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EPISODE #24 -
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2009
We are slowly making our way into the holidays.
It is hard to believe that a month ago we were
sealing our deck and weather stripping in
anticipation of these cold days. It is good to
plan! That is what we want to do on Fusion:
Give you the tools and tips to make your home
and table a showcase for your family and
friends. Enjoy the warmth indoors as you catch
another edition of Fusion.
Terra Casa Candles
Nothing gives off the warm and cozy ambiance of
the holidays like candles. We heard about a
place called Terra Casa where you can find the
coolest candles. Kathii from
Terra Casa (503-577-8242) put together a
display that showed us some of the combinations
that you can use to display and use your
candles. She recommends that you look around
your home and try to incorporate design elements
that you may already have to spice up your
candles. She had used blocks and even other
candlestick holders to place the candles at
different heights. You can also mix your
candlesticks with glass, iron and wood displays
to create different moods. There are also
containers that can be used to burn candles and
protect your kids and pets from getting burned.
There are also fragrant candles in glass jars
that sit flat and can be covered when they are
done burning that are very safe. Now if you are
looking for completely safe candle they have 2
options. The first is a electric ‘candle’ which
is actually a light that has a candle-like wrap
around it. Then there is the battery,
remote-controlled candle. This is one that you
can put up high and it turns on with just a
click of the remote! If you are looking for
ideas about incorporating candles in your
holiday décor, stop by Terra Casa and check them
out. They are only 6 minutes away from I-205
and Clackamas Town Center in the town of
Damascus. They also wanted us to remind you
that you should always be safe with candles and
never let them burn unattended.
Furniture for Kids and Pets
If you have kids and/or pets you may think you
have to wait until they are gone before you can
enjoy expensive, fancy furniture. Esther
Robertson from
Ashley Furniture (503-496-4210) joined us to
tell us that is not always true. Esther started
by showing us some poly-urethane, or vinyl,
furniture. This will take a beating and do well
in the home. Next you want to look at the
stitching. Look for reinforced or baseball
stitching. That type of stitching will handle
the wear and tear better. You will also want to
look for zippered cushions. This will allow you
to re-stuff the cushions when they get old and
flat. Leather is also an option for you, since
it is tough and durable as well. But what if
you don’t want the ‘leather’ look? We saw the
latest in micro-fiber. This is a wonderful
woven fabric that can be easily cleaned with
soap and water. One more reminder… If you have
pets you want to keep their nails and claws
trimmed. This will help preserve and extend the
life of your furniture.
Geranium Lake Pumpkins
On an earlier show we visited with Kim from
Geranium Lake Flowers (503-228-1920) to
learn how to set the perfect holiday table.
This week we are looking at how she made those
cute little fabric pumpkins that she had used
for her place cards. She started with some
spare scraps of velvet, but you can use just
about any kind of fabric you have lying around.
She used about a 10 inch circle of fabric to
make a larger pumpkin for us. Then you have to
run a thread of string around the edge of the
circle. This will be drawn tight at the end to
create the pumpkin. For the stem, she found
some stems on some small decorative gourds at
the store. You just snap them off and you can
use them for your fabric pumpkin. Once David
had finished stitching the fabric Kim drew the
string tight creating a pouch that she filled
with rice, though you can use any small bean or
dry seed. Then we tied it super tight and we
glued the stem to the top. You can use this as
a place card holder like Kim had done or you can
use them as a regular decoration around your
home. For more decorating ideas you can always
check out
Kim’s blog on the Geranium Lake website.
Easy Gift Wrap
I know, for some people wrapping a gift is easy,
but for others it is a chore and something that
needs to be avoided. To help those of us that
fear gift wrapping, we stopped by
The
Container Store
(503-620-5700)
to
learn how to make it simple with Paige. For the
experts at the Container Store, they believe
that a well wrapped and beautiful gift should be
as special as the gift inside. Paige gave us
some great tips for wrapping. Tip number 1, cut
your paper to be 2 inches longer and 2 inches
wider than the gift you are wrapping. She also
showed us how to keep the seam on the edge of
the package so it looks nice and clean with
double sided tape. Also, you should select your
style of wrap to match the size of the box.
Large patterns can be used on larger boxes and
smaller prints on smaller gifts. The same is
true for bows and other decorations. Don’t
forget to coordinate your bow color to the paper
color as well. As for bows, if you are creating
your own bow you will need 3 yards of ribbon
that can be looped into a 5 inch circle, you
then notch it, tie it with a wire and then twist
it to make your own great bows. Now if this
seems like it would be hard for you to do, then
you can stop by the Container Store on the
weekends at 1 and 3 and learn all these tips and
many more. Plus you can register for a $25 gift
card drawing that will be held with every
class.
HD TVs
The conversion from analog to high definition
has finally happened and for most people it has
been great, in fact it has some people looking
for new TV’s so they can get the most out of the
programs they watch. To find out what is
available and new on the market we stopped by
Standard TV and Appliance (503-619-0500) to
talk with Tony in the TV department. First of
all if you are on cable or dish network, or you
have a newer HD TV you should have no problems
getting an HD signal. It should be ready to
go. However, if you have an older set or you
are using an antenna or ‘rabbit ears’ you will
need an HD converter. If you want to get a new
set to enjoy the great picture and sound of HD
then you will have to choose between plasma,
LCD, LED, or even laser (the newest version of
HD). LED is very thin, very bright and very
energy efficient. LCD is just like your
computer screens and is the most popular way of
viewing HD signals. Plasma is the choice for a
very large and flat screen. Tony also told us
about DPI or ‘Dots per Inch’. The more dots the
better the picture. The standard right now is a
1080p. If you have that you are in great
shape. Any questions about which is best for
you or any concerns about HD TV’s can be
answered by the experts at Standard!
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