The Jeffrey And Tracey Info Emporium

Although it might look as though penmanship is a dying art, it’s a skill that is even nowadays essential in many walks of life. A handwritten missive conveys more importance than a typewritten missive, such as an application for a job, an invitation or an apology.

You may think it’s a recent phenomena of the masses shunning handwriting and using a keyboard instead, but as far back as the late 1800s, there were that penmanship was being uncared-for because of the invention of those times : the typwriter. Now in the 21st century, the blame is being connected to the use of computer keyboards.

Yet, there still exists a healthy requirement for handwriting talent in in every area of day to day life. Handwritten letters are viewed as far more reliable, they demonstrate the author has carefully thought out his words, and they show more respect to the reader. During this era of letter templates, the hand-written letter has never been more compelling.

I must confess to something. I have often been caught red-handed with my own poor penmanship - made worse by decades of relying on my computer keyboard. In situations in which I’ve had to hand write something, my writing’s been a sloping scrawl. It doesn’t look good. What did I do? I handwrote more often, and it greatly improved. In conclusion, it’s advisable to improve your hand writing through sheer repitition.

One more point is to acquire a pen you are comfy with, with refills. Great refills include the legendary mont blanc refills. This allows you to brush up your hand writing with the same pen.

In ancient years, more and more creative persons are approaching portraiture as contemporary artwork. In years past, the portrait artist finished their cases in a direction many would classify as traditionalistic art.

A portrayal painting of Abraham Lincoln done by a notable European portrait artist has caught this trend utterly. It is a portrait of Lincoln on a lifeless background. It is hard not to believe a lensman did not journey back in time to click the word-painting. All though, a picture would probably not take the deepness of Lincoln’s human face.

Still, portrait painters remain to pigment their studies in traditional trends and this is not likely to change. Especially since many of these portraits deck the entrance halls of many another of the most spectacular, conventional buildings in the Europe.

Contemporary art portraiture is express getting a frequent expression art in popular day art . Peculiarly as earlier generations grow ancient and start purchasing some art for their internal assemblings. Such collections as the American Royalty Collection, George Washington, Babe Ruth, Britney Spears and many another other iconic designs to this generation have moved concern in portraits and portrait corrupting.

It is not hard to see wherefore so umpteen souls love portraitures though. In some cases, untold as the Mona Lisa, it is one of our only links to the past. The only way we can put expressions with the key names end-to-end in our account.

The City has some of the top museums on the whole planet in actuality it has many hundreds of museums & exhibitions equally big & small. There are oodles to elect from but for clear reasons a few are more popular than others. Some of the finest museums to visit are the British Museum, Natural History and Science Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Imperial War Museum & the National Maritime Museum.

The British Museum has in recent times opened again, but with a rich restoration and is traditionally looked upon as being the top museum on the planet where incredible three-thousand year old Egyptian emperors take pleasure in a significantly more exciting life after death than they ever predicted. To be found in Central London this is now one of the foremost museums in The City to take the entire family to visit. There are plenty of colourful collected works and galleries to discover, some of which embrace the reading room & the brand new African collection, which experts promote as being the planet’s biggest & best in terms of scope & quality with over two hundred thousand objects.

The Natural History & Science Museums are apt for both teenagers and grown ups. The Natural History Museum building is wonderful and any dinosaur addict by all means will relish getting lost in everything that belongs to history that belongs to this splendid museum. If you are looking for essential information on London’s Attraction and Museums then visit http://www.timeout.com.

The Science Museum is amazing, very prompt in relation of when science breakthroughs are brought to life. There are a collection of scientists on site developing genuine science research in which you can take part in if you interested. There are several exciting hands on things to do for both adolescents and adults.

The Victoria and Albert museum what’s more generally known as the V&A is a big museum crammed with history. It is worth a visit just for the cast digs alone. The museum itself is free of charge to go in & is the planet’s leading decorative & arts & design museum. The Imperial War Museum looks a lot at the history of the war rather than its prosecution. Some great displays such as “The Blitz” and “The Holocaust” are extremely affecting.

