Staging New Hampshire

Don't Underestimate The Power Of Negative Impression

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:53:26 -0600

Let me be the first to admit it: I've been known to whine and complain. I'm not perfect and I haven't yet mastered a positive attitude. I'm not alone...there is no shortage of people willing to piss and moan right along with me. Misery loves company and, more times than not, people will dwell on what's wrong, not on what's right. Negative energy is quite powerful.

It is much easier to complain and whine about problems than it is to come up with solutions. Today's buyers are looking for a home they can move right into, not a house they have to improve or customize to meet their needs. They are more likely to notice negative features before positive ones, and the negative features will make a stronger impression on them.

Don't underestimate the power of negative impression. Think about it....if you got ten compliments on a new haircut and then one person made fun of your haircut, the negative comment would be the most memorable of all the comments you received. One negative erases the ten positive...it's that powerful.

Positive marketing begins with preparation and positive impression begins with quality MLS photos. When listing your house, the pictures you choose for the MLS are crucial to the impression that is made. Show eight fabulous pictures and then one bad one and it's the bad one that will get the most attention. The bad picture is the one that will make the strongest impression on potential buyers.

There is a lot of attention given to the power of positive thinking, but when it comes to selling your house, it is very important that you take into consideration the power of negative impression.

Something you should keep in mind when preparing your house for sale. is that it is very difficult to see your own house through buyer's eyes. Your emotional attachment hinders your ability to be impartial. If you want buyers to notice the positive features in your house, those features need to be highlighted and the negative features need to be minimized.

Consult with a professional home stager to learn more about creating the right impression through preparation and presentation.

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Wordless Wednesday - Jack Meets Zack

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:21:08 -0600

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Free Advice For Sellers - Show Them Something They're Not Expecting

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:11:48 -0600

It is common knowledge that you need to prepare your house for sale. You would have to be living under a rock not to know that you have to "declutter"to make your house more desirable, and it is highly unlikely that you haven't seen some form of home staging show on television.

So, I have a question for you....

What gives?

How is it possible that there are so many filthy, cluttered, poorly maintained houses out there on the market?

I'm not talking about running into one every now and then. I'm talking about more times than not...

The market is cluttered with "BEFORE" pictures!

Maybe it's just me...maybe it's the nature of my work...

I am, after all, called in to give advice. Maybe I'm only seeing the ones that really need help. Maybe I've spent too much time checking out houses on the MLS.

For those who are serious about selling their house? Here is some free advice...

Get the buyers' attention. Show them something that they are not expecting.

Surprise them!

After a long day of touring nightmares,

make your house the house of their dreams.

Show them something they didn't see in any of the other houses. Show them clean, organized, freshly painted. Show them light and spacious.

Here is a novel idea:

Clean under the sink, organize all the cabinets, drawers, and closets. Clean inside the oven and refrigerator. Clean all the windows.

It's really not that hard to impress buyers when your competition is so bad!

More information on preparing your house for sale:

The Secret To A Fast Home Sale

Are You Preparing Your House To Sell Or Sit?

NH Home Stager Reveals Secrets To Selling

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Grandson Arrived Early! First Photos Of Zachary James

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:03:22 -0500

We were pleasantly surprised Wednesday night when my daughter, Jaime, called to say that she was in the hospital. Her due date wasn't until Friday. They were keeping her overnight, although she didn't expect anything to happen. She was having some cramping, but it certainly didn't feel like labor to her.

Thursday morning around 9:30 not much had changed, and the doctor decided to break her water. That is all it took to get things moving. At 11:50 am little Zachary James was born.

Jaime spent less than 2 hours in the birthing tub. For anyone considering a water birth, she highly recommends it.

Both mother and son are doing very well! Here are my first photos of my new grandson:

He did not enjoy his first bath at all!

But, it was so cute to see him grab on to the side of the tub!

To all of you that have requested pictures:

Be careful what you wish for! This grandmother has a camera and she is not afraid to use it!

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Wordless Wednesday - JACK o Lantern

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:19:57 -0500

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Do you REALLY know your neighbors? Click to find convicted felons in your neighborhood.

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:18:23 -0500

Not a bad idea to check out your area and see just who is living in your neighborhood...

Via Janna Rankin Scharf - Realtor Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho Homes (Keller Williams Realty Coeur d'Alene):

Do you know your neighbors? I mean REALLY know your neighbors?

