Using glass etching cream you are about to create permanently etched designs of a professional quality in only 3 basic steps in less than 3 minutes.
Please Note: Before starting to use the etching cream please read the manufacturers safety instructions. Keep out of the reach of children and pets.
Materials required:
* A ruler
* Glass Cleaner
* Masking Tape
* Lint-Free Cloth
* Hobby Knife
* Cotton Buds
* Steel Wool
* Newspaper or Drop Cloth
* Pen
* Eraser
* Paper Towels
* Protective Goggles
*Latex Gloves
* Pencil
* Carbon Paper
* Additional Stencils
* Long Sleeved Clothing
* Contact Brand Shelving Vinyl
Step 1: Cleaning the Glass or Mirror
The glass must be scrupulously clean. Use a glass cleaner that does not advertise it is "Finger Print Resistant" as this type of cleaner leaves a film that prevents the cream from acting properly. Handle the glass carefully after cleaning so as to not leave finger prints on the work area. Dry the glass completely.
Step 2: Select and Apply the Stencil
Carefully cut the stencil sheet and the frosted backing sheet together to avoid touching the back surface of the stencil. Determine exactly where you wish to locate the design on the glass by using the ruler. Remove the backing sheet from the blue stencil and store for later use. Place the stencil on the glass with the tacky side touching the glass and secure it temporarily with masking tape.
Use a wood craft stick and transfer the design from the sheet to the glass by rubbing the stick firmly over the design in all directions. You will see colour change from a dark blue to a lighter colour as the design is transferred. Be careful not to dig the stick into the stencil or peel up the edges and damage it.
Step 3: Remove the Top Carrier Sheet
When the design has been adhered to the glass, remove some of the masking tape and slowly peel back the clear top sheet. Replace the top sheet and repeat rubbing down if any part of the design has been completely transferred.
Step 4: Masking the Non-Design area with Masking Tape
Mask the area surrounding the design with masking tape being careful not to cover any of the design elements. Overlap the tape by about 2 to 3 mm. This is to prevent any of the cream from contacting the clear non design parts of the glass. Press the frosted back up sheet lightly over the stencil and tape to ensure firm contact. Hold up to the light and check that the design and tape do not have small tears or holes where they are not supposed to be and cover with a small piece of tape. Note that tape will tear the design if you try to remove it.
Step 5: Applying the Etching Cream
For best results room temperature should be around 22 degrees Celsius. Shake the etching cream thoroughly before use. Wear the latex gloves and protective eyewear. Place glass on newspaper in a well-lit area near a water source. For the cream to work, you must apply a thick layer enough layer of the cream so you cannot see the design through it. Be careful to stay within the taped area.
Step 6: Removing the Etching Cream and Stencil
Allow the etching cream to stay on the glass for one minute only and then immediately wash off all the cream under a tap using luke warm water. After all the cream has been removed remove the stencil and tape. Clean the glass using a window cleaner and dry.
Selasa, 31 Oktober 2017
Rabu, 25 Oktober 2017
What Makes Collectibles Worth Collecting? Tips for Collectors
What makes a collectible worth collecting? To answer that question one must first contemplate why they are collecting something.
Is it a monetary investment?
Is it a hobby?
Is it to satisfy an emotional need?
For our purposes we are only going to consider monetary investments. If you are collecting as a hobby, or to satisfy an emotional need (such as recalling your childhood), price is not much of an issue. Whether a collectible increases or decreases in value is not your concern.
Monetary Investments
Usually, when the subject comes about whether an item should be collected, money is involved. The bottom line is simple: will investing in the collectible create a positive return on the investment? More particularly, will the return on the collectible exceed the return that could have been obtained with another type of investment?
For example. If you invest one thousand dollars in collectibles and can sell them for fifteen hundreds dollars in ten years, you have a five hundred dollar profit. Over ten years that is fifty dollars per year. Based on a one thousand dollar initial investment, the return each year is five percent.
Five percent is probably better than putting your money in the bank and seeing what interest the bank pays. Five percent is also probably less than what an investment in the stock market is expected to return.
On the other hand, you know what return you will receive via interest because it is a set value.
With a collectible the future is unknown. You do not know your investments will increase by a certain amount. The collectibles could lose value. They could also significantly appreciate.
To reduce this uncertainty you can look at historical prices to evaluate what is happening with a collectible and realistically expect that to continue in the future.