What, Exactly, Is Kona Cotton?
Kona(R) cotton is a premium, 100% cotton broadcloth from Robert Kaufman Fabrics in Los Angeles. The company introduced the fabric in the 1980’s in response to the then rapidly emerging quilting industry, an interest that continues unabated today. It is a soft, light fabric, often called the ‘Quilter’s Cotton’, that is also ideal for fine apparel such as children’s clothing; soft, comfortable shirts; dresses; applique and home decorating. It has a ‘meaty’ hand, which means you can really feel the difference when you touch the fabric and that makes it a joy to work with.
Warps. And Wefts, Too
Kona cotton has a high 60 by 60 thread count. This means there are 60 warp threads and 60 weft threads per square inch of fabric. Until I did some research, I didn’t know what warp and weft threads were. (I had never even heard the word ‘weft’.) A warp thread is a support thread in the loom, long and strong and usually tied down onto the loom; a weft thread is passed back and forth between the warp threads to form cloth. It is that high thread count, all those warps and wefts playing together, that make Kona cotton a soft, light, yet very durable material; one of the best woven fabrics available for hand or machine quilting.
Pre-use Care
It’s a good idea to launder the fabric to remove any sizing/finish before using it in your project. Treat it as you would any new 100% cotton fabric: Gentle wash, mild detergent, tumble dry low, remove promptly and iron. Expect about a 1-3% shrinkage.
What About Color?
Kona is available in plenty of colors, 170 solid colors according to the manufacturer’s web site, RobertKaufman.com. And a quick search for ‘hand dyed Kona cotton’ will pop up vendors offering hundreds of colors and patterns of beautifully dyed Kona cotton fabric.
But Aren’t You an Embroiderer?
Yes, I am a machine embroiderer and those same qualities that make Kona cotton ideal for quilting and sewing apply to machine embroidery, too. That meaty feel I mentioned makes it very easy to hoop and quick to stabilize. The push/pull factor is minimal and, best of all, the stitched out designs are gorgeous on it. Even though there a many cheaper fabrics, I test all my embroidery designs on Kona cotton and turn to it first for any finished embroidery project I have.

Embroidery design digitizer Deb Schneider offers her machine embroidery designs on her website, WindstarEmbroidery.com.

You can contact Deb by visiting her website or by email at dschneider@WindstarEmbroidery.com

Colored pencils have become a very popular medium for budding new artists. Beginner artists using this medium find it much easier to express their creativity; mainly because of the control and convenience colored pencils offer. Other mediums like oil paint for instance, appear to present much bigger challenges for new artists. Working with colored pencil is a great way to get your creative juices flowing.

Let’s begin our exploration of the colored pencil medium by explaining some of the popular techniques many artists use.

Hatching: Hatching is basically the drawing of closely spaced parallel lines. You can vary the length, angle and spacing of the lines to produce different effects.

Cross-Hatching: First lay down strokes in a horizontal direction, and then overlap in a vertical direction, followed by a diagonal stroke.

Scumbling: Using a sharp pencil move in a circular motion with light pressure, and begin to overlap the circles as you move along. This technique requires a lot of time and patience but the final result is quite rewarding.

Burnishing: When you place many layers of color over another using a lot of pressure until the “tooth” of the paper is no longer able to hold pigment, resulting in a smooth surface. Do not apply too much pressure as you can break your pencil point or damage your paper. This technique works best when using a paper with a good amount of texture or “tooth”.

Shading: Use the side of your pencil and use back and forth sweeping motions to cover the desired area. Vary the amount of pressure to create different effects.

Colored Pencil Tips

The type of paper that you choose for your colored pencil art depends on your style of drawing. Every artist is different so it really is best to experiment. Paper comes in a variety of textures, otherwise known as its “tooth”. There are rough surfaces with a lot of texture as well as smooth surfaces with very little texture. Rougher textures are better for applying multiple layers; where as smooth surfaces are excellent for blending. You should purchase a few different types of papers to determine the type of surface you are most comfortable working with. Some good choices to consider for your colored pencil drawings are Rising Stonehenge, Canson Mi Tientes, and Strathmore.

When choosing your pencils, it’s best not to go for cheap pencils, because you may be disappointed with the results. Cheaper pencils do not have as much pigment and therefore will not produce the brilliance in color you are after. Many artists find the Prismacolor Colored Pencils to be a great choice. Prismacolor pencils have a soft lead that goes on smooth. When built up in layers they produce an almost paint like appearance.

