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Kathleen Wilson - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Kathy Wilson has worked in home and garden design since 1988. Mother of five kids she knows what she's talking about when it comes to tight budgets! Ms. Wilson shares her expert advice on her popular website and newsletter The Budget Decorator. She is a freelance writer published in such magazines as Country Woman, Country Sampler's Decorating Ideas, HGTV's Decorating Newsletter and Decorating Solutions Magazine. She has a self syndicated column seen in over ... [More]
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- Inexpensive Summer Kids Activities
[Home-and-Family] Every parent, whether they work at home or outside the home, needs inexpensive summer kids activities to keep the little ones busy. These days, saving money when vacations and camps are not in the budget can be a challenge. Here are some great summer kids activities to keep your munchkins occupied, that are low cost or even free!
- Olive Garden Pasta E Fagioli Soup Recipe - Budget Recipe
[Food-and-Drink:Recipes] I absolutely LOVE Olive Garden's pasta fagioli soup, but I can't afford to get over there as often as I would like. I came up with this recipe that is an easy one to do at home, and it's a cheap meal idea as well.
- 3 Top Online Business Ideas For Women
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online] I spend a lot of time teaching, writing and coaching women to help them start an online business, and one of the biggest obstacles women face is finding the business idea that is right for them. When starting an online business, in particular when starting a content driven website, the number one thing you need to remember when making your choice is to find something you will enjoy. The fact is, just looking for something that is profitable is likely to leave you feeling unfulfilled and unhappy, and more importantly, if you don't love it it's unlikely ...
- How Women Can Save Money at Home
[Finance:Personal-Finance] If you are like most women today, one of your main problems is how to save money on everything from groceries to birthday presents. Millions of families are living paycheck to paycheck, and chances are if you aren't one of them, you know someone who is.
- Hearty Lentil Soup Recipe - Cheap Dinner, Healthy Meal
[Food-and-Drink:Recipes] I have always LOVED lentil soup, but after awhile, it got kinda...well, boring. Here is a recipe twist that adds that spark of flavor that makes all the difference. Lentils are very inexpensive, and combined with the rice in this recipe, make a complete protein. Add a simple salad, some crusty bread or crackers and a glass of red wine for a fantastic dinner for just pennies.
- Small Room Decorating - How to Decorate a Small Bathroom
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorating a small bathroom isn't just a problem that apartment dwellers deal with, homeowners and renters alike can have this issue. Since this is a high use room, decorating a small bathroom needs to take into account function and not just appearance. Here are some top tips on how to decorate a small bathroom!
- How to Reduce Or Eliminate Stress in 10 Minutes a Day
[Self-Improvement:Stress-Management] Experts agree stress is one of the leading epidemics in our society today. Stress causes or contributes to heart disease, cancer, stroke, depression, anxiety disorders, and premature death. It steals from our happiness, and wastes our time unnecessarily.
- How to Save on Home Decor
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] There are many ways you can save on home decor and decorate your home despite this economy! Follow The Budget Decorator's tried and true tips and have the home on your dreams, on a budget!
- Top 10 Budget Chef Tips
[Food-and-Drink:Cooking-Tips] Coupons, Coupons, Coupons! I know it doesn't seem like much for $.40 off that box of pasta, but the truth is, it all adds up! Buy your meat from the Deli part of the store if available, its generally cheaper, fresher, and they will even precut it if desired.
- Small Space Style - Decorating For a Small Home
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Having recently downsized to house half the size of my previous one, I know a bit about decorating a small home! As An interior decorator, having my home present itself as a showcase for my personal style is important to me. Here are some of the best ways to add small space style to any home decorating project!
- Home Decor - Wall Decoration on a Budget
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Home decor can be expensive, but there are many creative ways to add wall decoration to any home, on a budget! Look for frames at thrift stores, yard sales and even dollar shops. Even is it is filled with ugly artwork, look past it for the frame.
- Holiday Glassware For a Buck!
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Here's a great project for creating custom, one of a kind plates, cups and glassware for your holiday table, at only $1 a piece! Supplies. Clear glass plates, cups, mugs, serving plates, or saucers. You can pick these up for about 93 cents at your local discount store.
