How to Make Homemade Gel Air Fresheners

How to Make Homemade Gel Air Fresheners You can buy gel air fresheners, but if you make your own, you can choose your own scent, color, and decorations. Its easy, fun and takes less than an hour to make! For holiday appeal, consider layering different colored gels or using seasonal fragrances (e.g., pine or cinnamon for Christmas). Ingredients 2 cups distilled wateressential oil/fragrance4 packages unflavored gelatinempty jarfood coloring (optional)mold inhibitor (optional) How to Make a Gel Air Freshener Heat 1 cup of distilled water to boiling.Stir in 4 packages of unflavored gelatin (e.g., Knox) until dissolved.Remove the mixture from heat and stir in the other 1 cup water.Add 10-20 drops of essential oil or other concentrated fragrance. If desired, add food coloring to tint your gel. You may also wish to add a mold inhibitor, such as 1-2 T salt OR a small amount of potassium sorbate OR a splash of vodka.Pour the gel into clean baby food jars or other small, decorative containers.The gel will set at room temperature, although you can place the air fresheners in the refrigerator for a quick set (and scented fridge).Decorate your jars as desired and enjoy! Useful Tips This project requires heat, so adult supervision is required.Feel free to scale the recipe up or down to make the amount of gel you need (e.g., 1 cup water to 2 pkg gelatin).If you wish, you can (carefully) dissolve gelatin in concentrated liquid potpourri (no other ingredients needed) to make your air fresheners. Use a ratio of 1 cup liquid to 2 packages gelatin.You can make multi-colored gels by pouring a new color over one which has already set up (like making a layered gelatin dessert).

Sea Urchins and Sand Dollars Are the Round Echinoderms

Sea Urchins and Sand Dollars Are the Round Echinoderms Sea urchins and sand dollars (Echinoidea) are a group of echinoderms that are spiny, globe or disk-shaped animals. Sea urchins and sand dollars are found in all the worlds oceans. Like most other echinoderms, they are pentaradially symmetrical (the have five sides arranged around a central point). Characteristics Sea urchins range in size from as small as a couple of inches in diameter to over a foot in diameter. They have a mouth located on their upper part of their body (also known as the oral surface) although some sea urchins have a mouth located towards one end (if their body shape is irregular). Sea urchins have tube feet and move using a water vascular system. Their endoskeleton consists of calcium carbonate spicules or ossicles. In sea urchins, these ossicles are fused into plates that form a shell-like structure called a test. The test encloses the internal organs and provides support and protection. Sea urchins can sense touch, chemicals in the water, and light. They do not have eyes but their entire body seems to detect light in some manner. Sea urchins have a mouth that consists of five jaw-like parts (similar to the structure of brittle stars). But in sea urchins, the chewing structure is known as Aristotles lantern (so named for the description of Aristotles History of Animals). The teeth of sea urchins sharpen themselves as they  grind food. The Aristotles lantern encloses the mouth and the pharynx and empties into the esophagus which in turn connects to the small intestine and caecum. Reproduction Some species of sea urchins have long, sharp spines. These spines serve as protection from predators and can be painful if they puncture the skin. It has not been determined in all species whether the spines are venomous or not. Most sea urchins have spines that are about an inch long (give or take a bit). The spines are often rather blunt at the end although a few species have longer, sharper spines. Sea urchins have separate sexes (both male and female). It is difficult to distinguish between the sexes but males usually select different microhabitats. They are usually found in more exposed or higher locations than females, enabling them to disperse their spermatic fluid into the water and distribute it better. Females, in contrast, select more protected locations to forage and rest. Sea urchins have five gonads located on the underside of the test (although some species only have four gonads). They release gametes into the water and fertilization takes place in open water. Fertilized eggs develop into free-swimming embryos. A larva develops from the embryo. The larva develops test plates and descends to the seafloor where it completes its transformation into an adult form. Once in its adult form, the sea urchin continues to grow for several years until it reaches its mature size. Diet Sea urchins feed on algae for the most part although some species also feed occasionally on other invertebrates such as sponges, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, and mussels. Although they appear to be sessile (attached to the seafloor or substrate) they are capable of moving. They move over surfaces by way of their tube feet and spines. Sea urchins provide a food source for sea otters as well as wolf eels. Evolution Fossil sea urchins date back about 450 million years ago to the Ordovician period. Their closest living relatives are sea cucumbers. Sand dollars evolved much more recently than sea urchins, during the Tertiary, about 1.8 million years ago. Sand dollars have a flattened disk test, instead of the globe-shaped test sea urchins have. Classification Animals Invertebrates Echinoderms Sea Urchins and Sand Dollars Sea urchins and sand dollars are divided into the following basic groups: Perischoechinoidea - The members of this group were abundant during the Palaeozoic Era but today only a few members still survive. Most species of Perischoechinoidea became extinct during the Mesozoic Era.Echinoidea - The majority of living sea urchins belong to this group. Members of the Echinoidea first appeared during the Triassic Period.

Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Essay Example ingless and theme less, and further added, â€Å"Miss Hurston voluntarily continues in her role the tradition which was forced upon the negro in the theater, that is, the minstrel technique that makes the ‘white folks’ laugh† (cited in Lester, 3). It was regarded by many that Hurston had exploited the cause of her own people by not correctly portraying the picture of the injustice and sufferings meted out to the blacks by their white owners. It was only in the 1970’s after another African-American writer Alice Walker of ‘The Color Purple’ fame, took an interest in Hurston and championed her cause, did the literary world of that age sit up and take notice. After Walker published an essay in Ms. Magazine â€Å"In Search of Zora Neale Hurston,† it pushed Hurston’s works back into the limelight, and soon there were many prints and reprints of her writings. This article will review the book ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ b y Hurston and will present a critical analysis on it by discussing her writing style and her manner of representing the novel’s chief protagonist. It will also review other authors’ reviews and analysis on Hurston and her novel ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’. Analysis of Zora Neale Hurston and her writing style: Zora Neale Hurston was born on 7th January 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama. Her father, John Hurston was a preacher and a carpenter, while her mother Lucy Hurston, was a schoolteacher. Soon, the family moved to Eatonville in Florida, a town famous for having the first black incorporated Municipality. Hurston completed her graduation from Harvard University and it is from here that she embarked on her writing career in 1921. Soon she moved to New York and became a prominent figure in the then famous ‘Harlem Renaissance’ writing group. Hurston was also an anthropologist, and in fact, her experiences in Eatonville and her researches into old folktales of the black population which influenced much of her writings.