Domestic Technicians

The Business of Keeping House



  • Domestic Technicians Blog
    The Business of Keeping House


  • Domestic Technicians offers advice and resources concerning the business of keeping house. We cover home decorating, home repairs and renovations, cooking and recipes, home and garden, home furnishings, organizing, entertaining, family, weddings, marriage, homeschooling, and much more.

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    1st September 2007

    Budget Home Decorating Tips: Frugal Ideas to Decorate Your Home on a Budget

    Now You Can Redecorate with Amazing Styles at Bargain Basement Prices

    Don’t waste tons of money on a professional interior decorator … Instead, grab the only source of quality information for doing it yourself for pennies on the dollar! Budget Home Decorating Tips will show you how to decorate your home the frugal way, without breaking your budget, yet have a beautifully decorated home that you will be proud to show off.

    The Budget Guide to Home Decor Budget Home Decorating Tips

    Two of the Main Benefits to Do it Yourself Home Redecorating

    1) Extremely Cost Effective

    An interior decorator will charge tons of money just to TELL YOU what they think. It gets even more expensive if they are overseeing everything!

    By doing it yourself, you have complete control over every facet of the project, including your budget. You can create things out of your old belongings, or decide to buy just small pieces of new furnishings. It’s completely up to you! Your home, your style, your way!

    2) You Will Have Created Something that Only You Can, and You’ll be Much More Proud of It!

    Sure, hiring someone else is easier, but it doesn’t give much sense of accomplishment. Doing it yourself saves the money, it saves the hassle of dealing with a designer, but it also allows you to creatively express exactly what you want your room to look like. A designer will take your thoughts, and create what THEY THINK you want…

    Here is what you will learn inside this guide….

    ==>> 7 Budget tips for your living room. In this chapter, we’ll go over seven key things you can do on the cheap that will completely transform your living room. In fact, five of these you may be able to do with things already in your house!

    ==>> The eleven low or no cost things you can do to redecorate your dining room. Learn the outrageous tips that no one else will tell you to do because it “throws off symmetry”!

    ==>> Check out chapter four for hot tips on recreating your kitchen. Learn why handles and knobs are the perfect low cost transformation.

    ==>> 6 Ways to completely redesign your bedroom using no new furniture at all! Can you guess why you need old baskets in your room?

    ==>> And a lot more (including four more rooms you might want redesigned)!

    Budget Home Decorating Tips

    Our Budget Guide To Home Decor gives your the better budgeting tips for home interior decorating, giving you the information you want for DIY home decorating, without spending tons of money hiring someone else to do it for you. Save your money and DIY with our easy and painless budget home decorating tips guide.

    Your family and friends will be amazed when you show off your newly redecorated home and tell them that you decorated your home yourself, and even more astounded at how much money you saved doing it.

    Click here to order your copy of Budget Home Decorating Tips from Domestic Technicians

    23rd July 2007

    Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

    3/4 cup butter, melted
    1 cup peanut butter
    2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
    1 cup graham cracker crumbs
    2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

    Topping
    1/3 cup butter
    1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
    1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (or use 1 cup of either)
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla

    Prepare a 9-inch or an 8 x 8-inch baking dish. In a large bowl combine 3/4 cup melted butter or margarine with 1 cup peanut butter; vigorously mix with a wooden spoon until combined and smooth. Add in confectioners sugar; mix until combined. Add in 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs; mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Press the mixture into the prepared pan; chill for 1 hour.

    For the topping: in a saucepan (or in the microwave) combine the 1/3 cup butter or margarine with both chocolate chips; stir over low heat until combined and melted, then add/mix in vanilla.

    Spread over the cooled peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour then cut into desired size squares (pre-slicing the bars when not yet completely cold will prevent the chocolate from cracking while slicing) return to fridge until completely cold.

    21st July 2007

    Chow-Chow Relish

    1 medium cabbage
    4 medium onions
    3 green peppers
    2 red or hot peppers
    3 TBSP salt
    1 TBSP mustard seed
    1 TBSP turmeric
    5 medium tomatoes

    2 cups cider vinegar
    1 box brown sugar

    Wash 9-10 pint jars in hot soapy water. Sterilize jars by boiling in
    water for 10 minutes–Keep jars hot until ready to fill.
    Using food processor, grind all ingredients except tomatoes, vinegar
    and brown sugar. Chop tomatoes by hand. Mix all ingredients (except
    the vinegar and sugar). Let stand for 30 minutes and strain excess
    water if necessary.

    In a large pot, add vegetables, 2 cups cider vinegar and 1 box of
    brown sugar. Cook until mixture boils. Place in jars and process for
    30 minutes in a boiling water bath.

    Note: Makes 9-10 pints

    21st July 2007

    How to Make Gel Candles

    Gel candles are a great item to make. Not only are they beautiful, but very easy to light. They also burn slowly, giving your candles a long life for you to treasure. Gel candles are very easy to make as well as inexpensive. You can add your favorite scents to them as well. The supplies you need to get started include gel, zinc wicks, fragrance oils if you desire, and dye to add color. Some people love the look of a clear gel candle and prefer not to use any dye. It is important that you only use zinc wicks for gel candles because cotton wicks absorb the gel, causing them not to light or burn well. You can purchase these supplies from a craft store or online.

