Tulip's Treasure Box

Tulip's Treasure Box is the featured blogger for August for the Etsy Bloggers Street team. She's a very active member of our team of Etsy Bloggers. Her blog and Etsy store are, indeed, filled with treasures.
The photo above is of a necklace in her other Etsy store, called OctahedronJewelry.
Octahedron oc·ta·he·dron is "a three-dimensional solid figure/shape having eight plane faces, a regular solid figure with eight equal triangular faces".
Congratulations, Tulip's Treasure Box!

How To Make a Leather Wallet

I suppose if you search far and wide enough you could find the pattern to make a leather wallet from scratch, but why go to all that bother? If you don't get the holes lines up perfectly and each piece cut just right, it'll be a mess. Leather wallet kits are made in bulk, precision cut by machine.
Leather Wallet Kits
If you've been curious about making a leather wallet, it's much easier than you think. Buy yourself a leather wallet kit and you're off to the races. Novaleather.com has a great selection of leather wallet kits, and practically anything you can imagine in leather crafts. A quick search online for "leather wallet kit" will give you lots to choose from.
There are tons of pre-stamped designs to choose from, so you should be able to find something to match the leather wallet theme you're looking for. Some designs even come with a blank area to let you stamp your name on it.
If you want to design the cover of the leather wallet by hand, you'll need a few tools and an idea of how to stamp the pattern. If this is your first time, you might want to talk to somebody about which tools to start with. There are a lot of stamping tools available, but you only need a few to get started.
Here's a quick "how to" guide to give you some ideas.
Preparing The Leather Wallet Cover
The ideal condition for stamping is leather that has been wetted, and then dried until it is cool to the touch. Success depends upon accurate placement of the stamp, and correct pounding of the mallet. A lighter mallet works best on small, delicate impressions and gives more control than a heavier version. Sharp blows leave a nice, crisp impression in the leather.
The leather should be a darker brown color at the bottom of the impression. Make sure you hold the stamp firmly on the leather so that it doesn’t wiggle when you’re pounding it. Practice makes perfect here, like anything else in leather working, do some samples first and get a feel for how much pressure you need to exert with the mallet.
The leather wallet cover you get in the kit is thick enough to make leather wallets that are quite attractive with the embellishment of various stamps. Seal the leather wallet or any other small leather items you might want to make with Super Sheen leather sealer for a protective barrier that protects against moisture and stains.
Stamping the Leather Wallet Cover
You simply wet the leather, place alignment marks on the leather so that you know where to place the stamp, and then pound the design of the stamp into the leather. Use the skin side of the leather for stamping rather than the flesh side. Try out your stamping skills out on a scrap piece of leather first to get a feel for it.
Tools to Use
* Stamp * Mallet (lighter for more delicate stamps) * Board on which to pound the leather
Summary
* After wetting, make sure the leather is allowed to dry until just cool to the touch * Position the stamp over the leather exactly where you want it * Hold the stamp firmly when pounding with the mallet * Use sharp blows of the mallet for crisp results
by: Leather Secrets

Angel Paper Craft

Materials:
printer
paper
scissors
glue
something to color with (if using B&W template)

Directions:
Print template of choice. The large templates are easier for young children to do as the pieces are bigger.

Color the template pieces if you are doing the B&W version (red, white and blue!)
Cut out the template pieces (this may require adult assistance -- I usually roughly cut the paper into pieces with one template on each. Then I give my 3 year old the big ones to work on and I cut out the smaller ones.)

The large (red) piece is the bottom. To it, glue (in order):
the dress (white)
the head/neck
the hair (onto the head)
the wings
the maple leaf ( at the waist of the angel)
the hands (so they overlap the leaf a little)
the feet (underneath the large piece)

look at the image of the finished craft on this page if you get stuck. If you're making this with a large group of children, consider pre-making one for them to look at.
Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Texas Holdem Starting Hands

The first thing a Holdem player should learn is which cards are worth playing, and which should be folded. Many beginning players stay in a hand with cards that have little or no future, and it ends up showing in there chip count.
Remember that no two cards alone can be unbeatable, and once the flop falls things that once looked good may no longer be worth pursuing. Still, to give yourself the best chance to succeed, play only the premium hands.
The best starting hands are: Large Pairs - Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks. Even pairs of tens and nines and eights are high quality starting hands. Play them.
Aces with suited High Cards - When you get an Ace with a K,Q,J, or even a ten, many good things can happen.
You already have high card.
If a flush comes, you'll have the best possible one because of your ace. High straights, and even a straight flush is possible with these cards. Play them.
Suited Faces Cards and Tens - While it's nicer to have an ace in the hole, suited face cards are playable hands. They hold a lot of potential including high pair with a strong kicker, straights, and flushes.
Aces with unsuited High Cards - Aces with an unsuited partner can still give you top pair with a high kicker, or a high straight. Because other players may also have an ace, the strength of the second card in your hand is important.
If two players tie, that second card, or 'kicker' will decide the winner.
This is why A-10 is a playable hand, and A-6 is not. (A-10 can also turn into a high straight). So while aces are highly sought after, do not feel the need to play every hand in which you are dealt an ace.
King with Face Card - A King with a Queen, or with a Jack is a playable hand. But, it is not as strong as you may think. Still, two face cards rank high enough that seeing the flop is often a good idea. by: Poker Prophet

