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New York Vacation Packages
New York vacation packages are really a wonderful comfort and ease to have when you find yourself taking a vacation. When you’re hunting for New York vacation packages, specifically how should you and your family be sure that you are going to be acquiring the lowest price achieveable? Since you’ll see so many different New York vacation packages readily available, attempting to locate one which is best can take lots of time whenever you do it without help. However ,, you should work with the assistance of the net and use an internet site which can read through the ocean of New York vacation packages without delay the least bit bringing you not just a tremendous amount regarding choices, and yet a great deal of discounts at the same time.For additional information on New York vacation packages, check out www.travelocity.com/deals-d8613-new-york-new-york-city-vacations. Copyright 2011.

Texoma Striper Fishing Guide - Texoma Striper Fishing
Four heavenly words-Striper Fishing Lake Texoma - describe some of the most interesting fishing that you are likely to ever experience. This, of course, is only if you retain a quality striper guide as striper fishing on Texoma devoid of one is not going to give you a large amount of a catch. A familiar fishing guide who has experienced a lot of time striper fishing Lake Texoma will be adept to make sure that you and your group or family truly comprehend Texoma striper bass fishing the way it ought to be understood. You can go it unaided, however if you would like big stripers then you really want to contemplate making use of a seasoned and educated guide. Heed my recommendation - knowledgeable striper fishing guides are not luxuries, they are necessities!Silk Flowers
Silk flowers are probably the optimal alternative for anybody who likes to perk up their houses and their very own work area, however doesn?t desire the irritation of watering and shaping. Using silk flowers you could go as robust as you like and certainly create a statement or remain more on the conventional side and do something small. The added loveliness lasts forever so you can never need to be concerned about your silk flowers collapsing or possibly perishing since they will forever keep on being as attractive since the first time you get them. Now it’s attainable to achieve the interior visual appeal you desire and never having to do much more than having fun with exactly what you’ve accomplished.

There’s no real comparison, teak is best. For a long time teak has been known as one of the best hardwoods to work with to help to make garden benches. Teak is undoubtedly one of the hardest and most durable hardwoods and it can be left out in bad winters without worry if treated with teak oil.Popular woods for garden furniture manufacture include pine, mahogany and teak. Because teak is so expensive, there are the newcomers: iroko and karri woods that can be used as alternatives on the market to make garden furniture.Iroko is similar colour to teak but not so long-lasting. It is still good and most importantly typically 60% of the price of teak. It takes skill to saw and shape because of shorter interlocking grain structure. Iroko oil is a known irritant. Iroko isn’t as good as teak for making fine furniture or for situations where lengths of straight wood. On the other hand teak has a very close grain, and is incredibly strong so resists warping.Pine is omnipresent and the first choice for outdoor garden bench for typical volume manufacturers. It is trouble-free to work with and pine is a relatively soft wood. The only recommedation whn buying pine garden furniture is that it is painted or treated with a varnish to ensure it lasts a few years if unprotected from the weather.The Eucalyptus has a close neighbour called Karri wood from South Africa and Western Australia. It has a incredibly monotonous and knot free grain, it is an easy hardwood to work with. It is also a similar colour to mahogany so has an expensive look. It changes shape depending upon the atmospheric humidity.

Any gardener starts considering buying garden equipment or alternatively marveling at those Alan Titchmarsh garden forks — but of course, only over the majority of history have we reached this level. Tribes grew gardens long before the garden hoe or the rake. This hobby has history reaching back to the cradle of civilization itself. In Egypt gardeners were guided by a mix of practical reasons, spirituality, and pleasure. The critical fruit and nut bearing trees as well as other edible vegetation would grow around pools of fish, being surrounded by stone walls that also added layout. Some of the garden was set aside, sacred plants grown and nurtured in honor of their deities. In addition, other herbs, prized highly by the temples for magical purposes, flourished on the surrounding land. Others, too, came to be known for producing primitive farmsteads. Also gardeners were the Babylonians, the Assyrians, to say nothing of the Persians, and they often incorporated buildings of noteworthy dimensions into places. The Romans also genuinely enjoyed attractive gardens, unlike their forebears the Greeks. Only food was allowed to flourish in their farmsteads. Though as you might know they had no access to garden forks or rakes, these cultures had devised a variety of primitive implements and garden utensils which were the prototypes of modern spades and hoes. Hoes were made of stone to begin with, but later pieces would fabricate them in bronze, iron, and copper.

