Looking for a hobby and a novelty conversation piece? Consider repurposing old eyeglasses. Most people probably have some broken eyeglasses lying around or extra pairs of sunglasses. If they aren't being used, consider turning them into interesting and personal works of art.

Break the eyeglasses apart for individual framed pieces or keep them in their original condition for an interesting way to display two at a time.

You can use reading glasses, sunglasses, old prescription glasses - even cheap drugstore glasses. It's a clever way to combine your old glasses with your photos. You can use marking pens or stickers to make comments or to personalize them more. Choose several photographs of similar style and color and make a display for a table.

Dress up the frames with small gems to add a little bling. If you don't want to cut up the actual photos, make copies of them and reduce or enlarge to the size you want. Using tracing paper, draw out a pattern the size of the glasses frame. Then lay the pattern over the actual copied photo print and trace its shape with a pencil. Cut out the image you will use with scissors and glue to the back of the glasses frame with tiny dots of glue. Put the glue dots on the image around the outer edges. When dry the glue is clear and invisible. Try to avoid the darkest parts of the photo, however.

If going with a theme, you can put holiday photo frames in with your decorations. Use them as place settings on your table. Place them on candle stands on a table to give them extra height and importance. Hang the actual glasses on a basket. Place a pair on an open book when staging a home. You could even use these a tiny marketing signs to let people know the home was staged by you.

Have you ever wondered how hotels keep their bathrooms so sparkling clean? For one thing, they are cleaned every day. Daily cleanups can be small touches, like wiping the counters, faucet and sink. And don't forget the mirror. The rest of the room can be done weekly. Here are some tips to help you out:

• Vacuum and dust.
• Work from top to bottom.
• Use micro-fiber cloths to dust light fixtures and shelves.
• Then vacuum or mop floors.
• Heat the surfaces.
• Heating tile and the tub 10 degrees above normal air temperature doubles the effectiveness of alkaline cleansers.
• Let tub soak in hot water a few minutes.
• Drain tub and spray with antibacterial cleaner on tile walls, tub, counters, sink, toilet, floor.
• Work from top to bottom. Start with top of shower and work down to inside the toilet bowl.
• Use sponge to spread cleanser around flat surfaces.
• Disinfectants need to sit for a time to work properly.
• Leave them in for 5-7 minutes.
• Use a scrub brush on tub and tiles.
• Rinse thoroughly to remove residue.
• Dry all surfaces with clean, dry cotton cloths or rags.
• Spray mirror and other glass with glass cleaners and wipe dry.
• Exit while cleaning and drying hard surface floors.

101 Actual Case Studies Help You Avoid Mistakes by Pointing Out the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

My editor told me he loved this book more than any other one he has worked on because it is so practical. Now he knows a lot by now after reading all of my books, so for him to rave about this one means quite a bit. I feel very good about it too because of how incredibly easy it is to learn rearrangement design by the critique of before and after pictures - and plenty of them.

That's why I say you can now learn how to properly arrange the furniture and accessories for any room (whether you're staging a property or doing a redesign)! One of the best ways to learn is by studying the work of others and comparing their before and after pictures. But while you can find before and after pictures on the web, they don't come with any kind of professional critique - so you can't tell whether the work is good, mediocre or poor. This hampers learning. You could wind up thinking a staging project was great, when in reality it was ho-hum or had fatal flaws. The same could be true of a redesigned room. You could think the re-designer did an amazing job, when in actuality there were minor to major mistakes or better ways to have rearranged the room.

You see there are some specific professional rules one should adhere to as much as possible for a successful outcome. If you don't know what those rules are, you're likely to make some mistakes. While some common mistakes the professional make might be minor, they are mistakes never-the-less. So why not learn how you can avoid them? By really grounding yourself in how to properly arrange furniture and accessories, you'll be able to tackle the toughest room with clarity, confidence and success.

Best Selling Author Barbara Jennings Now Reveals Common Mistakes Made by New Students and How to Avoid Them!

"The bulk of the book consists of 101 Case Studies in random order laid out in Do's and Don'ts in Home Staging and Interior Redesign that will help anyone understand more fully the psychology and rules for arranging furniture in a room. Each Case Study shows you the before picture - the way the client had arranged the room before the professional arrived. Commentary will tell you a bit about the situation and point out things in the picture to pay attention to. Then you'll be given the after picture, along with professional critiques on what the stager or re-designer did to improve the situation - both good or not.

In this 232 page guide, the author discusses:

• What Are the Diverse Yet Similar Strategies of Staging and Redesign?
• The Purpose of This Book
• The Pictures in This Book
• About the Author
• Why Sellers Need Help
• Why Owners Need Help
• What to Expect
• 209 Pages of 101 Actual Case Studies including 2 Pictures+ per Case and Specific Commentary and Critiques on each
• Learning From the Success and Failure of Others
• Courses You Can Take
• Books You Can Acquire
• The Best Consultation Aid You'll Find for Staging
• Where to Get Furniture Moving and Lifting Tools
• Available Design Training by the Author
• Where to Get Other Resources and Certification
• Selected Testimonials

While the vast majority of Case Studies are from Barbara's files pulled from the certification submissions of new students, she has also thrown in some examples of her own early work and has offered criticisms about her own work, not just that of her students. No names are mentioned to protect the innocent, however. If we are honest with ourselves: we all make mistakes; we all over look things; we all grow with time and experience. No one is perfect. But, of course, perfection is our goal. So it behooves us to study what went well and what didn't go so well in the past. And by doing that, we all hope to gain and improve.

If you're a consumer looking for self help, this book will definitely help you avoid the pitfalls and learn great technique. If you're in the business of providing staging and redesign services as a business, this book will greatly aid you in perfecting and honing your design skills - something that you'll find crucial to your ongoing success in your business.

TESTIMONIAL - "Barb, this is one of the most practical books you've ever written. Congratulations! Thanks for letting me preview it. I found it to be thorough and the Case Studies were very revealing and informative. I have been riveted to the examples given. - D Fahs, Redesign and Art Installations"