How to Make A Lamp- shade out of Popsicle Sticks

Way back when I was in first-year College during our NSTP subject one of the activities that our instructors had conducted was the making of the lamp- shade with the use of popsicle sticks with different colors that somehow inspired and motivated us to participate on the activity. On the middle of the activity, I had noticed that some of my classmates were focused on conceptualizing their own designs and some were enjoying while doing the activity. And when the activity were about to end, it made me realized that it was not easy to make such handicraft, you really have to conceptualize things out before to start making in order for you to come up a perfect design for your lamp- shade. It was indeed an exciting activity with full of fun and determination that awakened our creativity and helped us in developing our critiquing techniques towards conceptualizing our own designs and patterns.

Because of some students who could not continue pursuing their degree in the university, The NSTP Unit decided to come up with alternative activities where the students may learn some necessary skills that will help them in their future, so like for example in the case of livelihood education, the project that will be introduced by the instructors in-charge for livelihood education could be utilized by the NSTP graduates if they dont have the capability to pursue their studies at least they can earn a living by making use of these skills on livelihood especially to come up with this kind of handicraft. The NSTP to be specific scouting that is a holistic development of all the students who are under the program, on the part of the livelihood education this is a full part of the social aspect of their development because this will not only

help their family, but they could also help other people especially those who do not have in luxury landing on colleges of poverty, because if they can establish their own small business they can hire people to be part of their business and they can also transfer the technology they will learn from NSTP. uttered by Prof. Bernardo, the NSTP Director.

This kind of activity will awaken and develop the creativity on us because creative actions serve to increase self-awareness and promote self-acknowledgement and if we will engage ourselves in craft making surely it will hone our creative skills and learn how to be productive, and making something from raw material also comes with considerable personal rewards and a sense of accomplishment.

I find the activity a little bit hard because you have to do it with great focus and attention. This activity would be a great help for those business minded people because this will serve as a guide for them in making such kind of business, and could also be a source of income in the near future. Says by Mr. Cielito Acosta, a 3rd year Education student.

There are a lot of handicraft projects that you can produce like candle making, flower arrangement, stuff toys and etc. but you have to consider may things; first is the availability of materials- that you can purchase easily in any stores, second is time - you have to make it sure that it is handy where you can make it for any moment of time, third is money make it sure that the material youre going to purchase is not so expensive, fourth is the design- wherein the

artistic thinking of a student should be applied and can produce a product with high quality and lastly the salability- to produce a product that can be sold at very affordable price.

Well if every individual is productive, I think no one will suffer from poverty. So each one of us has to help ourselves, Let us not keep ourselves more dependent to our parents or to other people. Through this activity, the students will not just learn how to make a lamp- shade out of Popsicle sticks but as well as could be another source of income. Added by, Prof. Labita, NSTP Instructor.

Popsicle stick lamps can be intricately detailed works of art. The designs range and are based upon the personal creativity of the architect. The more skilled the architect, the more ingenious the lamp design. Table lamps and stick-style lamps are the easiest for beginner architects to make. A table lamp can be made much faster and does not require a lamp shade, as it resembles a lantern. The stick style lamp, on the other hand, is much more detailed and requires a lampshade in addition to the lamp base.

Table Lamp Base Decide what dimensions the lamp base will have, the easiest dimensions would be for an 8inch-by-8-inch square. The square base can be elaborated on in future projects and become an octagonal base. Begin the base by cutting a piece of -inch plywood down to an 8-inch-by-8inch square. Sand the finished square. Decide which side of the square will be the bottom, then

use craft glue and eight Popsicle sticks to create a diamond pattern around the center of the square (2 sticks per side). Glue three to four layers of popsicle sticks on the diamond and let it dry completely. The diamond pattern will become the legs of the lamp. Drill a hole in the center of it that will be large enough to fit the lamp-kit pipe and securely hold it in place (usually a 5/8inch drill bit will work). Use a handheld router on one side to make a channel for the outlet cord to fit in and extend it to the outside edge of the base. Insert the pipe, the socket, wiring and bulb.

Building the Lamp On the opposite side of the plywood base, use a stick ruler to mark a pencil border that is the same width as the ruler (about an inch). Number the sides of the square lightly with a pencil. The border should be long enough for two Popsicle sticks to fit length-wise on each side. Glue each Popsicle stick to the base. When gluing the sticks on the second and fourth sides, double the thickness of the sticks. On the second layer double the thickness of the sticks on the first and third sides. Repeat the same layering as was done on the first two layers until the bulb is about three to four layers below the top of the lamp.