I'm blessed to live in a wonderful community that is postcard pretty, peaceful and relatively safe. That being said, there are criminals amongst us, no matter where we live. People who have, and would, do harm to us and ours. Are you safe? You have a right to know.

Life would be good if the dangerous and unsavory characters were readily apparent, if something about them that made it obvious to us that danger was present so we would know to keep our distance and keep our guard up.

That is not the reality, but there is a site we can go to that will pull up a map of our neighborhood with homes of felons flagged. It's felonspy.com. Just enter your address and up pops your neighborhood map flagged with names, age of the felons and crimes committed. I pulled up my own rural neighborhood and was surprised by the close proximity of 5 men from 22 to 45 who had been convicted of: attempted rape, 1st degree unlawful imprisonment, attempted sexual conduct with a child, and two convicted of aggravated sexual abuse.

Take a minute to check out your neighborhood, and then pass the link on to the people you love and care about.
Janna Rankin Scharf provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

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My Blog Is Enhancing All Of My Relationships

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:08:48 -0500

In a recent post, Bob Stewart asked the question:

How are you using your blog to enhance your existing relationships with clients and prospects?

My blog is enhancing ALL of my relationships. It's a source of communication in both my business and my personal life. Sure it started out as a form of marketing, a way to get my website recognized by Google. But it has developed into much more than that.

My blog is posted to Twitter and Facebook which, in addition to helping create business connections, has become a great way for family and friends to stay connected to me. There are people who only read my blog for the "family/personal" posts, but each time they do...they are reminded of my business.

My clients and prospects are sellers and realtors. Their primary reason for visiting my blog is for advice on preparing a house for sale. Clients find information on home staging in my posts, but they also get to know me on a personal level. I also write about my life and family, local happenings, creative ideas and favorite recipes. Even after their house sells, many clients still follow my blog to see what is going on in my life and to continue getting creative and helpful ideas they can use in their life.

I use my blog to establish a connection with people. I want them to feel like they know me and, even if we have never met, I want them to consider me a friend.

I use my blog posts in my monthly Newsletter. Each month I incorporate at least one post linking back to my ActiveRain blog.

Bob's question about using my blog made me realize that I am not using my blog to it's full potential.

Once the posts are written and read, they are history. I wanted a way to use the posts again, recycle them, or reintroduce them in another format. I've been wanting to create a second monthly email of some sort and until now haven't been able to come up with an idea for one.

So, thanks to Bob, I have my idea.

I created an index of all my past home staging posts, grouping them by subject. I included the date they were posted so I know where to find them in my archives.

My current Newsletter goes out the middle of each month.

Two weeks later, at the end of each month, I'm going to send out a mailing entitled:

"In Case You Missed It The First Time"

with links to three or four past blog posts.

I've also got another idea to use past blog post links in follow-up correspondence to realtors. I'll post more details on that as it develops.

Bob's question really got me thinking, and I am excited about the results!

Make friendsin the Rain!

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Live like you are dying and list like you're bank owned.

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:03:52 -0500

Professional home staging is the art of preparing a home for sale in an attempt to make the home more appealing to buyers, so that the house spends less time on the market.

This post written by Steve Loynd points out a mistake that many sellers make when listing their home...listing too high. Professional staging and the right price will save you time, money and stress.

Via Steve Loynd, Alpine Lakes Real Estate Inc., Loon Mt, NH.:

Live like you are dying, the lyrics of this Tim McGraw song speaks volumes to many different people.

As I listened to what this song is advocating, It occurred to me many sellers should heed this lesson. They put a price on a property that they think "someday" it may sell for. If moving on with your life requires the sale of a property you own...there is not an infinite amount of time to accomplish this sale. Life is Short.

What got me thinking about this, is I have several short sales a bank owned sale and a probate property that are pending. With these sales the process to close will be longer (in some cases much longer) than the time it took to find a buyer. The price was right, the buyers where motivated and the sellers showed their willingness to sell, by pricing the property to sell.

List like the market is dying. Life is Short.

#1 If you are going to buy after this sale...the sooner you sell the sooner you are in the buyers shoes (you are merely trading equity...if you buy a replacement property).

#2 Moving on is far less painful than hanging on (how many months of mortgages, taxes, insurance utilities will be spend holding...after you admit you want to sell).

#3 You may be better off renting for a time (dropping the major maintenance costs and healing your credit may put you in a better place in the long run than draining your savings, while waiting to score on unrealistic re-sales).

My Bucket list doesn't include living in a home I can't afford...and waiting for someone to over pay me for the same privileges. Life is Short.