- The ONE Thing That Stops Women From Starting Their Own Business
[Home-Based-Business] I have been helping women start their own online businesses for awhile now, and over and over again I see one problem that stops more women in their tracks, before they ever even try. It's not money. After all, I started my business with 10 bucks a month and became a nationally known home decorating expert and writer with a top rated decorating site.
- How to Make a Fall Leaf Glass Hanging
[Home-and-Family:Crafts-Hobbies] One of my favorite activities in the fall is to find and press those beautiful autumn leaves. It did present a problem though; what to do with all of them. The Budget Decorator has a great home decorating craft project to help you take those fall leaves and do something really special, inexpensive, and very decorative!
- Home Decorating - 5 Green Ideas on a Budget
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorating your home to be environmentally friendly shouldn't be expensive. And it shouldn't just be for the environmental activists either; we all have a responsibility to our communities, and to our families. There are many ways you can decorate "green" for a lot less "green"! Here are The Budget Decorator's top 5 ways to green up your home, on a budget!
- How-To Warm Up Your Thanksgiving Decorating, With "Creativity, Not Cash!"
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Thanksgiving is a special time in our homes, when we all take a little time to appreciate the gifts and blessings in our lives. My number one blessing, as yours, is my family and friends! So let's find some great ways to make your home a warm, inviting place this Thanksgiving Day for all your loved ones, including you!
- 5 Quick and Cheap Thanksgiving Decor Ideas!
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Thanksgiving is a special time in my house. It reminds us to take time out of our busy lives and remember how very thankful we truly are for the blessings of family. It is also a gateway for the busy, (and sometimes expensive!) holiday season! So here are some great ideas to bump up the autumn splendor in your home, while saving that spending money for other things!
- Add Fall Style to Any Room in a Day
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Adding the autumnal warmth to a room can mark the change in seasons for the entire family, ushering in football, holidays, and cups of cocoa after school. And it can be easy, dramatic, and inexpensive! Follow these three simple steps to take any (or every!) room in your home from summer simple, to fall fabulous in just one day!
- 5 Frugal Fall Fix Ups For Your Home Decorating
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Fall is the perfect time to make some easy changes to your home, inside and out! Decorating for fall doesn't always mean putting up the scarecrow, or taping the kids fall leaves to the living room window. Here are some easy, quick and cheap ways to update your home decorating for the colder months ahead.
- How to Make a Coffee Table
[Home-Improvement:DIY] Recently I decided I wanted to update my family room with a new coffee table. However, rather than spend hundreds of dollars, I chose to make a coffee table from inexpensive items I picked up from a home improvement store. The same coffee table could also be made from recycled items. Here's how to make a coffee table!
- Best Internet Business to Start - Content Websites
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online] Content rich websites are the basis for some of the most profitable sites on the web, and are the easiest way to start a web business with potential for growth. Most web surfers are searching for information, not for a product. Providing valuable quality content to your readers allows you to pre-sell to them, and create a relationship of trust for you to introduce products and services that will help them and provide income for you.
- Home Decorating on a Budget - How to Choose Colors
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] When one is home decorating on a budget, one of the easiest and cheapest ways to change the look of any home is to add color. Choosing the right colors for your home decorating can seem like such a daunting task however, that some people are frozen in indecision. Here are some great, easy guidelines to help teach you how to choose colors for your home.
- Best Way to Save Money on Groceries - One Woman's Secret
[Finance:Personal-Finance] Let's face it, with the way things are today with gas and grocery prices going up (and just about everything else) most of us are doing what we can to save money on groceries. I know you've heard it all; coupons, shop the sales, using rebates...but I have a simple technique that I have found is the best way to save money on groceries for my family. So no matter how much money you make, or how much you spend, anyone can save money!
- Getting Started Making Money on the Internet - Finding Your Passion
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online] One of the hardest decisions to make concerning starting a home business is what kind of business to start! Research proves that in order to have the determination and drive to grow a business, you need to have an emotional investment in it. 9 times out of 10 that requires having a passion for what you do. However, a lot of women wanting to work at home mistakenly believe they don't have a marketable talent or skill. Here is how any woman can find a niche for her business that will tap into her personal passions!
- Home Decorating on a Budget - Three Common Problems Solved
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Home decorating can be challenging enough as it is, until you add a tight budget to the mix! Many wonder how they can learn to decorate on a budget, and if it's possible. Here are the top three budget decorating problems, and the solutions!
