Thanksgiving Decorating on a Budget - DIY Tips from the Thrift Store

Thanksgiving Decorating on a Budget - DIY Tips from the Thrift Store Tips & Tricks Do you want to decorate your home for the Thanksgiving holiday but can't afford to spend a great deal of money? There are numerous items you can find at your local thrift store that can be transformed into creative autumn decorative pieces. Check out the following quirky Thanksgiving decorating tips to see which ones you can use in your own home. - Pour un-popped popcorn into the bottom of small glass vases from the charity shop. Nestle tea light candles into the popcorn kernels. Secure a colorful autumn leaf to the side of each glass container with raffia ribbon. Place a series of your newly created decorative containers in a row on your dining room table or fireplace mantle. - Coffee beans and orange candles make terrific decorative elements. Pour coffee beans into small canning jars and then add an orange tea light candle. Tie off-white lace around the rim of each jar and arrange your jars on a thrift store platter or silver serving tray. - Creating autumn candles is a fabulous craft to do with your children. Spend time outdoors picking fall leaves that are colorful yet not too big. Using cream colored candles from the thrift store, place a series of leaves around each candle and secure with raffia twine (be sure leaves are NOT too dry). Once your children have gone to bed for the night, use the back of a hot spoon to melt the leaf into the candle wax. Your children will wake in the morning to find their candle creations magically transformed for the Thanksgiving table. Can you say memory maker? - Another great Thanksgiving craft idea is to make place-mats with your children. Purchase burlap pieces or neutral-toned place-mats from the bargain store. Paint the palm of each child's hand with water-soluble paint and have them place their hand face down on the place mat. Once the paint has tried, you can paint a tiny beak on the bottom of the thumb print and tiny legs on the base of the palm print. Your child can now enjoy their own hand print turkey place mat (don't forget to frame and save after the turkey dinner is finished). - Thrift store picture frames make terrific Thanksgiving art. Purchase three small wooden frames in different sizes and spray paint them off-white. On colored paper (orange and neutral tones work best), print words like turkey, thankful, or blessed. Place the printed paper inside each picture frame and distress the frame edges slightly with sand paper or steel wool. Hang your new artwork in a vertical row for maximum impact. Decorating your home for Thanksgiving doesn't have to include a trip to an expensive craft store or big box retailer if you're willing to think creatively. You can find plenty of quirky options at your local charity shop or dollar store. Do you think you will be attempting any of these DIY Thanksgiving crafts with your family this year? Elena Serafin Prudential California Realty (951) 536-2721 realtorelenaserafin@gmail.com CalBRE# 01938435 If there are problems with how this message is displayed, click here to view it in a web browser Elena Serafin © 2016 — Powered by Elevated Network If you prefer not to receive further emails please click here to unsubscribe Write us at: 12335 Baseline Road, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

Thanksgiving Decorating on a Budget - DIY Tips from the Thrift Store

Thanksgiving Decorating on a Budget - DIY Tips from the Thrift Store Tips & Tricks Do you want to decorate your home for the Thanksgiving holiday but can't afford to spend a great deal of money? There are numerous items you can find at your local thrift store that can be transformed into creative autumn decorative pieces. Check out the following quirky Thanksgiving decorating tips to see which ones you can use in your own home. - Pour un-popped popcorn into the bottom of small glass vases from the charity shop. Nestle tea light candles into the popcorn kernels. Secure a colorful autumn leaf to the side of each glass container with raffia ribbon. Place a series of your newly created decorative containers in a row on your dining room table or fireplace mantle. - Coffee beans and orange candles make terrific decorative elements. Pour coffee beans into small canning jars and then add an orange tea light candle. Tie off-white lace around the rim of each jar and arrange your jars on a thrift store platter or silver serving tray. - Creating autumn candles is a fabulous craft to do with your children. Spend time outdoors picking fall leaves that are colorful yet not too big. Using cream colored candles from the thrift store, place a series of leaves around each candle and secure with raffia twine (be sure leaves are NOT too dry). Once your children have gone to bed for the night, use the back of a hot spoon to melt the leaf into the candle wax. Your children will wake in the morning to find their candle creations magically transformed for the Thanksgiving table. Can you say memory maker? - Another great Thanksgiving craft idea is to make place-mats with your children. Purchase burlap pieces or neutral-toned place-mats from the bargain store. Paint the palm of each child's hand with water-soluble paint and have them place their hand face down on the place mat. Once the paint has tried, you can paint a tiny beak on the bottom of the thumb print and tiny legs on the base of the palm print. Your child can now enjoy their own hand print turkey place mat (don't forget to frame and save after the turkey dinner is finished). - Thrift store picture frames make terrific Thanksgiving art. Purchase three small wooden frames in different sizes and spray paint them off-white. On colored paper (orange and neutral tones work best), print words like turkey, thankful, or blessed. Place the printed paper inside each picture frame and distress the frame edges slightly with sand paper or steel wool. Hang your new artwork in a vertical row for maximum impact. Decorating your home for Thanksgiving doesn't have to include a trip to an expensive craft store or big box retailer if you're willing to think creatively. You can find plenty of quirky options at your local charity shop or dollar store. Do you think you will be attempting any of these DIY Thanksgiving crafts with your family this year? Elena Serafin Prudential California Realty (951) 536-2721 realtorelenaserafin@gmail.com CalBRE# 01938435 If there are problems with how this message is displayed, click here to view it in a web browser Elena Serafin © 2016 — Powered by Elevated Network If you prefer not to receive further emails please click here to unsubscribe Write us at: 12335 Baseline Road, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

