What's the name of this type of acrylic? I recently came across Love Hulton's amazing work and was especially impressed by the aesthetic of the pearly acrylic front of the datorbox. I saw the same material being used for fashioning guitar pickguards but could not find any information on it based on what came to my mind in an attempt to describe it.

What is the proper name of this type of acrylic?

I did a quick search for "pearlescent acrylic sheet" and it appears there is at least one resource for this type of product. Various contours and colors are available from Acrilex and they all look quite fabulous!

I didn't capture all 44 available patterns and there is at least one that resembles the panel in the photo you've linked.

I found a couple other resources, but the images were not as suitable nor as attractive as these samples. I might have a new resource for my laser cutter now!


What type of glue will work well on wood and metal? As per this question I'm needing to glue a wood veneer inlay into a metal bracelet, but don't know what type of glue to use.

I have a tube of Gorilla Glue, which I know is suitable for wood - should I source something else that can cope with wood and metal?

2-part epoxy is my usual recommendation when it comes to mating different kinds of materials together. That is usually one of the selling points.

I would caution with the use of Gorilla Glue for this. While is might be a viable choice you need to be careful of its expansion properties. If you do try to use it make sure you clamp appropriately and clean any excess that seeps out. That is general advice for gluing in general but you really don't want warping in the final product here.

Depending on the size of the veneer and how it is prepared there is a chance for small pockets to exist where the glue could expand. As long as you clamp firmly for the duration of the setting time you should be fine though.


Knitting pattern in the round I’m following a pattern for an infinity scarf and it’s knit in the round. I can’t make sense of the cast-on portion of the pattern:

Cast-on and Setup rounds:
“CO 136 (4 repeats), CO 170 stitches (5 repeats)”

It then goes on to say “cast-on and join, then work bottom border...”

What does the “repeats” mean? How many stitches should I have total? I haven’t seen a pattern written like this before and google didn’t help. Thanks!!

As I understand it, the instruction offers 2 different sizes:

Cast on 136 stitches if you want the pattern to repeat 4 times
Cast on 170 stitches if you want the pattern to repeat 5 times

The pattern itself has 34 stitches.
34 x 4 = 136
34 x 5 = 170

When the instruction says "cast-on and join, then work bottom border..." it means "Choose one of the given sizes and cast on the corresponding number of stitches, then join and work bottom border..."


What is the best mix to make chalk paint at home? I have a table to distress for which I need chalk paint in bulk. What would be the best and cheapest way of making this at home in large amounts?

You will need a good binder, and the cheapest waterproof binder that you can make yourself is casein.

Casein is a milk-based product that you can make by warming  whole milk in a saucepan and adding about 5 drops of lemon juice per liter. You don’t have to get it hot, but it mustn’t be cold. You will see clumps forming, and then remove it from the heat. Pour the entirety through a fine-meshed strainer and reserve the watery part (the whey). I like to let the casein dry for about 24hrs. Do not leave it in the sun, and do not accelerate the drying in the oven.

The next phase is to do what the Germans call “sumpfen”, and that means you soak the chalk for 24 hours in a clean bucket with distilled water before you mix it into the casein. While it is soaking, you can stir it several times to make sure that it is mixed thoroughly. It will settle to the bottom of the bucket. Don’t use too much water, because it isn’t necessary. Just use enough to cover the chalk.

The next day when it is time to paint and your surface is prepared (i.e. no grease spots, sanded down etc.) take one part casein to one part chalk and knead them together like bread. Once the consistency is uniform, put the casein-chalk in a paint pot and slowly add distilled water (even from the chalk bucket) until you get the consistency you want.

It is really a good idea to try out your technique and the paint on a piece of wood similar to the table. When the paint is dry, you can burnish it with a silk pillow, for example.

If you have extra casein, wrap it in plastic and keep it in a dark and cool place, like the fridge.


What type of color should I use to color my shoes? I want to color my old shoes but I'm not sure what type of color will be long lasting, so the color won't be washed away when it rains or when I wash them.

Shoe dye exists, in versions for leather and suede.  They should work reasonably well on natural fibres but the effect on synthetic fibres is less reliable (try applying, leaving to dry, then rinsing well).  Any plastic (e.g. vinyl) bits won't take dye.

Overall it's crucial to know what your shoes are made of before you start.


How to stitch together two fabric pieces without creating "lips" Take a look at the stitches of this doll. It is sewn so that the shift from the upper fabric piece to the lower one is very smooth:

Compare it with this kind of sewing: The shift from the two fabric pieces is salient, and looks kind of like "lips", or a "vally":

What I'd like to know is how to achieve the former sewing style with hand-sewing.

The first one is a machine technique known as flat lock stitching. A machine stitch found on a home sewer that could be used as an alternative would be the three part zigzag.
Many of the hand stitching techniques are being lost due to the speed of the machine stitches.

Stoating is a technique I have read about and is very challenging to do by hand.
Here is a link that might be of some interest on stoating:
https://books.google.com/books?id=k15YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA343#v=onepage&q&f=true


Making a mold off of bone I've recently acquired a large bull skull, rather weather-worn and aged. I would like to make a mold of it so that I can cast it in wax, alter it a bit (add more horns, etc.), and then make a mold of the wax so that I can cast it in something to make a creature head for a project. I'm not familiar with making molds beyond very small jewelry sized things with the silicone putty stuff. My worry is the pits and holes in the skull and getting everything to release. I don't want to ruin the original.
What is the proper material to create a mold from for this particular situation?
I don't think a plaster mold, which I've done for clay objects, will work for this as I think pulling the mold off will damage the original.
Any advice on what to cast the final mask/head in so that it isn't too heavy would be helpful as well.
Including image for reference:

How about making the final project mask directly from papier-mache without all the casting:

Cover the skull in clingfilm to protect it;
Papier-mache parts of it (if you try to do it in one go you won't be able to take the thing out, naturally);
Glue the parts together;
Alter it as you desire - cut some bits here, add some bits there, sand it;
Paint it, if needed

Paper-mache masks are light, resilient (as long as they are not too thin) and you can waterproof them with a spray if you wish.


What are the (dis)advantages of both sides of chart paper for drawing or painting? I have noticed how two surfaces of chart paper are different from each other: one is rough while the other is smooth.
I am getting different opinions about choosing which side is more suitable for drawing. Most of my friends are preferring rough surfaces for drawing in order to get more accurate shading.

I want to know which side of chart paper is more suitable for pencil drawing or painting, so what are the benefits of using either side when drawing?

The rough texture side is good at "grabbing" and creating friction. So it is better for things like pencils/graphite and for allowing it to deposit into the texture of the paper. The smooth side is better for precise application of liquid medium such as inks.

The texture side will be good at holding layers of powder medium such as soft pastels, and allowing for smudge-blending from areas where deposits have built up. It can also grip and hold things like oil pastels well because the texture gives them something to grip onto.

It would be less effective to use oil pastel on the smooth side as there would be much more streaking; it would build up less and adhere less on the smooth side. Similarly, pencil/graphite would build up less and not adhere as well on the smooth side as there would be less friction from the paper's surface to allow the graphite to deposit.

For inks from things like markers, you could utilize the smooth side to help reduce "bleeding" from over-flooded areas since the smooth surface is more resistant.

An extreme example of how this works is if you imagine a sheet of glass vs a sheet of soft blotting paper. In the extreme, the smooth surface of the glass would repel ink, creating a surface tension at the edge of the liquid so that it forms small domes on the surface. The blotting paper would simple soak up the ink into a network of texture and absorbent fibers. In the less extreme (aka with the chart paper) this smooth surface on the paper is acting as a slight barrier and allows things like ink to glide along the surface without instantly being absorbed and spreading outwards.

When drawing, the ultimate way to find out how your tools and mediums will respond to the specific paper stock you are using is to experiment as there are many variables that could help overcome or take advantage of one side or the other for drawing (the thickness of the medium, the application, the tools, the tooth of the paper, etc).

Hope this helps!


Can I use epoxy to stabilize/restore 18th century giant pottery? I have this giant ancient oil jar (18th century) outside of my house, and it has been an outside decoration since ~1960 and it probably has suffered from the winter temperatures. It's a pretty big object of about 105cm tall, 75cm wide, and weighing ~100kg.
There are lichens, dark areas, and, more importantly, some "gangrenous areas" where the outside of the pottery is crumbling into dust, slowly decaying layer after layer.

Can the damaged surfaces be sanded? With a metal brush, or a random orbit sander?
Is a transparent (UV resistant) epoxy coat an appropriate solution to stop the decaying process?
Can the pottery be painted (before epoxy coating) to recover a clearer color?
Can the lichens be safely removed, or will just keeping them actually protect the jar?

