Tag: perfect size

Ring Sizer

On By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Etsy1 Comment

ring sizer

I have been having fun making keychains and earrings with plastic lacing aka gimp, but I also have fun making bracelets, chokers and rings using hemp.  Before making too many rings, I needed to buy a ring sizer so I knew exactly what size the rings were after I made them.

When making a ring using hemp, you have to measure the gimp on something round, like say your finger or a ring sizer, but I have found that the size you start out with, isn’t always the size you end up with.  Like take the 2 rings in the image above for example.  I started making both of these on the size 12 mark, the thicker hemp ended up being a size 9 and the smaller hemp ended up being a size 9.5.  That’s why I wanted a ring sizer.

These rings are specifically made without anything added, they are plain hemp rings.  I would like to make the rings with beads, but the problem that I am facing is that the seed beads that I bought are too tiny for the hemp to go through.  They are the perfect size on the outside, but their holes are way too small for the hemp.  My purpose for wanting to use beads was so I could make rainbow hemp rings with beads.

I am not sure anyone will want to buy plain hemp rings, but I will list them in every size (after I have made them in every size with both thicknesses of course) and see what happens.  If they sell then they sell, if they don’t then they don’t.  I will keep searching for the right size beads so I can keep trying what I wanted to try in the first place.

The ring sizer mandrel only cost $3 with free shipping from Etsy from DarcusTori.  It was a ridiculously low price with free shipping, but I figure I should take advantage while I still can.  Supplies end up costing me a lot more money than I am getting in profit, so the less expensive everything is, the better it is for me to be able to continue making things that probably won’t sell lol.

Anyway, I want to see about getting some better beads and I will go from there.  I think rings with rainbow colors would look awesome.  I’m thinking that I may still get some use out of the beads that I have by beading them alone.  Of course I will have to find a good pattern for beading now lol.  Ugh so many crafts, so little time.

Free Bike Tripod

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike2 Comments

It seems that our tool shed attached to the back of the garage seems to be more useful than I ever thought.  Before Stargate SG-1 came on today I went out there hoping to be able to make a homemade tripod for the bicycle handlebars and I wasn’t quite able to make something that was acceptable.  There was a 50/50 chance that it could still fall off and break lol.

So I came in the house and watched SG-1 and while I was watching it I started thinking more about it.  I wondered if maybe there was a screw that would fit in the camera on the bottom.  So I patiently waited for it to end then ran out there lol.

I was right, there was one that was the perfect size and it was long enough, although it could’ve been longer but it ended up being the right fit.

I was going to use the technique that I found here and I tried, I had an old dollar light that the light had broken years ago and I kept the mount for it for this very purpose.  I got the nut out, drilled the hole in it no problem.  But, when I put the screw in and then tried to tighten it the plastic broke so that was no good.

So then I went back into the tool shed and I started thinking what to do next.  I have a new dollar light so I thought well, I guess I’m just going to have to use that and just buy another one.  However, as I was trying to take out the nut I glanced over at the cabinet in the indoor patio which has tools in it and saw the garden hose repair stuff.  A light bulb turned on above my head.  I looked at the light mount and told it that it was its lucky day and that it has gotten a reprieve, for now.

So I grabbed the green garden hose piece that has 2 screws, 1 on each side and it mounts on the outside of the hose then I took it out to the table in the back where my drill was already set up with the right size drill bit and I held the hose piece inside my finger while I drilled into 1 of the screw holes.  Perfect.

I put a little piece of rubber inside the top part of it then put it onto the handlebar and screwed in 1 side with the screw it came with then I put in my long screw that fits perfectly into the camera and I put a nut on and tightened it at the perfect angle.  Then I put another nut on the screw so when I put the camera onto the screw then I just tighten the 2nd nut to keep the camera in place.

Here is a picture:

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So tomorrow when I go out on my bike ride I will have the camera inside the camera bag right inside the Townie Basket and then as soon as I get to the bike trail I will mount the camera and then start filming from there.  It’s much safer to ride with the camera attached while on the bike trail.  I’m just too paranoid that I’m going to have an accident on the streets then have the camcorder fall and break into 10 million pieces.  Besides, I’d rather just focus the video on the bike trail and not the streets.

Bukowski Bears Bookmarks

On By Michel McDonaldIn Books, Products I LikeLeave a comment

When I was visiting my Aunt Louise at Christmas time in 2006, one of my presents was a bookmark.  My aunt had friends from Germany staying with them and they had a present for me without ever even meeting me.  I thought that was sweet of them.  It was a bookmark that they found in Sweden of a little bear on top with feet at the bottom and it’s the perfect size bookmark for like a little novel.  I wouldn’t use it for anything bigger because the feet might not stick out the bottom.

I was using it for a book I was reading which was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel and then my Uncle suggested a David Eddings book, The Belgariad book 1 and so I was reading that too which meant I would need another bookmark or a post it note sticking out the top.  I wasn’t expecting her to give me a 2nd bookmark but she did so now I have 2.  A brown one and a blue one.  I use them all the time, well 1 at a time normally.  I found them online in a UK web shop at www.devongiftshop.com for about £3.50 each.

The company they are made from is called Bukowski and I went to their website but they don’t make it easy to shop there.  So I had to do a search to find them elsewhere which is how I found Devon Gift Shop.  I think the price is reasonable.  The bookmarks are furry just like a teddy bear so it’s nice to hold hehe.

I almost forgot to post 2 pictures that I took of my bookmarks.

bookmark-in-book2bookmarks

Bill Nye Paper Recycling Factory

On By Michel McDonaldIn GreenLeave a comment

paper-factory

Bill Nye and the Elmers company have come out with this product for kids (and older kids like me) that allows you to recycle paper. It’s called Bill Nye Paper Recycling Factory and is currently for sale at Target.com for $25

You shred paper like newspaper, paper that you printed and messed up with or like notepaper that you don’t need anymore etc.  Any paper.  Then you put it in this little bowl and mix it with water then put the lid on and crank it to mix it all up.

Once it’s all mixed up you pour it into this mold and then you press it to squeeze the water out and shape it so you get a nice piece of paper that is the perfect size that you are looking for.

You can make it into card stock for greeting cards, small sheets for note pads and on the cover of the box they have a star-shaped plate to make star paper.  I’m sure there are lots of shapes.

I think this is good for kids so you can have them make their own paper from your newspapers so they can color and draw on so you aren’t wasting any more paper.  If they make a mistake, they can recycle that sheet too hehe.

I would like to get this to make card stock for making greeting cards.  I’m sure that you would be able to put this paper into your printer to print on if it is solid enough and smooth enough just like regular paper is.  And I’m sure you can add food coloring to it so you can have colored paper instead of just white.