“The outside of a house is an open palette, and there’s so much opportunity to add curb appeal with colorful accents,” says color expert Kate Smith, chief color maven with Sensational Color.

Here are 10 ways to give your house a colorful facelift:

1. No matter what style your home is, the roof is a major aspect of its curb appeal — sometimes as much as 40 percent of the view. So think about it first. Use free online resources like the new Top Down Color visualizer from DaVinci Roofscapes to quickly visualize how different colors and products will look on your home.

2. Make landscaping decisions with color top-of-mind. Either go for a vibrant and natural look, or create a stylized look with patterns and designs.

3. Replace the numbers on your house or clean the old ones. Brass will certainly stand out on most housing materials; however, you may prefer to use large colorful accent numbers to contrast with your home exterior.

4. Forget about your bland, boring garage door. Use free online resources like HaasCreate, an online visualizer, to select one with color and distinction. Available from Haas Door at haascreate.com, the tool allows you to upload a photo of your home then select different garage door styles to see what will work best on your home.

5. Give your mail carrier a warmer welcome. Spruce up your mailbox with a fresh coat of paint. Or, if it’s rusty or splintered, replace it. There are many styles available, so consider selecting something with character.

6. Add decorative glass windows for a distinctive accent to your home  exterior. An assortment of square, geometric and oval shaped options are available in both fixed and operable styles from such brands as Hy-Lite. Certain windows feature black, satin or brass caming to offset beveled glass pieces and other privacy textured glass, while other windows boast silkscreened designs.

7. Soft touches, such as adding new colorful pillows to a front porch swing, laying out a new welcome mat or hanging a flag, can give your home cozy, colorful curb appeal.

8. Add color to shutters, door and window surrounds, and other trim pieces. Start with low maintenance polyurethane pieces that are moisture-, insect- and rot-resistant. Through the Classic Color Program available at Nu-Wood, you can have pieces pre-painted in any of 9,000 Sherwin-Williams paint colors and ready to install out of the box. The company includes a touch-up container of paint for convenience.

9. For natural hues that accent and add contrast to siding, consider applying mortarless stone veneer as full accent walls on your home’s exterior or as a half wall/wainscot application. Check out easy-to-install products, available at manufacturers like ClipStone. Colors of their Ledgestone and ProStack styles include Ash, Poinset, Sand and Tan.

10. Pressure wash and repaint where necessary to restore your home to its original colorful splendor.

Using color strategically, you can make your home more valuable to potential buyers or just more personalized for your own tastes.

In response to the increasing needs of children in North Carolina, Children’s Home Society is implementing an aggressive four-year strategic plan and realignment that will allow it to double the number of adoptions completed and the number of children served by family finding and enhanced foster care to permanency programs. CHS will triple the number of children served by child specific recruitment, designed to find permanent homes for children who have been in foster care the longest.

Two members of the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina senior leadership team are being promoted and will assume added responsibilities as the agency undergoes this significant growth.

“Children’s Home Society has more than 100 years of experience in responding to the greatest needs of children and families, and we are poised to do more to help the growing number of children in crisis today,” said Brian Maness, President & CEO of CHS.

Rebecca Starnes, as Vice President of Programs and Quality Improvement, will be responsible for leadership of family education services and intensive services to preserve families, reunite children in foster care with extended relatives, and place the longest-waiting children in foster care with adoptive families.

Matt Anderson, as Vice President of Programs and Business Development, will lead foster care and adoption services, post-adoption services, public policy, governmental affairs, and grants management.

“As CHS continues to adapt to meet the needs of children and families today and in the future, we are very fortunate to have

these two CHS leaders who are positioned to take on significantly expanded leadership roles,” Maness said. “Rebecca and Matt have the benefit of having worked closely together as members of our executive team, as well as through the development and implementation of our most recent strategic plan.”

“The need is great for permanent, safe, and loving families for children at risk in North Carolina. We are excited to take on this challenge with strong leadership,” Maness added.

