Sheron Cardin's Input...

What Do I Do? "I Color Your World!". That's a better introduction, isn't it?

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:00:13 -0500

People are often times put off when I introduce myself as an Interior Designer/artist/feng shui student/home staging instructor (not necessarily in that order). They actually take a step back especially here in the small town of Selma CA.

"I Color YOUR World" really says it all for me. Pleople want to know HOW?

Finding a simple and understandable one liner to identify ones profession is a thrill and what a lucky find and solution to a common problem when I came across the following article. Please pass it on...it could make introductions more enjoyable and colorful for all of us.

Please share us know what you come up with for yourself or any profession for that matter!

Double Your Income With an Unlimited Number of Highly-Qualified Prospects For Free

By: Raymond Aaron

The way to get an unlimited number of highly-qualified prospects for free anytime you wish as often as you wish for the rest of your working life ... is easy and it really is free and anyone can do it. You don't buy anything from me or anyone. You just change the wording of how you introduce yourself! Let me explain ...

The boring way to introduce yourself (which everyone now uses) goes like this: "I am an electrician". What is wrong with this? Firstly, it does not increase your business so why bother saying it. And, it has two errors in it:

1.The first error is that it uses the word "a" or "an" which means that you are just one of many -- indistinguishable and uninteresting.

2.The second error is that you state what you do so that there is no mystery, no excitement.

Here's how you create excitement and have people WANTING more details.

Introduce yourself using the following guidelines:

1. introduce yourself by saying WHAT THEY GET not WHAT YOU DO

2. introduce yourself by creating QUESTIONS not ANSWERS

3. introduce yourself by saying "you" in the sentence 4.introduce yourself by being BRIEF.

Here are some examples:

BAD ........... I am an electrician GREAT ...... I check your shorts!

BAD ........... I am a professional speaker GREAT ...... I double your income!

BAD ........... I am an interviewer GREAT ...... I mail millionaires to your door!

BAD ........... I am a Feng Shui consultant GREAT ...... I color your world!

BAD ........... I am a photographer GREAT ...... I shoot you!

BAD ........... I am a therapist GREAT ...... I get into your head!

BAD ........... I am a dietician GREAT ...... I feed you healthy junk food!

Get the picture? Now, create one for yourself and send it to me by typing it in a comment to this article.

Do you have the courage to use this fascinating way to introduce yourself? Most people don't. I encourage you to develop a fascinating way to introduce yourself and then practice on family members until you are strong enough to do it in the world. Best of success. It works.

Author Resource:-> Raymond Aaron,New York Times Top Ten Bestselling Author, "Double Your Income Doing What You Love" published by John Wiley and Sons, New York City.

Join Raymond Aaron on Twitter @RaymondAaron.

Join "Raymond Aaron Double Your Income" Facebook Fan Page at http://www.FacebookRaymond.com .

Article From Articlebliss

Thank you Raymond!

Home Staging Tip #3 - Bed in a Trunk! New Picture.

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 09:07:27 -0600

How many times have you come across a junk room or an empty room that needs to be staged as a bedroom? In minutes you can have a beautifully dressed bed in any size including king...all from the trunk of your car!

What you will need:

2 air mattresses - Uhuh, this is the instant bed in a trunk - $80
1 bed-in-the-bag (Bed-dressing ensemble includes dustruffle, comforter, 2 shams, 2 sheets, 2 pillow coses) $50
4 bed pillows - $2o
Decorative throw - $20
Misc. decorative pillows - $30
For the bed frame use 4 boxes - Use office filing boxes that collapse -$5

Assemble you boxes and place them where the bed will go, blow up your air mattresses, and make your bed! Voila, that is it. You are good to go. It is a great way to cut costs in staging a vacant home as well.

Estimated total cost: $200.00

This clever solution to a big staging problem is in my how2homestage.com January Home Staging Tips Newsletter. I apologize to the Rainers who already subscribe to it but because it is so useful in staging, I wanted to share it with everyone here in the rain forest.

Stage It Forward!

CORIAN talking to HOME STAGERS?

