Heirloom Decorating

I love to surround myself with things from the past. To me "heirloom" doesn't necessarily mean something really old, because memories are always in the making, and displaying a family keepsake can be treasured whether it's from last year or fifty years ago.

It's easy to tastefully decorate your home with family heirlooms. Why not put them on display rather than locking them away?

I have many crocheted afghans that started taking up a lot of storage space. When we moved to our new home we had room for our cedar chest off to one side of the living room and I filled the chest with all of the blankets. This also keeps them from being scattered all over the living room. We take one out at a time and just fold it up and put it back in the cedar chest when we're done using it.

I love to decorate with family photos. Our home has a long hallway where I can display a lot of photographs. Instead of randomly arranging pictures I decided to go with themes. I bought a large collage picture fame and arranged all of our family camping photos in it. Another smaller collage displays pictures of our daughter opening up her presents at Christmas throughout the years. My, how she's grown!

I've also scattered picture frames throughout our home. Black and white photos of generations past are displayed on the piano and china hutch. I don't know about you, but I love looking at other people's family photos. Ours are definitely a topic of conversation for visiting guests.

I love needlework. I have on display needlework that was done by my mother, my mother-in-law, and myself, and these masterpieces make a great addition to any room of the home. I'm partial myself to wedding samplers. It doesn't seem like many people take the time to make these anymore. I made one for my husband and myself that I hope to someday pass on to my children. Birth samplers are also really great and something your children will surely cherish someday. The counted cross stitch project I'm currently working on will probably take me 5 years to complete, but someday it will grace the wall above our piano.

I like to incorporate children's artwork wherever possible. My favorite is a poem my daughter wrote and illustrated. One year she made several and gave them away as Christmas gifts to family members.

Our family has a lot of books that have been handed down as many as four generations. Those books are displayed on shelves in our entertainment center in the living room. My heirloom cookbooks I keep in a small bookshelf between the kitchen and the dining room. Instead of just filling the shelves with cookbooks, I alternated shelves, arranging my favorite knick knacks in between.

One heirloom I haven't found a place for are hand-embroidered tea towels that have been in our family for many years. I've read that you can make them into kitchen curtains. I'm going to have to give that a try!

Look through your family treasures and see what you can dig up. You never know what you might find--like a flower your grandmother dried and framed! And remember, it's never too late to create new family heirlooms. Your family will treasure them someday.



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Rachel Paxton
Originally published Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For easy do-it-yourself home decorating ideas for busy moms, visit http://www.frugal-home-decor.com.

How Much Concrete Will It Take To Make Your Patio?

There's a simple way to calculate how much concrete it will take to make your patio, plus you will be able to make sure you are getting your money's worth, if you decide to hire a contractor.

First, decide how big a patio you want. Since almost everybody needs to see something before they actually understand if that is what they want, you need to layout the size of the patio that you want to add on your lawn.

Contractors use spray paint to mark the outline of things they are going to build. This is called laying out a project. When you have spray painted the grass to show the size of your proposed patio, you will better understand exactly what your project will look like when you finish. Use a lot of paint so you can easily see the line.

Over the next couple of days, look at the outline to see if that is the size patio you want. What do you like about it? What don't you like? What would you like to change?

Now is the time to make any changes that you want because it does not cost you anything to do it. Make the changes in a different color paint.

Now that you have decided on the size and shape of your patio, you can start to determine how much concrete you will need to do the job. This is called creating an estimate of the cost and is not as hard to do as it sounds.

Measure the outside of your patio and calculate the area. For instance, if your patio is 20' x 25' the area is the width x the length. So the area would be 500 SQ Feet. Now decide on how thick you want your patio to be. Most patios are 4" thick. Now you need to convert the thickness of the patio into feet by dividing by 12. This would give you a thickness of 0.3333 feet.

Now its time to calculate the volume of the concrete that you will need to build your patio. Multiply the area in Sq. Feet (500 Sq Feet) x the thickness in feet (0.333 feet) and you get 166.66 Cubic feet.

All concrete is sold by the cubic yard. There are 27 cubic feet in 1 cubic yard of concrete, so in order to get the number of cubic yards you need just divide 166.66 by 27. The total number of cubic yards you need is 6.17.

