Tag: get bugs from blinds

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Springtime graduations, Weddings, Family Trips and other Celebrations bring Wonderful Reunions

Our graduation and wedding time of year is here and it seems like everyone is involved in varied family gatherings. We’re anticipating all of the parties and festivities that accompany these life events. Many of us are traveling to celebrate or are entertaining with parties in our homes.

In Colorado Springs, we have the annual United States Air Force Academy graduations in May. This year it is happening on the Wednesday after Memorial day, May 29th. The community witnesses the Air Force Thunderbirds flying overhead as they practice their show on the days before graduation and for the show on graduation day. It is pretty impressive to see the jets flying in their precision moves right over our homes. It feels and sounds almost like we can reach out to them, they fly so low. It’s always a fun May ritual to anticipate even if we aren’t at the stadium witnessing the show first hand.

As we move toward these celebratory times, it’s important to get our homes ready for the festivities. Many of us have bought gorgeous Silhouette® window shadings by Hunter Douglas for our windows. As a long time interior designer, I’ve been continually selling them for more than 20 years. They are beautiful, a great insulator from both heat and cold, and offer a unique opportunity to allow you to see a filtered view to your outdoor world. You’re able to see the ground or ocean, the trees or buildings, the mountains and sky while your shadings are covering your windows, providing insulation, privacy and preserving your views.

While you’re controlling the light as it enters your homes, the light is transformed many different ways during the day. It becomes iridescent, due to the gorgeous fabrics,  especially in the dusk hours when the sun is setting low on the horizon. Many of us are drawn to that magical time of day. Bugs are attracted to the shadings as well and enter the tubular vane openings from the side. They get trapped inside the openings, and cannot find their way out.

We knew there had to be a professional way to remove the debris and bugs from the Silhouettes® and other similar shadings like Luminettes®, Vignettes®, Pirouettes®, Nantuckets™, Solera®, Shangri-La and Illusions. When we found no suitable, safe method, we decided to invent our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ for the purpose of grabbing bugs and debris from the inside of those shadings, reaching webs and dirt from high areas like beams, fans and crown moldings, or picking up light weight items from inaccessible places. We now manufacture our CamilyWand™ and ship to North America, Europe and Australia.

Clients are pleased and grateful that we have provided them with a safe way to preserve their view and protect their investment. We wanted our clients to be pleased with their purchase of the distinctive Silhouette® product family and felt we were serving them well by offering a quality, inexpensive product to keep their shadings beautiful.

We hope you will enjoy these wonderful springtime rites that we are experiencing now in your homes. Have a great rest of our springtime!

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Gardening, Cheering sports teams, Backyard Barbecues, Entertaining Relatives and Friends are Fun May activities

May is a glorious time for natures’ floral bounty, signaling blooming bulbs, budding floral trees and bushes – all of it specific to the increasing warmth Mother Nature provides in mid spring. Generally our floral trees blossom throughout May – evening temperatures will affect the buds, sometimes causing the flowering buds not to open. With our late Colorado snows, I noticed my forsythia has scant blooms, but I’m enjoying the ones it has. The blossoms cheer our thoughts as we move through a busy month.

Our youth are very busy, so Moms and Dads keep going and going like energizer bunnies. It is such a fun, memorable time to enjoy, it’s best to be as healthy as possible. Luckily many things we do help promote our health. This is National Womens Health Week – a good time to start springtime rituals of outdoor sports, running, walking, gardening, spring cleaning and many calorie burning activities. I tend to cross train with walking and gardening during this time of year.

During my work week, I haul my Hunter Douglas sample books into clients homes, get on ladders to stretch in measuring for shadings or draperies. Or I measure for carpeting, furniture and its placement, etc. I’ve been selling the Hunter Douglas Silhouette® shadings since they were introduced to the market in the early 1990’s. Over the years, my clients and I noticed that debris and sometimes bugs collected between the vanes of these wonderful shadings. The Silhouettes® are very popular when people realize that they are able to have a filtered view, insulation and sun protection at the same time. Since the styling, fabric colors, textures and choices are vast, they fit into both casual and elegant styles.

It seems as though different insects enjoy the light as much as we do, and are drawn into the openings of the Silhouettes®, Nantuckets™,Soleras®, Luminettes®, Pirouettes®, Vignettes®, Shangri-Las® and Illusions shadings. They seem to enjoy basking in the sun, and then cannot find their way out. So to retain the beauty of the shadings, protect your investment, and get rid of the pesky critters that enjoy the warmth, we invented CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™  to allow clients a bug free view.

Since insects don’t comprehend the difference between inside and outside, they sneak into our homes in many ways. Our CamilyWand™ clients from various different parts of the country describe all kinds of unusual bugs that crawl into their Silhouettes® to me. I think my client with the gecko wins the prize in that one. Whatever types of insects or debris get into your shadings, it is best to get them removed as soon as possible. They can be ruinous to your shadings if left there for long periods of time. Our sticky CamilyTip™ at the end of our extension pole does the job safely, quickly and easily, helping you maintain your preserved view and your investment.

While you’re enjoying your springtime activities, take some time to survey your surroundings, appreciate them and participate in great activities to keep you happy and healthy.

 

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Mothers Day, Time to Honor your Mother, Be Grateful for Everything she has Done for You on the Years Sweetest Day!

Mother’s Day is coming on Sunday, May 12th, which is traditionally celebrated on the second Sunday in May. It’s the day we honor our Mothers with parties, meals, gifts and fun times.

