Merlins Tower

DIY: Auto To-Go Tissue Holder and Picture Frame

Posted on February 14th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Anything Else, Art, Craft, DIY, Health, Office, Weird Stuff.

I just finished making of these tissue holders. No more needing to purchase the small boxes or the really rough tissue that rips your nose a new hole. I really wanted an easy way to have tissues in the car that I didn't have to toss on the back seat or just was just some lousy quality nose tissues (Ahh I love Puffs and Kleenex Brand with Lotion). Sorry I like comfort when I have to blow my nose. 

First, This project didn't take that long to do and it was not that expensive and can easily be refilled. And don't forget these are pretty cool looking. You can even decorate the cup if you are really feeling creative. I didn't but I know a few people that would take their kids image and print it out on their printer and glue it to the cup to have another photo of their kid to talk about. :-)  Well actually you can put what ever you want on the cup and make it happy as if you need a tissue you probably are not feeling too well.

For Complete directions Check out:
Curbly: How to Make a Coffee Cup Tissue Holder

Images for decorating the cup Just a few Samples From Google Images:

A photo of some Germs or a photo of a nice Vacation Spot - Hmm - I could use a nice Cruise Ship or a nice sunny spot on a beach in Florida - Hey I have some friends in Fort Meyers - Hmmm I wonder if they have some room for me and my cat until Pennsylvania Thaws. Did I ever mention I hate  -ok- Despise Winter and the Freezing Rain - Snow - and all the salt all over the car. Yet alone getting sick. YUCK.

Technorati Tags: Coffee, Cup, Tissue, Holder, DIY, Craft, germ, warfare, vacation, cup, cheap, inexpensive, easy, fun, decoration, office, auto, car, van

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Online Tool: Visuword - Online Visual Dictionary

Posted on February 1st, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Communication, Freeware, GTD, Hack, Journaling, Notetaking, Office, Search Engine, Web Service.

Previously I wrote about the Visual Thesaurus and now I found another cool online word tool - VisuWord - They call it the online visual dictionary. I have to agree - I like how it interlinks the words and visually shows you which words are related and which ones are the same and which ones are opposite. This can be a fairly useful tool - Not something I will use everyday but can be quite useful to have in your arsenal of word tools. Like using a mind map but of words and their inter-relationship.

Technorati Tags: visuword, visual, word, words, dictionary, thesaurus, online, tool, online+tool, mind, map, mind+map, gtd, hack

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Free Sample of Various Handwriting Font Styles Print and Italic

Posted on January 16th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Anything Else, Art, Communication, Craft, Firefox, Freeware, Hack, Journaling, Notetaking, Office.

Did you ever wonder what we are talking about when you see the different styles of handwriting. Here is a link for homeschoolers and / or anyone interested in seeing the visual style of the various handwriting that is taught all over the world.

Draw Your World has sample sheets in the form of smaller images showing all the letters for all the forms of writing. From Getty-Dubay, D'Nealian Style, Palmer Handwriting Italic and Cursive,  Handwriting Without Tears, Zaner-Bloser Style. I am sure if anyone wants a small reference card these can be easily printed out. (I have not tried but looks like they should be large enough for reference) - These samples were printed out from the Starwrite Handwriting Software - Which if you want to try it out lets you try it unhindered for one time only. (So, make sure you get the most use from the first time you run it. Even Print it out to a PDF) From what I saw if you were homeschooling I would recommend trying this out and purchase if you like how it works, By the Way the program is only $39 at Starwrite Handwriting or $35 at Draw Your World.

But if you are just looking for a few FREE graphics to print out check out Studio Arts Guide to Italic Handwriting. (Click on the image on the left column to display it on the right - At that point if you are using Firefox (Highly Recommended) or IE you can right click on the image and hit the save as to save the images to your hard drive and print out later on) They have a nice chart, font families, guide, practice sheets and more for your use.

You can also check out dnealian.com for some addtional samples and primer on the D'Nealian Style of handwriting - Very Similar to the Getty-Dubay Style. 

Technorati Tags: Italic, handwriting, font, art, calligraphic, word, free, palmer, zaner, bloser, cursive, getty, dubay, dnealian, getty-dubay, homeschool, practice, adult,

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Just Found - Tornado Elite Pencil

Posted on January 7th, 2007 by Merlin.
Categories: Art, Gadgets, Journaling, Leather, Miquelrius, Office, Photography, Sketching.

I totally forgot that I even owned this pencil The Retro 51 Tornado Elite Pencil - I was received this Mechanical Pencil over 2 Years Ago and I thought I has lost this forever when one day it just dissapeared.

But so I happened to be digging in one of my Photography bags and low and behold this was stuck at the bottom just waiting to be found again. I really like this Mechanical Pencil as it was so classy looking but has an aire about itself.

The one I received was the Stainless Steel Version with a beautiful matte finish to it. The clip is very strong and will hold this pencil in place where ever you put it. (Unless You don't clip it to anything like me and Don't check the bottom of the bag )

I bought this to go along with my Business Card / reporter style notebook (Another Gift as well). I was using this to take notes and sketches while shooting some photographs. It was the prefect size too only 3.5 Inches long and clipped to the Reporter Notebook Easily and it stayed in place.

What I really liked about it was the Lead Size. This Pencil Requires a 1.1mm Lead which is a much heavier line then the standard .5mm or .7 Mechanical Pencils. Plus I loved the fact that this was a twist knob top to advance the lead. This is just one very stylish looking mechanical pencil. I was upset when I could not find this pencil anymore (well more possibly upset over the cost of it and that I only had it several months)

The Current price of this Retro 51 Elite Pencil is $14.95 with a few extra leads. It was just the right price. Not too expensive but still not cheap.

I think I will be using this again for quick sketches I make and ideas. Plus this clips onto my Leather Jacket I made for my Miquelrius Journal nicely So I can have both Fountain Pen and Pencil within Easy Access.

The only drawback is that it doesn't come with an eraser built onto this pencil. So, if you need to erase something you need to carry an eraser pen with you. This doesn't bother me as I like to doodle and draw with it thus I don't need the eraser portion.

Can be Bought as "The Writers Edge" 

Technorati Tags: Mechanical, Pencil, Retro+51, Elite, Office, p0rn, gift, lead, pencil, drawing, sketching

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