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It is wrong to assume that chocolate candy making is easy. What you require are a good thermometer, a double boiler, a rubber spatula, candy molds and of course, the basic chocolate such as dark, semi-sweet or milk. For making chocolate truffles, you also need a goodly amount of heavy cream.

The first step in the candy making process is to melt the chunks of chocolate in the double boiler but for avoiding over-burning, you must constantly stir the contents. After melting, the molten chocolate is poured into a bowl or into candy molds, as the case may be. Fruit-filled chocolates can be made by adding appropriate fruits to the melted chocolate in the bowl and for making differently-shaped candies, melted chocolate is poured into candy molds. If you keep the chocolates in the chiller for a short duration, your production is complete.
The major hassle in candy making lies in maintaining exact temperatures. Chocolates for your own use need not have the snap and shine tempering gives them but if your candies are meant for sale, maintaining specific temperatures for keeping the temper intact is absolutely necessary.

Originally, chocolates do not have shine and snap but if you temper them, you can make them crisp and shiny. When you melt the chocolates, whatever temper they had will disappear and this causes blooming that induces the cocoa butter crystals to appear on the chocolates, giving them an undesirable appearance.

Cocoa butter has fatty acids and they crystallize into six types that dominate at six different temperatures. To direct such domination, you should maintain specific temperatures during tempering. Only type V of these six types of crystals provides the chocolates with the attractive snap and shine. Every variety of chocolates, such as dark, semi-sweet or milk, has their own temperatures at which more type V crystals form. Type IV crystals that form along with type V crystals melts sooner and hence you should increase formation of type V crystals to make your chocolates more heat resistant.

A good thermometer is a very essential tool in manual tempering since you need to concentrate on maintaining specific temperatures. Even a small slip will spoil the chocolates. But if you use a tempering machine, you need not worry about this aspect because you have a computer chip on it to maintain temperatures and to enable formation of more type V crystals. These well-designed counter-top tempering machines offer consistently good and tempered chocolates because the tempering operation is completely automated. You can use your extra energy and time towards finding out ways to improve your products and business.

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Graffiti has received a mixed press in the last 5 years or so. On the one hand, gifted creatives such as Banksy have made graffiti an aesthetic pleasure, utilising stencils to create technically challenging graphics loaded with political messages attached. This kind of graffiti was certain to get trendy with both the masses and the artworld : appealing to both eye and intellect. This type of graffiti is now even acquired as printed canvas art, and hung on the walls of middleclass homes and corporate reception areas.

All the same, what about the opposite end of the spectrum? - the gangbanger, the tagger, the street urchin - this is just seen as hooliganism, an offence perpetrated by the talentless. But is graffiti just an artform? To many individuals, it’s not only an artform, but a way to mark territory, or even two fingers up at society : anti-social, anti-art, anti-establishment.

Graffiti has forever been an underground activity, even though the results are very much public. The intended audience is often unidentified. Is it for a rival crew? A communication to a single person? To the public? Maybe it’s just uncalled-for and out of nothing to do.

Whatever the reasons may be, there appears to be a enduring demand to spray graffiti on walls. Some town councils have admitted that graffiti isn’t going to go away, so they’ve marked off areas where graffiti is permitted - normally unoccupied areas, but occasionally busier areas like boarding surrounding urban buildings under construction.

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To marry or not to marry? That is the query. It ne’er used to be the query. It used to be ‘When to marry?’ not ‘why to marry’. For a long time women were required and put pressure on themselves to acquire a husband young, get married and start up home with babies and a cat, and commit their days to arranging a good household. Perchance because females have been set free from what were once their established functions, that a marriage ceremony is no longer of importance and definitely not the only road to go along. In fact many people- both male and women- categorically hate the idea of marriage, and can’t conceive of gazing into a partner’s eyes and promising whole-heartedly to spend the remaider of their lives with them until someone dies. In many ways it’s quite sad, because weddings can be such wonderful occassions especially when they feature a stunning wedding gown and sky lanterns. But, marriages can be devastating, financially and emotionally harmful, and the most isolating things of all. Though being in a ill-suited relationship is also massively isolating, somehow with the marriage mark, it’s even worse. Colleagues expect more of a couple when they are officially married and have supposedly spent so much dosh on their wedding day. They are required to be happy or to at least try their darndest to be so. As a result of this sensed external pressure, many partners feel they have to put on a face and blot out their actual feelings. The reason why there were a greater number marriages or why marriages lasted longer a few generations ago is because couples had no choice but to keep pushing on with their relationship. This is advantageous in some ways, but in others, it is very wasteful. Yes there were more such matrimonies, but there were also many more desperately suffering ones.

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Do you remember those days as a kid pasting newspaper clippings onto paper and bundling dozens of papers together with some fancy ribbon or a string? Do you also remember all of your hard work falling apart two months later?

Now there’s a grown up way to save and preserve your treasures: Scrapbooking.

The concept behind scrapbooking hasn’t changed since grade school. You can still place photographs, newspaper clippings, poems, and tickets into your scrapbook to display and preserve your memories.