                                                                                                                      Steve Loynd, White Mountain New Hampshire real Estate Expert

   steve@alpinelakes.com toll free 800-926-5653 /cell 603-381-7898

    MLS search and Realtor web site: www.alpinelakes.com

    My outside Blog: www.steveswhitemountainblog.com

   Lincoln NH & Local interest site: www.localism.com/nh/lincoln

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Strategies for Selling your Home in Today's Market

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:19:57 -0500

Via Tammy Mercado (Dressed to Market, LLC):

"is your house Dressed to Market?"

Even though the market is slowly turning in the "right direction", it still has a LONG way to go. Sellers are having a hard time getting enough money out of their home. This is nothing new, we all know of this problem but some of us don't know how to deal with it when selling your house.

It does not have to cost a lot of money to take measures to make your property more valuable, more desirable. Bottom line, when you decide to sell your house your next decision should be what are my steps to take to prepare it for the market. Your goal should be to dress your house to make people fall in love with it.

There are 3 things that you must consider when selling your house:

1. Product, how does your house present itself, is it "Dressed to Market"?

2. Price, is your house at the right price point for the neighborhood, current condition?

3. Presentation, is your Realtor marketing your house to its full potential?

Curb Appeal, does your property have it?

First impressions are critical. If the outside of your house doesn't look nice, then some buyers might be tempted to drive right on by. Buyers are likely to jump in their car and just drive through neighborhoods that they can see themselves moving to. If the exterior of a house looks horrible, they will be less likely to contact their Realtor and ask to see the house.

Do not have things outside that shouldn't be outside. Keep trash barrels out of sight. Be sure that your mailbox is clean, not rusted. The yard should be trimmed on a regular basis and keep shrubs looking neat. Too much landscaping can be a bad thing. Thin it out if need be. Weeds, really...no way.

Front doors say a lot. Put a fresh coat of paint or stain on it. Change the color to change the look of your porch. Put some flowers or something for the current season on the porch to make it seem inviting.

Clutter, clear it!

While you love your personal photos hanging on the wall or sitting out on furniture, the buyer does not. I am guilty myself. I have several photos of my family all over my home. But when you are getting ready to sell, get rid of anything that says that it is your house. So not only do you want to put away those photos but also anything else that is personal, i.e. diplomas, souvenirs, trophies, etc.

Don't have furniture blocking flow in a room or making the room appear to be too small. Get rid of unneeded furniture.

Other small changes can also make a big difference. Paint color & minor flaws are easy fixes that can make a big difference. Just by changing the wall color you can freshen up the look of a room. Do you have dirty baseboards, caulking that needs re-done, or drywall blemishes? All of these things can appear to be major by looking at them, fortunately, they are not hard to fix.

Is your house naked?

Please don't show it naked. If there isn't furniture in a house then there is not much for the buyers' eyes to stop and look at. Vacant house showings are much quicker than a fully furnished house. If a builder is selling a new market home, they have them fully furnished and looking very cozy and live-able. There is a reason for that.

Consult a home stager to work with you to provide the furnishings at a monthly rental price. Give the buyers something to look at.

Stinky houses don't sell

Does your house pass the smell test? Unfortunately, as much as your pet is a beloved part of the family he/she may leave a lingering odor that non-pet owners do not appreciate and therefore your buyer pool is reduced even more.

Do you love to cook with garlic? Many food odors can linger in the air as well as smoke. Try and refrain from smoking in the house while it is on the market. Keep the garbage empty and occasionally grind up an orange peel in your garbage disposal to keep it smelling nice.

You can easily purchase a coffee mug warmer and warm scented oil or scented tart in a glass bowl to infuse a pleasant smell throughout the house. Be careful on the scent that you choose. Do not let it overwhelm the space.

Who is marketing your house?

There are so many Realtors out there, how do you choose? The old fashioned way still works great. Ask all of your family, friends, neighbors...who do they recommend? You could also turn to the Internet. There are so many avenues to get into contact with a Realtor online. Or, if you plan to do it yourself, there are companies like ForSaleByOwner that will give you the tools to do so.

This is a lot to think about but so is selling your house. Why not take some time and prepare it for market in order to make the most money in the process.

GOOD LUCK! make it fun!

"is your house Dressed to Market?"

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Stopping Foreclosure One Cake at a Time!

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:34:39 -0500

I just had to share this heartwarming story of the success of one woman who saved her home from foreclosure. What a great story!

