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De-clutter 26 Super Habits for De-cluttering your Life, Schedule and Home

Table of Contents

Introduction: Sign of a Disorganized Mind BONUS: Your FREE Gift Chapter 1 – De-cluttering our Lives Chapter 2 – De-cluttering Our Schedules Chapter 3 – De-cluttering our Homes Chapter 4: - De-Cluttering for the New Year Chapter 5: A Little Help from My Friends Conclusion: Living Memorabilia

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Introduction: Sign of a Disorganized Mind Household clutter; we all have it, and we would all like to get rid of it. We all have basements full of boxes that never got unpacked from the last time we moved. We all have junk drawers that seem like bottomless pits of knick knacks, odds and ends and yes, well; junk that we perpetually stuff them with, day after day. Yes, it turns out that we all have something in common; homes that could use a little organization. It’s not only our homes that could use a little de-cluttering either. Our lives can seem cluttered at times, too. It’s seems a little funny how these things tend to go hand in hand, but it’s like an old co-worker at an office I worked at once told me, “A disorganized home is a sign of a disorganized mind.” A few words of wisdom that ring true, because when our home’s or office space start to take a dive for the worse it is usually a sign that our entire life could use a little bit of straightening and re-arranging. Human beings are constantly making associations, we are constantly contrasting and comparing, and our living space more often than not, does in fact exude this phenomenon. And it’s not just my old office partner that took note of this; the idea of creating the most ideal living space has been adopted with vigor by entire cultures. The Chinese for example refer to the art of balancing and de-cluttering ones living space as, “Feng Shui”. Feng Shui is an entire philosophical system that originated in ancient China. It is borne upon the belief that you can attain harmony by properly organizing people with their surrounding environment. A very ancient Chinese practice that after nearly dying out has received a massive revival and is now the norm among real estate moguls and homer owners alike in China and abroad. I can’t vouch that Feng Sui does much more than make your house look pretty, but there is definitely a good quality about a system that puts emphasis on structured organization and de-cluttering of the home. Believe it or not, Feng Shui has even had Presidential contender Donald Trump as an adherent to the practice in his own office buildings. When asked about it he famously

stated the odd conundrum of a phrase, “I don’t believe in Feng Shui, I do it because it makes me money.” A typical open ended statement from a would-be politician, but regardless of what he says, he has armies of cleaning crews de-cluttering his Trump Tower to the Feng Sui drum! But you get the idea; it has been duly noted throughout time and history how important organization, arranging and de-cluttering can be for us and our society as a whole. Just remember this the next time you feel that your cluttering behavior is beyond hope, because that desire to keep hanging on to your things, can easily be overridden by that other inborn desire in all of us to categorize, classify and organize. We can all feel overwhelmed and stressed because of all the responsibilities and commitments we have that are constantly weighing down on our shoulders. Even our schedules are cluttered and lacking the organization needed to be as efficient as possible. But by working to de-clutter our lives, our schedules and our homes, we can become more effective and better organized throughout all aspects of our life.

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Chapter 1 – De-cluttering our Lives Let’s begin by talking about ways to de-clutter our lives. It’s easy with the hustle and bustle of a fast-paced world to get caught up with everything going on and forget the organize everything you have happening in your life. Soon it might begin to feel that you have so much happening in your life and all around you that the stress is almost too much to handle. We aren’t just talking about your schedule or routine either. It can be responsibilities and obligations, your home and office, and even just your personality that could all use a little work to help you feel less cluttered and more organized.

Here are some habits to getting you started on the road to feeling free of your clutter! Write It Down – Sure it may seem simple; but it’s a start. We often think of things that we need, or great ideas at the strangest of times, but having places, or one central place, where you can write important dates and tasks down is an important habit to start creating for your personal routine.

In doing this, it would also be helpful to itemize important household locations where these thoughts might come to mind. For example, the next time you open your refrigerator door and realize that you are out of Mayonnaise, don’t just put it to the back burner of your mind only to forget when you are actually at the store; write it down. This is where location is important, if you are mentally envisioning your grocery list every time you walk into the kitchen, then it would be a good idea to have a peace of paper or magnetic marker board up on that fridge to jot your grocery ideas down as you go. As soon as you think of something that you need at the grocery store, write it down. Don’t wait until the next time you are sitting down to make the list, or worse sitting at the grocery store to try and remember what it was that you thought you needed. Maybe you could even install a simple app on your phone that might help you to organize your shopping list. Whatever works for you, find a way and stick with it. The very same principle does wonders in the realm of communication as well. You’ll receive calls or emails where people let you know important information about times, dates, etc. and you’ll need to have a place where you can write down that information, so you don’t lose it.

You don’t want to have to make a mad scramble later on trying to remember exactly what time someone was coming, or what your assigned responsibility was, just because you failed to write it down. Instead, save yourself the stress and write it down when you first receive the information. So once again, yes, most emphatically, please; write it down!

Set A Deadline – Plenty of responsibilities don’t have deadlines, but it’s important that we give ourselves deadlines or some things won’t ever get done. Set-up schedules for certain tasks and then set realistic deadlines for those tasks. When you have a deadline associated with a task, you are more likely to work toward reaching the deadline, even if it is your own deadline.

Something inside of us likes to have the structure and schedule of deadlines. It can work with something as simple as cleaning tasks. Set yourself up a cleaning schedule each week with very specific deadlines for each task. For example, Monday you clean the floors, Tuesday you clean the bathrooms, Wednesday you clean the kitchen, etc. Then having a full day of cleaning on one day doesn’t overwhelm you, but you have small deadlines each day that you can realistically meet without having a heart attack in the process. We also like the feeling of accomplishment when we finish a task on or before its deadline. There is just something about seeing a task through to completions that gives us a sense of pride even with something small like a cleaning project. This sense of completion is therapeutic and going back to the often repeated phrase of my co-worker; when you organize your home, and put all the incomplete puzzle pieces of your house in order. You will find yourself breathing an automatic sigh of relief and feeling more complete in your own personal life; all because you set a deadline.

Don’t Procrastinate – Procrastination is a very bad habit that far too many of us

have, and need to break. If this is a habit of yours, work to overcome it. Procrastination can be a contributing factor to the clutter in your life; because it causes you to let things (both physical and mental) pile up around you until you can’t ignore them anymore.

Once they can’t be ignored, you attempt to tackle them, sometimes all at once, which can feel extremely overwhelming. For some of us, this can cause breakdowns of various levels, because you either can’t handle the workload or it simply becomes too overbearing to handle. By working on things as they come, and not putting them off until right before they are due, you can save yourself the stress and headache. Procrastination is a dangerous and vicious habit to get yourself into, and once you start down that path it is like a never ending cycle of things you should have done yesterday being struggled with today. So to save yourself all of the drama; don’t procrastinate.

Get Rid of What You Don’t Need – This is a sort of purging habit that should be done quite often, and just like organizing, just the simple acting of getting rid of things can be very therapeutic to your over all well being. Because when we get rid of some of the excess material baggage in our home, we find that we are also shedding a lot of the emotional baggage that has been building up in our mind, and as those items disappear so does the strenuous connections that we have to them.

We all have things around the house and in our lives that we simply just don’t need and don’t use anymore. We keep them either because we think we’ll use them again, wear them again, or because some memory attaches us to them, but it is exactly those sentimental connections and attachments that we need to break away from. So let’s get rid of the things that we don’t need just as we are getting rid of the emotional baggage that we don’t need clouding our minds and our lives.

There are a few ways to find out if you’re really going to use items. 1. Give yourself one month and if you don’t use the items within that one month time frame, it needs to go. If the item is seasonal, store it until the season comes around. If you still don’t use it during the season it was designed for, then it’s time for it to go. Another way to judge items is to ask yourself, “If I were shopping for items like this one, would I buy this right now?” If the answer is no, then donate it. 2. With clothing the same rule applies. You can turn all your hangers around in your closet to face one direction. After you wear a certain item, turn the hanger to face the opposite direction. At the end of a month (or two if you have that many clothes), the items you didn’t wear need to be donated. You can also ask yourself the same question, “If I were shopping for clothes, would I buy this right now?” and again, if the answer were no, it’s time to donate the clothes. Shoes are the same. 3. If a memory is attaching you to something and preventing you from getting rid of it, tuck it away in a box or find a way to display it on the wall or a shelf. Don’t keep a T-shirt you never wear just because you bought it on a memorable cruise. Consider making a quilt or cutting out part and putting it in a picture frame if you have to, but yes, please; get rid of what you don’t need. Delegate Responsibilities – We probably all find ourselves with too much on our plates now and then. Part of this comes from the fact that we take on too much, but we also have a lot to do. It’s just the plain and simple fact of our often overwhelming lifestyles that we seem to wind up with so much to do, but little time left to do it.



While it is true that we all have plenty of things that just need to be done, and we all have to do our part to keep this world spinning. But no one said that you had to be the only one keeping up with the Earth’s rotation. So calm down Atlas, and shrug that globe right off your shoulder, because there is no need to suffer alone when you can delegate responsibilities.

We talked earlier about all those cleaning tasks that needed to be done each week – well why not have some other members of your household help out with a few of those. Even young children can help out with small tasks. You probably won’t trust your four-year-old with the harsh cleaning chemicals, but he can dust the furniture and your ten-year-old can load the dishwasher and everyone can learn to pick-up their own rooms and the toys they leave around the house. Everything doesn’t need to fall on your shoulders. There are other people in your life that you can ask to help you with your responsibilities. It is not showing weakness on your part to delegate your responsibilities to others.



Reconsider Your Routine – Sometimes our own routines, or lack thereof, can be working against us. By having a strong and stable routine we can start and end our days in a way that helps to de-clutter our lives and give us less stress. What kind of routine do you have in the morning? What kind of routine do you end your day with? Do you even have a routine at all? Consider starting a routine where you devote time to yourself each morning and start the day off on the right foot. The actual routine itself doesn’t matter, but doing the same, or practically the same thing every day gets you in the habit of knowing what to expect what to expect when you wake up in the morning and your body aligns right along with your mind in the process. It helps to organize your thoughts and keeps you in a regular schedule. It also helps to wake-up at generally the same time every day and go to sleep at the same time each night. You will find that you have re-wired and re-regulated your body’s entire sleep and wake cycles all because you reconsidered your routine.

Organizing Your Computer and/or Smartphone – We spend so much time on our digital devices these days that it is just as important to have the electronic closets and storage bins of our lives organized and de-cluttered just well as we would the physical storage spaces of our home. Devote time to organizing your files and finding apps to help keep things nice and tidy.

It’s very annoying to need something on your computer or smart-phone and end up spending forever trying to find it. If you’ve organized your files in a way that makes them easily accessible and searchable, you’ll save yourself time and stress when trying to look something up. There are thousands of apps available to help you keep organized, too. Spend time browsing through the various apps that might assist you as you get your digital life in order.

Start Your Day Off on the Right Foot – This will probably look differently for everyone. Some people like to meditate or do yoga first thing in the morning. Others want a vigorous hour of exercise. It doesn’t matter how you need to spend your morning to get started on the right foot, but spend a few minutes considering how your morning needs to look in order to get your day started right.

Studies have shown that starting your day off right will make the rest of your day drastically better. Everything about the start of your day is important, and it is worth the extra effort to get up earlier, if needed, in order to ensure that the rest of your day be better and less stressful. Have you ever heard the expression, “You better eat your wheaties?” It originates from an old T.V commercial that used to tout its cereal as a great jumpstart to your morning. Although I can’t vouch for the effectiveness of that particular brand of cereal, the

theme of being prepared resonates well with me. So, yes, you better eat your wheaties guys, and start your day off on the right foot! Because our lives are never going to be perfect, but they can be less stressful and feel less cluttered if we start developing these habits early on. By working to implement these easy life coping skills in our daily lives, we’ll have better attitudes and be happier as we approach the day.

Chapter 2 – De-cluttering Our Schedules Now that we’ve talked a little about de-cluttering our lives, let’s talk more specifically about de-cluttering our schedules. Our schedules and routines are a small fraction of the clutter that occurs in our daily lives, and thus an important factor in getting rid of the clutter that we feel every day. Here are some great habits that we can develop to throw out the clutter littering our schedules. Use a Planner – When we first think of planners, we probably think of the planners they handed to you in junior high that listed every day of the week. These types of planners still exist and can work for people that still like to write things down using the pen and paper method.

The digital age has come a long way and for those that prefer the digital planner, you have many options. You can use the calendars on a computer, online options, or apps on your smart-phone. Of course, any of these options all serve the same purpose. You’re looking for a way to organize your daily tasks and responsibilities in one central place. A planner is a great way to get everything down so you can see everything that you have to accomplish for the day, week, month, etc.

Create To-Do Lists – Making a to-do list or even multiple to-do lists will help you stay organized and ensure that you accomplish everything that needs to get done in a certain time frame. It also allows you to see things that could be moved to a later day. If you were stressing about a certain project, you can organize and layout your time to see when and how you will accomplish everything on your to-do list.



For example, if you have several things that need to be finished, you can sit down and create a comprehensive and concise timetable to accomplish all of them within a realistic time frame.

It should look something like this: Monday

Project A

Project A Due

Project B (Start) Tuesday

Project B (Finish)

Project B Due

Project C (Start) Wednesday Project C (Finish)

Project C Due

Thursday

Project D Due

Project D (Start & Finish)

Learn to Say No – Sometimes we take on more than we are capable of truly accomplishing, or if we do accomplish, we aren’t able to give our best effort. Something that we all need to learn is how to say no when people ask us to take on a project or responsibility that we know we just can’t accomplish.

If your plate is already full of tasks, don’t take on more just to be polite, or because you feel like you can’t say no. It is okay to say no to other people when you know that you already have plenty of other things going on in your own life.

Don’t Be a Perfectionist – Our lives are never going to be perfect. It is high time that we all accept this. And the more we try for perfection, the harder we will fall short. It is okay to try hard and do your very best, and make it a habit to do your very best every time. But having a clear understanding of your own human limitation and knowing that perfection is an unachievable goal for any of us human beings to reach, is an important principle to learn.

Prioritize – Sit down and list all of the things that you need to accomplish today or over the next week. Then really think about it. Do all of those things really need to be accomplished? Prioritize your life and your schedule. Take all of the things on your list and write them in order of the most important to the least important.

And then don’t feel terrible if the least important things don’t get accomplished. Remind yourself that they were the least important things and it is okay if a few things on your list don’t get accomplished every day or every week. By once again realizing your own imperfection as a human being, give yourself a break and enough breathing room to move on to other aspirations and goals.

Make Goals - Similar to setting deadlines, setting goals for yourself gives you something to work towards each day, each week or each month. Set a goal and then work hard to meet that goal – whatever it is. Make your goal realistic. Because we all need things to work towards, so setting even small goals, and then eventually moving on to larger goals is an important process for us. So don’t be afraid of setting lots of goals for you to keep yourself focused on what it is important. Reward Yourself – One of the things that will keep you going is to have a little reward along the way when you meet your deadlines or accomplish your goals. It doesn’t need to be much, but a little something just to congratulate yourself is

always nice. It will help to keep you motivated for the next goal. You probably already know what the reward will be, so it even keeps you going while you’re working toward the goal.

The rewards aren’t always important, but even if it just means you get an afternoon off from cleaning or working around the house, that’s a reward. Maybe you get a bubble bath as your reward, or you’ve arranged with your spouse to watch the kids while you have an evening out with friends. Your schedule is an important piece to de-cluttering your life and the stress you might be feeling because of all the clutter around you. By working to de-clutter your schedule, you are well on your way to feeling stronger and healthier about your life and your schedule.

Chapter 3 – De-cluttering our Homes We’ve talked extensively about de-cluttering our lives and our schedules, so now let’s devote some time to talking about de-cluttering our homes. This is probably the hardest, but also one of the most important pieces to engage in de-cluttering. And although it certainly doesn’t take long before our homes feel cluttered and unorganized. It certainly doesn’t take long to mess the place up, but unfortunately, it will take some time and concentrated effort to get your home feeling less cluttered and more organized. Here are some habits to help you get it there: Create a Designated Time for De-cluttering One of the great ideas out there is to set aside a small amount of time every day or every week to work on your home. Even if it is just fifteen minutes a day or a couple hours a week you will be amazed at how much de-cluttering you can accomplish. You will find that you can get a lot more done just a bit at a time than you ever would if you through yourself full force like a hurricane on one project. You can start small and work your way up to the larger tasks that are going to require more time. You can start with something as simple as a junk drawer in the kitchen or the sock drawer in your dresser that is always driving you crazy because of its disorganization. You’ll be amazed at how fast you’ll be able to organize that drawer. You will find that most of the things in that drawer can probably be thrown out and then the things that you do want to keep you need to organize in their appropriate place. You can buy small baskets, for example, these are extremely helpful to keep things organized and neat in the future, so the drawer doesn’t just go back to being the same way it was before.

Everything has a Place – Go through your home and remind yourself that everything should have a place. Nothing should just sit out. When you come home from work, your briefcase or keys shouldn’t just sit on the closest thing to the door. Instead, find a solution in the entryway for the things that generally get dumped there, the above mentioned basket used as a catch-all works well in this situation.

The same applies for the bedroom. We tend to dump cell-phones, wallets, jewelry, etc. on nightstands and create clutter when there are many other solutions that could prevent our rooms from becoming and looking like a cluttered mess. Nightstands are notorious for clutter, and we will get into their maintenance quite specifically later on in the book. By walking through your home and finding a place for everything instead of letting all of your stuff just sit out all over the place would be a great aid in helping you to clean up the clutter. The number one key to any effort towards organization is always to know that everything has its place.

Work Room-by-Room, Space-by-Space – It can feel overwhelming to see your entire house as a project you have to work on as you begin to de-clutter and organize everything. Instead of letting yourself be overwhelmed by the vast amount of everything that needs to be done, divide everything into smaller sections.

Work room by room. Start in your bedroom and organize there first. You can clean out your clothes and shoes. After you finish there, you can move on to the other rooms in the house. By breaking it up like this, if one of the rooms that you are working on suddenly seems overwhelming, you can move on to another room or you could break it down even further into an even smaller space to de-clutter. Remember what we discussed about scheduling and routines and create a list of the specific tasks required for each particular room or space in your schedule so that you know exactly what it is you want to accomplish for those individual rooms as you go about de-cluttering the area. For example, you could break it down by working through your closet one week, and then your spouse’s closet the next. After you’ve finished the closets you can address other spaces in the bedroom before moving on to the kids’ rooms or the kitchen.

Give up Bargain Shopping – Although bargain shopping is great and you’ve probably found some great deals by bargain shopping, it also means you have lots of things in your house that you don’t need, but you bought just because they were on sale. The bargain trap is something that we have all fell into from time to time and the bulk bargain stores are notorious for this. Just the other day I was almost sucked into buying three packages of 500 sheet

typing paper. The store had a sale gimmick that said if you bought two packages you would get a third one for free. I found myself mindlessly picking up the packages patting myself on the back about the supposed good deal and then I thought to myself, “Wait a minute? Why would I need 1500 sheets of paper? I don’t even print that much!” So we don’t mindlessly load up on useless junk, it is exactly because of this my friends that we need to give up bargain shopping!

As you’ve probably just de-cluttered areas of your house, or you’re going through the process right now, the last thing you need is to be continually bringing in things you don’t truly need just because you were able to get a great deal on them. If you can’t give up the bargain hunting altogether, then at least try this; go shopping without your wallet. If you are out shopping without your wallet and you see things you want, make a list. Go back home and walk around your house. Picture where you plan to put every single item you were planning to buy. If it’s clothing, tell yourself that for every new piece of clothing you are going to buy, you’re going to give away at least one other piece. If you can justify the things on your list after you’ve been home, you can go back and buy them.

Put Things Away After You Use Them – This is a habit that all of us should develop regardless of if we are working to de-clutter or not. We’ve already talked about how everything in our homes should have a place, and if everything has a designated place, it should be easy to return it to that place after we finish using it.

It’s not hard to put things away after we are finished with them. It’s pure laziness that prevents us from doing this. Sometimes we like to rationalize our laziness by saying that we might use the item again later, when in reality we know that we probably won’t.

