Light Up Your Life With Feng Shui
November 28, 2006
Feng Shui (pronounced Foong Shway or Fung Shoy) is the ancient Chinese art of luck management, which works by maximising the flow of energy (known as ‘Chi’) in your environment. Every object, inanimate or living, possesses its own energy field and also has an affect on the flow of Chi in your environment.
The orientation and layout of your home, garden or business and its contents can impact your career, personal relationships, health and wealth. Whilst observing the basic rules of Feng Shui can greatly enhance your lifestyle, ignoring its principles can similarly bring misfortune and sorrow.
The most familiar method of Feng Shui is the compass method works on the principle of each sector of your house falling into a different area of your life, depending on its orientation. These sectors are identified by placing an octagonal, nine-sectioned diagram over a plan of your home. This diagram is known as the Ba Gua and is always aligned with the wall containing the front door or main entrance to the premises, with the compass points corresponding to those of the house directions. For example, if your front door faces North, then you should place the Ba Gua diagram on a plan of your property with the North sector (relating to career) aligned with the front door.
10 Tips for Working With a Contractor
November 28, 2006
This is the year you’re going all out. You’re going to build a deck, add a porch, erect a gazebo or lay a patio. You’ve done the research. It’s well within your capability and you’re looking forward to the satisfaction of creating a structure of beauty.
Or not. Yes — you’d like to proceed with an outdoor structure but for you, it isn’t a do-it-yourself project. How can you find the right person to do it for you? Here are 10 tips for hiring and working with a contractor.
1. Plan your project carefully. Clip pictures, make sketches, write a description. This will help you accurately convey to the contractor what you want the finished product to be.
2. Make a list of contractors. Ask your neighbors or friends for the names of reputable tradesmen. Contact material suppliers — lumberyards, for example — and ask for recommendations.
3. Get at least three written bids for the project, but don’t give in to the temptation to automatically accept the lowest bid. A higher bid may be worth the price in better materials, workmanship and reliability. If you get a very low bid, the contractor may have made a mistake or forgotten to bid on everything you wanted. If they have deliberately low-bid, they may use cheaper materials or take shortcuts to make a profit.
Embossed Votive Holder Shade
November 27, 2006
Create the look of a Stained Glass Votive Holder
Supplies Needed:
Most items can be found in the Scrap booking/Stamping section of your local craft store.
Straight-Sided Clear Glass Votive Holder
Vellum
Craft Markers of various colors
Hole Punch
Decorative String
Embossing Powder in your choice of color
Versamark Ink Pad
Embossing Heat Tool
Scissors
Tape Measure or Ruler
1. Measure the height and circumference of your Glass votive holder with a tape measure or ruler. Use these measurements to cut out a piece of vellum. It is important to make sure that the vellum does not extend past the top of the votive holder because this will increase the risk of a fire hazard.
2. After you have planned your design with your stamp(s), use the Versamark ink to stamp the design onto the vellum. At this point the design will be clear.
3. Now sprinkle the embossing powder onto the stamped design. Turn the vellum upright and make sure all stray powder has been shaken or tapped off. Also make sure that your entire design has been covered in powder. You will be able to see this because the embossing powder will stick to the design that you stamped with the Versamark inkpad.
Mortgage: Rehabilitation Of Financial Helplessness
November 27, 2006
The term ‘mortgage’ is assumed really controversial by people when they are contemplating the idea of taking a loan. It is definitely a very simple procedure which is presumed complicated because your home is attached to the term mortgage. In the layman language it is the conditional conveyance of property as a security for the repayment of the loan.
In the real estate market you are sure to hear ‘mortgage’ more than often and yet not sure what it is. First understand the mortgage in real estate terms and then decide if you want to opt for this type of loan borrowing. Every loan lending company would be interested in giving you a loan if you can place some guarantee for their money. This is as justified for as the need to insure your property against some unfortunate incident. Therefore, the disadvantage while opting for mortgage is that you may loose your property or home in case of your failure of repayment.
Now, don’t give up yet the expansion of the loan market has included terms which ensure that your home will be as safe as ever. Mortgage in the real estate has furcated into various forms. You can choose a form that is ideal for your needs and demands. The more acknowledged variants of mortgage are - fixed rate mortgage, variable rate mortgage and balloon mortgage.
Lighting up Your Life
November 27, 2006
You are visiting a friend that has just had a beautiful kitchen remodel done. It is a lovely kitchen with stunning granite countertops and a sharp looking tile backsplash. The glass door cabinets are filled with the good china. Somehow after spending a small fortune the room still looks a bit drab.
