even if you get along great with your family you will get along even better with them after moving out
generic is almost always just as good as name brand. But there are some things you never buy generic, including: peanut butter, ketchup, liquid NyQuil, Chips-Ahoy chewy chocolate chip cookies
just imagine the person on the other end of the phone hates talking on the phone as much as you do. Even a receptionist. I worked as one and I hate talking on the phone
at least once in your life you will go to Wal-mart to buy something under $20 like an ironing board or something and your debit card will get rejected. No one will judge. Everyone at some point in their lives has had $2.98 in their bank account.
thrift stores
everyone else is too busy panicking about everyone else noticing every tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about them to notice any tiny thing that could possibly be wrong about you
you will screw up. a lot. you live and you learn. and when you start to think too hard about that embarrassing thing that happened and how you wish you could change it, just tell yourself that what’s done is done. There’s no changing it, so just forget it and move on. It’s the only way to stay sane.
do the dishes before the sink grows its own ecosystem
you can’t put Dawn dishsoap in the dishwasher.
if you are the only one in the aisle at the grocery store, and you need to get from one end to the other without even looking at anything in that aisle, then you should totally cart-surf down the aisle. Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Hold on to the little things. They make all the difference.
never try to make cake from scratch at 3am. You end up with a topographical map of Middle Earth.
15% tip.
the best way to get money for food is to tell your grandparents about how you basically live on microwaved mac and cheese. Their horror may result in twenty bucks and orders to go out and get yourself “a real dinner”.
sometimes life sucks, and knowing that it might get better doesn’t always make it suck any less, but you’ll never get to the non-sucky days without enduring the suckiness.
no seriously, NEVER put Dawn in your dishwasher
Do not buy generic brand spaghetti sauce either.
Always check the type of light bulb that goes in lamps. A 60w is not interchangeable with a 40w.
Dollar store batteries work just as well as store brand.
Reward yourself from time to time when you do things that you needed to get done. It’s a good way to remind yourself to do them. Going out to pay a bill? Get Starbucks or something you don’t get often. Rewards don’t have to be huge, they can be small things like that.
Rice, pasta, flour, sugar, cheese, eggs, milk, a pack of chicken, a pack of frozen veggies and a well stocked spice cabinet go a long way food-wise. Splurge and get the biggest container of rice you can. You don’t have to go back and buy it again anytime soon and it makes a TON of meals in the meantime.
Rice can be cooked on the stove. You don’t need a fancy rice cooker. Two parts water to every one part rice (two cups water for one cup of rice for example). Get your water boiling, add rice, put a plate or lid on it, put it on low for 20 minutes. It should be done.
Keep a calendar on your pc of bill due dates. If your bills are set up at inconvenient times, like all of the services started on the first or something, then call up the company and find out if you can get your billing date switched to something more manageable. A lot of places do try to work with you.
There is no shame in calling a company and asking for an extension on a bill. Let them know what you can pay, pay that amount, and they arrange when the rest of the payment is required. This can stop you from having services shut off man. It shows responsibility on your part.
Take time to eat, even when you don’t feel like eating. Your body needs energy to live.
Wash or rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. It prevents gross caked on junk.
“The Works” is an excellent cheap toilet cleaner.
MAGIC. FUCKING. ERASERS. THEY WORK ON EVERYTHING JUST DON’T SCRUB HARD. I took the ring out of our bathtub with one. Also generic ones work just as well.
Keep some bleach around but if you use it for cleaning? Dillute it. There’s rarely ever a case where you need to pout straight bleach on anything. A cap full or two in a bucket of water works just fine.
DO NOT MIX CLEANERS. Chemical reactions are can be very dangerous. Here’s a good list. (Note that vinegar and baking soda can actually be a good combo for removing smells from things but it’s not very good at actually -cleaning-.)
If you drink? Don’t take meds at the same time it’s just not good.
Make sure you check the dosages on your pill bottles. No one wants to accidentally overdose on cough syrup or ibuprofen.
If you have a uterus make sure you have a heating pad and ibuprofen on hand for the pain. Hot baths also generally help and Ginger Tea is excellent for any nausea.
Buy a first aid kit. It’s worth it in the long run.
You can often do your taxes online at places like TurboTax.
Petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) is good for chapped lips and you can get a decent sized tube or tub of it (generic brand version) for cheaper/same price as Chapstick.
KEEP TRIPLE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT IN YOUR HOUSE FOR CUTS AND SCRAPES AND SORES.