The Mother’s Day tradition goes back as  far as the 1870’s when Julia Ward Howe established Mother’s Day for Peace. Julia, a New Englander, wrote the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” after she was inspired by a meeting with Abraham Lincoln in the fall of 1861.

However Anna Jarvis is given credit to the modern Mother’s Day, which she officially established in 1908. Her mother, Ann Jarvis had started a tradition honoring families after the Civil War and Anna’s tradition was a continuation of her mothers efforts. She also created the Mother’s Day International Foundation, designating the 2nd Sunday in May to be the celebration day.

When we are either entertaining for our mothers or honoring them in our homes, it is important to give a good presentation with a clean home. Our window treatments , always a focal point in our homes, should look their best. Many of you have Silhouettes® or similar shadings made by Hunter Douglas in your homes. The Silhouettes® seem to collect little pieces of debris in between the vanes, which need to be removed. We have invented our CamilyWand™ Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ to help with this task. It is an extension pole with a perpetually sticky Camily Tip™ that will grab the debris in your shadings as well as cling to dirt and webs on ceilings,  important papers which have fallen behind furniture amd a myriad of other uses. In the window shading arena, it works on Nantuckets™, Pirouettes®, Luminettes®, Vignettes®, Solera®, Illusions, and Shangri-La® shadings. These are all wonderful shadings and it is important to keep a clear, unobstructed view while you insulating your home and getting protection from the suns rays. Keeping the shades bug free, allowing beautiful light and views is essential for  clean looking focal points in your home.

We at Camily, LLC wish a Happy Mother’s Day to our mothers and a happy time for celebrating this Sweetest Day of the Year!

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May Baskets filled with Treats, Proms and Graduations celebrate Spring

May Day, the first day of May, brings spring traditions – many of them over thousands of years old. As a young girl, our favorite tradition was making little May Baskets out of construction paper, filling them with goodies and sweets, then leaving them on friends and neighbors doorsteps, ringing the doorbell and running away before they answered the door.

That seems to be a thing of the past, as are many other celebrations for the rite of spring. The northern European countries celebrated before Christian times with ribbon bedecked MayPoles, where young women danced in a circle around the pole holding ribbons that were attached to the top of the May Pole. The ribbons were decorated with flowers, and a May Queen was crowned to lead the celebrations. Those celebrations began as mid season parties – half way between the present equinox and solstice times.

Today we have different celebrations happening. Graduations, proms and spring weddings come to mind. We entertain to honor our graduating students, the special proms and wedding festivities in our homes. Our homes look great, ready to welcome guests.

To make your window treatments look their best, it is an ideal time to be sure they are clean. Many lucky homeowners have Silhouette® or Nantucket™ blinds in their homes, covering the window glass and insulating their homes. At the same time they enjoy beautifully filtered views through the shadings. Often little gnats or bugs sneak into side opening of those shades, made by Hunter Douglas. Because the little bugs and moths love the light, like we do, they are drawn into the shadings and cannot find their way out.

We have developed a tool to easily and safely remove those pesky critters. It is our CamilyWand™Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ which grabs the bugs with its sticky tip, lifts it from the shading and then is washed off of the Camily Tip™ when finished. After washing it is ready for its next use. Your Silhouettes® are then bug free and your  gorgeous views are restored. CamilyWand™ also has farther reaching uses, such as retrieving objects, spider webs and dirt from inaccessible spaces. It works on other shading products like Nantuckets™, Pirouettes®, Luminettes®, Vignettes®, Shangri- La® and Illusion blinds.  We are selling them in North America and Australia at present.

We strive to offer you a safe, easy solution to a problem which has far reaching consequences if not addressed promptly. The gorgeous blinds need your protection to keep them looking crisp and new, as well as protecting your investment.

The shadings will return joy, energy effeciency, and beauty to you for many years to come if maintained properly. Use them to your advantage as you celebrate this May Day and beyond.

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April’s Earth Day, Free Entry to National Parks, Meteor Showers Celebrate our Spring

Spring is making a valiant attempt to come to the northern part of the US with many extreme weather events sprinkled in between some beautiful summer like days. We’ve had one more snowfall this week in Colorado to bring us much needed moisture.

Earth Week is off to a great start. Mother Nature has provided spectacular meteor showers and the National Parks have FREE entry this week. We’ll all enjoy wonderfully warmer temperatures for the coming of Spring. People are beginning to  have backyard parties, grilling and enjoying friends. Graduation announcements are arriving –  my first one arrived yesterday.

To plan for all of your entertaining events, it is important to have our indoor and outdoor spaces looking their best. Many of you own Hunter Douglas Silhouette® window shadings that may have captured some little bugs, gnats, moths and debris in between the vane openings over time. Some of the other products that have the same issues are Nantuckets™, Pirouettes®, Luminettes®, Vignettes®, Shangri-La and Illusions shadings.

We developed a tool to get bugs out of blinds to meet the demand of Silhouette® owners. It is CamilyWand™ Sticky Bug Removal Tool™, comprised of a sticky CamilyTip® and an extension pole.  Our CW24 will remove bugs from a blind up to 96″ wide, and the CW36 will cover 144″ if you are able to insert the pole from both sides of the shading. It is an easy solution to a natural problem, keeping your view through your Silhouettes® bug free and protecting your investment.

