The Tree of Life

Trees feature in many myths about the creation of the world.The Scandinavian mythological ash tree Yggdrasil represents the cosmos and provides the bridge between the heavenly and terrestrial spheres by which the gods decend to go about their work of creation.With their roots in the ground and their trunks rising through the plane on which we live,and their branches and leaves towering above our heads,trees span the three levels of Man’s experience.Their symbolic importance is a recurring theme in cultures throughout the world representing birth,regeneration and life itself.


The tree is a kind of skeleton holding up the body of the world. It is also the symbol of growth, death and rebirth and of fertility.The water it draws up from the ground and the sap which permeates the trunk and the explosion of leaves in spring is the very image of of birth and life.

The tree also represents death.The tree of hanging in the West and of the Crucifixion.The cross and the tree of life have been mystically linked by Christians. The tree of life rejected by Adam in the garden of Eden in favour of the tree of knowledge,renewed its promise of immortality when it reappeared,symbolized by the crucifix,offering redemption and everlasting life. According to medieval legend Eve planted a branch from the tree of knowledge on Adams grave, where it grew into a tree whose wood was finally used to build the Cross. The tree is in fact a symbol of the whole cosmos, not only in physical but also in moral terms.It is the tree of knowledge.of both good and evil; it is the tree of life and of death.It is the world.

For ideas on arts and crafts don’t forget to visit http://woodworkingnews.blogspot.com

Or just go fishing?

Visit http://afishingtacklebox.blogspot.com

Don’t miss the free gifts at the end of the page. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and help yourself.

Carpentry: Tools and Tips

A woodworking and craft person is the person who works with wood to make different products like furniture, doors, boxes, tables and other things. Woodworking is the skill of making different things form wood. A woodworking and craft person uses different types of tools to make these things. A construction team must have a carpenter to do their woodworking jobs. Once the house gets ready, it is the job of the woodworking and craft person to make it more comfortable by making right furniture. It can be very laborious work which needs special skills.
woodworking Tools
Woodworking and craft persons use various special tools to carry out their job. These tools are categorized into hand tools and power tools. Most often woodworking and craft people uses hand tools for carrying out simple or even complex jobs. Power tools are used when working with heavy wood or large amount of work is to be done. Some very popular tools used for woodworking are mallets, hammers, chisels, saws, file, clamp, pliers, punches and measuring tapes.
Some useful tips about woodworking
A woodworking job may include many small functions as part of a big project. These functions include measuring, marking, cutting, sawing, striking, chiselling, checking, boring, lengthening, sharpening and framing of joints.
Cut once after measuring twice, this is the most important rule of the woodworking and craft persons who believe in making perfect objects in perfect time. This is why measuring tape and 90 degree angled tool are among the most important tools for woodworking and craft people. An end product is always perfect if you measure right and cut materials perfectly. A square is used for drawing straight lines and measuring tapes give you right measurements.
A simple saw is the best choice for cutting timber in straight lines, especially for the beginners.A coping saw is used for cutting curves. It's not recommended for beginners to use electric saws and cutters as they may injure themselves. Even if you are using it, you must read all the instructions carefully, Drilling machines are the perfect woodworking tools to make holes in walls and wood. These are the power operated tools which make the job very easy and less laborious. Various kinds of nails and glue are the other elements you would need for any kind of woodworking job. Nailing requires skill which a person learns with practice. A beginner can start making simple things like bookshelves, simple tables, closet fixtures, etc.
While going for a project, choose the wood carefully. Measure and mark it even more carefully. If you have marked incorrectly make a cross sign over it to differentiate it from the other lines.The job of a woodworking and craft person involves much precision without which you cannot make a perfect product.
After you have chosen an project easy or difficult and the appropriate wood for it, you can start your first woodworking project. Measuring is important for making a perfect woodworking object. So measure your wood twice according to the pattern before cutting it. Mark them with pencil and cross out the lines drawn by mistake. After you have cut wood pieces, it is time to put them together. Use nails and screws and according to the thickness of your wood, they should not stick out of the wood. Along with nails, you can use wood glue as well to make the joint stronger.

For ideas on arts and crafts don’t forget to visithttp://woodworkingnews.blogspot.com
Or just go fishing?
Visit http://afishingtacklebox.blogspot.com
Don’t miss the free gifts at the end of the page. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and help yourself.

