#but if you read enough you'll see a pattern in artwork

[violetlunette]

If anyone wonders why a lot of webcomics look the same it's because a lot of them use clip studio resources for the environments, items, and even character poses. (That's why you'll see common poses in characters and why some look stiff.) I think some use the art of rotoscoping with the character models, but not all as I've seen resources for eyes and hair.

Just a neat fact I, imo.

[windydrawallday]

PAINTED DREAMS

My entry for the @bulkheadzine ! You can get a better look at it by downloading the digital booklet [HERE] I suggest doing that because there are lots of beautifully crafted artworks (and fanfics omg) showcasing this precious character through not only different continuities but art style expressions 💚 I'm still in awe from seeing the process of each creative member of this project and working along them, thank you so much!

And if you have time for it! You'll do wonders in sharing the fanzine in other places, so many more people can enjoy it!: [Instagram] 💚 [Twitter].

OH! Do you see something unusual in my artwork? Part of it was not only made as a digital collage (use of patterns and real photos to create a scene) but I even made a figurine of Bulkhead for it! I'll put more details about it under the cut x).

YES! Your eyes are not seeing bad: THAT'S A TINY BULKY being held gently... it took me at least a day to finish it and adjust to the planned pose I needed it to have for the scene.

And for sure you are asking yourself why I didn't paint it already in this stage? Because...

After a good photo session, I put it on a digital program and colored over it! (Well, under but details pfff). Then when setting it in the piece, I rendered over it with a textured brush to enhance details in it!.

Fun Fact: This sculpture is in reality INCOMPLETE! Why? Because art is an illusion... and in the end, I only needed to take a photo from one angle of the character, I couldn't waste more clay than what I had. Another reason was...

... that I live in a place where there's not enough space to safely have these types of work around so after the photo session I destroyed the figurine (is a very cheap and malleable clay anyway).

So what you are seeing in the final illustration is the only evidence of this thing existing :') and I'm at peace with it because... for me, that's one of the meanings of art: to be something only perceived in a fleeting moment, like how life is to every one of us!

BONUS: Zoom in on these tiny pictures on the wall I loved lots to do AAA (I want that Prowl picture for my wall too haha).

Thank you for reading 💚

[pixel7777]

Threefold Returns - Chapter 8/16

The naughty version of the beautiful artwork commissioned from the incredible misfitlunatic (https://x.com/misfit_lunatik or https://bsky.app/profile/misfitlunatik.bsky.social) can be seen in all its glory here.

See Ch. 1 for work summary and content tags. Read this chapter below the break here or on AO3!

Zelara

Zelara thumbed through the grimoire with renewed vigor, basking in the lingering satisfaction from breakfast. The look on Gale's face when she'd asked if he'd slept well—priceless. She'd waited months for this, and by the gods, she was going to enjoy every second of their awkward honeymoon phase.

But beneath her smug exterior, a warm current of genuine joy swelled in her chest. Astarion standing in sunlight. The Tower, that clever bastard, had given him something she'd spent years trying to create in her lab. But how could she be jealous when it meant Astarion could experience something he'd been denied for centuries?

"Right," she said, slapping the book shut and scattering a small cloud of dust. "Time to stop fucking around and focus on kicking a goddess's ass."

Gale looked up from his notes, a small crease between his brows. "Must you be so... colorful with your language?"

"Yes," Zel and Astarion answered simultaneously.

She grinned at Astarion, then turned her attention to the blackboard she'd commandeered. She'd filled it with her nighttime scrawl—diagrams of the Weave's structure, equations tracing energy patterns, and a particularly unflattering sketch of Mystra with horns and a mustache.

"So here's what we know," she said, tapping the board with a piece of chalk. "One: Mystra has been mind-fucking our wizard." She ignored Gale's wince. "Two: She's trying to keep him from remembering something he saw while wearing the Crown of Karsus. Three: Whatever he saw is bad enough that she's willing to turn his brain to magical mush rather than let him remember it."

The Tower seemed to pulse in agreement, the lights dimming momentarily.

"And four," Astarion added, lounging in an armchair that had definitely scooted closer to him of its own accord, "she loses her hold on Gale when I'm near him."

"Exactly." Zelara circled a diagram of three interconnected nodes. "The rapport spores worked in small scale, but we need to scale rapid distribution or pre-distribute and activate. We need to fully recover what Gale saw, document it, and then figure out how to shield him—and possibly disseminate the information broadly enough that killing him becomes pointless."

"Always comforting to hear my potential murder discussed so pragmatically," Gale muttered.

"Would you prefer I weep dramatically and wring my hands?" Zel asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Because I can, but it'll waste time we don't have."

"No, no. Proceed with your refreshingly morbid efficiency."

Zel tapped the chalk against her palm as she considered their next steps. The Tower seemed to hum around them, lights subtly shifting in response to her movements. She couldn't help but notice how its responses to Astarion had become more pronounced—it had given him the sun again without even being asked. The sentient building had clearly chosen its favorite.

"I'll focus on the spores today," she announced, setting down the chalk and dusting her hands. "We need to perfect the distribution mechanism before Mystra sends more of her lackeys."

She cast a sideways glance at Astarion, who was examining his nails with affected nonchalance while the armchair beneath him gradually adjusted to a more comfortable angle.

"And I assume you'll be alternating between sunbathing, whispering sweet nothings to your architectural admirer, and—if you're feeling particularly productive—maybe evaluating the Tower's physical defenses?" She grinned, waiting for the inevitable comeback.

Astarion looked up, one eyebrow arched perfectly. "Oh darling, don't be jealous. The Tower has certain... amenities you simply can't provide. Though I'm sure you're still my favorite in other departments."

The Tower's lights flickered in what Zel could have sworn was amusement.

"Fuck off," she laughed, turning toward Gale. "What about you? Is your priority accessing the memory today?"

Gale ran his fingers through his hair, now neatly trimmed thanks to Astarion's ministrations. He looked better—clearer-eyed, more present—but uncertainty still shadowed his face.

"Theoretically, yes," he said, frowning at the books spread before him. "But honestly, I'm not sure where to start. The memory feels... slippery. Like trying to grasp water." He glanced up at her. "Perhaps we should work on the spores together again? Yesterday's attempts had enough near misses that perhaps my supervision could continue to mitigate."

Zel considered this. Yesterday's experiments had indeed shown promise—the spores had successfully transmitted surface thoughts between them, though the undercurrent of attached emotions seemed unavoidable. And working together meant keeping Gale engaged, focused, less likely to slip back under Mystra's influence.

"Not a bad idea," she agreed, already mentally cataloging the adjustments they could make. "We'll need to modify the binding agent. I think the problem is that the spores are breaking down as they disperse."

Zel began arranging her reagents in a neat semicircle, her mind already racing through potential solutions. "The issue isn't just getting the spores to transmit information—it's making them resilient enough to survive dispersal." She picked up a vial of iridescent liquid, holding it to the light. "Maybe some kind of coating? A protective shell that dissolves only under specific conditions?"

Her fingers danced over her ingredients, muscle memory guiding her as her thoughts expanded. "But then there's the actual dispersal mechanism. We need something more elegant than just tossing them into the air and hoping for the best." She frowned, tapping her lower lip with a glass stirring rod. "The most efficient thing would be some kind of internal impetus to spread, but only so far—like, each spore maintaining optimal distance from each other spore..."

"Zelara," Gale interrupted, alarm evident in his voice. "Surely you're not suggesting giving the spores some kind of consciousness?"

Zel's eyes lit up as she spun toward him. "That's brilliant! That would be easiest of all!" She grabbed a fresh piece of chalk and began sketching rapidly on the board, her handwriting becoming increasingly illegible with excitement. "Taking these particles with their unique psychic properties and infusing them with just enough sentience to understand spatial relationships—"

"Zel—" Gale tried again, but she was already three steps ahead.

"—creating a permanent network we could access! Then the mechanism of propulsion could be slow and gradual—they'd get themselves in place ahead of time, maintaining optimal coverage without our intervention!"

Astarion leaned forward in his chair, genuine interest breaking through his casual facade. "Like a kind of latent magical network we could use for long-distance communication?"