Decorating Translucent rice or shoji paper can be glued to the inside of the Popsicle sticks to create the look of a lantern. The finished lamp also can be painted or sprayed with a clear protective varnish, but remove the electrical components before doing it. Don't varnish or paint the Popsicle sticks before gluing them because they won't adhere as easily.

Making arts and crafts out of Popsicle sticks is an enjoyable pastime for many people. The sticks themselves can be purchased in bags at craft stores, and be used to make boxes, baskets and towers by crafters or kids at summer camp. Some Popsicle stick artists make intricate sculptures and household items with Popsicle sticks, as well. The craft described in this article makes a column lamp, but other styles are possible with creativity and imagination.

First Step Drill hole in the center of the base. This allows the wire to go through the bottom. It's also possible to run the wire under the bottom layer of craft sticks or route a channel in the bottom of the wood base so that the lamp will sit flat on a table.

Second Step Attach the light fixture. For now, leave the light bulb out of the socket so that you do not have to work around a glass bulb. Fixtures are usually attached with small screws, and can be purchased pre-assembled with switches and plugs already attached. With adequate electrical expertise, you can assemble the socket yourself, if you wish. Either way, the wire will need to be removed, threaded through the bottom hole and then reattached before you secure the socket to the base.

Third Step

Design your lamp. These instructions describe how to make a single column lamp with incremental turns. However, it is possible to create intricate designs and whimsical shapes such as boats, houses and stars. Look up designs on the internet for inspiration.

Fourth Step Construct the bottom layer. For the 8-inch base, create a hexagon with the craft sticks by laying two down with ends overlapping, forming a wide "V" of approximately 130 degrees. Place another "V" facing the first, about 4 inches away from the first. Then lay one craft stick across the end of the first "V," reaching to the second stick on the left. Repeat on the right to make a hexagon. For an easier model that uses fewer craft sticks, use the smaller 6-inch base. Lay two sticks down horizontally, and then place two sticks vertically over the ends. Once the sticks are arranged, glue them in place with white or wood glue.

Fifth Step Glue the first layer to the base. After the glued joints in the first layer have dried, center the shape on the base and glue it down. Allow it to dry.

Sixth Step Continue building. Glue subsequent layers together on the lamp base. The fastest way to proceed is to glue numerous layers together and allow them to dry, and then assemble them onto

the lamp. As you place each layer, turn it slightly, so that the glued joints are just to the right of the joints on the last layer.

Seventh Step Finish the lamp. When the desired height of the lamp is reached, allow it to dry completely. Finish as desired with shellac or paint or leave it untreated for a natural look. Small buttons, beads or shells make nice detail finishes for the lamp. Insert the bulb, plug the lamp in and enjoy.

The materials are very cheap, really. You can actually find these stuff somewhere in your house. If ever you don't have some of the items listed, you can take a walk on your favorite hardware/craft shop and buy those. But since I live in a different country, I cannot give you the prices of each.

1. Lots of Popsicle sticks 2. Elmer's Glue All 3. Screw/Screwdriver 4. A plug with a wire 5. Receptacle 6. Warm light bulb

Advantages of Handicraft House with a soul:

o Every tree has its character: the tree preserves its natural form in the log wall. o Human energy that is put in a handcrafted log house gives definitely added value to the building. o In many cultures there are traditions connected to the soul of tree. In Japanese language there is even own word for this kodama. Handicraft wood treatment takes best care of it. Exclusivity:

o Building by handcraft gives us possibility to create unique solutions. Environment friendly:

o Handcraft production gives a minimal amount of waste of the wood material. o There is no need for a big industry or wasting machines. Massive:

o By peeling logs by hand we preserve maximum of a tree trunk and it is possible to use wall logs of a bigger size. o In a massive log wall there is no glue layer in the wood which would impede breathing through the wood.

Almost every family in the Philippines owns one or more handicraft products like baskets, brooms, feather dusters, bamboo sofa set, cabinets, popsicle lamps and other furniture. Accessories like earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and other clothing apparel which young people today are fond of wearing are also made from native products like beads, shells, seeds, and others. This is a clear indication that our handicraft industry is enjoying the patronage of Filipinos nationwide.

