The Management Consulting Group

The Poet’s Corner
[Three poem/ see review of poetry under the poems]

The Poets Condor

The condor fly’s
Amongst the hills

In open skies
Of San Jerrnimo,
Near Huancayo…

Forbidding any
To near his path

Lest he dare
To risk a attack,
Near Huancayo!…

#685 5/27/05

Fate of a Poet

Poets have an abundance of
Consonants
A few vowels (for transparency)
And no money

They have days and days
Of moldy cloths
Some displayed
In windows…;

In essence, the Poet
Has a courtship
With the Gordian Knot;
And raw rice for the devil!…

#686 5/24/05

Puppeteer Poet

Without legends
The poet would never have

Been born;
The written language would

Not have been invented;
And no one would have been
Immortalized… .

#687 5/25/05

Review [this review is on the poet and his three poems, he calls, “The Poet’s Corner”]: By Rosa Penaloza: the Ref: the poet Dennis Siluk, a quick look at the poet looking at the poet, as he writes about the poet with poetry, as he informs the reader, poets are needed in the world; had they not been, we’d not have a language to write. The author adds the guts of language to inform the reader: see, we have vowels and consonants; although he doesn’t say it, vowels are the food the poets drink with, and the consonants are the food poets chew with, for it is the vowels we do not use our teeth with to make sounds, rather consonants, is that not so [?]In any case, the poet adds his first poem to be the ‘…Condor,’out of the three, for good reason, the vowels are echoing: o’s and y’s and e’s; in such a short poem you can’t miss them. He also uses the S’s in the first stanza [three of them] to move the poem quickly through and to create a window for the reader.

The Author lives in Lima, Peru and St. Paul, Minnesota, and has been on TV and in many newspapers concerning his writings. http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Ask a majority of scrapbookers what their “weakness” is…and they will say paper. From unique colors of cardstock to beautifully patterned paper, we often use the logic, “Buy the paper and the layout will come.” In the meantime, your scrapbook space, big or small, becomes overrun with stacks and stacks of paper waiting to be used.

So, it’s time to get organized…but what is the best scrapbook storage solution?

As with everything scrapbook related, there is no correct answer, just what best fits your situation and we’re here to provide you with some ideas on how to best store your scrapbook paper. Let’s start with horizontal scrapbook paper storage!

Most scrapbook stores will store their paper horizontally because they have the room for rows and rows of shelves and racks. Now, most of us don’t have room for all those shelves, but horizontal storage is still a possibility with 12″ x 12″ plastic snap top cases. You can buy them individually, or as part of a three-drawer or six-drawer cart, so you can make the most use out of your vertical space. These snap top cases are also great for storing the components of individual projects. Working on a mini-album for your son’s birthday? Keep all your paper, pictures, embellishments, etc. together in one case, so you don’t have to dig around for all the pieces when you actually have a minute to work on it.

If you don’t like to stack your paper or have skinny bookshelves that can’t take a wide storage solution? Try vertical paper storage. Depending on your preferences, you can use traditional magazine storage files for 8.5″ x 11″ paper, but you will have to get special storage files for 12″ x 12″ scrapbook paper. Vertical paper storage is best for cardstock or other papers that you will be accessing frequently because you can just slide the storage file out and pick the paper you need. These paper holders also come with dividers, so you can store multiple colors within a singe file! Just one thing to keep in mind is that you will need very tall shelves if you plan on using these vertical storage files in a bookshelf.

In the end, you may decide that you want to use a combination of horizontal and vertical scrapbook paper storage, it’s all up to you!!

Happy Scrapping!

Michelle has been scrapbooking for over five years and is the owner of Choubox Scrapbook Design (http://www.creative-scrapbook-layouts.com). Choubox is your source for pre-made scrapbook layouts, quality scrapbook supplies and valuable information on how to start scrapbooking.

Yes, I’m here to tell you that collecting baseball cards is a great way for parents to spend quality time with their kids. The hobby of collecting baseball cards is enjoyed by people of all ages including kids. If you’re kids love the sport of baseball, collecting cards with them is a great activity you can do together!

Building the Collection
No matter what activity you’re talking about, if kids are involved the number one priority is fun! Kids continue to be involved with activities they enjoy. If it’s not fun, chances are, they won’t stick with it long. Therefore, when venturing in on collecting baseball cards with your kids, don’t forget to keep it fun! Let the kids decide what cards they want to collect. Do they want rookie cards? Do they like a certain team? Do they love to watch certain players? Find out what they like and have them concentrate on collecting cards that fall in line with their personal interests. It’s fun for them and, no matter what the monetary value; they will always treasure their baseball cards if it’s made up of their favorite teams and players.

Learning Responsibility and Value
In addition to some of the benefits mentioned above, collecting baseball cards can also help teach your children responsibility. As you probably know, baseball cards in good condition hold more value than cards that are bent or damaged in some other way. Give your children the responsibility of making sure that all cards are handled and stored properly to keep them in the best possible condition. Have your children be responsible for, not only storing the cards properly, but for organizing them as well. A well organized collection is often more valuable than one that is not organized. Collecting and taking care of baseball cards can also teach your children about collecting and properly caring for things that will increase in value over time.

