Carm Paynter

According to some North American media reports there are a lot of imported toys being finished with paints containing lead. Large numbers of these imports have been recalled, hopefully we found them all. Considering the number of toys that are imported and the possibility of getting lead paint off these toys one could wonder what the alternative might be.

Some of us who are already retired or at least have some free time should be considering making wooden toys as one of our retirement hobbies. I’m also suggesting to you that there is a substantial market for handmade toys and this latest import problem has just increased that market. The type of handmade toys you choose to make will be determined by your interests and what you determine would be most popular in your area.

Start by getting yourself established with a good supplier of the materials you will need to make wooden toys or any other type of handmade toy you desire to make. You should never use sub-standard materials. I emphasize that quality is especially important for toys, they will get a lot of use and abuse. Quality is important for all practical items that your customers will use on a daily basis. A poorly fabricated toy or anything else you make, will get you a lot of unhappy folks, especially kids and you will quickly lose any customers you had.

Once you have established a relationship with a supplier for your supplies, you will need to consider what’s needed in your area and what form your advertising should take. There are several ways in which you can market your toy products. Having a web site that you could direct clients to for a look at the toys you make is a fantastic way to get your name out there and to showcase your work. People who shop online are quick to refer you to their friends if they have had a pleasant experience and are happy with the outcome of their online toy purchase.

Local events and opportunities such as arts and crafts fairs, flea markets, farm markets, trade shows, small outlet stores and even mall kiosks are all possible retail resources that you should investigate. Marketing your own toy designs to specialty stores is a great way to start your home toy business. Make sure you maintain your level of quality throughout your business dealings and sales process. Anything less will have a negative impact on your success.

Giving some of your toys to fund raising drives, silent charity auctions and regular charity auctions that are high profile will get you excellent exposure. Your work will be associated with the high quality of the event. A charity auction is usually designed to raise funds and attracts the people who are eager to buy items at these auctions. Your work will get a lift in the eyes of these people just from your association with the event. This could lead to future sales if you market yourself properly during the event. It’s even worth giving away some of your toys so you can say that “so and so” has some of your work. This kind of marketing can only improve your credibility in your local area.

Remember we have protection for intellectual property in the form of design copyrights to be considered. If a customer has a copyrighted design that s/he would like for you to fabricate don’t forget this. However, the best part of all of this, the plus side, you can copyright your own designs. Consider this if you design a popular product no matter what it is. This could lead to increased revenues in your Home Based Business. Be vigilant and always try to improve your creation to make it the best it can be before copyrighting.

Smith Trinity asked:




Cats are inherently great hunters this is why they love to pounce or play with many different things. They love to look for things that are crawling or moving. When they see something moving, they fixate on it and it is going to pounce on it if it gets his attention. This is why many cat owners buy cat toys because they make their pets happy and prevent boredom.

You might notice that a cat naturally turns its eyes on a moving object or a thing that makes sound. And when the object is small, they will really try to pounce on it and play with it endlessly. But when you are buying cat toys, make sure that it is harmless and that it would not cause any injury to the pet.

Some cats may swallow the toy accidentally that is why you should make sure that it would not ruin or injure its digestive system in any way. And it should have sharp edges or harmful substances that may damage your cat’s stomach. Some pets even die of severe choking so these are some of the things you should avoid.

If you think that cat toys are expensive, well… think again. Besides, you do not need to buy the costly ones just to keep your cat entertained. You can buy a number of inexpensive toys to keep your cat interested and just rotate the sets from time to time so that your cat would not be bored. Another thing about cat toys is that it will prevent your cat from leaving the house so often.

If you provide them with things to play with, then they would not bother straying away. However, you should also talk them for a walk outside or let them play in the yard once in a while because they also need the sunshine and the fresh air. This will surely make your cats healthy and strong. Moreover, if they get plenty of exercise and if they never get bored, it certainly would not feel anxiety or stress.

There are many kinds of cat toys. Some of these are the lightweight balls, moving mouse figures, rubber balls and even stuffed animals. These are just some of the pet products you can purchase in pet shops and supermarkets. You can search the internet for a wide variety of toys, pet products, and many more. You can also explore or visit the nearest pet shop near you.