How to Shop For Homeowner's Insurance

How to Shop For Homeowner's Insurance Tips & Tricks As a homeowner, you have a choice when it comes to buying insurance on your home. You have a choice of companies and coverage. Your real estate agent or escrow agent might recommend an insurance company, but it's a good idea to shop around to get the best coverage and price for homeowner's insurance. Ask your friends, family and colleagues what insurance company they have. Ask them if they are happy with the company, if they have any complaints, and if they have filed any claims. One of the most common complaints consumers have about insurance companies is how a claims process is handled. The coverage you purchase will cover your home, your personal property, other structures such as a shed or a fence, medical payments and loss of the use of your home. Here's some guidelines to help you when you are ready to purchase homeowner's insurance. But first, many people question why they need homeowner's insurance. Why Do You Need Homeowner's Insurance? If you are financing your home, your lender will require it. If you're paying cash for your home, it's still a good idea to get insurance. Here are the five common parts of homeowner's insurance coverage you need to know about: 1. Dwelling or Structure - Ask yourself how much it would cost to rebuild your home in its current location if there was a total loss. Your homeowners insurance should cover the cost of building you a new home. Your insurance agent should know your neighborhood and be familiar with the replacement cost. Remember, earthquake and flood coverage are purchased separately. The amount of you pay for this portion of your homeowner's insurance is what will pay for damage to your home and to any structure that is attached to your home, like a garage, patio or balcony. The amount of this coverage should be the same as the replacement cost of your home. Remember that this coverage is not the market value of your property - it does not include the land. 2. Personal Property - The portion of your homeowner's insurance policy is based on the contents of your home - your personal property. Make a list of the items you own including appliances, TVs, computers, laptops, printers, sound systems, furniture, clothing, jewelry, outdoor equipment such as lawn mowers, and sports equipment like golf clubs, golf carts, etc. It's not easy to put a value on the items, but you can estimate by finding the receipts when you bought the items or go online and find out approximately how much the items are worth. It's also a good idea to videotape the contents of your home. We never really think about what we have until something terrible happens like a robbery, fire, tornado or other natural disaster. The amount of coverage for your personal property is usually based on the amount of insurance you have on your home. The percentage of personal property coverage varies. Some insurance companies offer 50% of your dwelling coverage as the limit of your personal property insurance, while other companies offer more or less. For example, your dwelling (home) coverage is $150,000. The insurance company will allow 50% of that amount to insure your personal property or $75,000. Be sure to ask your insurance agent what the percentage of coverage is for insuring your personal property. 3. Other Structures - Other structures include sheds, carports, fences, unattached garages. You should consider insuring other structures on your property. If you have other structures, ask your agent how much will be added to your insurance policy to cover the items. 4. Medical Payments - You can purchase coverage that will cover medical payments for anyone that gets hurt on your property. If someone comes to your home for a visit and slips and falls or gets hurt, this portion of your policy will help pay for their medical expenses. 5. Loss of Use - You can pay an additional amount for insurance coverage to cover the cost of the loss of use of your property. If your home is damaged due to a tornado, fire, flood, etc., you can pay for insurance that will help you pay for some of your living expenses if you have to stay in a hotel while your home is being repaired. Bottom line, be prepared and armed with knowledge when you're ready to buy homeowner's insurance. A trusted and knowledgeable insurance agent will help you determine the amount and type of homeowner's insurance coverage is best for you and know that you know the different types of coverage, you'll be in a position to make a good decision. Elena Serafin Prudential California Realty (951) 536-2721 realtorelenaserafin@gmail.com CalBRE# 01938435 If there are problems with how this message is displayed, click here to view it in a web browser Elena Serafin © 2016 — Powered by Elevated Network If you prefer not to receive further emails please click here to unsubscribe Write us at: 12335 Baseline Road, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739