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:08:31 -0600

I have an addiction I would like to confess knowing I am in good company. I am addicted to tearing pages out of magazines no matter where I am...the doctors office, the dentist, any waiting room will do. I just have to have "it" and feel so lucky I stumbled upon the best plaster wall color, or the clever trick of the trade I rely on so much, or the to die for recipe that I will use for my next dinner party.

You all know what I am talking about...and these piles and piles of tear sheets are a source of pleasure as well as pressure. I categorize the food from the bedrooms and the Chinese from the French. I shuffle the folders and 3 ring binders often, renewing and refreshing my creative juices.

Thanks to the era of technology, I have been scanning my precious finds and saving/savoring each photo with cropping, lighter/darker, and so on...you get the picture! Since I am in the process of clearing/de-cluttering before the Chinese New Year February 7th, I have gathered my newest finds and prepare them for their final journey. Page after page are uploaded and glide to the floor spilling into colorful arrangements until I get the the last one. As I flip it over making sure it was not another great idea or desirable object overlooked, I found this astonishing ad for Corian tile...yes, I know, so what!

Read it and tell me what you think it means. (skip the small print)

Do you read it the same way I do? It sounds like they are talking directly to home stagers to me!

Decorating Tip #9: The Custom Table Skirt!

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:57:36 -0500

The best look for staged bedroom lamp tables are instant tables with custom table skirts. They are easy to make and so much better than using sheets. No more lugging heavy lamp tables...who needs that headache!

You can buy 3 legged round tables in 18" to 30" in diameter. I use the smaller sized tables for night stands. I use the 30" tables for sitting areas in master bedrooms in place of heavy dressers. They are also beautiful as a table in a family room or living room for any vignette setting. The legs unscrew and the table lays flat. (The chair cover in this photo is ugly so don't copy that unless your chair is uglier)

Decorator fabric usually comes in 54" widths (2" of these inches are salvage edges). To make a custom table round, measure your tabletop plus drop plus drop. Here is a chart for your fabric:

The diagrams below are not drawn to scale...

Table skirt for a 30" table with a 30" drop (no topper):

Solid fabric - 5 yards
Cut your fabric at 90" and then split the remaining fabric in half lengthwise

Sew the split fabric to the sides of the solid piece

Fold your fabric in half and then half again. The corner without edges is your center - mark it with chalk or a pin, then lay your fabric out flat
With a 45 inch string, put one end of the string at the center of the wrong side of the fabric and swing your string around in a circle marking your fabric with a chalk.
Cut fabric at the chalk line and now you have a 90 inch circle
Sew a half inch hem all the way around
to add trim such as fringe or a large welt you need 8.50 yards.
You can buy ready made 2" welt's in solid fabrics. Just stitch it on per instructions
For a 3" or 4" fringe, lay it on the edge with the bottom of the fringe hanging at the edge of the skirt and top stitch it on.

Table skirt for a 30" table with a 30" drop and square topper:

Cut at 2 1/2 yards as seen above
Then sew them side by side seen below

Then make your circle with chalk as shown before and cut at the chalk line. The seam will be down the middle of the table skirt but will be hidden with a 52 inch square topper.
To make a square topper - simply buy 54" of fabric at 54" width and hem.

For a 20 inch table with a 24 inch drop in a solid fabric - 3.8 yards - follow either of the cutting and sewing instructions above. The topper for a 20" table will be 36" square.

Now you have instructions how to make your own custom table skirts with toppers, your own headboards, instant beds

Next I will cover how to make your own folding partitions. Happy staging!

Seattle Kitchen Remodel Before and After's

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:11:58 -0500

If you are like me, I just love before and after pictures so I am going to share a work in progress with you from my own personal library even though the project is not complete. The kitchen was painted the day before I left Seattle so it is not accessorized although the pantries and cabinets are lined and organized. The kitchen was very small...no room for an island at all.

Before...

I knocked out the wall separating the kitchen from the dining room and the opposite wall holding the refrigerator and upper cabinets...making the kitchen now 27 feet long. It was still very narrow so the challenge was to get enough work space and counter tops without using an island. I marked off the floors to visualize each space. That tape was left there for a almost a year before construction began.