What really matters is the fact that it really isn’t that hard to put items back where they go after we are finished with them, and if in the event we need them again later, it really isn’t that hard to get them back out. We should just make this a habit and help to teach everyone in our households the same. It would help to make our entire home much more organized and neat. Create a Filing System – This will look vastly different depending on your personal preference, but it is extremely advantageous to have some sort of filing system that works for you. For many people the traditional file cabinet with labeled file folders is a great way to keep things organized. I myself have one of those, and it has done wonders to organize bills, medical records, and other important documents. All of us will inevitably get some things in the mail or hard copies of things that you’ll want to save. These are the types of things will need to be filed and organized in some fashion and an old fashioned filing cabinet is perfect for this. Another great strategy is to always have a shredder or recycle bin handy that you can hold your bills over right when you open them, that way you can immediately shred whatever is not important, instead of sitting it to the side to collect dust for another day. If you come across something that is in fact necessary to hold onto file it right away, and do this in an alphabetic system so that it will be easy to find later on when you need that particular document on hand. Many people have also moved to online or digital filing systems. They have scanners to keep things organized digitally. Most bills and other things can come electronically today, so you can request to keep everything digital. Anything that does come hard copy you can scan to keep on your computer or online. Going digital is a great alternative to save on space but if you do choose to do this type of filing system, we strongly recommend that you take proper precautions to back-up your files just in case your hard drive crashes or you lose your files. This would

serve as a further safeguard to protect your files.

Additionally, we also recommend with both methods that you keep everything extremely organized. There are many different situations that would require you to need access to these files. In the event that you need to look through the files for a specific reason, it would be an extreme headache to spend hours looking for one document or file because everything was poorly marked or filed. If things were nicely organized it would save you lots of time and stress.

Donate Unneeded Items – We’ve talked about going through your home and your things to find all of the things that you don’t need or don’t want anymore. As you find these things, donate them to a place where you know they will be used again. You will probably find plenty of things throughout your home that are in great shape - bargain shopping purchases that you just had to have, but have never used. You hate to part with these items because they are practically new, but at the same time, they are just collecting dust at your house. While it may be hard, you need to draw the line somewhere, so as a small consolation, find a great place to donate your unneeded and unused items where you can at least rest assured that other people will use them. (And just a little extra hint: Make sure you keep track of your donations for you taxes. They count as a deduction! Isn’t de-cluttering great?) Maximize Storage Options – As you are organizing all of your small things throughout the house, you will find things that just seem to bother you, and yet you feel you can’t do much about it. For example, you might have four different remote controls for all of your electronics in the family room. You always seem to

lose them, first of all, which is a constant fight among the family and a neverending frustration for everyone. Instead of letting the remotes be a constant problem and contribution to your clutter problem, consider several different storage options. Find a basket that can serve as storage for the remotes. If everyone knows that is where the remotes go, they will learn to leave them there and eventually all the remotes will always be there. You can also Velcro remotes to the side of your entertainment center. There are other great storage options for several rooms of the house. Lots of ottomans serve as both storage, because they open as well as extra seating when needed. I love the concept of having things you can sit on and yet store things in as well and always have a couch, chair, or foot-stool that doubles in this fashion. It’s an ingenious storage solution. You can also buy great storage solutions for over the door hanging storage. It can be for the kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom to store any number of things you might need to organize.

Less is More – When it comes to organizing your rooms remember that less is more. This applies to furniture as well as decorations. Keep things simple and you will thank yourself.

You don’t need to keep every edition of the magazine subscriptions you have. Instead keep one or two of the most recent editions. The same applies to the vases and pictures you choose to keep on end tables and walls. If you put too much on the tables and walls, the room will feel cluttered without anything truly being out of place. You’ll be fighting a losing battle before you even start. With your furniture, the same rules apply. Don’t try to stuff extra furniture or oversized furniture in a small room. If anything goes smaller or leave out the furniture if it’s going to feel like too much. It’s always better to go with less than more. Rule of Five – The rule of five says that whenever you clean a space you should throw out at least five things. It doesn’t have to be five big things, but you should be able to find at least five things that need to be thrown away or donated. Make this a goal and you’ll find that your spaces can’t ever accumulate the clutter they used to have. Everything Should Have Value – As you go through your old stuff and as you shop to acquire new things t, you should stop to consider that everything you own or potentially could own should have some sort of value. It will either have a functional value because you use it every day to do things or some sort of sentimental value that goes beyond any obvious function of the product itself. An example of this sort of item would be a coffee maker or a television. They have an intrinsic value to you or others in your home because they serve a functional purpose. Without them, you or others in your home would probably suffer enough that you would need to purchase them again. These are items that you simply can not do without.

Another sort of value is that you simply love something enough to keep it. These things also deserve to be in your home. They may not have functional value in your home, but you love them for any variety of sentimental reasons and that alone often (more often than not) has merit as much as any functional reason for keeping an item. By going through your things and determining whether they have a functional value or some sort of sentimental value, you can quickly decide whether you have things that can be discarded or donated. It will help you part with things that aren’t necessary and clear the clutter around your home. Overall, your home should be a place that brings you peace and allows you to be yourself without adding to your stress. By implementing the techniques and habits we’ve talked about you can maximize your ability to live in a stress free environment and bring tranquility to your living space.



Chapter 4: - De-Cluttering for the New Year We all make resolutions. But there is just something about the day of January 1st, the beginning of the New Year that really gets us thinking. We make all kinds of vows and ultimatums about doing this or doing that. We swear up and down that we will quit smoking, exercise and lose weight. And we tend to view New Year’s Day as the perfect starting point to do all of these things because we can visibly see it on our calendar’s as that great starting point, and clean slate of possibility. Erasing the mishaps of the past and starting anew. But end of the year de-cluttering should actually begin in October, because this is great time for evaluating your summer clothes. Because as summer changes to fall you can take an inventory of your entire wardrobe of that last summer and decide what it is that you really need and what you could truly do without. Some of these changes are to due to fashion, while others are due to the practical nature of the season. Because as the weather turns colder you will find that you really don’t need 20 pairs of shorts and 30 tank tops, so let’s get ready for the New Year and get rid of all the unnecessary junk! A great strategy for prepping for a New Year of De-cluttering is to start small. Begin with something very accessible and close to us all; our purse or wallet. So when you take out that wallet and it looks worse than George Costanza’s on a bad day you know that it is your money holder that could use some intense de-cluttering.

When I’m cleaning out my wallet the first thing that I do is take all of the most vital parts of the wallet out. The things that I know beyond a doubt, can not be tossed, I immediately stick to the side for safekeeping before I start plowing through the junk. Items that are irreplaceable are your driver’s license, debit and credit cards and of course cash money. So before you tear through that George Costanza of a beast, bloated wallet of yours, put the important stuff away and after the essentials are put to the side you can really start milling through the junk. What I call “useless pieces of paper weight” are the first things that should be thrown away. If you have three expired Burger King “Whopper” coupons they should most definitely be tossed. The next items for junk decimation should be those easy to accumulate business cards. If you have three different business cards from a temp agency you worked for 5 years ago, and you keep it in your wallet “just in case”, forget about it. We have something called the internet now, and if you really needed to look someone up, you can do just that through a Google search engine rather than fumbling for some ratty old piece of cardboard you have been sitting on for five years. After useless paper waste and business cards I have found that the number one creator of clutter in the wallet is receipts. If you are like me, you always save your receipt. While it’s not a bad idea to keep track of your purchases if you just keep sticking those little pieces of paper in your wallet day after day, week after week and month after month, the sheer

accumulation of paper will have your wallet looking like it is in its third tri-mester of clutter. To avoid this I have learned that although I can’t seem to stop my hoarding of receipts, I have discovered a much better place to put them for the longer term. What has worked so well for me is to have a final resting place for those pesky little pieces of paper. At the end of every week I empty all of my receipts out of my wallet and put them in the top drawer of my filing cabinet. This is just for temporary keeping though so my wallet will not become cluttered, because at the end of every month I then further my receipt decluttering operation by emptying out that drawer of the filing cabinet and shredding all the receipts except for the very few that truly do hold some sort of value or purpose. After de-cluttering your money holder, the next thing that needs to be sorted out for the New Year is your home away from home; your car. Car’s just like wallets are easy places to get cluttered. You go to Starbucks every morning for a coffee and inevitably leave your coffee cup in the console; you go to Taco Bell on your lunch breaks and leave soft taco wrappers strewn on the passenger side floor of the vehicle. And then after work you go to pick up your kid from soccer practice and someone had the bright idea of giving him a package of sun flower seeds which he proceeds to spit all over the backseat of your van. Yeah, you know the routine, garbage in your car can very easily get out of control and most of us are so busy we just don’t seem to have the time to clean it up, so it builds and builds. But the solution to this mess is the same as many other’s, instead of letting things build up and then trying to tackle a huge mess all at once, approach car clutter in a piecemeal fashion. One thing that works extremely well for me, even being on the go all the time, is to just make it a habit to throw something away every time I make a stop somewhere. Public trash cans are there for a reason, and we should do our best to utilize these common

waste receptacles. If you have to stop at Wal-Mart, look down at the seat next to you, if you see an empty bottle of “Tru Moo” chocolate milk sitting there next to you, don’t just look at it, pick it up and walk it with you to the store. Trash cans in public places are usually right by the entrance, so you really don’t have to go out of your way at all, just drop that thing off as you go about your business. This is what I do all the time. Whenever I stop somewhere I make it a habit to pick some junk up out of my car and toss it into the trash bin as I go about my business. If you do this every time you stop somewhere, your car clutter will always remain low. After your New Year wallet and car cleaning the next thing you can tackle is that of the entry way of your home. We may not think of it very often, but the entry way of the home is the most crucial place for you to have de-cluttered. If God forbid there was ever an emergency, if your entryway is blocked you could be in some serious trouble, so you really need to make sure that the front door of your home remains an open and welcoming place. To do this start with the very first thing you see when you approach the door from the outside; the welcome mat. They are friendly, they are ubiquitous, but they can also be a horrible tripping hazard, so make sure that this mat is in the right place and that it is not obstructing our feet as we walk in and out. After the floor space outside your door is taken into consideration, let’s step inside and look around for any excess junk. Some obvious obstructions would be bags of garbage that you either forget to take out to the dumpster/trash can or you keep putting off in procrastination. The entry way is not a place for this stuff, take it to the curb if you have to, but don’t let it just sit by your door collecting dust, and even worse, mold! So get that smelly stuff out of there! The door is your entry and exit to the outside world you really don’t want to have something nasty like day old trash greeting you every time you come home from a hard day’s work do you? So, yes, let’s de-clutter the junk and toss that stuff out. After straightening up the entry point of the home lets move on to a spot that is not as

visible to everyone else but just as important to you. Let’s take on the sock drawer! Why in the world would I worry about organizing my sock drawer? You may ask? Whether you realize it or not that sock drawer is an important feature of your overall organizational structure. They say it all starts from the top and that top drawer of your dresser is no different. To begin the organization of your dresser you need to begin with the first drawer. And it’s not called a sock drawer for nothing, because typically people just put their socks and maybe some underwear in the first drawer of the dresser. This creates a pretty easy picture of what should be there and what should not. If you open the drawer and find that it is fuller with odds and ends than a flea market you will know that it is time to start emptying out that drawer. If you find a lot of miscellaneous items like scissors, pencils, bills, receipts and other odd ball junk. Immediately sort these out and either put them in their place or toss them in the trash can because the top drawer needs to serve just one purpose; holding those tiny little things that you put on your feet! So let’s keep the sock drawer; a sock drawer, and declutter the rest on out of there! The next small area to focus on is that of the night stand. These little bedside tables are great to place a lamp and a book for some midnight reading but they also become the receptacles of pop cans, half drank glasses of milk, and my wife’s ever favorite, a resting spot for hand lotion! So let’s cut the junk! The bed needs to be a place of rest and not a place to have an eye sore of stuff. Since a table is a flat surface, really the best way to just jump in and clean a table, is simply to wipe that bad boy clean! As long as there is nothing that will spill (like the milk mentioned earlier) just pull out a cardboard box and shove everything off of that table and shove it into the box. And then you can sigh with relief because your table is clean in three seconds flat! You can tuck the box away momentarily, but don’t get tricked into transferring one clutter spot for another, as soon as you have the time you need to sort that box!

After the nightstand is tackled you can then move on to the bathroom counter. Now before you panic, notice that I said bathroom “counter”. I didn’t say the entire bathroom! Just the counter! Start out with this small piece of the bathroom and your New Year will start out right! First of all, in a tactic similar to the night stand clear off the entire counter, place everything in a box or basket and then take some time to examine your counter area. This is also a good time to wipe down and clean the counter because the cleaner the space the easier it is to visualize what needs to be put where. After you have taken some stock of the situation you can then start arranging the space, putting toothpaste where it needs to go, and deodorant in the appropriate drawer and so on and so forth. All of these very easy de-cluttering tasks are a great way to start the New Year off right!

Chapter 5: A Little Help from My Friends We hear about the stories in the news. The cases of isolated people who were discovered in a house completely full from top to bottom with clutter. Not only clutter but often animals, insects and other pests are also in abundance. The houses themselves are so overloaded with filth and junk that the city authorities had no choice but to order the tenants to vacate the premise. These are the sad and troubling stories of hoarders. Hoarding is more complicated than a case of simply being disorganized. Hoarding is a psychiatric illness related to obsessive compulsive disorder. Just like someone suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder, who must do certain things certain ways in order to feel at peace, the hoarder is so obsessive with his material belongings that if he does not have them, he does not feel well. And any attempt to remove them induces severe anxiety. The person involved has such an irrational sentimental connection to the items in their house that they belligerently hold on to things they may not have even looked at in years. It doesn’t matter, if they have it, they hoard it. This psychological condition goes well beyond the typical clutter, and may very well require professional help. So far in this book we have discussed many common strategies that just about anyone can use to de-clutter there homes. But there are some among us that might find it difficult to begin such regimens right off the bat, especially if they have lived in a cluttered lifestyle for many years. For those of you that need a little extra help and a hand to pull them out of the cycle they have been stuck in for so long, I want to provide at least one chapter that highlights the professional help and treatment that can be provided to those who find it a struggle to face years of built up clutter. First of all, it is important to note that hoarding is a disease; severe hoarding is a diagnosed psychiatric condition that is related to obsessive compulsive disorder. The illness is said to take root as young as 13 years old but tends to really spiral out of control in the mid sixties. And as most of the news reports on excessive hoarding have shown, most of these extreme cases involve those in that age bracket. Often enough it is the

elderly who are living by themselves drowning in their own belongings and clutter who are unable to cry out for anyone to help them. It is these who are the most vulnerable, that are truly in the grips of full blown hoarding, who find it next to impossible to control their clutter. So instead of taking matters into their own hands to solve their problem they need to first turn to the support of others that can slowly guide them in the right direction. This help often comes in the form of support groups that surrounds the hoarder with like-minded people who have suffered through the same condition, through this support group, those who are involved can work to empower each other to take the steps necessary to change their lives for the better. In the support group hoarders can feel comfortable to share there lives with those that they know will not judge them because they are suffering through the same condition as they are. They can guide each other, along with their counselor, through the process of recovery. And then after completing the course they can be directed to a professional organizer to give them that extra help they need to straighten up the mess that their houses and their lives had been subjected to for so long. If you feel that your cluttered home is a sign of not just being disorganized, but you feel that you may in fact have the tell-tale signs of a hoarder then please don’t delay in seeking professional treatment and the support that you deserve. Support groups like the one mentioned above are all across the country and they would be more than happy to receive you and help guide you through the clutter. If you are suffering like this, here are a couple of sites that I would like to direct you to; www.hoardingcleanup.com and wwww.hoarding.iocdf.org. Hoarding and clutter is complicated and it can be a full blown addiction if a proactive approach is not initiated early on. But as with anything in life, knowing and identifying the problem is the first step of your recovery. So if you feel that you may be showing some of the tell-tale signs of a hoarder, don’t hesitate to get the help that you need, because you deserve to have a healthy and meaningful life just like everyone else, even if it takes a little help from your friends to get there.

Conclusion: Living Memorabilia In the world of today it is easy to become buried under junk. The junk in our minds as well as the junk in our physical trunk, work to quickly bury us under their weight. Living in today’s world, it’s easy to become a cluttered individual. We have so much happening around us that it’s easy to let the chaos of the world filter into our lives, our schedules and our homes. That chaos quickly clutters and causes much unneeded and unwanted stress. Who wants to go about their day stressed out all the time? Yet this is what we do to ourselves day in and day out. Well my friend, it is time to cut the stress and cut the clutter. This book is working in a big way to de-clutter our lives and restore our sanity. I remember the first time that I realized that clutter was a big problem in my own life. I used to have quite a comic book collection and I kept them all stored up in long comic book boxes in the closets or storage spaces of wherever I was living at the time. This dates back to all the way to when I was twelve years old, I never threw any of them out and each and every single one of them had some sort of sentimental value to me. It’s no wonder that they refer to these items as memorabilia because each of these comic books seemed to live and breathe memories. I would crack one open and feel like I was eleven years old once again. It seemed great to relive the memories of the past in such a way. But as I grew older I came to realize that the best memories are not those that are stored up in possessions of the past but those that live in the present moment. And by the time I married my wife, those new memories (not to mention closet space!) became even more important than the phantoms of the past, so I learned to discard these so-called forms of “memorabilia”, in favor of the new ideals of the present. And then after a trip down to the local comic book shop, I managed to dump off two thirds of my comic book load and not only that, after the comic book dude sifted through his

little price guide I came back $500 richer. So instead of letting the clutter of the past sit around taking up space, I got rid of some junk and made some bucks in the process. Sorry Spiderman but I need my sanity and I need my closet space! And that is exactly what I got from de-cluttering! By implementing the 26 habits we’ve talked about in this book, you can and you will be able to remove the chaos and the clutter from your life, your schedule and your home. You’ll find that a sense of peace and calm will replace the stress that you felt before. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and bogged down by the clutter in your life, you will feel free and uninhibited to accomplish your goals. With a little faith in yourself and hard work you can truly do anything that you set your mind to, and as you tackle one mountain of clutter in the basement, attic, walk-in closet, or wherever belongings accumulate, you can surely tackle the next hurdle as well. I sincerely hope that this book is that step-by-step guide to help you emerge truly happy and victorious as you de-clutter your life, schedule, and home.



One Day Crochet Unique Afghan Projects That You Can Easily Master in One Day

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – Yarn Choices, Hooks, and a Crochet Primer Chapter 2 – Faster Than a Day Throw Chapter 3 – Speedy Afghan Chapter 4 – Speedy Baby Afghan Chapter 5 – Beautiful Baby Blanket Chapter 6 – Timless and Quick Throw Chapter 7 – Beautiful Bubbles for Baby Chapter 8 – Lightening Fast Lace Chapter 9 – Speedy Shells Afghan Conclusion

Copyright Notice © Copyright 2015 by Margaret Jones - All rights reserved. This document is geared towards providing exact and reliable information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary, legal or professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered. - From a Declaration of Principles which was accepted and approved equally by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations. In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. The information provided herein is stated to be truthful and consistent, in that any liability, in terms of inattention or otherwise, by any usage or abuse of any policies, processes, or directions contained within is the solitary and utter responsibility of the recipient reader. Under no circumstances will any legal responsibility or blame be held against the publisher for any reparation, damages, or monetary loss due to the information herein, either directly or indirectly. Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher. The information herein is offered for informational purposes solely, and is universal as so. The presentation of the information is without contract or any type of guarantee assurance.