- 6 Tips to Starting Your Own Business on a Dime
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] Starting your own home business can seem like such a daunting and expensive ordeal that most people never even get started. I was a stay at home Mom with too little money, too little time, no college degree and no experience on the internet when I started, just like many of you. Yet I have built a business that has taken me to become the editor of some of the most popular home and garden websites on the internet, a published author and columnist, and home decorating expert for Lifetime TV. And you can find your place on the internet highway as well, with these great tips to get you started, even if you have little money like I did!
- How to Work at Home During Summer Break - Keeping the Kids Busy
[Home-Based-Business] If you chosen to work at home but are one of the many women who have kids home for summer break, you need a little help. Keeping your kids busy while starting an online business or running your existing business can seem like an insurmountable obstacle. It can be done, and without sacrificing all those summer memories with the kids. After all, isn't that why we want to work at home after all?
- How to Deal With Supermom Stress
[Home-and-Family:Motherhood] One of the top stressors for women today is what many are calling the "supermom syndrome." Many of us are led by society today to believe that in order to be successful Moms, we have to do it all, and give all. Nonsense. We all want to do our best as Moms, as we should. But at some point, for our own mental health, our best has got to be good enough. Here are some great ideas to reduce the syndrome at your house.
- How to Make a Decorative Scarecrow
[Home-and-Family:Crafts-Hobbies] One of my favorite fall decorations is a scarecrow for my front porch. Now I know you can pick up really cute, inexpensive scarecrows at your craft shops. But nothing is more satisfying than using your creativity making a personal expression of your family, for almost no money, than making your own scarecrow! And it's not only easy, its a fun thing to do with the kids as well.
- Decorating With Antiques on a Budget!
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] When most people think of buying antiques to decorate their homes, they feel it is out of their financial reach. But there are several ways you can utilize antique shops to add charm and history to your home, without spending a fortune. Here are some of my favorite "frugal" antique buys!
- Make a Game Room For Your Family on a Dime
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] More and more families are rediscovering game time. It's a great way to spend quality time together, and it's a lot of fun! Here are some great ways to set up a game room in your own home, without having to take out a home loan!
- Quick, Easy and Low Cost Fourth of July Decorating
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] There was a day in our history when people actually spent time on Fourth of July decorations. They were homemade but sincere, and represented deep patriotism. I think that patriotism still exists today, and we can celebrate with Fourth of July decorations that are easy to put together and low cost. Here are some excellent ideas to get you started.
- Cheap Or Free Home Decorating
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorating your home can be an expensive task, even if you do-it-yourself! Luckily, there are some creative ways you can find the resources you need, cheap or even free! Here are The Budget Decorator's top 3!
- Quick and Cheap Summer Decorating
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Summer is a time when we want our homes to be welcoming, to be functional for hosting get togethers with family and friends, and be a relaxing place to make some memories. Here are some quick, easy and cheap ways to make you summer decorating...a breeze!
- Quick and Easy Kitchen Accessories
[Home-Improvement:Kitchen-Improvements] The kitchen is the hub of most homes, and I think we would all like to bring a little more charm into this utilitarian space. Here are a few easy ways to add some style to your kitchen while saving some cash.
- How To Get Free Advertising For Your Online Business
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online:Internet-Marketing] One of the largest expenses when starting a business can be advertising and marketing to bring in customers. This can seem a daunting expense for those who are newbie's to the online business arena, and are trying to start a business on a budget. It doesn't have to be that way! There are many ways to advertise your business without spending a dime; here are the top 3 free advertising and marketing ideas for an online business.
- How Any Woman Can Choose An Internet Business That Is Right For Her
[Internet-and-Businesses-Online] One of the biggest obstacles most women face when they decide to start an internet business is "what kind of business should I start?" This is, in fact, the number one obstacle preventing women from realizing their dreams of working at home. Here is a quick breakdown of your options, and some important motivation to convince you that today is the day to choose.
- Build A Garden Fence - Low Cost Ideas
[Home-and-Family:Gardening] If you want to add a wonderful country touch to your garden, building a country style fence is not as difficult, or as expensive as it might seem. Here at The Garden Glove, we wanted to add a Gothic picket style to the front garden. However, purchasing and installing 150 feet of picket fencing was NOT in the budget.