However, scrapbooking techniques and tools have matured substantially since you were a kid. Scrapbooking albums have replaced the messy bundles of paper. These albums are generally bound or placed in a three-ring binder. In this way, your hard work won’t fall apart. Furthermore, new specialized covers allow protection from the outside elements.

Paste is also a thing of the past. Specialized glue dots and two-sided tape makes mounting your treasures simple and mess free. Many of these products are so strong that you can now decorate your scrapbook pages with ribbons, feathers, flowers, or even metal charms.

Due to these new techniques and tools, the uses of scrapbooking have expanded drastically. Scrapbooking is still used to hold personal keepsakes and for gift giving.

However, now scrapbooking techniques can be used to make baby announcements, grandparent books, gift cards, artwork for kid’s rooms, recipe books, and even educational tools.

What Do I Need to Start Scrapbooking?

The best thing about scrapbooking is that although there are a plethora of scrapbooking supplies available on the market, you really don’t need a lot to make your very first scrapbook. Basically, all you need to scrapbook is an album, some glue, a pair of scissors, and some photographs or newspaper clippings. Any fabric, ribbon, or bits of leftovers from other projects can be used to embellish your scrapbook.

As you get more acquainted with scrapbooking, you will find products that save you time and frustration. Many of these products are well worth the extra cost. At the top of this list is an exacto knife. This strong and versatile blade allows you to cut almost anything into any shape. When the blade is dull, the end is simply broken off to reveal another sharp tip. Just be sure to place the object you plan to cut onto a mat or wad or newspaper before using the exacto knife. Otherwise, the knife will cut right through your picture and into your scrapbook page or dining room table.

The next best tool is a pair of tweezers. Trying to pick up and place small gluey pieces is a hassle. Tweezers, though not very high tech, allow you to move pieces without touching them.

Speaking of gluey pieces, various glues and affixing options are available. These quick and less messy options include glue dots, two-sided tape, Xyron, acid free photo tabs, and polypropylene corners.

To increase the preservation of your scrapbook and your treasures, look for albums with acid free, lignin free pages. Both acid and lignin accelerate photo fading and general deterioration. Lignin is a chemical found naturally in the cell walls of plants. If the lignin is not removed in the paper manufacturing process, the chemical will cause the paper product to gradually yellow and crumble. Lignin and acid free products come in virtually any color and texture.

Lena Fields loves helping others to save special memories using the fun and exciting art of scrapbooking. For more scrapbooking resources, please visit Scrapbooking Success.

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When you work on a sewing project, do you have trouble trying to find your waist line?

Some waist lines are not as obvious as others. You think you know where it is, but you aren’t sure.

You need to know this even for basic sewing.

So many sewing instructions tell you to do this or that from your waist line.

If you can’t find it, how can you follow the instructions?

As women age, they get thicker in the middle and really have difficulty trying to figure out where their waist is.

Another reason so many of you have this problem is because you don’t wear garments at your natural waist line, especially in the last few years with so many garments cut below the waist.

There is a difference between where your natural waist line is and where you might wear your garments or be forced to wear your garments because of the ready-to-wear clothes available on the market today.

Here are some tips to help you find your natural waist line.

1. Tie a narrow piece of elastic around your middle

2. Bend to the right side

3. Bend to the left side

4. Bend forward

5. Bend backward

The elastic will roll to where your body bends.

Voila! That is your natural waist line.

It may not seem like the best place, but it is where your body naturally says it is.

Garments will be more comfortable there.

Don’t worry if your waist isn’t level. Mine is up in the front, down in the back, up on the right side and down on the left.

Have you ever put on a pair of panty hose, hiked them way up trying to hold in your “blubber” and watched what happened?

The minute that you bend, they will roll right to where your body bends and the “blubber” just spills out over the top.

Place a 1″ waist band at that spot on your body. Bend in all directions. Wear it around the house for a while. It should settle at your natural waistline. When it feels comfortable, continue with the rest of your measurements.

You really should use your natural waist line when you are fitting a master basic pattern. This is particularly true for pants and skirts.

Then, once you have your fit, if you choose to wear your garments below the waist, just make a design change to a copy of your master basic pattern.

Copy design changes from other sewing patterns or garments and learn how to apply them to your master basic pattern that you know fits you. Don’t start from scratch trying to fit another pattern.

The rule is: Fit your natural body, then create your designs.

It just makes sense!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

- by Marian Lewis

©2006 Marian Lewis - All Rights Reserved

1st Step To Sewing Success

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor and the creator of an amazing new fitting method for hard-to-fit sewing folks.

In her ebook, “Common Sense Fitting Method For Hard-To-Fit Sewing Folks Who Want Great Fitting Skirts And Pants”, find out step-by-step WHAT you really need, WHERE you really need it and HOW to apply that to a commercial sewing pattern.

For more information, go to:

=> http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/fitting.html

Marian is also the author of other eBooks related to sewing including, “Sew A Tee Pee And Accessories For Your Tribe Of Kids” and “Classy Designer Straight Skirt” where she teaches basic and advanced sewing techniques.