Below is my solution with 2 complete work stations and 3 working surfaces. The left if the chef's station and the right is the serving and clean up station with a shared island between. The dining room is to the right of the serving island and the door to the outdoor barbeque area is to the left. The opposite wall facing the kitchen houses the pantries and refrigerator. All in all...the remodel of the kitchen stayed true to the original design.

After...

This shot is taken from the dining room area and the barstools sit where the wall was before.

I hesitate in showing these photos because there are going to be several professional photo shoots taken in the next few weeks but I wanted to let you what I have been up to. More to come on the rest of the house.

If anyone in the Seattle area would like to contact me regarding any upcoming design and decorating needs, I would love to hear from you.

Be Careful What You Call Yourself!

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:01:16 -0500

Home Stagers are not alone in the struggle for regulation/non-regulation in their industry as witnessed by RESA and all professional stagers; the interior design industry is fighting to maintain its reputation also. There has been a surge of self proclaimed designers in recent years and consumers have no way of knowing what they are really getting. Seems anyone can call themselves Interior Designers.

The subject has been brought up here in Active Rain as well, expecially in the Stage it Forward group and I am not going to go into that right now but I do suggest that if you are intersted in knowing more about the struggle going on for interior designers and other formal interior design groups, click here; Interior Design Protection Council

Pet Showers a good idea that is NEW, SMART, PRACTICAL!

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:27:49 -0600

A few months back, a local business owner and myself were talking about how nice it would be if we had an easy way of cleaning our dogs at home. It led us to talk about a mobile dog wash business. (true entrepreneur spirits) While doing the research and crunching the numbers, we realized it was not a viable business. With the ideas resting not so quietly on the back burner, we continue to drag our unwilling dogs to the groomers. I don't know about her but my grooming bill for one little house puppy is $1200 a year! These little indoor dogs live long lives, sometimes 14 to 15 years. Now we are talking big money...around $17,000 in just grooming for the lifetime of one little itty bitty dogie!

In an article published in Rismedia November 30th written by Mark Nash titled "What;s in and What's Out with Home Buyers in 2008", he lists some obvious and not so obvious changes but wait...item four in the What's In category is, you guessed it, PET SHOWERS!

For an estimate of about $4,000 you can build a very desirable and fashionable PET SHOWER in a laundry room or garage! With a pet shower I would be saving and estimated $13,000 on the care of one spoiled pup. I too am predicting that the Pet Shower is going to be the HOTTEST new ticket in property assets.

The photo above is taken from a very cool custom tile site by Margaret Licha Designs and it prove that dogie showers are the new buzz word for pet owners.

What do you think?

Feng Shui Tip #1 Sharing - Crown Molding

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:07:34 -0600

Don't get me wrong...I am about as far from being an expert in feng shui as the next person, but I have a tendency to apply what I learn and then I want share it with everyone...so if you are interested, I will be posting some of the easy to remember feng shui tips that are helping me with my Feng Shui Journal series. I figure in about 30 years I may actually get the hang of it but right now I am working on developing my feng shui eyes and sharing helps me hang onto it.

For Feng Shui Eyes: Crown molding brings the eye up high, which raises everyone's Chi. It also enhances your reputation and leaves everyone feeling better, especially if you have lots of molding in the room found in your fame sector. *** Below is the Ba gua and you need to place it over the floor plan of your home with your front door at the bottom of the Ba gua...stretch it out to fit. The Fame Sector is the red square. In my home it is the kitchen so adding crown molding to the top of my cabinets would be the thing to do.

So this is why crown molding is so desirable, it makes people feel better! Who knew? We knew but did we know why? Not really.

Adding crown molding will add drama to any room and increase the perceived value of any home.

Look at these photo's (selected at random from Google Images) and pay close attention to where your eyes are drawn first and then imagine how it would feel to be standing in that room. (I know the photo's are small but give it a try anyway...) Do those rooms make you feel better just by looking at them? They do me!

Do you remember in school the classmates that used to outline all their coloring book pictures before they started coloring them in? Were you one of those kids? I was. They always looked better than everyone else's. That is what crown molding does for a room, it not only frames a room and points out its' assets but it brings our eyes up and makes us feel better...raising our Chi.

