6 Extraordinary Uses for Dishwashing Soap

Who knew? Dishwashing soap isn't just for scrubbing plates—see how the liquid can kill ants, beat greasy hair, and more.

Kill weeds kindly

Be gentler to the environment—not so much to weeds—by using a natural plant killer rather than harmful herbicides. Mix 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid with 1 cup of salt and 1 gallon of white vinegar. Pour the solution on weeds sprouting in the cracks and crevices of sidewalks, front walks, and patio pavers.

Wash away ants

Outdoor ants can be just as annoying as indoor ants, particularly if they've invaded the crevices in your patio where you eat. Get rid of them with a simple 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar with a dash of dishwashing liquid. (You can substitute glass cleaner for the vinegar if you want.) Spray the affected area with the mix, wait a few minutes, then happily return to your picnic.

Green your lawn

Fill the reservoir of a 10- or 20-gallon hose-end sprayer with water and 12-ounce can of beer or non-diet cola, 1 cup of corn syrup or molasses or household ammonia, or 1/2 cup mouthwash—and 1 cup of dishwashing liquid. The dishwashing liquid helps spread the concoction more evenly across your lawn, and as an added bonus, helps it stick to individual blades of grass.

Water your lawn approximately every three weeks, and watch your neighbors turn green with envy—like your lawn.

Keep it cool

Clean your foam or metal mesh air conditioner filters once a month during the summer—or whenever you routinely use your AC—with dishwashing liquid. Soak the filter in a bath of warm water and dish soap, then scrub it gently with a toothbrush. Once you've removed any debris, rinse it and dry it completely. Put it back in the air conditioner, and enjoy a sweat-free day with cleaner air.

Add life to your locks

If your hair isn't looking so lovely, try mixing a dollop of dishwashing liquid into your shampoo. It fights grease in hair, as well as on dishes!

Clean your blender

Forget about taking your blender apart to wash it thoroughly. Instead, fill it partway with warm water and dishwashing detergent, cover it, and run it for a few seconds. Empty it, rinse it, air-dry it, and call it a day.

Resource:   Reader's Digest

In What Order Should I Paint My House?

Are you considering freshening up the exterior of your home this spring?  If so, here are some helpful tips from Glidden® paint on what order you should consider before dipping in!

Paint in the following order overall:

1) Gables
2) Main siding
3) Windows
4) Siding trim
5) Doors

When painting siding, always paint from the top down, and paint next to the trim first, creating a border about two to three inches from the edge of the trim.

Then begin painting the rest of the siding, remembering to paint under the edge.

(Hint: Paint in small sections of three to four clapboards and a few feet at a time, applying a fresh brush full of paint to unpainted areas and working back into the areas you've already done. Be sure to paint in the direction of the siding.)

When the siding is dry, paint the windows, siding trim and doors.

Learn how much fun and easy painting can be. Tomboy Tools and Glidden paint help women gain confidence, motivation and add color to their lives!

Contact your Tomboy Tools Consultant to book your painting party today. Your Consultant will show you how you can beautify your living space or painting project with ergonomically designed painting tools, color selections, techniques and tips. 

2012 Interior Paint Color Trends

New Year, New Hues

One thing is for certain, the economy is going “green” and this is no different in the trends for 2012 interior paint colors. Consumers want colors and products that are healthy for the environment. Society is definitely becoming more earth friendly and there is no exception when it comes to paint. The color may be green as well. But what people want to save is their green, that is, the dollars they want to keep in their pocket. We all want a nice looking home but budgets are constrained.

Therefore, consumers are looking for the best deals when it comes to the paint. They want it to work the best and cost the least. Paint companies are meeting the challenge of these needs and stepping up to the plate. Often you will hear the buzz words in their advertising.



How to Pick your Interior Paint & Colors? Here are some tips & ideas. It is quite easy and coming from experience of talking folks. Paint that is environmentally friendly and that can make the consumer feel relaxed and soothed as well as all of those who visit their home, are definitely “in” in 2012.

What type of effects that the paint has on the environment, is on the back of the consumer’s mind as they make their purchases. Knowing how to pick interior paint colors that are environmentally friendly can be as easy as just asking the sales associate.

Trendy interior paint colors are leaning towards the more relaxing and soothing shades. We are seeing paint colors from light, pale pink to yellow on one hand and then on the other, we are seeing more earth tones that help to reflect the “green” side that people are feeling.

