Hobby Shop Blog

Christmas is a time of joy, piece, and giving. It is also a time of being broke. Adults often think that the idea of making Christmas gifts is only for children who do not yet have their own money to buy gifts. However, with a little bit of ingenuity, some clever shopping, and a fair amount of free time, you can make some very grown up do it yourself Christmas gifts.

The first step is to spend an afternoon at a craft store, and see what sticks out at you as things you would be comfortable sitting down to work on. Some very basic, but very nice final product ideas include:

(1) Knit caps. If you have time to pick up crocheting or knitting, Christmas is a perfect time of year to put that talent to good use. You can make knit caps, mittens and scarves for men and women alike on your holiday shopping list. With all of the different available colors and textures in yarns today, it is virtually limitless what you can do to personalize a knitted gift. For some extra special fun, you can work in some fun beads fairly easily to jazz up a more basic design.

(2) Pick up some shadow box frames at the art store, and make some personal home decorations. For example, if you have someone on your list who is a big fan of Beethoven, you can create a shadowbox picture with some music notes in the background with a copy of a Beethoven songbook and maybe a dollhouse piano in the frame. Stuff like the dollhouse furniture as well as lots of great designs for backgrounds and the like can usually be found in the scrapbook section of your favorite craft store.

(3) Jewelry is a great personal do it yourself gift. There are all different skill levels for creating your own jewelry, and lots of different pieces that you can purchase to make your gift as professional looking and beautiful as you want. If you go to a good bead store, they will have lots of different settings on which to put earrings and a great selection of different and interesting beads for you to use. The best part though, is that they have expertise. With a little bit of help from the experts, you can make beautiful, one of a kind jewelry for less than a dollar a piece.

(4) Ornaments are a great way to celebrate the Christmas season. There are so many different ways to create your own unique ornaments, that you could make a different type of ornament for nearly everyone on your list. You could cross-stitch some ornaments, hand paint a box of regular glass ornaments, create egg shell ornaments with glitter or paint, make picture frame ornaments, bead Holiday shapes with pipe cleaners and pony beads, string some Hawaiian flowers for a funky tree garland, or just put a glittery hook on a plain ornament bulb. The best part about this gift, is that you get to see it every year on your loved one’s Christmas tree.

Researching your family history can be a rewarding and satisfying experience. Here are some tips to make your exploration go smoothly.

1. Gather All of Your Genealogy Information

Before starting any type of genealogical research, it’s a good idea to gather all of your known information. This way you will not waste time searching for people that you could have easily found with just a phone call or a letter. You will be amazed at how many names, birthdates, marriage dates and other details about your ancestors you can collect just by talking to family members.

You can also look through old records that family members may have including journals, wills, deeds, baptism records and marriage, birth and death certificates. Spread the word that you’re beginning a family tree or pedigree chart, and other family members may want to get involved.

2. Become a Member of an Online Genealogy Chat Room

Computers and the Internet connect thousands of people from all over the world each day and there are tons of genealogy chat rooms. Take advantage—you can learn a lot from other genealogists. This is a great way to learn the tricks of the trade and share success stories.

3. Subscribe to an Online Genealogy Search Website

Genealogy websites come with various features and capabilities. You may want to use more than one during your research. Some websites are free of charge, like Rootsweb.com, while more comprehensive sites, like Ancestry.com, require a subscription fee. Before choosing a site make sure it’s going to provide the information that you need. Remember some sites search by country or ethnic background—these can work to your advantage if you’re looking for ancestors from a certain country. However, if you’re not, the site will do you little if any good.

4. Make Genealogy Research Fun and Gratifying

There is usually no monetary award for doing genealogy, and knowing who your great-great-great-grandfather is, typically won’t get you ahead in life. So—why do people do genealogical research?

People research their past for a number of reasons, but everyone who is involved in genealogy does it because they enjoy it. They find satisfaction in learning about their roots. Remember you are learning about real people who once walked the earth. Instead of just learning names and dates, try to find stories about your ancestors, look for pictures and diaries. In some cases, you may be able to interview someone who knew the person.

5. Use Various Genealogical Resources

There are so many sources available to genealogists it’s a good idea to use a number of them during your investigations. Don’t put all of your efforts into one website. Use a number of different websites and databases.

There are also genealogy libraries where you can conduct your research. The largest of these libraries, The Family History Library, owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has satellite libraries all over the world and is open to the public at no charge. It houses the records of close to a billion people and offers other resources as well. A library like this can be a great asset if there is one in your area.

