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Fresh Gardening Trends for 2019

As one of the most precious hobbies out there, gardening has a special place in our hearts. It allows you to get closer to nature right there in your backyard, lets you care for something important, and gives you the opportunity to watch your hard work grow. Though cultivating plants and flowers may seem rather straightforward and boring, gardening is actually one of the most creative hobbies out there. It allows you to experiment with nature in a safe and pleasant way while improving your mental and physical health.

It’s no wonder, then, that there are constantly new gardening trends that you can try and fall in love with. Each year brings a new and refreshing perspective on gardening and makes you see a side of the hobby that you never thought was there. 2019 is no different, as it allows you to play with your design and concept in many new or improved ways.

If you’re at loss for ideas but want to do something amazing with an existing garden or with a completely new one, these trends will show you the way to happiness and prosperity. Let’s see exactly why they’re so popular.

1. Giving back to nature

Up to now, gardens have simply been something pretty to look at. Some have even seen them as ways to take away from nature and tame it. This view is considered rather outdated in today’s garden community as people have found ways to give back to nature and the community with their gardens.

Even though you’re working with nature, you’re still going to create waste. Whether it’s garden clippings, weeds, or leftover and rotten produce, it’s bound to end up in the trash. Well, not anymore. With a composting bin, you can build yourself, there isn’t a thing you can’t recycle. The benefits are endless because now you don’t have to spend money on fertilizer, either.

As well as that, you should focus on making decor yourself and using recycled materials. This way, you’re fully supporting your self-sustaining eco-system and making sure the Earth stays cleaner one garden at a time. The more gardeners take to this approach, the cleaner and greener the Earth becomes. It’s a good thing, then, this is becoming one of the most popular ways to decorate your garden today. Soon enough you won’t be able to find a garden without recycled furniture and a compost bin in it.

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**2. Finding the focal point**

Focal points are the basis of any good design. If you have certain things the eye can focus on, you can create stunning visual effects. It works both ways: it can either make your garden look more spacious or make a huge vast space look more complete. The focal point of 2019 is definitely the garden structure. Whether it’s the pergola or closed pavilion, it has the power to bring the indoors outside and completely transform your garden.

Garden structures are rather stunning and offer you a unique experience of your garden. Not only do they give you somewhere to hide from the sun, but they also make the garden enjoyable in cold winter days. As well as that, they can make the perfect venue for your new social event.

On top of that, garden structures are an extension of your style and personality. You’ll get to play with interior and exterior design all at once and create something you’ve always dreamed of. If you want to completely incorporate your garden structure to your garden, you can even decorate it with climbing plants.

From a modernistic to a fairytale look, whatever you imagine can be yours in a few steps. You can also either match your structure to the interior of your house and tie it to your home or create your own little world outside different from anything you have inside.

3. Make way for minimalism

Minimalism may have started in the 20th century, but it’s more relevant than ever today. In the age of capitalism, when consumerism seems inescapable, it’s your job to rebel. Say no to tacky decorations and excessive decor. It’s time to show the world that your home can be just as stunning stripped down to its bare beauty.

Don’t limit you minimalistic tendencies to just your home, either. Your garden deserves to feel the love, too. Gardeners everywhere are sick and tired of putting so many things in their garden and positioning their flowers a certain way just to make room for more. An overstuffed garden isn’t a synonym for excellence any longer.

Even if you’re new to minimalism, you’ll be able to pull off a decent outdoor design. The most important thing is that you believe in it and trust in its effectiveness and power. Minimalism can set your garden free from the expectations of society, give you a new perspective on beauty, and leave you with a breathtaking garden that’s easy to take care of.

This is, therefore, also an ideal solution for a busy individual who still likes to keep a neat back yard. You won’t have a lot to tend to, but it’ll still be magnificent.

4. Landscaping on a new level

In 2019, it seems that playing with just garden plants isn’t enough anymore. Landscaping and garden architecture is also very important today. In that spirit, we can see that a lot of new landscaping trends are on the rise. This is especially noticeable when you take into account the fact that you need something edgy and cool to set aside modern gardening from traditional designs.

One of the most popular and easiest landscape gardening trends of today is combining the landscape with your plants. Edges and boundaries are no longer a thing, and you don’t have to worry about having a clean cut architectural design. The era of combining even those things we thought could never be combined is upon us.

This trend is especially appealing to those who have a big yard and don’t know what exactly to do with it. With a little work and creativity, you’ll have the most unique design on the block but won’t have to invest a lot of money or time into it. Simple yet effective, this remains one of the most popular trends of 2019.

