By adding scented candles to any room you can set the mood for people in the room.  Scented candles can stimulate, relax, and help to bring back memories of good times.  A very subtle scented candle is more attractive to many people. They can bring about a change in mood without bringing awareness to the reason for the change. 

Using Scents in Your Home Made Candles

It is important that when adding scents to your candles that you add those scents specifically made for candles or pure essential oils.  Other types of scents have additives that can affect how your candle burns or how the scent smells once heated with paraffin. 

It is recommended that when you first start making scented candles that you use only one scent.  By doing so you are able to experiment with the amount of oil that you will need to use to obtain the scent that you desire. 

The usual ratio of wax to scent is one pound of wax to ½ -1 oz. of essential oil or candle scent.  If you want a stronger scented candle you will need to find a special wax that doesn’t sweat the oil. 

Scents are added after the wax has been melted but before pouring the wax into your mold, container, or free form candle.  This allows the scent to mix evenly throughout your candle.  Remember to have a small amount of the scented wax to use for topping off your candle. Paraffin candles do tend to shrink some in the middle after hardening.

Experimenting to Find Your own Personal Scent

Don’t be afraid to experiment with creating scents.  When creating your own scents you will need a medicine dropper, small glass dish, toothpicks, cotton swabs, small brown bottle or bottles, different essential oils and some ground coffee. 

Remember these are for candles so you don’t want to mix these oils with bases. Note that good essential oils can be a little expensive but they go a long way.  There are many places to buy essential oils such as your local craft store. 

Once you have everything assembled, place paper under your working area; old newspapers work well for these projects. In the small glass dish place two drops of the main essential oil that you want to use.  Put a small drop of another essential oil that you have chosen to blend with the first oil into the glass dish. Mix both oils in the dish with a toothpick.  Walk away from the oils and smell the coffee to clear the mingling fragrances from nose.  Once you return to the dish, smell the oils from a distance, rather than placing your nose too close, to get a better idea of how the fragrance you have created smells. You can mix any combination of oils using this technique to determine your likes and dislikes. 

Once you have achieved the fragrance you love, mix the oils in the same manner or ratio that you used when creating it. For example if you used 2 drops of bergamot and 1 drop of rose, you may mix 2 oz of bergamot with 1 oz of rose to create enough scent for your candle. 

Remember that you only use ½ - 1 oz of oil to a pound of wax. Use caution and never use more than this amount unless you are using a special wax that allows more oil to be added.  This is because essential oils are flammable.

Once you have created your fragrance, store the oil in a small glass brown bottle in a cool area to protect the oils from the light and extreme temperatures.  Let the oil infuse for approximately three days prior to use.  Test the oil on a cotton swab to see how much, if any, the fragrance has changed since storing it.  Some change usually occurs.

Well you have done it! You have created a special fragrance that is of your own design to be used in your candles.  There will be no stopping you now.  Remember, as with any project, safety first! 

            They smell sweet, look great, and have a lot of variety to them, no it’s not your significant other, and it’s the ever popular gel candle. Gel candles are made with 95% mineral oil and 5% polymer resin. Gel candles typically work under a simple rule of thumb, the more thick they are the more scent will come from them, and the longer they will last. These candles are used for aroma therapy as well as for home décor.

            Making gel candles is as easy as baking a cake and these will last much longer then your typical sponge cake. Making gel candles is not only for those with a passion for crafts, it also can be enjoyable for those looking to mix, and match new scents. For the serious gel candle makers a potential business opportunity awaits you. Whatever the reason may be, it will be worth your time to learn about how to make gel candles.

The first step in making your gel candle is to pick the scent you would like to put in it. The typical scent for your candles will come from essential oil, or candle scent concentrate. The types of scents are limitless, and are available at any crafts store, online candle making website, or a local specialty store. Once you have chosen the scent you can move on to getting the mold.

            Choose the mold that best fits your gel candle making needs. As generic as that statement sounds, it is true, you must pick what will work for you in terms of a mold. A gel candle mold is similar to a cookie cutter, or muffin tray, they are indented, engraved, sheets of metal that can be baked at high temperatures. For advance candle making one can make their own mold. For beginners it’s recommended to choose a simple mold, like that of a jar.

