Another reason is that the time of the Civil War saw changes taking place in the development of firearms and ammunition. The old round musket balls of the Revolution were being replaced with bullets in the shape we are accustomed to. While musket balls are found on Civil War battlefields, the most common type of bullet used was the .58-caliber bullet with three rings around the base. Many bullets found are splattered out of shape. If you’ve always been fascinated by the Civil War and firearms, Civil War bullet collecting is a hobby you will enjoy.

With the advent of internet buying and selling, Civil War bullets have become more collectible, and the prices have gone up quickly. Not only this, sometimes sellers are not informed and ask more than the bullet is worth. For these reasons, if you are just starting out in Civil War bullet collecting, you will want to get a reputable price guide.

Civil War bullets can be collected by buying from other collectors, or you can begin by going directly to the battlefields to dig and search. A metal detector will make Civil War bullet collecting easier. You may also find buttons from uniforms, bullet molds, belt buckles, and other metal items from the battle. Some of the bullets may be buried quite deep. You will need to wear a headset and pay close attention to the changes in tone in your metal detector.

Hunting Civil War relics is prohibited on protected battlefields, but there are still old homesteads where battles were fought. Be sure to get permission from the owner and fill any holes you dig.

Many Civil War bullet collectors also collect bullet molds and other relics from the Civil War era.

Some people have the idea that hunting for bullets with a metal detector indicates a lack of respect for the soldiers who died there. They get this idea because sometimes bullet hunters find bones along with the bullet. The fact is, however, that many of the bullet hunters who have found bullets this way have chronicled and mapped out their finds, resulting in many of the facts that we now know about the Civil War.

The Civil War fascinates Americans because of everything it stands for. While everyone agrees that slavery is a terrible blot on the history of the U.S., there are some people who still discuss the issue of states’ rights versus a strong central government. Civil War bullet collecting is an interesting hobby, though somewhat sobering at times when considering the great number of casualties. The memory of brother fighting against brother out in the cornfields and pastures will never go away. Civil War bullet collecting is one way to commemorate this monumental historical event.

Here’s how to get started.

Soap making can be approached one of two ways. The simple strategy is to use natural soap or unscented soap, melt it down, add your unique ingredients, and make it your own. The supplies necessary for this straightforward method include:

• Colorless bars of natural or fragrance free soap
• Essential oils of your choice – these will scent your soap. Choose scents wisely. Lavender is a calming scent, citrus or mint invigorates. 
• Food coloring
• Vitamin E oil
• Blender
• Soap molds
• Double Boiler
• Wax or parchment paper

Grate soap in a blender and melt it in a double boiler. Add oils and coloring to suit your preference. You can add glitter, toys, or other items to soap to make it fun. Add water until the soap becomes thin enough to pour into a mold. Let molds sit for about 48 hours and then release onto wax paper.

To really create soap from scratch, it’s a bit more involved but still just as fun. Here are the supplies you’ll need:

• 1 oz. coloring dye 
• Thermometer 
• 1 lb. coconut oil 
• 1 lb. olive oil 
• 3 lbs. lard 
• 11.2 oz. of lye 
• 1.5 oz. fragrance 
• 32 oz. water 
• Rubber gloves
• A stainless steel pot 
• 1 large plastic container 
• Protective goggles and an apron
• Thermometer

In your large plastic container add the lye to water in a one to three ratio, one part lye and three parts water. Mix in an open area with proper ventilation and make sure you’re wearing goggles. The mixture will get hot. Let it cool before proceeding to the next step.

Place lard and oils into the metal pot. Warm it on your stove top over low heat until fat melts. Keep track of the temperature until it reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the lye to the melted oils very slowly to combine. Continue stirring. Mixture will change consistency. Add your dye and fragrance. Pour into your molds and let sit for 24 hours. Pop the soap from the molds and you have soap. Congratulations!

Making soap is a fun and rewarding hobby. Once you establish a routine and perfect your recipe you can branch out and try different fragrances, textures, colors, shapes and so on. The sky is the limit when it comes to creativity and soap. For more great recipes and ideas, I recommend Soap: Making It, Enjoying Itavailable from amazon.com. You’ll learn how to make beautiful gift soaps at home with instructions for coloring, scenting, molding, and carving

To get started you’ll need to grab a few things:

• Package of colored Sharpie markers. These are sold at your local office supply store or in the office supply section of your grocer. They come in a wide variety of colors ranging from red, blue, yellow, purple and so on.
• Rubber bands. These are used in the same manner that they’d be used in a traditional tie-dye project. They’ll be used to make bulls-eyes.
• Something to tie-dye. This can be a t-shirt, bag, table cloth, pillowcase, or anything that you feel inspired to add a colorful retro feel to.
• Rubbing alcohol. This is the key to the whole project!
• Spray bottle. This will be used to spray the alcohol.