~~Medications~~
Over the counter medications (stuff you can buy right off the shelf no prescription needed) have a name brand and a generic name. ALWAYS buy generic if it’s available it is literally the same thing and way cheaper usually.
Some names to remember when you’re looking for meds!
Acetaminophen = Tylenol
Used to treat pain and reduce fever. Do not take with Ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen = Advil, Midol, Motrin
Used for pain and fever, is an anti-inflammtory. Is good for period cramps because it is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).
Naproxen = Aleve, Naprosyn
Treats fever, pain, arthritis pain, gout, period cramps, tendinitis, headache, backache, and toothache. Is also an NSAID.
Acetaminophen + Asprin + Caffeine = Excedrin
Usually marketed as “Migraine Relief” as a generic.
Asprin = Bayer
Use for pain, fever, arthritis, and inflammation. Makes you bleed easily so should not be used for periods. Might reduce risk of heart attacks.
Triple Antibiotic Ointment = Neosporin
Used on cuts, sores, and scrapes to reduce risk of infection and promote healing.
Also a general mutli-vitamin isn’t a bad idea and if you don’t get a lot of fruits or milk/sunshine in your diet you might want to get vitamins C and D specifically for daily use.
if you do accidentally lapse and put dawn in your dishwasher, run it empty and put hair conditioner where the detergent goes. that’ll clean it out (tip given to me by dorm custodian when roommate did the thing).
if you live off ramen, add stuff to it! add veggies you like, don’t use the whole flavor packet to cut down on sodium and msg or don’t use it at all and add your own spices.
if you’re making something with potatoes in it (beans, stew) potatoes are done when you can easily stab a fork through them.
you can microwave a hotdog as long as you put it in a microwave safe container of water. microwaves work by making water molecules vibrate. also, when reheating rice leftovers, add a small amount of water, like maybe a spoonfull, so it doesn’t get hard and crunchy.
the rice cooking advice above is for long grain rice. if you’re making short or medium grain rice, a 1:1 ratio (one cup water for one cup rice) is better, so the rice doesn’t come out too mushy.
buy a few cans of chicken. wholesale club stores like sam’s, costco, or bj’s tend to carry multipacks for a good price. they’re incredibly useful for when you forget to defrost meat.
buy meat on sale and put it in the freezer. buy vegetables on sale, and put them in the freezer. frozen veggies are often as flavorful and good as fresh ones, keep longer, and often come in microwaveable bags or with microwave directions.
soak ink stains in milk to help get them out or at least lighten them.
soak blood stains in water as soon as possible, with a bit of detergent or stain remover. scrub at them. use cold water, heat binds proteins to fabric. tbh, there’s no real need to change the washer from cold-cold setting unless the thing you’re washing says to wash in warm water.
acetone, found in most nail polish removers, dissolves super glue.
also buy two sets of bedding at least!! It’s healthy to change your bedding once every two weeks (twice a month)!!
Also, an alternative stove-top rice recipe! 2 parts rice to 3 part water Small handful of minced onions, garlic powder, basil, and salt Spoonful of butter/margarine Combine in that order and stir to evenly incorporate seasoning
Set pot (with lid) on top of high temperature stove top until water boils. Lift lid, stir thoroughly, and replace lid. Change temperature to low and let sit for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove lid and serve.
Just in case anyone considers rice flavorless.
Also!! Buy popcorn kernels (preferably not the cheaply fake butter covered kind), put one cup into a large metal bowl (like a mixing bowl, if you have one, I’m not sure if a saucepan will work so I can’t confirm this to be an alternative) add a teaspoon and a half of vegetable or olive oil, sprinkle in salt. Cover top with foil and poke a couple holes in the foil with a fork. Grab the edge of the bowl with tongs and place on high heat, slowly moving the bowl around the heat (like you might have seen people done with stovetop popcorn kits) for about 2 minutes and 15 seconds or until the popping stops. Popcorn isn’t called one of the healthiest snacks just to be ironic! It just depends on how you season it!!
I dont know why they say dont buy generic NyQuil. CVS generic works fine with me. Also hydrogen peroxide is really good at getting blood stains out of things.
So you want to write a fighter–a “tough” character who is trained in the art of Martial Arts or is a pro-boxer. Or perhaps your character just tends to pick a lot of fights on the street. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to sound educated when describing a fight but also to pace yourself: just like writing a sex scene or creating good dialogue, writing violence and fights is a skill all in its own. Here are some resources I hope will help:
Please note that these guides are for writing; please do not go out and engage in a street fight just because you read this resource post. I promise, I am not that good at providing advice.