"Exactly!" Zel pointed at him with the chalk. "Instant messaging across continents!"

Gale stood abruptly, his face pale. "It's like if the Weave could—" His expression suddenly contorted in agony. He clutched his head with both hands and screamed, a sound of pure torment that made Zel's blood run cold.

Zelara's heart slammed against her ribs as Gale's scream cut off abruptly. The moment stretched like honey drizzling from a spoon, and then—

"Gale!"

His body pitched forward like a tree toppling after the final axe blow. Before Zel could lunge forward, Astarion moved—a silverish blur across the room—and caught Gale's limp form mere inches from the floor.

"Shit, shit, shit—" Zel abandoned her notes and scrambled to help as Astarion eased Gale down with unexpected gentleness. "What happened? Did I trigger something? Is it Mystra?"

"I don't know," Astarion snapped, genuine fear sharpening his voice. "He was fine and then—"

A trickle of blood appeared from Gale's nostril, scarlet and stark against his ashen skin. His body convulsed once, twice, limbs twitching violently before falling slack.

"He's unconscious," Astarion hissed, hands hovering uncertainly over Gale's face. "What do we do? Zelara?"

The panic threatening to overwhelm her receded slightly at the sound of her name. She'd dealt with emergencies in the lab countless times. This was no different. Breathe. Assess. Act.

"Elevate his feet," she ordered, already moving to position Gale's legs. "Get blood back to his brain. And keep his head turned so he doesn't choke if he vomits."

The Tower, sensing the emergency, manifested a thick blanket from nowhere. Astarion snatched it and tucked it around Gale with tenderness.

"Gale," Astarion patted the wizard's cheek, his normally sardonic expression replaced with naked concern. "Gale, wake up. Can you hear me?" When there was no response, he looked up at Zelara with something uncomfortably close to fear. "He's not responding."

"Keep trying." Zel scrambled to her feet, rushing toward her workbench which had helpfully expanded itself across the nearest wall. She yanked open drawers until she found what she was looking for—a half-finished diagnostic instrument she'd been tinkering with for months. A network of copper wires and crystal nodes designed to detect magical anomalies in living tissue.

It was still a prototype—temperamental, unpredictable, and prone to shorting out at the most inconvenient moments—but right now, it was their best chance at figuring out what was happening inside Gale's head.

"Come on, you bastard," she muttered, priming the device as she hurried back to where Astarion was still gently tapping Gale's face, voice growing more desperate with each unanswered plea.

"Gale, darling, this isn't amusing anymore," Astarion was saying, a slight tremor in his hands. "I've only just gotten you back. You're not allowed to check out now."

Zelara knelt beside Gale's prone form, her diagnostic device clutched in trembling hands. If she could just get some readings on what was happening inside his brain—maybe identify which parts of the Weave were entangled with his consciousness—

"What in the nine hells is that?" Astarion's voice cut through her concentration.

She glanced up to find him staring at her contraption with undisguised horror. The copper wires gleamed ominously in the Tower's light, crystal nodes pulsing with unstable energy.

"It's just a diagnostic tool," she explained hurriedly, already positioning the main sensor array over Gale's forehead. "It'll help us see what's—"

"Oh no you don't." Astarion's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist with unnerving strength. "Not another one of your experiments. Gale is still breathing and I'd like to keep it that way."

"But I need to—"

"What you need to do," Astarion said through gritted teeth, "is something that won't make this worse."

Zelara opened her mouth to argue, but the words died on her tongue as she took in Astarion's expression. Behind the anger was something she rarely saw in him: genuine fear.

She felt suddenly, utterly helpless. If only she'd paid more attention to healing magic—if only she'd spent less time learning to blow things up and more time putting them back together. If only she were a cleric instead of—

Wait.

"Oh yeah. I make potions." She dropped the device without ceremony, letting it clatter to the floor as she sprang to her feet.

She dashed back to her Workbench, which had apparently been several steps ahead of her. The surface had rearranged itself completely, prominently displaying her strongest healing and restoration potions in a neat row. The lab had even helpfully color-coded them by potency.

"Clever bastard," she muttered gratefully, snatching up three vials and tossing the healing potion—a vibrant crimson liquid that seemed to glow from within— to Astarion across the room.

He caught it one-handed without looking, his eyes never leaving Gale's face. In a practiced motion, he uncorked the vial with his teeth and spat the stopper aside. With unexpected gentleness, he cradled Gale's head and began carefully pouring the potion into his mouth, just a few drops at a time.

"Come on, darling," he murmured, massaging Gale's throat with expert fingers to trigger the swallowing reflex. "That's it. Just a little more. You're doing wonderfully."

Zelara rushed back to Gale and Astarion carrying her other potions, skidding on the polished floor in her haste. Zelara watched, clutching the remaining potions to her chest, as Astarion continued his whispered encouragements. His face, usually so carefully composed, was completely unguarded—raw with concern and something deeper that made her chest ache.

Zel watched Astarion's hands—steady despite everything—as he tipped the last of the healing potion into Gale's mouth. Without prompting, she uncorked the restoration potion and passed it to him. Their fingers brushed in the handoff, and she felt the slight tremble he was hiding so well.

"This one next," she said, forcing her voice to remain clinical despite the panic clawing at her throat.

They'd been so close. So damn close to something good. After fighting gods and monsters and saving the world, they'd almost carved out something for themselves—something real and precious. The way Astarion had looked at Gale this morning. The way Gale had smiled back, unguarded for the first time in months.

And now this.

Zel swallowed hard, watching Astarion carefully administer the restoration potion with the same gentleness as the first. His face was composed, but she knew him well enough to see the fear in the tightness around his eyes, in the tension of his shoulders.

If Gale didn't wake up... gods, what would it do to Astarion? After two centuries of abuse and isolation, he'd finally opened himself to trust, to love beyond just her. And Gale—sweet, brilliant, infuriating Gale—who'd spent months drowning in Mystra's influence, had finally found his way back to them.

It couldn't end like this. She wouldn't let it.

And what about her? The thought slipped through before she could stop it. How could she bear losing Gale now? She'd chosen Astarion over him once, but that didn't mean she loved Gale any less. Didn't mean she wasn't still holding space for him in her heart, waiting for him to find his way back to them both.

"Come on, you stubborn wizard," she whispered, reaching out to squeeze Gale's limp hand. "Don't you dare check out when things are finally getting interesting."

Halfway through the second potion, Gale's body suddenly convulsed. A wet, choking sound escaped his throat, and Astarion instantly rolled him onto his side as Gale began to cough violently.

"That's it," Astarion said, relief bleeding into his voice as he rubbed Gale's back. "Get it all out. You're doing splendidly."

Gale's eyes fluttered open, unfocused and confused. More coughing wracked his body as he struggled to breathe through the liquid in his throat.

"Wh-what—" he managed between coughs.

"Drink the rest," Astarion ordered, already bringing the vial back to Gale's lips. "Now, darling. Don't argue."

For once, Gale didn't. He took the remainder of the potion in small sips, grimacing at the taste but accepting Astarion's ministrations without protest.

Zel felt the tightness in her chest ease slightly as the color returned to Gale's face. She resisted the urge to throw her arms around him, settling instead for a light punch to his shoulder.

"Blood, Gale," she said, gesturing to her own nose. "Might want to deal with that before you start asking questions."

Gale's fingers went to his face, coming away red. He stared at the blood with puzzled concern. "What... happened?"

Astarion, still cradling Gale's shoulders, made an inelegant sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "What happened? What happened is you decided to take a dramatic nosedive in the middle of a perfectly pleasant conversation." His voice had a brittleness Zel rarely heard. "Do you have any idea—" He cut himself off, looking away.

Zel watched as Gale registered Astarion's unusual display of raw emotion. The wizard reached up tentatively, brushing his fingers against Astarion's cheek. She cleared her throat, feeling suddenly like an intruder.

"Maybe you'd like the less emotionally charged version?" she offered, fishing a handkerchief from her pocket and passing it to Gale. "Less weeping and accusations, more facts?"

Astarion shot her a glare that could have curdled milk. "I am not weeping."

"Of course not," Zel agreed cheerfully. "Just getting misty over collapsing wizards. Happens to everyone."

