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By Hot Writer, February 12, 2011 8:47 pm

Craft projects can be great family fun. Candle making crafts are a particularly good click=’ShowSpinOptions(14)’>choice. If you’d like to try your hand on a wax project, here’s a good one I found at: candle making crafts

The ingredients required are: pine cones, wick or a cotton string, and wax.

Collecting the pine cones is a good project in itself. Pine trees are easy to find once you start lookingIf you don’t have any pine trees of your own, a visit to almost any park or wood land should let you find what you need.

One of the good things about this project is even if you don’t regularly make candles you can use the remnants of candles you buy for this project. I suggest using plain old paraffin for this project. Soy wax is likely to be too soft and sticky at room temperature to be successful in this application. I certainly wouldn’t use beeswax these fire starters. If I had any left over beeswax, I’d save it until I had enough to make another beeswax candle.

The method is not at all complicated. The process is very similar to making dipped candles, only you dip the whole pine cone not just the string.

Wrap a length of string around the pine cone, working it in between the segments, and leaving a length of it extending from the end of the pine cone. If you have left over wicking, you can use it but cotton string is generally good enough for this application.

Melt the wax you’ve collected to about 170 – 190. For safety’s sake, use a double boiler.

When the wax is melted, you can take it off the heat and begin dipping the pine cones. It usually works best if you prepare the pine cones before you start, then dip them each once. After the initial dipping, you can let the wax cool slightly then dip each pinecone multiple times until a nice layer of wax as build up on the segments.

Let the wax harden, then trim the string and the fire starter is finished.

As with most any candle project, you can use dye to color them or fragrance to add scent.

To find more details on other candle crafts, click here.  And I highly recommend that you follow this link to learn about a complete guide to home candle making.

Have fun trying these crafts.

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By Article Writer, September 20, 2010 12:50 am

With greenish heads and copper-colored wings, the Japanese beetle is one of the most recognizable menaces to every well-kept garden. Between the green head and tiny tufts of white hair along their side you’ll recognize them easily as they happily munch on your roses.

There are some things the Japanese beetle DOESN’T EAT, and these include dogwood, lilac, evergreens, Hosta and forsythia, among others. These beetles feed on flowers and fruits making a skeleton of the leaves by eating the green parts and leaving the veins. Usually they strike in the mid-morning to early afternoon. These voracious pests prefer plants in direct sun, so shady areas are usually less damaged.

The bacterial spore, sold as ‘Doom’ or ‘Grub Attack’ is generally used to control these pests. You can trap more beetles into your yard with a hormone lure. Start by setting the lure up at least a hundred yards away, to encourage the beetles to move to another place. Don’t be surprised, though, if you get another beetle attack in due time, as this is a quick fix. Japanese beetles are deceptively high fliers, and can thus evade further damage by simply flying away.

You can also kill these pests by handpicking – dropping them in a bucket of water and soap. Once a beetle drowns in the bucket of soap and water, that’s it – this method has been proven to be more effective than pesticide, according to some studies. One great way to get rid of more beetles is to place the bucket under the plant, then shake the plant as these pests start falling to their deaths by drowning. To get even more beetles, it is suggested that you do this in the early morning, before the actual feeding begins. Several birds (grackles, cardinals, meadowlarks) feed on the adult beetles so encourage birds in your yard.

If you decide to use a lure, place it at least 100 feet away from your garden.} {Lures attract beetles and if you place one in your garden, you’ll have all the neighbors beetles visiting as well.~Who knows, you may even lure in the neighbors’ pests if your garden already has one.~If your garden already has a lure set up, maybe the neighbor’s pests will be roped in as well. {Find a neighbor who doesn’t garden to host the lures and traps.~It would be best if you have a neighbor who doesn’t garden, so he or she can host the lure.~A non-gardening neighbor, though, would make the perfect host when setting up the lure.}

{Wrap yourself in a lovely scent that lasts all day. Just a dab of bvlgari perfumes or givenchy perfume and you’re set from day to evening.}

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By Article Writer, May 10, 2010 6:40 pm

