From Blip.fm - Tommy James & the Shondells

Ahhhh yes. . .Tommy James & the Shondells' "Crimson & Clover." Honey, they're playing our song! ♫ http://blip.fm/~79pkv

LILAC BEDDING SETS

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Lilac or lavender and yellow are one of my favorite bedroom color schemes. Add a pretty set of lilac bedding or an old fashioned patchwork quilt with blocks made up of vintage lilac prints topped off with some "chipped" shabby chic decor like a recycled, rusty chandelier and I’m in seventh Heaven. Just give me a romantic novel and I'm good for the weekend.

Sadly, a wide variety of lilac bedding is as scarce as hen’s teeth to find ready made. Chances are to get just the right balance of fabrics with large lilac flowers and tiny prints, you may have to pull out the old sewing machine and make your own quilt or ask a doting grandmother to dig into her treasure trove of vintage, lilac print quilting fabrics.

Homemade lilac print bedding sets are perfect for either a shabby chic, cottage or vintage style bedroom decorating ideas for girls. Buy an inexpensive pair of sheer lace curtains to cover the windows that will decorate without completely blocking the bright sunlight with its sunny yellow, mood lifting properties. And add a rag rug to the floor that has been braided in colors of purple, green, lavender, yellow and lilac to pick up the colors from your quilt blocks and you, my friend, are in business!

These colors will complement your lilac print bedding set by pulling all the best colors from the cottage garden that you remember from lazy, daisy carefree days spent at the country cottage or the family beach house. In fact, it might be an excellent idea to venture out and pick a pretty nosegay of flowers to put in a vase or a jelly jar on the bedside table. What a pleasant sight that would be to your sleepy eyes when waking from a relaxing afternoon nap. I can only imagine how lovely it would be to lounge without a care in the world in a bed dressed up with luxury lilac bed linens and sheets that come with most lilac bedding sets.

Return to Tween and Teenage Girls Lilac Bedding Sets and Bedroom Decorating Ideas for more tips on choosing colors that are both pleasing and peaceful for your home.

From Blip.fm - Cub

An oldie but a goodie to brighten everyone's day! "Satan sucks, but you're the best!" ♫ http://blip.fm/~77eo3

From Blip.fm - Neko Case

Because she simply makes me happy, I must share some Neko Case with you. . . ♫ http://blip.fm/~75oi7

AQUA BEDDING SETS - BEACH COTTAGE BEDROOM IDEAS

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The surf’s up and the ocean temps are rising. Requests for aqua bedding sets and aqua bedroom ideas start rolling in almost as predictably and reliably as the ebb and flow of the endless tide. This seasonal color trend in teenage girls’ bedroom decor has yet to miss a year for as long as I’ve been involved in bedroom design.

Even when I lived way up north where summer was so late to arrive that the mention of swimming never occurred to me until late June, teens came back from spring break with the intention of bringing their tropical vacation home with them. You could count on these well traveled young girls having ideas of decorating their bedrooms based on decorations that were used in their rented beach cabana and the many shades of blue they saw reflected in the sea. Aqua blue bedding is always a big hit in one style or another.


PATTERNS and PRINTS

Stripes and polka dots have been very popular with this age group but there have been more than a few beach bunnies lately that have chosen blue floral bedding over navy, teal and aqua bedding in plaids, stripes or polka dots. When I say floral, this is not your grandmother’s floral print. These tropical prints are as far from granny’s flowers as a palm leaf is from old fashioned ivy. Splashes and layers of ice blue aqua graphics grounded by teal green and navy are as fresh and bracing as salt spray no matter how many miles you happen to be from the nearest beach or your favorite island.

SHEETS

If your teenage girl likes to mix it up, even with tropical print aqua blue bedding sets, there is still room for a few dots or stripes. Black and white polka dot sheets might be the perfect background for the wild aqua blue bedding set even if the comforter is covered in bright green hibiscus flowers.

THE WALLS

An aqua bedroom is a natural choice for a beach cottage look. If the idea of being surrounded by four aqua walls is unappealing, consider painting three walls white and paint an accent wall a shade of aqua that matches your aqua bedding set.

