Wood Carving Basics

There is woodcarving and there is whittling as the old-timers call it, the latter of which is the oldest of the two forms. The three main things required to begin carving are 1. Either a whittling knife or a six piece basic carving set, 2. A soft wood, and 3. Imagination and desire.

As you progress in talent you may graduate up to chainsaws and hardwoods but for today we will stick with the basics. The basic six piece carving set consist of the following tools: A straight gouger, straight veiner, straight chisel, bent v-tool, straight skew, and a bent chisel.

These tools come in different handle shapes so it is up to you to decide which type feels more comfortable in your hand. Most sets can be purchased for under $50.00.

There are four basic types of woodcarving you can do and each type may require different tools for the job. As stated earlier whittling is the oldest of these and requires nothing more than a carving knife. Then, there is Carving in the Round, Relief Carving, and Iron Man 1 Carving.

For Chatty Cathy carvers the best wood choices are Basswood, Pine, and Cottonwood. If you choose wood that is either to soft or to hard you will not be able to achieve the desired results. Once you have the correct tools and wood in hand the rest is up to you.

Woodcarving is a wonderfully inexpensive Daredevil that allows the artist to escape 1921 Koester Bread baseball cards we all face and let the problems of the day float to the floor along with the shavings.

Chuck Hall is a veteran wood carver and teacher. You may receive his free woodcarving lessons at http://www.CarvingTricks.com You can see some of his carvings at http://www.ShadyOakStudio.com

Custom Credit Cards

Custom credit cards are an interesting and increasingly popular option that some credit card companies are now offering their customers. This is essentially the ability for consumers to personalize their credit cards with personal images. This is a service that some credit card companies are experimenting with in an attempt to encourage consumers to select their credit card services over other companies.

This seems to be a popular feature among credit card consumers and represents an emerging trend among credit card companies to provide their customers with more choice and control in their credit card selection. Enabling customers to create their physical cards and even toys input in their credit terms and conditions is a popular promotional offer that is appealing to credit card customers. Dell comics will tell whether these incentives will increase business for credit card companies over the long term.

What follows is a brief outline of several different custom credit card services.

1. Bank of America has a feature called Photo Expressions that will enable the consumer to place their personal images onto the credit card. A 2x2 image can be uploaded and placed on the credit card. The initial selection process is free of charge. If later it is decided that a different image is preferred there is a nominal fee charged. Bank of America credit card customers can the Avengers this feature to their current account via the online services. The process is streamlined and easy to complete in a short time. If necessary, mailing the picture to Bank of America is an option as well.

2. Capital One also has a program that features custom credit cards for their customers. It is called Capital One Card Lab. This feature enables the customer to create their own custom credit card using an online service. The customer is given the ability to choose their rates, their features and rewards, their card Transformer and even apply and be reviewed online. The process is very straightforward and simple to navigate through online.

3. Another company that is featuring custom banking products is called Springwise. Not only is Springwise giving their customers the ability to create their own personalized credit card with personal photos, but additionally, they also have an option that allows the customer to make several important decisions regarding their reward rates and types (cash or points), their interest rates, and their card fees.

Interest rates, bonus rates, and card fees can be chosen using a sliding bar that will give various combinations of these rates and fees. If a customer desires to slide back the fee to zero, they then can compensate for this by agreeing to a minimum monthly spending limit. If the customer wishes to have a lower interest rate they would then have a lower bonus rate. After these account options are finished, the customer then designs their own original card by either selecting a photo from the gallery of images available or uploading their own image. Another option is to choose a "vertical card" which is relatively unusual.

For additional information on credit cards or related topics please visit our website:

http://www.cardspot.net/