(ARA) - Do images of flowering trellises laden with yellow, pink, green and purple blooms dance through your dreams? You may be ready for some warm spring-like temperatures, but the weather outside is still a little frightful. Ignore the weather and bring spring inside with some indoor gardening.

Not only does bringing spring inside help brighten your home, but houseplants can also improve the quality of the air you're breathing. A NASA study found that houseplants remove up to 87 percent of toxic indoor air inside a sealed chamber within 24 hours.

By planting now, while winter is still in the air, you will have vegetables, herbs and flowers primed for transplanting when warmer weather finally arrives. And since they're inside, you can watch the plants as they shoot their little green stems out of the fresh dirt, monitoring them as they grow.

* Use loose potting soil to promote root growth. Outside, worms and insects tunnel through the dirt, naturally breaking it up to help plants spread their roots. To mimic their effect indoors, use potting soil mixed with peat moss, vermiculite and perlite to create a light texture that won't compact after a couple of waterings.

* Make sure the natural light is adequate. Some plants like direct sunlight and must be located near a south-facing window, while others prefer a few hours of indirect light. But to really keep your herbs and flowers looking strong all season long, consider using artificial light like the Grow Light Pro White from Wards.com, which can also help you get your spring garden started early with seedlings. The Grow Light has four lights that can be turned on as a unit or individually, and it has an adjustable bottom shelf so you can alter the light level as your plants grow.

When plants don't get the light they need, they start to appear thin and frail. As your plants begin to grow, make sure to rotate the pots so the stems grow straight, rather than bending unnaturally toward the source of light.

* Keep the humidity level above 50 percent with a humidifier. Not only will your plants appreciate the extra moisture, but so will you. When the humidity drops below 50 percent, most plants suffer from water loss through their leaves, and it's difficult to regain that water balance, even with frequent watering.

* Really bring spring inside your home with beautiful pots and decorating accents. Visit Wards.com to find beautiful and creative birdhouses that not only are functional, but stylish enough to hang inside. Consider hanging a wire birdhouse in the shape of an acorn in the kitchen window, or using a set of two birdhouses as a unique decoration for your entryway.

* Mix art and fun together with some ivy. Ivy topiaries are very easy to grow, and there are many creative planters and forms you can use to support the ivy as it winds its way toward the sun. Are you a music fan? A guitar and music stand with little pots incorporated into the design can help brighten up your living room. Or maybe you prefer a vintage look created by placing a Madeline Dress Form over your vines, allowing them to grow and construct the skirt. Both styles are available at Wards.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Do you know what kind of wood to use in your planned woodworking project?  Be careful of the wood you choose. There are numerous species and each has different characteristics, so you might never know which one will best work for you. Some woods may be too tough and some may be too malleable.

Moreover, there are particular types that are best for cabinets, machineries, moldings, boat building and more. Some also easily finish and some don't. Here's a good summary of the qualities of the different kinds of wood for your woodwork projects. I've broken the list into Hardwoods and Softwoods.

Hardwood

Mahogany:

This is used for making highly-valuable woodworking projects such as cabinets, musical instruments, veneers and wood facings, patterns, and boat building. It has a reddish brown color and fine grains. It is so durable that it resists shrinking, warping and swelling.

Walnut:

It is fine textured, easy to work with, and strong. It can end up being an excellent material for a quality woodworking project because of its “velvety natural colored sheen” when sanded.

Oak:

It can resist moisture absorption, is durable and finishes well. It can be a bit heavy and strong but bends easily. It is used for more complex woodworking projects like outdoor furniture, trimming, baskets, boat framing, desks, chairs and flooring.

Maple:

This type of wood can shrink moderately and has a fine texture. It usually defies denting and decay and doesn't split easily when screwed or nailed. Because of its unvarying color, it is best used when making first-rate woodworking projects such as woodenware and excellent furniture.

Softwoods

Pine:

It is rather stiff, has uniform texture and is soft and light. It has “low resistance” to shock and easily glues and holds nails and screws as well. It is usually utilized in the construction of houses, paneling, caskets, crates, boxes, furniture and molding.

Hemlock:

"Non-resinous,” can defy low decay, light weight, uniformly textured. It can be glued without difficulty but can be a bit brittle. It is usually used for building construction, lumber, sidings, doors, paneling and sub flooring.

Fir:

It has uniform texture and is “non-resinous.” It can also defy low decay. It is commonly used when making furniture frames, doors, windows, plywood, interior trims and veneer.

So, have you decided which one to use for your woodworking project? Take note that some types of woods may not be readily made available in your your area so it is a good idea to visit your local lumber store before you start planning your projects. Also, some wood will cost more that other varieties.

If you want a detailed summary and reviews of a lot more wood than I listed check out the Wood Bin Woodworking site - click here

Good woodwork always starts with a good plan.  It’s literally your blueprint to success and luckily for you, there are now thousands of brilliantly designed plans available over the internet which you could easily have access.  Your vast selection even provides you with options to acquire exquisite plans for absolutely no price at all.

It is very easy to find great looking and free woodwork plans online, but not all of them might apply to your project.  Before downloading, double check for the following fundamentals first to ensure a smooth flow of your project once you have already begun.

Measurement: Don’t mistake inches for centimeters and feet for meters.  Check the unit of measurement used for the entire project to see if the plan meets your requirements.  A good plan has everything measured so you won't have to assume the length of anything – a useful feature especially for beginners.

Materials: Read through the materials required by the plan.  Some of them may not be available in your area or may be too expensive so check first if you can substitute other materials for them.  Also, do some research to find out if the materials required by the plan are actually suited for its design (e.g. whether a certain kind of wood is suitable to be used as a desk’s base) and if they are a good match for your needs. If you need to build a shelf that will be placed in a humid area, you should use wood that does well in damp areas like cedar.

Complexity: Even simple-looking woodwork may require a certain level of skill to finish.  Examine the plan and decide whether you are capable of handling it given your skills.  Look for added features on website that could probably scale-down a highly complex plan to a simple one for beginners.  If you really want to pursue a plan you saw on the internet that requires advanced techniques, you can have it modified and simplified by a professional craftsman in your area. Or check with a friend that is into woodworking. He might be able to provide advice on a simple technique to complete something in the free plans.

Copyright: If you are planning to sell your woodwork, especially in bulk, then you should see first if the plan you have downloaded actually allows you to do so.  Remember that it’s not your design so you may not have the right to implement it other than for personal use.

To purchase 12,000 plans, which include: 100 wooden toy plans, over 80 garden furniture plans, 100s of outdoor building plans and many more wood plans, please click on wood shed plans for more information on the My Shed Plans Elite package.

For Free plans for outdoor projects, please click on real cedar.

Good luck with your projects.

A new year and a new decade. What are your dreams and goals for this year? Dreams are great. Think big and when you have your dreams make them into goals. The bigger the goal the better. If your goal is too small you may never get to it. But if it is big and something you really want, you can work towards getting it done.

A few keys to completing your goals:

• Break your goal into smaller tasks - it feels great to get things completed and make progress on your goal
• Set dates to complete tasks and goals - setting a date provides good pressure and helps you progress on your goal
• Write your goal, tasks and dates down and post it somewhere you can see it every day - this will reinforce your goal and keep you focused
• Keep track of when you complete something on your task list - this will show your progress on your main goal
• Don't be discourage if you miss a date on your list - don't give up, reevaluate and set a new date

One goal this year is to complete a new deck on the back of our house. Last year we completed our building deck plan and this year we will complete the deck. My first task is to complete my task list for this goal.

All the best in 2010 and good luck with your dreams and goals this year!

Peter