Return to Tween and Teenage Girls Aqua Bedding Sets and Bedroom Decorating Ideas for more tips on decorating in teal green, aqua and navy blue.

The Benefits of Outdoor Home Improvement

Home Improvement – Outdoor encompasses all the improvements that can be made to the exterior of the home to make it more comfortable, usable, stylish and safe. It involves a range of areas and professionals working together in order to give the homeowner a space that is perfectly suitable for their needs within their budget and that also adheres to council requirements and other building codes

Home Improvement: Improve Your Home’s Energy Efficiency with ENERGY STAR

Making your home more energy efficient with ENERGY STAR can help to reduce high energy bills, improve comfort and help to protect the environment. Improving energy efficiency is also an important first step for homeowners interested in green remodeling. ENERGY STAR can guide you in making your home more efficient — whether you do-it-yourself or hire a qualified professional.

Pink and Black Wallpaper for Girls' Bedrooms

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You will not get any argument whatsoever from me that the current leader in pink and black wallpaper for teenage girls’ bedrooms is polka dots. Whether the dotted walls were created using polka dot decals and stickers or by using a stencil to paint the circles by hand; dots have ruled the roost for the best part of several seasons in the area of bedroom wall decor.

Far be it from me to suggest that the time may have come for black and pink wallpaper cutouts in polka dot designs to step down in favor of some other trendy color combination. Frankly, I am just as in love with them as when I decorated my first bedroom using them quite a few projects ago. But I must confess that I have been tempted to experiment using some of the cute
pink and black wallpaper borders that have just been released.

I would never suggest that pink and black stars, pink and black hearts or even
pink and black wallpaper with skulls to use as bedroom wallpaper to match the gothic bedding sets that goth girls love are an improvement over dots, just another option. There are even twisted, psychedelic checkerboard designs for retro bedrooms that when exposed to a black light that might give mom an aching head but tickle her daughter’s fancy for 1960s décor.

Other pink and black decorating ideas for girls bedrooms that I can hardly wait to try feature Parisian shopping scenes, wild animal prints like cheetah or zebra and shoes and purses for a little diva who hangs her hat on shopping for the latest, fashionable bedroom decorations.

Return to Teenage Girls' Bedding Sets, Pink and Black Bedroom Wallpaper and Decorating Ideas for more tips on how to decorate stylish rooms for your daughter.

FAIRY BALLERINA VALANCES and CURTAIN LIGHTS

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Odds are that when you found your teenage girl’s fairy ballerina bedding or comforter set a fairy ballerina valance came with the set or at the least was offered as part of the collection. It would be difficult to compete with the price or the perfect fabric match of the inexpensive curtains that come in a bed in a bag set but modern teens are beginning to raise their eyebrows a bit at the idea of perfectly matched bedroom decorations.

To keep from blowing mom’s bedroom decorating budget and to give her daughter come creative control over her fairy ballerina bedroom ideas, I searched for some cheap decorative accessories to personalize the room’s décor and came up with the idea of dressing up those fairy curtains that my last client adored all for the low, low price of less than $1.00. Actually the fairy curtain lights that I bought cost .99 plus shipping, but you have to admit that the mention of bedroom decorations to dress up your fairy ballerina valance for under a dollar really caught your attention, didn’t it?

Fairy lights are traditional decorations for weddings and outdoor parties where patio lights help with safety issues as well as to serve as part of the decorations. They come in all colors, lengths and styles which is a good thing as the color of your fairy ballerina valance is far less flexible. Once you have the curtains and the rod mounted on the bedroom wall, simply instruct your daughter to drape the string of fairy curtain lights however she chooses so long as her design doesn’t present a safety or fire hazard. Some patio lights might get hot enough to scorch the drapery fabric so that should be a consideration when you are doing your shopping.

It’s not often that we find girl's ballerina fairy bedroom decorating ideas for less than a dollar, so what are you waiting for?

Return to Tween and Teenage Girl Ballerina Bedding and Bedroom Decorating Ideas for more inexpensive items that your daughter will adore.

