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Archive for September, 2008

How To Craft A Toy Car For Party?

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

First things first, think of how many party guests you wish to accommodate. It would be on the scale of a standard car. Just because you would like to accommodate your many friends, you can not go on making compartments after compartments. Other accessories need to be fitted into their proper place. The articles required are: Pick up any boxes, hard card-board boxes, TV-computer cartons or any other box. Take paper plates, plastic plates and a good quality spray paint; construction or bond paper in different colors, strong ribbon; stapler and gum; brads fasteners; craft knife, blade, scissor, glue and tape, markers, foam letters and numbers to decorate. As the assembly operation of the car is in progress, you may have some new ideas for enhancing its beauty. Think well and go ahead! The plastic plates are meant to serve as wheels. Choose your color. Do not hesitate to ape the latest model of the race car. Let the wheels turn properly. The other plate will be your steering wheel, unless you have better ideas. Cut two small circles for headlights and tail lights. When your car is ready to roll out of the assembly lines, all that is necessary is to make the rail tracks. Track made out of old tyres looks good and they are durable. You can achieve perfection in this area, by trial and error method.

Painting Designs On Leather Goods

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

Sometimes your leather goods need a little help and you have got the urge to dye or paint it. With dye, it is pretty straight forward, but if you want to paint it there’s a little more involved to make it look good.
Whenever you are attempting a project like this, always test it out on a scrap piece first. When using different pigments, be sure to let one dry before adding the next color.

Use water-based acrylic paints designed for leather because they are more flexible than ordinary acrylics. If painting the entire surface of the leather, check to see if your leather goods are vegetable-dyed, as they absorb the paint better than leather goods tanned by other methods. Not sure if the leather goods are vegetable-dyed? Test a scrap piece to see how well it absorbs the paint. Begin by cleaning the leather goods, using a solution of one ounce of leather bleach to one pint of water, applying the solution with a soft brush or wool dauber. You can also lightly sponge the leather with water prior to painting in order to ensure a more even absorption of color. Do not soak it, just get it damp.
Applying the Paint You can paint over a large area of the leather goods or just a small part for highlighting effects. If you want to do the former, paint over the leather first with a water-diluted solution of the paint. In this way, you will prepare the surface of the leather goods to receive the undiluted paint. Use one part paint and one part water, and apply in broad, even strokes with a wool dauber. Add more water if the leather is not absorbing the solution, and more paint if the color is not showing sufficiently. Two coats of the solution should be applied, leaving sufficient time between coats for the paint to be absorbed but for the leather to still be somewhat damp and not dry. Try this out first on a scrap piece of leather and take your time.

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