I'm not a conservator, so I cannot give you a definite answer. And the answer will depend on the value of the object. If this is a rare remnant of history, do not attempt any restoration and let a professional restorator do their work. In that case, it would be almost illegal to apply epoxy to it, because the process isn't reversable. Most amateurs trying to conserve objects do more harm than good. If you just want to avoid buying a modern giant flower pot and there are hundreds of such vessels left, you have more leeway.
As pointed out in the comments, I would avoid power tools. Since the object is already brittle and crumbling, you might damage it with a power tool or it might sand away much more of the object than you like. A metal brush or sand paper would be the safer alternative, even if the cleaning takes a little longer. And please wear a dust mask and eye protection to protect yourself against dust particles and things like mold spores and bacteria that may be contained in that dust.
To restore it to a fresh look, I would apply a thin layer of fresh clay, which you can buy in many craft stores or online. The pot looks like it may have been made from red or yellow clay, so I would stick to that color. If possible, put the pot on a turntable, so you can rotate it like a potter would do on a potter wheel. In a big bowl mix the fresh clay with enough water to make it a thin paste the consistency of toothpaste. Then transfer the clay paste onto your vessel with your hands and smooth it out while turning the vessel. Let the vessel dry at least 2 days to make sure all moisture is removed from the inside of the walls. The disadvantage of this method is that the clay dissolves if it comes into contact with water again so you absolutely need to seal it.
An alternative is to coat the vessel with a layer of crafting cement. That still absorbs some water, but in general it's more resistant to water and doesn't dissolve again. The disadvantage of this method is the grey color of the cement and you need to wear gloves while working with wet cement.
This fresh layer of clay will look much more authentic and natural than a layer of paint. Paint always smoothes out the little irregularities of the surface and makes things look flat and monotone.
As for the conservation, the main problem is that the clay soaks up water (the original clay of the vessel just as much as the fresh clay). That causes gradually more damage (by lichen, bacteria and other microbes), but it also poses a challegne for the conservation, since the pot will soak up vast amounts of any liquid (like epoxy) you apply to it.
There are ceramic / flower pot sealers available online as a liquid to paint on or as a spray, but those are meant for small objects and you need to apply several coats. Given the size of your pot, that might become expensive. An alternative is brickwall sealer, which is usually available in bigger quantities and also designed to seal absorbant materials. Remember to look for matte finish if you don't want your pot to sparkle in the sun.
A more natural sealer is plant oil. You simply soak the vessel in as much oil as it can absorb and let it sit. Over time the chemical composition of the oil will change and it first becomes sticky and then almost like plastic. It's exactly the same process as in oil paints. I assume that the spills you see in one of your pictures are actually oil spills. Usually (for cookware) you would heat the oiled pot to accelerate this process, but I assume that's not an option here. If you cannot heat the vessel, it will take several months to completely change the oil. The disadvantage of this option is that the oil gets very sticky before it becomes inert. It might hold onto dirt in that stage.
I think epoxy would be problematic for such a project for several reasons:

You need a very liquid consistency of epoxy so it soaks deeply into the clay to stabilize it. That means you need a lot of epoxy, which can become expensice very quickly.
You need an epoxy with a long drying time to be able to cover the pot evenly. That poses the risk of leaves, insects or other dirt falling on the sticky epoxy and ruining the looks.
Depending on the type of epoxy you use, it can heat up and harden extremely quickly if you mix big batches.
No epoxy is 100% UV resistant. They will all yellow over time, especially when exposed to direct sunlight.
Epoxy is a health hazard. You need to wear gloves, eye protection and in many cases a respirator (if working with big amounts of epoxy).
Epoxy is an environmental hazard. Any liquid epoxy and hardener that you don't need any longer must be disposed of as hazardous waste.
Epoxy always has a smooth, shiny finish. If you want a matte finish, there are better alternatives (like sealants).


Embroidery on crochet afghan I don’t know anything about embroidery, but would really like to start applying embroidery detail onto my crochet afghans. I have some questions as to what would make this most effective.

What crochet stitch would work best if I’d want to embroider on it? Hook and yarn size would be good to know too.

Is it then possible to apply embroidery onto the yarn? What equipment would I need to do this?

I have here a picture of the type of embroidery I would like to do on the afghan. Also, some kind of lettering would be a nice addition.

Just a few thoughts:

Embroidery is usually done on a plain canvas. If the background has too much of a pattern, the embroidery will simply fade into the background. You'll want a very plain and even crochet stitch for the afghan.
Use unicolor yarn for the afghan or the embroidery might fade into the background.
If you'd like the afghan to have more of a pattern (like granny squares), insert a patch of very plain stitches where the embroidery is going to be.
Embroidery is not stretchy at all. You'll want a crocheted background that is not stretchy as well. Look for "opaque" crochet patterns for some inspiration.
Don't forget to crochet some test swathes to see how a pattern turns out and if you like it. This is also the best way to assess the stretchyness of the pattern and to compare different patterns.

The yarn size depends on your personal preference and the hook size depends on the yarn size and how tight you want to crochet the pattern. As a rule of thumb, thicker yarn means you crochet faster, but very loosely spun yarn can rip and tear faster once the afghan is finished and in use (this is especially important if you have kids or pets).
Embroidery is also a very broad topic... there are so many techniques that are all called "embroidery".

Use a yarn that has a contrasting color to the afghan.
The yarn should be at least as thick as the one you used for the afghan.
To make the embroidery more obvious, you could embroider with 2 strings of yarn at the same time. That makes the lines thicker without doubling the number of stitches you have to do.
The example in your question is not done 100% with yarn alone, it has patches of (what looks like) felt stitched onto the canvas.


How to prevent my cutting mat from warping? I was finally able to setup a craft space at home and got a Blick cutting mat but after a few days it's warped. I have two culprits in mind

The mat is black and it is right next to a very large window with a SSW orientation, so it gets a lot of sunlight. There is nothing I can do about this, it's the living room, so we need the light and there is really no other location for the craft space. Is there a mat that will handle being in the sun that way or some other precaution I can take?
I do some leatherworking which involves hammering. Could the hammering have caused the warping? What's a good way to prevent that?

Taking each aspect in turn:

Covering the mat with something white, a sheet of paper, a fabric sheet, a light colored towel, may provide protection from any thermal related warping. If the mat is warping in a manner that causes it to lift upward in the center, generally speaking, you may be getting "top layer" thermal expansion.

Hammering is less definitive, unless you can see patterns in the mat. If you are hammering in a regularly visited location, it may be splaying out under the mallet or hammer, causing a sort of bottom layer expansion, which would result in the edges curling upward. It would take substantial hammering in the same location to accomplish this.

Small sections of localized bending could be the result of hammering. It would result in an irregular form of warping, perhaps dimples in some areas, bumps or moguls in others.

I found this on the Blick web site:
"If your Blick Cutting Mat should become bent or distorted, simply heat it in sunlight or hot water until it becomes pliable and then lay it flat until cool."

You could consider to play a hair dryer over the surface to "relax" the warping or bumps. I would recommend against anything as powerful as a heat gun, as it has the capabilities to melt the surface in a very short time.

If you are successful in flattening the mat, shade and cooling air flow are your friends.


What is the way to clean kneaded eraser? I can see black patches on it. What is the way to clean the kneaded eraser such that it doesn't leave any marks on the paper?

I can see black patches on it.

That is a part of normal use. Those black marks are graphite, charcoal and etc. that the eraser picked up from your working surface. That is the eraser doing its job as intended.

What you are supposed to do is fold / knead away those "dirty" parts back into the eraser so that non-black (the erasers original colour) parts are exposed so that you don't get unwanted or inefficient transfer. From rapidfireart.com on How to Clean a Kneaded Eraser:

  Because kneaded erasers absorb graphite, they will become dirtier with use. To clean a kneaded eraser, you can stretch and knead it until the color turns light grey. Eventually they will become too dirty to use as graphite, charcoal, dust or other particles accumulate in the eraser.

So, at some point, you won't be able to keep using it and then it will be time to seek a replacement.


Are there markers, paints, pencils, etc that are known to not change color over time? I have some printed material that I would like to touch up.  These are not collectables, per se, so I'm not worried about altering the value of an antique or similar.

I'm not asking about any specific pen/pencil/etc brand or product.  That will just get dated.

I am asking how I can determine whether any given pen/paint/ink/etc will not change color over long times?  (e.g. many decades).

The two keywords you need to look for are lightfast and archival.

For US manufacturers, lightfastness is usually given as an ASTM rating (that's American Society for Testing and Materials), which is a roman numeral between I (highest lightfastness) and V (lowest). Generally, ratings of I and II are fine to use for most artworks; any lower than that should mostly only be used for temporary works (e.g. where you plan to scan the art into a computer and then discard the physical version), or for works that will spend most of their life covered (e.g. inside a book).

There's no governing body that defines or determines whether materials are archival, so you have to take claims with a grain of salt, but if you buy from reputable manufacturers, you should be OK. One requirement for being archival is another term you're likely to encounter: acid-free. The acidity of the paper is what makes old printed materials brown and brittle. (I know this sounds like a paper problem, not a paint/pencil problem, but it won't help you that the canvas is guaranteed acid-free if you then paint it with something highly acidic.1) Other requirements often come under the terms permanence or durability. What these terms mean depends on the manufacturer, but also on the intended purpose of the material: an artist's acrylic (latex) paint isn't going to stand up to the same degree of abrasion as a latex paint meant for walls, but that doesn't mean it's a bad paint.

A good introduction to the subject is the definitions provided by Winsor & Newton. Some of the terminology is specific to them (the AA, A, B, C system of permanence rating), but it's informative regardless.

For materials meant to be used by children, for example markers or colored pencils, it can be very hard to find lightfastness or permanence ratings. If you want to use such materials, it can be worth your time to conduct your own lightfastness tests: draw some rectangles on a piece of paper, color them with the material you want to test (making sure to label the colors), get some opaque material such as mat board and cover half of each rectangle, and stick the thing in a sunny window2, and forget about it for a while -- several months, at least. When you remove the mat board, you'll see exactly how much each color faded.

1 Well, to a point. The most common type of ink used in the middle ages is iron-gall ink, which by nature is highly acidic. Despite this, documents written with iron-gall ink over a millennium ago are still perfectly preserved and readable. Moral of the story, study the history of the materials you use, and try to use them in the ways that have already stood the tests of time.

2 Your car's dashboard/rear ledge is even better: you get both sun and heat.


Fixing double-ball joint on a 6'' scale action figure I currently have a Figma 6 inch scale figure and unfortunately, I broke off a peg from the double ball shoulder joint. The broken peg was stuck in the hole connecting the arm so I used a knife to jam it out. As a way of fixing the joint, I was hoping to use a screw and essentially screw it into the hole while using the head of the screw as a way to connect the arm to the double ball joint. I was thinking of applying a Loctite superglue at the head and fuse it to the area on the joint where the peg broke off.
Is this method of fixing my figure okay, so should I be causing more damage?
As an alternative method, I could just use the broken peg that I jammed out of the figure's arm and superglue it to the ball joint but I don't know if the peg will stay in place as the surface of the peg is uneven due to the jamming.

