Today I want to talk about two different things, The Day of Decision rally and some fun summer time crafts.

Hello all, Helpful Hank here,

Today I want to talk about two different things, The Day of Decision rally and some fun summer time crafts.

Day of Decision Rally

A week ago Tuesday I went to the day of decision rally. You can catch my video of it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np3C0eGFOHM there were about 200 some people at this rally and it struck me how the continued message was do not give up hope.

Forty years after Stone Wall we as a glbt community still struggle for complete acceptance and equality. While we may never gain total acceptance we can gain total equality. As I listened to the last of the speakers a young woman got up to talk about how she woke up that Tuesday went to school and found out around second period that she would not be allowed to marry the person she loved when one day she found that person because she was a lesbian. I thought about the message that this ruling was sending our youth. Our glbt youth, our straight youth, our questioning youth. We are telling them that some of them are less than. No one should have to grow up feeling less than. We are teaching these kids that they do not matter. Is this the message we want to send our youth?

It doesn’t matter what ones religious view or affiliations are when it comes to civil rights, marriage is a civil matter and whatever religious aspects we bring to a marriage ceremony are our own by choice.

Summer craft fun
I like those vintage t’s that are so popular right now and I got to thinking to my self I could make one of these. So I went over to Michaels Art supply and picked up a Blank template for stenciling (they come in packs of three and run about 3 or 4 bucks) a package of Iron on transfer for transferring images on to cloth.

I bought the blank stencils to create original designs and the iron on transfer pack (They run 8 dollars or more depending how many are in the package.) to find images I could use from the internet.

I headed home with my items and set out to take some old gray t-shirts and give them new life. I washed and dried the t’s. I got on-line, did an image search for vintage tee-shirt slogans, and didn’t find a whole lot. So I did a regular old web search and I found many sites that sell them. Most of these site have pictures of the slogans so I choose the ones I wanted to use, I saved the pictures to a file I then opened the picture up in a picture editing program and reversed the image so it could be viewed correctly once transferred. Then I printed them out on the photo transfer paper. I laid out my t-shirt on my ironing board placed the transfer on top of my t-shirt. I then placed an old towel over that. (This helps prevent you from any burning.) Set your Iron on its highest setting without being on a steam setting. Iron over the transfer pressing down firmly. Once you have ironed over entire stencil let cool. After things have cooled peel one corner slightly back to check and see if the transfer has set, if not then go over it again with the iron. Once your transfer is set starting at one of the corners and peel off the backing and you have a vintage t-shirt and you have saved yourself a bit of money.

Creating a stencil, to stencil a shirt is not as difficult as it sounds. The tools you will need is a blank stencil sheet an exacta knife (Folks, please be careful when using any knife but exacta knifes can cut your fingers real easy so be safe and remember this is not to be used by children.) Spray adhesive a cutting surface and, your image. For my image, I chose an ornate cross I found on line by doing an image search. I save the picture to my files then printed it out. Once I had it printed, (Making sure it is the right size for my blank stencil.) I sprayed my adhesive on the back then placed my image on the blank stencil making sure that there are no bumps bubbles or creases. (It will dry quickly.) Once my image has set on the blank I take my cutting surface place it under the blank and using the exacta knife I cut around my image about a ¼ inch from the lines of the image. I leave four uncut areas at the points of the cross so it is still attached to the stencil sheet. I then go back and cut around the image again still leaving the four uncut areas. This time I cut on the actual out line of the image. Once your image is cut out, you can peel your paper image away from your stencil

Once I have done all my cutting, I simply pop out the pieces that I have cut away and I have my stencil. Now that your stencil is done, you can use it for a variety of applications, whether you want to use it on a wall Muriel or on a piece of clothing. Note that when stenciling less is always more. What I mean by that is to keep your stencil brush on the dry side. Once you have paint on your brush tap it down on a surface to take off the excess paint. Too much paint and it bleeds through. Lightly spray the back of your stencil to adhere it to the surface you want to stencil.

Creating transfers is easier then making a stencil. Stencils can be used for a variety of projects; transfers are a little more limited. You can however use decal paper instead of transfer paper and create your own stickers, which can be fun for the kids.

While make stencils can be fun, adult supervision is needed if kids are going to be making and using them.


Well thank you for reading my column. Any ideas comments or questions can be sent to askhelpfulhank@gmail.com.

One Final not here, incase you haven’t heard, the State of New Hampshire has now passed into law Marriage Equality for same gender couples. That now makes six (6) states. We only have 44 more states to go.

Today’s tips and hints: don’t immediately through out your junk mail. Find the usable coupons and use them. If you have a fire pit or a chimney type burning pit, you can burn the discards. (Avoid burning on windy days as sparks can fly.

Helpful Hank is written by Russell E. Bertlow © 2009 All rights reserved. No portion of this blog may be reprinted in part or whole without the express written permission from Russell E. Bertlow.