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Introduction Crochet is a quick and easy past time that can bring you more than just enjoyment. Using this centuries old crafting technique, you can make beautiful and treasured gifts for your family and friends. During the potato famine in Ireland, many families pulled their children out of school. Families would start crochet groups in order to create what we generally now know as Irish lace (among other crocheted products). These beautiful and unique projects would be sold in order to support their family. Crochet existed in other countries before the Irish began to immigrate. However, the beautiful and delicate stitches that make up Irish lace began to show up in America and other countries when the Irish began to move to other countries in order to try and find a better life. However, in order to make blankets, table cloths, or other Irish lace projects you need hours of time. This is not the ebook for that. This ebook is about how you can master crocheted afghans. These patterns are great for long weekends. If you start in the summer, you could make beautiful blankets for everyone in your family for the holidays. The bonus of being able to crochet is that you can make beautiful blankets for people. This means that you could start a charity group in order to give people the warmth that they so desperately need in the winter. You could even make blankets to donate to local hospitals. Imagine the difference that you could make with this skil. You could also make these quick blankets in your spare time in order to take to craft shows. The extra money during the shopping season will be a great addition to your shopping money. The patterns in this ebook include simple stitches. Don’t worry about what relatives or others will think if you give them the exact same blanket. It’s easy to find beautiful,

chunky yarn that can change up the look. Even with the same pattern, you will have creative afghans to love and cherish. The first chapter of this ebook is a reminder in case you are new or returning to crochet after a long absence. We will also discuss the bet type of yarn to use for your 24 hour afghan as well as the best type of hook. Before you know it, you’ll be up and crocheting. It’s okay if you don’t have a full 24 hours to work on a project. You can work on it during lunch breaks, too. Although you won’t complete it in 24 hours, you will be able to complete the project in record time compared to other crochet projects that you may hae tried in the past.

Chapter 1 – Yarn Choices, Hooks, and a Crochet Primer Here’s the secret to making afghans in 24 hours or less: in addition to using simple stitches, you want to use big, chunky yarn. The thick, soft yarn will work up faster. When the yarn works up faster, your project progresses faster. That is the secret to making an afghan in 24 hours. Of course, it also helps if you choose stitches that produce a tall effect. This is done by using double and treble crochet stitches. Those stitches are the base for any fancy stitches.

Yarn Let’s talk a little more about chunky yarn. When you purchase chunky yarn, it’s important to buy yarn that is both warm and soft. You should make sure that the chunky yarn that you choose will also be easy for you to work with. Alpaca is warm and thick, but it’s also very fuzzy. People who are new to crocheting often struggle with using alpaca as their yarn of choice for afghans. The fuzzy quality makes the stitches harder to find. Cashmere is expensive, but a beautiful yarn that can be found in varying thicknesses. However, much like alpaca, it can be difficult for inexperienced crocheters to work with. The fuzzy quality can quickly cause frustration. It also may tangle if you have to pull out any of your stitches. Generally, the most common chunky yarn that is used for 24 hour afghans is a blended yarn. It has natural and synthetic fibers. Don’t worry. You don’t have to take a special trip to a store in order to get chunky yarn. Yarn for these afghans can be found at Wal-mart or any other places that sell yarn. You can even visit a craft store like Hobby Lobby to get your supplies. Super bulky yarn gives you between four to 11 stitches per four inches. Clearly, the determine factor is the type of stitch that you will use. We will talk more about different stitches that you can use in order to work up quick afghans. Super bulky yarn is the fastest type of yarn that you can use in order to produce the fastest afghan. It is sometimes referred to as super chunky yarn. Bulky yarn, also known as chunky yarn, is another great choice. This type of yarn produces 12 to 15 stitches per four inches. It’s quick work up time means that you get great results for 24 hour afghans. Regardless of your yarn choice, make sure that you buy enough yarn to make it through your entire project. Although dye lot isn’t a common problem, some stores will stop

carrying specific brands or colors of yarn. Another good way to quickly grow your project is to use two strands of yarn. You will end up with a beautifully variegated afghan. It makes the blanket twice as warm, too.

Crochet Hooks Your choice is crochet hooks is also an important consideration in order to make your afghan grow quickly. Whether or not you want to use aluminum, plastic, or wood will end up being a matter of personal choice. Many people prefer to use aluminum or plastic. That’s because the yarn needs to be able to move smoothly down the hook. If you choose to use wood, it’s important to know that your hook doesn’t have any splinters or other rough spots. Otherwise, you will snag your yarn. If you snag your yarn, it will weaken. Use the largest hook that you can manage. The large hook will make your stitches larger. That means you’ll complete your afghan faster. Remember, that the type of yarn that you choose will make a difference in how many stitches that you can complete within a four inch gauge.

Crochet Primer Your basic pattern will always start with a chain. To start your chain, you want to perform a slip knot with your yarn onto the hook. Then, you bring your yarn over (abbreviated YO in patterns). Pull the end of your hook through the yarn on your hook. Then, you’ve created your basic chain. You will continue this motion until your chain is as long as your pattern calls for. Your beginning chain should be loose. This is particularly important with chunky yarn. It’s a little bit harder to work with because sometimes the stitches are hard to see. The next stitch we will review is the single crochet (abbrievated SC in patterns). Once you have your chain, you turn the chain. You must now work across the other side. Insert your hook into the stitch. Then, you want to pull the yarn over your hook. Pull the hook through the first loop on your hook. Then, yarn over and pull it through again. You’ve not completed a single crochet. One of the most common stitches you will use when you make a 24 afghan is the double crochet (abbreviated as DC). To start a double crochet, you will first do the yarn over. Next you will put it through the stitch. Yarn over and pull through one loop. Next, you will yarn over and pull through two loops. Then, you will yarn over and pull it through all the loops on the hook. You’ll notice that this stitch is much taller than a single crochet. Additionally, this is the base stitch that you will use for fancier and more decorative stitches such as shells. Another commonly used stitch that you will use in your 24 hour afghan is the treble crochet (abbreviated as TC in patterns). This stitch isn’t all that different from the double crochet. You will yarn over twice before putting the hook through the stitch. Then, after your hook is in the stitch you will yarn over one time. Pull the hook through one loop. Yarn over again. Pull through two loops. Continue the yarn over and pulling through two loops until the stitch is complete. When it is complete, you will only have one loop left on the hook.

Those stitches will get you through almost any project that you come across for a 24 hour afghan.



Chapter 2 – Faster Than a Day Throw This blanket is great because it will take you less than 24 hours to make. The chunky yarn makes it a fast project. You can use any colors that you’d like. If your gauge is right, it will be approximately 45” x 60”. You can thank the multiple balls of yarn for the fast work up. Although some of the stitches may be a little harder for the beginner, it still works up fast. During this project, you hold one strand of each color. Materials: 15 ounces chunky yarn, color A 15 ounces chunky yarn, color B 15 ounces chunky yarn, color C Size Q crochet hook

If you test for gauge before you start projects, then this information is for you. Your main stitch is a V stitch. Four rows and three V stitches should measure to six inches. If your gauge is bigger, you have two choices. You can either use a smaller hook or try to make smaller stitches. With one strand of each color held together, chain 67. Row 1: DC in the fifth ch from the hook. Ch 1 and DC in the same st. This is a V stitch. *skip 2 ch. (DC, ch 1, DC) in next st. Repeat from the * to the last two ch. Skip 1 ch, dc in last ch. Rows 2 – 39: Ch 3 (this counts as your first DC). Turn. (DC, ch 1, DC) in each ch 1 space. DC in the third chain of the turning chain from the end of the previous row. If you do not follow this last important step, your work will curve. It will not be straight.

Finish off. To finish your afghan: From the right side of your afghan, attach yarn. Work one row of SC evenly spaced on the side edge. You will want to do this on each side. You can either finish off at the end of each side and weave in the ends or if you know how to work in the rounds, you can create corners for your work and not finish off until you are at your starting point. You can make fringe to attach to your blanket. Fringe is a beautiful way to accent your work. If your work is uneven, fringe can help hide your mistakes.



Chapter 3 – Speedy Afghan The beauty of this afghan (aside from its ability to be made in 24 hours) is that you can make it as large as you want. It’s a great way to clean out your yarn stash. This particular pattern is also incredibly easy. It’s perfect for beginners. With this pattern, you don’t have to worry about gauge. It can be as big as you want (provided that you have enough yarn to accommodate your imagination). Materials: 18 ounces chunky yarn, Color A 18 ounces chunky yarn, Color B 18 ounces chunky yarn, Color C (if desired) Size P crochet hook Holding one strand of each color yarn, chain 104. Row 1: DC in the third ch from the hook. DC in each chain all the way across. Ch 3 and turn. Row 2: DC in each ch across. Ch 3 and turn. You will repeat row 2 until your afghan has reached your desired length. Finish off. Choose your favorite finish. You can use just one type of yarn to do a finish or you can, again, hold one strand of each yarn.



Chapter 4 – Speedy Baby Afghan This project is quick because of the huge hook that you will use to make it. It’s become known as a speed hook. Cotton based yarn is used for this particular project because it’s less likely to cause itching or an allergic reaction on sensitive baby skin. This speedy baby blanket is great for beginners. If you can complete a single crochet, then you can complete this project. If you keep track of gauge, then you should know that six single crochet stitches should equal four inches. However, when you use cotton yarn (as this project calls for) then you will notice that your gauge may be a little different. That’s okay because cotton is flexible. You could use a P hook instead of an S hook if you would like to keep your project scaled to gauge. Materials: Seven ounces cotton based chunky yarn, Color A Seven ounces cotton based chunky yarn, Color B Size S crochet hook

Much like the last two projects, you will work it holding one strand of each yarn. You can add a third color if you’d like. Chain 55. Row 1: Skip the first ch nearest your hook. Then, SC in each ch across. Row 2: Ch 1. SC in the second ch from the hook and in each ch across.

Repeat row 2 until work reaches your desired length. Then, finish off. This very simple project is beautiful even without a border.

Chapter 5 – Beautiful Baby Blanket The beauty of learning to crochet baby blankets is in their size. They are faster (even for a 24 hours or less project). This makes the projets easier for new crocheters to stick with. They give a great sense of accomplishment. They can also be adapted for afghans if you simply buy more yarn and make them longer. Although this pattern is definitely one for beginners, crocheters of all skill levels will enjoy making it. It makes a great gift if you need something for a last minute baby shower invitation. With this blanket, you will want to substitute the chunky yarn for baby yarn. For those that like to use gauge, four stitches will equal one inch for this project. You can adjust the size of your stitches or try a different hook if you aren’t able to produce that in your swatch. Depending on your stitch size, your finished project should be between 30 and 34 inches in length. Material: 15 ounces sport weight yarn, color of your choice (you can use light worsted weight yarn as well) Size I crochet hook Loosely ch 121. Row 1: SC in the third ch from the hook. (Ch 1, sk next ch, sc in next ch) across the entire row. Ch 1. Turn.

Row 2: (SC in next ch 1 sp, ch 1) across the entire row. Work SC into third chain where row 1 began. Ch 1. Turn. Row 3: Repeat Row 2 all the way to turning ch. In turning ch, work SC. Repeat row 2 until your blanket is as long as you desire.

Chapter 6 – Timless and Quick Throw This beautiful throw is quick and easy. It makes a great gift for birthdays, anniversaries, and can work as a house warming gift. This pattern is relatively easy even for beginners. Much like an earlier pattern, you will use a V stitch in order to produce a blanket that is done in less than 24 hours. For gauge, 3 ½ rows of this pattern along with two V stitches will equal around five inches. Materials: 40 ounces Wool blend chunky yarn, color of your choice Size Q hook

Crochet a chain of 61 stitches loosely. Row 1: DC in 5th ch from the hook. Ch 1. DC in the same ch. This is a V stitch. *sk 2 ch (DC, ch 1, DC) in next ch. V stitch made. Repeat from * to last two ch. Sk 1 ch. DC in last ch. Rows 2 – 40: Ch 3. This counts as your first DC. Turn. (DC, ch 1, DC) in each ch 1 sp across. DC in third chain of turning ch. After row 40, fasten off. Finishing: Attach yarn. Ch 1. SC evenly all the way around the blanket.

Chapter 7 – Beautiful Bubbles for Baby This soft, puffy baby blanket looks like you spent weeks. Instead, it will take you less than 24 hours. Of course, if you are relatively inexperienced it may take you a little longer. This pattern uses a stitch that is a little bit different than two of our other patterns. However, it’s not a hard stitch to learn and it will give you beautiful results. Another thing that makes this pattern unique is that you can adjust it to make it whatever size you wish. While we give you a starting chain count to make it easy for beginners, you don’t have to use it. Just make sure that your beginning chain is a multiple of three and has two extra stitches. That does not necessarily make it a multiple of five (although in our count it will just for the sake of ease). A multiple of three is any number that you can divide by three and not end up with a decimal. No calculator? No problem. If your number has two digits, such as 93, add the two digits together for a smaller number. In that case, it would be 12. Is 12 evenly divided by three? The answer is yes! So, you would add two more stitches for a beginning count of 95. This little trick also works well for three digit numbers. Let’s get started! Materials: 14 ounces light worsted weight yarn, color of your choice Size N crochet hook Crochet a starting chain of 62. Remember, you can make your blanket bigger. However, that will require more yarn. Just remember that your starting chain should be a multiple of three with two added. Row 1: SC and then work 2 DC in the second ch from the hook. *Sk two ch and work SC and 2 DC.* Repeat between * until the last 2 ch. Sk next ch. SC in last st. Ch 2. Turn.

Row 2: Sk first SC. 2 DC in next st. *Sk two ch. Work SC and 2 DC.* Repeat between * to the last SC. SC in turning chain. Repeat row 2 until your work reaches your desired length.

Chapter 8 – Lightening Fast Lace The key to quick workup up this pattern is in the hook size. It makes a great wedding shower gift. It’s also great to keep in your own hoe for a beautiful decoration. People won’t believe just how quickly you made this blanket! It’s beautiful look of lace makes it the perfect addition to a bedroom, too. Materials: 31 ounces worsted weight yarn, your choice of color Size J crochet hook The gauge for this project is based off of the actual pattern that will be worked. Six rows should equal three inches. Ten stitches should equal three inches. If your stitches aren’t the same, you can either work with your stitches or you can change your hook size. This pattern is also beautiful with an N size crochet hook. Crochet 167 stitches loosely as your starting chain. Row 1: (right side of your project) DC in the fourth ch from the hook and in the next three ch. * ch 2, sc in next ch, ch 2, sk next 2 ch, DC in next five ch. * Repeat from * across the base chain. Ch 3 and turn. Row 2: Sk first DC. DC in next four DC. * ch 3, slip stitch in the next sc, ch 3, DC in next five DC.* Repeat from * across the row. Work a DC in the turning stitch (your chain 3) of the previous row. Ch 1 and turn. Row 3: SC in the first 5 DC. * ch 5, sc in next 5 DC.* Repeat from * across the row. Work a sc in the turning chain of the previous row (your ch 1). Ch 3 and turn.

Row 4: Sk first sc. DC in the next four sc. * ch 2, sc in ch 5 sp, ch 2, DC in next 5 sc.* Repeat from * across the row. Repeat rows 2, 3, and 4 in order until your work reaches the desired length. You should end with row 2. Fasten off. This pattern looks great with a fringed finish.

Chapter 9 – Speedy Shells Afghan In this super speedy afghan, you will get to learn another beautiful and decorative stitch. This blanket incorporates the use of the shell stitch. It’s easier than it sounds. It’s simply a series of double crochets that are worked within the same single crochet or chain stitch. In some patterns, people put a chain one space in the middle of their shell. In other patterns, this is not done. Two things give us fuel toward our 24 hour completion fire. You will be using a very large hook and big, thick yarn. You’ll get a warm and soft afghan in very little time. Remember that some wool based yarns are scratchy. Choose a yarn that you would want touching your skin. Because you will be using an S hook, your gauge may be a little bit different. However, your group of five double crochets with one single crochet should be four inches. Materials: 35 ounces thick, wool based yarn, color of your choice Size S crochet hook For your starting chain, ch 36 loosely. Row 1: DC in fourth ch from hook. That will count as your first two DC. DC again in the same stitch. Sk 1 ch. SC in the next stitch. Sk 1 ch. * 5 DC in next ch, sk 1 ch, sc in next ch, sk 1 ch.* Repeat from the * across the entire row. Three DC in your last ch. Ch 1 and turn. Row 2: SC in first DC. Sk 2 DC. 5 DC in next sc. Sk 2 DC. * sc in next DC, sk 2 DC, 5 DC in next sc, sk 2 DC.* Repeat from * across the entire row. SC in the last DC. Ch 3. Turn.

Row 3: 2 DC in first sc. Sk 2 DC. SC in next DC. Sk 2 DC. * 5 DC in next sc. Sk 2 DC. SC in next DC. Sk 2 DC.* Repeat from * across the entire row. Work 3 DC in your last sc. Repeat rows 2 and 3 until your work reaches your desired length. Make sure that your pattern ends with row 3. Finishing: Now, you will add a beautiful edging to your work. Work your edging on the long sides of your project. You can start by just working two more DC in that same stitch. Turn your work to work on the long end. Round 1: You are working in the end of each row. However, you will skip rows that end with a double crochet. You will only use the rows that end in a single crochet. * sc in the end of the next sc row. Sk next DC row. Work 5 DC in the next sc ending row. Sk next DC row.* Repeat from the * until you reach the corner of your work. Work 5 DC in the corner. Work a shell stitch pattern on the top of your work. When you reach a corner, work 5 DC and turn your work to the other long end. Then, repeat from the * until you get to the corner. Work 5 DC in the corner. You can work shells along the bottom of your work as well.

Conclusion Speed hooks, chunky yarn, and a little time is all that it will take to make beautiful blankets for you and your friends. These patterns are a great gift for last minute invitations to baby showers, weddings, and birthdays. They’re so beautiful that you can give them at Christmas. People will think that you spent a lot of time making them. You can smile and know that you didn’t spend as much time as they think that you did. There are lots of great places to find 24 hour or less patterns. There are entire books at craft stores that are devoted to these types of patterns. It makes crochet accessible for even the busiest person. Thanks to the size of the hooks, the projects work up fast. These patterns make great beginner projects for anyone wanting to learn to crochet. They get almost instant gratification as they see their projects grow. They don’t struggle with tiny hooks or stitches that are too tight. The large size of the hook makes it much easier for beginners to handle. You can watch for yarn sales through out the year. Purchase bulky yarn, sport weight yarn, and soft worsted weight yarn when it is on sale. Then you will always have beautiful yarn at your finger tips. It’s also beneficial to have all of your hooks in advance. In fact, you should have at least two of each hook. That will make it easy to teach a friend or to have more than one pattern going at any given time. Other items you should have on hand for these projects include a counter, blunt tip needles, and paper with a writing utensil. Your counter can help you keep track of what row you are on if you choose to write out your pattern. Blunt tip needles are used to weave the ends of your yarn into your work. This produces a professional look and is free of tied off ends. Paper and something to write with will help you recalculate the size of your project, keep notes, and make written corrections of patterns should you need them.

Many of these projects called for a fringe finish. We decided to save those instructions until the end of the ebook. Get a small piece of cardboard or an empty CD case to wrap your yarn around. The size of the object you use will depend on how long you want your fringe. Ideally, you don’t want to use anything larger than a 5x7 picture. Starting at the top of your object, wrap your yarn around it several times. You don’t want to wrap it so many times that you can’t cut your yarn. However, you do need it wrapped several times in order to have a full fringe effect. While holding your yarn, slide your scissors under the yarn and cut at the top. Now you have several pieces of yarn that are all the same length. Decide how many pieces of yarn you want to use for each section of fringe. Fold those pieces in half. Make sure that your project has the right side facing up. If the tail of your yarn is on your left side, then your right side is facing up. Insert a crochet hook into the first loop of your base chain (or in the first place you want to put your fringe). Put the folded fringe yarn over the hook. Pull it through the stitch part way. Take the tail of the yarn and tie it into a slip knot using the loop that you made. Pull it tight. There you have it. You’ve created fringe. You will want to do this in the areas of your blanket that requires fringe. You can also use this technique on scarves. Work with your friends on these great projects. You can make a huge difference for people in hospitals, nursing homes, soldiers overseas, and the homeless. These projects are so quick that you and a group of friends could make several projects in a single weekend session. Then, you could give them out to those in need. There are already several charitable crochet groups that exist. You can choose one of those to work with as well.