            Once the mold has been selected, the scent has been purchased, and you’re ready to get started head on over to the kitchen and preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Add some glue to the bottom of the mold, insert the candle scent concentrate, and pour the gel. Now in order to get the gel to a liquid form, one must first heat the gel in the oven at 200 degrees until the gel turns into a liquid format. Once the gel is liquefied add the wick to the mold, pour the gel, and pull the wick up to the top. Let the candle cool for 4 hours, and enjoy!

In coin collecting, the condition of a coin is everything and is the key to determining its value. A coin in mint or uncirculated condition can be worth several hundred or even a thousand times more than a coin that is in extremely poor condition. In fact, some extremely rare coins can be considered priceless and have nothing to compare to. That example seems kind of obvious is is true of almost every type of collectible such as stamps, cars, baseball cards and more. Almost all collectors create systems to determine the the condition and value of a collectible.

The most common one used for coins is the one adopted by the American Numismatic Association called the Sheldon system and numbers a coin between 1 and 70, where 70 represents a perfect specimen and 1 represents a barely identifiable coin.

The generally accepted scale of for how to grade coins from highest to lowest work something like this:

* Mint State (MS) 60–70: Uncirculated
* About/Almost Uncirculated (AU) 50, 53, 55, 58
* Extremely Fine (XF or EF) 40, 4-
* Very Fine (VF) 20, 25, 30, 35
* Fine (F) 12, 15
* Very Good (VG) 8, 10
* Good (G) 4, 6
* About Good (AG) 3
* Fair (FA, FR) 2
* Poor (PR, PO) 1

As most hobbies go, collectors of coins often have a theme around which they collect. A few popular themes include:

Country collections

Collectors may find coins from every country that ever minted a coin, or they may aim to collect every coin every minted by a particular country.

Year collections

Rather than collecting one type of coin, some collectors attempt to collect every type of coin minted by year. For example, a collector might collect one Lincoln cent for every year from 1909 to the present. This is one of the most common ways to collect US currency. In fact most bookstores or coin collecting stores sell specially designed books, or coin albums, for the purpose of collecting coins by year.

Mintmark collections

A mint mark determines where a coin was minted. US currency is minted in such places as Denver, San Francisco. When you look at a Lincoln penny, for instance, near its date, is a small letter that determines where it was minted. The letter D denotes Denver. The letter S is for San Francisco. When collecting by year and mint mark, it isn’t enough to collect one coin for each year, but for each year collect every coin minted.

Many of us have inherited antique pieces of furniture from our ancestors and whether we like or not, are pretty clueless when it comes to figuring out what an Wood Furniture Repair actually is.

I know I was when first starting.

Give me a silent nod if you can relate..

Heck, most get them at sales, gifts from relatives and (more likely) find them whilst taking out the trash, lol.

Whatever the case is, antique furniture — especially in repairable or better condition - - can be HIGHLY valuable, and knowing how to do a proper restoration is important.

When doing Wood Furniture Repair, it pays to make sure it’s done to keep or raise the current fair market financial value of the piece. Occasionally antique furniture must be considered for repair because it’s damaged or needs resurfacing. Make sure that any type of antique Wood Furniture Repair attempted though, or have a pro do, conforms to the criteria dealers and auction houses consider “acceptable”, and orthodox methods are used (more info on this later).

After all, you do not want to risk having an Wood Furniture Repair done that will diminish the value of your heirloom or investment.

While heirlooms are priceless, you don’t want a restored piece prevent you from profiting off an antique furniture investment later on!

If you are not a handy man or do not have much experience or confidence with Wood Furniture Repair (hey, we’ve all got to start somewhere, right?) then consider bringing the piece to a professional. Pro’s who advertise their services have the proper tools and materials for doing the job right and preserving the antiquity of the furniture.

As you can see, there are a few things to keep in mind before attempting a restoration, which is quite daunting at first. My area of focus is mainly antique (though I like the occasional new piece that comes along…).

If you’re serious about collecting then you need to get the Black & Decker Finishing & Refinishing Wood. It is excellent as it covers in step-by-step detail the process of refinishing your piece. It’s a must for those select few.

