Oh kygirl...why not come and join in the fun this season, and meet several of the more local GWers at the swap? The more, the merrier...and I'm sure you will go home with some goodies. I have some things to just 'share' as well as for trading....so long as I know what folks would like for me to bring them. If you don't feel you have anything of value to contribute, there are plenty of other 'useful' gardening things that gardeners welcome receiving. Here is a brief list of some thing that were brought in past years that were not plants, bulbs, rhizomes, cuttings, etc....I copied it from another post... I might add here too that though some of the newer gardeners may not have much to bring to trade/share, that there are always other things welcome for swapping/bringing to contribute in some way. Brownies! Flower pots of all kinds/hanging baskets. Seed stashes Seed Baggies Garden junk Garden Art/Signs Plants, bulbs, cuttings, of course Winter sown babies Bird Houses Bird feeders Garden books/others And I even passed off a dozen extra jelly jars I had taking up room that I would never use. The ideas are endless. Additionally, in walking around your property, you may even notice things that you could bring cuttings of....like shrubs or something. Think about it...please Sue...swap ringleader

I am checking out this forum because my DD just bought an older Cape that needs some sprucing up. But I thought I'd suggest a source for custom Roman shades that we recently discovered. If you go to the Etsy site and type in Roman shades you will see listings from Quality Custom Designs. You provide them w/ whatever fabric you choose, decide if you want blackout lining or not (which they offer for a very reasonable price) and choose the pull (DD chose the shorter child-safe version). They provided a list of online sources for discount drapery fabrics they've worked with and you can choose online and have the fabric mailed directly to them. Their approval rating is 100%, there are a ton of testimonials and pictures of the shades people have sent in showing them in their homes. I am having 3 inside mount shades made for DD's home. The cost for labor for each shade is $59.99 with free shipping. I've added the blackout liner, which shows white on the street side, for $12.50 per shade. The contact person I've emailed and spoken with by phone is named Mandy. If you look at the profile given on the site, it states that this is a small family run endeavor. Mandy has taken time to respond to my many inquiries in a timely and very courteous manner. I was initially very skeptical, as I had never contracted anything like this online, but I feel very good about it now. Last night I placed my fabric order and the process is underway. I've been searching local and online sources and this seems to be the best price for the quality. Worth taking a look.

I think the combination of cordless AND room darkening may leave out the option of "value" blinds but I have found Bali to be a reasonably priced blind that is good quality. Penney's is a great place to buy them. They have sales all the time. The last time I was there they had 70% off and the gal I worked with told me that in 2 weeks there would be an additional 10% off--80% off. You are buying a neutral color so these blinds will probably be around for a while so a good mechanism is important. I don't think Bali would disappoint you. Go to their website to check out what they've got and send for free swatches. Cellular blinds have the added benefit of having insulating qualities too. Here is a link that might be useful: Bali Cellular Blinds

I am project coordinator for our installs where i work. Window treatments. Shutters can become an expensive investment. I believe they can also be considered a tax deduction as a energy efficient home improvement. For example of cost, Graber products, which is vender we use most runs approx $26.00 a square foot for a faux wood and approx $29.00 per square foot for a real wood application. Although wood is wood, your faux wood products will have a much longer life span against fading and warping, say in a high humidity climate and/or a west side window. Hope that helps. That price includes shutter, installation and added tax with our project programs available. More times than none a 10% discount will be applied with a Graber install where i work.