General Chat

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

:-)

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

Yes, a books a good idea........

ideas for a subject or title....?

What genre are you interested in?

im not decided.

I quite like the 'lets get some guns and shoot them all' stuff.....

but then again, a serious analysis of a topical subject is also appealing. Something along the lines of 'An in depth analysis of internet behaviour'.

I will have to think deeply about this one.....

that comes under the first heading......:-)

I thought you would have gone for a paranormal thriller.

Murder most fowl: The case of the beheaded duckling.

SS....groan.......

***bristles tail proudly***

It was bad wasn't it? lol

How about Amateur Dramatics ?

Do you have a strident voice......Shakespearean perhaps...............and of course there is the added bonus of all that dressing up.

Is there a local troupe in your area ?

I think the market on amateur dramatics has been cornered elsewhere......:-)

But the dressing up part appeals ....I always wanted to be a Japanese Admiral.

But is being a Japanese Admiral an actual hobby ?

In my spare time I'm a Japanese Admiral.........hummm.........most odd.

Did you never play Japanes Admirals and nurses when you were a child?

How strange.

Eldrick...........I have a book for you.........................

''Summers will never be the same''......

Lion Dancing-it's like Line Dancing but you move a helluva lot quicker?

Why don't you buy an ice-cream van?
Or a burger van?Then you could pitch up at sports events & shows-maybe finding a new hobby?