Getting Started
Like anything else, it’s best to learn as much as you can about an activity when first starting out. To learn more about collecting baseball cards, you can find free tips online or subscribe to a monthly sports hobby publication. But, again, the most important thing is to keep this hobby fun. Start slow and collect what you and your family enjoy. It’s the best way to ensure that your family enjoys this hobby together for years to come.

Stacie Mahoe gives free tips on collecting baseball cards at http://www.BaseballCardsCentral.com

Color coordination and contrast will highlight and accent your scrapbook. A well thought out color scheme can help define the theme of a page, attract attention to specific items, or detract away from mistakes. Poorly chosen color schemes, on the other hand, can cause your scrapbook page to look gaudy or mismatched.

Background colors can either be matched, coordinated, or contrasted with the colors in your photographs, mementos, or embellishments. Matching colors add to the continuity of the color scheme. Coordinated colors add depth to scrapbook pages. Contrasted colors focus the eye. In this way, color can be used to create the effect you desire.

A great way to see how colors look together is to collect and compare color wheels from your local paint or hardware store. Paint wheels are usually available free for the taking in nearly any paint department.

Most scrapbooks will contain photographs. Even the most disinterested reader of your scrapbook will glance at the photographs. Pictures really are worth a thousand words. Therefore, it is important to choose photographs that are of good quality and clearly illustrate your scrapbook theme.

Any photograph can be used in a scrapbook. Even instant photographs can be used in scrapbooking. Just be careful that the chemicals within the photograph do not spill out on the rest of your scrapbook. Digital pictures can easily be printed right onto lignin-free and acid -free paper.

Always keep in mind that scrapbooking is permanent. Therefore, it is probably preferable to use copies of your only picture of Great Grandma rather than risk ruining the photograph forever. Simply scan the picture on your computer scanner and print the image on lignin free and acid free paper.

Mia LaCron is the founder of 101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - http://www.101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - devoted to helping individuals record, store, and preserve their most cherished memories via the art of scrapbooking.

This is my “I Can” for sewing my own clothes, do you have an “I Can”?

People often say to me, “Why sew when you can buy clothing so reasonably?’

Well my answer to that is….

When I sew for myself
I can get the fit right. Not everyone, actually very few really, are the stock standard measurements you find on the racks.

Have you noticed how each year “they” seem to change the sizing?

When I sew for myself
I can make it in the colors that suit me and I prefer, not the colors the manufacturer decides.

When I sew for myself
I can make it in the fabrics I like, better quality, better fabrics, I can use natural fibres that breathe in our hot summers and keep me warmer in the winters.

When I sew for myself
I can have an individual style but still keep in the fashion trend for the season, I don’t like to see myself coming or walk into a room and there is my “twin”, if you know what I mean.

When I sew for myself
I can afford to make up my basics in good quality fabrics and get that good line and fit.

When I sew for myself
I can save so much money by doing all of the above.

So that is my “I Can” list what’s yours?

Even if you don’t think your sewing is good enough, the way to correct that is to practice, keep at it and in no time you will find you have improved. Start with simpler styles, there is nothing like a classic style and they are less fussy, good fitting and always wearable.

You may find there are techniques you are not sure of, you can find many of these in my eGuide SewMoreForU.

CTBaird, Author of Sew More For U, a DIY Sewing eGuide. Get great sewing tips and techniques, http://www.sewmoreforu.com/patterns.html
http://www.sewmoreforu.com/sewingbook.html

How To Select Wood For Your Home Projects

The purpose of selecting your wood is so you end up with a good final product. While all wood typically has flaws, you want to select wood that is reasonably fault free.

Faults and Flaws to avoid include:

1) Twist - Do not use twisted lumber. It will always result in a twisted final piece. Check for twist by laying the piece of wood on a level (horizontal) surface. Use a short level (often called a torpedo level) to determine twist. Check both ends of the board; if the level reads the same on both ends, the piece is not twisted. If the piece is highly twisted, you can see this by looking along the length of the board.

2) Moisture - All wood contains moisture, even after being “dried”. Be sure your wood has a stable moisture content. Standard grade lumber is typically high in moisture and other flaws. You can dry your wood by stacking it with air spaces between all surfaces. Laths are used for this purpose. Be sure that air can get to the bottom of the stack. Typically, I stack my bunk of wood on 4″x4″’s, and then use lath between every layer, also leaving 1/2″ open space between boards.

Stack your wood in a dry area, out of the sun, and give it plenty of time to dry. You can buy a moisture meter to read the moisture content (not necessary) 5% to 10% is dry. 1″ Thick wood will dry in 1 to 3 months, while 2″ thick wood takes 2 to 6 months. If you buy a premium grade wood, it will be at least partially dry. Have your supplier check the moisture content.

As wood dries, wood faults show up, so a board that looks good may completely become worthless as it dries.