Gale dabbed at his nose, looking between them with growing confusion. "Please, someone just tell me what happened."

Zel sat back on her heels, adopting her best storyteller voice. "Picture this: we're discussing magical theory—as you do—when suddenly you went rigid as a board and pitched forward." She made an exaggerated falling motion with her hand. "And then this one—" she jerked a thumb at Astarion, "—came swooping in like some dashing hero from those terrible novels you pretend not to read."

Despite everything, Gale's lips twitched.

"Caught you like a princess," Zel continued, warming to her theme. "All that was missing was the dramatic kiss to wake you from your enchanted slumber."

Gale laughed weakly. "A princess? Really?"

"Not even in your wildest dreams," Astarion sniffed, regaining some of his composure. "If anyone here would look ravishing in a ballgown, it would obviously be me."

"Obviously," Zel agreed, winking at Gale. "The tiara would look so fetching in his curls."

Gale's laugh was stronger this time, though it ended in a slight wince. "While I appreciate the mental image—" his gaze lingered on Astarion, "—perhaps we could return to what actually happened?"

The momentary lightness faded. Zel met Astarion's eyes over Gale's head, their shared concern hanging between them like a thread pulled taut.

Zel watched as Astarion maneuvered himself behind Gale with surprising gentleness. For someone who often insisted he wasn't the nurturing type, he certainly showed remarkable instincts when it came to caring for their wizard. He positioned Gale between his legs, pulling the man's back against his chest in a protective embrace that made something in Zel's chest twist with fondness.

"Easy now," Astarion murmured, his hands steadying Gale's shoulders. "I've got you."

"I can sit up on my own," Gale protested weakly, though he made no actual effort to pull away from Astarion's support.

"Of course you can," Astarion agreed, not loosening his hold one bit. "But why would you want to when I make such an excellent backrest?"

Zel couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips. "Princess metaphors aside," she said, crossing her legs beneath her on the floor, "that's basically what happened. We were just talking about the spores, you mentioned something about the Weave, and then—bam. You screamed like someone had stabbed you and went down like a sack of potatoes."

"And started bleeding from your nose," Astarion added, thumbing away a smudge of dried blood Gale had missed. "It was all very extra, even for you."

Gale frowned, his fingers going to his temple as if probing for the source of pain. "I think... I think something we were saying must have triggered an attack from Mystra."

"An attack?" Zel repeated, her mind already racing through possibilities.

"Yes," Gale nodded, wincing slightly at the movement. "It felt like—like someone had reached into my mind and crushed something. Just for a moment, but..." He shuddered. "It was excruciating."

Astarion's expression darkened dangerously, his arms tightening around Gale. "If that bitch damaged so much as a single precious neuron in your adorable brain," he hissed, "I'll pull Mystra's out through her nose with a fork and shove it up her ass, where it belongs."

Zel might have laughed at the colorful threat if she weren't so concerned. She chewed her lower lip, her mind racing. How, exactly, did Mystra attack? Mystra wasn't physically present, and while her influence had been pervasive, she hadn't seemed able to interfere since Astarion had somehow pushed her influence out. Could a deity reach directly into someone's mind across such distances? Or was there some other mechanism at work?

"As much as I appreciate your dedication to avenging Gale's brain," she said, "maybe we should focus more on how Mystra did it? If we figure that out, we can make sure she can't do it again."

Astarion's eyes met hers, that familiar spark of understanding passing between them. Sometimes it was almost eerie how quickly he could follow her train of thought.

"Precisely," he said, nodding. "How did the vile thing manage it? There hasn't been a sign of her inside these walls for more than a day now." His fingers absently stroked Gale's arm as he spoke, seemingly unaware of the gesture.

Gale shifted against Astarion's chest, his brow furrowing in concentration. "Mystra is very powerful. She's the goddess of magic, the embodiment of the Weave itself. Her reach—"

"No," Zel cut him off, waving a dismissive hand. "This isn't some raw magic thing. You always jump to that when there's often a simpler answer."

She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she sorted through the problem. "Think about it logically. If Mystra can't talk to you in your head anymore—which she apparently can't when Astarion's around—she certainly can't stab you in it."

Gale opened his mouth to protest, but Zel pressed on.

"So if it wasn't her there in the moment..." She tapped her fingers against her knee, the rhythm helping her think. "It must have been something she left behind. A trap, of sorts."

Zel watched Astarion's face as understanding dawned. He was a master at defusing traps, had spent two centuries working around them at Cazador's bidding, and then had sharpened his skill daily while saving their collective asses on their adventures. She could practically see the connections forming in his mind.

"Whatever we said was the trigger," Astarion continued her thought, "and Gale's collapse was the effect. But where was the effector—the mechanism that produced the effect?"

The way they were sitting, with Gale leaning back against Astarion's chest, Gale's head was quite near Astarion's. Zel saw the exact moment Astarion spotted it—the small silver earring still dangling from Gale's ear. The one with Mystra's symbol that he had inexplicably continued to wear even after everything.

"You absolute sodding idiot," Astarion swore viciously, freeing his hands from around Gale to reach for the earring.

The moment his fingers touched the silver, a sizzling sound filled the air. Astarion yanked his hand back with a pained yelp.

"What—" Gale started, but was interrupted by a loud clatter.

A bowl of ice water spun across the floor toward them, droplets splashing in its wake—courtesy of the Tower, apparently.

Astarion plunged his fingers into the frigid water with a hiss, still muttering a string of curses that would make a dockworker blush.

"Now that," Zel said, half-impressed despite the awful implications, "is a clever bit of work. Have to give the goddess credit where it's due."

She gestured at the earring in Gale's ear. "It actually pierces your flesh, and you put it there willingly. It's a perfect vehicle for this sort of thing." She tapped her own ear. "Even conveniently close to your brain."

Gale's hand flew to his ear, fingers almost brushing against the small silver ornamentation before Astarion could bat his hand away. "This?" His voice was incredulous. "But I've worn this for years—"

"Which means she's had a direct line to your mind for years," Zel concluded grimly. "Good gods, Gale."

"No, that’s ridiculous. I’d know if I was being influenced… Except... no, I wouldn’t. She’s been in my head. Of course I wouldn’t."

Zel watched Gale's face shift from confusion to horror as understanding dawned. She knew that expression—the realization that you'd been carrying your own doom around without knowing it.

"Well, at least we're well-equipped for this particular problem," she said, pushing herself to her feet and extending a hand to Gale. "You happen to be in the company of experts."

Gale looked between them, a small, wry smile forming despite everything. "Let me guess—explosives specialist and master of locks?"

"I prefer 'alchemical genius,'" Zel corrected, hauling him upright, "but close enough."

Astarion withdrew his fingers from the ice water, examining them with a scowl. "And I am, as ever, the undisputed champion of trap diffusal."

"Which you just demonstrated beautifully by immediately triggering said trap," Zel teased, unable to help herself.

"I was gathering valuable information," Astarion sniffed, rising gracefully to his feet. "Now we know it's protected by some kind of anti-tamper failsafe."

Zel guided Gale toward her workbench, which had helpfully unfolded itself from its compact traveling form into a sprawling laboratory setup. Various tools and instruments lay organized in neat rows—tweezers, clamps, small vials, and a selection of reagents that might neutralize whatever enchantments protected the earring.

"Sit," she instructed, pushing Gale onto the stool that had slid across the floor toward them. "And don't touch anything. Especially not that earring."

Gale obeyed, looking slightly dazed. "I can't believe I've been wearing Mystra's personal listening device this whole time."

"To be fair, you were wearing it when we saved the world too," Zel pointed out, selecting a pair of rubber-tipped tweezers from her workbench. "So it's not like she could have been that upset about it."

"Or," Astarion suggested darkly, "she's simply been waiting for the right moment to use it."

Zel pulled on a pair of thick gloves and positioned herself beside Gale, peering at the earring. "This might sting a bit."

She reached for the earring with the tweezers, and immediately a small spark leapt from the silver to the metal tips. The jolt traveled through the implement and into Zel's hand, sending a painful shock up her arm.

"Fuck!" she yelped, dropping the tweezers with a clatter.

"Perhaps a bit more finesse?" Astarion suggested, looking annoyingly amused.