The latter idea of fixing the broken peg sounds the most practical. Strengthen the connection by inserting something strong, like part of a paper clip or a toothpick, to bridge the two pieces. If there is enough material there so that you can tap (drill) a small opening for the wire that is, just sticking something in without making room for it may split the plastic.
Also the choice of glue is important. There may be something stronger than super glue for the bond and some plastics may even take damage from it. Maybe the manufacturer sells or recommends one, or search on here for adhesive questions, there have been a few.


Mixing Winsor & Newton Pigment Markers & Copic Markers I've been using Copic markers for a while and realize they are alcohol based markers. However, I've recently acquired some Winsor & Newton Pigment Markers which seem to be something different.

I was wondering if it's ok to use both types of markers on the same artwork.

I don't want to risk trying to find out if it can potentially damage what are very expensive markers.

About damaging the Markers.

I don’t see how you could, at most, just clean the tip afterwards if you use both types toghether. Just keep in mind, according to Amazon

  a smooth surface is important so as to no damage the nibs.

About using both types together.

The Winsor & Newton Pigment Marker page only states

  Can I use Pigment Marker with other media, like water colour or oil?
  This is not recommended. The binder used in the formula of any given paint will block the Pigment Marker nib. However, Pigment Marker works with graphite pencils, and further experimentation is always encouraged.
  Will Winsor & Newton Pigment Marker™ work on standard bleedproof marker paper?
  Bleedproof paper is designed for dye-alcohol markers, which are extremely fast-drying and bleed through paper. Pigment Marker does not bleed through and is slower-drying; therefore, performance will be compromised due the paper’s high absorbency.

Since you should not use the same paper than the alcohol based markers the point is inferred.

The Blick seller of the W&N markers  has definitive specs:

  Usage Note — Do not use with alcohol-based markers

However i found a Customer Review on Amazon

  Fantastic. I use this marker with alcohol based markers like copic/prismacolor as a way to add strong highlights. The texture of this marker is basically a paint consistency, so I have to be careful when using it this way. It works well for what I need, blends beautifully. Would recommend.

So, maybe you can try dual using the markers in non-essential works.

However, my advice would be not to do it. Even within the same medium it is often problematic to use different brands because of the myriad of proprietary chemicals that could potentially interact.


Which glue should I use for fabric-shaping? I'm after a glue to stiffen some fabric into a specific shape. I have tried a couple but they do not stiffen the fabric enough as I'm after a fairly solid finish. It needs to be reasonably resistant to UV too.

I'm making a model of a paraglider and want to use the fabric for the wing. I want it to have a curved shape along both axes, I've found something which has the shape I want and am trying to place the fabric on top and then coat with the glue to fix the shape.

You have quite a few options:

PVA (polyvinyl acetate) glue (a.k.a. 'school glue', 'wood glue', or 'carpenter’s glue'; a type of white glue that dries transparent. Furthermore, it's non-toxic, easy to apply, affordable, has water resistant variants (that deter mould and the like), fast-drying, and has a high holding strength. source

  Dilute the glue using equal parts of glue and water and mix
  continuously to obtain a paste with an even consistency. Apply the
  glue with a paintbrush. Craft the fabric into the desired shape and
  leave to dry. Apply more coats, depending on how stiff you want your
  material to be.
  Another way to stiffen the fabric is to immerse it into a bucket filled with diluted glue. The solution can be more or less concentrated, depending on the effects you want to obtain. Squeeze the fabric to remove the excess solution, shape it and allow to dry. source

GAC 400 (from Golden Artist Colors; an acrylic polymer). A commercial product specifically aimed at giving permanent shape to paper and fabrics:

  Stiffens natural fibers and fabrics and is useful for stiffening
  unprimed canvas or sculpting and shaping fabric. Fibers saturated with
  GAC 400 will dry to a hard, stiff film. source

It can be heat-set, to increase its permanency and stiffness.
Fabric stiffeners for crafting purposes (like Mod-Podge 'Stiffy' (great marketing there)). Apply with a brush onto the shaped fabric, or immerse the fabric and directly apply it to the mould.
See here and here for examples.
Wallpaper paste (methylcellulose). Again: apply with a brush onto the shaped fabric, or immerse the fabric and directly apply it to the mould.
Liquid Starch (corn or potato starch, or commercial products such as Sta-Flo). Mix with water, and, again, apply with a brush onto the shaped fabric, or immerse the fabric and directly apply it to the mould. Apparently this is also used to give denim jeans heavier wear (fading/creasing). This post on that process shows a pair of jeans standing up by themselves, so I guess this a good option. Here are some recipes for making the glue.
Skin glue: another traditional, organic, gelatine-like glue, made from skin and bones of rabbits, hares, and other animals. It usually comes in small grains or powder, which can be found in artist shops. Mixing it with water and heating it up yields a very strong, slightly yellow drying glue. I use it regularly in my artistic work to stiffen fabric, and it's wonderful stuff (as long as it doesn't go bad). See this link for more information on the preparation (and/or ask here if you have any more questions). Once more: you can soak the cloth in the glue solution, or apply it with a brush. It is, however, relatively sensitive to moist.
Epoxy resin: more information following.


protective paint for coins I have an antique silver coin that I was planning on displaying on a ring, and  I was wondering if there was a protective paint that I could put on the coin.  The paint needs to be scratch resistant, protect the coin from water and oils, and needs to be able to be removed from the coin without damaging the coins value.  I do not need the paint to protect the coin from tarnishing just to protect the coin from normal wear.  I haven't been able to find anything myself and I am not a coin expert so I was hoping a coin expert could help me with this, thank you.

Would you be happy to occasionally re-apply if the coating chipped? Clear nail polish would work in that case, and a soak in acetone won't harm the metal but would completely remove the polish.


How to dry out epoxy resin faster than usual? I made MDF coasters and decorated them using epoxy resin with attractive colors and pearl powder.

It took 25-30 hours to completely dry out. In the meantime, few dust particles settled on it and I lost its glow.

How to dry it out faster?

Or better, how should I avoid this the next time?

To cure them more quickly you can either:

use heat lamps or an electric heater over your resin pieces
raise the temperature of the room they are in to say, 75 - 85°F / 24 - 30°C.

If you do either of these, you must maintain the heat constantly until fully cured.

Don't be tempted to add more hardener as it can stop the resin curing and remain sticky indefinitely.

There are additives that promote curing (called accelerator) however they are typically yellow in colour so will add a slight yellow hue to the resin.  Also, the faster the resin cures, the greater the chance of it yellowing as a combination of the heat by-product of resin curing and heat applied to cure the resin faster.

There are reduced accelerator resins around which are slower curing but cure clearer.

To prevent dust from settling on the resin while curing, you can cover them with a cloche or bowl.

For more info on what I have said, you can read what ArtResin say at https://www.artresin.com/blogs/artresin/44707073-how-to-make-resin-cure-faster


Hand Sewing Patch to Huge Elbow Holes in Sweater I have a favorite (cashmere/lambswool) sweater from a fast fashion store that I sort of let go to seed from wearing it all the time. It now has huge elbow holes that go further up my arm where it gets frayed (along with some holes in the sleeves.)
I wanted to add patches to it. I cut squares from a pair of old cotton/spandex leggings and  I wanted to sew it on by hand with a needle and thread, but I've never done this before. I want to do it right and not screw up, but have minimal tools (just two squares of fabric and needle and thread, an ironing board, no pillow even :) ).
Does anyone have a tutorial or have any advice on patching large holes?

This is what I would do:

Take the thread and whip stitch the holes so they do not fray any
further.
Since it is knit textile, tighten and loosen to manipulate the hole
in a fun or fashionable shape.
Place the patches on the inside of the garment, temporarily secure
with safety pins, straight pins or basting stitch.
Use an interesting embroidery stitch to secure the patch permanently.
Remove pins or basting stitches.
Trim excess fabric.

A fun alternative is to appliqué over the holes:

Whip stitch the holes to prevent fraying.
Secure patch on the inside with pins or basting stitch.
Cut out an appliqué shape or shapes, secure to “right” side and
stitch.

Key words/ phrases to search for:

whip stitch or blanket stitch - used to quickly sew an edge
basting stitch - long & loose stitch to temporarily hold materials together
appliqué - technique to apply cut fabric designs onto material
knit textile versus woven textile

FYI: darning has been addressed in the Stack Exchange, but mostly for woven fabrics, not knits.


How can I get a wooden box to close straight down? I looking into getting a Hobby Lobby wooden artist box / case fitted to that can place my gaming cards into it. One of the issues is where the lid closes and vertical object located near there will rub against the list. This is fine for dividers and other hard objects but I have damaged paper and cards by accident this way.

There are many ways to compensate for this.. namely not allowing delicate object to rest against the front or creating a lip on the inside that is the height of the cards. However I read somewhere that a person replaced the hinges with ones that "allowed the box lid to close straight down". I can't figure out what that means.

Is there a hinge that would allow a lid to close straight down?

You don't need to use fancy hinges to fix the problem.  The admittedly crude diagram, below, is a cross section of the box and lid (the dot on the right is the hinge).  The arc is the path of the inside edge of the front of the lid.

The rectangular white space inside the lid is where contents can fit when the lid is closed.  But the arc when the lid opens and closes chops off the corner of the contents area, which is the problem.

You can fix it by removing a wedge of material from the inside edge of the lid.  Use a little geometry, or stick a block of something inside the box or tray that just fits in height when the lid is closed.  With the lid open, push the block against the front of the box and close the lid.  You can use a material like carbon paper so the inside edge of the lid marks the block where it hits.