Bringing the outdoors in with browns, tans, greens and so on is very popular in 2012 interior paint colors.

Other shades that are reflecting the souls of the consumers are black, white, and even grays. White adopts that clean and fresh feeling that everyone loves and if accented correctly, can make the room feel alive with color. Black and gray is reflecting other natural elements, as in stone and minerals. Again, the “green” feeling is shown here.

These colors may sound drab and dull but with the correct elements and within the right amounts, your home will seem like a masterpiece to all who visit. Remember, you do not have to paint an entire room with the same color. Interior painting trends are showing that by providing an accent wall with the dramatic hue and accenting the room with various elements can pull everything together and create an environment that anyone would be proud of. Black is a perfect example of a color that could be placed on an accent wall. Or how about various painting techniques that could “spice” things up, like faux techniques?

2012 is the year to definitely try something new as in terms of non-traditional shades. Picking Interior paint & color is about the right fit at the right time. It is also the year to become environmentally conscience and to learn about how paint affects the environment. You want to feel good about your home and relaxed while you are there and what better way to do it than going “green”?


Source:  KitchenKool.com

Perfect Paint Color Do's & Don'ts

Do: Go au natural.
Your son says he wants his room painted his favorite color: green. Tell that to the paint store assistant and he’ll give you a few shades to choose from—or rather, a few hundred. When in doubt, opt for colors that Mother Nature created. Natural colors call less attention to themselves and generally better compliment other elements of the décor — furnishings, artwork, etc.—than manufactured colors.

Don’t: Be afraid to go bold.
Choosing a natural color doesn’t have to mean choosing one that’s subdued. Rich, saturated colors can transform a room and create a dramatic backdrop for your décor. A room that gets ample sunlight and is decorated with light colored items won’t feel overly dark with bold paint.

Do: Pick your furnishings before your paint.
Choose a paint color that compliments your furniture, not the reverse. Is there a recurring color in your décor that the walls could compliment? Is there a hue in the fabric of your new chair that you’d like to bring out? Consider what’s going to be in the room before choosing what’s on the walls.

Don’t: Paint a room before furnishing it.
You can have paint mixed to match your new chair, but it’s much harder to have your chair upholstered to match your walls.

Do: Take advantage of the samples.
Start with the strips of color — bring home several, and tape them to the walls in various areas of the room and at times of day when the light changes and the colors may appear slightly different. When you’ve settled on a few options, ask for the sample size jars of paint that can be applied to the wall. Follow the same steps and consider them for a couple of days before deciding on your favorites.

Don’t: Assume that a color that looks great on someone else’s walls will work on yours.
Your friend’s bedroom may be the perfect shade of gray — for her house. But as much as you love how it looks on her walls, it may not look the same on yours. Some rooms receive more light than others, or are narrower or have higher ceilings. All of these factors and more can affect the way a single color of paint looks on different walls. Sample that divine gray before you find yourself living in a room that feels like an office cubicle.

Source: Parentables.com

Start 2012 with a Clutter-Free Living Space

Tired of stacks and heaps and piles and clutter? Does it feel overwhelming just to think about organizing your home? Here are a few quick tips that can help you get started organizing and feel great about it quickly. Organizing your home can take time and effort, but with simple tips from Tomboy Tools, your living space can become a clutter-free environment.

Organizational Tips:

1. Choose one drawer, one closet, one cupboard or cabinet in one room. Plan and schedule ahead for the next project areas.

2. Ask for help. Feel free to invite a friend or family member to help you, but not if they will distract you from your plans. Plan ahead to make sure this time will be undisturbed and without distractions.

3. Whatever is cluttering up the space you choose may not be what you even want there. Decide what this space is to really be used for before digging in.

4. Donate any old clothes, shoes, bags, toys, electronics, etc. that you haven’t worn or used in the last 18 months. You can donate to your local shelter, Goodwill or Salvation Army. Dress for Success will also let you know where you can contribute business wear to aspiring career women in need.

5. Go through your junk drawer and throw away anything that you no longer need. Anything that you still need, organize a little bit and use a little creativity in your organization. For example, if you have an empty checkbook box, use it to store pens, rubber bands, paper clips or batteries that you don’t want thrown away.

