Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

50 Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things

Hi All,

The Family Handyman is a do-it-yourself, home repair, tips magazine that is published monthly.  We have a subscription to it at the Farmingdale Public Library

And it is a winner.  The magazine publishes articles on a huge variety of topics - including plumbing, electrical, cleaning, organizing, carpentry, drywall, sheetrock, painting, tiling, masonry, becoming a smart homeowner, storage/organization, tools and more - monthly. 

However, the magazine has an accompanying website - which can be visited by clicking here - that has even more information for consumers. 

One of the goofy articles - but by no means unhelpful - they published recently was titled '50 Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things'. Users can view the article as either an article or in a list format. Take your pick! Three of my favorites ideas were the three ring binders, foam ball hand protector and the mattress sling. Oh, okay...I also thought the power cord coilers, accessorizing your lawn mower and the wrench caddy were great suggestions as well.

The site itself has a sort of table of contents on the homepage. Options on the TOC include:
How to Repair, Rooms, Outdoors, Smart Homeowner, Stuff We Love, Do It Yourself Insider, DIY University and Get DIY Tips to Your Inbox.

Hopefully you'll find the site as useful as I do!

Regards,
Stu




Friday, September 9, 2016

Just Do It - Yourself

 Hi All,

I just heard about yet another 'Do It Yourself' website called 'Do It Yourself.com'. Click here for the link.  So what makes this site different than other sites?  Well, its easily navigated, quick to load and has loads of tutorials.

How To articles are well written and organized in many cases organized in a 'step-by-step' basis.

How To's explanations are organized by topic. 
Topics include:
- Design Center
- Cars/Trucks/Boats
- Decorating/Painting
- Electrical/Electronics
- Exterior Home Improvement
- From Our Workshop
- Games/Rec Room
- Green Home/Green Living
- Hardware/Tools/Woodworking
- Household/Cleaning
- Interior Home Improvement
- Lifestyle/Crafts/Recreation,
- Personal Finance/Legal Matters
- Plumbing/HVAC
- Real Estate.

Whew - that's quite a list!

There is also a list of Your Projects on the top ribbon on the homepage. 
Projects include:
- Automotive Projects
- Bathroom Projects
- Bedroom Projects
- Decorating Projects
- Dining Room Projects,
- Electrical and Electronic Projects
- Exterior Projects
- Game Room /Rec Projects
- Garage Projects,
- Green Projects
- Holiday Decoration Projects
- Home Office Projects
- Kitchen Projects
- Landscaping Projects
- Living Room Projects
- Patio/Deck Projects
- Room Addition Projects
- Work Projects and other projects.

Furthermore, each category has more sub-categories once you click a link.  For example, the Your Project tab for Decorating/Painting has further links to Designing With Color, Decorating For Kids, Design By Room, Designers & Ideas, Exterior Painting, Furnishings and much more.

The site also has a forums - click here for the links to them - which are heavily used by readers. 
Use this link if you would like to sign up for any of the Do-It-Yourself newsletters.

Clicking on the search box at the upper right side of the page for the term 'replacing an outlet' gave these results.

From the results given, I would suspect that this is one of the better answers.
This article has a list of 'what tools you'll need to complete the projects', a step-by-step written narrative of how to complete the project, and links at the bottom of the page to other similar, but different projects.

All in all this is a helpful, comprehensive, user friendly 'how-to fix things' website.

Enjoy the projects and the links above!

Regards,

Stu
 


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

National Gallery of Art - Kids Section

Hi All,

Betcha you didn't know that the National Gallery of Art (NGA hereafter) has a section just for kids!  Well, it does...This next link comes from TechLearning.com and is dated March 10, 2015 so it is a current article.

This is the gateway to the NGA site Kids Art Zone - what a fancy site.  And btw, the site is formally known as the NGAkids Art Zone - so there!  Note also that the NGAKids Interactives sections requires Adobe Shockwave Player - which can be downloaded from this link.

Once on the site kids can click on links for Sea-Saws (craete seascapes or abstract compositions), Brushster (brushes, palettes and specials effects let kids make abstract paintings) or Faces & Places (students can create animated portrais and landscape paintings) and many, many more. (Examples of the many more include  jungles, still lifes, Dutch Houses, Collage Machine, Flow, Paintbox, Swatchbox, Wallovers, 3-D Twirlers, Mobiles and Pixelfaces....)

Further down on the page are links for Learning Resources, Children's Guides and Family Programs (if you are in the Washington, DC area!).

So there you have it - a world renowned museum that has made its resources available to kids and children - in the hopes of fostering the love of learning (with an artistic twist).

Regards - and enjoy the site!

Stu






Friday, July 18, 2014

Monuments Men

Hi All,

On Tuesday, July 22nd the Farmingdale Public Library is presenting the movie, The Monuments Men, at  1:15pm and again, at 6:30pm.  The formal blurb goes as follows, 'An unlikely World War II platoon has been tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners.'  The movies stars George Clooney and Matt Damon.  Seating is on a First Come, First Served basis.

Now....there is much more to the story than just a movie.

Click on this link from Wikipedia for the entry on 'The Monuments Men'.  You'll find a fairly extensive summary of the move, and the historical accuracy of the movie.  Note that the movie's reception was not all that great - at least by Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

Readers can click on this link to go to the Monuments Men website.  At the site readers can find links titled 'Books & Movies', 'For Educators' (which has lesson plans for teachers) , 'The Heros', 'Speaking Engagements', 'About Robert Edsel (the author)'.