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5. Bring the outdoors in

Indoor gardens have become more and more popular in the previous years, only to reach their peak and become a trend in 2019. With small or no spaces available for garden cultivation today, it’s no wonder that the average person decides to bring the plants inside. Not only does that save space, but it also gives you something very unique to work with. As well as that, it can be very practical.

Depending on the type of space you work with, there are different indoor garden ideas that you can choose from. Before you bring in the plants into your home, you need to scout the premises and figure out where they’d fit in.

Some people choose their living rooms as their garden space while others prefer being greeted by their garden at the entrance of the home. There are also those who think the bedroom can benefit from some plants. Whatever you decide, your garden is bound to make a valuable addition to the room. Make sure that your pots and plants match the design and style of the room you’re incorporating the garden in.

As well as that, you can take things a step further. Who’s to say that you can’t transform your whole house into an indoor garden? You can place a few plants here and there and create a agree on a path that envelopes the entire premises. To really show your design is connected throughout the whole house, make sure that each room has one key plant in it.

Corners, windows, and desk sides are also great places to put your new potted plans. As well as tying the rest of your design together, plants can refresh your home entirely. They produce oxygen and take in monoxide, meaning that you’ll be rewarded with fresh and clean oxygen. In other words, your cognitive function will be improved and you’ll be living a healthier life just by cultivating plants inside.

6. Perfection is overrated

Up to now, we’ve witnessed that most garden designs were perfect. Each plant and flower had its specific place in the garden, and there couldn’t be a petal outside its rightful place. Though such gardens are stunning, they’re also kind of ridiculous. The whole point of nature is to let it be as wild and free as possible, not to contain it. Plus, who has time to take care of every little petal and leaf?

Thus, the trend of asymmetry was born. People have gotten bored with the whole being a perfect ordeal and have quickly moved on to the most asymmetric designs you can think of. This gets off the responsibility to take care of every inch of your garden. Whatever seems out of place can just be prescribed to asymmetry and imperfection.

There truly is beauty in chaos and wilderness, and your garden can be a testimony to that. That being said, you should have at least one feature to tie the whole design together. This key feature gives the garden a sense of completeness and lets the onlooker know that you intentionally designed it the way you did. Otherwise, it may just look like you have no idea how gardening works.

Conclusion

Some of these trends are brand new while others have just been improved upon. Regardless of which category your favorite ones fall into, you’re bound to find something truly wonderful for your garden. You’ll never see it shine brighter than after you’ve rejuvenated everything on the premises and made it into something even more beautiful.

You may think that there’s only one way your garden will grow, but you’re wrong, there are many. With every new trend, you’ll find a new way your garden can grow and shine. Don’t be afraid to experiment even when you don’t think a certain something will work. Soon enough, you’ll have the recipe for the perfect garden in your hands, and the only thing left to do will be to use it.

3 Fun Woodworking Projects with Kids

Creating fun woodworking projects with kids is a great way for parents and little ones to bond while you are teaching them how to create wood based crafts for around the house. These easy projects below are great for kids to get involved with since they all use limited power tools and have easy assembly.

Bird House

Making a birdhouse is a right of passage for little ones and adults who are learning how to create crafts from wood working. The most basic design for a birdhouse is to create a standard box with an A frame roof. You can easily use an untreated 1×8 wood board to measure the birdhouse walls, roof and floor and then cut it with a chainsaw for cutting firewood.

Once cut, you will want to assemble the birdhouse with nails or wood screws. Adding some wood glue is always a good step to ensure that your woodworking projects have a stronger adhesive bond.

You will also need to have a power drill with a 1 inch to 1 ½ inch sawing bit to create the entry and exit hole. Once the hole is made you can pre-cut or drill a much smaller hole and stick in a slim wooden dowel as a perch for birds entering and exiting. If you cut the hole the right size compared to the dowel, then it should give you a tight fit, but again adding in a dab of wood glue will give it a better hold once weight is added.

With the basic design in mind, you can add onto the birdhouse by painting it a bright color, adding slats to the walls or shingles on the roof to create more layers in the overall finished house.

Tool Caddy

For girls and boys alike, creating this basic caddy is a great woodworking project that you can make together to help them store and carry important items. This basic box design is fairly easy to make and requires cut pieces of lumber plus a circular dowel that will become the handle.

To create a simple tool caddy, you will want to purchase and cut down a few 1x6s. You can then trim them down to your desired length for the width and height for the caddy. The sides of the caddy should be trimmed to a slimming angle going up to the predrilled holes for the dowel.

