THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501270104
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Around The House
SOURCE: By Mary Flachsenhaar, Special To Home & Garden
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
SOME FOLKS collect stamps.
Some folks collect thimbles.
And some, apparently, collect trading cards with pictures of tools on them.
Craftsman Tools Collector Cards are the ``latest collecting craze,'' boldly announces a recent press release from Sears, which has been producing, and presumably selling, these cards for three years.
Available in the store's hardware departments, the trading cards are sold in 99-cent packs of 12. A pack includes 10 tool cards, each with a picture of a tool on one side, some tool tidbits on the back. A pack also has one ``Great American Home'' card, with a picture of and facts about one of the historical homes, such as Mark Twain's, maintained and preserved by Sears.
As if that weren't enough, each pack also contains one ``Bob Vila Wild Card,'' which is a coupon for a 10 percent to 30 percent discount on a variety of Craftsman products.
Who says a dollar won't buy anything these days? Back to the Fifties
History repeats itself, and so do decorating trends.
In the early 1950s, according to the current issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, the fashionable kitchen had a stainless steel sink and range. Later in the decade, that industrial look was replaced by a pink-and-turquoise color scheme.
Remember coppertone, avocado and harvest gold? Kitchen appliances glowed in those colors throughout the '60s and '70s. Then almond was the rage, followed by black and then stark white in the '80s, reports the magazine.
It's the '90s and stainless steel is back, which some of us consider good news. The bad news is, can pink-and-turquoise be far behind? Earth-friendly resolutions
The January issue of Country Living magazine wishes the planet a Happy New Year with a long list of suggested resolutions for those of us who inhabit it. Here are a few of them:
Precycle. Purchase goods in packaging that can be recycled or goods that feature less packaging in the first place.
Find alternatives to wrapping paper and tape. Substitute the Sunday comics, scraps of fabric or a reusable receptacle, such as a clay pot or a basket. Use raffia, string or colorful ribbon to secure the package.
Instead of throwing out old reading materials, start a lending library of magazines, newspapers and paperbacks in the neighborhood or at the office.
Show support for farmers who forgo the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides by buying organic produce and other foods when available. ILLUSTRATION: Sears' Craftsman Tools Collector Cards come in packs of 12.
by CNB