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Collectable Kitchen Plates Are A Great Decorating Idea

Collectible kitchen plates have been around for a long time. Your grandmother may have had a collection of antique or specialty plates. Decorating with these plates is one way to add interest to your rooms.

There are many categories of these collectibles. Some of them were designed to be collected and some of them became more desired as their value and popularity grew. When these products were no longer available to be purchased new, they began to become prized parts of a collection.

More Valuable if the Design is No Longer Available

Some of these plates that started out as china to be used for dining are simple pieces. They may be blue cornflower, or have a hand-painted rose design. If the design is no longer available, they are valuable. Some are fancier but still considered as china. These may be embossed with the name of the place where they were used. It could be a restaurant, a hotel, a cruise ship, or even a plate used at government functions.

Other plates are designed with collecting in mind. These are the ones such as the Danbury Mint limited editions. There are special Norman Rockwell plates, and also from Currier and Ives. Of these latter, the Four Seasons group is quite popular.

Commemorative Plates

Some plates are made to commemorate a specific event. You will find some celebrating the bicentennial of the United States, city and church founder's day, Mother's Day and Christmas. Some of these may have a special significance to you. For example, there are times when someone will make or have made plates commemorating the day of your wedding. These are precious items that you will want to display proudly.

Many people like to gather kitchen plates when they visit tourist locations. Others like to get ones that have been acquired years ago and buy them as antiques. Either way, they are or will become collectible. You can get plates from locations like the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Yellowstone Park, the Royal Gorge, Pike's Peak, or other scenic places. These often have a picture of the tourist site on the front. A similar type that is of interest to tourists is the state-themed plate.

Old-Fashioned Collections

There are certain old-fashioned items that have come down through many generations. Many of them are still being made today, but usually they are not as elaborate. One of these types is the recipe plates. These are generally made of porcelain. They have an actual recipe painted on the front. The recipes are real and if you follow the directions, you will have a cake or salad that is easy and flavorful. The other type is the prayer plates. These are also elaborate, often gold rimmed, and have a kitchen prayer painted on their fronts.

Collectible kitchen plates can make your cooking area come alive. They are reflections of your personality and they radiate charm. Hang them on your walls, or put them on plate stands. You will find that after awhile, they will start to seem like old friends.

About the Author

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Lower Your Holiday Energy Bill

The holidays are a great time for family get-togethers and opening gifts. However, the holidays can be the worse possible time to open your energy bills. Few seasons use up energy and drive up energy costs like the Christmas season. It is a time of good cheer and homes lit up like Christmas trees. Not to mention, neighborhood decorating competitions and Christmas trees lit up like…well…Christmas trees. Little surprise, then that holiday season runs up some of the highest electric bills of the year. But it doesn’t have to be this way. dPi Pay As You Go Energy has a few holiday hints on how to reduce your energy costs and protect the planet.

Wear a holiday sweater.

First of all this season, do a better job of policing the thermostat. Find a comfortable setting and set the heat a tad lower. A brisk temperature in the house can be offset with bright, holiday apparel and a roaring fire. Encourage your holiday guests to bundle up in last year’s jingle bell sweater. Have Uncle Max put on the knitted Santa hat you made him to warm his bald noggin. Tell him he looks cute that way. This will lower your heating costs and make everyone look festive.

Deck the halls with LED lights.

Next, watch how you light up the holiday. You can still have plenty of twinkling lights inside and out without spending a fortune. For instance, consider replacing the old-school Christmas lights with new, energy–saving LED lights. These will save you big time. They use up to 90% less electricity than the typical holiday lights. You can buy them for just 10 bucks a strand.

Make it your Christmas present to you.

Trim the tree. Trim the costs.

This year, light up the tree with fiber optics. They even have entire Christmas trees made from this electricity-saving technology. All you need is one light bulb to light up the tree.

Turn off the other room lights and let the tree light up the room. More savings.

Candlelight. Kicking it old school.

Before Thomas Edison lit up the grid, Christmas was all candles and hot cider. Why not turn your home into a living Christmas card? Light some candles, flick off the overheads and transform the holidays into a Currier Ives print. Cozy.

Gifts that give back to the planet.

It is estimated that 40% of all batteries are bought at Christmas time. That is a lot of money being spent on batteries and a whole lot of energy being used. Why not agree to only buy battery-free gifts this season?

Holiday Baking. Less is more.

Rather than cranking up the oven several times during the holiday season, do a one-time, Christmas cookie, cranberry loaf, plum pudding extravaganza. Why fire up the stove more often than necessary? Don’t let that heat go to waste. Make it a holiday party. People will love it!

Merry Walking.

Sure, its fun piling in the car and looking at Christmas lights. But how about starting another holiday tradition––leaving the car home and walking around the neighborhood looking at the pretty lights and belting out a few stanzas of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

­­Have a bright holiday season and save lots of energy at the same time. It’s possible. You just have to concentrate on not being naughty.

About the Author

Visit dPi Energy for your pay as you go home electricity needs.