Home Front
By JUDY STARK, Times Homes Editor
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 5, 2002
Briefs and news of note
Painting with less pain
So there you are, with a wet paint roller in your hand, and you want to stop work for a couple of hours, or overnight, or even a couple of days. What to do? The Close-N-Go Covered Paint Tray gives you a place to store your roller or brush and any remaining paint. Snap it closed and air stays out so the paint stays fresh. When you get back to work, you can use the lid to hold your paint can so it won't drip onto the floor. The tray, from the Golden Harvest product line by Roman, is priced at $4.99 at home centers, paint stores and hardware stores.
Star of the homes festival
More than 70 model homes in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties will be open today through Oct. 20 for the sixth annual Fall Festival of New Homes, sponsored by the Builders Association of Greater Tampa. The showcase home is Nohl Crest Homes' Faversham model in Waterchase, a new community on Race Track Road in northwest Hillsborough County. The Faversham has four bedrooms and a second-floor bonus room in 3,942 square feet. Proceeds from its sale benefit the association.
Making merry with Martha
Someone else can make the puff-pastry swans. Someone else can cut out the Ten Lords A-Leaping that look like Fred Astaire. Someone else can make the gold-dusted chocolate leaves. You haven't even picked out a Halloween costume, but Christmas with Martha Stewart Living is already offering you Classic Crafts and Recipes Inspired by the Songs of Christmas (Clarkson Potter, $22). This 144-page book includes sheet music for 10 holiday favorites and even some ideas that the craft-impaired could do: fortune-cookie money holders, wreaths and candy canes made from pipe cleaners, cards, gift bags. Even though the first piece of candy corn hasn't passed your lips, we'll remind you: It's later than you think. Get busy.
Time to get it together
Speaking of getting busy, Sunday is the start of Get Organized Week. Think of this as an opportunity to save time and money, and to lower your levels of stress and frustration, the National Association of Professional Organizers says. Tips: Take the kids with you when you donate items to charities; it helps them get used to the idea of parting with things. Look up -- at bare walls and spaces above cabinets -- for unused storage space, and don't forget behind the door. Don't renew subscriptions to magazines you don't read; consider rotating subscriptions so you have more time to concentrate on the magazines you do receive.
-- Compiled by Homes editor JUDY STARK
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