STYLISTIC ASIAN CHARACTERS
Good Fortune character business card case.
The Olympics are on and I watch every minute I can – So seeing all the Chinese characters in and around the games reminds me of our lovely Asian character designs.
The two most popular are Friendship and Good Fortune. Good fortune is very popular for business card cases, especially with red aluminum color. It is sometimes seen on condom cases, as well…
Friendship took off quickly when we added it to the line. Nice to know so many people like to give gifts to their friends. I think the stamp box has been especially popular in the friendship design. Dream is another
great design for a business card holder, and also very appropriate for a night light. I live my Peace earrings, and I gave my Mom the Double Love earrings. The Happiness earrings are also very pretty and delicate.
Jewelry like beaded lanyard with Harmony design.
The Health design is nice for health care provider business card cases or for a pill box. We also have Faith and Harmony characters available for a wide variety of items including switch plates!
Coming soon we will have additional Asian character designs including Prosperity, Wisdom and Longevity. Take a look at all our Asian inspired designs for gifts
here.
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MORE DECORATING FOR RENTERS
We are lucky renters. Our landlords really like us and have said we can do anything we want to decorate 
the house. The first year we didn’t do much beyond putting more plants in the garden. I took down and stored some window coverings I didn’t like and recovered a couple of valances leaving the original fabric underneath. I just folded the fabric over and used thumb tacks to hold it in place. That way I can just take it off when we move on.
Last spring we painted the kitchen, one wall a golden yellow and and the other a nice aqua. The kitchen had some well worn wallpaper which was driving me crazy. It peeled off easily and since my husband is a very precise painter and he does not trust me to do the job he would do (fine with me.) So, I just had to remove the switch plates and clear the counters and my job was done.
Now I have pulled the dirty, peeling wallpaper off the powder room walls and it is time to paint in there, too. We are going to continue the aqua in that room. It shares wall with both the yellow and aqua from the kitchen, but I have always wanted an aqua bathroom. I bought red towels and bathmat which will really pop against the blue. The switch plates were cruddy ivory plastic, and I replaced them with shiny chrome to match the faucet and towel rack. Now I want to do the same in the kitchen. Changing out switch
plates is an easy and inexpensive job which can really upgrade a sterile apartment or condo. You can even keep the original plates and put them back up when you move.
Our 14 year old daughter is looking at paint sample for her room. She loves pink and polka dots and peace symbols. She has talked her dad into a hot pink wall with a peace symbol. I am staying out of this one, but I am going to get her a nice bubble 
design night light with pink glass because it is like dots. She will also be happy with a peace symbol switch plate! I can choose from any of our 4 pink colors to customize it to match her decor. I also want to change out her light switch for a dimmer. She likes to have her lights on at night and a dimmer will allow her to chose comfortable lighting for studying and for sleeping. We have a huge variety of decorative dimmer knobs, but I think I will just put in a toggle dimmer. If you choose a decorative dimmer knob to replace an existing dimmer device, you can also take it with you when you move!
For more ideas for Renters – checkout our Squidoo pages.
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IMMERSED IN THE BOLEYNS
My book club read “The Other Boleyn Girl” by Phillippa Gregory before I joined. The current selection is the follow-up novel “The Boleyn Inheritance” but everyone said I 
should read the first one first, if I could read 1000 pages in 4 weeks. The plan was that we would all go to the movie when it opened – and we did tonight.
So I have been immersed in the 16th century all month. The books read practically like romance novels, but have a sprinkle of history, politics, sociology and religion which give them some real historical heft. Of course, I was aware of Ann Boleyn – or Ann of a Thousand Days. I knew how it was all going to turn out, but I have gone to the internet to look up several things to put more of the story in context and to understand some of the terms used.
Women were treated abominably – big surprise. Women were treated badly throughout history, however we tend to think that especially true of the less educated and privileged. In this story we see that noble women were used as pawns to raise a family’s position. And they used the sexuality of these young women very openly. And by young, I mean 12 and 14 years old “sold” into marriage, offered as mistress to the King in exchange for money and property and rank. The movie ran through about 14 years of history in 2 hours and so condensed the story to a nearly unrecognizable degree. That is the problem with movies based on stories which are long and complicated.
I admired the way they changed it, but a lot of what made the book an enjoyable read was
lost. The costumes were lavish, the settings were lovely. The mood of the movie was darker, more somber than the book. Not much of the merry making and courtly love were evident. In our book club discussion over dinner, we all agreed that we enjoyed the movie – but as usual, liked the book more.
Gifts for your Queen, Princess, King and Prince can be found here! Click here for gift ideas for your book club.
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PERK UP YOUR RENTAL APARTMENT
My son has moved into his first apartment. He just couldn’t take another semester of dorm life and managed to find a rental close to his school in Monterey which was affordable enough to pass the budget imposed by dad.
So we have been checking Craig’s list and garage sales and made a trip to Ikea. For the first time he has a bed larger than a twin size and gave up his tattered denim bedspread for something a bit more sophisticated. He was never one for plastering his walls with posters – in fact he asked for one of the framed Miro prints we have to put in his apartment.
All this takes me to the subject of fixing up a rental space – and there are so many things you can do to personalize and upgrade the look, without spending a fortune or breaking the rental agreement. Thinking in terms of the lighting, you can replace the switches with dimmers to add more flexibility to harsh overhead lighting. Then frame it out with a decorative switch plate. They are easy to install and then remove and take with you at moving time.
I love these new wall decals you can put them up in any space to add personality, then just peel them off when you move or just want a change. They really make short work of all those white walls.
I have given night lights to practically everyone I know. You can brighten up a dark corner or light the way to the bathroom at night. With more than 100 designs to choose from, there is one for every personality or theme. This on matches my son’s little red car.
For his kitchen he chose black laminate dishes and cups, flat ware with red handles and red and white dish cloths and pot holders. So I added a refrigerator magnet with veggies on it to remind him of his mom.
See our Squidoo page for more ideas.
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WHAT WE WANT IN 2008
At the end of the year, there are always articles telling us what is out and what will be in. There are forecasts about fashion colors and home decor trends and now that we are food obsessed – the latest must try cuisine.
I have always been a bit wary of these lists and forecasts – unless, of course, something in my life fits the trends – then I feel very hip. At Kyle Design we see a lot of variation in what is selling and we always speculate about it. This month we are selling a lot of Polished Chrome switch plates. Late last year we were selling tons of white switchplates. The 2007 trend forecasters told us last year was the year of Oil Rubbed Bronze for kitchens and we didn’t sell very many of that finish for wall plates all year.
So what will happen in 2008? Trend spotters see the green movement going home, the interest in all things luxurious, cool metals, contrast and peaceful, spa like atmospheres.
We know many people like to carry the themes of their home decor into details like custom switch plates. Our Art Deco switch plates and our Craftsman switch plates are perennial favorites. We have added some new designs which have gotten some attention, especially the Bamboo design. I think the bamboo would look nice in a home with
Asian themes as well as in rooms where you want a tranquil, spa feel. Our custom switch plates can go upscale and funky – whatever you wish. I’ll be writing more about decorating themes in future entries.
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