Tuscan Home Decorating - The Accessories

Tuscan-inspired home decorating is a beautiful, popular and extremely versatile decorating style. It is warm and can have a rustic or polished look and feel that is reminiscent of the Tuscan region of Italy. Yet its versatility allows it to work in harmony with almost any other decorating style...whether contemporary, metropolitan, country French or traditional just to name a few.

This harmony is achieved through the use of colors, textures and accessories. You can refer to my previous articles for more in-depth information on colors and textures. In this article I'm focusing on the use of accessories...one of the most important, versatile and easy means of achieving a rich, interesting look in any room of any style.

An accessory is defined as a subordinate or supplementary part, object, or the like, used mainly for convenience, attractiveness, safety, etc. Although this definition categorizes accessories as "subordinate or supplementary," they are extremely important in establishing or completing a décor look. What this definition has captured well, though, is attractiveness, convenience and safety - and these are traits you should look for when selecting décor accessories for your home. You can use accessories liberally for an overall look, or sparingly as an accent only. Following are some examples of attractive, convenient, and often functional home decorating accessories that reflect a Tuscan, Mediterranean or Old World style:

Vases, Urns, Pots, Tubs - can be made of ceramic, terra cotta, stone or earthenware, polystone or other resins, glass or iron. These pieces can stand alone or can be used to hold fresh flowers, dried herbs, wine or other beverage cans and bottles, fresh or artificial fruits and vegetables, ornaments, hand towels...the uses are endless in any room and with any style. Also endless are the colors and finishes. You'll find both bright and muted colors in rough and polished finishes.

Platters and Bowls - work especially well in kitchens, dining and great rooms. A beautiful, hand painted platter attractively displayed on an iron stand does double-duty as an accessory and a functional serving piece. Bowls are a perfect catch-all for fruit, vegetables, mail, keys change...you name it.

Trays - can be attractively displayed on a stand when not being used for service. A large wooden or metal tray can be placed on an ottoman to create a unique and useful table top. A wicker tray or basket can hold fresh fruits or vegetables to create a "market" look in your kitchen as you prepare meals for family and friends.

Boxes - covered or open, large or small are perfect are interesting and beautiful to look at and can hold untold treasures, create extra storage space or keep your remote controls out of sight when not being used. Group them with several others of similar style or other accessories.

Candles - whether actual flames or new, safe LED candlelight, candles provide a warm and inviting glow in any setting. Use them liberally indoors or out. Display them at varying heights by using votive holders, candlesticks of varying heights and widths, lanterns and wall hanging holders. As long as you keep safety in mind, you can't go wrong with an abundance of candlelight.

Photos and Prints - in beautiful frames are a wonderfully interesting way to show off your family, friends, pets, travels and hobbies in photographs. Architectural and landscape prints with unique matting and frames can add the finishing touch to any area. Objects beautifully displayed in framed shadowboxes are also interesting and work well in hallways, bed and bath rooms. Frames come in all sizes, shapes and materials and are just the right thing for counters, table tops, shelves, pianos and walls.

Mirrors - in beautiful frames become works of art. They can make a small room look larger, a dark room lighter, bring the outside in and reflect all of the beauty found in your home. They can be any size or shape. Use them in any room for a great effect.

Clocks - keep us on time and in style. Choose any size from table top to 30" wall clocks. Clocks make a unique and functional statement and work well in any part of your home.

Dinnerware - Don't forget your everyday or more formal dinnerware. Colorful pieces of dinnerware can be displayed on open shelves for an interesting focal point. And when set on your table, they speak for themselves and reflect your love of the good life.

Plants and Flowers - either live, preserved or dried are natural, warm and inviting. Use them in any size and location. Pair them with other accessories.

I hope you are beginning to see how many everyday items can become works of art or focal points of interest when creatively displayed in your home. Move things around from time to time and see how you bring new life to them and their surroundings.

Remember, there are no hard and fast rules or boundaries in Tuscan decorating. Don't be afraid to use a variety of colors, textures and textiles. A sleek ceramic urn can add a splash of color to a monochromatic, contemporary look. A rustic bowl in a country French kitchen can make a functional decorating statement. Try a vintage clock in a traditional home. Tuscan décor accessories are harmonious with any style and should not be rigid and matching.

Whether you're decorating an entire home in a Tuscan style or are just looking for a few ideas or decor accessories to enhance what you already have, you can't go wrong with the Tuscan style. Tuscan or Mediterranean home decor is casually elegant and perfect for everyday life in any home.

Kathy Deneen is an avid and experienced decorator specializing in Tuscan, Mediterranean and Old World styles. Her on-line store, TuscanSunInteriors.com, offers an expansive selection of quality decor accessories, low every day pricing supplemented with monthly specials, no sales tax, low flat rate shipping and outstanding, personalized customer service. Please visit Tuscan Sun Interiors at http://tuscansuninteriors.com today.

