General Chat

As Carla says, write a book, you can even test the first chapter on us lol

Thanks soooo much for those detailed descriptions of potential pastimes. No, really, thanks.

I must go and buy the materials, along with several tank tops, a red indian dream catcher and some energy saving light bulbs.

:-)

Make an Ant Farm.

A large bottle or a small aquarium and a smaller bottle or container to fit inside the first one, allowing about 1" of space between the two containers. Both containers need secure, tight fitting lids.


garden soil


funnel or paper cone


construction paper and scotch tape


garden shovel


bucket


cotton ball


honey


ants (preferably large black ants from your yard as smaller species are difficult to see



How to Make an Ant Farm
Craft Project Instructions:

1. Place the smaller glass container that you have chosen inside the larger container. The purpose of the smaller container is purely to take up space and to encourage the ants to build their tunnels against the outside glass for easy viewing.

2. Locate an ant farm in your yard and dig carefully in the area where you see the most ants. Transfer some soft soil, with the ants, into a bucket. Try to find some larger ants or a queen ant with wings, along with eggs and larvae.

3. Using a paper cone or funnel, gently add soil and the smaller worker ants to the space between the two containers. Add the queen, eggs and larvae last, sliding them gently down the funnel to rest on the soil. The worker ants will quickly begin to relocate their queen and her offspring in their new home.

4. CAUTION: Some ants bite, so keep your child away from exposure to the ants while you work. Ants will climb even glass walls, so you'll need to securely cap your container. Punch air holes in the lid of the larger container, but make the hole openings too small to allow ants to escape.

5. Once you have the ants in place, put the lid on the container. Make a paper sleeve, covering the container from the bottom to the top of the soil. This darkens the ant farm and recreates an underground environment. Your ants will begin working immediately.

6. Care and Feeding:

Ants appreciate a drop of honey, sugar, or bread dipped in sugar water, and tiny bits of fruit or vegetables. Very, very small amounts will do; you don't want the food going mouldy in the bottle. Ants get water mainly from their food; however, every couple of days you can add a cottonball soaked in water to supplement the supply. Be careful not to knock the bottle over or shake it up; this will destroy the new ant farm.

7. To view, remove the paper sleeve.

Decorated Soap

You need:

Soap
Pressed Flowers and Leaves
Decoupage Solution
Brush
Instructions:

Press flowers traditionally or with the Microwave Flower Press.

Using a paint brush, give the soap 4 or 5 coats of gloss sealer on the side to be decorated, allowing to dry between coats. This will help the soap from discoloring the flowers.

When dry, give the soap another coat of sealer and position the flowers on the soap. Make sure there are no air bubbles under the flowers. While it is still wet, paint another coat of sealer on top. When dry give another 3 coats of sealer allowing to dry between coats. These final coats will help the design to stay on the soap during use.

Pressed Flower Paperweight
Just beautiful! Easy to make too!

You Need:

Large rock with a smooth surface
Decoupage Solution
Pressed Flowers and Leaves
Foam Brush
Instructions:

Press flowers using traditional method or Microwave Flower Press. Wash rock thoroughly. Coat rock with a layer of decoupage. Arrange flowers and leaves on a flat surface of the rock. Coat over flowers with solution. Let dry. Give entire rock 2 or 3 more coats, drying between coats.

Sand Candles
Collect some sand!.

You Need:

Candle Wax
Seashell Mix
Small Seashells
Wick
Bucket of Sand
Double Burner
Stick
Instructions:
Wet the sand and mix it for an even consistency. Scoop a hole in the sand for the size candle you want. Flatten out the bottom to give the candle a base. Push the wick into the middle of the hole and tie the other end to a stick that will rest across the top of the bucket to keep it taut. Roll the stick if necessary to take up the slack. Push seashells into the side of the sand.

Try this one,,
carve a link chain, 3 -4 or 5 links, from one piece of wood.

lol mick :-))

Collecting navel lint is an excellent hobby.

I thoroughly recommend it.

xxxx mick

Your owl just woke me up.
Hi All,Bye All,~~~~zzzzzzzz

much more fun on gen.

its a hoot

Evening all lol

I'm going for my ZZzzzz's now.Nite,Nite.
PS. a wars kicked off on General & it's only Thursday hohum. :)

oops evening Ray :)

Not much luck then lol
Try jogging by torchlight

Star Gazing then,,,

Keep a crafty watch on U.F.O,s

some really really sensible stuff coming in here, thanks

Buy a sheep call it Morris & teach it to dance.
If you miss trains you could build a train lay-out,real boys toy!

yep, stowed off with trains here

Bird watching?Sheep watching?Rambler watching?Bat watching?
Your spoilt for choice!!