I can remember it vividly.

I was about 10 years old and repeatedly rode my bycycle up to the neighborhood Ben Franklin 5 and Dime store to buy stained glass, paint by numbers, mosaic kits.  I loved creating art. 

That was the childhood memory that flashed in my brain when I met artist Rick Hecht of SGO Designer Glass and talked to him about his custom decorated glass designs.  Actually, all of the folks at SGO are accomplished artists in glass design.

It’s amazing to see all the applications that SGO can do with glass…everything from stained glass, to etched and carved glass. 

They create iron art which looks JUST like wrought iron at a fraction of the cost.  SGO Iron Art can be easily installed in any indoor or outdoor space and personalizes a home or office. People use them to “reinvent” an unwanted view that still allows in the sunlight.

One of the neatest things about SGO Glass’ decorative designs is that they can be inserted or added on to an existing window.  Can you imagine looking out one of your windows into the light through an amazing art glass design that you commissioned and Rick helped bring to life? From concept to installation takes only four weeks and less than one hour to install. How easy is that???

Not Just Windows

Rick tells me that shower enclosures are the big trend now, designed with clear or decorative glass.  Imagine a frameless shower with thick beautiful etched glass.  I’ll take one of those!!!

He also says that building codes are becoming much stricter now. You must make sure that any glasswork you have done meets these building codes.  When you do business with Rick Hecht and SGO Designer Glass, those codes are not taken lightly.  That’s one of the reasons that they have been in business for 30 years.  Your family will be safe while in the surroundings of a palace.

Rick will be showcasing many of his innovative designs at the upcoming Builders Home and Garden Show. Put these on your checklist of must-see exhibits:

• Stained Glass Overlay
• Beveled Glass
• Sandblasted/Etched Glass
• Leaded Glass
•  Traditional Cut Glass
• Mirrors
• Shower Enclosures
• Ceilings-Flat or Domed
• Glass Furniture Tops
• Glass Shelves
•  Tiffany Lamps (I have one of these and it is breath-taking)

Writing about this has me longing to make that trek up Ballas Road to that old Ben Franklin store to search through all their marvelous stained glass kits. Alas, the store’s long gone. Maybe I’ll just pop into SGO’ Designer Glass’ booth at the Home and Garden Show to see what they can make for me!  And maybe they’ll even let me help.  After all, I have a LOT of experience!

Finally! A way to regift that knitted tea cosy, vacuum-powered hair cutter or 10th ugly tie!

Now you can unload them on the new UPS website that lets you virtually hand off your unwanted presents to those who can really appreciate them. At the UPS Regifter Gallery, the recipient gets an email with a link to claim his (re)gift, and then has the option to pass it  along  (or post his own regift!)

You can also vote on each treasure in this rogues gallery of gifts with up to 5 Christmas lightbulbs. The knitted tea cosy has been regifted 737 times as of today; the vacuum hair cutter, 917 times. The “5-in-1 Gadget Tool” shown above was apparently harder to part with, being regifted only 40 times.

Struggling with what makes the perfect gift? In a recent poll, 4,348 would-be giftees were asked, “What do you want for the holidays?”  Their answers…

With less than a 7% difference in the top 2 answers, it looks like “last-minute shopping” has been ever so slightly extended into the eleventh hour with the gift card option! The survey was conducted by BigResearch American Pulse.

What if you *have to* buy a home right now?

It’s a buyer’s market, so how do you maximize your purchase power? Here are 13 lucky tips:

1. Make a list of what you must have in a home, and really stick to the basics. Focus on the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, floor plans, location, parking situation and price.
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Do you have a sale price in mind if you tried to sell your home today? I’m guessing you do because every homeowner carries around a “magic number.” The problem with many guesstimates is that they’re often based on inaccurate assumptions.

When it’s time to sell, many homeowners believe they should get back every penny they ever invested in home improvements. But to calculate resale value, first we need to talk about what you spent your money on.
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I love bamboo and I love my bamboo forest. When I moved into my house about eight years ago, I was enthralled, as was everyone else that I would have this gorgeous year-round green forest surrounding my pool, as well as separating my house from my neighbors’.

The privacy of bamboo is like nothing else. You absolutely cannot see through it and it just keeps growing and growing and growing and growing and… The birds love having a home that they can count on all year and it miraculously stays green and lush through the winter.
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Like photography or woodworking, you can never own too many tools for hobby gardening. And like other hobbies, owning the right suite of garden tools determine if you achieve worthwhile results.

Here are the indispenable tools we recommend for your garden tool collection:
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Dendrobium orchids are some of the most common orchid species on the American market today. Once, Dendrobium orchids were only grown and collected by wealthy individuals. Times have changed and now the once elusive Dendrobiums can be found in florist shops and upscale nurseries as well as in home improvement stores and warehouse clubs.
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As summer brings the double punch of high temperatures and low rain to many parts of the country, a smart gardener steps up his or her game, too. Check out these tips for a long-blooming summer border:

Deadhead regularly. Remove the flowers off your plants after they fade, usually with a small pair of snips. If the blooms are not removed, the plant will expend energy producing seed. When deadheaded properly, the energy is redirected to other parts of the plants, and can often result in a second round of blooms.
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You may have a lovely pond in your backyard, filled with fish and eye-catching water plants. However, sometimes we spend so much time on what goes into our water features that we may not give as much thought to what can be done with the perimeter.

Here are some plants that will thrive at the water’s edge:

Ornamental grasses. These plants add so much to a pond - height, texture, movement, even the sounds of swishing in the breeze. Grasses, with tall and spiky foliage, contrast well next to the relatively flat body of water. Tall, plumed grasses will do well on the far edges, with dwarf varieties from your pond on the sides.

Bulbs make for great waterside plants. You can choose bulbs to add color, diverse bloom shapes, height, and scent, depending on your needs.

Shrubs will likely be the sturdiest plants you select for the pond perimeter. These are great for adding a sense of permanence to a water’s edge that may also include grasses and blooms. Select dwarf varieties, no larger that 2 or 3 feet tall. You may want to pick shrubs that will offer berries or interesting flowers, which will add visual appeal as well as draw in wildlife.

Ferns, with their feathery fronds and deep colors, complete the classic poolside vision.