Mirror Dynamics Beveled Mirror Wall Clock

Set a contemporary vibe in your home with this Mirror Dynamics Beveled Mirror Wall Clock. The clock features five strips of beveled mirror to provide depth and modern style to any decor. It has been carefully mounted on four strips of solid, two and a half inch wood and comes conveniently ready to hang. This unique clock measures 20 inches high x 20 inches wide x 1 inch deep. A truly unique piece!

Display Weight: 8 lbs.
Uses 1- AA Battery (not included)

This is one of out top selling clocks and is currently on sale for just $48.00. It's available at our website here.

How To Safely Make Your Home Smell Nice

Here is a great article discussing the many ways to use candles and scented oils to freshen up your living space. I have followed with a great video that I came across from Ask The Decorator showcasing some great tips on choosing the right scented candle for your home.

Ah, there is nothing more welcoming and memorable than walking into a nice smelling home. Do you want your home to smell nice and clean, but do you also want a better, and safer alternative to expensive synthetic air fresheners which can be unhealthy? Synthetic aerosol air fresheners and room sprays can be the cause of severe breathing problems in children and people with asthma. A scary fact is, that the manufacturers of these synthetic air fresheners keep the chemical composition a closely-guarded secret. They are designed to mask or cover up odors rather than remove the odor. However, it's far better to eliminate odor from the source by cleaning than trying to cover it up.

First, identify the source of any odors. Garbage can be taken outdoors and the other most common odor sources; the kitchen and bathroom can be cleaned with an non-toxic cleaner. Cooking odors from strong smelling foods will disappear after a short period of time.

Here are some safe and easy ideas to make your home smell great every day and when company comes calling too.

For all the rooms in you your home you can use a non-aerosol room spray made with all natural essential oils. These are safer and the natural scents will make your home smell nice, clean and fresh. There are a wide variety of scents available, try an energizing citrus, a warming spice, an exhilarating mint or pine scent to enhance the ambiance of your home.

Try this tip: Just before you expect your visitors to arrive, spray one or two pumps in your entry way or the first room they will enter. You just need to make a good first impression for your guest's. After one has been exposed to a scent for a while it become less noticeable, and our noses can't smell it any more that's why you can't smell your own perfume later in the day when everyone else still can.

You can give your home a wonderful appealing smell by simmering spices like cloves and cinnamon in water. It will smell like you've been busy baking all day. You can vary the scent by adding vanilla extract, orange or lemon peel to the mix. So, go ahead and raid your pantry or spice cupboard for these safe, economical and natural scents. You can use a special potpourri simmering pot, a mini crock pot or just a small saucepan on your stove top.

Scented candles are another alternative, look for the more environmentally friendly soy based candles with a lead-free wick as they burn cleaner. It's important to remember, never leave a burning candle unattended or near anything that could catch fire.

Try this tip: Light a scented candle half an hour before you expect your company to arrive so your home will smell nice when your guests enter. Then you can extinguish it and the lovely scent will linger. It's also more frugal to burn a candle for a short period of time.

With these tips and ideas you can safely and easily give your home a warm inviting ambiance for your family and visitors and enjoy a lovely smelling home everyday.

About the Author:

Melody Thacker enjoys helping people and marketing Watkins products part time. You can find more quick and easy cooking, cleaning and healthy lifestyle ideas at Watkins Home Products

Basic Candle Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started

Basic Candle Making: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (Basic Books Series)is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn more about making their own scented candles. From the review:

Step-by-step color photographs and descriptive detail make this book indispensable for beginners looking to create beautiful and functional scented candles on their very first try, and for experienced crafters who want to sharpen their skills. Precise instructions eliminate the guesswork that too often creeps into how-to books. Gleaned from the expertise of master candle makers, this guide presents everything a novice needs to know to get started crafting traditional tapers and molded candles, container and rolled beeswax candles, and interesting variations on each. Includes guidelines for buying tools and materials, preparing the workspace, and working safely and effectively, as well as suggested shopping lists. This book includes the contributions of veteran candle makers and crafters.

