All posts by EPR Network

Products To Beautify Your Garden Decor

If you’ve run out of fresh ideas and do not know how to keep the scene in your backyard going, why not consider some of the following product selections. They will certainly give your garden a new look. Whether you want to mix and match products or give your garden that relaxing feel, don’t scratch your hair out of frustration. Just look for the following products and watch your hard labor come to fruition. Of course no one said beautifying your garden would be easy. As in any designing project, planning well is always harder than its execution. Get your pen and pad out and start planning with some of these products in mind.

Garden Stones
Decorative garden stones are ideal for giving your outdoor space a more elegant, interesting look while still being practical. Garden stones come in a wide variety of different sizes and shapes, and many offer a motif that might be near and dear to your heart, like the “Gather” garden stone, designed with colorful butterflies, the“Love Blooms Here” garden stone, complete with fairies, butterflies and flowers in an ivory finish, or the “Love” Garden stone, which features text, boldly colored dragonflies and water lily blooms. You can pick one type of garden stone and use several of them throughout your space to create a walkway or you can pick different ones to mix and match throughout your garden.

Urn Fountains
Urn fountains are a subdued yet noticeable addition to any garden. Urn fountains are made from faux-stone materials that look surprisingly real up close, and the graceful curves and shape of the fountain, along with the delicate stream of water emanating from the fountain are sure to give your garden a relaxing feel.

Acorn Fountains
Acorn fountains have a traditional look much like the alabaster fountains you probably grew up seeing in your neighbors or grandmother’s garden. Made from ivory alabastrite, acorn fountains look just like real stone, and the bright, vibrant color is sure to get the attention of visitors. Place an acorn fountain in the middle of your garden as a marvelous centerpiece. Not only will the fountain be beautiful, but the added visual interest will really make the colors of your flowers and plants pop.

Wind Chimes
Wind chimes are a beautiful, soothing addition to your garden or outdoor space. Wind chimes come in a variety of different materials and styles. The most common type is classic aluminum wind chimes, which produce soft, gentle tones throughout the day and night. If you’re looking for something more decorative, consider acrylic hummingbird chimes, which are adorned with colorful hummingbirds. For the ocean lover, acrylic dolphin wind chimes can bring a bit of the sea right to your own backyard. You can also add delicate rhythmic sounds to your garden by adding natural or coated bamboo chimes to your garden. If you have a very large outdoor area, consider mixing and matching different types of wind chimes or buying multiple sets.

Antique-Style Ivory or Sage Duck Décor
Adding an antique-style ivory or sage duck statue to your garden is a great way to add a bit of color and whimsy to your space. The weathered finish of the statue gives your wood duck a delightful old-time feel, similar to those found in the gardens of yesteryear. Choose just one or two duck statues, or if you have a small pond or fountain, purchase multiple ducks to make a charming outdoor scene for your garden. You can even put other animal statues like roosters or chickens nearby to give your area a bit of a wild farm feel. Don’t spend your money on antique statues from consignment shops and flea markets when you can buy high-quality new ones that will last longer for just a fraction of the cost.

Barnyard Birdhouse
What garden would be complete without singing birds? Adding the barnyard birdhouse to one of your nearby trees with area-appropriate food and water will definitely draw beautiful avian creatures right to your home. Large enough for a small family of birds, the barnyard birdhouse will add a rustic look to your garden.

Blue Floral Planters
If you have herbs, vegetables or flowers that you prefer to grow in planters rather than in the ground, planters painted in a Delft style are perfect for almost any space because the vibrant Delft blue and crystal clear white will match anything you put in them. You can choose to buy blue floral planters in a variety of different sizes and with or without a drain hole depending on your needs.

Butterfly Garden Stakes
Garden stakes are purely decorative items that bring extra life and color to your garden. No garden is truly finished until there are beautiful butterflies floating around, but luckily, you can add them yourself! Butterfly garden stakes come in a translucent red color that catches the sun and makes them glimmer in the light. Try adding butterfly garden stakes along walkways or within groups of plants that need a burst of color. Butterfly garden stakes can also be used as decorative reminders to prune or trim certain items in your garden the next day or week.

