Sure you decorate your fireplace and mantel for the winter holidays, but don�t forget this important focal point in your room as Spring approaches. Here are some nearly-instant ideas for springtime and Easter fireplace decorating:
Daffodils in crystal or glass vases on each end of your mantel bespeak the coming of Spring. Tie a wired chiffon ribbon in a soft spring hue in a bow around each vase for a nice touch.
March a line of fluffy chicks across your mantel. Five or more chicks, whether stuffed toys, porcelain hens, or craft store chickens, make a cute display.
And speaking of stuffed toys, now is a great time to find those old stuffed bunnies and ducks and turn them into mantel ornaments. Add Easter grass, and scatter decorated eggs along the mantel to keep them company.
Tie wired gingham-checked ribbons into bows, and attach them to the edge of your mantel. Let the ends of each bow hang down various lengths from one to three feet. At the end of each ribbon, open a plastic egg, tape the ribbon�s end inside the egg, and force the egg shut. This creates a set of eggs dangling at different heights.
Bring out your glass, crystal, white, and pastel candle holders of different heights for your mantel. Select a trio of springtime colors such as lavender, pink and eggshell or aqua, pale green, and soft yellow. Use pastel candles in some of the candle holders. In others, perch decorated Easter eggs (real, plastic, wooden, or glass).
The ideas above are great for your fireplace�s mantel, but what�s a terrific way to decorate your fireplace itself? Fireplace candelabra are the perfect accessories. And using candles in the shape of decorated Easter eggs in your fireplace candelabra is a super-simple, but visually dramatic way to decorate for the season. (Just don�t be too surprised if the Easter Bunny replaces one of the candle-eggs with a chocolate one!)
About the Author: Susan Penney appreciates simple ways to make our homes renewing spaces for our families. She invites you to visit http://www.FireplaceMall.com for fireplace accessories to serve your fire-less or your fire-filled fireplace.
Source: www.isnare.comBanners Vs Text Ads(Article)
( The Debate Continues... )
Banner ads or text ads which are the most effective? The simple reality is BOTH are effective. It�s how you use your ad, the message and in what context the ad is being used.
Regardless of whether you use a banner or text ad, if it doesn�t have the right message for the right audience, then BOTH will do poorly.
I use both formats on my web sites and in my ad campaigns on other peoples sites. And if I�m using a banner or button, if possible, I�ll try to have a complimentary text link with it.
Animated banners or static ones, does it really matter? Studies tell us that animated banners out perform static banners. This is based on the "it grabs your attention" factor. And yet, some of the most clicked through banners and buttons that I have used, were static. It was the words and the placement alone that determined how successful they were.
By "placement", I�m referring to both where on a page the banner or text is and who the target audience is. If you place an ad for a marketing book on say a crafts web page - don�t expect too many click throughs. This applies to both banners and text ads naturally. However, if you were to modify the same marketing books ad to specifically target crafters then you would stand a better chance.
For instance, you might say something like:
"Crafters - Let me show you how to sell MORE of your crafts on the net before the Christmas rush! Click Here to find out how."
That would make more sense than some generic message or banner directed to "everyone on the net". The ad is on a craft page or site, it specifically draws attention to "Crafters", who would either like to sell, or sell MORE of their crafts online. This ad is also taking advantage of the fact that there�s alot of crafts that are Christmas oriented one way or another, (whether it�s crafts for presents or crafts for decorating). The "Click Here" is the practically mandatory action phrase to get anyone to click on a link; which will take the crafter to your Internet marketing book of choice. (Mine happens to be Make Your Site Sell!)Click Here === http://myss.sitesell.com/rnddesigns.html if you haven�t read about it yet.
Hey wait a second this isn�t really about Banners being pitted against text links.
Well, you�re sort of right there. The simple truth is, it doesn�t matter whether your ad is a banner, a text link, a TV commercial, a radio commercial, full page magazine ad, newspaper classifieds... It�s what you say and where you say it, that counts. Want to learn more on how to make your advertising pull like crazy? Read Joe Robson�s Make Your Words Sell! Click This Link === http://myws.sitesell.com/rnddesigns.html and learn from a master of words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robin Forbes is The Pencil Dude; Proud Publisher of the
Newsletter "Pencil Dude's Picks" http://www.pencildude.com/
It's the Ezine that "Newbies and Oldbies" alike, read for
entertaining and informative articles about computers and the
Internet. Want this article for your Ezine?
mailto:bannervstxt@sendfree.com?subject=bvt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezine/Newsletter Publishers - If you would you like to use this
article in your publication please feel free to do so. My only
restrictions are that the links and resource box remain. And of
course the copyright belongs to me and is non-transferable.
