There are tons of household items that have multiple uses… but one you probably haven’t considered? Chalkboard paint. Both practical and fun, this functional addition to your home can make your life easier while also adding a fun touch to gifts or décor.
Paint a small area on a free wall in your kitchen, or if you’d rather keep it hidden, on the back of a cabinet door. Now you have a place to keep a grocery list or write down a menu for the week, and you’ll always know where it is.
Chalkboard paint also comes in handy for quick and easy organization. Simply paint a small amount onto drawers, jars or containers for the easy labeling (and re-labeling) of kitchen or office supplies. This also works great for classrooms to organize kids’ art supplies!
Add a personal and creative touch to gifts as well. Dip one side of cork squares into chalkboard paint, making easy coasters that you can write messages on! You can also create gift tags by coating small wooden shapes and punching a hole to tie a ribbon through. Simple and inexpensive to make, they can be reused over and over again!
Setup for parties and gatherings can be made easier with the help of chalkboard paint as well. Use it to label food trays so guests can identify what’s what. For another creative party idea, dip the ends of wine glasses or paint the sides of glasses to create a space for guests to write their names. Now drinks won’t get mixed up, and guests will have a fun party favor!
Make the most of holiday shopping this season with some helpful tips from Harvey Prince!
Know before you go. Make a shopping list, or at the very least have an idea as to what you are looking for before venturing out to do your holiday shopping. The more detailed the better. This will keep you from walking around aimlessly, saving you time. You’ll also be able to research any deals or coupon offers ahead of time, saving you money as well.
Apps, apps, apps! Your smartphone is your friend. There are countless applications specifically designed to help you find the best shopping deals. Retail Me Not shows you in-store and online coupons for popular retail locations, while Shopkick provides reward points for making purchases or simply entering stores, which can then be used toward gift cards to various stores of your choosing. Stores like Express and Lord & Taylor will actually send you coupon offers via text message, and many retail brands now have their own apps that also feature discount offers. Make sure you do your research!
It’s OK to shop online. Websites are making it increasingly easier to do all of your shopping without ever leaving the comforts of your home. This obviously saves you time, and with so many offers and discount codes from brands via social media or email newsletters, you won’t be shelling out any extra cash. If it’s clothes you’re after, take advantage of websites’ sizing charts to avoid having to make any returns. And if you’re a last minute shopper, make sure you check the shipping time to ensure your purchases arrive in time for the holidays.
Keep these tips in mind when you head to the malls (or to your computer) to do your holiday shopping. Remember, the best way to guarantee a successful shopping trip is to be prepared!
Here at Harvey Prince, signs that winter is approaching are popping up everywhere. The air is getting cooler, the sun is setting much earlier, and the first flakes of snow are beginning to fall. The fact that the last few weeks of fall are here and winter is following close behind means one thing: the holidays are almost upon us. Regardless of what holidays you and yours celebrate, there always seems to be so much to do to prepare. For all you Perfumistas getting ready to do some celebrating in the upcoming weeks, Harvey has found a few seasonal do-it-yourself projects that may make your holiday preparations a little easier.
No holiday dinner is complete without a festive centerpiece. If you’re searching for a way to spice up your Thanksgiving dinner table, look no further. All you need is a pumpkin, decorative fall garland of your choosing, and some tea light candles – follow our picture or arrange them however you’d like and you’re left with creative holiday décor that requires minimal work on your part, leaving you ample time for the rest of your preparations!
For many of us, the holiday season requires wrapping gifts. For some, purchasing wrapping paper, bows, ribbons and gift tags is just an extra expense on top of buying the gifts themselves. For others, store-bought gift-wrap seems impersonal. Whatever your reasoning, if you find yourselves in need of a cheaper and more personalized gift wrapping idea, grab some brown paper (you can buy this at a craft store or use the backside of a grocery bag) and paint in colors of your choosing to design your own gift wrap. It looks adorable and recipients will appreciate the time and effort you spent personalizing their gift.
Taking part in a project like one of these is an easy way to get ready for the holidays, and can easily become a family activity. Hopefully these will inspire you to get creative and crafty this holiday season!
Here at Harvey Prince, we pride ourselves in creating fragrances free of toxic chemicals, like those found in other harsher perfumes. It feels good to use safe and natural products to help protect our bodies and the environment around us. Helping our world and ourselves doesn’t have to stop at what fragrances we use. There are countless ways to “green-up” your household, and most of them are surprisingly simple.
