Home & Garden

Murals can be very time consuming if you need to be exacting with your work. Unless you are a great artist and can draw your design on the wall freehand; you would be better off using the grid method.

The best way is to draw the mural on a piece of paper with a printed grid. The grid consists of small squares. Then you scale the grid and draw it on the wall. It is usually 1 = 1 (one inch equals one foot). Then you transfer the drawing one square at a time to each corresponding grid on the wall. You can number the grid squares if it makes it easier for you. Now you just start painting your mural.

This is time consuming but will give you an accurate scaled drawing that you can fill in with your paints. Sort of a paint-by-numbers idea. However; there is a much easier way to transfer a drawing to a wall. Use a projector. Graphics projectors can be found online or at art supply stores. They range in price so be sure you will use it more than once if you plan to purchase high quality.

The fastest way to completing a mural is with a projector. Of course; this does not include the actual painting; but the most labor intensive partthe drawing of the art. With a projector there is no need to grid the wall and it makes it easier to scale the drawing. All you have to do is to move the project closer or further from the wall or ceiling. If you go closer the image gets smaller or further away it gets larger. This gives you complete control over the size of your artwork.

Of course; you will have to do a drawing (unless you have an image). The drawing should just be a medium pencil weight outline. This is so it will show up when projected onto the wall. If you have a photo or image you will have to trace the outline the same way because the light has to go through the artwork.

The room will have to be very dark for the drawing to show up so you will have to draw the shade or curtains or even cover the window with craft paper. The darker the room the better and the easier to see the outlines.

Now you aim the projector where you want the image to appear. Here is the best part that you cant do with a grid pattern. You can move the projector back and forth until you get the image o the exact size you want and you can always easily re-do the chalk drawing if it is not the right size. This is harder and much more time consuming to do with a grid.

Once it is the right size; you can use chalk to outline the image. Lead pencils may bleed through the paint if they are not completely removed a little at a time before painting. Nowfill in with paints and enjoy. It is a good idea that you take pictures of your progress to keep in a portfolio for other potential clients.

Little girl’s love to spend time in their bedrooms. It’s a place all of their own. A place where they can play out their imaginations and dreams and have fun being whatever they choose. What better way to help your child’s dreams come true then by surrounding them with their favorite things! Decorating your child’s bedroom can be both a fun and rewarding experience for both of you. Here are five simple tips to get you started in the right direction.

Listen to Her Ideas

The most important factor is to hear your child’s ideas. Have her sit down and make a list of her favorite things from toys to television programs. Would she like to have a themed bedroom? Or would she like her favorite colors painted on the walls. Of course; your budget is important; but making the room a creative place for your child is more important.

Recycle Items

Make use of what you already have in the room. It is amazing at how you can turn pieces into something new and exciting. If a piece of furniture is old and scratched; consider painting it to give it a new look. You may even want to use her favorite color for the piece. If her dresser has an attached mirror you can remove it and place a new mirror directly to the wall. Knobs and pulls can be changed and here are a variety of designs and styles. Flip posters around and let her draw her own masterpiece. Paint bedroom doors for a new bold look. Purchase a duvet cover for a quick bedding change.

Think Ahead

Children love and idea one day and hate it the next. The fairy or cartoon character may be in vogue today; but will it be popular in a few months or more? Also; as they grow older their thoughts change. Purple is in today; but red may be in tomorrow. Take this in account when decorating. Also, ask yourself if she will still love the garden mural few months from now. Will she love the purple carpet when she is a teen? Explore less permanent options such as wall stick ups, framed art, accent rugs and carefully consider all ideas and plans.

Simple Ideas

You can make a dramatic change by just adding splashes of color and texture. Add accent pillows and throws to bedding for more color and texture. You can hang throws or tapestry from the wall if the walls are empty. Change window treatments and add more colorful or character designs. Throw down accent rugs for quick impact and easy cleaning or replacement.