Taking your shirt or socks or whatever you’re going to be dying, grab a bit of fabric and wrap a rubber band around it leaving a bit of fabric poking out. Do this as many times as you’d like. Varying the size of the fabric inside the rubber band will create different sized color swatches on your finished project. To create the bulls-eye pattern layer the rubber bands on the same piece of fabric, so one handful of fabric will have a rubber band an inch down, two inches down and so on depending on how many rings you want in your bulls-eye.

Now take your markers and start coloring in the gathered material. Color it however you choose. If you’re making a multicolored bulls-eye you’ll want to color each banded section a different color.

Once you’ve finished coloring the sections, grab the fabric and take it to a well ventilated area. An old plastic chair, bench or even a bucket outside is ideal. Using your spray bottle full of alcohol, start spraying the rubber banded sections. Continue spraying until the entire shirt has been tended to.

Now you can sit back and watch. The alcohol will start to react with the colors causing them to bleed into one another. It’s a great and dramatic effect and it is fun to watch. Let your fabric dry. Once it’s dry, you can remove the rubber bands. Launder it in cold water to set the colors. Dry and wear.

Tie-dying with sharpie markers is a much easier, faster, and less stressful way of creating the same fabulous projects the buckets and dye powders offer and without the mess.

Find books on Tie Dye Projects at Amazon.com

Many hobby, gift and flower shops offer a selection of gorgeous silk flowers ranging from a simple daisy to an elegant orchid. A wide variety can be found which provides endless opportunities to create flower arrangements to suit your home and your personal tastes. 

To get started making a silk flower arrangement there are a few supplies necessary. They include:

• Floral foam
• Hot glue and hot glue gun (for adhering the foam to the bottom of your vase, basket or container)
• Moss to cover the foam
• U shaped floral pins to adhere the moss to the foam
• If you’re working with a basket as a container, line it with newspaper first so the foam doesn’t fall through the basket weavings
• Wire clippers

Once you have acquired the necessary tools and equipment there are a few simple designs you can begin with and experiment from there. 

Triangle arrangements. This is one of the steadfast standbys in floral design. The shape of the final product will resemble a triangle. The height of the design is always more than the width. Begin by establishing the width and height with some of your smaller greenery and/or flowers.

The larger flowers, the ones with the biggest circumference, will be positioned lower to give weight and visual focus to the arrangement. Fill in the space as necessary to create the desired effect.

Vertical arrangements. With a vertical arrangement the tallest flower should be three to four times the height of the vase. That means if you use a vase that is 5 inches tall, the tallest flower should be 15 to 20 inches tall. Fill in the space as necessary to create the desired effect.

Horizontal arrangements. For this arrangement use a shallow container or vase. Generally greenery is used to establish the flow of the piece with it being positioned fairly symmetrically on both sides. Focal flowers are positioned in the middle of the arrangement with all flowers and greenery being arranged so they droop over the edge of the vase. Fill in the space as necessary to create the desired effect, keeping in mind that the arrangement is horizontal and no height needs to be added.

Every design discipline has a few rules and flower arranging is no different. Experts recommend:

• keeping space between the flowers to avoid an overcrowded effect
• using flowers and greenery in all stages of development, from bud to full bloom
• gently bending the flowers and opening and separating petals and leaves for a more natural look

A silk flower arrangement can last many years with proper care and cleaning. An ozone free aerosol spray cleaner is the fastest and easiest way to preserve your beautiful arrangement and help it retain its vibrant color.

Find books on Silk Flower Arranging at Amazon.com

Craftster.org is an online forum. It was created in 2003 as a place for crafters to share, post pictures, and even provide step by step instructions for their creations. It is geared toward the more adventurous crafts and crafters. They have a few fun slogans including, “Craftster. Uncork the possibilities,” “Knit fast. Die warm,” and “Craftster. Cheaper than therapy.”