Helpful Hanks Handy Hints Summertime Memorial Day Column 08052209

Honoring our Vets


Hello All Helpful Hank here,

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. A chance for every citizen to honor our veterans. My father was a vet of the Korean War. (The pre cursor to the Vietnam War.) Though I myself am not an advocate of war, I will always support our troops. People do what they feel they have to do. As a teenager just out of High School I tried to enlist in the Army but my father was having none of it. I was eighteen and I thought that was that what could he do? Plenty…. Because I have some disabilities, he was able to go down to the recruiting office and get me un-recruited. He explained me later what he had seen in Korea. He told me he did not want me to be left with such images. I am grateful to my father. It wasn’t that he was against the war; He just didn’t want his son to have to fight in one if he could avoid it. (Later one of my foster brothers would fight in Desert Storm and my Nephew has served four or for terms in Iraq.)
The men and women join with good intentions; they are fighting for our freedom. For that, they should be commended as their hearts are in the right place. Personally, I believe that there can be justified wars. (WWI WWII) Even though war is tragic it can and the toll can be high, it can prevent a much worse fate. World War II is a prime example of this. I must also say I feel wars are becoming a rather archaic way of settling disputes between nations and countries. This in no means should negate the fact that women and men, our children, sons and daughters are fighting battles for what they believe is the betterment of all people. So this Memorial day Say a prayer or keep a thought of safe return for a solider and a veteran. Remember, until there are no more wars and the last Veteran has passed away there will always be a need to remember what veterans of war fought for Our Freedom is.

Summertime, Summertime

Summertime is just around the corner, kids get out of school, families have reunions, picnics and trips to the park. Here are some fun ways to enjoy your gatherings that are inexpensive or free to do during your summer whether you are a kid or a grown-up.
Some of these activities I remember from when I was a child others I have just discovered.
Suitcase Game
A new game I just learned about (On Good Morning America of all places.) The Object of the game is for each member of the team to put all the clothes in the suitcase on. How it works is you have teams of two. They line up on a field or grass area. (If anyone should fall the won’t get hurt.) Each team has two suitcases. One team member sprints over to where the other team member is, opens the suitcase up that the other team member has puts on the clothes in the suitcase over their own clothes and races back with the suitcase. Once back, the other teammate does the same. The first team, with each team member back in his or her original place wins the race. This can be adapted to a kids version, Adults only version or mixed adults and kids. The beauty of this game is you can make it as difficult or easy as possible. You can also substitute a suitcase for a bag as well.

It’s A Cakewalk

When I was a kid in elementary school, we would have a cakewalk at the annual school fair. How it works is you have your guest bring a one layer or two-layer cake any kind (Ice Cream cakes not recommended.) each cake should be on some sort of dish. Then your participants form a circle. Each participant holds the cake and platter on top of his or her head. They all have a mark that they are on. (If it is not windy paper plates work well for the mark.)As the music starts they walk around the circle. One mark is removed. When the music stops anyone not on a mark or who drops their cake is out. (If someone has dropped their cake their mark is removed as well) The last person standing is the winner. The surviving cakes become dessert for your guest. (Livelier music makes for a better game. You can also substitute bowls of water for cakes, which can be lots of fun watching the water spill and participants getting wet, as well as a nice way to cool down in the summer heat.)

Treasure Hunt

This is an easy thing to set up and again is a good game for all ages. It takes a little more prep time then some other games though. Here’s how it works. You work either as an individual or in teams. Each team or individual is given their first clue and once they find the object in their first clue it leads them to the second clue. They must find all the clues and return them to whom ever you have collecting them. The first person or team to collect all the clues and turn them in wins. (You can also have them collect they objects that their clue is attached to. Who says Easter egg hunts are just for Easter.

If you have any summer time games you would like to suggest drop me an e-mail at askhelpfulhank@gmail.com

Day Of Decision" coming soon
One last thing I would like to mention is the up coming Supreme Court decision on same gender marriage. We are looking at the decision being handed down on Tuesday May 26th. If you would like to participate in the celebration or the re-doubling of our efforts to make same gender marriage a reality in the state of California then here is a site that you can check out to see what is happening in your town. http://dayofdecision.wetpaint.com/page/Locations Any financial support you can give these folks is greatly appreciated. Though financial support is needed what is needed as well are volunteers and people to show up at these rallies.

Well that’s all for now folks. Helpful Hank signing off until next time. And remember we can’t have true equality until we all have true equality. After all isn’t that what our soldier’s fight for and what our veterans fought for Freedom and Equality for all.

Keep cool wear sunscreen and have fun after all that’s what summer time is for having fun.

Helpful Hank.

Helpful Hanks Hints:

Summertime doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun. Hot dogs Hamburgers and corn on the cob are simple fare that are sure to please. I like to put out my Cherry tomatoes that grow in my garden as a snack. Water Mellon is inexpensive and easy to prepare. Instead of Soda How about Ice tea and lemonade mix in a little food coloring with your batch of lemonade to create colorful looking lemonade.

Unusable pieces of fabric can be good for writing your treasure hunt clues on just cut into wide strips and write on the side that your writing is most visible. You can also give your treasure hunt a theme. How about “The Amazing Race" as a theme? If you want to get real elaborate you could set it up so that each team has a decoder (A chart that matches a number symbol or letter to each letter of the alphabet.) and they have to decode the symbols numbers or letters to figure out what clue says.

Helpful Hank can be reached at askhelpfulhank@gmail.com

Helpful Hank is written by Russell E. Bertlow © 2009 All rights reserved. No portion of this blog may be reprinted in part or whole without the express written permission from Russell E. Bertlow.