The confusion after the fall of Rome led several nations to set aside the primitive spade and all the other garden tools — except for the churches, who tended certain flowers.

People began to grow exquisite gardens employing vegetables, flowers, and herbs for enjoyment. Conventions began to evolve, a formalized structure governing how the garden should eventually appear. You’ve only got to examine the work that goes into a hedge maze to see this.

Such rules are no longer mandatory, and as such there’s ultimately nothing to worry about — enjoy yourself, and stay confident about musing on how to fix some annoying Garden Furniture problems or studying some interesting garden fork review. Where others abided by gardening rules which had been developed over hundreds of years, “Capability” Brown and others cunningly mingled formal strictures with informal instinct by combining modern garden decorations such as columns with natural lines.

Today, gardens may look somewhat different but we still cultivate plants as our forebears used to. At the end of the day, they’re always among the most beautiful places in the world.

When you begin considering buying garden accessories made in the UK or marveling at that Bulldog garden fork, remember that gardeners have only recently been able to get hold of high-tech machines and garden accessories. Rakes and secateurs are comparatively recent tools, but you probably already know, the practice of gardening is as old as Man. Your leisure occupation traces its roots back to the famous cradle of civilization. The Egyptians created gardens for pleasure, for practical reasons, and we shouldn’t ignore spirituality. The necessary vegetables as well as other food-bearing vegetation would grow around pools of fish. Certainly the majority was grown as food but they also cultivated some plants to honor certain gods. And other plants, treasured by the temples, were grown in locations away from the gardens.

Others, too, were known for the production of early gardens. Also active were the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Persians, all of whom also incorporated buildings of significant size into gardens. As you’d think, another culture who practiced this would be the Romans — although the Greeks concentrated on the potential for nourishment of their farmland rather than the visual. For them, spades and hoes were the fresh concepts that lawn rakes and forks would become in times to come — and that’s before you examine what they used as raw materials. Spades were made of stone initially, but were made out of bronze, iron, and copper as time passed. The pandemonium following the fall of Rome pushed later civilizations to put down the simple spade and other garden tools — save for the priests, who planted certain flowers and herbs. Gradually we discovered again the pastime of engineering gardens for pleasure. This trend went on right through the 1500s, by which point gardens were becoming increasingly formal and structured. You’ve only got to appreciate the artistry inherent in a knot garden for that to be evident. So if you should happen to be investigating how to mend that irritating garden spade deformity or studying some lawn rake reviews, don’t forget that as time went on men such as Lancelot “Capability” Brown, William Kent, and Humphry Repton turned to aids like yours to make real astonishing landscapes. “Capability” Brown and others glanced at the conventions — so codified by then as to be essentially fossilized — and discarded any that obstructed their intent, mingling a naturalistic outlook with interesting statuary and similar decorative touches. Nowadays, gardens may look somewhat different but nonetheless we tend plants as our forebears used to. Nonetheless, they’re always some of the most picturesque spaces in the world.

At one time, ceramic tile was only for the wealthy. No more. Today, for the same price as you will pay for manufactured cast resin, imitation marble or other polymer, you can have a one-of-a-kind piece of fine art, made by an American artist who is willing to work with YOUR ideas and concepts. Suppose you love plants and flowers, but the wall over your sink in the kitchen has no window? Tell the artist your favorites, she will paint your favorite ferns or perennials, in a basket or within its own little garden. What if you moved south and miss your paper birch trees so badly? A mural over your bathroom sink of these gorgeous white and black trees, with or without surrounding fall foliage, will guarantee a lifetime of the perfect view. No wall space for a mural? How about accent tiles placed every foot or so of your favorite cooking herbs in an 1800’s style, right out of the Farmer’s Almanac? Or an easy-to-clean backsplash behind the kitchen sink of fruits connected by flowering vines all in a lively color scheme?

The best part about tile is you only have to do it once. You choose timeless and tireless motifs and place them where you need something durable. Side-by-side with gold, ceramic is the most durable substance we know. What else has told us the history of human culture as accurately? Nothing the manufacturers have come up with can surpass ceramic tile for lasting beauty. Nothing.

