Mosaic Designs By a Wild & Crazy Lady

Check out these wild mosaic designs for your home!!!!!!!!!
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Clay Pot Crafts

by sgtrevolver

If you have an artistic mind and you love you make something decorative and attractive for your home then clay pots are definitely a great idea to work with. You can make different items or can also so some painting on the clay pot in such a way that it will make the plant look better. It may also happen that you not even notice the plant just because the pot is so attractive.

To make a painted clay pot you need to have 4″ clay pot, opaque apple green acrylic paint, opaque blue lagoon acrylic paint, opaque yellow acrylic paint, semi opaque pumpkin acrylic paint, semi opaque white acrylic paint, fine point permanent black marker.

Steps to make a painted clay pot:
1. First using a small ruler and pencil, you should measure the height of the clay pot starting just below the rim. Then mark off the halfway point between the top and the bottom of the clay pot. Altogether you should measure and mark off the halfway point at four opposite places on the pot.

2. Now holding the plastic measuring tape up to the clay pot, connect the halfway points and then draw a light pencil line between all the halfway point marks around the pot.

3. Line up the ruler with each of the halfway points around the pot one at a time and draw a light pencil line from the top of the plant pot just below the rim to the bottom of the pot at this point. You will have 8 squares drawn on the pot.

4. Then you have to decide on the color scheme or arrangement of the colors into squares you have drawn on the pot. In one set of squares you can fill any combination of two colors and in the other one also you can fill other set of colors.

5. Squeeze a small amount of the pumpkin acrylic paint on the paper plate and gather a small amount of paint on the straight edge of the brush and paint along the straight lines of one of the squares with a generous coat paint on the paper plate. Outline and fill in one of the square completely with a generous layer of paint. Now paint the square diagonally across from it pumpkin using the same method as you did for the first one and let the paint dry. Rinse out and shape the brush again.

6. When this paint is drying, you can turn the pot around to other set of 4 squares. Squeeze a small amount of yellow acrylic paint on the paper plate. Outline and fill in one of the squares with a generous coat of the yellow paint. Paint the square diagonally across from it yellow suing the same method as you have did for the first one and then let the paint dry.

7. When the paint on this side is drying, turn the pot around to the first set of 4 squares. Squeeze a small amount of apple green acrylic paint and paint the square diagonally across from it green using the same method as you did earlier. Again let the paint dry and you can rinse out and shape the brush again.

8. Again while this paint is drying turn the pot around to the second set of 4 squares and squeeze a small amount of blue lagoon acrylic paint on the paper plate. Next outline and fill in one of the squares with a generous coat of blue paint. Paint the square diagonally using the same method and let the paint dry.

9. When the paint is drying for the last squares you have painted, it is time to paint the edge of the pot white. Squeeze a small amount of white acrylic paint onto the paper plate and paint the edges.

For further information, visit craft-books.net

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African Violet Care

by shanlung

 They are very beautiful and are not that difficult to keep. However, they do have a few care requirements that must be adhered to for them to survive.

When you are choosing your plant, make sure it looks healthy. The leaves are a good indication of whether or not it is healthy. Also, try to get one that already has some flower buds on it. African Violets can be found at nurseries as well as supermarkets. Nurseries will be more expensive than supermarkets, but they will also have more choices.

Next you will need to choose what type of pot you will keep it in. You can get a plastic pot, an unglazed clay pot, or a glazed ceramic pot. A plant in a plastic pot or glazed pot won’t need as much water as a plant in an unglazed clay pot because the unglazed clay pots let water evaporate throughout the day. Glazed ceramic pots are the most expensive and plastic is the least expensive.

When you are ready to put your plant into its pot, you need to get a few things ready. You will need the pot, a saucer to put under the pot, soil, pebbles and plant food. For the saucer, make sure there is space left around all sides of the pot. Don’t get a saucer that is too small. For the soil, make sure it is good quality soil. They even make an African violet soil, which is perfect.

Cover each drainage hole in the bottom of the pot with a pebble. Fill the pot about halfway with soil and put the plant in. Then fill up the rest of the pot. Press down the soil using your fingers and add more soil. Feed your plant at this time using the plant food you got. Now, to water the plant, fill up the saucer with water. Put the pot into the saucer and let it sit for an hour. After that, take the pot out of the saucer and empty the saucer if there is any water left.

The best place to keep your African violet is in a window. Even though they may look better somewhere else, they will not grow as well. An east window provides the best lighting for the plant. If your plant doesn’t make flowers, that means that it isn’t getting enough light. If the leaves start to get brown edges of brown spots, then it’s getting too much light.