Just gonna post this here so everyone can see just in case they’re interested also. And don’t worry, I don’t mind people asking me how I do stuff haha.
So someone asked me how I do those dotted gradient background like the image below so here goes~
First you make a new layer below your image
then you click the gradient tool. Make sure your foreground and background color is set to the default black and white. Then use it on the layer below your image.
Now go to Filter»Pixelate»Color halftone and click it. A window should pop-up after.
Welp there’s your window! Now change all the variables to 45
It should now look something like this! If you want the dots to have a different color then make a new layer above the dots and set the layer mode to “screen”
On that layer which is now on the “screen” blend mode fill it with any color you like using the paint bucket tool.
And there you go! I hope this was helpful :’>
AUUGHHH I’VE BEEN WONDERING ABOUT THIS DOTS BULL FOREVER OMG FINALLY A TUTORIAL AAAHH
I think sign language is something very beautiful and important to learn. I’m not deaf nor do I know anyone who is but I’m still really interested in learning how to sign. I can already sign my own name and a few other basic things. So I just wanted to share this, thought it might be cool if you guys could learn to sign your own name.
ALRIGHT EVERYONE I FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO FUCKIN INVOICES SO HERE YOU GO HERE’S THE TUTORIAL
invoices are an easier / safer way to request money from commissioners. all the commissioner has to do is accept to pay the money, so you don’t have to worry about them clicking or typing anything that will get you in trouble with paypal.
STEP 1
under Invoice Information you can choose what date your invoice needs to be paid by. if you don’t have a specified date for your commissioner then make sure to select No Due Date so they don’t get into any trouble for not paying by the default date.
STEP 2
go through your Business Information to make sure it’s only showing what you want it to show. your default template may show your address, phone number, name, etc, but everything is optional and can be turned off. personally i only keep my e-mail visible so commissioners know where the invoice is coming from.
STEP 3
your commissioner’s e-mail goes here
STEP 4
fill out what your commissioner is paying for and how much it costs. double check the Total towards the bottom to make sure you’ve filled out everything correctly. keep item names vague like “commission” or “image” since paypal may freeze your account if they catch any buzzwords they don’t like.
STEP 5
here you can fill out any terms and conditions your commissioner should know about, ie when you accept payment, if you give refunds, etc.
STEP 6
in the Memo box you can write a note for yourself to see when you look at the invoice. you can write down who commissioned you and anything else you’ll need to remind yourself of later
TEMPLATE
remember that you can replace the default template so you can save your business info, terms and conditions, etc for the next time you fill out an invoice.
IF PAYPAL IS ASKING YOU TO “SHIP” YOUR DIGITAL COMMISSION
look under Selling Tools on your home page and click Seller Preferences
click Update next to Shipping Preferences
go to Display Ship Button at the bottom and make sure Goods is un-checked
reblogging this again because i’ve been seeing that post about paypal charging thousands of dollars over policy violations floating around
idk what policy violations those apply to, but just in case, i want to direct everyone to invoices, which is a much less risky method of requesting money than relying on the customer to pay themselves!!
1. Cut out a generic LARGE tear drop shape.
You’re going to have to make numerous DARTS in the foam to get the cup shape to
cover your own boobs.
Cut one (1) slit and position the craft foam so that the ends overlap each
other then temporarily tape it down using some masking tape.
Do this a couple times with more slits of various lengths until you get a
rudimentary curved looking 3D foam shape.
You can mark off with a pen or pencil where you should cut out the
darts, then take off all the tape and cut the pieces.
MATERIALS:
– Rubber Cement (or
contact cement)
– Hot Glue
2. After that I used
rubber cement (you can find it at any stationary/craft store) to cement the
darts. It’s still kind of fragile that way, so I took my hot glue gun and
smeared hot glue along the seams on the INSIDE to make them hold better.
3. Try the finished
craft foam cups on and see that they cover your full breast (sides and all). Also,
if the cleavage type you need is different, the shape I made is not necessary.
You might make the top a bit different shape. The reason I chose to cut
the fake boobs this way is because I needed a v-neck plunge, so the tops of
mine are pointy.
MATERIALS:
– Yellow Upholstery Foam
– Hot Glue
4. After you have those craft foam pieces, you need to use yellow upholstery
foam. This type of foam is important because I tried to use softer stuff and it
collapses so easily. Get this foam (usually comes in 1/2” thickness) from
stores that have an upholstery or drapery section.
