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How To Decide On Smart Gifts For Kids

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Smart gifts…hmmm. This makes me wonder if the gifts should be smart, or if they should contribute to the “smartness” of the kid. Let’s take the latter and hope they coordinate with the former. Personally, I would presume, the shopper in question is trying to spend their money wisely on wise choices for gifts for kids.


?     Beyond…

As you adjust your thinking, remember to consider such things as the ages of the children. Many frugal parents are so diligent they even prepare for usability of gifts beyond the age received. In this case, one would need to focus on durability and safety of the toys/gifts as well. Of course gifts like books have no such restrictions.

?     Physical…

Does the gift encourage physical coordination and prowess? If the child can use several body parts at the same time, the gift would be a wise choice.  One of my favorites not only for my children, but now also for grandchildren is the “Sit ‘n Spin”. It employed hand over hand coordination as well as strength while the child sat and pulled his way around and around the platform. Pre-bikes, as I call them, or “Big Wheels” offer physical activity in addition to “success” while bike-riding on the way to learning to ride tricycles and later a two wheel bicycle of his/her own. Scooters are also wonderful items in this category.

?     Sounds…

Does the gift encourage listening skills? Being able to discern various sounds prepares the kid for sound patterns, as with music, as well as auditory learning. Additionally, documentation has proven that music goes a long way in enhancing intelligence. The Leap Pad and VTech line offer a menagerie of skills, including some playback music/auditory opportunities. Child size keyboards offer tunes and rhythms with playback as well, so the parents don’t miss one singe concert!

?     More…

Other excellent choices for gifts include items where a child can, for example, “cook” in their own kitchen while modifying yet experiencing “real life.”  All sorts of art sets from highly reputable companies allow children of all ages to indulge in creativity beyond their wildest dreams…and most offer tools that do not stain carpets, furniture, or children. Travel sets are also available. Certainly an amazing range of dolls from ones that are soft and cuddly, to those that do things and teach things while they talk to the kid…can be part of any child’s repertoire of gifts.

Faves…

In summary, I hope you will indulge this author and note that my personal favorites have stood the test of time. Those include, in the order of their appearance for all my grandchildren: while still in the womb and till this day – books; board games of all sorts; and as the kid learned to read, they received their own magazine subscriptions which were greatly anticipated either every week or each month. Wise shoppers cannot go wrong with these suggestions; no doubt there are many others. Take a day and enjoy the plethora of ideas available for smart shoppers for smart kids’ gifts.

Julie Myers is a mother of two who loves to sew when she has time.  She enjoys sharing creative ideas and making great gifts for kids.

DIY Gift Ideas For Every Occasion

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Sacchetti saponosiHolidays, birthdays and every day celebrations can certainly be events to look forward to, but not when you have difficulty with finding the perfect gift to give. While some people were born to give gifts, the truth is, most of us aren’t very good at it. Rather than getting something for someone that is simply materialistic and not thoughtful, why not save your money and make something yourself. These DIY gift ideas are perfect for any occasion and are guaranteed to be a hit!

Pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? What’s so great about giving a picture to someone is that it evokes memories and feelings of a previous event, whether they make you think back to when you were younger, someone who has passed or of people who you think about every single day.

Some creative DIY ideas around pictures:

  • Picture frame wreath – By gluing small frames from the dollar store to a wreath, you’ll have the opportunity to remind the gift recipient of why you care so much about them.
  • Picture magnet – Add an adhesive magnet to the back of a picture frame to make it magnetic and easy to move wherever you want it to go.
  • Canvas print – The idea of printing an image to a large canvas has grown to become very popular, and there’s good reason why. Canvas prints allow you to blow up a picture without having to really worry too much about the quality of the picture, and rather than paying a lot of money for a blown up picture and then having to frame it, a canvas print is just the image printed on the canvas, no frame necessary!

Coasters

While this gift might not come off as a personal or thoughtful gift, there are a lot of great DIY ideas that you can create for coasters. For example, if the gift is needed around Christmas time, you can visit local fresh Christmas tree farms to collect discarded tree rounds. After coating them with polyurethane to create round coasters, this gift is bumped up to awesome.

Some other great coaster ideas include:

  • Stamped tiles – Using inexpensive tiles from a home improvement store, you can stamp or etch whatever design you’d like to personalize these coasters.
  • Scrabble pieces glued together – Whether you have an old game of scrabble or you found one at the thrift store, these letters can easily be glued together for a set of fun word coasters.
  • Circular cork with old maps or jute – Cover circles of cork or thrift store coasters with jute or old maps using glue or mod podge for a creative set of coasters.

Bath and beauty products

For someone who needs some serious pampering, these gift ideas are absolutely perfect. While bath and beauty products have always been a go-to gift idea, think about how much more it will mean to the recipient when they find out that you made the item yourself.