With 144 pages of rich colored photos - it’s like an encyclopedia for the antique furniture repair market.

And if you need any help on your repair - regardless of what stage you’re at - just send a message by clicking on comments below, or ‘contact us’ at the top, and let me know your thoughts.

You’ll get a guaranteed personal reply within a few hours.

Colin.

Wood Furniture Repair Specialist.

Lots of different cultures have been making coins for millennia. Ancient coins are made of different materials and using different processes than modern coins. Reflecting the culture they came from, ancient coins, just like modern ones teaches you a lot of pretty cool stuff about the history of that culture.

Ancient Roman Coins

About 290 BC Rome began making coins. The value was determined by the weight of the coin as they were made out of whatever metal was handy. Coins at that time were really just a standardized form of barter.

When people began putting images on ancient coins, they initially chose the images of gods. Various world conquerors saw themselves as gods, and began to put their images on ancient coins, as well. Julius Caesar was the first emperor of Rome, and Roman coinage from his time bears his image.

The story of the Roman Empire is told through ancient coins from Rome. They tell you who the emperor was, what was going on, and would be made to commemorate events that were important.

Roman coins are fun to collect because of the history, but also because there are lots of them. Wherever the Roman Empire reached, coins from Rome can be found. Just like today, whenever the empire needed cash to fund a new coliseum or war, they minted more money. Ancient coins from Rome are an inexpensive way to begin collecting ancient coins and are relatively easy to find.

Ancient Chinese Coins

As with everything else, China was minting coins while the Western world was still using pretty rocks for money. Rome used coins as early as 290 BC, but China was minting coins as early as 350 BC. In 250 BC they started using a round, minted coin with a square hole in the middle, and that’s what Chinese coins looked like for 2,100 years.

With each dynasty memorialized in its coinage, Chinese coins tell history also.

Other Ancient Coins

The other ancient empires had their coins, too. There are Scythian coins, Parthian coins, Greek coins, and Babylonian coins. The oldest known coin is the Daric, used in the Persian Empire prior to 500 BC when it was conquered by Alexander the Great, who replaced it with his own coins that had his portrait on them. There may be coins older than that, but we don’t know about them yet. If and when more ancient coins are found, however, they will tell us more about the history of the people who made them.

Ancient Coins, just like modern ones, reflect the culture they came from, and learning about these coins teaches you a lot of pretty cool stuff about the history of that culture. To browse more articles on coins visit, http://www.coins.jsgenterprises.com

Candles bring an air of elegance and softness to any room in which they are used.  They serve many purposes from simple illumination to creating a centerpiece for a table.  Candles have been around for centuries.  No one knows just how long they have been around.  Egyptians were some of the first to use beeswax candles dating back to 3000 B.C.  There are artifacts that show that the first candles with wicks were created during the Roman period in history.  Our love for candles and the art of candle making is always developing. This is apparent in the styles of the candles that we use. 

So, you want to make candles? 

There are many types of candles to choose from when you consider candle making.  The key is to choose one type of candle to make and get that one down pat before starting another.  Start slow and build your craft.  This will give you a feel for working with wax and the equipment necessary for making candles.  With so many methods and types of candles that you can make it can get very confusing and frustrating. 

Start by working with the basic poured candle.  For this type of candle you will need the following; a dedicated pot that will be used only for melting your wax, a candy thermometer so that you can check the wax temperature, a wooden spoon or two to work with, wax, dye, and wick supplies which you can buy at your local craft store.  You may also want to purchase additives such as vybar or steric acid because these can increase the burn time of your candle. Paraffin is the most commonly used wax for candle making today and the best for a beginner to start with. 

Find containers that are functional, decorative, and safe.  Some of the best places to find containers are from thrift stores, yard sales, and your own kitchen.  Examples of containers are things such as old teacups, funny coffee mugs, good heavy glasses, and of course the Mason jar.

You have what you need, now what?

After gathering all the supplies and equipment in one place you are ready to get started. A word of caution here is to be sure that all your equipment is clean and dry.  Test your container prior to pouring hot wax into it to be sure that it will not break and can be used safely. Place a small drop of hot glue on the metal bottom of the wick then place it into the center of the container making sure to press down well. The wick can be kept in the center by wrapping a small portion of the wick around a pencil that lies on top of the container.  Make sure to secure the pencil before pouring the wax. 

