Star-Telegram.com: Home & Garden

We shopped once to create a quick-change holiday table centerpiece

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:38 CST

By GAILE ROBINSON

One of the joys of the holiday season is rediscovering the dining-room table. Cleared of all the homework, craft projects, laundry, unpaid bills and dust, it gleams again, but it is barren. In anticipation of holiday feasts and in gratitude for the months of ignominious service, it deserves some decorating.

Usually armloads of flowers and candles will suffice, but that can get expensive and there is the matter of those unpaid bills. So this year a centerpiece that can go from Thanksgiving to Christmas and then on to New Year’s with a minimal amount of expense seemed to be in order. A trip to the craft stores yielded the basic elements that provided a foundation for three seasonal centerpieces.

The base for all three projects

A pedestal made of two mirrors and three inexpensive glass candlesticks was the basis for all three centerpieces. Because there are cats in the house, I used epoxy to glue the candlesticks to the top mirror. Mirrors were used instead of plain glass as the reflections helped to fill the space, but clear glass would work as well. A garland of green beads was draped around the edge of the top level and held in place with small green ribbons that were taped to the mirror. Spring green is a popular color this year, and it works well with brown, dark red and silver. These are the colors I looked for when shopping the craft stores.

Additional supplies

Two bags of potpourri with large seedpods, and chunks of god-only-knows-what were found at Garden Ridge — one bag was primarily brown, orange and red, the other green and ivory.

A large swag from Hobby Lobby provided most of the other elements. It had silver poinsettias, silver stems, green and gold leaves, and dark evergreen needles. The total was truly heinous but when deconstructed, the pieces were separated into three piles of like colors. The green and gold leaves were combined with the brown and orange potpourri chunks. The red potpourri was singled out and all the silver bits went into the pile for New Year’s. Some of the ivory chunks of potpourri were put with the red, and the rest with the silver. The remainder, the indiscriminate colors — too orange, a dreary beige or dark green — were taken outside, piled onto a dropcloth and spray-painted either red or silver.

I looked through the cupboards to see what could be repurposed from crafts past. Always do this before embarking on a craft project; it’s often amazing to see what you already own or can reuse. I found tea lights, votive holders and tall candlesticks. Brown and green tapers were purchased, red votives and small white tea lights were leftovers from last year. Pine cones were found in the back yard. They were divided into three groups: one was left brown, and one pile was painted red, the other silver. There were plenty of acorns, too, but they looked too small to make much of a visual presence so a bag of walnuts was procured at the local farmers market. The walnuts were left au natural or painted red or silver. (When spray-painting, it is not necessary to completely cover the dried botanical components, it’s better to let some of the natural color show through. It gives the pieces more dimension. )

Still, more filler was needed, and some feather boas (one brown and one white cut into two pieces) seemed an inexpensive solution, although clippings from the nandina, photinia or boxwoods in the yard also could have been used but would need to be replaced periodically. The elements that were photographed can last for years. Staying power was a primary consideration.

Tools needed
Wire cutters

Utility knife

Epoxy

Spray paint

Scissors

Tape

Assembling the Thanksgiving centerpiece: Top layer: One small fish bowl lined with three leaves, six tapers encircled with vines from the swag, brown boa.

Bottom layer: Green and gold leaves from the swag, seedpods from the potpourri, walnuts, pine cones

Assembling the Christmas centerpiece: Top layer: three small fish bowls, red votives, one tall votive holder, one tea light, green reindeer moss

Bottom layer: Red and ivory potpourri, red pine cones, red walnuts, a few green and gold leaves

Assembling the New Year’s centerpiece: Top layer: Four tall votive holders, four tea lights, white boa, silver poinsettia, ivory-colored potpourri, silver walnuts

New security systems can offer homeowners updates, remote access

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:51 CST

By MELISSA KOSSLER DUTTON

This holiday season, many travelers will be able to keep a close eye on home.

