Lensography: Azareal

My Science Lenses

How to Grow Crystals

Anyone can grow their own crystals. It's fun, easy, and educational. You don't need to buy a kit or any unusual chemicals to grow great crystals. The only materials you need are ones you probably already have at home. Let's get started![Photo: Copper sulfate crystals are bright blue crystals that ar

How to Make Rock Candy

Making your own rock candy is a great way to grow your own crystals, plus you get to eat what you make. You can add colors and flavors or make crystals of pure sugar.Photo: Douglas Whitaker

Top Crystals You Can Grow

It's fun to grow your own crystals. However, some crystals are easier and safer to grow than others. Here's my list of the top crystal growing projects, based on how easy and quick the crystals are to grow, how safe the project is, and how pretty the crystals are. [Photo: Alum crystal that was grown

Science Fair Crystals

There are several ways you can use crystals for science fair projects. Young scientists may want to make models of types of crystals or grow a crystal from a kit. More advanced researchers can experiment with the effects of changing the growing conditions of crystals. Another option is to work out a

Grow Copper Sulfate Crystals

Copper sulfate crystals were the first crystals I ever grew. Since then I've grown a lot of different types of crystals, but copper sulfate crystals are my favorite, partly because they are super-easy to grow and partly because they are such a beautiful blue color. This lens will tell you how to gro

How to Get into Medical School

Applying to med school can be one of the most important and most challenging parts of your education. Are you looking for some help getting into medical school? Here's an overview of the admission process for US medical schools and some advice for how to make your application one that gets accepted.

Smoke Bombs

You only need two ingredients to make your own smoke bombs. Smoke bombs are an easy science project, plus they produce spectacular results. You light the smoke bombs on fire in order to get them started, so this is a project that requires adult supervision.Photo: Homemade Smoke Bomb (Anne Helmenstin

Make Your Own Jewelry

Make Beaded Stars or Mandala

Beaded stars or mandalas make great pendants or earring or even holiday ornaments. You don't need any beading experience to create these jewels. Just get some beads, thread, and a needle and give this project a try! The pattern is addictive, partly because it's a fun way to play with color and shape

Free Jewelry Making Patterns

For a while, I made my living as a professional jewelrymaker. I made beaded jewelry and bead and wire jewelry, handknotted pearls, polished and set gems, and worked up some original patterns and designs. I find jewelrymaking to be relaxing, plus I get a sense of accomplishment whenever a project is

Make a Victorian Wirework Necklace

This autumn leaf necklace is stunning! The Victorian technique for making leaves can be used to make other shapes and sizes of leaves, feathers, and flowers.

Make Bead and Wire Flower Hair Jewelry

This bead and wire flower is very easy to make and looks gorgeous in your hair. You can make vary the size, shape, and number of petals to make flowers for hair pins, bobby pins, pendants, pins, and more.

Make a Japanese Chain Maille Necklace

Call it chain maille or chain mail or call it jump ring jewelry - the technique is easy and the results are stunning! This necklace, based on a Japanese motif, is a great beginner project. It doesn't take too long to complete, doesn't involve contortionist positions to make the motifs (we'll save th

Make Beaded Chandelier Earrings

Chandelier earrings are gorgeous, but large earrings can be heavy and cumbersome and can take a lot of time to make. These earrings have three-dimensional drape and the swingy allure of chandeliers, but they are easy to make and elegant enough to wear anytime. I've made mine with pearls and crystals

Sapphire Facts

Sapphires are among the most beautiful and valuable gemstones. Most people think of sapphires as blue stones, but they actually are found in wide variety of colors. Some sapphires are translucent stones, while others have star markings. This lens is intended to tell you a bit more about this interes

How to Tell Real Pearls and Fake Pearls Apart

Pearls are beautiful. There are faux (fake) pearls that look stunning and real pearls that look... well... less so. So why care whether or not you can tell real and fake apart? You will want to be able to recognize real pearls if you are buying them because precious gems can be a good investment. Hi

Make Chandelier Earrings

Chandelier earrings are gorgeous! These instructions are for completely hand-made earrings. Use a jig or roundnose pliers to make the chandelier frame. The dangles are attached to the frame use wire or headpins. Finally, the chandelier is hung from an earring finding, which, of course, you can make

Summer Surf Free Bracelet Beading Pattern

This beaded bracelet or anklet pattern is made using peyote or gourd stitch. The colors and waves are reminiscent of the summer beach! Make this project using Delica seed beads for a bracelet or using larger size 11 seed beads for an eye-catching anklet.