Some bath and beauty gift ideas include:

  • Sugar scrubs
  • Lavendar sachets
  • Hand-carved soap
  • Lip gloss

Food

Edible gifts are usually a big hit, whether it’s the holidays or the middle of summer. What makes the DIY food gifts so special is the fact that you know the exact ingredients that are going into your gift, which allows you to decide how healthy you’d like it to be.

Here are some really unique DIY food ideas:

  • Edible wreath – Attach clothespins to a cardboard ring to create a colorful wreath. Clip tea bags, hot chocolate packets, spice packets, or even seed packets for a unique and useful gift.
  • Homemade vanilla – Mix good quality vodka with vanilla beans in a pretty glass bottle. Just keep in mind that “brewing” takes up to eight weeks!
  • Spice rubs – There are several recipes on the Internet that you can find for spice rubs. Combine spices in a pretty jar with a suggested use for a quick, yet thoughtful gift.
Attached Images:

Amy Richards is a freelance writer who loves to give custom gift baskets as presents to all her family and friends. She’s always determined to include at least one of her DIY projects, to really show how much she cares for those she’s giving gifts to.

Why Personalized Gifts Are Priceless In Value

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Every single day, millions of people around the world are either buying gifts for the people in their lives that they care about or they are actually presenting those gifts that they have already purchased to those individuals.  Gift shops will probably never go out of business because of the fact that millions of people seem to depend on these businesses year after year to help guide them in the right direction whenever these moments arise.

However, did you know that there is a way that you can make even the smallest gifts priceless in value that can be cherished for a lifetime?  How is this possible?  By making sure that you find a way to personalize the gift before giving it to that special someone!

Setting Your Gift Apart from All Others

By making sure that you find a way to personalize your gift, you will be effectively setting your gift apart from all of the other similar gifts that this special someone may have received in the past either by you or other people.  This will allow your gift to stand out and maintain a strong presence within their memories, because they will always be able to distinguish yours from all of the others.   How does that exactly work?

The Value Has to Be in the Memory More

Let’s say that you want to buy your special someone a valuable item of jewelry.  Millions of people have this idea year after year, which is one of the main reasons why billions of dollars are spent on jewelry annually on a global scale.  By giving it to them the way that you bought it, they will be able to appreciate the value of the gift itself but not really the person that gave it to them.  How so?

They will be able to cherish the memory of receiving this valuable gift as well as the memory when they may have found out how much the value was worth.  However, there really is not going to be anything that sets those items apart from many of the other items that they have.  You have to be able to create a memory that they can cherish even more than item itself.

Adding a Personal Touch makes it Priceless

If you can find a personal way to put a personal touch to your gifts, this is the way that you can make it priceless and truly valuable for a lifetime.  Do not just buy her a necklace or bracelet.  Find a way to have a special message inscribed or engraved in that jewelry to make it memorable.  Do not just buy her a collectible doll.  Invest in one of the high quality dolls that look like you so that she can have a doll that is not available anywhere else.  You have to be able to go the extra mile to make your gift different in order to engrave the memory in her mind forever and allow her to never forget about the moment that she received it from you.

This article was written by Kate Carson, an author that remembers firsthand the joys of receiving personalized gifts, such as dolls that look like you, as a present. She was been writing content articles that she can personally relate to for many years, but she also enjoys writing about such niches as politics, current events and technology.

Lighting It Up: How To Decorate With Lamps

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Lamps are not only great sources of light. Whether it’s reading, writing or working on a craft project, a lamp or two will make the job easier. However, more than just providing a generous pool of light, they also add a huge impact on your decorating scheme. A simple lamp on an entry table, for instance, can lend a cozy welcome to your guests. When placed on the kitchen or the bedroom, they aid in softening the hard edges of the space, and when slipped in an awkward corner of the living room, it can do a whole lot in giving the space a fresh face. With such capabilities, no wonder, lamps are a must-have item in any decorator’s arsenal.

If you are planning to give your room a makeover, don’t forget to include lamps in your decorating scheme as they will definitely lend an amazing impact to your space. To get you started, here are some tips you can follow when incorporating lamps in your home’s décor.

Determine the function of the room

Before you buy lamps, consider what activities you are going to use the space for. The type of activities that the room will serve will influence your choice of fixtures as well as their placement. Since most rooms serve more than one function, it is necessary that you purchase lamps that will allow you to do those activities properly. For instance, table lamps can become the key sources of light for the bedroom that will permit the occupant to properly traverse through the space and allow sufficient illumination for reading. A work area that doubles as a reading room, on the other hand, calls for tall and narrow floor lamps that can be easily slipped into corners to illumine dark spaces and provide ample amount of light for homework or reading.

Think of your décor

Aside from the function of the room, you also need to look at the existing décor. Doing so will allow you to select the right pieces that will complement the rest of the room. For instance, if your room is contemporary, lamps with slim bases and drum-shaped shades will fit in well to the space since they can lend drama to the room without necessarily overpowering other decorative elements inside. A room with a classic décor, on the other hand, is best accentuated with lamps whose shades are round or square.