Projects and blog posts are organized by:

• Category
• Date
• Whether a picture is posted

There are also a number of forums and blogs listed so it serves as a gateway to a number of other fantastic crafting sites and sources of information. Craftster also includes a calendar which tracks crafting events all around the world. Membership is free and users are encouraged to create a profile, to participate often, and to spread the word. 

Getcrafty.com, Home of the Craftistas, is a comprehensive online crafting site. Getcrafty.com operates as a directory and lists:

• Crafting forums
• Crafting blogs
• Stories
• Pictures
• Wiki

They also have their own forum, chat room and blog. It’s a fabulous, welcoming community of people who love Martha Stewart however do not aspire to be her. They believe in the joy of making things, of crafting, rather than the joy of perfection. The founder of the site, Jean Railla, also wrote a book titled “Get Crafty: Hip Home Ec”. 

Membership at GetCrafty.com is free and users are encouraged to blog, chat, swap, and share. Membership includes a free blog, free newsletters, a free online picture album and tons of online crafting fun.

Crafterscommunity.com is another full service online crafting community. It offers a crafters directory, a list of top crafting sites, a banner exchange, and a pen pal service. There is a forum, featured crafts are listed and updated often. Featured crafts include pictures and step by step directions. Projects are also listed by holiday and type of project. For example quilting, paper craft, beading etc. The site offers a forum, chat room, and photo sharing. There is also a comprehensive list of projects which is updated regularly by members and facilitators. Membership is free and each month members receive an email with:

• Fun Craft Projects and Ideas
• News and Happenings
• Free Contests

To make the most of online crafting communities it is advised to find one community to connect with. Establishing a rapport with other members takes time and activity. To simply register and read the posts is fine, however people who take this approach are missing out on the social aspects of an online community. A crafting community is a great place to make friends, learn, and to share crafting knowledge. 

It’s fairly easy, and common, to get into a crafting mood, head to your local bead store and spend gobs of money only to get home and not know what to do with what you purchased. Instead of going to the bead store and buying everything that looks good, kind of like a kid in a candy store, consider going with a specific project in mind.

A bracelet, for example, is a good beginner beading project to start with. Other project options are wire jewelry, hemp jewelry and earrings of all shapes and sizes. Browse the internet for ideas and instructions, or head to your craft store for the sole purpose of buying a book with project ideas. Here’s a great book with lots of projects for beginning beaders: Simply Beautiful Beading: 53 Quick and Easy Projects

Once you have a project decided upon and a list of supplies you need, then it’s time to purchase your materials at the local bead store or place an order at a reputable online dealer.

Once you’ve adopted a beading hobby it’s easy to find yourself up to your neck in earrings, bracelets and necklaces. Your jewelry box is full, your friend’s jewelry boxes are full and yet you still have the desire to create beautiful objects with beads. No matter where your interests take you, there are amazing items to be created with beads.

Accessories. Belts, handbags, and hair accessories all deserve a little embellishment. Handbags and belts can both be made entirely of beads or you can find a pattern to sew onto your favorite accessory. Crystal beads, gems, and metallic beads are an excellent choice for an evening bag. Smaller beads and beads with an ethnic flair work very well for belts. Hair accessories such as hair bands and barrettes can be made entirely of beads using elastic or you can use hot glue to add beads to a plain band for a festive shine. Accessories are also an excellent place to use those extra beads you have lying around.

Home accessories. Vases, candle holders, baskets, cabinet knobs and much more can be adorned with beads. Grab your hot glue gun, a collection of gems or crystal beads and create unique accessories. Napkin holders are often decorated with beads or made entirely out of beads. And picture frames are the perfect foundation for glass beads. Use this project to create a one of a kind gift for a loved one.

Holiday decorations. You can use beads to decorate an entire holiday tree. Beads can be used to make snowmen, angels, snowflakes, Santa Claus and much more. Hearts can be created from beads for Valentine’s Day. Any holiday can be a reason to create a beadwork masterpiece.

Create real, usable pieces or art. Bookmarks can be created with beads. Lamps adorned with or made from crystals can hang from the ceiling. Vases and candle holders can be created from beads and wonderful figurine project ideas, including some truly magnificent bugs, can be found online.

Once you get started creating beaded jewelry and accessories it’s hard to stop. There are so many beautiful projects to create and a seemingly endless supply of stunning beads. Start small, plan your projects well and be willing to ask questions and make adjustments as you go.