Home Interior Design and Decorating Tips

Decorate a Table for a Dinner Party

2009-02-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

This is a nice video on how to decorate a table for a dinner party. The suggestions are all cheap and easy. So, if you don't have a really nice table and need to know how to decorate yours so it looks nice this is a good video for you.

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Decorate in the Current Style

2009-02-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a video that talks about what is currently in style and gives a few ideas about how to decorate in that style.

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Decorate on a Budget – Buy Used, Budget, Buy Unfinished

2009-01-27T15:28:00.000-07:00

The previous post on this blog talked about decorating on a budget by recovering furniture, replacing lampshades, and repainting.

Make sure you are taking advantage of used furniture stores, thrift stores, dollar stores, and used shopping websites such as craigslist and ebay. These are places where you can find wonderful deals on home decorating items, new furniture or accent items. You might have a hard time finding something very specific, but if you look through these places with an open mind you can usually find some killer deals that you can make work with your décor in a great creative way.

If you are planning a large redesign that you think will cost quite a bit and be something you will have to really plan for, make sure you make a budget for the project. List everything you will need to consider, and take time to consider how much you can spend in each category. This way you can rest assured that you will not end up in debt over your redesign.

Unfinished wooden products are usually much cheaper than the finished versions.

Buying unfinished furniture is actually pretty great, because you get to choose any color of the rainbow to paint the furniture instead of being limited to what the normal colors generally are. It is more work of course, but in the end you’re getting a customized product for less money.

Check back soon for the next blog post about decorating on a budget.

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Decorate on a Budget – Reupholster, Repaint, Replace Light Shades

2009-01-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

The previous post on this blog talked about decorating on a budget by painting floors, hiding clutter, wallpapering, and using greenery inside.

Reupholstering furniture is a wonderful and extremely effective way to save money while refreshing your design look and furniture. Reupholstered furniture can last nearly as long as brand new furniture would have and all you have to invest is the money for new fabric and your time. The great thing about reupholstering is that once you get past the initial learning curve you can reupholster your next piece of furniture must more easily.

Dining room chairs are one of the easiest projects you can start with. If the wooden part of the chairs looks dinged up too consider sanding and restaining the wood before you start reupholstering. You could make slipcovers for your couches and easy chairs. If you are ambitious, consider making a few slipcovers for each furniture item, then you can switch them around seasonally or when you just need a change and wash them inbetween using them.

Replacing dingy light shades can make a big difference in the way a room looks. Buy a funky bright light shade for a different look without a big investment.

Repainting should almost be its own blog series, because it can have such a huge impact on how a home looks. Repainting is not overly expensive and it can really change your design.

Check back soon for the next blog post about decorating on a budget.

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Decorate on a Budget – Wallpaper, Paint Floors, Organize, Use Plants

2009-01-13T15:19:00.002-07:00

The previous post on this blog covered decorating on a budget using wallpaper, mirrors, or by covering up imperfections strategically.

Wallpaper a wall to jazz it up, or frame pieces of cool wallpaper to hang on the wall. Framing series of the same or similar pieces of wallpaper can look really cool too.

Painting your floors is a cheap way to improve they way they look for a lot cheaper than it would be to replace the flooring. Painting flooring will probably not last as long as replacing the flooring would, but it is a trick you can use to improve the look of your floors inexpensively.

Organizing rooms really well can go a long way towards making the rooms look better. Decorating and organizing can be done at the same time with stylish wicker baskets that pull out of colorful shelves.

There are even modern looking shelves with different sized cubbies where pull out fabric or wicker baskets could be stored and where some vases and other decorative art pieces could be displayed.

Make sure you bring some of your garden plants inside when winter hits. This way you can reuse the plants as interior design elements without having to spend any extra money. Plants really brighten up a home. Fake flowers and plants look nice too, if you don’t have a green thumb but you still like the idea of having greenery displayed.

Check back soon for the next blog post which will be about decorating on a budget by recovering furniture, replacing lampshades, and repainting.

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Decorate on a Budget – Use Mirrors, Cover Imperfections

2009-01-12T15:14:00.002-07:00

The previous post on this blog covered how to decorate on a budget using curtains, removing curtains, or by repainting cabinet doors.

Use mirrors to make a room seem brighter and larger.

If you had plenty of money, perhaps you would want to actually open up the room or put a window in, but mirrors can help if you can’t afford an expensive remodeling project. Framed mirrors can even look like windows. Place artistic items in front of mirrors to show them off. Mirrors can also be hung in patterns on the wall. If you love the idea of mirrors, you could even buy all sorts and sizes of mirrors at a used store or off of craigslist or ebay and then display them all on one wall pieced together about an inch apart mosaic style.

Cover up imperfections that you would otherwise have to pay to fix. This probably isn’t something you want to do permanently, but if you are struggling financially it is a way you could keep your home looking nice temporarily. If your floor has a stain you can put a rug over it or even rearrange your furniture to get by until you can afford to replace the flooring. If your wall has a dent or hole cover that spot with a tapestry or picture until you can fix the wall properly.

Check back soon for the next blog post which will be about decorating on a budget by painting floors, hiding clutter, wallpapering, and using greenery inside.

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Decorate on a Budget – Refinish Cabinets, Use or Remove Curtains

2009-01-09T11:18:00.002-07:00

Decorating is always more of a challenge if you are on a budget. On a budget you won’t have as many choices as when you have money to spend. However, if you are willing to be a little flexible in what you are looking for you can usually decorate for quite a lot cheaper. Here are some tips on how to decorate on a budget.

Instead of replacing cabinets reuse what you can out of the cabinets you have. If the doors are in decent shape but the paint is peeling or you are sick of the color, think about sanding them down and staining or painting them. If the doors are shot but the cabinet frames are good reuse just the frames and only buy new cabinet doors. The new doors most likely will not match the frames and boxes, but you can paint the frames and boxes either the same color, or a contrasting or complementary color to make sure they look exactly the same or different on purpose in a good way.

Remove curtains from windows that have nice views. Windows without curtains will have a cleaner more elegant look to them. Although, curtains can add more personality to a home and they can also help to add a seasonal feel. Gauzy curtains feel summery, while heavy curtains give a room a more cozy winter feel.

Check back soon for the next blog post which will be about decorating on a budget using wallpaper, mirrors, or by covering up imperfections strategically.

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Decorating with Birthday Cake

2009-01-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

If you or your child is having a birthday party a nice cake can really help add to the party theme. Many people buy grocery store cakes for birthday parties, but if you make your own cake and decorate it according to the party theme, people will take notice and appreciate it. It can be fun to make a unique cake for your child's birthday or even for your own birthday. As an added bonus the cake will make your home smell nice. Make sure you get a container for the cake that will look pretty and show off the cake. You can get really creative with a cake, because even if you don't have the right pan size for your vision you can always cut the cake after it cools and place it next to other cut pieces for a very different design. When you are done shaping the cake you'll be covering it with icing or fondant, which broadens the possibilities even more.

The most important thing is that you select a theme. Once you choose your theme get creative about how you will incorporate the cake into the theme. For example, if the theme is My Little Ponies, you could decorate a flat cake with ponies, or you could get creative and make the cake in the shape of a pony.

It is easy to do this as long as you have visual aids, so hop on the internet so you can find a drawing to work from. Another option is to find a pan in the right shape. You can even find kits to make cakes for kid’s parties.

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Get Started Decorating Cakes

2009-01-07T15:39:00.005-07:00

I think always having a pretty cake on display in your kitchen is a great way to create a decoration that smells and tastes great. I thought I'd go over some basic cake making tips.

When you are preparing your pan, try using a 2-inch wide paintbrush to paint on the shortening or butter. Then finish by dusting with flour.
Only fill your cake pans half way.
Let your cake cool completely and even let it sit in an airtight container for several hours or even overnight before you ice it.
If you're making a two layer cake cut the mounded portion of the cake off with a knife so that the next level of cake will fit on top better. Even if you're just making a single layer cake that you plan to decorate a flat top will probably look better.
Turn the cake over and brush the cake with a wide paintbrush to help remove the crumbs.
Use plenty of icing to ice the top of your cake. Try not to let the icing spatula or knife touch the top of your cake, because this will get crumbs in your icing.
Let the cake sit for 20 minutes after you have iced it and then smooth out the cake by using parchment paper. To do this, place the parchment paper on the cake and gently smooth out the icing.

Check back soon for more on cake making, these are just some basic tips. I plan to post several more blogs on hope to make wedding cakes, birthday cakes, and how to get creative and artsy with your cakes.

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Decorating for a New Year's Eve Party – Part Two

2008-12-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

There are plenty of banners available at party stores that you could hang near the entry way of your home or even outside the front door. You can make a banner too, if you are the artistic type. A metallic banner can match a more sophisticated theme. If you are having a party where there will be lots of kids, consider having them make the banner as well as the noise makers. All they will need to make a fun banner is a large piece of construction paper, stencils, and markers.

Centerpieces on the tables are a nice touch that can really make your decorating stand out. There is no need to buy one already put together, because there are plenty of ways you can put together a cheap centerpiece yourself that will look great. Floating candles shaped like flower blossoms in glass bowls can look great, just add some glass rocks to the bottom of the bowl in a color that matches your theme. You could also just use a simple bouquet of flowers as a centerpiece in colors that match your theme. Or, place several pillar candles on a pretty plate and fill the gaps in the plate with small clear Christmas ornaments with the hooks removed. The idea is that the clear ornaments will look like bubbles. You can vary this idea by using champagne bottles in place of the candles, or you can mix the two up.

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Decorating for a New Year's Eve Party – Part One

2008-12-30T14:03:00.002-07:00

Hosting a New Year's Eve party often includes decorating for the night. Decorating doesn't have to be a huge deal, there are several ways you can decorate easily and quickly without having to spend too much money.

First you should pick a theme to go with. Many New Year's Eve parties are adults only, in which case you may want to choose a different theme than if the party is going to be a neighborhood party including children. Fun hats and noisemakers are pretty much a must for either type of party, since kids and adults both get a kick out of these items.

However, especially if you are going to have a lot of kids at your party, you might not want to hand out the noise makers until a few minutes before midnight unless you don't mind all of the racket kids will make with them. Another option if there are going to be lots of children at your party is to recruit them to make the noisemakers as a craft. Have them fill coffee cans with uncooked rice or change. Then they can cover the coffee cans with construction paper with designs drawn on. Hats you should hand out right away. Masks can add a sophisticated air to your party.

Balloons are a cheap way to add some color to your decorating. You can always find balloons in colors that will match your theme. Silver balloons will look classier, colorful balloons will look good for a neighborhood party.

Check back tomorrow for part two of this blog.

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Last Minute Christmas Decorations – Part Two

2008-12-24T12:09:00.001-07:00

Greeting cards are something that you already have on hand that can easily be used for decorating. You can even use cards from past holiday seasons if you don’t have enough for decorating from this season. Display them on your mantle among sprigs of greenery. Use a hole punch in the corner of each card and string them along a wall.

Gifts that are already wrapped make great decorations. Spend a little extra time wrapping your gifts nicely, and you can use them for decorating also. Make sure to use bows and ribbon if you want to go the extra mile. Place some gifts under the tree as usual, but display others around the house in different places too.

Stack a couple of gifts on an end table, or place a few along your mantle. Place a stack of gifts near your entry way or place a few above your kitchen cabinets.

If you like the idea of decorating with gifts, but don’t have enough around, you can always wrap a few empty boxes. If you want to diversify the theme a little more, you can wrap ribbon around your throw pillows and place a bow in the center to make your pillows look like gifts.

Place a few candy canes in a simple clear glass cup or a small vase. Tie small red ribbons around the necks of the candy canes and display them on your mantle or end table.

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Last Minute Christmas Decorations – Part One

2008-12-23T12:02:00.003-07:00

There isn’t very much time to finish decorating for Christmas. If you are hosting a Christmas get together at your house, you may want to do some speedy and cheap decorating. Never fear, there are several things you could do very quickly.

For Christmas dinner if you don’t have any Christmas plates or settings, you can use plain white plates. Use a red or white tablecloth, or use red or white place mats. Then, place one round glass ornament on each plate. This looks classier if you use just one color for all of the ornaments, and it looks more fun and happy if you use several colors. You can even use a variety of ornament types for a more sentimental look. If you want to get more elaborate, you can use small ornaments along with the large ornaments and even add seasonal greenery or colored tinsel.

Next, place a glass or silver pedestal cake stand in the center of the table and fill it with ornaments that match the ornaments you have on the plates.

If you want a more fancy centerpiece for your kitchen table, try placing cream or white colored pillar candles and tapered candles in a ceramic or metal bowl. Fill the spaces between them in the bottom half of the bowl with newspaper. On top of the newspaper place shiny ornaments in the bowl until it is overflowing with them. Silver ornaments and beads look really nice. Then, right when your guests sit down to dinner you can light the candles. Just make sure to blow them out when you’re done, since this display of candles might not be totally steady.
Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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Decorate for the Holidays Inexpensively - Part Two

2008-12-16T15:09:00.001-07:00

Tea light candles are extremely cheap. You can find them at dollar stores easily most of the time. Use tea light candles in clean glass jars. The jars can even be recycled jars that your food items came in, such as applesauce jars or mayonnaise jars. Tie a red, silver, green, or sparkly ribbon around the neck of the jar. Group a few of these candles together on end tables or a mantle for an easy, pretty decoration.

Try looking at thrift stores or discount stores for teddy bears or other holiday animals. Put them through the wash, and most of them will look brand new. When they're dry, tie colorful ribbons around their necks. Next, collect various sizes of boxes from shoebox size down. Wrap them in colorful wrapping paper and tie pretty bows around them. Display these present boxes with the teddy bears for an adorable decorating scheme. Try gluing a box under a bear's arm, or have a bear sitting on a present.

Hang a few ornaments or a few strands of tinsel from a chandelier. You can add a few pieces of greenery too, tied on with ribbon.

Use acrylic paint and some seasonally shaped sponges that you can find in a craft store to decorate your windows. Colors like white, red, green, gold, or silver look very festive. This can be a fun project that kids might like to participate in too.

Christmas tree ornaments can be used in places other than just your tree. Try picking out several ornaments that are the same color and putting them in a small decorative bowl on your mantle or on an end table.

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Decorate for the Holidays Inexpensively - Part One

2008-12-15T13:59:00.004-07:00

Many people do not have a lot in their budget for holiday decorating this year. But, you would be surprised how many nice decorations you can create very inexpensively. You may not end up needing to buy any full priced decorations.

