You are here: Home / Archives for Miscellaneous

Calling All Artists: Check Out These Drawing Tips and Tutorials on Pinterest!

November 19, 2015 by

You love to draw, but taking an art class might be too time-consuming. Just like with most things, you can find everything you need to improve your art skills right on the Internet! Pinterest boasts a number of drawing tutorials, painting tips, and other ways to connect with experienced artists without leaving the comforts of your own laptop.

Drawing Tutorials
If you’re a visual learner looking for a bit of assistance improving your sketches, the Drawing Tutorials board on Pinterest can help. This board is filled with links to videos that will show you the mechanics of drawing landscapes, sketching the details of a person’s lips, and even creating beautiful drawings on a chalkboard.

Draw
You don’t particularly need to watch instructional videos, but you could use a bit of guidance when it comes to drawing. This board contains endless sources of drawing inspiration, as well as diagrams and daily assignments to help you improve your drawing skills. You can also use the additional tabs at the top to browse the Draw board by doodles, anime, sketches, or whichever type of drawing that you’re most interested in.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Boo! Read About the History of the Jack-o’-Lantern

October 22, 2015 by

Carving pumpkins is a beloved tradition in most households, but this history of the jack-o’-lantern dates back much farther than just your own family’s Halloween festivities. Here are a few interesting points about the history of the spooky, silly jack-o’-lantern.

  • The name “jack-o’-lantern” is derived from a 17th century British term that described a man carrying a lantern, usually a night watchman. Townspeople began to call the mysterious lights that they often saw over the wetlands "jack-o’-lanterns" because they thought that they were ghosts or spirits.
  • Irish tradition also uses the term jack-o’-lantern in a story about Stingy Jack, a man who was forced to wander the earth for all eternity with only the light from a dull ember.
  • In some parts of Great Britain, it became customary for children to carry jack-o’-lanterns door-to-door on All Saints Day to represent the souls of deceased relatives.
  • Irish immigrants brought the tradition of the jack-o’-lantern with them to the United States, and they soon began to use the more readily available pumpkin instead of the turnip.
  • Pumpkin carving and the jack-o’-lantern didn’t become a part of Halloween tradition until the late 19th century, almost 200 years after it was initially invented.

History of the Jack-O’-Lantern [History Channel]
What’s the Origin of Jack-O’-Lanterns? [Mental Floss]
Why Do We Carve Pumpkins on Halloween? [About News]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Are You a Saver or a Spender? Find Out With These Fun Quizzes!

September 17, 2015 by

If you’re having a hard time getting a handle on your finances, you might like to get a bit more insight into exactly what type of person you are when it comes to your money. Do you prefer saving your money for a rainy day, or are you the type of person to splurge on an investment item? These fun online quizzes will help you find out!

Spender or Saver?
This straightforward quiz from 7th Mind asks questions about your payday behavior, your credit cards, and your debt in order to determine your spending (and saving) habits. It’s a psychology-based quiz, so expect to gain some insight into how your habits reflect on your personality.

What Kind of Spender Are You?
The Mint’s spending and saving quiz is a bit more in-depth, asking more specific questions and offering a wider variety of answers to really gauge your spending behavior. Because this site is all about financial planning, it also offers some resources that you might find useful once you get your results.

Are You a Spender or a Saver?
Get your finances under control with a bit of help from Money Matters to Me’s spending and saving quiz. If you’re interested in how your own spending habits affect your household and how you might be able to save a bit more here and there, this is the quiz for you!

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

What Are Logic Mazes? Find Out Here!

August 20, 2015 by

If you love mazes and other types of tricky logic problems, logic mazes will take your hobby to the next level. These advanced mazes, sometimes called "mazes with rules," have special rules that extend far beyond simply navigating around a two-dimensional maze. In a logic maze, the participant must abide by the rules in order to reach the finish line, and they sometimes even include multiple states of the maze or the navigator.

Here are a few of the most common logic mazes.

