So This Is Christmas

Merry Christmas is such an infectious feeling I like to feel that way all year around.

So if you are visiting just before Christmas, just after Christmas or even here on Christmas day I am sure you will find something of interest for you and in the spirit of Christmas.

It may be said that Christmas is no longer a celebration but this must be spoken by people that have never had trouble closing their eyes on Christmas Eve in an expectation of what maybe left for them on the carpet under the tree.

I continue to look forward to the surprise on my Grandchild's faces to this day at Christmas events.

Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas - Merry Christmas

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Details To Know Regarding Monotype Printmaking

By Clara Berta


Monotype prints are created by painting on non-porous surface areas such as glass, plexiglass or copper. Monotype prints, when made, need to be transferred to a different surface area immediately and can, for the most part, just be made use of to create one print. When there is ink remaining, another print, called a "ghost print," can at times be made, although it will be an inferior print. Monotyping is often completed with monotype ink, but numerous artists experiment using various paints, which includes oil pastels, and transferring to various surface areas.

Materials you will need for you to make a monotype: Plexiglass or glass plate, oil pastels, paintbrushes, rolling pin, tape, watercolor pencils, paper. The following is the in-depth basic steps on monotyping: 1) Find a glass or plexiglass work plate. Glass from your picture frame is going to do the job. This would be the surface area where you create your image. Put the sheet of paper where you will be transferring your image atop the glass plate as well as label the edges of it as a guide. 2) Place your reference picture beneath the glass plate. This can be a picture right from a coloring book or a real photograph. Use watercolor pencils to outline the picture. 3) Paint your outlined drawing with oil pastels implemented directly to the glass plate. Implement the oil pastels smoothly and be sure to flatten them out. You wouldn't want any kind of overrun once you roll your print. 4) Dampen your paper using a spray bottle of water and apply the paper to your painting plate, lining the edges up with the markings you earlier made. Use clear tape to guarantee the paper does not slide around. 5) Press your rolling pin at the center of the paper and begin rolling up and down. Repeat this a couple of times to make sure your paper picks up the oil pastels. Let the paper in order to sit for 5 minutes, and then carefully peel it off your plate in order to reveal your monotype print.

Monoprints and monotypes are very similar. Both involve the transfer of ink from a plate to the paper, canvas, or any other surface that would ultimately hold the masterwork. In the case of monotypes, the plate is a featureless plate. It contains no attributes which would impart any definition to following prints. The most common characteristic will be the etched or engraved line on a metal plate. In the lack of any kind of permanent features on the surface area of the plate, every articulation of images is dependent on one completely unique inking, leading to a single unique print.

Monoprints, on the other hand, are the results of plates that have permanent characteristics on them. Monoprints could be regarded as versions on a theme, with the theme resulting from some permanent features being found on the plate-lines, textures which remain from print to print.

Variations are confined to those arising from the way the plate is inked prior to each print. The variations are infinite, but several permanent features on the plate would have a tendency to remain from one print to the next.




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A Guide to Tungsten Wedding Bands: Pros and Cons

By Ann Daniels


If you are in search of a wedding band or a stylish ring to wear for many occasions, and you find that you're having trouble deciding between a traditional gold or platinum ring and a more contemporary item like a tungsten carbide wedding band, this basic breakdown of the very popular modern metal's strengths and weaknesses may be helpful.

The factors that serve as the key selling points of tungsten wedding bands relate to the durability and strength of these items.

Tungsten carbide is an extremely hard material-so hard, in fact, that diamonds are required to polish the rings during the manufacturing process-which logically tells us that they are extremely resistant to being scratched by other objects. Additionally, tungsten is chemically incapable of becoming tarnished, and due to the extreme heating and tempering these rings receive, they are impossible to bend out of round. Scratching, bending, and tarnish are all problems that come with the territory when dealing with traditional jeweler's metals like gold, silver, and platinum. Tungsten carbide rings will simply age far better than the average gold wedding band.

Much of tungsten carbide's attraction also lies in the uniqueness of the base material and the interesting ways in which tungsten can be formed and accented. The unmistakeable grey hue of tungsten carbide rings can be brightened with a mirror finish or warmed with a brushed finish like other metals, but it can also be laser engraved with complex designs and formed with facets and ring shapes that are impractical for metals that aren't as likely to hold their shape and brightness. A tungsten ring simply doesn't look like anything else, and you won't find a tougher ring with this kind of versatility and beauty.