Before you buy any decorations or any materials for the following ideas, or spend any time making any of these decorations, take the time to plan out your decorating theme. This can save you time and money that you might spend experimenting, so it makes sense to plan. Some people like to decorate with a more classy looking theme, consisting of a lot of white, clear, silver and shimmery decorations. Some people may find this boring and opt to decorate using more vibrant colors in a toy land theme for example. Some people like to go with a more subtle cabin or ski lodge decoration scheme that will look warm and cozy.

Use what you can for free from your back yard. Trim small branches from pine trees and gather pine cones and holly. These can all be used to make a centerpiece, or to decorate a mantle. Pine cones can be spray painted with gold, silver, or sparkley paint.
Pine tree branches can be used as an accent to almost any decoration, and they smell nice too, so be liberal when you are gathering them. If you have bird houses in your back yard that are going to waste during the cold months, bring them inside. Wash them off, and tie ribbons around them. Add a couple small pine branches, and you have a beautiful hanging decoration.

Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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Quickly Ready your Home for Guests

2008-12-12T12:02:00.004-07:00

Getting your home ready for guests can turn into a big ordeal. Here are a few bare essentials you can take care of quickly that will make your home look plenty ready for guests during the holidays.

First, go outside and look at what your guests will see as they walk to your front door. If there are any ice patches to spread salt on or snow to be shoveled take care of that first. Maybe the front house light is burned out and in need of replacement. Set a couple of planters out front with Christmas plants in them such as poinsettias. Big red bows around your porch railing can look very festive and are quick and easy to tie.

Now, open the front door and check out the view. Often we have our favorite jackets, snow hats, and mittens hung over railings or on the counter tops. Gather these things up and put them away for now. You can easily get them all out again as soon as your company is gone.

Clear out a few coats from the coat closet so guests can hang their coats in it. Make room on the floor of your coat closet for guests to keep their shoes. This is especially handy if you have a dog who eats guests' shoes like I do.

Make sure there are plenty of chairs available for guests to sit in. Make sure your couches don't have excessive pillows decorating them that don't leave enough room for sitting.

Don't sweat the details on cleaning. Just wipe down visible surfaces and inside sinks. Make sure there is toilet paper, and clean the toilet if it looks dirty. Fluff the guest pillows and vacuum and sweep if you can see the floors are dirty.

Light candles and a fire if you have a fireplace as a final touch.

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Clothes Pin Ornaments

2008-12-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Old fashioned wooden clothes pins can make quite cute Santa ornaments. Make sure to get the kind pictured below, the kind with the hinges might work, but not quite as well. You’ll need red and white felt, red pipe cleaners, red, black, yellow, and peach paint, acrylic is probably the cheapest and easiest, and glue.

The clothes pins have what looks like legs already, and small torsos, so without even getting started you can imagine how the Santa will look. First glue a one to two inch piece of clothes hanger on each side of the clothes pin. If you have a drill, you can simply drill through the clothes pin and string one longer piece of pipe cleaner through for his arms.

Next, paint everything but the top part, which will be the head, red. After the paint has dried use black paint to paint the bottom sections of his legs black, like boots. Use the black paint to draw a line where his coat would be covering his pants. Draw a black belt around his waist, and draw on two small dots for his eyes. Use the yellow paint to draw a square buckle on his belt. Use the peach to make his cheeks look rosy.

Cut a small rectangle of red felt and roll it into a cone to be used as the Santa hat, then glue it in place. Glue on a bit of white felt for his beard, and use a little more white felt for trim on santa’s hat.

Using a bit of red thread and a needle, sew a loop onto the Santa hat. This will be your ornament hanger.

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Make your own picture frame ornament

2008-12-08T11:20:00.001-07:00

There are many types of Christmas tree ornaments that you can make fairly easily and you won’t have to spend a lot of money on materials. These can be fun if you are the crafty type, and they are especially fun for kids to make. Some are as simple as baking cookies and hanging them from ribbons, but others need a bit more explanation.

Use a juice can lid to make a pretty picture frame ornament. Cut a round picture out to use in your ornament. You can choose a picture of a family member or a picture of something that makes you feel the holiday cheer, like an angel, santa, or reindeer. Glue the picture to the top of the lid. Now, you’ll need a piece of decorative cording to glue around the edge of your picture. Glue a piece of ribbon that is six to ten inches long or so to the back of the can. Glue the ribbon so it has a few inches on each side of the place where you glued it. Tie the ends together in a bow, this is how you’ll hang the ornament. Next, glue a piece of lace around the edge of the lid on the back. Your ornament should be ready to hang as soon as the glue dries.

You can be a little creative with these instructions if you prefer, instead of using cording around the picture, maybe you’d rather use a thin ribbon. Or, Use a wide sheer ribbon around the ornament instead of lace. Have fun!

Check back soon for directions on how to make a poinsettia ornament.

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Make your own poinsettia ornament

2008-12-05T11:30:00.002-07:00

A lovely poinsettia ornament is easy to make, and what captures the holiday spirit better than a poinsettia?

You’ll need to cut a circle out of cardboard to start with. Your circle can be as big as you want the ornament to be, usually 3-4 inches across. Use the mouth of a large cup to trace around the cardboard for your cutout. Now, you’ll need a small amount of red, green and white felt. Cut two pieces of green felt out that are slightly bigger than your piece of cardboard. You’ll want to make sure that about a fourth of an inch of green felt is overhanging the cardboard cutout on all sides. Glue one circle of green felt to each side of the cardboard. Now, using a needle and some thick red thread or thin red string, sew the sides of the felt together using stitches that are about an eighth of an inch apart. When you’re done, use the thick red thread to sew a large loop of thread through for your ornament hanger, tie it together. Next, you will need to cut out diamond shapes from the red felt. Each diamond shape should be a little less wide than half of your ornament so far. Arrange the diamonds like petals of the poinsettia, gluing each one on. You’ll want them layered to look more real. The top layer looks best if it is just four diamonds. Where the diamonds come together, glue three small circles of white felt, each only about 3/8 of an inch in diameter.

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Christmas Decoration Crafts - Part Four

2008-12-04T15:27:00.003-07:00

Put the mixture you created (see previous blog) into a paper bag along with the orange and roll the orange around inside until it is totally coated in the spices. Leave the orange in the bag in a cool dry place for about a month. Each day roll the orange in the spices again.

The orange may finish curing in as few as three weeks if you live in a very dry climate, and if you live somewhere more humid it may take up to six months. You’ll know your pomander is done when you tap it and hear a hollow sound and the orange feels light in weight. When the pomander reaches this point you’ll want to shake off any extra spices before displaying it in your home.

I find that because you need to remember to roll the orange in the mixture at least every few days for a month or more, it makes sense to make more than one of these at a time, especially since they last for years. You could even make a whole batch and give them away as holiday gifts.

Pomanders look good displayed in pairs in a decorative bowl or on a decorative plate on a bed of cloves or potpourri. If you feel like getting creative, insert the cloves into your pomander in a pattern or add ribbon to your finished product.

If your pomander starts to lose its scent you can simply mix up a batch of spice mixture and re roll the orange in the mixture.

Check back soon for the next part of this blog.

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Christmas Decoration Crafts - Part Three

2008-12-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Pomanders have long been used to scent homes pleasantly. Carry on this tradition by creating a few of your own. Another plus is that they can be hung with ribbon or a few can be displayed in a bowl for a pleasant holiday decorations. Another great thing about pomanders is that when made correctly, they can last for years. Pomanders are usually made using a citrus fruit, most commonly oranges, although sometimes lemons or apples. I think oranges look the best and stand up to the test of time the best.

You’ll need to poke holes in the orange where you will be pushing the cloves into the rind. A toothpick or knitting needle can be used to do this. You may want to use a thimble to do this to protect your pushing finger. You can also cover your fingers with masking tape to protect them. How far apart you space the cloves is up to you, but don’t space them further than ¼ inch apart. The closer together you place the cloves the more scented the final product will be. But, you do want to leave a little space between each clove because as your orange shrinks the cloves will be pulled closer together. Next, fill each hole with a clove. When you’ve got the whole orange studded with cloves, you’re ready to roll your pomander in a special mixture to preserve it and make it more scented.

This mixture you’ll roll your pomander in consists of several drops of sandlewood and one tablespoon of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Sandlewood is a natural preservative, so make sure not to leave it out of your mixture.

Check back soon for the next part of this blog.

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Christmas Decoration Crafts - Part Two

2008-12-02T14:54:00.001-07:00

Wreaths are commonly used for Christmas decorations. They are usually quick to make, and there is a large variety of types to choose from, many more than I’ll list here.

I think the cutest one is a wreath made with dog bones. You can hang it over your dog’s bed inside and when the season is over, you can give most of it to your dog to eat. Start with a Styrofoam or cardboard shape. Secure a piece of ribbon to it, and then wind it around the circle on a slight diagonal, like stripes on a candy cane. Make sure the ribbon totally covers the cardboard or Styrofoam. Next, you’ll tie the dog bones onto the wreath using more ribbon. Get creative with the types of dog bones you use if you want a more colorful end product. Rubber dog bones come in bright colors, it looks cute to use red and green rubber dog bones. If you want to add more to this wreath tie evergreen sprigs around it also.

This next wreath is very elegant and pretty, it looks almost like light snow gathered into a wreath. You’ll need to form a wire clothes hanger into a circle using some wire cutters and needle nose pliers. Next, you’ll need to tie plastic sandwich bags around the wire using a simple knot. Tie them around until you’ve filled the circle. Add a shimmery bow around the finished wreath.

Check back soon for the next part of this blog.

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Christmas Decoration Crafts - Part One

2008-12-01T14:23:00.004-07:00

Now that Thanksgiving has passed it is time to take down your fall decorations and start putting up your Christmas decorations. I’m going to focus on decorations that you can make yourself for a cheap price.

One of the easiest and cheapest decorations is painting bricks to use as bookends or to display on tables throughout the home. This is a fun decoration for kids to do too. All you need are a few bricks, paint, and paintbrushes. Look online for inspiration and ideas of what to paint. Paint a snowman, Santa Clause, or a reindeer on the front of your brick.

Wrap your design around the sides of the brick too if they will be seen where you choose to display them. If you are not very good at painting, you could just paint alternating red and white stripes on a brick, or green with red polka dots, any pattern really. If you want to get more detailed, use some felt or other material to glue onto the brick as clothing for whatever character you painted. It is a good idea to glue felt on the bottom of the bricks so they don’t scratch up the furniture you choose to place them on. These cute bricks can be displayed anywhere by themselves, or in groups. They make wonderful door stops, table decorations, or mantle decorations.

Check back soon for the next part of this blog.

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Easy Home Projects - Part Three

2008-11-21T11:08:00.003-07:00

Painting your front door makes a big difference in the first impression your home gives. Paint your door a color that you love like orange or red. Replace your house numbers with new modern house numbers. While you’re at it, repaint your mailbox post. You could also repaint your porch railing to make over the entry way to your home.

Even if you don’t have a room in your entry way, you can create an entry way easily. All you need to do is place a bench near the front door with coat hooks above it. Put baskets underneath that pull out for quick storage of shoes and other items such as library books. Having a bench in the entry way is very convenient as well as looking good, most people find them to be quite useful.

If you want to give a room a comfortable country style make over try putting wainscoting around the room topped with chair rail. Paint it a color that is a couple of shades darker or lighter than the wall color or go bold and paint it a contrasting color.

Laminate flooring that looks like hardwood is a breeze to install. You could do a small room in one weekend quite easily. There are also stick down bathroom floor tiles that look like tile floor. If your bathroom floor is linoleum and outdated, this could really help the look.

Check back soon for the next portion of this blog.

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Easy Home Projects - Part Two

2008-11-20T11:05:00.003-07:00

Paint or wallpaper one wall in your bedroom a brighter color than the others. This accent wall will make your bedroom look more interesting. Wallpapers are available in practically any texture and color you can imagine, so have fun shopping around.

If you have an old dresser you’re using somewhere in your house that isn’t very attractive consider giving it a makeover. Sand it down and paint it a bright color or stain. Add polyurethane so the color will last. Add new drawer pulls that are up to date. You may even want to makeover other pieces of furniture in the same room to match.

If you dining room chairs have fabric seats you will probably need to reupholster them at some point, because the seat fabric always seems to get dingy far before the table starts to look dingy too. Choose a stylish fabric and cut it an extra two inches wide all the way around the shape of the seat. Wrap the fabric around the seat and staple it in place.

Home offices always seem to be places where clutter loves to live. Take the time to organize all of the clutter. Investing in a few matching boxes and files will help a lot. Label everything and pay attention the layout so it will be easy to put things where they belong before clutter gets the better of the room again.

Check back soon for the next portion of this blog.

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Easy Home Projects - Part One

2008-11-19T11:00:00.002-07:00

Large home projects are daunting tasks, and often they don’t get done. But, there are plenty of small home projects that you can easily get done in a weekend, some even in a couple of hours, that can make your home look cuter. Another good thing about these small projects is that they are mostly fairly inexpensive and can be done on a budget.

Rearrange your living room furniture. Simply rearranging a room is free of course, and it can make the room feel fresh and new. Try planning out how you want to arrange the room on paper to save the time and effort of trial and error when moving things around. Think about getting rid of any extra tables or junk you don’t need, or bring in a table or accent piece from another room if you actually don’t have enough in your living room. Make sure you put the coffee table close enough to the couch to easily set drinks on it.

Adding a small shelf at eye level to a wall that doesn’t have enough pizzazz can really give a room more personality. You can use the shelf to display small framed pictures and art, candles, or some other item. You can layer them a little bit for a more interesting look, or space them a few inches apart for a modern sleek look.

Check back soon for the next portion of this blog.

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Merge Style and Function - Part Two

2008-11-18T10:00:00.002-07:00

If you want to display your kids’ artwork, but you don’t like how it looks cluttered on the refrigerator, try a more stylish alternative. You can hang a linen covered bulletin board covered with a cute pattern or just a solid color that matches the room it is in. Hand the artwork on this with small pins. You can also hang colored string across the ceiling in rows and attach clips to it to display art work all along the ceiling.

Apply the same rules to picking out a kitchen table as discussed above for coffee table selection. Also, kitchen tables that are round can be a big plus if you have a family because it will help encourage conversation. Also, the less corners the better when you have kids in the house.

There are even paint types available today that can help you reach your design goals. Use high quality latex paint and your walls will wipe clean easily. Use magnetic primer under your paint and you can display art directly on the walls. Try a chalkboard paint in a kid’s room or a play room if they like drawing with chalk.

