There’s more to beans than curd and paste; they can also be made into elaborate artworks. Bean painting, where beans are used as the raw material, is a kind of folk art, adopting artistic characteristics from Chinese traditional painting, sculpting and decorative arts. Instead of completely imitating traditional arts, the genre boasts its own special flavor.
Bean-painting artists aspire to achieving realism in their works, paying a great deal of attention to mastering lifelike expressions and gestures. The most distinct feature of bean painting is simplicity tinged with exaggeration to emphasize an abundance of sensations.
Bean collecting adheres to a series of strict steps: Beans chosen for pictures must first be processed so they will not rot or mold. Bean painting not only serves as an ornament but also appeals to collectors. When making bean paintings, artists try their best to take advantage of the original colors and shapes of beans to express the proper themes incisively and vividly without damaging their natural appeal. Hence, properly combining the beans, and gluing and cutting them are also a must.
Compared to tooth and jade sculpting, beans are easier to deal with. However, artists must possess an extraordinary imagination to arrange these ordinary materials to make a truly unique picture. Expressing various themes, bean painting is a precious handmade artwork that calls on special artistic characteristics.
First of all, the picture’s composition must serve a decorative function; secondly, the original bean colors must be used as the main hue to produce a colorful picture expressing brightness and joy; and lastly, the works should reflect real life. Combining the merits of other folk arts and its own special characteristics, bean painting is deeply loved by Chinese people and foreigners. Such works have become very popular gift among friends and relatives.
For an especially polished table, cloth napkins can be folded into appealing shapes to add to the décor of your table. Napkin folding works particularly well on freshly starched napkins. Here are some common folding techniques:
The Trifold Napkin
Place the unfolded napkin in front of you in the shape of a diamond
Bring the top corner down to meet the bottom corner (fold it in half diagonally) creating a triangle with the point facing down
Fold the left and right corners down to the center point
Fold the top point down to meet the bottom
Lift the napkin from the center, allowing it to stand alone on the two folded sides
Windmere’s Fan
Place the unfolded napkin in front of you in the shape of a square
Fold the napkin in half either vertically or horizontally
Starting at the shorter end of the resulting rectangle, begin making ½ inch accordion pleats, stop when there are approximately 4 inches left to fold
Fold the accordion section in half so that the folds are on the outside with the remaining 4 inches at the center
Make a stand by folding the 4 inch section toward the base of the fan, allowing the pleats to fan out
A poem portrays our awareness of a specific subject with our private perception.
The subject of writing is varied from politic to romantic, but most people write romantic sweet love poems more than other topics, usually in short sentences. I myself prefer to write them than to write the longer version. They are easier to be understood, also take less time to make than the longer one.
Here are 3 simple steps to make short sweet love poems:
Steps #1 Discover your mood.
To make the professional-looking short sweet love poems, the first thing you have to do is to know your mood. Good mood is a state when you feel confident to do something. In this condition, you can compose a good quality poem. But what can you do if you find yourself in a bad mood?
Well, since most people find that they can not make any satisfying poem in this situation, I believe that the similar result would happen if you force yourself to do it. The best solution is to wait until you get your good mood back.
Step #2 Make a poem template.
Poem template is a helpful tool to quickly compose poems. I am developing this method to help many people to make their own poems. In this method, you are provided with incomplete sentences like this:
sight
night
eyes
days
Your task is to complete the sentences to make poems using your own words. Take a look at this example:
Remembering your sight,
is like having a dream in an endless night.
I could see through your eyes,
that love is eternal as the changing of days.
This love poem is made by someone who has no background in composing poems, but he eventually made a fine masterpiece.
Step #3 Project self confidence.
Many people find themselves has no confidence to explore their feeling. To compose short sweet love poems, confidence is a prominent thing. I believe that everybody has a personal talent that distinguishes him from others, so be confident in making your own poems because you are special!
Nail art has a very long history and is said to be in vogue, since 3000 B.C. At that time, nail coloring was an indicator of social class in some regions, whereas for others it was a beauty statement. Various products, including henna, were used for this purpose.
Today, we have a wide range of products and techniques that are meant for nail decoration. While some of these methods are better done by professionals, there are many that can be tried at home too. One of the latest entrants, marble nail art is one such technique that can be done at home. This article will provide you with some tips to create marble nail art using water.
All you have to do is to add a few drops of nail polish (differently colored) into the water kept in a bowl. Create a pattern with a needle/toothpick and place your fingernails on the pattern (formed over the water). The design will stick to your nails, and this is called water marble nail art. To start with, collect the required materials that are listed below.
