INPUT ARTICLE: Article: . The most widely-available, cheap, and easiest to use variety of paint is watercolor, which is available either in tubes or small plastic cases with multiple color palettes. Depending on the quality of the paint, watercolors can be light and pastoral, or quite vibrant and vivid. It's a beautiful and effective way to start, especially for landscapes and whimsical still-life paintings.  In it's basic state, watercolor paint is thick and heavy, and is made workable by wetting the brush and thinning out the paint with water, or by otherwise mixing the paint with water on a palette. It's a thin and light paint, easy to work with for beginners, though somewhat difficult to control. Having a good-quality paint to start with will help to avoid frustration when you get started. Sennelier paints are watercolors available in both pan and tube form, of a much higher quality than your garden-variety school-supply watercolors. Try the pan to avoid having to buy lots of paints separately, and having the convenience of all the paint in one place. Schmincke and Windsor & Newton are also quality brands that are widely available at craft stores. . Quick-drying but just as versatile as oil paint, acrylics are the most common paint for amateurs and professional painters alike. Water-based, acrylic paints are easy to use and widely available at craft stores and specialty art shops, perfect for use with intricate details and abstract masterpieces. They're much less expensive than oil paints, but no less professional. Acrylic paints most regularly are sold in tubes, like oil paint, and can be mixed on a palette with simple water to thin out and mix to create new colors. Because it dries very quickly, it's the perfect paint to layer, creating base tones to create depth and detail in landscapes, portraits, or other pictures. . The most versatile, professional, and vibrant paints available are oil paints. They're also the most expensive and take the longest time to dry, but offer all kinds of advanced mixing techniques and layering options for professional painters. It might not be the best place to start, but it's something to consider for the future, or to experiment with if you're looking for a challenge.  Oil paint is also frequently sold in water-soluble bricks, which can be worked similarly to watercolor, and can be somewhat quicker-drying than traditional tube oil paints. Get a variety of primary colors and learn to mix your own shades to cut down on the cost. Unless you want to glob the oil paint right from the tube onto the canvas in thick, visceral blobs like the impasto paintings of de Kooning (awesome looking, yes, but super-expensive), in addition to the paint itself, you'll also need to get some solvent to use as a paint thinner. If you paint with oil paints, you need to prime the surface first with basic acrylic primer, otherwise the paint will eventually destroy the canvas or paper. Any surface the paint touches, the palette or the mixing board, likewise should be primed to extend its life. . Who ever said you needed to buy paint? Using berries, tea-emulsions, or even ashes on your canvas are all perfectly appropriate methods, depending on the picture you want to create. Food-based paints can change over time (or rot, depending on how you want to look at it). This can give your picture a time-based element, changing over the days and weeks after you finish it. Document your egg-paint before it starts to stink and throw it out in time, or acrylic-paint over it to keep it finished. . Depending on the kind of paint you end up choosing for painting your picture, you'll need to get brushes appropriate to work with it. Use rounded-tip brushes for water-color painting. Flat-tip synthetic brushes are best for acrylic paints, while filbert-tip brushes are best for oil paints. You can experiment with different brush fibers, picking something that's appropriate for your price range. To keep your clothes clean and your paints organized, you'll need a few more things other than paints and brushes to get started on your picture.  Choose a canvas appropriate for the type of paint you've chosen. Use stretched canvas for heavy acrylic or oil paints, and watercolor paper for painting with watercolors. Watercolor paper will hold up to the dampness of the paints without curling or weakening. Keep a variety of cups set aside for the purpose of wetting your brushes, cleaning them, and keeping water close at hand if you're using watercolors. So you won't have to clean them quite as thoroughly as your drinking glasses, set aside some old glasses for the purpose. Get a palette or paint tray. The best surfaces on which to mix your paints, thin them out, and check their consistency is either a white plastic or enamel paint tray. This allows you to have a nice white background to check the accuracy of the color against, and you can get one with user-friendly paint wells around the edge for a few dollars. Glass plates are a common alternative.

SUMMARY: Try painting a picture with watercolors Use acrylic paint for versatility Use oil paint like the masters Paint with natural ingredients you've got access to Choose the right brushes for the job Get other necessary materials to start painting.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: How much you use will depend on how big the piece you are trying to clean is. Most jewelry pieces will require 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of baking soda, and ½ tablespoon (7.5 milliliters) of water. Aim to get just the tips of the bristles covered. You won't need a lot of the mixture to start cleaning. The toothbrush must have soft bristles, however, or you will risk scratching your jewelry. Toothbrushes meant for babies typically have the softest bristles. Try to go with the grain, and try not to press too hard. If you go across the grain or scrub too hard, you might scratch the jewelry. Focus on the cracks and crevices, and take care to avoid any set gemstones. You can also fill a bowl with warm water, and dip the jewelry in it until the baking soda comes off. If your pieces has a lot of crevices in it, such as a brooch or a necklace chain, wrap it up in the towel and let it sit for a few minutes. The towel will soak up any excess water. Use polish that is labeled safe for stainless steel. Do not use silver polish, as it will stain your jewelry. When polishing the jewelry, make sure to go with the grain, and not across it.

SUMMARY:
In a small bowl, combine 2 parts baking soda and 1 part water to make a paste. Dip a soft-bristled toothbrush into the mixture. Gently scrub your jewelry with the toothbrush. Plug the sink, then rinse the jewelry using warm water. Gently pat the jewelry dry with a soft towel. Polish the jewelry, if needed, with jewelry polish or polishing cloth. Finished.