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Building an AI system is different from traditional computer programming where software doesn't automatically improve itself.

The principles behind a good AI engine:

Also, it is essential to realise that building AI systems have become not only much less complex but also much cheaper. Amazon Machine Learning is one example. It helps automatically classify products in your catalogue using product description data as a training set.

1. Basics of Neural Network 2. Bursting the Jargon bubbles - Deep Learning 3. How Can We Improve the Quality of Our Data? 4. Machine Learning using Logistic Regression in Python with Code

Case in point: Imagine you used 20 hours of computing time generating your models and you obtained 890000 real-time predictions over one month. This would have cost you only $100.

To scope this short writing, we shall focus on Machine Learning (ML) as it is the area that receives most applications. One important point to note is a good understanding of statistics is a beneficial start in AI.

Steps to design an AI system

1. Identify the problem.

2. Prepare the data.

3. Choose the algorithms.

4. Train the algorithms.

5. Choose a particular programming language.

6. Run on a selected platform.

1. Identify the problem

First and foremost, the most important questions to ask are (1) " what are you attempting to solve for?" (2) " What is the desired outcome?"

However, we must continuously remind ourselves that AI cannot be the panacea in itself. It's a tool, not the entire solution itself. There are several techniques and many different problems to solve with AI.

Think about this analogy that helps to explain the above. If you want to cook a tasty dish you have to know exactly what you are going to cook and all the ingredients that you need.

2. Prepare the data

We have to look at the data. Data is divided into two categories, structured and unstructured.

Structured data conforms to a rigid format to ensure consistency in processing and also ease of analytics. i.e. customer record with a first name, last name, date of birth, address, and so on.

Unstructured data is everything else. Data is maintained in the not uniformed pattern. It can include audio, pictures, imagery, words and infographics. - examples like emails, a phone conversation, a WhatsApp, WeChat message.

One of the greatest utilities and breakthrough of AI was to allow computers to analyze unstructured data and access a much larger universe of information than the world of structured data.

Often, we think that the key elements of AI are complex algorithms. But in fact, the most crucial parts of the AI tool kits is cleaning the data. It is quite normal for data scientists to spend 80% of their time cleaning, moving, checking, organising data before even actually using or writing a single algorithm.

Enterprise and big firms have massive proprietary databases data may not be ready for AI, and it is very prevalent that data is stored in silos. That may result in duplication of information, some which may correspond, some may contradict. Data silos could eventually limit the firm to get quick insights from their internal data.

Before running the models, we must make sure that the data has been organised and cleaned up. In practice, we have to check consistency, define a chronological order, add labels where necessary, and so on.

In general, the more we massage the data, we are more likely to deliver the outcome to solve our defined problem.

3. Choose the algorithm

We shall not go into technical details (out of the scope of this writing), but it is essential at least to understand the different common types of algorithms that are also dependent on the type of learning that you choose.

Fundamentally, classification is about predicting a label and regression is about predicting a quantity.

Example of employing classification algorithm would probably be a scenario if you want to understand whether a loan was likely to default.

Example of employing regression algorithm would probably be a scenario if you want to quantify how much the expected loss would be for those defaulted loans. In this context, you are looking for value. What's the dollar amount that I'm expecting to lose if the loan defaults?

Once we have identified the problem, we can select the algorithm.

These examples are simplistic and are in practice far from reality. There are other algorithms which we can choose from in Supervised Learning such as random forest, naïve Bayes classification, support vector machine and logistic regression.

Nonetheless, these examples help you understand the types of algorithms in AI.

2. Unsupervised learning & Reinforcement Learning

Types of algorithms would be different, and we could classify them in several different categories such as clustering where the algorithm tries to group objects together, association when it finds links between objects, dimensionality reduction where it reduces the number of variables to decrease the noise.

4. Train the algorithms

After selecting the algorithms, we need to train the model where we input the data into the model. A critical step here is model accuracy. While there are no widely accepted or internationalised thresholds, it is vitally important to establish model accuracy within your selection framework. Setting a minimum acceptable threshold and applying a great statistical discipline is key, we have to retrain the model as it is natural the models may need some fine-tuning. Consider an event where model predictability is reduced. You, therefore, need to rework on the model and check all the different steps that we previously mentioned.

5. So, what's the best programming language for AI?

A short answer is that this depends on your needs and a variety of factors. As you know, there are many programming languages out there from the classic C++ and Java to Python an, R. Python and R are the more popular coding languages as they offer a strong set of tools including extensive Machine Learning libraries to the users. One of the very useful libraries is NLTK - the natural language tool kit written in Python instead of programming it all by yourself.

6. Selected Platforms

Choose a platform that provides all of the services instead of buying your own service, database, etc.

Ready-made platform - Machine Learning as a Service - has been one of the most useful pieces of infrastructure that have helped the spread of Machine Learning. These platforms are built to simplify and facilitate Machine Learning, often offer cloud-based advanced analytics which can be used with and incorporate multiple algorithms and multiple languages.

Rapid deployment is also key to the success of MLaS. Platforms typically help with such issues as data pre-processing, model training, evaluation prediction, but they do vary, and some pre-evaluation is key.

The more popular platforms include Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, Google Cloud Prediction API, TensorFlow, Ayasdi, and so on.

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A simple way to explain how to build an AI system

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Building an AI system is different from traditional computer programming where software doesn't automatically improve itself. The principles behind a good AI engine: Also, it is essential to realise that building AI systems have become not only much less complex but also much cheaper. Amazon Machine Learning is one example.

