Furniture copies 'Roadshow' antiques

Furniture copies'Roadshow' antiques
That line of furniture inspired by real pieces discovered and appraised on "Antiques Roadshow," the popular PBS television show, is in stores. The collection includes 60 pieces, featuring bedroom sets, dining room sets, curios, grandfather clocks and other accents. A 20th-century Louis XV-style curio cabinet on the show inspired the Bombe Curio, and the discovery of a late 18th-century armoire led to the design of the Hand Painted Sideboard and Hutch. Each piece of furniture comes with a hangtag with a photograph and written history of the original, inspiring antique. For information, visit www.pulaskifurniture.com or call (540) 980-7330.
Extension Cable solves clutter
Those computer cords. They're tangled and entwined. Unsightly. And a tripping hazard. StarTech.com has a solution. Perfect for the home office, children's computer room or the college dorm, the new PC99 4-in-1 Extension Cable turns four cords into one. The cable consists of four attached color-coded wires for the computer speakers, keyboard, monitor and mouse. The cable is available in 6-, 10-, 15- and 25-foot lengths. Prices range from $24.99 to $92.99. Visit www.StarTech.com or call (800) 265-1844 for information.
Clorox Bleach Pento solve small problems
Clorox has a new way to write off stains. The new Clorox Bleach Pen lets you apply a gel form of bleach to a small area, such as a white stripe on a shirt or the mildewed grout between your bathroom tiles. The tool has two tips, a narrow one for precise applications and a broader scrubber tip for bigger jobs. The product can even be used to bleach designs into fabrics such as denim. The Clorox Co. says the Bleach Pen will be available nationwide this month in grocery and mass-merchandise stores including Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart. The suggested retail price for a 2-ounce pen is $2.99.
Web business makeshand-painted tiles
It might seem odd that two sisters created a Web business called Five Sisters. But Maryland-based siblings Lori Mellendick, the artist, and Stephanie McClure, sales and marketing manager, are two of five sisters. Simple as that.
Five Sisters: Fine Art and Painted Tiles offers hand-painted ceramic tiles featuring an array of themes, including new-baby, wedding, family-name, seasons, food, hobby and sports. All tiles are personalized with names or images of the customer's choosing.
Want to match a tile to a children's bedroom or your bathroom decor? Five Sisters will craft the tiles to complement rooms. Tiles arrive in 12 business days. Available with a wall-mounting or on a stand, the square tiles come in two sizes: 8 inches ($35) or 12 inches ($55). Five Sisters has begun designing Vintage Hand Painted Windows ($225-$400), available in small, medium and large sizes. Images such as foliage, fruits or wreaths can be painted on the antique windows.
Visit www.tilebabes.com on the Web or call (410) 823-5411 for more information.
Salt and vinegarwill clean copper
Copper is a good conductor of heat. That's why it was once common to see it on the bottom of most good cookware. Copper promotes even heating, resulting in less burnt food. Unfortunately, copper tarnishes easily. Cookware manufacturers have found that by adding a layer of stainless steel over the layer of copper, they end up with cookware that cooks evenly and doesn't tarnish. If you have copper cookware, you can easily clean it by covering it with a thin layer of vinegar and a layer of table salt. Use a spray bottle to apply the vinegar. If you use too much vinegar, the formula won't work. Do it properly and the tarnish will disappear in a matter of seconds.
Repairing a wallwith textured finish
Fixing a small hole in a wall can be a challenge, especially if the wall has a textured finish.
Its not so much the hole repair that gives most folks trouble; it's matching the texture.
For that reason, most patches are obvious or are hidden by a strategically placed picture.
Previously it took an experienced drywall contractor to make a texture match. No more.
Wall texture is available in a spray can that offers do-it-yourselfer professional results.
The secret to a successful patch is simple. When filling a hole with spackle, dip the putty knife in water to prevent the spackle from sticking to the knife. Remove the excess spackle surrounding the hole with a damp sponge.
A bit of spackle, a shot of texture and a touch of paint will leave your wall looking like new.
Combined dispatches
Wallflower Lamptakes up little room
You know that dark corner in the living room, where a lamp would make all the difference? Yes, you say, but there's no room for a light and table or a floor lamp. Well, chances are good that there is room for the Wallflower Lamp. Solutions Catalog sells the decorative and functional wall-hugging lamp, with its steel-stem pole and silk half-shade for $159. The lamp, which is 60 inches high and comes with a candelabra bulb and mounting screws, hides the power cord inside its curving stem. Shades are available in green, taupe, ruby and plum.
An array of home solution products are available through Solutions Catalog, including handcrafted bamboo curtains ($54.50 to $79.50) for decorating doorways, or translucent Cling Window Privacy Art ($24.50), which admit light but prevent outsiders from seeing inside, or EZ Moves II ($9.50 to $19.50), for moving heavy furniture across carpeting or vinyl floors.
Visit www.solutionscatalog.com or call (800) 342-9988 to order.
Overwatering causesplant to drop leaves
Q. I have two goldfish plants. With one of them, all the leaves are falling off fast. The leaves look healthy, but they just drop off. Both plants are in the sun, watered once a week, and during winter, fertilized once a month. What can I do to save this plant?
A. Steve Giampapa of Akron House of Plants Florist suspects you're overwatering, which he said is a very common problem. Even though you care for the two plants identically, he said, their soil may dry at different rates because of factors such as light, air circulation or different soil mixtures. Or the affected plant might just be weaker than the other, he said.
Rather than follow a weekly watering schedule, he recommended you judge the need for water by the weight of each plant or the feel of the leaves. If the plants are in plastic pots, he advised watering each plant only when its pot feels fairly light when you pick it up. If the plants are in any other kind of container, feel the leaves. Firm leaves indicate the plant doesn't need water yet, he said.