Interactive Decor Accessories - Make Your Home Fun!

When you see the word accessories, do you immediately think of clutter and dust catchers? Lets look at dcor accessories a little differently. Think of accessories as conversation starters in your home. Think of them as interactive and objects to have fun with rather than just to look at. A niche category of accessories that is popular is called interactive accessories. These types of accessories are great when preparing for a family gathering or a neighborhood dinner party. Here are a few interactive accessories ideas to try in your own home:

1. Maps Hang up framed vintage maps of your town or state. They are really fun to search for a street you are on or where you grew up. Maps are great conversation builders.
2. Chalkboards and Dry-erase boards Use them to list the dinner menu, post questions for family or friends to answer, play a word puzzle game. Be sure to have chalk and markers handy.
3. Coffee table books Place these yep on the coffee table. They are making a huge come back (did you even know they left?) Choose interesting books with awesome pictures. Look for topics that are relevant to a wide variety of family and friends. I like the tip of placing a bookmark on a favorite page. You will be amazed how many people will open the book to see what you flagged.
4. Puzzles Yes, they are a little old fashion but is hip if done with class. Try an extra hard jigsaw puzzle about half-completed on a side table. Just watch your guests try to add a piece or two. It helps to break the ice and draw people together for a common goal.
5. Photographs - Scrapbooking is very popular in many parts of the country. A great casual alternative it to simply place your latest batch of photographs in a fantastic looking bowl or tray. People will feel free to sift through them and take a look. Be sure to include pictures of your guests; they will know you care.
6. Original artwork - art can be expensive but there is a very fun alternative way to spice it up. Purchase a large poster of a famous painting like daVincis Mona Lisa or VanGogh's Starry Night. Cut it up into several large pieces - dont cringe it is only a poster! - to fit into store bought picture frames. When you hang them as a grouping be sure to mix them all up. Just watch your friends gather around to try to figure it out.

Try these fun interactive dcor accessories at your next party. It will make your home more attractive and make your entertaining more fun.

Julie Dana is a professional Interior Redesigner and Accredited Staging Professional. Her company, The Home Stylist, offers online decorating consultations, do-it-yourself decorating plans and real-estate staging. Visit http://www.thehomestylist.com to learn more about the decorating services, take a fun style quiz, vote on a color poll, and sign up for free decorating e-newsletter.

Article Writing Tips - Getting Ideas

Writing articles is great for promoting your products and services or just for getting exposure to yourself. The problem is, in order to build a huge online presence, you need to write quite a few articles. For some people this presents a problem as they have great difficulty in coming up with ideas. Staring at a blank piece of paper or computer screen is the most frustrating thing in the world. Fortunately, there are some really great ways to come up with article ideas that I am going to share with you in this article. Hopefully, after reading this, you'll have more ideas than you'll know what to do with.

One of the best ways to get ideas for articles is to head on over to forums and discussion groups. People who participate at these places usually talk about the things that interest them. At a forum dedicated to Internet marketing, the topics range from Adwords to YouTube. Just by going through the subjects of the posts themselves, you're bound to get tons of ideas from articles. Personally, I write three articles a day just from this method alone.

Another great way to get ideas for articles, and don't laugh at this one, is to simply look in the dictionary. The dictionary has every word in the English language. If you can't get ideas from this book then you need to consider looking at another line of work. What I do is just pick a letter off the top of my head and start going through that section of the dictionary. The letter S is a great place to start as there are tons of words that start with S.

Believe it or not, I get loads of great article ideas from going out for a ride and just looking around, especially if you live in an area with a lot of retail stores. Think about all the different kinds of retail stores that there are. Just from passing by a Burger King, I thought of an article on the dangers of fried and fatty foods. Sometimes seeing one thing will trigger ideas for so many different things. I can come up with four or five article ideas just from one retail store.

Finally, what I do when I need ideas for articles is simply browse through the article directories and see what has already been written. There are certainly many ways to write on one particular topic. You might see an article on "The Joys Of Owning A Cat". From that, you may come up with an article like "The Challenges Of Owning A Cat". And certainly if you are a pet owner of any kind, you know the problems that you will run into.

Article ideas are out there. All you have to do is look for them. Hopefully, these few tips will get you started.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim
Want to write killer articles? Want your bios to sizzle? Want to get people flocking to your site like bees to honey? Check out a book that I personally wrote called "The Complete Article Writing And Marketing Guide" which you can find at http://www.stevewagenheim.com under the products section. This is my own personal site made especially for writers and marketers where you will find articles, reviews and a wealth of information on many topics related to writing and marketing.