Author: Andrej Zivor

Your Guide to the Best Residential Movers

Shifting from one place is always an exciting idea until it comes into play. It is no one’s cup of tea, and if not handled with the seriousness it deserves it will not only tear you apart to the seams but also lead to losses. Fortunately, professional residential moving companies are now the heroes of the day when it comes to this tedious activity.

However, these companies offer different types of services and at different rates which make it difficult for anyone planning to move to make a decision. That is made worse by myriads of residential moving companies coming up with each new day. Luckily for you, we’ll take that load off your mind by going into more details on how to make your moving experience less hectic.
First things, first, you should know that the best companies usually offer their clients a diverse array of services to ensure their fulfillment. To reach their goal, they conduct a series of small tasks which all aim at making the primary job trouble-free. For instance movement of the cardboard boxes filled with your precious possessions and other household items are just but a few activities which professional movers will do. Below are much more to expect
Home evaluation
The final cost usually depends on some factors such as the ones briefly highlighted below
Risk assessment
Before the main activity of the day, the professionals evaluate your items to ensure they have a detailed list of them. Through that, they can prevent any unseen events after the move
Management of priceless items
We all have that unique painting up the wall, piano or any other objects in the house which we will never leave behind for anything. Furthermore, we want them to be handled with special care which mostly we won’t be able to do so ourselves. Through residential movers, we can get that care we crave for.
Hoisting
Let’s face it; if you are moving, there are situations which you cannot handle on your own. For example moving that piece of furniture through a narrow opening. That leaves you with no option but to move it into the new place through the balcony or any other bigger space. With a moving company manned by professionals, you can enjoy this type of service.
Others include

  • Packing and unpacking
  • transient storage services
  • Custom crating

Metrics to use while choosing a residential mover
Since investors learned of how lucrative residential moving is, many of them are now turning into the business now and then. That makes it a nightmare for people who want to move to choose which they should go for. Luckily for them, the internet is the secret ingredient to making this big decision. There are hundreds of customer reviews online giving their experiences with such companies. There are also plenty of websites which you can be sure that the reviews are genuine such as Yelp. Through such, you can get to know the most reputable moving companies by looking at the ones with top ratings

Pricing
It all depends on one important thing; the cost. Residential movers offer different services based on the distance therefore if you are moving locally you are likely to pay less than someone moving into another state. The standard charges of a local mover are usually $30 which means that if two of them take five hours you end up paying averagely $240-$300. Therefore the more the number of movers the more you get to pay. Apart from that extra services are also charged. On the other hand, someone going over a long distance is charged depending on:

  • Distance
  • Additional services, for example, someone moving from one bed roomed house is likely to pay less than the one moving from a 3- bed roomed one
    Weight of the moved items such as cardboard boxes
  • How to settle on the best
  • If you’ve decided that a self-move will not do, it is essential that you find the best residential mover. In a nut shell below are steps you should take to ensure that you don’t settle for less than you deserve
  • Ask around from friends and family who have moved previously
    Fill an online cost estimator which will give you the exposure to reliable moving companies which will give you their quotes
  • Make a comparison of the quotes, pay particular attention to the additional services and also final cost
  • Finally run online to do the evaluation of the companies through reviews
  • Make sure they are properly licensed and have confidence in your gut feeling

How To Make An Easter Candy Basket

Making easter baskets is something that every Easter lover looks forward to. Making a cute little basket with Easter goodies to give the kids is one of the most exciting parts of the holiday. If you are wondering what kind of basket to make this Easter, why not give edible baskets a try? Edible baskets mainly use candy boxes as the base, with candy inside of course, and there was nothing wrong with more candy! Your boxes will not only end up looking good but will also make the adults wonder why they can’t get one of these baskets too!

Making candy box easter baskets is incredibly simple that even a child could do it. (You can turn this into a fun easter activity too if you would like)

To start making your Easter candy basket, you will need a few things to start out, mainly:

  1. Six boxes of Candy (Preferably all of them should be the same size)
  2. Rope Candy (Taffy Ropes or Nerd Ropes should do the trick)
  3. Faux Grass
  4. Cardboard or mount board
  5. Scissors
  6. Glue Gun
  7. Ribbons (In whatever color you like)
  8. And of course, the treats that you will be putting into your basket.