Have Fun

Spend time with your child and make decorating her room fun and stress free. Explore each other’s creative side by creating artwork, bulletin boards, and other decor crafts together. Throw a bedroom-makeover party for her and her friends. They can each make a decor item for the room.

These are just a few of the many tips and ideas to incorporate when beginning your decorating adventure. You’ll be sure to come up with plenty of your own by project’s end. Make sure and jot them down for next time.

Organize

Watching organization shows can surely help you get some good ideas on how to organize. But what they organize is not what you need to organize in your home. Quit worrying about organizing other people and organize areas in your home and your life that will help you first.

There is no reason for you to not organize items and streamline processes that will help you find things, save time and decrease stress. Clutter can cause unnecessary stress and create many problems that after a while seem unsurpassable. If you have clutter start clearing it up now before it gets out of control. And if it is out of control tackle it a little at a time.

Desktops

One important place that many people dont think about having organized is their computer desktop. Even if you don’t intend on putting all of your photos into scrapbook albums, having them all organized will help you plan your scrapbook projects. Paper, books, binders and the like are going to continue to make their way into your office so you need to make sure you have space for incoming items.

Your goal in getting organized should be to have your space only 80% full at all times. The quickest way to get organized is to grab some paper and a pencil. Now go through and make notes of all the areas that need re-organization. The next thing to do is to set aside some time and tackle those areas. You will be surprised a how organized your organizing has become.

Space

By following these easy guidelines you will have a clean and organized home office in no time. Having a clutter-free workspace is the first step in creating an organized and professional home-based business. Use plastic baskets or wicker baskets for storing things or objects in an up and down manner. That counter space is called counter space for a reason so use it wisely. Having an organized workspace is a key to keeping your work organized, too.

Hang it up, store it in a drawer, on the floor, or on a shelf. Organizing space requires arranging things in such a way that everyone can easily use the right thing at the right time. You have a vision of what the space will look like, but there is no way you can live up to your high standard, so you do nothing. To find all the roomy potential your apartment really holds, you’ll need to look your apartment up and down.

The “extra” space is not always right in front of your face, literally. Consider setting aside time once or twice a year to stop, catch up or reorganize, and give yourself a fresh start. Your attitude on entering a clear, well-laid-out space will add a positive slant to each day and more hours of productive output.

Items

Sort through bathroom cabinets and get rid of any expired medicines, make up, and other toiletries. The key to organizational maintenance is everything must have a place. Some of these items will not have assigned spaces yet. The simple reason is that a choice between two items is less complex than a choice between 6 items.

Don’t be afraid to discard of things that are broken, no longer needed or that have never been used. If items are worth passing on, do so, but don’t keep them around taking up space if they can’t be used in your household.

Faux finishes are a great way to jazz up your space with little cost or effort. Faux finishing can also be an economical and sustainable alternative to other finishes, such as wood and stone in certain applications. Ideally, a decorative painter should be brought into the project as early as possible, so that he or she can make recommendations at the same time other key decisions are made and have input on project management.

Creating faux effects such as making your walls look like they are made of plaster or suede can also really make your room stand out. You can easily learn how to create these seemingly difficult finishes at your local paint store.

Sponging is very easy and inexpensive. You can find sponges at local home centers or craft stores. Basically; all you do is sponge the paint onto the wall lightly without sliding the sponge over the surface. Begin by applying motifs every 12″, over a surface of 4′ x 4′.

Rag- rolling, sponging, stippling are a few of the styles under this category well observed in India. On the outset it may look like a difficult task. Ragging: this technique produces a delicate, fabric-like texture with a soft, variegated appearance. The procedure is done by soaking a bunched up rag in a mixture of texture color and finishing glaze, and then dabbing the rag on the wall (over a coat of dried base color) in various patterns.

Sample boards allow you to select just the custom finish that suits your room and your style. Customized finishes provide a way to express your personality and pull the total look of your home together, from ceiling, floors and walls to window treatments, rugs and pillows. In the business world customized finishes provide a more pleasant environment, which can increase productivity and enhance your company image. Custom wall treatments add focus and grandeur to any room and will enrich the quality of life there.