Safety is important when working with heat and wax so keep a fire extinguisher handy.  And never throw water on a fire caused by wax!

Use a large pan that is approximately 1/3 full of water and bring the temperature of the water to 212° Fahrenheit. Place your pot with wax into the water. Keep the water at the same temperature while melting the wax.  Do not let the water boil away; add water as needed. Use the thermometer to test the temperature of the wax.  Follow the manufacturer’s suggested temperature for melting wax because it varies with different waxes.  Typically the best temperature for container wax is 170 - 175 degrees.  Never let the wax exceed 250 degrees! 

Once the wax has melted add the vybar or steric acid to the wax and mix well. The final step before pouring is adding color to your melted wax making sure to mix well.  You are now ready to pour your melted candle wax into your container.  Fill the container leaving approximately ¼ of headroom for the wick.  Once the candle wax has set you may then remove the pencil.  Trim the wick ¼ inch from the wax.

You have done it! You’ve made your first decorative candle and are now hooked.  You have so much to explore and lots of ideas.  As with all projects, have fun and be safe!

Coin collecting is fascinating, and collecting American coins is an easy and entertaining hobby if you live in the United States. In most denominations there are some really interesting coins.

Pennies

Probably the most collected American coin is the Lincoln head penny. They have been minted since 1909. Some Lincoln head pennies were made out of zinc instead of copper during WWII. A very few were made of copper in 1943, and these are rare and valuable American coins.

Pennies had an Indian head on them before the Lincoln penny was minted. Another rare American coin are the indian head pennies.

Nickels

Nickels had a picture of the goddess Liberty on them, from 1883 to 1913. An extremely rare American coin, interestingly, is the 1913 liberty nickel. A mint employee made them illegally after hours and only five copies were made.

The buffalo nickel is the most classic American coin. It has a buffalo on one side and an Indian head on the other.

The nickel has had President Jefferson’s portrait on it, since 1938. The mint started a “Westward Journey” series of nickels to commemorate Lewis and Clark’s journey in 2004. So the Westward Journey nickels are destined to be collectible coins as they’ve tweaked Jefferson’s portrait and the coins have different historical themes on the reverse side.

Dimes

Dimes are probably the most boring American coin. The design of dimes hasn’t changed since 1945, the year after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. He suffered from polio and supported the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes helps people with birth defects now, but in Roosevelt’s time it also helped children who had polio. Franklin’s portrait has remained on our dimes since his death to memorialize his support of the March of Dimes. Dimes are a boring coin, but that is a great American coin story.

Quarters

Our favorite American coin, the quarter, had the Statue of Liberty on it until 1930. She was replaced by George Washington. Since 1999, the mint has been releasing the very collectible US State quarters, an American coin series that will be completed in 2008.

Half Dollars and Dollars

Half dollars used to be common, and until 1964 they had Ben Franklin on one side and the Liberty Bell on the other. President Kennedy’s portrait went on the half dollar in 1964. Because Kennedy was beloved, and because the 1964 silver dollar was to be the last “real” silver dollar, people hoarded them and they became a treasured American coin. The mint released more of them than any other half dollar, because so many people collected the 1964 Kennedy half-dollars. Congress even froze the date, and 1964 half dollars were minted in 1965, too.

The Susan B. Anthony silver dollar is an interesting American coin as silver dollars are rare now. It is the only American coin with a woman’s portrait on it, minted from 1979-1981.

Beginning American coin collecting? Check out this awesome free article, Collecting American Coins. To view more piece of writings on coin collecting visit, http://coins.jsgenterprises.com

I must be really bored! This weekend I just laid around and watched TV for hours. Not good TV. Just anything that was in front of me at the time. Bad reality shows, soap opera reruns, and even an art instruction show on PBS. This old geezer was demonstrating how easy it is to paint a watercolor landscapes. It looked like he had painted the exact same awful painting hundreds of times. But I watched every minute of it. I need to get a life. Next week I am starting my volunteer work at the humane society. That should keep me outta the boob tube zone…

I remember the day I made my first wax candle at home, with supplies bought from a local store. I just couldn’t get over my amazement at how much like a ‘real candle’ my effort looked, just as I could not believe how relatively simple it had been. It was my friend Charlene, an aromatherapy expert, who had initiated me in the art of candle making, and today, I have a lot to thank her for. It is very gratifying when friends and family sing my candles’ praises, and blindly trust me to make them the best-looking and sweetest-smelling candles.