The first step to making a candy box is to glue all the boxes together to form a basket. Start with the base and use a glue gun to stick two candy boxes to create the base. After that, stick one candy box on all four sides in a vertical position. You will end up with something akin to a box that is open on the top.

The base of the basket might not be strong enough to hold all the contents of the basket, which is why the next step is to ensure that this is sturdy. Cut out a small piece of mountboard or cardboard and stick it with hot glue on top of the base boxes that you have assembled. Make sure that all your boxes are well stuck together and do not fall or break apart since that will end up in a candy disaster.

The next thing that we need to do is make the handle for the basket. This is where the rope candy is in. For this, you will need to glue the ends of the packets of rope candy on either side of the basket to form a handle. You can use as many rope candy’s as you like, but two should suffice if you are going to a simple basket. You can then tie up the rope candy’s from the middle using a pretty ribbon. Make a bow on the top of even stick one, and your basket will already be on its way to looking cute and delicious.

Leave your basket to dry for a bit and once again make sure that all the parts of the basket are properly glued together. You can then begin filling it up. Take some easter grass and fill the basket up to make a small grass bed inside the basket. If you can’t find any easter grass at the store, take some crepe paper or green paper and cut it up into really fine strips. Place your treats in the basket, and you are ready to go!

The Maker Movement: Transforming Brand Identities

For a long time, brands have been defined by two key elements: a name and a logo. The uniqueness of the company name and insignia, coupled with the firm’s marketing strategy across traditional and, more recently, online platforms have determined the success of the business in question up until now. However, the so-called “Maker Movement” has been gaining traction in recent times, forcing both brand owners and designers alike to visualize their brands in a three-dimensional manner in order to get them effectively across to potential consumers.

Basically, the Maker Movement is the term of choice used to refer to and document the rise of individuals or small groups of people creating new, innovative, low-cost products using discarded electronic parts and open source knowledge available on the Internet. The proponents of this “do-it-yourself” culture, usually small businesses, have captured the imagination of a greater audience of modern-day consumers than the large companies using standard methods to mass-produce generic goods in China and shipping supplies across the globe.

The Maker Movement has thus led established companies towards pursuing policies of acquisition. An example of this is the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, where large legacy firms are acquiring smaller maker businesses in order to attract millennial customers who prefer healthier and more natural and organic food options made available by those ‘makers’. In addition, big CPGs have conducted surveys and set up online portals asking for innovations in their products that their customers would like to see, all in an effort to remain competitive in the rapidly changing market of today.

Whether the products are borne of an artisanal approach or are simply mass-produced, the maker method is followed to get the desired level of branding. This involves combining the traditional concept of a brand, which is an effective name and logo, with creating and testing a 3D model of the product, a prototype, to see if it works well with the brand.

The multiple facets of creating a popular brand name, such as market research, demographics, consumer demand, nature of competition and selection of appropriate channels to propagate the brand are now expected to leave an impact on the physical characteristics of the product itself in order to form a complete brand. This necessitates model making and testing to see not only if it works as intended, but also if it fits with the image a company wants to establish for itself in the eyes of the public.

Therefore, the Maker Movement has turned brand creation into a more holistic process, combining all aspects of market research with effective design and model making so that all three deliver a consistent image of the company to potential customers. Model making, the major aspect of the do-it-yourself culture, helps manufacturers get a realistic preview before finalizing the product design. This realistic preview is the main purpose of the Maker Movement and one of the primary goals of its developers and founders of the project.

The Maker Movement method is one of the most realistic and up-to-date projects in the creation of a 3d modeling project, and because of that it is very recommended that everyone in the field checks the method out, as it has a lot to teach producers in the field and developers who are starting their first lessons as well. The Maker Movement welcomes all types of approaches.

Make the Gift Box as Special as the Gift

A fabulous gift box can be the finishing glory of any great gift. Without it, the gift is great, but with it, it becomes fabulous. That is the trick of any great hostess or person attending an event. Here are some of the best ideas for this, to make your next gift the best around.

Ideas for Gift Boxes

You might have a great idea of what you want the gift box to look like, but have no idea what to make it from. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

– Take gift wrapping and create your own personal gift boxes.
– Use fabric and fabric glue to make them really fancy.
– Get really creative and layer things with decoupage to make some neat designs for extra points.