Protect Your Favorite Tech Geek-free Tips to a secure and private digital life

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – Protecting your Smartphones and Tablets Chapter 2 – Securing Laptops and Personal Computers Chapter 3 – Safeguarding Video Game Consoles and Home Entertainment Systems. Chapter 4 – Up and coming technologies: Smart pens and Smart watches Conclusion

Copyright Notice

© Copyright 2015 by Scott Russell - All rights reserved. This document is geared towards providing exact and reliable information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary, legal or professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered. - From a Declaration of Principles which was accepted and approved equally by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations. In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

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Introduction Many people today are serious tech junkies, using complicated terms and descriptions when discussing the latest gadgets in the market. However, you could love technology yet not have all that jargon cluttering up your brain. If you do love technology, but are not a technical junkie, then this book is for you. In this book, you will find tried, and tested methods of protecting your favorite tech gadget, in simple speak so that you get it clearly – just as if you were the technical genius. Today’s most commonly used and favored technological gadgets may fall into one of the following broad categories: 1) Smartphones and Tablets 2) Laptops and Computing 3) Videogame Consoles and Home Entertainment 4) Up and coming like Smart pen’s and Smart Watches The chapters of this book are outlined to address each of these categories, offering detailed insight on how you can protect your favorite gadget, with the intention of securing all your private information. With the availability of and access to the internet on almost any technological device that you can get your hands on, it is becoming more and more important to protect not just your device, but also your personal information. In a day, we probably enter at least 5 passwords into the various websites that we access through our tech gadgets, and usually in order to remember them, the passwords are all the same or dangerously similar. These commonly used passwords may include a pet’s name, anniversary, or a birthday (usually your own). All it takes is for someone to study you carefully on social media, and they would have access to – everything. So how exactly can you attain a secure and private digital life? Read on for the reveal of some practical, easy to understand and up to

date ideas for each of the aforementioned categories.

Chapter 1 – Protecting your Smartphones and Tablets Today, we use our smartphones and tablets more than we use our computers or other tech devices. In fact, we are so close to our smartphones and tablets that we carry them with us to the shower, sleep with them, and in a day feel around for them countless times. Often, we are filled with panic if we forget our smartphone or tablet at home, and should it get stolen, we are at our wits end wondering how we will ever get back all that lost data. Yet, when it comes to protecting our information from online hackers and predators or theft, we can be incredibly lax. If you speak to a tech junkie, you will be lost in trying to understand how to protect your privacy on mobile devices like your smartphone and tablets. The terms used can leave you reeling, confused, frustrated and despondent. Protecting your smartphones and tablets is simpler than you think, with some common sense solutions that anyone can adopt. There is no need to try and understand terms like “encryption” and “code” to secure your device. There are 7 basic things that you can do to protect your smartphone and tablet, without needed deep technical knowledge. This chapter explains them simply for you. Use your inbuilt security features. Security starts the moment you purchase your smartphone or tablet, and smartphones and tablets today allow you to secure so many features from already existing settings. The first thing you should do is activate your PIN number so that in case your smartphone is stolen, you have created a barrier for the thief to go through. This works exceptionally if you have stored detailed information on your SIM card memory, rather than the memory of your device. If your smartphone or tablet requires a PIN number, at the very least to access it, the SIM card needs to be thrown away or destroyed.

The next thing you need to do is to lock your screen using a password, of which there is an extensive range of methods including finger patterns, numbers, and names and so on. The password you use should be simple, yet not obvious. Facial recognition software is also found in many new models of smartphones and tablets, and can be used in place of a password to access the device. It ensures that the only person who can access your smartphone or tablet is you. Update your software Software is updated literally on a daily basis, with many updates designed to protect you from newly developed dangers, viruses and malware programs online. So when you are asked to update a particular app, update it immediately. This will ensure that in terms of the security features available for your device, you are always as safe as possible because new threats are created on a daily basis. Always make sure you are aware of the apps that you have on your smartphone and their uses. This is because whenever you are requested to update an app, there is usually a window that asks you to accept the update following a review of certain permissions. You must go through the permissions so that you can tell if there is anything amiss. If an app to upload music requests permission to access your photo album, there is something about that app that is not correct, and you should uninstall it immediately. Install an antivirus Just like your computer or laptop, your smartphone needs to have a powerful virus as you are likely to spend quite a bit of time online, browsing or downloading material. This antivirus should be one that automatically runs in the background and that scans everything in your social media apps, our emails, downloaded materials and running apps on your phone. Use a tracking program There are a range of tracking programs available online which help you find your

smartphone if it is lost or stolen, and also help you to completely wipe all the contents of your smartphone in the event that it is no longer in your possession. If you are unable to afford these tracking programs, several antivirus apps also allow you to remotely control your device in case of theft or loss. You should familiarize yourself with this feature for future protection. Also, when your smartphone is stolen, make sure to alert your carrier so that you can disable your smartphone number. As many transactions, especially bank transactions, send messages with details such as your bank balance, or last location you used your credit card to your mobile phone, this can protect some of your valuable financial information. Be careful what you install, save, download and open. Always install apps from reputable sources – do not fall for an app that promises the world or sounds too good to be true. For example, these apps could be competition apps promising that you will win an instant prize or loads of cash. You may find that once you click on them, your device goes haywire, you lose all access to your device and all your personal information is at risk of misuse by an online predator. Do not save sensitive files on your smartphone, such as files with all your passwords, confidential work documents and the like. Also, when you access certain websites, your browser may ask you whether you want to save your password on the device. Always click no. Better to be safe than sorry. When downloading apps, pay particular attention to the privacy settings that you are asked to accept. If anything seems out of the ordinary, do not download. If you receive an email, ensure you know the sender or that it is trusted source before you open it. When in public, be extra careful. When using your mobile device in public, especially over a public Wi-Fi connection or where you could encounter unknown Bluetooth devices, do not access sites where you need to enter sensitive information. These sites include shopping sites that ask for your

credit card information, mobile banking sites, your personal or business email or sites where you conduct sensitive business transactions. Instead, use your mobile data from your carrier to access this information. Also, when using your GPS features, think carefully. Geotagging on social media sites means that you are constantly telling the public where you are and this information is automatically uploaded to your online profiles. For someone looking to steal from you, this is like an open invite to finding you and locating your smartphone or tablet. Make kiddie or guest modes your allies. When someone else other than yourself has access to your smartphone for any reason, install an app that creates a kiddie or guest mode. This will protect all of your personal vital information while allowing the other individual access to basic apps. This is a great starting point for basic protection, and so simple to implement. In addition, you can start learning the technical terms for smartphone protection, and you will be able to take it up another notch.

Chapter 2 – Securing Laptops and Personal Computers The mobility of laptops is what adds to their extensive advantages as well as contributing to the disadvantages and risks that they are exposed to. In addition, as our lives become more technologically inclined, many people find that they cannot function adequately without their laptops or personal computers. They use their laptops or personal computers for work and leisure, and may spend 8 hours or more on them daily. If you lost your laptop, it is stolen or it is hacked, there is a serious danger of identity theft which can negatively affect every area of your life, from your finances to your social media and email accounts. Some people say that you should treat your laptop as you would cold hard cash. The questions that are asked include: - Would you leave a pile of cash on the table and turn your back to talk to someone? Or leave a pile of cash on the table while you go to the bathroom for just a moment? Or even ask a work colleague or friend to watch a pile of cash for you? If you would not leave your money unattended, allow your concentration to wander, or risk entrusting that money to your friend, you should adopt the same attitude to leaving your laptop unattended. Over the years there has been heightened sensitivity regarding being safe online, and there are some measures that we take that are seemingly obvious. The first one is ensuring that you have installed a good anti-virus so that in case of any viruses, your work, and machine are protected and secure. Also, at start up, setting up a password to deny access to any stranger attempting to get into your laptop or personal computer. For most people, this is as far as they go. However, there are additional simple measures that can be taken to secure your laptop or personal computer. As a user of these devices, you can take the following points to heart.

Tracking software is available – Install it!! There is software available online that allows you to track your laptop, including special features that show your laptops current position, the windows that are open and the information that has been accessed. This software allows you remotely to lock your computer, as well as clear all the data. You may have to pay a minimal annual fee to use the service. The main advantage for this is that it puts the power into your hands as a device owner. Once you realize that your laptop is missing, you can remotely wipe it clean of all data to ensure that you protect your personal email and social media accounts, finance, business documentation and any apps that contained personal information that can be abused. Watch what you store on your laptop For convenience sake, you might have saved all your passwords into your browser, allowing you to access all your usual sites without having to go through the process of signing in. This seems like an excellent, time-saving idea. However, it can be devastating if someone steals your laptop and can illegally access your information. To be on the safe side, do not save your passwords on the browser. There are special programs that you can install to save all your passwords, and you need only remember a master password to access this information. This allows you to make your master password as complicated as you can handle so as to protect your privacy. Take advantages of warranties and insurance With every purchase of your laptop or personal computer, you will receive a warranty for some period. Look out for extended warranties that allow you to receive protection against accidents that can adversely damage your laptop or affect the information within. Insurance is also great against theft, whereby if your laptop is stolen, you should easily be able to replace it. You can also insure yourself against the misuse of your stolen data and identity theft, so that if someone accesses your data and, for example, steals from you financially, you are covered to an extent.

Back up your data Seems like a no-brainer, but often this is one area where many procrastinate, and only realize the importance of it when it is too late. Ensure that you back up your data, and with technology today, you do not need a series of flash drives or an expensive external hard drive. You can save your data in the cloud using the latest cloud technology and therefore access it from wherever you are – as long as there is an internet connection. When in public, be wary Using your laptop in public places is a given, and many people seek out areas that have free Wi-Fi, allowing you to be connected to the internet so that you can work on projects or catch up with your friends and acquaintances on social media networks. Beware of these public networks and insecure connections. On these networks, you should not enter any sensitive information into your laptop as you are using it. Also, carry your laptop using a laptop bag rather than simple in your hands. This will protect it from unfortunate bumps and scrapes. Do not leave your laptop in a public place unattended, even for a minute. Utilize physical security When in a public place, make sure that you use some anti-theft hardware such as a special lock, to discourage petty thieves from walking away with your laptop. These locks usually make sure that your laptop is connected to a firm immovable object thereby deterring would be thieves and in effect, protecting your personal information.

Chapter 3 – Safeguarding Video Game Consoles and Home Entertainment Systems. In the past, the video game console and home entertainment systems were highly personal items that one used in the privacy of their home. There was no possibility of interacting with a stranger that you cannot see, and no reason at all to have a sense of heightened security. Today, things have evolved from this state of affairs. Video Game consoles and Home Entertainment systems are becoming more communal, with more people creating entertainment experiences with their families and friends. It is common to find that your television, for example, is accessed by more people than your immediate family, for a range of purposes. Therefore, it has become necessary to protect the information that is available on these devices. Internet Connections on Everything At the advent of the Internet, to get connected, you were required to travel and find an internet bureau, and with a limited number of minutes, access the World Wide Web. With these restrictions, most people used the internet simply for checking email and occasionally chatting. More and more technological devices are supporting internet access, including video game consoles and home entertainment systems, and these devices are literally turning into mini computers. They are, therefore, exposed to similar risks. When using the internet from your video game consoles and home entertainment systems, ensure that you are on your own wireless network, rather than a public network. This ensures that your personal information, including log on information and passwords, is kept safe while you are using your devices. When advancing in games on the internet, gamers are prone to download all sorts of materials to edge themselves forward. These materials include “cheat” apps that are

supposed to help the gamer advance to different stages or access exclusive moves or stages. However, unless they are from a safe source, they often promise more than they can deliver and contain viruses or spyware which can harvest personal information from the gaming console. As some video games are expensive, one may be tempted to download a pirated version of the game so as to save on cost. In addition to the risks that include spyware and viruses, there is also the possibility of incurring serious penalties that include account suspension and blocking. In this instance, you could lose complete access to the personal information that you entered into your profile that connects you to the said video game. When you purchase an item using your video console, your credit card information is often auto saved within the device. There are “free” apps that you have to upgrade and pay a fee for in order to access premium services. If you have auto saved credit card information, your card may be charged for an app automatically, or worse, your financial information harvested. To avoid these issues and keep your information secure, you should avoid downloading content when you are not 100% sure of the content source. Protecting Personal Information and Children As video game consoles and home entertainment sets are highly communal, the owner of the technology may wish to restrict what can be viewed on the devices to avoid illegal downloads and corrupt software from being installed in their devices. To do so, you can create restrictions through the implementation of a 4 digit password. Almost all devices will have a default password, and it is important that this password is changed once the gaming console is purchased. Many video game consoles are played by young children and teens who may unwittingly pass on personal information about themselves to strangers, which can negatively affect your personal safety. When playing online video games, they should avoid interacting or playing with strangers within the gaming setting or in virtual worlds.

A simple conversation could lead to the exchange of vital information including the location of a home, contact information and birthdates that may be used as passwords to enter other devices or online accounts. Also, when playing games with strangers, one should not have a username that resembles their own personal name or information in any way. Accident Protection and Warranties All technological gadgets are prone to a range of mishaps, and having additional protection against these mishaps provides additional security and peace of mind to the owner. With ever increasing software updates and programs being created, now more than ever, video game consoles and home entertainment systems are vulnerable to online corruption and attacks. These attacks can completely disable the device, creating extremely high repair costs or in some cases, leading to the need to replace the entire device. With accident protection plans, the device is protected from both external accidents such as dropping, sound failure, electrical issues and so on, as well as accidents that affect the efficient internal running of the device, such as malware or viruses. Accident protection plans can also help you save your settings and valuable personal information without exposing the information to the public or having to reset your device.

Chapter 4 – Up and coming technologies: Smart pens and Smart watches There are so many new and nifty technologies out there, and current particular favorites are the Smart Pens and Smart Watches. Smart Pens Smart Pens are excellent as they are a reading, writing, speaking and listening tool that helps transform written or spoken data into digital data that can easily be referred to for future use. These pens use Wi-Fi and special ‘digital’ paper to ensure that all written and recorded information is electronically accessible. Ensure that your smart pen is password protected at the very least. This means that the information in your smart pen cannot be accessed simply by someone who comes across it. In addition, you should customize your smart pen name, so that in case someone does find it, they cannot access the information inside. Added security features mean that they will still be able to see your name and contact information so that they can easily get the pen back to you if they choose to do so. The information from a smart pen is sent to a program, which will sync this information with your computer, smartphone or tablet. This information can be sent through email, posted on social media including sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. To keep the information generated using the smart pen safely, the first step you can take is to save your data in the cloud. This means that whatever happens to the device, you can access your information from anywhere where you have access to an internet connection. Like other technological devices, smart pens require you to install updates to ensure that you have updated the latest protection features against the risks of internet use.

You should ensure that there is an authorization feature for your smart pen. Authorizing your smart pen means that you protect your information from being transferred to a computer other than your own without permission. In order to transfer content to any other computer, unless that computer is authorized with the email address and password first used to authorize the smart pan, the data will be secure within the device. If you want to share data, you should set up a separate account email address. Using this address, you can allow other access to the information that has been uploaded onto your smart pen, without actually giving them access directly to your smart pen. This prevents people using the information in your pen in an unauthorized manner or stealing your personal information for negative use. Smart Watch As smartphones and tablets have continued to grow in popularity until they are literally part of any decent lifestyle, accessories to compliment them have also been introduced. One of the most successful accessories to date is a smart watch. This is a watch that can remotely connect to your mobile smartphone, and also able to carry out some of the same functions that are carried out by your smartphone. These functions include the basics like making a call, sending a text message, connecting to your social media networks and using your GPS. The basic security features of these gadgets include authentication of identity software and data encryption. These features help to ensure that the only person who can access the device is the owner of the device or the person programmed to do so. These security features should be activated the moment that the device is purchased. In securing information, the first advantage of having this smart watch is setting it up to give out a smartphone alert. This alert can be sent out in terms of a vibration or a beeping sound when the wearer ventures a certain distance away from their smartphone. If a

smartphone has just been stolen, this is a helpful alert as within seconds you would know that the smartphone is gone. You can then immediately take the necessary steps to secure your data using the methods mentioned in the first chapter of this book. If you have forgotten your smartphone somewhere, then this alert will let you know that you need to look for your smartphone. An area where these smart watches may face security challenges is over Bluetooth networks that connect the smart watch to the smartphone. To avoid losing valuable data, or a hacker accessing one or both your devices, there should be a password that links the smart watch to the smartphone. Without the password, they should not be able to connect to each other, or to sync their activities. As smart watches are essentially little computers, they are vulnerable to similar threats, especially in the downloading of untrusted apps, where hackers and cyber-attacks can gain access to personal information. It is important to only download trusted apps to keep your private information safe. Also, as these devices are worn on the body, they are susceptible to being banged around, getting overheated or even getting wet. All this spells disaster for the software used on them. Just like a computer or mobile device, they need to be backed up so that if they contain any saved information, and they get destroyed or damaged for whatever reason, that information remains accessible and can be found when necessary.

Conclusion Protecting your favorite technological gadget can help you manage your information and privacy and various aspects of your life. There are some things that clearly should be practiced with almost all online interactions to ensure that you protect your favorite tech gadget. Perhaps the most important of all these is to ensure that any information that you download is from a safe and reliable source. This is especially applicable to the myriad of apps out there in the market. Backing up information is also vital, to protect your information against theft. Today, backing up can be done in various ways. You can back up your data using a flash drive or external hard drive, or using a cloud. This will allow you to access all your information, and be able to recover it, even if you must wipe clean your device. All devices today have built in security features. Rather than ignoring these features or taking them for granted, as a user, to protect your information you should familiarize yourself with these security features, and also use them as much as possible. If for any reason you will be sharing your device with others, have a powerful password. Create an additional account on your device for others to access when they need to, and this will protect the information in your personal account. This also allows you to set controls on what can be downloaded onto your phone, and an opportunity to have a look at what the other party was browsing or accessing using your device. Take advantage of free updates on all your apps, as this ensures that you are protected against the latest threats. Though they may seem to interrupt your work, especially if they simply pop up as reminders, ensure that you update. If possible, program your device to update certain apps automatically.

When using your technological devices in public, especially where you connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot or an unsecured Bluetooth network, do not access your personal and private information and be aware of accepting to connect with users you do not know. Hackers can easily access your information in these situations, and simply being aware of this can save you from unnecessary frustration or anguish. Antivirus software can be installed on almost all technological gadgets and should be to ensure protection. This is perhaps the most basic step that can be taken in protecting your device, and maintaining privacy of your personal information online. Do not underestimate the advantages of having physical barriers to discourage the theft of your devices. By making your device look difficult to steal, you may get a potential thief to change their mind. In addition, warranties and insurance are availed by manufacturers to offer you added protection. Use them as much as possible, and find out what extended warranties you may be eligible for. Embrace new technology, but do not do so blindly. Find out the best ways that you can keep your information safe before you make a purchase or start to actively use this technology. Educate yourself on the existing security features as well as those that can be added to the device, and make sure you understand how these features may affect the device performance. Take some time to learn and begin familiarizing yourself with the more technical terms of information protection that at the moment appear to be intimidating and difficult to understand. Once you get a good comprehension of these terms, you will be able to go further in your journey to keep your information secure, and this will only help you in the future. Finally, if you consider disposing of your existing smartphone or tablet, personal computer or laptop or gaming console, ensure that you have deleted all of your personal information and any saved account details.

Zendoodle Basics The Ultimate Guide for Absolute Beginners With Unique Patterns and Shapes

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – What is Zendoodle? Chapter 2 – Requirements for a Zendoodle Chapter 3 – Clearing Your Mind Chapter 4 – Tangles to Get You Started Chapter 5 – Drawing Tips Conclusion

Copyright Notice © Copyright 2016 by Jeff Adams - All rights reserved. This document is geared towards providing exact and reliable information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary, legal or professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered. - From a Declaration of Principles which was accepted and approved equally by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations. In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. The information provided herein is stated to be truthful and consistent, in that any liability, in terms of inattention or otherwise, by any usage or abuse of any policies, processes, or directions contained within is the solitary and utter responsibility of the recipient reader. Under no circumstances will any legal responsibility or blame be held against the publisher for any reparation, damages, or monetary loss due to the information herein, either directly or indirectly. Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher. The information herein is offered for informational purposes solely, and is universal as so. The presentation of the information is without contract or any type of guarantee assurance.

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Introduction Hello, and thank you for checking out this book! Art has been around since the dawn of man, and has evolved through many stages over the years. From the paintings of cavemen to the Sistine Chapel to Picasso, there’s a style out there for any time period. Now there’s a new art style that anyone can do. It’s Zendoodle. Zendoodle combines the basics of meditation with the free-flowing drawings that are similar to doodling. Zendoodle, best of all, can be done by almost anyone. You don’t need to have superior art skills to make a Zendoodle. All you need is a few accessories, a nice place to draw, and then you’re set. By doing Zendoodle, you can relieve yourself of your anxiety and make a work of art you never thought you could do. So what are you waiting for? Try Zendoodle out today, and you’ll be glad that you did. This book will cover all you need to know about Zendoodle. We’ll go through what it is, tell you what you need, inform you of how you can clear your mind, and then we will provide you with various patterns that you can try to get started. Finally, we’ll give you some tips and tricks to get you started. So without delay, let’s do this.