As you use your outdoors more with the nicer weather, you won’t need to worry if an occasional fly or moth gets into your home and finds the mesmerizing light in the Silhouette® vanes attractive. You’ll have the answer to your problem with our CamilyWand™. We know you’ll enjoy the easy convenience of using our tool.

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April Tulips, Crocuses, Flowering bushes, Little Bunnies, Give promise to bright, sunny Spring and Summer to come.

Our flowering shrubs and beautful bulbs peeking out of soft, fertile earth grace our springtime landscapes and gardens with delicate blossoms and brilliant colors. We always anticipate springtime after many of us have had long winters with beautiful snow and much cooler temperatures. Seeing new springtime growth is always enjoyable, whatever form it takes.

I’m envious of the gardens where waves and waves of flowers and bulbs have been planted, heralding springs’ start. Adding all of the flowering trees and shrubs from different areas of the world makes the season and views more special.

Our views through our windows to enjoy our gardens and the outside, are very important physchologically for us both physically and mentally. Getting outside to spend time in nature, whether gardening, walking or enjoying Mother Natures gifts, provides Vitamin D from the sun which is crucial to our good health. Being able to see our views through our windows, realizing how nice it would be to enjoy the outdoors, is important in our lives.

Many of you are familiar with different types of window shadings or blinds which cover the glass of your windows. Hunter Douglas, the premier window covering company, has realized the importance of insulation combined with beauty with energy savings to provide us with shadings which are insulators and provide views at the same time. The Silhouette® family of shadings, including Nantuckets™, provide excellent energy effeciency and filtered views at the same time.

The light that comes through the Silhouettes® and Nantuckets™ as well as sister products Luminettes®, Pirouettes® and Vignettes® have a tendency to attract little pieces of debris and bugs. They get into the large side openings, loving the warmth and light and cannot find their way out of the shadings. We have developed and manufacture a solution to the bug removal problem with the invention of our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™. It is a pole with a perpetually sticky tip (when kept clean) which grabs bugs in the opening, allowing easy debris removal.  The tip is safe, washable and reusable, designed to pick up bugs, debris, webs and other inaccessible objects from hard to reach places. You’ll enjoy the convenience it  provides to keep your views unobstructed and your shading investments in tact.

We want you to be able to enjoy a bug free view, while providing insulation and sun protection, as you witness the Springs’ growth in our gardens and outside landscapes.

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April Showers bring May Flowers, Promising new growth, Budding trees, Warm light, Longer evenings, Gentle rains, Backyard sports and barbecues

April has arrived, April Fool’s day included, and we are headed to that wonderful time in spring when our snow showers turn to rain, bringing much needed moisture to help our landscapes grow and our gardens flower and thrive. In Colorado we often get snow, sometimes huge amounts, but we know that moisture will water our vegetation to produce all the new growth we enjoy. We appreciate our snowstorms for the spring skiing and snowsports.

We’ll be doing fun outdoor entertaining as we get warmer temperatures. Spring and summer sports give us chances to entertain friends on our outside decks and patios. Barbecues are coming back with people moving from the kitchen to the patio as we approach warmer temperatures.

Because these sorts of parties often happen in the early evening, we’ll be using our window shadings to shade us from low level sun. People often want to see their views and allow filtered light to enter their homes with sun protection as well, as is available with Silhouette® shadings by Hunter Douglas. These family of shadings are able to be used in 3 different ways, making them a more valuable window blind solution. They cover the glass when they are lowered from the top headrail, may have the vanes in the open position allowing us to enjoy light and views, or the vanes may be closed to block the view. The insulation when the Silhouettes®  or Nantuckets™ are in the down position is impressive in either the vanes open or vanes closed orientation. Pirouettes®, Luminettes® or Vignettes® also offer similar insulation properties.

Often little flies, moths or gnats sneak into your homes when the doors are opening and closing. They find their way into the shadings like Silhouettes® and Nantuckets™ and cannot find their way out of the tubular type opening. Our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ was invented especially for the task of safely removing the pesky bugs and debris from the vane openings. Its sticky CamilyTip™ at the end of the extension pole grabs the debris or bug. After you remove the pole from the shading, you should wash the tip to restore its perpetually sticky surface and remove the debris. Your gorgeous views and shading investment are protected when your shadings are bug free.

As you think of those wonderful picnics and barbecues, imagine the grilling smells, time with family and friends, you’ll know that your home looks its best for springtime fun!

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Easter, Passover, Spring Holidays bring fun times; Spring break brings Cozy Family times and Delicious food

As we prepare for our Easter and other religious holidays, I am reminded of the glorious way eggs are revered here and in many other parts of the globe. The religious symbolism in many faiths celebrates the resurrection and the hope of new life. It is considered a time for planting, recognizing the Vernal Equinox. Some say that our Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the Vernal Equinox. Thus we have varied times for Easter celebrations every year. This year it will be on Sunday, March 30th.

In my travels I have collected many different versions of decorated eggs from many different countries. The Europeans share their hope of new life through so many beautiful, different and charming ways. One of my most favorite displays was in Prague, where they hang eggs from branches of huge trees, where leaves and blossoms have not opened. They decorate many of the tall trees all the way to the top with eggs in their Old Town Square to celebrate the new spring season. Some of the trees were 40-50 feet tall, and to see the whole tree covered with eggs hanging from all of their branches was spectacular.