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Esta es un área del lenguaje que siempre me interesó y, cada vez que puedo, me gusta leer sobre el tema.

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Sign language is a visual language that uses hand, facial and body movements as a means of communication.

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Painting with watercolors can be a lot of fun – or it can be super frustrating!

If you have ever struggled with using watercolors, today’s post is all about sharing how to paint with watercolors – and all the tips & tricks I wish I would have known when I first started!

Painting With Watercolors Does Not Have to Be Complicated!

It’s a little embarrassing to admit this, but I used to really struggle trying to paint with watercolors. I painted with watercolors my entire life, yet I still felt like everything I created looked like a little kid made it.

My colors looked muddy. I couldn’t control the paint brush as well as I wanted. My pictures looked flat and nothing had any depth or dimension. Any and all attempts at shadowing were disastrous.

What was I doing wrong? Well, as it turns out, I was doing a lot of things all wrong!

There are TONS of little tricks that make it a LOT easier to understand how to paint well with watercolors – and a lot of people tend to forget to mention these details in most tutorials, because they are so simple and obvious, unless you’re me of course!

If you’re like me at all, the obvious is not always exactly obvious. {I could probably be a caller on the The Mr. Obvious Show for so many things in my life sadly!} There are some things I just don’t think to do!

I tend to make things a lot more complicated than they actually need to be – and that would only add to the frustration! Thankfully there are a lot of things you can do that make it so much easier – and way more fun.

Hopefully today after you read this you can avoid a lot of the same mistakes I used to make – and watercolor will be more enjoyable for you in the process!

Step 1: Gathering Supplies to Paint With Watercolor

To get started, you’ll need to gather some basic supplies. Fortunately, most of these things are very easy to find – you can get them at most art stores or of course you can order them & other handpicked creative goodies on our Amazon shop page!

Fortunately, you don’t really need a lot to get started – and most things you may already have or be able to get very easily and inexpensively!

The first thing we need, of course – are watercolor paints and some paper!

Types of Watercolor Paints & Papers

Paints are usually available in either tubes or pans. I’m a big fan of this Sakura Koi field set – it’s perfect for travel and has a nice selection of colors. You can also use watercolors in tubes with a palette, such as this watercolor paint set by Ohuhu.

The next thing that is important is the type of paper you use. Painting with watercolors requires a lot of water, and so regular standard copy or drawing paper is not going to hold up too well with a lot of water!

I recommend using paper specifically meant for watercolors, because it is a lot more absorbent. This paper is usually a weight of 140lb/300g or higher. Watercolor paper comes in two varieties – cold pressed, which has a nice texture to it, and hot pressed, which is a little bit smoother.

I use Canson Watercolor Paper often – and I’ve found Amazon often has a paper pad of 30 sheets with a great price! Strathmore is another good brand, and of course if you’d like to work in a journal or notebook, I always love a good Moleskine watercolor journal!

If you are going to buy watercolor supplies, I definitely recommend shopping on Amazon – this is easily the best way to get the good prices and a way bigger selection than what you might find at a typical retail craft store. Shop my handpicked favorites on Amazon here.

Last updated on May 22, 2022 1:43 pm

The Most Important Thing You Need: 2 Separate Jars of Water

I’m not sure why it took me 20+ something years to learn this. It wasn’t until I was at a creative playdate with some of my art friends that I learned to do this and I noticed one of my friends, who is a professional watercolor artist was using two jars instead of just one!

So, yes, if you want to instantly be more “pro” in your watercoloring – use TWO jars of water!

This way, you have one jar specifically for rinsing your brushes – and then a jar specifically for clean water that can be used for painting and mixing up colors.

So genius, and so simple!

This way, you’re not constantly changing your water – AND your colors will be a lot more crisp and  clear – a must if you’re working with lighter shades of yellow, orange, and green!

Seriously, I never, ever in a million years would have thought to do that, and it’s so simple! Two separate jars of water!

Other Watercolor Painting Supplies You Will Need:

Good Quality Watercolor Brushes: There are a lot of different types of watercolor brushes. The nice thing to have is a set that offers a big flat brush for washes and larger areas and then to have a nice assortment of round brushes in different sizes.

Round brushes really do work well for most watercolor applications, because of the way they hold the water and push the paint around. If you plan to paint a lot of details, you’ll want very thin brushes that are good for smaller lines and even for handwriting and watercolor lettering.

Towels: It’s also a good idea to have towels nearby and on hand. These can be used to blot off excess water and paint. They’re also good to have in case of spills or if you accidentally use way more water than you wanted to.

You can use any type of old towel or cloth you don’t mind getting paint on, or you of course can always use paper towels or even tissues.

Washi Tape or Painter’s Masking Tape: Here’s another great trick I learned after watching the same genius friend who uses two jars of water paint for an afternoon: tape your paper to the table!

Washi tape and painter’s tape/masking tape usually work pretty well because it won’t damage the surface. Having the paper taped down will help prevent wrinkles. If you’ve ever used watercolors with a wrinkling mess afterwards, this will help you a TON.

Thankfully I have a wonderful washi tape obsession {See my favorites here!} – and so there’s always plenty of tape at my house to use for this purpose.

Now that we have the supplies all gathered, let’s get started with the next step!

Step 2: Learn the Basics of Watercolor Painting Techniques

There are a couple of different techniques that make painting with watercolor a lot easier. Learning the basics of just how the paints work on paper and how to use the brushes can make all the difference.