One way to make your house a little greener (literally and figuratively) is by adding an herb wall to your kitchen. It not only looks and smells amazing, but it’s practical in more ways than one. Aside from obvious benefits, like the time and money you will be saving by having your own selection of herbs constantly at your fingertips, there are intangible benefits as well. In a study conducted by NASA, it was found that having plants in your home improves air quality by removing toxins. Studies have also shown that the presence of live plants increases feelings of optimism and calmness. Moreover, you’ll be eating herbs at their freshest, and since they were grown in your own home, you can rest assured that no chemicals were used. It’s a win win all around!
In addition to eco-friendly do-it-yourself projects to add a little green to your household, there are ways to make a difference by removing certain things, too. There’s a ton of basic items that are found in the majority of households that you may not even realize are creating a negative impact on your living space and your environment. The good news? Each of these items can be swapped for an equally effective but much more eco-friendly alternative. Take your bathroom, for example. A towel rack has the capacity to barely hold and dry one or two towels at a time. Swap it for some hooks, and you can increase the number of towels you can air dry at once using the same amount of space while at the same time saving you the energy your dryer would have used.
Another easy and eco-friendly swap you can make is with your cleaning products. Instead of filling your house with cleaners loaded with harsh chemicals that are known to cause various health ailments, use vinegar. Mix a few cups with equal parts water, and you have a natural, all-purpose cleaner. Not crazy about the smell? Add a drop of your favorite scented oil. Vinegar also works wonders on its own for clogged drains, faucets, or as a furniture polish when combined with olive oil and lemon juice.
Some simple changes and enhancements can make your house a little greener! For such little effort, the benefits you reap are definitely worth it, don’t you think?
With the change in seasons comes a change in the color of leaves on the trees and the temperature in the air – but it doesn’t stop there. As we welcome fall into our lives once again, we can also embrace a number of deliciously inviting scents that practically scream, “Autumn is here!”
It’s no secret that one of the season’s trademark scents is pumpkin. We see it everywhere, in all forms: pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice, cinnamon pumpkin – the list goes on. But what is it exactly about this adorable autumnal fruit (yes, it’s a fruit) that makes it a household name come September? The answer goes far beyond the fact that it just smells incredible. In fact, it’s scientific.
According to studies conducted by researchers at The Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, the scent is a natural aphrodisiac. It is also known to increase feelings of comfort and safety, as well as trigger pleasant memories and positive thoughts. Who wouldn’t love an enticing aroma that doubles as an instant mood booster?
The same holds true for other fall favorites, too. Take vanilla, for example. Known for its relaxing effects, hospitals nationwide use the sweet scent to calm patients receiving treatment in MRI centers and Oncology units. The fact that it can easily be paired with a wide variety of other scents certainly explains its popularity too.
Then there’s cinnamon, another wildly popular and frequently used fall favorite. While cinnamon is widely known for its health benefits, the aroma has a number of perks of its own. A natural antidepressant, the spicy scent serves as an emotional stimulant. It triggers happy thoughts and positive energy.
Imagine the smell of your favorite fall candle or a delicious autumn treat baking in the oven. Does it include one of these three notes? More than likely, the answer is yes. Now you can see why people are passionate over the scents of the season – they do so much for us in return!
Everyday the cleaning aisles of supermarkets are searched in lieu of the right cleanser, the right brush, and the right disinfectant… Once at hand you put on the yellow gloves and get to scrubbing, but did you know that you might have already had all you needed to give that extra polish, right at home? It just so happens, that your dishwasher has dual capabilities as it may be used for cleaning other objects other then just dishes. By removing the top rack of the dishwasher, you make more room to wash your trashcan and lid or even throw in your favorite baseball hat, yes a hat! You can buy a hat cage at your local sports shop or even on amazon.com. On a light wash setting you can even clean the glass part of your favorite light fixture. They may be secured in the rack with the aid of a sponge or two so that they won’t be able to move or break.
Do you have small children? Throw their action figures in the top rack to remove all the dirt, grime, and bacteria. Throw in a hair brush or two, get rid of any lingering residue left on the brush or just to have that favorite brush feel new again!
If you have a cup holder in your car that has sticky coffee or soda, remove it and place it along with your refrigerator shelving, soap dishes, and penholders. You can also toss in your toothbrush holders and remove any sort of buildup.
If you dismantle your ceiling fan, the blades may also benefit from a thorough cleaning in your dishwasher, just make sure they are not wooden! Your cleaning tools such as your plastic broom heads and dustpans may also benefit from the sterilizing effect of the dishwasher too.
How about those dish sponges? Your kitchen alone is full of bacteria! Think about it the sponge is touching dirty plates and then sitting beside a sink which just had dirty water in it a few moments ago. You can actually throw your sponge in the top rack of your dishwasher and have it come out good as new.