- Details Make A Difference - 5 Ways Small Items Can Pack A Big Punch
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Sometimes the best home decor comes in the smallest packages! Home decorating isn't always about large pieces of furniture and expensive things. Here are some fantastic decor ideas for using small things in your decorating to make a big difference in any room.
- Starting An Online Business - Become An Expert In Your Field
[Home-Based-Business:Network-Marketing] A recent poll showed women who were interested in starting their own online business were held back by several factors. One of these was they did not believe they had any skill they could be an "Expert" at. Don't buy it. That's just your negative thinking getting the better of you. You have a skill within you right now that you can teach others, and build a business around. Here's how to find it.
- Creative And Cheap Storage Ideas
[Home-Improvement:Cleaning-Tips-and-Tools] Living in a small home can cause many issues, but storage has to rate among the top. Here are some easy and inexpensive ways to store common items in your small space!
- Gardening On A Budget - 10 Low Cost Gardening Tips
[Home-and-Family:Gardening] Gardening can be an expensive hobby, but it didn't start out that way. Back in our Grandparents time, people enjoyed beautiful gardens even without a Home Depot on the corner. Here are some frugal gardening tips for those of us who want to save some "green".
- How Women Can Find Free Money To Start A Business
[Home-Based-Business] When a woman decides she wants to start her own business, one of her first thoughts is "how am I going to find the start up money". Most women, especially these days, have tight budgets and family expenses that make starting a business seem like a luxury. Here are some great ideas how any woman can start her own business and invest in her future and that of her families, with free money.
- Three Ways to Freshen Up a Room (For Less Than $15)
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] For every home decorator there comes a time when we need to freshen up a room, but we don't have a lot of extra cash to spend. There are quick and easy ways to update the look of any room, and spend less than $15 while doing it! Here are three top budget decorating ideas for freshening up the look of any room.
- 10 New Uses for Old Items - Decorating with Finds from the Past
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Creativity reigns in budget decorating, and there is no better place to showcase your creativity then repurposing old things. Just a couple of great ideas can make a room scream with style, and add loads of personality.
- Starting Garden Seeds Indoors
[Home-and-Family:Gardening] It can be easy and inexpensive to start garden seeds indoors for spring planting. Here at The Garden Glove, we use several methods. Method #1- Purchase an inexpensive dome style seed starter from your local garden center or discount store.
- Best Drought Tolerant Garden Plants
[Home-and-Family:Gardening] Most areas of the country are seeing a big change in the way we plant a garden. Water is becoming more and more a precious commodity and most gardeners are trying to find ways to plant a drought tolerant garden. Planting your garden with drought resistant plants doesn't have to be limited to flowers that look like bracken most of the year, or cacti and succulents that hardly speak to your need for a cottage garden.
- Budget Decorating - Backsplash Decor
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] If you have a boring builders kitchen backsplash you would like to update, but are decorating on a budget, here are some great ideas to create a one of a kind custom look for your kitchen with creative backsplash decorating! Use cast off or leftover tiles to make a mosaic backsplash for your kitchen or bath. Break tiles into smaller pieces, and attach to the backsplash area on whatever pattern you choose with a silicone caulk.
- Bathroom Decor - Quick Bathroom Decorating on a Budget
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] When seasons change, one of the most overlooked rooms in the house for updated decorating is the bathroom. Whether you want to add some oomph to your guest bath, or want to bring a spa quality to decorating a master bath, here are some quick and easy decorating tips to get your bathroom in tip top shape!
- How to Decorate a Small Bedroom
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorating a small bedroom can be a challenge, since most of us spend a good deal of time in this space. You want a comforting space to unwind in, yet you don't want your bedroom to feel cramped or cluttered. Here are some easy decorating ideas for turning your small bedroom decorating into an easy, breezy makeover!
- Last Minute Holiday Touches on the Cheap
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Last minute details can take a holiday home from ho ho hum to spectacular, and doesn't have to cost a lot of cash! Here are some great quick, easy, and inexpensive ideas to wow your guests and comfort your family.
- Quick and Easy Holiday Ornament Ideas
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Here are some quick, easy and inexpensive ideas on how you can create holiday ornaments using items easily found around the home! Easy and inexpensive holiday ornament ideas...
