Welcome back!

You know with October just tomorrow away, I imagine that a lot of people will have some sort of gathering together of the family. I had mentioned candles in a previous post, but what if you were to have party favors for the guests you might have a your home to celebrate the coming of fall?

A lot of promotional products would have the Halloween theme. If you do not celebrate the big ‘H’, you could have party favors with your family name, or the date on it. It would be different than other types of things that might be given as party favors. Imagine something that can be used over and over again. Like changeable power adapters that can be used no matter what type of power outlets that you might have, or flashlights, or coffee cups. It would be different.

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Have you ever wanted to give someone a message that wouldn’t be forgotten? I have. I have made my own business cards using a copier and card stock, I have decorated baseball hats using magic markers and fabric paint. That was fun, although I was messy and had a big clean up job afterward.

I have never tried personalized pens myself. I have read a few that made me laugh, though. I can always use a good pen. When I’m in the store and have to sign a check, I do try to avoid running off with the cashier’s pen. My husband has gotten a few pens from some of the medical supply salesmen that are unusual.

The types of messages can be endless. One pen we were given claimed to have been stolen from a niece. She was the one who gave it to us. I had a chuckle over that one. Messages can be given in unusual ways. T-shirts are seen every where. Hats on heads are seen, but pens get used constantly.

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When I had lived in Florida, I had worked several places. One place was a machine shop that made so many different types of things that is was amazing.

The man who was hired to inspect the parts to make sure they followed the specifications of the blueprints, was also into medieval apparel. On his spare time - lunch, breaks, after his shift - he would make different things. He made a crossbow from a car leaf spring. He made chain mail - one link at a time. The only thing he had not yet made was a suit of armor. He was a patient man who took great care in the things that he did. He brought his own supplies to make these things. Sometimes the man who owned the factory, would stand and watch him over the man’s shoulder. Think about it…Chain mail is made of thousands of rings that are joined together very closely interlinking to make , basically, metal cloth. I wonder if he ever got around to making his own armor.

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I know that I mentioned before that I like to do crafty types of things. What I did not mention is that my husband does also.

He likes to tinker with small stereos, tape players, and headphones. He also likes to make pins, bracelets, and necklaces. He has shown a remarkable skill in drawing out designs with gel pens that have wings and shields that are patriotic in nature. He loves the USA and isn’t ashamed to let others know. He uses gel pens of many different colors: silver, bronze, gold, red, white, and blue.

He would draw out the design, then color it in with the pens. There is one thing that has caused a small problem though. It is hard to find white gel pens. He uses gel pens so that when he coats the items he has made ( he uses clear fingernail polish which dries to plastic afterward) the ink does NOT run. Not being able to find the white gel has made it difficult to continue a favorite hobby. He has found one or two things that he can use as a substitute, but it’s not as easy as with a pen. At least he isn’t giving up on his hobby. I think that his continuing effort is something to be happy about.

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I found another site. It has some pretty cool pictures on it of different things. The one thing that started me checking out what was there was this really unique piano picture. It almost looked like some kind of monster. Sent a comment that I didn’t know whether to play it or run from it.

It had been carved from wood. I know it had to take quite a long while to do that, let alone the skill to do so. If you feel like looking at the pictures, the site is from a guy in Australia. He calls his site Rat Bag, probably for the variety of items.

Any way , there is it.

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Paper has so many different uses that are amazing what versatility there is available. In accounting, a paper trail shows how a business is run. It can also tell a family how its finances are holding up. During the holidays, paper is used to decorate homes, packages; and yes, even cars. Picnics would not be the same without paper towels and napkins, for cleaning messy faces and hands. How about businesses that need to communicate between executives? Email is handy; but, hit the wrong button and its gone, erased.

As a kid, give me paper and crayons and I could go nuts. If you added tape and scissors I used to make paper furniture with paper people to use it. Coloring books are made with paper. TV Guide is made with paper. The list goes on with newspapers, magazines, calendars, product boxes, you name it. I’ve heard there are even paper suits that people can wear and then dispose of. When I worked in a print shop I learned that a person can get a P.H.D. in paper alone. Some “paper” types do not have any wood pulp in it. Some has fibers from cotton and other materials. Some papers are actually made with minerals and chemicals. A simple item–paper–can have so many varied and flexible uses.

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I don’t know what the country’s favorite crafts are, not sure anyone knows. I’ve tried a lot of different types. The slowest for me was knitting. I even got a knitting machine. Well, it was faster but still got bored. Still have the machine, in the hall closet, and one set of knitting needles. Let my husband use one of the needles to scrub the inside of one of his thermos bottles. It worked!

I still crochet. Have a lot of those needles; but, always seem to come back to one particular needle. It is much faster than knitting after all.

I have a nice collection of beads in 6 or 7 different multiple compartment cases. It’s taken me quite a few years to build up this collection. Not quite sure how many different types of beads I have.

I also have: string, yarn, leather stripping (or lacing), cloth, coat hangers, copper wire, sequins, wooden plaques, cords, jewelry findings, feathers, embroidery rings, embroidery floss, spools of thread, material, sewing machine, coloring pencils, markers, pens, paper. The list goes on.

I’ve engraved on mirrors, burned images on wood, done macrame, decoupage, make wire trees. I guess there are as many types of crafts as there are crafters. I usually have at least 5 projects going at once. Not that I’m fast. One quilt I made took me 4 years to finish because I kept putting it down, and doing other things. At least I don’t get bored. I have to admit that crocheting is fun; because, sometimes the cats will play along while I’m making something. The only drawback is—-Where do I put all the stuff?

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I must be weird! I like junk mail. It comes in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it even has little surprises in it, almost like Cracker Jacks. Some of my favorites contain little plastic cards in them that imitate credit cards. My husband uses those plastic pieces in his arts and crafts hobbies. AOL used to send out discs to convince people to use it’s business. Those discs make good decorations for Christmas, or even sparklers to put in fruit trees to scare away birds. I’ve seen it done and made some decorations myself. Those disc boxes could also be used to put homemade necklaces in for presents.

Some junk mail has shown up with pennies, or penny stamps inside. The pennies went into a jar; the stamps went on packages. Am I recycling? Sort of.

Some of the junk mail can be used for paper mache projects. Some, which are almost like newspapers can be used when shining shoes or painting items. Of course a lot of junk mail goes into the trash unopened. It gives the trash man a little extra to haul off. Even if there aren’t any bills in the mail, I can’t almost always count on having junk mail to sort through. At least someone other than bill collectors know I’m here!

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