5 Beautiful DIY Decor Ideas to for Your Nursery

If you happen to have a bundle of joy on the way, then this is time for you to be crafty and creative. There ARE numerous projects you can do from cutting, sewing and pasting to create ceiling hung clouds or wall mounted canvases and a lot more. Below are five of some of the projects you can undertake for your baby.

Doodle Decorating

The most beautiful way to decorate your nursery is the first thing our list. It is by far the most personal and educative attempt to follow and something that no parent can overlook. It revolves around great means of expression such as drawing, coloring and doodling, activities that numerous studies have previously confirmed they have a huge impact on the child`s development. These endeavors greatly enhance the social, cognitive and physical development of the child, nourishing his creativity in the process thus making the decorating through doodles great seeds for the little one`s interest.

Frame your doodles while awaiting your child or simply wait him to get creative and frame his work, art ought to be present regardless and these simply activities should be encouraged as much as possible.

Nursery pom poms

Nowadays, tissue pom poms are a great addition to a nursery. The best thing about them is that you can purchase an assortment of different colors to make the nursery as colorful as you like. All you will need to use are the tissue papers, floral wire and fishing line. You can also easily create fabric pom poms if you would like to have a more lasting version.

Suspender curtains

Suspender curtains can be really cute in a nursery and the best part is that they are extremely easy to make. What you will need to make them is some fabric, fusible bonding web, scissors, iron, the overall buckles, hot glue gun, canvas strips, two buttons, curtain tension rod, needle and thread.

How to make

     You should begin with measuring the height and width of the window then add about 4” to the width and 6” to height on the fabric and cut.

     Fold the sides and button in one inch then use the fusible bonding web for hemming.

     You will make the curtain rod pocket if you fold the top down 5” then secure with a bonding web.

     Lay the curtain on a flat surface to be able to determine how high you will draw the shade. Place the buttons at the front with the straps behind the fabric then fold them over the front. Then cut the straps to suit the panel.

     After that, insert the straps into the overall buckle securing it with hot glue and repeat.

     Then sew the button in front of the curtain panel and sew the end of the strap directly behind it. Repeat.

DIY drawer pulls

You can purchase vintage yo-yo’s on sites like eBay and turn them into cute drawer pulls. To make the pulls, what you will need is the wooden yo-yos, drill, pliers, hanger bolts size depending on drawer panel thickness, nut:

How to make it

     Pre drill a hole just a little bit smaller than the hanger bolt into the back center of the yo-yo.

     Twist the hanger bolt in the hole using pliers.

     Insert the bolt into the hole in the drawer then fasten it with the nut tightly.

Paper dot mobile

This is also quite easy to make as you watch a movie on a lazy Sunday and what you will need are a small hole punch, 2” circle punch, nine pieces of 12”x12” card stock, 8mm jump rings, needle nose pliers, two embroidery hoops 8” and 6”, screw hook, fishing line.

     First, cut circles with the 2” punch

     Punch holes of 1/8” from top to bottom of the circles then string nine of the circles together using the jump rings. You should punch only one hole for the top and bottom circle.

     Hot glue the top circle of each strand to the embroidery hoops.

     Make nine more but use the 6” embroidery hoop.

     Glue the fishing line to three spots on each hoop then hang from hook.

What do you think about these simple yet great things? We would love to hear your opinion on the subject in the comment section below !

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/11/5-beautiful-diy-decor-ideas-to-for-your.html

A Mom's Review of Prolectrix Soup Maker

For a busy mom, you’ll need every bit of help you can get to make your tasks a lot easier. This is exactly where soup makers come into play. They are a great help in cutting down preparation and cooking time in case the family requests for a hearty soup for dinner.

Unfortunately, not all soup makers are created equal. While some of them can hasten cooking time, there are others that will just throw your money into waste.

Prolectrix Soup Maker is one of the best soup makers you can get your hands on. Here’s a list of pros and cons, based on firsthand experience, to tell you why.

Pros:

The soup maker is great for big families, like mine. It’s able to hold 1.3L t0 1.6L which can be enough to feed at least four grownups in a single meal. You can even have some leftover for tomorrow.

Prolectrix Soup Maker is also easy to clean. It’s made from stainless steel and comes with a specialized cleaning brush to make sure I’m able to remove all food debris from it. Since it’s made from steel, it’s quite sturdy and durable, too.

The heating element sits right under the stainless bucket. I find this design very convenient since it gives me enough space to clean the area as well.

Prolectrix Soup Maker doesn’t take a lot of space and effort to move around. It’s just around the size of a kettle and comes with the functions of both a blender and soup maker. It’s made of 1000w of power: 800w for heating and 200w for the blender.