Factors Affecting Price Changes
Factors which influence whether the value of a collectible increases or decreases over time include:
The original price of each item
How many different items are available to collect?
How rare or common each item is. (Production run)
How many other people seek to acquire the same items?
Is the item trendy?
Are the items easy to counterfeit?
Each of these factors are important. But I view actual price and sales information as the bottom line which accounts for these factors, plus any other factors you have not considered.
In other words, the market determines value and the market is never wrong.
Comparing Initial Retail/Buy Back Spreads Versus Long-Term Value
Another important issue often overlooked by novice collectible investors is the difference in value after the first sale and the change in value over time.
Let me explain.
Assume a new collectible sells for retail at one hundred dollars. On the after market, such as on eBay, it can be sold for eighty dollars. That is a common profit spread for retailers. It is like buying a new car and then turning around and selling it. Once you drive the car off the lot there is often an immediate loss in value.
Short-sided investors only consider the new price versus the immediate buy-back price.
But consider this: if you buy the collectible on the after market for eighty dollars that is often your price floor. Unless the market for a collectible evaporates, as may happen for trendy items, or products with too much quantity, you do not expect value to keep decreasing each year.
Rather, once a production run has ended and rarity established, every year should see a steady erosion in how many of the item are available because some are lost, destroyed, or hoarded. There is also a steady erosion in quality as some excellent quality items become used and their quality lessens. Thus, supply steadily decreases over time.
The flip side is, usually, demand increases over time because with population growth there are simply more collectors.
Bottom Line
My suggestion when evaluating a collectible is, if possible, to get a price history. The market creates prices.
If prices decrease over time the item is probably not a wise investment.
If prices increase over time then you can evaluate how much they are increasing and whether it is worth your investment.
While that is easily stated, in practice the issue is much more difficult because reliable price histories of sales over time are so difficult to obtain. In many cases, it may be impossible.
Fortunately, the Internet has made that task easier, and so have after markets such as eBay where you can continually monitor prices to see which way they are moving.
If you want to make money from collectibles, make sure you arm yourself with as much data as possible so you can make a wise decision.
Is it a monetary investment?
Is it a hobby?
Is it to satisfy an emotional need?
For our purposes we are only going to consider monetary investments. If you are collecting as a hobby, or to satisfy an emotional need (such as recalling your childhood), price is not much of an issue. Whether a collectible increases or decreases in value is not your concern.
Monetary Investments
Usually, when the subject comes about whether an item should be collected, money is involved. The bottom line is simple: will investing in the collectible create a positive return on the investment? More particularly, will the return on the collectible exceed the return that could have been obtained with another type of investment?
For example. If you invest one thousand dollars in collectibles and can sell them for fifteen hundreds dollars in ten years, you have a five hundred dollar profit. Over ten years that is fifty dollars per year. Based on a one thousand dollar initial investment, the return each year is five percent.
Five percent is probably better than putting your money in the bank and seeing what interest the bank pays. Five percent is also probably less than what an investment in the stock market is expected to return.
On the other hand, you know what return you will receive via interest because it is a set value.
With a collectible the future is unknown. You do not know your investments will increase by a certain amount. The collectibles could lose value. They could also significantly appreciate.
To reduce this uncertainty you can look at historical prices to evaluate what is happening with a collectible and realistically expect that to continue in the future.
Factors Affecting Price Changes
Factors which influence whether the value of a collectible increases or decreases over time include:
The original price of each item
How many different items are available to collect?
How rare or common each item is. (Production run)
How many other people seek to acquire the same items?
Is the item trendy?
Are the items easy to counterfeit?
Each of these factors are important. But I view actual price and sales information as the bottom line which accounts for these factors, plus any other factors you have not considered.
In other words, the market determines value and the market is never wrong.
Comparing Initial Retail/Buy Back Spreads Versus Long-Term Value
Another important issue often overlooked by novice collectible investors is the difference in value after the first sale and the change in value over time.
Let me explain.
Assume a new collectible sells for retail at one hundred dollars. On the after market, such as on eBay, it can be sold for eighty dollars. That is a common profit spread for retailers. It is like buying a new car and then turning around and selling it. Once you drive the car off the lot there is often an immediate loss in value.
Short-sided investors only consider the new price versus the immediate buy-back price.
But consider this: if you buy the collectible on the after market for eighty dollars that is often your price floor. Unless the market for a collectible evaporates, as may happen for trendy items, or products with too much quantity, you do not expect value to keep decreasing each year.