Via Janna Rankin Scharf - Realtor Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho Homes (Keller Williams Realty Coeur d'Alene):

My new Facebook friend Janet posted a link to a blog by Bake Me a Wish! that tells of a lady who saved her home from foreclosure by baking 4000 Apple Cakes!

Now that's clever! This past summer, 56 year old Angela Logan was facing the foreclosure of her home of 20 years. She decided to bake and sell her much-loved apple cake recipe, an endeavor that struck a cord with people all over the world. When she had more orders than she could manage, New York based Bake Me a Wish! came to her rescue. She has since trademarked her signature cake, now known as the Mortgage Apple Cake. Her motto: Stopping Foreclosure One Cake at a Time!

She has emerged from foreclosure and is now paying it forward. Says Logan, "People really rallied behind me and helped me when I needed it most, so I really want to pay it forward and let my cakes help others. The big lesson I learned through my ordeal is that there is no shame admitting there is a problem and then asking for help. Help is truly out there."

Angela is paying it forward with a new association with GreenPath Debt Solutions, a nationwide nonprofit consumer credit counseling service

"When we learned of what Angela had gone through, what she did to save her home and how her story resonated with others, we were happy to learn she wanted to help GreenPath in its mission..." said Jane McNamara, President and CEO of GreenPath.

If you are facing foresclosure in Coeur d'Alene or the surrounding area, give me a call to talk about alternatives that may be available to you to save your home. As Angela said, there is no shame in asking for help.

Now if you're hungry for Apple Cake after reading this, like I am, here is a recipe that looks fabulous. I found it at Diana's Desserts and I'm going to make one of these as soon as I get home!
Janna Rankin Scharf provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

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Professional Home Staging services for the New Hampshire Seacoast

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603.661.8524

Thankful Thursday...My Favorite Comfort Food - Jackaroni

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:11:31 -0500

It's been awhile since I posted baby photos, so I thought I would share some favorites of my grandson, Jack. He has taken over our lives and our hearts and, although he is only fourteen weeks old, he is growing and changing so fast.

He has been a very busy boy:

Making friends with green elephants

Watching his favorite music videos

Learning the hand signals for baseball

Learning to read with Papi

Learning to walk (even if it is only backwards)

Practicing being cute

Mastering the fine art of manipulation, using facial expression

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It's Not Always About The Height Of The Corn

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:30:56 -0500

Most people have such busy lives it's difficult to find time for family. My family used to get together for birthdays, holidays and cookouts, but it just doesn't seem to be happening as frequently any more.

A few years ago I put together a family trip to a local corn maze. It was a wonderful way to spend a Fall afternoon. After the maze, we returned to my house for soup and apple crisp and then we visited a local haunted house. We had such a great time that we made it a yearly family "tradition."

Yesterday was our "corn maze" day and as the hay wagon approached the maze my uncle mentioned that the corn didn't seem very tall.

I just figured it was an optical illusion and as we got closer the corn would get taller.

We couldn't believe it when we arrived and the corn was not even shoulder high. It was the most pathetic corn...a poor crop, due to the very wet summer we had.

As we wandered around, actually looking over the top of the corn, we joked about "getting lost" and "finding our way out" and we even whined a little about getting our money back. It was very disappointing.

I'm proud to say that we

made the best of it.

We had a lot of laughs and

in some areas of the maze (not many)

the corn was actually taller than we were.

Laughing about it afterward, trying to justify the money spent, we decided the day was not a total loss:

the weather had turned out nice
we got a hayride out of it
most important of all...we had spent quality time together

So what if the corn maze sucked! The important thing is we carried on our tradition!

It was then that we decided our new family motto:

Here is a video from a couple years ago - when the corn was CORN:

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Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas - Part 3: Costumes For Groups

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:59:45 -0500

Fall is my favorite season, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. I really love the creative challenge of making costumes, and over the years my family has participated in many costume contests. This is the final post in a three part series.

Past Posts: Part 1: Costumes For Kids Part 2: Think Out Of The Box

If you are looking for costume ideas this year, I hope these posts will inspire you!

Part 3: Costumes For Groups

Addicted To Love Girls

This was pretty easy...clothes, makeup, and hair had to be identical.

The hardest part was making the guitars using foam board and black electrical tape.

If you have a male to be Robert Palmer, even better.

Want to check out the original?

The Easter Basket

This was a lot of fun, but we had to move as a unit and we had to support the basket. It wasn't always easy.

It was created by sewing felt fabric around a hoop made from pvc pipe and then weaving strips of brown felt through slits to create the basket appearance.