Thanks to new security-system technology, including live video feed, you can monitor everything from the front door to the sump pump from hundreds of miles away.

"You can see anything that’s going on from anywhere in the world," said Jay Park of Park Place Installations in Buffalo, N.Y.

Homeowners can set the new alarm systems to send text messages or e-mails when something goes wrong at home.

Eric Harper, marketing director of the Lexington, Ky.-based Elan Home Systems, said a customer was on vacation recently when he got a message that his front door was open. He confirmed it by going online and pulling up feed from a camera by that door. A neighbor followed up, discovering that the pet sitter had not pulled the door firmly shut and that it had blown open in a storm.

New York City resident Eli Karp said he uses his cellphone to check his house about 10 times a day. His HomeLogic alarm system offers live video feed from inside the house, and Karp also can disarm the security system by phone to let in workers or delivery people.

"It’s a time saver," he said. "It’s extra peace of mind."

Homeowners can monitor the weather, as well as heating and cooling units and other household systems while traveling, said Richard Ginsburg, president of Protection One, based in Lawrence, Kan. Cameras show whether it’s snowing or raining on the driveway.

Other homeowners set their systems to alert them if the sump pump or furnace stops working, developments that could lead to water damage from flooding or frozen pipes.

Installation costs for the new technology range from $150 to $600 depending on whether the residence has an existing security system. Monthly monitoring fees are between $15 and $40.

Do-it-yourself systems also are available, said Julie Strietelmeier, editor of the-gadgeteer.com, a Web site that reviews high-tech products. Prices vary depending on the number of cameras installed, she said. A startup kit would cost around $330, plus monthly monitoring fees.

Such systems — professional and DIY — have a lot of advantages, she said.

"I think it’s useful if you’re working during the day and you want to see what’s going on at your house," said Strietelmeier from her home office in Columbus, Ind. "There’s some really hard-core systems. You can do almost anything."

Homeowners with alarm systems usually recoup some of the costs with discounts on their insurance premiums, according to insurance professionals.

During the holidays, many clients use the system to receive packages, Harper said. Homeowners will leave a note asking the delivery person to phone them; when they receive the call, they can use the security cameras to verify that the caller is a delivery person, and remotely open the garage door or unlock the front door.

The security system also can send an alert upon the arrival of a handyman or cleaning person. The homeowner can keep track of what rooms the person enters and how long they are in the home.

Parents can use the system to keep track of the comings and goings of children, and can arrange to be alerted if someone opens the liquor cupboard or medicine cabinet.

The systems also can be programmed to turn on lights when you arrive home, or adjust the home’s temperature before your arrival.

Customers who use the systems to control heating, cooling and lights may see savings in their energy bills, said Don Boerema, chief marketing officer of ADT Security Services in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Tallying up centerpiece costs

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:45 CST

Tallying up the costs
Elements used for all centerpieces

14-inch hexagonal mirror	Garden Ridge	$5.99
12-inch round mirror	Garden Ridge	$5.99
8-inch glass candlesticks	Garden Ridge	3 @ $2.97, $8.91
Green bead garland	Hobby Lobby	$6.99
Ribbon	Joann’s	$2
Floral swag	Hobby Lobby	$20
Potpourri	Garden Ridge	2 @ $7.99, $15.98
Walnuts	Local farmers market	$5
Total		$70.86

Additional costs per centerpiece Thanksgiving

Small glass fish bowl	Garden Ridge	$3.99
Tapers	Hobby Lobby	6 @ 99 cents, $5.94
Brown boa	Joann’s	$3.99
Total		$13.92

Christmas

Small glass fish bowls	Garden Ridge	2 @ $3.99, $7.98
Red votives	Ikea	$1
Reindeer moss	Hobby Lobby	$4.97
Total		$13.95

New Year’s

Tall tea light holders	Garden Ridge	4 @ $3.99, $15.96
White boa	Joann’s	$3.99
Total		$19.95

Tallying up the costs

Tips for happy houseguests -- and a happy host

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:45 CST

Tips for happy houseguests

Sharing your home over the holidays is what the season is all about, but it can also be trying, especially if you’re busy and unable to be the most attentive host. Here are some easy tricks from Woman’s Day magazine to make sure your houseguests are as comfortable in your home as you are — or even more so — without you feeling like you have to go overboard.