Chapter 1 – What is Zendoodle? You may have heard of Zendoodle, but don’t know what exactly it is. In the simplest terms, Zendoodle is a new form of art that’s easy to do. You don’t need to have amazing art skills to make a masterpiece, and there are no limitations as to what you can make. Zendoodles are unplanned. They’re created using simple patterns that have structure. Also known as tangles, the patterns soon turn into one giant art piece. People use Zendoodle as their own form of meditation. You become relaxed and engaged in making the patterns and seeing what you can make. The History of Zendoodle Its history is short, and it doesn’t require that much to explain. Two people formed Zendoodle, and they were Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Mario explained her experiences to Rick concerning the background patterns she drew on a manuscript. Maria thought that those patterns gave her a sense of freedom and an ability to focus on what she was doing. Rick compared those feelings to meditation. Then, the two thought that they could create an art style that is easy and can help to meditate. They called it Zendoodle, as it gives you a feeling of Zen when you create the patterns known as tangles. Since then, the Zendoodle movement has grown immensely. Why Should I Try Zendoodle? Even if art isn’t your specialty, you should give Zendoodle a go. Here are just a few things that Zendoodle can do for you. Zendoodle increases focus. By drawing your Zendoodle, you’ll be able to focus on every single pattern, line, and the big picture itself. Because of this, Zendoodle is ideal for when you need to increase your ability to focus. Doing this will help you not just in the artistic world, but in real life as well.

It’s unplanned and has no meaning. You don’t need to put some deep, pretentious meaning into your drawings. You just start with a simple pattern and let the drawing do the rest of the work for you. Zendoodle allows for mistakes. Since you use a pen to make Zendoodle art, there is no erasing it. You’ll make mistakes, and you can learn how to fix them and incorporate them into your art. It reflects real life, in a way. Zendoodle can promote relaxation. Drawing repetitive patterns can relax you body and make you feel at ease. It’s simple and requires little tools. You don’t need to have talent to start, and you don’t need a collection of paints and an easel. You can do Zendoodle on the bus, on a plane, while in the waiting room, or wherever you feel like. You feel more confident after you see your creation. Zendoodles look beautiful, and you’ll feel more comfortable as an artist and a person after you finish your designs. They’ll look great, trust us! What Zendoodle is Not Now that you know what Zendoodle is, now let’s look at what it isn’t. Zendoodle is Not a Doodle If you doodle while you’re preoccupied, you may think that the two are one and the same. In truth, however, there is a distinct difference between the two. A doodle is unfocused an aimless. You’ll doodle while you’re doing something else, such as listening to a teacher or in a meeting. However, a Zendoodle requires concentration and has more structure. Focusing is a big aspect of Zendoodle, so to say that it’s doodling is untrue.

A Tangle is Not Always the Same as a Pattern As we’ve said before, a tangle is a pattern you create, however, a pattern may not meet the criteria to be a tangle. Flower designs, star shapes, hearts… these are all not tangles. If it’s a recognizable shape on its own accord, odds are it’s not a tangle. A tangle is an abstract-shaped pattern. Here are some of the requirements. A tangle should be three strokes or fewer. Three is pushing it, so try to come up with a design in one or two. The definition of stroke in this context includes dots, lines, curves, reverse curves, orbs, and circles. The simplicity of a tangle means that you should not have to draw it using a stencil or grid. Many patterns need rules or other aids to help you draw it. Tangles use none of that. They are abstract and go in no direction. The big picture grows on its own, all organically. You don’t have an end goal when you make your Zendoodle. Each tangle is unique. There is nothing recognizable about them. So now you know about what a Zendoodle is. In the next chapter, we’ll teach you about what you need to prepare yourself to Zendoodle! You can’t just use any pencil and paper, after all.

Chapter 2 – Requirements for a Zendoodle As we’ve said in the previous chapter, a Zendoodle requires few materials, so you can make one anywhere you go. But don’t think that you can grab a piece of scrap paper out of your notebook! A Zendoodle requires a specific piece of paper for you to draw your artwork on. The Paper Zendoodle requires you to have quality paper. A sheet of paper from school that you use to write on just won’t cut it. It’s difficult to draw on, easy to rip, and it has distracting lines. What you need is a sheet of higher quality printmaking paper. Besides having the perfect texture for you to draw on, it’s the perfect way to store your artwork forever. The paper needs to be a square tile consisting of sides that are 3.5 inches. Why so small? A small piece of paper allows you to finish your Zendoodle quickly, gives you a limited space to be creative, thus challenging you, and is small enough to take it anywhere. If your paper is too big, simply cut a few square tiles out, or draw a border. Make sure to use a ruler so that each side is perfect. You can also combine tiles to make your own compilation. Perhaps it will form an even bigger picture! The Pen Zendoodle requires you to draw everything with a pen. A pen is not erasable, so you cannot cheat and correct your mistakes. A pen is also better for archiving. A pencil fades, but a good quality pen does not. Make sure to buy a pen that is fadeproof. There are pens specifically designed for Zendoodle, but any pen will work. Just make sure that the pen hasn’t been used. You don’t want to pick up a random pen you found on your desk, only to run out of ink halfway through! A Pencil (Optional) A pencil? But didn’t you say that you shouldn’t have one of these? Well, not to draw your main art, anyway. However, to add more personality to the drawing, you can use a pencil or coloring pencil for shading.

A Good Place to Draw With a Zendoodle, you can draw it virtually anywhere, making it mobile. However, some places are more suited for a Zendoodle than others. For instance, as it requires intense focus, you wouldn’t want to do it in a noisy or distracting environment, such as a parade or in the classroom. You should not use it as a multitasking activity. It should be a place where you can sit still and not be bothered. Your bedroom, an airplane, the back of a car, inside a waiting room, or any other place where it’s calm and you don’t need to listen to anything. Yourself This is perhaps the most important step of all. You need to have yourself in order to make a Zendoodle. By this, we mean that you need to be entirely in focus. You need to make sure that your mind’s in it, that you’re relaxed, and you’re ready to draw. If you’re disinterested, or preoccupied with something else, your Zendoodle will not work. So that’s the requirements for Zendoodle. Now that you know what you should get, it’s now time to draw. However, you need to make sure that you’re relaxed beforehand. This way, you don’t get distracted when you draw.

Chapter 3 – Clearing Your Mind Now you’re ready to draw. However, you need to make sure your mind is calm and in focus before you do so. If your mind is foggy, or you don’t feel focused, your Zendoodle may suffer because of it. So here are a few exercises you can do to clear your mind. Exercising A quick exercise can help to release the clutter from your mind, and you’ll feel better in the process. You don’t need to go to the gym or run for an hour to accomplish this. By taking a brisk five-minute walk outside, you’ll feel clearer and ready to draw! Listen to Music Plug in your MP3 player or radio and play your favorite song. Whether it’s relaxing or heavy, you’ll feel calmer instantly! Listen for a bit, and then get started. For the best effect, make sure you’re not multitasking and concentrate on the music. Meditation To clear your mind, you might need to meditate for a bit. While Zendoodle is the ultimate form of meditation, you need to make sure that your mind is at least somewhat clear to do it. Find a place to sit down, and as you do, close your eyes and breathe through your diaphragm. Try doing controlled breathing exercises, and as you do, clear all your thoughts and negative emotions away. Remember that it’s time to relax, and you should throw away all clutter in order for your mind to be clear. Practice! One way is to loosen up your hands and practice a bit. Get out a scrap piece of paper and doodle on it. You can also do a basic Zendoodle drawing to get your hands going. This will keep your mind off your troubles, and you can eventually work up to drawing the Zendoodle itself when you have the rest of your materials ready.

So now that your mind’s cleared, what should you draw? For Zendoodle, your hand should guide you, but for a beginner, you might need some practice, or have some basic patterns used for inspiration. In the next chapter, we’ll provide you with a ton of different patterns for you to get started.

Chapter 4 – Tangles to Get You Started Zendoodle is all about creating your own unique patterns that are different than anyone else’s. So you may be wondering why this chapter is devoted to shapes when you’re supposed to make your own. That’s because if you’re new to Zendoodle, you may not have an idea where to start. You may need to practice some basic Zendoodle shapes before you craft your own. After all, a good artist needs inspiration from somewhere! You can use the shapes as stepping stones to create your own tangles, and then you can show them off to your friends. So get your supplies, clear your mind, and let’s draw some tangles!

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is your standard black and white square pattern, and this is a great customizable one that can lead to more advanced tangles later on. For instance, you can distort your straight lines to create a feeling od uneasiness, and you can create some great drawings because of it.

As it’s checkered, you need to color in the right squares. Color a square that is kissing the corner of another colored square. It’s easy to mess up, and color the wrong square, thus breaking the pattern you’ve already established. Printemps These tangles look like small Frisbees with spirals inside them. Drawing them is simple. Draw a circle, and then a spiral inside. Sometimes, you can break the spiral to create a feeling of confusion in your pattern. Onamato This one gives the feeling of peas in a pod, or simply jewelry. To make these, you need to do it in multiple steps. First, draw two bands that curve. The bands consist of two lines each, spaced just a few centimeters apart. Once that’s done, add giant circles between the two bands. Then, draw small circles between the lines that make up the two bands. After that, fill the rest of the space between the bands with smaller, dark circles. You can also shade the giant circles for extra effect.

Eddies These tangles consist of a teardrop shape. Color the tangles in, saving a bit of white to add some character to them. Once you do that, you can have the eddies going in all sorts of directions. One popular way to draw them is to have them all going in a clockwise whirl shape, almost as if they’re being sucked in by something. However, you can customize them with whatever shape you want. Experiment, and have fun with them! Ennies This one continues where eddies left off. First, draw a circle of unshaded eddies. You can make it into a wacky frame shape, or have a consistent shape. Afterwards, outline another small frame inside of the eddie frame. Once again, it’s ideal if you make your own fun shape. Once that is finished, fill the frame with tiny circles. To really mix and match, you should make sure that some circles are shaded and some aren’t. Hairy This gives off the impression of, well, hair, and it can be used as part of many designs, including tails. To make this, draw squiggly, almost wormlike, shapes of different sizes. Have some going in different directions and others going straight. Once you have a cool shape going, you’ve made a successful hairy.

Mumsy This flower shape will give you the feeling of spring no matter what the season. Start off by drawing a starfish-like shape, and then put a smaller one inside. From the bigger starfish shape, began drawing petals that sprout from it. Start small, and then add bigger petals from the smaller ones until you have the appearance of a giant flower. To add more character, put an arch shape inside the petals when you’re done. Arc Flower Here’s another flowery design that you’ll love. Simply start by drawing a giant circle, and put a shaded, tiny circle in the center. From that shaded circle, begin drawing arches sprouting from it. Like the mumsy, the arches should keep growing as they go upwards. Fill the entire giant circle with them.



Gingham This is another easy one that’s good for beginners. Using horizontal and vertical lines, draw a square grid. How many squares you want is up to you, but start small when you’re beginning. Fill every other square on every other horizontal line in. For instance, you could leave the odd horizontal squares blank and the evens filled up. Fill every even or odd square. Once that happens, connect the filled squares horizontally and vertically with a series of lines. Krili-Q Here’s one that will make you dizzy! This one involves drawing curved lines that dip, go up, curve some more, and eventually end in a swirly Q. Draw one line in this shape and then draw another next to it to create more thickness, and then fill it in. Jonqual Jonqual starts off by filling your board with vertical, curved lines. Start with short, and then keep increasing their length, and then go back to short once you’re done with them. Once that is over, draw a series of horizontal zigzag lines across the board. You should now have diamond shapes everywhere. Fill in the diamonds, and you’ve created your Jonqual! Paradox Think of it as a triangle whirlpool. This design is trippy and it’s easy to do! Start by drawing a slightly rotated triangle, either clockwise or counterclockwise. This triangle should be the largest one. Once you do that, draw another triangle tightly inside the giant one, and rotate it just slightly. Continue this process, making your triangles smaller and a bit more rotated. Soon, you’ll have a triangle whirlpool. Cadent Start by drawing a few rows of squares about the same distance apart from one another. Connect these squares together horizontally and vertically with squiggly lines. One thing

you could do is make sure that the squares are filled up.

Opus With Aura This one is fun and quite easy to do, but it ends up looking awesome. Create a curved line with a swirly Q at the end. From the peak of that line, you can have other swirly Qs sprouting from it. Think of it as if you’re drawing a petal stem. Once you’ve completed your Opus, you can draw more lines to fill it in, and then draw a flowery circle around it. Then, add different filled circles inside the design, and make it look awesome!

Cubine This pattern is fun to draw, and provides a lot of depth without the hassle of creating something complicated. To do this, draw a series of about four vertical curved lines across your board. Then, add four horizontal curved lines that cross with the vertical ones. You should have square shapes. In one of the corners of the square, create a smaller square and fill it in. Do this for the selected corners of all the giant squares. Connect the squares with a horizontal line, about four to six in all. You should have more unique shapes at this point. Create your own pattern by filling in or shading the shapes.

Hibred This is another unique pattern to do. Start by drawing two vertical curved lines on each side to form a big line. These two big, curved lines should take up most of the board. Start by creating a wide zig-zagged line between the two giant lines that bounces from both sides and goes up vertically. Continue to fill the pattern in with lines going in organized directions. Make them big, small, it doesn’t matter. This design will vary depending on how you do it, but the result always looks good. Hurry This is good if you’re in a quick rush! To do this, create an X shape using three straight lines for each line of the X. Use the same three lines to cross the X vertically and horizontally. It’s almost as though you’re creating an asterisk. Continue creating these three lines in every direction you can and see what you can come up with. There can be breaks in each line of some added personality. Pepper Create a square with a distorted circle inside of it. Create thick, curved lines in the circle that start from the bottom and then go towards the center. They should be spaced apart, and should form their own circle. Think of it almost like a peppermint. Fill in these lines, and then you’ll have your pepper!

Munchin Circle in a series of dots all over your tile, and then connect two of them in a slope shape. Connect the closest dot that will form a triangle shape with a series of lines coming from the line that connected the first two dots. Repeat with the rest of the dots, and you shall have your munchin. Yincut Here’s an easy design for you to make! Create a series of curved lines going across the tile both horizontally and vertically. This should create diamond shapes. Use vertical, horizontal, curved, or all of the above, and fill those diamonds with lines. Peanuckle Start by creating a slightly rotated S, and draw a large one on the paper. Create more S’s that connect to each other vertically. Create a few vertical rows of these S’s. Draw a series of horizontal lines that connect the top opening of the S to a bottom one. Do it for every single S. Connect various slanted lines to the lines you’ve made, and fill the openings. This pattern can go on for quite some time.

So that’s a few patterns that you can use to get you started. You don’t need to draw these exactly how they’re described. Instead, try doing it in your own way after you have the basic design down. There are hundreds of different ways to do a pattern. These differences can be subtle, such as curving the lines, or different entirely. In the next chapter, we shall look at a few tips and tricks you can use to help you when you’re drawing.

Chapter 5 – Drawing Tips When you’re drawing your Zendoodle, there are a few pointers you can use to make your experience more pleasant. While they’re not mandatory, consider a few of these and see what you can do with them. Rotate Your Tile! When you’re creating a design that has lines going in all sorts of directions, one way to make it much easier is to rotate the tile until the line you need to draw is easy to do. For instance, if you’re doing an arch design that foes in all directions, rotate your tile so you can make an arch going straight up every time. Turn Mistakes Into Masterpieces! We’ve said this before, but it needs to be said again. Zendoodle isn’t about making perfectly straight lines and correcting mistakes. Zendoodle is a reflection of life, and that’s why the lines aren’t always straight. If you make a mistake, use it to your advantage. Say you’re drawing a line going in a particular direction, and your hand slips, sending the line in an entirely new direction. This should indicate that you should try to draw lines in the new pattern you’ve created. Zendoodle is meant to adapt to your mistakes, and just like life, you can’t take a mistake back. Instead, you learn to live with it and make it your own. Shade! Shading certain shapes can add depth and character that you’ve never seen before. There are many ways to do this. One way is to draw lines in your shape using your pen, and leaving some white in there. Another is to wait until you’re finished. Once you’re done, shade it using the side of a pencil. This will create an awesome-looking depth that will add some flavor. Fill in Later You should create the basic lines and shapes before you fill them in. If you fill things in

before your outline is complete, you may run out of ink, and forget your original vision of how the Zendoodle was supposed to be. Make the outline first, and then fill it in. That way, it’s an easy fix if you lose ink. Just buy another pen, and fill in what you’ve completed. Dealing With Tangle Block What is tangle block, you may ask? Simply put, it’s the Zendoodle way of saying you have writer’s block. Perhaps you have no idea on where to go next, and there’s still a lot of empty space left on your masterpiece. Or, you think your designs are beginning to look samey. Here’s a few ways you can overcome that. Try Zentangling basic letters and numbers. The entire alphabet and numbers consist of unique shapes and designs that you can modify and distort until they’re works of art. For instance, you can draw your name using a Zendoodle method. It also can make a great gift for your loved one. One way to get inspired is to use a word processing program and look through the different fonts, blowing them up to the biggest size. There are many ways to draw a letter, after all, and you can use the hundreds of fonts you have at your disposal to create something amazing. If you have a friend, loved one, child, or someone else near you, try playing a game. You draw a line, and then the next person draws another. Repeat until you have a Zendoodle. This is a great way to bounce off ideas and see how another person does their Zendoodle. By using this information, you can improve your technique. Try mixing up the way you draw. For instance, you can increase the size of your type either big or small. Another good way is to try drawing on different formats. You can try cards, wood, stock, construction paper, or even walls! While the tile is the best way to Zendoodle, mixing it up will help you achieve different results. Increase the size of your tangles or make them smaller. This gives you more or less

room to do something, making it a challenge. Make a Zendoodle cube. Get a box made from papier-mâché and create a continuing design that spreads on all the sides of the cube. Not only is this challenging, but the final result will be a great decoration that anyone will enjoy. So that’s a few ways you can use to get you started. You can find your own ways to help you out as well. Don’t be afraid, also, to ask fellow Zendoodlers for some tricks and tips. Remember to learn as much as you can.

Conclusion Thank you so much for downloading this book! As you can see, Zendoodle is all the rage for a very good reason. Unlike some art, which requires a certain skill level, anyone can do Zendoodle. It thrives on simple lines, patterns, and designs for you to create something that looks like pure eye candy. Best of all, it’s great for those who are prone to make mistakes. Zendoodle teaches us that we can learn from our mistakes not by erasing them, but using them to our advantage. To do a Zendoodle, buy a pen and a sheet of high-quality paper, and cut it into a square that’s 3.5 inches on each side. This will be your board. You can change your formats and sizing around, but this is the best way for beginners. Also, you now know a few beginner’s patterns that you can use. You can practice them and see if you can recreate them. However, remember that each Zendoodle is unique. Because of this, you can modify and take your own spin on the patterns. Add more shapes, make them look more unique, curve your lines more, rotate things. By doing this, you can create entirely knew Zendoodle designs that you can brag to your friends and family, and show them how you can do them. Just remember not to stress about Zendoodle too much. It’s supposed to be a relaxing exercise that’s yoga for the mind. Clear your mind beforehand, and you should be fine. To do that, exercise, do some heavy breathing, or meditate. Once again, thank you so much for downloading! If you want to, feel free to leave a review on Amazon. If you enjoyed the book, tell us why. If you feel like the book didn’t live up to your expectations, explain why. These reviews will help us to improve our books in the future. Also, if you have your own unique design, share it. There are literally unlimited amounts of patterns you can create, so of course this book tackles just a small

grain of sand in a desert of ideas. Now that you’ve read this book, whip out your tile and see what you can create. Happy Zendoodling!

How to Crochet 11 Unique Crochet Patterns for Beginners. Learn How to Crochet a Hat and Many Other Things With These Easy Crochet Patterns!

