Link Party Time! - And A Contest!

Welcome to yet another Tools Are For Women Too link party. This time I am adding a contest to the party, for a little added fun!  

In the past week I bought a 6 qt crock pot and have been fooling around with some recipes.  I would like to make something special in it on Super Bowl Sunday. 

Here are the really easy contest rules......

1.)  In the comment section, give me your best crock pot recipe. 

2.)  Enter as much as you want.  No limit.

3.)  Whose ever recipe I fix on Super Bowl Sunday will be the winner of the contest.

4.)  I suppose since it's a contest I should have a prize of some kind too, huh?  How about one of my handmade pens?  I don't have a particular one in mind, but below are a couple sample pics of ones I have made in he past.

Here is a close-up of one.

So let's see those recipes!  Time is running short!

Now for the Link Party Rules.........

1.)  Please become a follower if you are not one already.

2.)  Do me a favor and promote the contest.  I'm hungry.

3.)  Link back to the party somehow. However you do it is fine.  Taking out an ad for the party on The View will not get you extra consideration for your contest entry, but I might send you a pen anyway.  Give it a shot.

4.)  No limit on the number of links you can post.  Feel free.

5.)  You can post tutorials, blog buttons, Etsy store items, or pretty much whatever you want.  If I am anything,  I'm easy.  Have some fun with it!

Would like to be a guest contributor for TAFWT?  Email me.

toolsr4women2@gmail.com

Link Party Time! - 20,000 Links And Counting

Here we go again!!  Another link party.  It won't be long and I will have hosted over 100 of them.  I have not counted each and every link that was posted, but I would have to estimate that it is somewhere around 20,000 of them.  That's a lot of projects and it kind of blows me away.  That's 20,000 little free ads for blogs, websites, and online stores.  Not bad for a little pink blog that just started last April.  Gotta love it.  Thank you all for your support.

Here are this week's rules.......

1.)  Please become a follower if you are not one already.

2.)  I would appreciate it if you would link back to the party somehow.  Show some love and publish a post about it, grab one of our yummy pink buttons, or invite your Etsy friends to come over for some free advertising.  Or.......you could start a grass roots movement of women wearing pink hardhats and holding hands around the world ( with a very long TAFWT banner).   Whatever you do is fine.  Just link back somehow for me.

3.)  You can post as many links as you want.  No limits.  Pretty much anything goes.  Post your Valentine's Day tutorial, your latest project, your blog button, or a picture of that special someone you had a crush on in the 3rd grade.  Take advantage of the free advertising and link like you mean it.

4.)  Have fun.  It's a rule.

I am in need of a couple incredibly gifted people who would like to be regular contributing authors for TAFWT.  If you are interested, just email me.

toolsr4women2@gmail.com

Link Party Time-Sponsored By CSN

Okay, did any of you out there get one of those neat flat panel television sets for Christmas?  If you did, you may want to look at CSN's selection of flat panel tv stands.  They carry lots of other stuff too, like the vice I bought from them for my workshop, or the slip cover I purchased for my ugly old couch.  Wow! What a difference.  I no longer have to dim the lights in my living room when company comes over.  A big thank you to CSN for being this weeks link party sponsor.

Here are this weeks party rules.........

1.)  Please become a follower if you are not one already.

2.)  Pretty much anything goes, as usual.  Post as many links as you want.  No limit. 

3.)  You can post buttons, tutorial links, your autographed picture of Regis Philbin, or a few things from your online store.

4.)  Have fun.  It's a rule.

We are expecting more snow here and a big pot of chili is sounding pretty good right now.  I wonder if CSN has crock pots on sale?

Link Party - Brrrr! It's Cold!

Time to put on another link party.  For those of you who are new around here,  Tools Are For Women Too has a link party of one shape or another going on 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.  So anytime you feel like promoting your online store or blog, you can do it here. 

My apologies for not writing more feature posts lately.  It has been sort of a challenge with the the recent weather we have had.  I have been spending most of my time doing things like shoveling the driveway, scraping windshields, cutting up firewood, and stoking the fireplace.  To my dismay I didn't even get the enjoyment of building my snowman this year.  The snowstorm was followed by an ice storm and things just did not work out.  I would to see however pics of snowmen, snow sculptures, and the like from around your neck of the woods.  Feel free to post a few in this week's party.