Magriet Du Plessis asked:




This Mother’s Day Craft for kids to make is easy and mom will love it, we know all women love candles. Because heat is involved this mother’s day craft must be done under adult supervision. Sand candles are beautiful and very easy to make. The sand you need for this mother’s day craft for kids to make can easily be obtained from the beach, a garden store or even from a toy store. Lots of toy stores keep clean sterilized sand for kid’s sand pits. For me personally, I would prefer the sand from a toy store.

This is what you need for this easy craft:

First, of course, your sand Candles (enough candles so you will have enough wax for the size and amount of candles you want to make) Wax crayons in the colors you prefer A cardboard box lined with a plastic bag (so the sand will not leak out and make a mess) A knife Newspaper Bowl, cups or anything in the shapes you would like to make your candles A fork A spray bottle filled with water A saucepan for melting the candles (It is best to use an old pan you do not use anymore)

How to do your easy kids craft for mother’s day:

Place your sand in the lined cardboard box. Spray the sand with the water until it is moist enough to hold its shape when make a hollow in it. Now, using your cups, bowls or any other mold you prefer, make a hollow in the sand. If you want to make more than one candle at a time you must ensure that there is at least an inch between the hollows. With your knife cut off a piece of a candle to use as a wick. Remember to cut it into such shapes that a little piece of wick sticks out from the wax so you can lit the candle when you want to use it. Obviously as many wicks as you need if you are making more than one candle. If you are making large candles it is also a good idea to use more than one wick for a really pretty effect. Cut up the rest of your candles into small pieces to make the melting process easier. With the help of an adult, melt your pieces of candles in your old pan over a medium heat. When the candles are melted, fish out the wicks with a fork. You can of course remove them before hand and save yourself this rather dangerous part of this craft. Remove the papers from your crayons and add the crayons to your wax to serve as dye. Now you pour the wax into the hollows you made in the sand. Wait a few minutes, just until the wax starts to harden, then you put your pieces of candles that are to serve as wicks in the middle of your candle or where ever you think it will look pretty. Now you have to wait until your candles have hardened completely. Small candles will take about an hour and larger ones longer. Be patient, the end result is worth the wait. When your candles have hardened, gently lift out of the sand and carefully brush of all extra sand. Your candles are now ready for you to wrap as mom mother’s day gift. This is one of our really fun and easy mother’s day crafts for kids to make.

Are you looking for a perfect baby shower gift? Baby diaper cakes have become one of the most famous and perfect baby shower gifts since then. Why do you have to spend $50 to $150 just to buy a diaper cake the moment you can make one yourself easily?

Before you can make diaper cakes, you will have to prepare with some items like baby diapers, baby toys, rubber bands, pins, ribbons, baby lotion, baby brush, baby spoon, and teddy bear and so on.

Next, it is time to start making your very own diaper cake. Fold up about 15 diapers in a rounded cardboard and tight them up with a rubber band. You can repeat this step if you want to build the second and third layer.

Then use a ribbon to cover up the rubber band. Just roll it over the layer of the diaper cake just exactly the rubber band. After that, assemble all the layers by putting the placing the top layer over the bottom layer, use pins to secure all the layers.

The final step is to decorate your diaper cake using other additional baby gifts like baby lotion, toys, baby brush, teddy bear and more. Just put in your creativity here and you will end up with elegant diaper cake. You can also decorate it according to your theme. For example, if you knew that the baby is a girl, you can use female teddy bear or pink color ribbon for the diaper cake.

Diaper cake is the best baby shower gift as it can grab the attention of the audience and it will also touches many attendees heart.

By: Shawn Lim

About the Author:

This is a very good chocolate cake recipe that is healthy and you won’t have to hear that same old advice from your doctor as to why shouldn’t you eat chocolate cake!

Ingredients to make a chocolate cake:

1 cup soy milk

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups whole wheat flour

1-1/2 cups raw sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

4 egg whites (large), at room temperature

Preparation on how to make a chocolate cake:

1. Heat up oven to 350 degrees. Spread out two 9-inch round cake pans or one 9×13x2-inch pan with vegetable oil cooking spray and sprinkle with whole-wheat flour.

