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Drying roses with this method is fairly easy, and they turn out beautiful. Mine usually are mistaken for being freeze dried roses. First you’ll need a microwave safe bowl, one big enough that the entire rose will fit completely into. Next you’ll need silica gel, which can be purchased at a craft store. Silica gel is a granule-based substance, similar to the texture of sugar, which pulls moisture out of objects. It usually has blue “indicator” crystals in the gel showing you how much water has been absorbed.Cut the rose about 1/4 inch or so from the actual rose flower. This is perfect length for use in a wreath. If you need a longer stem for an arrangement, you’ll need to use floral tape and wrap a floral wire to it to create a stem. It is best to cut the rose late morning after all the dew is totally dry. Harvest the rose as it is in the early stage of full bloom. You don’t want it at the point that is has fully opened wide.Put about 1/2 inch or so of silica gel into the bottom of the bowl. Set the short stem of the rose into the gel. Begin slowly with a spoon to fill the bowl totally around the outside of the rose. Then gently sprinkle the gel onto the top of the rose. The gel will begin to work its way into some of the layers of the petals. Finally take the silica gel and completely cover the rose. At this point the rose should be fully buried in the silica gel.Microwaves vary on their power, but as a starting point put the bowl in, and set the microwave on the lowest setting and microwave for 2 minutes. This is the part that you’ll need to tweak with by experimenting with your particular microwave.Let the rose sit in the silica gel for about 3 hours or so. After that time gently dump the silica and the rose into another container to get the rose out. Take a soft artists’ paintbrush and gently brush off the silica gel that you can. Take a clothespin and clip the bottom of the rose stem, with a wire to the clothespin, and hang the rose upside down for a few days in a darkened room preferably. This will finish drying the rose completely. Take the soft paintbrush again and brush off any remaining crystals. Your rose is now ready for use.Roses will change color some from fresh to this dried state. Some of the discolorations will be for the good; some will be not so good. It depends on the rose variety. Try different ones and you’ll soon find your favorites. If you rose turns out brown however, it’s because you micro waved either at too high of a setting or too long or both, and it literally cooked. Back those down and try again.When the silica gel crystals start to turn a pink color, put the silica in a baking pan and cook for 1/2 hour or so according to directions in the oven until the indicators turn blue again. This evaporates the water in the crystals so they can be used again.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

Many people make the assumption that marble, granite and other finely polished natural stones shine because a

The nature of your craft show business and your budget will determine whether or not you need others to help you with any aspect of your craft show business. Needless to say, the success of your crafts at craft shows will also have a considerable effect on whether or not you will need to hire employees.On the “free” end, you can get help from friends and family to produce your crafts and help with any business aspects. A tax benefit for “hiring” your children under 18 is that you don’t have to pay social security or medicare taxes if your business is a sole proprietorship or partnership owned solely by you and your spouse.Next, you can find students or apprentices to work on your crafts for free, or at least inexpensively. Contractors, who you would just use on occasion when you need extra help, would be the next level. You also may have friends who want to pick up a little extra pocket change working on your crafts from home can do some production work for you. A bookkeeper who comes in once a month to balance your checkbook and enter your income and expenses is a contractor, and you don’t have to deal with taxes. Check with the IRS or your accountant to be clear about the difference between independent contractors and employees.If you feel you need employees as your craft show business grows, you should consult an accountant or the Small Business Administration for all the regulations. These might involve registering with the Department of Labor, applying for Worker’s Compensation insurance and securing an employee identification number (EIN) from your state and national government offices. You’ll need to apply for an EIN from the IRS anyway if you’re using a business name different from your own. When you use your own name as your business name and you have no employees, your social security number will suffice. You might also want to check with your bank, because they may require an EIN to open a business account, even if it’s in your own name.Finally, consider which professionals you’ll want to have in your line-up of support. An accountant and lawyer are good to have at least to call when issues come up. Many crafters have a good photographer they use for promotional photos and slides of their work. Quality slides can make the difference in getting accepted to juried craft fairs. You may also occasionally need the services of a graphic designer to create brochures, hangtags or other marketing materials and a PR person if you want to take out ads or run press releases. All of your decisions concerning using other people to help you succeed are based on your needs, your own abilities and your budget. Everyone needs to make these choices for themselves.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

If you haven’t been to the craft store in a while, or even taken a quick visit through the craft section of your super center, then you may not have noticed the explosion of foam and the fun you can have with it. With the colors of the rainbow, and every color in-between, you can make anything from decorative frames and signs to landscapes of animals and flowers. The possibilities are endless.The best way to get started is to browse through the section at the store where the foam crafts are located. You will find large sheets of foam, craft and projects buckets, and even large tubs of various themed foamies to help you create that perfect project with your child! You can even manage to purchase foamies that have sticky backs so you can do your projects without any glue, so these projects can be clean and easy to clean up.Since Foamies come in all different shapes, colors and sizes, you will want to pick a theme before you make your foam craft purchase. Choose from holiday themes, animals, sports, projects that involve decorating frames or door hangers, or to simply make a landscape with various shapes or objects. If you are planning for one to three children doing the craft, you can easily spend less than $10, however if you plan on doing crafts for a group like scouts or play dates, you may want to look into getting a “Tub o’ Foamies” that have sticky backs. These tubs usually have several different shapes and objects. The tub allows many to have lots of fun!When beginning your project, be sure to keep in mind that layering your pieces to create objects like houses and flowers will add depth and interest into your project. The fun with foamies isn’t just the color and design, but in how your art work becomes three-dimensional. If you don’t have many foamies to work with, you can simply print out a picture of the sky, a lake, forest or desert on card stock. The foamies stick perfectly to paper products. You can use image search engines (ex. Google Images) to look for pictures to print by using the search word “landscapes.”My two year old loves playing with sticky foamies. Under supervision, he can sit and play with them for a least a half-hour. The sticky foamies also keep their stick and can be removed and stuck in different places without them becoming any less fun! Most stickies are for children 3 and older because they can be a choking hazard, so be sure to supervise your toddler if he or she is under the advisable age.

Article Source: www.iSnare.com

There has been a great deal discussion about lab-created diamonds. Along with that talk, there is much misinformation and perplexity. The jewelry lover, who is interested in realizing the huge savings and aesthetic beauty that simulated diamonds offer, is often bewildered by the manufactured diamond industry jargon and available options. This article will categorically break it down in easy-to-understand terms so that anyone can make an intelligent decision when choosing a simulated diamond.GEM MATERIALS: 99% of all lab-created diamonds sold worldwide are polycrystalline on a molecular level. The differences are fundamentally in the technical aspects of manufacturing, cutting, and polishing. Think of it this way

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