How Watercolors Work

Watercolors generally are translucent – which means you can see through them. The more water you use, the more translucent they will be. If you do not use hardly any water, your paints will be more opaque.

Most high quality watercolors will have a richer pigment to them, so you can really use a lot of water in mixing them. It’s also helpful to know that watercolors typically dry a lot lighter than they first appear while wet.

Tips for Mixing the Paints with Water

The easiest way to mix paints is by using either a palette, plate or even in the lid of the pan of watercolors itself. You just need to add a bit of water to the pans or the bit you’ve squeezed out and mix a little with the brush.

If water is pooling at all on the paper, you generally have too much water – unless of course that is part of the desired effect you are going for! When water is pooling, you will have less control of where the paint may flow!

It will take a little practice, but you will soon be able to tell when the brush has too much or too little paint on it. If there’s too much, simply blot it a little on a towel first before applying it to the paper.

When mixing colors, it’s a good idea to practice with some scratch paper first, just to get a good idea of how the colors will blend.

Make a Color Chart

Part of the fun of watercolors is using all the different colors! Something that is a great way to practice how much water and how much paint to use together is by making a color chart.

Not only are color charts pretty, but this will give you a good idea of what each color will look like based on dilution ratios with water and what it will look like once dry, since it may dry lighter than it initially appears while wet.

Step 3: Practice These 5 Main Watercolor Techniques

There are basically two ways to paint with watercolors. Wet on wet and wet on dry. Both have different uses & yes, you can even use them both together!

In addition to these two basic methods of applying paint on the paper, there are a couple of other techniques that can be used for great results.

We’re going to cover these 5 main basic watercolor techniques for beginners in this post today:

Wet on Wet

Wet on Dry

Layering & Blending with Watercolors

Mark Making

Paint Lifting

If you get these 5 basics down with some practice, you’ll be ready to make pretty much anything with watercolor like a pro!

Watercolor Fundamental #1: Wet on Wet Painting Technique

With this technique, you first do a wash of water on the paper. Simply dip your brush in water only, and spread a little bit of water around the page. Then, while the paper is still wet, you simply add your paints on top of this layer of water.

This is fun to use this technique, because the paint will go wherever the water is. Use this technique if you want nice soft edges or want complimentary colors to blend together easily. Avoid this technique if you are using opposite colors that will turn into mud when mixed together.

You can also often practice guiding where the paint flows with your brush to create different designs this way. The paint will go where the water is!

This is also a good way to blend different colors easily on the paper, because the paint will sort of float on top of the water on your paper and it can be swirled and moved around easily.

Watercolor Fundamental #2: Wet on Dry Painting Technique

With wet on dry painting, you do not wet the paper first – you simply use the watercolors, mixed well with a bit of water, straight on dry paper.

Dry paper can be a completely fresh blank piece of paper – or it can be something you already painted on that has dried.

With this method, you will have a lot more control of where the paint goes, and you will see much more defined lines and edges.

Fundamentals of Watercolor #3: Layering & Blending Techniques

Another important thing to practice is how to layer with watercolors. Learning how to layer with watercolors is what can really help give the things you paint some more depth and interest. Learning to layer is what really makes watercolors look fantastic on paper!

When layering, you want to start with the lightest colors first. This way, you can keep building upon those lighter colors until you get the results you want.

It’s important to know that watercolors WILL become reactivated once dry if you paint over them with water again. This is really helpful to know, because if you are not careful you can easily muddy up the paints together and get some not-so-fantastic results.

This is a good way to also add shadows in your paintings. With watercolor, creating highlights is done a bit differently – rather than paint the highlights like you might when working with acrylic paints, it’s usually best to simply leave those spots blank.

You can experiment a lot when you are practicing on layering and blending the watercolors on paper. You can also experiment with this by combining different wet on wet and wet on dry techniques.

Watercolor Fundamentals #4: Mark Making for Lines and Shapes

Once you have the basics of getting the paint mixed with water and how it will behave on paper and know how to layer and blend the paints together, you are next ready to practice with painting lines, shapes, and other mark making.

I like to use the thinner brushes and round brushes for making lines and shapes. You will have a lot more control over the paint this way!

Some of the marks you can practice making:

Lines & Stripes – straight and curved

Dots & Dabs

Cross hairs

Triangles, Circles, Stars, Hearts, Squares

Practice Writing Words & Alphabet Letters

Let yourself “doodle” with the paintbrush and see where it takes you! This can be a great way to practice having control over the brush.

Watercolor Fundamental #5: Lifting Off Paint With Watercolors

This is another good trick to know when you are learning how to watercolor. Once you paint an area, you can easily take a dry brush or even a paper towel to lift off some of the paint.

This can be used to make some areas lighter, or you can even have fun with different mark making designs, such as polka dots or stripes!

Once you get down these basic fundamentals for watercolors and the main watercolor techniques, you are ready to start with even more fun watercolor painting techniques!

8 Watercolor Painting Tips & Tricks for Beginners

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, I thought I would share a few more tips & tricks I think are super helpful to know as a beginner.