"Perhaps a bit more shut up?" Zel shot back, shaking her hand to dispel the tingling sensation.

Her next attempt involved coating the tweezers in an insulating resin. This time, she managed to grasp the earring, but as soon as she tugged, a small puff of greenish gas erupted from it. The cloud enveloped her face before she could react, immediately making her head spin. She staggered backward, dropping to one knee as the room tilted alarmingly.

"Zel!" Both men moved toward her, but she waved them back.

"Don't—" she gasped, fighting the heaviness in her limbs. "Knockout gas. Give me... a minute."

After several false starts and one more minor burn that left Astarion hissing curses in at least three languages, they finally managed to extract the earring. Zel held it suspended with a pair of ceramic tweezers over a small glass vial filled with a neutralizing solution she'd hastily mixed.

"Do the honors?" she asked Astarion, who was still nursing his singed fingertips.

With exaggerated caution, he reached out and tapped the tweezers. The earring dropped into the vial with a satisfying plunk.

"Tower," Astarion called, his voice imperious but somehow fond, "be a dear and dispose of this wretched thing? Preferably somewhere Mystra won't find it easily—the bottom of the harbor should do nicely."

The vial floated up from Zel's workbench and was yeeted out of one of the windows, which obligingly swung open to let it pass.

Zel watched the vial vanish into the distance. Turning back to Gale, she noted with satisfaction that his color was already improving. The earring's removal seemed to have lifted some invisible weight from him, his shoulders looser and his eyes clearer than they had been minutes ago.

"How do you feel?" she asked, tugging off her gloves.

Gale touched his earlobe gingerly, a small red mark the only evidence of what had been there. "Lighter," he said, sounding faintly surprised. "Like someone's turned down the volume on a constant noise I'd grown so used to I stopped noticing it."

Astarion, still fussing with his burned fingertips, made a dismissive noise. "You wizards and your poetic hyperbole. Can't you just say 'better'?"

Zel snorted. "This from the man who once spent twenty minutes describing how the moonlight made his skin look 'transcendently luminous.'"

"It did," Astarion sniffed, examining his fingers with exaggerated concern. "And I was right to point it out."

Gale laughed, and the sound hit Zel straight in the chest—warm and rich and so free of the strain that had clouded everything since their arrival. This was her Gale, not the fog-brained, haunted man they'd found.

She looked between them, a sudden fierce possessiveness washing over her. Her boys. Her ridiculous, brilliant, dramatic men. One who'd spent centuries thinking he was too monstrous to be loved, and one who'd spent years convinced that he wasn't enough to be loved. Both utterly wrong, and both finally, finally starting to see it.

Something warm and dangerous swelled in her chest, burning past her usual careful restraint.

"Oh, fuck it," she muttered, and before either of them could react, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around them both.

She felt them stiffen in surprise, but she didn't let go, burying her face against their shoulders where they met. Gradually, she felt them relax, Astarion's arm sliding around her waist while Gale's hand came up to cup the back of her head.

For a long moment, the three of them simply stood there, a tangle of limbs and warmth that felt—impossibly, wonderfully—like home.

Finally, she stepped back, clearing her throat against the suspiciously tight feeling there. "Now," she said briskly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "what were we talking about before that harpy interfered?"

[dearmahiru-archive]

cinnamon!! got any predictions for mikoto and kotokos trial 2 cover songs?

so embarrassing that i was like "aw i wish i could think of something else to post for today" and then i shot up like a bullet going "OH NO WAIT I RECIEVED AN ASK!!!"

um uhm well. hmm. my track record for this has been 1/3 so far so i'd like to see how wrong i am! i don't think these two could get robbed out of any specific cover.

there's tons of different mikoto options i've seen and i want them all tbh. horrid that we're only allowed three when he could easily do so many more... in my perfect reality he protected mahiru from the yandere allegations and covered psychogram himself.

although, funny story with mikoto is that i was discussing potential covers with gunslingr and they said "i fear mikoto will have a chimera cover" right before i said i hope he gets one. my face literally beat red it was soooo embarrassing!!!!

even if i'm still horrified over the memory, i'll still stick to my guns and say i'd like a chimera cover. is it deserving over other songs? absolutely not! but it feels right to me. the cover art depicting miku with three sets of one's—one yanking her hair, one grasping her shoulders, and one praying—really struck me as rgbkoto. especially with the different color palettes bathing one part of her in warm colors while the other is colder (there's a similar mikoto artwork i believe?) there's also the song's name "chimera" which relates to mikoto being made up of multiple identities stitched together instead of a singlet.

the song's theme of reinventing yourself for the sake of attention and hating it also really strikes me as mikotocore. i'm not too familiar with his story just yet but from what i've gathered he struggles with maintaining this easy-going facade in order to blend in with society.

off-tapic but i'm not sure if he works for a black company but... yes, it doesn't justify murdering an innocent bystander (yet) but i will be very upset on his behalf if that turns out to be true. the industry culture of stressing your artists out, making them work overtime, drinking themselves to death, paying them pennies, and then forcing them to maintain this happy-go-lucky attitude—it drives me insane! treat your workers better asshole!!!!!

sorry had to get that off my chest >< but back to the chimera cover! if the black company theory is true then it reads to me like mikoto urging himself to wear this sweet facade whilst loathing everything around him. as an extension of monopoisoner it also has the same "you" themeing and sexual undertones.

Don’t be greedy or you'll drown in poison -> hehe monopoisoner reference

Your face looks like you're trying to suppress your EGO But watch your mouth, love how unsatisfied you are And be sure to swallow any uncouth words

Aw, I just don't know who I am I'm cute Chimera who's changed ←new??That blotchy pattern was a message I'm a pretty little Chimera made to be desired ←♡♡♡

kotoko's a bit harder because my thought process is ❤️❤️❤️ she's so cool! she'll get a cool song! and that's kind-of it.

unfortunately my knowledge of deco is mostly locked into the mvs on his main channel and utaite rachie's cover so uhm. i'm sure there's older songs perfect for her as an extension of anti-beat but dear lord i do not know them. so uh, just going to off of "kotoko would sound so wonderful singing this!!"

I KNOW!! I KNOW!! TWO BORING ANSWERS BACK-TO-BACK LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!

i'm honestly not a fan of reversible campaign so i'd genuinely prefer if she got 118 or another high-energy song. but hm... it once again simply feels right to me. i feel like kotoko is powerful enough to grab me by the throat and force me to like the song through sheer instrumental change and vocals. rather than mikoto where i can connect him to the entire song, it's really only these two lyrics which strike me as kotokocore:

Using my worthless ego as a pretext I just want to waver between black and white

she insists she doesn't need to be traumatized in order to act this way... she hates herself like everyone else does in the prison. even as she tasks herself as judge, jury, and executioner, i highly suspect its because no one else fought for her. the world she's in is divided between the weak and strong, nothing else. the lashing out in anti-beat slowly dies down into reversible campaign as she considers her feelings. or uh, something like that?

apart from that my absolutely copium cover desires would be theory of negativity, undead alice, ane ghost rule. i feel like those are deffo going to my/haruka/shidou but. but she'd totally slay them. god bless. alternatively for her t3 cover i hope she covers undercover it'd be iconic.

once again kotoko sits in a strange place for me because everything she does will be perfect to me. she's just so cool...!

[fourseasonsfigs]

Little Daoist Priest

Wait a minute, you may be saying. Didn't I just see this fig on your blog a couple days ago?

Sort of! You saw another version of this fig, dressed in the same outfit, holding the same sword. This set of photos was just too good, and inspired the fig maker to make two figs.

Here's the exact inspiration for this fig:

He's outrageously beautiful. I feel inspired too, frankly. I'd take all the figs in all the various poses from this and set them up one after the other. I could make a little stop motion movie!

In case this is your first time seeing this fig (or my blog), this is Gong Jun as Dong Fang Yuechu in the not yet released Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Yue Hong. I'm not sure if I'm more excited for this series or for Junjun's upcoming The Legend of Anle. Both of them have gorgeous costumes and interesting looking stories, so hard to say. Probably this one, if I had to pick, because I really want to see Junjun in a xianxia show.