This Old House has the best do it yourself instructions for installing crown molding. (Now you can tell your clients crown molding increases good Chi)

TUT is a Great Source for Daily Inspiration!

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:57:29 -0500

I know I don't know everything but I am pretty sure I have experienced all the angles...at least the large ones. Then I read my daily inspiration from TUT and instantly fell into a new calm.

You are where your feel are by Eiko Michi is one of my favorites and use it often, but this...well, let me know how it makes you feel.

The very feelings you're now feeling, the good, the bad, and the confused, are in large part why you chose this lifetime: To simply feel them.

Let's get this party started,
The Universe

Decorating Tip #6 Make Your Own Headboards

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:15:55 -0600

Making headboards is easy to do. I have made dozens for model homes myself so if I can do it, anyone can. The following is a standard style. You can make a template out of newspaper for the top in any style you want but for the sake of simplicity...I will use a simple arch.

What you will need:

4'x8'x5/8 piece of plywood
Jigsaw
Drill
Measuring tape
Newspaper for template
Roll of 3"or4" thick batting
Staple gun
Hot glue gun or 2 way tape
Ready made welt or cording optional
Paint optional for plywood
Scissors

Plywood:

Cut piece of plywood the width of your bed, ie twin is 40"x48", Queen 60"x48", Cal-king 72"x48" and King 80"x48". Make a template out of newspaper in any shape you want. Mark the center of the width of the wood and draw the style you want for 1/2. Then flip the template to the other side and repeat. Cut where your marks are. That way both sides come out exactly the same.

The bottom cutout opening should not be above the top of the mattress. Measure your bed's width and height to make sure before you cut. The standard for a twin is 20" from the floor for the cutout and 6" wide legs. (Bed frames vary in height.)

Hold the board up to the head of the bed and drill holes in the wood where it will attach to the frame.

Now is the time to paint the wood if you do not want raw wood showing on the back side.

Batting:

Lay your batting over the cut plywood. You want to leave a 3" overhang all the way around so trim batting the shape of your wood with a 3" excess. In other words you will have 3" all the way around that is larger than the wood. It is easier to work with if you attach your batting to the wood either with a hot glue gun or 2 way tape. This will secure it and keep it from moving when you are applying the fabric.

Fabric:

Most decorator fabric comes in 54" widths which is perfect for a headboard. Cut the fabric 2" larger than the batting. You will railroad your fabirc. (running lengthwise horizontally so make sure if you have a pattern that will not be sideways). Railroading your fabric avoids visible seems. Lay your fabric onto the headboard and batting and smoothe but do not stretch. Using your staple gun, lift one side of the headboard and staple the fabric to the back to secure it. Now do the same to the other side. You should be able to stand the headboard up now without it falling apart.

With one person holding the headboard upright, the other person will smoothe the fabric around the edges and the person holding will staple the fabric to the wood on the back. *** Turn your fabric under 1" before you staple it and that will give you 1" to staple the fabric to the board leaving a nice flat edge.

Now that you have stapled the outside edges of the headboard, you will need the wrap the inside of the legs and the cutout of the bottom, being careful not to cut too much fabric away.

*** You will have some folds and play in your fabric so ease the fabric along until it is smoothe.

That is all there is to it!

If you want a 6" roll as seen in this picture, then lay your fabric on the headboard and make a template out of newspaper to match the outside border of the wood 6" smaller. Lay the small template over the fabric and mark the fabric with chalk. Then closely staple the fabric to the heaboard at the chalk line. Once that is done, wrap the remaining fabric around to the back and staple turning 1" under as described above.

Apply the welt with a hot glue gun or fabric glue where you have stapled the fabric defining the roll.

If I missed a step please let me know.

Would Anyone Like to Join Me for the West Coast Green Expo in Sept?

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:25:44 -0500

I am embarrased to say I have been a very pale green lately. yet on the other hand, I am painting with no VOC paint so I see a pattern in myself, a learning curve if you will, where I embody the new green techniques then want to learn more. I am at the more part. I very much want to go the the green event below and am looking for some of my AR friends who would like to join me.

Click here to find out more.

Color and Feng Shui - Video Makes Feng Shui Easier

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:05:33 -0500

Bringing Feng shui into our work and into our personal lives can get so bogged down with details (and many of you know how this happens to me) that throwing up your hands is easier than trying to figure it all out.