Bullfrog Garden Solar Light
If you want to keep your garden glowing at night without the cost of expensive solar or electric lights, bullfrog garden solar lights can do the job while adding a fun, whimsical style to your garden. Bullfrog garden solar lights are made with a high-quality poly-resin for durability in all conditions.

There you have it, affordable, useful, durable and stylish decor that’ll beautify your garden. Hopefully these ideas and great products have livened up your day as they will certainly lighten up your garden for days, months, even years. Most of all you can get all these products at affordable prices. For more decorative products and ideas to beautify your garden, visit Affordable home decor.

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Don’t forget to contact us at robert.laurin@rogers.com, or call 1-613-793-2901 or visit http://www.shopatyourconvenience.com for more ideas.

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iPhone-iPad App Brings Mobile Technology To Construction Industry

If you have ever been involved in a construction project, chances are that you have celebrated the day that you can walk through and create a punch list of items that await final completion. Construction Punch Lists mobile application by Moore Quality Apps now allows anyone to create and e-mail a professional punch list directly from the job site.

“For years the construction industry has used pen and paper to create punch lists and the process may take several days before it’s distributed. From home building to commercial construction, mobile technology now allows the process to be easier and faster” said Josh Moore, owner of Moore Quality Apps. “I recently used the Construction Punch Lists app on a large office project and realized that this dream had become a reality.”

Construction Punch Lists by Moore Quality Apps is now available worldwide on iTunes. Features include multiple project lists, integrating pictures and contacts directly from the device, and sorting items before sending. The application can be used on an iPhone or iPad and can be purchased in English and Español. For more information, visit www.constructionpunchlists.com.

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Inventory Management Specialist Phillip Slater Releases New e-Book The Optimization Trap

In a move that capitalizes on technology’s ability to provide written works through mobile devices and financially supports community philanthropies, The Optimization Trap has been recently released exclusively in digital format. Written by inventory management expert Phillip Slater, the book is now available on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, iPad, Sony, and other e-readers. Mr. Slater’s previous books were published in hard copy by Industrial Press, New York, the world’s oldest industrial education publisher.

Mr. Slater will donate 100% of the proceeds from this e-Book to the Initiate Action Community Fund, a sub fund of The Australian Communities Foundation (ACF), that Phillip and Mercedes Slater established in 2011 to support educational initiatives and causes.  The Australian Community Foundation (previously Melbourne Community Foundation) aims to generate and distribute philanthropic resources to address emerging social issues and to meet the needs of its communities.

“Digitally publishing The Optimization Trap achieves many goals for me: the digital format not only provides readers with more accessibility, but it costs less to purchase. Using a digital format also allows us to channel 100% of the proceeds into our Initiate Action Community Fund which supports various educational causes through ACF,” said Mr. Slater.

Following years of helping companies improve their profit and reduce working capital, Mr. Slater wrote The Optimization Trap to help managers understand why optimization programs often fail to achieve their intended results. The book exposes the pitfalls of optimization programs while offering viable solutions. Based on Mr. Slater’s years of experience in inventory management, he identifies optimization traps and illustrates how to remedy these and achieve peak performance in operations.

“Improving operational outcomes typically involves optimization. It is what managers do. However, sometimes when seeking to optimize, people take actions that, without realizing it, limit both their options and their results. This is what I call the Optimization Trap,” stated Mr. Slater. “How do you make sure that you don’t get caught in the optimization trap and, if you do, how do you get free? This book identifies the key principles to both identify and be free of the ‘trap’.”

Similar to best selling management books such as The Goal, Who Moved My Cheese, and Fish!, The Optimization Trap uses an easy to read narrative style. By using inventory management as the example, Mr. Slater is able to address familiar, realistic everyday scenarios faced by managers and discuss how to apply the principles for avoiding the Optimization Trap. This book speaks not just to inventory managers; its tips and principles are applicable to any situation where managers are seeking to achieve optimal performance in its operations.

For Kindle users, please access the ebook The Optimization Trap via Phillip Slater author’s page at Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/L9npFE

For PDF (PC or Mac), EPUB (iPad, Nook and most ebook readers) please visit:http://bit.ly/L9nusU

For more information about the Initiate Action Community Fund, go to:http://bit.ly/MhynZ1

For video of Mr. Slater summarizing a number of his books, including The Optimization Trap, please visit http://youtu.be/q762uyFFjWs

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Carrentals.co.uk Introduces New, Enhanced Website

Online car hire price comparison specialist Carrentals.co.uk has announced the launch of its latest website, which it has put together in consultation with customers and site users.

