Don’t throw that soup can away just yet! In just a few simple steps, you can transform a tin can into a one-of-a-kind pencil holder. What goes on your pencil holder is totally up to you. So grab your supplies and DIY skills to get started on this DIY pencil holder, just in time for school!
Start with an empty tin can and make sure there are no sharp edges!
Get the height of your can and be as precise as possible! It’ll make the finished product look even better.
This will be the paper exterior that covers the outside of your can.
Make sure to do this on your cutting board or mat to avoid damage to your tabletop!
Don’t go overboard with the glue, but make sure the can is fully coated.
Collect your soda cans and turn them into these, for the perfect summer money-making racket #SummerDIY https://t.co/MXWdU3xnul
— DIY Projects (@DIYProjectsCom) July 4, 2017
Press the paper firmly against the can while it dries.
A thin, even layer of Modge Podge is perfect.
Press and hold for a minute or two while it dries.
Repeat steps 7-9 if you want to add more photos. Get creative!
Your DIY pencil holder is now ready to use!
Check out the video below to see this DIY in action!
You probably don't notice, but you're sure to have a few loose pens and paperclips scattered around your desk. But, with this DIY pencil holder, it would be much easier to get them out of the way and keep your desk organized. A frugal project you easily whip in few minutes and the only limit to this is your creativity.
Do you have any other DIY desk ideas? We’d love to hear about them! Leave a comment and let us know!
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Editor’s Note – This post was originally published in September 2016 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
]]>Graduates walk at a Harvard commencement ceremony held for the classes of 2020 and 2021, May 29, 2022, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Mary Schwalm, Associated Press
“I have a dream,” Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday, does not permit discrimination based on the color of one’s skin.
In its landmark decisions striking down race-based admissions at universities, the Supreme Court provided some guidance as to how schools can keep their focus on building intellectually diverse and vibrant student bodies.
Universities may legally consider “an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university,” the court said. It added, “Many universities have for too long wrongly concluded that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned, but the color of their skin. This nation’s constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”
The rulings, in two decisions concerning race-based admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, led to a predictable range of reactions and opinions across a broad landscape of interests Thursday. The emphasis, however, ought to be forward looking.
Colleges and universities will need to craft admissions criteria that can measurably gauge character, ability, worldview and other qualities. While no one seems to know yet what that would look like, the nation’s brightest minds can certainly find a way. In fact, after Oklahoma banned affirmative action considerations in university admissions back in 2012, the university’s student body became even more diverse.
In the court’s ruling, the majority was not impressed by a list of higher education’s affirmative action goals it said included “training future leaders, acquiring new knowledge based on diverse outlooks, promoting a robust marketplace of ideas, and preparing engaged and productive citizens.
“It is unclear how courts are supposed to measure any of these goals, or if they could, to know when they have been reached so that racial preferences can end,” the ruling said.
The court has always maintained that affirmative action was to be temporary, until goals had been met.
Harvard’s response to Thursday’s rulings was to assure that it “will determine how to preserve, consistent with the Court’s new precedent, our essential values.” Every university interested in fostering a diverse campus ought to be undertaking a similar discussion, but adding a discussion on preserving the values of the Constitution.
There is another, much larger discussion that Americans ought to be having, and that has to do with the bedrock public school principle of providing equal educational opportunities for all Americans, beginning with the earliest grades.
This is a much more difficult problem to solve because it involves complicated and interlocking factors that delve into socioeconomic status and cultural differences, and the necessity to measure performance in a consistent and fair manner (think grade-point average and entrance exams). But, at its heart, it concerns the reality that poor and minority children tend to perform worse at school than their wealthier counterparts.
In its ruling Thursday, the court lamented its own negative role in this problem by, in 1896, issuing a decision in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson that created the concept of segregated schools being “separate but equal,” a thing it said “would come to deface much of America.” The notion was a fiction, as schools continued to provide unequal educational opportunities based on race.
And yet today, long after that concept was struck down, one could hardly argue that schools are equal nationwide. Recently released data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that performance gaps are widening for race, as well as for gender.
Experts noted that the pandemic diminished scores across the board last year, but that the losses were especially bad for female students, who fell 11 points in math over 2020 results, and Black students, whose scores dropped by 13 points. White students saw scores decline by six points, and male students overall dropped by seven points, compared with a seven-point decrease for male students overall.
The nation’s high court has made it clear that the era of race-based admissions is over. From the beginning, it had always been clear that the concept would come to an end one day.
No one, however, should doubt the value of diversity — in thought, opinions, culture, religion, backgrounds and every other way — on America’s college campuses. Obtaining that diversity will now demand evaluations including in great measure the content of one’s character.
]]>Before you say it, I know: there are so, so many books about the Second World War. And when I set out to write my most recent novel, The Paris Deception, the thought crossed my mind—do we really need another book about Paris during the war? But historical fiction is a rich field, and there are always stories to tell, particularly when we look beyond the war itself. What did day to day life look like for those who weren’t soldiers or spies? How did people survive when their countries were taken over by the oppressor?
In The Paris Deception, I explore the impact of the Second World War on Europe’s art community: on the artists branded “degenerate” by the Nazi regime; on the curators and conservators forced to work shoulder to shoulder with Germans, and on ordinary people—those unwilling or unable to take up physical arms against Hitler’s forces. What propelled them, day to day? How did they find the strength to carry on, when it seemed that the war was won?
This list of books explores that very question, ranging across occupied countries and territories, to explore the stories of ordinary people living through extraordinary times.
*
Madeline Martin, The Keeper of Hidden Books (Poland)
The Keeper of Hidden Books provides a unique and powerful portrayal of Poland following the German invasion: a brutal occupation designed to eradicate 90 percent of Poland’s population. Inspired by true events, The Keeper of Hidden Books looks at the cultural impact of the occupation through the eyes of Zofia, a student and bookworm determined to join the fight against the Germans not only by joining the Polish resistance, but also by safeguarding works of Polish literature banned by Nazi ideologues.
Janie Chang, The Library of Legends (China)
The Nanking Massacre was one of the most tragic chapters in Chinese history, resulting in the deaths of at least 200,000 people and approximately 20,000 cases of rape. In The Library of Legends, author Janie Chang follows the trail of university student Hu Lian and her classmates as they flee from the destruction left behind by the invading Japanese forces, traveling a thousand miles on foot to western China while carrying the fabled Library of Legends: a collection of China’s myths, as endangered by the massacre for the ideas they represent as the students themselves.
Amita Parikh, The Circus Train (Greece)
As Amita Parikh’s seminal circus train wends its way across German-occupied Europe, its inhabitants—Greek illusionist Theo and his daughter Lena, along with stowaway Alexandre—see the effects of war rippling out along the railway’s iron tracks, culminating, tragically, in an unrefusable invitation to perform at Theresienstadt, a so-called ‘model ghetto’ for Czech Jews intended to deceive the Red Cross and quell international questions about Jewish resettlement in German-occupied territories.
Leila Slimani, In the Country of Others (France and Morocco)
In In the Country of Others, author Leila Slimani draws upon her family’s history to tell the story of Amine and Mathilde, an interracial couple who fall in love when Amine, a Morrocan Muslim soldier fighting for the French Army, is stationed in Mathilde’s home village in Alsace. The story follows the couple long past the war itself as the couple moves to Morocco and live in the shadow of French colonialism.
Julie Otsuka, When the Emperor Was Divine (USA: Internment of Japanese Americans)
Axis powers weren’t the only ones oppressing citizens during the Second World War, and Julie Otsuka’s remarkable novel, When the Emperor Was Divine, chronicles the terrible impact of the American internment of Japanese American citizens through the eyes of a single family.
Jennifer Robson, Our Darkest Night (Italy)
In Our Darkest Night, Jennifer Robson explores the fate of a young Jewish woman—Nina—as she strives to live in fascist Italy. Posing as the Christian wife to a young Italian farmer, Nina endures the day to day struggle to survive undetected by local Nazi authorities.
Pam Jenoff, Code Name Sapphire (Belgium)
The history of conquered Belgium is perhaps a lesser known aspect of the Second World War—lesser known to North American audiences, certainly, compared to France or England, but no less interesting. In the hopes of limiting the damage of the invasion, the Belgian civil service cooperated with the Germans at first, but by 1942 the stark realities of the occupation had become clear in the persecution and deportation of Belgian Jews. This world provides the backdrop to Pam Jenoff’s Code Name Sapphire, where Jewish cousins Hannah and Lily attempt to survive the occupation: Lily, by living as inconspicuously as possible with her husband and child; Hannah, in seeking a way out of Europe with the help of a secret resistance network.
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The Paris Deception by Bryn Turnbull is available from HarperCollins/MIRA, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
]]>Lighting is an essential element when setting the mood right for any occasion. A few well-placed lights are all you need to create a perfect moment and spark a lasting memory. But not everyone has the money to spend on pricey designer mood lights. Worry not, because these 15 DIY mood lighting ideas are budget-friendly, some are even eco-friendly, and will give you a light-up accessory one can mistake came from a fancy store!
Tin lanterns are not only exceptionally easy and child-friendly DIY lighting project, but you can also make them under $5 or use recycled aluminum can you have available at home. These lanterns work great as centerpieces, garden decor, and even gifts.
Can you picture how your backyard will look surrounded by mason jar lanterns on a quiet evening? Well, it gives me the excitement of having a peaceful, relaxing time. Simply create little wire hangers for your mason jars and hang them on your porch or railing. Make a few and start decorating!
I truly believe a chandelier sets the right mood. It's a perfect piece you can put almost anywhere and it never fails to grab attention and become a great conversational starter. While it adds warm glam, its steep price can cost you an arm and leg! But not with this DIY rustic mason jar chandelier. If you have some mason jars and wood at home I suggest you give this project a go. You'll never regret the result!
Your outdoor dinner parties will shine even brighter with some of these DIY mason jar solar lights. Make a few of this mason jar craft and create whimsical lighting for your garden or patio with little to no cost at all.
Don't throw out empty soda cans just yet, because you can use the tabs to create a shimmery light that produces a wonderful visual display. While this might not be the only soda can tabs lighting idea around, this one is a real showstopper due to the diagonal arrangement of the can tabs. It really has a cool and shimmery glint that comes to life when the darkness sets in.
I love how the DIYer artistically did the light installation of this adorable bamboo orb. It surely adds subtle sophistication and elegance. This ingenious creation was inspired by Cassiopeia chandelier using bamboo strips from old window shades, so there's no worry about slicing and dicing.
Don't settle for a plain white glass pendant lights, have something that is bound to become a big hit. These DIY ombre pendant lights are an excellent mood setter and definitely adds some character to any room.
Have you ever felt too lazy to finish on those ideas that come to mind? This DIYer of West Elm-inspired perforated globe pendant lamp surely has not found any dull moment recreating this astounding light project using just a couple of plastic bowls.
The mood for elegant sophistication is waiting for you in this rustic DIY woven lamp. If you have any kind of renovation in your house right now, you must have some kind of wood veneer strips to space. Clip and glue them together and add a bulb for some DIY lighting.
Love the industrial mood of metallic accents? Enjoy it right at the comfort of your home with this Anthropologie-inspired wire basket pendant. This kind of lighting at Anthropologie will cost you an arm and leg, but this DIY version is totally budget-friendly. With only just old basket, black spray paint, and a pendant light you're all set. Ingeniously impressive!
Heavenly romantic is what these DIY cloud lights represent! Grab some cotton batting and few paper lanterns to create the divine aura of these lovely pendant lights. Make sure to use ultra-cool and efficient soft LED lights that do not get too hot.
Here is another perfect example of introducing a warm natural color in an urban atmosphere governed by concrete, glass, and stone. Organic and relaxing, this woven rope DIY pendant light was made using some sisal rope and a hanging planter basket.
If you want to stay classic and neutral, no problem! This DIY glass pendant light is a picture of simplicity far more attractive than any other design. If you're feeling a bit adventurous, you can even experiment using a glass with a bit of contortion to create intriguing light patterns.
The warm and velvety glow of this unusual light is simply from some plastic white spoons and a PET bottle we would normally throw away after parties. If you have these items readily available at home, give this unique project a try using low-energy LED lights to make sure minimal heat is produced.
Want to experience a hint of Hollywood glam? This DIY fabric garland light surely has it. Play with the size of the light to create a large or small pendant to become majestic chandelier hanging right above your dining table. Also, jazz up the design by simply adding darker fabric to create an interesting pattern.
Get some more mood lighting ideas for your home at the video below from M&S:
DIY mood lighting projects are an amazing way to have some weekend fun while adding tons of glamorous charm into your home. The innate simplicity of some of these mood lighting ideas and its various forms means you can craft one out of any material that may be readily available at home and can go with your decor. Choose one or more to get started with your DIY weekend.
Which one of these mood lighting ideas tempt you to gear up this weekend? Let us know in the comments section below.
Up Next: Wine Bottle Crafts | How To Make Wine Bottle Planters
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In this article, we’ll explore the vital role that social media plays in promoting TGI Friday’s fundraisers and provide you with effective strategies to make the most of these platforms. Get ready to harness the potential of social media to take your TGI Friday’s fundraising to new heights.
Image by Adem AY from Unsplash
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer unparalleled opportunities to connect with a vast audience, spread your message, and engage supporters. Here’s how social media can enhance your TGI Friday’s fundraisers:
Amplify Reach and Awareness: Social media allows you to reach a broader audience beyond your immediate network. By creating engaging content and utilizing relevant hashtags, you can expand your reach and raise awareness about your TGI Friday’s fundraiser to potential supporters who may not have been aware of your cause before.
Foster Engagement and Participation: Social media platforms provide a space for real-time interaction with your supporters. You can create polls, run contests, and encourage users to comment, like, and share your posts. By fostering engagement, you not only strengthen the connection with your audience but also encourage them to actively participate in your TGI Friday’s fundraiser.
Tell Compelling Stories: Social media is an ideal platform for storytelling. Use this opportunity to share impactful stories related to your cause, the impact of previous fundraisers, and the difference their participation can make. Compelling narratives and visuals create emotional connections, motivating individuals to get involved and support your cause.
Create Engaging Content: Craft captivating posts, videos, and images that highlight the unique aspects of your TGI Friday’s fundraiser. Showcase the fun, excitement, and the impact of previous events. Encourage your audience to share their experiences, opinions, and memories related to TGI Friday’s fundraisers, creating a sense of community and encouraging others to participate.
Image by Firmbee.com from Unsplash
Leverage Hashtags: Develop branded hashtags specific to your TGI Friday’s fundraiser and encourage supporters to use them when posting about the event. This creates a sense of unity and makes it easier to track and engage with user-generated content. Additionally, leverage popular and relevant hashtags to expand your reach and connect with a broader audience.
Engage with Your Audience: Respond promptly to comments, messages, and mentions on your social media platforms. Show appreciation for support, answer questions, and acknowledge contributions. Engaging with your audience builds trust and fosters a sense of community, encouraging continued participation and support.
Collaborate with GroupRaise and TGI Friday’s: Tag and mention GroupRaise and TGI Friday’s in your posts, allowing them to amplify your message through their social media channels. Also, take advantage of the customized tools provided to spread the word out.
Q: How often should I post about my TGI Friday’s fundraiser on social media?
A: It’s essential to maintain a consistent presence without overwhelming your audience. Aim for a balanced approach by posting regular updates, engaging content, and reminders leading up to the event. Monitor engagement metrics and adjust your posting frequency accordingly.
Q: Should I focus on one social media platform or use multiple platforms for promotion?
A: It’s recommended to leverage multiple platforms to reach a broader audience. However, consider your target demographic and where they are most active. Tailor your content for each platform to maximize engagement and participation.
Social media has revolutionized the way we connect, engage, and promote causes. When used strategically, social media can be a game-changer for your TGI Friday’s fundraiser, helping you expand your reach, engage supporters, and generate excitement. By creating compelling content, and fostering meaningful connections with your audience, you can maximize the impact of your TGI Friday’s fundraiser and make a lasting difference.
Ready to unleash the potential of social media for your TGI Friday’s fundraiser? Visit the link below to start your journey towards fundraising success.
The post The Role of Social Media in Promoting TGI Friday’s Fundraisers appeared first on GroupRaise.
]]>A copywriter is a creative professional who specializes in writing compelling and persuasive text, often known as “copy”, for marketing materials, blog posts, social media accounts, and more. Their primary function is to engage the target audience and influence them to take a specific action—purchase a product, sign up for a service, or adopt a particular viewpoint.
Key responsibilities of a copywriter encompass a broad range of writing styles, from crafting engaging email campaigns to creating effective sales copy for products or services. Copywriters play a significant role in defining a brand’s voice and conveying key messages that resonate with target audiences.
A good copywriter is expected to have excellent writing and communication skills. They are often required to have a bachelor’s degree, preferably in communication studies, marketing, or a related field. Experience in SEO copywriting, knowledge of keyword research, and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously are other skills that make a copywriter effective in their role.
The successful candidate often exhibits a high level of creative writing ability and has a knack for writing persuasively. They need to be adept at conducting thorough research to understand the product, market, and audience.
Skill/Qualification | Description |
---|---|
Excellent Writing Skills | A good copywriter possesses exceptional writing skills, including grammar, punctuation, and spelling. They have a strong command of language and can craft engaging, concise, and persuasive content. Their writing is clear, concise, and tailored to the target audience. |
Strong Communication Skills | Effective communication is crucial for a copywriter. They should be able to understand client requirements, collaborate with team members, and convey ideas and concepts effectively. They can effectively translate complex information into accessible language and adapt their writing style for different platforms and audiences. |
Bachelor's Degree | Most copywriting positions require a bachelor's degree, preferably in communication studies, marketing, English, or a related field. This formal education provides a foundation in writing, marketing principles, communication strategies, and critical thinking skills. |
SEO Copywriting Knowledge | Knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) copywriting techniques is valuable. Understanding how to incorporate keywords strategically, optimize content for search engines, and improve website visibility are essential skills for a copywriter to attract organic traffic and improve search engine rankings. |
Keyword Research | A copywriter should be familiar with conducting keyword research to identify relevant and high-performing keywords for content creation. They can use keyword research tools and analyze search trends to ensure their content aligns with user search intent and increases visibility in search engine results. |
Project Management Skills | Copywriters often handle multiple projects simultaneously, so strong project management skills are crucial. They can prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and manage their workload effectively. They are adept at coordinating with clients, designers, and other team members to ensure smooth workflow and timely delivery of content. |
Creative Writing Ability | A successful copywriter demonstrates a high level of creativity in their writing. They can think outside the box, develop unique ideas, and present information in an engaging and memorable way. Their creative approach helps them craft compelling and persuasive copy that resonates with the target audience and achieves marketing objectives. |
Research Skills | Copywriters are skilled researchers. They can conduct thorough research to understand the product or service, target audience, market trends, and competitors. This enables them to create content that is accurate, credible, and tailored to the needs and interests of the target audience. |
Adaptability and Flexibility | Copywriters need to be adaptable and flexible in their approach. They can adapt their writing style and tone to match different brands, industries, and target audiences. They are open to feedback and can revise their work based on client or team input. They can also quickly learn about new industries or topics and write authoritatively on them. |
Attention to Detail | A copywriter pays close attention to detail, ensuring that their work is error-free and meets quality standards. They carefully proofread and edit their content to eliminate grammatical errors, typos, and inconsistencies. They also ensure that their writing aligns with brand guidelines and follows established style guides and best practices. |
Collaboration and Teamwork Skills | Copywriters often collaborate with designers, marketers, and other team members. They can work effectively in a team environment, communicate ideas clearly, and contribute to the creative process. They are receptive to feedback, can integrate suggestions into their work, and maintain positive working relationships with colleagues. |
Marketing and Consumer Behavior | A strong understanding of marketing principles and consumer behavior is valuable for a copywriter. They grasp the fundamentals of marketing strategies, target audience segmentation, and persuasive messaging techniques. They can create content that aligns with marketing objectives, addresses consumer pain points, and drives desired actions. |
An engaging and precise job description can attract talented and qualified copywriters to your organization. Here’s how to craft a copywriter job description that covers all the essential aspects.