Add a small margin for clearance and transfer that dimension to the front bottom edge of the lid, measuring from the inside edge.  The wedge to remove goes from there to the top inside corner.

The wedge can be removed with a Dremel tool, chisel, carving knife, or other suitable tool.  Not a lot of material will need to be removed.

This approximation should be close enough.  But if you really want it perfect, calculate a larger concentric arc that passes through the inside top corner of the lid.  It will intersect the bottom edge of the lid at the same place. As long as you remove the lid material on the inside face of that line (regardless of the actual shape you cut out), the lid will be guaranteed to clear.  You can start with a simple wedge, then shape it to the arc.  You can use the same test block to guide your cutting; gradually rough out the cutaway until nothing hits the block.

Note that the drawings aren't to scale, they're exaggerated to illustrate the concept.  The actual dimensions of the case would involve much less material removal than implied here.

Update:  As Matt's comment points out, the above approach would be difficult to make it look professional without the right tools and practice.  Here's a much simple approach.

Fasten the hinge with the pivot centered on the inside height of the lid.  The problematic bottom front inside edge of the lid will then be a distance from the hinge pivot that is a diagonal.  As you open the lid, that edge will swing out because the diagonal distance is longer than the horizontal distance.  By the time the edge is at the maximum possible height of the contents, it will be at the original position of the top inside corner.  So opening the lid clears anything that might be inside.

This solution does create a somewhat similar problem at the back of the lid, but it's much easier to solve there.  As the lid opens, the bottom back inside edge of the lid rotates into the content area.  The tiny arc shown on the diagram at the hinge illustrates the points that would be equidistant from the hinge.  What is farther from the hinge than that arc is what will rotate into the content area.

This is a much smaller amount of "problem" material to remove, and in this location, all it takes is some handheld sandpaper to round off the corner.

Keep in mind that the diagram isn't proportional to the actual lid dimensions or wood thickness, so it illustrates the concept but doesn't accurately represent the amount of material that would need to be removed.


How to replace sad face with happy face I wish to paint following by hand, using oil pastels

This is from period drama (Rustic India, 1800s)

Background is simple, yet decorative, lady is natural beauty.

Only problem is she is crying.

Wish to replace her sad face with happy one.

What I wish to paint (only the lady should smile)

Other photos with this same lady, only here she is smiling ... plz advise

Digital manipulation might still be a good starting point.

If you have the digital film footage from each of these episodes, and if you have good video player software, you should be able to move frame by frame through all the views of her face until you find a smiling one where her face is at the same angle and elevation as in the sad picture.

You can then capture that screen and digitally cut her face out from it.  Try to place most of your cutout lines midway across zones of relatively featureless, flat skin to make the next "merging" step easier.

Once you have her happy face floating in an otherwise transparent image, paste it into a copy of the sad picture, scaling it so that it overlaps and thus replaces the unhappy facial features.  You don't have to get the edges perfect.  Focus instead on placing the eyes correctly and getting the scale right.

You aren't trying to produce a refined piece of digital art; just a crude template to guide your manual painting efforts.

Once you are happy with the digital results, you can print it out or paint from the screen image or even use a digital projector to cast the image onto your canvas for tracing.


Topstitching the inside AND outside seam of pants I have cotton cargo pants (from Old Navy, I think) where the outside seam has two topstitches and the inside seam only has one. Even the seam between the left/right halves has a topstitch.

How is that possible? What tool or technique was used to get a topstitch on every major seam?

The only thing I can imagine is a sewing machine where the needle sews parallel to a long, thin base, allowing each pant leg to be topstitched after being joined with a stitch when they were inside out.

Here are pictures of the stitches for a single leg of my pants. Note how one is double topstitched, and the other is single. The point is that all stitches on the pants are like this (with no breaks), so I don't see how they did it unless they have a special machine.

Click images to enlarge

Since this was mass-produced clothing, they probably do have a special machine for it! You can see an example in action around 2:45 in this video "How It's Made: Jeans". They're using a machine like this one, the Singer 261u:

You can see how the arm is shaped in a way that would allow you to scrunch up the leg.

You could try topstitching like this on a typical home sewing machine, but success would depend on the thickness of the fabric and how skinny the legs are... either way, take it slow!!

Alternatively, a common finish on pants is to only topstitch one set of seams. You can easily do this on a typical home sewing machine! For example if you want topstitching on the outside, sew and topstitch the outer seams before doing the inside seams. This way you have plenty of room to maneuver. Then you can complete the inside seams.

Another option is to topstitch the inside seams, and then partially topstitch the outside seams, usually just past the pocket - again, easy enough to do on a typical machine. You can see a tutorial for this sort of assembly here.


How can I make my wall look like weathered wood? I'd like to cover one wall in my apartment with something that looks like weathered/distressed wood.

The wall is 13 feet wide and 9 feet tall. It's currently just textured and painted.

My project has a few limitations:

I'm on a limited budget. Like really limited.
Since I'm in an apartment, I don't want to attach anything to the wall that isn't easy to remove without damaging the wall.
I'd rather not paint the whole wall and have to paint over it when we move out.

I started playing around with ideas this morning. My first cheap idea was to find images of distressed wood online, and print them on normal white paper. Then I cut out the individual "boards" and taped them to the wall. It looks good enough! (And it's a lot cheaper than buying wallpaper, which I wouldn't want to glue to the wall anyway.)

The problem is how to attach each "board" (rectangle of paper). If I use tape, it will peel the paint off the wall when I remove it.  (I know this because I've tried!) If I use push pins, well, that's a lot of pins to push in, and the pin heads will be visible on each "board".

I'd thought about attaching the printed "boards" to a bed sheet and hanging the sheet, but it would probably droop.

Thanks in advance for your crafty ideas!  :)

You've got a good start to a solid approach to creating something effective and inexpensive; what you need now is a decent and cheap way to finish the job. I would recommend the following:

Get some cheap poster board/tagboard from a department or crafting store. This will create the foundation for your wall.
(Optional) Also pick up some matte brush-on Mod Podge or similar sealer and a cheapish hardware-department grade brush to seal down the edges and add some more realistic texture to your "wood." (If your ink/toner is not water-resistant or waterproof, pick up a spray sealer to fix it in place before using the liquid sealer as well.)
Get some appropriate adhesives; Scotch, Duck, or Frog-branded painter's tape (blue or yellow in color, not the off-white/tan kind), preferably in a "delicate surface" or "low adhesion" variety, or 3M Command poster strips. These materials are designed to release cleanly from painted surfaces without damage when used properly; avoid off-brand or store-brand colored painter's tapes, as they frequently use a glue more similar to the cheap off-white masking tape that can and does damage painted surfaces.
Stick your printed pages to the poster board with whatever method you prefer; spray glue or glue stick applied sparingly will give you good results on the display surface. If desired, seal the surface using your sealers; feel free to leave brush strokes behind, as they'll add a touch of dimensionality to your faux wood as well as sealing the edges in place. You can either go all the way to the edge of the boards, or add an overlap that will be covered when you mount them.
Use the painter's tape (rolled and stuck behind the poster board, or along corners/edges covered by overlap if you chose this method), or the Command strips (follow package instructions) to mount your poster board pieces to your wall.

All these elements are inexpensive, particularly compared to options like fully painting and repainting or using wallpaper, and should give you an end product that both looks decent and is easily removed when you move out or want a change of pace.


What material can I use for hardcover book panels when binding? I am getting into book binding, and want to try binding something with faux leather. However, I want to bump up the quality of the binding, and don't want to use cardboard as a backbone in holding the faux together.

I was wondering about a material that I could use in its place. I was thinking possibly Solid Bleach Board, or chipboard. I do like the look of chipboard, though i'm worried it may be too rigid.

Are there any types of cardboard that are simply loosely compressed, and uncorrugated?

I would strongly consider what is usually used for covers in these types of books. Hardboard or millboard. They are both similar materials that I would suggest for this. Unfortunately their names are sometimes used interchangeably so I would like to clarify a little what they are. Then you should be able to make a informed choice.

Millboard is what you would find if you were to take a simple binder or traditional hardcover book apart. It is also heavier than millboard so keep that in mind. Side Note: Doing just that is a great way to get perfectly sized materials!

Hardboard is, like its name suggests, a very hard rigid and dense board. It is similar to both MDF and particle board. These come in thin sheets that would be perfect for binding. I talk about hardboard a little more over at Woodworking.SE

I would lean towards millboard as it is more forgiving to bending than hardboard. Hardboard will hardly move at all. Both are perfectly adequate for binding leather. I have made 5 books that were leather bound.

  However, I want to bump up the quality of the binding

If you wanted to do something else to bump up your game I would suggest using actual leather for you book covers. It is really easy to come by if you are no picky about colours. Local secondhand stores are usually where I source my leathers. Jackets might be tempting for their size but they are usually too expensive. Skirts are the best best at being both cheap and containing large enough swatches to cover your book panels.


How can I cut a (reverse) waterdrop shape out of a cardstock perfectly? I have printed the waterdrop shape on the cardstock. I want it to have sharp and smooth edges. I'm not an artisan at crafts, however, scissors and utility knife leave a lot of roughness.

If you have a makerspace in your area or a similar craft related activity/club, you may be able to gain use of a craft cutter such as the Silhouette Cameo or a Cricut product. Still associated with the makerspace, you may find members with a laser cutter. Stretching the application a bit means you could also use a flatbed CNC machine to make the straight and large curves, although the small point at the bottom would have to be done by hand with a sharp craft knife.

I've recently become aware of a product that can be best described as a high-frequency vibrating craft knife. At a cost of US$399, it's steep for hobby use, but might be practical for high production craft use. It's a Kickstarter campaign called Wondercutter, but as a Kickstarter item, there's a risk involved.

As I own a laser cutter which cuts cardboard quite cleanly, it's on the top of my suggestion list.