The online comparator, which helps travellers and tourists source cheap car hire from more than 50 top name suppliers, surveyed its users and worked customer feedback into the new site’s design and functionality.

The end result is a site which offers users simpler navigation through search results, better filtering functionality and a faster, cleaner user interface.

Gareth Robinson, Managing Director of Carrentals.co.uk, says: “It’s great to be able to announce the introduction of our latest website incarnation, and we’re pleased to have been able to engage our users in the process. Customers will now be able to find cheap car hire around the world more quickly and easily than ever.”

“Our users should enjoy the improved navigation and simpler, cleaner interface – and we think that this will help us to consolidate our place at the top end of the travel industry.”

Since launching in 2003 Carrentals.co.uk has grown to become one of the UK’s leading car hire comparison websites booking over 650,000 rentals to date and celebrated its 5th birthday as a comparator in February 2012.

Carrentals.co.uk compares car hire to find the best available vehicle and price from up to 50 rental companies including Alamo, Auto Europe, Budget, Holiday Autos and Sixt, in over 15,000 locations worldwide.

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Gift For The Groom

On the months leading up to the wedding, and even on the day of, it’s all about the bride. But there’s an easy way to make the groom feel honored with a keepsake briefcase named The Football, created by Urban Mercenaries LLC. This all-in-one party kit is housed in a masculine, aluminum case, personalized for the groom to celebrate what will hopefully be the best decision he’s ever made.

It can be used for the bachelor party (handcuffs included) or on the day of the wedding to ease his jitters, headache, bloodshot eyes, distract him with a card game or just to freshen his breath. For the generous groom, it can even be the gift he gives to the men in his wedding party to commemorate his big day.

Whatever the use, the man who receives this will appreciate being thought of and will always have the case as a reminder of what an amazing wife, group of friends or family he has. The Football can be purchased at www.urbanmercenaries.com.

The Football retails for $499.99 and includes a 17 inch aluminum case custom fitted in black velvet covered foam, a plaque engraved with a short, custom message, handcuffs, 375 ml of Grey Goose Vodka, 375 ml of Patron Tequila, 4 shot glasses, choice of either Red Bull or Rave Juice energy shots, bottle opener, Advil, Tums, eye drops, Altoids, cards, dice and an empty cocktail shaker which can be filled with whatever the groom likes – cigarettes, cigars, lighter, gum, energy bar or other snacks.

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The World’s Top Selling Stock Photographer Yuri Arcurs Launches His Own Direct Sales Platform (PeopleImages.com) To Pave The Way For Other Creatives

As off today www.PeopleImages.com is officially out of beta testing mode and live! For years, the major stock agencies have been pushing commissions lower and lower, reaching an all time low of 15% last year making it almost impossible for photographers to gain profit from selling their images online. This can be seen in comparison to Apple’s iTunes store where the artists receive a 70% commission for their work. Furthermore, with the introduction of micro prices in 2005, the stock industry has been under enormous pressure and few photographers have been able to survive of their meager earnings.

With www.PeopleImages.com Danish born Yuri Arcurs has shown that it is possible to make it on your own and sell directly to your customers. His site introduces services that all other artists would be able to offer clients, but which agencies would have a problem providing: Custom retouching, image exclusivity options and the ability to request more images of a specific model or particular style.

Quotes:
Lee Torrens (stock photography journalist – microstockdiaries.com)
“With the launch of PeopleImages.com, the hard work and smart decisions of Yuri’s stock photography career come together in a lucrative business model that no other stock photographer is positioned to pull off. What’s more, it pulls market power back from stock photo agencies who have been dropping photographer royalties for years.”

Jenan Mujkic (10 years experience in buying images online – sneezr.ca)
“This site makes all other sites look like they are from the last century. Take note, PeopleImages.com just jumped a curve!”

Yuri Arcurs: (Photographer, creator of PeopleImages.com)
“Very few people that buy images know how small a percentage of the actual sales price the artists receive. It’s a shame, because the small artists have a hard enough time already.”

http://arcurs.com/2012/06/www-peopleimages-com-has-launched-a-post-about-how-it-got-there/

Quotes from the text:

“Managing six IT guys would prove to be more time-consuming and more difficult than managing my entire business.”