Homemade Gifts For Men

If you want something different this Christmas then homemade gifts for men are an easy and rewarding way of doing it. Any type of homemade gift will be appreciated no matter what the occasion and you have the added bonus of the gift costing very little money.

So Much Choice

There is a big variety of things you could consider when making homemade gifts from food, clothes, decorative articles, cosmetics or even jewelry.

Excellent homemade gifts for men could include a hand knitted scarf. Very easily done with any color of wool, you could even use leftover rolls of wool you have lying around. If you don't have any patterns at home you can find them on the internet with different designs and styles available or another alternative is a charity shop.

Other hand knitted items you could consider if you feel confident with the knitting needles would a pullover or hand knitted socks, both very nice presents.

Homemade Food Gifts

There are lots of recipes for home cooked presents and all would be excellent homemade gifts for men. Nice marmalade for instance or other jams can make thoughtful gifts. Homemade chocolate or cookies can also show that you've put some time and thought into preparing your gift.

There are so many different things you could consider and lots of cooking books to look at, even scouring the internet provides excellent choices and great homemade recipes.

Lemon Curd

Everyone loves lemon curd and it is easily cooked, all you need are 3 lemons, 150g butter, 450g sugar and 4 eggs. Grate the rind of the lemons and squeeze out the juice. Heat up everything in a bowl over hot water while stirring until it thickens. Sterilize a sealable glass jar and put the lemon curd inside before sealing it tightly. Decorate the jar with a nice piece of fabric secured around the lid with ribbon.

Chocolate Truffles or Pralines

Small chocolate pralines are easy to make at home and they taste great. Simply melt a bar of dark chocolate, cut some dried apricots into quarters and dip them into the chocolate. If you want you can add some drops of brandy or whisky into the chocolate when it's melted to give the truffles a subtle liquor taste.

Beauty Products

Men are using more and more beauty products so why not make your own homemade liquid soap. Scented with a few drops of a male aftershave or any perfume oil, liquid soap is a great homemade gift for men.

To make, grate a natural soap bar, add distilled water or vodka and heat it up in a saucepan while stirring with a wooden spoon and it will turn into a nice smooth liquid soap. If you want to give it a color just add some drops of food coloring put it into a plastic bottle. Create a personalized message on some decorative paper and stick it to the front of the bottle.

Homemade Jewelry

Other homemade gifts for men could include homemade jewelry like bracelets made out of leather bands or key holders with little things attached, it could be anything from little plastic toys to little wooden peaces hanging on the key holder.

Wood Burning

Pyrography is the art of burning pictures into wood with a wood burning iron. It is possible to buy a wood burner cheaply from any hardware store and burn names, quotes, personalized messages or patterns on wooden pieces which look very original and could be used as a rustic decoration at home.

Be creative and consider what the men in your life will appreciate when you're making homemade gifts for men and your gift will be remembered.

Painting by Numbers

You don't have to be Van Gogh to draw a nice painting in oil or acrylic, all you need is a piece of canvas, oil or acrylic paint which you can buy rather cheap nowadays and some paintbrushes then just let your imagination flow. Don't be scared to try different variations. Nobody is perfect but your paintings will be unique and very personal. You even could copy a photo of the man you are giving it to and glue that on the canvas and integrate that into your piece of art!

Liquor

There are many recipes available for homemade liquor, so you can make a personalized gift for your man easily without costing too much. Homemade wine, homemade beer or even recipes for vodka, Irish whiskey and other liqueurs can be relatively simple. Once you've bottled your creations, you can personalize the labels to give your gift that thoughtful touch.

We hope you enjoyed our homemade gifts for men suggestions. If you have tried any of these ideas or maybe have other suggestions and you want to share, we'd love to see your comments here.

Brian Wills is the editor of http://www.SavvyHomemade.com where, as well as Homemade Gift Ideas, you'll discover lots of wonderful articles, ideas and tips on how to make a variety of homemade things.

Cool Science Project For Girls

This science project is literally cool as it uses cold water or room temperature H20 and some balloons to complete the experiment. In this demonstration you will use a balloon and expose it to the heat of a candle flame.

This project was done by a group of girls and they loved the activity, however, it can be done by a 7th grade student or as an 8th grade science experiment. You can call it a middle school demonstration since both grades should achieve success with this project.

Before you do this you will need the supervision of a parent or adult and they may actually want to hold the balloon over the flame and light the matches and candles for you. Please use caution when using matches and candles.

The materials needed for the demonstration:

· 2 balloons

· Water

· Matches

· A tapered candle in a holder

Here are the Instructions for the experiment:

Light the candle with the match.

Blow up the first balloon and tie the end. Hold the balloon over the candle flame. You may want to cover your eyes with protective goggles. This balloon will pop and does so very quickly. Relight the candle with another match. Fill up the other balloon with water. It does not matter what temperature the water is. Tie the end of this water filled balloon.

