Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Argos' How To... Wrap A Gift.

What you will need: Wrapping paper, scissors and tape (bows optional).


How To: Wrap a Present Step 1

1Gather wrapping materials

Assemble your present, the wrapping paper, scissors, and tape, and then clear a large, flat surface such as a kitchen table.

How To: Wrap a Present Step 2

2Secure fragile items

Make sure that anything fragile within your box is wrapped securely and won’t move around or become damaged.

Tip: Use a small piece of tape to keep the box closed.

How To: Wrap a Present Step 1

3Measure out how much paper to cut

Roll out your wrapping paper—but don’t cut it yet. Place the box in the center of the unfurled paper, upside down, so the seams of the paper will end up on the bottom of the package. Bring the paper up one side and over the top of the box, all the way to the opposite edge. Estimating how much additional paper you’ll need to cover the side of the box that’s not yet covered, cut the paper.

How To: Wrap a Present Step 4

4Secure the paper to the box with tape

Center the box on the paper. Bring one side of the paper up the side and halfway across the top, affixing it to the box with a piece of tape.

How To: Wrap a Present Step 5

5Fold the other side for a cleaner edge

Before bringing the second side of paper up and over the first, create a clean seam by folding over the last half-inch or so of the paper, using your fingers to create a tight crease. Now bring this side up so it just overlaps the first one and affix with tape.

Tip: Double-sided tape can be used for a cleaner look.

How to Wrap a Gift Step 6

6Fold the paper on each side of the present

Starting on one end, fold down the top flap onto the side of the box, creating two little wings at the side. Flatten those in against the box, then fold the remaining triangle of paper up against the box. Fasten it in place with tape.

How To: Wrap a Present Step 7

7Stand the box up and repeat folding to the other side

Set your box on end, with the side you just worked on facing down, and repeat step 6 on the opposite end.

8Add finishing touches

Add any ribbon or decorative bows to your gift.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Argos' How To... Roll A Joint

The MixThe Mix
This is often considered the most cruicial part of rolling a joint. Ensure that there are absolutely no lumpy bits in the mix. This will help greatly when rolling your joint.







RollingDistribution
The distribution of the mix in the paper is important as it determines the shape of your joint. Most joints are cone shaped so you are better off going for that shape. Whilst cone shapes are a little harder to roll they smoke a lot better.







The RoachThe Roach
Make sure that you put the roach in before you roll it up. It is a lot easier doing it before than trying to get it in afterwards and it also ensures that it is a perfect fit.





Rolling the JointRolling it up
This is the hardest and most fiddley bit of the process but spend sometime perfecting it and it'll come naturally later. Pick the whole thing up and starting in the middle begin rolling, moving outwards. Make sure you use your thumbs to do most of the rolling and use your forefingers for support and pressure.





Still RollingFinishing the Roll
Once you can feel that the mix is firm and of an even consistancy than with the tip of your thumbs tuck the bottom half underneath, lick the top half and wrap and seal the joint.







Finished JointThe Finished Product
Your joint is now ready to be smoked. The best joints are always quite firm but not so tight that you bust your lungs trying to inhale. If the joint is too loose it will burn way too fast and taste very rough.












Thank you http://www.howtorollajoint.info/

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Argos' How To... Write A Check

  • Start by writing in the date using any format, as long as it's legible. Use either the current date or a future date for a post-dated check.

  • Write the name of the person or company receiving your check on the line that starts with "Pay to the Order of" or "Payable to."

  • Write the numerical dollar amount of the check in the small space that starts with a dollar sign ($) so that it reads like this: $25.63.

  • Write the same amount using words for whole dollar amounts, a fractional figure for amounts less than a dollar, and a straight line to fill up the remaining space on the line ending with the word "Dollars," like this: Twenty-five and 63/100 ------------- Dollars.

  • Sign the signature line at the lower right.

  • Note the check number, date, payee and amount on the check stub or in the check ledger at the front of your checkbook.