#1. Two Jars of Water: Yes, I know I already mentioned this. But, just in case you are like me and painted with watercolors all wrong for a good 25 years of your life ever since that first set of Crayola watercolors as a kid and not inclined to think of these obvious things… Yes, I am totally mentioning it again. 🙂

#2. Tape Down Your Paper: This is another big tip I wish I had known! Wrinkled up paintings are NOT fun. Using tape to keep your paper in place until the water is completely dry you will be able to have nice flat pages! {Come to think of it, this would likely be useful for ANY type of wet mixed media type of art work where wrinkled pages are a problem!}

#3. Use the Just Right Amount of Water: The most common mistakes with watercolor is using either way too much water, or not using enough water.

Sometimes lots of crazy amounts of water is a good and fun thing – but if you’re going for precision or trying to do a certain effect, it could spell out disaster or frustration.

If you are using too much water, you’ll have puddles and water pooling on the surface of the paper. This can take forever to dry, cause paint to go in directions you may not want it to, and can also cause your colors to be much lighter than you might want them to be.

On the other hand, too little water could mean your paints don’t flow smoothly or that you end up wasting a lot of good paint every time you rinse off the brushes. With practice, you’ll start to get a good feel for how much is “just right”.

#4. Let the Watercolors Dry in Between Layers: It’s a good idea to let the watercolors dry a bit in between layers, especially if you did a nice wet wash and are ready to add details. Giving it time to dry first will make it easier to paint details with more accuracy and less spreading.

#5. Avoid the Heat Gun: I LOVE my heat gun when working with acrylics, however without a lot of care it can be a disaster with watercolors – mostly because you will find out the force of the air pushes the water around. This can be used for nice effects for dripping paint in mixed media, but if you worked hard on a painting it’s better to let it dry naturally.

#6. Work on a Level Surface: This is another one of those things that is probably obvious, but isn’t always obvious. One day I was working on a table outside, only to notice all of my paints were sort of running & pooling to the left side of the table. Turns out the table was not level! Oops! If need be, you can always prop up with papers and books underneath.

#7. Take a Class: While this primer will hopefully help you get started, taking a class or learning from an experienced watercolor artist friend will change everything you know about watercolors!

I have met some wonderful artist friends locally through sites like Meetup.com. You can also often find watercolor classes at libraries, community colleges, and even local high schools with adult community programs.

Prefer to learn online at home? Craftsy has some great affordable online watercolor classes – or even better yet, you should totally join their sister site Bluprint. You can check it out here AND get a free trial to watch ALL the 1,300+ videos – Talk about ooodles of creative inspiration!

#8. Practice, Practice, Practice! There’s really only one good way to ever get good at anything: practice! Fortunately, watercolors are not super messy and are ultra portable, which means you could easily practice painting in watercolors for a little bit every day or even on a lunch break at work. Practice any and every chance you get!

Watercolors can be a LOT of fun, and it just takes knowing a few of these tips & tricks to really take it to a whole new level. If you have ever struggled with watercolors like I have, I hope this post inspires you to give it another chance AND learn that it can be a lot of great fun – once you get the basics down!

I hope this post on how to paint with watercolors has inspired you to create something fun that you love- and of course, if you’d like to share any of your watercolor masterpieces – please DO join our Facebook community group – we’d love to have you there! {Not painting a masterpiece? No worries, Watercolor disaster paintings also welcome in our group – we are SUPER beginner friendly and of course will answer any questions you may have!}

Any watercolor tips for beginners you might want to share? Any techniques or types of watercolor paintings you’d like to see us make videos on or write tutorials for? Any questions on what we’ve covered so far?

This is just the beginning of many more watercolor posts on our site and I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below. And of course as always, feel free to ask any questions  about working with watercolors below – I’m always happy to help!

Favorite Watercolor Supplies

Last updated on May 22, 2022 1:43 pm

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How to Paint With Watercolors: Watercolor Painting for Beginners 101

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Want to learn how to paint with watercolors? Here’s 5 fun & easy watercolor painting techniques and 8 tips for beginners to help you get started!

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Revolutionary new method for dating pottery

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Revolutionary new method for dating pottery

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200408113256.htm

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One of my fondest memories growing up was going to my grandpa's ranch in Bosque Farms, New Mexico and riding horses. The "grandkids' horse" was named Sugar. I loved that horse. Because I was just knee high to a grasshopper, Grandpa usually did all the saddling himself. And because Grandpa sold the old ranch while I was still young, I never got to saddle her myself.

Seventeen years later I decided it was time I learn this skill I had missed out on as a lad. Sure, if you're a city slicker or suburbanite, it's not exactly a basic life skill, but it's just one of those things that's cool to know (like how to throw a knife), and can help you avoid being called "punkin lily," "young squirt," "googoo," "Jane Dandy," or "dude" the next time you go on a cattle drive with Billy Crystal (those were just some of the names veteran Dakota cowboys called Theodore Roosevelt before he learned the ropes of ranching).

To learn how to saddle up, I visited our favorite cigar-chomping, tomahawk-throwing cowboy, Tom Warren, at Meadow Lake Ranch in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. Here's what Tom showed me.

Let's saddle up!

How to Bridle a Horse

Before we actually put the saddle on the horse, we need to put on the bridle. The bridle is the piece of horsetack that allows you to lead and direct the horse. It consists of some leather straps that go around the horse's muzzle and head and a bit that goes into the horse's mouth. The reins attach to the bit and you use them to "steer" the horse.