Woodworking Plans

Free woodworking plans are very accessible and easy to do for students making it cheap and sensible for budget wise woodworkers. By introducing free shop plans for projects in school, students can avail benefits by using their imaginative skills and talents to create beautiful woodworking projects.

Students can discover their creativeness through the completion of any project that they choose. They can be proud of something that started with a plan on the table but now they have created a wood project that will be treasured for a lifetime.

There are many great projects that you can get that come with a free woodworking plan including chairs, tables or even a desk. With etched glass inserted to the top of the tables, the product can be metamorphosed to an eye catching keepsake that people will definitely take note of.

Free woodworking plans for wood projects can also be very advantageous if you take your finished project and sell them to earn income. All manner of projects can be built and then sold on places like Ebay or Craigs List.

Products like wall decor, furniture, framed mirrors, candle stands, wood sculptures, special doors, custom beds, ornate cribs, outside furniture and just about anything can turned into a profit.

Home office chairs, tables and desks can be built to furnish such places like a meeting or conferences room.

So whether you build wall decor, furniture, mirrors, doors and candle holders makes your home come across with that added personal touch.

Artists can use wood for their subject in sculptures which usually result in an exclusive gift to give to that special someone.

Handmade cribs are a great project that can be sold to the new or upcoming mom.

Log beds would be an advance project, but would absolutely be something that would add to any bedroom for a special look as well as for comfort.

Outdoor furniture is a fun and more advanced project for the woodworking student. Be resourceful and search online for the wood project that you think you can sell.

This could be the first step to your woodworking adventure.

Good plans should walk you step by step through building the project with comprehensive, but easy instructions.

Woodworking plans should come with a project checklist and material list to make the project simple for teachers to grade and easy for students to understand.

So, once you decide what project you would like to erect and whether it will be a gift, a money making venture or a piece that you will personally use, you are off to one of your greatest adventures.

Free woodworking plans are a great introduction and you get to finish the race with your own personal project.

So have fun and start building.

Mark Daniels started Woodworking Projects and Plans in August of 2007 and has now become one of the largest providers of HD etching in the world and a source of free woodworking plans for the etched furniture and home decor including etchings of wildlife, lighthouse, dogs, cats and so much more!

For ideas on arts and crafts don’t forget to visithttp://woodworkingnews.blogspot.com

Or just go fishing?
Visit http://afishingtacklebox.blogspot.com

Don’t miss the free gifts at the end of the page. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and help yourself.

The eArt Directory

'

Why would you want - or need - to buy "The eArt Directory"?
It's your kick start - a tremendous boost! - into the world of selling artand buying art, on the internet.
Read here why both artists and art collectors need a copy of "The eArt Directory".

Artists, not only will you be guided through the process of efficientlyphotographing, uploading and storing images of your work on your computer, but you'll also learn how to size those images so that they'resuitable for emailing.
Easy-to-open email images are vital for the success of professionally presented submissions of work to galleries, both virtual galleries on the internet and real galleries on high streets.

A frustrated and irritated gallery owner is far more likely to discard your submission, or give a resounding "Thanks but no thanks" if they're forced to wrestle with badly presented images, or images which are so huge they block their mail boxes.

After reading "The eArt Directory" you'll be able to tailor your images, either for art gallery submissions or for the creation of high definition CDs/DVDs to be submitted to printers and publishers.
Surely you'd be proud to have a store of professionally printed business cards - with an excellent image of your work on the back - tucked into your top pocket? Apart from a great sense of achievement, business cards designed with a well-chosen image of your work are far more likely to be kept, or pinned to notice boards, to keep you in mind. You need high quality images for that.
Does packaging your work for shipping purposes worry you? There are some great tips for strong and safe packaging - knowledge gained through trial, error and experience - described and illustrated within these pages.
"The eArt Directory" touches on owning your own website and how to protect yourself from those nasty viruses out there in cyberspace.

There's a pretty bad downturn in the worldwide economy at the moment ... possibly set to affect us all for a couple of years. As much as many of us do our utmost to ignore it, and to put in our best efforts of trying to make it go away - it does and will affect us all.

So consider those secondary markets!

"The eArt Directory" gives you a few starting points to publish your art as digital images, t-shirts, mugs, posters ... the proceeds of which all go towards both raising your profile as an artist, and keeping those hungry wolves from the door.
It all takes work and effort (there ain't no free lunches, sadly) ... and having your own copy of "The eArt Directory" will put you way ahead of the crowd. It'll save you time, energy and many hours, all of which have a financial tag on them. They all cost you valuable earning time and money.