This fig was in the same series as the other one, and both arrived safely on my doorstep in their protective polystyrene boxes. Unlike the other fig, this one didn't have the big foam hair protector. You'll see why as we take a visual tour around this fig.

Unfortunately, when I took out his sword, I saw it only had the tiniest little hilt! It didn't look broken in the package - there was no small grey piece in the little sword bag, so either it is meant to be this way (unlikely) or it got broken in the factory before packing.

The hilt was in no way long enough for him to hold, so I had to resort to my old friend Glue. I think it ended up looking OK!

These robes have LAYERS. Wait until we get to the end of the post here, you'll see what I mean!

You can see that his hair here is vertical, not flowing in the wind like the other fig.

You can really see from this angle how short the hilt of his sword is in his hand. Never mind any thought it was supposed to be this way, it clearly got snapped off in the factory!

There's a little bit of sideways motion to his hair, and with his robes. I like it.

Little more of the sideways motion. His hair is so sedate compared to the other fig!

His guan and ribbons are as magnificent as ever. Look at the wrapping of the hair around his loop topknot!

We just get a little bit of the print on the shoulders, which is too bad. This costume is so pretty.

The fig maker made his eyes the exact same swirly pattern as the other fig, which makes sense. They are wearing the same costume, after all, and the eyes are picking up on the patterns.

This is a good angle to see some of the layering on the costume, but not nearly as good as this angle:

He has his pants, and then four more layers here! Amazing.

I wish all this layering was more visible when the fig was standing up.

That gorgeous guan - the base of it looks almost like a lotus flower, doesn't it?

Such a pretty fig. Unlike the other Yuechu fig, this one stands up on it's own just fine.

Since this came in the same series as the other one, it too has neither printed box or box card, which is a pity. I would have loved more of the fig artwork.

Thanks for reading through this week's Junzhe Extended Universe fig posts! We'll be back to the regular schedule (of randomly selected figs) tomorrow!

Material: Resin

Fig Count: 411

Scene Count: 29

Rating: Double trouble!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[deja-you]

Starlight

m. de lafayette x reader

chapter four | champagne and sunsets

summary: it was never your intent to be anything more than a common thief, but fate—and a rather attractive general—have other plans for you.

word count: 2.5k

masterlist | previous | next

The expression the receptionist makes when she hands over the key to the honeymoon suite is a little too suggestive, but other than that, you find that Ambros is a rather lovely planet. The high ceilings and gilded artwork on the walls of the hotel you were staying at were a mere microcosms for the glistening planet itself, rich off tourists and natural minerals. You had a brief amount of time to read up on the history of the planet from a pamphlet at the front desk while Lafayette was checking in.

The elevator ride to the twelfth floor is quick, and you and Lafayette carry your luggage to room 1215. With the slide of the key, the door swings open and you take in the sight before you. The room is spacious with large windows and a balcony facing out over the rose-colored sea. There's a large king-sized bed that takes up most of the space, rose petals strewn over the sheets. Romantic.

A golden bottle of champagne sits in an ice bucket calling out to you. You drop your bags to the floor and make your way to the champagne where you find a small note from the hotel congratulating you and Lafayette on your wedding. You stifle a laugh and brandish the bottle for Lafayette to see.

"Free champagne," you grin.

Lafayette raises an eyebrow. "Starlight, we're working. This isn't a vacation."

You roll your eyes. "I'm aware, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun. Congress is paying for the room, we really shouldn't let that money go to waste, right?"

He gives you a pointed look. "Your logic is flawed."

You sigh and put the bottle back down into the bucket; maybe you'll revisit the idea of opening the bottle of alcohol if he is going to be so uptight for the entire mission.

"I'm going to go scout the area," you mutter to him, coming up with an excuse to leave your shared living area. It's probably a good idea to memorize the layout anyway. You barely register Lafayette's response as you begin to explore the resort.

There are two entire floors dedicated just to the casino, and you make a note to yourself to check them out before you leave. A few restaurants: fine dining on the lower levels, small cafes toward the middle of the building, and a bar on one of the top observation decks. There are many attractions your hotel offers, and you decide to check out the conservatory on the twenty-ninth floor.

It's rather busy around this time of day, but the conservatory is expansive enough that you can walk around freely without bumping elbows with anyone. Walking from section to section, you slyly listen to bits and pieces of conversation hoping to pick up a lead on your target. Some time passes and realizing that you've examined a starfire flower one too many times, you decide it's time to search somewhere else.

In the elevator, you catch sight of the label "pool" on the highest level and don't think twice before pushing the button. Moments later, the elevator has shot into the sky, and with a ding, the doors roll open to reveal the light purple of the twilight sky. The weather is just right when you step out onto the roof, the warm climate of the planet combatted nicely with the early evening breeze.

Most guests are attending dinner at this time or going to see a show in one of the many theaters, so the pool deck is all yours for the taking. It's been a long day for you, so you think you deserve a little bit of self-indulgence. Removing your shoes, you sit down by the pool that seems to stretch on forever, reflecting the sky on its calm surface, and you dip your feet into the tranquil waters. Closing your eyes, you allow yourself to soak in the peace of the moment.

It feels like an eternity, but when you open your eyes and see that the sun has hardly moved from its low place in the sky, you know you haven't been up here too long. You hear the sound of the elevator doors opening and immediately you tense up in annoyance that someone would come to bother your solitude. You're about to pull your legs out of the water when the intruder speaks.

"I had a feeling I'd find you up here."

You turn your head slightly to see Lafayette walking toward you. You relax a bit. Once he approaches your side, he sits down next to you, and to your surprise, he rolls up his pant legs and dips his feet into the water beside you.

"Found any leads yet?" He asks.

You hum a response and shake your head. "No. You?"

"Nothing on out target, but I'm pretty sure there's a young cardshark in the casino that's been conning wealthy guests out of their money," he says.

This makes you smile a little. "Good for them. I used to do similar work."

"I'm just going to assume you mean working in a casino and not being a con-artist."

“What? We met because I decided to con you; are you not a fan of the business?” You lightly nudge his shoulder with your own as you tease him.

“Starlight, it’s illegal,” he points out.

“Only if you get caught.”

“But you did get caught.”

You purse your lips. “Yes, because I saved your life. You wouldn’t have ever found me if I didn’t have that one moral lapse of judgement.”

“Moral lapse of judgement?”

“Mm, yes,” you hum, “I was quite successful looking out for myself and making a living. It’s a shame I suddenly felt a sense of conviction and decided to save your life.”

Lafayette snorts at this. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you had a change of heart.”

You study his face in the dying light, pushing down the butterflies in your stomach that inevitably appear when he gives you that sideways smile. In this quiet moment, you take the time to admire the golden lines that run from his ears up the side of his forehead, intricately linking and marking him as Franco nobility. You want to memorize them and draw the patterns on your own skin; they’re beautiful. Before he can see that you’ve been staring, you look away, eyes falling to the reflections in the pool. You’re happy to be here now with him.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad, too.”

When the last of the daylight finally leaves the sky, Lafayette stands to his feet and offers you a hand. You accept, pulling yourself up to your full height. It's too cold to stay on the rooftop any longer, so the two of you step into the elevator and press the button for your room number.

The elevator ride is uneventful, and when you get to your floor, the cool evening air greets you once again. The wide halls of your floor have open walls, large columns are wedged between the floor and the ceiling. You and Lafayette lazily walk down the hall, not in a rush to be anywhere. There are a few other guests meandering about in the open air, and that's when you spot the group of New Britannia soldiers making their way down the hall.

Ambros is such a lovely planet, you nearly forget it's currently New Britannia territory in a bordering system. Troops of soldiers police the planet, checking credentials and arresting anyone they suspect have ties to the United Planets of Amerigo.

The troops are making their way down the hall, speaking with guests occasionally and checking their papers. Your heart begins to thrash against the walls of your ribcage as they get nearer. Lafayette bares the markings of Franco nobility, and Francosia has been known to sympathize with Amerigo.

In a split second, you've made up your mind.