Here's how you bridle a horse:
Proper Bit Position
After you've bridled the horse, you want to make sure the bit is placed in the interdental space correctly. Traditionally, correct bit placement is determined by using the "wrinkle method," which involves looking at the horse's mouth and counting the number of wrinkles it has in the corner of its mouth where the mouth meets the bit. The more wrinkles in the horse's mouth the more constant pressure the horse experiences from the bit and the more it will feel it when you pull back on the reins. Suffice it to say, you don't want too many wrinkles in the horse's mouth or the bit will become painfully unbearable for it.

What number constitutes an appropriate amount of wrinkles will vary from horseman to horseman. Some say just one, while others say two is the right number. And of course, you'll find other horsemen who say the wrinkle method is a bunch of malarkey and a horse shouldn't have any wrinkles in its mouth.

The handler at Tom's ranch was a two-wrinkle man, but was humble enough to admit that his preference wasn't horse doctrine.

How to Saddle a Horse

Now that you have your horse bridled, it's time to saddle him up. Here's how.

Here's a video of the Texas T knot getting tied by the folks at 5 Minute Horse Lessons . It's super easy to follow:

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Special thanks to Tom for taking the time to show me how to throw a tomahawk. If you're ever in Oklahoma, I definitely recommend planning a weekend at Meadowlake Ranch. It's pretty much a playground for men-tomahawk throwing, long bow shooting, horse riding, fishing, hunting. You name it, you can probably do it at Tom's ranch.

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How to Bridle and Saddle a Horse | The Art of Manliness

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One of my fondest memories growing up was going to my grandpa's ranch in Bosque Farms, New Mexico and riding horses. The "grandkids' horse" was named Sugar. I loved that horse. Because I was just knee high to a grasshopper, Grandpa usually did all the saddling himself.

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Sew a Close-Fitting Cotton Face Mask with Bias Tape or Elastic and a Flexible Nose Wire.

After many requests for a more fitted face mask after my pleated face mask tutorial, I'm sharing a tutorial and free pattern for this face mask! It can be worn alone or layered over an N95 mask.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, Sweet Red Poppy receives a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This cotton face mask features a flexible nose wire to allow for a tight fit along the nose and the option to use bias strips or elastic.

Don't forget to join my face mask Facebook group where you can show us what you're making, ask questions, and learn from others! Follow me on Instagram for daily crafting inspiration and a look behind the scenes.

It's important to use a tightly woven 100% cotton fabric. If you're not sure what tightly woven means hold it up to the light, you should not be able to see through it.

Please make sure that you prewash your fabric using a mild detergent and no fabric softener. This will help to shrink the fabric to prevent it from shrinking later on after it's been sewn.

Once your masks have been donated, they should be washed and sanitized by the hospital before being put into use.
Looking for more face mask tutorials? Get my Bias Tape Pleated Mask with filter pocket here.

Get my Simple Elastic Pleated Mask here.

Get the matching Scrub Cap FREE Pattern here!

How to Sew a Close-Fitted Cotton Face Mask

*Disclaimer- Homemade masks will not prevent someone from becoming infected with Covid-19. They are approved by the CDC to be used as a last resort when all other PPE options have run out. Health providers experiencing shortages, who have handmade masks can use them on lower-risk patients allowing N95s to be reserved for emergency cases. This post is in response to pleas from hospitals for handmade masks.

Cotton Face Mask Supplies

You will be directed to a Google Drive folder. Please make sure you have enabled pop-ups or this may prevent the file from opening. Download the pattern to your computer. Open the file to print.

If you don't have a printer, save the photo below, hold a piece of paper up to the screen and trace the desired size. Double-check that the 1″x1″ square is measuring correctly before tracing. You may need to zoom in or out.
View even more crafty videos on Tangi HERE!

My friend Cori George of Hey, Let's Make Stuff digitized this pattern into an SVG file. If you have a Cricut Maker, you can cut this pattern out on your machine. Click here for her SVG file.

Step 1. Print & Cut Cotton Face Mask Pattern

Begin by printing off the PDF pattern. Download the pattern to your computer, open it up and print at 100% with no scaling.

Don't forget to measure the 1-inch square to make sure the pattern has printed off right and is sized correctly. Cut around the black line of the pattern.

Cut out a total of 4 pieces of fabric using this pattern. You should end up with two sets of mirror images.

Step 2. Pin and Sew Lining and Main Fabrics

Place the mask pieces right sides together and pin along the outward curve of the fabric.

Sew the seam with a 3/8ths inch seam allowance. Clip small notches (cutting close to, but not through the stitching) into the fabric to reduce the bulk of the seam. Press the seam to the side.

Step 3. Cut and Sew Elastic or Bias Tape Strips

Now it's time to prepare either your elastic or bias tape.

Elastic - For elastic cut 2 pieces of elastic 10 inches and 8 inches long (shorten both lengths for child-sized masks). Hold them around your head to double-check the length. Different brands of elastic have different amounts of stretch so this number may vary.

To create a mask with elastic ear holes cut two pieces of elastic 5 inches long.

These numbers are suggestions, please measure your own head before cutting your elastic to get the best fit.

Bias Tape - If you plan on using bias tape cut 4 pieces of double fold 1/2 Inch bias tape 14 inches long.

Pin the elastic or bias tape to the straight edge of the fabric, 3/8ths of an inch from the top. Repeat the same process along the bottom of the mask.

If you are using bias tape, neatly fold the bias tape into the center of the mask so it doesn't get caught in any seams while you are sewing. Place the lining fabric on top with right sides facing together and pin around the entire mask.

Place a pin horizontally along the seam allowance of the bottom of the mask as a visual reminder to leave a 3 inch opening for turning.