A well-structured job description should give potential candidates a clear idea of their role and responsibilities. It should provide a brief overview of your business, the tasks they would be expected to carry out, and the skills and qualifications needed for the role.
For a copywriter job description, the primary duties include creating engaging content for a variety of media platforms, conducting keyword research, understanding the target audience, and working closely with the creative team.
It’s also beneficial to state the type of employment – whether the role is full-time, part-time, or on a freelance basis.
The job description should be clear, concise, and well-structured. Avoid using jargon, and make sure to emphasize the skills and qualifications required for the role. Remember to include details about the work environment and any benefits that come with the role.
The Copywriter position is a full-time role based on-site. The selected candidate will be responsible for developing creative and persuasive copy for a variety of marketing materials. This role requires a bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Marketing, or a related field, along with proven experience as a copywriter or in a similar role.
Job Title: Copywriter
Job Type: Full-time
Location: [Small Business Name], [City], [State]
Job Description: We are seeking a talented and creative Copywriter to join our small business team. As a Copywriter, you will be responsible for crafting compelling and engaging content for various marketing and advertising materials. Your words will play a crucial role in shaping our brand identity and driving customer engagement.
Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Benefits:
To Apply: Join our dynamic team and contribute your exceptional writing skills to help us achieve our business goals. Apply today with your resume, cover letter, and writing samples.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
This is an entry-level, full-time position that offers an opportunity for aspiring copywriters to kick-start their career. The role involves assisting in creating compelling and persuasive copy for marketing materials while collaborating with the team. Candidates should have a bachelor’s degree in English, Marketing, Communications, or a related field, along with strong communication and creativity skills.
Job Title: Copywriter (Entry-level)
Job Type: Full-time
Location: [Small Business Name], [City], [State]
Job Description: Are you a talented wordsmith with a passion for marketing and storytelling? We are looking for an entry-level Copywriter to join our small business team. In this role, you will have the opportunity to develop your skills and gain hands-on experience in crafting persuasive copy for various marketing materials. You will work closely with our experienced copywriters and marketing professionals to create impactful content that drives engagement and supports our business objectives.
Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Benefits:
To Apply: If you are passionate about writing and eager to kick-start your career as a copywriter, we invite you to apply. Please submit your resume, cover letter, and a few writing samples that demonstrate your abilities.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
The Content Copywriter role is a part-time position located on-site. The selected candidate will be responsible for producing engaging and informative content for various marketing channels, such as blog articles, whitepapers, case studies, and website copy. A bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Marketing, or a related field, along with experience as a content writer or in a similar role, is required.
Job Title: Content Copywriter
Job Type: Part-time (20-25 hours per week)
Location: [Small Business Name], [City], [State]
Job Description: We are seeking a skilled and versatile Content Copywriter to support our small business in creating engaging and informative content. As a Content Copywriter, you will be responsible for producing written materials such as blog articles, whitepapers, case studies, and website copy. Your ability to captivate our audience through compelling storytelling and effective communication will be instrumental in strengthening our brand presence and driving customer engagement.
Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Benefits:
To Apply: Join our team and contribute your exceptional writing skills to help us create valuable content that resonates with our audience. To apply, please submit your resume, cover letter, and a few writing samples.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
The Freelance Copywriter position offers flexibility as it is a contract/freelance role that can be performed remotely. The selected candidate will be responsible for writing persuasive copy for marketing materials, adapting to different brand voices, and meeting project deadlines. Proven experience as a freelance copywriter, a strong portfolio showcasing diverse writing samples, and the ability to manage multiple projects are key qualifications for this role.
Job Title: Freelance Copywriter
Job Type: Contract/Freelance
Location: Remote
Job Description: We are looking for a talented and experienced Freelance Copywriter to collaborate with our small business on various projects. As a Freelance Copywriter, you will work remotely and be responsible for creating compelling and persuasive copy for our marketing and advertising materials. Your ability to deliver high-quality work within specified timelines and adapt to different brand voices will be critical to our success.
Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Benefits:
To Apply: If you are a talented freelance copywriter looking for exciting projects and opportunities, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your resume, cover letter, and portfolio samples showcasing your versatility and creativity in copywriting.
[Company Name] is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply.
Job Template | Job Type | Location | Responsibilities | Qualifications |
---|---|---|---|---|
Copywriter | Full-time | On-site | - Develop creative and persuasive copy for various marketing materials. | - Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Marketing, or a related field.- Proven experience as a copywriter or similar role. |
(Entry-level) | Full-time | On-site | - Assist in creating compelling and persuasive copy for marketing materials.- Collaborate with the team. | - Bachelor's degree in English, Marketing, Communications, or related field.- Strong communication and creativity skills. |
Content Copywriter | Part-time | On-site | - Produce engaging and informative content for marketing channels.- Collaborate on content strategies. | - Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Marketing, or related field.- Experience as a content writer or similar role. |
Freelance Copywriter | Contract/Freelance | Remote | - Write persuasive copy for marketing materials.- Adapt to different brand voices.- Meet deadlines. | - Proven experience as a freelance copywriter.- Strong portfolio showcasing diverse writing samples.- Ability to manage multiple projects. |
Once you have a pool of applicants, the interview process begins. The questions should be designed to assess the candidate’s understanding of the role, their experience in copywriting, and their ability to handle the job’s responsibilities.
Candidates should also be assessed for their cultural fit within your organization and their capacity to work under tight deadlines.
A warm welcome can set the tone for a new copywriter’s journey in your organization. Be sure to provide them with the necessary resources and support they need to succeed. Establish goals and expectations early on to ensure smooth communication and understanding.
The salary of a copywriter can vary widely based on experience, location, and the type of organization. However, it’s important to offer a competitive salary to attract talented professionals.
Writing and editing skills are crucial for a copywriter. They need to be able to produce clear, concise, and grammatically correct content. Additionally, the ability to adapt their writing style to different audiences and platforms is equally important.
While both roles involve writing, a copywriter’s main goal is to sell or promote a product or service. On the other hand, a content writer aims to inform and engage the audience with valuable content.
A copywriter job description should include the role’s responsibilities, required skills and qualifications, information about the company, and details about the benefits offered.
A good copywriter is creative, versatile, and has excellent writing skills. They should be able to write persuasively, conduct thorough research, and understand the target audience’s needs.
Image: Depositphotos, Envato Elements
This article, "Copywriter Job Description: Templates for Hiring at Your Business" was first published on Small Business Trends
]]>This week on The Maris Review, Tania James joins Maris Kreizman to discuss Loot, out now from Knopf.
Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts.
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from the episode:
Maris Kreizman: One of the reasons that Tipu Sultan wants this elephant clock to be made, he says, is to provoke among the masses a sense of awe and its close cousin obedience. And that is such a powerful description of what stuff can do.
Tania James: Yeah, I don’t think he actually commissioned the elephant clock. I kind of created this moment. But I think he would’ve really responded to that object that was created and designed by a 12th-century Muslim polymath. His name was Al-Jazari and he is well known in the Arab world. I don’t know. But when I discovered this thing, this was a whole other world of automatons that I had not read about.
I had only associated automatons with Europe, but here he was doing it in the 1100s. And I think that Tipu Sultan would’ve been really attracted to this idea behind the elephant clock, which is that each part of it represents a certain part of civilization, but none of those civilizations he’s mentioning are European. So I felt that he would really have been attracted to that, but I didn’t find that anywhere in the historical record. I just made up that he had that commission.
MK: You create this tension in this first part of the book and second, in that we don’t know who to trust. He doesn’t know who to trust. Are the French allies? Will they be betrayed? Tell me about the political climate as we begin the novel.
TJ: Well, in the beginning of the novel, Tipu Sultan is constantly asking for help from France to aid him and give him money and give him soldiers to fend off the British. He knows that there’s a bit of stasis between the third and fourth war, but he is prepared to confront the British one more time.
So he has a lot of French expats at his court. He has a lot of French engineers, he was really trying to build up a navy. Nobody had ever done that in India at the time. So by 1799, once Tipu is defeated, Abbas himself attempts to leave India and I think he doesn’t anticipate how complicated leaving will be. And so he joins an East India Company ship as a carpenter, but he actually winds up on a French pirate ship, and is sort of conscripted or pressed into labor on the ship.
I think one of the things he comes to feel strongly by the end of this journey by the time he gets to England is that it’s every man for himself. There’s no such thing as this is my national identity and I’m from here and I’m loyal to this country, this nation. He really comes to not care about any of that, whereas at the beginning of the novel, he cares pretty deeply about being loyal to Tipu Sultan.
MK: Absolutely. One of the things that you do in this novel is you give Abbas such wonderful relationships. So at the start, he is kind of mentored by Monsieur Du Leze. It’s a friendship that evolves over 30 or 40 pages or so, but you really feel it. Tell me about them.
TJ: I felt like all of the characters whose consciousnesses I was interested in, they’re all ostracized in some way. Or they’re secretly, they somehow feel outside of the world that they’re a part of. He is a clockmaker and a maker of automatons. He arrives at Tipu’s court because Tipu wants clockmakers to come from France.
So Louis XVI sends him, but soon after he gets to India, there’s the French Revolution and subsequently a law, an actual law that was passed that banned royalist French people or aristocrats from coming back to France. And so he’s sort of exiled and sort of stranded in Mysore for a long time and he doesn’t quite fit in with the other expats because he’s somewhat closer to Tipu Sultan.
And so he doesn’t stay where the other expats and soldiers stay. He kind of has his own apartment and I think he just has this sort of artistic lonerness about him and he sees something in Abbas. He doesn’t know for sure if Abbas is that talented. He kind of takes a chance on him. But then I think Abbas comes to save his life in a way. And they become kind of mutually indebted to one another.
I have not seen this relationship so much in fiction, the mentor [and mentee]. I feel like I see it in film and maybe it’s a kind of archetypal relationship in film, or maybe it’s just simply what I’ve been drawn to lately. But I was interested in that relationship between mentor and mentee.
Some of it is not entirely pure all the time. I think Abbas at one point is thinking of Du Leze almost in a greedy kind of sense. Like, I want what you have. I had a friend who, when he was 15, he saw somebody doing capoeira in the street and he just was so mesmerized by it. He became that person’s student, and he basically said to him, I want what you have.
And he now is a capoeira teacher himself. But I just took that one line. That’s really what it boils down to a lot of the times, as a younger person or as a novice, you look at that person who seems to have mastered and has such confidence and you want it so badly. That felt like one of those personal ways into character for me.
MK: Absolutely. And even the metaphor of making a clock or repairing a clock seems like it’s the kind of thing where you have to be, so, what’s the word I’m looking for?
TJ: I follow that metaphor. They do have to kind of be very still and rigorous.
MK: It seems like there’s this great tension, between what is this stuff? This is just stuff! And Abbas’s wish to create something that will last. And people don’t last.
TJ: Yeah. I can’t imagine having that kind of ambition to make a thing that will outlast me. Maybe that’s because we’re a product of our time. Everything seems more ephemeral now than it ever has, but I think he is maybe a product of his times.
One of the first things that he encounters in the novel that makes him feel that way is a verse from a poet, which was an actual verse from an actual poet. It just works some kind of magic on him and he wants to replicate that feeling in someone else, that kind of feeling of wonder. I think as the novel goes on, he becomes irrationally attached to this object that he made.
By the end of the novel, I think he has to come back to that sense of wonder, which has not so much to do with the thing that was made, but more the feeling of boundlessness that you’re on the verge of something. That that is where the spirit of artistry lies.
*
Recommended Reading:
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu • Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart • Breakup by Anjan Sundaram
__________________________________
Tania James is the author of the novels The Tusk That Did the Damage and Atlas of Unknowns and the short story collection Aerogrammes. She lives in Washington, D.C. Her latest novel is called Loot.
Get ready to take your cupcake game to the next level with this DIY Cupcake Stand tutorial!
Create a super fun and eye-catching display using our SVG Laser File.
With its precise cuts and easy assembly, this cupcake stand will turn your party into a tasty and vibrant celebration.
Get ready to make your cupcakes the star of the show and delight your guests with this simple project!
This Laser Cut File is compatible with any laser cutting software that accepts SVG files.
I cut mine using my OmTech 50-watt but will also work with any Glowforge or xTool.
The example was cut out of 3mm MDF board but will work on any 3mm material that is compatible with your laser cutter.
MDF and Wood Materials can be used in their raw form or they can be painted or stained, and sealed with a food-safe covering.
Acrylic would also be a great choice. food-safe, easy to clean, and reusable.
The file includes all 8 pieces needed to make a 3-tier Cupcake Stand.
Two ends, three vertical slats, and three shelves.
The 2 stair step pieces are the two ends.
There are 3 support pieces that have slits cut out on both ends, and there are 3 shelves that have a total of 4 holes, two on each end.
Slide the supports into the slits on the two end pieces.
The shelves then fit over the notches on the end pieces.
When the stand is completely assembled it measures 10" x 7.5" x 7.625".
The width of each tier or shelf is 2 inches.
All that's left is to have a party and fill it up with cupcakes!
This stand easily holds 1 dozen cupcakes, but I am sure it could hold more. My cupcakes are quite spaced out.
This simple design is great for birthday parties, wedding celebrations, baby showers, or any event where you need a cupcake display!
Don't like cupcakes? Don't worry, this could also be a knick-knack shelf or even a great display for your products. The possibilities are endless!
There are many different types of sealers that you can use to seal your cupcake stand. There are spray varieties and the kind you brush on.
In my opinion, the best option is Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish Spray.
The post 3 Tier DIY Wood Cupcake Stand Laser Cut File appeared first on The Crafty Blog Stalker.
]]>Looking for a fun and educational activity to keep your little ones entertained? Lion crafts provide the perfect opportunity for kids to get creative while learning about these magnificent creatures.
Plus, with each craft, kids will develop skills and gain a sense of accomplishment. So, explore the world of lions with hands-on crafting!
Besides being incredibly cool animals, lions can help kids learn about bravery, leadership and the importance of protecting wildlife. As they create, kids can also learn about different crafting techniques, colors and materials.
Before we get to the crafts, here are some facts about lions you might enjoy:
If you are interested, you can find more facts about lions on National Geographic Kids.
Ready to ignite your child’s imagination and go on a wild crafting safari? Scroll down to explore the enchanting world of lion crafts for kids. Which craft do you think will capture your child’s imagination? Let me know in the comments!
Get ready for some wild crafting adventures! From masks to puppets, there is something for everyone on this list of 25+ lion crafts for kids.
This plastic bottle craft turns a soda bottle into a lion! I love the twisted tail and the feet created by the bottom of the bottle.
Use fake or real flowers (maybe dandelions?) to create the mane for this extra happy cardboard lion!
Are you ready for summer craft camp with the kids? Make these cute no sew pillows in fun lion and sun shapes. These are SO easy and littles will love them!
Create this lion mask for pretend play or maybe even for a costume! I really enjoy the use of various colors in this mask.
Do some spin art with your salad spinner for the mane on this paper lion. Each one will be unique!
This paper cup craft uses fake leaves for the mane, but you could also go for a nature walk to gather leaves of your own!
Introduce your child to mixed media art with this newspaper lion. They'll paint, cut and accordion fold the paper to put it all together.
Have some extra cupcake liners? Use them in the frilly looking mane of this lion. Or, you could paint coffee filters to get a similar look!
This lion looks quite happy to be standing all on his own! His body is made with cardstock paper, but you could also use a toilet paper roll.
Use the sticky notes are perfect for making the cones used in this lion's mane. No need to add glue—the notes are already sticky!
Create an accordion folded rosette for the lion's mane in this paper craft. The tuft of hair on the top of his head is super cute, don't you think?
Duct tape can be used for so many things! Here, different color tapes are used to make a lion bookmark. He is all stretched out to sleep while keeping your place in the book.
You can make so much more than a turkey craft by tracing your hand! Just look how cute a handprint lion can be.
Chunky yarn creates a beautiful lion's mane! Kids can work on fine motor skills by cutting and then trimming the yarn length.
Older kids will love making this clay lion. There are easy to follow step-by-step instructions with photos!
Paint a paper plate orange and then add all of the facial features. There is a template to make it easier, or you can create your own shapes for the face.
This lion's mask combines a few different ideas: a paper plate craft, handprint craft, and a straw craft for the whiskers!
Create a popsicle stick lion puppet using paper and various ribbon colors. If you don't have ribbon on hand, you could also use paper strips for the mane.
I am in love with the colorful mane on this paper bag lion puppet! Kids will need to punch holes and "knot" multi colored raffia to get this look.
This lion really reminds me of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz. Just look at that beautiful curly mane! "Put 'em up, put 'em up!"
Raise your hand if you still have a CD collection gathering dust. This craft is for you! Michelle has a lot of creative ways to upcycle your 'old school' music on her blog.
Talk about symmetry with this paint splat (or squish painting) lion craft. Kids love to smush the paint and then open the paper to see what is reveals!
Spaghetti is perfect for the mane of a lion. This is so cute! Kids will enjoy making their own lion faces for this pasta craft.
Paint a paper doily for this lion's mane. You could also use a coffee filter for this kid's craft idea.
What kid wouldn't want a lion's mask like this one? The mane is made using shredded tissue paper and tinsel—so creative!
Plastic forks come in handy for this art craft. Kids get to see how using something other than a paint brush can create a really cool look!
Work on threading a needle with yarn and weaving it through holes with this craft. This is great for hand-eye coordination!
Once finished, this lion's head and tail can move thanks to the use of brads. This really takes a coloring page up a notch!
If you enjoyed these lion crafts, I’d love it if you could share it using the buttons below. Then check out these other great animal crafts for kids:
The post Lion Crafts That Will Have Kids Roaring With Excitement! appeared first on DIY Candy.
