Martin Luther King Jr. printable quote 2- Corrected

"Are we seeking power for power's sake? Or are we seeking to make the world and our nation better places to live. If we seek the latter, violence can never provide the answer. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." 

From the Strength to Love speech

 

The above image is web sized and shown full size. The one below is 300 dpi and prints out at 8x10.5 inches, so on a sheet of US letter paper, it will have 1/4 inch margins. I hope you enjoy it.  Click on the image for the full sized version.

Edit:  The original quote that I used was the one below. But the first sentence was added by someone else to the original quote. I remembered the "Hate cannot drive out hate" part assumed the rest was correct.   

 "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

Drawing geometric whirls- with templates!

A whirl, according to Wolfram Mathworld -
Whirls are figures constructed by nesting a sequence of polygons (each having the same number of sides), each slightly smaller and rotated relative to the previous one. The vertices give the path of the  mice in the mice problem, and form logarithmic spirals.


Or it's just another really nifty thing to do with straight lines that is relaxing and fun to draw. All the images in this tutorial are approximately 800x800 pixels, or 100 dpi 8x8 inches, click on them for the full sized versions.

Triangle in a hexagon in a dodecagon

So, to draw these, you'll need a ruler, pencil, paper and a template with radial lines evenly marked. The more radial lines you have, the more lines and finer the design will be. The image above was done with lines that were 5 degrees apart. My instructions show lines 10 degrees apart. (Really, you can skip the math parts if you just want to get to drawing)

This template will do designs that have 3,4, 6, 8 and 12 sides because it has 36 radial lines and 36 is divisible by all those numbers.

So, showing using a triangle. 36/3= 12, so your initial triangle will be marked starting at the ball tips with 11 tips between angles.

Now you start doing the nested rotations. Start the next triangle one point removed from the initial points. Each triangles points are where the lines of the template and the preceding triangle intersect.

Repeat, repeat, repeat until you have enough iterations you are happy with the design!

The real problem with the above template for squares is that for a square, it will be a bit small unless you put it at a 45 degree angle. Here's a template specifically for squares.

A few whirls just to color or use for embroidery patterns.

Here's the template for the one at the top with 72 radial lines.

And all the templates in black and white so you can use them behind a sheet of paper that's transparent enough to use to trace.

I hope you enjoy this. It's a lot of fun and a bit addictive. More open designs would probably make very nice "strings" for Zentangles as well.

Tulip Purse Box

Pretty spring tulips. I hope you enjoy this purse box. The instructions are on the printable, which is at 300 dpi. I used double stick tape to put mine together. Click on the image for the full sized version. I think this would work well to hold candy and a gift card in a pinch as a gift.
I think I'm going to use the same basic technique to make a coffee cup shaped box as well.

Book Review- Grilled Cheese Please!

Grilled Cheese Please : 50 scrumptiously cheesy recipes by Laura Werlin is a collection of grilled cheese recipes. It's a great little cookbook that will make cheese lovers very happy and help people get beyond just plain ham and cheese or American cheese, butter and sandwich bread.
It starts with the basics, how best to make a perfect grilled cheese sandwich, explaining techniques for grilling, alternatives to sandwich presses and the sorts of cheeses and breads she recommends. There is a list of cheeses categorized by how they melt.
Then it gets into the recipes. Mouthwatering combinations that will please all sorts of picky eaters. The very first recipe got my attention because it combines some of my favorite flavors with my daughter's favorite meal. A spinach, egg and cheese sandwich. That gives you an idea what's coming. Great flavor combinations that you might not think of yourself. Some recipes from popular restaurants. Recipes that combine flavors and textures in wonderful ways. The cheeses used are mostly cheeses not usually used for grilled sandwiches so this could be a great way to try new cheeses or to encourage your family to try new cheeses.
My favorite chapter is the Global Grilled Cheese which has 6 recipes, including Welsh Rarebit, a pork Cubano with a recipe for the pork, my family favorite Monte Cristo and a South American inspired recipe that uses Arepas for the bread and includes a recipe for that.
Very recommended. You can get this book directly from the publisher, Andrews McMeelYou can get more information about my review policy here.