Sew around the entire mask using a 3/8ths inch seam allowance. When you reach the corner of the mask, put your needle in the down position, lift the presser foot and pivot. This will help you to get nice, sharp corners.

Step 4. Create Flexible Nose with Wire
Optional
Cut a 7-inch length of floral wire to create a flexible nose piece for a better fit around the nose.

Turn the ends of the wire inwards to prevent them from poking through the fabric.

Gently bend and center the wire along the seam allowance on the top of the mask and pin it in place.

Using a zig-zag (increase your width to the highest setting) stitch slowly sew over the wire to secure it in place. Make sure to keep the wire positioned in the very middle of your presser foot to avoid hitting it.

Step 5. Turn Right Side Out

Turn the mask right side out by pulling the inside of the fabric through the 3-inch opening. I like to grab onto the wire as I pull to prevent it from bending.

Press the mask, taking care to tuck in the unsewn seam allowance along the bottom of the mask.

Step 6. Press and Top Stitch your Cotton Face Mask

Topstitch 1/4th of an inch from the edge along the bottom of the mask.

If using bias tape, fold the end of the bias tape backwards on itself with right sides facing and sew a straight line to close it. Turn it right side out and press. Then sew along the folded edges using a 1/4" seam allowance to secure the bias tape in place.

Give the mask one final press and clip any threads.

Don't forget to join my face mask Facebook group where you can show us what you're making, ask questions, and learn from others! Follow me on Instagram for daily crafting inspiration and a look behind the scenes.

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Sew a Close-Fitting Fabric Mask with Bias Tape

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Sew a Close-Fitting Cotton Face Mask with Bias Tape or Elastic and a Flexible Nose Wire. After many requests for a more fitted face mask after my pleated face mask tutorial, I'm sharing a tutorial and free pattern for this face mask! It can be worn alone or layered over an N95 mask.

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A Guide to Developing Usable Instructions For Use For Medical Devices

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A Guide to Developing Usable Instructions For Use For Medical Devices

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Me pareció interesante como tema, es un instructivo.

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By Arathi Sethumadhavan, Naomi Cherne, and Adam Shames, Core Human Factors Inc Know Your Users And Their Use Environment
Medical devices can be complex and may require users to understand specific information about storage, use, disposal, or reprocessing. Although it is optimal to guide the use of devices via intuitive design to the greatest extent possible, manufacturers may have to rely on instructional materials to convey important information supporting safe and effective product use. Instructions for use (IFU) are therefore considered part of the product user interface.

The design needs of instructional materials are, generally speaking, the same as the design needs for any product. Good design incorporates an understanding of a product's real-life use: Who are the users of the product and what are their attributes? What are their goals, their strengths, their capabilities and limitations, and what are the characteristics of the use environment? Likewise, in order to effectively design instructional materials, you must learn about your users. You can do so through a combination of techniques, such as focus groups, interviews, field research, contextual inquiries, and literature reviews.

Instructional material design should take into account users' needs as well as their perceptive, cognitive, and motor abilities. Instructional materials may rely on users' perceptual abilities (such as visual acuity, color sensitivity), cognitive abilities (such as literacy, ability to focus, working memory, symbol comprehension), and motor abilities (such as grasping, unfolding). It also is important to consider what users already know - be it from similar, non-medical devices, or other products in the targeted therapy area - and how this would impact their use of the proposed product.

Instructional material design also should be mindful of the user's environment. Will their environment be bright, dim, dry, damp, cold, hot, dusty, or drafty? Will the instructions be held close to the face, at arm's length, on a nearby surface, or on a distant surface? Will the instructions be accessed in advance of use, or at the point of use?

Seemingly simple design choices can cause usability problems when they conflict with the intended users' capabilities or use environments. Examples of these conflicts include choosing too small a font for a product intended for use by elderly patients in dimly-lit homes; using dense paragraphs of text to convey complex steps to busy clinicians, whose attention is diverted by other device displays and alerts; or providing instructions in booklet format for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, or for use in a cold environment, where users may be wearing gloves.
Design Usable Instructions
The more you know about your users and the environments where they will be using the IFU, the more capable you will be of designing effective instructional materials. Further, understanding the tasks a user must perform to use the product, errors that could occur during use, and the consequences of these errors helps focus design efforts on the information that will have the most impact on safety.

Designing usable IFUs involves selecting appropriate textual content, layout, organization, font, font size, contrast, and use of graphics. IFU usability becomes even more critical if your product requires complex actions of the user, has confusing steps, or the potential for harm. Below is a sample list of usability design heuristics for IFU development. The list is not exhaustive, and not all heuristics are relevant to all products; rather, these provide a starting point for considering the usability of your product given its unique risk profile, indication(s) for use, and specific user/use environment.
Test Your IFU

Use short, action-based sentences.

Present one action in each item of a list to avoid missing steps.

Label all the key components in diagrams to minimize user confusion.

State or depict the expected outcomes of actions so users can confirm they have performed the actions correctly.

Avoid labeling that requires users to match text to symbols (e.g., relying on a key to interpret the meaning of symbols on a diagram, such as "K: power button").

Define any necessary technical words, and then introduce them in parenthesis. For example, "Before using the pen for the first time, you need to remove air bubbles from the cartridge (priming)."

Include "negative" statements at the beginning of a sentence (e.g., "Do not press the button").

Identify consequences or potential risks of misuse to motivate compliance with instructions.