Make Bejeweled Hair Spirals

These delicate-looking hair accessories are easy to make! Sprinkle them in upswept hair for weddings, prom, or other special events, or twist in a few above a ponytail for a more casual look. All you need is a bit of wire and a rhinestone, pearl, or flower.

Make Beaded Bobby Pins

Make your own beaded bobby pins or barrettes. All it takes is a few beads, some wire, and the pins/barrettes to make bejeweled creations worthy of becoming heirlooms! Beaded bobby pins are great for weddings, formal events such as the prom, gifts, or to add a little sparkle as an everyday accessory.

Birthstones

A birthstone is a precious or semiprecious gemstone that is associated with your birth and is associated with all sorts of good things. In ancient Babylonia and India, birthstones were believed to be magical. Some cultures believe birthstones are lucky or protective or enhance your best personality

How to Make a Hugs and Kisses Beaded Ring

The Hugs and Kisses beaded ring is an easy beaded ring to make, yet it looks fabulous. This is an excellent beaded ring to make, even if you have never tried making a beaded project before. All you need are a few beads, beading thread or fishing line, and a needle.

How to Make Beaded Snowflakes

Beaded snowflakes are fun to make! You don't need any beading experience to make these dainty creations. Make one for a pendant. Two beaded snowflakes could become dangles for a pair of earrings. Make dozens and attach them to winter gifts or use them as holiday decorations. Use your imagination and

Bead a Crystal Flower Ring

This beaded ring is very easy to make and looks stunning. Crystal bicone beads fit together to form flower shapes, which can be strung in a row or embellished for more design options. Small crystals make a dainty ring for any size finger, while large crystals make a bold statement, like a cocktail r

Make Chain Mail Jewelry

Have you ever wanted to make your own chain mail jewelry? Here's an easy project to get you started. This is an updated take on the classic European 4-in-1 chain mail pattern. The beads are optional, but they add distinction. Once you are comfortable with the basic pattern, try varying your wire and

Make Beaded Earrings Using the Coraling Technique

These lacy earrings look like coral or frost. The branched fringe or coraling beading technique is easy to do and yields stunning results. Once you master the stitch you can use it to make necklaces or to adorn clothing.

How to Make a Beaded Ring

Beaded rings are artsy and individualistic. They express your style in a personal way that you won't get from a more conventional ring. Plus, beaded rings are fun to make. The ring in this photo is made from faceted glas beads, but you could just as easily use your favorite gemstones to create a tre

How to Make a Beaded Spiral Rope Chain

This easy beading stitch results in a flexible rope of beads. The spiral rope looks lovely by itself, but it is also easy to embellish either during the beadweaving or after the rope is complete. This is a great beginning beading project because it is simple and also very inexpensive.Though I love m

Macrame Flower Necklace

Macrame is a simple knotting technique that can be used to make cool jewelry. One nice part about macrame jewelry is you can use natural fibers and beads for jewelry that is soft and easy on your skin. Macrame jewelry is also very inexpensive to make. This easy project uses only two knots and doesn'

How to Make a Beaded Spider

This beaded spider is an ideal Halloween decoration or traditional Christmas tree ornament. Large spiders make great pins and pendants, while smaller ones can be used as earrings, rings, and accents on purses and hairpins.

Make a Beaded Crystal Heart

Use crystals, firepolish beads, pearls, or combinations of beads to make a stunning heart pendant or charm. You can weave a flat heart or make two and join them to make a three-dimensional or puffed heart. This is a great Valentine's Day project or you can make a heart anytime for yourself or as a s

Make a Ring - Set a Stone in Bead Netting

Use this easy netting technique to form a beaded bezel around any cabochon. For this tutorial, the netting encircles an opal and is extended outward to form a ring. However, beaded bezels make great settings for pendants, bracelets, and earrings, too! The netting technique can be used to make many o

Make a Leather Necklace with Pendant

Do you want to make a simple necklace for yourself or a special guy or gal in your life, but aren't sure how to go about it? This simple necklace is a good choice for anyone, male or female. All you need is a pendant, a leather cord, connectors, and a clasp. It's a great beginner project for a polis

Health & Beauty Lenses

Lip Gloss Recipes

Lip gloss can give your lips shine and color and can protect them from the effects of sun and wind. Lip gloss can taste great too! It's fun and easy to make your own lip gloss. You can make the gloss whatever color and flavor you like, plus you'll know all the ingredients are safe and healthy.