We often have Easter Egg Hunts for our children after our Easter religious celebrations are finished. Many of our holiday meals have delicious, traditional foods to celebrate in our own religious beliefs. Families will visit, enjoying warmer, often sunnier weather. We’ll be enjoying the opportunity to invite our relatives and friends into our homes and share the holiday.

This is an important time to have our homes look as nice as possible. For those of you who have Silhouette® types of blinds, the openings where the vanes rotate may have collected some bugs and debris over time. This also happens to other products in the Hunter Douglas line, like Nantuckets™, Luminettes®, Vignettes® and Pirouettes®. Other companies manufacture Illusions and Shangri-La® blinds that have the same needs. My interior design clients who own these types of products were always asking for ways to remove the bugs and other debris.

So I invented and patented the Award Winning CamilyWand™ to solve the problem. It is a simple extension pole with a continually sticky CamilyTip™ which grabs the offending particles from the vane inside the shading. You carefully remove the pole, wash the reusable tip to remove the debris and it is ready to use again. You’ll protect your investment in your Silhouettes® while keeping your view clear for your guests to see Mother Natures’ beautiful landscapes clearly through your windows as they enjoy dining with you.

We at Camily, LLC wish you the best of your holidays, whether it be Easter, Passover, or the other religions celebrations honoring new life. Have a great Holiday Weekend!

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Spring Equinox brings Promise of Longer days, New Buds on plants, Suns’ warmth, Outdoor activities, Family time

Our Spring Equinox  happened this week, where the sun passes over the Equator and signals more sunshine in the northern hemisphere. The rotation of the earth in relation to the sun will mean longer daylight hours and sun placement “higher” in the sky. The sun goes as far north as Baja California, so at that point, June 21st it is as high in the sky as it will be. We have just had our daylight savings time change and are adjusting to the hour of later light. This, combined with the spring equinox, promises sun filled days that allow us to enjoy the outdoors for several more hours as spring rolls into summer.

Barbecues, backyard games, baseball, soccer, golf, tennis, and many more sports bring more outdoor time. We enjoy that healthy time in the sun. I typically garden until it gets too dark to see the plants – very theraputic for me. We leave our doors open to move inside and out when we grill, picnic or play outdoors. The sun will heat up the inside of our homes in a solar energy fashion. The sun is getting higher and hotter as we move through the spring equinox.

Those of us in the window covering industry have long known the value of window shadings for use in heat and cooling of our interiors. During the winter, we discussed heat savings, such as approximately 60% of the cold kept out of your homes when Silhouette® type of shadings cover the windows, with vanes closed or open. The reverse happens in the summer, when the heat stays on the outside, letting your rooms stay cooler during those hot mid summer days.

In addition to energy saving options, the Silhouette®, Luminette®, Pirouette® and Nantucket™ from Hunter Douglas, as well as Illusions and Shangri-La® from other companies, provide filtered views when the vanes are open, and privacy when closed. These are the only class of products that offer all 3 qualities at the same time. We enjoy the see through views, that at times will collect debris from plants or bugs or moths who get in the vane openings, and can’t get out. We have invented a tool to solve that problem: CamilyWand™. Our Sticky Bug Removal Tool has a sticky CamilyTip that grabs the offensive particle or bug, and easily removes it. It is so sticky that we don’t drag it along the vanes, we carefully remove it from the opening without touching the fabric. Cleaning for your Easter holiday becomes a “fun” chore with our tool.

We at Camily, LLC wish you the best of your holiday celebrations and trust that you will have an enjoyable time with favorite people in your lives.

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St Patricks Day: We’re all a wee bit Irish, Bringing 4 Leaf Clovers, Pots of Gold, Green everywhere we go!

Is St Paddy’s Day on your fun list for the weekend? Green everywhere! Even those who aren’t of Irish descent pretend to be Irish and join in the celebrations. There will be parades, religious services, parties and green beer and drinks.

When I was in Chicago for the 2010 International Housewares Show, my sporting cousins took me to the Chicago River to watch the Chicagoans turn it green. It was a wonderful time, despite the winter temperatures. We needed warm coats and stamina to watch, but I loved it and thank them very much for their hospitality! The policemen on horses and boats dying the river green were spectacular sights!

I had attended the huge International Housewares Show that year, with my booth and CamilyWand™ displays. There were about 66,000 attendees that year, and 22,000 of them visited the housewares area, where our booth was located. We made many friends at that show, including Lou Manfredini, the Ace Helpful Hardware Man and Today Show contributor. People were mezmerized by our streaming video showing our product in a demonstration featuring all of its myriad of uses. We use a demonstration with a Silhouette® blind filled with bugs on display, and we removed all of them, bringing interest to a solution for a huge need in the window shading industry.

Our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ was a hit at the show because it is necessary for keeping Silhouette® window shadings by Hunter Douglas bug free. It’s sticky tip grabs bugs when it is inserted into the open ended vanes, safely removing them from the sheer openings.  It also works on other products, such as Pirouettes®, Vignettes®, Luminettes®, Nantuckets™, Shangri La® and Illusion blinds. If you have a cobweb in a high corner or a piece of paper behind heavy furniture, CamilyWand will easily pick it up for you. When you have a clean, bug free shading, the views are restored and your shading investment protected.

Now is the time to get rid of the critters in your shadings and homes with our CamilyWand™. St Patricks day is a few days away and the Easter and Passover holidays are in a few weeks. This is an opportune time to get your home clean for the upcoming celebrations and fun times. Enjoy your parties, get togethers and families with your home and window shadings looking their best for Springtime!