Working with an artist as opposed to a factory has many benefits. The artist has sentimental memories too, and usually does the work she does for other reasons than moving out volumes of product for profit, so she is more than happy to fill your space with warm homey decoration. We all have a favorite old pattern or print, maybe Grandma’s stitching or an old tapestry. Everything eventually wears out and must be discarded. Except ceramic. Have it painted on tile and installed for all time.

Framed paintings do not do well in steamy bathrooms or near greasy cookstoves, gathering dust and needing cleaning way too often. A tapestry or rug painted on tile will hang beautifully inlaid into any wall. In the hall where people always bump paintings is a great idea. Stair risers that always get scuffed up can be painted in a myriad of design motifs, like southwestern, Mayan or Aztec, any colorful design, and fill a dull stairway with brilliant color.

Do you work too many hours to have pets? A brilliant parrot on the wall in the corner of your livingroom, gleaming feathers shining, will welcome you home, making no noise and quietly demanding no food or attention! No other art medium can imitate the iridescence and brilliance of bird feathers like ceramic glaze. A skilled hand-painter can imitate textures and colored objects from all around the world. Mayan stone carvings, Egyptian hieroglyphics, even cave art paintings all look so real in ceramic. Solid blocks of color in modern graphic shapes is the other end of the design spectrum. Color makes a very powerful statement, as we all know.

Please do not feel compelled to use what the remodelling stores offer, the dull and unimaginative and very plain tiles they sell in volume. Email a hand-painter and she will help you come up with the only one in the world, a unique piece of fine art that is yours alone. Timeless and elegant decor is only a few weeks away.

Dy Witt has been painting with ceramic glaze since 1984. A lifetime of portrait work in colored pencil prepared her for the layering required to get good detail on ceramic tile. Her passion for wildlife and all growing things is obvious in her work,

Ilex ‘Dragon Lady’

Dragon Lady Hollies are plants for zone 6b-8a. These hollies
are thought of as perfect columnar hollies. These hollies can
reach 20′ in height and 6′ in width. The leaves being smaller
than most hollies with stiff, pointed spines are not very tasty
to deer. This is one of its many benificial points if your
landscape has a high deer population in the area. This holly can
be used as a specimen or a hedge, is self fruiting with glossy
green foliage and a reddish tint on the new growth. To bad all
hollies are not like this! The Dragon Lady holly will leave open
spots in its growth. Hard pruning generally helps correct this
detraction but makes full plants more costly to produce. You can
expect a 4-5′ holly, being well developed within 6-7 years from
a 2 gallon liner. This plant is a sharp looking plant in your
landscape. There is no doubt that this will be a plant that you
will see more of. It holds up well for us and we have large
herds of deer at our Doylestown nursery.

Damage to seedlings by deer will increase as it has over the
past 20 years. We don’t believe that there are any 100 per cent
effective methods to stop deer damage except 10′ high woven wire
fences that are to costly for most small growers and homeowners.
Human populations moving to rural areas will continue. Loss of
huntable land will increase as will deer populations. Deer
having multiple births coupled with increasing gun regulation is
likly to continue. This means plant selection will become more
important.

There are few natural controls for deer populations especially
in urban areas. Planting shrubs that repell deer is your most
effective means to avoid deer damage. Opening your land to
hunting is an effective alternative practice for lowering deer
populations. Since deer are nocturnal, hunting may not be
totally effective. On our farm we have lots of feed, our plants,
but little cover which is where the deer are durring hunting
seasons. This means that you must have an integrated pest
management plan. This plan should include the following:
popualtion management(hunting), repellants, selecting resistant
plants, fencing, knowledge of deer habits for integrating your
management plan. The Dragon Lady holly is not eatable for deer.