It must be addressed, however, that even a great product will require considerations of its potential drawbacks. This is where personal tastes and lifestyle become very important, and decisions must be made regarding which qualities in a wedding bands are desired or necessary, which are negligible, and what problems are deal-breakers.

As we learned above, tungsten carbide rings are extremely hard. This makes them very strong and gives them all of the wonderful properties related to a ring's aesthetic longevity, but this is also the source of the most common issues that wearers of tungsten wedding bands encounter. For example, instead of cutting out or adding in metal to size a tungsten wedding ring as a jeweler might do to resize items made from platinum or gold, a tungsten ring would have to be replaced completely to make a necessary change in size. When choosing a tungsten ring retailer, make sure they offer a policy to accommodate this need.

Also, a harder material that does not bend is more likely to break; this means that a tungsten wedding band will never bend out of round and cause the wearer any of the related problems that can occur when a gold wedding band bends, but under too much force it is possible for them to break. Even this issue has its good point, though; breaking the rings under gentle pressure is the way they're removed in emergencies, and there are many stories out there about people whose hand were accidentally closed in doors or otherwise endangered, and their tungsten rings absorbed the trauma and broke but prevented more serious injury. While there is no guarantee that a tungsten ring would prevent injury and we certainly don't recommend testing this theory, it never hurts to improve one's odds.

In any case, reputable retailer of tungsten rings will be aware of these potential issues and generally offer some type of discount or contingency plan to offset the cost of replacements.




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The Main Advantages Of Getting Driveway Alarm System

By Andrew Noelericko


Driveway alarm can protect your own home from intruders such as cars or people. It is extremely advised to have driveway alarm to watch intruders. You could install the alarm on both front and back yard easily. The alarm could also be used to watch activity on any place where you store your precious things.

The alarms sensor will automatically discover any indication of motion by the infrared that is installed in the alarm. It is a great technology which is frequently found on today's driveway alarm system.

For anyone who is planning to get an alarm system to be set up in your driveway, you can get the unit with several receivers and sensors for much better protection. We recommend you to install the unit around 2 or three feet above ground. You can mount the alarm on the wall or tree so that you can monitor the entire driveway area. Find the one which has lifetime manufacturer's warranty so you can get help if your system goes wrong.

Try to avoid getting low-priced alarm which is commonly found on the marketplace. Often the alarm does not worth for its cost. Rather than paying for poor quality alarm system, it is a lot better to get top quality alarm though it is not affordable in cost. Prepare adequate money to purchase one for far better home security system.

There are numerous advantages of owning an alarm system. The benefits we all know are the possibility to keep track of anybody or any car coming into your driveway, monitoring swimming pool activity, monitoring any suspicious activity, checking certain activity, and even more. From all of the advantages, we conclude that it is very good to have driveway alarm systems at your home.

Generally, the sensing unit range of driveway alarms systems is approximately 100 to 300 feet. The costlier alarm usually means the more coverage area that you can watch. Measure the area where you want to monitor to get the best alarm system to be installed in your driveway. You will not get confused in selecting which alarm that you need if you have measured the area.

Security alarm is also beneficial to alert if the children are going to the pool. Parents can monitor their activity in the pool. Alarm can also be used to monitor suspicious action in the backyards, summer houses, tool sheds, and many more. If there is an intruder, the alarm will send alert. If your residence is empty, the alarm will notify security monitoring team and your neighbors.

In order to avoid thievery, you can lock all of your windows and doors without exception, turn on the lights, trim your shrubs and trees, install high security gates and walls, locked garages and storage sheds. If it is possible, you should have a trained dog to ensure that no intruder can enter your property.




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How Do We Design New Wardrobe Systems

By Christina Evans


There are a lot of creative people in the world that can do many amazing things with their hands, or a paint brush, even a piece of charcoal. It is truly amazing the things people can create with only a few ideas and a piece of paper. I was always amazed at how quickly fashion designers could come up with a sketch that would look amazing and ready to go. Unfortunately there are those of us out there that are not so good with a pen or pencil and really have no idea about design whatsoever. Because of this we really do not try to create anything, and instead we just leave things a how they are, like our old wardrobe systems. Because we cannot think of anythni9gt creative, then we assume that it cannot be done.