When you water your plant, never water it from above. You should put some water into your watering can and let it sit overnight; this will let any harmful impurities evaporate out. Before watering, stick your finger into the dirt. If the soil feels damp, then don’t water it. Every time you need to water the plant, fill up the saucer and put the pot into the saucer for about an hour.

After you get used to the care that African Violets require, it is very easy to do. If you care for your plant correctly, it will grow very easily. You will enjoy its beauty every day!

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Gardening

+ Thanks to everyone who Clicked to see my vid + Well,this is something different. Someone asked if I’d ever made an African Udu Drum or if i’d consider making one,to which I replied..uh,what’s an Udu ? But having seen some pictures on the web I thought I’d give it a go. Don’t know if it’ll play as it might be a little thick but here it is. My attempt at showing how to make an African Udu Drum. Anyway, thanks to all who clicked,I hope to add some more videos shortly. Ingleton Pottery ……. www.ingletonpottery.co.uk

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7 Secrets To Re-potting Orchids That Will Ensure Their Health And Beauty

Just like any other houseplant, your orchids will need a bigger pot as they grow. For most types, they will need re-potting after 12 to 24 months. The primary reason for re-potting orchids is to provide them with new soil media. The soil that they have been standing in may be rather depleted of minerals and other nutrients that are necessary for the healthy growth of your orchids.

It’s not difficult to transplant, and there is a proper way to do it so that your orchids will never notice the difference. Below are 7 useful tips that will guarantee successful re-potting every time.

1. Orchids seem to do better when they are tight in a pot; however, if you re-pot orchids in a much larger pot than they were previously in, they will focus on growing the roots and the plant itself will be stunted. It may be necessary to transfer your orchid to a bigger pot, but at most it should be a size or two bigger than the old one.

2. It’s tempting to buy a large pot and throw in new orchids with your older orchids. This is not advisable. New plants could have pests and diseases that will infect your existing orchids. If you want to put in additional orchids, isolate them for 2 weeks to assure they are healthy.

3. Make sure that your new pot has good drainage. A good pot should be able to pass water freely and out the bottom so that the soil remains a little moist but not wet.

4. The material of the pot that you choose will affect the care of your plants. A clay pot requires you to water more frequently. Plastic pots, on the other hand, tend to hold in water, and too much water sitting at the bottom of the pot will damage the roots.

5. The best time to re-pot orchids is at the end of their cycle and just before new growth develops. Avoid re-potting any plants that are flowering.

6. Sanitize your tools, especially if you’re using the same tools on plants of a different species. This is to assure your orchid doesn’t get infected from a potential disease that the other plant has immunity to but your orchid doesn’t.

7. If you want to re-use a pot, make sure to clean and sterilize it as well. Wash and soak for 30 minutes to get rid of any micro organisms that may have transferred to your orchids. After re-potting your orchids, place them back in the same environment they were in.

It is recommended that you don’t move your orchids to a different location until they are secured in the new pot. This will assure that the roots are well anchored and the plant is acclimatize to the new soil.

Find More Sterilize Clay Pots Articles

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Emerging Artist Judith Gary Receives Recognition

Emerging Artist Judith Gary Receives Recognition

Tucson, AZ (PRWEB) November 29, 2005

Although she had been drawing and painting since childhood working in pencil, watercolor and acrylic, artist Judith Arnaud Gary, didn’t get her hands into clay until the year 2000 as part of her course work at the University of Arizona. “I had an immediate simpatico develop in sinking my hands into this ancient medium,” she says. Her passion for clay shows in her work, and was recently recognized through the Arizona Statewide Clay Exhibition, which opened at the Shemer Art Museum in Phoenix this past September. She won for her hand-coiled pot titled “Fire Vase,” now for sale at http://www.buyoutsidethebox.com as well as some of her other hand-built and thrown pottery.

The distinctive pot was fired in sawdust. “Sawdust firing is a low fire method making it too porous for food use or to hold water. It is for decorative use only,” explains Gary. “Before the pot is fired, it is burnished to achieve a sheen on the surface. It is then bisque fired to a low enough temperature to enable the surface to absorb the smoke. You never know what design you will achieve with this firing method,” she explains. “Potters like to call it ‘the gift of the flame.’” The pot which is 21 inches high has a mystical quality to it because of this firing method. A hand-coiled pot of this height shows yet another level of skill. The Emerging Artist Award is given out by the Arizona Clay Association to promote exceptional craftsmanship within the ceramic arts. As part of the award, Gary will have her work

featured in the next clay exhibition at the West Valley Art Museum in Phoenix, Ariz., which opens January 27th, 2006.