Deer feeding will occur on fertilized and unfertilize plants.
Most browsing of seedlings will occur at night. By planting
less-preferred seedlings and ornamental trees and shrubs in
unprotected areas and surrounding preferred seedlings by
less-preferred seedlings, deer damage is lessened. Susceptible
plants shoud be fenced or planted near occupied structures.
Backyard dogs are effective in keeping deer away. Your knowledge
of deer feeding habits should be your first line of defence. A
plan based on this knowledge will provide seedlings growers with
less expensive alternatives to dangerous chemiacls repellants
and hard to maintain fences and physical barriers. Deer are
creatures of habit. Deer are not going search in the woods for
scarce food when it is available in quanity and quality in your
back yard. Once they find easy to browse plants in your
landscape, they will become like giant rats invading you
backyard at night. They will return night after night and eat
you nursery stock until it is gone. Some deer in certain areas
will eat holly and white pines, while deer in other areas won’t.
Therefore plant preference lists are only rough guides to deer
damage susceptibility.

In general browsing damage to nursery stock will be highest
when snow or extreme weather reduces food availability.
Succulent young growth is an attractive deer food source in the
spring time. When food is in short supply deer will feed on less
desireable plants. Deer eat a variety of vegetation including
woody plants, fruits, nuts, ornamental trees, shrubs, vines,
grasses, and garden vegetables. Landscaping based deer feeding
habits will reduce or eliminate costly browsing damage to your
nursery stock and ornamentals.

Always try and reduce deer herds. Fewer deer mean less browsing
pressure. We once had a deer hunt where hunters paid 100 dollars
each to a police gun fund for the control of deer on our nursery
that is located next to Peace Valley Park. For weeks the control
worked and deer damage was controlled.

Some people use soap bars. Leave the soap in its wrapper and
drill a hole thru the bar. Attach the soap bar with twine to a
branch and allow it to hang 3-4′ off the ground. Hang the bar
away from the center of the tree. This will act as a natural
repellant for deer. Use multiple bars for large nursery stock
and trees.

Other Seedlings and Liners We Recommend:

Boxwoods Red Osier Dogwood Russian Olive Rose of Sharon Hollies
Leucothoe River Birch Trees Japanese Cedars Blue Spruce trees
Austrin Pine Barberries Andromeda

Highland Hill Farm Po. Box 517 Fountainville, PA 18923
(215-345-0946) http://www.seedlingsrus.com or
http://www.highlandhillfarm.com

Attributing flowers with hidden meanings and using them to
express feelings and sending messages is an ancient tradition
and even the old Greeks used flowers in this manner. Cleopatra
used to shower her lover Marcus Antonius in rose petals to
express her love for him. During the 17th century B.C. the Turks
developed a large flower language that soon spread and gained
popularity all over Europe. During the strict Victorian era,
conveying messages in the form of flowers experienced a new boom
and secret lovers sent seemingly innocent flower bouquets to
each other.

The Elizabethan period is usually considered as the height of
the Victoria era and one of the harshest periods from a moral
point of view. This naturally formed a rich breeding ground for
hypocrisy and ways to go around the austere official codes of
behavior - especially for the upper and middle classes. It was
also a period when the romantic love was highly sought for and
the flower language contains both these components; romantic
gestures and the idea of true love conquering any obstacles and
strict rules.

During the Victorian era several different flower dictionaries
were published that helped to spread the knowledge of the
’secret’ flower language. It was common to fabricate poetical
explanations to the shapes and colors of flowers. One popular
myth claimed that the red rose came into existence when a white
rose blushed in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve’s ate the
apple. Virtually any type of message could be transformed into a
beautiful flower bouquet since a whole sentence could be
conveyed in a single flower.

Since several different flowers could have almost the same
meaning, it was usually not hard to construct a good looking
bouquet with matching flowers for each message. The flower
language even had a type of basic “grammar” since messages could
be altered depending on how the flowers where arranged and
combined. A red rose combined with white rose buds would for
instance mean a different thing than a single red blooming rose.
Scents, sizes and even the position of the giver when bouquets
were delivered directly would affect the message. The receiver
could also take the opportunity to send secret messages to the
giver. Accepting a flower or floral bouquet with the right hand
was generally perceived as a “Yes” while the left hand indicated
“No”. A flower held upside down when presented would literary
turn the message upside down and the message should be
interpreted as the total opposite of the normal meaning of the
flower. Giving a lady or gentlemen a red rose that had been
turned upside down was a very strong sing of rejection.