6. Involve the Entire Family

Build a family tree and family relationships at the same time—genealogy is a project the entire family can work on and contribute their findings. You can start an email or snail-mail newsletter to share experiences and information with family members. Family reunions are also a time when the whole family can get together, share stories about forefathers and foremothers and work on genealogy.

7. Subscribe to a Genealogy Newsletter

Many online genealogy websites offer a newsletter. Newsletters offer great tips on how to locate those hard-to-find ancestors. Newsletters will often explain how to use different databases or tools and let you know when new databases become available. It’s also great to hear motivational and inspiring success stories of others, or share one of your own.

8. Create a hard copy of the Genealogy Information

In today’s world of technology, we tend to want to digitize everything, but there are some good reasons to create hardcopy information to go along with your digital data.

Primarily, you’re going to come across a lot of hard copy information as you do your research. Remember computers have only been used to store information for a quarter century. You will likely come across old documents, journals, records and photographs.

Making a scrapbook of your findings is a great way to present your research to others. Looking at a computer screen with scanned documents just isn’t the same as flipping through a book. It really helps some people to create a giant pedigree chart or family tree in their office or den so they can visualize the entire puzzle at one time.

Binders are a good way to store information. As your library increases, develop a binder system so information is organized and easy to find.

9. Backup Genealogy Data Often

Maybe you’ve heard horror stories, or have one of your own that ends with the words, “and that’s when I lost everything.” The importance of backing up computer data cannot be stressed enough. Today’s backup software makes protecting and storing your valuable data more convenient than ever. There are a number of different programs to get the job done. Find the one that has the features you need, is user-friendly and in your price range.

There are also various ways of storing data. You can use 3.5-inch floppy disks, zip drives, CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives and external hard drives. Again, choose the one that suits you best. As you gather more information, you may want to invest in a safety deposit box or a fireproof safe to protect your family history.

10. Verify Genealogy Information Found on Web Sources

We like to think that everything found on the web is accurate and true. However, you should always verify any genealogy information found on the web, no matter where you found the information. The best way to verify information is to locate and research the source. Many databases include a list of sources but sometimes you’ll come across one that doesn’t. In this case, look at dates and the type of information and ask yourself what type of source would provide that information.

At some point in your research, you will encounter conflicting information—maybe different middle initials or birthdates. Carefully evaluate each source and try to find other sources with the same information to shed light on the inconsistencies.

Genealogy is an exciting and rewarding pastime that will link the generations and bring families together.

References

Casselman, Bryce. Why Backup your Computer Data?. [2005] 22 Sept. 2005

Powell, Kimberly. Five Steps to Verifying Online Genealogy Resources. [2005] 22 Sept. 2005

Sowton, Robin. The History Slice: Getting Organized—Setting Up a Binder System. [1999] 22 Sept. 2005

Why is it that most Magicians use card tricks in their act? Did they start out entertaining in Gambling Dens and Casinos? Or is it that the ‘card sharps’ had to learn magic card tricks in order to cheat at Poker?

Whatever the reason, Card Tricks are an essential part of any Magician’s performance. Some require difficult sleight-of-hand techniques, most just need you to distract your audience while you ‘do the deed’, many can be done in full view. A few need gimmicked decks or pre-prepared decks in order to work.

The marked deck is a rarity these days; after all, who needs to remember 52 different secret markings, all small enough to go unnoticed by the audience? Far easier to ‘force’ your victim to pick a specific card (she thinks she had free choice, but we know better!) then ‘control’ the card to the top or bottom of the deck where it sits until you magically produce it.

A favourite technique of mine (called; the Glimpse) is to openly look at the card (this becomes the ‘Key card’) above the selected card as the victim replaces it in the pack; all I have to do then is find that card and I know that the one below it is the selected card. Simple. The victim, and the rest of the audience, were all concentrating on the return of the selected card to the deck and didn’t notice me tilt the top half of the deck so that the underside of the card was visible. A few cuts then make it look as if the card is mixed up in the deck (a cut rarely splits the two cards that you want to keep together, but to be sure, Glimpse the bottom card after the last cut – if it is your Key Card, cut once more) and I then deal the pack onto the table until I see the card I viewed earlier. A nice twist is to carry on past the selected card, dealing say, another 3 cards before stopping and announcing “the next card I turn over will be the one you selected.” The victim gleefully disagrees – you can take bets on it if you want – and then you reach over to the selected card and turn that one over.

There are lots of card tricks you can learn easily that can be found at many dedicated magic websites. Many magic card tricks are offered free at these sites and are easy to learn. If you want to impress your friends in the bar or at the party, learn some magic card tricks and you will always be in demand!