Things You Need:
1. Nail polish of different shades (minimum two are needed)
2. A wide-mouthed bowl (big enough to dip your fingers)
3. Toothpick/orange stick/pin/needle (may use a marbling tool too)
4. Petroleum jelly or scotch tape (to cover the skin around the nails)
5. Top coat, acetone and Q-tips
6. Slightly warm water (filtered or distilled)
Creating Your Water Marble Nail Art Design
Before starting with the procedure, prepare your nails. Apply a base coat that goes well with the colors that are meant for marbling. If you are using lighter shades, go for a lighter base coat. Gather the required materials and follow the marble nail art tips that are given below.
Cover the skin around your nails with scotch tape. This prevents sticking of nail polish on the skin (around the nails), while you place the nail on the design. Alternatively, you may apply petroleum jelly on the skin. Once the nail art job is done, you can remove the tape (or petroleum jelly) and clean the skin.
Batik is an ancient art that reached its peak of development on the Indonesian island of Java. Dutch traders were so impressed by this craft that in 1835, they brought Batik artists back to Holland with them when they returned from trading trips. These ‘imported’ batik artists taught the process to factory designers and workers so the beautiful Batik fabrics could be produced to meet the European demand for it.
We have evidence of batik being practiced over 2,000 years ago in the Far East, Middle East, Central Asia, and India. Historians believe the art traveled along the caravan trade routes. Batik fabrics have been found in China that date to around the time of the Sui dynasty (581 – 618 AD) and also in Japan from the Nara period (710 – 794 AD).
What is Batik? It is a textile art that involves a specialized method of applying dye to fabric, usually cotton or silk. There are about 3,000 recorded batik patterns, some of which include flowers, plants, birds, animals, insects, and geometric forms are all popular motifs. The use of computers in developing batik designs promises to add many more new and exciting designs to this library.
The intricate and colorful batik we normally see is a complicated, multi-step process. The more colors a batik fabric has, the more times it has been through the process of applying wax, dying, and drying, then removing the wax. The process has to happen in a precise order that will produce the pattern or figures that are desired. Additionally, the order of which colors to apply also has to be followed.
As a result of the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, batik crafters developed large copper stamps, or “caps” that allowed for larger scale application of wax. This also meant that the batik industry was able to keep pace and compete with the textile fabrics of Europe. It might not have been much of a competition, though given how popular batik fabrics were, and are today!
Yes, it’s true there is this efficient, Ninja-quick, Japanese method for folding a t-shirt that reduces all the motions to just a few economical ones. Anyone who’s ever worked in retail and had to spend countless hours refolding and stacking shirts and sweaters will totally appreciate this folding technique. And it’s super cool to use for your home laundry too.
Moms who find themselves doing laundry for a big family will find this a time-saver. Husbands and teenagers have even been known to fold t-shirts after seeing this method! Whether you have six or six hundred t-shirts to fold, why not fold them the fastest and easiest way you can?
This shirt-folding technique is easy to understand, ergonomic in movement, and takes just a few seconds per shirt to do! As with any other skill, the real trick is to practice. The next time you do your laundry, put all your t-shirts into the same load and when they are dry, sit down with the whole pile at a table or on the floor where you have enough room to lay them out flat and practice with the entire batch.
Most people find that after two or three “practice sessions” they’ve got the method down and can remember it, but don’t panic if it takes you a bit longer. But it really does turn out to be a real time-saver!
How to Help Your Child Gain A Positive Self Esteem
How can a parent help to foster healthy self-esteem in a child? These tips can make a big difference:
Watch what you say. Kids are very sensitive to parents’ words. Remember to praise your child not only for a job well done, but also for effort. But be truthful. For example, if your child doesn’t make the soccer team, avoid saying something like, “Well, next time you’ll work harder and make it.” Instead, try “Well, you didn’t make the team, but I’m really proud of the effort you put into it.” Reward effort and completion instead of outcome.
Be a positive role model. If you’re excessively harsh on yourself, pessimistic, or unrealistic about your abilities and limitations, your child may eventually mirror you. Nurture your own self-esteem, and your child will have a great role model.
Identify and redirect your child’s inaccurate beliefs. It’s important for parents to identify kids’ irrational beliefs about themselves, whether they’re about perfection, attractiveness, ability, or anything else. Helping kids set more accurate standards and be more realistic in evaluating themselves will help them have a healthy self-concept. Inaccurate perceptions of self can take root and become reality to kids. For example, a child who does very well in school but struggles with math may say, “I can’t do math. I’m a bad student.” Not only is this a false generalization, it’s also a belief that will set the child up for failure. Encourage kids to see a situation in its true light. A helpful response might be: “You are a good student. You do great in school. Math is just a subject that you need to spend more time on. We’ll work on it together.”
Give positive, accurate feedback. Comments like “You always work yourself up into such a frenzy!” will make kids feel like they have no control over their outbursts. A better statement is, “You were really mad at your brother. But I appreciate that you didn’t yell at him or hit him.” This acknowledges a child’s feelings, rewards the choice made, and encourages the child to make the right choice again next time.