2.Heat the soymilk in a medium size saucepan until its hardly boiled. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa until thickened and almost smooth (some tiny lumps will remain). Let stand 2 to 3 minutes to cool slightly. Whisk in the applesauce and vanilla extract.

3.Mix the flour, 1-1/4 cups of the raw sugar, the baking powder, soda, and sea salt in a large bowl.

4.Beat the egg whites in a medium size bowl with an electric mixer until thick and foamy. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of raw sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form when the beaters are lifted.

5.Pour the cocoa mixture over the whole-wheat flour. Stir just until blended.

6.With a rubber spatula, gently stir about a quarter of the egg whites into the whole-wheat flour mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Pour into the prepared pan or pans.

7.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely. Garnish with your favorite fresh fruit.

VANILLA FROSTING

2 egg whites, at room temperature

1/2-teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4-cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-cup instant nonfat dry milk powder

1.In a bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating, adding the honey and vanilla.
2.Gradually add the nonfat dry milk powder, beating constantly, until the frosting is a good spreading consistency.

It’s not so hard to make a chocolate cake! Enjoy!

By: Krissy Leighton

About the Author:

Keith Barrett asked:




If the idea of a camping trip has never appealed to you then maybe your eyes have not yet been opened to just how much fun such a trip can be. Make the most of the positives and you can have a great time.

Firstly, let’s take a look at all of the things that can help to make these trips wonderfully enjoyable.

The first advantage is the independence that you can get from such holidays. After all, why would you want to book into a boring hotel.

Simply pack your tent in the back of the car and start driving. You don’t need to know where you’ll be pitching the tent that night. Head for an area that you think will be of interest and find a site when you get there.

Camp sites are in varied locations and it’s perfectly possible for you to stay at two or more sites during the course of your holiday. This can truly help you to make the most of your surroundings.

After all, if you don’t like the first place that you find then there’s nothing to stop you moving on. It’s a completely different situation from arriving at a hotel.

Another big advantage is one of price. Camping holidays tend to be much cheaper than many alternatives. Although you’ll need to purchase a tent and the accessories, these will be relatively minor costs when compared to an expensive holiday.

Why spend more than you need to? Have a great holiday at a budget price. These trips can be great for the whole family, enabling you to feel at one with nature.

What better way to teach your children about the countryside and the thrills that can be found by taking a holiday in the UK, rather than heading for a dull, overseas beach resort.

Are there any negatives that you should be aware of? I always worry about the standard of camping facilities at camp sites.

This needn’t be a major problem, as long as you do a little planning. There are some excellent folding camping toilets on the market that will enable you to take your own facilities.

Enjoy a great camping trip!

Caffeinated Content

Keith Barrett asked:

Camping can be a wonderful way to spend a holiday or a short break. It can provide an excellent budget option, while also allowing us to feel closer to nature. Some people, however, don’t like the thought of camping holidays.

In fact, it’s interesting how the whole subject of camping can be a real point of disagreement between people.

For those who see the positives of this activity, it’s all about being able to bond in the open air, enjoying the countryside and feeling at one with nature. There’s the thrill of sleeping under canvas and the relatively low costs involved, certainly when compared to staying in a hotel.

Tents are also extremely portable, meaning that you’re not left having to stay in one location for the entirety of your holidays. Fans of the activity would wonder why anyone would not want to spend time camping.

So why do some people disagree? For those in the opposite camp, so to speak, complaints seem to focus on the lack of comfort involved. Sleeping at ground level isn’t for everyone and neither is attempting to crowd into a small tent.

If it’s hot outside then you’re going to have a warm night in the tent too. Then there are the parts of the experience that some people fear to mention.

At the top of the list is a subject that we might refer to as bathroom issues. Whether it be about the quality of the showers, or the cleanliness of the toilets, it seems that there are always likely to be complaints.

So what can be done to ease these complaints. One new product on the market is helping to make camping a much more comfortable experience. A new range of toilets, originally developed for the Norwegian armed forces, mean that we can all bring along a portable camping toilet.

This means that we don’t have to worry about the standard of the camp site facilities. We can simply bring our own.

Not only that, but these camping toilets are environmentally friendly too. Why not take some of the pain out of your next camping trip, while also doing your bit for the environment?

A night under canvas can be great fun, particularly if you add your own little bit of comfort.