Wardrobe systems always make us angry or extremely happy. When we move into a new house and you go to the bedroom, you always look at the wardrobe space, and perhaps if it could have been bigger or that it is in the wrong place. I always find myself wanting more wardrobe space than what i have, and that is when all my bedroom belongings spill out into the hallway cupboards which doesn't leave much room for linen and towels. Have you ever found that you just do not have enough room for towels? For some reason, towels which aren't exactly that large, take up so much room that there never seems to be enough room for them.

Hallway cupboards are always the space in homes that get overcrowded and seem to take the brunt of our space issue. We just tend to put everything we can find into those spaces and really do not seem to mind how it looks or if it is unorganized, because to us that is the only option that we have got. However this isn't a true statement and no matter what there are always options out there that can help us in most situations. Even if we are not creative people and wouldn't know where to start if we wanted new space in our homes, there are always those people that do it for a living right?

When in need of a new wardrobe or some form of extra space in a home, it is always a good idea to see what is out there in the way of service and what you can get. There are plenty of showrooms and road shows that have displays available for people to look at, and at least then you get dimensions and see how it would fit into certain structures. If you have a decent look around then you might find companies that will listen to what you want and then come up with a concept for you so you actually have a visual on what you want, and how much it will cost. At least you don't have to worry about drawing a picture, when someone else can do it for you.

Just because we are not creative doesn't mean we can't have creative things in our homes that provide us with some extra. Everyone is always thinking about wardrobe systems and if there's could be better than what it is, and who is to say that it can't? All we have to do is know where to look, and just think about what we want.




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Don't Overspend on Tires

By Jose Gonzalez


Investing in tires generally is complicated. It's so troublesome to know how to begin, and specifically if you haven't bought tires before you might not know the specifics of what you need. I know this article will assist you buy your future group of tires. We wish we had a guide like this when we bought our first set of tires.

Step 1: Look at the tires currently on your car. Examine the dimensions, type, model #'s etc... All this information is easily read off the sidewall of the tire. You might not understand it all at first, but that's no problem. Just write it all down so you have the info at hand. You should also confirm that you actually need new tires.

Step 2: Put in a call to your favorite tire shop or one near by and say: Hello, I'm the owner of a 2006 Honda Civic and I'd like to see what you have in stock that would fit my car? (rotate your make and model obviously) Ensure you're ready to take down the information they give you, and write down everything they tell you. Make sure you know the exact price inclusive of installation, and the detailed facts and figures on the tires. You might have to ask but,get an idea of what the manufacture suggested mileage is. NOTE: Some shops will say they don't know what kind of tires your car needs. Good thing you have all the details of your current tires. Give them this information instead and they should be able to help.

Step 3: Get in touch with other tire shops in the area and compare what they tell you with the first shop you called.

Step 4: With all this information in hand, whittle your notes down to a few possible tires. Type the name and model #'s into your favorite search engine and see what the experts say about each tire. Read reviews, consumer reports, anything you can find.

Step 5: You're now prepared to make a decision on tires for your vehicle.

We really hope this guide helped you in some way. Leave us a comment if you have something to add! Thanks!




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The Essential Chocolate Ingredients

By Tom Doerr


Chocolate appears to be such a desirable commodity, in that, once people are questioned about its quality, they would argue that it is not only their food of choice, but perhaps their 'drug' of choice. Studies have shown that it is addictive, so to feed this addition further, learning how to make it will be invaluable for most people.

The first step to understand is to familiarise yourself with the following terms to help understand the different types of chocolate and their uses. Each type of chocolate varies in composition, providing differing tastes and overall results. It is important to not chose baking chocolate if the recipe requires a specific type of chocolate - minor differences in chocolate, cause big differences in taste; so don't take the easy route thinking it will have comparable tastes.

To gain a basic idea of what ingredients are available, they can be split into 3 categories - additives, milk and powders.

Chocolate liquor is an important first step - it acts as the foundation to virtually all chocolate. This will be the basic liquid produced after the initial grounding and roasting of coco beans has occurred.

Then to add onto this foundation, there are a variety of products that vary in chocolate concentration, ranging from 15% to 90%. The semi-sweet chocolate is a sweet variant, whereas the bitter chocolate represents 35% chocolate liquor. Couverture is the French for cover, and relevantly this will be suitable for truffles and other candies by adding the 'sheen' and finished look that makes it look and taste more appealing.