Glazes are made of oil-based paints mixed with linseed oil and are more transparent than washes. They give a sleek glow to walls. Glazes are sold un-tinted, so to get the color you want you’ll need to add pigment which can be found at craft and hobby stores or your local home center.

Many other finishes such as color washing, frottage, sponging, are all faux painting techniques that will create a mood or the illusion of texture on a plain wall. You can opt for real texture by using Venetian plaster, textural plaster, or even a crackle faux finish can add texture and variation to a space or object. Color and texture are fun and interesting and can bring a completely new look to your home with little cost or expense if you do-it-yourself.

Try experimenting with different items such as; kitchen utensils, material, papers, etc. Mix colors together to get unusual tones. Experimentation can spur new ideas and faux patterns. Who knowsyou may be the next new-idea faux painter.

The Nolan is a double-storey design that’s popular with home buyers who appreciate the ultimate in modern living. Offering a number of entertaining options, the Nolan boasts a stunning outdoor room, rumpus and integrated kitchen, dining and family area.

Bedrooms are frequently redecorated in many homes. We look around at the new bedroom items in the stores and feel our room is outdated. However; when you think about it – it is only outdated because you saw newer items. There is no need to go out and purchased new bedding; unless of course; you are catering to heads of state. And even then; you really don’t need to go crazy and shatter your budget.

The quickest way to a new look is a splash of paint. Even if you use the same color (because you had paint left over), a fresh coat of color reinvigorates the room, makes it look cleaner, newer. If you’ve grown tired of your wall color, choose a new one. To start painting you need to drape protective cloths over the furniture. Most often – painting can cause you to think of others ways to rejuvenate the room.

You can also use wallpaper to change the look of a room; but it is much more work than painting. So; you may want to consider using faux finishes to spruce up the walls. Instead of purchasing books on faux finishes and decorative painting; check your public library to get some ideas.

If your budget is extremely limited, you might start by adding new pillow shams. Usually sold as a separate piece from comforters, sheets, or pillowcases, a sham is a highly decorative pillow covering. If you find a great deal on pillow shams you should buy them and fill them with plain foam pillows. Have you ever seen bedrooms in the fancy magazines? What do you see but; beds with loads of pillows to give the room a very sumptuous and relaxing look. The more pillows the better.

A new comforter or bedspread is another way to redecorate your bedroom inexpensively; but buy only during sales. Check local malls for discount linen stores, or browse the Internet for great deals on beautiful, but cheap comforters and bed skirts. Even flea markets sell overstocked items such as sheets and bedspreads and a great pricing. Of course; you can always bargain with the shop owner for a better price.

A simple way to create a coordinated look without spending a lot of money is to use bed sheets to make window treatments. Often, comforters are sold in “bed sets,” which contain the comforter, as well as a fitted sheet, flat sheet and pillowcases. Since you sheets will usually be covered by the comforter, you can use the fitted and flat sheets as material to frame bedroom windows. If you don’t sew, use the special “no-sew” fabric glue sold in craft and fabric stores to hem a nice edge. In a pinch, you can hold a hem using a hot glue gun.

Decorating or redecorating a bedroom is often a matter of changing one or two elements. Remember; if you have a guest room to make it as nice as your own bedroom. you want your guests to be comfortable. Try adding some scented candles and fresh cut flowers to the room to give your guests a true ‘welcome’ feeling.

Faux is more popular then ever and gives you ways to make a room created with your design and personality. Of course; some finishes are more difficult then others; but there is an easy way to figure out which ones you are capable of doing by experimenting.

Experimenting gives you control over excessive spending and experience before attempting to do the finish on a wall. Using oaktag is a good base for practicing faux finishes. Paint both sides (one at a time and because painting only one side will cause the oaktag to curl) with a latex primer. Once the primer is dry; paint one side with the wall color where you will be painting your finish. This is done so you will get a realistic idea of how the finish will look on that particular base color.