The three buttons for its soup making functions is a plus factor for me, too. Having a kid around, I really enjoyed using its puree function for making delicious and healthy baby food. The chunky option, on the other hand, is handy whenever I need to whip something up for my growing kids. It’s a time-saver since you only need to toss chunks of vegetables in it.

The safety control feature of Prolectrix Soup Maker is something you won’t normally find in other similar products. It’s intelligent enough in that it doesn’t activate until you get its lid completely locked. It also has added features that help prevent your soup from dry burning or over-spilling.

Aside from soups, this soup maker also works well when it comes to creating dips and smoothies.

Cons:

Despite having the ability to crush chunky vegetables, you still need to make sure they’re at the right size. I had problems with this soup maker, particularly during the first few uses. Every time I need to  boil potatoes, they always got burnt at the bottom.

For optimum cooking and for you to avoid having charred vegetables, you need to cut them down into quarter inch pieces. It’s also recommended that you put in water before the ingredients to make sure you don’t burn them.

Conclusion

Prolectrix Soup Maker is a good choice for busy moms. It can cook soups in as fast as 30 minutes. It offers blending and heating power to ensure that your soup cooks well.

If you can get past the inconvenience of having to chop your vegetables to the recommended size, this is actually a great product to have in your kitchen. It’s small and sturdy. It can fit on your counter quite easily. Plus, you also get a recipe book when you go buy the product. You will no longer have to worry about how you’ll prepare your dinner since you’ll have a wide range of recipes to choose from.

Author’s Bio:

Freya is a mom to three kids. When not cleaning after her children’s mess, she’s spending her extra time writing and researching about products that can make motherhood a lot easier. Her latest work deals with soup maker reviews.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/11/a-moms-review-of-prolectrix-soup-maker.html

5 Outdoor Christmas Decorating Tips For Your Home

Are you thinking of decorating the exterior of your house for this year’s Christmas holidays? It’s a trend that’s been growing for some years now, and new innovative lighting designs can be used to great effect to give your home a special and unique Christmas feel.

A few words of caution though, before you let your creative juices run away with you: safety is paramount.

First, electricity needs to be handled with respect. Make sure the lights you wish to install are specifically for outdoor use, and don’t be tempted to overload your electrical sockets – it’s dangerous and can cause a fire. LED lights are best, not only because they are more energy efficient and need less wattage than traditional incandescent bulbs, but also for their beautifully clear, crisp light output. 

Secondly, putting up and taking down outdoor Christmas lights on a building comes with a fair degree of personal risk. Are you working off a simple household ladder? If you do, make sure it’s in good condition and a stable position on a firm and flat surface. Also, it’s advisable to always work in pairs, so you have someone assisting you – two pairs of hands are safer than one. For high roofs, rooftops or other elevated areas, ladders are unlikely to be the right solution. You may be better off hiring a scaffold platform or tower, or even a cherry picker. The last thing you need this Christmas is a nasty accident.

With the essential safety concerns addressed, are you ready to add some festive fun and magic to the outside of your home? Here are 5 design considerations and decorating tips to help you make your home truly Christmassy.

1.       Highlight the building’s architectural features

When installing lights to the front elevation of your house, always start at the centre and work your way outwards to the sides. Look at interesting architectural details of the building to see what can be highlighted in the design scheme. Gables, rooflines, chimneys, arches, windows or similar features lend themselves particularly well. 

Combine horizontal and vertical features to achieve the perfect balance. Rather than covering the entire house in lights, perhaps pick out the roof outline up to the gable peak and down again, then highlight the front door outline to create a simple yet effective festive aesthetic.

2.       Create a professional, three dimensional effect

Whatever you do, it needs to really impress, especially at Christmas – so don’t skimp on lighting; the thicker your lighting garlands are, the more effective the result will be. Use large, bright LED bulbs spaced properly and evenly, every 30cm or so, and include cutbacks so that your house doesn’t appear two dimensional. Make sure the length is just right; you should have a bulb positioned right at the top of the apex, and no overhanging lights at the bottom – otherwise it just looks messy.

3.       Don’t forget to decorate your trees

Beautifully decorated trees add impact, especially when they frame the house. There are two techniques you can use to light up your trees in the front garden. Spiral/canopy wrapping encircles the entire tree (perfect for conifers), while trunk & branch wrapping highlights the main branches and emphasises the structure of the tree (ideal for deciduous trees). Both can look wonderful, as can mixing and matching the two.