Wax bloom, a build up of wax on the surface of your paper, is something you will more than likely become aware of as you work with the colored pencil medium. The wax in your colored pencil can rise to the surface and form a white hazy buildup that can dull your finished piece. There are two approaches for dealing with wax bloom. One approach is to try and prevent it from happening in the first place. Spraying a workable fixative over the surface after you have finished your drawing may help. There is some concern however that fixatives may alter the colors in a drawing, so it’s best to try this on a practice drawing first. The other method is to actually wait a week or so after you complete the drawing. If you see the wax buildup, grab some soft tissue or cotton balls, and rub the surface to remove the wax. Don’t apply too much pressure as you can smear your drawing.

Keep a large soft brush handy for brushing away unwanted scraps from your drawings. Artists use a number of things for this purpose, from horsehair drafting brushes, to 2″ household paint brushes.

Experiment with various types of erasers to see what type you are most comfortable with. Artists use a variety of tools for removing pigment or fixing mistakes. Kneaded erasers, plastic erasers, electric erasers, and even tape may work well for you.

For softening hard edges or blending, purchase some blending stumps or a colorless blender at your local art store.

Try and avoid electric sharpeners as they tend to eat away too much of the pencil. Many artists keep a piece of sandpaper handy and use that to sharpen the pencil point.

Never be afraid to try different things with your colored pencil art. Try various papers, pencils, etc.

Look for some local colored pencil workshops in your area. You will be amazed at the amount of great information and tips you will discover from your teacher and classmates.

For more colored pencil techniques & tips visit http://www.creativespotlite.com/colored-pencil-techniques.htm today!

Do you find it difficult to spend time together as a family?

There are so many pressures and activities that can take away from the sense of family which was more commonly experienced 50 years ago. Parents often both work, and their commute can be tiring and long. For children there is school and homework, TV, video games, and the computer to juggle with. This does not include outside the home activities such as belonging to sports teams and organizations. All of these factors mean that the family is not together so often. Many activities that occupy children nowadays are individualistic or non-social. Electronic forms of entertainment are now normal, but the disadvantage is that they are not conducive to social interaction and relationship building.

Parents increasingly have to plan to set aside time to spend as a family. During these times it is a good idea to plan activities that involve everyone. A great way of bonding is to do an activity where everyone works together to accomplish a project.

Doing a jigsaw puzzle together is a good example of this and has many benefits. Working on a jigsaw puzzle is a practical activity that all ages can participate in some way. Even younger children can be encouraged to help. They can sort the pieces into like colors, or look for particular pieces. They feel such a sense of accomplishment when they find the piece and help complete the section.

For children, a jigsaw puzzle has several learning applications. It develops spatial awareness and hand eye coordination. There are analytical, abstract, and concrete thinking skills that are needed to become adept at doing a jigsaw puzzle.

While the family is together around the puzzle, a relaxed natural environment is created for conversation and relationship building. It develops a sense of team as all participate.

Doing a jigsaw puzzle is also a great introduction to other types of hobbies and crafts that involve using hands and creating something. For the upcoming generation these types of crafts and hobbies are in danger of dying out as electronic entertainment increases in popularity and use.

I have fond memories of doing jigsaw puzzles with my family as a child. It became a family tradition especially during the winter months. Today, however, this can still be done but without the inconvenience of losing the use of the dining room table until the puzzle is completed. There are now puzzle mats and other new storage possibilities now available.

In comparison to the jigsaw puzzles that were around when I was a child, the jigsaw puzzles today are far more interesting and appealing. There are shaped puzzles, glowing, educational puzzles, and more complex puzzles for the experienced puzzler such as 3D and two sided puzzles.

Create a tradition for your family. Plan now and buy some jigsaw puzzles to bring out on a rainy or cold weekend and have a refreshing family bonding time .

I would recommend http://www.thepuzzlemania.com as a good place to order puzzles online and get prepared for family fun.