So many times people spend a wad of money renovating a room and neglect to take the lighting into consideration. Properly placed lighting of the correct type can literally make or break a room. That tile backsplash can be brought to life with some low voltage linear lighting. The china in those glass door cabinets can really show itself off with some puck lights and glass shelves.
Recessed lighting and a combination of switching options can give a room many personalities to suit any mood. From bright light for working conditions to subtle lighting for a romantic setting can all be accomplished with switches and dimmers. Accent lighting to highlight certain aspects of a project that were carefully planned but would barely be noticed otherwise. Cove lighting above crown moldings helps focus attention to the detail of the room.
Gardening for Kids
November 27, 2006
Children are continually bombarded with advertising for fast food and unhealthy treats. One of the most important lessons you can teach them is how to tend and grow their own food from the garden.
There are plenty of quick and easy projects that the children can get involved in. The projects will teach them about nutrition, nature, recycling and organic gardening. That’s a good outcome!
The no dig garden is a particularly good project for children because the garden can be built and planted in just a couple of hours. You do not have to prepare the garden for weeks in advance, as with other growing methods. There are detailed instructions for building a no dig garden on my website (www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com). If a full on garden seems too ambitious at the start, try something simpler.
There Is Always Something To Improve Or Innovate For Comfort
November 26, 2006
In this fast moving world of the 21st century, we are always forced to do everything in a rush, even eating and sleeping. The normal words of today are "hurry", "rush", "fast", "quick" and "immediately." In comparison with 20 years ago, today we have to move or work as fast as possible to survive in a competitive environment with creative and innovative ways. Even though modern technology innovations were introduced decades ago, the new technology has not yet given us the opportunity to create new products to reduce the stress of people in everyday life. We are living under constant mental and physical stress, with more and more demands from our current society.
There are many consumer products claiming that they will cure stress and make life easy, but it is still hard to find good and innovative products on the market for consumers. From time to time, I wonder why multimillion dollar companies, which have hundreds of research engineers and scientists in their R&D departments, are not creating and producing the new, innovative products for consumers.
Make Your Hardwood Floors Shine
November 26, 2006
You have just installed hardwood flooring in your home. Now what? How do you keep your hardwood floors clean and shiny? Read the following Q&A in which two hardwood floor owners are asking just that.
Q: “I was reading your site and saw that one should not use oil based cleaners. Why? Our installer told us to use vinegar in water, and use a damp cloth to clean the floor about once a week. Will this damage the floor? What is a polyurethane cleaner? Where do you buy it?”
A: If an oil based cleaner is used on polyurethane finished floors, it leaves an oily residue on the surface which can not only make cleaning the floor more difficult, but after a period of time, when the floor is showing signs of wear and needs to be buffed and recoated, this residue can present adhesion problems. When cleaning any hardwood floor, or furniture, minimal water should be used. In other words, wipe with a dampened, not wet cloth. Adding a capful of vinegar can help and is suggested by the National Wood Flooring Association.
The Benifits of Home Ventilation
November 26, 2006
The purpose of a home ventilation system is to maintain a healthy living environment by supplying fresh air to your home while at the same time removing stale and polluted air. Home ventilation also helps to maintain proper humidity levels of 30 to 50 percent.
The air in your home is used many times over, often with fresh air entering only when we open doors or windows. As we strive to build homes more and more energy efficient, we create an environment prone to indoor air quality problems, thereby, reducing the homes ability to breathe and natural air changes do not occur.
The reason for the buildup of indoor pollution in today’s homes is a direct result of our efforts to conserve energy. With insufficient home ventilation, pollutants can build up and become very concentrated. These pollutants come from many sources and some, such as mold, are more problematic when combined with high humidity levels, which is another problem associated with inadequate home ventilation.
When humidity is too high, mold, mildew and rot can become serious problems. A mold outbreak can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home and in some cases can make a home uninhabitable.
Preserved Flower Candles
November 26, 2006
Putting flowers in your candle will add a unique look, while preserving your favorite flower.
Written by Expressive Candles
We have been asked many times, how to put flowers and other objects on the outside of a candle. So, we’ll be showing you how it is done. The most important thing to remember is to be safe. Putting anything on your candle such as paint, dried flowers, ribbon and other objects, pose a fire risk. While this is unlikely to happen with this project, we need to warn you before hand. We do not recommend burning any candle that has flammable material on it.
To start with, you will need a few supplies. First and the most important is a big pillar candle, at least 3″ in diameter. This will help keep the flame out of reach of anything you put on the candle. You will also need to have a small white votive, or the same color votive as your pillar, an old pan to melt wax in, a paint brush, dried flowers or herbs and ribbon.