Our country, Philippines is blessed with rich natural resources that are scattered throughout its islands. These God-given natural wonders are the sources of people's food, shelter, and other basic needs. After some time, people acquired many skills that enabled them to tinker with nature. They used the raw materials from trees, plants, sticks and other natural resources that are very abundant and turned them into simple, yet useful tools or instruments.

Today, many Filipinos are engaged in handicraft businesses. Handicraft-making has become a means of livelihood for them, especially now that many handicraft owners are exporting their products to other countries around the world.

The Philippines is the second largest world producer of handicrafts, mainly baskets out of indigenous materials. This industry continues to provide a respectable contribution to foreign exchange earning of the country while many handicraft items are also sold on the local market. All together, the sector is providing livelihood to more Filipinos especially for the out of school youth. Although the industry has experienced some setbacks on the previous years, it has kept the respect of the high-end markets and has only lost a great part of the low-end market to China, our main competitor.

Despite this, Filipino craftsmen have indigenously overcome scarcity and increasing prices of raw materials by constantly producing new designs for their products. Over the years, Philippine handicrafts have evolved through innovative changes in designs reinforced by exciting choices and combination of indigenous materials. There is, however still ample room for improvement, particularly in remote upland communities with little access to market information, brokering services, capital, and technologies for value addition.

Aside from these, the handicraft industry is important because it promotes our cultural heritage through the use of indigenous materials; Handicraft products show an individual's creativity and lofty imagination, Producers of raw materials will be encouraged to produce more, Employment is generated especially for the undergraduates and values of perseverance and industry are developed.

Job Generation Program: Trabahong Lansangan Ng Programang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) today will sign a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to start a program that will provide roadside maintenance jobs to beneficiaries of DSWDs conditional cash transfer program.

The DPWH, herein represented by its Secretary, Hon. Rogelio L. Singson with Principal office at DPWH building, Bonifacio Drive, Port Ave. Manila herein referred to as DPWH, a memorandum addressed to all DPWH district engineers of region VIII that was given by Mr. Rolando M. Asis, CESO III Regional Director on 27th day of September. With regards on this memorandum The DPWH Secretary Rogelio L. Singson and DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman will also launch the program today at Baseco Compound Covered Court, Tondo, Manila National Capital Region through the formal hiring of workers for road maintenance activities such as drainage reclogging and street sweepers.

Engineers are accustomed to comparing the direct construction costs to determine the optimum solution for pavement rehabilitation works. It is now time that we should be considering and valuing the social and environmental costs of all construction projects. While the quantum and means of evaluating these costs requires further refining, the author recommends

that road authorities and local government should be recognising and assessing the environmental impacts of the projects and future loss of finite resources. Factors such as road safety and trucking damage can be assessed at a local level, whereas the protection of finite resources, energy usage and emissions would more suitably be addressed at a state or national level. uttered by Engr. Rebecca Yuse.

The program, Trabahong Lansangan ng Programang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino, aims to provide employment opportunities among the unskilled Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries of the DSWD with a purpose to establish cooperation arrangements for the provision of sustainable livelihood and guaranteed employment for the Programang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino beneficiaries. Under the program, the DSWD will provide priority list of beneficiaries, conduct community organization and social preparation skills inventory and development and conduct regular monitoring/reporting of project operation.

The DSWD as the lead government agency in Social Protection, Welfare and Development, contributes to poverty alleviation, and empowerment through the provision of appropriate intervention and the promotion of the rights and welfare of the poor through social and national policies, programs, projects and local government units (LGUs) non- organization (NGOs) peoples organization (POs), government organizations (GOs) and other members of civil society that aims to contribute to the alleviation and improve the quality of life of the disadvantaged individuals.

In turn, the DPWH will provide the DSWD the list of its annual labor requirement for skilled and unskilled jobs, allocate 20 percent of its labor requirement to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino beneficiaries nationwide and ensure implementation of appropriate labor wages.

In support to the accelerated poverty alleviation program of PNoy, the DPWH of Region 8 hires roadside maintenance workers on job- order basis in the thirteen (13) District Engineering Offices regionwide. As of June 2011 the agency was able to provide gainful employment to 148 workers from OYSTER out of school youth (ages 18-24 years old) and 851 workers from the MARGINALIZED ( 25- 60 years old) sector of the society, thus benefitting a total of 991 workers.

