Just what is a blog?


Posted on January 19th, 2008 by Merlin.
Categories: Announcement, Communication, DIY, Free, Journaling, Video, Wordpress, YouTube.

Today - I wanted to share a video I saw on You-Tube - This is from Common Craft - This is What is a blog in Plain English? - I have to say it really is a good overview of what is a blog and why are they important to the 21st Century? So, Readers do you have a blog? Leave a comment letting me know what your blog is and we can learn from each other. Don’t have a blog? Why not start one today. A good place I would recommend is WordPress.Com - -Well onto today’s video….

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1 comment.

Video: Even More Christmas Lights Set to Music


Posted on December 24th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: DIY, Gadgets, Video, YouTube.

As if the previous post was not enought (7 Video) - Tony Hansen of Kissimmee Fl or Orlando Area as some told me (Yup Next Door Neighbor to Disney World) is using $10,000 Dollars worth of technology to light and provide sound for the neighborhood. Playing 5 Songs. You Know I love watching them but I would hate to be his neighbors. :-)

These Christmas Lights displays are getting better and better each year. All Started a few years back with that one Christmas Video I saw and received in several emails that I believe is being used in a beer commercial this year.

The Mad Russian - Trans Siberian Orch

Carol of the Bells

 

A Fifth of Beethoven

 

Boughs of Holly

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DIY Lip balm - Similar to Burt’s Bees - All Natural Hack


Posted on August 21st, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, DIY, Free, Hack, Health.

Well, a friend of mine who makes various soaps and what not gave me a small container of some homemade lip balm. All I can say is wow - this stuff is really nice and helped out on the chapped lips. She got her recipe in an email from a soap making group she belongs to. There was no attribution as to who first made this or any sort of copyright on this so I am going to share with you what in my humble opinion is one of the best lip balms I have used. And Hey I have tried quite a few such as chapstick, blistex carmex, and burt’s bees. Burt’s Bee’s has been my favorite up until this.

First Gather the following items up to prepare for this lip delight.

  1. 1/2 oz of Almond or Olive Oil
  2. 1/2 Tablespoon of fine grated beeswax - Found in Health Store or Some Drug Stores
  3. 1 Tablespoon of Honey - The Better the Honey the Better it will be
  4. 5 drops of Vanilla Essential Oil or Peppermint or Other Food Grade Essential Oils to make it smell nice
  5. Set of Lips to test it on. :-)

To Prepare:

  1. Put Oil and Bees Wax in a heat proof glass measuring cup.
  2. Set Cup in pan of simmering water.
  3. Heat until both items are melted
  4. Slowly blend in Honey
  5. Blend in the 5 drops of Essential Oil
  6. Pour mixture into small container
  7. Let mixture set - Can be placed in refrigerator.

The Container my friend used was to recycle a small mint tin with a secure lid.

To Use - use finger to smooth onto lips. Smack Lips Around. To Test give your love one a nice kiss on the lips (Hint: if you are sick don’t try this at home)

Other Idea is to use Peppermint Essential Oil or similar food grade flavoring to add aroma to the DIY Lip Balm.

Some Mint Tins Waiting to be filled

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Spotted this at Staples - Rolla Notebook


Posted on June 22nd, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, Communication, DIY, Gadgets, Hack, Notetaking, Office.

I have been thinking about storing my Notes and Indexcards slightly differently while still using my Levengers Internation Shirt Pocket Briefcase. I have seen some people use the rollabind / circa (by Levengers) System to make them a little easier to store / sort and use. Well the Rolla Notebooks with leather cover are back at Staples. Below is a photo I snapped as they were updating the plan-o-gram for the store shelfs. The product is still not on the shelfs at the store closest to me but will be I am guessing by the weekend? This is much larger then what I would use - It is for 8.5 x 11 sheets but it looks really nice and wanted to share what I find out in the wild. This was a faux leather cover with places to hold slips of paper in the front cover and you can completly flip the cover to the back making it fairly easy to take notes. They also had many forms to fit into this binder as well.

I really hope Staples.com will also supply the rollabind punchers and binding disks. That really would be nice. But the Staples Person stocking the shelfs didn’t know and was not sure how to look them up on their computer. Staples.com if you by chance see this - get them instock. Please…. I really hate having to purchase them from Levengers or other places online with the inflated shipping and handling charges.

The Rolla Notebook at Staples

The Rolla Notebook - At Staples Store Near You.

 

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2 comments.

Video: How to - Calligraphy


Posted on March 9th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Communication, Craft, DIY, Fountain Pens, Video, YouTube.

The following video "Calligraphy - Only You" makes doing Calligraphy look very easy - Too easy. I wish I could make my calligraphy look about half as good in twice the time. I believe the lettering style is Blackletter style. This really is a nice traditional style. I can see this style being used for wedding invitations, party invitations, basically anywhere you would like a stylish look and feel.

 

 

 

This style is also called German Gothic - Again a nice style In my opinion for a wedding invitation, or a fancy party invitation. I really need to practice this style - a very traditional style of calligraphy.