1. Test-drive the guest room. Sleep in the bed yourself for a night. (You’ll be surprised.) Now make the room more comfortable: Fix the drafty windows, get an alarm clock that actually works, and replace the weird blanket.

2. Create space. This is the part people forget: Guests need ample shelf space in the bedroom, bathroom and front hallway for their suitcases and stuff.

3. Jazz things up. Add some books or magazines that you think particular guests would like, and if you can, your guests’ favorite toiletries.

4. Take inventory. Check that you have enough serving dishes, wineglasses, unstained sheets, towels, washcloths and air mattresses for the incoming crew. There’s no reason to buy what you don’t have: Borrow from a friend.

5. Lay out entertainment. What sort of vegging-out do these guests enjoy? The more you offer, the less entertaining you’ll have to do. Place multiple options in plain sight: a TV remote, board games, ingredients for a baking project, movies.

— Woman’s Day

Three projects to turn your Christmas tree into a symbol of serenity

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:45 CST

By SUSAN DUNLAP

I’ve been steeling myself for the coming tidal wave of holiday craziness and needed an antidote for that mad dash in a "gotta-get-it, gotta-have-it" world. The word peace beckons us all to embrace a less commercial, more simplified ideal that the Christmas holiday embodies — a time to reflect, to celebrate and to be grateful for the many gifts we receive throughout the year.

I decided to decorate my tree this year as a "peace tree." I looked for ways to demonstrate the many ways that peace is symbolized. I found the ubiquitous circle with a trio of spokes, a white dove and a photograph of my daughter’s hand posed in the familiar peace sign. To finish my homage to peace on Earth, I added metal peace ornaments from SuperTarget ($1.99 each).

I filled in the rest of the tree with opulent garland and glass ornaments from The Market@Home in Fort Worth.

Here’s how to make the three ornament projects.

Peace dove

I purchased an inexpensive frame from Dollar Tree and removed the glass. Since the edges remain sharp, use caution when handling.

4-inch-by-6-inch frame, Dollar Tree

1/4 -inch-wide double-stick tape (I used Terrifically Tacky Tape, found in the scrapbook section of the craft store.)

Glitter

Dove stencil (This came as part of a packet of five designs from the Christmas section at Michaels craft store.)

Stencil adhesive

Spray snow

8-inch length of ribbon

1. Clean both sides of the glass. Apply tape along the four sides to create a frame and peel away backing.

2. Apply a generous amount of glitter to the exposed tape. To ensure the best coverage, press the glitter into the surface of the tape before shaking off the excess.

3. Protect work surface with newspapers or craft paper before applying the design to the glass. Lightly spray the stencil with adhesive to keep the design crisp.

4. Lay the dove stencil onto the reverse side of the glass. (When hung, the glittered side of the glass will be the front of the ornament.)

5. Keeping at least a 12-inch distance, apply 2 light coats of spray snow, allowing each coat to dry.

6. Apply two small squares of double-stick tape to the corners of the glass and attach the ribbon to form a hanger.

Peace sign

Wreath of the week: Shades of brown from Into the Garden

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:45 CST

Wreath of the week

What it is: Fabulous feather wreath

Why we like it: This is a great wreath for fall and Thanksgiving, featuring layers of long, soft feathers in various hues of brown that give the wreath unexpected, subtle dimension. The loose arrangement of the feathers gives this piece a festive, whimsical look. Pair it with a gold ribbon, and it will take you straight through the holidays.

Size: Foam base is 20 inches in diameter.