To attach the sides and the bottom you will want to use a brad nailer and some wood glue to give it an extra strength hold. The top handle dowel can be slid into the cutouts, which if cut to the dowels size will already be a snug fit. Adding in a few dabs of wood glue will ensure that the dowel handle doesn’t spin or slip with frequent use.

Soccer Goal

For the soccer star in your home, this is a great DIY project to make together before starting some basic soccer drills. You will need a few 2x4s to create a sturdy goal that can take a hit from the soccer ball being kicked into it as well as some soccer goal netting.

The basic shape of the goal is a rectangle in the front with two triangles on the side. The triangles need to have a right angle from the frame going up and the base on the ground. From the back bottom corner of the triangle you will want to add in a final long board that reaches from end to end of the triangles, this will create your steady goal stance. Finally use nails or screws to attach the netting, not allowing it to be too loose.

The age of your child will give you the best recommendation for goal size. Starting at age 9, your kids will need a goal that is 6 ½ feet high. The width of the goal will change as they age. For standard soccer practice at home, you can build a smaller framed goal.

Conclusion

These fun DIY woodworking projects for kids are a great start for families that want to learn how to woodwork. After you have tackled these projects, you will have the basic idea and skills to move onto more crafts that you can do with your kids help.

Learn The 5 Easy Hacks for Cleaning Blocked Drains

Everybody is well aware of the warning signs associated with a clogged drain. The signs include excess water, pooling around the feet in the washroom or in the kitchen sink, a foul and unpleasant odor, excess hair, etc. Often, we tend to feel too lazy to do something about this, and sometimes, we just wait for the plumber to arrive and do some work. This is not a wise decision and requires immediate attention. The blocked drain can be a source of severe problems. Take a close look at 5 easy hacks through which you can clean clogged drains.

Clean the Drains Using A Bent Wire Hanger

This is a simple and quite effective method to clean the clogged drains. Use a simple wire hanger and straighten the entire thing as much as possible. Now you need to bend one end of it to form a hook. Push this end through the drain cover and begin fishing. The ultimate goal is to pull out all the hair and dirt. Be careful not to shove it down further inside. After you manage to get everything out of the drain, pour clean water to end the process.

Cleaning the Clogged Drains While Using Common Ingredients

Even if you don’t know how to master the art of plumbing, you can still manage to clean a blocked drain by using household things. Here are some examples of such ways:

Take 1/3 of a cup of vinegar and the same amount of baking soda in the measuring cup. It will fizz and you have to pour the entire thing down the blocked drain. The fizzing part is supposed to remove the hair, grease and the excess dirt inside the pipe. You need to wait for a couple of hours, or you can wait for an entire night also. After that, use hot water to clean the entire mess.
Apart from vinegar, you can use table salt also. You need to add ½ cup of table salt to ½ cup of baking soda and pour the mixture down the blocked drains. After twenty minutes or so, pour boiled water. The chemical reaction between water, salt, and baking soda are supposed to clean the blockage.
For particularly the toilet and kitchen sink, add ¼ cup of liquid dish soap in a bowl and add some boiling water to it. The soap helps in clearing the greasy dirt. You can use a plunger or a rubber glove to clean.

Cleaning with The Help of Caustic Soda

Caustic soda is known as sodium hydroxide, which can burn your skin. Since it is capable of causing a problematic chemical burn, you need to make use of protective rubber gloves as well as adequate eye protection. You can get it from any local hardware store. Add ¾ gallon of clean and cold water in a bucket and add 3 cups of caustic soda to it. It will start fizzing and heating up. Then pour the mixture inside the blocked drains and let it sit for twenty to thirty minutes. In the end, clean it with boiled water. You can repeat the entire action if requires.

Using A Drain Snake

If you want to use a reasonably priced tool you can use a drain snake. It is a long and flexible metallic rope with a metal shaped like a spiral at its end.

Cleaning the Pipe Inside

You need to place a bucket under the pipe beneath the sinks. The bucket is used to collect the spilling water. Then use a wrench to lose the slip nuts of the pipe. After the pipe is free, remove it and pour the content into the bucket. Then rinse it with boiling water.

Three Interesting Ways to Decorate the Walls of Your Home

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Keeping your home looking great takes work, but, it is worth it. If you are due to update your home décor. I think you are going to enjoy this article and find it very useful. Below, I share with you several innovative, slightly different, ways for you to decorate your walls.

Use road and warning signs

For a game room, gym or maybe an office, road signs are a great option. They are big and bold, so you do not need many to make a difference and create an interesting look. You can easily order some stop signs online. These are an especially good option. They are bright and iconic. You will be surprised by how many rooms in your home these signs work for.