Create a safe, loving home environment. Kids who don’t feel safe or are abused at home will suffer immensely from low self-esteem. A child who is exposed to parents who fight and argue repeatedly may become depressed and withdrawn. Also watch for signs of abuse by others, problems in school, trouble with peers, and other factors that may affect kids’ self-esteem. Deal with these issues sensitively but swiftly. And always remember to respect your kids.
Simple Ways to Make Your Own Cappuccino and Latte Coffee at Home
You don’t need to sit at your favorite coffee shop and leave with a dollar spent just for a cup of cappuccino or latte coffee. You can make more than a cup for the family at home by following these simple steps.
Step 1
Use fresh, cold milk.
Step 2
Using a milk foaming jug, fill with milk from around a third of the jug to a maximum half.
Prepare the milk before the espresso.
Step 3
Position the steam arm tip just below the surface of the milk.
Step 4 – Foaming
Turn the steam on fully – if you get short sharp “tsst” noises then you’re doing it right. Too far below the surface and it will be too quiet and no air will be introduced to the milk and too high above the surface and it will be frothily hissy and you’ll get big bubbles of air in the milk.
The milk and foam will expand so you will need to lower the jug gradually to keep the steam tip just below the surface.
If using a thermometer, the milk should be around 40-45°C before texturing begins.
Step 5 – Texturing
Here you’re looking to work the foamed milk into the rest of the heated milk for texture and consistency. Lower the steam tip into the milk, angle the jug slightly and bring the steam tip towards the side of the jug to swirl the milk.
Depending on the quality of the steam arm, you’re looking for a final milk temperature of around 70°C so turn off the steam before then (the temperature will continue to rise a little). Just remember not to overheat the milk as it will kill both texture and flavour!
Step 6
Remove any excessive air bubbles by banging the jug on a suitable work surface.
Maintain the consistency of the textured milk by swirling the jug, as it will begin to separate after the heating processes.
Step 7
Prepare the espresso coffee into an appropriate cup (using around a 6-8oz cup, if possible).
Step 8
Create the drink. For a cappuccino, you’re looking to pour about a third of foamed milk before pouring through with textured, steamed milk. For a latte, the emphasis is on pouring textured, steamed milk with just a hint of foam.
Remember to keep the steam arm spotlessly clean along with the rest of your espresso coffee making equipment.
Friendship bracelets made for friends should be tied on by the friend if possible to an arm or as an anklet on an ankle and worn until it falls off naturally. Threads used are floss and will wear in time.
There are some friendship bracelets made for wishing wishes, those are very fun but tend to be thinner as the friends like them to fall off faster so that the wish can come true. Here are a few tips for getting started, then traverse that other pages for the basic instructions and some friendship bracelet patterns.
Use embroidery floss the make your friendship bracelets and keep them organized from the start. There are organizers and thread holders that will help your teen know what colors they have available and keep the threads from becoming one big knot. Your ‘friendship bracelets making kit’ will need:
embroidery floss,
scissors,
measuring tape or ruler,
container to hold the threads,
tabs to twine thread on(helps keep them from turning into a knotted mess),
safety pin and pillow, clip board or masking tape.
Give yourself some time to learn the steps. It takes a lot of patience and practice but it’s like riding a bike, once you make friendship bracelets, you’ll never forget how. Start with an easy pattern, but don’t be too afraid to progress to the more difficult patterns once you know how to do the basic knot.
Once you have all of the steps down, you can try any pattern you want or even make your own! Use graph paper to plot out a recurring pattern with two colored threads to start.
Did you know that cans can be recycled over and over an infinite amount of times? Read up on aluminum cans in this post- in the meantime, it’s time to talk tabs. While you should still recycle the whole can, people get really into collecting the aluminum tabs. In most cases, doing home crafts using cans can be enjoyable. It is time now to see how pop tabs are suitable for crafts too.
Aluminum tabs are lightweight, easy to collect, and are great for artists to work with. The bags featured on the right hand-crocheted from over 700 recycled aluminum pop tabs! Designed by Escama Studio, a San Francisco based company that works with Brazilian crafts co-ops, the bags uphold Fair Trade principles. They also have a nylon fabric liner, zipper closure, one inside zippered pocket and a shoulder strap with hand-crocheted padding.
For more handmade crafting, also head on over to Plastique Creations, where Teresa has been crocheting for 41 years! She incorporates pop tabs into her hand-made bags. You can see her great creations on her flickr page, and find out more about them on her blog, plastiqrecreation.blogspot.com.
And to top it all off (so to speak), this beautiful and intricate lamp by Mauricio Affonso is made from hundreds of discarded aluminum pull-tabs.
We hope you enjoyed these recycled craft ideas, and thanks for keeping tabs on recycling!
Enjoy the Bean Art
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