Family and Parenting: Information For Families

There are so many ways to decorate your home. When you’re pinching pennies to begin with it can get a little trickier. There are so many sweet tips and ideas to transform your home on a dime, that the ideas are literally over-flowing. You can find books, bunches of television shows, and by simply asking friends and neighbors their inexpensive deco tips can save you a ton of dough. Decorating on the fly is a fun way to revamp your space on a dime in no time.
One way to creatively decorate using inexpensive material is by using cork! Sound funny? It’s no joke! This textured, spongy feeling material is a great mesh with any kitchen. The beige color can match any contemporary color schemes but the material can be dyed, or colored, to attract even more attention. Cork is not a limiting material. People who only have it for corkboards have missed out on all of its great potential. In the kitchen, or dining area, it is the perfect combo for any traditional festivities. Just check out these sweet ideas.

To create a simple, kid-friendly, spill-friendly, and generally friendly table runner with optional candle holders built right in try this nifty idea. You will need three to four candles (long-stem tapers in your fav color) and a sheet of cork that is suitable for the length and size of your home’s table. Using a measuring stick, mark off the edges of your table on the sheet of cork and using a new-bladed utility knife cut the sheet to size. Then, simply measure the width of a candles base, locate three places in the cork where a candle would look appropriate, and cut an “X” (each line about one inch longer then the width of the candle) in each spot.

Insert a taper-candle into each “X” and add a short candle holder under each if necessary. For a fresh, fruit bowl made of cork try this: Cut two or three sheets of cork at least six to seven inches in width (the size of desired fruit or veggies) and as long as desired to hold delectable foods. Use acrylic paints to coat either side of the cork, then allow drying to complete. Make a cut down the center of the short ends of the sheets, at least three inches deep; place one corner over the other and adhere with wood glue to create a bowed end (hold in place with binder clips until dry). These great gravy-boat looking cork bowl fruit baskets will make a great convo piece.