 

Technorati Tags: Calligraphy, Youtube, german+gothic, Calligraphy, Blackletter, Wedding, Wedding+invitation, Invitations, DIY, Lettering, Handwriting, Craft


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The Art of Shaving: Part 2


Posted on March 6th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Adult, DIY, Gadgets, Health, Shaving, YouTube.

Proraso Shave BrushToday's Installment and video is about Lathering. This is about how to get the best lather from your shave soap and brush. As I have mentioned I am new to this and I am still learning about wet-shaving as well.

I am currently using a shave brush that I bought quite inexpensivly from a local old fashioned drug store. I think I paid about $6 or $7 for this brush. This is a boars hair brush which is a little stiffer then the badgers hair brush. Honestly I prefer a stiffer brush I like the feel and the action of the brush.  If you are looking for an inexpensive brush - Head on down to Target and check out the SPA Section in the near the women's health and beauty area. They are not located where you would think they should be in the shaving isle with all the other shaving products. These products in that isle are what they consider high end. The brush you can get at Target is the Proraso Shave brush as seen in the image above. While there you can pick up a tub or tube of the Proraso shave cream/soap. This is considered a very good shave cream and make a wonderful lather. This does contain Menthol, Eucalyptus and Glycerin. This combination on the skin give a wonderful base for the shave and has a nice wake me up scent. This cream will give your face a slight tingle/cooling effect from the menthol & eucalyptus which I really enjoy. With the combination of Hot Water, Brush and Shave cream I get a much better lather on my face then I ever got from the can shaving creams. In fact I learned that many of the propellants used in the can can often dry out your skin which is not a very good thing if you want a nice close shave. 

Well the video below will explain the whole process much better then I ever can. So, sit back and enjoy the show.

 

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DIY: How to make your own Parchment Paper


Posted on February 18th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Analog, Art, Coffee, Craft, DIY, Fountain Pens, Hack, Journaling, Leather, Tutorial.

Sample of Chared ParchmentToday I decided to write about a project I did some time ago it was make a new sheet of paper look old. Or how to make some good olde fashioned parchment paper. To the left is an example of what it could look like

First - I wrote in my best calligraphy handwriting on the page - (I used a heavier high cotton blend for the fiber look and feel).

I had to use Noodlers black ink as this ink will not run when adding the paper coloring. I let this dry while I gathered up the rest of the items needed.

  • 1 cup of strong brewed coffee (I made two - one for me to drink while working on the Calligraphy and one to sit and wait till the right time to be put to use)
  • 1 tablespoon of any instant coffee (This is to add the extra color on to the paper in a varied pattern)
  • 1 baking pan - large enough for the paper to be put into.
  • 1 sponge or several paper towels
  • an Oven or hair dryer - I prefer the oven method - but both work
    if using the oven pre-heat it to 200-225 degrees
  • An Iron (Optional)
  • A zippo lighter (Optional)
  • Woolen Yarn or Leather Strip (Optional)

Now this is the hard part - after you finished the calligraphy work on the paper - You need to first tear the edges in varied patter to give it that old torn look (Do this if you want to) Doing this before adding the color helps the edges get better coloring in them. Next is the really hard part - you need to crinkle the paper up into a small / medium size ball. Then you need to unball it and flatten it down - almost flat but will some of the crinkles still showing to hold the coffee to help break up the solid pattern of color.

Place the flattened sheet into the pan and pour the coffee all over the page. Making sure to cover the whole page. 

Now wait a few moments or about 1 min then sprinkle the instant coffee randomly across the page. Don't make it even as these will soon dissolve and give the page that extra color that will make it look more like beautiful old parchment paper.  

Next you want to use the sponge to blog the coffee off the paper - I waited about 2 or 3 mins to let it soak in. Use different amounts of time depending on how much color you want.

Now empty any remaining coffee back into a cup if you intend to do another sheet or throw it away. (I heard coffee grounds were good for some plants - I wonder if you could use this for some of them plants)  

Now put the paper on the tray into the oven for about 5 to 7 mins. (Make sure to watch and check often - you don't want the paper to burn after all this work)

The last step is optional - I used an iron on low setting to remove all the creases in the paper and make it flat again. Some people will like the the creases in the paper. It does look good both ways.

Now this last step is also optional - I only did this to one of my parchments and it looked really classy but I was afraid of redoing all my work. Get out the zippo lighter and light it up and get near the edges to "Burn" them slightly. This really will give it that old world look - just like this was an old pirate treasure map.

Now you can mouth this in a frame or if you want to use these for other uses you can roll this up and tie a woolen piece of yarn around it or a strip of leather to tie it with a bow. 

You can use this for creating a beautiful love poem for your wife or girlfriend, or if you are having a party and want to have some cool invitation (Great for a kids Pirate Party) or You are running a scavenger hunt - these make cool looking location maps or scavenger hunt lists. The Ideas for what you can use this for is endless. I have seen a photo printed out on a laser printer in a grey scale pattern to make the photo look like an old sepia type print.

Good luck and Stay warm (Brr)

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