what would you sell?

If I owned a store, I would sell natural products and recycled products.

I would sell concentrated solutions for cleaning counters, bathrooms, toilets and laundry stains. The containers would be small and people would only need to add tap water in their own bigger spray bottles.

I would sell homemade, natural soaps made with vegetable products and custom scented with essential organic oils.

There would also be similar shampoo, with custom ingredients.

Next would be natural candles, and recycled candle holders.  The candle holders would be made from old ashtrays, old glass lampshades and old silver plated trays.

I also envision other former pieces of junk turned into useful items: like old screen doors made into bulletin boards, old mantles made into headboards or wall decorations and old chairs made into new chairs.  And many other miscellaneous items made into coffee tables and cocktail tables.

I like the theme of my dream here, though I have no serious plans to open such a store.

What would you sell if you owned a store?  Comment back and let me hear your dream!

creative ideas

I just got my Creative Ideas for Home and Garden from Lowe's home improvement store.  This must mean someone who knows about these things has decided that we are closer to spring than we are farther from it.

I am excited!  The weather is definitely warmer and the days are longer.  We start daylight saving time tonight,too.

The magazine always has good ideas and this one has a bonus section.  Twenty pages of enhanced outdoor living.  Did I mention this is free?  Just go to www.lowescreativeideas.com

The highlights are: 

• Front Porch: cozy and colorful outdoor room; 
• Kitchen Style: backsplash updates; and 
• Paint Primer: everything you need to know.
  

I don't know about you but I need a seasonal magazine like this to get my own challenged (read: weak) creative juices flowing.  

Here is what I am planning on doing from the depths of the magazine: borders, car cubes and a painted wooden arbor.

For the borders, I have always wanted a looser border along my fence line.  Right now I have several bare areas that would look great with some wild loose flowers and greenery.

For the car cubes, I am going to find some canvas or plastic bins I already have and attach the industrial hook and loop closure to the bottom and attach it to the back of the SUV or the trunk of my sedan.  I love a good organizing technique and this looks simple.

Lastly and only if monetarily possible, I love the painted arbor.  It has an adjustable seating bench that cane be raised and used as a shelf for plants or lanterns or whatever.  I love this idea!!

Spring, you can come anytime now, because I am ready for you!

wall color

I am very affected by wall colors. I love lighter colors, accented with white trim and neutral colors accented with dark trim. When I walk into any establishment or a person's home, the wall color really tells me what's going on. If it is bulk neutral, but the trim is carefully thought out, I can tell the person is working within the limits they have. If the color is too dark for the trim and there is no accent, that tells me they are confident and tried an experiment, given the restraints of dark wood trim. If the color is hard to determine with chips, scratches and crayon marks, and the trim needs to be replaced that tells me it's my house. We have tried to be bold and stylin with the colors we picked, but some of the rooms just didn't get any attention and as a result we are left with what I like to call "Previous Owner Primer". This encompasses any color that someone moved into and didn't pick themselves. Though usually it's between white and off white. I think Previous Owner Primer is so popular due to those shows on HGTV and A&E, where neutrality is sold as the only road to a sale. However, it leaves me feeling no sense of personality whatsoever. Almost like no one lived there before. It's just so flat. At least with the other end of the spectrum—bold RED or YELLOW that is almost painful to look at, you know someone cared, someone was trying—there was some sense of individuality. We recently had a home up for sale and we painted it a darker color than everyone suggested. In the end, all six rooms were the same color. And you know what? Even if someone doesn't like it, at least it lets people know there once was life in that house. A family lived and grew there. Someone cared to leave a little of themselves behind. That sounds like anything but neutral. It sounds like home.

pottery barn to my rescue!

A few years ago, I moved the family to a much larger home.  I realized in addition to furnishing the home that I would need to also (gasp!) decorate.  

This would be some feat, given I'm the one who thought the southwestern theme was here to stay in the Midwest.  Oh, yeah, I had the light green walls, the diamond loop rug and the lizards and cowboy paraphernalia everywhere.  I even hung things only where there were existing nail holes.  How clever!  I allowed people to see this disaster, a lot.

Knowing what people would expect, I set my goals low.  I vowed to take things slow and deliberate and use catalogs as my guide-even if I couldn't afford what they sold. 

I began obsessively studying the Pottery Barn catalog.  This led to their website where I signed up for emails, including invitations to their decorating classes.  Did I mention the classes are free??!!

I began going to the monthly classes and took notes, like it was a real class.  (They give free paint sample books at their stores, too.)  Although I currently cannot afford to buy everything I want, I am not above buying knockoffs at Walmart, Target or even garage sales.

This has helped me immensely with my new home.  People try to hide their shock when they come over for the first time.  

I think they were expecting cactus lamps.

Link:http://www.potterybarn.com/content/shop/storeevent/index.cfm

Painting your Personality

Why does a new coat of paint seem to transform a room?

A coat of paint covers old mistakes, worn out ideas and is a way of cleaning the walls of a room. The walls are, after all, the soul of the room. The walls can jump out at you or can sit elegantly in the background. But the walls are always present.

I think this makes a great metaphor into our own personality. Walls and personality are what gives an identity. Some are unmistakeably loud, while others are completely forgettable.

While painting is a relatively quick and easy fix for a wall, improving one's personality is quite a bit more complicated. However, many times a personality just needs some confidence or coping skills. A new perspective on life can be the result.

Confidence comes from doing and coping comes from dealing. Doing and dealing are how we function all the time. Why not try to do them better? Today is the day to work harder, or try the thing you think about doing, but never actually schedule it. When you find yourself dealing with something inappropriately, delay dealing with it until you are calm.

While paint can go a long way in a room's appeal, making some changes in what you already are doing can help detoxify your personality.