Full-sized wall stickers

Most people are aware of wall stickers. Lots of people use the tree style ones in their kid’s rooms and the logo or slogan type in other parts of their house.

But, not that many people are aware of the fact that you can buy wall stickers that cover the entire wall. These are available in a huge range of formats. Including prints that look like high-end wallpaper. The nice thing about these wall stickers is that there are no joins and putting up a wall sticker is a lot easier than wallpapering a room is.

Create your own customized wall hangings

Recently, a lot of people have got interested in crafts. If you are one of them, why not use your skills to create something interesting for your walls. You can easily find inspiration and how to instructions online. But, by far the best place to go for this kind of information is Pinterest. You will get tons of ideas and links to how to videos and articles.

Create a collage wall

If you have too many photos sitting on your hard drive, creating a collage wall is an excellent way to use and enjoy them. You can take several approaches to this idea.

The easiest way to do it is to buy a stack of affordable photo frames and spray or paint them to fit in with your home décor. Or, buy frameless ones, they are really cheap. Load each one with a photo and put them up on the wall in an arrangement that looks good. It could be in rows or something more creative like a heart shape.

Provided the frames are not very heavy, you can use glue or sticky pads to put them up. This will save you time and stop you from ending up with lots of holes in your walls.

Every now and again, take a few, or all of them, down and put some new photos in the frames. For even more variety, occasionally spray or paint the frames in new colors.

Provided you buy the right type of frame you also open up the option to display items like pressed flowers or autumn leaves instead of just photos. Some people use this idea to create something that is akin to a memory wall for important events or family holidays.

I promise you once you try some of these home decorating ideas you will be hooked and want to regularly swap things up to create new looks. When you do that remember to try to sell things like the stop signs or photo frames on via somewhere like eBay. This will stop them from ending up in landfill and give others the chance to enjoy decorating their home with them.

A Bright and Colorful Living Room Makeover: Unwind Your Life

A living room is the most important space in your home. Chances are that it is also the place you spend most of your time. After all, this is where you entertain guests, watch TV with your partner and have family time with your kids.

After a long day at work or tiring tasks, this is also the room where you unwind your life and relax. But in order to do so, the overall décor must be not only comfortable but aesthetically agreeable as well. Therefore, here are some bright and colorful ideas for living room makeover that will help you reinvent your space and yourself.

1. Change the colors

While many believe that changing the colors is the easiest way to change the room, it can actually be a tedious task. After all, you need to find the color scheme that all members of the household will like and fit it in the design. But sometimes, choosing a new and unexpected shade can really be the pivotal point of having a bright and colorful living room makeover.

Try living coral shade which is new Pantone Color of the Year and will support natural earthy tones for those who want to add just a splash of bolder tones. Instead of painting all walls, use flower wallpaper on part of the wall to create an interesting pattern and create complex patterns. Velvet is in this season, and green furniture will go well with natural materials like wood and gold details like a vase or mirror frame.

2. Add an interesting detail

Never underestimate the impact an interesting detail can have on the room. And this year, interior design will be about highlighting certain features of the room. A huge colorful painting on the wall can open up space and create a playful ambiance.

But if you are for something more subtle, consider saying goodbye to symmetrical patterns and saying goodbye to a straight line. Since the living room is the place to spend leisure time but also have parties, consider adding a fixture like a fireplace to define the room as both relaxing and dramatic. Use bolder colors like lime green or fuchsia for the mantel and your living room will immediately become ore livelier and fun.

3. Make small space bigger

Even the smallest of living rooms can offer an abundance of space and become your sanctuary if you know a few design tricks. The minimalist design may be out this year, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t adapt its principles to the new trends. Think about pieces of furniture that have more than one purpose, like a coffee table that is a storage unit and a chair at the same time.

Instead of going for massive pieces, look for cozy and simple furniture that will be comfortable and not swallow the room. Wall mounted bookshelves are ideal to free the space, while a small colorful rug instead of a carpet will brighten up space. A huge mirror opposite the window will expand the space and also bring more natural light to your living room allowing its colors to pop.

4. Redefine the lights

If you consult with a renovator like Precision Planning, you will learn that lighting is one of the most important things for the room. It will help you define certain areas and set the ambiance which will further mark the overall style in your living room. If you have an open floor plan, then using lights to separate different aspects of the space will make the décor more interesting and dynamic.

On the other hand, small rooms will look bigger if you allow more natural light in and change the fixture so that they have a wider range. Use lamps to set the atmosphere for parties, movie nights or simply to take a nap on the couch.