Purple and Lime Green Polka Dots Bedding

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Purple and lime green polka dots bedding sets with a generous helping of flowers may or may not have been considered stylish to the hippie flower children back in the day. But let me tell you that no Boho babe worth her love beads can deny the appeal of a colorful comforter set covered in a retro floral design and polka dots in all the cool colors that match lime green.

The color lime green alone can be too hot to handle, but cool it down with lavender, purple and some white lurking in the background and you’ve got a bedroom color scheme that works. This is an excellent bedroom decorating idea for modern girls that like a little bit of free love décor without going too far on the psychedelic side of decorating and design.

Lime green polka dot bedding sets can bring a taste of sunshine into your home to lighten and brighten the atmosphere of the bedroom during the rainy months when we are waiting for April showers to take a hike so that we can get to the more colorful and fun May flowers. Speaking of flowers; they are super to give lime green polka dots some real punch in the retro decorating department. Too many circles and dots can become too monotonous. The floral designs give our eyes a break from the round graphics and provide a nice opportunity for spring flowers to make an earlier than expected appearance in our homes.

Return to Tween and Teenage Girls Purple and Lime Green Polka Dots Bedding Sets and Retro Bedroom Decorating Ideas

PINK and BLACK DAMASK BEDDING

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Pink and black damask bedding may be a little bit more of a challenge to accessorize than black and white but what can I say, I needed something something fun to work on. So, pardon me if I welcome the opportunity to dabble in elegance from time to time. After several decorating projects where I worked with that particular monochromatic color scheme, I was ready for something a little more jazzy or at the very least, different.



And I have found that figuring out how to decorate a girl's bedroom with a pink and black damask bedding set can be rather interesting. One fact that revealed itself to me is how one would go about extending the life of the comforter set that might have been originally intended for a tween's bedroom.

Teenage girls might not be as receptive to demure black and pink hearts tied with satin ribbons as a preteen. But if you replaced the more immature wall decorations with dramatic chandelier stickers or scatter some pink and black stars or even skulls to give the bedroom an edge, that pink and black damask bedding set might be a keeper for a few more years.

Return to Tween and Teenage Girl Pink and Black Damask Bedding and Bedroom Decorating Ideas for more tips on how to give an inexpensive bed in a bag set that you bought for a preteen a brand new look!

GIRLS' TROPICAL BEDDING

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I am more than pleased to see girls tropical bedding sets that are designed according to the popular color combinations of the moment, black and pink and lime green, hot pink and black. The colors green and pink are old standbys and certainly to be expected to represent the leafy green foliage in a tropical rainforest and hot pink to cover the hibiscus flowers that grow wild in so many jungles.

Without a doubt, the new kid on the block in this color scheme is black. Even though many may argue that black is not a color at all; when you surround it with white and the other bright colors that I mentioned earlier who could ever accuse it of not playing an important part in this stylish mix?

And when it comes to being a leader in outstanding girls tropical bedding, Roxy Bedding
is out there leading the pack churning out tropical bedding sets that are a delightful blend of uninhibited Hawaiian floral and collegiate stripe prints. Their designers do such a wonderful job of matching fabrics with large flowers, medium floral prints, stripes and solids. With such a beautiful set of girls tropical bedding to work with, the task of collecting tropical bedroom decorating ideas that will pay proper respect to their delightful creation is there to challenge our imaginations and decorative skills.
To help prepare you for the experience and to pick up some tips for suitable tropical decorations to complement your
tropical bed in a bag set
, return to Tween and Teenage Girls Tropical Bedding and Bedroom Decorating Ideas.

BOHEMIAN BEDROOM DECORATING IDEAS

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One of the best bohemian bedroom decorating ideas that I have experimented with in quite some time came to me recently quite by chance. Sometimes to move forward, it pays to hop in the old time machine and take a trip to the past. For that reason, I am known to skim over the people in old pictures in order to look at their surroundings much to the chagrin of my mother who wants my interest in old family photos to be about wanting to learn more about our kin rather than picking up tips on how they decorated their homes.

On my last visit home, I was looking through some pictures that were taken in a hippie style restaurant, cafe or coffeehouse back in the early 70s or late 60s. Looking beyond the stringy haired flower children wearing round Beatle style glasses, I was actually trying to pick up some tips from the wall and ceiling decorations that were used.