Here are this week's party rules......

1.)  Please become a follower if you are not one already.

2.)  Please advertise the party somehow.  Lately Facebooking it seems to be a nice way of doing it.  You could also grab one of our fabulous buttons, write a post about it, or Oprah, if you are reading this, feel free to mention it on your show.

3.)  Please visit some of the other links.  I guarantee that by visiting other links and leaving some nice comments, it will greatly increase the amount of traffic into your site.  It works every single time.  The more you visit, the more traffic you will get in return.

4.)  There are no limits on the number of links you can post, as usual.  Post buttons, tutorial links, Etsy store items, snowmen, or that picture of your cousin that is periodically mistaken for  Bigfoot.

5.)  Have fun.  It's a rule.

Would you like to write a few posts for TAFWT?  Email me.

toolsr4women2@gmail.com

Link Party Time!

We have a little snow headed our way and I actually have a day off tomorrow.   We are expecting possibly 3 inches.  It could be one of those days where I am inspired to make a snowman.  Might even make a good post.  Hmmm...


Here are this week's incredibly easy party rules...


1.)  Please become a follower if you are not one already. 


2.)  Post as many links as you want.  DIY projects, tutorials, blog buttons, online store items and a picture of your best snowman would all be perfectly acceptable items.


3.)  Please promote the party somehow.  Write a post about it, link to it, Facebook it, Tweet it, or get your daughter's cheerleading team to choreograph a TAFWT routine for their next sporting event.  However you want to do it, is fine.


4.)  Have fun.  It's a rule.

Would you like to be a contributing author for Tools Are For Women Too?  Email me.

toolsr4women2@gmail.com

Pine Tree Topiary Tutorial

Hi! It is Stacy from Not JUST A Housewife again! I have seen some cute topiaries around blogland and  thought to myself,  "I could probably make those." So I gave it a try.

Here is what you will need:

drill, 1/16" drill bit, plaster of paris, 4" pots, burlap, sticks, glue, and fake pine branches.

The first thing you need to do is tape up the hole in the bottom of your pot. This way the plaster won't get out.

Mix up the plaster directly in the post according to the directions on the package. Then put the sticks on the pots and let them sit for several hours until they have completely set up. I got my sticks in the backyard. I trimmed them off of one of my pine trees. Any stick would do. I cut them to be three different heights.

Drill holes in the top of each stick. Then a few more at 45 degree angles just below the top of the stick.

I stripped the plastic off of the fake pine branches to expose the wire. Then I bent the wire in half until it snapped in half. If you have trouble breaking the wire you can use wire snips.

I put some glue on the hole before sticking the wire in it. Any glue would work.

Here they are all glued! Just play around with the location of the branches until it looks like what you want. The holes are small enough that if you choose not to use that hole, you can't see it. No one will know :)

I used burlap but really you can use whatever fabric you want. Or, you don't have to use any at all. You could add pebbles or moss to the pots to cover up the plaster.

Set the pot on the fabric and then bring all the side up around the stem. Since burlap frays so easily, I just pulled off a few of the strings and used those to tie the fabric. You could also use ribbon or jute.

I love these because they really could stay out all year, or at least all winter. Enjoy!

Would like to contribute a tutorial or be a regular author for TAFWT?  Email me for details.

toolsr4women2@gmail.com

Review BeadSmith Liver of Sulfur Patina Oxidizing Gel

Hello, this is Brooke from Sunset & Vine and I hope you are all enjoying the start of 2011! Today I am going to review BeadSmith's Liver of Sulfur oxidizing gel. This is a product that I use quite often in my jewelry designs. Creating jewelry with the oxidized or antiqued look has become quite popular and many suppliers even sell oxidized chain and findings now.



Liver of Sulfur is an agent made with potassium sulfide and turns metals brown or black depending on how long metal is left in the solution. Liver of sulfur usually comes in a rock form which you break into smaller pieces and dissolve in hot water. There are many downsides to using the rock form. It has a very short shelf life, is flammable, and poses inhalation hazards from the dust that is created when breaking the rock form into pieces. There is a more organic method that can be used to oxidize metals but one would need to use quite a few hard boiled eggs and results vary. The egg method requires heating hard boiled eggs and placing them in a bag with the metal. This method can be timely and creates a mess from the egg yolks that would need cleaned off.
Because of the drawbacks of the other methods I decided to use Liver of sulfur in a gel form. With the gel form the shelf life is much longer and there are no risks of flammability or inhalation hazard. The main problem with using the gel is the nasty rotten egg odor that permeates the air when mixed with water. As long as you use the gel in a well ventilated area there shouldn't be too many issues.