]]>Soup is considered as an ideal comfort food. Feeling cold? Drink soup. Feeling sick? Cook up some chicken noodle soup as a home remedy. Looking for an easy to prepare meal that’s ready to eat in less than five minutes? Heat up some chowder in the microwave. Whatever the situation, soup is a simple to prepare, affordable meal.
But soup is more than just comfort food. It’s a big business opportunity as well, expected to grow at a staggering $5.94 billion in 2023. According to industry research, Campbell’s Chunky alone sells more than $397 million in the United States annually with 48% of the population eating the meal with dinner regularly.
Soup can be sold in a variety of ways including piping hot bowls at a small restaurant or entering the specialty food business with dry packed soups in cans, wet packaged soups ready-to-heat in a microwave, or frozen. You could even start an online store. But first you need a catchy name that helps your brand stand out from the entrenched competition. Below are soup business name ideas that will have customers asking for one more bowl.
There are many kinds of soup. There are thick, rich soups with cream and potatoes such as chowder. There are also light and clear soups using broth in Vietnamese Pho. Choose from the name suggestions that best suits your style below.
Market Research: 55 Disruptive Soup Industry Statistics and Market Data
Soup restaurants are like a sanctuary for people who are looking for some homemade comfort food. They also allow you to provide a quick meal to customers without being in the high-calorie fast food segment. Here are a few soup restaurant name suggestions to consider.
Related Reading: 147 Artisan Cookbook Name Ideas You Can Use
Funny soup names make for a great conversational piece and are a stark contrast to the traditional soup isle at your grocer. You can use a humorous brand name to draw people in, but make sure your product tastes exceptional or you won’t get a repeat sales.
Soup kitchens are known for serving free or affordable food to the less fortunate. These are inspiring organizations that aid those in need or folks who have fallen on hard times. Below are some of the best name ideas for soup kitchens we could find.
Bring the soup to the neighborhood with your soup truck.
Noodle soups, particularly chicken noodle soup, are among America’s favorite soups. Join the bandwagon by serving your own unique noodle soup menu and business.
If your establishment specializes in preparing and serving delicious chicken soup, then you should check out these catchy store names.
Let people know that you have the best tortilla soup in town with these cool business names.
Vietnamese soups are some of the most popular and well-loved soups in the world. Check out these names if cafe, bistro, or restaurant focuses on Vietnamese cuisine.
Pair your business names with a catchy soup slogan. Here are some you can use:
Soup is one of the first foods we enjoy as children. We’ve probably had it first when we were babies past our sixth month where our parents or guardians would start us off on some pureed soup that’s easy to digest and swallow. Later in life the meal becomes a familiar comfort food when we’re sick. So in a way, soup is with us through every stage of life.
Related Reading: 57 (Good and Bad) Food Business Name Ideas
Though soup is simple to whip up, it has also evolved to accommodate the busy lives of many. Soup can now be bought in cans or packed dry wherein you can reheat it in a pot or just add water. Soup is also a lifesaver when it comes to packing for emergencies such as stocking for typhoons that soup manufacturers have made it more convenient to open without having to use a can opener. You can store canned soups in your pantry or garage for years without the product going bad.
In 2018, the soup market size was valued at $16.1 billion United States dollars globally. Sales are expected to rise due to the public becoming more aware of eating healthily and soups can be lighter compared to solid meals. Even some canned soups contain healthy nutrients although one should watch out for their sodium content.
During the early stage of the global pandemic this industry saw rapid spike in sales due to the long shelve life of the product. Soup can also be warmed up and served in a survival situation with little more than a small fire. This make’s it the ideal item for preppers who want to be prepared for power outages or natural disasters. In fact, we think creating a specialty soup brand that caters to this segment of the population could be a fantastic business opportunity.
The future is attracted to everything convenient and soups, especially instant noodles, are making their way to every household. If you’re having doubts about putting up a soup business plan be sure to download our food business model canvas for free. This tool will help you start a food company the smart way. With the right name, a business plan, and a delicious tasting menu, your soup business has all the right ingredients to become a profitable venture.
The post 439 Appetizing Soup Business Name Ideas for 2023 appeared first on Food Truck Empire.
]]>As much as I love making art for the shear joy of making. The process feels complete after I have shared it with the world. The connection and conversation is priceless.
Over the last year (ish) I have been collecting images people have shared with me of my artwork out in the world – in their homes or on exhibition. I’m most honored when it is artwork that has been purchased and placed in someone’s space.
Thank you to all that have shared these images with me to share.
In the foreground of the above image is a work by Erin Wilson. I’m honored to be included in a collection with her work. We met years ago when we were both exhibiting at the American Craft Council shows in Baltimore.
I definitely recommend buying art to match your pets.
A smaller work paired with a plant – lovely arrangement!
This work spent a bit of time out of the owners private space to be enjoyed by a larger audience for a period of time during covid.
And now a few of my pieces on display at a few exhibitions.
The first two are from Changing Threads in 2022. I didn’t manage enter this exhibition for 2023 due to timing. I will endeavour to enter again in 2024 as it is a well run show devoted to textile and fibre art here in New Zealand.
The work in the front on the right is by Helen Beaven. Thank you Helen for the images!
Moira White wrote a wonderful review of the exhibition last year and it was published in Context – the publication for The Costume and Textile Association of New Zealand.
And lastly – for the first time in a very very long time (maybe 20 years?) I entered a weekend quilt show. This is my with one of my works. I did indeed win a ribbon – for best machine quilting. I put a lot of thread into this piece.
A few close up images of the quilting (click for bigger image)
And following along with the idea of being out and about in the world.
In my last post I wrote about my creative heritage and tow people took up the challenge to write their own stories.
You can read there posts here:
Both are wonderful stories. Thank you for sharing!
The post Out and about in the world (my artwork) appeared first on Lisa Call.
]]>It took me a long time to realise that Sludge Life 2 is a diorama. And, wait! So was the first game! These sun-faded, intricate, often queasy worlds that you scramble your way through, part puzzle, part gymnasium, part treasure hunt, these worlds that see you jumping, climbing, leaving a sheen of spraypaint behind you? The only thing that really moves inside these worlds is the player. Yes, there are a handful of very slight exceptions to this, but they're rare and also spoilers, things you'd want to find for yourself. For the most part, Sludge Life 2, like Sludge Life before it, is a single moment captured in all its brisk human complexity. It's a place, but it's often also an instant in time. We're just jumping around and tagging walls inside it.
It was hard to see this at first, I think, because for all their stillness, the Sludge Life games are simultaneously defined by a frantic sense of movement. There's the stripped-back first-person parkour at the heart of it, obviously, which turns each building into a climbing frame of ledges and pipes and mini-roofs. But there's also that fisheye viewpoint that frames everything, complete with videotape artifacting and strobing noise. It makes your surroundings seem fidgety, liquid and mobile. You shift a millimetre and the world squirms to show you the new perspective. The walls are alive. It all feels weirdly intestinal, the first-person game camera as a form of peristalsis. How are we headed into this halted world? We're riding an endoscope. Open up! Say ahhh!
Sludge Life 2 is very similar to the first game in this, and almost all, respects. And that's a good thing. These are compact worlds, but also worlds I never feel I can get absolutely everything out of. There's that glint of paradox throughout. You load into these games through a beautifully realised operating system, and the sense, from the off, is that there are secrets everywhere. There's a sense of rules being broken, even though in some ways these are games that deal with classic ideas of exploration, narrative, traversal, puzzling and collecting stuff. These are angry games, but they never let the anger define the experience. There's tons of craft and storytelling, but you are free to make of it what you will.
]]>In this comprehensive guide, we'll share everything you need to know about resume headlines, from what they are to how to craft the perfect one. We’ll also discuss 25+ examples and dive into what makes each shine.
Whether you're a fresh-faced graduate or a seasoned expert, this step-by-step guide will help you create a winning headline that sets you apart from the competition. So, buckle up and get ready to elevate your job search with the best resume headlines.
Table of Contents
A resume headline, or a resume title or summary, is a brief, eye-catching phrase placed at the top of your resume, right below your name and contact information.
It serves as a powerful introduction to your resume, highlighting your most relevant skills, experiences, and accomplishments concisely. Think of it as your personal tagline or an elevator pitch that quickly and effectively communicates your unique value proposition to potential employers.
Resume headlines play a crucial role in capturing the attention of hiring managers and setting the tone for the rest of your resume. A good resume headline entices the reader to learn more about you, ultimately increasing the chances of securing an interview.
In a competitive job market, having a strong and memorable one-liner as a resume headline can make all the difference in setting you apart from other candidates.
Not sure how to get started with crafting your resume? Check out our collection of resume templates.
In today's fast-paced job market, hiring managers often take only six to seven seconds to scan each resume before deciding whether to move forward with a candidate.
That's where resume headlines come in, making a powerful first impression and conveying your most valuable qualifications right off the bat.
They can even stand out from the pile of resumes within a company’s applicant tracking system, which about 75% of companies use.
After perfecting your headline, it’s time to write your full resume. Ready to get started? Check out our resume tips to help you land that job, with advice directly from experienced recruiters.
Here are some key benefits of using a resume headline.
A well-written resume headline immediately catches the eye of a hiring manager, setting the stage for the rest of your resume.
Clearly stating your value proposition encourages the reader to explore your resume in greater detail.
Your resume headline allows you to highlight your most relevant skills, experiences, and accomplishments tailored to the specific job you're applying for.
This targeted approach demonstrates that you've carefully considered the employer's needs and how you can address them.
With a concise and compelling resume headline, you make it easy for hiring managers to quickly identify your strengths and qualifications.
This efficiency is crucial when they have limited time to review a large volume of resumes.
A well-crafted resume headline distinguishes you from other applicants by showcasing your unique selling points.
In a competitive job market, standing out from the crowd is essential to securing interviews and ultimately landing the job.
With such a short window of opportunity, an impactful resume headline can significantly increase the chances of your resume being noticed and retained in the hiring manager's mind.
Crafting the perfect resume headline requires a thoughtful and targeted approach.
By following these steps, you'll be well on your way to creating a compelling and attention-grabbing headline that sets you apart from the competition.
Before writing your resume headline, carefully review the job description and list the most important skills, qualifications, and experiences required for the position.
This will help you tailor your headline to the employer's specific needs and demonstrate that you're the right fit for the job.
Take a moment to reflect on your professional background and identify your key strengths, accomplishments, and relevant experiences to the job.
Consider what makes you stand out from other candidates and how your unique selling points align with the employer's needs.
Aim to keep your resume headline brief, ideally between 5 to 15 words. Focus on the most relevant and impactful information, and avoid using cliches or generic phrases.
Specificity is key — use numbers, percentages, or other concrete details to quantify your achievements whenever possible.
Begin your resume headline with a strong action verb that highlights your skills and accomplishments, such as "managed," "developed," or "achieved."
Incorporate relevant keywords from the job description to showcase your familiarity with the industry and the specific role.
Once you've drafted your resume headline, take a step back and review it with a critical eye. Edit and refine your headline to ensure it's concise, clear, and free of any spelling or grammatical errors.
Ask for feedback from a trusted friend or colleague to ensure your headline effectively conveys your unique value proposition.
Now that you have a solid understanding of how to write a resume headline, let's explore real-life examples that showcase the principles we've discussed.
These examples of resume headlines span industries and levels of experience, and they all do a great job of grabbing the hiring manager’s attention.
Note how each headline is tailored to the job and emphasizes the candidate's strengths, accomplishments, and work experience.
1. Enthusiastic Marketing Graduate with a Strong Academic Background in Digital Advertising
Best for: Marketing graduates seeking entry-level roles
What we like: A few vivid adjectives ending with a focus on the applicant’s background make this headline upbeat.
2. Detail-Oriented Finance Major with Internship Experience at Top Investment Firm
Best for: Finance students pursuing roles in the financial sector
What we like: This headline captures a key characteristic of the applicant and highlights their most important experience to date.
3. Driven Sales Associate with Proven Track Record in Customer Satisfaction and Retention
Best for: Recent graduates pursuing sales roles
What we like: The claim to a “proven track record” directs hiring managers to scan the rest of the resume to find said track record.
4. Experienced Project Manager with a 90% On-Time Delivery Record
Best for: Professionals with project management experience seeking a leadership role
What we like: Including the record percentage provides a concrete metric for hiring managers to consider.
5. Certified Software Engineer Specializing in Full Stack Development and Agile Methodologies
Best for: Software engineers looking to showcase their technical expertise
What we like: This headline names specific areas of specialization, highlighting exactly what this candidate offers.
6. Bilingual HR Specialist with Expertise in Recruitment and Talent Management
Best for: HR professionals targeting roles in multicultural organizations
What we like: Naming a special skill, like being bilingual, immediately sets this candidate apart.
7. Visionary CMO with 10+ Years of Experience Driving Brand Growth and Revenue
Best for: Senior marketing professionals seeking executive roles
What we like: This headline specifies the number of years of experience, immediately giving the candidate credibility as a leader.
8. Award-Winning Sales Director with a History of Consistently Exceeding Sales Targets
Best for: Goal-oriented sales executives looking to showcase their achievements
What we like: These are big claims in the headline — and a great option if you can support them with evidence in the rest of your resume.
9. Innovative Product Manager with a Track Record of Successful Product Launches
Best for: Product managers with experience in bringing new products to the market
What we like: The adjective at the beginning, “innovative,” pairs nicely with the action of “successful product launches.”
10. Certified Data Analyst with Expertise in SQL, Python, and Tableau
Best for: Data analysts seeking roles in data-driven organizations
What we like: Naming the candidate’s specific expertise immediately lets recruiters know if the candidate is fit for the job.
11. Civil Engineer Specializing in Infrastructure Development and Sustainable Design
Best for: Civil engineers targeting roles in environmentally-conscious firms
What we like: Highlighting specific areas allows the recruiter to know whether they want to keep reading or not.
12. Cybersecurity Expert with 5+ Years of Experience Protecting Enterprise Networks
Best for: IT professionals focusing on cybersecurity
What we like: This headline emphasizes the candidate’s area of experience, likely because they’re looking for another job with an enterprise network.
13. Registered Nurse with 7 Years of Experience in Critical Care and Emergency Medicine
Best for: Experienced nurses targeting specialized healthcare roles
What we like: Putting the number of years in the headline saves the recruiter the time of calculating years of experience based on the dates listed in the resume.
14. Pharmaceutical Sales Representative with a Proven Record of Increasing Market Share
Best for: Sales professionals in the pharmaceutical industry
What we like: This headline is simple and direct.
15. Environmental Scientist Specializing in Climate Change Mitigation and Policy Development
Best for: Scientists pursuing roles in environmental research and policy
What we like: The word “specializing” can be used for candidates with experience in their area or those who are just starting out but focused their studies on that particular topic.
16. Passionate Elementary School Teacher with 10 Years of Experience Fostering Student Success
Best for: Educators seeking roles in primary education
What we like: “Student success” is a great general phrase that captures what good teachers do best, which can be elaborated on in the resume below.
17. Corporate Trainer with a Focus on Leadership Development and Employee Engagement
Best for: Professionals in organizational development and training
What we like: Providing the focus gives the hiring agent a better idea of the candidate’s experience than simply the job title.
18. Instructional Designer with a Track Record of Creating Engaging eLearning Content
Best for: Instructional designers targeting roles in online learning
What we like: This headline focuses on the accomplishments of the candidate.
19. Art Director with a Portfolio of Award-Winning Campaigns for Global Brands
Best for: Creative professionals in advertising and design
What we like: “Award-winning” and “global brands” are attention-grabbing words that are sure to intrigue a hiring manager to read on.
20. Social Media Strategist with a History of Boosting Brand Awareness and Engagement
Best for: Social media specialists targeting roles in marketing
What we like: Modest and to the point, this headline simply states what the candidate has accomplished and implies what they can do in their next job.
21. Seasoned Journalist with a Passion for Investigative Reporting and Multimedia Storytelling
Best for: Journalists seeking roles in news organizations
What we like: “Seasoned” nicely implies experience without listing the number of years, while the two stated passions strongly describe this candidate.
22. Certified Public Accountant with a Strong Background in Financial Analysis and Reporting
Best for: Accounting professionals targeting roles in finance
What we like: This headline succinctly lists the candidate’s qualifications and background.
23. Operations Manager with 8 Years of Experience in Streamlining Processes and Reducing Costs
Best for: Professionals with operations management experience seeking leadership roles
What we like: Operations managers do lots of things, so emphasizing two key areas helps recruiters get to know this candidate better quickly.
24. Supply Chain Expert with a Track Record of Improving Efficiency and Reducing Lead Times
Best for: Professionals in logistics and supply chain management
What we like: Improving efficiency and reducing lead times are essential parts of this job, so listing them upfront is a good idea.
25. Customer Service Manager Committed to Enhancing the Customer Experience and Building Loyalty
Best for: Customer service professionals targeting managerial roles
What we like: “Committed” is another flexible word that a seasoned or aspiring manager can use to share their values in their headline.
26. Retail Store Manager with a History of Increasing Sales and Reducing Employee Turnover
Best for: Retail professionals seeking store management positions
What we like: You’d expect a successful retail manager to increase sales, but this headline also shares another important achievement: reducing employee turnover. Be sure to highlight what you have done and what you can do in your next position.
27. Hospitality Professional with 5+ Years of Experience in Event Planning and Coordination
Best for: Professionals in the hospitality industry targeting event planning roles
What we like: Years of experience make this headline stand out.
In a competitive job market, the power of a captivating resume headline can't be overstated. By following this step-by-step guide, you'll be well-equipped to create a headline that grabs attention and highlight your unique strengths.
Remember to tailor your headline to the specific job requirements, showcase your unique selling points, and maintain a concise, clear, and impactful style.
With a winning resume headline, you'll capture the interest of hiring managers and increase your chances of securing your dream job.
So, go ahead and perfect that headline — your future self will thank you!
]]>Creating a customized tumbler has never been easier than with the xTool M1! Great project for gifting!
Next to the laser, the rotary attachment is what I was most looking forward to using when I received my xTool M1. The idea that I can take my personal cut files and engrave them onto tumblers blew my mind! There are oodles of YouTube videos available to help walk you through the process. I will do my best to convey that in this post.
To use the rotary attachment, you will need to remove the baseplate from the machine. There are five screws that hold it in place. xTool provides you with 10 extra screws in case any go missing. I keep a tiny cup in my table drawer to easily drop the screws into to avoid losing any. Once you remove the screws, gently lift out the base plate and set aside.
My xTool M1 was bundled with the rotary attachment and comes with wooden risers. (You can add it on as an extra if you didn’t purchase the bundle.) The rotary attachment comes with a handy dandy measuring tape that will show you what level to place you risers and what width to set your rotary rollers.
Simply take the tumbler and place the measuring tape around the widest part. As you can see, it tells me I need to use the risers on the highest setting. I bought my tumbler through xTool.
