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Are you an avid crafter?  Doing crafts is fun for both young and old a like.  Read on and you will get a few helpful tips on clean up, removing paint, removing glued items, and more.  These tips all use the help of vinegar so there are no expensive products to buy or needless chemicals to use since vinegar is non-toxic, all natural, reasonably priced and effective product.  You can use vinegar in more ways than just these that I mention in this article.

Have you tried your hand at painting only to find that you should have left it to the professionals?  Did you get the paint on your woodwork and windows?  If this is the situation then don’t fret I will give you a tip using vinegar that will remove that unwanted paint leaving your woodwork and windows free from the unwanted paint.  First you will need to have a bottle of apple cider vinegar on hand then heat a small amount up in a pan on the stove top.  After the apple cider vinegar has been warmed up dip a cleaning rag into the vinegar and go to work.  Simply wipe the paint off the windows and woodwork.  With the use of apple cider vinegar you will not have any scrubbing or scrapping to do.

Restoring stained and varnished areas in your home.  Are your doors, trim and woodwork looking dull and old looking?  If so try this simple step to brighten and have your woodwork, trim and doors looking years newer which will add more value to your house.  Follow these simple steps to give your stained and varnished woodwork, trim and doors a new look (this also works good for dressers, end tables and any piece of furniture that has a stained and varnish finish).  First mix one tablespoon of vinegar with one quart of warm water.  Gently rub the solution with a soft cloth.  After washing the areas gently dry the woodwork with a lint free rag for a perfect shine.  You will be truly amazed at the life that the vinegar has brought back to your woodwork.

When working with crafts you may end up with a mess and a half but who cares?  With the use of vinegar you can get your craft area cleaned up in no time at all.  Gluing, pasting and painting are all things that go right along with any kind of crafts.  At times things just may get glued that we really didn’t want to get glued such as paper to the table, craft beads glued in containers, strings or cords glued in unwanted places and many other things but with the use of vinegar you can get these unwanted glued items removed in no time at all.  Pour straight vinegar onto the item as the vinegar soaks into the glue it will loosing and the item will be come free and could e wiped down with out intense scrubbing.

Paintbrushes are an important part of a crafters inventory.  Unlike many items that are disposable paintbrushes are not.  A paintbrush can be use and re-used many times with the proper care.  If you would like to preserve the life of your paintbrush then follow these steps to care for you brushes.  Clean out your paintbrush with hot vinegar after each use.  Next you will need to clean the brush with warm soapy water and then let dry until the next use.  This will lengthen the life of your brushes ultimately saving you money.

When you are done with your craft center you could clean up with the help of vinegar.  By adding two tablespoons of vinegar to one quart of warm water you can clean up your area with out the use of cleaners that have toxic chemicals.  Wipe your area up in the same method that you would use when using cleaning solutions.  Using vinegar is very effective and efficient so stock up with a few bottles of vinegars on your next trip to the grocery store.

If you are a crafty or handy person and like to make your own crafts or like to fix things or work on things yourself, vinegar can help you do that.  You probably already know that materials for crafts or small jobs around the house can be expensive.  Use some of these vinegar ideas to help you get what you need done and also save you on the expense.

Paints
If you are painting something and you get paint on glass or around a window, then you know how hard it can be to get it off.  The fix is simple!  Just heat some vinegar on the stove and use a cloth to wipe away the paint.  You can also use boiling vinegar to clean hardened acrylic paints from paintbrushes.  Just be sure not to soak them too long because it could loosen the hairs on the brushes too!  

If you want to be crafty and make your own wood stain, all you need is some vinegar.  White vinegar can be mixed with water-based links to make a wonderful stain for wood.  The resulting finish is the color of the tint with a silvery shine.  Pour vinegar into a mixing jar, add the ink until the desired color achieved and apply to wood with a brush or rag.  Just wipe off the excess and let it dry.  Since the bulk of the mixture is vinegar, there is less chance of the wood warping. 

If your kids like to paint with watercolors, but go thru, them quickly try this recipe to save you money.  This recipe makes a great substitute for the expensive ones in the store. 

Mix the following ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 table spoon corn flour
• 1 teaspoon glycerin
• 2 drops of food coloring
• 1 teaspoon water

Mix the vinegar and baking powder together in a small bowl add the corn flour and glycerin when the baking powder stops foaming.  Stir in the food coloring and add water if the solution seems to stiff.  Store in a tightly sealed jar or plastic container.

Around the House
If you are a handy man at home and your radiator a clogged valve, clean it with vinegar.  First, shut off the valve and turn it counter clockwise to remove it.  Place the valve in a pan of vinegar and boil it on top of the stove for twenty minutes.  By then the calcium deposits clogging the valve will be dissolved.

Another good tip for at home is if you soak your new propane lantern wicks in vinegar for several hours, and then let them dry, they will burn longer and brighter.  Over a period, wicker furniture can become out of shape.  This is due to the wicker stretching. Here is a tip you can use for rejuvenating your wicker items.  If your wicker is starting to sag, sponge the cane with a solution of half vinegar and half water.  Place the chairs out in the hot sun to dry.  You will find that the sag with tighten up and this will save you from buying new furniture.