Plenty of people have suggested that I start selling my products, because from the initial wax candles, I had soon branched out to include aromatic candles and gel candles in my repertoire. Though I confess to being too lazy to run an organized business, I know plenty of people who have turned their hobby of candle making into a lucrative profession.

The money-spinning aspect of candle making has become prominent of late, as the candle has grown in popularity to become many things to many people. While aromatherapy enthusiasts swear by the soothing properties of a scented candle, interior decorators declare that there is nothing like a well-positioned set of candles to beautify a room.

Given the circumstances, it is hardly a surprise that candle making as an art is constantly gaining in popularity. Today, there are hundreds of books, web sites and both online and offline classes that teach the art of making candles. For candle aficionados like Charlene, who taught candle making before switching to aromatherapy, teaching the art is only partly about making money. “It gives me a chance to share something I love,” she once told me.

Why does one want to learn candle making? For me, whom not many (including myself) thought was a particularly creative person, candle making offered a chance to find out whether that was indeed so. Having once begun, it was impossible to stop, despite the hours of patient effort I had to put in. Along the way, I discovered that candle making required great determination and discipline, not to mention time. But believe me, once you have mastered the art, the level of satisfaction makes all the effort worthwhile.

That is not say that all types of candles require the same degree of time and effort. Some are also more expensive than others, but as you get better at the craft, you will find your own little shortcuts and innovations, which will help make your candles unique and cost-effective. I know, because I have been there and experience, as they say, is the best teacher. But whatever you do, please remember to adopt proper safety measures at all times, and don’t lose heart if your initial attempts don’t bear the kind of fruit you expect!

The best known of all the Russian souvenirs are the Russian Nesting Dolls or Nesting Dolls. The russian dolls were first created in the late 19th century in Russia by Sergei Maliutin who was inspired by Japanese design. The Russian word for these wooden dolls is matryoshka. A set of nesting dolls has become very popular to everyone of all ages. They have become the most popular and best known Russian toy that will become a great collectible item for many years. Nesting dolls are small wooden figures that have a similar egg shape. The dolls design when pulled apart will have a smaller but similar design inside. There will usually be five or more dolls inside, all being smaller than the last. There are several different themes and interests to choose from. It can be anything from athletics to folk history.

As 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Games came to a close. I was watching the beauty of the opening and closing ceremony, I began to think about how it would be nice to see the thousands of the host country volunteers be remembered as nesting dolls. The beauty of this year’s ceremony will be remembered as one of the biggest and best ever. It would be hard to pick a small group of the performers to create the nesting dolls, but the performers I will remember would make a great nesting doll set. The largest doll would be for all of the very talented dancers eloquence. The next should be the drummers for all of their rythmic flair and ability. Another one should represent all of the acrobats that seem to make us think that they were able to defy gravity and fly.

If you were going to make a set of nesting dolls for a team sport you can look no further than the USA gold medal men’s basketball team being great representatives of the games. It would be easy to make the centers and power forwards the larger nesting dolls and the point and shooting guards as the smaller dolls. With the team having an average height of 6’7’ it would hard to pick which one would be the smaller dolls.

The major highlight that everyone will be talking about for years would have to be 8 time gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps won the most gold medals at a single Olympics. He also won with class and style. A different nesting doll could represent each of the different gold medal races, each showing the events and times on the back of doll. A different idea could be a doll that represents each of the state of art new suits that the USA team wore.

The last group that I would like to see as dolls nesting would be the announcers of the Olympic Games. We could easily imagine play by play host like swimming Dan Hicks or track and field host Tom Hammond would make great dolls. Another group would be the studio hosts Cris Collinsworth, Jim Lamply, or Mary Carillo. We would want to remember to make the main studio host Bob Costas the smallest of the nesting dolls. With his 5’7” frame he would easily be the smallest doll.