How to create a glitter gold effect with colored pencil I am painting a Venetian Mask using Prismacolor Premier colored pencils on Strathmore Bristol vellum paper.
Parts of the mask and costume in my subject photo have glittery gold on them. I am able to create the flat gold colours but not the glitter areas. The areas are small (but distinct) so it is hard to put dots of colour to make it look glittery.
Any suggestions?
I have added the photo, the glitter is in the hat, in the red and in the blue areas:

The phrase my first painting teacher used the most was "Contrast in Value-!" The best way to make anything look realistic is to pay attention to the lights and darks, or "value" of the colours. I recommend unfocusing your eyes to take in the general sense of contrast- how much of that "glitter" really stands out? Can you convey what you want without it?

I think the key thing would be leaving areas bright white to imply the reflected light. How far along is the drawing? Assuming your paper is white, you could draw teeny tiny circles for the glittery flecks, but only fill in your colour around them so they stay white and look "shiny."


How do I remove adhesive spray from my self healing cutting mat? I have tried nail varnish remover and don't know what else to try. Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

There's also a manual solution to this problem: Sticky tape.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but putting sticky tape on the mat and pulling it back off has a chance to pull the adhesive residue off as well. The glue on tape bonds with the adhesive residue on the mat. When you pull the tape off, the adhesive has only 2 choices:
either stick on the mat or stick on the tape. If the glue on the tape is strong enough (like duct tape or wire insulation tape) it will pull the adhesive away from the mat.
To do this, cut a strip of tape roughly as long as your hand is wide. Hold both ends of the tape together, sticky side out. Now dab the tape onto the mat and pull it away again repeatedly. If this methods works, you'll notice the adhesive residue on the tape. Once the surface of the tape is covered with residue so much that it doesn't stick well anymore, discard the strip of tape and cut a fresh one.


What paints can be used on eggs? Being into the decorating of eggs recently, an Orthodox tradition, and I am wondering which paints are most suited towards this type of work. My curiosity extends towards the possibility of using different dyes along with the paints.

Food coloring would be the easiest, most colorful and most common way of coloring eggs.

Alternately and perhaps more traditionally there are a number of natural dyes that come from food stuffs: purple cabbage, red onions, yellow onions, beets, teas. Typically these are chopped and boiled in water with a little clear vinegar in it until the color goes into solution. Then it works like any other coloring... dip, brush, or soak the eggs in it to give them color.


Very small grommets keep splitting I've been trying to put some very small grommets, marked size #000, into t-shirts. Since they're going to be resting directly against skin, they need to not split, since splitting creates sharp edges. Unfortunately, my efforts so far have (almost) all resulted in split grommets.

I've tried a handheld grommet punch that had to be hit with a hammer. Then, after some initial success at the store, was convinced that I just had to buy the smoother-acting grommet spreader that had a big handle you pulled down to mash the grommet into place. Once I got it home, I was back to split grommets. (What was different in the store?)

What should I be doing to stop splitting my grommets? Do I need to be buying grommets made from a different, more ductile material? (And if so, what material would that be?) Is there a different technique for installing the grommets that I'm somehow missing?

If there is nothing technically wrong with the grommets then there is probably not enough material in their grip when you are attaching them. Thus they over crimp and split.

You could try adding a washer shaped bit of cloth that matches the diameter of the ring of the grommet to add more bulk, or try not squeezing them as hard. Using a washer of extra fabric will help them last longer as there will be less stress on the t-shirt material at the grommet.


Comparison: epoxy resin vs. glass I wonder how does epoxy resin compare to glass. I have in mind at least:

mechanical strength;
elasticity / bending;
"break-ability"
others.

The source for this "curiosity" is the countless videos on the net where people create things (especially table tops) - but never show the strength of the said things.
Should I trust such table to support a computer or monitor or some other expensive(-ish) thing? Is it safe to use such table top for the kitchen table? Food might be hot, and if it spills on whoever, then "whoever" will be not happy at all.

About a year ago, I created a epoxy resin based river table for my dining room involving a couple of live-edged oak panels joined by a river made from several hundred dollars worth of metallic blue colored epoxy resin.  My first attempt failed miserably for a variety of reasons.

I didn't adequately dry the fresh cut oak which meant that water lurked just under the wooden side of the epoxy/wood joint.  I also didn't seal the wood adequately before applying the resin so after the pour, the heat from the resin's hardening drew the water out of the wood and into the resin, making the resin cloudy and ugly.
I also poured too much resin in each layer and poured it on a early winter night when the temperature in my workshop suddenly dropped twenty degrees.  The sum of these temperature related missteps was that the resin cracked in several places, leaving jagged lightning-bolts throughout the "river" portion of the table.  Ultimately it shattered completely as it cooled.

My second attempt was significantly more successful, though I never did get around to putting legs on it.  With the oak properly dried and prepared and with much more patience during the resin pouring, I managed to produce a 3' x 8', mostly flat surface with a beautifully un-shattered river center stage.
This is where I finally get around to answering your question, "how does resin compare to glass?".   The answer is, it depends.   For the vast majority of the pour, I used a comparatively cheap resin, one stage up from what is normally used to make fiberglass.  It's greatest attribute was that it was supposed to be foolproof.  My first attempt definitely proved that wrong but after I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy.  I left the project alone to cure for about a month and when I returned I found the surface hard but not as hard as glass.  I could definitely "dent" it by dropping metal objects on it and I left a few fingernail gouges in it as well.  It was about as hard as drywall and had a slightly oily feel, even after a month of curing in a cold garage.
So I called the shop where I had bought the original resin and described the state of things.  They happily sold me several gallons of another (more expensive) resin which they called a "hard coat".  Sorry, I don't have any real product names.   I sanded the table everywhere to help with adhesion, then poured this new resin over both the previous resin and the oak, allowing it to pool over the entire surface which I had surrounded with a masking tape fence.  The new resin was clear but it made the wood look amazing.  It also brought the dull sanded surface of the old resin back to transparency with a gorgeous glossiness.  This surface cured clear, flat and hard.   Metal coins bounce off without leaving a mark.  Cat claws and fingernails fail miserably in any attempt to scratch it.  The edge is sharp and would be straight if I had thought to use something stronger than masking tape for the wall around the final pour.
That table top now holds a proud place in my gallery of unfinished craft projects.
I don't have any scientific instrumentation to measure the difference between this final surface and glass, but the "hard coat" resin will definitely stand up to years of normal indoor usage.


What are the common abbreviations in crochet patterns and more importantly what do they mean? I almost never see patterns sold with yarn or those online using the long forms of stitch and technique names.

Yes, most proper beginner tutorials almost always have a legend for this sort of thing but not always. The intermediate to advanced ones I would think expect you have learned this by now.

What are the common stitch and actions abbreviations that are found in patterns and what are the long forms of them? Are there any distinctions when it comes to US/UK?

There are about nine or ten main stitches that are the most commonly used and, of them, four or five are probably used the most.
Most common US stitch abbreviations:

ch - chain
bpsc (or bpdc, bptc) - back post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)
dc - double crochet
dtr - double treble crochet
hdc - half double crochet
fpsc (or fpdc, fptc) - front post single crochet (double crochet, triple crochet)
sc - single crochet
sl st or ss - slip stitch
tc - treble crochet
trtc - triple treble crochet

Most common UK stitch abbreviations:

ch - chain
dc - double crochet
dtr - double treble crochet
htr - half treble crochet
rtrb - raised treble back
rtrf - raised treble front
ss - slip stitch
tr - treble crochet

Other standard, non-stitch related abbreviations:
These may be used on their own or in conjunction with the abbreviations above.

bp - back post
dec - decrease
fp - front post
inc - increase
rep - repeat
rnd(s) - round(s)
RS - right side
st - stitch
tog - together
WS - wrong side
yo/yoh - yarn over/yarn over hook

Also, many patterns use an asterisk (*) to mark a repeated section of work.
There are other terms that some sites may define like pc (popcorn) or cl (cluster) but these should be defined in your pattern because what each pattern considers a popcorn stitch or cluster will vary greatly. They are non-standard, so look for a section in the instructsion that breaks up these terms into their smaller parts for you.


Treating pine to prevent oil leaking I'm in the process of preparing a pine wooden box to hold a large number of cardboard wallets for storing a card game collection, but there appears to be some oil or something like it inside the wood itself. When i have left some paper inside the box, it has gone slightly waxy and translucent.

I am worried that leaving the cardboard wallets and the cards that will go inside them will also cause some damage to them. I was considering varnishing the box myself anyway, and was wondering if anyone knew if this would prevent any damage to the contents like I've described?

The box was made for me as a gift by my brother, and is made out of pine.

I've used water-based varnish to seal in resin leaking from pine in a bed base I made.  I applied several coats to the whole surface, but started with a couple of coats over just the sticky areas.  Before the first coat I scraped/sanded the surface and cleaned with methylated spirits (denatured alcohol).

This won't work well if it's actually oil that's leaking.  Pine can be oiled, including with vegetable oil for food use.  Most varnishes, even oil-based ones, won't work too well on top of this.  You may be able to remove a lot of the oil with meths though.  Drying it in an oven may also help.  Not too hot, and not if other areas are painted or glued, or have plastic fixings.


Commercial use of public domain pictures Is it possible to use photographic reproduction of public domain artwork in the commercial work? Specifically, I was wondering if a printing company can print reproductions of the public domain artwork and deliver prints to both Europe and US? Are there any gotchas to watch out for?

Examples of few public domain famous artworks from Wikipedia:

Public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Gogh_-_Starry_Night_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Public domain in US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gustav_Klimt_047.jpg

It depends on where you are selling and who made the photo.

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reuse_of_PD-Art_photographs

In particular Germany and Norway will be tricky... if you can source the photographs and get the creator of the photograph to license the photo to you, you will be in a good position. This is because even thought the original painting is probably in the public domain, the photographer has their own rights...


