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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Hobby and pastime blogs around the world wide web

It is really strange to know that there are not many hobby related blogs. There are many sites or hobby shops around where you can find hobby related news, information, links to other sites but there are not many visible hobby blogs. May be there are many which are hard to find out.  I love to read blogs and as I have been an enthusiast about variety of pastimes and leisure activities I search the world wide web for the stuff often. This post is about few hobby blogs which I discovered during my search. I hope to add more reviews in future.

'Hobbies and Pastimes' is a hobby blog. Blog was created in 2006 so you can expect a lot of articles, but the archives section shows that there were no posts in 2009.  In total there are few posts but very interesting and with a personal touch.

Few hobby related post titles are:
  • Pet Shop: Hobby or Business?
  • Of Pens, Pencils, and Markers
  • Of Hats And Caps
  • Old Olympic Games Postcards
Blogger 'Amadeo' is from U. S. A. Another blog from Amadeo is 'The Ignatian Perspective' which seems personal blog.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Creation of Crafts with pencil lead

Pencil is very commonly used and easily available object. Pencils come in attractive formats, color and shapes. The main part of pencil is lead which is made of carbon graphite. There are some artists who can create crafts with the help of wooden pencil, but it is strange to hear that the lead can be used to create amazing objects like 'alphabets, shoes, buildings and etc.


Dalton Ghetti is an artist who works with one of the toughest mediums around. His craft involves sculpting pencil lead into impossible to imagine images. Everything from a giraffe to a hammer can be made out of lead.

There have been artists who use pencils as part of their craft, but none use the smallest and most fragile part: the pencil lead. Dalton Ghetti has found a remarkable niche in the art world.


Most of the pictures shown in this post are created by Dalton Ghetti


Source and related links:

* 'Artisitic writing utensil creation photos at 'Trend Hunter'

* '25 peculiar pencils'



'Pencil Talk'   is a blog devoted 
to exploring woodcase pencils and related topics. The blog is ad free so user friendly and comfortable to read the posts.

Another artists from Bosnia, Jasenko has created the following art
The chain in this picture is carved from pencil lead-
another artists work

Monday, August 2, 2010

Have fun making paper toys with free online downloads

I remember my first experience with my first paper toy which was a boat. I enjoyed it very much and for many days I kept myself busy making paper boat again and again. Till now as a teacher I enjoy making and teaching paper toys, and origami projects to nursery class children. Origami or paper folding technique is itself a very creative hobby and if we talk about paper toys, the purpose is same, only difference is that in origami we are limited to a square paper which is folded and then transforms into any shape or object model. Paper toys can be made from any size or shape of paper and you need some format to follow.


Making toys with paper is easier, cheap and fun. Paper is an easier available product so every one can spend time having fun with this interesting activity or hobby. This post is about different online resources and links from where you can download lots of free project formats.

Paper models, also called card models or papercraft, are models constructed mainly from sheets of heavy paper, paperboard, or card stock. Origami is the process of making a paper model by folding paper without using glue. Card modeling is making scale models from sheets of cardstock on which the parts were printed, usually in full color. These pieces would be cut out, folded, scored and glued together. They are generally more popular in Europe and Japan than in the United States.
Useful links and resources:


* 'Paper Toys' has a lot of model toys which are free to print.


* 'Print and Play Toys' has many toys to print for free. These toys are in PDF format.

* http://www.thetoymaker.com/2toys.html free paper toys that you can make yourself. Just print them out, cut, glue and enjoy.


* http://www.creativecloseup.com/100-exceptional-free-paper-models-and-toys




* http://www.paper-toys.com/






* http://blog.parasight.de/archive/free-designer-paper-toys


* http://www.puzzles.com/puzzlelinks/toyorigami.htm
Sometimes the model pieces can be punched out. More frequently the printed parts must be cut out. Edges may be scored to aid folding. The parts are usually glued together with polyvinyl acetate glue ("white glue" "PVA"). In this kind of modeling the sections are usually pre-painted, so there is no need to paint the model after completion. Some enthusiasts may enhance the model by painting and detailing. Due to the nature of the paper medium, the model may be sealed with varnish to last longer.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Incredible and weird facts and stories around the globe


There are a lot of sites offering stories or news about incredible or weird stuff. Many sites are loaded with pictures or videos or those events. This post is about 'The Human Marvels' a site about human marvels and as usual there are more links to relevant sites.

http://thehumanmarvels.com/ offers very interesting and a different kind of stuff. It provides strange and weird facts about humans from around the globe.