No, it is not rocket science but if you forget something like leaving out metal, you may find a rocket crashing into your house ;-0

This video I discovered today is simple and direct and I for one am going to do exactly as it says in every room. Watch and learn...hope it helps you.

Do We Need Yet Another Group???

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:16:53 -0500

Inspired by a recent post of mine: Help! Where Should I Post Promotions in Active Rain...Anyone Know? I have seen stagers et all sharing bargains, sales, finds, web sites, and I have seen Realtors show off their beautiful listings, and I have read time and time again about who is the best this and that. What do I do when my business is international.

My business is on the web, I run discounts now and then because I know many people are on the fence and it gives them the push they need. I like your suggestion and will consider a new group. I have neglected American Bandstand which I started a few months ago so I don't think I should be the one to start another one. Are you up for the challenge Virginia? I know localism is hot so as a sister group, how about...

The Price is Right!

Any ideas?

When You Have to Do It Yourself!

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:30:15 -0500

Anyone can follow instructions, right? Well, save a few people who are completely intimidated by a cooking recipe, but really, we have all followed footprints in the sand when we were kids and we still follow footprints in our lives today.

Perfect for real estate agents who want to help their clients prepare their homes and perfect for FSOB's; Here is what you will find at www.how2homestage.com to prepare a home for a successful sale...

• Home Staging Evaluation Checklist Forms (21 pages) - Leave your worries behind! This is a complete 21 page checklist that identifies every aspect of a standard 5 bedroom home from the mailbox to the door pulls. All the work has been done for you...all you do is circle the action to be taken and it becomes your to-do-list. The checklist also helps you establish a budget by selecting what needs to be done to the home and property to get it resale ready.

Here is a recent testimony from a from one of my clients:

I bought your how2satge DIY program last year and follow your blogs. Your'e great!!! I love activerain, it is a great way to learn from around the country. I have been in interior design for 22 years and we staged before it had a label. Best of the Day to you! Debby Altitude Designs

• Do-It-Yourself Home Staging Instructions (48 pages with 4 phases) - A complete step-by-step tutorial holds your hand through the detachment phase, resurfacing and updating phase, and the all important room identification and decorating phase.

• How To Stage Your Vacant House (27 pages)- You don't need to rent a truck load of furniture...that is costly and can be repititious with all the other vacant homes in the area...boring. Staging vignettes throughout the house as well as hosting open houses from the kitchen puts life where there was only sadness. Used as a companion to the Home Staging Instructions, any of the ideas in this ebook can be implemented into the staging of any home with unique ideas and attitude.

• All from a decorator's point of view! - 27 plus years of decorating model homes, resale homes, high end homes, and everything in between is put into these pages. The premise is "Learning is by doing". Follow in the footsteps of the professionals and achieve a professionally staged home maximized for resale. • Tools, inspirational tips and ideas for room arrangements, outdoor groupings and themes, and everything you will need to do-it-yourself. Save your money for other things! Download your Complete Home Staging Package today!

*** PLUS when you visit www.how2homestage.com, you will find designer links on what to do and what not to do when staging, 100's of photos, tips, and ideas you can use right now in your own home. Don't forget to use the easy tools in the right column!

I know, you don't want to do it yourself. Great! Give me a call or any of the professional home stagers in your area to do the work for you. Just remember that you won't know if they are going a great job for you if you don't know what to expect.

Right now, the Home Staging Evaluation Checklist is on sale!

FUNCTIONAL ART - one of the best ideas yet!

Sheron Cardin - how2homestage.com (California Moods Inc) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:14:19 -0500

This is by far one of the best solutions to a flat screen TV to come down the pike ever!

Click here to watch the screen in action.

To make one of your own (not automatic) create a shadow box with a print or fabric on the front...and for home stagers; be sure there is a safe place to store the faux print when the TV is in use. Sweet!

If you have created more fabulous solutions for the Ugly Eye syndrome, please share with us. Just the opposite can be acheived for vacant home staging by framing a photo of a flat screen TV to show placement instead of buying the faux version. A framed print is much classier.