Muslin as a curtain with the option to remove hooks I just purchased some green screen muslin as a background for video editing, and am wondering how to best attach it to the wall. Both the wall and the green screen are 6m wide and 3m high. Most of the time I'd expect the screen to hang off the wall, but I'd like to be able to move it away (so it should be a curtain) and to take it off and use it in different settings as well.
My initial approach would be to punch a few metal eyelets through it at a reasonable distance from the top, and run curtain hooks with wheels through these, which would allow me to remove or replace the hooks if needed, but should still give me the necessary strength.

Does that sound viable, or would that be likely to rip out at some point?
Does it make sense to fold once, sew along the length and run the eyelets through two layers?
Should I punch a proper hole, or is there a technique that will give me more strength?

The cloth itself is rather light for its size, but I'd expect a bit of force when the curtain is drawn to the side (most of the force would be on the outermost hole then), or when someone stumbles into it (we're playing VR games in that room, so people are unable to see the wall unless they get near it and get a warning from the system).

Clips and dowels
This is what I do.

You see pink broadcloth and on the on the other side is standard muslin. Zoom into the top. You’ll see clips that you can purchase at a certain furniture box store or you can use binder clips from the stationary shop with shower curtain rings from a dollar store.
In this case I used a curtain rod that I hung with command hooks to the wall so that nothing makes permanent marks and it is completely removable. It ain’t perfect or pretty but it’s been working for years and I can make it nicer when there’s time.

When I first put this up, it wasn’t stitched at all. Needed it fast. Then when I had time, did the sewing.

This is how it hangs. To tie it back, there is a shoelace pinned to it. You can be fancy and use a curtain swag. This is why there are wrinkles in the middle.
Here is another way I do this.

Nails and a dowel and string with the clips.
This piece is heavy so it hangs without help. But notice the weight stretches it.


What writing utensils would work for concrete walls? My boyfriend has concrete walls surrounding his at home office. He has expressed interest in using the walls as "story boarding" space for future mobile applications. I'm curious as to what writing utensil would be the very best option for clarity of penmanship on a concrete wall. Being able to be washed off after a period of time would be a bonus too.

When dealing with a concrete surface, the first consideration is the smoothness of the surface. If that is acceptable, and of reasonably decent flatness, your options expand nicely. If it's a coarse surface with lots of pits, cracks and other irregularities, chalk may be the only answer. It's messy and washable, though.

If the surface can be painted, consider to use a dry-erase paint product. I found many with a quick search:

Benjamin Moore Dry Erase Paint

Such products will enable one to use standard office-type dry-erase markers of multiple colors and tip sizes, with easy dry-erase erasers used to remove the work.

Depending on the scope of the use (area of walls to be painted), the biggest disadvantage I see is that the room would be very white.


Can I dye a pumpkin? Is it possible to successfully dye a pumpkin? I want to spice up this year's jack-o-lanterns.

Specifically, to have it have bright or bold colors?

I ask because I'm not sure if the glossiness of the shell would protect it from the dye. I'd prefer not to make a terrible mess to test it out, so I'm hoping someone has dyed pumpkins or gourds before. Also, I'd have no idea about how long I'd have to leave them in the dye. (I do have those mini pumpkins on hand to test before using full-size).

If it makes a difference, I could buy white pumpkins instead of orange.

If dyeing the shell is too much work/too hit or miss, then I'd be interested in applying dye with a brush to the portions I carve to be somewhat translucent.

Well, yes you can... lots of people dip dye pumpkins using food coloring, though the outer skin of the pumpkin will not absorb the dyes as well as the flesh of the pumpkin. If you want to enhance the dye absorption on the surface, a very light sanding with a fine-grained sandpaper to lightly score the surface will probably help there. As you have the small ones to test, I'd test both scored and not to see how it works out.


Is there a discernible difference between tube and pan watercolors? I have some old watercolor tubes that I inherited (a lot of family gives me art supplies, since I "like art"), and I have few sets of pan watercolors. My wife and I would like to try using them both.

How different do they actually appear once on watercolor paper or canvas?

For instance, could I use these two types together on the same medium without there being a discernible difference in what type of watercolor they are? A difference along the lines of how you can tell chalk pastels from oil pastels, in that they have a different finish and texture on paper.

Should we stick to one or the other for a given project, to have it look consistent?

I just want to clarify that I'm not asking about the general differences, but they're actual end appearance.

There can be more textural/quality difference between two different pigments of the same brand and type of watercolor than there is between, say, a tube of ultramarine blue vs. a pan of ultramarine blue from the same manufacturer.

The difference between the types of watercolors really comes down to technique: the way you use tube colors is quite different from the way you use pan colors. But you can use this to your advantage. For example, you can use the pan colors for light washes, and use the more concentrated tube colors for adding outlines and details. To someone who doesn't know what kind of paint you used, it'll just look like you used more water in some parts and less water in other parts (and if you come right down to it, that'll be exactly what you did).

If there is a huge disparity in quality between the types of paint - for example, if the pan colors are a dollar-store find meant for children, while the tubes are top-of-the-line artist's grade - that difference will probably be apparent in the finished product: the lower quality paints will look washed-out and chalky, and may be under-bound (so they come right off the paper when dry). But if both types are student-grade or better, then a competent artist will have no trouble creating a seamless piece of art using both types. It's just that most artists develop a preference for one over the other.


Name of collage or embroidery mixing pearls, sequins and beads Does anyone know if this type of collage or embroidery mixing different objects like pearls, sequins, beads and bugle beads has a specific name?

I found other examples on Google searching pearls, sequins and beads embroidery but I wonder if there is a common denomination for this type of embroidery using multiple elements.

Consider beading, being the decoration of fabric with beads.

Or, more specifically to embroidery, bead embroidery.


Fibre choice: Why choose wool, cotton, bamboo, acrylic, etc. when crocheting / knitting? Does it make a difference? What are the reasons to choose one fibre over another - are there advantages and disadvantages for each type of fibre? If I have a pattern that specifies wool, is it usually safe to substitute for cotton, or vice versa?

Each type of fiber has unique characteristics that must be taken into account when considering substitution (which is pretty much a pattern-by-pattern process). Some examples:

Machine Washability Silk and pure wool arn't machine washable, cotton and most synthetics are, linen is actually improved by being machine washed.

Breathability All of the natural fibers (wool, silk, cotton, linen, etc.) breathe, but the synthetics (acrylic, polyester, etc.) don't.

"Stickiness" Certain techniques (drop stitches, felting) require the built-in self-gripping of wool and similar animal fibers. This also impacts things like cotton's known tendency to droop.

Elasticity This is the fiber's ability to stretch and contract, which affects an item's ability to regain its orignial shape as well as how wearing the yarn is to knit with (hand fatigue). Animal fibers and some synthetics are stretchy, while plant fibers aren't.

Allergies & Sensitivities Wool is the infamous one in both these categories, though synthetics can be problematic, too. Plant fibers do better.

In general, the closer you stick to the recommended fiber type, the more predictable the results will be (replacing cotton with wool is riskier than replacing it with linen). If you really want a specific substitution,  you can try contacting the designer for their thoughts; also, if you're on something like Ravelry, you can see if anybody else has tried it.


Kinds of paper to use with watercolors? I mainly use Bristol, but it becomes wavy after a few coats of water. I have some regular watercolor paper, but I'm not a fan of the roughness of it.
Are there other types of watercolor paper I should be aware of?

There is cold pressed water colour paper and hot pressed. Cold pressed has some texture to it. If you like a smoother paper, get the hot pressed, it has a much smoother texture.

Id suggest getting artist grade papers in at least 140lb. I like both Arches and Fabriano Artistico Hot Pressed 140lb. If you buy paper in the large sheets from an art store and cut it down to size it ends up being a better value.

Ive has some luck with the Fabriano Artistico Studio grade paper in pads, it comes in both cold pressed and hot pressed. Its a great quality paper for practice and learning and is a bit cheaper than the artist grade papers.


How do you properly use more than 3 colors in a crochet project? I had to ask this because I have been having problems with this. This there a proper way to use 4 or more colors in a crochet project? Like for example, if you wanted to crochet a portrait or a something that includes shading and you need at least 4 colors to do it.

I want to know how to prevent the project from shrinking on itself and tightening from switching to one color to another.

You use more than three colours the same way you use three colours.

If the different patches of colour are close together you can leave the thread idle while working till you need it again.
When slightly wider apart you can lock the idle yarn under a stitch or wind it around a different thread that is handy.

But if the distance is big, tie off and start with the colour again when you need it.

Depending on the actual style of crochetting yarn taken along under the stitches might show or be hidden.
If hidden, it is the best way to move the idle yarn for a few stitches, not only locking the lengths away but also strengthening the colour changes.
You can also use this method to anchor the end where you take out a colour and the start of use of a new colour.


Advice on weaving/looming machine I am looking to create woven patches as a hobby. I was playing a bit with embroidery patches, but I want to see the difference between the two.

My question is: what would be a starting weaving/looming machine for home use that does not require an entire room to store it?

You can make a very basic small loom out of a single piece of thick cardboard.

This is ideal for small weaving, around 10cm - 20cm size. You can use it to make small patches (or even small pouches/bags). I learned to do this at primary/elementary school, so it is very accessible.

This gives you a loom that you can use for tapestry weaving. I will explain the basics of how you would start weaving with such a loom, but details of how to weave are outside the scope of the question.

To make a simple patch: Take a piece of cardboard a little bigger (1 cm in each dimension) than the size of the patch you want to make. Cut notches 0.5 cm long, 0.5 cm apart on two opposite edges. Now you have a loom!