Carpet is probably not the best choice if you have a family. A spill can turn into a stressful cleanup that ends up staining. Hardwood flooring or even a laminate that looks like hardwood, can stand up to messes and look great at the same time.

Get a big cupboard for your living room or playroom and fill it with labeled baskets. These baskets can be used to store toys and can be easily organized. If you get cute wicker baskets you could even store them on shelving and the room would still look nice. Benches are good in playrooms or kids’ rooms too, because you can put baskets underneath for extra storage.

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Merge Style and Function - Part One

2008-11-17T09:54:00.002-07:00

There are several things you can do to help your home look stylish when you have kids with products that will stand the test of abuse. Some of these tips can help organize and reduce clutter but they also look good.

Have a bench in your entryway. This will be where all shoes get removed. You can place a couple of baskets underneath the bench in which shoes can be stored. You can get a cute rug to go under the bench that will gather the dirt and help contain it.

Keep a basket at the landing of your stairs. Use it to hold things that you know you’ll need to take upstairs or downstairs. This way you can keep surfaces in your home clutter free without having to run up and down the stairs to put away each item individually.

Take care when you pick out your coffee table. Coffee tables tend to get dinged up quickly, so you should make sure you choose a table that is durable. If you are going to go with wood, choose a hard wood like oak and choose a table that has been polyurethaned. Steer clear of glass coffee tables, not only could they be broken during roughhousing, but they show finger prints much more easily than wood does.

Leather is a good choice for upholstery because you can wipe it clean. Leather tends to look better as it gets older too, which you can’t say about other upholstery materials. Leather is quite durable and should be able to hold up well if you have kids and pets.

Check back soon for the next portion of this blog.

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Decorate with Ornaments

2008-11-14T10:15:00.005-07:00

Christmas tree ornaments can be used creatively in a variety of ways for decorating, and the best part is the low cost.

Buy two medium or large clear ornaments and remove the metal part on top that attaches to a hook. Fill the ornaments at least half way with spices to use in hot chocolate or egg nog. One could be filled with ground nutmeg, and the other could be filled with ground cinnamon for example. Other options would be vanilla or chocolate powder, whatever you’d like really. Now, cover the openings with squares of cheesecloth. Secure the cheesecloth around the opening with silver or gold string.

Large clear ornaments can also be used to fill with bright candy, peppercorns, popcorn kernels or any other bright colored small food item. Tie bits of ribbon to the loops meant to use hooks in for hanging.

Use small sized festively colored ornaments for decorating the fridge. Tie two together using red ribbon, and hang them over a metal fridge clip that is clipped to a holiday photo or card.

Small ornaments also look cute used as decorations on cupcakes, one small ornament per cupcake.

You can make a cute centerpiece for a table using ornaments stuck on wooden skewers displayed in a vase. Use pieces of your Christmas tree in between ornaments.

Small ornaments can be tied in pairs around napkins with cute ribbon to create unique place settings for parties. Write the guests name who is to sit in each place on small pieces of paper and slip the pieces into clear ornaments, one for each pair in a setting.

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Inexpensive Do It Yourself Decorating Idea

2008-11-12T12:31:00.003-07:00

Since most of us are trying to save money right now, I thought I would post a few do it yourself home decorating projects. These are all inexpensive projects that you can save money doing yourself. Do it yourself projects can end up being a lot of fun too, and the results will be creations you made, so you’ll feel more sentimental about them than if you had simply purchased the work from a store.

Artwork to adorn your walls with can be quite expensive. Not only are even prints expensive to buy, but they’re even more expensive to frame. Fortunately, there are some creative do it yourself alternatives.

Framing a piece of fabric can look nice. Just use a matting board for a border in a contrasting color. You can make this into a series if you prefer, framing matching fabrics or maybe fabrics that match in texture but differ in color.

Framing dried plants and flowers can look very pretty. Use a colorful mat board to hot glue them to. Another option is to make a colored photocopy of an arrangement of leaves and flowers and frame that.

Take a trip to the thrift store or to a used book store. Find books with pictures you like inside and use them to frame. You can get more creative and make a collage of several if you like. Try adding some text too and spraying over it in a clear coat before framing.

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All About Candles – Part Five

2008-11-10T15:13:00.001-07:00

Certain candle scents are often used in particular rooms. For example for kitchen use people favor vanilla based smells which would include plain vanilla, but also scents such as cookie dough or birthday cake, two of my personal favorites. Other baking scented scents are popular in the kitchen too, such as cinnamon, mocha, gingerbread, hazelnut, brown sugar, apple pie, pumpkin, and coffee. People tend to use floral or fruity scented candles in bathrooms such as lilac, lavender, rose, jasmine, gardenia, or citrus and apple cents.

Smells are thought to have a powerful influence over our moods. Aromatherapy is the use of scent for psychological and physical health. You may want to try to burn candles that will have a certain affect on you. The smell of clove is said to make people feel courageous. Orange is a smell that encourages optimism. Eucalyptus is said to encourage mental focus. Happiness and harmony are supposed to be encouraged by lemon, orange, rose, sandalwood, ylang ylang, honeysuckle, coconut, jasmine, vanilla, patchouli, and lavender. If you’re often tired try burning jasmine, lemon, patchouli, peppermint, sandalwood, pine, or clove candles.

Candles can be a great way to accessorize, but they aren’t for everyone. People with small kids or pets might consider whether the candles will get knocked over and become a fire risk. Candles shouldn’t ever be left burning when you aren’t at home, and candles also shouldn’t be burned near anything that could catch fire.

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All About Candles – Part Four

2008-11-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Tea light candles are quite small. These are cylinder shaped and are only about one inch tall and one and a half inches in diameter. These candles usually come already poured into a metal holder. There are many ornamental type lamps that use this type of candle.
This type of candle is also used in candle diffusers, which are used to infuse oil scents into the air. They have a space for a tealight above which is a small bowl that scented oil is poured into.

The types of candles you choose and the way you display them will affect the style that they give your home. If you group candles together you’ll create a more dramatic feeling. Two taper candles in candlesticks on the dinner table will provide a classic romantic style. Colored votive candles in glass containers lined up on your mantle will offer a cozy feeling. You can achieve an Asian style by grouping a few pillar candles of varying heights and neutral colors together on a pillar plate and filling the plate around the candles with black or neutral colored stones.

There are a few things you can do to ensure that your candles last as long as possible. You should store candles in a cool, dark and dry place. Candles stored in bright light will fade over time. Thin candles should be stored laying flat, otherwise they may warp. Running hot water over a candle is an easy way to remove candle drippings from their sides.

This blog is to be continued. Check back soon for the next section!

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All About Candles – Part Three

2008-11-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

Pillar candles are usually about three inches in diameter and are often perfect cylinders, but they can also be square, hexagonal or another odd shape as well and still be called pillar candles. These candles stand on their own just fine, but you wouldn’t want to burn them without a candle holder because was will drip down the sides of these candles as they burn and onto whatever they are sitting on. It is popular to put three pillar candles of different sizes together on a decorative holder shaped like a plate or shallow bowl. Then you can fill the bowl with rocks or other decorative materials. This can make a nice centerpiece for a kitchen table or a coffee table if you have extra space on your coffee table.

There are a lot of candles that come in a jar or other type of container, often glass but sometimes ceramic, metal, or some other type of material. These candles usually come with lids, which can be nice if you store your candles so they don’t get covered in dust. These are my favorite types of candles for actually burning, this is because the container keeps the wax contained so it eliminates mess. These types of candles are probably the most popular type of candle and they come in pretty much every color, shape and size that you can think of.
This blog is to be continued. Check back soon for the next section!

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All About Candles – Part Two

2008-11-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Taper candles are tall thin candles, usually six to eighteen inches tall. These candles are meant to be held in a candle holder. Taper candle holders can be found in a great variety of colors and styles. You can get double or triple candle holders that fasten to the wall, or you can get stands to hold these candles. You can also get simple single candle holders for them that are very elegant.

Taper candles can be a great way to decorate, because you can choose some really cool candle holders for them. However, actually burning them may prove to be messy depending on the type of candle holder you select. If you have a holder that hangs on the wall over carpet and the candle wax drips it could ruin your carpet. Also if the candle holder does not hold the candle completely securely a small bump could cause the candle to fall and cause a fire hazard. I find that these candles are great for decorating, but not the best type for actually burning.

Votive candles are small cylinder shaped candles, typically about and a half inches in diameter and two or two and a half inches tall. These are made to be burned in a cup. These are the size candles that are often used in religious ceremonies. These are nice because they are quite cheap and the cups to burn them in can be reused.

This blog is to be continued. Check back soon for the next section!

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All About Candles – Part One

2008-11-04T15:06:00.003-07:00

Now that Halloween is over you may be thinking about how you’re going to decorate your home where your Halloween decorations were. Candles are an easy and inexpensive way to decorate. Candles are great for the colder season because they lend a nice glow and warmth to a room, as well as an appealing scent. Candles also add style and charm to a home. Candles are also extremely easy to get in a large variety of colors and shapes to match any décor. There are many types of candles available, and I thought I’d go over the types and what to look for and avoid in candles.

Gel candles can be very unique and pretty. They are made out of a soft gelled mineral oil substance. Decorative wax items can be put into these candles before they harden, which leaves a lot of room for creative design. For example, wax strawberries might fill the glass container before the clear candle substance is poured in, resulting in a candle that looks like strawberry preserves. I think these candles can look really cool, and they are especially nice if you really want to be obvious about seasonal decorating, since they come in many seasonal designs, for example, hearts for valentines day.

Specialty candles are those that are actually sculpted to look like a three dimensional object. These are normally not burned, but used purely for decoration.

This blog is to be continued. Check back soon for the next section!

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Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part Four

2008-10-30T14:43:00.000-06:00

Hard durable flooring is ideal for pet owners. Sealed stone, hardwood, or vinyl flooring will hold up well. If you do choose to have carpeting, get the cut pile variety. Loop pile carpet can be snagged and unraveled by a rowdy pet. An alternative to carpeting is buying several stylish area rugs. These can be cleaned easily, unlike carpet, where the carpet padding can never be fully cleaned if an animal has an accident on the carpet. Just don’t buy rugs that are too expensive, if you do you’ll be stressed out about them getting dirty. Carpet tiles of the sort often used in commercial spaces are another way to go if you want to have carpet. This way, if one square gets dirty, you can pull it up and replace it.

Brushing your pets often can really lessen the amount of hair that ends up in your home. I bought a brush called the furminator that works great on my dogs, I get a lot more hair off of them than I do with a regular brush.

Giving your dog plenty of treats is another way to help keep your furniture looking nice. If they have appealing things to chew on, they’re less likely to chew on your stuff. I go to thrift stores and stock up on small stuffed toys for my dog a couple times a year, much cheaper than buying very similar stuffed toys at a pet store.

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Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part Three

2008-10-29T14:41:00.001-06:00

If you’re a big sucker like me, and you like your animals to live in the lap of luxury, consider getting a fashionable piece of furniture just for your pet. If you can get your pet to use it instead of the human furniture, you’ll have a lot less couch cleaning to do. Leather bean bag chairs are a good option that I’ve seen dogs fall in love with. This same idea goes for cats too, if you buy a piece of cat furniture with a little cubby in it or a platform up high where they can lounge they won’t sleep on your furniture as much. I made my cat a little hideaway under an end table and he sleeps there faithfully every day. If you do allow your pets on your furniture, it will probably be worth it to you to buy a small hand held vacuum. You can store it in a convenient place, such as under an end table next to the couch and even keep it plugged in. This way, it’s easy to get out and vacuum your couches often. Another option is to buy slipcovers for your couches that you can wash frequently. Slipcovers are actually in fashion right now, and they come in quite a variety of styles and fabric types.

These days there are plenty of pet accessories to choose from that will match your home. There are stainless steel food and water dishes or ceramic dishes to choose from.

Check back soon for part four of this blog.

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Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part Two

2008-10-28T14:39:00.000-06:00

Pick your color scheme carefully if you have pets or anticipate having them soon. Stay away from white carpeting, curtains, or furniture, they won’t be white for long if you own pets. Black fabric and upholstery shows light animal fur really well, and it can be hard to keep it all cleaned off, so try not to use very much black in your decorating. Bold or bright colors also show fur easily. The best colors for us animal lovers are soft neutrals, any color within the range from light tan to chocolate brown will stay looking nice with pets fairly well.

Don’t use flat finish paint if you have pets. When they rub against the walls (or run into the walls as my dogs sometimes do) it will be harder to clean flat finish painted walls. It is best to avoid white walls if you can. This will force you to think about your style a little bit more, and your home will probably end up looking better if you paint them colors other than white.

Your tables and end tables will need to be sturdy. Where you have animals you’ll have play and they’ll inevitably run into your furniture. Also, keeping a lot of knick knacks on your tables probably won’t work well if you are going to own pets, clutter free is best, that way there is less to be knocked over.

Ideally, you’ll have a pantry in the kitchen where you can store your pet’s food. This way, you can keep it hidden instead of having to either display it or go out into your garage each time you feed your pets.

Check back soon for part three of this blog.

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Decorate Beautifully AND Have Pets – Part One

2008-10-27T14:37:00.001-06:00

I’m an animal lover and live with two dogs and two cats, but that doesn’t mean my house has to look worse for the wear. Sticking to a few rules when decorating your home can allow you to have a home that looks good and pets simultaneously. In fact, a home that is decorated to be durable and stylish may reduce your stress levels when guests or kids are over, you won’t have to worry about messes as much.

Stay away from decorating in fabric types that attract hair. If a fabric has any tendency to have static, it will attract animal hair like crazy. Velvet is another fabric to steer clear of, you will have a hard time keeping velvet hair free. Certain fabric types like microfiber are easy to keep fur off of. Ideally, you would choose fabrics that are close to the color of your pet’s hair to minimize visible fur on the fabric. There is a new fabric type called crypton, designed to resist stains and smells. It comes in many colors and styles and you can check it out at www.cryptonfabric.com. Leather is a good fabric choice for pet owners too. It is easy to clean and very durable. Pleather will work well too. Ultrasuede feels like real suede and is very good for pet owners too.

Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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Pumpkin Carving – Part Four

2008-10-24T13:59:00.001-06:00

There are special pumpkin carving kits available at many stores. These kits are a lot easier to use for carving than knives that you happen to have around the kitchen, and a decent kit can usually be found for a good price. Kits usually include tiny serrated blades in several different sizes that make cutting intricate patterns easy. If you intend to really get into carving the details, having a drill on hand can make your task easier.