In accordance with DOLE guidelines, roadside workers will receive an average minimum rate per day of P404 for those in Metro Manila, P300 for those employed in Regions 8. For proper identification of the workers, Singson said the DPWH offices will provide them with common uniforms.

Singson ordered the 182 District Engineering Offices nationwide to start hiring workers on job-order basis for the implementation of the 2011 roadside maintenance program along national highways.

He said the new hires will assist the regular maintenance crew of the District Engineering Offices in: Cleaning of roadsides, and desalting of drainage canals, longitudinal pipes and cross drains; Cutting of vegetation along shoulders up to the road-right-of-way; Manual reshaping of gravel shoulders and carriageway; Manual pothole patching; Clearing of sidewalks and immediate response to calamities. Repainting of Kilometer Post Restoration of Railings Vegetation Control Cleaning of concrete line ditch canal

The DPWH as a govt agency also contributes to the same advocacy by implementing govt infrastructures programs and projects that bridge the poor and poorest population in accessing income opportunities, assets, and basic and social living conditions with its mission, to provide and manage quality infrastructure facilities and services responsive to the needs of the Filipino people in the pursuit of national development objectives. The organization also

recognizes the need to establish a cooperative approach, conversing conservatively utilizing its resources and capacities to develop sustainable livelihoods and guaranteed employment in graduating the poor and poorest population to a non- poor category.

The one agrees to launch a program entitled Trabahong Lansangan Ng Programang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino that guarantees employment of unskilled Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program beneficiaries, in order to create a model group that would demonstrate a visible effect of poor and poorest population being graduated to a non- poor category at the duration of the project scope and beyond.

Youth Job Training Programs have become increasingly more important as the structure of the youth employment market has changed. Today, young people with limited education have relatively fewer employment opportunities than their counterparts fifty years ago. The stakes for young people in obtaining and keeping secure employment, particularly those with limited education, are high. For those without high school degrees or the equivalent, work experience is extremely important in building a base for future advancement in the work force, the studies of existing youth job training programs show that they make less of a short-term impact but may have much more impact over the long term In general, youth job training programs should

emphasize long-term goals such as keeping a young person employed and advancing in the workforce. Although youth in job training programs are giving up the immediacy of a paycheck, the long term benefits of excellent programs can secure better jobs with higher salaries, benefits, and opportunities for advancement.

The DPWH and DPWH programs underlined the centrality of youth employment to social development, both through poverty alleviation and social integration, when it called for developing and strengthening programs targeted at youth living in poverty in order to enhance

their economic, educational, social and cultural opportunities, to promote constructive social relations among them and to provide them with connections outside their communities to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. It also committed to giving special priority, in the design of policies, to the problems of structural, long-term unemployment and underemployment of youth, and called for policies aimed to enhance employment opportunities and increasing ways and means of helping youth to develop the skills they need to enable them to find employment. For every young person, a job offering decent work is an important step in completing the transition to adulthood, a milestone towards independence and self-reliance, for children and young people living in poverty and in other disadvantaged situations, employment is often the main means for attaining a better life, though such employment is often informal with poor or exploitative working conditions. For more fortunate youth, prospective employment influences their choice of education and training, and increasingly, their decisions regarding marriage, and kinship.

For society, youth employment promotes social integration, intergenerational dialogue, citizenship and solidarity. Creating and fulfilling income-generating job opportunities for young people can have direct positive consequences for poverty alleviation. Youth employment thus benefits social development. It also benefits economic development by facilitating the entry of young skilled people into the productive sectors of an economy,and enabling the economy to sustain or increase its productivity and competitiveness in the global market place. However, growing and persistent youth unemployment has a negative impact on social development. Youth unemployment, in particular long-term youth unemployment, can generate frustration and low self-esteem, and can lead to increased vulnerability among some young people to drugs,

disease and crime. Youth unemployment can also lead to the marginalization and exclusion of young people. There is evidence that unemployment can expose youth to greater risks of lower future wages, repeated periods of unemployment, longer unemployment spells as adults, and income poverty. Unemployment rates are typically higher for young women than for men, while youth in rural areas face different challenges from their urban peers. In addition, young people with disabilities continue to face enormous challenges in the labour market. In some countries, ethnicity, particularly among young migrant, is a factor in their social exclusion and marginalization.