Barbara White, a jigsaw puzzle enthusiast, has a passion to revive family traditions. For more facts and trivia about jigsaw puzzles visit her blog and forum at http://www.thepuzzlemania.com , an online jigsaw puzzle store for all the families interests.

Entering competitions may give you a chance to experience challenges or experiences you wouldn’t normally enjoy without this fantastic hobby.

I had a fantastic day out and all because I won ‘an audition’ to stand in for the weatherman whilst he was on vacation, on a UK television breakfast programme.

It sounded great fun, so I thought, why not give it a go.

Although, when the alarm clock went off in the early hours of a freezing cold and dark wintry March morning, and faced with the prospect of a four hour journey to Liverpool’s Albert Docks, I wasn’t quite sure ‘weather’ or not this was such a ‘bright’ idea.

The competition was organised in conjunction with a television programme and a national newspaper. The task was to complete the limerick:

‘”There once was a met man called Fred, who told bosses I’m feeling half dead…”‘

A number of entrants were to be selected for audition on the Albert Dock weather map, from which ten would be chosen to stay overnight in Liverpool, returning next morning for a second audition. From these ten, five winners would be selected, who would each read the weather forecast for one morning, whilst Fred Talbot the weatherman, was on holiday.

Fifty of us turned up for audition. What a marvellous day it was. My first shivering reaction, peering down at the weather map, is unprintable. Any misapprehensions about leaping from Scotland to Northern Ireland on the floating weather map soon disappeared as my friend Jane and I went into the studio with the other 49 hopefuls.

Fred and members of the television staff greeted us warmly and, over cups of coffee, discussed the morning’s programme. We were told to dress in bright colours, and there I was sporting my winning Ramsey Street sweatshirt, with its brightly coloured houses. I always knew it would come in handy. However, compared with some of the outfits, this was anything but bright. For those of you watching the programme, you couldn’t fail to see the outstanding red and yellow duck umbrella, the tiger, nor the brave man in his kilt playing the bagpipes. We had a whale of a time, and the atmosphere was terrific.

Fifty of us standing on the weather map, ready to go out live to three million people. We didn’t need Fred to read the weather. We could feel the flurries of sleet and our numb fingers were blue with cold. But the smiles were warm, the coffee hot and the day was fun.

For the announcement of the winner, the producer came and thanked everyone for attending and couldn’t emphasize enough how impressed he was with the marvellous atmosphere, the shouts of encouragement and general camaraderie of competitors. He revealed 3,200 people had entered the competition from which fifty of us had been selected. Even though I wasn’t a winner, it was an experience I wouldn’t have missed.

I thought, quite wrongly, that because it was a competition, most of the people there would be “compers” (people who enter competitions). Chatting to a few, I discovered people had entered for a variety of reasons, ranging from “dares” to, “always wanted to appear on TV”; “thought it would be fun”, and “my friend entered my name”.

Whatever your reasons for entering competitions, one thing is for sure. It’s an exciting and fun pastime. So never mind about sitting at home watching the weather on TV, pick up your pen and get comping!

Lynne Suzanne is a contests consultant, freelance writer and author of Win With Lynne Intaslogans, Pun-ch Lines! and Win Your Fortune in Prizes.
FREE Win With Lynne - How to Win guide.
http://www.win-with-lynne.co.uk

This may come as a surprise to you, but there are people other than your grandmother who enjoy needlepoint as a hobby. Needlepoint has been around since the beginning of time but that doesn’t mean that you can’t become an expert at it. In fact, we’re pretty sure that if you focus enough of your energy at a certain hobby you can become an expert in just about anything. You can find just about anything you want on the internet. In fact, if you think it might be an exciting hobby, chances are someone has thought that before you did. Let’s take a look at needlepoint and how to get acquainted with the hobby.

1) Use the major search engines to search for these phrases: “needlepoint beginner,” o “needlepoint tutorial,” or “how to learn needlepoint.” Be sure and use quotes for the last phrase- it makes all the difference in finding that exact phrase. There are people starting new hobbies all the time and you aren’t going to be the only one interested in needlepoint. In fact, a quick search for just the term “needlepoint” returns more than 2.6 Million results in Google. If term needlepoint has been written at least 2.6million times on the web, you can be sure that there are others that have written a basic tutorial in getting started on the hobby.