5. Establish a focal point

If you are keen on darker styles, you can still make your living room bright and colorful. While some details here and there, like flamboyant cushions for the couch, can live up space, a focal point will define it. Choose one area of your living room and place a truly daring piece of furniture, decorative item or art there.

This can be a colorful chair like yellow or red that will be in contrast with the dark walls and add a layer to space. On the other hand, a stone wall with golden details among the natural granite will highlight the elegance and give your room more character.

Lastly

Sometimes, a small change can make a big difference. A splash of color here, a new art piece there can help you rediscover the aesthetics thus creating a bright and colorful living room. After all, this is a special place in your home where people come together and you find peace to unwind your life.

About the author

Sarah Jessica Smith is a young blogger from Sydney. She is in love with life and all the things that can make her daily routine easier. She loves to write about home improvement, lifestyle, and all the small things that make life such a great adventure.

Guide To Pick The Right Quilt Kit

Quilt kits are used to create the blankets and can also be used to create some beautiful piece of craft. Quilt kits come with all type of things which are needed to make a beautiful blanket. In quilt kits, you will find a different type of fabrics patterns and cut pieces of fabrics. So, the quilt kits are considered as the best one which let the quilting process easier and picks it wisely. It should follow the right pattern that has implemented with new techniques for crafting and changes in the modern pattern.

Floral Appliqué Table Quilt Kit

This is an interesting model that has been undergone with the table’s cape and other ideas. This is highlighted with basic foundation so that it remains coasters attention too. In addition, the quilt kits are turned with large and hand-quilted for absolute design. This is made up of personal touch so that it needs to undergo by stitches made with the floral appliqué table design. It will match coasters too and determine how to implement it.

Rectangle Quilt

If you wish to get a charming look, then choose the rectangle quilt kits. It must come under rose petal pinks and sage greens for giving exclusive look. It makes the perfect option and bedroom quilt kits denote changes in the modern world. This is identified with printers with polka dot prints and able to carry out quickly and colorful quilt designs. Most often, the pattern is simple so that it remains to cheer any room. It is made up of charming collections and suitable for bedroom and living space.

Customized Mouse Pad

When you are looking at the customized and modern pattern, it helps to turn a bit of fabric into wonderful reason. This is highlighted with a customized mousepad and able to provide a good condition for the home. It will able to check pattern and thus put around friends and family members. They are sure to appreciate the gesture by installing customized mouse pad quilt kits forever.

Baby Quilt Kits

It has distinct patterns and uses to put together in a modern baby quilt kits design. It should go with soft, pastel colors for designing with a natural look. When you acquire perfect look, then pick baby quilt kit that looks awesome and cuddling up with bed or couch. It should be identified with a modern baby quilt that has been used to give perfect look anyways. Your baby will look cute when lying on a quilt on the bed or couch.

Use in-wall Hanging

If you want a bit of inspiration, then go for a luxury pattern of quilt kits. It brings together for wall hangings that are made up of intricate designs of flowers and others. This is identified with lots of things and able to partner with the addition to private space. It must consider a bit of inspiration and thus go for patterns to give an attractive look for walls. As a result, it should deliver a perfect look and even utilize luxury quilt kit patterns for premises.

Themed Decors

Go with the admiring quilt kits that have been functioning on boat patterns and add a few bits of themed designs. This is highlighted with lots of lovely packs so that you could adhere to the rest collections. Some of the themed decors quilt kits are highly capable of delivering an attractive look to the premises. Go ahead with pre-cut collections and fabrics have been feeling right together.

Conclusion

When picking the best quilt kits, you could follow the above steps to get a clear idea. In fact, the themed collections are really awesome and able to provide whatever theme wants for designing. It has been operated with distinct collections and thus able to quilt kits operate for large purposes.

Turn Your Home Into Your Personal Cozy Sanctuary

Besides the loving members of the household, it takes certain elements to really make a house a true home, a place where you feel most at ease, where you can calm your mind, improve your mood, energize and decompress. Your home is the extension of your personality – you need to add elements that mean something to you and that can make you feel cozy. So, what exactly could you do?

1. Beloved photos

Our loved ones always need to be close to us, and there’s no better way to do it than to surround ourselves with their pictures. Whether they are photos of your family members, friends, pets or memorable journeys and events, those photos are what will add personality to any room. If you don’t want to drill into the wall, you can print large-scale posters and simply lean them against the wall, or you can hang several photos on a piece of string and place it over the mirror. The possibilities are various – find your own style by displaying the photos.