  • Subtract the amount of the check so that you will know how much you have left in your account.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Argos' How To... Make Cake Balls

Gather Your Ingredients

There's basically three things you need to bake cake balls:

  1. Cake
  2. Frosting
  3. Coating
You can make your cake and frosting from scratch or you can use a pre-packaged cake mix and frosting. As far as the coating goes, you can use any sweetened, meltable chocolate. For my first cake ball project, I used chocolate bark coating which Kroger carries for $3.79 for 24 oz. (12 bars in the package are 2 oz. each) I would imagine just about any other grocery store would have something like it. I found it in the baking aisle hiding out next to the chocolate chips.

You'll need one package of bark coating for each batch of cake balls you want to make. I found for the 30 cake balls I made there was just enough. My first attempt was pretty messy and I probably wasted some chocolate coating but it all worked out OK. (Update: Now that I have some experience under my belt I've found that I normally have about two bars left of the bark coating. I usually end up using the last two bars for decorative drizzle or save them for another project.)

Instead of the bark coating you can also use those little confectionary wafers. The nice thing about those is that they come in all sorts of different colors. I've seen these at Michael's in the cake decorating aisle. If you chose to add coloring to your bark coating or wafers be sure to use oil-based coloring or paste. Coloring that contains water will cause the coating to become crumbly and unworkable..


The Birth of a Cake Ball


Step One: Bake Your Cake This one is pretty easy. Just bake your cake the way you usually would. You can use just a rectagular sheet pan because you'll be destroying the cake anyway once its done baking. It's really fun! Let your cake cool for a while but it should still be slightly warm before you crumble it into the bowl. I think I let my cake cool for 15-20 minutes. Once your cake is crumbled by hand you can continue the process a step further by using a hand mixer or food processor to get a finer texture.

Step Two: Add Frosting Now, mix in your frosting to make a paste. You'll need to add 3/4 to a full can of frosting. It all depends on what type of cake and frosting you use. I started off with 3/4 of the can and the mixture still looked a little dry so I added to the rest of the container. If you want your cake balls to be more cakey you'll probably want to add less frosting. In the words of Martha Stewart your mixture is going to "feel weird." So if those are your thoughts--don't worry--you're on the right track! Before you roll out the balls you want the mixture to chill for a while. If you try to roll them out while warm or at room temperature they will crumble into bits. I put my mixture in the freezer for two hours only because I was busy and didn't have time to get back to it right away. However, according to the cake ball experts the mixture only needs to stay in the freezer for 15 minutes. I noticed after rolling out about half the mixture that it started to get warm again and hard to work with. So I put the rest back in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes and finished it up. I used my hands to roll out the balls but I've heard using a melon baller can make things easier. You can make the balls as small or as big as you like but 1 to 1.5 inches is recommended. I found some of the larger cake balls where a lot harder to dip in the coating and was wishing I had made some of them smaller. After rolling them out I placed the balls in a plastic container to keep in the freezer. You can stack them on top of each other between sheets of waxed paper.

Some websites recommend putting the rolled balls onto cookie sheets but I don't have that much room in my freezer!

You'll want to freeze the balls for at least 6 hours. This makes it much easier to dip the balls in melted chocolate. If the balls are too warm when you try to coat them with chocolate you'll have a big mess on your hands!


Step Three: Coat With Chocolate Once your balls are nice and chilled you're ready to dip them in chocolate. I used the microwave to melt my bark coating but you can also a saucepan or double boiler. Here's melting directions from the back of the bag: Double boiler: Heat water in bottom of double boiler to boiling. Remove from heat and add coating in top of double boiler. Stir until melted. Saucepan: Melt candy coating in heavy saucepan at very low temperatures, stirring constantly until smooth. Microwave: Place candy coating in microwave safe dish. Microwave for one minute at full power, then stir thoroughly. Continue microwaving on high for 15 seconds intervals, stirring well after each interval, until smooth. Helpful Hints: Chop or break up coating to speed melting times. Melt at lowest temperature possible to produce the smoothest final product. Overheating will cause bark coating to scorch. Use only dry utensils or cooking pans because moisture will causing coating to seperate, solidify or granulate.



Thank you to http://amandakjones.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Cake-Balls for this great recipe!


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