Place the risers at the required height under the four corners of the machine. The feet on the machine will fit neatly in the depression on the riser. Slide the base plate under the raised machine. Turn on the machine.
Next you need to attach the rotary tool to the machine itself. There is a cord that connects to the back of the device. Gently slide the rotary accessories under the xTool and attach the cord.
I marked my tumbler with masking tape so I could place the design exactly where I wanted it.
Place the tumbler on the rotary rollers with the end on the leveling device. You want the laser to be at the highest point on the tumbler in the corner of your masking tape.
Place the cute little level on the highest point of your design space. Adjust the leveling device by turning the knob until the tumbler is level.
Close the lid to send the image to your software. Adjust your settings to laser cylindrical. Choose stainless steel necklace as your material. It is the best one I’ve found.
You will see that the canvas will change into a split view with a yellow line running down the middle.
Click auto measure to line up the edge of your tape to the yellow line. If it fails to auto measure, you can manually measure but I will not be covering that in this tutorial.
Once this is lined up appropriately, import your image. Adjust the image to customize your tumbler. You may have to rotate your image. When arranged appropriately, click process to send the image to the machine.
This took about 30 minutes to engrave. When the customized tumbler comes out of the machine, it may have some black soot.
Don’t be alarmed. We used barkeep’s friend to brighten it up!
I made this for my son. His baseball team is the Nixa Baseball Club and this is one of their logos. He loves it! I’m thinking about adding his name and number to the back of it. I can’t wait to make more!
The post Customized Tumbler Using Rotary Attachment appeared first on Create Craft Love.
]]>We live in Arizona. This means lots of desert sand and lots of rocks. In fact, our whole backyard is 100% rocks. We decided that it would be fun for the kids to have a little garden. We created a DIY raised salsa garden with the kids.
We're sharing how we made our raised garden as well as some gardening with kids tips and fun finds to make your gardening fun with kids.
This DIY raised garden is pretty easy to put together. Just go to your local hardware store and get wood cut to these lengths. We used a drill and wood screws to assemble the pieces.
Supplies:
2x8 boards (sides)
2x6 boards (legs)
2x2 board
Furring Slat
Wood Screws
4 feet of ½ inch mesh wire, 19 gauge (chicken wire)
Heavy duty silt-fence fabric, 24 in. x 5 ft.
We shared some of our favorite gardening with kids finds further down in the post.
The kids love to watch our garden grow and we can't wait to eat the fruits of our labor this summer.
Since this was the first time gardening with vegetables we wanted keep it fairly simple. This garden size is perfect for a salsa garden. We planted 2 tomato plants across the back, 3 peppers in the middle and garlic, onions and cilantro across the front.
This is what it looked like when we first planted it. Those tomato plants really exploded!
We added a little color to our garden with our Safari Garden Animals markers. They added a fun colorful touch to our garden. It was a fun outdoor craft for the kids and they loved adding that little touch to the garden while we were waiting for things to become ripe.
Look how much our little bell pepper has grown in just a few days!
Here are some other goodies you and your kiddos will find fun while gardening together. While we created our own raised garden bed, you can also buy them pre-made.
Use pinterest to save your favorite family travel destinations to help inspire your next trip. Be sure to follow our Travel with Kids board here.
This is not a sponsored post. This post may contain affiliate links.
]]>Reading Isabella Hammad’s second novel, Enter Ghost, which came out in early April, was for me a peculiar form of time-travel: Hammad renders the Palestinian context with such quiet skill that I found myself abruptly in 2014 and 2015, when I was living in Ramallah in the West Bank. Her writing artfully captures the far-reaching impacts of the occupation on the lives of ordinary Palestinians, the entanglement of the personal and political, and the beauty of the moments that arise when an individual becomes part of something larger than themselves.
The protagonist of Enter Ghost, Sonia, is a British-Palestinian actor in her late thirties who flees London following a breakup to visit her sister in Haifa over the summer. While there, Sonia finds herself drawn into a production of Hamlet being staged in the West Bank. As the weeks pass, Sonia discovers for herself the challenges of staging a play in the occupied territories, and learns more about both her family’s past and the contemporary realities of Palestine.
I was introduced to Hammad via a mutual friend in 2019. Hammad’s first book, The Parisian won a Palestine Book Award, a Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Betty Trask Award. She was recently listed as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. We spoke via video call about the interplay of past and present, the political and the literary, and hope and despair.
*
Olivia Watson: Many of the characters in Enter Ghost experience a political awakening throughout the course of the book. What I liked particularly about your rendering of this was the implicit understanding that such awakenings are not static, but a process of evolution. Did your own ideas about and understanding of the situation in Palestine change or evolve while writing these characters?
Isabella Hammad: My experience of writing two novels so far is that I kind of know where it’s going to end up, but then there’s plenty of discovery along the way. I’m interested in that slightly old-fashioned model of character-arcs in fiction and I’m always interested in how people grow and change in real life, particularly politically.
I’m always compelled by how people develop a sense of being part of something larger than themselves or in being part of a group, and of what their role in such a group might be. I think that the novel as a form—being largely focused on individual protagonists—specifically allows you to explore this relationship between the collective and the individual. Both my novels deal with turning points or moments of change which in real life are usually much slower.
OW: That’s interesting—the significance of form. It’s something you seem to play a lot with in your writing. In Enter Ghost you interspersed play scripts with narrative, so that the reader is occasionally confronted with a sudden shift in perspective. Could you talk a little bit about your intentions in using those two different forms together?
IH: I think the initial impulse came from wanting to mine the theatrical metaphor in every possible way. I was trying to explore approaches to describing and portraying military occupation, and aspects of the occupation that are quite theatrical. So it seemed natural that at some point I would try to write using play scripts, and I ended up using the play script for when the characters are rehearsing.
You can have art that is ambivalent and ambiguous and also political, that fulfills aesthetic standards and provides that deep pleasure of encountering moral complexity.There’s one practical reason which is that it allows me to get a lot of voices into the room very quickly without needing the plugging material of “he said,” “she said,” that kind of stuff, and it also allows me a bit of space outside of Sonia’s perspective. It suddenly levels the voices and gives a breather from the first-person narration. And I like that kind of leveling, like a switch, so that you feel the partiality of the first-person narrator quite concretely, that she’s just one of many.
I also liked—and I don’t really know if this comes off in the reading experience—but I liked the idea that obviously a play script is like a record but it’s also an instruction. It kind of implies futurity in some way, formally. Even if in the reading of it you just take it as a conversation that’s happening rather than an instruction to be played out.
OW: Exactly, and it worked too in that it mirrors the way in which Palestinians, particularly those living in the West Bank, are forced into playing these somewhat ghoulish roles, for example at checkpoints or when encountering soldiers. So that going about your daily life is political, everything personal is political.
I noticed that both Enter Ghost and your first novel, The Parisian, perform this kind of blending between the personal, the political, and also the literary. How do you balance making that political impact against other more conventionally literary goals?
IH: I think the aesthetic and the political are more entwined for me than separate. There is a classic Western way of deeming art that is made with a particular political positioning as less “good” aesthetically because it doesn’t have sufficient ambivalence or ambiguity.
To put it historically, this idea was pushed by the CIA during the 1950s and 60s under the Congress for Cultural Freedom, which had a lot to do with which books were canonized, not only in the US and Europe but across the world, and which was famously affiliated to the Paris Review and actually funded the Iowa Writers Workshop. So this principle of pushing art without a political agenda was, in fact, highly political.
But I think that you can have art that is ambivalent and ambiguous and also political, that fulfills aesthetic standards and provides that deep pleasure of encountering moral complexity, the kind you have when you read a really good book or watch a really good movie, and it’s still political, still political in a specific sense in that it has a sense of purpose in the world. I think you can do both those things. That’s something that I’m interested in: how do you do both those things?
I also worry about whether cultural producers overstate their role in making change.So in this novel, we’re focused on one character whose arc, to put it very simplistically, entails becoming less self-involved and more involved with others: it navigates interiority in a first-person narrator within an intense political context and it explores how and where psychology and political action meet.
OW: Do you think, given events like the #MeToo movement, BLM, these large political struggles that are happening now, that this way of seeing art is changing? That there’s more of an appetite for overtly political literature?
IH: I do think there’s been a change, yes, and I have another position which is that I think it can be limiting if, for instance, the only kinds of plays that get state funding in Britain—at least so I’m told by actor friends—or the kinds of books that get pushed are those directly addressing specific social and political issues, that announce their progressive politics very loudly. Anything that looks like dogma I’m very suspicious of.
My suspicious self also thinks that while there might be a shift in the sphere of cultural production, this isn’t reaching actual political representation, for example, or the highest sphere where power is actually dealt out: that actually hasn’t changed. Of course if you look at America and you see the backlash there, the way they’re banning books, this reminds us that books are powerful—but I also worry about whether cultural producers overstate their role in making change, or at least that people think that if they promote leftist art that that’s somehow enough. I hope that doesn’t sound too negative.
OW: Only in the sense that you are recognizing the limitations of literature to effect change in the real world. And I think this is a pertinent point in the context of Palestine. There’s so much about the context that invites despair, and then hope, and then more despair.
In the novel these elements are personified in the fate of the hunger striker Rashid, which both crushes Sonia and moves her to action. Does it ever feel hopeless to write about Palestine?
IH: It’s easy to feel hopeless, and I worry about not being useful. I think that often novelists feel useless. When you’re working on very long projects on your own every day, making scenes, it’s hard to see the bigger view.
In fact, it’s better not to look at the bigger view because you’ve got to just keep going, you have to have some faith in something larger panning out, and I think even the act of writing a book requires that sort of faith. And I guess that you have to have faith that you’re one drop in a wave, you know, that these things will cumulatively make a major contribution.
But it’s very hard to think that your own individual contribution is going to make substantial change. It’s about the connections you make with others, about participating in a broader conversation, about being part of a generation of people talking and writing and making art and films about Palestine.
It’s been specifically difficult for Palestinians to narrate their condition, very difficult to make people listen.I expressed some reservations just now about only pushing literature that clearly declares a progressive politics, but for Palestine this has been very important, since so often Western progressive politics exclude Palestine, and it’s been specifically difficult for Palestinians to narrate their condition, very difficult to make people listen.
And I do think we’re seeing a change now. And that has to do with generational shifts, with emigration and generations growing up with other languages as their first language. And with other kinds of shifts happening as well, globally.
OW: That theme of generational shifts crops up a lot in the novel, in the tension between Sonia’s generation and her father’s, and in the different ways in which Palestinian families manage their situations. Many Palestinian families were separated in 1948 and later, including today when members of the diaspora might be denied entry into Israel or the West Bank. The intention of this policy is to weaken familial connections and solidarity with the Palestinian cause, but in the book these ties across borders also have a kind of strength. How much is that a fantasy?
IH: I think it is some kind of fulfillment of fantasy. Not that it isn’t real, I mean look at 2021, the unity in the First and Second Intifada, that’s an expression of that as well, right? This attempt to divide was overcome and I think that has to do with new channels—the Palestinian population communicating with itself via social media and the internet, all these things contribute to engagement among that separated body politic, which is also global. There are things that make it more difficult—the actual land is disappearing, the question of sovereignty.
So I don’t know that I was necessarily positioning that globality as a strength—although in some aspects you could call it that—as much as I was trying to portray a political collective. The play becomes a cipher for other kinds of operations, for working together, with the same kinds of dynamics and class differentials, internal antagonisms, dramas, falling in love, all these things.
OW: And—on the theme of generations—each character is also constantly confronting their own past, their ghosts and the ghosts of their ancestors. You can almost see each character’s ghosts kind of pulling them back all the time. What does that theme of haunting mean for you?
IH: There’s a book by the sociologist Avery Gordon called Ghostly Matters in which she says that the presence of a ghost produces a “something-to-be-done,” like the ghost of Hamlet’s father who is there telling Hamlet to avenge him.
An example that Gordon uses is the ghost in Toni Morrison’s Beloved whose presence tells us that the past remains to be reckoned with, the project of freedom is incomplete. That’s something you can map onto the inheritance of oppression, so the ghost represents previous generations, a continuity of history that exceeds the span of a single life.
I also like to flip that and to say that we are the ghosts, we haunt them. When Sonia’s father says “zombie apocalypse” it means we, the Palestinians, haven’t left. You know, we’re still here. We’re not leaving. They want to repress that knowledge, to say they’re not there, but the repressed always returns. So you could also say that the act of haunting is itself an expression of struggle as well.
OW: And then what does that mean for political struggle? Because we’re always pushing forward into the future, trying to reach an ending that’s never there.
IH: Yeah, you have to kind of hold both in your head, because there has to be forward propulsion, you know. Optimism of the will and pessimism of the intellect. So in one sense liberation is a receding horizon, but there are points where you know, liberation happens, like Algeria was liberated.
There are particular horizons that you will reach over time, but that time span might involve several generations. I think that it’s not the end of the story. It’s never the end of the story.
________________________
Enter Ghost, by Isabella Hammad, is available now from Grove Atlantic.
]]>The Bland-Allison Act (1878) birthed the Morgan Silver Dollar, benefiting both Western silver mining interests and “Free Silverite”/Populist interests.
The Morgan Silver Dollar especially benefited Western states’ (where silver dollars often circulated in preference to paper currency into the 1960s) agrarian interests and silver mining interests. Although the economic circulation of the Morgan Dollar was light (except in Western states), it represented an attempt to politically and economically placate groups in U. S. society seeking a silver-based, potentially inflationary means of exchange.
George Morgan immigrated to the U. S. from England to work as Assistant Engraver at the U. S. Mint. Through mutual friends, Miss Anna Williams (a Philadelphia kindergarten teacher) posed as Miss Liberty for the Morgan Dollar Obverse.
Encircled by thirteen stars for the original thirteen colonies and “E Pluribus Unum” (“out of many, one), Miss Liberty wears a headband declaring “Liberty” and wears the “Phrygian Cap” (given to freed slaves in Classical Rome) symbolizing the freedom of thought. Cotton bolls and leaves, symbolizing the agricultural bounty of the U. S., adorn Liberty’s hair.
The Morgan Dollar reverse portrays the American Eagle, wings majestically spread. In his right talons is an olive branch, symbolizing the peace which the U. S. would prefer; in his left talons are arrows representing a readiness to go to war if necessary.
The denomination one dollar, the issuing country (the United States of America), “In God We Trust,” and a wreath like those awarded to winners in the Classical Greek Olympic Games surround the Eagle. Any Branch Mint mintmark (“S” for San Francisco, “O” for New Orleans, “CC” for Carson City, or “D” for Denver) is shown below the bow in the wreath. The absence of a mintmark indicates that the dollar was made at the Philadelphia Mint.
Variations in the Morgan Dollar exist for 1878 based upon the number of tailfeathers shown on the Eagle–7, 8, or 7 over 8. Other variations include “over-mintmarks,” such as the 1882-O/S, or variations based upon whether the eagle is represented with a concave or a convex breast on 1879 coins.
Related: 1896 Silver Dollar Value
There are literally hundreds of other die varieties identified throughout the Morgan Dollar series (1878-1904 and again in 1921) primarily by the exhaustive studies of Leroy Van Allen and George Mallis first undertaken in the 1970s.
The Morgan Dollar is 38.1 mm. In diameter, and contains 90% silver (.7734 Troy Oz.) and 10% copper (.0859 Troy Oz.)
Related: The Susan B. Anthony Dollar: Unveiling the Story of a Revolutionary Coin
The mintage of the Morgan Dollar from 1878-1904 and again in 1921 was enormous! About 657 million Morgan Dollars were minted in total!
Related: 1923 Silver Dollar Value, Design And History
The Morgan Dollar was minted at the Philadelphia Mint, and at branch mints in San Francisco, New Orleans, Carson City, and Denver.
The value of any Morgan Dollar starts at $20 due to its silver content of .7743 and widespread demand, while the numismatic condition, based on the Sheldon Scale, significantly affects its worth. The highest recorded value is $2,086,875 for the finest known 1893-S Morgan Dollar (PCGS MS67/CAC-endorsed) from the Jack Lee Collection.
The numismatic condition of an uncleaned, “problem-free” Morgan Dollar can add substantially to its value. Numismatic condition is based upon the 70-point Sheldon Scale, with a Mint-State (MS) 70 coin representing “a perfect coin” down to a grade of Poor-1 (barely recognizable as a Morgan Dollar due to circulation wear).
Among the “key dates” in the 96 coin series (not counting varieties) are the following, with this IMPORTANT note!
Due to the number of counterfeits appearing in great numbers in today’s coin market, one should only buy these dates/Mints authenticated and graded by one of the four top third-party grading services–PCGS, NGC, CACG, and ANACS–UNLESS one is skilled enough at authentication and grading of Morgan Dollars to feel absolutely confident in evaluating uncertified Morgan Dollars!
Morgan Dollars were made from 1878 through 1904 and again in 1921 at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, Carson City, and Denver Mints.
This list can vary considerably, depending upon the Morgan Dollar’s Sheldon Scale condition and whether authenticated and graded by PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS. But the coins listed below are generally accepted as relatively rare and desirable in almost any grade, especially when authenticated as original, “problem-free” coins.
Related: 1884 Silver Dollar Value
“Key dates” in the Morgan Silver Dollar series can be expanded to include
Morgan Dollar die varieties were categorized by Leroy Van Allen and George Mallis beginning in the 1970s. Over 260 “VAMS” have been recognized by Morgan Dollar numismatists, with the 50 and 100 most popular VAMS identified by Michael Fey et al. This is a complicated area, requiring substantial study/knowledge on the part of the individual in order to collect/invest effectively.
The 1921 Morgan Dollar is the most common Morgan Dollar in the series. 44,690,000 were made at the Philadelphia Mint, 20,345,000 at Denver, and 21,695,000 at San Francisco for a total mintage of 86,300,000. Many have survived to the present time, making any circulated 1921 Morgan Dollar’s value heavily dependent on the commodity price of silver. Currently, somewhere around $20 would be a reasonable price for a circulated 1921 Morgan.
So many Morgan Dollars were made in 1921 because the 1918 Pittman Act had led to the melting of over 270,000,000 Morgan Dollars. To have sufficient “backing” for silver certificates after the Pittman meltings, the 1921 Morgan Dollar came into being.
A circulated 1921 Morgan Dollar is worth approximately $20 due to its silver content. However, high-grade 1921 Morgan Dollars authenticated by renowned organizations like PCGS or NGC, with grades of MS66 or MS67, can be valued at hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but these coins are rare.
For example, PCGS has only graded 26 MS67 1921 Philadelphia Morgan Dollars, 20 MS67 1921 Denver Morgan Dollars, and no MS67 1921 San Francisco Morgan Dollars.
Related: The 1922 Peace Silver Dollar Value, History, Minting
Created nominally to honor the 100th anniversary of the cessation of Morgan Dollar mintage in 1921, 173,875 2021 Morgan Dollars were issued with no “privy marks” by the U. S. Mint.