2. Bring the nature in

Nature is a part of us and we should constantly try to get closer to it (or to say, get back to it). Fill your home with plants that you find lovely and easy to maintain. Whether it’s flowers, foliage, cacti or simple herbs, get the plants that attract you and let them bring the outdoors in for you. There are tons of ways plants can decorate your home. And don’t forget – they help you ease your mind and clean the air, too.

3. Choose how you want your home to smell

You know that feeling when you’re away for a couple of days and when you come back, you instantly know you’re home the moment you enter through the door? That’s what specific smell of a home can do to you. In case you don’t smell anything when you enter your home, find some fragrance that you like or some fragrant plants and let their smell soothes you whenever you come back. It’s a great feeling.

4. Create a nook

A nook is an incredibly inviting spot in every room. If you have the space for it, push a twin bed or a simple sofa against a wall and decorate it in a specific way. Put several blankets on it and some designer pillows (or maybe you could make some on your own!). Make it as comfy and soft as possible. Place a coffee table near it with a soft light porcelain table lamps and decorate the wall around it with calming paintings or interesting decorations.

5. Have a gym room

To be able to stay fit and let out the steam whenever you need it, it’s important to provide yourself a space for exercise. You can have a room with exercising equipment, but it’s even better if you can use your basement for creating your personal gym. Some homeowners find it easier to ask help from companies like Impecca Build to equip their basements to become a true private gym. That way, people can let go off the negative energy inside their homes whenever they feel stressed and anxious. It’s what having a home is all about, right?

6. Be generous with soft textiles

Soft textiles look inviting, comfortable and homey. When choosing rugs, opt for plush, heavy rugs or have several of the thinner ones and layer them around the room. Choose deep, soft furniture and place floor pillows in the corners or near the coffee table. Soft ottomans and benches also add to the ambiance of a cozy room.

7. Colors matter

The color of the walls and furniture can incredibly influence the overall feeling of the room. To achieve a cozy and soothing effect, opt for a gentle, light palette for the walls, from white and beige to light yellow and blue. Pastel colors go well with almost everything and they have a positive and calming effect on us. On the other hand, dark warm colors like dark red, wood, and dark green are perfect for wintery evenings as they remind us of Christmas, and that feeling never gets boring.

8. Warm light everywhere

When buying lamps, always choose the ones with warm lighting – they are better for your eyes but they also add to the relaxing atmosphere. Besides lamps, why not hang string lights on the curtains or place them on a chest of drawers? Just because it isn’t Christmas, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy romantic, holiday atmosphere every night.

Final words

Your home should be your sanctuary, so pay attention to every detail and every room. You need to feel stress relieved when you come back home after the hard day at work, that is the most important thing. And, it’s the details that make a true home. If you do that, you will feel relaxed and happy from the moment you step into it.

About the author

How to Find Inspiration for Creating Ornaments and Crafts

It’s completely normal to experience a lack of inspiration at some point in your life.

You are not a machine that can produce creativity all the time. However, there are many different ways to find inspiration almost anywhere you go.

Luckily for you, we live in a time where information is available anytime and anywhere, making it much easier to find inspirational ideas.

You simply have to know where to look, and once you start searching for it, you will see that it’s actually everywhere around us.

Pinterest and Instagram are probably the most used platforms for inspiration. They are perfect for getting new ideas and inspiring you.

People who like crafts and creating ornaments often find themselves in these kind of situations.

They can be challenged to think up some new techniques and original designs, and that can be difficult when creative thoughts just won’t come to their mind.

Fortunately, there are quite a lot of things you can practice that will get you out of your creative rut.

Just start!

Inspiration won’t come to you if you just sit and wait for it. Many people wait for inspiration to come and then begin, but you need to get up and force yourself to start creating.

Get a simple box and start gluing and stitching supplies on it. Just do something…

It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look as beautiful as you imagined it to be or if it doesn’t have any purpose. You just need to trigger the creative process and you’d be surprised how much inspiration you can get while you are creating.

Create daily

Creating something small every day sounds easy, but what if you don’t have inspiration to do it?

Every day, even for just 15 minutes, you need to take the time to create anything in order to form a creative habit. That creative habit will spark a whole bunch of ideas which will then generate even more ideas.

Robyn McClendon, a nationally known artist from the US describes how much she gained from forcing herself to create a collage a day for a whole year:

“This 365-day project has made me more prolific, and I am never at a loss for ideas. Every day, every page, I have new creative inspiration, and by the end of the year I end up with 365 new ideas that generate more ideas.”

Keep a notebook close by

Inspiration may come at the most unexpected times, so you need to make sure to write it down as soon as possible, or else you might forget the idea and never create the piece you thought of.