Candles look the most authentic inside carved pumpkins that are displayed, but the heat from the candles often causes pumpkins to shrivel and age prematurely. To prevent this, consider buying some lights meant to go inside of pumpkins. You can get lights that have tiny batteries in them so you don’t have to worry about finding an outlet. You can also get lights that flicker to look like a candle flame. These don’t usually cost more than a dollar per light, and they’re easier than candles too since you can leave them on instead of having to remember to light and blow out the candle each night.

There are a few unique things you can do with your pumpkin if you want it to stand out. You can put wax paper inside the pumpkin covering the design, this will create an opaque look when the pumpkin is lit. Tin foil inside the pumpkin across from the pattern makes the light emitted from the pumpkin look brighter.

Check back soon for part four of this blog.

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Pumpkin Carving – Part Three

2008-10-23T13:55:00.000-06:00

Drilling holes where you will need to start each cut will make carving easier. This way, the hard work is done, and you have a nice starting point for each cut. Make sure you make the most of your carving tools by sawing with them, this is how they are meant to be used. Pumpkin carving is time consuming; expect to spend awhile on this project if you want it to look good when you are done. Pay close attention to your pattern as you cut, you don’t want to end up losing track of the final goal and accidentally sawing off a vital connector area.

When the hard work of carving the pumpkin is done, you might want to spend a few minutes working to make it last as long as possible. Place the pumpkin in a tub full of cold water, let the pumpkin fill with water and sink. Let it soak for at least a couple of hours. Add a little bleach to the tub of water to help prevent molding. This process sounds strange, but it works to firm up the pumpkin. When you remove the pumpkin from the water, let it dry off and then rub Vaseline along any cut edges. This traps the water in the pumpkin, which is what you want, because when water escapes this is what causes pumpkins to shrivel.

Check back soon for part four of this blog.

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Pumpkin Carving – Part Two

2008-10-22T13:53:00.000-06:00

Projection kits have gotten popular for pumpkins lately. To project the pattern from the pumpkin onto a wall you’ll want to carve a small pattern into the pumpkin. You also need to carve it backwards if there is any text involved, so it will project the correct direction when you are done.

Pumpkin carving can be as intricate of a process as you would like it to be depending on how complicated the pattern you select is. Many people carve a basic pattern, which will yield black where no pumpkin is carved away, and bright yellow where the carving has been done and the candle shows through. There are two other shades that can be achieved with careful carving though. The first is light orange, which will show through if you carve away all of the skin off of the front of the pumpkin and some of the meat, the more you carve, the lighter the orange will look. Dark orange will show through if you remove the pumpkin meat from the inside, leaving the skin alone on the front side.

Once you pick out a pattern that you like, you will need to transfer it to the pumpkin. First, tape or pin the pattern to the pumpkin. You can push a thumb tack through the paper along the patterns lines, you’ll need a lot of holes to see the pattern clearly. This is a lot of work, but it will be worth it when you are done and you don’t have to guess where to carve any of your lines.

Check back soon for part three of this blog.

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Pumpkin Carving – Part One

2008-10-21T13:51:00.003-06:00

If you haven’t carved a pumpkin yet for Halloween never fear, you still have plenty of time. Even if you don’t have kids, carving a pumpkin can be a lot of fun. There is an endless supply of pattern ideas available for free on the Internet, or get creative and create your own pumpkin design.

Choosing the perfect pumpkin is very important. There are lots of shapes available, you might want a tall oval shaped pumpkin if you envision carving the long faced Frankenstein, or you might want a short wide pumpkin if you want to carve a bat with wings outstretched. There is no perfect shape for all patterns, but you can find perfect shapes if you pick out your pattern first. A pumpkin with a sturdy stem is a sign of a health pumpkin and it will also make lifting the lid off of the carved pumpkin to insert candles a lot easier.

It may seem easy to prep the pumpkin for carving, but there are a few key things to do correctly during this process. Most importantly, when carving off the lid, make sure you carve at an angle in a cone shape. If you carve straight down your lid will just fall into your pumpkin, so this is crucial. The rest of the preparation is pretty simple, just remove the seeds and pulp and you’re ready to go.

Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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Decorate Your Home for a Halloween Party - Part Two

2008-10-20T15:07:00.000-06:00

Fake spider webs are extremely cheap. You can use cotton batting if you prefer, artfully draped around your house. Make sure to buy a few fake spiders and bugs to add to your display.

Cut out a shape like a bat or a skull in black construction paper. Tape it onto a flashlight and shine the light towards a noticeable wall. This will cast a shadow in the shape of your cutout that will be a unique decoration.

Scary sound effects are easy to provide, as they are available on CD at many stores. If you place them in an entry way you might be able to surprise your guests.

Switch out some of your regular light bulbs with orange, yellow, or black bulbs for a dimmer spookier look.

A coffin can be built out of a wood frame and used for a variety of purposes. You could put a dummy inside with an arm hanging out. You could put cold drinks in coolers inside. Use your imagination here.

Scarecrows are a common fall decoration for your yard that will look good for a Halloween party.
Grave stones are definitely creepy inscribed with RIP. You can buy them, or you can cut out grey tombstones from construction paper and tape them to a wall so it looks like a silhouette of a grave yard.

Dry ice can be purchased fairly inexpensively and added to punch for a foggy atmosphere. Fog machines will do the same thing, but they’re a little more expensive.

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Decorate Your Home for a Halloween Party – Part One

2008-10-17T15:04:00.001-06:00

If you are having a Halloween party this year make sure to decorate your home to get the guests into the spirit. There are plenty of decoration ideas, choose one or all of them for your party. Most of the materials required for these ideas can be acquired from a discount or party store.

Having a few jack o’ lanterns displayed on your front porch or around the house are vital. Carving pumpkins can be a lot of fun for you and especially for kids. There are hundreds of printable stencils available on the internet for free. If you aren’t into carving you can always paint a design on your pumpkin instead.

Candles displayed inside of the jack o’ lanterns will give the faces or designs the appropriate eerie Halloween glow. You can get dark candles and scary looking candle holders to display randomly around your house too.

Crepe paper can add a little fun to your home in Halloween colors. It is cheap and easy to decorate with. Use it as a border around the table where you are planning to have your Halloween treats displayed.

Fake blood is a creepy touch that can be easily added. You can even make your own fake blood using corn syrup, food coloring, and a touch of milk to make the blood look darker and thicker. It can be very messy of course and will stain, so use with caution. Fake blood might best be used outdoors where you won’t have to worry about it getting on your carpet and furniture.

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Dress your Home for Fall – Part Four

2008-10-16T13:17:00.001-06:00

Decorating your front stairs for fall can look nice. Just make sure to leave enough walking space. Use potted mums or evergreen plants surrounded by pumpkins and gourds. Rusty pots make good planters for this display, but terra cotta pots will work too. If you carve pumpkins, use your carved pumpkins here, this display will look awesome lit up with your jack o’ lantern.

If you have a bench in your front yard, don’t forget to dress it up like you did your porch.

Inside the home it is important to decorate for fall too. If you have a fireplace, take advantage of it by placing pumpkins, carved is best, one or two on each side of the fireplace. Fireplace mantles also look great decorated for wall with candles, leaves, and mini pumpkins.

There are fake pumpkins that you can buy at a craft store that will last for years. They can even be carved just like a real pumpkin.

Most of the decorating ideas in this and the past three blogs before it can be mixed and matched. Have fun with these projects and let your creative side come out. Be careful not to go overboard with your fall decorating. It can look silly to decorate every available surface in your home, and it will be quite time consuming to do so also. Make sure that wherever you stand in your home you can only see one of two fall decorations at a time.

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Dress your Home for Fall – Part Three

2008-10-15T13:14:00.000-06:00

Get a plate in a warm color such as red, yellow, or orange. Gold looks great for this accessory if you can find it. Hot glue artificial leaves around the edge of the plate. Make sure they overlap each other. This can be used as a candle display, as placing two or three pillar candles on it will look lovely. You can do this with a smaller plate too, and just use it to display one pillar candle.

The front door of your home is a popular place to put your Fall decorations. I’m going to do a separate blog about wreaths, but there are several cute alternatives if you aren’t into wreaths.

You can find old picture that is framed at the thrift store or at a yard sale for very cheap. Hot acorns, pinecones, and artificial berries and leaves randomly all over the picture and frame, completely covering them. Finish it off by hot gluing a big bow on your decoration, this looks nice in one corner, but would look good right in the center too. Make sure the ribbon is in a fall color.

An old rake that you won’t use again can be transformed into another door decoration. Hot glue artificial leaves, feathers, and fall grasses to the rake like a bouquet and tie it off with a big ribbon.

Old crates can be found for very cheap or even free and they look great as an outside fall decoration. Place a few of them on your porch, stacking them if you want. Then, sprinkle various sizes of pumpkins and gourds inside and on top of them for a quick porch decoration.

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Dress your Home for Fall – Part Two

2008-10-14T13:12:00.001-06:00

Adding a fall wreath to your front door will really make the outside of your home look ready for the season. There so many different types of wreaths than can be made fairly easily that I will write a separate blog to go over them.

Window boxes are great to use in the summertime, but are you taking advantage of them for fall decorating? It is easy to do, and it will get the exterior of your home looking very festive. You can be creative and use your window boxes for winter and Christmas decorating too. First, get a little bit of chicken wire and cut it to fit your window box like a lid. Staple it into place on top of the window box in a few places. The dirt that is already in the window boxes will hold your decorations in place. Get some small wooden skewers or small sticks to hold up your decorations. Gather tall fall grasses and cat tails to group together around the sticks and stick them into the dirt through the chicken wire. Once most of the window box is full, add colorful fall elements to it. If you would like to use the dirt for planting live plants, you can plant mums to decorate around or live evergreen plants. These plants will survive the winter well. Place small pumpkins and gourds around the grasses. Use your wooden skewers to hold the pumpkins and gourds in place. Pre-drill a hole where your skewer will go. After thanksgiving just remove the pumpkins and gourds and replace them with pine cones and a few lights.

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Dress your Home for Fall – Part One

2008-10-13T13:05:00.000-06:00

Fall flower arrangements can dress your home up for Thanksgiving. Take advantage of nature. Try putting colorful corn into a glass container, filling it with water, and fill it with sunflowers, mums, and thistle. Add red berry sprigs if you can. If you have a field near your house, you can gather cattails and other dried grass. You can put all of them into a large vase without water. Hand tied bouquets look great too, they can be tied to posts outside your home or to stair railings. Make the most of pumpkins during the fall season. There are lots of centerpieces that use pumpkins, see my previous post on thanksgiving centerpieces to get some ideas.

Adding autumn accessories around the home will make it look festive for your Thanksgiving. These accessories can be made into decorations without having to spend very much money at all, and to save even more money, you can choose artificial plant elements so you can reuse these decorations year after year.

Buy or sew a table runner in a fall color. Good colors to use for fall are burgundy, dark green, orange, or yellow ochre. Maybe you will even want to make or buy a few, and alternate them. Next, buy some artificial fall leaves from a craft store. Artificial leaves are usually available in silk or velvet, velvet looks more interesting to me, because it has more variances and texture, but choose the one you prefer. Now, hot glue the leaves to the table runner in a random pattern. Try using more leaves on the ends of the runner and near the edges, leaving just a few scattered throughout the remainder of the material. Don’t be afraid to layer the leaves a little bit for a richer fuller look in some places.

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Easy to Make Fall Centerpieces – Part Two

2008-10-10T09:51:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite centerpieces is one that ends up looking like a little pumpkin patch in the center of your table. This one could be used for a Halloween party just as easily as for Thanksgiving. Place a large pumpkin in the center of our table. Set medium and small pumpkins around it randomly. You probably will only need a couple of medium pumpkins and a few small ones, but depending on the size of your table, you may want more or less. Fill in the spaces with fall leaves. Add a few candles in between pumpkins if you want to. You can also add other thanksgiving garden items to the display if you choose, such as squash or apples.

To make a centerpiece that looks like a mini forest use small potted mini evergreen trees. You can get them as small as six inches high. Buy a few in varying sizes. Hot glue moss onto the pots for a really cute look, or if you don’t want to go to the trouble, just place the trees in matching decorative containers if you can find some that will suit. Cover the table in between the trees with fall leaves, mini pumpkins, and candles of any size.

You can place a large pumpkin on a pedestal cake plate for a quick centerpiece. Add berries, ivy strands, moss, or fall leaves to the plate around the base of the pumpkin.

If you want to buy mum plants, ivy, or ferns you can use them for fall season decorating that will be fresh for the whole season. All you need is a large basket or other container to place the mum pots inside. Arrange a couple of ferns or ivy plant pots between the mums inside the basket. Use moss to cover the plastic rims of the pots, or drape some fall colored material between the plants.

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Easy to Make Fall Centerpieces – Part One

2008-10-09T09:46:00.001-06:00

If you are hosting a Thanksgiving meal at your house this year, here are some ideas to impress them with your table decorating.

A centerpiece on the table will be sure to draw attention from your guests and get you compliments. There are many options you could go with, and some of them are very fast to prepare if you are in a hurry.

A shallow glass tray filled with red cranberries topped with white tea candles can be a pretty centerpiece and it will take you less than five minutes to prepare. Since this decoration is on a tray, you can try displaying it around your home to see where it will look best.

Candlesticks and leaves can be arranged together to be a pretty centerpiece. First, arrange the candlesticks, or pillar candles, down the center of the table. This will look best if it is done on top of a narrow runner placed on the table first, in a color that will enhance the thanksgiving feeling, such as forest green, burgundy, or yellow ochre. Next, arrange fall leaves around the base of each candle. You can also add pinecones or twigs to the display if you would like. If you would rather have a portable decoration, lay fabric on a serving tray and use it for your decorating instead. This would look nice displayed on a coffee table or end table.
A green potted plant with trailing branches can be a great starting point for a centerpiece decoration. Ivy works well for this centerpiece, but other similarly shaped plants can work too. You now need a container in which to place the ivy pot. My favorite for this centerpiece is to use a hollowed out pumpkin, but a basket would work too. Fill any gap between the edge of the pot and the edge of the container with fall leaves, and scatter a few down the table on each side of the container.

