Expensive decorations and furniture are nice. But, you can have a great area for
entertaining outside by using what you've already got. Your outdoor decorations
do not have to consist of all your kids toys and a slip and slide. Think outside
of the normal and go for what looks good.
Use your garden area as your focal point. If you do not have a garden, use
potted plants to create a green scene. You can also use a nice tree or your
favorite spot in the yard as your focal point. Create your special area on a
patio or deck. Big or small areas can be used as well.
Table and chairs are a must for any outdoor entertaining. But make your
decorations simple. Glass tables work great outdoors, they clean up quick and
easy just before a meal and do not require any special paint or treatment.
Plastic and treated wooden tables work well also. If you are in a hurry to
entertain, simply toss a tablecloth over the table and you are ready. You can
always pick up odd and end chairs to go with your table. They don't have to
match. Go for the folk art or country look and make sure that all the chairs are
different. Sew or purchase seat cushions that are easily removable so you can
bring in out of the weather. If you have children, make sure your furniture is
child friendly and safe. You can cut the legs of a wooden chair to be just the
right height for a child. Do the same to a table and you've got a useful area
for kids to feel comfortable in. Use overturned logs for easy chair side tables.
Kids love to use these as their own spaces also. Cut a thick log in half and
turn onto the flat side to use as short benches for toddlers.
Next try hanging an old light fixture from the tree overhead. If you are not
underneath a tree, attach to a flag pole and let hang shoulder high. Put
citronella candles in the light fixture instead of using electricity. You can
fight off bugs and still have an intimate lighting setting for evening
entertaining. If you have access to electricity, try stringing white lights in a
tree nearby. If a tree is not available, place the lights on the table in no
pattern at all. Then bunch up a white sheet to make the lights look like ice on
the table. Or put the lights in a ball underneath a clear punchbowl and use as a
centerpiece. For daytime entertaining, lights are not needed, but candles and
lights always add a special touch to any event.
Last but not least, make sure to toss a few fluffy pillows on the ground near
your chairs. Man's best friend will want to join in on the fun and every dog
loves a good pillow.
Roxanna Ward, Community leader and staff writer for http://www.BabyUniversity.com,
lives in Georgia with her husband and her three children. As a published
freelance writer the focus of her writing is concentrated on sharing household
tips, her experience with her frugal lifestyle as well as the phenomenal process
of breastfeeding, child rearing related issues and romantic relationships. She
is also currently the Editor of three newsletters: What's New at BabyU?,
Intimate Encounters and At Home with Baby University.
It's Summer and gardens are blooming everywhere. Now is a great time to look at
your outdoor living area and make any changes you might desire. A few fun ways
to decide on decor for your outdoor living space is to look "inside."
If your home is your favorite color, and it makes you feel comfortable each time
you venture indoors, then use the same color scheme with a bit of a variance to
allow for the precious and beautiful colors of the season. If blue is your
favorite, use blue in paint or material and carry that theme to the outdoors.
Also, what is your personal style? Do your love Early American or modern? Do you
swoon over antique finds or would you rather see the glow of wood or the shine
of metal and glass? Maybe brass or pewter is to your liking. Whatever your
personal favorites might be, use them in your garden area
We are careful about wonderful scents in our home. Well, Mother Nature is a
willing helper in this category. Plant lavender plants around rose bushes for a
bouquet of fragrance or under a bedroom window. The delicate scents will relax
you and what a wonderful way to start the day.
You don't have to invest a lot of money in your outdoor decor. Going to garage,
tag, or resale shops is not only fun, but a great way to buy at much lower
prices. Farm auctions are another market for some true treasures. Look for
garden benches, old-fashioned tools with weathered wood handles, watering cans,
wooden buckets, old seed packets to frame, garden fresh fabric and linens, and
old gardening books and magazines. You'll find real wisdom from seasoned
gardeners as well as great pictures and ideas for surrounding yourself with
"home" just by opening the door to your garden.
Country Decorative Mailboxes
- The most beautiful creations of decorative rural mailboxes. Models: cow, dog, pig, cat, horse, goat, rabbit, moose, sheep, bag of golf, ect.
Here's a way to lay stepping stones that
won't break your bank, or your back. All you need are stepping stones and a spade.
You don't have to build a foundation of sand and gravel when you lay down cut stepping stones. If your stones have some heft, you can just remove sod and soil to the appropriate depth and call it a day.
1. Lay out the path. Position your stones and outline them with your spade.
2. Remove sod. Lay the stone aside, and surgically remove soil with horizontal strokes.
3. Install the stones. Plop the stone into the jigsaw-puzzle space you created. Make sure the stone is below mowing level.
Rhine Maiden Statue
She rises
from the cool waters of the river to bask in the sunshine and
converse with her songbird companions. She is one of the Rhine
Maidens, beautiful river fairies of Norse mythology who understood
the language of birds and animals, and had the power to charm
mortals. Buy
Stainless Steel Mirror Ball
Made
from brilliantly reflective stainless steel, these Mirror Balls are
the ones you've been looking for: they'll never tarnish, rust, or
break. Buy