This can mean carrying a notebook with you or using a phone app to record ideas, either through voice notes or through written notes.

Find something that relaxes you

Crafts don’t necessarily mean you have to create something beautiful or functional. Many people craft just to relax and calm down after a long day.

It’s great for taking your mind off of things and focusing your mind on creativity. Knitting is a great example because it can keep you centred due to its rhythmic movements.

It’s also a great way to express your creative side and create something that you can use to decorate your already made ornaments or make new ones from scratch.

No better inspiration than gift-giving

If some of your friends or family have a birthday coming soon, think about what would really make them happy and try to create it yourself. That way, the present will be much more personal and intimate.

Use the holidays

Inspiration is almost inevitable to find during the holiday season. There are all kinds of different materials, both natural and artificial, that can spark creativity in anyone.

Use crafts to brighten up your home for Christmas, decorating the table for Thanksgiving dinner, or making baskets for Easter eggs.

Keep your supplies organized

Finally, inspiration comes, but you have to dig up all the materials, rearrange your furniture to set up your crafts table and the lights.

It’s difficult not to lose the inspiration or the determination to create when you have to spend 30 minutes organizing your creative space.

By keeping all your arts and crafts supplies organized in one place, you can start at the same moment you get your inspiration without losing your energy and willpower.

Join a community of like-minded people

You’d be surprised how much communicating with other people who like crafting their ornaments can ignite your creativity.

Sharing your ideas and visualizing them with a group of friends can help you get inspiration for many different crafts. They can also give you great advice for supplies and techniques that will make your home-made ornaments even more beautiful.

Visit art and craft fairs

There are many art and craft fairs you can visit where you can find the work of extraordinary artisans and see how they used various methods and supplies to assemble ornaments you haven’t previously thought of. You can find out about these fairs through a quick online search or check out your city calendar.

Take an art and craft class

Taking some classes will not only provide you with new techniques, but it will also stimulate your creativity and help you with coming up with fresh ideas. You can always use these ideas and the things you learned to find inspiration for creating new types of ornaments and crafts.

Total Redesign Of Your Old Garden And Creation Of A Fabulous Wonderland

Are you tired of your garden’s old fashion look?

Do you feel ashamed your water fountain isn’t as sparkly as it could be?

Well, you’re not alone!

Many people lament their decorative decisions from the past (or perhaps a complete lack thereof) and so take a burning interest in redesigning their garden so that it looks more up-to-date and represents its owner in a proper way.

There are many ways to design a garden, really. You can build a wall to create a new section or grab a sledgehammer and take down borders to give your garden a new look. You fashion your water fountain so that its color matches the color of your house.

In this article, we’ll talk about how to approach a total overhaul of your garden. We’ll mention certain consideration factors, ways of getting the manual labor part done, as well as some of the legality matters connected to such an undertaking!
Alrighty, then folks here’s the deal.

Redesign Consideration Factors

Before you set out to make plans about what objects you want to remove, move about, or otherwise add to the lot, it might be a good idea to first list all the objects in your garden, as well as the characteristics of your garden that you already know.

For example, a list containing certain points of interest in your garden might look something like this:

Shrubbery (Positioning)
Walls and Natural Boundaries
Water-Spewing Stations (or wine-spewing, depending on how much money you want to spend)
Unpopulated Area (lawns, empty patches)
Activity-Designated Areas

With all of these neatly listed, it can be easier to decide what you want to do with them and how you should move them about. Also, if you spot that something important is missing, you can add it to your wish list of items and obtain it for your up-and-coming redecoration efforts!

Hiring a Professional

Now, once you’ve decided on the arrangement of your dreams for this season, turning it into reality is a task that can be approached in two different ways. DIY-ing it or hiring a professional like Deltona gardening and tree doctors to do it.

If you decide to hire a professional, you’ll probably be offered some pre-arranged solutions you can choose from.

For those who have their own arrangement in mind, hiring a professional might mean some additional expenses, but then again you can rest assured they’ll do a good job. (If you hire some reliable people, of course.) If you’re from Australia, hiring some experienced Sydney home renovation experts can be a great way to ensure your redesigning undertaking will go according to the plan! And if your backyard has some overgrown trees and bushes, tree trimming and pruning might be vital. Tree Trimming Riverside is a licensed and certified company that can handle the job for you.

DIY-ing It

Not a bad move, but then you must have some idea about what you’re doing.

Remember, professional renovators typically bring a team of well-versed people with them and it still takes them sometimes weeks to accomplish your renovating mission. And remember, if you want your own wonderland you have to be patient and realize that all good stuff requires some time.