4.       Classic white or colourful fun?

Whether you go for the traditional Christmas favourite all-white look or have fun with some on-trend colour is entirely up to your personal taste. This year, one of the popular colour schemes to emerge is a very festive combination of red, green and white. Then again, other colour contrasts can work well too – try silver and gold, or green and blue perhaps, to create an effective and unusual wow factor for your Christmas home.

5.       Add extra decorations to set the scene

For a bolder look, you can give your front garden a Christmas theme with the addition of festive characters – Father Christmas, reindeer, snowmen or penguins, angels and stars, or a nativity scene? The shops are now full of inspiration, with all kinds of fun characters and wonderful light designs to choose from – go and have a look.

Finally, complement your outdoor Christmas light display with some lush greenery to add an extra festive touch to your exterior decorations. Evergreen wreaths or garlands (either real or artificial) can be trimmed with ribbons, ornaments and lights to provide enchanting accents for windows and doors.

Article provided by Mike James, an independent content writer working alongside a selection of companies including MC Property Maintenance, who were consulted over this post.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/10/5-outdoor-christmas-decorating-tips-for.html

How to Make a Good Impression to Potential Buyers During Your First Open House

The way you hold an open house plays a critical role in determining the value of your home. Without the right preparation and plan, you can easily send potential buyers out the door. If this is the first time you’ll be setting up one, here are some of the things you can do to make a very good impression.

Enhance your home’s curb appeal

Your driveway and walkway are as important as what’s inside your home. Since they are the first areas that your potential buyers can see, you have to make sure that they are in top shape.

Freshen up your landscaping by removing dried and dying plants. It’s also a good idea to re-do your exterior paint, particularly if it’s already peeling or extremely faded. If your front and garage door are already showing signs of wear and tear, now is the right time to get them replaced.

It can also help if you can clean your gutters. In case your home’s siding is filled with dirt and grime, you can pressure wash it. A fresh new welcoming mat can make a big difference, too.

Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure that your driveway is clear. You don’t want anything there that can obstruct the view of your home.

Clean your home

This is probably the most important thing you need to do if you want to create a good impression to your potential buyers. A home full of clutter isn’t only visually unappealing, but it can also make your property lose its value. It might even discourage people from buying your property.

Start off by removing most of your personal items from your home. It should be as sparse as possible even before you set it up on the market. Take away as much furniture as possible and leave only those items that you think can boost your home’s aesthetic appeal.

Remove all stains from your walls, mirrors and silverware. You want your home to be as pristine as it can be. If there are hard-to-remove stains, it’s a better idea if you can reach out to the professional carpet and upholstery cleaners in your area. They have the tools, materials and skills to remedy stubborn stains without the risk of damaging your household item.

Let more light in

Whether it’s natural or artificial light, you want your home to be as bright and illuminated as possible. This is to help your potential buyers get a good view of your home’s layout and floor plan. You can open up all your curtains and make sure that all light bulbs are functioning well prior to their visit.

Prepare some refreshments

This is probably one of the most overlooked things when it comes to preparing for an open house. Although not a necessity, offering something for your visitors to eat and drink can help make a good impression. It doesn’t have to involve complex and expensive food items. It can be as simple as serving freshly baked cookies and glasses of cool lemonades.

Add accessories if you can

You don’t need tons of accessories to highlight your home, but adding them where they matter can make a big difference. This includes adding vases of flowers and scented candles in your living room. You can also add extra storage spaces in your bathroom to organize your toiletries and towels.

It’s a good idea if you can replace any broken faucets and cabinet handles, too. You can decorate your kitchen with decorative bottles filled with spices and oils. You can also use recipe books and glasses to add character to the room.

Assemble your furniture

You might be keeping your furniture the way they are for convenience and comfort. However, for open houses, you might want to consider moving them around to maximize your space.

Stage your furniture so that people can move around without bumping into things. Take away large furniture, such as sectional sofas. Make sure that there’s plenty of room for them to walk around but avoid pushing all your furniture to the wall. You want to create a focal point, such as a large window or your fireplace.

Depersonalize your home

Tuck away your family photos as they can be distracting for your potential buyers. As buyers can also look into your cabinets and storage spaces, it’s a good idea to empty them out or organize their contents. Seeing them overflowing can create the impression that your home doesn’t have enough space to keep things neatly tucked in.

Remove your toothbrush and towels from your bathroom. You should also consider clearing your kitchen countertops , especially if you have tons of appliances there. You only need to have the essentials to emphasize your kitchen’s functionality.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/10/how-to-make-good-impression-to.html

5 reasons you need a glass staircase in your home

Glass is becoming a hugely popular material for use in interior design as well as part of modern architecture in general – and there are a whole host of reasons as to why this is the case.  Not only does glass bring a touch of luxury to any home or commercial building, but it is also superb for increasing a sense of space and for maximising light – and more and more homeowners are making the leap to installing glass staircases in their home.  But why is this?  We have a few reasons as to why you may consider a glass staircase or series of balustrade installations as part of your new-look home.

