New there’s no need to call in the experts. Get professional advice on do-it-yourself projects – from painting to flower arranging to hanging window treatments – that even a pro would be proud of.

Change the look of your home in an instant with quick and easy do-it-yourself projects. Start decorating your home now.

DIY TIP: Making your own textiles can save your money – cushions, curtains, quilts, the list is endless.

How to make cushions

Cushions are the perfect accessory, when you do not have a lot of color in your bedroom or living room and you don’t want to make a drastic and expensive change.

A strong contrast between colors, can accentuate your room dramatically.

When choosing your cushions, try to create a theme that will blend with other accessories easily, such as your curtains and rugs.

Sometimes it is difficult to find cushions that fit-in with your current decorating style and theme, so why not make your own cushions.

Making your own cushions gives you a sense of achievement when you see the final product in your decorating project. Following our simple guide below, you can add a new look to your home in just one day.

(more…)

Wheel is regard as one of the most significant inventions of mankind. From thereon, cycles, carts, cars, buses, planes, all are human inventions designed to improve the living standards of mankind. Man used car to transport himself, his family and his belongings from one place to another. Over the years, the motor car became the most important and sought after creation of mankind. It started off as a luxury item and ended up being a necessity. No person in today’s world can even imagine living his life without a car. However, lately some of these marvelous inventions of the mankind have been used in such a way that they have become a hassle rather than a providing the comfort, they were meant to. Traffic jams have become an everyday problem nowadays. There are traffic jams leading up to hours, while people who are returning home after a long day can do nothing except cursing other drivers. According to the 2006 World Bank, there are 7,000,000 vehicles on the roads in Pakistan. This not only poses a problem for the commuters, but also has hazardous effects on the climate. Moreover, the ongoing construction work on the roads also causes traffic problems.

On the one hand, the number of cars on the roads have increased tremendously, while on the other hand, drivers display no knowledge or respect for traffic rules and regulations. The worst traffic hours are when children get off from schools and offices have lunch breaks. If you have been on the road from one to three p.m., you know what that means. There is almost one car per child that goes to school, hence causing the gigantic traffic jams. It is almost next to impossible to find a parking space anywhere near the school, and there are rows of cars parked up to the end of streets. It is a sad truth that we live in a very status conscious society, where the worth of a person is judged from the size of his house and more often from the make and model of the car that he or she drives. Hence, the trend of riding in school buses and vans is becoming obsolete. Moreover, one cannot deny the fact that school vans are very unreliable and undependable. So, most of the parent have no other option than to pick and drop children themselves.

(more…)

Employers have many established processes for screening job candidates. Companies use detailed job descriptions to highlight the qualities they hope to find in the ideal applicant. Hiring managers also thoroughly review résumés and other job-application materials, in addition to asking pointed interview questions and checking references. During your next job search, consider using these same approaches to locate an organization that is right for you.

For the past few years, people had been struggling to find employment, and many took whatever work they could find. Now, however, job seekers have more leverage in the hiring process and, therefore, the freedom to be somewhat choosier than before.

According to the “Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations (EDGE) Report” by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com, hiring managers are struggling to overcome a “shortage of qualified workers.” As a result, those candidates with the most in-demand skill sets are in the driver’s seat. Following are tips for finding the job that’s right for you.

(more…)

Unemployment is the scare-word of recent times. The rising job-insecurity tailgates this fear once one has managed to get a job. In the wake of the recent financial turmoil emerging from the ‘Great Depression’ of Lehman Brothers and American International Group (AIG), it is suspected the global economy is faced by a final crunch leading to an end of American financial capitalism. At home, the situation seems unpleasant too as Pakistan has rundown its foreign reserves to $3 billion. The country is on the run for financial rescue plan as this amount could only last us for another three months. As for its consequences, unemployment is already at an all time high nationally and internationally. Recently a report on International news channel was quoted as saying that Europe’s biggest bank had furloughed almost 80,000 employees from its banks from around the world. Whatever the global problems, but in developing countries like ours, it comes as no surprise.

If we delve a little into the recent past, just in the month of August 2008, the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) laid-off around 0,000 employees due to government’s funding being suspended. This was a major set-back to the employees and the people who were benefiting from the human rights services of this organization mainly in the areas of poverty, health, education, gender empowerment, food, justice etc. The demanded budget of Rs 874 million by the organization was reduced 50 percent by the government leading to large scale downsizing.

The year 2008 started with closing down of almost 70 percent of textile units rendering more than 15 percent daily wagers unemployed. This has been a reason for an increase in crime an suicide rates consequently. It is government’s responsibility to help these down-trodden to make both ends meet. Rather than generously misspending for hosting iftar-dinners, they should have thought practically about the seriousness of the problem that was fast approaching and had assumed dire proportions. The national exchequer cannot be splurged with such brutality, while the whole country is crying to gain access to basic commodities.

(more…)

Gina is dressed in an expensive, new — and slightly itchy — suit, hoping that the mint she almost choked on is masking the smell from the chili she unwisely chose to eat at lunch and willing the sweat glands in her palms to behave until she at least has shaken hands.

Will is also wearing a new suit. He’s simultaneously trying to cover up the stain from the coffee he just spilled on himself, generate what he hopes is intelligent conversation and maintain eye contact.

One of these people is on a first date, the other is at a job interview, but which is which? In both instances, each was trying to impress and get to know someone else, figure out what the other person had to offer, and ultimately decide if he or she wanted to commit to that person on a long-term basis. Both the date and the job interview can generate feelings of excitement and nervousness, and their outcomes can mean the difference between starting from scratch or living happily ever after.

Ten years ago, Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider co-wrote the best-selling book “The Rules,” a guide based on the authors’ own experiences to help women find and keep “Mr. Right,” and have since written various other versions of the book. Sure, it’s not the most feminism-forward piece of literature, and its “success” rate is unknown, but when applied to the job search, “The Rules” actually includes good (gender-neutral) advice for the job seeker.

Here, the Top 10 Rules, as listed on Fein and Schneider’s Web site, and how you can apply them to your job search.

(more…)