Flowers has always been used to decorate rooms and to mark
important occasions, but during the Victorian era the natural
world became highly fashionable since it was linked to the new
romanticisms, a reaction to the scientific ideals of the 16th
century. Floral arrangements was frequently enfolded in satin
and received as wrapped gifts. Every room should ideally be
decorated with flowers and the Victorian women devoted their
time to the construction of highly sophisticated and very
beautiful floral arrangements. The flower language was not only
used in bouquets sent to lovers; the flower language would
affect everything from centerpieces to wedding bouquets.
Understanding the floral language became and imperative part of
Victorian life.

Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybirds, can be a gardener’s best friend. The ladybug’s bright coloring brings welcomed cheer to the garden, as well as helping with pest control. Since medieval times, ladybugs have been valued by farmers all over the world. Many believe that the ladybug was divinely sent to free crops of insect pests. In fact, that is how the ladybug got its name. People dedicated the bug to the Virgin Mary and therefore called it “The Bug of our Lady”, which was eventually shortened to the present name “ladybug”.

Adult ladybugs are usually oval or domed shaped and have red wings, yellow wings or shades and variations of these colors. The number of black spots can range from no spots to 15 spots and they are typically about one quarter inch in size or smaller.

The length of the life cycle of a ladybug varies depending upon temperature, humidity, and food supply. Usually the life cycle from egg to adult is about three to four weeks, and up to six weeks during the cooler spring months. During the spring the adult female ladybug can lay up to three hundred eggs in an aphid colony. The eggs normally hatch in two to five days. The newly hatched larvae feed on aphids for up to three weeks and then enter the pupae stage. About one week later, the adult ladybug emerges. There can be as many as six generations of ladybugs hatched in a year.

The ladybug enjoys popularity around the world. These pretty insects have long been considered a symbol of good luck and fortune because of their ability to eat an enormous amount of aphids. One ladybug can eat as many as 50 to 60 aphids per day. Aphids (also called plant lice) are herbivores and are one of the worst groups of pests on plants. They feed in colonies and damage plants by sucking the juice out of the leaves, stems, or roots. While aphids feed, they damage plant tissue creating a loss of plant fluids and the photosynthetic tissue needed to produce energy for plant growth. Some plants will show no adverse response to aphids, while others react with twisted, curled or swollen leaves or stems. Aphids also transmit many plant diseases from one plant to another.

Apart from aphids, ladybugs eat a variety of other insects and larvae including white flies, mealy bugs, spider mites, and other types of soft-bodied insects. They also require a source of pollen for food and for that reason are attracted to certain types of plants. Their preferred plants have umbrella shaped flowers such as dill, fennel, angelica, tansy, caraway, cilantro, yarrow, and wild carrot. Other plants that attract ladybugs include cosmos (especially the white ones), dandelions, coreopsis, and scented geraniums.

If your garden does not have adequate space to plant ladybug attracting plants, you can purchase ladybugs from numerous websites on the internet and most nurseries. Before releasing them into your garden, here are a few tips to help ensure that the ladybugs stay where you want them:

1. Release ladybugs near infested plants after sun down or before sun up. They navigate by the sun and are most likely to stay put in the evenings and early mornings.

2. Water the area where you are going to release the ladybugs. They will appreciate the drink and the moisture on the leaves will help the ladybugs to “stick” on the plants. If released in a dry garden, the ladybugs will most likely fly off in search of a drink instead of sticking around to eat.

3. In the warmer months, chill the ladybugs in the refrigerator before releasing them. This will not harm the ladybugs and they tend to crawl more in colder temperatures rather than fly away.

Another way to attract ladybugs to your garden is to place several ladybug habitation boxes around your garden. Fill the boxes with organic material such as peat or compost to encourage ladybugs to roost and lay eggs inside the box. In addition, the habitation box also provides protection for the ladybugs in the winter months.

To further promote ladybug populations, consider cutting back on spraying insecticides in your garden. Ladybugs are sensitive to most synthetic insecticides and if the majority of their food source is gone, they will not lay their eggs and therefore will not continue to populate.

Here are some interesting ladybug facts:

- There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide and 400 which live in North America.

- A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.

- A ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second when it flies.

- A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs.

- Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won’t eat them.

- The spots on a ladybug fade as the ladybug gets older.