Cost: $84.95

Where to get it: Into the Garden, 4600 Dexter Ave., Fort Worth.

— Catherine Mallette

Shopping bag: Dress up wine bottles with Vera Bradley wraps

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:45 CST

Shopping bag

Looking for a pretty new way to give a gift of wine? We love these paper Vera Bradley Tastefully Dressed wine wraps. The set includes six wraps in different colorful patterns, as well as ribbon and matching gift tags. $15, Chiffoniers, 3811 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, the Vera Bradley store, 1443 Main St., Southlake; and www.verabradley.com.

— Catherine Mallette

Places to go: Christmas decorating ideas at Calloway's

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:45 CST

Places to go

Let Christmas begin. Area Calloway’s nurseries will host their Christmas open houses from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. You can preview the stores’ holiday collections as well as have a free picture taken with the man himself — Santa Claus. Arts and crafts will be available for children while supplies last. Refreshments will be served, while supplies last. Calloways will offer another Christmas open house Nov. 28. For more information, check www.mytexasgarden.com.

Because it’s the season for giving, you can learn how to make herbal gift items at the Greater Fort Worth Herb Society meeting this morning. Members will explain how to make holiday wreaths, notepads and herbal vinegars. If you want to decorate your own wreath, bring a small vine or straw wreath. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. and will take place in Redbud Hall in the Moncrief Garden Center at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. For more information check www.gfwhs.org, or call 817-874-6405.

Vines and vertical spaces are on the docket for the Grapevine Garden Club’s November meeting. Fort Worth Botanic Gardens senior horticulturalist Steve Huddleston will be the guest speaker. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the community room on the third floor of Stacy Furniture & Accessories, 1900 S. Main St., Grapevine. For more information, check www.grapevinegardenclub.com.

For those who want a pet, Marshall Grain is having a pet-adoption day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at its store in Fort Worth. And for those who have a pet, Marshall Grain is having one of its low-cost vaccination clinics for dogs and cats from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at its store in Grapevine. For more information, call 817-416-6600 or visit www.marshallgrain.com.

Concrete a surprisingly workable option for home floors

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:56 CST

By DEBBY ABE

TACOMA, Wash. — The visual warmth of a spectacular sunburst and slender crescent moon emanates from the entryway floor in Bonnie Wyatt’s home in Seattle.

The design is carved into a rock-hard canvas awash in golden browns and amber hues. Yet the material of the flooring is as much a stunner as the design.

"People who come to the door go, 'Oh, I love that,’ " Wyatt said of the design work by concrete artisan Douglas Palmer of Fox Island, Wash. "They’re surprised it’s concrete."

Concrete is becoming far more than the stuff of building foundations and driveways these days.

The battleship-gray surface can be ground down, shined and stained to achieve a lustrous finish akin to polished stone.

For years, it’s appeared in swanky Las Vegas casinos, restaurants, auto showrooms and other commercial venues.

Now homeowners are ripping up carpet to have the concrete slab hiding below polished or stained. Some are building houses from the get-go with polished concrete embedded with radiant heating systems that warm the toesies.

"Concrete polishing is an ever expanding part of our business," said Dale Hoyt, whose floor installation and maintenance company in Puyallup, Wash., added concrete polishing to its services two years ago. Although the bulk of the decorative concrete work is commercial, residential jobs are growing for the Diamond Polishing Systems division.

People are discovering, he said, "it’s a very green floor, a very natural and pretty floor."

Beyond aesthetic preferences, decorative concrete offers practical advantages over other types of flooring, owners and contractors say:

It’s more durable than hardwood, vinyl or carpet. If properly installed and finished, concrete never needs to be replaced.

It’s environmentally friendly. Making slab foundations do double duty as flooring allows homeowners to skip buying glue, wood or other materials to cover the concrete; that saves resources, according to Ed Begley Jr.’s Guide to Sustainable Living.