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – Learn basic crochet What you will need? Steps Chapter 2 – Learn how to crochet 11 unique patterns Crochet braided pattern Braided trim crochet pattern Filet crochet pattern Trivet crochet pattern Slip crochet pattern Micro spun crochet pattern Crochet beanie pattern Gatsby crochet pattern Crochet stash pattern Embroidered pattern Round cloth line pattern Chapter 3 – Crochet a beautiful hat with different patterns Chapter 4 – Different patterns for crocheting a blanket Broomstick crochet pattern Conclusion



Copyright Notice © Copyright 2015 by Sandra Robinson - All rights reserved. This document is geared towards providing exact and reliable information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary, legal or professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered. - From a Declaration of Principles which was accepted and approved equally by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations. In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. The information provided herein is stated to be truthful and consistent, in that any liability, in terms of inattention or otherwise, by any usage or abuse of any policies, processes, or directions contained within is the solitary and utter responsibility of the recipient reader. Under no circumstances will any legal responsibility or blame be held against the publisher for any reparation, damages, or monetary loss due to the information herein, either directly or indirectly. Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher. The information herein is offered for informational purposes solely, and is universal as so.

The presentation of the information is without contract or any type of guarantee assurance. The trademarks that are used are without any consent, and the publication of the trademark is without permission or backing by the trademark owner. All trademarks and brands within this book are for clarifying purposes only and are the owned by the owners themselves, not affiliated with this document.

Disclaimer While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this book, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter contained within. The information provided in this book is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions and the author does not accept any responsibilities for any liabilities or damages, real or perceived, resulting from the use of this information.

Introduction No doubt, crochet is an art and these days it is in great demand owing to the reason that although it requires quite a little bit more effort but the beauty of its patterns cannot be compared with anything else. The importance of this type of clothing having crochet in it cannot be declined at any point of time. If you are a beginner in learning the crochet patterns, this book is definitely a complete guide for you that will help you out in learning and understanding all the essentials of crocheting that are required. From the very basic till the complicated crochet, all types of patterns and the steps for making these patterns have been added in this book so that you can learn the step by step procedure of working with crochet for getting the beautiful patterns out.

Chapter 1 – Learn basic crochet If you are interested in making unique pieces of cloth for you and your family then crocheting is a very useful technique by using which you can do so. It is just an entertaining kind of art of playing with needle and thread to make some extra ordinary pieces of clothes which you would definitely love. Do not think that working with crochet is difficult as without any doubt it is as easy as one two and three and can be used for making any piece of cloth that you like. For example, you can make a beautiful hat, a scarf full of flowers or you can crochet your very own blanket with the most beautiful patterns as per you want. When you are new to crochet, initially you would feel like you haven’t got any talent to deal with it but this feeling would soon be vanished when you will go through the easiest steps of crocheting any kind of cloth you want as per the instructions I am going to tell you in detail later. All you need is complete determination and willingness to spare some time from your busy life to completely concentrate on learning and then practically implementing the various crochet techniques. You will be completely able to learn all the necessary steps involved in crocheting after following all the steps mentioned here. You can take crocheting as your hobby and can greatly work over it. In fact, crocheting is considered as one of the great hobbies which you can opt for in which there are not only a lot of interesting things that you will learn but also you will be able to create your own clothing masterpiece which you will definitely love more than any other cloth you have. Different things like blanket, hat or any other clothing item can be made using the technique of crocheting and just from scratch by using a needle and a thread you can do wonders. There are various types of patterns by using which you can crochet anything. These patterns need different kinds of techniques to be followed but before learning all of these patterns, you must be firstly aware of the basic crocheting techniques so that your base may become strong enough that will help you out in learning the other patterns in an easy way which are comparatively a bit more complicated.

You can learn the basic crochet techniques quickly without facing any sort of trouble just by following few steps. So, here you are going to learn some of the basics of working with simple crochet:

What you will need? In order to begin with working with crochet, you are required to have following things: Yarn darning of various colors Needle Scissor Crochet hook Ruler (for measurements)

Steps Following are the step by step instructions for getting done with your basic crochet patterns and after carefully following them, you will be able to completely learn the art of crocheting simply and quickly and without facing any sort of trouble. In the first step you are required to make a kind of pretzel shaped round with the help of ending portion of the yarn you have in such a way that a small tail remains behind. Getting started with crochet seems to be very much difficult for most of the people but do not frustrate at all and do not give up in any case. When you will keep trying, you will be able to get the right shape in the form of curve which you want. Now you are required to look for the yarn strand which is in the pretzel and you will find out that it will be across the tail lying just in the middle of pretzel. The next thing which is required by you includes the inserting of the part of yarn with the hook in the same direction just like that of tail. The next step involves grasping of tail of yarn and the strand which is attached to the remaining ball of yarn followed by pulling the hook tightly. By doing this, you will be having a small knot which will get snugged next to the hook. Next thing which you are going to do is, wrapping up of the strand which will lead to the yarn which was previously left and then wrap the same yarn from back to the front. Keep this thing in mind that yarn should be held tight just beneath the edge of the hook residing in the bottom. Now, you are just required to use that yarn which leads to the remaining yarn in order to crochet, while at the same time you are ignoring the tail. Now what you are required to do is, grab the strand of yarn just at the center of hook and push it up.

Now, the yarn which has been pushed into the hook should be used in order to make the next loop. Just make the yarn in the loop slide at the center and pass through the already made loop of yarn. Now, one thing should be considered by you which is that, the yarn should be kept back in the hook which you are holding in your left hand. By doing so, you will be able to see a small “v” shaped yarn between the center of hook and the starting point of knot. Thus, the first round has been completed and now the above mentioned steps should be repeated again and again to complete the crochet pattern as per you desire.

Chapter 2 – Learn how to crochet 11 unique patterns There are various crochet patterns which you can create according to your own wish. No matter whether you are crocheting a hat or a basket, all you need is various kinds of patterns which will increase the beauty of any clothing item you are making. So, here I am going to make you learn about eleven different kinds of crochet patterns by learning which you can create your own masterpiece of clothing without having any sort of trouble.

Crochet braided pattern For making this pattern, you are required to have yarn and a hook of size H/8 but you can vary the hook as per your ease. If you are not comfortable with the new ones, you can even use the scrap yarns for getting started and then moving on further with the new ones. Make a chain just by following the steps mentioned in the previous section and get the hook be inserted in to the loop at back of the chain you have already made. Now insert the yarn again in the back loop of just like you have done in the previous step. Repeat this process three or four times so that you may get few loops in the already made chain. While you will be doing so, the braid will start to form right away and a hanging braid will be in front of you very soon. Now, you are just inserting the yarn in to the loops and your braid has started to be formed in just a very simple way. These were the simple steps which you are required to take in order to make the crochet braided pattern and using it, you can create any piece of cloth as per you want without facing any kind of ambiguity.

Braided trim crochet pattern This crochet pattern is very much similar to the simple braided crochet but some variations are also present in its making. This pattern is just like braided crochet but the difference lies in the making of loop. In this type of pattern the loops are made exactly like inserting the yarn in the chain you have already made but the inserting of yarn takes place in the backward direction. Once you have come up with a complete loop, all you need is to insert the yarn in the hook in the loop from the opposite direction to that of the one you have already made and vice versa. And you are done with this pattern as well. The basic thing which is associated with this type of pattern lies in the fact that once you become used to of it, you do not need to concentrate on the pattern and just while watching movie or any of your favorite TV shows, you can come up with beautiful braided trim pattern for making your hat, blanket or anything else you want to make.

Filet crochet pattern In this pattern you are first required to make a foundation chain and then you can move on further. Keep this thing in mind that this crochet pattern is basically used for filling up the spaces between the rows of crochet chains you have already made, giving you out a very beautiful crochet lace which you can use for different kinds of purposes. For making the filet crochet pattern, first of all you are required to make three simple chain stiches so that when you start making it further, each row must have the multiple of three stiches of chains which you have made. Now just after adding the three chains, you are required to add three more stiches for making the turning chain. Now after chaining the turning chain, you are required to follow the preceding steps by starting with the spaces which are present in the very first row of the chain. After conducting this step, your first chain will be completely filled by the filet crochet pattern. Now, you have to repeat the above mentioned steps for each of the next rows so that all the chain rows get filled up by this pattern, giving you out a very beautiful pattern.

Trivet crochet pattern In this pattern, your base will be chain stiches along with the double crochet stiches which you are going to apply in the third chain from your crochet hook. Make the loop of chains in the backward direction and at the end leave the end of yarn with an extra tail of about 15- 20 inches so that you can use this tool for making the further chains in the rows as well. Now start weaving the yarn with the chain stich and make sure you are working at the shorter end of the yarn in your hand and not at the longer one. Now make your tapestry needle threaded with the yarn at the longer end and not with the shorter end this time. Now this time again, you are required to make use of chain or whip stich to make a beautiful pattern in the form of lace which can then be transformed in to any kind of clothing item as you like. The above mentioned steps will help you out in making out the beautiful trivet crochet pattern with much ease and beauty which you will like for sure.

Slip crochet pattern For making this pattern you are just required to learn the slip stich by weaving which again and again you will become able to make the beautiful pattern of slip crochet. Chose variant colors of yarn which you are going to use for making this pattern and I would suggest you to make use of some contrasting colors so that they look more beautiful when the pattern will get completed. Take the yarn and make it inserted in to the hook. Next step is to pull up the yarn towards yourself from the hook and give it a back slip just be making up a chain stich in the backward direction. Keep pulling the loop towards you as well so that the stich may get completed. Continue repeating the above mentioned steps till you get the desired pattern. Now, your slip stich crochet pattern is ready and you can use it for making anything you want.

Micro spun crochet pattern This pattern is very much easy to be followed and just require few simple steps to get completed. Firstly you are required to start by making a slip knot by inserting the yarn in the form of chains by using the hook. In this way you will get a strap of slip knots in the form of group. Now you are required to work with the edge of the first strap while holding the yarn at the top of strap you have already made. Catch the remaining yarn which is coming out of the ball with a hook. Now take the yarn over loop and pull it up between both of the loops. In this way, you will get a single crochet micro spun pattern in the form of strand. Repeat the above mentioned steps to make the pattern as per your wish.

Crochet beanie pattern This is one of the easiest crochet patterns that you will have. Start with weaving the slip knot or the chain pattern in the form of row. Hold the hook in your left hand and start weaving in the opposite direction so that the new loops will come beneath the chains you have already made. Continue making the chains with the help of yarn till you get a row of about 20 -25 chains in the backward direction. Just by taking in consideration these steps, you will become able to make the crochet beanie pattern with much ease and comfort quickly.

Gatsby crochet pattern Start with making the slip knot just as you did in the beanie crochet pattern. Crochet three to four chain at a time with the help of slip knot. Now work with the half double crochet in the same chain of loops you have made. Make as many chains as you want. Continue adding slip knots from the top of the chains so that you may get a pattern in the vertical direction. Keep repeating the above mentioned steps till you get a full pattern of Gatsby crochet for making hats or blankets as per you desire.

Crochet stash pattern Here you are required to work with the back loops which are just like the chain loop but exactly in the opposite direction. That means if you are working on this kind of pattern, you are required to work with chain loops but start making them just from the backward direction. Make a single row by following the above mentioned steps. Now make the second row by working with two loops at one time. This will make a double crochet pattern. Repeat the step with third row by working on three loops at a time and so on. Continue doing so till you get your desired clothing item.

Embroidered pattern This pattern is just like doing embroidery on any piece of cloth. You are required to start with double crochet and continue doing it till end. The difference which lies here is in the size of hook which you change after every three rows you make. This will let you make a beautiful embroidered pattern. This pattern is mostly used for crocheting hats and for making small bottle crochet caps.

Round cloth line pattern You are required to wrap up the yarn in the needle and start stitching the loops so that alternate rings may be formed. Continue stitching till you reach at the end of the row of stiches you have just made. Start working on the second row by stitching the chain loops and make the ends of the yarn run under the previous row to hide inside it. For the next row, make the yarn to get watched with the hook with the help of slip knot. Now make about 4 – 5 loops around the three rows so that it may form a ring. Now you are done with the basic step. Continue repeating all the above mentioned steps to get a complete pattern which is required for crocheting any clothing item. In the next chapter, I am going to tell you that how you can use any of the above mentioned crochet pattern to make different items like a beautiful and colorful hat, a scarf or even a blanket.

Chapter 3 – Crochet a beautiful hat with different patterns No matter if you are new to the art of crocheting, you can become able to crochet a beautiful and colorful hat by following any of the pattern mentioned in the previous chapter. For making your very own hat, you are required to follow the following basic steps: Firstly you are required to choose the yarn by using which you are going to crochet your hat. If you are not very much familiar with the types of yarn available, you can work with some sort of elastic yarn the use if which will be much easier for you. The color of yarn is totally dependent upon your choice. Even you can use yarn of multiple colors for giving an even beautiful look to your hat. Now it’s time to pick up the hook with the help of which you are going to crochet your hat. For beginners, it is greatly recommended that you must use H/8 hook made up of aluminum. Now it is the time to determine that what the exact size of hat is which you are going to make. The determination of the exact size of your hat is very important. Use the following table to get the knowledge about the size of hat which you are going to make. (Note: These are just the average sizes and you are required to take these measures to be used as approximation.

The next step involves the tying up of your slipknot. Basically, making a slipknot is the start of working with the process of making your hat. In order to tie the very first knot, take the yarn in your hand with its tail in your palm in such a way that it is being wrapped around above your index figure and bebathe your middle figure. Pass the yarn through the hook and pull it towards you so that you may get the very first loop of the pattern. Now make the yarn wrapped at the top of your index figure and this will be done just behind the first loop you made in the previous step. This loop will comparatively be smaller than the previous one. Now, place this loop in to the crochet hook followed by pulling the yarn in the hook so that to make it tight. Continue repeating the above mentioned steps so that you can come up with the foundation chain for your hat. Keep this thing in mind as you are crocheting a hat, so the foundation chain will not be much longer as it would happen in the case when you are crocheting a blanket or something like that. Just after making your foundation chain, you are required to hook the foundation chain back in the first loop so that it may take shape of a round. Now continue making the chains like this in a spiral manner so that you may get all

of your rounded chains in the form of entangled spiral one after the other. Wrap up the end of the yarn in the hook and pull it back in the loop so that it may form another spiral with different loops joined together. Keep repeating these steps until you get a complete round of loops as per the measurement you took before crocheting your hat. Make sure that you do not forget to count your stiches so that the measurements may not get wrong in making your hat just of the same size as you want. After completing the round loops by connecting each of them with the previous one, you are required to tie up the tail of yarn with the very first base row so that your hat may get a finishing look. You can make your hat by applying the crochet braided pattern and also by micro spun crochet pattern as per you want. In fact, if you want, you can make use of any of the crochet patterns mentioned in the previous chapter and all you have to do is to work in rounds so that it may form a shape of hat.

Chapter 4 – Different patterns for crocheting a blanket Here you get a bonus in which I am going to tell you the basic steps by using which you can become able to learn a beautiful pattern of broomstick crochet which you can use for crocheting a blanket for you and without any doubt it will prove to be one of the most beautiful crochet pattern which you will ever see.

Broomstick crochet pattern This pattern can turn out to be so much beautiful if you spend a separate time working on it. For getting started, you are required to make chain pattern just by passing the yarn again and again from the loop already made and make about 20 such chain stiches so that you may become able to get at least 5 broomsticks loops in each set of pattern you are making. But you can vary the number of chain stiches as per you desire depending upon how many loops do you want to have in one set of the broomstick pattern. Now pass the yarn through each hook with each chain across the loops and this pattern will act as a foundation for making a lace using the broomstick crochet pattern. Just after reaching the end of the first row of chains you have made, start by pulling up the loop and make it inserted in to your dowel. Make it sure that you are required to push up the loop so that it gets back to the fullest part of your dowel. Now you are having different sections. All you require now is pulling up the loop from each section in the row and make it slide towards dowel so that it come out of it. In the next step, you are required to insert the hook in to the very next section just like you have done previously followed by sliding the loop on to the dowel. Repeat the above mentioned process until you get about 20-25 loops on the dowel. Now make all the loops slide out of you dowel so that you may get a broomstick pattern in front of you.

Now yarn over and make all the loops pulled in the outside direction so that you may turn the chain in a broomstick pattern. This step is being taken in order to place all the loops of the chain in the form of group. Now use this group as a base for the next group and continue the process till you get as many groups of broomstick patterns as you want without having any sort ambiguity. Once you become comfortable working with this pattern, you must check for variant number of loops and dowels of different sizes as well so that you may combine them in different ways to get beautiful clothing items for you and your loved ones. Now, once you are done with learning all the essential steps of working with broomstick crochet pattern, you can simply follow these steps for crocheting your blanket of any size. Keep this thing in mind that you are required to make use of yarn of various colors so that the blanket may look more beautiful and you may become able to crochet your favorite pattern for making a blanket. Not only the broomstick crochet pattern but, any of the pattern can be used for crocheting blanket. Just your concentration and zeal is required to work over it and you will get your favorite crocheted item without any trouble.



Conclusion Crocheting is an art which is in great demand these days. Not only in the present time, but it has been in trend for about so many years when even our grandmothers used to crochet beautiful patterns for the children with great affection and love. Now, with the introduction of modern art, a lot of positive modifications have also come up in crocheting which has enhanced the beauty of this art definitely. This is for sure that the book will help you to find out the ways by which you can become able to learn crocheting. Not only this, but I am hoping that this book also made you learn about various patterns of crocheting in easier way so that you can try any of these patterns for crocheting anything you like. Recently, it has been researched out that if a person and especially a woman is suffering from depression, the art of crocheting will definitely help that person in recovering from depression. This seems to be very strange but research has already approved it. It has been seen that, when a person in depression spends time in knitting and crocheting, the mind gets diverted from the tension and the person feels free of all kinds of frustrations. Various patterns are there which can be availed while crocheting any kind of clothing item and this book contain all those patterns which are basically required by you for conducting the master pieces of art. Without any doubt, the feeling of happiness in having such a clothing item which you have made by your own is so much different from the one you take from market already made. So, it can be said that while you crochet any item, you will definitely get an internal feeling of happiness that will help you out in bringing ultimate joy for you and for your loved ones as well. Not only this but crocheting is an art which can be opted for passing a good time when you have got no other option to work on. Definitely, it can be taken as a hobby which will prove to be so much fruitful in a way that it not only helps in passing good time but will also come out with something really fruitful in the form of extra ordinary clothing item for

you and your family. This book will help you out to practically implement the various steps of crochet patterns which I have added in this book for making beautiful additions to the clothing collection of your family. You can crochet different things not only for you but also for your friends and family as well and thus you can make them happy and loved because of beautiful crocheted items made by you. Thank you!

Calisthenics for Beginners 25 Effective Exercises for Absolute Beginners

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – What Is Calisthenics? Chapter 2 – Benefits Of Calisthenics Chapter 3 – Core Body Exercises Sit Ups and Crunches Hanging Leg Raise Side Plank Bird Dog Crunch Burpee Hanging Windshield Elbow Plank Chapter 4 – Upper Body Exercises Clapping Push-Ups Muscle-Ups Chest Dips Decline Push-Ups Seated Dips Flexed-Arm Hang Pull-Ups Triceps Dips Chapter 5 – Lower Body Exercises The Wall Sit Jump On Box Butt Burner Walking Lunges Squats Step Ups Chapter 6 – How Often Should You Do Calisthenics? Conclusion

Copyright Notice © Copyright 2016 by Kathy Powell - All rights reserved. This document is geared towards providing exact and reliable information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary, legal or professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered. - From a Declaration of Principles which was accepted and approved equally by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations. In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. The information provided herein is stated to be truthful and consistent, in that any liability, in terms of inattention or otherwise, by any usage or abuse of any policies, processes, or directions contained within is the solitary and utter responsibility of the recipient reader. Under no circumstances will any legal responsibility or blame be held against the publisher for any reparation, damages, or monetary loss due to the information herein, either directly or indirectly. Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher. The information herein is offered for informational purposes solely, and is universal as so. The presentation of the information is without contract or any type of guarantee assurance.

The trademarks that are used are without any consent, and the publication of the trademark is without permission or backing by the trademark owner. All trademarks and brands within this book are for clarifying purposes only and are the owned by the owners themselves, not affiliated with this document.