Taking Lafayette's hand in yours, you pull him over to a column, adjusting the both of you to where you are placed with your back to the pillar and Lafayette in front of you. You guide his hands to your waist, and while he looks a bit bewildered, he allows your movements. Your hands reach up to cup either side of his face, your fingers deliberately covering up the golden markings on his face. You pull him closer so you are standing cheek to cheek as you hear the soldiers’ footsteps get closer.

“Just go along with it until they’re gone,” you whisper into his ear, smiling against his skin as if you’re saying something scandalous.

His eyes flicker to the soldiers with a look of realization before looking back to you. You press your lips against his cheek, and Lafayette seems to get the message, because the next thing you know, he’s wraps his arms around your waist and pushes you roughly against the stone behind you. Lafayette buries his face in the nape of your neck, leaving a trail of kisses over your shoulder and along your collarbone.

His lips find a sweet spot, and he begins sucking a hickey into your skin, causing a soft moan to escape your lips. With one hand shielding his face from the passing soldiers, your other hand finds its place at the back of his neck. You can’t help but wonder when the Amerigo Army had time to teach its generals this technique.

The soldiers pass you with no problems, muttering something about “lovebirds” under their breath. Lafayette seems to have forgotten all about them, his lips moving up your neck to your cheek. He’s placing a kiss on the corner of your lips when you come back to your senses and lightly tug on the lapels of his suit.

“Love,” you say, and the both of you are both hyper-aware of how desperate and breathy your voice sounds. “Maybe we should take this back to the bedroom.”

His eyes meet yours, and he seems to understand the meaning behind your words. To your surprise, Lafayette picks you up bridal style and carries you back to the room. Once inside, he kicks shut the door behind the two of you and sets you down gently on the bed. Now that it’s just the two of you, Lafayette takes a step back from you. Tension lingers in the air.

“I… I’m sorry about that.” Lafayette’s eyes trail to the ground, obviously embarrassed.

You clear your throat, skin still warm from the moment before. “There’s nothing to apologize for. It was all just part of the cover.”

There is an awkward moment of silence between the two of you. Finally, he nods and moves toward the bathroom.

“Well, we have a long day tomorrow.”

“Yes, we should probably get ready for bed then,” you agree.

Lafayette spares you one last look, attempts a smile, and disappears into the bathroom. You hear the shower being turned on seconds later and take that as your cue to change into your nightgown. You slip into the cool covers of the bed, propping yourself up on the pillows until you find a comfortable place for yourself. While you wait for Lafayette to finish showering, you pull out your tablet and begin reading up on Ambrosian customs; you can never be too informed.

You have no idea of how long it has been, but eventually the shower shuts off. A few moments later the door swings open, and Lafayette steps out.

"About time," you tease. "Thought I'd never get a chance to brush my teeth."

"Next time you can join me. I hate to think you've been sitting out here bored," he responds.

You'd like to take a moment to think about how incredibly flirtatious his comment is, but your mind goes blank when you look up at him. He's fresh out of the shower, hair still wet. Lafayette wears a pair of dark sweatpants that hang too low on his waist. He's not wearing a shirt, and you can't help but stare at his toned skin. His stomach and arms are well-defined, and you catch the golden glint of the small medallion he wears around his neck.

He shrugs on a white t-shirt, and you can tell his body is still wet from the shower by the way the shirt clings to his torso. Never before have you wanted to be a t-shirt so badly in your life. You feel your face heat up, and you are in the process of pulling your gaze away from him, when he looks up and meets your eyes. The way his lips curved up into a smirk left you with a visceral feeling.

“S’there something I can help you with, starlight?” His tone is light and playful.

Your throat is dry, but you manage to get out, “I can think of a few things.”

Lafayette throws his head back and laughs quietly at your response, and you despise the way your heart crashes against its cage at his actions. You slide out of bed and move past him into the bathroom, putting toothpaste on your toothbrush and then shoving the toothbrush into your mouth before you say or do anything more that you’ll regret. Lafayette doesn’t notice the way you are aggressively brushing your teeth, and you don’t notice the way his eyes linger on the neckline of your nightgown and the hem that ends at your upper thigh.

When you finish brushing your teeth, Lafayette is taking a pillow off the bed and moving it to the floor.

“What are you doing?” You ask, knowing perfectly well what his intentions are.

He looks at you bewildered. “I just thought it would be—”

“I’m not going to make you sleep on the ground.”

“You’re not making me do anything.”

“Am I really that deplorable to be around?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

Lafayette sort of resembles a deer in headlights at this moment. He shakes his head. “Starlight, we shouldn’t. It’s just that…”

“What? What is it?” Your hands have found their place on your hips and you quirk an eyebrow up at him, waiting for a response.

The answer is on the tip of his tongue. He knows why he shouldn’t share the bed with you, but truth is something he can’t say out loud. Lafayette sighs in defeat, picking up the pillow from the ground and tossing it back to the head of the bed.

Content with your victory, you climb under the covers on your side of the bed. Lafayette is still hesitant, but eventually he climbs into bed as well, keeping an absurd amount of distance from you. You consider making a comment about this, but you’ve already argued with him enough about the bed itself, so you bite your tongue. The light beside your bed is the only thing keeping the room from darkness; you turn it off and settle into bed.

“Goodnight.” You say this quietly, the darkness imbuing the room with a sense of peace that you are all too afraid to mess up.

Lafayette must feel this, too, because his response is a whisper as well. “Goodnight, starlight.”

[grimoire-of-geekery]

Detect Magic: the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik

(pictured here- the deluxe edition [left] and the Arcanist edition of the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik)

Y'know, it's been a long time since I did one of these, but here goes. It's time for another Detect Magic review. I haven't put the Dork Magician hat on for a while, so let's give this a whirl!

Today we're taking a look at the Sixth World Tarot, by Echo and Lazarus Chernik. She has this available on her website (click the above link), which come signed by the artist and the author. I'm a bit bummed, I bought a copy of this deck juuuuust before she started signing them. Not her fault, but still. XD

For those of you unfamiliar with Shadowrun, it's a cyberpunk dystopian magic-and-mech RPG setting and fantasy novel universe which originated in the late 80's. The premise is that magic is growing stronger, the world experienced a big Awakening in the early 2000's, right around the same time that corporations managed to gain extraterritoriality. So, you have dragons running huge megacorps, which basically enslave people to be lifelong wageslaves from birth (or as soon as they can get their hands on a desired talent), immersive VR Matrix hackers, cyberware enhanced fighters and magic practitioners acting as "deniable assets" to said corps for all sorts of shady business.

Hence the name "Shadowrun."

This setting, one of my absolute favorite settings out there, has had the misfortune of developing a sort of eerie prophetic element akin to the Simpsons and its bizarre track record of prediction of ludicrous world events. Shadowrun was intended to be a cautionary tale, not an oracular one. That being said, that does make a tarot based on Shadowrun more than a little on-the-nose for predictive purposes. After all, they're telling the future without even trying. Wait until they actually put some effort into it...

All right, time to Detect Magic!

Accessory- Crit (4 out of 4) Stunning artwork, evocative imagery... this deck is gorgeous. It's so beautiful, and so intricate and well made, that people who don't even read tarot (or even particularly like tarot) buy several copies for their geeky collections, and even people who don't particularly care about Shadowrun have dropped their jaw when I showed the deck to them.

A bit busier than I'm used to working with (not the art, but the extras which I'll explain later), I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the cards when I first got them. The box for both editions I own are a nice durable gloss with a magnetic foldover closure, there's a ribbon inside each to help pull the cards and book out of the box, and the decorative artwork is gorgeous and fitting with the setting. Definitely aesthetically pleasing enough to take places, and durable enough to resist scuffing or tearing for on-the-go divination and gaming use.

Tome- Crit (4 out of 4) So, the Tome section of this review is supposed to be about how well the cards help one in the pursuit of learning magic and practicing geekomancy. And... really, I don't think I've found a deck (or any artifact of fandom) quite as good as this.

Let me explain.

Tarot, in the sorcery practice I teach, are already basically a pictorial grimoire, describing life in a way that allows us to learn the hidden movements, mysteries, and forces at play in our world. Art is good for things like that in general. It helps you see the world through a special lens, one which allows you to see things you might have missed.

The thing is, the lens of this deck is the Shadowrun continuity, which as I said earlier, has proven to be more than a little prophetic, and alarmingly so.