Green netting was attached in bunches to the inside rim, and giant eggs were carefully placed on top.

This was a First Place winner!

A word of caution: You gotta really like someone to walk around in a basket with them all night long! Choose your basket mates wisely.

Box Of Popcorn

Probably the most confining of all the costumes I've worn. There were four of us.

We wore white hoodies, and we had white paper bags with yellow balloons inside them attached all over us. The bags were covering our ears so we couldn't hear well. Our vision was very restricted.

Our plastic face masks only had eye holes, no mouth opening, so not only was it hard to breath, we couldn't read each other's lips. It was very difficult to communicate.

We were positioned back to back, each holding a side of the box. Only one of us could walk straight ahead, one person had to walk backwards and the other two had to move to their side.

It was a physical and mental nightmare. Once we got laughing, there was no stopping.

It was a very long night.

The yellow arrow points to one of our masks.

You really need to be crazy to attempt this!

American Idol Fans

This one is just silly. We were American Idol fans being carried piggy back by Simon, Paula, and Randy.

A lot of work went into this and most people didn't know who or what we were.

There was a lot of dirty comments going on though about the "Paula" head. I'll leave that to your imagination.

The Hand

This has to be our most ambitious, original costume. Credit for the idea goes to my cousin Kathi, who God bless her, was our thumb and spent most of the time on the floor.

Our vision was restricted and we had no use of our arms.

We got really good at moving into formation and had some hand gestures choreographed very well. I was the middle finger and had a starring role.

This was another First Place winner, probably because the hand gestures were a real crowd pleaser!

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Wordless Wednesday - Raft + Beach Towel = Nap

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:30:06 -0500

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Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas - Part 2: Think Out Of The Box

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:51:23 -0500

Fall is my favorite season, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. I really love making costumes, and the more creative, the better. For the next couple of days I will be sharing some homemade costumes I've made in the past. If you are looking for costume ideas this year, I hope my posts will inspire you!

Past Posts: Part 1: Costumes For Kids

Part 2: Think Out Of The Box

One of my favorite costumes was this Rabbit In A Hat.

The hat was created by first making the rim

from cardboard and covering it with fabric. Then

I attached the fabric that formed the hat, using

a hula hoop sewed into the hem to weigh it down.

The hat is actually hanging from my shoulders using

fishing line for straps.

What was convenient about this costume was the fact that I could simply remove the straps from my shoulders and drop the hat to the ground and step out of it whenever I needed to. It transported really easily too.

After making the half girl/half boy costume for my daughter (see Part 1), I decided to give an adult version a try and made this half bride/half groom costume.

The following year, I added half bridesmaid/half groomsman costumes for my mother and my aunt and we were a "half and half" wedding party.

One of my more dramatic creations was a dead couple in their coffins.

I made each coffin by covering a three-sided foam board presentation display with brown fabric, which hung to the floor.

The coffins had straps on the inside which slipped over our shoulders, enabling us to walk around hands free, coffin and all.

My uncle, Jim, hand painted the skeleton bones onto my black body suit. I purchased the mask and gloves. It's great to have an artist in the family!

My husband was a decomposing corpse in the other coffin.

For his costume, I sliced up his shirt, pants and tie with a razor blade. I soaked the shirt in strong tea to discolor it. I attached spiders all over the clothing. He wore rotted teeth and carried a dead lily.

Decomposing Face: See makeup recipe below

My skeleton costume was recycled by my daughter.

1. Lose the coffin

2. Add orange vest and hard hat

3. Add boyfriend in construction barrel

and...voila:

you have a Skeleton Crew.

Here are two examples of Optical Illusion costumes:

Two of our more original ideas:

When in doubt...go in drag!

Recipe for Face Makeup (enough to do approx. 3 faces)

3 TBSP Cornstarch

1 TBSP Flour

3/4 C Karo light corn syrup

1/4 C water

Mix cornstarch and flour. Gradually stir in corn syrup and water until smooth.

Divide into 4 portions. Leave one portion untinted, use as glue. Use 1/4 tsp of food coloring of choice to color three remaining portions.

Decomposing face:

Separate facial tissues into single layer, and tear lengthwise into 2 inch wide strips. Generously paint forehead with untinted mixture and place strip of tissue over area, pat firmly with fingertips. Add more mixture to cover any dry spots of tissue. Continue the rest of face, one section at a time. Avoid eye area. Let dry 15 mins. You can use hair dryer to speed drying. Build up multiple coats of tissue in some areas to look like the skin is falling off.