Plus, concrete’s main ingredient, limestone, is so abundant that people needn’t worry about using a disappearing resource. Consumers can look for concrete mixes with a high rate of recycled materials such as fly ash, a byproduct of coal-burning plants, actor and environmentalist Begley writes in his 2009 book.

It’s a healthy option for allergy sufferers. Wall-to-wall carpet can harbor dust mites, grime and mold, and emit harmful gases called volatile organic compounds. Dirt, pet dander and the like can be easily removed from concrete floors through damp mopping with water or a neutral pH cleaner.

Yet it’s not for everyone.

The Concrete Network, which describes itself as the "independent voice of concrete," concedes that decorative concrete floors can be hard, loud to walk on and cold without radiant heating systems. Area rugs can address those concerns. Moisture vapor seeping through the concrete can be a more intractable problem, if the slab wasn’t correctly insulated or was built atop a poorly drained area.

And cost can be a downside for some homeowners. The initial investment can be higher than low- to midpriced flooring, such as carpeting, vinyl tile or wood laminates, the Concrete Network says.

But, the network adds, concrete artisans can achieve the look of higher-end ceramic tile, slate and marble, making the long-lasting floors an economical alternative.

Hoyt, whose umbrella business Premier Floors and Design Center installs hardwood, laminates and carpet, says the base price of polishing, without staining, runs about $4 a square foot, about the same as a moderately priced carpet, pad and installation. But as with any home-improvement job, costs differ based on individual situations. Removing a tile floor and the underlying glue, for instance, costs more than just polishing an open slab.

Something special

For an indestructible tree, try Chinese pistache

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:56 CST

By NORMAN WINTER

Its fiery yellow, orange and red colors make the Chinese pistache one of the prettiest fall trees. From coast to coast, horticulturists sing the praises of this tree, and if you plant one or an informal cluster, you, too, will join the chorus.

The Chinese pistache is cold-hardy, and it is related to the West Coast nut-producing pistachio tree. It has a pinnate leaf texture similar to its relative, the sumac, and equally stunning fall color, and it comes on a tree that is basically indestructible. When ice or wind storms wreak havoc in neighborhoods, you’ll find this tree the ever-stalwart performer.

The Chinese pistache is small in stature, forming a spreading, umbrellalike canopy, and it reaches a mature size of 40 to 50 feet tall and 30 feet wide. Most of us can count on 30 to 35 feet, which is a great size for today’s urban landscapes.

If you choose the Chinese pistache, you will get a tree that is long-lived and durable, yet often grows 2 to 3 feet a year.

Fall is a terrific time to plant trees. To grow yours, choose a site in full sun and set out nursery-grown plants in well-drained, moist, fertile soil. Dig the hole three to five times as wide as the root ball but no deeper, so the top of the root ball can be even with the soil profile.

Should you have to wait until next summer to plant, form a 4-inch berm outside the root ball area. This berm should be able to hold 5 gallons of water. After planting, water deeply and apply mulch. Remove the berm after the first year.

The Chinese pistache is native to western China, and this drought-tolerant tree is recommended even in places like New Mexico and Arizona. When selecting your location, remember that it does not like wet winter feet, so choose a site that drains well. It is cold-hardy from zones 6 through 9, meaning that from St. Louis to Orlando, Fla., gardeners can relish the dark green leaves that become a blaze of fall color.

The Chinese pistache can look a little leggy or lanky in its early years, but it turns from ugly duckling to beautiful swan with a nice oval shape.

Container-grown trees rarely require staking. In the second year, prune lanky-looking branches to encourage branch development. Feed in late winter with an 8-8-8 fertilizer, applying 1 pound per 100 square feet of planted area. This is the area from the trunk to just outside the canopy.

The trees are dioecious, meaning they are male or female, but most likely you will not know what you are buying. Male trees grow slightly faster, and female trees produce an inedible cluster of berries that can be used for decoration. Most horticulturists concur that the male offers the best form and structure.