Concrete costs vary from $70 per cubic yard to as high as $100 per cubic yard. (The concrete ready mix company and any contractor you talk to will refer to concrete in terms of yards instead of cubic yards, so don't get confused.)

If you are going to do the patio yourself, you will need to tell the concrete ready mix company what you are going to be doing and when so they can give you the right mix of concrete. They will make the concrete to match the weather conditions and what you are going to be using it for.

I would not recommend that you attempt to make a pour this large unless you have some experience with concrete or have someone who can help you. 6 cubic yards is a lot of concrete to place and finish, especially if you are in your back yard and have to wheelbarrow it.

A reputable contractor will have a crew of 4-6 people to place a project of this size, so don't think for a moment that you can do it with your buddies and someone who has seen concrete poured before. If you do decide to save a little money by doing it yourself, you might just have 12,000 pounds of concrete that you need do break up and haul away. (Each yard of concrete weighs around 3,500 lbs.)

You should get 3 prices from contractors in your area because prices vary from area to area. Choose the price in the middle so you know you are getting a reasonable price from a solid contractor.


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Konkratar Seifener is a web-entrepreneur and creator of Real Concrete which is one of the best sites on the net for information about concrete. If you want more information on how to buy a camcorder please go to: http://www.realconcrete.com.

Reverse Mortgages, Getting a Good Deal In 3 Easy Steps!

Reverse Mortgages, Most Common Features:

A reverse mortgage is a special type of loan that seniors can sometimes get to convert the equity in their homes to cash.

Many reverse mortgages offer special appeal to older adults because the loan advances, which are not taxable, generally do not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits.

Originally designed for retirees interested in keeping their homes but whose incomes aren't sufficient to support them, reverse mortgages have typically been used to help people on low fixed incomes make ends meet, make needed home repairs or pay for large medical bills that otherwise would be unaffordable.

Depending on the plan, reverse mortgages generally allow homeowners to retain title to their homes until they permanently move, sell their home, die, or reach the end of a pre-selected loan term.

Generally, a move is considered permanent when the homeowner has not lived in the home for 12 consecutive months. So, for example, a person could live in a nursing home or other medical facility for up to 12 months before the reverse mortgage would be due.

However, be aware that:

Reverse mortgages tend to be more costly than traditional loans because they are rising-debt loans.

The interest is added to the principal loan balance each month. So, the total amount of interest owed increases significantly with time as the interest compounds.

Reverse mortgages use up all or some of the equity in a home. That leaves fewer assets for the homeowner and his or her heirs.

Lenders generally charge origination fees and closing costs; some charge servicing fees. How much is up to the lender.

Interest on reverse mortgages is not deductible on income tax returns until the loan is paid off in part or whole.

Because homeowners retain title to their home, they remain responsible for taxes, insurance, fuel, maintenance, and other housing expenses.

Getting a Good Deal.

If you decide to consider a reverse mortgage, shop around and compare terms.

Look at the:

Annual percentage rate (APR), which is the yearly cost of credit. type of interest rate. Some plans provide for fixed rate interest; others involve adjustable rates that change over the loan term based on market conditions, number of points (fees paid to the lender for the loan) and other closing costs.

Some lenders may charge steep costs, which your lender may offer to finance. However, if you agree to this, you'll take out fewer proceeds from the loan or you'll borrow an extra amount, which will be added to your loan balance and you'll owe more interest at the end of the loan.

Total Amount Loan Cost (TALC) rates.

The TALC rate is the projected annual average cost of a reverse mortgage, including all itemized costs.

It shows what the single all-inclusive interest rate would be if the lender could charge only interest and no fees or other costs. payment terms, including acceleration clauses.

They state when the lender can declare the entire loan due immediately. Under the federal Truth in Lending Act, lenders must disclose these terms and other information before you sign the loan.

On plans with adjustable rates, they must provide specific information about the variable rate feature.

On plans with credit lines, they must inform the applicant about appraisal or credit report charges, attorney's fees, or other costs associated with opening and using the account.

Be sure you understand these terms and costs.


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Vincent Dail
Debt elimination programs reviewed is run by Vincent Dail. Get the debt elimination tips you need, today! To receive your free special report visit: debt-elimination-program-reviews.com.
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