(Photo from spana298 original Japanese tutorial. Also see crunchyroll link here)
5. Stretch the
foam onto the shape. DO NOT rip it or cut darts. Foam is pliable so see how
Altiera spana used clips to hold it on?? You can do the same, I just used hair
clips.
Once it’s stretched
out a bit (give it a couple minutes), you can use glue to just glue it on. Hot
glue will warp craft foam though, and hot glue stays hot for a long time on
yellow foam, so be VERY careful not to burn yourself if you use hot glue!
6. Trim and shave your
foam down at the EDGES so you have a nice smooth shape (not blocky).
MATERIALS:
– stretch knit fabric
7. Find a stretch knit
fabric. I found a beige stretch knit in the activewear/lycra section of
Fabricland. I generally prefer stretch knit to 100% synthetic spandex or lycra
because it takes to hot glue really well, whereas the other stuff just seems to
dry flaky.
8. Stretch the fabric
over and use some pins or clips to hold it in place (careful to not rip your
foam). Hot glue the fabric edges to the inside of the cups.
9. To make the breats
more realistic, you can add liquid latex (flesh tone). I used BEN NYE brand
from an 8oz container. This stuff goes a long way, so you won’t need the entire
8oz (you can probably use 4oz as more than enough). I first did a test on a
scrap piece of knit fabric to see how many layers I needed before I got a
skin-like texture.
I got a bag of
Popsicle sticks and dipped one in the liquid latex then used the stick to
smooth it onto the fabric. One layer soaked up a lot so it became very rough
looking. Once it dried, I brushed on a layer of baby powder. Liquid
latex needs to be brushed with powder after every coat. I added a second coat
of liquid latex using the popsicle sticks. (Throw out the popsicle sticks after
every use, and use lots. If latex dries on it, it won’t spread smoothly, so
just use more. It gets smoother than a sponge and is much cheaper than brushes).
For the THIRD coat (I
had tested on a small patch previously and figured 3 coats would look good), I
did NOT use popsicle sticks. I set the boob on a paint bottle to prop it UP and
AWAY from the table. I then lightly POURED liquid latex directly from the
bottle onto the boob and manipulated the boob around so that the entire thing got
coated this way. I let the excess DRIP off and onto the work board underneath.
If a few air bubbles
get in it that’s ok, it actually helps to add realistic look to the ‘skin’.
Once it’s dry, brush with baby powder. Do both boobs this way.
10. Trim off
any dried drips of liquid latex that collected on the edges of your boobs.
11. To match perfectly
your skin tone, I AIRBRUSHED my false boobs using an Airbrush and Airbrush
paints. SEE THIS VIDEO OF MY PAINTING HERE.
You can probably use
make-up to paint the latex as an alternative to airbrushing. There are plenty
of latex painting tutorials on the web!
12. To add straps, you
can simply sew some on to the excess fabric that was glued into the inside of
the boob cups. Reinforce your sewing stitches with hot glue. You can add a
small piece of fabric in between the breasts as well to help hold them together.
Some information I gathered while having carpal tunnel syndrome myself! I got it almost six months ago and even though it’s mostly gone I can still feel it when I work too hard.
I want to point out that I have NO medical training and that you SHOULD consult a doctor if you suspect that you have CTS. I will however try to do my best to answer questions if anyone has any.
THIS NEEDS A HELLA SIGNAL BOOST – PLEASE SPREAD THIS UP
EVERYONE needs to start using Invoices. This is very important.
Paypal has recently updated their TOS and it’s something that everyone should pay attention to.
“10.3h If you violate the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, … you will be liable to PayPal for the amount of PayPal’s damages caused by your violation … You acknowledge and agree that $2,500.00 USD per violation … is presently a reasonable minimum estimate of PayPal’s actual damages … PayPal may deduct such damages directly from any existing Balance in the offending Account or any other Account you control.”
DO NOT SEND PAYMENTS AS “GIFTS” You will be risking your commissioners account and that is really really bad.
Artists, REQUEST PAYMENT THROUGH INVOICES. It lets YOU control how money is sent.
Commissioners, DO NOT SEND PAYMENT unless you send it through “for goods and services.” If your artist requests ‘send as gifts’ BEFORE you send payment, tell them about the $2,500 fine per violation, as they probably do not know about it.
Yes, paypal fees suck, but it’s better to have a few dollars missing than to get fined $2,500 for a $20 purchase.
May's Blog 