The Energy Conscious Household

The Energy Conscious Household Tips & Tricks With energy costs on the rise, it makes sense to look at ways to conserve energy around the home. What follows are several simple steps you can take to make your home more energy efficient. Replace your incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights. Compact fluorescent bulbs last longer and use less energy. They cost more than traditional bulbs but have a service life of up to 15 times longer than incandescent bulbs, thus saving you money over the long haul. The savings on your light bill will be more immediate. Turn off unused appliances. From television sets to computer systems, when you're done with them, turn them off. You should realize that the monitor consumes more than half the total electricity required by your computer. Energy use, wasted or otherwise, all shows up on your utility bills. Also consider installing motion detectors to reduce unnecessary lighting. Eliminate phantom load. As long as they are plugged in, many appliances continue to draw power, even when they are turned off. It's a good idea, therefore, to unplug these 'sneak thieves' whenever they are not needed. Hooking such appliances to a power bar allows you to disconnect them at the flip of a switch. Take advantage of your blinds and drapes. In winter, open your blinds on sunny days to allow sunlight to heat your home, then close them at night to reduce heat loss. Reverse the procedure in summer to block out heat during the day and allow cooler air to circulate at night. Bundle up you and your floors. Wearing an extra layer of clothing is an easy alternative to raising the thermostat during cold snaps. An extra blanket at night serves the same purpose, while using area rugs on cold floors will help keep your feet warm. Be kitchen smart. Match the size of pot or pan you use to the appropriate heating element. Heating a small pot on a large element is overkill, and a needless waste of energy. When oven heating, turn the oven off a few minutes early. The stored heat should be enough to finish cooking your food and, in the process, you will shave a little more off your energy bill. Get the most out of your refrigerator. Make sure the door seal is efficient. It should hold a five dollar bill in place when closed. Where possible, fill your refrigerator to capacity, leaving just enough space around food items to allow cold air to circulate. A full fridge has less air volume and, therefore, recovers more easily from temperature spikes. Retire older appliances. Choose Energy Star certified appliances. These are far more efficient than their predecessors and provide significant savings over their lifetime. Think twice before casting old appliances in new roles. Using an old fridge in the basement, for example, will only drive up your energy costs. Install low-flow shower-heads. It takes a lot of energy to heat water, and showers account for up to 40 percent of hot water usage. Low-flow shower-heads can cut water consumption by half. For the minimalists among you, consider retiring your hairdryer in favor of towel-drying your hair. Wash your laundry in cold water. Up to 90 percent of the energy used by your washing machine is dedicated to heating water. Cold water washing is as effective as warm and, as a bonus, helps to keep your fabric colors bright. If you plan to be away for an extended period, turn your hot water tank off. Turn the heat down when you sleep. Sleeping in a cooler house is better for your health, both physical and financial. In winter, lower your thermostat to 63 degrees Fahrenheit. In summer, consider installing a ceiling fan as a substitute for cranking up the air conditioning on hot days. So, while the cost of energy might be beyond your control, energy conservation certainly is not. Application of some or all of the foregoing measures should give you greater control over what you pay for your energy needs. You might get a charge out of that. Elena Serafin Prudential California Realty (951) 536-2721 realtorelenaserafin@gmail.com CalBRE# 01938435 If there are problems with how this message is displayed, click here to view it in a web browser Elena Serafin © 2016 — Powered by Elevated Network If you prefer not to receive further emails please click here to unsubscribe Write us at: 12335 Baseline Road, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739