The pictures of the room decorations and bohemian decor were fuzzy and the colors had faded or bled to the point that details were difficult to pinpoint. But the photos were clear enough for me to know that I wanted to document what decorations that the proprietor had used to achieve his or her version of the soft, dreamy atmosphere that is the foundation of all bohemian bedroom decorating ideas.

To do this, I had to pick apart as many areas of the room that I could see and from what I could tell recycling was alive and well in the heyday of hippie décor. Threadbare oriental rugs were cut apart and used to make huge, throw pillows and as upholstery fabric. One of the most unique bohemian bedroom decorating ideas that I took from this vintage photo was how they used a large oriental area rug to camouflage flaws in the ceilings and walls.


I’m not for sure how they attached the rug to the ceiling but I would imagine that a staple gun could do the trick. I would start by centering the rug on the ceiling and start stapling from one side to the other letting the center of the rug hang loosely. Then, I would put a staple into the center of each medallion in the center to give the decoration a puffed or stuffed appearance that would, under the right circumstances, make the rug seem to be floating.

Now you see why I consider this to be one of the most creative bohemian bedroom decorating ideas; by recycling damaged rugs you can achieve the ultimate in bohemian bedroom style for a very cheap price.

Return to Teenage Girls Bohemian Bedroom Decorating Ideas, Decor and Bedding Sets to see more tips on decorating your rooms in a bohemian hippie style.

Outdoor Lighting Installation

Outdoor lighting is not only a beautiful addition for your backyard but functional. For enhancing landscaping, you can install lighting that is low voltage to provide illumination. Other benefits of outdoor lighting include safety, and overall ambience. Low voltage kits are sold at many hardware and home improvement stores and come with a built-in transformer that has a timer. This feature allows you to choose when to have the lights turn on and off, adding convenience.

The transformers are able to use a household 120-volt and make it safe to run 12 volts. To install low lighting for your outdoors, a GFCI receptacle will be required on the exterior of your home. If you do not presently have on, an electrician will need to install one. Most importantly, always contact your local gas and electric company before you start to dig to ensure there are no underground cables or pipes.

For installation, choose the type of lights you prefer and keep in mind the areas you want to illuminate. Generally, you will find lights in four or seven watt so if you plan to brighten a large area you may need more lights than expected. Make sure the transformer has adequate wattage where additional lights could be added in the future. Be sure you have a diagram from which to work, which will help you stay on track of where you want the lighting to be installed. In addition, make good notes so you are reminded of problem areas, or specifics as to what you want to be illuminated. For example, you may have numerous types of plants and flowers on the south side of the house but in particular, you want your prized roses to shine.

After you have purchased the correct number of lights, position them to coordinate with your diagram. Typically, lights will come with a stake that can be driven into soft dirt easily. For this reason, the evening before you do the installation, water the ground thoroughly and then the morning of, sprinkle it with water so the ground is soft. Lay the lights down where the will be installed and then starting at the GFCI receptacle, lay out the cable so it runs to where the lights have been laid out. The cable above ground will be buried so no need to worry about anything being unsightly. Make sure you leave enough excessive cable at the transformer for each of the lights, which will allow you to move your lights later on. Each light has two wires with a metal tip. By putting one tab on each side of the cable and snapping it together, the light is installed. When the tip is pierced into the cable, the electrical connection is created. If the light does not come on, make sure these tabs are secured together.

You will then separate the wires at the end of the electrical cable and strip �-inch of insulation. The two screws on the transformer will be loosened and the bare wires you just stripped slid under the correct terminal. Once complete, plug in the transformer, and turn it on. Look at each light to ensure it is working. Keep in mind that if the day is bright and sunny, it may be difficult to tell if they are on so you may need to shield the light from the sun or recheck when it starts to get dark. With a small shovel, you need to dig down 5 inches to bury the cable. Once the cable is buried, cover it with dirt and compact it down. Finally, set the timer to come on, go off at the desired time, and enjoy your new lights.

Eliminate Interior Design Disasters

Hello and welcome to my design thoughts. Finding online design books.