2) Use DMOZ. Here is a trick that not everyone is going to tell you because they just don’t know about it (and that I’ve taken from another hobby). Visit Dmoz.org. Dmoz is an Open Directory edited by humans. If a site has been included in Dmoz, that means that a human has reviewed the site and decided that it is good enough to be included in the Dmoz directory. Usually, only real quality sites are added to the Dmoz directory as all the editors work for free and pride themselves on only including the best sites on the web.

We’ve notice that when we are looking for something (in this case, needlepoint), nothing beat dmoz.org as a great place to start. Start your quest at dmoz, then visit our site to learn all about needlepoint in easy step by step tutorials.

Roger Wembley is author of “Learn Needlepoint.” Grab your copy at www.needlepointastic.com

You’ve been writing poetry since that first assignment in your high school writing class. You know the rules about writing poetry, right? Are there rules? Well, if you frequent the poetry forums across the Internet as much as I do, you’d find that there are a lot of amateur poets who adamantly declare that there are no rules for writing poetry and if someone even suggests reading poetry or books on poetry, many of the amateur poets will throw up a defensive front. My opinion seems to swing fervently toward the opposition. You have to know the rules before you break them; at least that’s what I always say.

I know that writing a sonnet in iambic pentameter is an art that has been buried in the tombs of the renaissance, but understanding it, along with the numerous other dying closed forms of poetry, is a powerful tool when writing that prosy contemporary piece. Being a great poet demands an intricate understanding of the way in which language works its edges into a reader’s conscience. A poem is a mosaic of sounds, syncopations, and images. All of the little fragments of a poem must work together in a unified fashion to culminate in something refreshing and new.

Refreshing and new? Well, you might wonder how understanding such archaic attributes of poetry such as meter and rhyme might help a contemporary poet craft a refreshing new poem. It is all about the sound and the innovation of it. Even scientists stand on the shoulders of those before them. You don’t have to manage a perfect rhyme or a measured foot in a poem to be jumping from the inspiration of Shakespeare’s sonnets, but having those rhythms and rhymes teetering in and out of the wrinkles in your brain will send a very subtle vibration of sound through your very own pieces.

In summary, read, read, read, know the rules, and then break the rules. Goodness help you, please break them.

Here are some references to help you along the way:

-Books:

The Practice of Poetry: by Robin Behn

Writing Poems: by Robert Wallace and Michelle Boisseau

A Poetry Handbook: by Mary Oliver

-Websites:

www.poetrylessons.org

www.poetrymagic.co.uk

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/poetry-explication.html

http://www.poetry-portal.com/poetry.html

-And don’t forget to read some contemporary poetry:

www.poems.com

http://www.pedestalmagazine.com/

Devrie Paradowski is a freelance writer and poet. Her poetry has been published by several literary journals and she has written dozens of articles for various publications including “Poetry Renewal Magazine,” and “Poetryscams.com.” She is the author of the chapbook, “Something In the Dirt,” which can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/108560 . In 2001, Devrie founded a popular online literary community ( http://www.LiteraryEscape.com ) that has become highly respected for some of the most honest and in-depth poetic critique on the Internet. In keeping with her commitment to inspire amateur writers to hone their skills, she also founded a local writer’s group called, “The Fire and Ice Writer’s Group.”

Antique Farms provide a fascinating time tunnel of what once was.
There’s nothing like actually experiencing Living History to make it come alive.

If you are into collecting Antique farm bells, wagons or tractors, it’s a lot of fun to go to farm Museums and country tractor shows.

They are really fun and are a great way to spend a family day that will be remembered and appreciated.

I remember playing on old tractors as a kid, in my home town over 40 years ago! Playing farmer with my two wild brothers, on old ramshackled tractors is a memory I still delight in.

Who knows? Maybe that is what hooked me into the Antique Farm passion?

What is really amazing though is that you can find ancient relics at these shows often in Top running shape. Did you know you can still order parts for some of these living history machines?
To share in the fun, here is a list of some of the best Farm Museums out there. Here is a list of Farm Museums by Area:
(Please note: There are a lot of them so I will present the huge list via several articles).