About the Author:

Scott Ham is a master candle maker and owner of The Gettysburg Candle Company and Moonacre Iron Works in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Alan Wycheck is a photographer based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Lamps- The History of Lighting

It seems that lamps have been around for a long, long time. Who knew? The following is an intriguing look at the history of the lamp and its evolution to what we see today.

Numerous references from olden ages have illuminated the fact that lamps have been used to spread light, even before electricity was invented, and lighting was given a new meaning. The use of lamps can be broadly classified into two eras: The pre-electrical era and the post electrical era.

The Pre-electrical Era

The invention and first usage of lamp can be dated back to 70,000 BC. At that time, there was no metal or bronze to make lamps instead the then civilization used hollow rocks and shells. These hollow rocks were filled with moss and other natural substances and then soaked in animal fat. Animal fat acted as oil and this is how the first lamps were ignited.

With the advent of pottery, and the bronze and copper age, humans started to make lamps that imitated other natural shapes. Wicks came into existence much later and were used for controlling the flame or the rate of burning. In the 7th century BC, Greeks started using terra cotta lamps, which replaced the handheld torches. The word “lamp” has been derived from the Greek word “lampas”, which means “torch”.

Design Change

There was a major change in the design of lamps in the 18th century, when the central burner was invented. With the invention of the burner, a separate fuel source was made from metal. Another small change made was the addition of a metal tube that could be adjusted to control the intensity of the flame or light.

This was an important discovery in terms of lighting because with adjustment, humans were able to diminish the lighting or make it bright as required. Another aspect was added to the new lamp, which was in the form of small glass chimneys. The role of the glass chimney was to protect the flame as well as control the air flow.

Swiss chemist Ami Argand used the hollow circular wick in an oil lamp for the very first time in 1783.

Fuels for Lighting

Different kinds of fuels have been used for lighting a lamp between 70,000 BC and now. Most of the early forms of fuel were beeswax, olive oil, animal fat, fish oil, sesame oil, whale oil, nut oil etc. These were also among the most commonly used forms of fuel for lighting a lamp till the late 18th century.

Around 1859, the first drilling process was initiated to find petroleum and with the advent of kerosene, which is a derivative of petroleum, lamp became more popular and usage increased. Kerosene enabled lighting was first introduced in Germany in 1853.

During the same time two other products were used for lamp lighting purposes and they were natural gas and coal. The first use of coal gas lamps was in 1784.

Electrical Lighting Lamps
Lamps have actually come a long way from usage of coal gas to electricity. In 1801, Sir Humphrey Davy of England invented the electric carbon arc lamp, which was the first of its kind. The working principle for this lamp was simple and included hooking of two carbon rods to an electrical source.

The carbon rods were kept at a distance from each other so that electrical current could flow through the arc and thus vaporize carbon to create white lighting. Around 1857, A.E. Becquerel of France came out with the theory of fluorescent lighting in lamps. In the 1870’s, the unthinkable happened with Thomas Edison inventing the first electric incandescent lamp. Since then incandescent lamps were used for lighting purposes in homes till about the early 20th century.

In 1901, Peter Cooper Hewitt patented his new invention, the mercury vapor lamp. This was another type of arc lamp that enhanced lighting using mercury vapors, which were enclosed in a glass bulb. The Mercury vapor lamps set the prototype for fluorescent lighting lamps.

The Neon lamp was invented by Georges Claude of France in 1911 followed by Irving Langmuir, an American who invented the electric gas-filled incandescent lamp in 1915. In 1927, Hans Spanner, Friedrich Meyer, and Edmund Germer patented the first fluorescent lamp. The fluorescent lamps provided better lighting as compared to the mercury vapor lamps because they were coated from inside with beryllium.

Since then we have been using different form of lighting in lamps, which includes Mercury vapors, incandescent lamps and even today, in some corners of the earth people still use the old wick and oil lamp for lighting their homes.

About the Author:

Moe Tamani is an importer of Moroccan lamps and contributes on several Moroccan related sites as well as a designer of Henna Lamps.