Other exhibits Gary will participate in this year include: “It’s Lidded,” Exhibition, Modern Hand Gallery Old Town Artisans, 201 N. Court, Tucson AZ November 30 through December 30 and; Carpe Argillum “Seize the Clay”; 2006 All Arizona Statewide Clay Exhibition; West Valley Art Museum, 17420 N. Avenue of the Arts

Surprise, AZ; January 19 through March 19, 2006. The opening reception is January 27th 5-7p.m.

Gary received a B.F.A. degree from the University of Arizona in 2000, and is a Member of Potters Council and Southern Arizona Clay Artists. She works out of her studio in Tucson AZ, creating pottery by throwing and hand building. Judith’s goal as an artist is to capture the spirit and energy of the world around her, from a tiny leaf on a mesquite tree, to a far away galaxy in space, she says. “I feel I am taking a small part of my subject and in turn giving a part of myself. The process of art for me is a union of energies – a union of spirits.” But besides the need for creating, she has the need to communicate with others. “I hope to evoke a response, to grab the viewer’s participation. Viewers add their own perspectives and experiences when interpreting artwork. The artist, together with the viewer, brings a work of art to its fruition.”

“It is a real pleasure to see hardworking artists such as Judith get recognition for their work, and we are very pleased to represent her, and to have this beautiful vase for sale on Buyoutsidethebox.com,” says Ruth Mitchell. She is CEO of the innovate website dedicated to Creative Consumerism™, providing art and fine, handmade things to a global marketplace of discerning buyers.

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At Home Rewards Provides Tips for Growing an Herb Garden at Home

At Home Rewards Provides Tips for Growing an Herb Garden at Home

AtHomeRewards_Herb_Garden

Norwalk, Conn. (PRWEB) March 10, 2008

As the organic food trend grows stronger worldwide, more people have decided to grow their own produce at home. Edible flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs are among the favorites. At Home Rewards (SM), a leading discount membership program offered by Adaptive Marketing LLC, reports that although herb gardening is less complicated than flower or vegetable gardening, there’s still a learning curve.

Herb gardening is a good way for non-experts to start a garden, whether in a yard or in pots placed on a sunny windowsill. Selecting which herbs to grow is the first step, one that should be taken seriously. The garden should be composed by easy-to-grow herbs that can also serve as a complement for the dishes prepared at home. Pizza lovers will pick basil, parsley is a favorite of Italian dishes fans, and those who go for Mexican or Indian cuisine will choose cilantro first and foremost.

Once the herb choices are made, what’s next? AtHomeRewards has put together a simple list of tips to have in mind before and during the growing process at home:

– The beginning. Visit the local garden store or the closest nursery to find seedlings or seeds of the herbs you’ve chosen. Try your luck with two or three different kinds.

– Initial treatment. Soak seeds in water prior to planting them in the soil. Another trick is to place them between wet paper towels and into plastic bags for at least four hours.

– Well-grounded. Make sure to get the best potting soil, perlite and peat moss. A good potting mix is one that allows for fast draining, because all herbs need a well-drained soil.

– A place to grow. Purchase clay or plastic window boxes or pots, and look around the house for containers you can recycle as pots. Clay pots are recommended because they provide better air circulation for the roots. Those who might forget to water the herbs frequently should pick plastic, metal or ceramic containers.

– Let it drain. As important as the material of the pot is the drainage it provides. Herbs need a lot of water and a drainage hole for the moisture to escape as needed.

– Enough sunlight. Indoor herbs need five to six hours of direct sun each day. Some expert gardeners recommend placing the pots on top of the refrigerator while the seeds sprout, then moving them to a sunnier spot once they have germinated.

– Ideal pH. Measuring the pH of an herb garden sounds more complicated than it is. Hardware stores carry easy-to-use pH and fertility testing kits for beginners and experts. 6.5 is the ideal pH of the soil, which is slightly acidic.

– Dry and use. The leaves have the best flavor, so it’s recommended to remove them from the stem before drying. This will avoid later contamination of the flavor and aroma. Rinse them in cold water, and let them air-dry in a cool spot (two weeks for drier climates, three to four for humid areas).

Herbs make a healthy and flavorful addition to cooking and also serve medicinal and aromatherapy purposes, concludes At Home Rewards.

About AP9*AtHomeRewards:

AtHomeRewards is a leading membership discount program offered by Adaptive Marketing LLC. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., Adaptive Marketing is a category leader in membership programs, bringing value direct to consumers through an array of benefits in healthcare, discounts, security, personal property and personals. Members may access their benefits at AtHome-Rewards.com. With broad online and offline distribution capabilities, Adaptive Marketing offers its corporate client partners effective tools to enhance market presence, strengthen customer affinity and generate additional value through programs such as At Home Rewards.

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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.

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