Rather, once a production run has ended and rarity established, every year should see a steady erosion in how many of the item are available because some are lost, destroyed, or hoarded. There is also a steady erosion in quality as some excellent quality items become used and their quality lessens. Thus, supply steadily decreases over time.
The flip side is, usually, demand increases over time because with population growth there are simply more collectors.
Bottom Line
My suggestion when evaluating a collectible is, if possible, to get a price history. The market creates prices.
If prices decrease over time the item is probably not a wise investment.
If prices increase over time then you can evaluate how much they are increasing and whether it is worth your investment.
While that is easily stated, in practice the issue is much more difficult because reliable price histories of sales over time are so difficult to obtain. In many cases, it may be impossible.
Fortunately, the Internet has made that task easier, and so have after markets such as eBay where you can continually monitor prices to see which way they are moving.
If you want to make money from collectibles, make sure you arm yourself with as much data as possible so you can make a wise decision.
Rabu, 11 Oktober 2017
What Is The Difference Between Homemade Soap and Commercial Soap?
How is homemade soap different than commercial soap? Well, to start with, the ingredients are quite different. Commercial soap is not soap at all, in fact it is really detergent! The way they design it to look like soap in a bar is with oils and additives. There is no "lye" or chemical reaction, it is just put into a mold and churned out every day. Millions of bars a day, all over the world.
Using detergent and not lye with oils, means that the bars are ready to ship quickly when they dry. The machines do not get sticky and are easy to clean, which cuts down on labor in processing. The shelf life is almost forever, unless it gets wet. This means that the soap can be stored in any temperature and not sweat. This is great news for the bottom line of an industry!
on the other hand, homemade soap is different the lye and oils combine in a chemical reaction, and they need to "cure" or "dry" for up to 4 weeks. If you use it before that they fall apart and are soft to the touch. The "curing" continues until you use the bar. The bars store well in a constant temperature of 65 - 68 degrees.
Storage for homemade soap is important because the bars "melt" and get "gooey" inside the wrapper and all over each other on the shelf. If they are kept in the bathroom where the temperature goes up and down drastically, they will "sweat". Another bad spot for storage is in the garage, attic or basement unless it is temperature controlled. Personally, I keep our soaps in the dresser in our bedroom and another good spot is in the hallway closet.
When you buy soap keep in mind what your needs are. Do you have small children, or dry skin? So called beauty bars just add oils to the detergent and then your skin feels tacky. Homemade soap is mild, and keeps skin smooth and silky.
If stored until use in plastic it will keep the scent much longer. I also recommend a "Soap Sleeve" that is similar to a hanging wash cloth. Just put your soap inside and hang it up. Whenever you want to you can take soap out and wash it with your regular laundry. I also carry soap "drainers" for on top of soap dishes to keep soap from sitting in water and "melting". This helps tremendously with buying soap so often, even if they are the commercial soap.
Using detergent and not lye with oils, means that the bars are ready to ship quickly when they dry. The machines do not get sticky and are easy to clean, which cuts down on labor in processing. The shelf life is almost forever, unless it gets wet. This means that the soap can be stored in any temperature and not sweat. This is great news for the bottom line of an industry!
on the other hand, homemade soap is different the lye and oils combine in a chemical reaction, and they need to "cure" or "dry" for up to 4 weeks. If you use it before that they fall apart and are soft to the touch. The "curing" continues until you use the bar. The bars store well in a constant temperature of 65 - 68 degrees.
Storage for homemade soap is important because the bars "melt" and get "gooey" inside the wrapper and all over each other on the shelf. If they are kept in the bathroom where the temperature goes up and down drastically, they will "sweat". Another bad spot for storage is in the garage, attic or basement unless it is temperature controlled. Personally, I keep our soaps in the dresser in our bedroom and another good spot is in the hallway closet.
When you buy soap keep in mind what your needs are. Do you have small children, or dry skin? So called beauty bars just add oils to the detergent and then your skin feels tacky. Homemade soap is mild, and keeps skin smooth and silky.
If stored until use in plastic it will keep the scent much longer. I also recommend a "Soap Sleeve" that is similar to a hanging wash cloth. Just put your soap inside and hang it up. Whenever you want to you can take soap out and wash it with your regular laundry. I also carry soap "drainers" for on top of soap dishes to keep soap from sitting in water and "melting". This helps tremendously with buying soap so often, even if they are the commercial soap.
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