For similar, yet different take on 'The Monuments Men', readers can click on this link to the Smithsonian Institution Magazine website. This link goes to an entry entitled, 'The True Story of the Monuments Men'.  A quick summary of the entry goes, 'Without the work of these curators and professors, tens of thousands of priceless works of art would have been lost to the world forever'.  That is quite a statement - and which is understated, to say the least.   With that said, the pictures in the article/website are extraordinary and worth viewing!

Also, did you know that the movie was based on a book entitled,  'The Monuments Men: Allied Heros, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History', written by Robert M. Edsel?  Well, it was and you can click on this link to see if the Farmingdale Public Library's copy is available for your reading pleasure

Finally, another book on the same topic is 'The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War' by Lynn Nicholas.  Click on this link to see if there is a copy that you can inter-library loan from the Nassau Library SystemClick on this link to see reviews and a brief summary of the book from Amazon.com.  Note that the book was published in 1994 and garnered an average score of 4.3 out of a possible 5.0 by readers who reviewed the book. 

Enjoy the movie and the enjoy the books - it is quite possible that you might learn something about American history in the process!

Regards,
Stu

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Do It Yourself - DIY

Hi All,

Lots of folks own homes and condos or co-ops.  Other folks rent the apartment they live in.

And there is quite a bit of difference from renting an apartment or owning a condo/co-op vs. owning your own home.

One of the major differences is that with a condo/co-op/apartment, a representative of the organization will do the maintenance of the property (fix leaks, paint, install new carpet, etc.)

But with a house the homeowner is the one who makes the repairs or does the fixes...either that or the homeowner pays a contractor to perform the work instead.

So...with that all said, today's blog entry is all about DIY - aka, 'Do-It-Yourself' projects for the home.  Simply put there are many, many DIY websites on the internet.  Today, I'm going to discuss one of the better ones - DIY Network - which can be found by clicking on this link: DIYNetwork.

DIYNetwork is from the makers of HGTV and Food NetworkDIY Network is available nationwide via DirecTV, DISH network and various local cable tv providers.  The site is authoritative, advertisement-free and easily navigable.  With all that out of the way, we can talk about the specifics of the site. 

At the top of the page is a ribbon that  has many of the DIY Networks' best features.  The ribbon has links to topics related to Painting, Windows and Doors, Floors. Decorating, Remodeling, Electrical, Plumbing, Bath, Kitchen, Outdoors and Rooms. Above this ribbon are further links to TV Shows, Experts & Hosts, Blog Cabin, Watch DIY Network and the Video Library.

One of the best aspects of the site are the drop down boxes that appear when users click on one of the topics in the ribbon.  The drop down menu for "Windows and Doors" (for example) is extensive - with sections on "Inside Windows, Walls, and Doors", "Shows", and "Best of Windows and Doors".  Even better is that the first section "Inside Windows, Walls, and Doors" has further categories like 'Floor Tile', 'Windows', 'Concrete Doors' and more.

Along with these links to repairs are sections that explain - for example - how to 'Repair Your Drywall', 'Wall-Covering Trends'.  Each category has different DIY projects that is related to that particular category. 

Users can also use the search box at the top of the page to enter some key words related to the project that they are working on - or need to find assistance with.

Examples of Electrical issues addressed by DIY Network include: Lighting, Appliances, Heating & Cooling, Ceiling Fans, Home Theater and Wiring. Click on any of these links to find out more.

Some of the specific projects that DIY Network discusses include 'Accent Lighting', 'How to Add Outlets', 'Tips For Air Conditioner Maintenance', '10 Things You Must Know About Home Security Maintenance Systems' and 'Family Friendly Home Theaters'.

Finally, users can look at videos or view photo galleries of various projects that they are interested in completing.  There is also a very complete list of topics on the site which is very, very helpful for finding projects!!!!

Just remember...this is just one of the many categories that DIY Network covers so there is a LOT of information on the site!  And, as you can see, DIY Network is comprehensive, well organized and easy-to-use...homeowners or amateur diy'ers would serve themselves well by visiting the site and utilizing its many DIY features.

Enjoy the site - hope all your home repair projects turn out to be easier and less expensive than you expect!

Regards,
Stu

Monday, February 14, 2011

Color

Hi All,

Color. It is all around us. And to think that I just noticed it...

I'll try not to make today's blog entry silly or confusing or annoying or campy.

I'm writing this from the reference desk and I just noticed all the various colors in the library. Click here for a color palette of well, colors. Take note - these sites are very, very colorful!

Wondering about complimentary colors or shades? Dominant colors and saturation and intensity. Click here for another link to many sites that talk about this. Also, you might want to visit this site to basic color theory - neat stuff - it'll brighten your day.

Click here for a website that will help you with your color mixing recipes. This is neat stuff if you like to make your paint or are an artist!

Well, now that we are on the topic of color, click here for a link to Michael's - the art store. Click here for a link to ACMoore - the art and craft store. Finally, click here for a link to Jo-Ann's - the fabric and craft store....

Want to see all the colors that Crayola makes and has made in the past? Click here for that colorful little nugget of information from Wikipedia. Here is a neat link to the Crayola website - you can search for colors on the site.

Finally, click here for a simple color wheel.

One last thing - sorry about not posting a single entry last week. It has been hectic around the library since we reopened on January 18th! I'll try to post on a more consistent Monday-Wednesday-Friday basis...

Regards,
Stu


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