Specify units to avoid misinterpretation of abbreviations (e.g., "5 seconds" versus "5s")

Redundantly present critical information in a "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) section, within relevant steps, to minimize reliance on memory.

Provide images that match the textual information in the instructions while accurately depicting proper use of the product; actions without illustrations may be overlooked, or interpreted as "optional."

Select a font size that is legible during use; ANSI/AAMI HE-75:2009 suggests 0.168 inches for the smallest lower-case letter and a reading distance of 24 inches with normal vision.

Consistently associate information categories with visual cues to avoid critical information being overlooked or misinterpreted by users (e.g., if some actions are numbered steps, all actions are numbered steps).

Present conditional determination as part of a step to prevent the step from being missed or inappropriately followed.

Use symbols with ordinal meaning (e.g., "1, 2, 3") for lists where order of action matters, and symbols without ordinal meaning (e.g., dots) when order of actions does not matter.

It is not possible to predict all use errors - incorrect or unintended use of a product, stemming from a user's ability to access and interpret information in instructional materials - or to predict which instructional material designs will be most successful, without conducting usability testing. Usability testing helps reveal issues that users may encounter when using instructional materials, as well as identify what aspects of the IFU caused, contributed to, or failed to counteract the use errors. Therefore, it is necessary to test instructional materials before they reach real-world users, to evaluate their effectiveness and to confirm that they do not cause any errors or difficulties.

Various testing techniques can be employed to assess instructional materials:

1. Participants can be asked to read sections of the instructional material and to restate, in their own words, what the sections convey, to determine if their comprehension of the text matches the original intent of the text. This technique assesses the text's effectiveness in conveying critical information.

2. Participants can be asked to perform tasks step-by-step, as they read the IFU, to discover whether it leads them to perform any task incorrectly, or to omit tasks. This technique assesses whether content and layout changes could make the instructional material more comprehensible for representative users.

3. Participants can be asked to answer questions about the product's use by referencing the instructional material. This methodology can reveal barriers to locating information, such as user expectations of where the information would be located (e.g., within a particular step, within a certain section), or the format in which users expect the information to be presented (e.g., picture, table, number, highlighted text).

Understand IFU Limitations
Instructional material is part of the product's user interface and is included during validation testing. However, validation testing involves simulated use of the product, meaning instructional materials are made available to participants, as they would be during actual use, but participants are not asked, and are under no obligation, to use the IFU.

There is a great deal of variability in how users interact with instructional materials during simulated use studies. Users differ on which IFU sections they choose to reference; when, during use of a product, they engage with instructions (if at all); and the depth with which they read the IFU. Many individuals who appear to read the IFU later report that they were not fully engaging with the instructions, but instead "skimming" the material, only reading text that was bolded, or just looking at the images.

Many reasons could drive this variability. For example, readers may be familiar with similar products, and assume (accurately or not) that they already know the necessary information. They could assume that design affordances will be sufficient for guiding use, and that the instructions are redundant or secondary. Some users consider IFUs to be a troubleshooting resource, and would reference them only if they struggle to use the product. Users might avoid the IFU because of previous experience with worthless instructions, or because the instructions seem as if they will require too much effort to comprehend. Conversely, readers may be more drawn toward informing themselves about a product if they think the product is intimidating (i.e., due to its complex appearance or a scary use goal, such as injecting important medication).
Take-Home Messages:
Therefore, while instructional materials are a great informational resource for users, there is no guarantee that users will seek this information, or consume it in a stepwise manner.
Adam Shames is a well recognized human factors expert and the founder and CEO of Core Human Factors, Inc., a 20+ person consulting firm. He has an M.B.A. in international business from the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University and a B.S. in human factors engineering and psychology (double major) from Tufts University, where he received the De-Florez Prize in Human Engineering. Adam also has a Certificate in Applied Ergonomics Training from the United States Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. Adam spent the better part of two decades conducting usability research, has been the Principal Investigator on hundreds of usability studies with tens of thousands of participants in cities around the world and has worked as a consultant for over 15 years. Adam is a long-time member of the AAMI Human Factors Committee, has been recently appointed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an Expert on the IEC Joint Working Group on Human Factors, and is a contributing author on all of the international human factors standards for medical devices. Naomi Cherne is a Director at Core Human Factors, Inc. She received a Ph.D. from the Department of Psychology at the University of California Los Angeles, where she studied how people develop habits and how they overcome bad habits. She also spent many years conducting research on visual attention in healthy adults, memory in neurodegenerative patient populations, and used functional and structural neuroimaging to study the interactions of memory systems in the brain. Her interest in how people learn to do things and what can lead them to make mistakes was a natural transition to human factors and user research. Before joining Core, she spent four years performing forensic human factors analysis and safety-focused usability testing on products and environments ranging from roadways to factory equipment to children's products. Arathi Sethumadhavan is a Senior Director at Core Human Factors Inc, where she leads human factors activities across the product lifecycle for several medical device and combination products, including user needs identification, use-related risk analysis, and planning and executing formative and validation studies. Prior to joining Core, Arathi spent seven years providing human factors engineering leadership to multiple products in the Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure portfolio including the world's smallest pacemaker. She has also spent many years examining human-automation interaction issues in air traffic control and in human-robotic teams and developed training programs for the Marine Corps and HAZMAT teams. Arathi is the Department Editor of Ergonomics in Design, published by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. She has delivered more than 40 talks and has published more than 30 articles. She has also won awards from the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Foundation, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. She has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology with a specialization in Human Factors from Texas Tech University.