Use red tinted mixture for blood. Make dark circles under the eyes using eye shadow. Complete with very light face powder to appear really pale.

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Homemade Halloween Costume Ideas - Part 1: Costumes For Kids

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:43:38 -0500

Fall is my favorite season, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. I really love making costumes, and the simpler, the better. For the next couple of days I will be sharing some homemade costumes I've made in the past. If you are looking for costume ideas this year, I hope my posts will inspire you!

Making homemade costumes isn't really that hard. The great part about sewing costumes is they don't have to be perfect and you don't need a lot of sewing experience. There are some very basic patterns that even beginners can understand and work with.

Part 1: Costumes For Kids

Animal costumes are always popular and you can get one simple pattern that will enable you to make many different animals.

Depending on the shape of the ears, type of tail and choice of fabric, one pattern can go a long way.

Using the same pattern, I was able to make these bear costumes for The Three Bears

and a lamb costume to accompany Little Bo Peep.

Other ideas:

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

Skunk

Bunny

Dog

For a very easy animal costume - start with footie pajamas and just add mittens, a tail, and ears. I attached yarn to one of those pull on knit hats that covers the whole head (except for the face) to create this lion costume (my very first costume).

Raggedy Ann wig is made from yarn and knit cap too!

My all time favorite costume for my kids was this scarecrow costume.

All you need is an old pair of jeans, flannel shirt and a floppy hat. Hand sew colorful patches to the hat, pants and shirt. Use rope as a belt. I cut the sleeve cuffs off the shirt and tied some string around the wrists to give sleeves a gathered look.

For headpiece: Sew two pieces of fabric to form a sack...like a pillowcase (or just use an old pillowcase) and then cut a circle out for the face.

Place over child's head and loosely tie a rope around the neck.

This half boy/half girl costume looks really difficult, but it was really simple to make.

I just cut the boy clothes in half and attached them over the dress.

This prize winning costume was the brainchild of my daughter, Ashley. She thought up this one all on her own. She called it Psycho Santa.

She used burnt cork to dirty her face, and added a plastic cigar, bad wig, and a hatchet to an old Santa suit.

Cold Weather Tip:

After going to all the trouble of making the costume, it's a shame to cover it up with a jacket. Make costumes big enough so that jacket can be worn underneath.

Convenience Tip for storm doors:

When the children come to your door to Trick or Treat, do you open the storm door out into them and have to reach around it to hand out the candy? Remove the screen or glass from your door for Halloween and you can hand out the candy hassle free.

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Speechless Sunday Inspired...There's A Fungus Among Us

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:48:25 -0500

Inspired today by Leslie Helm's Speechless Sunday post entitled Like Mushrooms After The Rain, I decided to post my own small collection of mushroom photos.

There is something so magical about mushrooms, something very fairytale about them.

My husband has fond memories of walking through the woods with his grandfather looking for mushrooms. His grandfather pointed with his cane to the ones that were safe to eat, and Rick would pick them. I don't know that I would trust to do this today, but it makes for a great memory!

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If You're Fishing For Buyers, You Need To Use The Right Bait

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:34:44 -0500

Planning on listing your house in the near future? Wondering what you can do to increase your chances of finding a buyer and selling it fast?

If you're fishing for buyers, you need to use the right bait.

Unfortunately there are a lot of other sellers with their hooks in the water right now and those buyers have a lot to choose from.

In order to get their attention, you need to have the shiniest house. Your house has to be attractive, appealing, and memorable.

The secret is in the preparation.

You can't do anything about the location. The market will determine the price. Condition is the one thing you have the most control over.

The way you prepare your house for sale could determine just how long your house sits on the market and just how long you sit there on the shore and wait for a bite.

You don't get a second chance at a great first impression. Once they swim by, they don't usually come back again for a second look. Check out your competition and see what their MLS photos look like and then make sure that yours look better.

It's really pretty simple: The one with the best bait usually goes home with the catch of the day!

A professional home staging consultant can tell you exactly what needs to be done to make your home more attractive to buyers.

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Wordless Wednesday - Can You ID The PI?

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:34:48 -0500

Many years ago, back in the early 1980's, we had a murder mystery party and I asked the guests to come dressed as a famous detective. I came across these photos recently and thought it might be fun to see how many of these crazy sleuths you can identify.

Some of them are more easily recognized than others.

A word of caution: guessing correctly automatically dates you!