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Make your Home Cozy for Winter – Part Four

2008-10-07T13:25:00.002-06:00

If you have a fireplace winter is the season when you really want to use it to your advantage. Make sure your fireplace is the focal point during these cold months. Put those big floor pillows and blanket near the fireplace. Stack a few books or candles on one side of the seating area. Make sure the mantle is decorated for the season with warm accents.

Wintertime is a great time for curling up with a book and a warm mug of hot chocolate. Make sure your family room has a wonderful place to read. If there is a comfortable chair in the family room make sure there is a small table next to it and an ottoman in front of it. Drape a throw over the back of the chair and place a cozy accent pillow in the chair. Optionally, add a warm little dog or cat as seen below. If you don’t have a chair do this with, use your love seat or whatever you have available.

Put warm colored candles in groups in your bathrooms. You can place the candles on a small decorative tray so it is easy to move around.

If you have potpourri around the house make sure you replace it with warm spicy scented potpourri.

If you like baking, make sure you have glass covered cake plates and keep them stocked with cakes, cupcakes, bread, muffins and cookies throughout the winter.

Get a decorative tray and keep it displayed in the kitchen always stocked with mugs, spoons, tea bags, and hot chocolate mix.

These ideas can help you change your attitude about winter and get excited about it. You may also enjoy winter more and spring will come before you know it.

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Make your Home Cozy for Winter – Part Three

2008-10-06T13:23:00.003-06:00

House plants can make the home seem cozy and help you not to miss your yard as much. Flowers in warm colored vases displayed weekly can really liven a room up. Or buy some hanging plants to put in a room.

Candles are easy to store away during the summer and give the house a nice glow and scent during the winter. An added bonus is the fact that candles are cheap. Vanilla scented candles or candles that smell like baking can make a room feel warm. I’m not a big winter person, but I do look forward to breaking out the candles when the season comes. My favorite candle scents are birthday cake and pumpkin spice.

You can put slip covers over the seat pillows of a chair or couch for winter. Make sure you get slipcovers in a warm cozy color, such as dark brown, orange, or red. Also, look for slip covers in comfortable textures, like microfiber for example.

If you have kids yourself or have children visiting your home often, think about getting a few big floor pillows that match the accent pillows on your couch, in warm colors of course. Fold a blanket or throw and put it near the pillows, this will be enough for a kid to have a great place for reading or drawing.

Glass surfaces make a room look colder. If there are a lot of glass surfaces in your home think about decorating them with fabric place mats, or wicker baskets containing seasonal decorations. Framed pictures and candles would also help make a glass table look warmer.

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Make your Home Cozy for Winter – Part Two

2008-10-02T14:50:00.001-06:00

A more permanent change you can make to warm up your home is to repaint. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands you probably don’t want to have to paint seasonally, so this is really only an option if you think you might like a warm color scheme for at least a couple of years. Warm earthy tones can really make a room feel warmer. Orange is my personal favorite warm color, I love it because there are lots of shades to choose from so you can make a room look modern and bright, or elegant and subdued with orange. If you have a south facing room that never sees the sun or a basement room with tiny windows, try painting an accent wall in a bright or warm hue. This can really warm the room up.

If you aren’t planning to repaint the walls, try buying accent pieces in warm colors to decorate your home. Couch pillows are easy accent pieces to use. Also try buying vases or photo frames to go with your winter décor. Throw blankets are another easy accent piece you can get in a warm color. Buy thicker throws for winter, and lighter (both and color and in weight) throws for summer.

Tiled floors or wooden floors can seem a little cold during the winter. It is easy to buy a few thick warm colored rugs to use on these floors while it is cold. Rugs are easy to store away during the summer. Look for rugs with red, orange, or brown color schemes to really warm up the room.

Check back Monday for part three of this blog.

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Make your Home Cozy for Winter – Part One

2008-10-01T15:07:00.000-06:00

With winter on the horizon now is a good time to think about making your home cozy for the cold season. Most people spend a lot more time cooped up in the house during the winter, so it is worthwhile to make the house inviting and comfortable. Many of these changes can be done by investing in winter items for the home that can be swapped with summer items each year. This way you only have to spend the extra money once, and you’re set for many years to come.

Windows look great covered with sheer curtains during the summer, but in the winter it looks best to exchange these for thicker curtains. Full length curtains that touch the floor help stop drafts from entering your home. Velvet and corduroy are both wonderful fabrics to use for curtains in the winter season. But, any thicker fabric will do, or you can try layering fabrics to achieve a more feminine look.

Bedding for winter is probably the most important detail. Make sure you own a soft fluffy comforter. Ideally, buy a down comforter and a duvet to cover it. Duvets are great because you can use them without the comforter inside during the summer, or with a much thinner comforter at least. Also, duvets usually come with pillow shams so your bedding will all match. Extra pillows on the bed can make your bed seem cozier for winter too.

Check back tomorrow for part two of this blog.

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Decorative Halloween Crafts – Part Two

2008-09-30T13:54:00.000-06:00

Decorating a pumpkin with buttons can look cute, and you can save the buttons to use the next year. Choose buttons of assorted size that are in fall colors, you probably even have enough buttons around the house for this if you do any sewing. You can either hot glue the buttons onto the pumpkin, or you can thread wire through the button holes and spear the wire into the pumpkin. You can go for a random look, or you can arrange the buttons into a face.

There are lots of types of wrapped candy that comes in Halloween style wrappers. Buy an assortment of this type of candy, and simply staple the ends of the wrappers together to make a long garland for decorating. These can look very cute wound around stair railings, displayed on tables, or displayed on mantles.

Spray painting pumpkins with metallic paint can look fun and different. If you want to make these pumpkins even more dazzling, try sprinkling glitter or confetti onto the pumpkins when the paint is still wet. After the paint is totally dry, use a black marker to draw on faces. Display as a table centerpiece with orange candy next to it in clear jars.
Replacing the lights on your porch with orange bulbs can give your porch a festive feel, especially if you display lots of lit pumpkins on the porch too.

I hope these ideas help with your Halloween decorating this year!

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Decorative Halloween Crafts – Part One

2008-09-29T15:00:00.002-06:00

It is already time to start decorating for Halloween! Here are some fun crafts you can make for a very low cost to decorate your house.

Buy three small pumpkins of increasing size. Clip the stems off of the two larger pumpkins. Find a decorative vase with a mouth wide enough to set the largest pumpkin in. Next, stack the two smaller pumpkins on top, with the smallest pumpkin on top. You can also place fall leaves between the pumpkins.

A large bowl of small pumpkins with fresh leaves and berries added into the mix can look very nice as a centerpiece. If you fill the bowl halfway with water before putting the items in, you can keep pieces of leaves and vines alive for awhile in the water. If you want to go more simple, don’t add water and use pressed fall leaves instead of fresh leaves.

It can look very cute to cut a hole in the top of a medium sized pumpkin, remove the pulp, and fill it with water to use as a vase. Use your pumpkin vase to display fall colored flowers.
Chocolate oranges can serve as a treat and as a decoration. Just cut pieces of black electrical tape into triangles or other shapes to make pumpkin eyes, noses, and mouths. Then, roll electrical tape into a thick piece to use as a stem to put on top of the chocolate orange. Display them until Halloween is over, then enjoy them as treats!

Bottled lemon-line and orange soda can be turned into Halloween decorations in just a few minutes. You can simply use a black marker to draw pumpkin faces on them, or other scary faces.

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Indoor Plants for Decorating - Part Two

2008-09-26T13:59:00.000-06:00

If you want a plant that can survive for up to a year without watering try the Ponytail Palm. This amazing plant won't tolerate being watered unless the soil has completely dried out first. This plant does require lots of light, and even does well in direct light. This palm has a thick trunk with lots of long ribbon like leaves growing out of it, it looks a little bit like, just as the name suggests, a ponytail.

Amaryllis is especially pretty in yellow, called golden goddess. The flowers are a soft yellow color and trumpet shaped. The flowers are huge, they can be up to seven inches wide on 20 inch stems. This flower is grown from a bulb. This plant likes bright indirect light and should be watered infrequently, only when soil dries out. It grows to a height of 20 inches. It should be planted in early to late winter.

Aspidistra are very low maintenance. In fact, they have the nick name the “cast iron plant” because they are so tough. This plant has tall wide leaves that taper off at the ends. This plant will tolerate wet soil, drought, extremely dim light, and temperatures as cold as 28 degrees.
Boston Ferns do well in a humid bathroom. They have lots of frilly light green leaves that hang down below the pot, and for this reason they look wonderful hanging. They need indirect light to do really well, although they will survive in dim locations too.

Pothos vine is another very popular houseplant. It likes bright but indirect light. It will tolerate direct light, but the leaves won’t look at pretty. These plants are every easy to maintain. It is best to keep the soil moist. This plant does well as a hanging plant, because the vine will grow quite long and look nice.

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Indoor Plants for Decorating

2008-09-25T13:55:00.001-06:00

Plants can really bring life into a room. They look great and can be very easy to maintain. The trick is knowing which ones are easy to maintain so you don't have to put much time into them.

Cacti can be wonderful for decorating. They require almost no attention and they look quite interesting. They can be purchased in pots with several types for a varied look. Cacti do like bright light and won't do well in a dark area. They do well and look great in windowsills. They should not be watered very often.

Chamaedorea Palms are elegant and exotic looking. They can grow up to six feet tall and really add a tropical look to your home. They do like bright indirect light and won't do well if they don't get it. They don't need a lot of water; they should be watered only when the soil gets very dry. These plants look perfect as accent pieces in corners.

Chinese evergreens are a plant that likes low light. They can even survive with just a reading light. The leaves are a beautiful silver gray mixed with dark green. The soil needs to dry out totally between waterings. This plant likes warm areas and won't do well if the temperature is below 45 degrees.
Braided Ficus Trees are very popular for indoor use. The leaves are dark green and the stems twine together in a pretty way. They are several feet tall, so they can really be a nice decorating piece. These trees do well with low light or bright indirect light. The soil should be kept moist.

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Improving Cabinets on a Budget

2008-09-24T10:45:00.005-06:00

Repainting cabinet doors can make them look much better. You can also add some simple wood trim to flat cabinet doors to change their style. These are easy fixes that shouldn't take you more than a weekend, and they are also very inexpensive.

You will need 1/4 inch MDF, woodfiller, fine sandpaper, paint and a paintbrush, a screwdriver, a tape measure, a hammer, a nail punch, and a scraper.

First, take the cabinet doors off of the cabinets using a screwdriver. Remove the handles from the cabinet doors next. Now measure the cabinet doors so you'll know what size your MDF needs to be. You will want the MDF to border the cabinet doors in approximately two inch strips, but you may want more or less depending on what looks right with the size of your cabinet doors or drawer faces. You want two strips of MDF to run vertically on each side of the door all the way from top to bottom. Then, you want two strips to run horizontally at the top and bottom between the two vertical strips. You may want to take the trips to be cut by an expert, so you can get the precise cuts that you will need. Attach the MDF to the front of the cabinet doors with panel pins and a hammer. Use woodfiller to cover the holes when you're done. After the woodfiller is dry, sand the surface until smooth.

Now you are ready to paint the cabinet doors. You will probably need two coats of paint. After they are dry, reattach the handles and hang the doors again.

If you don't have flat cabinets to begin with, you can still paint your cabinets and refresh them. You can paint the inner panel a different color than the outer trim and paint the kitchen walls to match the inner color. This can look pretty cool.

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Make a Framed Fall Decoration

2008-09-23T11:17:00.003-06:00

This is a simple project that will not take long. It will add Fall spirit to your home, and you can use it year after year.

First, you need a frame. This part is totally up to you. Choose a frame that matches the other frames in the room where you want to display this decoration.

Next, you need some colored paper to put inside the frame. It can look cool to select paper that is the exact same color as your wall. If you do this, it will give the illusion of the leaves and writing (this will make sense soon) being in between layers of glass. I like this look, I think it makes the decoration look more expensive.

Now, print a message on the paper, leaving at least 3/4 of the paper free for fall leaves. The message can be as simple as "welcome", an inspirational quote you like, or anything else really. You can use your computer and printer if you want, or you can hand write or paint the message.

The last step is to take some bright Fall leaves and glue or tape them to the paper. The arrangement of the leaves is up to you. When you're done insert the paper into the frame and your project is now complete.

You can prop the frame on an entry table or coffee table, hang it on the front door, set it on an easel, or hang it on the wall. Remember to use it next year too!

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Decorating with White

2008-09-22T14:57:00.001-06:00

Decorating with white is very easy. It is hard to go wrong when decorating with white. The only risk you take is that your home will look boring. You definitely won't have people looking at your home thinking that you made awful choices.

The color white makes most people think of purity. White is also the color of winter of course, and it can make people think of snow in nature. White is a bright color that makes rooms look larger. It is great to use white in a room that is too dark, white does a good job of making rooms feel brighter.

It can be nice to decorate with white because it can be used with any other color. White makes other colors seem to stand out. Too much white in an already bright room can be overbearing. Too much white can also seem clinical, and lack personality.
White and blue is a common color theme seen in kitchens. This color combination looks very fresh and clean. Several different shades of white can be used together to add depth and interest, this can been a very bright and cozy look. White can be used easily with brighter shades of color if you want to go with a bolder look. Often, people who are renting their homes are stuck with white walls. These people can make their homes look much brighter just with the use of colorful furniture or accent pieces. This can create a modern look.

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Decorating with Black

2008-09-19T14:54:00.001-06:00

Black can be a tricky color to decorate with. You want to make sure not to go overboard, or you’ll end up making your home look gothic. But, using a little black can really add emphasis to certain areas of a room, and depth to others.

The color black can look very sophisticated. Black is thought to be a stabilizing and strengthening color. It is said to make people feel more authoritative and powerful.

Black works as an accent color for almost any other color. Black can really be used anywhere, it just needs to be used in moderation. Black is an easy accent color to use. Furniture that is black is an easy way to incorporate this color into your decorating. The color black makes other colors look more striking. It is not a very good wall color, even for just an accent wall.
Black looks good with almost any other color, but the safest combination is probably black and tan. This combination looks classic and it will never go out of style. The nice thing about this color scheme is you can add accent pillows and a few other accent pieces that you can easily switch out with others seasonally, or just on a whim. If you want to go with a bold look, that is very easy to achieve when decorating with black. Black and red can look very striking together, but just be sure to use another neutral color too, so that your theme doesn’t look too dark. I really like black when it is used with a light to medium green. For instance, green walls with black a chair rail and trim would look nice. You wouldn’t want to go with this color scheme in a room without much light though.