Crown: Crown is a fault that can easily be seen by looking down the edge of the board or by laying a straight edge or string line along the board. This fault can be removed by planeing or saw the crown out, but of course, you loose a portion of the board. When working hardwoods, removing crown is just part of the process.

Bow: Bow is a fault that is easily seen. Lay the board on a flat surface; if bowed, it will rock. Bow is usually removed with little difficulty if you have points of attachment; however; avoid boards that are obviously bowed.

Cup: Cup is a fault where the edges of the board curl up. Mildly cupped boards will usually pull down when anchored to another piece of wood. Push down on the outer edges of the board. If you can easily push the board flat (into a plane), you can use the board. If you use a board that has too much cup, it will split in the middle as you pull the cup out.

Shake: Shake is a fault that occurs in the wood as the tree grows. It indicates that the tree is growing under stress and typically the heart area splits open. Shake usually results in twist and should be avoided.

Rot: Rotten wood is discolored and soft. You may use the good portion of a rotten board, otherwise avoid rot.

Loose/Missing Knot: Loose knots can be glued back in and missing knot areas can be filled. I like to use a limb the size of the knot hole and transplant a slice into the board. Of course, this process requires time so judge accordingly.

Summary

1) Be fussy about the wood you chose. Your final product will be no better than the materials you start with.

2) If the lumber company won’t let you sort through the wood, find one that will. You can usually get around their policy by being nice to the yard man. A little B.S. goes a long way.

3) Don’t rush your wood. A home environment is dry and your wood needs to be stable in the environment it’s going to live in.

4) The extra care you take at the start of the project will insure a good finish.

5) Always buy more wood than you are actually going to use. 20% extra is a minimum. Leftovers can be used for something else, and you may not be able to match the wood you started with when you go back for more.

If you have specific questions, just contact us and we will try to help you.

Gene Nellis
Greater Yellowstone Furniture and Designs
www.YellowstoneFurniture.com

Rustic barnwood furniture and rustic log furniture designed and built by Gene Nellis of Greater Yellowstone Furniture and Designs. This rustic barnwood furniture and log furniture will look great in your home, cabin, or lodge!

Pastels are unique and versatile because of their ability to be used as both a drawing and painting medium. They are also unique because colors are worked and blended on the paper as opposed to a palette. Whether you work with hard pastels, soft pastels, or both, the following tips will prove to be helpful.

Drawing is an essential part of mastering the art of pastels. You should learn the basic fundamentals of drawing and practice as often as possible. Drawing will teach you about value and line so that you can build a good foundation for mastering pastels.

Your pastel art can be quite interesting and expressive if you combine different types of pastels, or by incorporating other mediums and tools. You can use charcoal, toothpicks, knives, and work with the already applied layers of pastels. This will help to break up the drawing a bit and make it more interesting. Next time you feel uninspired, grab some charcoal and some hard and soft pastels, turn on some music, and just let your imagination go.

Hard pastels are really useful when you want to create detailed lines in your drawings and paintings. Use soft pastels if you want to cover large areas or if you want to create bold strokes or other unique textures.

When choosing the right paper for your pastels remember that pastels will interact differently depending on the papers surface. If you work with soft pastels on a rougher paper surface for instance, you may have to use more pastel to really work the pigment into the paper. At the same time, you will also be able to work with more layers.

If you are on a tight budget and concerned about using too much of your pastels too quickly, try colored paper. With a colored paper, you can utilize more of the papers color as a background as opposed to blocking in large areas of color.

Some artists use fixatives to protect their pastels or to keep the pastels in place while working. Be very careful while using fixatives. Use only in a well ventilated area. Fixatives come in both workable and permanent forms.

Use a workable fixative on your drawings while working to protect layers from mixing or interacting in any way.

Permanent fixatives are used to protect and preserve the final drawing. Do not spray on too many layers and make sure you don’t spray in any one area for too long a period of time. There is a difference of opinion as to whether the use of fixatives is harmful or helpful to a pastel drawing or painting. Some artists swear by them, while other artists feel they dull or darken the colors, or possibly even ruin the drawing all together. It is recommended to experiment with fixatives on a few practice drawings to decide whether or not they are beneficial to your style of drawing.

Some basic pastel techniques:

Scumbling - When you apply loose broken color over another layer of color.

Hatching - When you apply parallel strokes close to one another.

Cross Hatching - Apply one set of hatch lines over another, usually in the opposite direction, and you have cross hatching.

Blending - Blending with pastels can be accomplished using two different techniques. You have optical blending where the colors are not actually mixed together but instead lines are drawn closely together as in hatching for instance. The other type of blending is when the colors are actually mixed together, by rubbing with your fingers or using tools like blending stumps.

I hope these pastel tips have helped. Remember that there is no substitution for practice and experimentation. Only then will you discover what materials and techniques you are most comfortable working with.

For more pastel tips & techniques be sure to visit : http://www.creativespotlite.com/pastel-painting.htm. You may also find http://www.artsymmetry.com of interest where you will find even more art & craft related articles.