Also drop me an e-mail telling me that you've published the
article. Thanks.
Cheers,
Robin Forbes
Monday the day(Article)
In modern culture Monday is usually looks at being the beginning of a work week. This is because it is usually on Monday when adults go back to work and children go back to school after a "weekend" (Saturday & Sunday)
In America Monday is never viewed as being a good day, as it means going back to the daily grind of another work week. A typical work week in North America is 40 hours long. That 40 hours is eight hours over five days, with normal office hours being between 9am-5pm. Because of this image as being the worst day of the week Monday's are often made the enemies of several jokes, and comments. An example of this is Garfield, a comic strip cat, who constantly is at war with Monday. Alot of companies try to cash in on this image, and give people something to look forward to on Monday's. Who has heard of "Monday Night Football", or "Monday Club"?
Monday is home to several important dates throughout past and present history. Dates such as Easter Monday (hard to get that one wrong), and Black Monday, Blue Monday, Easter Monday, First Monday, Handsel Monday, Manic Monday, Miracle Monday, Plough Monday, Wet Monday, Whit Monday.
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
Feel free to reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.
Ryan Fyfe is the owner and operator of Monday Spot - www.mondayspot.com, which is the best site on the internet for all monday related information.
Homemade wedding favors might get crossed all to easily from the busy couple’s wedding plans. With full time jobs and hectic social lives, who wants to add more work to their lot by producing homemade wedding favors?
This might be a valid point for those brides and grooms who aren’t naturally creative, but homemade wedding favors can provide a unique opportunity to slow down and enjoy working on creating your special day. Homemade wedding favors allow you to get hands on, and regardless of your ability, the fantastic range of wedding favor crafts available today will offer you the tools to create memorable homemade wedding favors.
But how on earth do you find the time to make your homemade wedding favors? The answer is you make time. Planning a wedding is undoubtedly a stressful time, and without taking some time out, you won’t make it to the day in one piece. Using wedding favor crafts to make your own favors allows you reconnect with your planning in a more creative and less stressful way, reminding you of all your wedding day should be about.
Homemade wedding favors are an enormously special way to thank your guests for helping your celebrate this momentous occasion. But there is another side to homemade wedding favors too – so get out the craft box and get working. You’ll be ready to get back to that wedding list in no time.
Homemade wedding favors are a great way to say to your guests we thought of you!
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
For a website totally devoted to Wedding Favors visit Peter's Website The Wedding Favors Guide and find out about Unique Wedding Favors as well as Wedding Favor Ideas and more, including Cheap Wedding Favors and Wedding Shower Favors.
Here's a twist on the old "sell your crafts" theme. How about creating and marketing a craft kit for your craft? Instead of selling a completed project, you sell an materials-included, ready-to-do craft project. It doesn't necessarily HAVE to be geared toward kids, but those seem to sell well.
For example, since our Cub Scout Den recently built some birdhouses from kits, let's say you like to build birdhouses. To build one, let's say you need to cut some 1/4" wood into a variety of shapes, glue some pieces together, and nail some others together.
You would cut the wood into the all of necessary shapes and sand them. Your kit would consist of the pre-cut wood, all the nails (plus extras), and instructions. All of this could go into a Zip-Loc baggie and be sold for a few dollars.
Just about any small and relatively easy craft can be sold as a kit "baggie". Crafts using wooden thread spools seem to be popular lately -- those would be perfect candidates for kits.
Remember that the more difficult or involved the craft, the better you will have to write the assembly instructions.
PRICING
Set your price at about four times the cost of materials. However, if you are going to sell crafts for kids, try to keep the price below $10.
For kids crafts, create "bundle packs" of 6-8 of the same project at a little bit of a discount. This will make it very attractive to Scout leaders and parents shopping for birthday party activities.