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Decorating with Brown

2008-09-18T15:14:00.003-06:00

Decorating with shades of brown and tan is very safe and has a classy look. It is probably easier to decorate with brown tones than with any other colors. If you don't like to take risks with your decorating, brown would be a good color to start with.

Brown is a warm color that makes people feel safe and comfortable. Brown is neutral and won't clash with other colors, which makes is very easy to use. Brown is of course a very natural color, which humans have been surrounded by in nature for ages. Brown is classic and will always look good, no matter what other trends are happening.
If you want to use brown shades, but you want your theme to have a little more interest, make sure you use varying shades of brown to offer contrast. Chocolate brown looks great with light tan for example. Make sure you don't use too much dark brown unless the room you are decorating is well lit. If there is not very good lighting in a room, try painting the walls a light tan, and use dark brown for your accent pieces.

If you want to use brown shades with other colors there are several combinations that look beautiful. Blue looks very nice with brown, it is a very classic color combination that it is hard to go wrong with. Yellow can look very natural and nice with brown. This combination looks very warm and inviting. Red looks great with brown too for a more exciting look.

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Decorating with Green

2008-09-17T14:41:00.001-06:00

Green is an easy color to decorate with. It is a color that most people don’t mind, which makes sense, because green is a very dominant color in nature. Green is a refreshing color. Most people associate spring and the refreshing optimistic feelings they have when thinking about spring, with the color green. This is a color that can be used almost anywhere in your home. Men and women seem to like green color schemes in the home equally well.

Temporary touches of green can easily be added to the home simply by displaying green grapes or apples. Flowers are another great temporary display of green that will look beautiful in your home.

When used with white green looks very refreshing and spring like. Purple or yellow accents can also be used with green for a fresh spring effect. Olive green and black used together can create a dramatic and elegant look that is beautiful.
Really, green can be used in any room and in almost any quantity. If you use a light colored earthy green you can easily paint all of the walls in a large room without being overwhelmed with the color.

Be careful not to use too much dark green in a space without good lighting or in a room that is too small. Green, like any dark color, can cause a room to look smaller and darker.

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Decorating with Purple

2008-09-16T13:59:00.000-06:00

Purple is generally a feminine color that isn’t used too frequently. Purple is a comforting and relaxing color. Purple is also known to be a spiritual color. Purple is an artistic color that has been said to spark creative ideas and feelings.

Purple is said to be both a warm and a cool color depending on the colors that are around it. Purple paired with yellow will seem cool, while purple paired with green will seem warm.

I like purple best when it is paired with green. The combination reminds me of grape vines and summer time. The combination of purple and green is commonly seen in Italian themed kitchens decorated with stenciled grape vines and bottles of wine displayed. Purple is a fairly versatile color because it can be paired with several different colors and provide a different feel with each. Purple combined with white can look fresh and romantic. Purple combined with tan and light yellows can look elegant and classy. Purple combined with pastel yellow can look child-like.

Because of its versatility purple can be fun to decorate with. However, purple seems to be a color that not everyone likes. It might not be too popular in a space that men are going to be frequenting for example. But even among women purple is not always very popular. It is best to be careful when you use purple. Make sure that the people who spend the most time in the space you are going to decorate with purple like the color.

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Decorating with Blue

2008-09-15T13:19:00.000-06:00

Blue is one of the easiest colors to decorate with. Blue will appeal to a wide range of people because it is a calm and relaxing color. Blue isn’t too demanding, it is soothing and refreshing. In nature a large portion of what you see is blue, because the whole sky is often blue. Water is also blue of course, and so it is a great color when you want a beach theme. The color blue probably appeals to such a wide range of people because it is seen so much in nature.
You may not want to use blue if you live in a very cold place, because blue can cool a room down. You also may not want to use blue if you are decorating a room without very much natural light, such as a basement room, because blue can feel depressing and gloomy without light to complement it. Blue has been known to suppress appetite, so it is not a great color to use in a kitchen. This could well be because in nature blue is not a food color very often, and some blue berries are dangerous to eat.

Blue and white used together will look very fresh and clean. Dark blue has a masculine feel, and can be used to decorate men’s bedrooms or studies. Blue and yellow complement each other very well are great to use together in a space.

Blue is a very common color to use in bathroom decorating, because it reminds us of water.

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Decorating with Pink

2008-09-12T13:05:00.002-06:00

Pink is the most feminine color. Decorating with pink can be risky, because it usually only appeals to women, and there are even many women who it doesn’t appeal to. It is best to only use a lot of pink in decorating a room for someone who loves pink and who will be the only person to spend a lot of time in that room.

Pink is a warm, romantic and comfortable color. This color can actually calm a person who is angry. Pink even has been known to affect how food tastes, making things taste sweeter. Many people associate pink with flowers or childhood.
Bedrooms can look wonderful with a pink theme. Pink is a popular color for little girl’s bedrooms. Bathrooms can also look great decorated in pink. Pink actually complements most people’s skin tones. Pink can be a lot of fun to decorate with, because it is playful color, especially when using splashes of hot pink. If you want to use pink, but you want to be careful not to go overboard, consider painting an accent wall pink, or accenting a room with a cute piece of pink furniture, such as a chair.

Pink can also be used to decorate your yard. Lots of flowers come in pink and can be planted in your flower beds or in planters and pots to be displayed on your porch.

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Decorating with Yellow

2008-09-11T12:51:00.002-06:00

Yellow can he a challenging color to decorate with because it can be so bright and demanding. Many people aren’t sure how to use yellow. However, there are many shades of yellow that are not as bold that can be used. Also, yellow can be used in faux painting with neutral colors that will take down the brightness a few notches.

Yellow makes people feel cheerful and warm. It is an overall happy color and a color with energy. Most people think yellow when they think of a cheerful color, after all, it is the color of the sun.
It is great to use yellow and other warm colors in your home if you live in a cool climate and you want to make your house feel warmer and cozier. You might not want to use yellow if you live in a hot climate though, because your home may feel too warm. Too much yellow can make some people feel anxious.

Kitchens are probably the most popular place to use yellow. Yellow can be either a very safe color to decorate in or a risky color depending on the shade you use. The brightest yellows should be used carefully, perhaps only to paint an accent wall. However, soft yellow shades are easy to use and can be used almost anywhere in your home. Yellow combined with white is a classic color scheme that is very safe and almost fail proof. Yellow combined with dark red is a bolder scheme that can look very good.

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Decorating with Orange

2008-09-10T15:16:00.004-06:00

The color orange often makes people feel cheerful. Orange is a warm cozy color that is also strong and can be energizing. Orange is known to stimulate hunger and also to spark conversation.

When you think of orange in nature often fire, autumn, and pumpkins come to mind. These are all positive associations for most people. Since orange is one of the main colors used in Fall decorating, now is a great and easy time to use orange. Orange can easily be used in the fall just by displaying pumpkins and leaves around your home.

Because the color makes people feel hungry, it is a popular color for kitchens. Use orange for your plates if you want to encourage more eating. If you don't want to feel as hungry in the kitchen, you would want to steer clear of orange and red. If you live in a warm climate you would also want to limit the use of orange, because it will just make your home feel warmer. Orange can really be a wonderful color to use if you live in a cold climate, it can add a lot of warmth and coziness to a home.
Orange can be a fun color at first, but it can be hard to live with long term for some people, especially if bright shades of orange are used. You may want to think carefully before investing too much time or money in an orange color scheme. However, there are plenty of earthy orange shades that are easier to live with.

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Decorating with Red

2008-09-08T15:38:00.001-06:00

Red is a very bold color. Often people aren’t sure how to use red in decorating and are afraid that the result will look strange.

Red is known for being a passionate color. Red evokes feelings of warmth and coziness. Red is an exciting color that can make you feel empowered. Red is dramatic and demanding.

You should add shades of red to a room that you want to feel warm and comfortable. You can even get away with painting an entire room red as long as every other element of the room is a neutral color. Often, people opt to paint just one wall of a room red, and scatter small accent pieces throughout the rest of the room.

Using too much red in a room where you don’t want the occupant to feel excited is not a good idea. For example, if your child had an excess of energy, decorating their room in red wouldn’t be a good idea. Red has even been shown to raise blood pressure and heart rate, so if the room’s main occupant has problems with these being too high already, cool colors might be a better option.

Often, red is used in restaurants and kitchens. This is because red is supposed to make people feel hungry, and it is theorized that it can even make food taste better.
Red is considered a fall color, so now would be a good time to add a few red fall themed pieces to you home. A simple basket with red apples displayed on your counter or kitchen table will look nice and be a tasty treat too.

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Meanings of Colors

2008-09-05T14:01:00.003-06:00

In theory the colors in a room have the power to affect your mood. Colors can make you feel warm and comfortable, or anxious and excited. Some colors even make you feel hungry. Colors can become associated with events or people in our brains. The meanings of different color vary amount cultures, and in this blog I’ll focus on the meanings of colors in the U.S. Many studies have been done on how colors affect the mood and meanings of colors.

It is good to know the color’s meanings for decorating purposes. Most colors can be associated with a personality, and using colors that match your personality will make your house truly feel like home. Warm colors can make people feel cozy, warm, cheerful, energetic, or soothed. Decorating with warm colors can be great if you live in a cool climate and want to make your house feel warmer all year long. Cool colors can make people feel cool, calm, relaxed, comforted, creative, balanced or fresh. Cool colors can work great when decorating a home in a hot climate. Neutral colors are stabilizing, comfortable, unifying, and strengthening. Some colors are too bright to be anything but accent colors. Some colors can be paired with other colors to look striking. Some colors can be used to help other colors stand out more.
I thought it would be worthwhile to blog about each color and its possibilities for decorating separately. Check back soon for blogs about each color.

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Inexpensive Wall Decorating

2008-09-04T14:36:00.001-06:00

Buying art to hang on your walls can be expensive. But, there are plenty of crafty ideas for making your own wall art that can look just as good, and mean more because they are unique and personalized.

Taking your own pictures to frame on your walls can work out very well for many people. You don’t have to be a professional to get great shots, and this way, you choose what is most interesting to you. If you love animals take a trip to the zoo and have fun capturing artistic photos of the animals. Series of photos often look nice, and you can usually get a good deal on standard sized frames if you shop around. You can also take pictures of artwork in large books and blow them up to frame.

Hanging interesting items directly on the wall with no frame sometimes looks great. You can hang typical items like plates, flags, or blankets. Or, you can hang more unique items like toys or musical instruments. Puzzles can look good hung on a wall; they look especially good in a game room or a kid’s room where the puzzle matches the theme of the room.

Another idea for a game room or a child’s room is framing a game board with the game pieces glued in place. This will make a colorful fun wall hanging.

If you are artistically inclined you can hang needlework, drawings, or paintings.

Pressed flowers and leaves can be glued onto a piece of construction paper in a collage and framed. If you want to do a series this way, you can glue a few of each type of flower or leaf onto each piece of construction paper, and in fancy writing label the flower or leaf on the bottom of each piece.

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Easy Bathroom Improvement Ideas – Part Three

2008-09-03T14:20:00.000-06:00

If you have a little money in your budget, you can get a new shower curtain, curtains, towels, and rug. These are items that you can buy in bright colors if it fits with your theme.

Adding new hardware to your cabinet doors can make the bathroom look nicer, and it is very easy to do.

If your bathroom mirror is just a big mirror glued to the wall and not a cabinet, you can easily add decorative molding around the edge to frame it and make it look much more stylish.

Accessorizing your bathroom is probably the most fun thing you can do to add life to the room. First, look around your house for items that you aren’t using that would look good with your theme. For example, you could use a decorative mug for your q-tips. Candle holders and colored candles always look nice in bathrooms. Small plants can also make nice accessories.

Shelving can be convenient and decorative in a bathroom. If you have plenty of space you can even put a small bookshelf or tea cart in your bathroom. If you already have enough storage, adding some shelving for displaying cute decorative items can make your bathroom look more stylish.

Many people don’t make use of free wall space in their bathrooms. If you have free wall space, hanging a framed picture can look very nice. If you are a little bit crafty, you can frame something sentimental, a photograph you took, or a few postcards, shells, or leaves from a vacation.

Finally, tuck the trash can out of sight if you can. Under the sink is a great place for it.

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Easy Bathroom Improvement Ideas – Part Two

2008-09-02T14:18:00.000-06:00

Put all of your cleaning supplies in a container. Containers with tote handles are convenient for cleaning supplies. If you have your supplies confined to a plastic leak proof container, you can use the rest of the space under your sink for other things without worrying that they’ll get contaminated by the cleaning supplies. You can even get another plastic tote for toilet paper, or anything really, that you’d like to keep clean under your sink.

Repainting the bathroom is something that can be done in a weekend of hard work. If you’re sticking with the same fabrics, make sure to choose a color that matches. If you’re getting new fabrics, you can be creative and recreate the whole style. Wallpaper on one or more walls is an option too, on that I discussed in my last blog. If you paint is in good shape, you can add more interest to you bathroom walls by painting stenciled designs around the mirror, ceiling, or a window. You could also add border wallpaper for a more interesting look.

Lighting can make a big difference in a bathroom, brighter is usually better in this room. The easiest thing you can do is place a lamp on your bathroom counter, if you have the space. Make sure to place the lamp in a safe place away from water. A cute lamp that goes with your theme can add warmth to your bathroom. Another easy thing to do is to replace the light fixture you already have. If you are up for a little more work, adding wall sconces on each side of your mirror can make your bathroom look more elegant.
Check back soon for part three of this blog.

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Easy Bathroom Improvement Ideas – Part One

2008-08-29T14:16:00.001-06:00

Most of us don’t have a whole lot of spare time to spend decorating the home. But, there are several simple and cheap things you can do in just one weekend to greatly improve the look of your bathroom.

Getting rid of any extra junk is a good first step. Clear out all of your cabinets, and take everything off of the counters. Look through all of the items and throw away or pack away anything that you don’t use regularly. Only put back things that you need, and be careful to organize those items when you are putting them back.

Replace your towel bars if they are outdated with something fresh that goes along with your style. If you have towel bars that you like already, think about adding a couple more if you have the space. Extra towel bars usually don’t look bad, and it is nice to have the extra towel space, especially if you have several family members. If you don’t have space for another towel bar, you can always add decorative hooks instead.

If you have lots of extra space in your bathroom, consider adding a piece of furniture. A decorative cupboard or a small chair can make a bathroom look more stylish.
If you’re not happy with the bathroom floor you can add a rug that matches your décor. If your bathroom floor is so bad that you want to cover up the whole thing, you can try peel and stick tiles, which can be installed by almost anyone, and can look like a real tile floor with careful installation.

Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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Wallpaper is Making a Comeback

2008-08-28T12:56:00.003-06:00

Surprisingly enough, wallpaper is making a comeback. Not the wallpaper you seen in outdated homes from the seventies, but really cool designs that often look best used as an accent wall. Many wallpapers are even made to look like faux painting, which would be something to consider before attempting painting yourself if you are unsure of the outcome your attempt will have or just want to save the time. I admit, I haven’t put up wallpaper for a long time, but from what I read, it is much easier to do than it used to be. Instead of having to sand and prime walls before applying wallpaper, now you only have to clean your walls. Also, removal is said to be much easier. The wallpaper adhesive is supposed to be able to withstand humid environments like bathrooms, no now there is no where modern wallpaper can't go!

I like a lot of the wallpapers made my Ferm Living, and if wall paper is too permanent from you, they even sell wall stickers. Wall stickers are more easily removed. Actually, just now I went and reviewed the wall stickers that are on the Ferm Living website, and I must say, I find myself thinking about where I can put these in my house! I especially like these bird stickers. I think they would look really cool on a bright colored wall. Here is one of Ferm Living's wallpaper prints that I especially like: This blog is brought to you by dialysis nursing jobs.

Decorating your Dorm Room – Part Two

2008-08-27T14:51:00.003-06:00

Closet organizers can help you make the best use of the limited space you will have. Every college student needs a small filing box too with hanging folders.

A mini fridge and a microwave are great to have in a dorm room so if you don’t have time to go to the cafeteria for a meal, you don’t have to miss it.

Wall hangings are important to make the dorm room feel like home. Hang artwork or posters, or even pictures on your walls. A mirror is nice to hang on the wall so you can evaluate your outfits.
Good lighting is another thing that dorm rooms usually lack. Bring a large stand up lamp, you can get them for a decent price and it will make a big difference. You will also probably need a good lamp for your desk. Fun lighting like lava lamps can dress up the room.

Many dorm rooms have the option to put the beds up on tall legs. These kits are normally available, and you just need to find someone to help you set it up. Having your bed up high is awesome, because you can make use of the space underneath. One great item that can go underneath a bed is a recliner along with a little end table. I had these items in my dorm room when I went to college, and I can’t stress enough how much it did to make my room feel like home. Lots of very cheap recliners can be found on craigslist.com, and if you can’t find a decent one, you could always just buy a recliner cover. Bean bag chairs are a popular dorm room item that would fit under a bed too, and they come in lots of colors.
Photo courtesy of www.collegebedlofts.com.

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Decorating your Dorm Room – Part One

2008-08-26T14:49:00.001-06:00

Leaving home is exciting, but also a little scary. It can help to decorate your dorm room comfortably so it feels like home. This can help a lot if you start to feel home sick.

The first thing you should do before deciding on which items to decorate your room with is to choose a theme or color. Many of the items listed in this blog come in different colors, and it is nice to have a unified theme in a room. Bright colors are popular right now for dorm rooms, but an advantage to choosing more subtle colors is that you might find use for the items you buy later when you move into an apartment or a house. If you don’t want to choose one or two colors to decorate with, you could choose a theme instead to tie it all together. Rugs can add a lot to your dorm room. A colorful rug can set the tone for your room design. You can often find soft rugs that will make your room feel cozy.

A foam or feather mattress topper can help you to be comfortable at night. Dorm mattresses are normally not the most quality, and a fluffy mattress makes a big difference.

A big lounge chair pillow for your bed can be awesome to lean on while you’re studying. Body pillows are great too, and can be found in lots of different colors. Especially if you study with someone else, it is nice to have another comfortable seating option.

Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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Tuscan Faux Painting

2008-08-25T14:34:00.001-06:00

Before you start faux painting you should have your walls painted with a base coat of the overall color that you desire. Make sure you cover carpet and furniture with a dropcloth. Then, tape off your molding and your light switches.

Keep a dry rag handy through the whole process so you can wipe up any runs on the wall before they dry. At any painting store, Lowes, or Home Depot you can buy faux paint. Ask the employees to help you pick the colors you want. Some faux paint comes in concentrated mixtures. You will need to mix about 1/3 paint with 2/3 water. When you are just getting started it is best to use a more watered down version. You can always mix it with less water later. You can also buy premixed faux paint. It looks best to use a couple of different colors that are similar to your base coat color.

You will need a damp rag and a bucket of water to use throughout the process. As the rag gets dirty and the water gets dirty, it will actually be easier to paint. If your painting takes you longer than one day, you can even leave your rag in the bucket and reuse it for a few days. Your rag is what you will do most of your painting with. Your paintbrush is mostly just to apply the paint to the wall. When you put the paint on your wall with the brush, make sure not to use straight lines. Apply the paint randomly, then smear it around with your rag and let it dry. The goal of this style of painting is to make the walls look like they are old.
When you finish going over all of the areas you want to paint, it is important to step back and take a look from a distance. Any areas that look lighter than you want you can go over more now.

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Tuscan Style Decorating

2008-08-22T14:10:00.000-06:00

A home decorated with a Tuscan theme will feel very peaceful to most. This style is simple and natural looking, inspired by the country, stone walls, wrought iron accessories, marble flooring, and sturdy wooden furniture.

Tuscan decorating uses comfortable, worn pieces. This style uses materials that will stand the test of time, so if you choose to decorate this way, you shouldn’t have to redecorate for a long time. Even if some of your elements start to look worn, this only helps the style to look more authentic. This style isn’t overly fancy and this is why many people will feel comfortable with this style.
The outdoor spaces of a home decorated this way are important to complete the theme. Having a patio is important, and if you can build a simple trellis over it for vines to grow on, that really helps to create the right look. Having a marble statue or a water feature looks beautiful. Other outdoor features that will look very Tuscan are paths or driveways set in stone or brick. If grass grows up between the stones or bricks it will look even better.

Colors to use when decorating your interior are earth tones such as terracotta, brick, ochre, greens, and golden yellows. Include touches of blue and green to contrast with the warm colors. Walls can be painted with soft white or grey for a more subtle look. Stenciled grape vines can look very good in Tuscan style kitchens. There are faux painting techniques that can provide a worn stucco look, I will get into those in the next blog.

Check back for the next blog about Tuscan style faux painting.

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Fall Decorating - Part Two

2008-08-21T14:05:00.000-06:00

Buy mini pumpkins and use them to line up across your mantle. Leave a few inches between each pumpkin. You can do this on bookshelves too. Mini pumpkins look great displayed randomly almost anywhere in your house, including your coffee table, end tables, bathroom counters, nightstands, or dining room table. Candles look good displayed with mini pumpkins and the display looked better with a few variations. You can even try setting some of the pumpkins on top of candle holders for a different look.
Cinnamon scented pine cones can be placed in a decorative basket and placed on a table or next to your fireplace. You can sprinkle a few fall leaves into the mix too.

A basket or bowl of green or red apples with a few fall leaves or mini pumpkins thrown in can look cute displayed on a mantle or as a centerpiece on a table.

Autumn colored candles look and smell nice, and as a bonus they don’t look out of place if you decide to use them all year long. You can usually find candlesticks of varying heights at a thrift store.

Fall placemats and plates are an investment that you can reuse every year. Placemats in green, orange, red, tan, and yellow all have a fall look to them.

Clear candy jars can be used to display fall colored candy. Candy corn always looks good for fall decorating, and M&Ms also come in fall colors.

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Fall Decorating - Part One

2008-08-20T14:34:00.000-06:00

Fall is on the way, so I thought I'd put together a list of a few inexpensive fall decorations and crafts you could display in your home.

Although you may not have much time to display the crafts you would make out of them until next year, it can be fun to collect fall leaves and press them in books. After they dry out completely, you can spray them with a clear fixative to help preserve them.

You can glue them randomly onto a piece of construction paper and frame it for a beautiful fall collage. Another option is to use the leaves as a border to a cute saying or list and frame the whole thing.

Another thing you can do with the leaves is make a mobile. To do this, first find two sticks and tying them together in an X by holding the sticks together and then winding fishing line around the intersection at all angles until they feel like they are connected well. Next, Tie different lengths of fishing line to the sticks. Then, use contact paper to laminate each leaf you want to use. Trim off most the excess around the shape of the leaf, but leave a little extra at the end of the stems. Then, punch holes in the stem ends. Finally, Tie the end of each piece of fishing line to the stems of each of your fall leaves. You could also just tie the leaves to a branch that is a couple of feet long, and hang the branch on a wall when you're done.
Check back soon for part two of Fall Decorating!

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Feng Shui – The Five Elements

2008-08-19T14:53:00.000-06:00

Learning the use of the five elements is important to Feng Shui because the use of the elements is thought to keep the chi in rooms in the correct amounts. The five elements are fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. Each element has a shape and a few colors tied to it.

Fire is considered to be the yang of the elements. Fire should be used be used in the Northeast, South and Southwest areas of a space. It provides you with energy and helps you to achieve your goals. It is linked to summer and to heat. It can be represented with a candle or the color red, orange, pink, strong yellow, or purple.
Metal can be used to tie the other elements together in creative ways because metal is found in many colors. Metal helps you to be efficient and to have clarity. Metal elements in a room should be rounded and pleasing, not pointed. This element is represented by white, silver, bronze, copper, or gold. Metal is supposed to be used in the North, West, or Northwest of your home.

Water represents life and is a very useful element. Water should be used in the North, Southeast and East areas of your space. Water provides a space with calm, purity, and freshness. A fishbowl or aquarium or a small metal fountain can be used to represent water. The earth element, found in ceramic materials, is said to block the positive effect of the water, so fountains shouldn't be made of these materials. The colors that go with this element are blue or black.

Wood is the beginning of new life and can bring life to a home if it is used when the wood is alive. Health and growth can be brought into your home using this element. Plants are considered to be wood. Plants are good tools for Feng Shui decorating because they recycle air. A staircase leading to a doorway is considered a Feng Shui problem, because the chi can flow right out. Placing a plant on the landing can help retain the chi. Wood is represented by the color green. Wood is represented with the color green or teal. Wood should be used in the East, Southeast, and South of your home.

Earth is represented by stone, pottery, or sculptures. Earth is supposed to be used in the center of your home and also in the Northeast and Southwest sides. Earth is represented by the colors light yellow, beige, or brown. Elements of earth help create stability, and a nourishing environment for relationships.

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Feng Shui Basics

2008-08-18T13:55:00.002-06:00

The purpose of Feng Shui is to arrange your surroundings so that they are in balance with nature. The words Feng Shui actually mean "wind and water".

Chi is energy and is believed to be the reason why we feel good or bad in certain locations. The idea of Feng Shui is to keep the chi in a happy balance in your living space by preventing it from stagnating, or from flowing out of your living space too quickly.
There are a couple of easy ways to get started with the basics without knowing a lot about the details.

Clearing out clutter is a good first step. Anything that you do not love should go. Getting rid of the extra junk will feel good and help you see what you really like in your home more clearly.

Make sure the air and light quality in your home are good. The air quality can be improved just by opening your windows often, decorating with plants, or using an air purifier. The light quality can be improved by letting as much natural light into your home as you can, and by using full spectrum lights.

Next, it can help to learn about the five elements of Feng Shui: fire, metal, earth, water and wood. Check back soon because the next blog will be about these elements.

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Kitchen Cabinets – Plan Before you Buy - Part Two

2008-08-15T15:20:00.002-06:00

This is part two of Kitchen Cabinets - Plan Before you Buy

Quality is a big consideration when buying cabinets. If you are only planning to live in the home in the short term, you might be willing to skimp on quality. But, if you are trying to build a kitchen to enjoy in years to come, you may want to pay the extra to get more quality cabinets. Quality drawers will open and close more easily, and more silently. Quality cabinet frames will be sturdy and last for a long time to come.
There are a few ways that you can save money on cabinets if you are willing to put in some extra work. You can find cabinet makers who sell unfinished cabinets. These are cheaper, and just require you to spray a finish of your choice on the cabinets. The advantage to this is that you can choose any finish you want. You can even get creative and spray on two coats of contrasting colors, and sand the edges lightly to reveal the undercoat around the edges. An even cheaper option is to refinish the cabinet doors that you have using creative methods like this. Another way to save money is to buy just the cabinet doors, and leave the original cabinet boxes in place. The doors are seen more than the rest of the cabinets, so you can often get away with this. If you are going to buy the doors only, and the doors you have chosen are not the same color as your cabinet frames, you can paint the frames a color that will contrast nicely with the new cabinet doors.

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Kitchen Cabinets – Plan Before you Buy – Part One

2008-08-14T15:17:00.001-06:00

Before you buy cabinets, it is best to decide what your goal is. Are you just going to replace the cabinets and call it good? Or, are you planning a full kitchen remodel? If you are planning a remodel, setting your budget before you start is helpful. Cabinets are a vital part of any kitchen, and they often account for 40% or more of the total cost for a kitchen or bathroom remodel. Your budget can help you narrow your choices down.

Before you talk to a salesman about buying new cabinets, measure your kitchen and measure the existing cabinets. Decide whether you are going to want additional cabinets, or an island, and if so, where you want them to fit. Draw a sketch of your kitchen layout and include the measurements you have taken. If you bring this sketch and your measurements, you will be able to get a better price estimate when you meet with a sales person.
There are three types of cabinets: stock, semi-custom, or custom. Stock cabinets are the cheapest, because they are limited to standard sizes and are usually only made in a few types of wood and styles. Stock cabinets usually only offer cabinets and drawers. Semi-custom cabinets are just what you would imagine from the name, they are cabinets that come in an expanded variety of wood types and styles. Semi-custom cabinets offer more in the way of storage options, such as lazy susans, pullout bins, and pantry closets. Custom cabinets are the most expensive, offering anything you can imagine that can be built.

Check back soon for part two of this blog.

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How to be Prepared for Furniture Shopping – Part Two

2008-08-13T15:03:00.003-06:00

Continued from How to be Prepared for Furniture Shopping - Part One

Just because a piece of furniture is cheap, that doesn’t make it a good buy. Consider whether you will really like this piece of furniture a year down the road. If not, save your money and buy furniture that will last you longer.

Don’t ask too many people for their opinions. Only the people who actually live in the home should really have a say. Too many options might make you less able to decide what you really like. You and your family are probably the only ones who will be looking at this furniture every day.