“Very few people will tell you to your face “this will not work” or “we need to delete 1,000 hours of code work because it will create bugs.” Especially not if they are hired by you.”

“News of the launch was leaked to the media three days before our original launch date, and it was posted on the front page of the biggest newspaper in Denmark. It became quite clear what we had to do. We had to launch now. Not in in three days. Not tomorrow. Now.”

“All the tools that a normal manager can use to direct a project are inaccessible to an IT manager that is not a developer themselves.”

“We, as artists, are perfectionists, we have to be, but for a perfectionist to ever create anything great, you must be able to say: “Stop – Enough with the details!” and settle with the less attractive option.”

“Programmers love detailed planning, and most other people do, too, but great interactive design was never arrived at from the very first go-ahead. It is, by its very nature, an experimental process and you will find yourself often arriving at the best solutions when you start using the interface yourself. The only problem is at this point somebody has already had to build it and be ready to discard it.”

“We discarded the whole site two times and had to start over. Most people would consider that a total flop, a loss in all ways, but it ended up getting us closer and closer to having a thorough understanding of how the site would need to behave.”

“Preparing for the launch event, I had a 6min live TV spot lined up on the launch date in front of 1.5 million viewers. I was extremely lucky to get this pitched to the editor in such a way that they ended up running the story. But when it actually was about to unfold I was more nervous than I have ever been prior to any interview. I only had about 15 hours of sleep the last week before the launch, and had to be ready to go live at 8am in the morning with 4 hours of “airplane sleep” – and, naturally with all the stress involved in the launch, I fell ill the day before the TV spot. It was simply madness, but it had to be done and it had to be done well.”

Get a personal comment from Yuri for your article him directly on yuri@arcurs.com or his assistant on alessa@arcurs.com.

If you are creating an article we will grant you any image you would like from PeopleImages.com and set you up with a VIP account with $150 already on it. This should take care of any need of images you have for the article and still leave a decent amount on your account which you can use as you see fit.

We can process such requests very fast. Send to: support@peopleimages.com

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Payday Loans Paid Enter the UK Payday Lending Market

Paydayloanspaid.co.uk has entered the payday loans online market in the United Kingdom. With a team of financial experts who bring with them an inordinate amount of experience in the unsecured loans sector in the UK, they aim to bring something different into the challenging internet, payday lending sector.

Head of online operations, Jenny Statham explained, ‘’Many payday loan applications are declined from a number of the main lenders in the United Kingdom due to their reliance on passing one application. Our payday loans are slightly different in that we can use our strong relationships with some of the payday lenders to ensure the majority of the applications are approved.”.

Payday loans are a somewhat sensitive subject and have featured heavily in the mainstream British press in recent times, but it appears they could be featuring in the UK lending sector for some time. With some APR’s of payday loans surpassing 4 figures, they have – in some quarters – been rightly criticised. Jenny Statham added, ‘’ we try to make sure any potential applicant are fully aware of the associated costs that come with the payday loan agreement they enter into.  Our advice to people who are considering entering into a payday loan agreement with  a lender they have sourced through Paydayloanspaid.co.uk is to primarily focus on the repayment terms, if they are unable to meet the repayments costs then it is important they do not take on the payday loan.”

With a plethora of payday loan operators frequenting the internet it can be difficult to decide what lender to choose from.  Jenny Statham advised, ‘’if you are looking to secure a payday loan, it is important not to use the first lender you find. Spend some time researching the different providers to ensure you get the very best deal. As there are so many in competition with each other now, there could be some great deals to be found out there”.

Paydayloanspaid.co.uk is one of countless payday loan lenders in the United Kingdom in what some commentators are calling a ‘’saturated market”. They hope, however, to hit the ground running with an easy to use online portal, quality customer service and modest acceptance rates for new applications. Jenny concluded, ‘’we hope to attract people to our online portal who may not have used a payday loan, but have the capacity to service the loan, as new applications will typically have a greater chance of being accepted for a payday loan through our approval system”.­­­­­

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About Paydayloanspaid.co.uk
Paydayloanspaid.co.uk are an online payday loans brokerage. They provide small, short term cash loans for people who are resident within the United Kingdom. They have an online application portal that facilitates new and existing payday loan applications.