    Gel candles can be made in a variety of holders. Using those made of glass will give you the best results. However, as long as the container is non-flammable you will be fine. To add uniqueness to gel candles, some makers choose to make them in fancy glasses, wine glasses, and vases. To add color and themes to candles, consider using embeds. This can be glitter, marbles, colorful rocks, sea shells, crystals, or anything else that won’t burn.

    You will need a hot glue gun to stick the wick to the bottom of the holder you plan to use. Hold firmly in place until the wick sticks. To make centering easier, mark the bottom of the holder with a red or black marker right in the center. The wick should then be placed on top of the mark. Leave the wick long enough to reach outside of the holder. You will trim it later. To melt the gel, cut it into small strips. For best results melt it in a double boiler at medium heat. The gel should be heated to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. A quality thermometer is a great investment as the gel won’t set properly if you don’t get it hot enough and it will lose the glossy color if you get the temperature too high.

    If you desire to add color to your gel candles, add it in slowly. The colors show more vibrantly in gel candles than wax candles so you will need a lot less than what you use if you make wax candles. Stir the color into the melted wax slowly. If you aren’t happy with the color you can slowly add more. If you plan to use embedded objects in the candle, it is suggested you keep the gel candle color very light. Next, add fragrance if you desire. 1/3 teaspoon is all you need for each glass of melted gel.

    For best results, heat your container in the microwave for about one minute. This will eliminate those unsightly bubbles that can form on gel candles. Immediately after removing the holder from the microwave, start adding your embeds. You will want to dip them in the hot gel to get them to stick in the holder. You can arrange embeds any way you desire. For best results push them towards the edges of the holder so that they can easily be scene. You can create embed patterns or add them loosely.

    It is important not to keep the gel very hot while completing the embed process. Once you have that done, pour the gel into the holder. If you allow the gel to cool before pouring it in the holder you will end up with clumps of gel throughout the candle. Make sure the wick is hanging over the top of the holder before pouring in the gel. Once the gel has set, trim it to the size you desire.

    Making gel candles is easy, fun, and inexpensive. It is a great way to make your own beautiful candles for using, giving as gifts, or selling. There are wonderful books with plenty of pictures of gel candle designs you can try, or simply create your own.

    21st July 2007

    Tips For Choosing Home Decorating Fabric

    An important aspect of home decorating is choosing home decorating fabric. When picking a theme such as Victorian, Modern or Oriental, the choice of fabric makes a difference to the overall theme. There are many kinds of home decorating fabric. If you are looking for fabric that compliments a particular theme, perhaps doing a little research regarding the theme would be helpful. This sort of information can be found in home decorating magazines, books and also the Internet on home decorating websites.

    If you decide to use a Victorian theme for your decorating project, whether you do one room or the entire house, it is essential to remember that Victorian decorating is quite elaborate and tend to be very feminine. Choosing home decorating fabric for a Victorian theme, you should strive to pick those which resemble those used during the Victorian period. Home decorating fabric for bedding and curtains should be made from heavy materials. Choices such as velvet and brocade are popular for Victorian home decorating fabric. To accessorize the fabric, ribbons and bows, face and beads can be used as trim.

    Choosing a modern theme would suggest the use home decorating fabric which is bold and vibrant. Modern home decorating is usually based on an open concept with big spacious rooms. The large space is intended to draw your attention to the various details in the room which would include home decorating fabric. These bold and vibrant fabrics, used in curtains, slip covers or throw pillows, will certainly stand out in a modern, spacious room with light to cool colors used on the walls. In this situation, the home decorating fabric would definitely be noticed and appreciated.

    Oriental home decorating seems to be popular nowadays. Its unique design with accessories such as Chinese dragons, elephants, fans and screens, make a room interesting and a great topic of conversation. Home decorating fabric or an oriental theme usually includes coral, red, ivory and jade colors. The most popular fabric used in oriental home decorating is silk. Using silk in colors like coral or red would definitely stand out and compliment the rich dark wood furniture recommended for oriental decorating.

    Home decorating fabric is sort of like icing on the cake. You add great pieces of furniture to a space with walls painted in beautiful colors. Then to accent the furniture or a window, you choose home decorating fabric. A window, because it provides access to the outside, is always a focal point in any room. Using fabrics made from materials suited to the theme, your window treatments would definitely draw attention to the window.

    If you are wondering where to find home decorating fabric, there are several places to shop. You may want to buy slip covers, cushions or curtains that are already made. Department stores have a great selection. There are also stores that specialize in home décor. These would certainly provide a selection of home decorating fabric. If you are a crafty individual, you may choose to make your own decorative items for your home. Again, department stores usually stock a big variety of fabric. There are fabric stores in most areas as well. If undecided regarding what you should use or would like to use in home decorating fabric, the Internet will surely be able to provide links taking you to all the right places.

    18th July 2007

    5 Issues of Elle Decor Magazine Free

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    • Domestic Technicians


    • Domestic Technicians offers advice and resources concerning the business of keeping house. We cover home decorating, home repairs and renovations, cooking and recipes, home and garden, home furnishings, organizing, entertaining, family, weddings, marriage, homeschooling, and much more.
    • Domestic Technicians



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