The magic system of Shadowrun is pretty adjacent to our own. Life force lines, spiritual power sites, astral projection and spirits and magical "energy" forms, initiatory mysteries... it's all pretty much the same as our own reality, just juiced up a bit, with some extra game elements added (don't even ask me about insect spirits).

This makes the deck particularly helpful if one wishes to learn magic in any of the myriad ways described in Shadowrun (and they're particularly respectful and diverse and true-to-life in their tradition descriptions).

BUT, it also has an entire lore-book called the Book of the Lost associated with it, which explains all these little secret sigils and images and easter eggs stored throughout the deck, which can be used for gamebuilding and storytelling, but are designed to be arcane indicators and omens, among other things. And the kinds of symbols they use range from sentences or mottos in dead languages, all the way to waveform patterns and dot-matrix maps. I swear, if you're one of those people who like puzzles and cryptography, this deck is even more fun than the Hermetic Tarot.

In summary, while you'll have to get some Shadowrun sourcebooks to really get deep into the canon lore, there's so much of it that the cards really show you on their own that I don't consider this a setback at all. Feel free to deep-dive with this deck, you'll learn a TON about magic if you let it guide you.

Relic- Success (3 out of 4) If you read the Book of the Lost, or Unearthed Arcana, or any of the 5th edition Shadowrun magic sourcebooks, you'll see that "tarot magic" is an up and coming thing in their canon. Each text helps you see how practitioners use the cards in-game for spellcasting, ritual magic, initiation practices and spirit summoning. The Tarot are already really valuable as central objects of importance to certain kinds of magical practice. This particular deck is designed to be so handy a central object that there's an entire book dedicated to it.

Weapon- Success (3 out of 4) The only reason I'm rating this a success instead of a crit is because they don't provide enough spreads in the various associated books for one to immediately begin casting spells with them, which means you'll have to do some designing. They do have a couple solid unique spreads for basic divination though.

The deck's canon in-game suggests ritual practices like gathering and doing a ritual with sets of related cards, and one such ritual was easily adapted in my own practice, into the Lucky Kimono spread I designed (which people can read about on my Patreon at the higher tiers). So, even without outright including spell-spreads, they sort of gave us clues anyway.

Again, you're going to need the sourcebooks, but it's only a few of them, and they're well worth a read even if you're not planning on playing the game (and I don't play in the actual Shadowrun mechanical system, though I do like the sourcebooks for campaign setting ideas).

Overall Rating: Critical Success (14 out of 16)

Achievement Unlocked: Novahot Echo's artwork is already legendary in the dork realms of geekomancy. She's done work for Dungeons and Dragons, Mage: the Ascension, House of Night... she's even working on a Fate: the Winx Saga playing card deck right now. Her art-nouveau delicacy combined with the powerful non-pandering way she draws women means that her paintings pack a punch!

That being said, it's rare that we see professional artists create a tarot deck of this magnitude as a gaming accessory. Most tarot decks of this caliber are found in professional occult catalogues or as independent projects by artists just wanting to flex their skills for their own reasons. To have a deck like this, clearly a labor of love by all involved, as a major element of gameplay within a franchise is really very special. And something this diverse, deep, and absolutely saturated with layers of ciphers and riddles... it's a geekomancer's dream come true.

Level Up: 2 Levels I think the only way anyone's going to be able to top this deck is if they manage to design a tarot deck that's also a fully immersive VR video game AND an AR game and divination tool useable with one's iPhone or Android. Legit, Echo and Lazarus left everyone in the dust. I haven't been this excited about Shadowrun since Shadowrun Returns first came out, and I got a set of dogtags that had a USB drive with the game on it.

It's just... crazy cool.

Full disclosure, I've had the deluxe edition of these cards for a while now, so I've basically been low-key squeeing about this deck since I first heard about it in 2018, even before I got it. I've been utterly astonished that people weren't more excited about them, and I wasn't hearing about them everywhere.

Before this, I created my own Shadowrun tarot method using the Universal Transparent Tarot (cuz, y'know, plastic and see-through and weird little mosaic readings all in one place, seemed fitting to me), and when I got the Sixth World Tarot? I don't think I've opened the UTT since!

Anyway, this is my review of this deck! Go follow the link up at the top of this post, and buy yourself one! And hey, let me know if you figure out the cool little map trick. My jaw literally dropped when I was shown that!

[dikshitasarkar]

7 Traditional bedroom ideas in kerala.

Traditional decoration indicates a style firmly anchored in the past but does not mean boring, date, fussy or a room of antiques. The traditional style instead comprises a classic design, symmetrical decor, rich colours and a comfortable but rather formal atmosphere. Bedrooms are the best rooms in the house that can follow your heart, express your character, and create a genuinely personal environment. The following ideas will help if you want to change your bedroom traditionally.

Make the most of original features.

This large bedroom design has exposed timber adding to its character. It is a classic of traditional bedroom ideas with antique and vintage mobilization, but bedroom interior design Kerala color choices looks is fresh and up-to-date. Decorate the room with pretty soft furniture and paint other furniture, such as drawers' chests, an armchair, and bedside tables.

Don't worry about using color.

A common misunderstanding is that it must be dark or heavy or fully neutral in its traditional palette. Color touches add to traditional space life, comfort and personality. Windows, bedding, artwork and tiny furniture, as well as the funky zebra-print chair in this room, are the easiest places for color splashes. Find your world the way you want to color. You may want to choose a soft green or yellow paint if you like to garden to recreate the feeling of the outside. Choose a darker bedroom wall color, like deep grey, dark blue or even black it works well, to create a more modern and glamorous feel. However, always remember that the ultimate aim of your bedroom is to offer a relaxing sleeping retreat.

The traditional bedroom and elegance.

The symmetry and classical style of the traditional look offers a sophisticated and costly natural elegance, even if the decorative balance is in reality small. You can get many interior design ideas from online however, the best interior design ideas in Kerala allows you to choose the professional designs for you bedroom.

Maintain the simple traditional style.

No excess furniture or accessories must be provided to create the beautiful style, only a general feel for good design and a unified plan to link everything. In this case, there's only sufficient color for a palette of blue, white and lime green while an exuberant floral wallpaper is sufficient.

Try cottagecore style in your traditional bedroom

The cottagecore look is a cornerstone of traditional dormitory ideas, and it can be elegant if you take a delicate approach, choose foliage rather than floral ones, and add modern graphics to them. A wall-back design of color will make the room look more traditional than one cottage style. In addition to being just lovely, patterns help to insert an accent in the color scheme. bedroom design Kerala are also a great choice for creating an interesting tonal effect without adding too many colors. Since you will never see too many hues mixed in colors are more than welcome in a traditional design.

Start small with additional pillows and clothes to bring traditional patterns into the room. You'll continue with larger jobs, such as new curtains and polishing rooms if you like the result!

Seat the window

If you are fortunate enough to have profound enough window recesses and low enough for a window seat, the bedroom is the ideal place to sit down and have traditional bedroom ideas. It is the ideal place to read or relax and observe the clouds.

Accessorize

Bedrooms are an excellent place to display your photos, consider some new frames or paint your old images to bring new life into your photographs. Make sure that you have enough bedside lights to read, and you buy a new lamp from elsewhere in the house if you do not.

End line

Most people would prefer and love looking at their homes traditionally, especially in their bedrooms. You can think of the interior design ideas above, if you love a traditional look, to transform the appearance of your bedroom.

