Friday, September 20, 2013

Print your own business cards using Pages

IMG_6744.JPGI started an etsy store last year and started doing craft fairs - time for business cards! I didn't want to pay anyone else to do it, so I messed around and came up with a way to print my own. :)

This is an excellent way to make very cheap but high quality business cards that will get lots of attention. Using cardstock that's white on one side and printed on the other makes your cards stand out. And best of all, this allows you to customize your business cards any way you want. No more set templates and glossy cheapo business cards! Hooray!

IMG_6728.JPGa small cardstock stack - makes sure it measures 4.5 x 6.5 inchesPages (http://www.apple.com/iwork/pages/) or other word processing softwarea printercraft knifecutting matrulerThe cardstock stack I got at a craft store - it's white on one side and printed on the other. It's pretty cheap - normally around $10. That gives you around 200 business cards for very little. :D

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HomeMade Modern DIY Screwdriver Coat Rack

This post is the first part of my tool scavenger experiment. I budgeted $150 and bought a bunch of different tools – mostly from Craigslist and eBay. I then sorted through and separated my newly purchased collection into two neat sets of hand tools. After I was done, I sold the remaining, miscellaneous tools and was able to recoup $142 of my original investment.

Many people these days are using cordless drills and drivers, or hand screwdrivers that have replaceable heads. While these are great in their own respect, sometimes a traditional driver is all you need.

Let’s say you're in the middle of a project and are in need of a screwdriver. Sure, you could stop what you're doing, go pull out your toolbox and scrounge around until you find one; but wouldn’t it be more convenient to always have one right where you can see it?

This made me think,"Why can’t tools be displayed out in the open around the apartment?"

This project encapsulates a few of my favorite concepts. First off, it includes screwdrivers that are reclaimed and refurbished – so there's no waste involved. It also incorporates a disparate assortment of orphaned objects into a single, unified design. All of the pieces are useful and they are arranged in a design that prevents them from being hidden. That ultimately saves you a ton of frustration. Not to mention, this set can also do double duty and serve as a coat rack, which makes it incredibly versatile.

This project acts as the first part of my exploration into what an urban toolbox should look like. Tools can improve your life but are often designed and marketed to suburbanites who have extra storage space in large garages and spare rooms. It’s time to figure out what the most essential and compact tools are so that urban DIY projects are feasible in even the most cramped of spaces.


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sweet potato pie

2 cups mashed sweet potato (see below)1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk/soy milk/regular milk2 large eggs, beaten2 tablespoons cornstarch1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground gingerpinch of cloves1/2 teaspoon saltpie crust of choiceI fully own up to cheating on the crust this time. I was having a busy day and didn't do my prep the night before. ;) I was also making two pies, so I double the ingredient list above.

You'll also need to preheat your oven to 325 F.

To prep the sweet potatoes, I find it is easiest to cut them in half, pierce them with a sharp pairing knife in several places, and pop them in the microwave until they're nice and soft. This also retains more of the flavor than boiling them does. Boiling also runs the risk of leaving you with watery mash, which can make a pie that doesn't firm up.

Once they're soft, take the skin off and mash them - don't be too meticulous about mashing, some small chunks are okay and they make the texture of the pie really lovely. :D


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Wall Quilt Art - No Sewing No Glueing!

Do you love patch work?....see an amazing wall quilt you would love to hang on your wall...but just don't have the sewing skills or the time...to do that?
I've seen and admired so many quilts...but just couldn't picture myself...cutting and sewing all those delicate squares...I was positive ...it'll be in the drawing board for ages! I think the only type of quilted sewing project I would be doing would be crazy quilting...I'm sure you would have heard of that...else let me know...I'll try and do an instructable for you :-)

You must be wondering how I did it...if no sewing and glueing was involved?? l Well punch quilting is your answer ( and mine too!) :-D .
My first project would be just the basic...later I'll show you how to get a 3D look in another project :-)

As my first project I thought to try out Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'....aiming high ...I know....but I love the colors! Aren't they beautiful.

So here is my patchwork version of 'Starry Night' hope you like it...and my own art.. :-) ( I'm no Van Gogh or Michele Angelo )


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Visualize What You Want to Grab from a Room, Before You Go to Get It

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What Enabling C6/C7 Low-Power States Do on the Core i7-4770K Haswell CPU

Legit Processor Reviews

Intel’s 4th Generation Core series processors have been out for a couple weeks and we have had a chance to better look at Haswell’s C6/C7 low-power states. One of the many new features that comes with Haswell is the introduction of new C6 and C7 power states that offer a greatly reduced idle power consumption with a minimum of 0.05A on 12V2, down from 0.5A on previous generation Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge CPUs. This is a power saving feature that will help reduce temperatures and lower power consumption, but sadly most motherboard vendors have chosen to disable C6/C7 by default in the BIOS as there are simply too many old or low-cost power supplies on the market that don’t support the power-saving feature.

dz87kl-75k

The Intel Desktop Board DZ87KL-75K was sent out to all the hardware review sites with BIOS KL.0328 installed, which had the new C6/C7 power states enabled in the BIOS by default. On BIOS version KL.0334 and newer we have learned that Intel has disabled the C6/C7 power states to help ensure the Intel Z87 based board will power on with older power supply models. We don't know of any board that ships with the new power states enabled, so we are going to show you how to enable it and what happens to your CPU temperature and power draw at idle.

Intel Z87 Motherboard Visual BIOS

One would think that there would be an easy to find setting in the BIOS for enabled the C6/C7 power states, but right now it is rather buried and not labeled C6/C7. When you first turn on the Intel Desktop Board DZ87KL-T75K you need to hit F2 to enter the Intel UEFI Visual BIOS. Once you do you'll see the screen above or at least that is what is shown when using BIOS version KL.0341, which is what we are using right now. From this main menu you need to go to the 'Advanced' tab.

biospowersettings_550

Once you are in the Advanced menus you then need to go to the 'Power' tab. In the 'Primary Power Settings' menu you'll see two drop down menus with the first being Intel Dynamic Power Technology. If you clock on the drop down arrow you can enable, disable or set it to custom. You'll want to select custom.

c6powersettings_550

Once you select custom you'll see four new check box values appear and one is not enabled. That is called 'Lowest CPU Idle Power Setting' and that is the check box to enable the new Intel Haswell C6/C7 idle power states. You need to check the box and then hit F10 in order to save and exit the BIOS. Once this is enabled you should be running the new idle power state on the desktop.

Let's take a look and see if we can notice a difference when it comes to CPU temperature and overall platform power consumption with our Intel Core i7-4770K CPU powered LGA1150 platform.




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Paracord Pet Harness

2013-06-14 14.26.13.jpgIf you have a pet that needs to go outside, there is a good chance that you own a collar and leash. Collars are great, but harnesses are more secure since they come around your pet in the front and the back. I wanted to make a harness for my own cats but I couldn't find any methods that I had any practice with. I knew how to do the cobra stitch (that's the one used to make paracord bracelets) and I had some left-over paracord so I figured out how to make a harness.2013-06-13 17.26.18.jpgFor a paracord harness you will need...
(2) Plastic Buckles
(Several) Packages of Paracord
(1) Pair of Scissors
(1) Candle

NOTE: You don't need the wooden dowel I only used that to show simply how to use the cobra stitch.


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