Spring Renewal for your Home’s ExteriorWritten by Kathleen Wilson
Come every Spring, we become a little more conscious of way our home looks to all those who pass by. Often times it is out of our budget to repaint, or remodel exterior of your home. Here are some great tight budget tips for dressing up outside of your home with “Creativity, Not Cash!” TM1.Stand out on your sidewalk and take a picture of your home from street. Often times we do not really “see” what is there because we have become so accustomed to it. Take your photo to a copy shop and print out a few copies of it, blown up to fit paper. Now you can spend some time drawing in your wish list for changes…add a fence, draw an arbor over your entrywalk, add planters…and come up with some low cost ways to accomplish it! (Kind of a low cost version of that expensive software) This one step could save you a lot of time, money, and work…not to mention get you to home you want in a much smoother fashion! 2.Consider learning some woodworking skills. With just a little education and a rented saw, you can build arbors and decorative fences for a fraction of what it would cost to have it installed. You can often get free instruction at your local home improvement center. Check out http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_garden_structures/0,1784,HGTV_3588,00.html or http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jhtml?categoryid= emplatedata/bhg/category/data/Hie_Basics_Carpentry.xml for some help. Now remember, if you can’t afford to totally fence in your yard, or build a big gazebo, how about just adding a little decorative fences at corners of yard, and a simple decorative gate marking entrance to your yard? It only takes a little to add a whole lot of character. 3. If you already have a concrete drive and walkway, and you find it boring, dress it up by lining it with brick. It doesn’t cost much, and all it takes is a little elbow grease digging a trench to lay brick in alongside walkway, then pack dirt back around them to hold in place…no mortaring necessary for this! Another low cost option? Use porch paint and stamp a brick walkway with a large rectangular sponge. You can use a basketweave pattern, or lay it on diagonal, whatever works for you!
| | The Most Precious Gift to Give our ChildrenWritten by Lee-Anne Robert
As a proud mother of a two-year old daughter and an eleven month old son, I already see them growing too quickly before my eyes. It makes me wonder if I am being best parent that I can be and if I will have regrets after they have grown up of what I did and didn’t do as a parent. And I ask myself, “What is simply best gift to give my children?” Could it be new trend in toys or clothes? Could it be candy or chocolate bar that will make them delighted and happy? Is this what children really want or need? In a rush, rush world and one where both parents must contribute to household expenses, parents are more apt to give their children material objects instead of single most important gift that all children want, need and crave. It’s no wonder that children are becoming so material orientated at such young ages. It’s no wonder that a child’s most used saying is “I want.” And do we not sometimes treat our children as material objects? Just as a child plays with a toy for a few minutes and then tosses toy to side, we as parents often treat our children same way.
|