A “CC Privy mark” acknowledging the Carson City Mint (which of course had issued no silver dollars in 1921) was added to 173,444 2021 Morgan Dollars, and an “O privy mark” acknowledging the New Orleans Mint (which of course had issued no silver dollars in 1921) was added to another 173,102 2021 Morgan Dollars. In addition, 174,093 2021-S Morgan Dollars were issued, as well as 173,730 2021-D Morgan Dollars. As well, a 2021 Peace Dollar (mintage 198,772) was issued.
Considering that all these coins contain .858 Troy oz. of silver and cost the purchaser $85 each from the Mint (when silver had a commodity exchange price around $25/oz.), the U. S. Mint made a nice seigniorage profit on these coins!
Current wholesale values posted in “The Coin Dealer Newsletter” are:
Related: 1888 Silver Dollar Value – What’s it Worth Today?
There is minimal significance to these listed Philadelphia Mint dates unless they are authenticated and graded at MS63 or above by PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS, in which case they will have a wholesale value of around $100, or more in higher grades.
All of the above dates (except 1887) saw Morgan Dollars minted in Carson City. Due to the popularity of that “Wild West” Mint, CC Morgan Dollars in almost any grade are worth significantly more than their Philadelphia Mint counterparts.
Related: 1880 Silver Dollar Value
Depending upon their third-party authenticated and graded condition, San Francisco Mint coins from (especially) 1883, 1885, 1887, and 1889 can also have greater value than Philadelphia Mint Morgans from those years. The same is true for (especially) 1887-O and 1889-O Morgan Dollars graded at MS64 and higher by PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS.
Other than in Western States such as Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, etc. The Morgan Dollar was minimally used in commerce. This (along with the prodigious quantities minted for political reasons) explains why today’s collectors and investors have so many high-grade uncirculated Morgan Dollars available to them.
The Morgan Dollar emerged in 1878 as a result of the Bland-Allison Act. This Act resumed the minting of silver dollars, which had been halted in 1873. Additionally, this Act required the purchase of between $2 million and $4 million dollars worth of silver each month, with that silver to be coined into silver dollars.
This was followed in 1890 by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, increasing government monthly purchases of silver by 50%. Both Acts were responses to the “Free Silver” movement and to agrarian/Populist/Western silver mining interests interested in promoting an inflationary currency to make debt repayment easier while benefiting the silver mining industry.
Especially in western states and among “hard money” advocates, the size, heft, and precious metal content of a silver dollar were seen as desired characteristics of “real money.” The silver dollar as a response to “Free Silverites”/Populists, etc. also added to some of the public perception of the importance of this coin.
The GSA (General Services Administration) administered the sale of nearly three million silver dollars (95% of them minted in Carson City) beginning in 1972 and going until 1980. Due to skillful marketing, demand for these “Wild West” silver dollars “that Jesse James didn’t get” increased demand–and values–for CC Morgan Dollars which have continued to the present day.
The 1918 Pittman Act authorized the melting of 270+ million silver dollars, primarily to provide silver to our WWI ally Great Britain. The impact of the Pittman Act on production of silver dollars is seen in the subsequent minting of 867,300,000 1921 Morgan Dollars. To have sufficient “backing” for silver certificates after the Pittman meltings, the 1921 Morgan Dollar came into being in prodigious quantity.
No 1964-D Morgan Dollars whatsoever were ever minted, although preliminary galvanos and master hubs had been created in case the Mint would be authorized to mint them. There was a 1964-D Peace Dollar minted. All were subsequently to have been melted. This is a somewhat controversial topic to this day.
Initially authorized to be minted in quantity (over 316,000) by the Denver Mint, the 1964-D Peace Dollar was ordered to be melted before its release. It is rumored that “some” escaped melting either as “presentation pieces” or were taken by Denver Mint employees after substituting silver dollars of other dates for “some” 1964-D Peace Dollars.
I personally have heard “second-hand” from a reliable source that a well-known coin dealer and former American Numismatic Association official claimed to have seen two 1964-D Peace Dollars in the possession of a retired Denver Mint worker who had moved to the East Coast.
Since this coin (if it exists) has been declared the property of the U. S. Government and illegal for citizens to own, if these two or any others do exist, they will certainly never be publicly marketed due to their certain subsequent confiscation.
It is quite likely that Morgan Dollars have supplanted Lincoln Cents as the most widely collected U. S. coin series. The survival of a large percentage of the many Morgan Dollars minted, often in uncirculated condition, has made an abundant supply of them available for collectors. The presence of .7734 Troy oz. of silver in each Morgan Dollar has added to the coin’s appeal, as has its size and “heft.”
The association of Carson City Morgan Dollars with “the Old West” has made CC dollars a widely collected Morgan Dollar “subset,” and has often led to CC Dollar collectors branching out into the collecting of other Morgan Dollars.
The collecting of Morgan Dollars can be undertaken according to the desires of each individual collector. Some will pursue complete sets; some seek “date sets,” which have one example of each date, but not every Mint; some will specialize in VAM varieties; etc., etc.
The grading of Morgan Dollars (or any other collectible coin) has certain specific requirements for each grade, but will always involve some degree of subjectivity. The grading scale used for Morgan Dollars (and other collectible coins) is the 70 point Sheldon Scale. In this universally employed numismatic grading scale, MS70 (“Mint State 70) refers to a “perfect coin,” which has the characteristics of a coin immediately after it was minted, with no flaws of any kind (no Morgan Dollar currently exists with this grade, nor are any likely to exist).
“Poor 1” is a Morgan Dollar so worn from circulation that it is barely identifiable as a Morgan Dollar. Other than perhaps for very expensive “key dates,” most collectors try to collect Morgan Dollars which grade VF20 (“Very Fine 20”) and higher, depending upon the coin’s cost and the collector’s coin budget.
Two excellent grading guides available to the collector are The American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins , edited by Ken Bressett, and Making The Grade: Comprehensive Grading Guide for U. S. Coins by Beth Deisher and William Gibbs.
Let’s look at some of the commonly collected Morgan Dollar Grade Characteristics, as excerpted–and summarized– from The American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins:
VF20 [Very Fine 20]–smooth spots from circulation wear visible in hair, on cotton leaves, and wheat grains. Lines between eagle’s feathers complete; most feathers on breast and head of eagle worn smooth.
EF45 [Extra Fine 45]–Liberty’s cheek shows faint wear, as does Liberty’s hair over her ear, hair above her forehead, and hair above date. Eagle’s breast lightly worn. Half of the original mint luster still visible.
MS63 [Mint State 63]–A fully mint state coin with no signs of circulation wear, but noticeable contact marks/blemishes/[often] impaired luster.
The investment potential of common date circulated Morgan Dollars correlates strongly with the commodity exchanges’ price of silver, but they do carry some degree of numismatic premium as well. “Key Date” Morgan Dollars, and common date Morgan Dollars in high uncirculated grades (MS65 and above) as authenticated and graded by PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS, have shown steady investment value for some decades, due to the large number of collectors/investors who have come to appreciate and seek out Morgan Dollars.
The individual collector/investor should feel free to choose a Morgan Dollar set that meets his/her budget and interests. Some possibilities are: working on a complete date and Mint set; working on a year “type set,” seeking one example of each year that Morgan Dollars were made; completing a set representing all the dates minted by one of the Mints which made Morgan Dollars for some years (Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, or Carson City); etc.
Significance is attached to his/her set by each collector/investor. Sets are rarely sold as such–individual coins from the set are typically sold separately.
Buy the best coins you can afford, preferably after first learning about individual dates/Mints of Morgan Dollars from books; with advice from a “coin mentor;” by seeing as many Morgan Dollars of various grades at auction lot viewings, on Internet auctions, from a reliable and trustworthy coin dealer; etc.
Due to the increasing prevalence of (Chinese) counterfeits in the U. S. coin market in particular, buying expensive Morgan Dollars that are NOT authenticated and graded by PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS, at “estate sales,” on Craigslist, at pawn shops, on eBay, etc. is taking an increasingly risky chance of buying a counterfeit/an overgraded coin/a cleaned or otherwise a “problem coin,” etc.
Either a secure home safe (bolted to the floor or to a wall 2” X 4”) or a bank safe deposit box are prudent repositories for one’s Morgan Silver Dollar collection. Housed in a coin album that provides minimal to no contact with cardboard or other materials containing sulfur (because sulfur causes silver coins to “tone” over time, sometimes attractively, sometimes not) can provide safe storage.
Coin “flips” made of an archival non-polyvinyl chloride material can also be safe.A small bag of silica gel crystals (which remove excess humidity and can be renewed when saturated) placed in a safe or safe deposit box can also be protective of Morgan Silver Dollars.
NEVER, EVER clean your Morgan Dollars (or, for that matter, any other coin likely to be worth more than face value) in any way, with anything, at any time!! You are very likely to remove ½ to ⅔ of the value of any rare coin (along with its originality) by cleaning it!
“Maintaining” your coins by storing them in an environment of steady temperature and low humidity (see above re: home safes/safe deposit boxes, etc.) where your coins are free from contact with sulfur-containing materials such as cardboard, cloth, etc. should be done. Third-party grading company (PCGS, NGC, CACG, ANACS) “slabs,” while not air-tight, are generally safe and protective means of storage.
When not in third-party grading company “slabs” or archival-material “flips,” your Morgan Silver Dollars should be handled only by holding the coins’ rims, due to skin oil and other possible contaminants on your hands reacting negatively over time with the silver in your Morgan Dollars.
As counterfeits proliferate in the U. S. market, buying unauthenticated, uncertified coin “great deals” from estate sales, pawn shops, Craigslist, eBay, (small, local) auctions, etc. is becoming more and more similar to playing “Russian Roulette.” Do either one often enough and long enough, and you are likely to end up very, very sorry.
Grading coins is best learned by the individual, through examining as many coins as possible in the coin series one wants to collect; by learning from “coin mentors” and a local coin club; by finding a trustworthy coin dealer; by “buying the book before the coin” that shows how to grade coins, etc.; and by attending coin grading classes offered by the American Numismatic Association.
Buying third-party authenticated coins from PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS gives one a lifetime guarantee of authenticity offered by each of these grading services. Viewing as many coins as possible in the series you want to collect helps you to sense, with many counterfeits, that “something doesn’t look right” about the fake coin.
Getting a “second opinion” BEFORE buying an uncertified coin can help. Dealing with a coin dealer who is an American Numismatic Association member or a Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) member supports the authenticity of a coin purchased from that dealer.
There currently is just one grading system universally used in U. S. Numismatics–the 70 point Sheldon Scale, where Mint State 70 represents “a perfect coin,” its condition exactly as it left the dies when struck at one of the U. S. Mints, and Poor 1 representing a coin that is so worn from circulation as to be barely identifiable. Sheldon Grade Numbers between 70 and 1 are used to describe coins with different degrees of circulation wear, etc.
NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) has recently developed a 1-10 grading scale expressed in Roman Numerals between I and X. This grading scale is currently being used by NGC on modern/bullion-related coins. It is too soon to tell if this “new” grading scale will find widespread acceptance, or will be expanded to “classic” U. S. numismatic coins.
Pretty much every coin of value has been counterfeited contemporaneously, and afterward, if the coin has value enough to justify counterfeiting. Morgan Dollars are no exception, with both contemporary and modern counterfeits in existence.
“Replicas” of Morgan Dollars must be clearly marked “copy” and/or be noticeably different in size and/or design from a genuine Morgan Dollar to avoid violating anti-counterfeiting statutes.
Buying third-party authenticated coins from PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS gives one a lifetime guarantee of authenticity offered by each of the four grading services.
Viewing as many coins as possible in the series which you want to collect helps you to sense, with many counterfeits, that “something doesn’t look right” about the fake coin. Getting a “second opinion” BEFORE buying an uncertified coin can also help.
Dealing with a coin dealer who is an American Numismatic Association member or a Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) member supports the authenticity of a coin purchased from that dealer.
This is a difficult question to respond to, since a counterfeit Morgan Dollar (whether made in the 19th Century or yesterday) is a counterfeit coin, illegal to pass as a medium of exchange.
“Replica” Morgan Dollars marked “copy,” and/or struck in a markedly different size or with obviously different design characteristics are intended to be obvious replicas that would not be accepted as a medium of exchange.
An interesting type of Morgan Dollar replica is occasionally found on one Troy ounce silver rounds (which have their own value based upon the commodity exchange price of silver) but which bear only a superficial design resemblance to a genuine Morgan Dollar.
Any Morgan Dollar minted at the Carson City, Nevada Mint (1878-1885 and again from 1889-1893) is “famous” and generally in strong demand, due to the widely perceived “Old West” connection associated with the Carson City Mint.
The 1895 Morgan Dollar is also famous. It is widely accepted that all of the 12,000 1895 Morgan Dollars struck for circulation were melted as part of the 1918 Pittman Act melting of over 270,000,000 Morgan Dollars. That left only 880 Proof 1895 Morgan Dollars, created for sale to contemporary collectors. Most of those still exist (some spent by their owners during economic hard times such as the Great Depression), but given the large number of Morgan Dollar collectors and investors today, most will never be able to ever own an 1895.
The significance of the Morgan Dollar in U. S. History is as a symbol of the monetary and political conflict in the mid-to late Nineteenth Century over whether the U. S. would have a non-inflationary gold standard (generally desired by bankers and businesses), an inflationary bi-metallic gold/silver standard (generally desired by Populist/agrarian interests and “Free Silverites” experiencing difficult economic times and desiring a way to more easily pay their mortgages, agricultural bills, etc.)
with the value ratio between the value of silver versus that of gold expressed in a functional bimetallic economic system (i. E. 16 to 1). As well, Morgan Dollars created in prodigious quantities showed the political power of Western silver mining interests in conjunction with the political power of the pro-silver forces.
The value and rarity of Morgan Dollars are both “all over the map.” Some “key dates” (i. E. 1895; 1893-S; 1889-CC; etc.) have value and are in great demand regardless of their condition. Others (like the 1881-S; all three 1921 Morgans; etc.) in lower condition grades are worth their silver value plus only a slight “numismatic premium.” Certified in high grades (MS65 and above), these “common-date” Morgan Dollars will begin to show greater values to collectors.
By definition, most myths and legends about anything represent “good stories,” which may or may not have specific factual support. Did Billy the Kid have a new uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollar in his pocket when Pat Garrett shot him, as some say? Did Las Vegas casinos in the 1950s and 1960s have more Morgan Silver Dollars than all but the biggest banks?
When LaVere Redfield (a very wealthy Nevada oil/stock market/real estate speculator who did not trust banks or the government and hoarded silver dollars) had his home (where he stored all of his estimated peak hoard of 600K or more silver dollars) was robbed in the 1960s, how many were taken (100K has been estimated),who took them (to date, nobody knows), and what became of them (again, nobody knows. Were they all spent? Were some hidden/buried in unknown locations?)
Many Morgan Dollars were buried or otherwise hidden through the years by individuals not trusting banks. Metal detectorists have likely found many of these “hidden hoards,” but quantity and locations found in this way tend not to be made available. It seems likely that some number of Morgan Dollar hoards of this type have yet to be discovered.
Wayne Miller in his The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook tells of a miner who secreted 1,700 silver dollars over the winter in the mine shaft that he was working, only to find that vandals had dynamited his mineshaft shut when he returned the next spring. Miller also mentions how a hotel fire melted 900 silver dollars into unrecognizable blobs of silver.
Many more such stories and “hidden treasure” locations are perhaps “out there,” awaiting further information and discovery!
For many years throughout the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Morgan Silver Dollars were frequently given as birthday/wedding/graduation presents in the belief that such gifts would not only provide economic purchasing power to the recipient, but Good Fortune as well!
One superstition allegedly from the Irish involves cooking a silver dollar (which had been hidden outside and brought in just before midnight) on New Year’s Day with the cabbage that would be then eaten as corned beef and cabbage on New Year’s Day.
Another involves placing a silver dollar under the mainmast of a sailing vessel as it was being constructed to insure the sailing vessel’s safe sailing. Some aviators in WWII carried silver dollars as “good luck” coins that (it was hoped) would bring the aviator back safely from his mission.
The Morgan Silver Dollar has been featured in various forms of popular culture, including movies and TV shows. One of the most famous examples is the 1969 Western movie “True Grit,” where the main character, Rooster Cogburn, carries a silver dollar with him as a lucky charm.
The coin has also been referenced in literature and music, such as in the song “Silver Dollar” by Chris Hillman. The Morgan Silver Dollar symbolizes American pop culture, representing the country’s rich history and tradition.
Currently, the finest 1893-S Morgan Dollar known (PCGS MS67/CAC-endorsed) from the Jack Lee Collection holds the record at $2,086,875.
Nobody possesses an accurate “crystal ball” to predict the future, but today Morgan Silver Dollars have become the most widely collected U. S. coin, supplanting the Lincoln Cent. Should that trend continue, Morgan Silver Dollars may continue to represent both a desired collectible (especially in “key date”/high-grade coins graded by PCGS, NGC, CACG, or ANACS) and a “tangible asset” based upon the value of the .7734 Troy ounces of silver that each contains.
The Morgan Dollar has represented a U. S. political and economic legacy for nearly 150 years now. As well, it has been a widely pursued collectible at least since the early Twentieth Century. If anything, the popularity of the Morgan Dollar as a “hard asset” and a collectible has only increased since the U. S. government GSA sales of (mostly) uncirculated Carson City Dollars began in 1972.
Will the popularity and availability of Morgan Dollars continue into the future? Nobody knows, but based upon the Morgan Dollar’s desirability for the past 125 years or so, its future popularity seems likely.
The Morgan Silver Dollar especially benefited Western states’ (where silver dollars often circulated in preference to paper currency into the 1960s) agrarian interests, and silver mining interests. Although economic circulation of the Morgan Dollar was light (except in Western states), it represented an attempt to politically and economically placate groups in U. S. society seeking a silver-based, potentially inflationary means of exchange.
Especially in western states and among “hard money” advocates, the size, heft, and precious metal content of a silver dollar were seen as desired characteristics of “real money.” The silver dollar as a response to “Free Silverites”/Populists, etc. also added to some of the public perception of the importance of this coin.
The Morgan Silver Dollar has been featured in various forms of popular culture, including movies and TV shows. One of the most famous examples is the 1969 Western movie “True Grit,” where the main character, Rooster Cogburn, carries a silver dollar with him as a lucky charm. The coin has also been referenced in literature and music, such as in the song “Silver Dollar” by Chris Hillman. The Morgan Silver Dollar symbolizes American pop culture, representing the country’s rich history and tradition.
Due to the survival (often in high numismatic grades) of many of the 657,000,000 Morgan Dollars minted between 1878 and 1921, and the many possible “collecting subsets” in the Morgan Dollar series, the Morgan Dollar is the most widely collected coin series today. Its substantial “heft,” its .7734 Troy ounces of silver, and its widely admired design have helped fuel the popularity of the Morgan Dollar today, and perhaps into the future.