Lighting warms a doll’s house and adds atmosphere. It’s not hard to do but requires some planning. Here are a few tips to help you on your way.

There are different ways you can wire a dolls house. I opted for the standard round wire system as it seemed the easiest and cheapest.

You need a socket strip with at least 12 sockets, a fuse and an on off switch and a transformer. Each individual light is then plugged into the strip either directly or via an extension cable.

Assemble the shell of house then think about where your lights and wiring are going to go…it’s NOT something you can do at the end. For a ceiling light paint or paper the roof of the room then drill a small hole in the centre and feed the wire through to the room above. My floors /ceilings are MDF so it was quite easy to then make a groove with a wood chisel from the hole to the back of the house…the wire runs along the groove and when covered with carpet can’t be seen. Finally make a small hole, near the floor, in the back wall for the wire to go through and plug into socket strip.

You need to plan the lighting and cut your grooves before decorating.

Wall lights are most easily fitted to rear walls. Decorate the wall then drill a hole for the wire to pass through.

It’s really not difficult and brings the house to life.

The craft of making cosmetics and perfumes at home can be expensive if you are not careful. However, there are many things you can do to save money, while enjoying this great hobby. Here are a few ideas:

Save money on containers that you use for your own personal products by recycling the ones you have. To recycle glass or plastic jars and bottles, wash them out with hot, soapy water or run them through the dishwasher.

Reuse those small brown and blue glass bottles that you get when you buy fragrance oils and essential oils. When you have finished using up the contents, wash them out and use them to store smaller quantities of essential oils or fragrance oils when you purchase large quantities, or to store your perfume and essential oil blends, or to store small quantities of cosmetic products.

For inexpensive and unique cosmetic containers and baskets, visit your local dollar store. I’ve found perfume bottles, sheer organza bags, and gift baskets at the dollar stores in my home town.

Inexpensive soap molds can be made from many things around your house. Empty plastic food containers, muffin pans (if they are aluminum use for melt and pour soap or rebatched soap, not cold-process soap), plastic ice trays, or plastic storage containers.

So, you think you know your stuff? It seems that while so many of us are

wonderfully obsessed with collecting antiques, we’re really not all that

clear on the meaning of some of the pieces of furniture that we do obtain.

For example, that ‘dresser’ in your room, would you call it a highboy, a

chest of drawers, or perhaps a chiffonier? Why? Such is the sometimes

dreadfully confusing task of classifying antique objects.

Before an explanation of highboys, let’s first consider the difference

between a sideboard and a buffet. Often, the two terms are used

interchangeably, and for good reason, as they are more or less the same

thing. As defined by the French, a buffet is a small sideboard for storing

dishes. Maybe a sideboard might look a litter larger than a buffet, but both

serve the same purpose. Serving utensils and dishes can be kept below with a

large flat surface above to display and serve food. Many have mirrored backs

and shelf space, but some have no back at all.

Getting back to the bedroom where lies the highboy-chiffonier-chest of

drawers conundrum, you may now be wondering: ‘indeed, what do I have here?’

Well, the answer might just be as frustrating as the question. It seems a

chiffonier is a high and narrow chest, whereas a highboy is defined as a

tall chest with a legged base. Both of these are considered chests of

drawers. So there you have it.

Onwards to the armoire… or is it a wardrobe? Well, both have a rod within

them for hanging clothing on and again, both have doors. Here’s something

definitive though: a wardrobe often possesses a smaller, streamlined look

while armoires tend to be bigger and more ornate.

There are a few English wardrobes that were designed for gentlemen which

contain an area for hanging garments of one side and having labelled

compartments for certain other articles. These particular pieces, mostly

manufactured in the early 20th century aren’t too big on decorative flare,

but are definitely amassing popularity, as they are still cheaply priced.

All in all, the differing terminology for similar pieces tends to rely

heavily on the sellers preference. The only thing that’s truly important is

that you do indeed love the piece of antique furniture you’re buying, if

that is so, the name of your piece doesn’t matter at all.

Overview

Oil finishes are considered by many turners to be the ultimate woodturning finish. Among the easiest of all finishes to apply, oil finishes impart a close to the wood feeling that begs to be touched. In my woodturning demonstrations around the United States and in discussions with other turners via the Internet, no other subject has spawned more questions than finishing. In days long past, finishing was considered an art form - in and of itself, with the procedures and formulas jealously guarded by craft guilds.