6. Prep boxes and containers and label them appropriately for the items that go in them.

7. Go through just one pile at a time. It’s motivating to see big empty spaces in a closet, or the surface of your desktop again. Make a decision about its place in your life.

8. If you’re reorganizing a drawer, dump it out on a cleared surface and pick it apart. If it’s a drawer of clothing, dump it all out on the bed and then pick and choose from there.

9. When finished, make sure to redistribute all of the designated boxes, containers and bags to where they need to go. Don’t leave prep tools sitting around and reschedule to finish as soon as possible if necessary.

10. Ninety percent of life is maintenance! Take 10-20 minutes daily to declutter your home, work station or desk.

Repurpose and Reuse - Turn Books Into Picture Frames

Frame Up!

Repurpose a book with a beautiful cover but damaged pages into a frame for a favorite photo.  Using the Tomboy Tools Quick Changing Utility Knife or a crafts knife, carefully cut a rectangle from the front of the book.  To create a mat, cut a few inside pages into a rectangular hole that's a bit smaller than the cover hole.  Secure the pages to the cover with glue.  Then tape a photo in place. 

Be creative - choose a fave photo that relates to the book title!

How to Make Stacked Pumpkin Topiaries

Pumpkins are carved, crafted and stacked to create a pumpkin topiary to decorate the fireplace. 

Twinkle lights are hung inside the pumpkins and the outside is decorated with bittersweet artificial vine.

Materials and Tools for each Topiary:

• 3 carvable pumpkins, varying sizes
• Versa-Tool Heated Craft Knife
• Pliers
• Pencil
• Fall leaf
• Large brass cup hooks
• 1 strand twinkle lights
• Footed urn
• Sticky clay or sticky wax (optional)
• T-pins
• Artificial bittersweet vine or garland

Steps:
1. Decide the position of each pumpkin, bottom, middle or top.
2. Beginning with the bottom pumpkin, draw a circle around the top of the pumpkin that is only large enough to fit the bottom of the middle pumpkin. Use the heated knife to cut out the pumpkin top.
Note: Artificial pumpkins are hollow. They can also be carved using a sharp serrated knife.
3. To make the topiary, you will be carving a circle out of the bottom of the top pumpkin, then cut a circle out of the top and bottom of the middle pumpkin, and finally carve a circle out of the top of the bottom pumpkin.
4. Trace roughly around the fall leaf onto the bottom pumpkin in several areas, turning the leaf in different directions to resemble falling leaves. The leaves only need to cover the front 3/4 of each pumpkin.
5. Using the heated craft knife, cut out all leaf shapes. It is necessary to occasionally tighten the band on the heated craft knife with pliers to prevent the blade from pulling out of the tool handle.

DIY Tip: Save the cutout shapes because they can be used on other craft projects.

6. On the middle pumpkin, draw a circle around the bottom of the pumpkin that is only large enough to fit the hole cut in the bottom pumpkin. Draw a second hole around the top or the pumpkin that is large enough to fit the bottom of the top pumpkin. Cut out these two circles.
7. Draw a variety of sizes of swirls on the front three-fourths of this pumpkin. Cut out the swirl shapes with the heated craft knife, tightening the blade as necessary.
8. On the top pumpkin, draw a circle around the bottom that is big enough to fit the top hole of the middle pumpkin. Cut out this circle.
9. Again, draw a variety of sizes of swirls on the front three fourths of this pumpkin. Cut out the swirl shapes with the heated craft knife, tightening the blade as necessary.
10. On the inside of the top of the top pumpkin, screw a large brass cup hook.
11. Fold the strand of twinkle lights into equal sections so that it is about the same length as the height of all three pumpkins. Allow some extra length for the plug end.
12. Gather the folds opposite of the plug end and place onto the cup hook.
13. Feed the hanging lights through the middle pumpkin, resting the top pumpkin on top of the middle pumpkin. Place the middle pumpkin onto the bottom pumpkin, hanging the lights inside the bottom pumpkin. Reach into one of the back leaf cutouts and pull the plug through.
14. Place the bottom pumpkin, with all pumpkins stacked on top, onto the urn. Use sticky wax to secure each pumpkin.
15. Starting from the bottom, wind garland around the pumpkins using T-pins.

Expert Tip: When you go to a party, it is often common that people worry about what they are going to talk about. The most important thing and the best conversationalist is the best listener.