If you have a passion for collecting and studying coins, we want to hear from you! Craftbuds seeks knowledgeable numismatic experts to contribute their expertise to our content.
This is a paid opportunity!! Apply Here
The post The Morgan Silver Dollar: The Story of America’s Most Iconic Coin appeared first on Art & Craft, DIY ideas and Tutorials - Craftbuds.
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Cocktails and spirits writer, and speaker Camper English has covered the craft cocktail renaissance for nearly two decades. After a great deal of trial and error, in 2009 he revealed a simple method for making clear ice that is now used all over the world. Since then, English’s icy influence has snowballed (so many ice puns!) He has written several dozen articles, with his work seen in over fifty publications where he speaks on this unique specialty of his, reaching audiences worldwide.
In his latest title The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts the internationally renowned cocktail “icepert” details how to use directional freezing to make perfectly pure ice in a home freezer, carve it up into giant diamonds and other shapes, and embed it with garnishes, including edible orchids and olives. Readers can learn how to create a frozen bowl for Negroni punch, serve a Manhattan inside an ice sphere, and infuse cubes with colors and flavors to create cranberry cobblers, a color-changing Gin and Tonic, and other awesome drinks. Chilled got the chance to break the ice (another one!) with Camper about his new book, ice hacks, and tips to creating amazingly cool drinks!
In 2009 I figured out a method to make clear ice at home, after much experimentation. Though the technique caught on with bartenders, in the past three or so years consumers have become more aware of it thanks to TikTok and Instagram. So, there were enough people interested in the subject to convince a publisher to print it. The Ice Book contains many ways to make clear ice, carve and cut it up into different shapes, freeze objects inside of it, and bedazzle it in various ways. Then there is a section on colored and flavored ice, plus several cocktail recipes along the way.
Well since I’ve been making clear ice so long, people contact me regularly asking for advice (Alcademics.com). I do really enjoy experimenting with ice and coming up with new ideas for what to make and what to do with it, but at the end of the day it’s arts and crafts that you can drink.
It’s easy. Fill an insulated hard-sided cooler with water (regular tap or filtered, no need to boil it) and put it into your freezer, leaving the top off. Take it out after a couple of days and you’ll have a slab of clear ice. If you leave it longer it will be cloudy on the bottom of the block, and you can cut that part off. That’s the basic technique that you can do so much with by extending it to other shapes and sizes using hacks from The Ice Book.
The hot new thing is taking this clear ice and pressing patterns on top of it. There are some specialty tools for this, or you can use things like a cookie press or metal potato masher to do it.
Ice impacts both chilling and the dilution of a cocktail, and big cubes chill and dilute more slowly than the same number of small cubes. Clear ice melts a bit more slowly than cloudy ice but honestly the main impact is visual. It helps sell more cocktails and get more Instagram hits because drinks look so much better.
Large, clear ice is the first step. Then you can maximize the impact of it by having something to read through your cube on your drink coasters, or put a lime slice beneath the cube, or set a garnish like a single mint leaf or powdered sugar atop the cube in an Old Fashioned glass.
Ice can be both an ingredient and a garnish in a cocktail. A functional garnish if you will.
There is so much free training and information out there; always try to be actively learning or experimenting with something. Pick a project and work on it. I picked ice!
Garnish on the Inside: Camper’s Tips to Creating Jaw-Dropping Cocktail Ice
1. The easiest way to get started making clear cubes infused with objects is to take the garnish from a drink and put it inside an ice cube. An olive for a Martini, cherry for a Manhattan, citrus peels for a lot of other drinks. So the first step is to decide what drink you want to make more spectacular.
2. Decide on a clear ice system—you can buy commercially available clear ice or sphere trays or use one of the hacks in The Ice Book to make one yourself. For cube trays I like the industrial-quality ones from Ghost Ice, lean and less expensive Clearly Frozen, or Dexas IceOlogy for home use.
3. Citrus peels are the easiest objects to freeze. Give them a trim with a knife or pinking shears for a zigzag edge, tie them in a knot, or use aspic cutters to cut them into shapes or letters. Avoid using anything juicy like a thick citrus wheel as the juice can make cloudy ice.
4. Set the object in your cube or sphere tray. Ideally you want to rest the citrus peel or other object on the bottom of the tray rather than allowing it to float on the surface but be careful not to block the hole in the bottom of the tray. You might find it’s easier to lean them against the side of the cube or sphere tray.
5. Freeze your cubes, remove them the next day, and store them. Avoid storing wet cubes touching each other as they’ll freeze together.
Camper English is a cocktails and spirits writer and speaker who has covered the craft cocktail renaissance for over 15 years, contributing to more than fifty publications including Popular Science, Saveur, Details, Whisky Advocate, and Drinks International. After much experimentation, in 2009 he revealed a simple method for making clear ice that is now used all over the world. He has since written dozens of articles and given talks about ice internationally. His previous book is Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails.
The post We Ask Icepert Camper English—How to Make Awe-Inspiring Ice in Cocktails appeared first on Chilled Magazine.
]]>We've put together activities, snacks and a shopping list to make coordinating this creative and low-key birthday party easy. It's suitable for any season as it can be hosted indoors or outside. I think it's perfect for kids ages 3 and up. This is a party you can pull together in a short amount of time and on a low budget.
We hung a multi-colored miniature triangle bunting and kept the table clear so that guests had room to create. The color-drop magazine organizer held plain pieces of paper and a small colored mason jar (found at the dollar store!) kept different sized paint brushes at the ready. The sweet art print from Lucy Darling gave the room some color and was a fun surprise for guests to take home at the end of the party.
You can set up some inspiration around the room like:
This shopping list can be found at craft supply stores or online. I'm putting in shopping links to make life easier. Where you see Amazon links, know that they are affiliate links.
Each place setting had a clipboard with plain paper, a frame with the guest's name inside, a jar of water, paint brushes, a q-tip, and water colors. The frame is made of basal wood and can be painted, too!
In the center of the table we put a tray filled with paint brushes, oversized q-tips, a mason jar filled with water, paint brush markers, and some extra water colors. By giving the party guests options, inspiration can strike in many forms!
For snacks, we filled pop corn boxes with colored gold fish. We made pigs in a blanket and filled a bowl with the extras. Something really fun is to create a rainbow treat box. First, you need an oversized pill box. Snip off the tops with the days of the week to create the container. Here are some ideas for the coordinating foods.
As favors, guests receive the framed art, the set of paints, and colorful treats. We hope you liked our ideas for a water color-themed party.
Be sure to follow our Kids Birthday Party board on Pinterest for more party inspiration.
Disclosure: We were not compensated for this post.
]]>Are you one of those people that has a favorite day of the week?
Me too.
For me, its always been Fridays and Mondays. Everyone always thought I was crazy for loving Mondays, but I just was always a Monday person. Once I learned that each day of the week was represented by a different planet according to astrology, it all started to make so much sense to me.
In our fast-paced lives, finding ways to maximize our energy and embrace a sense of harmony can greatly enhance our overall well-being. One way to tap into the natural ebb and flow of cosmic energies is by aligning our activities with the planetary days of the week. Rooted in ancient astrological traditions, each day of the week is associated with a specific celestial body, offering unique qualities and energies. By understanding and utilizing these planetary influences, we can optimize our productivity, creativity, and inner balance. Let's explore the planetary days of the week and discover how to make the most of their inherent energies.
Luna's Nurturing Embrace Monday derives its name from the Moon, the celestial symbol of emotions, intuition, and femininity. As the start of the workweek, Mondays often bring a sense of renewal and fresh beginnings. Use this day to set intentions, connect with your inner self, and embrace self-care practices. Engage in meditation, journaling, or nurturing activities like taking a soothing bath or spending quality time with loved ones. Pay attention to your dreams, as they may reveal insights and guidance.
Monday magic:
Wear silver jewelry which amplifies your connection to the moon, Wear the colors white/gray.
Work with moonstone or selenite crystals.
Burn sandalwood or jasmine candles.
Slip into your slow, feminine energy which means plenty of relaxation and quiet time
Spiritual Self care rituals are key, journaling, meditation, etc.
Mars' Dynamic Drive Tuesday, named after the fiery planet Mars, fuels our ambitions, courage, and physical vitality. It ignites our motivation and drive, making it an ideal day to tackle challenging tasks, engage in physical exercise, or embark on new endeavors. Embrace the warrior spirit within and push past any obstacles that stand in your way. Take bold actions, express your passions, and assert your boundaries. Channel your energy into projects that require assertiveness and perseverance.
Tuesday Magic:
Wear the color red to amplify mars’ confidence to take action and have others take you seriously.
Work with ruby, rhodonite or carnelian crystals (carnelian sparks your creativity).
Drink ginger tea to get that metabolism moving.
Start new projects and plan your calendar
Work on that to-do list
Get out of your comfort zone
Take a high intensity work out class
Mercury's Intellectual Flow Wednesday is linked to the planet Mercury, known as the messenger of the gods. It governs communication, intellect, and mental agility. This day offers opportunities for effective communication, learning, and networking. Engage in activities that stimulate your mind, such as reading, writing, brainstorming, or engaging in stimulating conversations. Make use of technology to enhance your productivity or catch up on correspondence. Seek out opportunities to express your ideas and share knowledge.
Wednesday Magic:
Wear green to boost sales & manifest money.
Work with jade or green aventurine crystals.
Use an oracle card deck to help you get really clear on what’s next for you.
Brainstorm ideas and then communicate them
Make sales calls, write letters, clean out your emails
Jupiter's Expansive Wisdom Thursday finds its origins in Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system associated with growth, abundance, and wisdom. This day holds a special aura of opportunity and good fortune. It is an ideal time to pursue higher learning, expand your horizons, or engage in philanthropic activities. Seek experiences that bring you joy, optimism, and a sense of purpose. Cultivate gratitude and open your heart to the possibilities that lie ahead. Embrace generosity and share your wisdom with others.
Thursday Magic:
Wear yellow, especially a yellow dress.
Work with lapiz lazuli & amethyst crystals.
Make a vision board
Practice mirror work and use abundance mantras
Organize your finances
Read a new book
Venus' Creative Essence Named after Venus, the planet of love, beauty, and harmony, Friday carries an aura of sensuality, creativity, and emotional connection. Use this day to indulge your artistic pursuits, spend time in nature, or engage in activities that bring joy and pleasure. Surround yourself with beauty, whether it be through art, music, or engaging in heartfelt connections with loved ones. Cultivate self-love and practice acts of kindness towards yourself and others. This is the perfect day to plan a weekend of re-decorating your home, incorporating Feng Shui in your life and creating sanctuary.
Friday Magic:
Dress up! Wear something in pink or maybe a dress you absolutely love.
Get your nails done
Work with rose quartz crystals
Bring home your favorite flowers
Head to a museum or art gallery and revel upon the beauty
Decorate your home, set the dinner table, light candles and cook your favorite meal
Start your Glow Up
Watch a romantic movie
Indulge in a long bubble bath and do beauty rituals
Saturn's Disciplined Reflection Saturday takes its name from Saturn, the planet of structure, discipline, and responsibility. This day invites introspection, contemplation, and organization. Dedicate time to review your goals, set boundaries, and establish a sense of structure in your life. Engage in activities that promote self-discipline, such as planning, decluttering, or working on long-term projects. Practice patience and perseverance as you work towards your ambitions.
Saturday Magic:
Organize and Declutter your home & donate anything to a thrift shop
Prepare for your week, meal prep, craft your calendar
Wear black or any dark color
Place black crystals at the entryway of your home
Burn palo santo throughout your home for a reset
The Sun's Vital Radiance Sunday, associated with the Sun, represents vitality, self-expression, and self-confidence. It's a day for rejuvenation and basking in the warmth of life. Engage in activities that ignite your passion and allow your authentic self to shine. Spend time outdoors, engage in creative pursuits, or connect with your inner child. Express gratitude for the blessings in your life and visualize your goals bathed in the golden light of the Sun.
Sunday Magic:
Wear gold jewelry to amplify the Sun energy
Work with sunstone or amber crystals
Drink lemon water all day
Spend time in the sunshine
Prioritize rest & relaxation
By embracing the planetary days of the week, we can tap into the diverse energies that each celestial body offers. Aligning our activities with these energies allows us to harmonize with the cosmic rhythm, enhancing our productivity, creativity, and overall well-being. Whether we seek emotional nourishment on Monday, dynamic drive on Tuesday, or intellectual flow on Wednesday, each day presents unique opportunities to make the most of our time and energy. By honoring these planetary influences, we can create a life in sync with the natural forces that shape our universe. Embrace the cosmic dance and unlock the potential within you.
[TAG3] Rose Quartz Birth Chart Readings from $222.00]]>An iconic 1960s office block in Brussels has become a hotel, featuring an interior designed by architect Lionel Jadot using only custom-made furniture and objects.
Set to open today, Mix Brussels takes over the listed former headquarters of La Royale Belge, the insurance company now known as AXA.
The conversion of the 25,000-square-metre building was overseen by a team of architects made up of London-based Caruso St John, Antwerp-based Bovenbouw Architectuur and Brussels studios DDS+ and MA2.
Brussels-based Jadot assembled a team of 52 designers and makers (including himself) to kit out the interior with furniture, installations and sculptures that were all designed specifically.
Almost everything, from the chairs to the doorknobs, is the work of an independent artist or designer.
"We wanted to create something different so that when you enter, nothing is normal," Jadot told Dezeen.
"Nothing is from a catalogue, nothing is seen on Instagram," he said. "Everything is custom-made in Belgium specifically for this project, by a big family of designers working together."
The four-star hotel includes 180 rooms and suites, three restaurants, a food market, a co-working space, an auditorium and a health club.
To win such a large commission, Jadot enlisted all of the designers from Zaventem Ateliers, a creative hub he founded in 2018 in a former paper factory on the outskirts of the city.
Zaventem Ateliers brings together 25 creatives in a collaborative environment that supports the creation of limited-edition and collectable art and design.
When a design competition for the project was announced, Jadot convinced them that the hotel could become a celebration of the city's craft culture.
"This building is really iconic for Brussels and I have been in love with it since the age of 10," he said.
"Every Friday, my mum would drive us past it on the way to my grandmother's house. I thought there was something about it that was really special," he recalled.
"I told the team that we needed to be the ones to do this project," Jadot added.
As well as the existing members of Zaventem Ateliers, he also enlisted 27 other creatives to collaborate with them on the fit-out.
The overriding concept, Jadot explained, was to create interiors that complemented the sculptural qualities of the building's distinctive concrete-framed interior.
"The idea was always to have a horizontality in the creation," he said. "It was not for me to tell them how to work; the point was for them to feel free to pitch something."
The contributing designers from Zaventem Ateliers include Maison Armand Jonckers, which produced the engraved brass reception desk, and Arno Declercq, who built a monumental blackened-wood sculpture.
Artist Thomas Serruys created wooden stools that can be found throughout, while designer Adeline Halot produced lampshades for the hotel lobby and sculptural mirrors for the bedrooms.
Among the lighting designs, eco-materials specialist Roxane Lahidji produced pendant lamps from salt, while Studio Elementaires created stylish nightlights.
Textile works include printed curtains and weavings by KRJST Studio, who teamed up with designer Emma Cognée, and tapestries by La Gadoue Atelier.
Jadot's own contributions include a fireplace installation and various chairs, while other notable additions include a papier-mâché artwork by Papier Boulette, tables by designer Pierre Coddens and foam seats by artist duo Touche-Touche.
The opening of MIX Brussels aims to help cement the city's reputation as a hotspot for collectable art and design.
As well as hosting annual fair Collectible, the city recently saw design gallery Maniera and contemporary art gallery Xavier Hufkens both expand their presences.
Jadot hopes the project will defy expectations of hospitality design, showing that it is possible for this industry to support local creative talent on a large scale.
"A lot of hotels opening today just order poor quality furniture from other countries, then after a few years, everything is destroyed," he said. "It's not a good way to do it."
Key to the alternative approach, Jadot said, was that the investors trusted him to project-manage the process.
He is proud that, unlike most new hotels, the completed interior is difficult to put a date on. He sees this as a sign that it will last a long time.
"You don't know really if this project was born today or yesterday," he said.
"We have created this combination, even though we totally avoided vintage. We only have collectable contemporary design, but it's a really special mix."
The post Lionel Jadot assembles 52 designers to create custom interior for Mix Brussels hotel appeared first on Dezeen.
]]>I have 20 reasons why we need aluminum foil, this would be the minimum number of reasons why I store it. I think I take my boxes of foil for granted. I panic when I’m down to my last box in the pantry. We all know we use aluminum foil for different things around the house, camping, and in the garage. I buy the smaller boxes as well as the larger heavy-duty aluminum foil boxes. Please send me your reasons why you store foil and I will add them to my list. Thank you in advance.
Here’s the deal, we can do so many things with those boxes whether large or small. It’s a fairly inexpensive item to store, but is so versatile I can’t be without it! Aluminum Foil Heavy-Duty and Regular Aluminum Foil.
I’m updating this post from August 2016, how time flies! I like to share old posts when I have improved the quality of information. Thank for you following my blog all these years. We have a great community of people.
1. I use it to cover casseroles. We all know some recipes call for a cover whereas others, say to bake uncovered.
2. If I wrap my baking pan with foil and spray vegetable oil to bake fish in the oven, the clean-up is so much easier.
3. We love to make “foil dinners” (meat, onions, potatoes, and garlic) for the oven, barbecue, or fire pit. Do you love the smell of the barbecue baking your individual meals? I sure do!
4. Foil works great in a Dutch Oven with those sticky meals that are hard to clean out Lodge Camp Dutch Oven, 6 Qt. Make a “covering” of foil in the shape of the Dutch Oven.
5. Those tin foil rabbit ears STILL work. Yes, we laugh about it, but they still work if you don’t have cable.
6. Foil makes a perfect drop cloth for craft painting and then toss it. The throw-away cloth ones are great but if I just need a small piece of aluminum foil, why waste money on a piece of fabric that’s made to be used for painting?
7. Make a makeshift pan for a fire pit from a few layers of heavy-duty foil in a pan shape, and use large sticks or hot dog sticks covered with foil as handles.
8. Perfect to place a piece of foil below those cherry or other fruit pies baking in the oven to catch any drips.
9. Kids love to make different shapes by molding the foil (after a disaster this would be a great diversion for kids).
10. Sharpen scissors by folding several pieces together and start cutting.
11. Line your barbecue grease drip drawer and replace it often to avoid fire flare-ups. Sometimes people forget to clean out that BBQ drawer and then have flareups that can burn your house down. Please check those often to keep your barbecue safe to use.
12. Line the paint roller trays and remove by gathering the corners and toss when dry-no need to buy the expensive throwaway paint trays.
13. Pie crust protector-no more burnt crust edges. If you have a pair of scissors available, cut a few pieces to keep the pie edges from overbaking.