The next part is simple if you focus your mind on the fact that these finishes can be done by anyone who really wants to learn them. There are loads of books on faux how-tos and you can find them in your local library, used bookstores, or at your local book retailer.

Now you can start being creative and have fun at the same time. Assemble all the items you need in one area such as your oaktag boards, paints, faux materials, drop cloths, etc. Mix a small amount of glaze (if you are using glaze) because it dries quickly. If not, prepare your sponge or rags and start working.

Look around your home and find some utensils, special cleaning brushes or whatever. Now; put some paint on a piece of oak tag and experiment. Swirl each item through the glaze (or paint) and see what happens. Let yourself loose and enjoy. This is your time to be creative and make he finish your own. Sure you can do the sponging and rag rolling; but you want to do something that only you have created. Sobe creative.

Once you get the hang of it dont just go and do it on the walls. Try other finishes and see which one you really like. You should not be in a rush to get it completed; because rushing will only give you a mediocre job. Now you will want to tape (blue masking) the oaktag to the wall in the room where it will eventually be painted. This will give you a view of your work during the day and at night. It will also give you a good idea of how the finish will look each time you walk into that room.

Depending on what you are trying to accomplish you can use paint instead of a glaze. But; if you are using a base color and top color – the base color must be subtle or dramatically different so you can see it through the topcoat color. For example; you could use a medium blue base and a light green topcoat. You color choices are unlimited. Make sure the faux colors coordinate with your room dcor and colors.

Faux finishing is about being creative. You can copy what is in the books; but it is always better to come up with your own ideas. Or; you can alter the ones in the book by using different tools to work the glaze (or paint).

spm jackers in my home song. tlcv

If you’re looking for a unique way to express your individual taste and personality there is no better way to decorate than by using wallpaper. You can take a simple room and make it look stunning and completely different in just a few short hours. You can wallpaper an entire room, or just a portion of the room, in a way that alters the entire atmosphere of the room.

When you use wallpaper you can also hide the conditions of existing walls that have cracks or other flaws. Wallpaper can take a room from boring to spectacular in a way that paint and other decorating techniques can’t do. Wallpaper can make a room look bigger or smaller, which is another way that you can change the functionality of the room.

Different kinds of wallpapers can give different effects. Therefore, before starting out on a wallpaper buying trip it is important to decide the type of wallpaper that would suit your walls. If you’re decorating a small room that you want to give the feel of being larger you should pick wallpaper that has small designs or prints on it. For instance, if you’re decorating your bathroom you might want to pick a pattern that has small pansies. This will make your small bathroom seem much larger than it actually is. Another technique for making rooms seem larger than they are is to use lighter colors rather than dark colors.

Using large designs and prints in the wallpaper will make a room seem smaller and much cozier. Dark colors will make a space seem smaller than it is so if your goal is to make a large room, such as your basement family room, appear to be bigger you’ll want to choose wallpaper that is dark in color.

With wallpaper you can also make adjustments in the perspective of your room. For example , if you are choosing wallpaper for a room that has a low ceiling and you want to create the opposite illusion than you should choose a wallpaper that has either stripes or pattern that flows in vertical lines from top to bottom. Try it out to make your long and narrow rooms look much wider.

Remember that colors greatly influence atmosphere. If you’d like a room to seem warmer, choose wallpaper with warm colors like amber, gold, brick, and soft reds. In other words you want earth tones.

Vice versa in warm climate your requirement is to make the room look cooler. This is also the requirement in rooms that are heated up by direct sunlight. Here you should pick up colors that are reflective of a cool atmosphere such as shades of green and blue.

Hanging wallpaper isn’t difficult and isn’t too costly either. It’s a wonderful tool if you’re renovating or changing a whole look. There are many choices in wallpaper types. Choosing patterns and colors will depend on your own preferences and the intended look and use of the room.

Of course; the only drawback is that wallpaper is difficult to remove and requires a lot of work to get the walls ready for a paint coat. So; be sure you really want to use wallpaper before you start.