not taught sewing by their parents and grandparents, there is a real need for those who know how to sew to teach others. If you know how to sew, and can teach others, you have a very marketable skill. You can every easily set-up your own home-based business of teaching other people how to sew.

With your business teaching people to sew, you can teach small classes or individuals. You can choose to teach adults or children, or even a combination of the two.

To ensure that your business is the best it can possibly be, and has the best shot at being successful for the long-haul, you will need to follow some time-tested home business strategies. Let’s take a moment to briefly look at each of them:

The Business Plan

Licensing and Regulations

Insurance

Financial Records

Congratulations on your decision to start your own business teaching other people how to sew. This will be a very rewarding venture for both yourself and your students!

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Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Beauty Freebies: Is There Really Such a Thing?

A number of different product manufacturers and stores regularly offer free product samples. These free samples are also commonly referred to as freebies. Freebies come in all different size, shapes, and styles and they tend to include a number of different products. Those who just learn about freebies, possibly just like you, wonder if it is really possible to get beauty freebies? It is and if you would like more information on how you can go about doing so, you will want to continue reading on.

When it comes to getting beauty freebies, you will find that you have a number of different options. For instance, beauty freebies are most commonly offered by the product manufacturer. To get these types of freebies, you often need the internet to do so. What you will want to do is perform a standard internet search with the name of a beauty product manufacturer that you like or one that you have just heard of. If that manufacturer is offering free beauty product samples, there is good chance that the special offer would be outlined on the website’s main page. Although this approach is nice, it can be time consuming and you aren’t guaranteed to always find beauty freebies. That is why you may also want to explore your other options.

Another way that you can go about finding beauty freebies that are available for requesting is by performing a standard internet search. Instead of searching with the name of a popular beauty product manufacturer, you will want to search for free product sample websites or freebie websites. Individuals who just like requesting free product samples themselves often run these websites. Many just like to share what they find. On a free product sample website or a freebie website, you should be able to find information on how you can go about requesting a number of free beauty product samples. Be on the lookout for beauty freebies that require the payment of postage, as these offers are not truly free.

Although the internet is one of the easiest ways to go about finding beauty freebies, you can also try visiting one of your local beauty supply stores. It is not uncommon for a beauty supply store to offer free product samples on some of the beauty products that they carry for sale. By offering beauty freebies of their most popular products, a beauty supply store stands a better chance of selling the full size version of the product as well. Beauty supply stores are the best places to find beauty freebies locally, but it is also possible to occasionally find other retailers, like fashion stores or department stores, that also handout free product samples, including free beauty samples.

If you aren’t already requesting beauty freebies, you may want to think about doing so. In addition to getting something for free, you may find a great new product that you never would have otherwise tried. As a reminder, you can usually find beauty freebies by visiting the online websites of product manufacturers, free product sample websites, as well as by visiting your local beauty supply stores. Even if you are unable to find beauty freebies, you may be able to come across valuable moneysaving coupons that can be used on the beauty products that you may need or want to buy.

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Tuesday, 21 February 2017

HONEST Younique 3D Fiber Lashes Review

Product mentioned Younique Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes

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How to apply Younique 3D Fiber Lashes Plus

Hello Everyone, Welcome back to my channel!

Here is a quick video on how to apply Younique 3D Fiber Lashes Plus!
I absolutely love this mascara and wear it literally every day now !!

To purchase one of these amazing mascaras you can shop for them on my website.

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NEW REFORMULATED 3D FIBER LASHES + Mascara!!

The NEW, reformulated 3D Fiber Lashes+ Mascara from Younique launches on January 2, 2017.

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NEW 3D Fiber Lashes+! Younique

Here is me Putting on the brand new REFORMULATED 3D+!

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First Impression Review ♡ Younique 3D Fibre Mascara, Does It Really Work?

So here we go! I tried out the Younique 3D Moodstruck Fibre Lashes for myself. What do you think? x
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Details:
I paid $39usd total for this

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts? xx

Revitalash: Mascara: Too Faced Better Than Sex
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Camera: Canon 70d
Editing: iMovie

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