  1. Area mazes. These are mazes in which the area of tile traveled must alternately increase and decrease with each step.
  2. Rolling dice mazes. A die is rolled with each turn based on a number of different rules.
  3. Number mazes. A grid of numbers is traveled by moving the number of spaces shown in the current square.
  4. Multi-state mazes. The rules in this type of maze change depending on the person's navigation.

To find out more about logic mazes, click here.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Greet a Lazy Sunday With Brunch at These Two Austin Restaurants

August 6, 2015 by

There’s no better way to end a fun-filled weekend than with a relaxing brunch and something sweet to sip. Austin is filled with stylish eateries that offer unique combinations of brunch foods and strong libations, and these are just two of the city’s favorites:

South Congress Café
Arguably one of the most buzzed about brunch spots in town, South Congress Café is a distinctly Austin eatery with a hip, relaxed atmosphere and a creative menu to boot. Shrimp and grits, carrot cake French toast, and crawfish omelets are just a few of the most popular items, best paired with a frozen peach Bellini or a signature bloody Mary. Although the line for a table can be quite long, you can wander eclectic South Congress Street while you wait.
1600 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78704; (512) 447-3905

Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill
Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill is a popular brunch eatery with a menu of incredibly filling, interesting Southern fare. The expansive buffet is filled with buttermilk biscuits, various meat-filled casseroles, cornflake-encrusted fried chicken, and other delicious (though not exactly health-conscious) dishes. There’s also an expansive list of whiskey and bourbons, which offers a taste of Austin’s most popular drink of choice. Come hungry and be prepared for a long nap afterward, because Moonshine Patio is certainly delicious indulgence.
303 Red River St., Austin, TX 78701; (512) 236-9599

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

How to Breathe New Life Into a Basic Bulletin Board

July 23, 2015 by

A bulletin board is a practical part of your kitchen or office, but it might not be the most attractive element in your decor. There are quite a few ways that you can take your drab bulletin board and turn it into something fabulous, and these simple tips will help!

  • Add a chevron border. Use simple acrylic paint to paint the entire frame, then create a bold chevron design across the bottom using the same bright color.
  • Cover it with fabric. If you’re more partial to prints and patterns, cut a piece of fabric into the same size as the bulletin board’s surface, then affix it to the board with basic spray adhesive or pushpins.
  • Turn it into a travel map. Purchase a frameless bulletin board and turn it into your own custom travel map. Use a craft knife to cut it into the shape of the United States, then attach push pins and photographs at all of the places you’ve visited.
  • Dress up your pushpins. If your basic plastic or metal pushpins are too plain for your taste, dress them up by gluing colorful pompoms to each end. Use all one color or choose a variety for a rainbow effect.
  • Use an embroidery hoop. Instead of using a traditional bulletin board from an office supply store, cover embroidery hoops in varying sizes with your favorite fabrics.

10 Ways to Update & Decorate a Basic Cork Board [Apartment Therapy]
13 Fun Ways to Decorate a Bulletin Board [Babble]
Craftykins // DIY Pom Pom Pushpins [Babiekins Mag]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Transform Your Textiles With These 6 Must-Know Tips for Painting Fabric

June 18, 2015 by

Do you have a dingy old couch that’s just begging for a makeover? It may seem impossible to redo your upholstered furniture without stripping it and reupholstering, but these tutorials for painting fabric will make you think differently about your dated sofa.

  1. Decide on a design. First, decide if you want to paint the entire surface of your furniture an entirely different color, or if you want to get really creative and add a funky pattern to the existing shade.
  2. Choose the right fabric. Tightly woven fabrics work better, as the paint has less chance of seeping through the weave.
  3. Wash. If you’re painting removable fabric, try to wash it first. Just make sure to skip the fabric softener to eliminate the amount of chemicals in the fabric.
  4. Choose the right paint. Purchase a fabric paint from your local craft store, and be sure to check the label to see how much you’ll need for the size of your fabric. Spray paints work best for all-over color, while tiny brushes and small paint buckets work well for patterns.
  5. Use multiple coats. Because most fabrics are already very bold, you’ll likely have to paint multiple coats to get the new color to completely cover the old one.
  6. Allow time to dry. Be sure to allow at least a full 12 hours in between each coat, and even longer before you sit on the couch or chair.