MARKETING
Write a press release -- or have one written, if you don't know how -- and make sure the local newspapers (free and paid) and radio stations (especially AM stations) get it. This is the kind of story they love, and a feature story will get you a lot of exposure.
Create flyers for your local community bulletin boards.
Call you local Scouting (Boy- and Girl-) council office and find out when they have their leaders' meeting, called a "Roundtable" in Boy Scouts. Arrange to speak for five minutes at one of these meetings. Bring a kit or two for demonstration and plenty for sale, since you might make some immediate sales.
Talk to your local craft shop. Many are surprising open to the idea of selling local craft works -- but most crafters assume they won't be, and never ask!
If you do a craft that can be packaged as a kit, and aren't doing that, you are bypassing what could be a very lucrative avenue for revenue!
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Mike Morgan runs several businesses from his home in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He also publishes the Home Business Helper newsletter - a high content, low-ad ezine with a single focus: your home business success. To subscribe, simply e-mail mailto:hbhsubscribe@GetResponse.com
Copyright 2003, Michael Morgan. Reprinted with permission.
1) Give a % off an order.
2) Give a free gift with order.
3) Do a drawing among orders on a certain day. Make sure everyone knows the drawing is going on.
4) Give a rebate back.
5) Give a free gift for referring a customer.
6) Give a gift certificate for the next order.
7) Give a customer appreciation card to regular customers.
8) Offer a complimentary product for a discount or free
9) Give FREE Shipping
10) Have a numbered sale - like a $0.99 sale or a $2.99 sale. The emphasis is the 99 on the end.
11) Create a treasure box to give to the highest order of the month.
12) Have a ticket contest, giving all orders an x amount of tickets. Then draw among the tickets for prizes.
13) Do a Dollar Tree Sale
14) Find a complimentary product and sell the 2 together at a discounted price.
15) Give a certain $ amount off a $20 order.
These are just a few selling incentives you can use for your business. Try to think outside the box, give your customers an extra special reason to order from you. Use your imagination; let your mind run wild. Think of the seasons and holidays that are coming up, get creative!
About the Author
Written by TBA. TBA stands for Tricia Billie and baby Ashley. We are a mother, daughter, & granddaughter WAH team. We own and operate TBADeals.us
�Always have plenty of crayons and a special place for your kids. So, that they can use just for creating their little Picasso drawings. Make sure you praise their efforts. The special place can be a little activity table or even in the floor.
�Always have at home: construction paper, glue, children scissors etc. have them create paper crafts. For example draw a heart cut it, pasted with glue on construction paper, and add some glue with glitter for decorative purposes.
�Put on children�s music and dance like there is no tomorrow with them. If you are truly in the mood of superstar/goofy then you can pretend to sing with a microphone and have your kids play their toy instruments and vice versa.
�For special days such as holiday�s and birthdays make easy to do crafts with your child and give crafts to friends and family as gifts. Don�t forget to tell your love ones how much help you got from your little assistants.
�Bake cookies or cake and let them help you.
�Challenge your little Einstein�s brain with blocks and puzzles.
�Read stories
�Play dress up
�Hide a toy and help them find it by leaving little clues like blues clues cartoon.
�Play games similar to Simon says, hide and seek etc.
About the Author
Kenia Morales is the publisher of online magazine http://kpatra.com "For Every Aspect of Today's Woman. Visit her site to find a variety of women related issues and topics" click here http://www.kpatra.com/keniascolumn.htm to find Kenia's little piece of heaven her inspirational column
Christmas in Cusco, Peru(Article)
On December 24th, hundreds of artisans coming from Cusco and the surrounding towns lay their blankets on the sidewalks -a custom in traditional Andean fairs- and sell carved Nativity handicrafts.
Held in Cusco's main square, Santuranticuy (which means "saints for sale") is a temporary market whose origins go back to the days of the Spanish Vice-royalty. Today it's one of the largest arts-and-crafts fairs in the country.
The central figure of the Christmas fair is the Niño Manuelito, the Andean version of the newborn Jesus. Besides the baby Manuelito, you'll find the other Nativity figures -all with an Andean touch-, as well as saint's images. Much appreciated are the boxed scenes, known as Retablos, whose small figurines can represent almost every aspect of live, secular or sacred, though for the occasion you'll almost only find Nativity scenes.