Others include; baking chocolate (which is the hardened chocolate liquor, and also unsweetened) - many recipes use baking chocolate as their primary chocolate - however, it would be advisable to not use this as a short cut for any other recipes that specify another chocolate. These are the main body of chocolates that will ensure that most forms of taste can be achieved.




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The Myth Of Urban Cars

By Jack Wogan


The last century placed technology higher than any of the previous ones and automotive technology is one that made a big step forward. The growing interest people have for cars determined them to inform in many regards concerning this product, not only in brand and price.

The competition between cars passed the phase of design appreciation, because now people are interested in how much fuel the car needs or how smooth it is moving on the road. Of course design can be decisive between two cars with similar characteristics.

An already established and well-known fact is that cars cost you money in fuel, spare parts or repairs. The most expensive of them on a long term basis is the fuel cost and that is the reason for which both buyers and vendors are interested in cars with low fuel consumption rate. In order to establish that automotive producers do a lot of tests before releasing the car on market. Tests are done in various conditions similar to those of normal functioning: driving inside and outside town, with the car empty or with maximum load, using the air conditioning or not, stopping and resuming motion on small or large distances or whatever the builder considers appropriate.

The results of all these tests are resumed in technical specifications as the fuel consumption rates inside town and outside town. Therefore everyone can have a general idea regarding how much fuel a car consumes. Most people know from their own experience or from literature that cars usually have a high consumption rate for the fuel when they start. Setting the car in motion actually refers to the ignition phase, when the engine needs power to start and a period of accommodation until it reaches the normal functioning state. Once reached the normal functioning state, the engine requires less power to maintain it. That is why when we go on small distances at low speed we spend more fuel than going on big distances at a constantly higher speed.

Unfortunately we don't have a choice to drive only with constant speed, because in a megalopolis during rush hours you can move only at very low speed spending much more fuel than normal. As time goes by the city population is growing and this increases also the number of vehicles on the streets, which subsequently makes the streets crowded. In such an agglomeration, cars will be forced to move slowly and people will spend a great deal of time driving. This will lead to situations during hot summer days when they will start air conditioning and freezing days in winter when heating system will be a must. Yet, both of them are powered by the car engine and increase the fuel consumption. Not even giving up moving and bringing your car in a parking lot might not be an option here, if you have a big car. On the other hand a small car might have a chance to find even a tight place to park.

So, it is quite important for a car intended to be driven inside a town to consume a fair amount of fuel and to occupy a small volume in space. Sometimes, in some cities, the city hall advises people to avoid using too much their cars in order to have less crowded streets during rush hours. For the sake of commodity some people decided to share cars, but when they are visiting a big town either for leisure or business this is not possible. That is why the more appropriate solution here will be vehicle leasing, either a car or a van.

Nowadays the market demand for town cars made both automotive producers and renting companies try to improve this product to satisfy the population growing needs not only regarding its technical performances but also by informing the public.




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The Actual Advantages of Having a Used ATV Tires

By Carson Barkenhagen


There are various advantages of having a used ATV tires fitted on to your All Terrain Vehicle. One of the most crucial reason being these tires are cheap because they are second-hand and they come in great condition, consequently the safety of your automobile is guaranteed.

When you have made plans of using an ATV tires on your ATV you must know that these wheels which are mostly available in the auction sites have plenty of life. Additionally, you get them at prices which are a lot lower than those of the new tires. If you are intending to sell your ATV then it can be always good that you change the tires of the ATV beforehand as replaced tires would fetch you great cash for the ATV. As replacement, the ATV tires which are utilized can come as handy considering that you would get full value of your money.

Whenever you might be going on a vacation or on a trip in your ATV, it's always good to have a pair of spare tires in the auto. It can be useless to have new tires as spares and it is possible to have employed ATV tires as spares to ensure that even if right after making use of them they get worn out, it will not hurt you a lot.

At times you need to have specialty tires such as snow and mud tires. Given that they're not utilized every day consequently it is wise to get the used ones for this purpose. These employed tires which are found in auction are always in good condition and come at inexpensive prices.

But when you're going to buy employed ATV tires, you must keep in mind that you need to not compromise on the quality of the tires given that it becomes unsafe in case you use tires which are already worn out. Also you should get the tires which are of correct diameter of the wheels of your ATV. Just before purchasing it call up diverse dealers or go through several web sites and compare the prices to ensure that you do not pay more for these tires. Once you are absolutely sure that you are finding a good bargain then go for it.




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