14. Makes a great makeshift funnel.
15. Scrub your pots at the campfire with a wad of aluminum foil, it really does work and it’s disposable.
16. Cover the doorknobs while painting a door to protect them from paint drips.
17. Makeshift pan for a grill.
18. If you do not have waterproof matches, cover the ones you have with foil and protect them from a rainstorm or other moisture.
19. Makeshift reflector to catch the sunshine for photographs.
20. Fireplace-place a large sheet or two of foil on the floor of the fireplace to gather up the ashes after they cool and are ready to discard. I used to have a log holder that kept the burning logs off the foil.
The next time you see aluminum foil, grab an extra box…large or small, you’ll be glad you did!
I hope you enjoyed my post today on 20 reasons we need aluminum foil. It’s the simple things in life that make our life easier. May God Bless this world, Linda
The post 20 Reasons Why We Need Aluminum Foil appeared first on Food Storage Moms.
]]>And thus, if all goes to plan, could a new page in aviation history be written.
After years of dreamy and not always credible talk of skies filled with flying, non-polluting electric taxis, the aviation industry is preparing to deliver a future that it says is now just around the corner.
Capitalizing on its moment in the global spotlight, the Paris region is planning for a small fleet of electric flying taxis to operate on multiple routes when it hosts the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer. Unless aviation regulators in China beat Paris to the punch by greenlighting a pilotless taxi for two passengers under development there, the French capital’s prospective operator — Volocopter of Germany — could be the first to fly taxis commercially if European regulators give their OK.
Volocopter CEO Dirk Hoke, a former top executive at aerospace giant Airbus, has a VVIP in mind as his hoped-for first Parisian passenger — none other than French President Emmanuel Macron.
“That would be super amazing,” Hoke said, speaking this week at the Paris Air Show, where he and other developers of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft — or eVTOLs for short — competed with industry heavyweights for attention.
“He believes in the innovation of urban air mobility,” Hoke said of Macron. “That would be a strong sign for Europe to see the president flying.”
But with Macron aboard or not, those pioneering first flights would still be just small steps for the nascent industry that has giant leaps to make before flying taxis are muscling out competitors on the ground.
The limited power of battery technology restricts the range and number of paying passengers they can carry, so eVTOL hops are likely to be short and not cheap at the outset.
And while the vision of simply beating city traffic by zooming over it is enticing, it also is dependent on advances in airspace management. Manufacturers of eVTOLs aim in the coming decade to unfurl fleets in cities and on more niche routes for luxury passengers, including the French Riviera. But they need technological leaps so flying taxis don’t crash into each other and all the other things already congesting the skies or expected to take to them in very large numbers — including millions of drones.
Starting first on existing helicopter routes, “we’ll continue to scale up using AI, using machine-learning to make sure that our airspace can handle it,” said Billy Nolen of Archer Aviation Inc. It aims to start flying between downtown Manhattan and Newark’s Liberty Airport in 2025. That’s normally a 1-hour train or old-fashioned taxi ride that Archer says its sleek, electric 4-passenger prototype could cover in under 10 minutes.
Nolen was formerly acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. regulator that during his time at the agency was already working with NASA on technology to safely separate flying taxis. Just as Paris is using its Olympic Games to test flying taxis, Nolen said the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics offer another target for the industry to aim for and show that it can fly passengers in growing numbers safely, cleanly and affordably.
“We’ll have hundreds, if not thousands, of eVTOLs by the time you get to 2028,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press at the Paris show.
The “very small” hoped-for experiment with Volocopter for the Paris Games is “great stuff. We take our hats off to them,” he added. “But by the time we get to 2028 and beyond … you will see full-scale deployment across major cities throughout the world.”
Yet even on the cusp of what the industry portrays as a revolutionary new era kicking off in the city that spawned the French Revolution of 1789, some aviation analysts aren’t buying into visions of eVTOLs becoming readily affordable, ubiquitous and convenient alternatives to ride-hailing in the not-too-distant future.
And even among eVTOL developers who bullishly talked up their industry’s prospects at the Paris show, some predicted that rivals will run dry of funding before they bring prototypes to market.
Morgan Stanley analysts estimate the industry could be worth $1 trillion by 2040 and $9 trillion by 2050 with advances in battery and propulsion technology. Almost all of that will come after 2035, analysts say, because of the difficulty of getting new aircraft certified by U.S. and European regulators.
“The idea of mass urban transit remains a charming fantasy of the 1950s,” said Richard Aboulafia of AeroDynamic Advisory, an aerospace consultancy.
“The real problem is still that mere mortals like you and I don’t get routine or exclusive access to $4 million vehicles. You and I can take air taxis right now. It’s called a helicopter.”
Still, electric taxis taking to Paris’ skies as Olympians are going faster, higher and stronger could have the power to surprise — pleasantly so, Volocopter hopes.
One of the five planned Olympic routes would land in the heart of the city on a floating platform on the spruced-up River Seine. Developers point out that ride-hailing apps and E-scooters also used to strike many customers as outlandish. And as with those technologies, some are betting that early adopters of flying taxis will prompt others to try them, too.
“It will be a total new experience for the people,” said Hoke, Volocopter’s CEO. “But twenty years later someone looks back at what changed based on that and then they call it a revolution. And I think we are at the edge of the next revolution.”
READ ALSO: A commuter’s dream: Entrepreneurs race to develop flying car
]]>Writing emails seems pretty routine. Most of us have been doing it for years. Yet, sometimes we all find ourselves at a loss for words or struggle to craft the perfect message. After all, not all emails are created equal. Many of the messages we write are casual. Sometimes, though, we may need something more formal to connect with a business partner or customer.
When you wish you had a little something extra to make your emails stand out, Gmail has a solution: a new AI-supported feature called “Help me write.”
Google launched the help me write feature in May. It’s meant to draft full emails for a user. This differs from the autocorrect feature most email users and texters are familiar with, which can make recommendations and corrections for proper grammar, style and spelling.
Once you sign up for the help me write feature at Google Labs and launch Gmail, you will see a highlighted pen icon. When you click on the icon, you can enter the type of email you want created.
Let’s say you are in the job market and want to create a cover letter for a new job. For example, you can type “write a cover letter for a job as a freelance writer.” Click enter and Gmail’s AI interface will draft an entire message, as in the example below.
Read through the email draft and see if it’s accurate and fits your style. If it doesn’t, look at the email page’s bottom. You can select “recreate” to draft an entirely new message. Or, you can refine the written message in four different ways: formalize, elaborate, shorten or “I’m Feeling Lucky,” which is a random style generator. Warning: check that rewrite carefully. When I ran the cover letter through that revision, I got an email written in pirate-talk and then a haiku!
Most artificial intelligence applications should be used to improve your work, not replace it. Help me write is no exception to this rule. The feature is a great way to get inspiration or find some key ideas to get your thoughts organized.
Download the Google Labs option for free at this link, and help me write will automatically upload to your Gmail and Google Docs accounts. Then, break that writer’s block for good.
]]>
It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed out loud at the pure joy and silliness of a restaurant dessert.
With the mountain of troubles restaurants have faced since 2017’s wildfires, through COVID and beyond, there’s been a sober-mindedness about dining out.
Instead, the last six years have been about comfort, predictability and guaranteed winners like fried chicken sandwiches, mashed potatoes and carefully curated vegetable-forward dishes cooked over coal. There’s little room for silliness when restaurant margins are slim and diners fickle.
Menus certainly haven’t had the unbridled joie de vivre of, say, sparkling edible glitter sliding down a mound of melted chocolate and gooey cake or a cereal-milk panna-cotta trio topped with Cocoa Puffs and Fruity Pebbles at the newly opened 19Ten restaurant in Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square.
It also hasn’t had the little kid thrill of playing with the 39-tap self-serve wall of beer, cider and cocktails at Barrel Brothers Kitchen & Cocktails in Windsor. Just try not to snicker at taps labeled The Snozberries Taste Like Snozberries sour beer or Dad Pants Pilsner.
Sonoma County is ready to enjoy a little eater-tainment again, and 19Ten co-owner Brad Barmore thinks his twinkling Princess Cake was a fun idea worth trying. So did I.
We couldn’t stop laughing when the cake arrived at the table because, while delicious, it gave the overall impression of something a magical unicorn might have left behind on the forest floor. Our snort-worthy question: Does the glitter dissolve after you eat it, or will it reappear?
Fact: Edible glitter dissolves in the digestive system.
Classic and new
19Ten, opened in the former Jack & Tony’s, is already a Railroad Square destination. JC Adams and Barmore have expanded their portfolio (they also own KIN Windsor and KIN Smoke in Healdsburg).
The cavernous space has been opened up, lightened up and given a new chance at life. Even on the second day of service, the restaurant produced American classics with fun and flair.
The 19Ten menu is a mix of new concepts and inspirations from both their KIN restaurants. There are ideas Barmore has long wanted to try, like the glittery cake or Beet Fries with togarashi-mayonnaise dipping sauce. There’s plenty to love on the menu and nothing stuffy or plain here. It’s a celebration of food and fun.
Start with one of their craft cocktails and Smoked Brisket Elote Tacos ($18) with tender Texas-style smoked brisket, roasted corn, cotija cheese and pickled red onion. Or order the sweet-savory Eight Hour Pork Belly ($16) with gochujang honey glaze, chicharron and chile dust. The Beet Fries ($12) are divisive, with large chunks of red beet flash-fried and fairly beet-forward in taste. They’re great if you like beets, which I do.
Scallop Crudo ($16) is a great plate to share, with thin slices of fresh scallops marinated in a tart-spicy chile-oil vinaigrette.
Entrees are harder to choose. Here you’ll want to invest in hearty dishes like the Beef Duo ($40) with a hangar steak and beef cheeks or the Smoked Baby Back Ribs covered in a bourbon Dijon glaze. Our favorite was the simple 19Ten Burger ($19) with a crisp Parmesan skirt around two burger patties. Ten-inch brick-oven pizzas are nicely cooked, but we learned too late that Clam Pizza ($22) isn’t a personal favorite because clams on pizza are weird unless you’re from Connecticut.
Do save some room for the Princess Cake. 19Ten is at 115 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 707-791-7494, 19Ten.com.
Barrel Brothers
Barrel Brothers Kitchen & Cocktails is equally amusing, if for no other reason than you can pour 1-ounce samples from cocktail taps or full pours from their beer taps. How much you pour is up to you.
The food is equally playful, with simple but well-executed nibbles, bowls, skewers and baskets. The Moroccan Spiced Lamb skewer ($5) is perfectly seasoned and served with a pool of tart tzatziki. The Grilled Halloumi skewer ($5), or “stick” as it’s called on the menu, has squeaky grilled Greek cheese with layers of naan and an Indian-inspired spinach sauce.
Ceviche ($15) was less impressive, with more vegetables than fish. But the absolute winners of the day were pupusas ($14) filled with roasted pork, cheese, black beans and potatoes. It’s a shareable dish with richness from the fried El Salvadoran griddle cakes and freshness from the pile of cabbage salad and salsa on top. Southern Fried Chicken ($17) is also excellent, served with sweet pickles and a creamy ranch dip.
The outdoor patio is a top spot for people-watching, and don’t miss the Sasquatch wallpaper in the bathroom.
And remember to have some fun. Barrel Brothers Brewing Kitchen and Cocktails is at 9238 Old Redwood Highway, Suite 128, Windsor, barrelbrothersbrewing.com.
The post These Sonoma County Restaurants Put the Joy Back Into Dining Out appeared first on Sonoma Magazine.
]]>I will never, ever forget when I saw my first panda. I was 12, and it was at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, back in the late 1980s. Yes, the pandas were Ling Ling and Hsing Hsing. And for some of you that’s a blast from the past!
Those pandas first came to the zoo in 1972, and a huge deal was regularly made on television about their attempts to breed. Unfortunately they were never able to, but other giant pandas have since that time at the zoo.
And they’ve brought YEARS of joy to tourists such as myself. I couldn’t get enough of watching them on my visit. They’re just so happy and playful.
Learn more about the history of giant pandas at the National Zoo. It’s really cool!
I’ve love pandas for all these years, so I’m excited to finally share these panda perler beads for you to make. We’ve shared cats, dogs, dinosaurs, and more – it was finally time to share some pandas!
You’ll get over 20 patterns for all sizes and skill levels. And they’re all cute! Just like a panda bear should be.
Perler beads are recommended for ages six and up, so this is a very fun craft to try with your elementary age kids. All children seem to love perler beads (also known as hama beads, fuse beads, or melty beads). But don’t be shy – adults love them too!
Before we get into the panda hama beads, I want to review a few basics of using fuse beads to make sure you get the best results. If you don’t want the tips, scroll down to the bottom to get the patterns and tutorial.
Remember that the overall goal is to melt the beads together on both sides while still leaving the holes open. Here’s how you achieve success (with a rainbow as an example).
Place ironing paper or parchment paper over the beads on the pegboard. Be gentle so you don’t disturb the beads underneath.
Heat your iron to the medium setting (no steam). In a circular motion, begin to iron the project. Don’t press down too hard with the iron. Move the iron continuously, and in small circles.
When ironed properly, the beads will still have an open center. Check and make sure your edges are melted. Let the design cool on the pegboard.
Note: BE CAREFUL about lifting up the paper while you’re ironing! If you want to check, carefully peel back paper around the edge of your design and see if all the beads are melted.
If you lift the paper up quickly and there are a lot of unmelted beads, they will easily fall off or go flying and you may be forced to start over. Sometimes the edges need more time so when you check, just check the edges and peel paper back slowly.
Another Note: some beads melt faster than others (clear melts faster than white, for example). So some holes might be larger than others. It’s okay! That’s part of the look of the project.
Remove the bead design from the pegboard. Flip it over to the non-melted side and repeat the fusing process.
Let cool completely and remove the paper again (which is reusable). Some people pull the paper off after they iron the first side, but I just wait until the end and peel off both pieces. It’s up to you!
Now that you’ve had a refresher on how to melt the beads, you can get the patterns! Keep on reading.
Mini Pandas
Small Panda Head
This pattern uses 109 black and 124 white beads.
Ready to Eat
This pattern uses 148 black, 179 white, and 43 shamrock beads.
Kawaii Panda
This pattern uses 200 black, 172 white, and 18 pink beads.
Four Poses
These patterns use 136 – 166 black beads and 164 – 197 white beads.
Holding a Heart
This pattern uses 136 black, 151 white, 8 blush, and 25 hot coral beads.
Medium Panda Head
This pattern uses 133 black and 215 white beads.
Smiling Panda Head
This pattern uses 155 black, 160 white, and 19 salmon beads.
Tare Panda
This pattern uses 121 black, 1 dark gray, 61 gray, 66 light gray, and 93 white beads.
Mini Head and Panda
Both of these patterns use small hexagon pegboards.
Holding a Pink Heart
This pattern uses 208 black, 164 white, 20 pink, and 46 light pink beads.
Blue Kawaii Panda
This pattern uses 119 black, 45 turquoise, 140 white, and 14 flamingo beads.
Blushing Cheeks
This pattern uses 190 black, 206 white, and 6 pink beads.
Heart in a Heart
This pattern uses 177 salmon, 129 black, 106 white, 14 flamingo, and 13 hot coral beads.
Eating Bamboo
This pattern uses 263 black, 255 white, 8 dark blue, 5 red, 10 kiwi lime, 4 gingerbread, and 20 dark gray beads.
World Wildlife
This pattern uses 678 black and 418 white beads.
Large Panda
This pattern uses 250 black, 114 gray, 121 dark gray, 427 white, and 2 flamingo beads.
Umbrella with Ears
This pattern uses 231 black, 300 white, and 71 blush beads.
Did you enjoy these panda perler beads? Let me know in the comments! I’d love for you to check out these other posts:
The post Panda Perler Beads (20+ Free Patterns) appeared first on DIY Candy.
]]>Summer toy clutter getting out of control? Need to organize craft supplies, toys, games or more? This organizer shelf is awesome! How about this deal? This is a really great price!
Head on over to Walmart and grab the Cambridge Collection Kids Toy Storage Organizer with 12 Plastic Bins for just $37.97!
Be sure to select free in-store pickup to avoid shipping fees. Otherwise orders of $35 or more will ship free. The new Walmart+ membership would be a good idea to try, there is a 15-day free trial available!
]]>The search for a diving vessel that was headed to the wreck of the Titanic has shifted underwater after air efforts failed to find the craft, which has five people onboard and about 40 hours of oxygen left.
The US Coast Guard and the Canadian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have been conducting surface search missions overhead in the North Atlantic since Monday afternoon. OceanGate Expeditions, the operator of the mission, is leading underwater search efforts because of its knowledge of the site, Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said.
“There is a full-court press effort to get equipment on scene as quickly as we can,” US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick said at a news briefing in Boston Tuesday.
In this photo released by Action Aviation, the submersible Titan is prepared for a dive into a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to the Titanic on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Rescuers raced against time Tuesday, June 20, to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night. (Action Aviation via AP)
In this photo released by Action Aviation, the submersible Titan is prepared for a dive into a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to the Titanic on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Rescuers raced against time Tuesday, June 20, to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night. (Action Aviation via AP)
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, talks to the media, Monday, June 19, 2023, in Boston. A search is underway for a missing submersible that carries people to view the wreckage of the Titanic. Canadian officials say the five-person submersible was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland and that the search is being led by the U.S. Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, speaks to the media, Monday, June 19, 2023, in Boston. A search is underway for a missing submersible that carries people to view the wreckage of the Titanic. Canadian officials say the five-person submersible was reported overdue Sunday night about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland and that the search is being led by the U.S. Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
In this photo provided by Blue Origin, NS-21 (New Shepard-21), astronaut Hamish Harding receives his Blue Origin astronaut pin after a successful flight to space on June 4, 2022, in Van Horn, Texas. According to Action Aviation, a company for which Harding serves as chairman, the U.K. businessman was one of the mission specialists onboard a missing submersible carrying five people to view the wreckage of the Titanic that was reported overdue late Sunday, June 18, 2023. (Felix Kunze/Blue Origin via AP)
In this photograph released by Action Aviation, company chairman and billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding looks out to sea before boarding the submersible Titan for a dive into the Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to the Titanic on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Rescuers raced against time Tuesday, June 20, to find the missing submersible carrying Harding and four other people, who were reported overdue Sunday night. (Action Aviation via AP)
The Titan submersible vessel was designed to have an oxygen supply of as much as 96 hours in case of an emergency, according to the Coast Guard. Frederick said the 40-hour estimate of breathable oxygen remaining is based on that number.
France has dispatched a research vessel, the Atalante, equipped with an underwater robot that can reach as deep as 4,000 meters (13,123 feet). French pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet is reported by several newspapers to be aboard the Titan, a 6.7-meter-long craft made of carbon fiber and titanium.
“The idea and our wish is for the ship to arrive as soon as possible, which should be Wednesday at 8 p.m. local time,” Herve Berville, French secretary of state in charge of the sea, told BFMTV, a French CNN affiliate.