 

 

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Springtime Around the corner, March comes in bringing March Madness, Spring Break and Easter

Springtime is indeed coming – March has come in like a lamb. What a great start to warmer, sunshiny days for 2013. Many of you have experienced some beautiful snowfalls along with the beauty and challenges that accompany them. It will be a wonderful respite to enjoy higher temperatures. As my friend said “March is Marching in Mild!” It started that way for some of us but has quickly changed, bringing snowstorms across much of the country.

We will usher in Daylight Savings Time this weekend, on March 10th at 2 AM, moving our clocks forward 1 hour. You know the adage: Spring forward, fall back. Next week our sunsets will be 1 hour later. Our daylight time is getting longer each day, so those of us who love that will be more productive and happier.

March madness in basketball is almost here. I remember hosting players and friends as a teenager in Madison, WI. They came from all over the state to compete – it was a fun, exciting time. Many of you will be involved in some way as that tradition happens this year.

In preparation for those get togethers, our Easter celebrations, and the final advent of spring, it is important to have your home in order. That includes your window shadings and soft treatments. Many of you have window shadings with vane openings like Silhouettes® by Hunter Douglas, that collect little particles, gnats and bugs. We have invented a tool to help you remove them easily: CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™. It does the job well, leaving you with bug free views to enjoy the outside while getting insulation and privacy as well.

The removal process is simple. Our CamilyWand™ works with a sticky CamilyTip™ attached to the end of an extension pole. When inserted into the side opening of the shading, it will grab the offending bug or particle. Then you may remove it, without dragging the tip on the fabric, and have a clear unobstructed view. It is an easy process, works cleanly and quickly, and saves your investment in your shadings from permanent stains left behind by bugs. Our tool works on Silhouettes®, Pirouettes®, Luminettes®, Nantuckets™ and Vignettes® from Hunter Douglas. It also will remove bugs from Illusions, Shangri-La@ window shadings and particles and light weight objects from inaccessible places.

It is best to remove the offensive pests as soon as possible, having your shadings and home ready for these spring occassions. You and your visitors will be happy you took time to preserve your views, protect your shadings and enjoy a clean, warm, inviting home as spring approaches.

 

 

 

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March: Sharing Life Giving Moisture for Tulips, Crocuses, Snowdrops to Bloom, and Snow Angels in our Yards

Flowering bulbs like Tulips, Crocuses and Snowdrops will be showing their beautiful blossoms soon and we’ll begin to feel the warmth of spring. March is just around the corner – a busy month for holidays this year. And the weather will be fickle – some colder days and then surprising warm spells thrown in to tease us into thinking winter is over.

I’m always thrilled to celebrate the return of Daylight Savings time in March, and will treasure the longer daylight hours. It always seems to me that I have more time to “get things done” during the daylight, which is untrue. But light and sunlight are both very cheerful to me, making me more productive. Add the flowers, a reminder of Mother Nature at her best, and it is a very positive time.

I’m reminded of some time I recently spent in the Wisconsin, where  the temperatures dipped below Zero overnight. It was cold working near the windows, where some of the computers were located. With the aluminum miniblinds at the windows I froze when I worked in that room. The cold was transmitted right through the glass, causing a greater heating bill to keep the room warm. I remembered how nice it is to work with wonderfully insulated Silhouettes® at my windows in Colorado Springs. I’m certain that I’ve recovered most of the initial investment in my Hunter Douglas Silhouettes® by keeping them down in the open position in the windows when the weather is cold. It is a great feeling to save energy and not waste our dwindling natural resources. Adding the bonus of a beautiful shading, allowing a filtered view, privacy and insulation simultaneously, I feel I’m in a great position to continue keeping warmth in my home.

Sometimes bugs and debris find their way into the Silhouette®, Luminette®, Nantucket™, Vignette® and Pirouette® shadings. We have invented a tool to easily remove the bugs and debris from your shadings: CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™. It is a simple extension pole with a perpetually sticky tip, which retains its stickiness when it is washed after each use. People put the CamilyWand™ into the side of the vane openings, grab the pesky bug, insect or plant, then carefully remove it from the side of the opening, and their blind is bug free, allowing their gorgeous view to return.

We produce our CamilyWand™ to help the millions of Silhouette® owners keep their beautiful window shadings in excellent condition. Home owners, window covering professionals and interior designers all love the ease of use with superb results, keeping the valuable shadings bug free and looking like new!

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February Traditions, Leap Year, Spring Predictions, Tease our Desire for Warmer Sunshine

We have recently celebrated Valentines Day,  Presidents Day and Ground Hog Day, and we begin to look forward to our wonderful spring season, about to bloom. Our snow will continue to fall in some areas, in others spring will be more evident sooner rather than later.

Longer days are a welcome sight – and warmer temperatures on some February days give us confidence that we’ll be enjoying snow starting to melt and grass becoming green as February gives way to March.

This is a great time to check on your homes’ interior, decide what needs to be changed, purchased, cleaned or reworked. Often people want to perk up a room in their home for upcoming celebrations like Graduations or Weddings. Now is the time to get started on those projects.

When it comes to window treatments, the sky is the limit for style, design and investment. I always show my interior design clients Silhouettes® as they often are unaware that such a wonderful product exists. It allows filtered sunlight, privacy and insulation to enter your living spaces at the same time. It is one of several products that operate in this fashion, making it a very wise choice for window coverings.