With thousands of websites, articles, newsletters and blogs on interior design, is it any wonder home design is confusing? As an artist and designer, it never ceases to amaze me the amount of fabulous information available for the curious and motivated homeowner. And Free to boot!

Keeping it simple is a little more difficult. I have visited many "designers" client homes, just to see the designers particular brand or style stamped all over the place. How do we keep our homes in the realm of our own personalities?

When you are searching for a design and or designer, first look at their product. Talk to past clients. Visualize the designers work in your private space. Does it work? Or could you have done a better job on your own and a whole lot less expensive?

I have designed many different styles. Each as individual as the client themselves. How is this done? First, you have to do the homework. A client whom states : Do whatever you like, I trust you and I will be back from Bermuda in six weeks" might be a client I may choose to steer clear of.

I will not brand my personal style on a clients home. Your home should and must reflect your personality and uniqueness. With excitement and motivation, create something totally yours, you can learn how to build a truly stunning environment all your own.

Magazines, websites other design information can be your very best friend. You have done it before, I just can see both of us searching magazines, ripping out the cool stuff and making piles...This is your start to discovering your personal style.

Build a book on these pictures. Study each picture. Circle the idea or picture which caught your eye. Put you piles of pictures in categories. i.e. living, bath, family, kitchen. Then go back and cull out the pictures which may not be as appealing. Only keep the very best. You will eventually discover what you love, whether in color, shape, size or style name. My personal style is called European Recycled...No joke.

Keep your first trial and run simple. Paint is the least expensive re-do and has an amazing impact. A fresh coat of paint is magic. Interior design can be a simple act of re-arranging or de-cluttering.

Find your magic. Love where you live. make it a peaceful and creative environment all your own.

SK
http://www.sksartell.com/
Or visit SK Sartell's Design Tutorials website at: http://www.yourhomedesigntutorial.com/

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http://ezinearticles.com/?Eliminate-Interior-Home-Disasters&id=2261078

Strathmore 2009 Who's Who Publication

SK Sartell has been inducted into the 2009 Strathmore Who's Who Directory for her lifetime commitment to her world of design and artwork.

Sartell's online interior design books are part of her newest creations.

BLUE and WHITE BEDDING - HIBISCUS TROPICAL COMFORTERS for GIRLS

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When a client mentions that they were thinking of a set of navy blue and white bedding my mind has a nasty habit of jumping into nautical decorating mode. There’s just something about the contrast of those colors that make me think of the uniform worn by commanding officers in the US Navy.

But most teenage girls have little interest in a tailored (read formal or stiff) blue and white comforter set and a bedroom decorated with colorful ships’ flags and shiny gold buttons. No matter how proud they are of our military; they are just not into Naval decorating ideas for their bedrooms. So, I have found myself in need of re-routing my decorative thought process to be more in line with their interests and take steps to provide the girls’ navy blue and bedding in a more casual and fun design; like navy blue Roxy bedding with tropical, Hawaiian print fabrics splashed with big hibiscus flowers so fresh and exciting that you can almost hear the waves splashing on the beach.

With a set of tropical blue and white bedding, you are free to add pops of bright colors like hot pink, lime green or even light blue and orange to accent the bedding. This style of teenage girls’ navy blue and white bedding will give mom the bedroom color scheme that she wanted and her daughter gets to relive the fun memories of her spring vacation at the beach through her bedroom’s decor.

Return to Tween and Teenage Girl Navy Blue and White Bedding and Bedroom Decorating Ideas to see more tropical, navy blue and orange bedding sets that teens will adore!

Fairytale Home Of SK Sartell

Your Home Design Tutorials

Home Interior and Design Dilemmas Eliminated

Become your own interior designer With SK Sartell.
Become an expert Do-It-Yourself, creative genius with home design tutorials and interior design books. Your interior rooms will prove your uniqueness for taste, style & interior design.

Once upon a time there was a do-it-yourself home built. This fairy tale home is unlike any other. A practical very un-witch-like artist/designer named SK built this solid concrete home from the ground up. Using self-taught design and building skills, this practical magic home came to be.