To learn more, go to:

=> http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/sewing.html

To discover sewing and fitting secrets to achieve sewing success, follow the link:

=> http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com

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The popular reality TV show, Miami Ink, which transformed a South Beach tattoo parlour into a hotspot television haven, has ended after three years on the air. The stars of the show and the parlour, Ami James and Chris Nunez have declined an invitation to produce more episodes, which has ultimately ended the three year series.

The show provoked three “ink” spinoffs in Los Angeles, London and Rio. LA Ink gathered double the ratings of Miami Ink when it aired last year and set a TLC rating record for reality television. The end of the show may be an end to the popular South Beach tourist attraction. Fans regularly stop by the tattoo parlour on Washing Avenue to catch a glimpse of James and Nunez and see the legendary Miami Ink logo which adorns the front of the shop. However, James and Nunez are rarely able to be spotted; they keep their art confined to when the cameras are present and the windows blacked out.

James is worried that Discovery Communications, which own the rights to the show and the brand name Miami Ink, will force him to change the name of his parlour. So far this has not happened, and the logo still remains on the shop. The parlour has been changed into a gift shop where Miami Ink clothes and accessories are sold. Those still eager to be tattooed by the stars of the show are encouraged to check out the new tattoo studio on the same block, dubbed Love Hate Tattoos.

The good news for fans is that James and Nunez now have more time for customers. They haven’t been able to have a regular customer flow since the beginning of the show. “Now we basically have to go back to work, he said. “We all still need to feed our families.” (Quoted on MiamiHerald.com)

By Christine Pinella for Black Cat Tattoo Aftercare

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Decorative wreaths play a creative role in the decoration of homes and offices throughout the world. They can announce the start of a new season, offer condolences, or celebrate a special event, all depending on the message that one wants to convey. Wreaths can cheer up a door, window, wall, or porch. They can be made of just about any kind of materials, so anyone can have fun browsing for attractive craft items at good prices to enjoy their hobby.

If you like the looks of a wreath but you’re not sure how to get started in making one, here are a few tips that may help.

1. Take a wreath-making class. Check with a local fabric store or craft shop to find out if specialty classes of this type are being offered. If not, suggest that one become available at the advent of a festive season, like Christmas, for example. Encourage neighbors and friends to express interest or sign up and encourage the store to offer the class. Otherwise, find a helpful book at the library or bookstore.

2. Experiment with materials. You may want to start with a stock artificial pine wreath and decorate it any way you wish to see how it turns out. From there, you can try a twig or fabric wreath for a different look. You may even be able to come up with your own version of a wreath style that will look great in your family room or on the garage door.

3. Try a variety of decorating materials. You can buy cute little elves, holiday ornaments, sequins, yarn, buttons, glittery cloth, and a host of other items to make your wreath sparkle. You might even decide to make three or more, and hang them in coordinating positions throughout your home. You could mix and match the decorations to keep them thematically related, but with each one a little bit different than the others.

4. Don’t forget your pets. Make a dog bone wreath for Fido, a catnip wreath for Boots, and even a birdseed wreath for the winter birds that will be seeking food during the long, cold season. Hanging a decorative wreath on your lawn’s evergreen trees will add a festive seasonal touch.

5. Host a wreath-making party. Invite a few friends over for snacks and a wreath-making session. Set out a bevy of supplies, with each person adding to the stockpile. Then have fun putting together an assortment of designs from the collection of decorations. This is a great idea for young children’s birthday parties, especially involving girls, as long as the session is kept short.

You can make wreaths for your home or design others as house-warming gifts. You can even attach a small box of brand name chocolate or a package of nuts to go with it. Wreaths add a lovely accent to any personal space. If the first one doesn’t turn out, keep trying. You’re sure to make one that everyone can enjoy very soon!

If you would like to know more about this exciting hobby, pastime, or source of income, visit The Creative Wreath at
http://www.creativewreath.com

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Often photographs aren’t quite the right shape and size or the photographic image is improperly centered. Having oversized or off centered photographs creates an air of unprofessionalism.

Carefully cropped and sized photographs, on the other hand, enhances the overall look and feel of your scrapbook.

There are two ways to solve these problems.

The low tech way to solve these problems are to manually crop and shape the photograph using a pair of scissors or an exacto knife.

If you are manually cropping and cutting pictures, make sure that you mark the outline you want with chalk (or eye shadow if you don’t have chalk) before you cut.

Remember the old saying, measure twice and cut once.

To manually change a distracting or cluttered background simply cut out the background and replace it with a with a new paper background. This allows the eye to focus on the people instead of the clutter behind them.

The high tech solution to your photograph woes is to use modern computer programs such as Photo Editor.

Using these programs, photographs can be magically darkened, brightened, sharpened, enlarged, and cropped without ruining your original photograph.

Some programs even allow you to change the background of the photograph.

Mia LaCron is the founder of 101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - http://www.101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - devoted to helping individuals record, store, and preserve their most cherished memories via the art of scrapbooking.

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