Let Your Imagination Run Wild:

Let your imagination run off in a million directions. Creativity is the way you come up with a fabulous idea for that wow factor in your party or special event. The candy boxes or party favors that your gift in these boxes, will be loved even more when they arrive packaged in a perfect box that is unique. Here are some of those gems to consider. They are all inexpensive and offer a great base for the box that you can cover with the cloth and paper.

– Mason jars
– Shoe boxes
– Egg cartons
– Matchboxes
– Plastic Bottles
– Milk Cartons
– Toilet paper

These simple bases can become one of millions of creative things that will delight the recipient. Think of the audience that you gift these to. You can make a very creative set of party favors easily and cheaply in this way. Here are some other ideas.

1. Take toilet paper rolls and place tissue paper over the end. Use more tissue paper in the end of that before placing a rubber band around the end. This is the head of the ghost. Place tiny candy inside the head of the ghost for your party favors.
2. Decoupage can be used on milk cartons, plastic bottles and egg cartons make hundreds of creative party favor containers.
3. Matchboxes can become some really extravagant gift boxes for those special jewelry gifts when they are covered with cloth or pretty paper.
4. Mason jars are always a favorite container for cookie mix gifts. They can also be used for bath gifts. When chalkboard paint is painted over a circle on one side, then the gift “box” can become part of the gift. The person receiving the gift can erase the label and re-use the mason jar for something else. Consider making a whole new set of these for the kitchen or bath to hold things for fabulous house warming gifts.

These are just some of the ways that you can creatively make a candy boxes that make the gift inside that much better for that special person or party favors at your next big bash.

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Creative Do It Yourself Candy Boxes

DIY candy boxes ideas are perfect for gifting candy, small delicacies, cakes or bonbons. Most people are now leaning towards them because they are inexpensive and you are able to customize the candy box. You perhaps already have the things needed to make the boxes in your home. The DIY bonbon boxes can be made from thin cards or paper and you can easily find templates online that are printable. Here are some guidelines you can use to make a DIY candy box:

1. Using a food box

Using a food box is ideal because the box is already robust enough to protect your treats so that you only have to mainly focus on your decorations. If you are looking to make a candy box, then using a rice box may work best, while cereal boxes may work best for cakes and cookies.

What you need

• A food box
• Colored paper or scrapbook
• A pair of scissors
• Glue
• Decorations (Optional)

Instructions

• Start by carefully cutting along three edges of the box to create an opening. As stated before, leftover food boxes are already strong and this ensures that your focus is directed to other details such as decorating your sweetie boxes.

• Once you have created an opening, trim your colored paper or scrapbook. To make crisp, clean and straight folds, bend your paper or scrapbook around the ends of a knife. The trimmed paper or scrapbook will cover the sides of your candy box.

• Fit the paper around the box and use gum to fix it around your box. You can cover as much of the box as you want. The good thing about DIY boxes is that they give you complete control when it comes to customization.

• After the paper is fixed to cover your box in line with your preferences, you may choose to further decorate it or not. If you choose to further decorate your box, then you are free to be as creative as possible. You can use magazine or newspaper cutouts and tailor it to fit the recipient of your gift.

2. Origami DIY Candy box

Creating origami DIY candy boxes may involve a bit more technicality than the previous procedure, but it is a fun activity that you can enjoy with your kids.
What you need

• Colored paper
• Decorations

When making a colored paper box, you will need to make a container and a lid to cover the container of your DIY candy box.

Procedure to make the lid:

• Take a square gaging of 20cm on each side

• Fold it lengthwise into four sections of equal measure

• Then fold it breadthwise to get four more sections

• To get flaps in the center, fold the paper from both sides

• Fold the paper again to get two more pleats on the flap

• Flip your paper to get two opening flaps on the other side of your paper

• To make a cross patterned crease on both edges, fold the paper from both corners and reopen those folds.

• To create a twisted wrapper at the ends of your box, fold the corner margins up and outline them
• To make the lid of your candy box, straighten the paper and open it from the outside

• To give your candy box a refined look, shape the ends

Procedure to make the inner part of your candy box:

• To achieve a cross wrinkle across your colored paper, fold your colored it twice at right angles

• Crease the triangles at the edges in and fold all the edges again

• Fold the square again this time matching the lengths and widths

• Open the opposite folds and refold the opposite sides

• Insert the flaps inside the other folds and outline the edges to give them a sharp look

• Cover with the top that you previously made and decorate according to your preferences