The US Transportation Command is sending three C-17 transport jets from Buffalo, New York, to St. John’s, Newfoundland, carrying commercial equipment considered useful for the search, according to a command spokesman. The New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing is assisting the Coast Guard, Governor Kathy Hochul said.
The Coast Guard received a call Sunday from the submersible’s command ship, the Polar Prince, saying it lost contact with the vessel about 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, according to Lt. Samantha Corcoran, a Coast Guard spokesperson in Boston. A C-130 plane with radar capability was dispatched to search the area Sunday, and was joined Monday by a Canadian P-8 Poseidon, an aircraft designed for anti-submarine warfare. “We’re focused on the search and hoping to safely locate all five individuals,” Corcoran said.
OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement it was “exploring and mobilizing all options to bring the crew back safely.”
The Titan carries a pilot and four crew to a maximum depth of 4,000 meters and can monitor their health in real time. The system provides “early warning detection for the pilot with enough time to arrest the descent and safely return to surface,” according to OceanGate’s website.
Among those also missing is Hamish Harding, chairman of Action Aviation, according to Mark Butler, managing director of the Dubai-based aircraft brokerage. In a Twitter post Sunday, the company said “the sub had a successful launch and Hamish is currently diving.”
Two other members of the crew, Engro Corp. Vice Chairman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, are from one of Pakistan’s most prominent business families. A statement from the Dawood family said there was little information about what had happened.
According to several newspapers including the Australian, Stockton Rush, founder and chief executive officer of OceanGate is also on board. The company didn’t reply to an email seeking to confirm those details.
Harding posted on social media two days ago that the area was experiencing its worst weather in 40 years.
“A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow,” he wrote. “This mission is likely to be the first and only manned mission to the Titanic in 2023.”
The guests pay $250,000, according to the New York Times, which first reported the rescue operation.
OceanGate says it offers 10-day expeditions to the Titanic site, providing “qualified explorers” the opportunity to join as mission specialists, surveying the wreckage and documenting the sunken vessel’s condition, as well as flora and fauna inhabiting the wreck site. The fees underwrite their training and the participation of the science team exploring the ship that sank in 1912 on its maiden transatlantic voyage after hitting an iceberg.
Everett, Washington-based OceanGate ran expeditions to explore the wreck in 2021 and 2022, according to its website. A photo of a submersible and the Titanic dive operations was posted on its Twitter feed on June 1.
– With assistance from Faseeh Mangi and Tony Capaccio
]]>Creating DIY projects with your children can be among the most nurturing activities. What better way to be a role model and learn together than working side-by-side? With this in mind, I've found 30 great DIY projects for both the home and outdoor setting. Take a look and find which simple projects inspire you and your little one(s) today!
One of the things I love about pipe cleaners is how malleable they are. They’re able to hold almost any shape or angle you put them to.
Tip: Tightening the weaves of pipe cleaners can make your cans stay sturdy.
Assemble a succulent terrarium in a matter of minutes. When picking the soil for this project, it’s best to go with a cactus mix — potting soil, pumice, and coir. Also, don’t forget to put in enough soil to help hide and let the roots grow.
Keep your little one busy for hours with this project. Let them cut up as much confetti as they want and then tell them to put each piece onto the balloon to form the bowl.
Fire up your kid’s imagination with these sci-fi story stones. Not quite sure how the activity works? Simply have your kids fish out stones from a bag and let them create a story from scratch.
Give your kids an eye for style by letting them design their own clay bead necklace.
Important tip: Don’t forget to poke a hole in the clay before letting it bake in the oven.
! https://t.co/kCahRFNV0z pic.twitter.com/HVYwTygS3y
— DIY Projects (@DIYProjectsCom) March 24, 2017
Add some color to your pots with this activity. To make sure the colors don’t run inside the pot, cover the drain hole with a bit of masking tape.
Let your kids enjoy a slingshot without worrying about the painful ammo. Be careful not to widen the slits of the wooden Y handle for the rubber bands. Doing so could cause the bands to pop out.
This newspaper fort could increase your little one’s passion for engineering and architecture. Don’t forget to add extra support by using more tape on the fort's corner.
When making this pretty flower shadow box, coat your flowers with some hairspray and let them dry. Then, cut the stems off and arrange the plants to your liking inside the box.
All you’ll need to make the dough for the fossils are the following: flour, salt, and water. When making the “fossils”, be sure to press firmly on the toys to have all the details mark on the dough.
Don’t forget to tightly twist the ends of the beaded rainbow. Doing so will prevent the craft from unraveling and the beads from falling off the pipe cleaners.
This project is a great and safe way to teach your kids about electricity. If you don’t have cream of tartar to make the conductive dough, simply swap this out for lemon juice instead. Just don’t forget to add 3x the recommended serving of the cream of tartar.
Teach your kids the value of saving with this DIY money bank. To make the papier mache money bank, simply blow up a balloon and layer on newspaper strips with a mixture of flour and water. Let the ball dry once you've got enough layers to make a sturdy ball. Once dried, make a slot using a craft knife. This slot will also act as the mouth of your money bank. Paint on a face and voila! You've got a money bank to help your kid save.
Tip: Need to open the money bank? Simply cut out a bigger hole in the mouth area to make retrieving the money easier.
An inventor’s box can be your kid’s treasure chest for new ideas. Don’t forget to add supplies of egg cartons, boxes, rolls of tapes, and all sorts of other materials you can find in the house.
Check if your kids have a green thumb by making a set of cress heads. By the way, be careful when putting the cotton wool in as the eggshell could break apart.
Did you know you could make fridge magnets out of rocks? Just don’t forget to clean them first before using. I recommend painting the rocks in bright colors too — maybe you could even use your kid’s favorites.
DIY fingerpaint with cornstarch, salt, sugar, cold water, and food coloring. Remember, a few drops of food coloring is enough. Too many would turn the colors too dark.
Admire the birds with your little one when you create a bird feeder from scratch. If you don’t have cardboard tubes, you can always use the ones found inside toilet paper or kitchen towel rolls.
Turn a hot summer day around with this DIY water wall. Simply cut out a piece of the bottle’s side and arrange the bottles in a pattern. For the water to flow in a downward motion, don't forget to angle the bottles to let gravity take place.
This paper elephant tutorial will teach you how to make an elephant with movable body parts. You might want to stock up on split pins for this one, as it's crucial for making the elephant move.
This marshmallow building idea is both fun and delicious! Go crazy and lay out different sizes and colors of marshmallows for your kids to play with.
Aren’t these flower cone bouquets adorable? They're such a beauty to look at.
Tip: To keep the flower standing up, simply insert the skewer through the drain hole of the pot.
Your kids will have a newfound appreciation for okra after this project.
Tip: Dry out the okra by baking it in the oven first. Doing so will help the vegetable absorb the paint more.
Got an extra yoga block lying around? Why not turn it into a DIY cork drum for your kid? The best part is it won’t make too much noise, so you won’t end up bothering the neighbors.
Mimic the movement of a jellyfish with this project. I like making this with a used yet clean transparent plastic bag. It’s my own little way of upcycling a small sandwich bag.
Make some glow in the dark slime this afternoon! Did you know one of the key ingredients for this project is actually just good old regular school glue?
Show off your kid’s artistic side with these window crafts. This project even upcycles a milk jug to make the patches, which will be drawn on. Isn’t that nifty?
DIY a cool ice paint artwork by mixing equal parts of Epsom salt and hot water. Then dip a paintbrush in and watch “ice crystals” form on the paper.
Tip: This project works best on black paper.
Your kids can tell a story through these toilet roll dolls. The holes are cut out for the faces because once it's twisted, a different emotion will be shown on the doll's face.
These snazzy snakes are super cute and really easy to make. The fun part comes in decorating the snake. So let your kids let loose with their markers, colored paper, and crayons.
Press play to know more fun projects for kids:
Your little ones will definitely have a lot of fun with these projects for kids. Hopefully, it’ll also make them more curious and more excited when it comes to learning! Why not try 1 of these 30 ideas today?
What projects for kids are you interested in? Let us know in the comments below!
Want to see more DIY crafts? Check this list to find awesome projects you can actually earn money from!
Stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!
Feature image via Raising Arizona Kids
Editor’s Note – This post was originally published in April 2014 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
]]>To zero in on the most current average costs and how much of the cost you can hope to recoup when you sell, we spoke with several experts:
We break down room additions by the project to help you craft a custom estimate, and break down important questions to ask a potential contractor.
Depending on the function of the room and the type of addition (ie, bathroom or home office, bump out or full addition), the size and cost of your addition will vary. Below is a list of the most common room additions and their costs. We’ll take a closer look at each project in the next section.
Project | Room Addition Cost |
Home office | $18,000 – $35,000 |
Bump out | $1,700 – $18,900 |
Dormer | $43,801 – $75,563 |
Balcony | $600 – $2,400 |
Laundry room | $5,000 – $8,000 |
Mudroom | $10,000 – $14,000 |
Porch | $4,600 – $22,000 |
Sunroom | $10,000 – $80,000 |
Cantilever | $15,000 – $25,000 |
Garage | $22,000 – $43,000 |
Bathroom | $20,000 – $60,000 |
Kitchen | $13,300 – $37,500 |
Primary bedroom suite | $25,000 – $100,000 |
In-law suite | $40,000 – $125,000 |
Home theater | $70,000 – $90,000 |
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In Santa Fe, it’s a huge bonus to homebuyers if the homeowner builds an additional bedroom or finishes out an unfinished space, adding heated square footage that can be used as an office space.
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With the help of our experts, we determined the most asked-for room additions and calculated the costs and return on investment (ROI), when available. They include:
A home office is currently one the most commonly sought-after features of a home, according to Leyba. While there is increased demand for home offices, according to the Chicago Tribune, the added market value may not be what you’re expecting. However, a home office addition could be tax deductible if you’re self-employed.
If you must have the additional space, one of the best ways to save on the cost of a home office is to bump out a wall (see below for bump out costs). However, if you need to increase square footage with an entire room addition, you can increase the value of the addition if it can also serve as a bedroom — this means including a minimum of 70 square feet, a window, and closet in your home office.
Leyba explains, “In Santa Fe, it’s a huge bonus to homebuyers if the homeowner builds an additional bedroom or finishes out an unfinished space, adding heated square footage that can be used as an office space.”
Bumping out a wall is one of the most common ways to extend your living space. A bump out (also known as a micro addition) is also an economical way to increase living space without the need for additional supports or foundation. The cost to bump out a wall depends on the length and depth of the build. It’s difficult to determine the ROI of a bump out, however, there is added value in increasing the square footage of your home.
A dormer is a second story addition that is typically incorporated into an attic remodel. Built out from the slope of the roof, a dormer adds light, ventilation, space, and a fire escape to an attic or loft space. They also increase visual appeal and value of a home. A dormer will cost more per square foot if it’s a bathroom addition. While dormers have a low ROI, they have an added lifetime value of reducing electric bills.
Add value, appeal and outdoor living space to your home with a second story (or higher) balcony addition. The cost of a balcony addition depends on several factors, including: design, size, materials, type of balustrade or railing, and the contractor you hire.
If your laundry room is situated in a place that requires you to run up and down the stairs with a basket full of clothes, or if your washer and dryer are in a small closet off the kitchen or bathroom, you may be considering adding a laundry room to your home. Good thinking! A laundry room addition will add visual appeal and convenience and increase your home value, and it’s the most common feature that buyers say they want, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
A mudroom is an informal entrance/exit to your home, typically added to a side or rear entrance. A mudroom is used to receive muddy visitors, store coats, boots, and pet supplies. The cost to build a mudroom increases if the mudroom has a utility sink, washer and dryer, or if the space is heated.
With a typical ROI of 66-80%, a front porch addition is a great way to add outdoor living space, curb appeal, and value to your home. Some factors that will increase the cost of a porch addition include the addition of stairs and screens.
A sunroom is a great place to enjoy your morning coffee, nurture your plants, read a book, or kick back and relax. But the cost to add a sunroom to your home isn’t cheap. It’s the price of the windows that make a three-season sunroom costly. A four-season sunroom is even more costly, with the addition of insulation, heat and A/C, and sometimes plumbing.
Meant to add space to the home without encroaching on the yard space, a cantilever addition is a second story bump out that is supported by angled beams (cantilevers). Most cantilever additions can be constructed without major excavation for added cost savings. Cantilevers are typically meant to add space to an existing room, not to support an entire room, however sunrooms, laundry rooms, and balconies are common cantilever additions.
If your garage is too small or if your home was built without one, a garage addition may be just the answer. Some factors that increase the cost of a garage construction include the addition of heat, insulation, plumbing, storage, and finished walls. In the southwestern states, where carports are more common than garages, a homeowner can save on the cost of a garage addition by converting a carport, which already has a foundation and a roof.
A home with too few bathrooms can quickly become a battleground. When you add a bathroom, everyone in the home benefits from the added convenience and privacy. And as homeowners, you’ll benefit from the added value when you sell. But Poulton warns it’s common for bathroom additions to get expensive fast. “The bathroom is where homeowners tend to make the most changes mid-build, which increases the cost of labor, materials, and permitting,” though costs vary with size.
The cost of a kitchen addition or remodel depends on the design and the extent of the build – whether you’re starting from scratch or using the existing electricity and plumbing. The cost of tearing out a kitchen includes the cost for demolition and removal. You’ll also pay more for a custom kitchen. Keep in mind that when you remodel a kitchen, how much of the cost you’ll recoup when you sell depends on the price point and condition of your home.
A primary bedroom suite or ensuite adds significant space, functionality, comfort, and privacy to the home and may increase the value as well. Most primary bedroom suites include a closet and a full bathroom. How much value an ensuite adds to a home depends on the size of the home and what’s typical of the market. If the addition is an over improvement, it would likely not add enough value to pay for the cost.
An in-law suite or accessory dwelling unit (ADU) typically features a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a small sitting room. It is a small apartment, and may be attached or detached, usually with its own outside entrance. An ADU is a convenient space for homeowners to put up guests, adult children, or elderly parents.
Poulton estimates that the cost for an ensuite starts at $300 per square foot and goes up from there. “It’s the bathroom where things start to get expensive,” he says. “Anytime plumbing is involved costs go up, because the exact location of the existing plumbing in the wall isn’t always clear.”
And as Poulton explained above, bathrooms are where homeowners often make costly changes mid-build. According to Leyba, one floor plan that’s consistently used in Santa Fe’s new builds includes a casita (which is external and attached or detached) that is used as a mother-in-law suite or a home office. While the ROI of an ADU is entirely dependent on what’s typical of your local real estate market, it may be possible to recoup some of the construction cost by renting out the additional space while you are living in your home.
A theater room is a great place to kick back and relax with family and friends. A home theater must be built correctly for the best acoustics, so you’ll pay extra for a designer and an architect. Our estimate below also factors in the cost of purchasing and installing the theater projector and sound system, which averages $17,500.
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The total cost for your project will depend on the size, location, complexity and quality of the addition as well as the typical cost for materials and labor in your area. Remember that your builder isn’t the only contractor involved in the project — you’ll also pay for subcontractors. For a more detailed picture, let’s dive into the average cost for labor:
When considering contractors for your project, you’ll get a better idea about the costs if you ask the following questions:
You have questions. Our experts have answers.
There are ways to cut costs on your home addition, including:
Large home additions don’t always cost significantly more than smaller plans. Poulton elaborates.
“Homeowners are surprised to learn that they can’t save by building a smaller addition. While they’re using less in the way of materials, it’s still the same or similar amount of work for the builder. So, the cost per square foot goes down as the size goes up. Most homeowners opt for the larger addition at a lower price per square foot.”
Homeowners expend a large portion of their budget on the first stages of the build such as drawings, permits, wall removal, excavation, and foundation (if necessary). So doubling the size of your addition may only increase the overall price of the addition by a third.
Additionally, Pitzen points out that all professionals involved in the project will typically require a base payment for their services. For instance, an electrician may charge the same amount for wiring a 12×12 addition as they would a 15×15.
It’s typically more cost-effective to build out rather than building up. When building up, your home structure must be reinforced to support the weight of the new addition and the roof must be replaced. If you’ve decided to build up, consider having the roof lifted to reduce the cost of building a new roof. Another way to save the cost of building up would be to convert an unfinished attic into living space, with a dormer or cantilever for additional space.
Return on investment (ROI) is a tricky concept for homeowners. Simply put, ROI is the percentage of your cost you can hope to recoup at home sale. Very rarely will a homeowner recoup the entire cost of an addition or remodel. How much of the cost you’ll actually recoup depends on the amount you invest in the addition and what’s typical in your market when you sell. There are sometimes cases of extreme ROI exceptions. Leyba says he recently had a client who turned a $200K house into a $450K house by extending the garage and adding space to the back.
Now that you have the average cost for your room addition, you can narrow in on a project estimate based on material and labor costs specific to your market. HomeAdvisor offers project cost calculators that factor in your location, addition size, and function (i.e. kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc.).
Leyba advises that when planning an addition to get the best ROI, a multipurpose room is typically going to add the most value, which means it must be heated, have a closet and an egress (window). In fact, not adding a closet or heating are two of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can make when adding on, which makes the addition a bonus room. Another mistake homeowners can make is not keeping the design and layout consistent with the rest of the home.
“If you’re using the cheapest materials you can find to cut costs and it doesn’t look like the rest of the home, you’re going to lose out on the value when you sell,” states Leyba.
If you’re looking for current, hyper-local intel into cost and value, it’s a good practice to meet with a top real estate agent experienced in additions and remodels in your area.
“What I specialize in is the impact of a renovation on the value of a home,” shares Harris, “I make spreadsheets and cost-benefit analysis to figure out exactly what kind of value you’re adding.”
I think that anytime you do a major home improvement project, you have to look at it from two different lenses: the cost-benefit, meaning how much it’s going to cost and how much it’s going to increase the value of your home, but then also how much you’re gonna enjoy that space.
Alison Harris Real Estate AgentCloseAlison Harris Real Estate Agent at Keller Williams Coastal Area Partners
- Years of Experience 17
- Transactions 481
- Average Price Point $300k
- Single Family Homes 426
Looking at the numbers, a room addition will set you back a pretty penny — so how can you decide if your efforts will be worth it?
“I think that anytime you do a major home improvement project, you have to look at it from two different lenses: the cost-benefit, meaning how much it’s going to cost and how much it’s going to increase the value of your home, but then also how much you’re gonna enjoy that space,” shares Harris.
For some objective expertise, reach out to a top real estate agent who can help you crunch your project’s return on investment. Equipped with a market-specific ROI estimate, you can determine whether it’s smarter to renovate or to sell and upgrade to a more spacious home.
Get a preliminary home value estimate in as little as two minutes. Our tool uses information from multiple sources to give you a range of value based on current market trends.
Header Image Source: (S.J. Janis Company, Inc.)
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