Further information – paydayloanspaid.co.uk

General enquiries – support@paydayloanspaid.co.uk

121Carhire.com Advises Olympics Fans to Book Car Hire Well in Advance

Leading car hire bookings website 121carhire.com has reported high demand for car hire with just 50 days until the Olympic Games.

The website has seen bookings spike around the Olympics recently – with nearly 50% of reservations made for the period between 20 July and 11 August.

Sports fans from overseas have also been booking car rental in big numbers – with 121Carhire.com reporting reservations from places including New Zealand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Michael Bond, spokesperson for 121carhire.com, says, “We’ve seen a big jump in demand for cars lately, and with just 50 days until the Olympics we advise early booking.”

“With people travelling into the UK from all over the world the way to ensuring great value and plenty of choice is to book well in advance of the Games this summer.”

121Carhire.com reports that the top 5 countries booking Olympic Games car hire between 20 July and 11 August are:

Top 5 Countries Booking Car Hire –

1. Great Britain
2. USA
3. The Netherlands
4. Italy
5. Switzerland

To check the latest offers and availability, visit www.121carhire.com.

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Leighmans Announces Ten Years of Success in Branded Gifts Sector

Incentives and rewards specialist Leighmans this week announces that it is celebrating ten years in the gifts and rewards industry.

Darren Leigh founded the Bury-based business a decade ago and the company has enjoyed exponential success since. Demand for innovative, different and best selling products which help companies to incentivize their staff and customers.

Since its foundation a decade ago Leighmans has gone from strength to strength and today enjoys a strong reputation in the industry for innovative products and solutions.

In addition to establishing itself as one of the industry’s leading players, Leighmans has enjoyed exponential financial success. The company is set to exceed the £1 million turnover level this year.

Darren Leigh, Leighmans.com founder and managing director, commented: “It’s a great honour to be announcing our tenth anniversary and we’re delighted to be on course for the £1 million turnover target. It’s a great endorsement of the way we work and how we help our customers.”

Leighmans.com offers over 100,000 products, from branded ladies umbrellas through tocase logic bags and much more. Leighmans also boasts an in-house design department which is able to tailor products to customer specifications.

Darren Leigh went on: “We’re delighted to continue helping our customers set themselves apart from the competition. Branded and customized corporate goods and gifts are a fantastic way to incentivize and reward people.”

For more information visit www.leighmans.com, or follow the company on Twitter@Leighmans.com.

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Parcel2Go Helping Small Businesses to Beat Royal Mail Price Increase

Small firms feeling the squeeze following the Royal Mail’s decision to increase the price of first and second class stamps at the end of last month are being offered a helping hand by Bolton-based online parcel delivery firm Parcel2Go.

The company says businesses and individuals can try to beat the Royal Mail price increase by becoming Parcel2Go users and benefitting from the vast range of reliable and cost-effective UK express delivery solutions available through the website.

With just a few clicks of a mouse, customers can order delivery services from some of the world’s major courier companies such as FedEx, Parcelforce and Yodel. Changes to the way Royal Mail prices parcels means people will be better off sending any consignment weighing more than 750g through Parcel2Go.

Parcel2Go’s marketing director Richard Mercer said: “We understand how much pressure consumers and small businesses are under at the moment, which is why we are urging people to see if they are able to get a better deal on their package deliveries through the Parcel2Go website.

“Our quick quote function makes it simple and extremely fast to get a price for a delivery, but that simple move could result in a sizeable saving. What’s more, because we only deal with the world’s top courier firms, individuals and businesses always know their consignments are in safe hands.”

Convenience matters to everyone, which is why the Collect+ services available through Parcel2Go have become so popular. Customers not able to meet a courier to pick up their package can choose instead to drop it off at one of the 3,000 corner shops and convenience stores in the UK that make up the Collect+ network.

“Convenience, speed, reliability and affordability are what we’re about,” said Mr Mercer. “We’re calling on everyone affected by the recent Royal Mail price hike to see if they could save, and get a better service though Parcel2Go.”

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For further information contact:
Les Yates
Marketing Executive
Telephone: 08713 308066
Email: l.yates@parcel2go.com
Website: http://www.parcel2go.com