I won't go so far as to say you'd be silly not to have a copy of "The eArt Directory", but you'd be silly not to have your own copy of "The eArt Directory"!
To find out more visit http://www.kiwiurl.com/4jh

P/s if you are looking for more Crafting or Crafty ideas DIY and other Super Products visit me at
http://woodworkingandcrafts.blogspot.com

Rather relax and just go fishing at
http://tinyurl.com/m6nbwt
There are Free E-books for you if you scroll to the bottom of the pageand I will try to add more as time allows.
Best wishes

A Telescope

'
This blog was written by Rachel - mom and crafty-type. She says “I'm no expert in a particular craft, and I delight in imperfection. I'm just ... well ... your Average Jane Crafter”. You can also catch Rachel writing over at Craftzine.com.

I thought it a great idea and I am sure you will enjoy the story.

"So my husband made the most awesome gift for me this year:
a telescope.
Yeah. A t-e-l-e-s-c-o-p-e.
He worked on it for more than a month - evenings, weekends, he was holed up in our garage, working away. It never occurred to me that he was making a telescope. I mean - who does that? Especially when they haven't made anything before. That's right, this was my husband's first woodworking project.I was excited to get to share it with the MAKE readers yesterday, and was surprised to learn that it had been picked up by Gizmodo. (although, no, Chris hasn't cheated on me.)Because you can read about the actual telescope everywhere else, I thought I'd examine some interesting thoughts and emotions that have surfaced in the wake of revealing the project.
Setting the bar highA friend's husband emailed her when he saw the project on Gizmodo, saying Chris had "raised the bar" on husband/wife gifts. I guess he has, but here's the thing: Chris and I rarely exchange gifts. I've actually watched said friend exchange sweet, small gifts with her husband for years, and wished Chris and I did more of that.
There's something to be said for small, meaningful, frequent gifts. Sure, a handmade telescope that ends up getting a lot of internet publicity is cool, but it doesn't mean that smaller gifts aren't special or should be made to feel inadequate.
A gift for gift's sakeThe closing line on the Gizmodo post really zinged me:
So Rachel, you've got a really nice husband, but he's probably cheated on you in the past year. That's the only logical explanation.I know this is just hipster snark, and that's fine and all, but really?
Are we all so jaded that we can't accept that someone would make a gift for gift's sake (or for - gasp - love!)?
I also like to think this was as much a gift for Chris as it was for me. He works a lot, and the hours he spent in the garage with his favorite music playing was an excellent way to unwind and relax and get creative for a bit. To me, the gift of the telescope is secondary to that gift of time for himself.
Inspiring some low self-esteemOne thing that has surprised me about myself from all of this is a bit of a feeling of inadequacy. (and, yeah, I know this is just my own little issue and I'll get over it just fine, but it's still worth mentioning)
Remember how I said this was Chris' first woodworking project?
It's really his first project of any sort, and he nailed it. Like on-the-head nailed it. He decided to do it, found plans online and excecuted it perfectly.
Has my first version of anything I've made ever been anywhere in the same vicinity of perfect?Hell. no.What gives? I'm suppposed to be the creative one in our equation. I'm supposed to be the "Maker" here. He's the accountant, the spreadsheet guy, and now he's showing me up in the field of making stuff, too?
It's causing me to reevaluate my methods. Sometimes I'm a little too happy-go-lucky-fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants-give-plans-the-finger.
Maybe there's something to be said for his extrememe focus, determination and fortitude.
I rarely finish a project on time, I'm always scrambling, procrastinating ... playing.

He started and finished the project BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. Done and done. Do NOT get me wrong, playing is essential, but sometimes I mistake lollygagging for playing and my work suffers.
I know Chris didn't expect all this to come from the telescope project, and if anything it's just an interesting way to see how a handmade gift can spark more thought and discussion than you imagined.
Who knew a gift made to look out into the heavens could turn focus so much closer to home?

Thanks Rachel and look foreward to reading more of your articles
Kind regards

P/s if you are looking for more Crafting or Crafty ideas DIY and other Super Products visit me at
http://woodworkingnews.blogspot.com

Rather just go fishing visit me at
http://tinyurl.com/m6nbwt

There are a few some freebies at the bottom of the page
and I'll l try to add more as time allows.
Best wishes.