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The Secret To Spending Less Time Cleaning Your Shower

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:34:12 -0500

Do you know anyone who enjoys cleaning their tub or shower? I don't. It is one of those jobs that people put off as long as possible. I've been in a lot of homes, and I continue to be amazed at the lack of cleanliness when it comes to bathrooms, more specifically tubs and showers.

I've seen some showers that I wouldn't step into fully dressed with my shoes on.

If your house is not for sale and you don't mind black grout lines, that's your business. If you are selling your home then you better scrub those lines back to white.

Of all the rooms in your house, the bathroom is the most important when it comes to cleanliness and the most important when it comes to de-personalizing.

Buyers know, of course, that someone else has been using the bathroom, but buyers don't want to see evidence of that someone else. They need to see a fresh, clean room and emotionally they need to feel comfortable at the idea of making it their own.

Once you have thoroughly cleaned your shower or paid a professional to clean it, here are two ways to prolong the time in between cleanings.

Switch from bar soap to liquid soap. I don't know exactly why, but the bar soap creates much more soap scum buildup. Using liquid will reduce that buildup.
Dry shower after each use. Wipe off excess water and soap residue with a squeegee and then use your bath towel to wipe down walls and floor. Keeping the shower dry prevents mold growth, which thrives in moist conditions. You won't believe how long the shower will stay clean if you get into the routine of drying it. It really doesn't take that long and it will save you a lot of elbow grease in the long run. All family members should develop this habit.

Whether you are living in a "for sale" situation where you have to keep the house in show condition, or just busy and have better things to do than spend time scrubbing the shower, a little extra effort each day can add up to a lot less time scrubbing soap scum and mold.

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Green Buildings Tour In New Hampshire - Statewide Open House Oct. 3

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:37:11 -0500

If you are considering building a green home and would like to visit other green homes to get some ideas, here is your chance to visit some properties and get more information on Green services and professionals available.

The New Hampshire Sustainable Energy Association is holding their 2009 Green Buildings Open House on Saturday, October 3.

If you are interested in reducing your energy footprint and would like more informtion on how to help save the environment through green building, or just want to hear more about the options available, check out this event.

There will be over 75 buildings, located all over the state, opening their doors to the public.

NHSEA is a group of homeowners, business owners and building professionals that want to make a change by helping and educating others on New Hampshire's energy future. You can contact them for more information at:

NH Sustainable Energy Association
54 Portsmouth Street
Concord, NH 03301
Tel: (603) 22NHSEA (226-4732)

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Wordless Wednesday - Check Out My New JackBerry

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:43:25 -0500

I can't take the credit for calling it my "Jackberry"...my husband called it that after I said I wanted to use Jack's picture as the background.

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Why are you Googling Curb Appeal Out of Season???!!!

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:17:01 -0500

Here is a very informative post for those sellers thinking about listing in the Spring. It's not too early to start preparing and you can save some money!

Via Michelle Molinari (FEATURE THIS... Real Estate Staging & Interior Decor):

Because you are SMART, that's why!

Here's 10 great reasons to start thinking about your Curb Appeal now, and what you can do to save hundreds, even thousands of your Spring project today!

1. Contractors, Craftsmen, Landscapers, and Laborers all feel the holiday pinch this time of year. Jobs always dwindle for these hardworking folks in the fall and winter. That means quotes will be leaner as competition gets stiffer. Scheduling any work that fall into these fields of expertise now could really free up your budget to include more than you thought you could afford to have done. Call on these good people NOW, and you'll have more $$ to work with. Stretch that contractor budget to the MAX!

2. NOW is the proper time to fertilize your grass and feed your perennials one more time before they go dormant for the winter. One afternoon dosing your lawn, shrubs, and flowers on a single crisp fall day will allow you months of longer-performing, healthier plants for months in the growing season.

3. Pruning trees & shrubs now will also go a long way to improve the overall appearance and health of your existing greenery. Removing unnecessary branches and leaves now allows the plant to concentrate it's nutrients on the remaining branches, allowing for a more lush look in the spring - and pruning is FREE if you do it yourself!

]4. Ever been to the nursery in the fall? They are GIVING those plants away! Perfectly good plants, too. They may need a bit of winter TLC, but you can easily find a $79.99 wisteria for $29.99, sometimes in a nice pot, too. Take advantage of the bargains, and baby them a bit through spring, and you'll be rewarded with a beautiful plant, and a job well done, as well as saving a TON off your landscaping costs. The plants you buy in the spring had to be babied, so it's not like you are buying "old" plants. You are just doing the babying, and saving HUNDREDS in the process!