[forextrendyscanner]

If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners

[diki6808]

If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners

[lifenetinsurance]

If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners

[robertntran]

If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners

[juliettespencerus]

If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners

[jmj973]

If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners

[kilburn21954512-blog]

If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners

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If You Need Home Improvement Advice Then Check Out These Tips Home improvement can bring your home up-to-date, make it more comfortable and help you sale it more quickly. The size and difficulty of household improvement tasks are wide and varied depending on the job. Save money by doing the other projects on your own, no matter what size undertaking you are considering you may find it enjoyable. Keep reading to pick up a few hints that may come in handy. Learn your personal style before beginning any home customization. Your personal decorating style is going to play a serious role in the decisions you will face. You can readily see a necessary change mid-stream, before the project is too far underway. Starting over again may cost you thousands of dollars and add weeks to the completion date. Never waste your money on materials that do not meet quality standards or pose a risk to yourself and your family. Replacing the flooring in your home, for example, can be very expensive, so it pays to shop around. Discount supply stores and bargain stores are both good places to look. In time, the ceramic tiles on your floor may look grimy. A mixture of vinegar and water will safely clean most floors. Fill a bucket with the solution and easily mop your floors. It's also a good product to use if you're eco-conscious. When you select furnishings, don't tie yourself down to pieces that have busy upholstery patterns. Doing so may lock you in to a certain style in your home. Buy solid-colored furniture that can be easily complemented with other shades. Add patterns through pillows, blankets and drapes instead. You can use wallpaper to decorate a bookcase to make it look more appealing. Choose a design that is different and eye catching. Place the wallpaper behind your bookcase, then you will see the design as you stack books. You will get a design boost from this and create an additional interesting piece in your room. Decks that are rotting, paint that is chipping, and water damaged ceilings are items that you should look for if you're buying a home. However, electrical issues, roof damage, foundation damage and other issues require an inspector to notice. Investing a little money before buying a home could end up saving you a lot more in repairs down the road. Keep records of everything you are having done if you have decided to hire a contractor to do your home improvement tasks. Never rely on your contractor to do so. Your file should include estimates and invoices as well as the document outlining your original agreement for the work. This allows the contractor to focus on finishing the task. Expensive artwork is unnecessary when a little imagination will suffice. For example, create your own art with some simple tiles. Choose two different colors of tile and arrange them behind your furniture to give your walls a unique look. If there's a home improvement project that you're doing, getting extra bricks is something you may want to consider. You may run into unexpected problems that necessitate the use of a few extras. Often the styles of bricks will change. Stocking up on extra bricks now can save you a lot of time and effort later. Remember the paint in a room before making other adjustments. If you are planning on installing new floors, do any painting first. Your flooring could get paint on it, even if you have drop cloths put down. You may need a new roof if you have leakage. If you ignore it, mayhem could ensue. Hire a specialist to help you out by analyzing the roof's damage and give you an estimate for repairs. Be sure that he or she is experienced and well-qualified. If you are getting some help from your friends on a home improvement project, the more the merrier. The job will go faster, and if some do drop out, you'll still have plenty of help. As the famous saying dictates, never put your eggs in 1 basket. This is a case where you have to consider this. Among the first aspects when taking on a new home repair project is to clear the area of debris and keep it clear. There will be excess debris that will need to be discarded after the home improvement project. When you start, set aside some room for this debris. Change accessories and freshen your home! A few new pillows or a new wall decoration can create a huge difference in a room. Hang colorful new drapes with texture, a matching vase, set of throw pillows and lamp, and suddenly, your home looks like you hired a high-priced designer. When replacing a roof, it would be wise to use light or white tiles. These lighter-colored tiles help to reflect the sun's rays, and this means a cooler, more comfortable home and less dependence on air conditioning. The less frequently your air conditioner runs, the less money you have to shell out for it. Before you begin your project, research as much as you can. Cutting, ripping and demolishing walls may look like fun. The first thing you must do is check for any electrical wires and components that may still be attached. It could wind up costing a lot to get rid of the structure, so always look into it. One of the most popular types of decks for homeowners nowadays is vinyl. To make sure that they last, these decks need to be cleaned at least twice a year. The preferred times to clean them are in the spring and fall. Planting vibrant colored flowers outdoors is an easy way to spruce up the exterior space of your residence. Select ones that are season appropriate. Keep your bushes or hedges properly tripped, and mow your lawn frequently. Little improvements like that will instantly boost your home's appearance. You have seen a few ideas for improving your home. Be careful; home improvement is the sort of pastime that can get addictive if you do it right. You will be hooked on home improvement if you follow the advice provided. When you have done some projects, you will want even more big challenges.

The Best Tips From Professional Home Improvement Contractors

If you do home improvements, you might think about saving money by doing some of these things yourself. Make sure you have the skills and experience necessary for the job before you get started. The following information will help you determine which projects you can do on your own and which ones you may need support for.

When baseboards are on the agenda for replacement, consider a stained wood look instead of painted. In addition to it having a classic look, the wood's natural and warm look will fit in any type of home. The beauty of stained wood for baseboards is its ability to show fewer scuffs and scrapes. Touch-ups to the baseboards will also blend better. There is a wide selection of colors in wood stain that can match most looks.

You can stop any floor squeaks with construction adhesive. Although you'll need to enter your basement or crawl space to apply it, it will still be worth it to stop the squeaks. Take a caulking gun and put glue on both sides of each floor joist, making sure that the glue binds the subfloor planks with the joists.

If you are looking for issues, rotting wood, peeling paint, and water damage are all tip offs that a house has not been properly maintained. Other items, like electrical issues, will require professional inspection to discover. Therefore, whenever you are purchasing a new home, you should spend money on home inspection to ensure there is nothing wrong with it. Doing this might save you a bunch of money down the road.

Think about putting in insulation whenever you plan on renovating your home. Put weather stripping on the windows and doors. Your heating and cooling systems will be more efficient if you can reduce the amount of outside air entering your home. Thus, you will not spend as much on energy.

If your home improvement project is taking place near or around the kitchen, fireplace or anything else with a gas line, find the shutoff switch prior to starting. The utmost care must be taken in these situations. You can be seriously injured or start a fire during the project.

Before you start staining or painting wood, use sandpaper in order to make the surface smooth; then wipe the item using a damp rag. The smooth finish can be achieved by using a fine grit sandpaper. When you wipe the wood off, it will remove dust and give the wood a smooth finish.

One of the most important things anyone taking on a home improvement project can do is plan things out in advance. Avoiding the planning until the time you begin your project can cause indecisiveness and many lost dollars due to poor, spur-of-the-minute decisions. When you plan what you are doing beforehand, the work is done more efficiently.

Are you looking at replacing your kitchen cabinets? Have you considered wood? They are durable and stand up well to daily use. As in the past, today the finest quality wood cabinets are made from oak, maple, and cherry. They can all be stained and if you want to, you can easily change their color.

A great time to take on big home improvement project is while the real estate market is experiencing a housing slump. Because contractors are lacking enough work in a bad economy, they often charge less for working on large projects. There is no expiration dates on home improvement. Furthermore, any project undertaken during a recession or weakened market will only add greater value at a later date.

If your home is very functional, add more living area. Consider the benefit of having more space for your family and your favorite activities. This will increase the value of your home while making it more enjoyable. Do this only if you have a lot of loot to spend on a home improvement project.

Doing so causes the bristles to buckle and become ineffective. Rather than setting the broom on the floor, buy a hook from which to hang it. That way, the bristles stay straight, and the life of the broom is significantly extended. You want to make sure that your mop is hung so that it can be completely dried, keeping mildew at bay.

When you finally make it to the kitchen, install some new cabinets and tie the entire house together with a bang. Mark and locate any wall stud prior to installing these so you can figure out where screws can go. You can purchase a cheap stud finder for this job.

If you have a lot of attic space, invest in a dormer window to make it usable. This will add charm to the exterior of your home and potentially double your square footage. Making your attic useable will increase the value of your home and offer you more living space, all for a small cost.

Look into the gutter guards if you dislike cleaning your gutters or live in a wooded area. Gutter guards improve and protect your roof's drainage by keeping leaves and other debris out of your gutters. These screens and guards are not entirely trouble-free, you do have to remove the leaves that build up on the outside. But they save a lot of work cleaning out the inside of the gutters.

If there are sections cut out of the walls in your home, differentiate them from the rest of the wall by painting them a different color or using different wallpaper. Choose a smaller bucket of paint for these areas to save money.

Prior to starting home improvements, it's helpful to write down everything that needs to be done, from beginning to end. Have someone you trust take a look at the list to make sure you did not forget about anything. Set aside lots of time for the project, as these things often take much longer than initially expected.

The way your home looks has a lot to do with the amount of effort you put into it. There are many projects that anyone can do that will fit into just about any budget. The article above provides you with some basic information to choose the right project and approach for your needs.

highpowercleaners