Mind the scale

Always pay special attention to the size of your lamps. Be sure that their scale is appropriate for the location where they will be placed. You do not want to accessorize a small coffee table with a huge lamp with tapered shade. Not only will the piece look out of place, it will also affect the flow of traffic in the room since it is likely to be bumped into or knocked over. Similarly, a particularly small lamp should not be used a stand-alone fixture in a large room. As a rule of thumb, the shade of the lamp should be between one-half to three-fourths the size of its base, and it should also be able to properly hide the lamp’s hardware.

Translucent or opaque?

Another important thing that you have to consider when picking a lamp is the amount of light you want the fixture to cast. If you want a lamp that will illumine the room and will provide light for certain tasks, your best bet is to go for a piece with a translucent shade. However, if the lamp will function only as an accessory to the room, go for an opaque shade instead.

This article was written by Ericka for www.heritagecleaning.co.uk. Ericka is a home improvement enthusiast which inspires her to write helpful posts about home repair, organization, maintenance, décor and gardening.

Proper Light Placement To Better Illumine The Exterior Of Your Home

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While lighting the exterior of your house is not difficult at all, it is also easy to make mistakes when it comes to where the lighting fixtures should be affixed. Try strolling around your house after dark and you will notice that there are some areas that are cloaked in the shadows, paths that are hard to thread on in the darkness, or seating areas that are rendered useless at night. You may also find spots that are too bright that guests and passers-by have to cover their eyes from the glare of your lighting fixtures.

Fortunately, it is easy to correct these problems. With a little know-how on proper placement and what type of lights to use for certain spots, you can make the exterior of your home safer and more usable after the sun goes down and at the same time lend drama to the space. Below are some tips on how you should incorporate lights into your home’s exterior, where they should be placed, and what types of fixtures you should use.

Front door

Lighting is particularly important on the access and egress point of your house for good reasons. It shows people where to enter and where the doorbell and keyhole are positioned; prevents tripping on the steps; and allows the people inside to know who is at the front door.

The most ideal light fixtures to use on the front door are lanterns with two low-voltage compact fluorescent bulbs placed on both sides of the door (preferably mounted along the front door’s upper third portion). These fixtures provide the right amount of light without glare and at the same time enhance the appeal of the front door.

When picking wall or post lanterns, go for pieces with frosted or colored lenses instead of those with clear glass as they are easier on the eyes.

Garage and Driveway

Just like how you would light up your front door, you should also provide proper illumination on your garage and driveway entrance so that guests and vehicles will be able to find your home at night. For the driveway, it is not necessary to light up the entire strip. A few low-voltage spreadlights staggered along the edge of the pavement will suffice. Your garage, on the other hand, will benefit from the addition of some wall-mounted compact fluorescent floodlights near the door and on the sides. Also, do not forget to illuminate your house number. Guests arriving at night as well as emergency responders will definitely appreciate such addition since they will be able to know which house is yours.

Steps and walkways

To lead guests to the front door and guard them against slipping, layered lights coming from low-voltage fixtures are the most suitable choices for illuminating steps and walkways. Popular fixture selections for these locations include bollard lights, mushroom lights and path shaded tier lights. All these fixtures cast light downward so they are easy on the eyes. They also come in a wide variety of styles and different price points, allowing you to pick pieces that complement the look of your home and your budget.

For the most pleasing effect when positioning the lights and prevent the runway look, do not place all the lights on a straight line. Instead, stagger them on both sides of the steps and walkways.

Seating areas (patios, decks, porch)

To ensure you will be able to entertain guests even after dark, do not forget to light up your outdoor living areas. There is no hard or fast rules when it comes to lighting up outdoor living spaces, allowing you to take free helm on your light choices. However, do not forget to install task lighting in or near areas where they are needed and where safety might be a concern, such as benches, stair risers, deck railing and the wall near the grilling or dining area.

To avoid attracting pests to your patio, deck or porch, it will be preferable to go for compact fluorescent bulbs that are specially designed to ward off pests. You may also control the amount of light in the area if you use dimmers that will let you adjust light levels.

Landscape features

Add a touch of drama to your home’s exterior by highlighting the beautiful features in your landscape with a combination of low-voltage lighting and accent lighting. To do this, pick a focal point that you wish to emphasize, such as a specimen tree or a structure, along with secondary areas. To illuminate your primary focal point, use flood lights affixed to in-ground poles or spotlights attached on a nearby wall, fence or other elevated structure. For secondary areas like flower beds, ground covers and statuary, emphasize them with low-voltage fixtures that are recessed into the ground. Or, go for a backlit effect or hidden glow by pinning the light sources between the objects you want to highlight and the wall of your house.

Just a word of caution: be mindful where you direct the beams of your lights. At the most, they should not be pointed toward your neighbors windows.

The guest post above, which was written for www.steelbuildingsuk.co.uk, was contributed by Ericka. Ericka is a home improvement and gardening enthusiast. Her passion for these subjects inspires her to write useful posts about house repairing, decorating, cleaning and organizing.

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