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Joe Macmillan asked: How do you make a great campfire.




Campfire magic. No, we are not going to go into strange magic tricks, what we are going to do is tell you how you can add some chemicals to your fire and create a dazzling spectacle of colors what will amaze everyone.

You may not want to do this all of the time as the novelty will soon wear off. Do them in a timely fashion and keep the kids surprised.

Chemicals

Adding a small amount of chemicals to a hot burning fire can have an ‘Ooooh-aaaah’ effect. It’s important to do these only after all cooking has been done on the fire and when there is little wind so the smoke can rise up rather than into campers’ faces. You may be able to purchase these chemicals in a grocery or dry goods store, in the laundry or cleaner section. Find copper sulfate in swimming pool supplies. You may even try the local drug store.

Find copper sulfate in swimming pool supply stores. Epsom salts, borax, and calcium chloride may be found with laundry/cleaning supplies. Copper Chloride, Strontium Chloride, and others my be best found at fireworks supply companies. A company called http://www.skylighter.com sell a very wide range of items. Practice before using them at a campfire so you know how much to use and how to best apply for maximum effect.

Listed here are some chemicals and the flame color they produce.

Copper Chloride BLUE flame

Borax

(laundry) LIGHT GREEN flame

Copper Sulfate

(tree root killer for plumbers) GREEN flame

Strontium Chloride RED flame

Potassium Chloride

(water softener salt) PURPLE flame

Calcium Chloride BLUE flame

Lithium Chloride PINK flame

Alum GREEN flame

Sodium Chloride

(table salt) ORANGE flame

Magnesium Sulfate

(Epsom salts) WHITE flame Sugar sprinkle into fire for tiny sparks

Powder Coffee Creamer throw a handful into the flames above the fire for small sparkly flashes

Flour toss a small amount into flame to make a flash flame

Iron filings toss a small bit into flame to make gold sparks

Powdered aluminum toss a small bit into flame to make silver sparks

Magnesium shavings toss a small bit into flame to make very bright silver sparks

There are many ways to get the chemicals into the fire. The bottom six chemicals can be simply tossed into the fire in small amounts. Toss them sparingly for the best effect. Use an old tea spoon or table spoon.

For all of the rest you will need to prepare the chemicals at home before hand. You can purchase paraffin blocks or you can use old candle wax from around the house or pick some up at a goodwill store or a Salvation Army store.

Using small paper Dixie cups, pour in about ¼ inch of a chemical into each cup. Melt the wax in a double boiler. Pour just enough wax into the cup on top of the chemical and using a stir stick gently mix the two together. You want to make sure each of the little pieces of chemical is coated with tax.

Once cooled, you may cut off the part of the Dixie cup that is not needed. Just toss one of these little dandies into the hottest part of the campfire and get ready for a good show. You may want to mix a couple of chemicals together for an even better display of campfire magic.

Another idea for the campfire is to make what traditionally is called a Yule Log.

Instead of using it in the fireplace you can use it to create the campfire magic. Be careful that your children stay away from the coloring chemicals they can be harmful. To make these logs you must use regular, not shiny, newspaper.

This is something you may want to do during those cold winter nights as they take at least a month to dry.

Tightly roll and tie the newspapers about the size of a fireplace log.

In a bucket, mix the ingredients, 2 pounds of coarse salt, 2 pounds of bluestone and 2 gallons of boiling water. Add in any of the coloring chemicals as above. One ounce of each color.

Place the rolled up newspaper rolls into the bucket and let them absorb all of the liquid. After a couple of days, take them out of the bucket and place them on a rack to dry for a month.

Once dried take them along for the first trip and create fantastic campfire magic for the whole family to enjoy. Place one in the fire once it is nice and hot and it will burn for a long time giving off many beautiful colors.

Patrick Goldman wants to know how to make an espresso?

So you want to know how to make an espresso? Great! As you may know, there’s a bit of an art to making great espresso coffee, but don’t worry, we can help! Before we explain how, what exactly is an espresso?

The name espresso is Italian in origin. It was first coined around 1900 and, loosely translated, means a cup of coffee brewed expressly (just) for you. Today, you will often find that people incorrectly pronounce or spell it “expresso.” What makes a true espresso?

Is it the bean?