Avoid conflict between the design choices for instructional materials and the characteristics of intended users or their use environments.

Focus design efforts on information that will have the most impact on safety by identifying tasks a user must perform to use the product, errors that might be expected to occur during use, and the consequences of those errors.

IFU usability is more important if your product requires the user to take complex actions, has confusing steps, or the potential for harm.

Perform IFU usability testing to reveal issues that users may encounter, as well as identify which aspects of the IFU caused, contributed to, or failed to counteract the use errors.

IFUs are a great informational resource for users, but their proper use is not guaranteed.

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A Guide to Developing Usable Instructions For Use For Medical Devices

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Medical devices can be complex and may require users to understand specific information about storage, use, disposal, or reprocessing. Instructions for use (IFU) are therefore considered part of the product user interface. Here are some critical factors to consider when developing effective IFUs.

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El otro día estábamos investigando cómo hacerlo en casa. Me pareció interesante para proponer! Es un instructivo.

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Basil grows until first frost! Get it while it's still good. Keep harvesting leaves and trimming off flowers to keep the plant going strong! Here's what to know about growing basil.

About Basil

The most common type of basil is sweet basil; other types include purple basil (less sweet than common basil), lemon basil (lemon flavor), and Thai basil (licorice flavor).

Basil is easy to grow, but it only grows outdoors in the summer-and only once the soil has warmed up nicely-so plan accordingly.

If you're planning on making pesto, grow several plants. For other uses, one or two basil plants yields plenty.

Basil will grow best in a location that gets 6 to 8 hours of full sun daily, though it can perform well in partial sun, too.

Soil should be moderately fertile and moist but well-draining. Basil works great in containers or raised beds, as these allow for better drainage. The pH of the soil should ideally be in the range of 6.0 to 7.5 (slightly acidic to neutral).

If you're planning on cooking with these plants, plant in clean soil, don't use insecticides, and grow them away from driveways and busy streets so that exhaust won't settle on the plants.

When to Plant Basil

To get a jump on the season, start the seeds indoors 6 weeks before the last spring frost. (See local frost dates.)

To plant outside, wait until the soil has warmed to at least 50°F (10°C)-preferably around 70ºF (21°C) for best growth. Nighttime temperatures shouldn't drop below 50°F (10°C).

Don't rush basil. Without heat, the plant won't grow well!

How to Plant Basil

Sow seeds no more than 1/4-inch deep. Once seedlings emerge and have 2-3 pairs of true leaves, thin seedlings to one plant every 10 to 12 inches. Basil should grow to about 12 to 24 inches in height.

For larger varieties, plant farther apart (about 16 to 24 inches).

Tomatoes make great neighbors for basil plants in the garden-and on the plate!

A tomato plant (center) growing alongside basil.

How to Grow Basil

Make sure that the soil is moist. Basil plants like moisture.

If you live in a hot area, use mulch around the plants (the mulch will help hold in moisture and suppress weeds).

During the dry periods in summer, water the plants freely.

After the seedlings have produced their first six leaves, prune to above the second set. This encourages the plants to start branching, resulting in more leaves for harvest.

Every time a branch has six to eight leaves, repeat pruning the branches back to their first set of leaves.

Fertilize sparingly throughout the season with a 5-10-5 fertilizer.

After about 6 weeks, pinch off the center shoot to prevent early flowering. If flowers do grow, just cut them off.

If the weather is going to be cold or if a sudden frost is imminent, be sure to harvest your basil beforehand, as the cold temperatures will destroy your plants.

Cinnamon basil, to add a hint of cinnamon to a dish

Purple basil, to add some nice color to your garden (when steeped in white vinegar, it creates a beautiful color)

Thai basil, to add a sweet licorice flavor to a dish.

See our post about basil varieties in the garden.

How to Harvest Basil

Start picking the leaves of basil as soon as the plants are 6 to 8 inches tall.

Once temperatures hit 80°F (27°C), basil will really start leafing out.

Harvest in the early morning, when leaves are at their juiciest.

Make sure to pick the leaves regularly to encourage growth throughout the summer.

Even if you don't need to leaves, pick them to keep the plant going. Store them for later use!

If you pick regularly, twelve basil plants can produce 4 to 6 cups of leaves per week.

How to Store Basil

The best method for storing basil is freezing. Freezing will prevent the plant from losing a good portion of its flavor. To quick-freeze basil, package whole or chopped leaves in airtight, resealable plastic bags, then place in the freezer.

Another storage method is drying the basil (although some of the flavor will be lost). Pinch off the leaves at the stem and place them in a well-ventilated and shady area. After 3 to 4 days, if the plants are not completely dry, place them in the oven on the lowest heat setting with the door slightly open. Remember to turn the leaves (for equal drying) and check them frequently. See more about drying basil, tomatoes, and paprika.

Basil has a lovely fragrance. Pick from the stems and put in water for a few days as you would with cut flowers!

For other greens to use in your cuisine, see our Leafy Greens: Health Benefits page.

Where salt is good, so is basil.
-Italian saying

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Basil grows until first frost! Get it while it's still good. Keep harvesting leaves and trimming off flowers to keep the plant going strong! Here's what to know about growing basil. The most common type of basil is sweet basil; other types include purple basil (less sweet than common basil), lemon basil (lemon flavor), and Thai basil (licorice flavor).