So, if you’ve decided to go after this dream of yours all on your own, you better arm yourself with patience and, for starters, some of these materials:

Bricks (for Building walls)
Paints (for painting walls)
Heavy-duty tools (for breaking walls, because we are talking about total redesign)
some sand (for optimizing the composition of your soil… that’s near a wall)
fertilizer (again, making soil fertile and ready for grass)
the list goes on…

Of course, these are only some of the suggestions, and, having hopefully organized a list of to-dos or your renovation mission, you’ll already know what materials and tools you’d need to make it a reality.

Obtain the Necessary Permissions

Turns out, you can’t just build objects willy-nilly, even if they’re in your own garden. (Especially if you’re building a fence or some other form of structure close to another public property such as a road.)

So, before setting out to do any work, make sure to contact your local civil engineering office or a similar institution, and check if you’re allowed to build the object of your choice in the place you designated for it.

Sometimes you may not need a permit at all, other times the permit can be costly and tough to acquire, but the bottom line is – this is something you have to take care of in order to be able to proceed with your project! So, don’t shrug it off – if it has to be done, it has to be done.

All in all, a well-maintained and organized garden is a place where you can sit back, relax, and have a cup of coffee in the evening after a busy day at work. Always remember to keep it as easy to maintain as possible, because you certainly want to have more time to relax and enjoy the nice view, but reconsider how gardening can be calming, too. Therefore, any effort you invest in making this special place more beautiful is a step in the right direction, especially if you have kids, gardening can help you spend more time with them, too. We hope you found this article helpful and wish you the best of luck with your garden redecoration exploits!

And just like Marcus Tullius Cicero once have said: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”

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6 Alternative gift ideas everyone will love

Dare I say it…but Christmas isn’t too far away. Now that summer is a distant memory, so many of us are already spotting Christmas displays in our favorite stores, seeing hints of the festive season on our social media timelines and even the occasional Christmas film being shown on our favorite TV channels! Even if you’re not interested in Christmas cheer just yet, many of taking pride in having everything planned and sorted by the time the festive season really begins. So, if you’re already worrying about what you’re going to get your nearest and dearest for Christmas – fear not!

While it’s easy to find the right Christmas ecard, read on for 5 alternative gift ideas that everyone will love.

The gift of trees

What do you get for the person who has everything? Well, how about a little piece of nature? Giving plants and flowers is quite a common occurrence for something like Mother’s Day and Birthdays, but why not step it up a gear and gift trees from The Tree Center? Adding a tree to someone’s garden will add color and depth to their outside space and if it’s a tree that bears fruit? Even better!

Delve deep into your family history

If you’re struggling for a gift for a family member, then why not step back in time and give them the gift of your family history? There are plenty of online resources as well as free information available in local libraries to help you trace your family back from just a few decades to even hundreds of years. Piece together certificates, photographs, dates, and details and you’ve got an incredible portfolio of the past that they’ll just love to show everyone!

Make something

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter what the gift is, it’s just knowing the time and effort that’s gone into it is what makes it really special. If you’re a creative type, or you just want to try your hand at some homemade gifts then check out some online tutorials or head to YouTube for some inspiration. From scented candles to cookies, cakes, and delicious bakes, photo frames, toys, dolls even clothing! You can do it!

Custom Bobbleheads

Personalized gifts never fail to touch the hearts of the receiver. Especially when it’s nicely done and fully customized like these bobblehead figures. You can make it look like a loved one and add specific details to it for an affordable price. Visit a manufacturer’s site to learn more on how to order a custom bobblehead.

Give the gift of learning

For the younger recipients, why not give the gift of learning. Don’t worry, I don’t mean filling their arms with heavy books. You could give the gift of some music lessons, or lessons in a particular sport that they want to take further. Survival lessons, even fishing or jewelry making classes – whatever the little one is into, you don’t just give them the gift of learning, but the gift of your time by going with them. It’s a win, win.

Special Memories

Who says that gifts have to be physical things? Why not treat someone to a trip somewhere you’ve both always wanted to go. The National History Museum, tickets to see their favorite comedian, a trip to see a show on Broadway or in the West End, ice skating, or a hike through a National Park? You could even take it one step further and book nights away in a particular city. The possibilities are endless!

Buy a Zip Line Kit for their Family!

Certainly uncommon and needing parental approval first, a zip line is a
unique gift for any family. It provides hours of fun and encourages kids
to be outdoors instead of on their smartphones. Zip line kits are safe
with proper monitoring and you’ll always be remembered every time it’s
used