The Silhouettes® are very popular, looking  simple and stunning simultaneously. The light relections are beautiful and allow amazing luminesence in your rooms. It is appealing to our eyes and also attracts bugs and debris. We offer our CamilyWand™ as bug removal solution when they invade the open areas between the vanes. Simply, it is an extension pole with a sticky CamilyTip that grabs anything it touches. Debris and bugs will easily stick to the tip, allowing you to easily remove the offending insect. Then your view will become unobstructed and your investment protected.

As you move into the spring months, keep these ideas in mind should you need an entire home of window treatments or want to perk up one room. The benefits are the same, and your home will reflect your great taste as you move into the celebration seasons of Spring and Summer.

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Honoring our Presidents Day with a Warm Weekend Getaway to Sunny Climates

Our Presidents Day holiday is coming soon, when many of us will be travelling to see friends and relatives or to visit warmer temperatures. For many years we traveled to Arizona to visit relatives on that weekend, escaping the Colorado weather for a few balmy days in the sun. The beautiful bouganvillea bushes were blooming everywhere, and there was colorful lantana.  Grapefruit or oranges ripe for picking, were the welcome sights to remind us of upcoming warmer temperatures.

For those of us who have lived or do live in northern areas with colder temperatures, the respite was always welcome. Many people escape to second homes or condos during winter to get relief from the snowy, colder weather. As beautiful as the sparkly white snow is, and as refreshing as a blanket of new snow appears, its always fun to spend a few days in Florida, Texas, Arizona, California or whatever southern area you’d like to visit.

When visiting or entertaining company, we want our homes to be at their best. Many of us have Silhouette® window shadings or blinds in our homes. Or we have Pirouettes®, Vignettes®, Luminettes® or Nantuckets™ made by Hunter Douglas, on our windows. These products provide superior insulation, views and privacy at the same time. They all have openings which allow debris and bugs to become lodged between the fabrics. Silhouettes® are especially vulnerable as they have large openings on the sides, and bugs are drawn to the light coming through the shadings.

We, at Camily, LLC, have sold Silhouette® shadings in our business for years and decided to manufacture our patented tool: CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ to provide a safe, easy bug removal system to keep your blinds and investment in excellent condition. Bugs left in the shadings can permanently damage the blind. Our tool has a simple sticky tip, the CamilyTip, at the end which grabs the bugs, moths or insects in the difficult to reach interior space between the vanes. We then remove it carefully so it doesn’t touch the fabric during removal, and we have a restored bug free view.

Our guests and families will be able to appreciate the outdoors with the insulative protection, privacy and view at the same time, when we have removed the offending pests. We want to keep our shadings free of debris and bugs, and should make that a part of our cleaning rituals and habits.

If you are travelling to a special place over the President’s Day holiday or relaxing at home, we wish you a safe trip and the opportunity to clearly see and enjoy Mother Natures offerings,  without any unwanted obstructions.

 

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Flowery Gentle Spring or Sparkly White Snow ’til mid March

Last weekend, on February 2nd, a famous little groundhog named Punxsatawney Phil crawled out of his hole and did not see his shadow. The legend says that there will be an early spring if he  doesn’t see his shadow. Those of us who are anxious for spring to arrive welcomed the great news. Woodstock Willy, with Lou Manfredini, the Ace Helpful Hardware Man, also predicted an early spring.

We are halfway through winter and will enjoy Valentines Day parties, St Patrick’s Day celebrations and many other get togethers as warmer weather arrives in the northern hemisphere. Those who are getting snow now will have moisture to water their gardens and vegetation. Some of us in drought areas will need to winter water to bring our flowering gardens to life in a few weeks.

From the inside of our homes, we will have new views to enjoy through our windows. Colorful tulip, daffodil, and crocus bulbs will be filling our gardens soon. I always enjoy seeing the crocuses peek through the snow during a spring snowstorm – such delicate blossoms covered with a sparkly snow blanket. When the temperatures are cold, the view of the garden through my Silhouette® blinds is stunning and cheerful. When the temperatures are cooler, the shades keep about 2/3 of the cold outside (when the vanes are open or closed), allowing that filtered view and great insulation.

Many people have Silhouettes® in their homes and have the problem of bugs or debris inbetween the vanes.  Our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ was invented to easily remove the bugs and little gnats or plant debris from those spaces. It’s perpetualy sticky CamilyTip makes it an easy, safe tool used to protect your investment in the Silhouette® shadings in your homes. When the tip gets dusty and dirty, it is easy to wash, dry and replace. We suggest washing the CamilyTip often to keep it as tacky as possible.

As we move towards spring, we have a perfect time to get at that spring cleaning. Then you’ll be able to get a great view of your flowery garden through your clean and bug free Silhouettes®. We hope you have a wonderful spring, as it may come sooner rather than later!

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Romance of Moonlight Evenings and Fading Darkness

We’re at the beginning of February and are enjoying our longer daylight: close to 30 minutes/day. That also means less romantic moonlight – as we’ve enjoyed with our recent full moon. We’re having colorful sunrises and sunsets to brighten our spirits.

As the darkness fades into the longer daylight hours, the sunlight angle brings different amounts of light into our homes. Sunlight coming in through uncovered windows will fade anything in its path over time. That includes flooring like wood, carpets and area rugs, fabrics and upholstered chairs and sofas. It will also damage artwork.