How to Make Perfume

It's easy to create your own signature perfume scent, plus you'll save money, express your creativity, and have a product that you know is free of potentially harmful synthetic chemicals. You only need a few easy-to-find materials, plus making perfume is fun. Giving perfume that you made especially

Bach Flower Remedies

In the 1930's, Dr. Edward Bach used his knowledge of homeopathy to devise a plant-based remedy to treat a particular set of negative feelings. The Bach Flower Remedies are thought to work by stimulating the body's capacity to self-heal and by balancing negative feelings. Remedies are selected which

How to Get into Medical School

Applying to med school can be one of the most important and most challenging parts of your education. Are you looking for some help getting into medical school? Here's an overview of the admission process for US medical schools and some advice for how to make your application one that gets accepted.

Portuguese Man of War Sting First Aid

Where I live there are two main types of jellyfish. There is a jellyfish we call a jellyball or cabbagehead jellyfish, which can't sting, so you could actually play catch with it. Then there is the Portuguese Man of War, which isn't really a jellyfish at all, but an animal that looks a lot like a je

Head Lice Treatments That Really Work

Your kids (and you) can get head lice no matter how often they wash and comb their hair. Once one family member has them, it's very easy for the whole family get infested. Chances are, your child will be barred from entering school until he or she is lice-free, so how do you get rid of the lice quic

Make Your Own Natural Toothpaste

You may want to make your own toothpaste if you want total control over the ingredients in your toothpaste and want to be sure the toothpaste is fluoride-free. You may want to make your own toothpaste because you want your toothpaste to be a particular flavor. Another reason to make your own toothpa

Make Your Own Shampoo

Do you want to make your own shampoo? You can! It's not difficult, plus making shampoo yourself lets you customize the scent of your shampoo or avoid all scents and synthetic chemicals altogether, if that is what you want. You can make an all-natural product, plus get the sense of accomplishment tha

Make Your Own Hair Conditioner

I bet you have the ingredients for a great hair conditioner in your home right this minute! There are many natural products that can give your hair body and shine, detangle it, and help protect it from damage. The big difference between commercial hair conditioners and a conditioner you make yoursel

Cat Lenses

Cat Names

My very first cat was deaf, so I got a late start on the whole cat-naming thing. If I wanted to call him, I'd thump on the floor. He had a name. In fact, he had lots of names, since he wasn't going to come when called no matter what. Since that time, all of my cats have had multiple names. I've lear

How to Give a Cat a Pill

Some people have no problem at all giving their cats pills. If you are reading this lens, chances are you are not one of them. It's ok. It's not easy to get a cat to do something it doesn't want to do. Successfully pilling a cat is a matter of preparation, patience, and skill. You can do this, witho

Recipe Lenses

Yummy Hot Cocoa Recipes

Everyone probably has his or her favorite hot cocoa recipe, but I bet they don't agree on which recipe is best! Here's a look at some of the yummiest hot cocoa recipes. Don't just stick with your favorite cocoa recipe. Try something new! Maybe you will find a new favorite. [hot cocoa photo: André K

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Roasted pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are a tasty and nutritious autumn snack. Roasting and eating pumpkin seeds dates back at least to the time of the Aztecs. My recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds calls for seasoning them with salt, but you may wish to add your favorite seasoning mix. This l

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Recipe

Liquid nitrogen ice cream is ice cream that is frozen using liquid nitrogen. The non-toxic nitrogen boils off back into the air from whence it came leaving tasty ice cream goodness behind.This is an excellent recipe to make as part of a cryogenics demonstration. The ice cream tastes great, plus you