You’ll find an abundance of enjoyment techniques that you simply can craft your way into the 4th of July. If you might be in search of some fantastic Independence Day craft tips, we have some for you personally. But, ahead of you appear at those choices, all you need to do to arrive up with your personal is usually to consider the day, the purpose to the day, the colors plus the enjoyment it’ll provide. Continue reading '3 Kids Craft Tips intended for Independence Day'»

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By Article Writer, November 4, 2009 10:02 pm

A puzzle is an interesting toy that produces a complete picture or shape. It can be a perfect gift for the children, grandson, and your friend. The idea of a puzzle is on how to solve and form the picture. It requires the assembly of various pieces of small, oddly shaped cut-outs. Once you correctly put into the right places all the missing pieces then the whole picture or shape is already seen. This is the idea of a puzzle. These puzzles are enjoyable and great for every puzzle enthusiast.

A variety of puzzles are in the form of animals, structures, aircrafts, ocean life, heavy equipment, and many more. These various types provide the puzzle enthusiast to play and educate himself or herself on how to solve it in a given timeframe. That is why traditional puzzles have now evolved into more challenging and more unique designs to suit the need of any individual. A lot of advanced types of puzzles have been emerging in the market today such as 3d puzzles.

Many of these puzzles are made of a special kind of wood and they require the puzzle to be solved in a certain order. Some of these pieces will not fit in if others are already in place. These types of puzzles are usually very challenging to solve and to put in place because of its various sizes and shapes. Examples of these types of puzzles are the 3d puzzles.

The design of 3d puzzles usually is very educational like the figure of a ship, castle or even animals like giraffe and dinosaurs. It is fun and at the same time very didactic. These 3d puzzles are very enlightening in such a way that the individual solving it is able to challenge his or her capacity to construct, form and correctly put in place the different pieces in order to see the whole design or picture.

Puzzles are made to make any life very challenging and rewarding. There are puzzles that depict the prehistoric era with dinosaurs. Others are depicting the ocean life such as whales and ships. The rest are created and designed like spaceships and fighter planes. But regardless of whatever is the design, these puzzles are becoming a famous hobby for every enthusiast. And most of these puzzles are offered in the website in different assortments and design to select from.

There could be dull moments in life which leaves you with nothing to do but stare. Spark it up and play some 3d puzzles with family members. It not only draws you closer to them but you will surely have all the fun and excitement while playing the game. Simply visit www.uniquehomegardenshoppe.com to know more about it.

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By Article Writer, September 4, 2009 7:25 pm

The fireplace screen comes in different sizes, shapes and designs with styles that range from the classical to the modern. This is commonly made of metal and each piece is a piece of art itself that can be used at the focal point of your home. You need this important accessory to reinforce the appearance of the hearth in complement to its architectural styles. This particular blocker is effective for keeping ashes and flames from being thrown out of the hearth.

Just keep your fireplace screen and other accessories simple, and leave the walls on each side of your burning box free of artwork so as not to overshadow it. You can reinforce your cozy focal point with a large piece of artwork hanging above the mantel. If you do not want it hanging too high, you can simply have it propped on the mantelpiece. A large piece of wall frame is an ideal way of enhancing the appearance of your hearth.

A fireplace screen should not obstruct your sight from the flickering beauty of the flames. A mesh guard is very important to avoid sparkling embers from getting out of the burning box for they can damage the floor and other furnishings nearby. This hearth door and cover come in many different colors, sizes and models for you to choose from suitable to your personal taste.

Do not worry about having more than one focal point in the same room. You are lucky to have both the cozy hearth and a spectacular view in one place of your home. With a fireplace screen you can ensure the safety of your other house decors around the wood-burning place. You can arrange your collections in a way to create an eye-catching display. Other pieces of furniture may be placed near the focal area of your home to be given attention too. What is important is proper grouping of the collections or pieces of furniture.

You can also ask for assistance form online representatives who can readily address your concerns. For more awesome design and fabulous styles of wood-burning place accessories, you can browse and check on the internet for some web sites that are into this type of product. There are certain web sites which can offer you a wide array of collections of these accessories that you need on fireplace screen.

To avoid embers from getting out of a fireplace, fireplace screen becomes handy. This would avoid damaging your home decors. Put the screen at a focal point and it will surely create an attractive design to your space. It comes in different colors, sizes and models that would suit your own needs.