Hold this over the candle flame. What is happening? You will notice the balloon does not pop like the other balloon. The flame is not hurting the balloon skin. Why does the balloon not pop? The water is absorbing the heat and doing so very quickly that it avoids damaging the balloon or melting it in any way. You will notice some black debris on the outside of the balloon. This is just carbon emitted from the candle flame burning. It can easily be wiped off with a damp paper towel.

Here is an explanation of why the water keeps the second balloon from popping. It is protecting the balloon and keeping it cool enough to not allow it to break. Do a little research before you demonstrate this to your audience about the actual heat coming from the flame and why and how the water can absorb the heat even though the balloon is the actual material touching the surface of the candle flame.

This is another cool science project idea for your next fair experiment.

Get more great science project ideas and kids science projects at http://scienceprojects.fetching.us

Lesa Bolt is the contributor to science projects

The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Buying Guide

If you're looking to buy a kitchen sink, then you must consider every detail and feature. The Kitchen sink is probably the most used aperture in the whole household, even if you're using a dishwasher, most of the cleaning is still done in your ordinary kitchen sink, all the more reason why you should find the best one around.

Size

Choosing a kitchen sink apart from being a question of quality is also a question of need. Most of the standard sinks that you will find in the market roughly consist of two 22 by 30 inch sized bowls both 8 inches in depth, however, if you use large pots, you might want bigger sizes or you might want to have them specially made. Nine and Ten inch deep bowls are also available commercially. Added features like bowls for peeled fruits in the center can be very handy.

Whistles and Bells

If you want your sink to have all the whistles and bells available, then you might want more pre-drilled holes on it. Most sinks have four holes on it, one for the hot knob, one for the cold knob, one for the faucet and another one for the shower feature. Some sinks however have extra spouts, for soap dispensers, an air gap for the dishwasher drain, a liquid soap dispenser, a TV, well just kidding about the TV. But if some sinks have extra features that you might not want to use, you can always ask the supplier for ready made plugs to cover the unused holes, conversely, if the sink you choose doesn't have enough holes, you can easily drill a hole in your sink, or maybe have it drilled by a professional.

Installation

Apart from choosing a design and a type, you should also be aware of your sink's location, will your chosen sink fit in the desired location etc. You can choose from a self rimming sink or an undermount. A self rimming sink is easier to install and would just rest on top of your counter, however, the underside where the sink meets the countertop can be a breeding ground for bacteria and may be hard to clean. An undermount however, is harder to install because it has to be attached from under the counter. This type however, is easier to clean.

Type of Sink

Now we proceed to choosing which type of sink to choose. To make the choice easier, a few pros and cons are listed together with a brief description of each type of sink.

Stainless Steel

This is probably the most common kitchen sink around and is available in all prices ranges. However, you don't expect to buy the best quality sink for a cheap price. Usually a cheap stainless steel sink is made of thin metal which flexes and vibrates. This is especially bad because of the racket it makes when the water drums on it or when the garbage disposal vibrates. A good quality sink doesn't get scratched easily and should be easy to clean. A sign of a good quality sink is also its ability to maintain a brand new appearance even if you just wipe it.

A general rule for buying stainless steel sink is not to buy mirror type ones, sure they'll look great when brand new, but overtime scratching will mar its surface and give it a foggy dirty look. Another good tip is to check the insulation under the bowl, insulation deadens the water drumming. Foam insulations are always better than those that are just sprayed on.

Enameled Cast Iron

The best thing about enamel cast iron sinks is its elegant finish which is available in many colors. It has a very hard finish and will rarely chip. Another good thing about this is its resistance to water drumming. It keeps hot water hot longer, and if you're excited about that, you'll be happy to know that clean up is a breeze, a good wipe over should be enough for this baby to get back its original shine.

Warning: There are Enameled Steel sinks, but these aren't the same quality as cast iron sinks.

Composite sinks

These are sinks made from a mixture of two different substances to make a very sturdy material. Generally, Acrylic and fiberglass aren't a very good combination because they tend to easily absorb stains and as time passes, lose the glossy finish.

A Quartz composite sink might be the best choice for this range of sinks. These are known for their durability.

Composite sinks however, are susceptible to scratching. You should avoid rubbing sand or dirt on them or using abrasive cleaners. The water drumming is still present but probably not as loud as stainless steel sinks.

Tip: To make sure that you have a sturdy sink, press down on the bowl, if it flexes, there are chances of a noisy garbage disposal.

Integral solid surface

You can buy a sink that is already integrated with a countertop, mostly in the same color or a complementary design. These types are easily scratched but are easily repaired as
well. The bad side is if you're tired of the sink, you'll have to remove the whole countertop.

For more great kitchen sink information and resources check out:
http://www.bestsinks.info