Make Your Own Natural Toothpaste

You may want to make your own toothpaste if you want total control over the ingredients in your toothpaste and want to be sure the toothpaste is fluoride-free. You may want to make your own toothpaste because you want your toothpaste to be a particular flavor. Another reason to make your own toothpa

How to Make Rock Candy

Making your own rock candy is a great way to grow your own crystals, plus you get to eat what you make. You can add colors and flavors or make crystals of pure sugar.Photo: Douglas Whitaker

How to Make Perfume

It's easy to create your own signature perfume scent, plus you'll save money, express your creativity, and have a product that you know is free of potentially harmful synthetic chemicals. You only need a few easy-to-find materials, plus making perfume is fun. Giving perfume that you made especially

Make Your Own Hair Conditioner

I bet you have the ingredients for a great hair conditioner in your home right this minute! There are many natural products that can give your hair body and shine, detangle it, and help protect it from damage. The big difference between commercial hair conditioners and a conditioner you make yoursel

Lip Gloss Recipes

Lip gloss can give your lips shine and color and can protect them from the effects of sun and wind. Lip gloss can taste great too! It's fun and easy to make your own lip gloss. You can make the gloss whatever color and flavor you like, plus you'll know all the ingredients are safe and healthy.

Snow Ice Cream Recipes

Snow ice cream is a lot of fun to make, plus it can taste surprisingly good. Here's a collection of snow ice cream recipes, including one that uses the snow to freeze the ice cream rather than as an ingredient.[photo: ElinorD, Wikipedia]

Various and Assorted Lenses

Ye Olde Miscellaneous Group

How to Set Up a Native Saltwater Aquarium

If you are fortunate enough to live near the beach, you can catch and keep your own sea creatures. This lens is about my own experience setting up a native tank. My native tank is my favorite aquarium, partly because it is always changing and partly because I can catch creatures and release them lat

Tropical Christmas

Ok, technically I live in the subtropics, not the tropics, but I have a neighbor who has Christmas lights wrapped around his palm trees, so I think that's close enough. If you live somewhere where there's no chance of having a white Christmas, you might be facing some... shall we say... decorating c

Who Is Anne Helmenstine?

Hi! I'm Anne Helmenstine, known to online readers as Anne, Dr. Helmenstine, or Azareal, depending on how you know me.I wrote this bio to support my Squidoo lenses, but I'm finding it's a handy way to share photos and updates with friends and a one-stop spot for me to find my own online content.

Rhetoric - Figures of Speech

You learned about rhetoric and figures of speech back in English class, but now you may be a little rusty distinguishing between a metaphor and a simile (two figures of speech). The purpose of this lens is to list common figures of speech, explain what they are, and give you an example of each type.

Cool Science Toys

Science toys are cool no matter how young or old you are! I'm a scientist and science writer plus I have four kids, so I have a sort of fascination with science toys, both for myself and for other family members. Here's a look at some of the coolest science toys I have come across. Also, be sure to

Burwell Nebraska

Burwell, Nebraska is my hometown. I lived there for 23 years and return to visit my family from time to time. Now, I am sure a lot of you are thinking Nebraska... corn... boring. Well, there is corn, but there is a whole lot more, too! Burwell is home to a great outdoor rodeo. The North Loup river o

Christmas Tree Care

The care you give your cut Christmas tree determines whether it will be a beautiful, fragrant holiday decoration or a spiky fire hazard. Here's how to keep your cut tree green and healthy all season long.

How to Choose Wire for Making Jewelry

Making wire jewelry is very fun and rewarding. You can make a great piece of jewelry even if you have never tried wire jewelrymaking before. Once you become more comfortable with wire, the design possibilities are endless. However, it can be hard to know what kind of wire you need in order to comple

Pearl Glossary

It's a whole lot easier to shop for pearl jewelry if you understand the language. Here's a glossary of some common pearl terms, including types and shapes of pearls and necklace lengths. Please let me know if there are any terms you would like to see added and I'll include them.

How Mood Rings Work

If you were alive in the 1970s, chances are you had a mood ring or saw one. Mood rings are rings with a stone that changes color, supposedly in response to your emotions. Here's a look at how mood rings work and whether they really can tell how you feel.Mood Ring Photo (Alkivar)