Carving Tip: If you are free-handing a design on a pumpkin, you need to use a dry erase marker. That way if you mess it up, you can wipe it off and start on a clean slate.

10 Designs We Love!

Beautiful, innovative home design concepts don't have to be costly.  Just ingenious.  Here are 10 that the editors of Better Homes and Gardens® shared that we love too!

1.  Rearrange Your Furniture (it's FREE):  Start with the biggest piece toward a focal point, such as a fireplace or window. Or angle a sofa, chair or bed that's currently hugging a wall.  If you don't like how it turns out, try it again!

2.  Paint Your Front Door: A warm color at the entrance of your home makes it seem more welcoming.  Just pick a fun color, get a quart of Glidden exterior paint...you can transform your home in an afternoon. Learn more about color choices and tips at www.glidden.com

3.  Ungroup Matched Sets:  Identical end tables, nightstands and lamps can make your home feel like a furniture store.  Swap out one of the pair with something in another room.

4.  Add a Folding Screen:  Not only does a screen add visual interest, it helps define open rooms and hide excess clutter.

5.  Dress Up Your Drawers:  Replace ho-hum cabinet pulls with colorful artsy knobs that coordinate with the rest of your room's decor.

6.  Warm Up Your Walls:  Give your white walls an instant glow with a coat of neutral beige paint.  It won't overwhelm you with color or compete with brightly colored furnishings.  Glidden Paint has a great online room visualizer where you can actually select a color and put it on the wall.  Check it out here:  www.glidden.com/color/color-visualizer.do

7.  Rethink Your Accessories:  Create a whole new look - with home decor you already have!  Just gather your accessories in a room, then try items in new spaces.

8.  Use a Big Basket:  It's perfect for collecting shoes and magazines...plus, if you love it, you can keep it out in the open for the world to see.

9.  Get a Big Look From Small Pieces: Gather different sizes and shapes of paintings, plates, and mirrors to make a collage perfect for hanging above your sofa.

10.  Fall for Pricy Fabric - Guilt-Free:  Just pick up a yard - it's all you need to whip up your pillows or a tablerunner that's guaranteed to make a bold splash in any room!   

Cleaning your dryer lint filter can SAVE you money in the long run!

The heating unit went out on my dryer. The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something, and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material. 

Well, the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that's what burns out the heating unit.


You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free, as well as provide a nice fragrance.  

You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box?  Well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very longtime (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! 

How about that!?! Learn something new every day! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it, the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Helpful Tip of the Week provided by Lisa Sayer, Tomboy Tools Skilled Consultant from Dallas, Oregon

A Colorful, Storage-Savvy Kitchen Makeover from Salvaged Finds

A little digging and a lot of creativity is all it takes to transform a mass of misfit materials into a beautiful kitchen escape.

Restore Renovation

It's easy to renovate a kitchen on a dime when you know the right places to look. The foundation pieces for this kitchen were scored at secondhand stores, such as Habitat for Humanity ReStore. With everything from paint, flooring, appliances, electrical and plumbing supplies, to doors, windows, and accessories, resale stores are a great place to find items at a fraction of the original price. A little creativity transforms these odds and ends into a storage-packed, super functional, and pretty kitchen and breakfast nook that is perfect for a busy family.

What great finds have helped in your renovation?  Share them with us!

Like Scrapbooking? Think Tomboy Tools

Like scrapbooking? Did you know Tomboy Tools has some great products to hold your materials and accessories and to help you with your scrapbook projects.  Check them out:

• Auto Bag - Great for holding paper trimmer, scissors (or Tomboy Tools Garden Snips), etc.  You will want to buy a large plastic container for the bottom of the bag to hold your brads, eyelets, buttons, etc.
• Garden Snips - They work better than most scissors!
• Needle Nose Pliers - Great for wire, jewelry, etc.
• Sanding Block - It has different angles that are great for getting into the small spaces of chipboard...and you can rinse and reuse!
• 8 oz. Magnetic Head Hammer - Works well for setting eyelets or texturizing metal sheets, flattening bottle caps, etc.
• Mini Hacksaw - Use for dowels, small twigs & other adornments
• 1-1/2" Angled Paint Brush - Great for painting paper

Those are just a few of our tools...we have more too! Thanks to Tomboy Tools Consultant, Joy Norris, for her great tips and ideas!