Versatility

The flexibility and lightweight nature of glass allows for some truly fantastic bespoke creations – meaning that it’s often a manufacturer’s favourite material to work with.  Glass, unlike wood or metal, is much more open to being formed, shaped and designed in any way you see fit – making it a fantastic choice for a truly unique staircase.  As the staircase is often the first thing many people see when entering your home, you’re going to want to make a spectacular and unique first impression!

Durability

Many may perceive glass to be brittle or incapable of providing for such regularly-used structures as staircases – however, this simply isn’t the case.  Toughened glass is more robust than ever, and with manufacturing allowing for scratch and damage-resistant glass in recent times, it’s becoming more and more of an attractive choice for staircase installations.

Space Creation

The main benefit of installing glass in your home is an aesthetic one – after all, the look of glass walls, glass balustradesand staircases can hardly be equalled!  Further to this, the transparency of a glass staircase allows you to create more space within your home than you could ever imagine – it’s a clever illusion that can really transform the atmosphere in a room almost effortlessly.

Easy Maintenance

Glass staircases are, of course, the easiest to maintain – as they’re not only wipe clean, but are often made of toughened glass to lessen the risk of any long-term damage or scuffing.  Compared to carpeted or wooden staircases, glass models are surprisingly low-maintenance and certainly pay for themselves long term.

Light and Eco-Friendly

Glass staircases are by far the kindest to the environment in their manufacture and composition alone, and in addition to this, they’re extremely lightweight – while at the same time remaining durable and extremely hard to damage.  Taking both of these factors into account of course means that glass staircases are easy to disassemble and can be completely recycled once they’ve lived their course – but why would you ever want to remove a staircase that looks so good?

For more information on having a bespoke design – or to order your own glass staircase or balustrades, contact the team of experts at Elysion on 01629 820030 who are versed in years of the design, manufacture and installation of interior and exterior design solutions for homes and business throughout the UK.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/10/5-reasons-you-need-glass-staircase-in.html

10 benefits of having underfloor heating

While you may be aware of underfloor heating, you may not know just what it’s all about.  Why are so many people taking it upon themselves to switch from a standard radiator system to underfloor warmth?  Here are just a few benefits that new underfloor heating users experience regularly.

Direct, instant heat

While traditional radiators connected to a boiler may take considerable time to heat up and even longer to fill a room with warmth, underfloor heating is instantaneous and direct, meaning you’ll get warmer, quicker.

Easy to set up and install

While many plumbing and heating systems of old were considerably difficult to master in terms of maintenance and installation, underfloor heating’s pipework is relatively simple to handle – while it’s recommended that you arrange for an electrician or plumber to connect you before switching on, the pipework can be handled with relative ease.

Versatile options for installation

You can choose to have your underfloor heating supplied via your electricity supply for electric underfloor heating, or via a manifold and a water heater or boiler in your home.  This means that you can be assured of a working system based upon facilities you already have in place.

You can control heat remotely

With certain systems, you can decide how hot your room gets with either a thermostat or a remote panel, meaning that you can have simple, user-friendly control over your heat resources at all times.

You can install underfloor heating in a single zone…

If you only need the one room or facility heating on a timer basis, you can do so by installing a ‘single zone’ system.  This means that you’ll only ever be putting energy and cost into warming one room in your home for a certain amount of time.

…or you can install it in many zones

Alternatively, if you’d like several rooms in your home to benefit from underfloor heating, you can opt for a multi-zone system – meaning that each and every part of your house can benefit from direct, radiant heat.

You can choose which rooms heat up, and when

The beauty of using a smart thermostat or remote control for underfloor heating is in its ability to give you complete access to your entire heating network.  If your kitchen needs to be heated early on a morning, this can be programmed easily – while you can choose to keep the rest of your home cool when none of the rooms are in use.

It’s cost-effective long term

The long-term savings experienced by underfloor heating users are considerable – as you only ever need to heat the rooms that are in use, and as it takes less time for a room to warm up, you’ll spend less time and money on deploying such heat – therefore, your bills will be considerably cheaper than if you are running a more basic system!

It’s ideal for conservatories and garages

There may be rooms in your home or extensions where standard radiators may not be able to reach – meaning that an underfloor heating system can be very helpful in ensuring that even your most remote rooms can benefit from warmth.