If you can possibly manage it, shop for furniture on a weekday. On the weekend sales associates are swamped, and they aren’t able to give you as much time and attention as they would be able to give you on a weekday. If you are able to spend time with a sales associate who isn’t busy, they can often be quite helpful and save you time and money.

To get the best deal on furniture, wait for a sale. If you don’t want to wait, try asking the sales associate to knock a little off the price if you’re buying a set of furniture. Don’t expect a yes, but it can’t hurt to ask. Another option to save some money is to shop for used furniture. Some people are grossed out by this option, but there are consignment stores that have some awesome furniture that is used and looks new. I've also found nice used furniture on Craigslist for great prices.

If you don’t have the money for the furniture, don’t get sucked into financing plans. These are statistically good for the business and bad for the customer, otherwise the businesses wouldn’t offer them! You could easily get stuck paying ridiculous interest charges.

Happy furniture shopping!

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How to be Prepared for Furniture Shopping – Part One

2008-08-12T15:37:00.003-06:00

Measure the room where you want to put the furniture, and if you have further limitations, like a fireplace or doorway, make sure to measure the actual space where you need the piece of furniture to fit. Also, measure the doorway you’ll need to bring the furniture through. You don’t want to buy a couch that fits perfectly in your living room, but won’t squeeze through the living room door! Bring these measurements and a measuring tape with you to the store. Often, because furniture stores are so big, they make furniture look small that might actually be rather large in your home.

Take a few pictures of the room to bring with you to the store. Look through magazines or look online until you get a sense of what you are looking for. It is also best if you bring a carpet sample with you to the store and even paint samples if you can. If you have been considering changing the look of the room, now is the time, since new furniture can often be the most expensive part of a redesign.

Make sure you sit and lay on the couch in the store before you buy it! You might feel silly doing this in the store, but you’ll be glad you did in the long run. If you like to take naps on your couch, lay on the couch for at least ten minutes to get a real feel for what it will be like. If you are thinking of buying furniture online, try to find a store that carries it locally so you can test it out.

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Reasons to Consider Slipcovers

2008-08-11T14:54:00.003-06:00

Slipcovers come in all shapes and sizes these days. You can use them to cover couches and chairs of all sizes and styles, and even ottomans. The styles and colors are just as varied. I do not like ruffles of any sort, which seem to come to mind when you think slipcovers for some reason, but there are plenty of sleeker styles available. I like this one pictured below, and as an added bonus it is made of microsuede, which I love because it is so soft.

One huge advantage to slipcovers is price of course; it is much cheaper to cover several old pieces of furniture with matching slipcovers than to buy a new set. Or, if you have mismatched furniture to begin with, you can match them all with slipcovers. You can also try a bolder style or color when you’re buying slipcovers, since it isn’t too much of an investment if you decide you hate them.

Slipcovers are great for protecting furniture, if you have nice furniture and have kids who are young or even if you are having a big party or company. If you let your dogs get up on the couch like I do, slipcovers are something to consider, because you can buy a couple of identical sets for the high traffic furniture, and switch them out when one set needs a wash.

If you are hosting an event at your house you can get slipcovers for folding chairs to dress them up and match them to the rest of your furniture.

It is also possible to buy festive slipcovers for holiday events, if you really want to go all out.

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Make Your Bedroom Five Star – Part Three

2008-08-06T14:01:00.002-06:00

The window treatments you choose can be important. It is best to choose curtains that draw back past the sides of the window so that you get the maximum light when you have the curtains open. Also, you want to make sure the curtains overlap at the center so that you can get the room as dark as you want in case you want to sleep in or nap during the day.

The bed is probably the most important aspect of your bedroom, since it is of course the sole purpose, so don’t be afraid to spend a little extra in this area. This investment should last you a long time, and considering how much time you spend in bed, it makes sense to be comfortable. You may want to consider a pillow top mattress. Or, you can buy a feather top for your mattress later. Bedding that is 300 threat count or more for your sheets can be worth the money. They should last a long time, and they really make going to sleep comfortable. Add throw pillows to your bed for extra color, and use a throw blanket at the foot of your bed so you can have an accessible blanket for reading in your chair. Finally, make sure you have items on your wall that make you feel good and inspire you.

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Make Your Bedroom Five Star – Part Two

2008-08-05T13:57:00.002-06:00

Don’t forget the non visible aspects of comfort for your bedroom. Make sure the bed in not placed directly over or under an air vent, this way air can circulate optimally throughout the room. If you are into music, place speakers throughout the room in hidden places. Having a thick carpet pad always increases comfort in a room. If you can add extra insulation between your walls you can make your bedroom feel like more of a haven.

There are several lighting techniques that can make a bedroom feel classier. For instance, put dimmer controls on all of your lights. Closet lights that turn on when the closet door is opened are extremely handy. Lots of lighting in the bathroom, including a lighted make up mirror, wall sconces, lighting in the tub or shower area, and overhead light, is a real plus. Reading lights on each side of the bed that are individually controlled are quite useful as well.
Everyone gets the craving for a midnight snack at least once in a while. It is very luxurious to be able to satisfy that craving with out leaving your bedroom. You could consider having a minifridge in your bedroom with a little pantry above it that might include a coffee maker for the morning.

A desk in the bedroom can be used for work, reading, or, if you put a mirror over it, for applying make up. You can also add an extra chair or an ottoman to this mix. Ottomans are great because they can be used for either sitting or for propping your feet.

Check back soon for part three of this blog!

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Make Your Bedroom Five Star – Part One

2008-08-04T13:52:00.002-06:00

There is no reason that your bedroom can’t be just as luxurious as a five star hotel room if you follow some easy design tips.

First, choose a color scheme and theme that will make you feel comfortable and at home. The bedroom is a sanctuary for many people, a place where they can go to be alone and reflect. Choose colors that will make the room feel perfect for you. You can have fun with this process, playing around with different paint colors and pattern options. If you look at the websites of large paint brands you can use their online tools to explore your options. Many allow you to upload a picture of the room you’re decorating and let you change the color on the walls to see how they will really look. Also, there are helpful inspiration sections in most paint websites where you can look at pictures of rooms and designs that can help you choose a color theme or style.
Laying out the space in your bedroom for different activities can help the bedroom evolve from just a place to sleep, into a room to enjoy relaxing, working, or eating. The first step to doing this is to decide which activities, other than sleeping of course, you would like to do in your bedroom. For example, if you like reading, you can make a reading area by making sure there is one or more chair available for reading, possibly with a little table to keep books on or a glass of water. If you would enjoy coffee in your bedroom, set up an area for your coffee maker and a little table at which to enjoy your coffee.

Check back soon for part two of this blog!

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Make a Headboard – Part Two

2008-08-01T15:00:00.002-06:00

Sand the edges of the plywood. Then, take a sheet of upholstery foam and use your pattern to cut it just one inch larger than your plywood. Lay the foam over the plywood and staple it in a few places or even glue it on or use stray on adhesive.

Now, cover the layer of upholstery foam with a sheet of upholstery batting that is cut two to four inches larger than the size of the plywood. Wrap the batting around the plywood and staple it around the back. Try to smooth the corners evenly before you staple them.
Next, cut the decorative fabric about four inches larger than the plywood and then iron it. Lay the decorative fabric over your layer of batting and the staple it too around the back of the plywood headboard. This is the trickiest part, because you have to make sure the fabric lays correctly over the batting and foam and doesn’t have any wrinkles or uneven bunches.

You can staple some plain lining fabric to the back of your headboard if you want to cover the messy batting, fabric, and foam edges.

Finally, attach the legs to your headboard if you need to. You can also trim the edges of the headboard with cording, ribbon or bows if you would like.

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Make a Headboard – Part One

2008-07-31T15:00:00.004-06:00

If you need a headboard, but want something personalized, you can make your own fairly easily. You will need a tape measure, paper to make a pattern, plywood, saw, sandpaper, upholstery foam, an iron, batting, muslin, decorative fabric, electric drill, screws, staple gun, and if you want trim you will need cording or braid.
First, measure your bed so you can decide how wide and tall you’ll need to make your headboard. Normally, a headboard is slightly wider than the width of the mattress, and about 8 inches of the headboard is seen above the pillows leaning against it.

Use paper to draw your headboard shape. You can make the headboard a rectangle, an arch, or some other creative shape. Then, cut the shape out of the paper to make a pattern. Buy extra paper if you aren’t sure what shape you want to go with. This way you can cut out several shapes and tape them to the wall behind your bed to see which shape you like the best. If you aren’t sure which fabric to use for your headboard, you may want to try choosing a fabric that matches another fabric in your room or your bedding.

Next, lay the pattern on the plywood and trace the shape with a pencil or pen. Don’t forget to trace legs to raise the headboard the correct distance off of the floor. Now, cut the shape out of the plywood with a power saw.

Check back tomorrow for part two of this blog.

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Make Small Rooms Look Bigger – Part Two

2008-07-30T15:00:00.006-06:00

Well lit rooms will always look bigger than darker rooms. Make sure the curtains in your room aren’t too dark, and choose sheer curtains where you can. Artificial light works too, so make sure you have several lamps or even consider installing new lights in your ceiling.

Use transparent materials where you can to make a room look larger. For instance, if your bathroom is tiny, choose a sheer shower curtain or shower door instead of an opaque one. You can also choose tabletops make of glass to get this effect.

Mirrors are a sure fire way to make a room look bigger. A mirrored wall can make the room look like an exercise room, so you may not want to take the mirroring tip to that extreme. You can also buy large framed mirrors to put on your walls. Framed mirrors are widely available at reasonable prices and in many different styles.
Surprisingly, a larger piece of furniture used where you used to have several small pieces will make a room look bigger. They create a less cluttered, more open space, with large blocks of color. This makes the room look less busy and more comfortable.

Plain colored furniture in neutral colors will look best in small rooms. Steer clear of pattered furniture. If you want to add more interest to the furniture, try choosing different textures.

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Make Small Rooms Look Bigger – Part One

2008-07-29T15:00:00.006-06:00

There are a few advantages to small spaces, for instance decorating a small space is that you are often able to save money. Also, it is easier to make small spaces look cozy. But, sometimes you may simply want your small apartment to look larger. If this is the case, you may be in luck, because there are decorating tips you can use to make your space look more spacious.

A small room will always look larger the less clutter you have displayed. This means you need to find ways to get that clutter organized. You can put your clutter underneath table skirts, on shelves or behind closet or cabinet doors. You will be more organized this way too.

Light, cool colors will make a space feel larger. These shades will make a room feel open. The best colors you can choose for this effect are soft hues of blue and green.
Using a monochromatic color scheme will help to make your space look bigger. Stick with the colors from the previous tip to maximize the illusion of a bigger space. Try to choose furniture colors that are similar in color to your walls. If you choose contrasting colors it will break up the space and make it seem smaller, so make sure you do not pick colors that are too different. You want to focus on creating a simple, calm looking effect.

Check back soon to read part two of Make Small Rooms Look Bigger!

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Tools Everyone Should Have at Home – Part 3

2008-07-28T15:00:00.003-06:00

Even if you only rent an apartment, it is important to have a set of basic tools on hand so that you can make simple home repairs yourself, this is part three of this blog about which tools to keep in your toolkit.

It is beneficial to have a utility blade for opening boxes, or working on craft projects. It is also a good tool because you can remove the razor blades for heavy duty stove cleaning or cleaning tough messes off of floors or counters.
A simple ruler is helpful for many projects for cutting guides, measuring, and marking.

Felt, plastic, and carpet dots aren’t something that you might think to have in your toolbox, but they are great to have around. You can put them on the bottoms of vases, candleholders, boxes, inside cabinet doors, or anything else you could think of. Plastic dots used on the back of a picture frame can help to keep the picture level. Carpet dots are thicker and are used under chairs and table legs to keep from making scrape marks on hardwood floors.

Spackle may be needed for filling nail holes if you move pictures around, or repairing small holes or dents in walls. Most home owners won’t find occasion to use more than just a small container of spackle. Along with your spackle you will need to have a putty knife to apply it with.

A paint can key is easier to use to open paint cans than a screwdriver, and they usually come free at hardware stores. Just remember to save them for future use.

Having several different types of glues available will allow you to accomplish most repairs you’ll need glue for. Also, having solvents on hand may be necessary to remove sticky areas where adhesives or glue used to be.

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Tools Everyone Should Have at Home – Part 2

2008-07-23T15:00:00.002-06:00

Even if you only rent an apartment, it is important to have a set of basic tools on hand so that you can make simple home repairs yourself, this is part two of this blog about which tools to keep in your toolkit.

A hammer is useful for picture hanging or shelving.

A vice grip is a tool you might not think of when you consider buying basic tools, but it will be good to have if you need a slip free hold on a screw or really anything.

It is great to have an assortment of nails and screws on hand. If you’re like me you’ll mostly use them to hang pictures, but occasionally you may need to make small repairs with them.
Blue painter’s tape is essential to have for any painting project to mask off areas that you don’t want to paint. I find that it works best if you pull the blue tape off while your paint it still wet. If you wait until it is completely dry to pull it off, you may have problems with the paint you just painted on the wall peeling off with it. Blue tape can also be used to mark the locations of studs, or even to protect floors from dirt and scratches when you are moving.

A cordless drill is awesome to have so that you can save yourself time inserting screws or removing them, or drilling pilot holes for nails and screws.

Check back tomorrow for part three of this blog!

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Tools Everyone Should Have at Home – Part 1

2008-07-22T15:00:00.004-06:00

Even if you only rent an apartment, it is important to have a set of basic tools on hand so that you can make simple home repairs yourself. It is nice to keep these tools inside somewhere, so that you don’t have to go out into the garage to get them.

Keep a 25 foot measuring tape in your toolkit. It can be used to measure windows for blinds or curtains, or your floor for new flooring. You can also use it to hang pictures and to take with you on shopping trips, or you might prefer to purchase a smaller tape measure for those purposes.
A flat head and Phillips head screw driver are very handy to have around for little fixes around the house. These can be used to tighten screws when kitchen cabinet hardware gets loose. It is also advisable to have a tiny set of screwdrivers to tighten eyeglasses or work on electronic equipment.

Pliers are often necessary for small tasks around the house too. Most often needle-nose pliers will be needed, but it is nice to have a few sizes around. Needle-nose pliers can be used for small craft projects as well as for fixing things around the house.

Having a level on hand will save you a lot of work and extra holes in your walls when you hang pictures. Also, hanging towel bars or shelving you will love having this level on hand if you want to save yourself a headache.

Check back tomorrow for part two of this blog!

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