Disclaimer While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this book, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter contained within. The information provided in this book is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions and the author does not accept any responsibilities for any liabilities or damages, real or perceived, resulting from the use of this information.

Introduction No matter where you look, we are constantly being told to exercise regularly to stay healthy. This is because the population is becoming unfit and unwell, as too many people don’t think they have time to exercise every day. But, what most don’t realize is that you don’t have to exercise for hours at a time. You only need to do 30 minutes, or an hour at the most to reap the huge physical and mental benefits of exercise. Calisthenics are an ideal form of exercise for anybody to do. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how fit you are, or what gender you are, there are exercises for everyone in the calisthenics category. However, if you do have medical or physical problems, check with your doctor first to make sure you don’t develop any further problems. There are hundreds of calisthenic exercises to choose from. Some are low impact, whilst others are more high impact. What you choose to do depends on your own abilities. When you first start out exercising, it’s always best to start with the low impact exercises and work your way up to the high impact ones once you have improved your fitness. Another great advantage of having so many exercises to choose from is that you will never get bored! You can change the selection of exercises each day, so no two days are the same. Also, if you are feeling a little tired, or are a bit sore in a particular area of the body, you can stick to the low impact exercises and choose those that won’t put added stress on the areas that are uncomfortable. A lot of people don’t like going to a public gym for a variety of reasons. The cost of membership can be quite high, and if you’re on a tight budget, it may not be possible to pay for it. Another common expense with gyms is that everyone feels they need to wear the best gym clothes to fit in with the crowd. You don’t have to worry about that with calisthenics. You can wear whatever you feel comfortable in, and there’s nobody there to judge you.

What stops a lot of people from exercising in groups or in a gym environment is the fear of other people watching or passing judgement. This is particularly true if a person is overweight. Exercising can be a struggle enough on its own, without the feelings of being ridiculed or watched out of curiosity. With calisthenics, you choose the place to exercise, so you can remove this stress from your exercising regime. The exercises are designed to use your own body weight to strengthen your muscles, increase your muscle mass, and improve your endurance. Instead of running on a treadmill, you could be hanging from a playground bar and raising your legs. Which of these sounds more appealing to you? Calisthenics also improves your body’s flexibility, coordination and agility. It is great for joints, as it involves movements that are natural for the joint, instead of them being forced into uncomfortable and sometimes damaging angles and positions. There are no rules or limits on how many exercises you do each day. That is entirely up to you. You may want to only focus on 3 exercises, or as your strength improves, you may want to include 5 exercises each day. The important thing to remember is, you need to do rounds of reps for each exercise. You don’t need to push yourself too hard all the time; you can opt for easier exercises if you feel you need a bit of a rest day. There is no need to rush out and buy any gear or equipment. The main object used is a bar, but you can find these at local parks, playgrounds, or you could even use a tree branch if it is sturdy enough. However, if you choose to buy a bar, they are not that expensive. Then you can exercise in the privacy of your own home. But, how much better would it be to get outside in the fresh air and exercise? It’s wonderful, and you can do this with ease with calisthenics.

Chapter 1 – What Is Calisthenics? There are so many different types of exercise out there that it can be hard to keep track of them all! But, calisthenics is a very popular form that uses varying gross motor movements. Instead of relying on different exercise machines, you actually use your own body and body weight to exercise. Calisthenics can be quite a rhythmical form of exercise, and you don’t need to have any specialized equipment. You don’t even need to go out and buy bars; you can simply utilize what is available around you, particularly at your local playground. Don’t be shy about exercising in front of kids at the playground – before long they’ll be joining in with you! Because there is no specific equipment needed, calisthenics is often called a form of ‘street workout’. You can use trees, steps, park benches, or even just a nice patch of soft grass to perform your calisthenic exercises. This adds to the adventure of exercising, as you look to find the perfect spot to exercise in. And it’s so much better to be outdoors than in, that’s for sure! Calisthenic exercises are designed to increase fitness, strength and flexibility. This is achieved through the many different movements, such as bending, pulling, jumping, swinging, and pushing yourself up. The faster you become, the more intense the workout, making the exercise more aerobic in nature. Calisthenics also help to improve your balance, coordination and agility. Many different organizations run group calisthenic workouts as part of their routine. These include the military, some sports groups and schools. It is a form of exercise that is utilized all over the world, and is just as effective when performed in a group or as an individual. Here are the main forms of exercise movements:

Lunges Jumping Jacks Squat Jumps Crunches Sit Ups Push-Ups Pull-Ups Calf-Raises Squats Dips Leg Raises Planks Hyperextensions The secret to successful workouts in any type of exercise regime is to do each movement in repetitions, also called ‘reps’. When you first start out, you may only be able to do 5 or 10 reps of each exercise, but don’t be disheartened. Before long, if you continue exercising regularly, you will be able to improve how many reps you do and the type of exercises you perform.

Chapter 2 – Benefits Of Calisthenics Some may think that calisthenics is a new type of exercising, but in actual fact, it has been around a lot longer than most of the other types of exercise. It has been practiced in the fields of many sports as well as bodybuilding, and almost all exercise regimes include some form of push-up, sit-up and pull-up. So why is calisthenics a great way to exercise? Well there are a number of reasons. Most of all, you can do it anywhere at any time. Following are the main benefits you will find when you do calisthenics. Equipment As mentioned before, you don’t need any specialized equipment to perform calisthenics. You can use whatever is available in your environment, your home and your neighborhood. Alternatively, you may want to purchase a bar, but this won’t break the bank like some other types of exercise machines do! A lot of people are put off from going to the gym or setting up a home gym because of the sheer cost involved. With calisthenics it costs you nothing. Weight Loss Because most of the exercises involve many different muscle groups working in unison, your muscles will need more fuel, therefore more calories will be burnt off. The more calories you burn, the more weight you lose. For this reason, if you want to lose weight, calisthenics is one of the best methods. Full Body Many of the calisthenic exercises involve working the whole body, instead of just one

muscle group or area. Not only does this increase the burning of calories, it also helps improve coordination. Just one exercise can benefit your shoulders, arms, abs and lower back, all at the same time through the movements. Natural Movements Unlike some exercises that require you to bend or move in unnatural ways, the movements required for calisthenics are all natural, meaning they are movements your body naturally makes anyway. You’re just using them in a different manner for a different result. Calisthenics is also good if you suffer from joint disorders, because the joints are moved in line with their natural range of movement. Strength and Muscle Mass There are some out there that think if you focus on building muscle mass, you can only improve your strength so far. But with calisthenics, the effects are dual, meaning you can increase your muscle mass and continue to increase your strength at the same time. Boredom One of the biggest hurdles in someone sticking to an exercise regime is boredom. Many types of exercise only have a limited number of movements or exercises involved. But with calisthenics, there are hundreds of exercises you can do, so you will never get tired of doing the same old thing all the time. Also, you can change the environment you exercise in. Instead of being stuck in a gym somewhere, you can be outdoors in a park, or in your garden, wherever you feel like being, because you don’t need to rely on equipment.

Endurance Endurance, or stamina, can be increased dramatically if you perform the exercises regularly and complete the right amount of reps each time. Endurance enables you to go longer, rather than go faster. So if you want to do a long hike, or even run a marathon, you need very good endurance, to ensure you last the distance. Flexibility The types of movements required in calisthenics are easy on the muscles and joints, so your flexibility will not only remain intact, it will also improve. It is vital however, that before you perform any type of exercise, you warm your body up with gentle stretching exercises first, so you won’t risk any damage or reduction in your flexibility. Age Another advantage of calisthenics is that it doesn’t matter how old or how young you are. Anyone can do these types of exercises. However, if you do have pre-existing medical conditions, you must talk to your doctor first to make sure it is the right type of exercise for you. Cardiovascular When you are exercising, your body requires more oxygen. This increases the work of your lungs and heart, which boosts their function. With heart disease being a major killer around the world, calisthenics could help prevent the development of heart disease. Mental Health

Calisthenics has been shown to improve mental health, particularly depression, stress and anxiety in many people. This could be because of the feeling of being healthier overall, or due to the chemicals that are released in the brain during exercise.

Chapter 3 – Core Body Exercises

Sit Ups and Crunches The main difference between a sit up and a crunch, is that during a crunch your lower back stays on the floor. A crunch focuses solely on your abs, whereas the sit up has a more widespread effect, including your hips. How to do a sit up: First, lie down on your back and bend your knees, keeping your feet flat against the floor. Put your hands either on or behind your head. Pulling your shoulder blades back will keep your elbows out to the sides. Raise your body upwards towards your bent knees, bracing your abs at the same time. During this movement your shoulders should be lifted up off the ground. Gently roll your upper body back down and start again.

Hanging Leg Raise The hanging leg raise is a great way to strengthen and tone your abs. It is a great exercise to learn before tackling the more difficult variations such as the human flag or the front lever. How to do a hanging leg raise: Find a bar or alternatively a strong, straight branch. Hang by your hands with your body pointing straight towards the ground. Raise both legs until they are in a 90 degree angle with your body, without bending your knees. Try and raise them even further, up to the level of your chest, still keeping your legs straight. Stay in this position for only 1 second, and then slowly drop your legs back to the original position.

Side Plank If you want to work out your whole body, the side plank is the ideal exercise. Not only does it strengthen the core, is also works on your legs and shoulders. How to do a side plank: Lie on your side on the ground. Resting on the elbow, and your arm in a 90 degree angle, keep your body in a straight position. Hold this for 20 seconds, then turn over and do the same on the other side.

Bird Dog Crunch Another great exercise for your abs, the bird dog also works on your hamstrings, shoulders and glutes. How to do a bird dog crunch: Get on your hands and knees. Put your hands immediately below your shoulders, and your knees immediately below the hips. Stretch your right hand at shoulder level out in front of you, and stretch your left leg out at hip level behind you. Bending your left knee, bring it under your body, and bend your right elbow, bringing it in to touch the left knee beneath you. Then stretch your left leg behind you and the right hand in front.

Burpee The burpee is a common exercise found in a variety of exercise methods. It works fantastically on your whole body, including your legs, abs and arms. It is also a good warm-up exercise. How to do a burpee: Start off standing. Drop down into a squat and place your hands on the floor. Stretch both feet back until you are in a push up position. Now do a push up. In one quick movement, bring your legs forward and back into the squat. Then stand up and jump up into the air.

Hanging Windshield This exercise is a variation of the hanging leg raise, and is a little more difficult to do. It has a remarkable effect on strengthening and toning your abs. How to do a hanging windshield: First find a bar or straight branch. Bring your legs up as though you were performing the hanging leg raise exercise. Now swing your legs from side to side while hanging. If it is a little too difficult at first, try doing this exercise with bent knees, which can make it easier.

Elbow Plank With this exercise you are working on your arms, back and abs. It is a very good exercise for strengthening your core. How to do an elbow plank: Rest on your knees, elbows and forearms. Lift your knees off the floor and keep your back and legs straight. This should make you rest on your elbows and toes. Squeeze your abs to keep yourself in the right position. Hold for around 20-30 seconds if you can. Try and aim to be able to hold for 1 whole minute, by practicing and increasing your strength.

Chapter 4 – Upper Body Exercises

Clapping Push-Ups Referred to as a plyometric exercise, the clapping push up is more ‘explosive’ than the regular push-ups. As you gain more strength from doing regular push-ups, you can then move forward to the clapping push up. How to do clapping push-ups: Put yourself in the regular push-up position and keep your arms at shoulder width. Lower yourself down until your chest is almost touching the floor. Now push up with as much strength as you can, to get as high as you can. Clap your hands before landing. As you become more experienced, try for extra claps before landing.

Muscle-Ups This exercise is great for strengthening and toning the chest, biceps, triceps and arms. How to do muscle-ups: Find a bar or straight branch. Hang with your thumbs on the same side as the rest of your fingers and your palms facing outwards. Breathe out, and with your elbows bent and in close to your body, pull yourself up. Push downwards on the bar or branch and raise yourself so your hips are on the same level as the bar. Your arms will be straight. Breathe in, and then slowly go back to the start position.

Chest Dips You can use either parallel bars or a straight bar to do chest dips. They benefit the pectoral muscles, increasing their strength. How to do chest dips: With straightened arms, lift your body up above the height of the bars. Breathe in and lower yourself so that your torso is leaning forward and your elbows bent outwards. You should feel a stretch in your chest. Hold for 1 second. Then return your body back to the start position as you exhale.

Decline Push-Ups This type of push-up is similar to the regular push-up, though your feet are propped up higher than the rest of your body. You could use a bench seat, a couch or any type of item that will enable you to have your feet higher. How to do decline push-ups: Find an item that you can prop your feet up on and then put the rest of your body into the push-up position. The higher your feet are, the more intense the exercise will be. With your hands on the floor, position them slightly wider than the position of the shoulders. Breathe in as you bend the elbows and lower your body to the floor. Breathe out as you straighten the arms and return to the start position.

Seated Dips To perform this exercise you need something to sit on. It is a fairly easy exercise, especially for beginners, and it works on strengthening your triceps. How to perform seated dips: Take a seat on a chair or a park bench. Put your hands net to your hips on the seat. Let your fingers hang over the edge of the seat. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. For a stronger variation, sit with your legs straight and your heels on the floor. Lift your hips up off the seat and forward, supporting your body with your arms. Breathe in and bend your elbows behind your body. Lower your upper body until your arms are parallel with the floor. Breathe out as you straighten your arms and return to the start position.

Flexed-Arm Hang This is a great exercise for beginners who are finding pull-ups a bit too much of a challenge. How to do a flexed-arm hang: Take hold of a bar or tree branch with your palms either facing away or toward you, whatever is comfortable. Lift both feet off the ground and hang for as long as you can. You can either do this exercise with bent arms or straight arms. Breathe normally and lower your feet back down when you have been hanging as long as you can manage. Rest for a minute or two, and then repeat the exercise.

Pull-Ups A pull-up is a traditional form of exercise that can be done using either a bar or a tree branch. How to do pull-ups: Hold onto the bar or tree with your hands place in a position that is a little wider than your shoulders. With your palms facing away from you, hang with your feet off the floor or ground. Breathe out, then bend your elbows and pull yourself up so your chin is over the branch or bar. Wait for 1 second, and then lower yourself slowly back to the start position.

Triceps Dips This exercise focuses on the triceps, arms, and shoulders. To perform this exercise you will need parallel bars, which can usually be found at a local playground, or at some gyms. How to do triceps dips: Put on hand on each of the parallel bars. With your back kept straight, straighten out your arms. Lift your feet off the floor or ground, and if necessary, bend your knees if you need to. Breathe in, bending your elbows behind your body. Lower your body down, until your upper arms are parallel with the floor or ground. Remember to keep you back straight. Breathe out, straighten out your arms and return to the start position.

Chapter 5 – Lower Body Exercises

The Wall Sit This is a fairly easy exercise to perform, but it takes a bit of strength and stamina. It is superb for improving the strength of your upper legs. After you have been practicing for a while, challenge yourself to see how long you can do this exercise for. How to do the wall sit: Find an object that you can rest your back up against, such as a tree or a wall. Place your legs in a 90 degree angle, as if you are actually sitting on a seat. Hold this position for as long as you can. If you want to make it even more challenging, do the exercise with 1 leg raised straight in front of you.

Jump On Box Jumping on an object greatly improves the strength of the muscles in your thighs, calves, bottom and lower abdomen. It doesn’t matter what you use, as long as you are capable of jumping up onto it, and it will hold your weight. How to do jump on box: Simply find an object that you can jump on to. Don’t make it too high to start with, just high enough for it to be a challenge. Continue jumping up and down as many times as you can.

Butt Burner Many people, particularly women, really appreciate what this exercise can do for your figure. Just remember to keep the movements controlled and slow. How to do the butt burner: Get down on your hands and knees and tighten up your abdominal muscles. Keep your knees aligned directly with your hips, and your elbows and hands aligned directly with your shoulders. Slowly lift your left knee out to the side and straighten back behind you. Then bend your knee and slowly return your leg to the start position.

Walking Lunges Not only is the exercise easy to do, it is very effective for the glutes and quads. It’s a good exercise to do outdoors, in the fresh air and open spaces, as you will need a decent area to lunge in. How to do walking lunges: Stand up straight and place your feet together. Either put your hands on your hips or behind your head. Take a step with your right leg, and bend both knees. Keep the knee in front aligned over your ankle and your other knee bent until it is near the ground. As you lower your back knee, let the heel lift off the ground. Alternate the legs as you move forward.

Squats Every routine should include some squats, as it is one of the best exercises for targeting multiple muscle groups, including the glutes, hamstrings and quads. How to do a squat: Stand straight with your feet places a little wider than your hips. Keep your toes pointed outwards slightly. Pick a spot to focus on in front of you and look straight ahead at it. As you squat, focus on keeping your feet and knees aligned. Don’t’ take your eyes off your spot. Continue to squat until your hip is lower than your knee.

Step Ups Unlike the Jump Ups, there is no jumping with step ups. You just need an object you can step up on to. How to do step ups: Find an object like a step or a bench. Stand before the object with your feet the same distance apart as your hips. Step up with the right foot, and push up until your left foot is on the step. Then step down again, right foot first, then the left. You can also alternate the legs each time you step up.

Chapter 6 – How Often Should You Do Calisthenics? Every single person should be doing some level of exercise every day to become fit and healthy. The same applies to calisthenics; however, you need to be aware of the possibility of repetitive muscle strain injuries. The best way to reduce this risk is to alter your exercises each day so you are not doing the same ones all the time. When choosing what exercises to do, consider how much impact the exercise may cause on your body. A simple jump can affect your knees, spine, ankles and hips. If you find you are having problems with these areas, change the exercise you are doing. Sure there will be some level of pain, but it shouldn’t be ongoing and intense for a period of time. It’s a good idea to start out slowly with calisthenics, and as your strength and endurance improves, start to increase the intensity of your workouts. Don’t expect this to happen straight away or overnight. It takes time and repetition. It’s important to not overdo your exercising, or you will end up doing more harm than good. Any type of exercise carries some sort of physical risk, so be sure you know what you are doing. If you are using objects outdoors, such as at the park or playground, ensure the object is not faulty or damaged in any way. You want to make sure it can hold your full body weight as well. There’s no point in using a tree branch if you are going to end up falling and hurting yourself! Same with any benches you use – check for sturdiness, breaks and splinters before using. The best practice to follow is to alter your workout routines each day. There are so many exercises to choose from, that it is easy to pick a variety. For example, you could have one day where you focus more on the cardio aspect and less on the muscular, then have a day where you perform intensive muscle exercises. Have some exercises that are high impact mixed in with some that are low impact, to help prevent injuries. The variety will also help keep you interested for longer!

Conclusion Now you have all the information you need to embark on your calisthenic exercise journey. You don’t need to learn the hundreds of exercises to be successful. The 25 in this book are more than enough to get you fitter, toned and healthier. And don’t forget slimmer! Your health depends a lot on the fitness of your body. Not just your internal organs, but your joints and muscles as well. Strengthening your muscles and improving your endurance ability will help your body function in a much more effective manner. You will be surprised how much calisthenics will benefit you. The nature of calisthenic exercise means it is not going to take a major toll on your body, like some of the more aerobic exercises. So if you have had problems with your health, particularly your heart or lungs, these calisthenic exercises are ideal. They will improve your health without you having to run miles, or spend hours on an exercise bike. The physical effect on your body will be less intensive, and your mood will improve dramatically. Just remember to discuss with your health professional if calisthenics is safe for you if you have existing medical problems. The same goes for any type of exercise, though many will recommend calisthenics because it is less aerobic, yet still improves your cardiovascular health. Calisthenic exercise burns more calories than almost any other type of exercise,

How to Draw 12 Secret Drawing Techniques You Can Easily Learn

Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1 – Understand what Drawing is all About Chapter 2 – Some Instruments and Equipments Used for Drawing Chapter 3 – Learning about Pencils and their Grades Know the Number and Alphabet Representation How to Chose Your Pencil Grades Chapter 4 – Effects and Results of Using Soft Pencils Chapter 5 – Learn the Various Lines and Stroke Variations – (1) 1. Line Variations and their Use Hatching and Cross Hatching Technique Circular Drawing Technique Scumbling Chapter 6 – Habits and Tips to Help you Develop your Drawing Skills Faster - (2-7) 2. Have a Sketch Book Handy 3. Use the Right type of Paper 4. Practice Random Environmental Sketching 5. Establish the Right Mindset for Learning 6. Develop a Positive Disposition towards your Learning Mistakes 7. Upside down Style of Drawing Chapter 7 – Best Drawing Assessment Tips (8 – 11) 8. Select Some of Your Drawings to be Accessed 9. Narrow your Assessment on Specific Scales 10. Avoid Trying to Make Several Corrections at the Same time 11. Enjoy Your Process Chapter 8 – Some Practice Tutorials to Get You Started – (12) 12. Drawing a Straight Line First Step – Draw Short lines instead Second Step – Intense Concentration required with Line Formations Third Step – Fill Up Object lines and Define the lines Conclusion

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Disclaimer While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this book, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter contained within. The information provided in this book is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions and the author does not accept any responsibilities for any liabilities or damages, real or perceived, resulting from the use of this information.