The Power Of Scrapbook Journaling

By journaling your pages you will transform an ordinary collection of photographs into a vibrant and visual storyboard - telling the stories behind the pictures, revealing hidden memories and emotions.
It will give your scrapbooks a unique and intimate feel, it is this personal touch that turns your albums into something very special.
That is the power of scrapbooking journaling and why it is one of the most important elements of your scrapbooks.
What to write…
When you are doing your scrapbook journaling think about the people who will read it in the future. Try and remember that they weren't there, give them as many details as you can so that they can relive your memories and stories for themselves.
One favorite scrapbook journaling technique is to write using the 5 W's method.
- Who :: who's in the photo, who took it and who else was present. It is important to name the people in the pictures you use. People change throughout their lives, especially children, so it is vital to tell readers who they are looking at.
- What :: what is the photo about? Describe what is happening.
- Where :: where is the event in your photo taking place? Give some background information.
- When :: when was the photograph taken? Give a specific date and include the year if possible.
- Why :: why did you use this photo? Does it show a special event like a wedding or a milestone birthday? Explain why it is so memorable.
Tell the story…
Don’t be afraid of scrapbook journaling. Just ask yourself, "What would I want to tell future generations about the photos on my page?" and then write it down.
A tip to remember is that all stories have a beginning, a middle and an end.
For example, a nice way to start off your scrapbooking journaling is to give your album a title page. Use one of your favorite photos and write down who or what your album is about, you can even include famous sayings, quotes or a special poem if you want.
This leads nicely onto the 'middle' part of your story, the actual scrapbook pages and when you get to the 'end' make a page about yourself. Perhaps use a picture of you working on one of the pages and explain why you have made the scrapbook. by: Elaine Clay
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What You Should Know Before You Buy-RC cars

There are some common terms that apply to all remote control cars.

Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with them and you can avoid making some wrong decisions when it comes time to buy.
Scale Size
Scale refers to the relationship between the size of remote control cars to an actual automobile. Scale dimensions are represented like this: 1/10th, or 1/8th.

This means that the rc car is 1/10th, or 1.8th the size of a real car.
The most common sizes are: 1/24, 1/18, 1/12, 1/10, 1/8 and 1/5. The 1/24th scale being the smallest, and the 1/5th scale the largest.
Ready to Run
If you want to go from out-of-the-box to on-the-road in less than an hour, then the Ready To Run (RTR) remote control cars are the way to go.

These cars come fully assembled including radio transmitter, batteries, and charger (for the electric models).
Kits
If you have time on your hands, and enjoy building models, then building remote control cars from a kit can be both fun and rewarding.
As an added bonus, you'll save money because kits are cheaper than similar pre-assembled. Also, there is no better way to know your car inside and out then having put it together yourself. Another great benefit is that you can add "hop ups", or customization kits, and mae the car uniquely yours.
Gear Ratio
Remote control cars use gears to transfer energy from the engine or motor to the wheels.

A gear ratio is the numerical ratio of a series of gears in relation to each other, based on the number of turns of the input shaft, compared to turns of the output shaft.
Gear ratios are determined by the number of teeth on each gear (and therefore the size of each gear). For instance, a gear with 36 teeth meshed with a gear with 12 teeth gives a 36/12 or 3/1 ratio.

This is usually expressed as 3.00:1. Changing the gear ratio of your car affects its speed and handling.
Nitrous Oxide
When you hear the term "gas engine" the "gas" is really Nitrous oxide, a compound composed of 2 parts nitrogen and one part oxygen (36% oxygen by weight). When nitrous oxide is heated it breaks down and releases extra oxygen which increases the ability of the engine to burn fuel. Because of this increased ability, higher cylinder pressures are created, which increases the speed and thrust of remote control cars.
Channel
The refers to the frequencies that are used by the Transmitters and Receivers that are a part of all remote control cars. If you are operating your car near others, then everyone must be on a different frequency in order to avoid interference and accidentally operating one and another's cars.
Digital Proportional Acceleration (DPA)
Small circuit boards are used to precisely measure out acceleration signals that enable remote control cars to speed up and down smoothly, like real cars, rather than in akward jumps that look fake.

When you pull the trigger slowly, the car moves slowly.

Pull it a bit faster and the car goes faster.
Digital Proportional Steering (DPS)
Like DPA, DPS uses circuit boards to emulate the handling and cornering of a real car.

Turn slightly to the right or left, and the car steers right or left. Turn harder and the card swings wider.
While there are many more terms that you will encounter as you get deeper into your new hobby, these starter terms should get you through the process of reading the specs and helping you to pick your first car.