Today, few wood turners handcraft their own finishes from scratch. Literally hundreds of professionally formulated finishes are easily available, delivering varying levels of protection and lustre. However, some turners still prefer handcrafting their own signature finishes, achieving results that rival any commercial finish. Next to wax, oil finishes are the easiest of all finishes to apply. However, there is more to applying an oil finish than simply wiping it on and off. Oil finishes are a very popular finish for many woodturnings however, few oil finish products are specifically made for woodturnings. Therefore, much of the application information has been designed with traditional furniture finishing in mind.

While some of the procedures for applying an oil finish to a woodturning or a piece of furniture may be the same, others are not. As wood turners, we are fortunate to be able to use our lathes in conjunction with our finishing endeavors. This is a significant advantage over the traditional finishing of cabinet, or furniture case goods. The lathe can easily transform laborious and tedious activities into relatively quick and simple procedures.

Tips On Achieving A Perfect Oil Finish

• Oil finishes tend to magnify any damaged areas on the underlying wood surface. Therefore, your surface must not contain bruised or torn grain areas, or they will appear much darker than the undamaged wood when the finish is applied.
• Sand the surface of the wood to at least 600-grit metric. If your turning is a gallery quality piece, sand to 2,000–grit metric or higher. After each grit change, reverse your lathe and sand in the opposite direction.
• When you have completed sanding with your final grit, lightly wet the surface of the wood to raise the grain. When dry, re-sand to remove any raised grain fibers.
• Remove any accumulated sanding dust or grit lodged in the pores with compressed air, or a tack rag before applying your finish.
• To insure that the surface contains no defects, wipe on a thin coat of Odorless Mineral Spirits and closely examine the surface. Damaged areas will appear darker than the surrounding wood. If you find an area that needs attention, re-sand and prepare the surface for finishing as stated above.

Applying The Finish

• Apply the initial coat of finish to the surface to the wood by flooding it on with a folded paper towel. Keep working the oil into the surface for 3-5 minutes. Pay close attention to any areas that absorb more finish and appear dry, or dull and apply more finish to these areas.
• Reapply the finish as necessary to insure that the surface stays wet during the rub-in process. If you are using a polymerised oil finish, the application time will be significantly less than with a traditional penetrating oil finish.
• When your initial rub-in is completed, use two pieces of clean paper towel, one in each hand, to remove any excess finish. Pay particular attention to accumulated oil in detail areas like textures, or beads. A short blast of compressed air in these areas will assist in removal of any excess finish.
• Watch for possible bleed-out of the finish from the wood pores and remove any that appears before it cures. Some woods with large pores are very prone to bleed-out such as Oaks, Walnut and Ash. Depending on the particular species and amount of finish applied, this bleed-out may occur for up to four hours or more after application of the finish coat.
• Before applying the second and subsequent coats of finish, lightly sand the surface with the fine grit of sandpaper or synthetic wire wool. Some turners prefer to wet sand at this point, especially when working past 1200-grit.

Buffing The Cured Finish

• When you have applied your last coat of finish, allow the surface to fully cure before buffing. Once the finish has cured, you can use a cutting compound on a rotary buffing head, or proceed directly to a cloth buffing wheel to smooth and perfect the surface finish.
• If you will be buffing the piece, you can charge your wheel with Tripoli or White Diamond compound to increase the effectiveness of the buff. Most oil finishes also respond well to “dry” buffing with plain cotton, or flannel wheels.
• The speed at which to buff depends on several factors including the specific finish used, compound used if any on the buffing wheel and the structure of the buffing wheel. If you are a new to buffing oil finishes, set your lathe to 1,750 RPM’s. If this proves inefficient, gradually increase the speed of your lathe, or the buffing wheel until the buff cuts the surface of the finish effectively.

Although oil finishes may require several applications to achieve a sufficient build, the resulting surface can be provocative and visually spectacular. Through the years at gallery showings and art shows that I have participated in, the pieces that were finished with oils were always among the most popular with visitors to my booth. There is something about the feel of a finely buffed oil finish that is quite, irresistible.

A lot of effort is put into tuning those shocks on your radio controlled buggy with oil and spring selection, but there is one more thing you can do to those shocks to help soak up those berms and whoops, handle jumps better, or gain more traction.

In only two minutes and no extra cash outta yer pocket.

If you go grab your off-road radio controlled buggy right now, and look at your rear shocks, you should see that there are other holes on the tower and the suspension arms where the shocks could attach. (Assuming your vehicle has shock towers, the Traxxas Revo does not, for instance)

Those holes offer you more tuning options on your radio controlled buggy. If you mount the lower shock end out towards the wheel, on the suspension arm, your buggy or truck will gain more corner speed and land better off of jumps. If you do the opposite, move it inward on the supsension arm, the rear end softens and you gain traction.