Alaska
Museum: MUSEUM OF ALASKA TRANSPORTION & INDUSTRY
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
Contact: (907) 376-1211
Info: Open seven days a week from May 1st to September 30th, and Tuesday through Saturday the rest of the year. Hours are 10AM until 6PM during the summer season and 9

Arizona
Museum: STUTTGART AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM
Location: Stuttgart, Arizona
Contact: (501)-673-7001
Info: Large farm equipment specializing in tractors and steam engines. Open Tuesday- Saturday, 10-12 & 1-4

Museum: THE GOLDEN ERA MUSEUM
Location: 297 W. Central, Coolidge, Arizona
Contact: (602)-948-9570 weekdays or (520)-723-5044 weekends
Info: Open 11 am to 5 pm weekends October through May. Admission price

California
Museum: ANTIQUE GAS & STEAM ENGINE MUSEUM
Location: Vista, California
Contact: (619)-941-1791
Info: Open daily 10-4. Guided tours & tours organized demonstrations available.

Colorado
Museum: CONEJOS CO. FARM/RANCH MUSEUM
Location: LaJara, Colorado
Contact: Gene Williams, (719)-274-5765
Info: Open June 1 - September 30.

Delaware
Museum: DELAWARE AGRICULTURAL MUSEUMS & VILLAGE
Location: 866 N. Dupont hwy., Dover, Delaware 19901
Contact: (302)-734-1618
Info: Featuring antique tractors dating back to the early
settlement.

Illinois
Museum: WAUCANDA TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Location: Waucanda, Illinois
Contact: (708)-526-9303
Info: Many collections of farm equipment and old engines. Open May to September, Sundays only, 1-4.

Museum: KLINE CREEK FARM
Location: Winfield, Illinios
Contact: (708)-876-5900
Info: Featuring many collections of farm equipment and tractors from the 1890’s. Open Thursday- Monday 9-5. Closed on holidays.

Iowa
Museum: FLOYD CO. MUSEUM
Location: 500 Gilbert St., Charles City, Iowa
Contact: (641) - 228-1099; Fax (641)-228-1157
Info: Museum is open all year.Large selection of tractor manuals & Oliver Promotional Films on video tape available.

Museum: HEARTLAND MUSEUM
Location: 119 - 9th Street SW, Clarion, Iowa 50525
Contact: (515) - 602-6000
Info: The museum has over 16,000 square feet of antique tractors, trucks and machinery. Visit the museum website at www.heartlandmuseum.org

Museum: MIDWEST OLD SETTLERS & THRESHERS ASSN. INC.
Location: Mount Pleasant, Iowa
Contact: (319)-385-8937
Info: Collections of steam tractors & engines. Open mid April to mid October, Monday - Friday, 9-4.

Museum: VAN HORN TRUCK MUSEUM
Location: Mason City, Iowa
Contact: (515)-423-9066
Info: Open daily May 25 to September 22

Indiana
Museum: SKINNER FARM MUSEUM & VILLAGE STEAM & GAS SHOW
Location: Perrysville, Indiana
Contact: Norman Skinner, (765)-793-4079

Info: August 15 & 16, 1998. Call for more information.

Kansas
Museum: CENTRAL KANSAS FLYWHEELS MUSEUM
Location: 1100W. Diamond Dr., Salina, Kansas 67401
Contact: (785)-825-8473
Info: Hours are 1-5 pm, Tuesday to Sunday. May 1st through October 31st. Call for special tours. Our museum has a rare policy of accepting items on loan. We feel this policy makes items available to us that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Museum: NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CENTER & HALL OF FAME
Location: 630 Hall of Fame Dr., Bonner Springs, Kansas
Contact: (913)-721-1035; Fax (913)-721-1202
Info: Open mid March through November

Museum: NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL CENTER & HALL OF FAME
Location: Bonner Springs, Kansas
Contact: (913)-721-1075
Info: Open mid March to November, Monday- Saturday 9-5, Sunday 1-5.

That is enough for now. More Museums to come next time!

Aliza Levine is an Antique Farm Nut and Historical Researcher
Check out http://www.Antique-Farm.com - Feel Free to copy, print and frame the stunning Historical Farm Photograph Collection!