5. Time is on your side - look NOW for patio sets, water features, automated watering systems,door mats, door bells, and flowerbed edging! A deal is only a deal if you take time to shop around. Do your comparison shopping, know a good price when you see one, and buy all sorts of things you'd be paying for a MUCH higher price in the Spring.

6. It's a great time to do minor DIY repairs - fixing the window caulk, replacing the weather stripping around the doors, & swapping out a beat up threshold for a nice new one, or replacing a cracked piece of window glass. Start ticking off your honey-do list now and maybe save a buck or two on the energy bill in the process!

7. While you are plotting out where to put your exterior holiday finery, go check out www.RoofReviver.com. They have an excellent D-I-Y solution to get that black streaky smut off your roof for less than $100, no scubbing, not even bending! It will shave YEARS off your homes appearance, and it leaves your roof not only clean, but protected!
8. Give even the littlest kids something fun to do... and save even MORE money! Consider starting some seeds for a few cents rather than buying 20 filler plants or color plants for $17.99 a pop!

9. And don't forget the older ones! Spend some quality time with your teen and help them build a garden bench, flower boxes, a couple of pair of mock (non-operable) shutters or an entire picnic dining set.

10. And our most important time-saving, cost-saving tip of all...

Take advantage of the 10% Fall & Winter discount off the our exclusive Curb Appeal Strategy Package - a 12+ page assessment of your property's "appeal" , including specific advice with precise remedies for creating cohesion & balance. You'll not only get our best customized advice, you'll get a suggested color palette with LARGE paint chips and a cutting edge conceptual image of what your house will look like if you take our advice and execute the plan. Call us and order yours today! ONLY $159.99! Don't forget to ask for your 10% Off-Season Smarty-Pants Discount

Best of Skill to you!

Michelle Molinari

Certified Staging Professional, Feature This... Real Estate Staging,www.FeatureThisDotDotDot.com

CSP Elite Instructor, Certified Staging Professionals, www.CSPElite.com

Lead Virtual Designer, www.CurbAppealForDummies.com

President of Acadiana Real Estate Staging Association, www.AcadianaRESA.com

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Wordless Wednesday - Thirty One Years Ago Today

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:28:04 -0500

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The Football Mom And The Perfume Lady

Sharon Tara New Hampshire Home Stager (Sharon Tara Transformations) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:19:55 -0500

Last Saturday I had a yard sale. For anyone who has yet to have one, it is a tremendous amount of work. Hauling all the "stuff" up from the basement, sorting and organizing it in the garage, finding tables to put it all on, and pricing everything is not only time consuming - it's exhausting. And yet...

I've had many yard sales over the years and really enjoy the experience.

As I stood in the garage, late Friday afternoon, painting cardboard signs to hang at the end of my street, I wondered if it was all worth it.

What is so appealing about opening my yard to strangers and hoping that at the end of five hours my stuff will be gone? It certainly isn't the money...if you put a $5 sticker on something you originally paid $75 for, you end up getting $3 for it.

I actually had a woman ask if I would "take less" on something I had marked twenty five cents.

Less? Less than twenty five cents?

This is what is so great about having a yard sale...human nature! I love the interaction and the overall carnival atmosphere of it all. Sure, it's a wonderful thing to "clean house" and make a little extra money, but it's the people that make it fun!

Yard Sailors are happy, fun people. Happiness is contagious so there's a lot of joking and laughing and smiling at yard sales. Treasure hunting puts people in a good mood...and when they find their treasure in your garage it's a wonderful thing.

Among all the happy shoppers in my garage on Saturday, there were two special moments that made me smile:

The Football Mom: She was so happy to find a like-new duffel bag for only $2 for her little boy's first year of football. She told me that she couldn't afford a new bag and he never would have gotten such a nice bag if not for my yard sale. The little boy was so excited as he proudly carried his new bag down the driveway.

The Perfume Lady: She asked if I had any makeup or perfume I didn't want. I had a bottle of Opium, practically full, that I didn't want. I sold it to her for $5 (along with a small powder and a tube of lotion) and you would have thought I had given her the moon. She told me that she can't afford luxury items like perfume and this meant a lot to her.

The preparation may be a lot of work, and most people probably think a waste of time, but I enjoyed opening the garage door and letting those treasure hunters in. It's a great feeling knowing I had some part in making someone else smile.

Click here for tips on having a successful yard sale.

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