To achieve best results with the gel make sure that the metal you are using is cleaned with a method that doesn't leave behind a residue or it will effect the process. If metal isn't clean first sometimes the piece you are oxidizing will have different shades and won't have a uniform patina. You can play around with the formula for lighter or darker oxidizing and with the amount of time you leave your metal pieces in the formula. The gel can also be applied directly to metal.






This product is very reliable and is also very easy to do. The gel makes oxidizing metals very quick and safe. Cleaning up is a breeze and storing the product is effortless because it is not effected by light or air. This product offers users a wide variety of patinas from rainbow to black and can be used on silver, copper, bronze, metal clay and fine silver. I would recommend this product to anyone and I love using it myself.




I am giving BeadSmith Liver of sulfur Patina Oxidizing Gel 5 out of 5 hardhats. Have fun on your next project and hopefully this review helped!

Are you interested in becoming a contributing author like Brooke?  Would you like to join the "Tools Team" ?  Just email Rory for details.

toolsrwomen2@gmail.com

Link Party Time - 1st One Of The New Year

Let's start out the New Year right!  Post as many projects as you want and let as many people know about the party as you can.  The internet is all about links and here at TAFWT you can just plain go crazy!  This is a fun way to advertise your web site, blog, or online store....and it works too.

Here are this week's party rules...

1.)  Please become a follower if you are not one already.  It's free and it's a nice thing to do for your host.

2.)  I wonder if some of you would be so kind as to Facebook about the party.  I would appreciate it.

3.)  Post as many links as you want.  No limit. Pretty much anything goes.  Tutorials, woodworking projects, blog buttons, a recipe for the champagne punch you served on New Years Eve, or a pic of your pet wearing a New Year's party hat. 

4.) Have fun.  It's a rule.

Would you like to place an ad?  Just email me for details.

toolsr4women2@gmail.com

How To Build A Simple Side Table - By Stacy

Hi! I am Stacy from Not JUST A Housewife. One of the things I love to do is build furniture. Today I am going to show you how to build a simple side table.

I bought a board that measured 18" by 36". I measured, then drew a line down the middle so I would have 2 table tops measuring 18" by 18". You obviously only need one, but I was planning on making a bunch for my Etsy store. I used a jig saw to cut the wood.

Then I used 1"x4" boards for the front. I wanted there to be a 1 inch lip or overhang so I measured and cut 2 boards 16 inches long. That is one inch taken off for each side.

Then, since 2 of the boards will go inside the other two boards to form a box, you need to minus the width of 2 boards together. In this case, 1 1/2 inches. So the second 2 boards I cut were 14 1/2 inches.

Do you see how 2 of the 1x4s fit inside the other 2? That is why 2 needed to be shorter.

Add a little wood glue and then use a brad nail gun.

The next step is to determine how high you want your table. I wanted mine 2 feet tall. I cut some 2"x2"s for the legs. Add some wood glue and then nail them into the corners of your box. It is very important to make sure it is flat before nailing on the legs. If the legs are not flush with the top of the box then your table top will not lay flat on your base.

Your base is almost done :) You just need to add some 1"x1" to help hold the top on. Measure in between the legs and then cut your 1x1 that size.

Add some glue and nail. Do this all the way around the base - all four sides.

Then add glue to the top of the base, flip it over onto the table top, and nail through the 1x1. This will attach the top to the base.

You will need to fill the nail holes with putty. Pick one that is sandable so you can sand it smooth when it dries. I HIGHLY recommend Elmers stainable, paintable and sandable wood putty. Not only do I sand where I added putty, but I sand the hole thing. Especially the edges and corners. I try to round them a little. Use a fine grit sand paper or you will end up with lines (scratch marks) in your wood.

I painted mine and then (this is optional) sanded it to give it that shabby chi look. I love that! You can see it a little in the close up shots. It looks better in person, but you get the idea :)

You could use it as a bedside table, in a kid's room, next to a sofa, as a plant stand, or pretty much anywhere!

Come visit me at my blog anytime for more ideas.