- Ladybugs won’t fly if the temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

- The ladybug is the official state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee.

As you can see, the ladybug is one of the most effective and economically important insects to have in your garden. In some cultures, seeing ladybugs in gardens indicates a bountiful harvest, an indication of good weather or a good luck omen. Create an alluring environment for ladybugs and they are sure to provide charm and pest control in your garden for years to come.

Lesley Dietschy is a freelance writer and the creator/editor of The Home Decor Exchange and the Home & Garden Exchange. The Home Decor Exchange is a popular home and garden website featuring resources, articles, decorating pictures, free projects, and a shopping marketplace. The Home & Garden Exchange website is a link exchange program and directory dedicated to the home and garden industry, as well as offering free website content and promotional ideas. Please visit both websites for all of your home, garden, and website needs.

http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com

http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com

Garden arbors are set up as shaded places in home gardens or
public parks where one can relax and rest. These open frameworks
are typically made of latticework or rustic work, functioning
also as a trellis for climbing or creeping plants. Arbors can
also be constructed for decks or patios. Today’s garden arbors
were not the first attempt to enhance the beauty of gardens. In
the 400s B.C. and A.D. 400’s, elaborate courtyards were a
hallmark of many Roman homes. Landscape architecture was also
given a premium in Japanese gardens (A.D. 500’s) and Persian
gardens (A.D.200’s-600’s). Beauty was also a priority for civic
plazas and hillside estates for Italians in the 1400’s-1500’s.
City gardens and majestic palaces were the highlight of France
during the 1600’s and 1700’s, while country estates with a
natural look were the main theme followed by English designers
in the 1800’s.

1. Landscape Architecture

For a good number of these early country estates and gardens,
designers were known as landscape gardeners. An American -
Frederick Law Olmsted - was the first to use ‘landscape
architect’. He indicated this title when he approved design
plans for Manhattan’s Central Park in New York City with Calvert
Vaux as his partner in the 1850’s. Landsape architecture is not
limited to major projects. Some homeowners tap the services of
professionals to add beauty to their gardens. However, others
now feel confident in do-it-yourself projects as a
cost-effective alternative to make their gardens beautiful.

2. Use Quality Materials

Creating a small garden arbor is an easy task, with costs
becoming significantly less if the homeowner is patient enough
to shop around and compare prices, particularly for
pressure-treated lumber. Other items that may vary slightly
across discount stores in price terms are deck screws, scrap
lumber, crushed stone or gravel, washers, bolts and nuts. The
same principles apply to building larger arbors, although some
ideas and items would tend to increase in scale. As an example,
using two posts for a small arbor may mean using four posts for
a large one, as a bigger arbor would need greater support for
strength and stability, and also to enhance alignment.

3. Designing a Garden Arbor: Some Do-It-Yourself Fundamentals

- To stabilize the arbor, the homeowner should have the main
posts of the structure sunk into concrete poured into holes
below the garden’s ground level.

- The carpenter’s level is used to determine if the posts stand
at equal heights. The tool is also used to establish plumbness,
or if the posts are vertically ‘level.’

- Wooden crosspieces in varying measurements can be attached
perpendicular to the posts for further support.

- Since some rejects still make their way to lumber stores, one
should be patient enough to sort through many boards until a
good quality board is found.

- Buyers should remember that conventional measurements are not
exact: a 4 by 4 may actually measure 3.5 by 3.5, while 2 by 4
may measure 1.5 by 3.5.

- The same consideration for post height must also be given, as
part of the arbor posts will be underground. Galvanized post
anchors is one option homeowners have if they intends to make
use of the post’s full height - or have all posts above ground
level - for their garden.

4. Tools For Do-It-Yourself Projects

These will actually cost a lot more if one does not have the
necessary tools at home for building garden arbors.

- Circular saw or handsaw - Stepladder - Wheelbarrow - Hammer -
Wrench - Spade bit - Garden hose - Carpenter’s level - Shovel -
Drill - File - Wood chisel

5. Building Tips

- Arbor boards can already be pre-drilled and pre-cut as a
time-saving step.

- The wooden crosspieces can be designed at the ends. Patterns
can be drawn using a pencil and later cut using a jigsaw.