No. Marketing and word of mouth has led people to believe that the type of bean determines whether a brew is espresso or not. This isn’t true. Any type of bean can be used to make good espresso.

Is it the blend

No. Although there are blends of beans created just for espresso, the blend doesn’t make it espresso. The pursuit of the perfect espresso blend has led to this common misunderstanding. Some roasters say that you can only make a good espresso with the right blend.

Is it the roast?

No. Some think that espresso must be an extremely dark roast; however the espresso roast varies from region to region. In California, you will see a dark or “French” roast. On the east coast, a light roast is common. And in Northern Italy, a medium roast is normally used. Any roast can be used to make good espresso. It is simply a matter of taste.

Are all espresso machines really espresso machines?

No. There are machines out there sold as “espresso machines” that aren’t true espresso machines. These machines are usually electric “moka” style machines that use steam pressure to force water through the ground beans. Steam pressure can only produce up to 1.5 BAR or 50 PSI (pounds per square inch) of pressure. A real espresso machine must produce at least 9 BAR or 135 PSI to force the water through the finely ground and compacted ground beans. The steam driven moka machines are often sold in major department stores for $75 or less.

So, what is espresso?

Espresso coffee is a small (1 to 2 oz.) shot of pressure-brewed coffee, using about 1 Tablespoon of finely ground coffee. Brewing takes about 25 to 30 seconds and when done properly, it will feature a layer of rich, dark golden cream, called crema on the surface. This crema is one indictor of a quality espresso. Making a great espresso is truly an art as well as a science.

So how do you make a great espresso?

Now, the different phases of making a great espresso are roasting the beans, blending them, grinding them, tamping them and then making the espresso.

The first thing you’ll need is a high-quality espresso machine. There are many choices here, so we recommend you look around before making a choice.

The next thing you’ll need is the right coffee grinder. Once again, you have some options as to grinders, so we recommend you check out some different coffee grinders.

Lastly, you’ll need outstanding beans. There are many sources of beans out there and we have several different reviews on our site.

If you already have a machine, grinder and beans, let’s get to it!

The first thing you need to identify is whether your machine is steam driven or pump driven. If you aren’t sure, consider this: if you have to pour water in the top and screw the lid down, your machine is probably steam driven. If you simply pour water into a large tank, press a button and the machine starts making all kinds of strange noises, your machine is probably pump driven.

The Grind

Coffee ground for steam-driven machines will need to be finer (it’ll take longer) than for the pump-driven machine because steam-driven machines don’t pack the “oomph” that pump-driven machines do when pushing the water through the grounds.

The heat and humidity level of where your beans are stored even affects the taste of the espresso, but that’s something covered in more detail in our free eBook on espresso making.

The Ratio of Coffee to Water

You should be using approximately one tablespoon of grounds to every ounce of water. This is an important ratio as putting too little or too much water can lead to over- or under-pulling your shot. As you know, there are 8 ounces in a cup of water.

The Procedure

1. Pre-heat the glass the beverage will be served in and place under porta-filter.

2. Begin grinding beans by turning on grinder.

3. Immediately remove porta-filter, knock out old grounds into a tamp box, and wipe basket dry with a cloth.

4. As coffee is still grinding dose enough coffee to fill the basket and stop the grinder.

5. Level the grounds in the basket by pulling them forward and then pushing them to the opposite side until the whole basket is evenly filled.

6. Take the tamper and press down with 5 pounds of pressure. Gently knock the porta-filter with the back of the tamper and press down with 30 pounds of pressure. Polish the surface by turning 720° while pressing with about 20 pounds of pressure.

7. Let 2 ounces of water flow through group head.

8. Place porta-filter in group head and turn on pump.

9. When espresso begins to flow, start timing.

10. If you want a sweeter espresso, stop the flow at about 17 seconds. If you want a more bitter coffee, let it flow longer, but never longer than 25 seconds. Other “signs to stop” are when about 1.5 ounces has been brewed, or after it begins to turn slightly lighter in color.

Well, I hope that gets you started with making great espresso. However, to make outstanding espresso, you should learn a little more! Head on our to our website to get a free eBook titled How to Make Espresso So Good You’ll Never Waste Money on Starbucks Again!

http://makingespresso.com/