After browsing few posts you can get an idea 'what kind of marvelous stories or facts you can expect at the site. Few posts titles are:

CHANG – The Chinese Giant
SUSI -The Elephant Girl
SANDWINA -Woman of Steel
DOMINIQUE CASTAGNA – The Mummy

Site is owned by ;J. Tithonus Pednaud' who says: 'It is a curious collection of human marvels. These portent and exceptionally unique human beings stand as uplifting testaments to human spirit and serve as inspiring examples of human tenacity.

'This site is dedicated to highlighting the remarkable lives of those born exceedingly different. Human marvels who overcame seemingly horrific, socially crippling deformities and adverse situations to stand as uplifting testaments to human spirit and serve as inspiring examples of human tenacity.

The work of J. Tithonus Pednaud has been featured in various media including CBC Radio, Rue Morgue Magazine, Bizarre Magazine, G4TV and many others. He also occasionally lectures on human genetic variety and monstrous origins.

More sites and links of interest:
* 'The daily weird' offers popular collection of strange and weird photos collected from around the web.

* 'Strange USA' is a site about Haunted buildings, places, Urban legends, cemeteries, weird places, cool places, ghost towns, and etc. Home page of the site offers a USA map for easy navigation to the places around U.S.A.

* 'Cabinet of wonders' is a blog, a place where things of interest are set out, in possibly bizarre, possibly fetishistic presentation, for perusal by the discerning, who understand that presentation, and scientific interest, are all a form of magic.


Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Interesting facts about the day and year you were born

Our day of birth, month, year or time is not only important to get a birth certificate which is an important document to prove your age. Your horoscope is also judged by your birth date, and knowing your horoscope shows some personality trends which help you define what kind of characteristics you may have etc.
This article is about having fun while searching for information or related facts about the day or year you were born.

'Day of Birth' offers interesting facts about the day and year you were born. It is quite easy to use the site, as you need to enter your birth date at provided box and next page tells you the day of the week that you were born on.

Site tells you other fun things such as: your star sign, how old you are, what season you were born in, how long until your next birthday, and how many days/hours/seconds you have been alive (assuming 12:00 midnight so the last two are approximations only). All times and dates are calculated to 12AM on your date of birth, with times based on GMT Standard Time.

The site also provides links to other websites, so you can find more information such as famous people or events that share your birthday.

Related and useful sites:

* '0800-Horoscope' offers free horoscopes and astrology information and you can get your free birth chart by entering your birth date for free.

* 'Birth time.info'  is another site  with information about horoscope, birth chart, etc.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Art and creativity with fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of our food and supply of some important nutriest and minerals for our bodies. Fruits and vegetables are also used to decorate food dishes. It has become a traditional feature of most of the restaurants, fast food shops and hotels around the world. Even at family gatherings, personal parties the decoration with fruits and vegetable is much appreciated and praised.


The art of carving foods is an Eastern custom that has been adopted by creative food preparers around the world. In Thailand and Japan food carving is considered part of the presentation of the meal. The stunning designs that can be created makes the food the center of attention when you serve your guests.

Some of the more elaborate carvings can take hours to get just right, but practice makes it go faster and soon you'll find yourself designing your own patterns for watermelons, radishes, and any fruit or vegetable that can hold it's form when carved.


Watermelons, turnips, pineapples and many other fruits and vegetables can be carved and combined into either elegantly simple or very elaborate center pieces or accents for your picnic table or indoor party decorations

Source: Creativity with Vegetable & Fruit

More useful links and resources:

* There is a long tradition of fruit carving in Thailand, especially in the preparation of food for the Royal Family.


* http://www.artchef.com/ explains that "The art of fruit and vegetable carving has its roots in the age of the Chinese Tang Dynasty (AD 618-906) and Sung Dynasty (AD 960-1279). This exquisite craft has been slowly developed and refined over the years in China. These beautiful garnishes and fruit carvings were not only created for the Kaiser's feudal banquets but they were also popular among average people, who enjoyed beautiful artistic food presentations."


Giuseppe Arcimboldo (also spelled Arcimboldi) (1527 – July 11, 1593) was an Italian painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made entirely of such objects as fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and books. He painted representations of these objects on the canvas arranged in such a way that the whole collection of objects formed a recognizable likeness of the portrait subject.

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