Although the fair started as a Christmas specific market, over the years it expanded to include other goods like antiques, silverware, and ceramic objects brought from Pucará and Quinua. At night, street vendors sell a traditional hot and sweet rum punch called ponche, to warm up chilly visitors.
To facilitate both clients and artisans, the fair has been divided into sectors, each of which aggregates a speciality product. Among these you can find decorative ceramic, wood and bark crafts, miniatures and filigrees, silverware, stone crafts, stone sculptures, paintings from the Escuela Cusqueña, and Niños Manuelitos.
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
Charlotte De Patre is editor and photographer for The Peru Guide.
When it comes to decorating a child's room, your approach should be much different from decorating an adult bedroom.
For kids, their bedroom is where they play games, read, listen to music, day-dream, or just go to be alone sometimes. So use these eight strategies to help create a space that will make you both happy:
1. Talk to your child. Find out what activities and fantasies he or she enjoys; what their favorite color is; and what's unique about their personality that a theme could be built around.
2. Allow your child to help. Let them have a say about colors, fabrics, and how they want to display their collectibles.
3. Make the room multi-functional. Since children use their room for many activities besides sleeping, it should have several different zones, such as a play area, reading area, and entertainment area.
4. Make storage a priority. Try shelving, large decorative wicker baskets, plastic see-through containers, and closets that contain plenty of shelving and racks.
5. Keep window treatments simple. Avoid long draperies. Shades, blinds, and shorter curtains are safer choices. The fabric should be versatile, and patterns should be repeated in other items in the room, such as in pillows, quilts, lampshades, bed ruffles, etc.
6. Choose the right lighting. A child�s room should include both task lighting for homework and reading, and soothing light for quieter times. A nightlight is also important.
7. Use wallpaper or paint to add color and texture. You can apply whimsical borders along the top edges of the walls, and clouds or stars on the ceiling. Make sure walls are washable, so if you are using paint, choose a semi-gloss or gloss finish. Kids love bright colors, but you should limit any strong color to only one wall.
8. Allow your child to select the design theme. Here are just a few: firehouse fun room, starry night, angels, rainbows, unicorns, baseball, a bedroom for a princess, underwater scenery, outer space, race cars, airplanes, trains, jungle motifs, wizards and dragons, and dinosaurs.
Decorating with your child offers a great opportunity to display your playful side, while doing some memorable family bonding, so have fun with it!
Michael Holland is the creator of http://www.kids-rooms-and-crafts.com and http://www.home-decorating-made-easy.com. His web sites offers lots of FREE decorating tips and ideas for decorating your home.
Who Needs A Cookie Jar?(Article)
Cookie gift baskets don.t come just in baskets. Many smaller varieties come in decorative tins or canisters. Also available are decorative arrangements such as cookie bouquets. These can be a great choice for a less expensive option. Often they consist of a dozen cookies displayed in a flower-like arrangement, usually in a canister or cup instead of a vase. Everyone from Mrs. Field's to small local bakeries offers a cookie gift basket. They are available in a variety of sizes, from a dozen cookies to huge baskets.
Frequently during the holidays there will be Christmas cookie baskets or cookies decorated like Christmas ornaments. Easter may have cookies decorated like Easter eggs or shaped like bunnies. Cookie gift baskets may also come in seasonal tins or holiday keepsake baskets. There are also themed cookie gift baskets for events like a new baby, birthdays, Mother's Day, or Father's Day.
Cookie gift baskets also come in a variety of price ranges, from under $20 to over $100, making it easy to select a gift appropriate to the situation and your relationship with the recipient. For diabetics or people on restricted diets, there are options with sugar-free, low carb or no cholesterol cookies.
A cookie gift basket is a great choice for any occasion, from housewarmings to new babies to condolences. There is such a variety to choose from that you can find something appropriate to any situation.
About the Author: Bob Bassett is the owner of Unique Gift Baskets Online which offers a wide selection of gift baskets for any occasion including baby gift baskets, food gift baskets, wine and corporate gift baskets. http://www.uniquegiftbasketsonline.com
Source: www.isnare.com
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