To set up the loom, you need to add the "warp" threads, which form the basis of the fabric. I would recommend something like knitting yarn for this. Arrange the loom so that the notches are top and bottom. Take some yarn and wind it a couple of times around the top-left notch, ending with the long end of the thread at the back. (This is just to keep the thread secure while you weave. At the end you will remove it from the cardboard and you can weave in the end of this thread.)

Bring the thread from back to front through the top-left notch. Then take it down to the bottom left notch and thread it through to the back. Bring the yarn to the front through the second notch on the bottom.

Bring it to the next notch at the top, round the back and so on... Keep going until you have filled all the notches. Wind a couple of times around the right.

Now you can take your "weft" thread and weave it through under and over starting on the lower right and going through to the lower left. You can use something like a pencil to press the threads firmly down to the bottom. Then weave back from left to right, alternating the over and under threads. Press the thread firmly down again. Keep going until you have filled the card. Then you can remove it from the loom, weave in the ends, and you have a piece of woven fabric.


Cheap alternative to glass? I recently researched alternatives to glass for permanent framing/protection, and I found that glassine paper is supposedly a good cheap alternative. I ordered it on Amazon, but I was very unhappy with it. It was barely transparent and the glassine obstructed the viewer from seeing my art and appreciating the colors and the beauty, it was like looking through a smokey window. So now I'm looking for any other suggestions for paper that would protect my art and have a generous amount of transparency.

Soft pastel is literally the most difficult "painterly" media to protect. Generally speaking, the appropriate way to protect pastels is with a so-called shadow box, where the paper or board is floated above the backing plate of the frame and still has air-space to the glass. (See my drawing below.)

This is a pretty material-intensive method, but it serves to isolate the pastel from touching anything, including the glass. You have probably noticed that applying fixative to soft-pastels will change them, dulling the whites etc.

There is, in my opinion, no cheap way to protect pastel drawings, but I do have two suggestions.

Find cardboard boxes with clear plastic inserts, like gift boxes where you can see inside them.
Take a high resolution photo and print them at the local drugstore or at an online service. Frame them as you would any photo.

The second option is probably the only way to cheaply conserve your pastel.


Differences between HB pencils Pencils seem to have different types:

From what I've seen, there's a few types:

HB
2HB
B

and so on.

What's the difference between all the different pencils? When do I use one or the other?

H and B relate to the hardness or softness of the pencil's graphite. "H" stands for "hard" and "B" stands for "black" with "F" right in the middle between HB and H... though, the source of the lettering seems to be debatable according to Wikipedia - H stands for "Hardtmuth" (the surname of the owner of an art supply company) and B stands for "Budweis", the town the pencil company was relocated to but "hard" and "black" are probably more useful to remember.
A "number 2 pencil" as we (in the US) are often told to use for filling out multiple choice answers on Scantron sheets, is right in the middle, the equivalent of "HB"... though, according to this site, there's no "industry standard" so one company's HB may not be the same as another's. This is also explained in the Wikipedia article linked above, which notes that on some scales, the US equivalent of HB is a #2 pencil, while other manufacturers use the equivalent HB=2½.
As a general explanation of the differences between the grades, pencils.com shows the following image:

As you can see in the image, the higher the H value, the lighter the result but the finer the point, while at the other end, the higher the B value, the darker the blackness of the graphite and wider the point.
This site has some great guidance on what the benefits of each are:

H leads are extremely smudge-resistant and give cleaner lines, making them useful for things such as outlines, technical drawings, light sketches, and even watercolors. Left-handed pencil users can also take advantage of smudge-resistant H leads. On the downside, hard leads tend to be scratchy, especially as you move up the scale.
B leads are smooth to write and draw with. They smudge easily, but are readily erased. They're perfect for pencil drawings as artists can take advantage of the brush-like expressions, especially in the higher B grades. Animators in particular enjoy using 10B over animator paper because it writes like butter, creating nice, quick, heavy lines with no friction.


How to Slow the Speed of a Sewing Machine I recently purchased Singer Start 1304 Sewing Machine. When I press on the foot ever so lightly it goes fast and loud.

I am really taken aback by so much noise and speed (especially since I am new comer and have now figured out how thread properly and make straight, plain stitches).

How can this be resolved?

This young lady says press on foot pedal slowly, but it is still going fast. It doesn't sound so loud. Perhaps the video is not capturing how loud it is.

Or is it a matter of comfort and getting used to. Please help!!!!

https://youtu.be/xdHnrlrQ6RE?t=353

Singer foot pedals sometimes have a speed adjustment.  Mine does, I own a CG 550. Look underneath the pedal and if there is a little hole, you should be able to take an electronics grade small flat head screwdriver or one for glasses and torque the gauge to speed up or slow down.

Singer machines typically come at middle speed. As this is a beginner machine, it may already be set as slow as it goes. Of course, that is, if it even has the speed adjustment slot.

My very first Singer had the hole with the ability to adjust the speed without the markings.

You’re machine manual on page 6, states that speed is only controlled by your foot. See pic from manual taken from Singer website.

Yes, you can control the speed of a consumer machine somewhat. Mostly it feels like slow, fast and stop. Commercial machines have much more subtle control.
The best way to get used to the speed of your  oops, sewing machine is to take gobs of scrap fabric and go nuts with all the stitches. It’s fun and helps.


What are the differences between different black oil paints? Assuming they are all the same grade (let's assume professional grade to simplify the question), what makes one better for one purpose or another? I understand that there are a variety to choose from: mars black, lamp black, chromatic black, etc.

Could someone tell me what the attributes of the different blacks are? (transparency, warmth, typical uses, etc)

The answer would be too broad because the different black pigments have all different characteristics as other pigments have in terms of hue/temperature, intensity/tinting, transparency, even value and so on.
Here's what Winsor & Newton says about their acrylic blacks:

  Ivory Black is a brown black of moderate tinting strength recommended
  for general use.

  Mars Black is a denser, more neutral black with stronger tinting
  power.

  Lamp Black is a blue black that is lightfast, permanent and opaque.

same (more or less) applies to oils, thus for a detailed description it's better to focus on pigment(s) rather than names as they are not universal between manufacturers. This applies to other hues more severely. For much accurate details you can refer to Handprint. And a chromatic black behaves as the pigments it's made of, so you can have more control over its attributes knowing what you've mixed.


How to make abstract /marbled designs on a paper? Talking about the designs on the papers from left to right, first column.

http://paintspot.ca/54-things-you-can-make-with-handmade-papers/

I have oil pastels, water colours and poster colours.

What is a practical way to produce such abstract designs on the paper without creating a mess?

Will the type of color matter? What kind of color should be prefered?

Will the type of paper matter? What kind of paper should be preferred?

I intend to hang the results on a wall.

There are a variety of techniques to do something called paper marbling, and some of them may suit your needs and materials.

The basics of the process come down to putting something in a painting tray, such as water or a foam (usually shaving cream), adding some paint, and then laying the paper on top to absorb the paint.

Clean up may involve removing excess materials, and generally allowing the paper to completely dry.

Generally, the paint is mixed with something to help keep it sitting on top of the water, where your paper will be. This Rookie Mag tutorial suggests using a little turpentine. Then you can use some sticks to marble the paint together. The tutorial linked has a special device made, but most demonstrations show someone using a single spare piece of plastic or wood to get it done.

You can get some really neat effects due to the way the oil repels the water. Adding drops of plain water to an area of paint will create a circle of empty space. Add a drop of paint inside it and you'll make a ring. You can repeat this to get as many nested rings as you'd like.

There are an amazing number of tutorials already out there to cover this, and a lot of different methods. If this technique is suitable for you, then you should be able to find a step-by-step guide that walks you through getting this done.

FYI, a similar technique is used for "hydro dipping", a popular way to give a tie dye effect on animal skulls. The concept is the same, and so watching the many tutorial videos about it may help give you some idea of the requirements and capabilities of the technique.


Masking out non-linear shapes on canvas I'm painting geometric stuff (in acrylic) and know how to mask out straight-lined shapes using tape on canvas (image on the left). However, have always wondered what would be a clean effective way, or most common way, of masking out circular, elliptical, anything non-linear shaped (image on the right). Is there a specific material that can be used other than roll tape? thanks

I'm not aware of painters tape being sold in super-wide rolls.  But you could replicate that by overlapping as many strips as needed to contain the shape inside a wide border.  Do that on an easy-release surface like wax paper or used backer paper from label sheets (use as much as you need to protect the adhesive).  Trace or draw the desired shape onto the tape and cut it out.  Then peel the tape from the backing and position it on the surface you want to paint.

Another approach would be to create a template.  There are lots of suitable materials you could use.  Chipboard is available in large sheets.  You might even be able to get a sufficiently large piece by opening up something like a large cereal box.  Some materials will hold up better than others if you want to reuse it many times.

Along the lines of your vinyl idea, the vinyl used for laser-cutting lettering and shapes for signage is typically thin, and backed with an aggressive adhesive, although you could leave the liner attached.  You might be able to find heavier-weight, stiffer vinyl sheets at an art supply store.

For small shapes, there are vinyl folders that are long lasting versions of manila folders; you could cut off the fold to make two flat pieces that would be good, long-lasting template material. If you don't have access to a laser cutter, you could cut it by hand with a hobby knife or hot knife. You might be able to use a French curve as a knife guide (though not with a hot knife).

For larger sizes, you could use something like vinyl shelf liner, which is heavy enough to not stretch, or vinyl wall paper.  Tyvek, which is available in rolls, might be suitable for single use; it is likely to wrinkle, though, with the first use (but it's cheap and you could make more, cutting the shape out with scissors).

The problem is in sealing the template against the medium so paint doesn't wick under it.  You need a temporary adhesive that doesn't leave a residue and isn't so aggressive that it can pull off what may already be on the medium.  If the medium is a textured surface, you also need something thick enough to fill the gaps.

