You know it is your accessories that carry your personality in your home.
This is why they are so important. Here are some tips for using pillows to
give any room a much needed punch!
Devise your plan. What do you want to accomplish?
Are you looking for pop?
Do you need a small or huge makeover?
Use pillows to take the attention on your tired, old sofa.
Remove the sofa's cusions and replace with very large pillows. Euro shams work great.
Remove the tired, stained seat cusions and replace with one long cushion.
Cover that scratched and soiled leather chair with a slip cover.
Change out the color scheme or just add patterned fabrics.
Stay with your personal style and away from fads.
Start with one pillow and add on to that as you go.
Choose a repeating color or pattern for monochromatic look.
Or go for huge variety of colors and patterns.
Place pillows evenly across sofa, or only in the corners.
Arrange them with symmetry or go for an asymmetrical arrangement.
For chaise-lounge look, arrange all pillows on one side leaving the other side bare.
If you are not allergic to down, choose a mixture of double-crushed goose and duck feathers.
If allergic, use foam inserts.
Take existing pillows and simply recover them with fabric of your own choosing.
Embellish them with tassles, cords, ribbons, lace, buttons, feathers, ruffles, needlework like neddlepoint or crewel - the sky is the limit.
A Potpourri of Great Tips
Bed Sheets
After drying my sheets, I put both sheets and one pillowcase in the other pillow
case. Fold neatly in a square. Next time you change sheets, you just take the
one pillow case and all the sheets and pillow case are inside. No need to look
for matches. Takes up less storage room too.
Clean Your Glass Shower
To clean the glass in your shower easily, apply lemon juice to the glass with a
sponge. Then, take newspaper and wipe the lemon juice off the glass. It will be
clean and sparkle with no scrubbing!
Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to
med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I
saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up.
Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut
the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done
easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your
mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more
cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per
serving.
Reheating Refrigerated Bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a
microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist
and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper Weeds-Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers,
put layers around the plants overlapping as you go, cover with mulch and forget
about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic, they will not get
through wet newspapers.
Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken pieces of glass - the fibers
catch ones you can't see!
No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne
pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come
near it.
Easier Thank You's
When you throw a bridal/baby shower, buy a pack of thank you cards for the guest
of honor. During the party, pass out the envelopes and have everyone put their
address on one. When the bride/new mother sends the thank you notes, they're all
addressed!
Bike Identification
If you purchase a new bike for your child, place their picture inside the handle
bar before placing the grips on. If the bike is stolen and later recovered,
remove the grip and there is your proof who owns the bike.
Flexible Vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper
towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened
to get in narrow openings.
Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy
skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose.
Place pin in seam of slacks and -- voila -- static is gone.
Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such
as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of
your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
Reopening Envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside,
just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It
unseals easily.
Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving
cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the
conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
Good-bye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple
Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those
flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," &
can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains,
but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being
harmed!
Take Baby Powder to the Beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When you're ready to leave
the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the sand will slide
right off your skin.
Share Ideas With Author Barbara Jennings
and Friends on Facebook
Community is great, whether you're in business for yourself or just on a
personal level. In questionable times and circumstances, one needs friends.
Friends can amuse you. Friends can encourage you. Friends can motivate you.
If you want to be friends with Barbara, just request to be added to her new
Facebook page. You'll be able to ask her questions about home staging, interior redesign, fashion, business,
relationships or anything else you want. Hook up with her friends. Chat. Share. Enjoy.
Bond. Encourage. Be encouraged.
Spring Transition Fashion
Enjoy our friend Spankie Valentine with her humourous fashion videos. Lots of
great tips "coming your way".
Ready to Change Careers? What to
be your own boss?
You know it is your accessories that carry your personality in your home.
This is why they are so important. Here are some tips for using pillows to
give any room a much needed punch!
Community is great, whether you're in business for yourself or just on a
personal level. In questionable times and circumstances, one needs friends.
Friends can amuse you. Friends can encourage you. Friends can motivate you.