"Hiring the youth is in compliance with the Department's Memorandum implementing the Out-Of-School Youth Serving Towards Economic Recovery Program (OYSTER) which intends to give priority employment to the out of school youth, Lim further said. Given the significant impact of employment on social development, it is critical for all countries to address the urgent challenges of youth employment that include the undertaking the creation of adequate productive and decent work for all young people, and tackling underemployment and the increasing informalization of employment, ensuring all young people have access to education and training and are given the opportunity to fully realize their capabilities, dealing with the obstacles of the people face in the labor market so they can take full advantage of employment opportunities and successfully navigate the school- to-work transition, addressing the gender discrimination for women face in the labour force, as well as other forms of discrimination such as those based on disability and ethnicity, harnessing the forces of globalization and exploiting new technologies to create new employment opportunities for the

people, and mitigating the negative impact of migration, which for many young people may represent the only viable opportunity for employment, and brain drain.

Many of these challenges have been comprehensively addressed by the DPWH with the partnership of DSWD as expressed in their four priorities for this job generation program.

To improve employability by investing in education and vocational training for

young people. While enrolment in secondary and tertiary education continues to expand, too many young people miss the opportunity to obtain education and training for good, productive jobs; To ensure equal opportunities for young women and men. Young women, in

particular face discriminatory policies, structural barriers and cultural prejudices in the labor market;

To promote and facilitate entrepreneurship by making it easier to start and run

enterprises in order to provide more and better jobs for young women and men. Entrepreneurship should be supported so that enterprises can sustain themselves;

To place employment creation at the centre of macro-economic policy. For

employability, equal opportunities and entrepreneurship to be most effective, there must be an enabling environment where employment creation is placed at the centre of macro-economic and other public policies.

Yet, the employment issues of young people extend beyond formal unemployment, and simply focusing on the number of youth being unemployed can be misleading because it fails to take account of such things as the extent of underemployment, wage levels below the poverty line, inadequate labor standards and lack of social protection. Additionally, there is need to pay attention to out-of-school youth who are not actively seeking work, and are thus not in the labor force because of a disability, involvement in household work, or are simply discouraged from entering the labor force after unsuccessfully competing with a large pool of peers for a limited amount of vacancies.

The implementation of the four priority areas of the DPWH and DSWD can create an enabling environment for youth employment to flourish and for all young people to realize their potential as productive members of society. For young people living in poverty, strengthening their entrepreneurial and innovative skills for self-employment are valuable opportunities that

will contribute to poverty reduction, social integration and social development. But selfemployment is not for everyone and sustainable employment job growth is needed to ensure that the full potential of young people is tapped. Opportunities for temporary work overseas for young people should also be explored as a means of training and broadening their work experience.

East, West Africa, Northern Ireland and Bosnia. Three weeks before the 1997 general election, he stood as an independent parliamentary candidate and won the traditionally Conservative seat of Tatton. He retired from politics four years later to become a Unicef ambassador. His book, 'The Truth That Sticks', is out now. If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be ... Firing off a 1,000-word attack about this absurd news agenda whereby the McCanns are just getting far too much coverage. I wish people would take more notice of ... Not me. People take too much notice of me. A phrase I use too often ... "I'll have to think about that." People often come to me looking for expressions of opinion that I need to give thought to. The most surprising thing that happened to me ... Was becoming an MP. Often it's people's ambition for a long time but it just happened to me. I was approached. I enjoy having done it but I found Westminster a very difficult environment. A common misperception of me is ... People think I'm very serious but in fact there's nothing I like more than a laugh with my mates. I am not a politician any more but if I could change one thing ... It would be to eliminate all party whips. I would like government by consensus and persuasion. I'm good at ... Expressing myself in a few words because I spent almost 30 years in television. The problem with many people now is they just don't stop talking. I'm very bad at ...

I have a punctuality fetish. If people are late I get really, unnecessarily upset about it. Unfortunately, I seem to have a lot of friends who are late. The ideal night out is ... Actually a night in with a novel or a really intelligent piece of non-fiction. In weak moments I ... Lie low and wait for the storm to blow over. It always does eventually. You know me as a journalist and former MP but in truer life I'd have been ... I've sometimes thought I would have like to be a teacher but I'm not sure I would have the patience. The best age to be is ... I'm happier now, at 69, than I have ever been. In a nutshell, my philosophy is ... Never fight fire with fire.