How To: Paint Fabric [Bob Vila]
Tutorial: How to Paint Upholstery Fabric and Completely Transform a Chair! [11 Magnolia Lane]
10 Fabric Painting Tips [About Home]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Stylish Storage Solutions for Kids’ Toys and Games

June 4, 2015 by

You love to see your kids happy and playing, but all of those toys and games can make quite a mess in your home. Here are a few smart ways to store and organize your kids’ toys, even if they’re not great about cleaning up after playtime.

  1. Under-couch storage. If your children usually play in the living room, invest in some under-couch storage drawers that you can simply tuck away once playtime is over. These drawers are flat enough to store under just about any sofa, and they make cleaning up a breeze.
  2. Bookcases. While you might only consider bookcases for storing, well, books, they also make a great way to store your kids’ games and toys. Simply add some large storage bins in coordinating colors to create a cohesive look.
  3. Bath toy storage. Keep all of those rubber duckies tucked neatly away after bathtime by installing a metal storage rod next to the bathtub. Hang metal buckets or plastic bins from the coordinating hooks to keep the toys out of the tub.
  4. Shoe organizers. Use cheap, plastic shoe organizers to keep smaller kids’ toys neatly organized. You can even hang them in the closet just like you would when storing shoes.

Hide the mess with style: 9 creative D-I-Y toy storage solutions [Today]
Genius Toy Storage Solutions You Can Make [HGTV]
50 Clever DIY Storage Ideas to Organize Kids’ Rooms [DIY & Crafts]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Know These Three Terms Before Getting Creative in the Kitchen

May 21, 2015 by

Any cook knows that for a dish to turn out as intended, he or she needs to have a clear understanding of the recipe. That includes knowing the different common ways to cut and slice ingredients. Here are three terms you should know before getting started in the kitchen.

  1. Pare. Preferably done with a paring knife, to pare a fruit or vegetable means to peel the outer skin from it. Apples and potatoes are often prepared this way.
  2. Mince. You can do this with a sharp knife or kitchen scissor, just so long as you cut or chop the ingredient into very fine pieces. Mincing often applies to herbs and spices.
  3. Dice. If a recipe asked you to dice an ingredient, it means to chop it into small, uniform pieces. Chunky salsas and fruit salads often employ this action.

The Basic Kitchen:Glossary of Cooking Terms [Le Petites Gourmettes]
Glossary of Cooking Terms [Better Homes and Gardens]
Cooking Terms [Recipe Goldmine]
Glossary of Cooking Terms [Cookery]
Culinary Terms: Food Dictionary and Glossary of Cooking Terms [Culinary Arts About.com]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Want to Make Your Own Bedroom Headboard? Check Out These DIY Tutorials!

May 7, 2015 by

Purchasing a new headboard can get pretty expensive. Luckily, there are a number of creative ways to craft a headboard — or at least something that resembles one! Try out one of these awesome DIY tutorials for unique headboard alternatives.

Under $40 Wooden Headboard [echoesoflaughter.ca]
With a few pieces of scrap wood and some keen measuring skills, you can create this rustic, designer-inspired headboard in less than one afternoon. It’s also easy to customize to your specific bed size.

DIY Ruffled Fabric Headboard [bhg.com]
If you’re looking to add a sweet, feminine touch to a bedroom, this fabric-covered headboard is the perfect DIY project. If you’re not an expert seamstress, don’t worry: you don’t need to have any sewing skills, because this project only requires a simple hot glue gun, spray adhesive, and a drill.

Simple DIY Headboard [starsforstreetlights.com]
If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional, this classic design is the perfect choice. A cardboard base makes this project inexpensive, but cutting the board into an elegant shape and covering it with a luxurious fabric makes it look anything but.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »

Pin It on Pinterest