There’s always someone on hand

While underfloor heating may be getting more popular, and while the process of setting up and laying down pipework may generally be considered fairly simple, the age of the internet has allowed for numerous video guides and walkthroughs to be set up to ensure that you will always know where you are when installing for the first time.  In addition to this, any good and reputable underfloor heating supplier, such as UK Underfloor Heating, will be able to give you all the assistance and knowledge you need remotely, making for a far less stressful set-up and maintenance procedure than with a standard heating system. If you are looking for more information on underfloor heating types and if you will be able to get it, please call UK Underfloor Heating on 0800 232 1501.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/10/10-benefits-of-having-underfloor-heating.html

Turn Your Garden into a Cool Kids Playground

Not only will your kids love you for this, but you as parents will reap the rewards too. Making the most of your outdoor space so your kids can get plenty of exercise and fresh air has its obvious benefits, and there are many more reasons why it’s a great idea to make the garden a place the kids want to spend time. While going to the park can still be on the agenda, having your own outdoor play area gives you the flexibility to stay home and invite friends over when the trip out feels too much, you’re waiting in for a delivery or when there’s work to be done at home.

For those of you who have kitchens overlooking the garden, it can make tea-time a whole lot easier if you can give the kids a run out in the garden while you get on with prepping the evening grub. Obviously this applies to younger children, as older ones won’t require such a watchful eye. Having friends and their kids over also means adults can relax over a cuppa, watching the little ones make the most of the inventive playground you’ve worked hard to create. You can get nostalgic and relive your childhood joining in with fun and games outdoors too. It can be a great tool for getting your older ones off their screens for a while too.

Here are 12 great ideas for giving the kids the garden playground they’ll love.

1.       A chalk board; kids love to draw on walls right? Install a large chalkboard on your fence. Kids will have hours of fun chalking up some giant pics for the family to admire.

2.       A zip line will give the kids hours of fun and great kudos with their mates. If you are lucky enough to have a big garden, and especially if you have a large tree, setting up a zip wire safely will make your garden the go to place for all the kids in your street.

3.       There’s nothing cooler than a tyre swing. You’ll need an old tyre (great to recycle), some chain and/or rope, as well as something to hang the swing from (most likely a large tree). Be sure to test it’s safe before giving the kids a go.

4.       Teepeescome in all sizes and let’s face it are the coolest of tents. Red indian outfits can make a great addition to the dressing up box and making a totem pole (big or small) could be a great creative family project.

5.       Sandpits come in all shapes and sizes and can easily be bought or handmade. Be creative; it doesn’t have to take over your garden. Sand in a large tin flower tub can be just as fun. You can bury treasure in the sand for the little ones to find.

6.       The ultimate treehouse is a fantastic project for the DIY enthusiast and a big hit with the kids. You’ll obviously need a tree you can safely put the magical sky house in.

7.       If you don’t have any trees for a treehouse project, then a playhouse is just as good a space for kids to ramp up their imaginative play and to feel they have their own space to hang out in the garden. Playhouses range from tiny one room plastic options to luxurious wooden 2-storey creations with balconies. It’s just a question of budget and aesthetics.

8.       A hammock is always a winner and a great place for you to relax on a balmy summer evening with a glass of your favourite wine once the kids are in bed.

9.       Trampolines are all the rage these days, but a quirky way of adding it to your garden is to sink it into the ground. It may take a bit of back-breaking work to dig the hole, but it makes it less of an eyesore in the garden, and you could even make a wooden cover to go over it, making a funky raised sitting area.

10.   Little ones will love an outdoor kitchen for making mud pies. It’s a great way of recycling your old pots and pans and kitchen utensils too. It doesn’t need to be elaborate – a small table with an oil cloth cover, a washing up bowl and a chopping board make a great play kitchen.

11.   A water feature is great for the summer months. Having a pool might not be an option, but splash pads with fountains can be a compromise and feel safer for the little ones. Failing that a sprinkler (while perhaps not ethically great for conserving water) can be a cheaper option for giving the kids a fun treat on hotter days.

12.   A vegetable patch might not sound quite the thing for an adventure playground, but you’ll be amazed at how fascinated kids can be with growing and tending things in the garden. There’s the planting project, the feeding and watering and the harvesting, not to mention the cooking sessions. If you’ve invested in a playhouse, you could even add on a mini veg patch as the garden to that.

Article provided by Mike James, an independent content writer working alongside a selection of
companies including UK Log Cabins, who were consulted over this post.

from Home My Heaven: UK Home Improvement Blog http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/09/turn-your-garden-into-cool-kids.html