Introduction Over time, the act of drawing has been identified and recognized as a very popular method by which the people and the public in general, pass across messages or expresses opinions. The act of drawing can be quite simple and can also be very complex as well. It is one of the most efficient visual expression and communication methods. It is so much an easy thing to view a drawing and get a full grasp and understanding of messages that they have conveyed within their simple or complex strokes. It is much easier to pass across and receive messages via the use of drawings than it is with written words. The act of drawing has brought about the popularity of a wide combination of equipments and materials which have in turn brought about the creation of a wide medium of explorative expression within the human race. Being able to draw excellently is an enviable talent that not so many people are privileged to have. Very few people who are fortunate to have this talent have been able to produce great work of art, some of which are popular artifacts known around the world. While some people are born with artistic skills, many have to do more of extra learning in order to be able to develop their artistic skills. Whatever category you might fall into, you can definitely do some extra learning in order to get better. Learning brings better result. Learning can be very interesting or difficult depending on the method applied. The goal of this book is to make your learning process very interesting while achieving the intended results. For every form of learning, there are fundamental precepts that a beginner needs to develop before learning can be done successfully. Most times, people find learning difficult because they do not take the initial process to get familiar with the fundamental precepts. When fundamental precepts are jumped, progressive learning becomes very difficult. Perfection with drawing requires time and constant practice. Although, there will definitely be several flaws along your process of learning, not to worry, this is definitely a part of the entire package. The more you practice, the more you get better.

Chapter 1 – Understand what Drawing is all About

The word ‘Drawing’ is both a noun and a verb. When described from a verb perspective, it can be described as the act, skill or process of creating artistic designs via the use of particular objects or materials for the specific purpose. It can also be described as the creation of artistic drawings. In a noun format, a drawing is a form or type of illustrative work of art in which an individual makes use of different types of drawing equipments to work on a piece of paper or any form of 2-dimensional device. Making use of paper is however the easiest medium that can be employed for drawing. For anyone who intends to learn how to draw, the first place to start from is to figure out what particular drawing equipments are needed or what particular drawing equipments he or she would prefer to use. In order to be able to do this successfully, you need to have a good awareness of what your particular chosen device or medium is capable of achieving for you if you know how you can get the device to achieve it. What this means is that you will need to make a good research into what and how the various devices have the capacity to achieve especially for those who have been able to use them to achieve the said outcomes in the past. Having this knowledge handy will serve as an inspirational factor for you and you will be able to stay focused on achieving your set goal with your own intended drawing. If those people could achieve the successful outcome that they did achieve with their own devices, you can definitely achieve yours using your own materials and medium that you have at your disposal. The act of drawing requires creativity. You need to make up your mind from the onset that

you will elaborately explore your own unique creative potentials. You will be able to do so much from this simple but very important decision. Creating and designing beautiful works of art that are very particularly unique to you will become yours in the making in no time.

Chapter 2 – Some Instruments and Equipments Used for Drawing All drawing equipments and mediums serve to bring about different results when they are used in the process of drawing. Before you decide on which equipment or medium you would want to use, you will first need to develop a clear and precise understanding of the goal or outcome you want to achieve either on the short or long run. What this means is that you will need to create a definition for the goal you have placed on your expression. Don’t allow this to confuse you, it is quite simple. Different instruments produce different outcomes and textures. A graphite pencil will not give you the same look or texture as a charcoal will give you. Oil, pastel, pens or coloured pencils all produce different outcomes Here are some drawing equipments: Pen and ink Ink brush Wax coloured pencils Graphite pencil Crayons Charcoal Chalk Markers Styluses Erasers

Electronic drawing instruments Metals –e.g., silver point There are several other materials which are quite good for drawing. Some of these are cardboards, flat white wooden surfaces, leather boards, canvas, etc. These bring out some unique peculiarity when drawing is done on them. Some other forms of drawing can be done on temporary structures. What this means is that the drawings can be changed or even cleaned off completely after some time. Examples of temporary mediums or materials are blackboards and whiteboards. However, on a much wider scale of description, it can be rightly said that temporary drawings can be created on almost any surface. The only difference is in the level of expression. These are what makes the drawings different or possess the level of textural longevity that they possess.

Chapter 3 – Learning about Pencils and their Grades

A pencil is a piece of instrument that can be used for drawing but this is not all there is to a pencil. Before you can successfully place yourself on the right track to learn how to draw, you need to first familiarize yourself about the various pencil grades that exist and what they are used for. There are a wide variety of several types of pencil shades for this little piece of equipment. Knowing this fact from the beginning is very important for you so as to be able to work with the right understanding from the beginning. You need to have a compilation of the right types of pencils that you will be able to work with and get together the right materials for your use.

Know the Number and Alphabet Representation Take a look at any pencil. You will find that most if not all the pencils have a letter and number somewhere on the body of the pencil. Most times, these are marked at the lower ends. You will see something like, 2B, HB or 6H. These are not just there to decorate the pencils. They represent important information about the pencils. The number - represents the level of hardness of the pencil’s graphic core. What this means is that the higher the numeric range, the harder its graphite core and the harder the core, the lighter the mark that one can make with the pencil when it is put to use. The lower the numeric range, the softer the core. In other words, a darker imprint will be made when used. Softer pencils tend to give duller outcomes quickly. Alphabet ‘H’ or ‘B’ - These generally represent lightness (hardness) and blackness (softness). The ‘H’ represents lightness and the ‘B’ represents blackness. Numeric Representation – Numbers are combined with alphabets to creature the levels of darkness or lightness of a pencil if you are not able to get dark shadows on your drawing. The picture looks pale, just check the type of pencil that you are using. A low numeric value with an alphabetic notation will produces dark effects, e.g., 2B. An H on the other hand, such as 6H will produce very dark graphite. HB pencils are generally too hard for drawing. They create much lighter imprints.

How to Chose Your Pencil Grades You will need to understand the different pencil grades available for you and what line variations they can be used to produce. Sometimes too the grade of a pencil brand could be different from the same grade of another pencil brand. Sometimes, even when you have pencils with the same number, you find that they have different grades. Bearing this in mind, you might need to be consistent with choosing grades from particular brands rather than choosing different grades from different brands. Try selecting a case of your pencils with different grades in it. If this is difficult or inaccessible, then choose pencils with different grades from the same company. This will help you ensure that you get a combination of pencils with different grades and ranges that are truly of different grades which best suit your needs.

Chapter 4 – Effects and Results of Using Soft Pencils Easier to Erase – When using soft pencils, they make it easier to erase when you need to make any corrections with your drawing. Best For Creation of Temporary Lines – When you are working with delicate highlights and want to create the delicate highlights of your piece of work such as you find with cartoon drawings. If you want to make foundational strokes that you intend to erase, the best pencil strokes to use are soft pencils strokes. This means you are using a pencil with lighter shades. It will be able to help you produce lines that come off looking lighter and finer. Create sketches that you intend erasing later with the use of a soft pencil. Although a hard pencil may be used to produce softer lines, their surface is much harder. This can create indentations on the paper when paper is being used. Softer Pencils are Best for Cartoon Drawings - The intricate designs and strokes of cartoon drawings require that soft textured pencils be used. You will be able to create more detailed strokes with your drawings when you use soft pencils.

Chapter 5 – Learn the Various Lines and Stroke Variations – (1)

1. Line Variations and their Use An artist needs to understand that there are different types of lines and they are used for different purposes. To be effective in your drawing Endeavour, the different lines and their uses must be the first level of information that you get registered in your mind. Every type of line serves a particular purpose. See below for the line variations and what they are used for: Light Outlines: every drawing is made up of two layers of outlines. The first layer consists of the lighter outline. This is lighter because it is done to serve as a guideline for the person drawing. This creates the basic foundation for the drawing’s shapes. I recommend that when you commence your practices with drawing; begin with the use of harder pencils. Choosing this will help you with creating your foundational outlines. Use less pressure while creating your lines with this technique. Lightly press down the tip of your pencil on the surface of your medium and create very slow and smooth movements. You will most likely need to erase some of your lines as you continue with your drawing. Heavy Outlines: this unlike light outlines, are used to make more permanent outlines. After creating your light outlines, you follow up with your heavy outlines. These are used to define the edges of your drawing piece. do this by making retracing lines along the paths of the lighter outlines previously created, this time with a more firmer pressure as you go along. You will however need to be more careful so as not to press your device down too hard. This can create errors that will require you to struggle with erasing.

Hatching and Cross Hatching Technique Hatching Technique is done by creating little lines drawing very close to one another. Most times, this individual makes use of this technique when creating a shading effect across a piece of work. Creating a forward and backward kind of shading effect. Drawing these lines across the piece along a direction following the format of the object ensures a proper definition of the drawing. When hatching is done, make use of the pencils point. Unlike shading where the pencils is used spread on paper to create wider spreads. You draw the pencil lines towards one direction while lifting it and bringing it down on to the paper as you do this with each like very close to the previous line. Cross Hatching - on the other hand is used for the creation of more realistic looks. An individual is able to add more depth and value to the drawing when cross hatching is used. Achieve this by drawing your hatching lines towards a particular direction of your choice. The crossed hatched lines are then made across the first set of lines towards the opposite direction. Tighter and closer lines achieve better and more realistic looks.

Circular Drawing Technique Circular swills are used when you wish to keep your drawings blending and shading effect closely knitted together. The use of circles and scribbles are usually very beautiful when adopted for drawing. This is a very beautiful way of creating contrasts within the textures that are present within the drawings, most especially with objects that have near resemblance in value. To effectively use this technique, create tiny little circles rather than large ones. Simply do this by moving your pencil in a swirling motion. More effective to keep the circles and the swills close, tight and firmly knit together. Easier to create a group of swills while you continue to press down on your pencil’s hold in order to create a darker value while then blending both values created together.

Scumbling This is a word used to describe a drawing which includes the use of little loops for creating textures within areas of your drawing. Scumbling helps you create tone blending effect with the tones and shades.

Chapter 6 –Habits and Tips to Help you Develop your Drawing Skills Faster - (2-7)

2. Have a Sketch Book Handy One of the best ways to easily develop you drawing skills is by having a sketch book with you ready to use wherever you go. You must be able to prepare yourself to get to work at anytime and anyplace. You might just be walking along the streets and find something that interests you. When you have a sketchbook with you, you will be able to convert this inspiration into a drawing piece. An inspiration can drop at any time. It might be something you see. It might also be something that crosses your imaginative eye. Do not hesitate to take every opportunity that you find to do some drawing of objects or subjects that you come across or that comes across your mind, path and imagination. Having a sketchbook with you will allow you collect the details and put them down on your sketchbook. Moreover, as a beginner frequent practice is what you need to develop at a faster pace. Your sketch pad will come in handy for you to be able to achieve this. Your sketchbook should not be something bogus. It should rather be very handy. Something that can easily fit into your pocket.

3. Use the Right type of Paper If you want to have your drawing done on paper, please note that not every kind of paper can be used for drawing. When you use the wrong kind of paper, you will most likely not get the desired result. Wrong paper use will make your drawing to look pale. Some of the cheap papers that you find around tend to have some sheen about them that makes them too smooth. This prevents pencil particles from being held by the pencil while being used for drawing. You can check any art store around you for papers used for sketching. Also, a good quality paper that can be used is the photocopying or office papers.

4. Practice Random Environmental Sketching Environmental drawings are some of the drawings that come out very beautifully on a medium. You can do a lot with this type of sketching method. Random sketching does so much good to your skill development. It will help you develop your drawing skills faster. A key achievement with random sketching is that it will help you take off any form of pressure off trying to get everything you draw right. This way, you will be open to put the skill to perfection. The more you random sketch, the better you become. Whenever or wherever you find an opportunity to put your practice into use, please do not hesitate to use it. You might just be moving around your environment, in a taxi, train, in a park, underneath a tree, use this opportunity to practice sketching your environment randomly. Try to just sketch anything. Do not restrict yourself to some particular things to be sketched. The wider the list of what you are open to sketching, the broader your creative abilities.

5. Establish the Right Mindset for Learning For any form of learning at any level to successfully take place, there is the need to have the right frame of mind in place. What usually makes the difference between a fast learner and a slow learner most times has to do with the learning perspective in place. With a very practical activity like drawing, when an individual does not have the right perspective, learning can be very difficult especially without the presence of a physical human teacher every step of the way. While some people might find it easier to learn without a human teacher bending over their work all the time, some other people consider this as a ready means of getting nervous. Even though you might have access to online materials and tutorials all around you, without the right frame of mind, the process might be a very long one. First allow it to be established within your mind that this is a process not a destination. It is a process that involves several other processes and making mistakes is definitely a part of that process.

6. Develop a Positive Disposition towards your Learning Mistakes Have a positive disposition towards the mistakes that you make along your learning processes. Allow them to make you better and stronger not discouraged or disheartened. The best way to overcome any form of discouragement that might arise when you see yourself making mistakes with your learning is for you to learn how to view your work from a critical point of view every time. Feeling a sense of accomplishment each time you create a wonderful piece is not such a bad idea either. Feel some sense of satisfaction with your accomplishment and don’t allow any form of flaws here and there spoil that satisfaction that you derive from your accomplishment. Always remember, we all need mistakes. Mistakes are ingredients that help us get better as we learn from them.

7. Upside down Style of Drawing I recommend this style of drawing for any beginner who wants to develop the drawing skill faster and better. The intentional drawing upside down has a good advantage that it gives to one drawing. It helps to task an individual’s imaginative and coordinative prowess. When an individual is able to imagine and coordinate with drawings that are upside down, drawing on the right side up becomes much easier and achievable. To achieve this, simply turn your paper in an upside down position. If you have an image handy that you want to draw, turn the image also upside down. Drawing upside down abstractly can be very tasking but it is worth a try. Simply bring the object to be drawn into focus in your imaginative eye and start with your line formations. Be very patient with yourself when doing this. Don’t expect a perfect first time try. But the process will definitely get better for you with time and practice.

Chapter 7 – Best Drawing Assessment Tips (8 – 11) An artist is able to get better by accessing the work done yourself and with your own personal efforts. It is good to get people’s views regarding your work but the best critic can only be yourself. Being able to critically work with your drawings will save you a lot of mistakes that could have been left un attended to. Don’t shy away from this. Make it a regular activity that you patiently carry out on a regular basis. Below are some tips that will assist you in properly accessing your own work by your own self:

8. Select Some of Your Drawings to be Accessed As regularly as you can, make a selection of some of the drawings that you have made. Place them side by side of each other. take some time to study each of them critically. Study how they look, take time to observe every part. Take note of what you can see in each of them. Observe every intricate detail. What can you see about the lines? How are the shades if there are any? How were you able to convert the errors you made during the process of each drawing? Are there adjustments that can be made? What are the adjustments that can make the drawings better? Do you think you made some of the mistakes as a result of the pencil shades that you used or as a result of the paper type? This selection and critical assessment is a necessary process that will help you get better with your tasks. No matter how good you feel your drawing is, don’t fail to carry out this assessment procedure sometimes.

9. Narrow your Assessment on Specific Scales Generalizing when criticizing your work is not the best. Ensure you make positive attempts with being specific during this process. If you decide to generalize your review procedure, you will definitely not be able to get the best critical review that you really need. Rather concentrate on one aspect per time. For example, if you want to make line observation the goal of your assessment, then do just that at that time. Look at the lines and note errors while putting into perspective the specific aspects. The best way to achieve this is by first creating an implant at the back of your mind that this is not meant to be a general assessment at a time. It is rather specific assessments per time. Once this has been registered, it becomes much easier for you to follow through with your aim.

10. Avoid Trying to Make Several Corrections at the Same time You can only focus on an aspect of your drawing per time to get realistic results. When you see several errors in your drawing piece, try to concentrate on one aspect that you have observed per time and make corrections. Avoid trying to correct several aspects per time. This will only create more errors. Assessment is not complete if you are not able to determine the effect of the errors you noticed on your drawing. After observing the errors, critically determine the effect on the outcome of the specified aspect of your drawing. After you have concluded on the particular aspect. Then select another aspect that you will concentrate on the next time you want to carry out another drawing procedure. Ensure you follow through with your focus as you have planned.

11. Enjoy Your Process Research has revealed over time that the best ways to develop skill acquisition techniques is to enjoy the process. Processes that are enjoyed simply come out best when converted to skills. It is best to simply enjoy the process of creating your drawing pieces. Enjoy every bit from errors created to imperfect strokes to everything. Let it all be fun for you. Let your passion grow with the process and allow your creative ability to flourish.

Chapter 8 – Some Practice Tutorials to Get You Started – (12) 12. Drawing a Straight Line

This is probably your outcome. Not to worry. It is expected. Straight lines are usually not real. They only exist in vectors forming the shortest lengths that exist between two points. Even though you can make a straight line with a ruler, it is most likely that you might never be able to make a perfectly straight line using your hand only. It might start off as straight, but as you continue, there would definitely be errors along the way. Here are steps to help you to go about your line drawings:

First Step – Draw Short lines instead

If you find it difficult to maintain the stride with a long line without breaking it which is definitely expected, then rather draw shorter lines. Drawing a long straight line is almost if not completely impossible with the use of the hand. The hand is more adapted to shorter strokes. The shorter the lines drawn, the closer you will be able to get to the original picture format.

Second Step – Intense Concentration required with Line Formations

When forming your lines, there is the need to fully concentrate on the process. It is about trying to draw objects at least almost as exactly as they are. When you have an object as a reference point, it is no longer about what you want or your own creative imagination. You need to draw the same thing the way it looks. If you are well focused with this, you might end up making very litle mistakes. Keep your hand relaxed and focus your concentration fully on the final effect intended rather than placing your focus on some sequence of perfect lines. You need to concentrate fully without being tense but relaxed. With the above diagram try to carry out the following while you try to create a repleca: Split the long lines into shorter lines. The more the curves, the shorter the lines will be. Touch on the paper very lightly while using your pencils for the foundational strokes. Be fast with this process.

Third Step – Fill Up Object lines and Define the lines

The next step is to begin to fill up the spaces between the lines initially drawn. If you take a look at the drawing at this point, you will find it looks almost completed. When done, you can now make use of a marker to intensify the strokes or press the pencil harder on the already lined strokes.

Here you go. It is done. It is definitely not perfect or close to the original but it definitely looks like the original picture in some ways. Remember, the more you practice, the better you get.

Conclusion After going through the contents within the pages of this book, I am quite positive that you have been able to develop some very useful skills that will serve as a platform for you to develop and grow your drawing skill. Drawing is a skill that anyone can develop if they want to because it is not as difficult as it might seem. It is definitely not impossible. This book has been able to take hold of the drawing skill and present its learning methods right from the basic to the more complex aspects without you knowing the difference because they all look simple. Whether you have been drawing previously or you have never really tried your hands on drawing does not really matter. What matters is what you are willing to put to use after reading this book. With the right kind of learning and consistent practice, you can be quickly transformed from the level of amateurism to amazing heights of expertise. Finally, developing the drawing skill is a process. It is not a onetime developmental endeavor. There is the need to get the right perspective from the beginning to work with. Just like you have with every other form of learning, understand that learning comes with mistakes. With the development of your drawing skill you will most likely make several mistakes. Do not see your mistakes as short comings but rather see them as necessary prerequisite to get better. Turn your mistakes to developmental tools to help you get better. Good luck..!

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