In that light, it is best to choose a window shading that will protect your interiors with the least amount of fading possible. Hunter Douglas has several shadings that provide UV protection while allowing filtered views of your landscapes or seascapes. They are Silhouettes®, Luminettes®, Pirouettes®, and Nantuckets™. There are also Shangri-La® and Illusions from other companies. You are able to see the difference in the sun shining on your floors, for example with the Silhouettes®, and no sun protection. Eventually wood and carpet will fade and fabrics will begin disintegrate. So it is important to keep the sun from fading your interiors and furnishings.

We often put Silhouettes® blinds in our clients’ homes for the very reason that they are able to have the insulation, views and privacy all with one shading. When they get bugs and debris between the vanes in their shade, they use our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ to easily and quickly remove the offending critters. You will save your Silhouette® from getting spots and preserve your view. Your UV protection with the Silhouette® is 99% when the vanes are closed for privacy and 88% when they are open for your filtered views.

Be sure to pay attention to your sun patterns and do your best to keep your fabrics and flooring in good condition by sparing them from the suns rays. That simple control will buy you years of life for your home furnishings.

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Glistening Low Sunshine Streaming into your Living Areas Brings you Peace

Favorite ideas and thoughts enter our minds during each season. We are in the middle of our winter months, when the temperatures dip, often to uncomfortable levels, and the daylight is shorter. Finding interesting and fun outdoor activities can be challenging. When it snows, we are blessed with moisture for our yards and gardens.  Special snow effects marking texture in our yards, and making marshmallow like formations as it covers plants and structures, provide interest that only happens in winter.

In such a beautiful atmosphere, there are enjoyable, sporting activities like ice hockey, ice skating, skiing, and sledding. Or we are able to enjoy sleigh rides driven by horses, and gorgeous walks in the snow. Teams of huskies pull sleds in The Iditarod Trail  Sled Dog Race in Alaska from Anchorage to Nome. Some people thrive in very cold areas, all providing entertainment outside.

As we warm up in the inside after enjoying our play time outside, we light fires in our fireplaces,  and enjoy hot toddies or hot chocolate. Our environment has many ways of absorbing warmth besides our household heating. Solar heat is especially effective with our windows in our homes. Smart use of our window shadings is available for us to save energy and keep your home and hearths warm and cozy.

Through those windows, we’re often able to watch people enjoying the wintertime sports. We use varied window coverings and are able to view the outside if we have Silhouettes® or similar treatments covering our glass. The Silhouettes® allow a filtered view along with energy savings and UV protection. They will often be a bug magnet, drawing them into the vanes and trapping them there as they cannot find their way out. When they get caught, it is important to remove them as soon as possible. We have invented a tool to solve that problem: our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™.  It’s sticky, removable, washable tip grabs the offending bugs, moths, flies and debris; it safely and easily removes the pesky bugs. Your shades will give you the unobstructed view you’ve come to expect from a superior window shading.

As you enjoy the advantages of winter, keep the fun times in mind and remember to keep the inside of your home and your window shadings in great shape. Our CamilyWand™ is a great tool to have on hand for your window shading cleaning needs. All of your favorite outside activities are sure to bring you closer to Mother nature to enjoy her gifts!

 

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Frosty, Sparkly, Snowy Days Bring Cozy Feelings

Our winters offer beauty like none other with gorgeous white snow, sunlight reaching us and entering our homes at a lower level. We spend more time feeling like enjoying the fireside, hot chocolate and the joys of being inside our homes. It’s time to consider what we would like to do to increase the joy of living and spending time in the comfort of our homes.  The light reflecting off the snow and into our homes is sparkly at sunrise and sunset times – special to witness.

Winter in the US gives us long southern sun exposure. The light and solar heat comes farther into our homes because of the suns’ angle and its location in the southern hemisphere. At sunrise and sunset, we always get sparkly light shining into our rooms, accented by blinds like Hunter Douglas Silhouettes®. They give us great UV protection on our interior furnishings – 88% when the vanes are open and 99% when closed. The sparkly effect happens when the vanes are open and the sun is at a low angle at dawn or dusk.

Because the Silhouettes® are such a great insulator, allowing views and privacy at the same time, they are very popular shadings. When they are in the down position with the vanes open, covering the glass, flies, bugs and debris tend to collect between the vanes. They are attracted by the golden, sparkly light, exactly what we enjoy. Once they get into the openings between the vanes, they are unable to find their way out. They often roast there and need to be removed. We invented and manufacture our CamilyWand™Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ for that chore as well as to reach other inaccessible places in your home. It is a simple, safe, easy to use tool that protects your Silhouette® blinds and keeps your investment looking like new for years to come. CamilyWand™ also works on shadings like Luminettes®, Pirouettes®, Nantuckets™, Shangri-La® and Illusions.

It’s a good idea to have our CamilyWand™ on hand for those times when a pesky bug mars your view. Removing the offending insect as soon as possible is best.

We want to help you keep your home and window shadings beautiful and have them serve you well for years to come. The gorgeous views will stay that way if you’re able to keep the bugs away from your vanes. Then you’ll enjoy your cozy feelings with your iridescent light from your shadings all through the year.

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New Beginnings for 2013: Prepare for a Fresh New Year with Endless Opportunities

The excitement of starting a New Year in 2013 is contagious! We are ready for changes, some we will control, and others that will turn into opportunities. Our challenge will be to recognize those chances to change our lives and surroundings. During our first few months we often focus on our interiors as it is wintry in many areas of the country, and often very cold outside, depending on the location you call home.