Rolling a thin bead of tacky putty (the kind used to stick things to a wall that doesn't leave any residue), would be a good material for that.  Line the back of the template right at the cutout edge.  If it is a large template made of heavyish material and the medium won't be horizontal when you paint, or material that wants to roll up, use clips of some kind to secure the template in position (or painters tape around the edge).  Then press the cutout area into position to adhere the putty.

Let me add a totally different approach.  There are temporary coatings that can be sprayed or applied with a roller.  They dry to a protective, clingy plastic film that can be peeled off without removing paint or other surface materials.  Typical use is to protect finishes or materials during storage or construction.  There are lots of similar products (Google "spray-on temporary coating").  Here's one from an Australian company, but similar products are available all over: https://www.shieldnpeel.com.au/.

To use it as a template, cut out a positive of the shape and position it on the medium.  Spray or roll a coating of the material over at least the edges of the shape, and wide enough to protect the area around the shape.  Extend it to an edge for easy access for peeling.  While it is still wet, remove the positive, so the coating is the template.  Peel the film off when you're done.


Is there any way to preserve oil painted canvas without framing I have created some paintings which I wanted to preserve without framing them.
Is there any way to do so?
How to keep them as it is?
And for how long we can keep them as it is?

As has been mentioned in comments, oil paint takes forever to cure and the process can't be hastened. If you need to store it without risk of damage, your only options are hanging, a shelf rack or fixed in a crate/box. As for how long they can be kept unframed, the answer is forever (or as long as the painting exists). Framing does not alter canvas tension or add to frame stability. The frame is an aesthetic addition that can serve as a buffer between the painting surface and large flat surface while stored. Most risks of damage still apply to a framed piece.


What is Santa's beard made from? My wife bought a Santa ornament at a craft show. It is painted wood with a thick rough material that makes up his beard.

Click image to enlarge

For whatever reason he took a fall from the hibiscus he was hanging from. He beard was brittle and broke into dozens of pieces. I used epoxy to attached the larger segments back together but there we too many small ones that would just look ugly if I continued that way. Here is a close up of the end of his beard if it helps:

Anyone have a guess as to what was used to create Santa's beard? If nothing else I was going try and use drywall compound and paint white. Not sure how well that will work and I would prefer not ruining it if it can be avoided.

It's difficult to know for sure, but it looks to me like plaster of Paris, also known sometimes as craft plaster when sold in craft stores, which is basically just gypsum plaster. Since it is real plaster, it would be fairly brittle and prone to breaking, especially when applied in a thin layer, as it seems to be on your Santa. It also generally dries white, which would explain the lack of brush stroke on the beard - no paint seems to have been applied.

I've never tried adding plaster on top of already dried plaster, so I don't know if it would stick well. Plaster of Paris also generally comes in packages of at least one pound of powder, so if patching the beard is all you would do with it, it might not be worth it. Drywall compound would likely work fine for patching and might not end up all that different, since it is also made primarily of gypsum powder.


How to recreate drawstring effect on this dress on homemade nightie pattern I have 2m of fabric, and I want to make a cotton nightie with it. I want to create drawstrng shoulders and also a front drawstring that ties losely. I managed to find an image similar to what I would like to create (the top bit):

What I am wondering is whether I can just make the pattern from two large rectangles and then the shape just comes from the drawstrings, or are there other things I need to account for? I have a similar shape to the girl in the image, about size 10, tall, slender.

Any tips on making the drawstring? Do I make a casing and then sew on top of the shoulder?

There are a few things to be considered here:

Comfort

Are you sure the drawstrings will be comfortable when lying down, either on your back or your side? If you aren't sure, consider pleating instead.

Will you be able to ignore the loose ends of the strings or will they bother you? You can keep them shorter than shown in the picture (sew them in place) or pleat the fabric instead.

Pattern

The front is basically a big rectangle with a very narrow triangular neck that gets stretched by the drawstrings. The width of the front panel looks a little wider than the width of a well-fitting t-shirt. I'm sure you can adapt a simple tunic pattern.

Unless you want a drawstring at the back as well (keep your comfort in mind!), the back must be cut to your actual size. That poses the problem that the shoulder of the front panel is wider than the back. You either have to cut the back panel wider from the waist up, or find another way to fit both pieces together.

Construction of a drawstring

I assume the fabric for your nighty is rather thin. In that case you should encase the drawstring on all sides to protect the frabric from wear. Cut long rectangles (the width depends on the size of your strings), hem the short sides and sew the long sides together to make tubes. Iron the seams open right in the middle of the tube (will be the underside). Place the tubes on your nighty seam facing down and sew then in place along the top and bottom edge, then insert the strings.

If that adds too much bulk, you can get away with encasing only the top of the drawstring. Cut long rectangles, hem the short sides and sew them in place with the cut edge double folded inwards.

Tips

If you have any cheap fabric like muslin lying around or an old bedsheet you want to throw away, make a mockup before cutting your desired fabric. This helps you finding the correct size and refining your pattern.

If you don't want to make a mockup, I advise drawing the pattern without seam allowences and then adding generous seam allowances all around (at least 1.5 inch / 4 cm, more is better). This gives you enough fabric to gradually refine your pattern.

Remember: you can always cut away, but you cannot uncut.


Is the canvas used in pre-made packs the same as plain canvas pieces? The art stores generally have pre-made white canvas on small wooden frames. They're not the cheapest, but they're easy to deal with.

I want to know if this canvas is different than buying canvas by the yard (or however else you'd get it). Is it pre-treated, lower quality? What are the advantages of it besides ease, and what are the drawbacks?

No, they are the same. But there are A LOT of different ready made canvases to choose from, prices ranging from pennies a square inch to tens of dollars per square inch. Price depends very much on materials and construction that went into building the pre-stretched canvas.

Most important thing to know is what your own needs are as an artist. If you like to paint on burlap then buy burlap canvas. If you like the feel of Belgian linen buy Belgian linen. Once you know what your needs are then seek out what will satisfy that need and buy it at the best possible price.

Get to know the artist you are.

Get to know the prices people will be charging you to be that artist.

Here's a list of the things I like to look at when buying store bought ready made pre-stretched canvases.

The frame the canvas is sitting on, what material is it made from, how are the corner joints made (are they fixed or free floating), are there cross braces, lap joints on the cross braces? Learn the language of carpentry.1
What is the material stretched across the frame, Burlap, Cotton or Linen? Is this a material I like to paint on? What's the weave pattern and thread count? Did I like the results of my work the last time I painted on this fabric? Learn how to identify fabric weaves.2
How was the canvas stretched and fastened? Are the staples (or tacks) on the back (gallery wrap 3) or on the sides of the frame? Are the staples stainless or galvanized?
How was the surface sealed and primed? How many layers of primer was put on? What was the primer? Do I like painting on this type of primer 4
Is the canvas on sale and do I have good experience with it? When I bough this canvas the last time did I end up liking the results? What did I pay the last time? And what is the price today? Am I getting screwed or is this a good price? 5.

It's a huge draw back buying something you don't like, at a price you could have gotten cheaper elsewhere, that meets none of your likes or needs.


Decorate the inside of a tube? We tend to save the cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towels for crafts, like play binoculars and telescopes.

The outsides are easy to decorate, the insides not so much.

Painting is maybe doable, but a brush would hit at the wrong angle. Instead, I've thought about decorating paper and rolling it up inside. I'm struggling with how to affix this paper. If I glue the back of it, it'd be tough to get inside without wrinkling. I'd rather not tape along the seam, as it's ugly!

Is there a better way to get the decorated paper inside the tube?

Regardless of what you intend to decorate the inside of your tubes with, I think the solution is to apply the adhesive on the inside first and then decorate.

I was looking at a way to get paint brush bristles angled at 90 degrees either via a kludge, like an elastic, or a commercial product but I had issues searching for "90 degree brush head". What little I did find was either too large or unrealistic for this application. That's when it hit me! There is a simpler solution likely already in your possession or at least cheap to acquire for this.

A toothbrush already has the 90 degree angle that would make for easy adhesive application on the inside of a tube. You basic white glue would be fine here for this. Even though it is non toxic I am sure you would prefer to get a dedicated toothbrush as supposed to dual purposing your daily one.

Once you get a decent amount of glue inside I would roll up the paper, that you plan on placing inside, smaller than that of the toilet paper roll itself. Gently put it in the tube and once it is inside all the way you should be able to release it. It will open most of the way and a little massaging will help get it in place the rest of the way. This should help keep glue from getting on the paper where it will be seen.

Using paper that is longer than your tube would be useful as you can adjust it from both ends without having to put your hand in too far. Excess paper can easily be removed with scissors or knives after.

If you were to use something other than paper, like glitter for instance, it would just be a matter of sprinkling it inside the tube and letting it stick.


What are the different methods of knitting with two needles? In an answer to a question about knitting faster, there is a reference to knitting methods:

  I have a couple suggestions. If you knit in the French Method, try the German Method. If you knit in the German Method, try the French Method.

What is the German method?
What is the French method?

As far as the common methods go in modern knitting with two standard sized needles, is that all or is there more? I don't know if standard is the right word but I mean neither small nor exorbitantly large independent needles.

The German method is also called Continental Knitting.
It is a method of knitting with 2 needles, and a type of style of how you hold your yarn and needles. You would hold the yarn in your left hand and your right hand will be on your working needle.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/the-knit-stitch-continental-continental

Another style is called English Knitting, also known as right-hand knitting or throwing. The yarn is carried in your right hand instead.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/the-knit-stitch-english-english

So, the main difference between the two is the way the yarn is wrapped around the right needle before it’s pulled through to knit a stitch. The choice between them though is merely preference for the most part as they both create the same resulting fabric. But here is more detailed post explaining the differences:

http://www.craftsy.com/blog/2014/02/english-vs-continental-knitting/

As for French knitting, as far as I know it is a type of tubular knitting, not 2 needles, which requires a knitting spool instead.