Gazing at the home from the street you feel as if stepping back in time and place to a country farm in 19th century France. Fantasy begins at the curb and continues as you walk across the bridge to the front door, the gentle sound of waterfalls lull senses as you pull the chain attached to a bell. The unique doorbell is another indication imagination, fantasy and fun have had full reign as this home was built.

SK’s diminutive stature makes you think she’d be more comfortable sitting in a turret serving tea or curds and whey. As you survey this innovative, charming and fanciful home you’ll be surveying the talents of an artist whose energy is boundless.

For instance, the front door is absolutely charming with its curved top and antique finish. When SK couldn’t find the perfect front door for her home, she built the door herself.

As we enter the whimsical home in this magical, Victorian town we wonder if we have left the land of "ordinary" and entered the land of make-believe where all the charming ideas you ever dreamed of in a home were made possible. Architectural pieces were purchased and stored for years before finding their perfect place in the home. Antique Doric wood columns define living and dining space. Copper that was hand-pounded into an embossed design came from France. The kitchen boasts French country cabinetry, hand-built by the owners. The varying heights of the cabinets, antique glass fronts and antique finish give you the impression of being shipped from a farmhouse in Provence. Counter tops are made of concrete and acid stained to give an older appearance. Copper was chosen for the many qualities for chefs. The antibacterial properties of copper contributed to their choice in this custom chef’s kitchen. These copper counter tops were handed pounded by SK.

The French glass pantry doors are sand blasted and feature bouquets of massive sunflowers through which you can peek into the interior of the pantry. Again, designed and done by SK. As a practical interior designer SK has designed age into her home, making it look well loved and well used.

In her guest bath, SK’s imagination worked overtime. While walls are painted in deep and misty forest murals, fairies peek impishly from behind painted ferns. Warm mist rises as the large soaking tub is filled by a rock waterfall. From this woodsy bath you relax looking out upon a roof garden overflowing with wild strawberries...

SK’s talents are innumerable and she isn’t afraid to tackle a new media. With her forty years of design and remodel experience SK is tackling the newest of many projects. She has finally been convinced to open her creative minds door and share her ingenious ideas with her tutorials on e-books. Her personal fairy tale home projects are the topics for these Do-It-Yourself e-books. You will learn her projects with step-by-step full color detail pages.

Artist & designer SK Sartell’s, do-it-yourself Home Design Tutorials are an inexpensive alternative for the creative person wishing and wanting a beautiful space.

You can visit SK and her home at http://www.sksartell.com and her Home Design Tutorials can be found at: http://www.yourhomedesigntutorial.com

PINK and ORANGE BEDDING and BEDROOM DECOR

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Watch out! Your teenage girls’ pink and orange bedding just might pack more fire power than your bedroom can handle. As cute as this color combo is, if you aren't careful things just might get out of hand. In fact, some of the bed in a bag sets should come with a warning label that this is not a color scheme for sissies. However if you use caution hot pink and orange just might set your bedroom up to be so stunning that makes your friend’s jaw drop when you open that door. For brave souls, a bright and bold set of polka dot bedding in pink and orange may be something worthy of consideration.

Just to be clear, pink and orange polka dot bedding is not the only pattern that will have this desired effect. Orange and white polka dots or pink and orange stripes are just as visually stimulating. In fact, if you wanted to throw in a few lime green or teal blue polka dots in the print I would be totally on board with the idea. When it comes to color my opinion is the more the merrier within reason, of course.

After you find that funky, pink and orange bedding you need to take it down a notch when decorating the rest of the bedroom. Ease up on the color with your wall paint ideas and experiment with a neutral color that will clear the stage for your comforter to shine. I’m not suggesting that you have to settle for painting the walls white although that might be cool when decorated with some painted polka dots or polka dot decals. I’m just saying that you don’t want too much color especially if it’s going to overpower that cool pink and orange bedding set.

Here are some ideas for accent colors that will be best to use as a background for your pink and orange comforter. For the walls, pale yellow, light orange or even white would be nice. My favorite accent colors that you can scatter with around the room with your choice of decorations like pillows and area rugs are teal blue, purple and lovely lime green.

These are just a few of the Tween and Teenage Girls Pink and Orange Bedding Sets and Bedroom Decorating Ideas we have to share, so come back soon!