Moving the upper shock end back and forth on the radio controlled buggy’s shock tower also affects how your off-roader rolls in the dirt. If you move it out towards the wheel-side on the tower, your RC ride should handle the bumper track better, and soak up the berms and whoops. Moving it inward on the shock tower is what you want to do on high bite tracks.

As you can see, this is an easy tuning option won’t cost you an additional trip to the hobby store for parts, or an hour of messing with shock oil and springs, so it can be a very convenient thing to do to your radio controlled buggy at the track. It is NOT available on every radio controlled buggy. This is another reason why you want to look real hard at your choices when purchasing an RC vehicle. The more tuning options, and the more know-how on how to use them, the more fun you will have racing and bashing.

Always buy the radio controlled buggy with with the most tuning options.

Sewing machines are expensive. It’s no wonder so many people search for used sewing machines. Demand for used sewing machines is popular these days. There are a variety of used sewing machines of various brands and capacities available. Buyers can choose from a simple basic machine to a fully featured sewing machine with embroidery unit.

Buying a used sewing machine is a good alternative. They are an inexpensive option for low budget buyers. Buying a used sewing machine could save money. When buying a used sewing machine look out for standard features like the button sewing attachment, a tension dial, an auto bobbin winder, a built in light, reverse sewing, variable speed foot control and a soft cover for storing the sewing machine.

Most of the used sewing machines are reconditioned and are sold after cleaning and oiling and restoring missing parts. It should not take much time to repair or recondition. It has to be determined if reconditioning will work out to be cheap or not.

Buying factory reconditioned machines is another great way to get used sewing machines. Factory reconditioned machines are machines returned to the Factory by the original customer due to various reasons. These factory reconditioned sewing machines are rebuilt by Factory in-house technicians. The machines carry complete warranty. So before buying a factory reconditioned sewing machine, always read the instruction manual and any additional inserts to make sure that the machine comes with all its original accessories. Sometimes factory reconditioned products don’t include accessories. It is wise to check the specifications personally before placing the order.

Used sewing machines can be found at auctions, secondhand and online stores. There are numerous online sites selling used sewing machines. Of them, Ebay is the largest dealer. Sites like Overstock.com and Sell.com operate online market for such machines. Epinions.com has the best shopping information on used sewing machines.

There are so many unique and wonderful pieces of miniature doll house furniture that deciding what to put in your dolls house is very often difficult. To find the best doll house furniture for your house there are a few things you need to know:

What scale is doll house furniture and will it fit in your doll house?

What is doll house furniture made from?

What is so special about hand made pieces of furniture?

Is cheaper better?

What size is miniature doll house furniture?

There are two main sizes of doll house furniture, twelfth scale and twenty fourth scale. Twelfth scale is twelve times smaller than in real life and twenty fourth scale is twenty four times smaller than in real life.

Most miniaturists own twelfth scale doll houses and there is a lot more miniature doll house furniture available in twelfth scale than in twenty fourth scale.

If you are unsure of the size of your doll house measure the height of your doll house rooms. A twelfth scale house will have rooms between 8″ and 11″ I height. A twenty fourth scale house will have rooms between 4″ in height and 5.5″ in height.

What is doll house furniture made from?

Dolls house furniture can be made from wood or metal. Many wood pieces are very intricately carved and are very decorative. Most wooden pieces of furniture are made from ply or balsa wood and stained mahogany, walnut or pine.

If you see a piece of doll house furniture advertised as mahogany in most cases this will mean that it is stained with mahogany varnish. The exception to this is with hand made pieces. Some master craftsmen use the highest quality pieces of wood for their work.

What is so special about hand made pieces of furniture?

Hand made miniature doll house furniture is the finest doll house furniture you can get. These pieces are hand carved by master craftsmen and can sell for hundreds of pounds.

Hand made items require a lot of work and hours are spent constructing each piece. Many items are unique one-offs that will never be recreated. Some very serious doll house collector’s only fill their doll houses with hand made items and their collections are worth thousands of pounds.

Is cheaper doll house furniture better?

When choosing your miniature doll house furniture you need to judge if an item is worth its money. Some doll house furniture can be picked up for very little money but these items are usually poor quality and break very easily.

Compare a few items and check the quality. It is better to pay a little extra for a set that will last. Cheaper is not always better.