Starnes has provided and led programs for parents and youth for more than 20 years. She was the Coordinator for Family Programs for the Family Life Council before serving as the Co-Dire

ctor of that organization.  Starnes joined Children’s Home Society through a merger with Family Life Council in 2010. She has led the Family Life Education Division as Vice President and served on the CHS Executive Leadership Team since then. The Family Life Education division tripled in size over the past seven years.

“All children deserve the love and support of family, yet family relationships can be challenging. I am excited to work with these innovative programs focused on protecting and creating strong, healthy families,” Starnes said.

Anderson joined Children’s Home Society in 2011. He has held several increasingly responsible roles since then and most recently served as Vice President of Strategic Advancement. Before his time with CHS, Anderson worked nationally on child welfare reform initiatives. He produced an award-winning documentary on children aging out of foster care, worked in many states and with Congress on important child welfare legislation, and managed child welfare programs in Montana prior to moving to North Carolina.

“Children’s Home Society has a proud history of strengthening families and creating loving homes for children in need. I am honored and humbled to lead a talented and dedicated team of social workers, and I am excited to see the impact we are going to have for children and families across North Carolina,” Anderson said.

CHS helps support more than 20,000 children and families annually through a diverse array of services including adoption, foster care, parenting education, teen pregnancy prevention, and family preservation programs.

Click for information about Children’s Home Society

SOURCE: Children’s Home Society of North Carolina

RELATED LINKS
http://www.chsnc.org

• Part your child’s hair to examine the scalp under a bright light. Watch for movement. Lice will move quickly away from the light.
• Lice eggs (“nits”) may look like dandruff but cannot be flicked off with a fingernail. Eggs will be attached to the hair shaft within ½” of the scalp.
• Use a lice comb to work through small sections of hair looking for lice or nits. Pay extra attention to the nape of the neck, behind the ears, under bangs, and the crown of the head.

• While kids are away at camp, have them use a daily defense shampoo such as Vamousse Lice Defense, which has been shown in lab studies to kill lice during routine hair washing.
• Encourage your child to keep belongings separate – especially hair bands and hats. Encourage your child to pull hair into a ponytail or keep hair up when playing to minimize contact.

Remember that while lice are an annoyance, they do not carry disease or pose serious health risks. In fact, they are as

prevalent among children as the common cold. By using Vamousse products and being prepared for lice at summer camp, you can improve the chances that your children will have great camp memories of fun, friends and fireside songs – not an itchy head and an irritating case of lice.

• Nervous Dispositions
• Anxiety Issues
• Separation Anxiety
• Travel
• New Environments
• Fireworks
• Thunderstorms

According to Tara Henry, she was inspired to open Authors and Art studio after successfully building Pedagogy Art home studio party business. She soon out grew the space in her home and decided then to create Authors and Art. Tara, who describes herself as always evolving into a better version of herself. She is a wife, mother, artist, entrepreneur and friend. The mission of Authors and Art is to build connections, the one basic thing that drives everything. “I see a real need for the creative outlet that my studio proves to the community”. She believes the strong relationships she is fostering throughout the community will earn the community’s support.

Tara herself created the atmosphere at Authors and Art with lots of positive energy, plants, natural wood and sweet smells. This leads to artist being able to find, and loose themselves in their creative process. Authors and Art is for those looking to have or participate in an art party experience whether its for adults or children. It’s for someone looking to hold a social or corporate event. Authors and Art provides an intimate, affordable venue for non-art events.

The reputation of Authors and Art is growing and attracting such local talent as musician Cardye Smooth and Nicole Hampton, author of Glimmer in the Darkness, Shawnonne Pickett, author of the children’s book Henry the Couch, just to name a few.

Tara’s vision for the future is that Authors and Art continue to grow and make an impact on the community by supporting more non-profits and other organizations seeking art immersion into their programs. Tara is very passionate about the art and youth. She hopes to host free children’s events to expose them to art and other creative outlets. The hope is for Authors and Art to be the sought after destination. Currently the studio is an affordable venue for non-art events and the vision of others.

To learn more or for your customized experience, make sure to visit their website at www.authorsandart.com