We have mentioned the suns’ placement in the atmosphere and its affects on our interiors in past blog posts. It cannot be stressed enough as to how this plays on our homes’ interiors. Interior furnishings take a beating from the sun when the windows are not covered with some sort of treatment. Most people consider privacy and insulation as the reason for window shadings. It goes much farther than that. Our blog post: Golden Sunshine….https://camilywand.com/?p=776  details information on different types of window shadings.

We want you to realize that ANY SUNLIGHT will cause fading of wood floors, furnishings and fabrics over time. This includes sunlight from the north, south, east and west. Often people think that northern outside light will not have this affect. Even when the sunlight doesn’t come in through the windows, there will be sunlight damage. Our sun is now moving north from the Tropic of Capricorn heading toward the Equator (on March 21st) and the Tropic of Cancer (on June 21st). With our holiday celebrations, people often miss that crucial sun event –  the Winter Solstice on December 21st.

When the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer in June, it has come as far north as it will. We are able to watch the suns’ movement by paying attention to the sunrises and sunsets in relation to the landscapes outside of our homes. From our Camily offices, we look at the sunset patterns as the sun sets behind our Rocky Mountain Front Range. The Tropic of Cancer is located at the latitude that goes through the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, the Bahamas, Africa and India. That is south of the continental United States, so none of us in the lower 48 states will ever have sunlight coming directly into our rooms from true north. But even when your rooms face north and you have awning protection outside, there will be fading in your interiors unless you have some great UV protection at your windows.

We suggest a product by Hunter Douglas called Silhouettes® to give you excellent UV protection while you’re able to enjoy your views. (The other products that provide similar UV protection are Luminettes®, Pirouettes®, and Nantuckets™.) They generally give you more than 85% UV reduction when they are in the open position with the shading covering the glass. This goes a long way to preserving your floors and furnishings  from sun fading and sun rot.

The shadings that provide so many great features also attract bugs and debris because the bugs love the light and move into the vanes to bask in the sun. They often die there, needing to be removed as soon as possible. They leave spots if they are left in the shading too long. We have invented CamilyWand™ to solve the sticky bug removal problem. It is the only commercial tool specifically developed for that purpose. It is an easy, safe, inexpensive solution for removing the pests that are attracted to the shadings.

As you plan your 2013 home improvement projects or plans for new construction, consider all the ramifications of your window covering solutions. We’ve passed through the short daylight hours and are heading toward longer daylight until mid-June. We have answers to your window covering concerns, and how they benefit the preservation and investment in your home furnishings through your selection of your shadings. We are here to help you.

 

 

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Holidays, Celebrations and Longer Days make Happy Positive Feelings

Amidst our Holiday Celebrations, we have many things to be grateful for. We’ve lived through the Winter Solstice on December 21st  and have enjoyed the Christmas and other religious celebrations this past week and month. It is a time of celebrations, times with friends and family or wonderful times to take time for each of us. We’ve taken time away from work, relaxed, and took time to reflect on our blessings and gifts.

According to the Mayan calendar, some believed the world would end on December 21st. People met at Chichen Itza, Mexico, and waited for the 5125 year calendar cycle to end.  When there was no apocalypse, those believers began to live in the next Mayan calendar.

That same day the Sun reached the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. It had been heading south, making the southern hemisphere enjoy summer, and is now heading north to give us longer daylight hours and in 6 months the longest daylight day of the year. It is important to watch the suns’ patterns to see how the light will affect your heat in your living environment.

I suggest that my clients make note of the areas where the sun hits their windows and realize that it is the reverse of the sun patterns we have just experienced as the sun headed south before the Winter Solstice. It is like a mirror image. The suns position on November 21st, 2012 will be similar to the one that will happen on January 21st, 2013. It continues on in that fashion until June 21st and then starts it way from the Tropic of Cancer to go south to the southern hemisphere again. And so it continues… on this cycle.

The window covering industry is continually inventing new types of blinds and window shadings to optimize views, energy, privacy and beauty. One of my favorite window shadings is the Silhouette® blind from Hunter Douglas. There are shadings with other attributes that fall into similar effeciencies like Nantuckets™, Pirouettes®, Vignettes®, Luminettes®, Shangri – Las® and Illusions®. Some of these are from various other companies. They are so beautiful, with the light changing during the day, that they are very popular shadings in many homes.

The light changes, especially in the Silhouettes®, attract insects and bugs into the tubular openings. They often get stuck, not finding their way out. We have invented and patented a tool to  remove the bugs and debris: CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™. It’s sticky tip gently and safely grabs the offensive insects, so you can remove them from the opening of the shading. This protects your views and investment in the shadings. The bugs will “cook” in the shadings if not removed. Should they stain the shading, the problem is greatly multiplied.  So it is a good idea to extract them as soon as you see them, rather than waiting. Permanently stained blinds require other more expensive removal systems, and may never become clean and looking like new again.

As we attack the problem, it is important to know the suns patterns, as well as plan ahead to your special celebrations and various holidays. For our present holiday time, the sun is further south, so there is less chance of doing major harm than when the sun is closer to us in the northern hemisphere. It would be best to tackle your bug removal, should you have an issue, when it is not as hot, to save your investment.

We hope these ideas that we’ve presented in our blog posts in 2012 will help you have increased joy in your living environment. We wish you a very Happy New Year and the Best of Everything in 2013!