- The One Secret Women Need to Work at Home, and It's Free!
[Home-Based-Business] So many women want to start working at home these days, but can't seem to find the time or the money to do it. I have been lucky enough to be a stay at home mom for my 5 kids and 3 step kids for over 20 years, and I started a successful online business, wrote a book, started 5 more websites and became a freelance writer...and I am here to tell you the secret to getting it all done. Organize.
- How Busy Moms Can Start a Business
[Home-Based-Business] One of the biggest hurdles Moms face when starting any home business is how to manage the home, the kids, and a job, all in the same place! It can be done, and many of us actually even find the time to put eye makeup on every day as well!
- Start a Crafts Business Online
[Home-Based-Business] Many women have a talent with one type of craft or another, and may have even thought about turning their crafting into a business. Craft businesses are one of the top new businesses started by women each year. However, a traditional crafts business requires you to sell at craft shows and bazaars, carry an inventory and make so many of your craft items to sell, it stops being a hobby, and starts being, well, work! Consider starting a crafts business online, and stay home while making money from what you already know!
- Coffee Table Transformations
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Furniture, even accent furniture can be one of the top budget busters when decorating your home. Finding a coffee table that is affordable, yet interesting can be quite a chore. Here is an easy project that can easily be adapted to fit a variety of styles and circumstances.
- What Is Missing In Your Home Decor?
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Most of us have that one room that just seems to be missing something in the decorating department, and we can't quite seem to put our finger on it. Usually, it's a simple matter of recognizing three basic things each room needs in order to feel "right". Luckily, they can all be achieved without a lot of cash, and in a short amount of time!
- How To Grow a Cottage Garden
[Home-and-Family:Gardening] Cottage gardens are traditionally thought of as English gardens, lushly planted with colorful jumbles of flowers and shrubs, and grown in areas with mild winters and cool summers. Unfortunately, most places in the U.S. outside of the Pacific Northwest do not have the proper climate for an English garden. Luckily, American cottage gardens are just as beautiful and better adapted to our climate.
- Cheap and Easy Wall Decorating
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorating our walls seems to be a huge dilemma to most home decorators, but it need not be. Here are some quick and easy ways to dress up your walls, on a budget!
- How To Bring French Country Into Your Home
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] French country decorating is one of the most popular forms of country decorating today, yet many are confused about how to introduce this look into their homes. Here are some easy ideas for bringing French country into your decorating!
- How to Make a Spring Wreath(For Less Than $5)
[Home-and-Family:Crafts-Hobbies] Spring is a welcoming time of renewal, and what better way to welcome friends and family to your home than with a creative and personal spring wreath! Even better when you can make it for under $5! Here's how.
- 10 Quick And Inexpensive Ways To Brighten Your Home For Spring
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Spring is a sign of renewal in many areas of our lives, and our homes are no different! There is something energizing and refreshing about bringing that bright, airy feeling of Spring into your home. Here are the 10 best ways to spruce up and revitalize your rooms, on a dime!
- 5 Ways to Decorate With Plates
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Plates are a big collectible in home decorating, but you don't have to have a china hutch full of rare antiques to appreciate the beauty of plates in your home. Decorating with plates can save you money, add charm and dimension to your rooms, and allow you to display your favorite pieces as well. Here are 5 great ways to use plates in your home decorating.
- 10 Reasons for Women to Start an Internet Business (And 1 Reason Not To!)
[Home-Based-Business] Starting an internet business is in my opinion, one of the fastest and smartest ways women today can make money. Here are 10 reasons for starting an internet business, and one reason why you shouldn’t!
- Elegant Personality for Your Walls
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Adding style and charm to an area as large as your walls
isn’t always as easy as it sounds! There are so many options
in painting, papering, faux finishes and paint treatments it
can be hard to know what might be a good choice for your
family. Right now a really hot technique is adding quotes,
words or sayings to your walls that might be meaningful for
those who live there, and it is very easy and inexpensive to
do!
- 5 Quick and Easy Ways to Make Small Rooms Feel Bigger!
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorating small rooms can be quite a challenge, but there
are some simple things you can do in a weekend to make the
space seem to expand before your eyes!
- Big Decorating Ideas for Small Rooms on a Tight Budget!
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorating a small room is one of the biggest challenges many families have in their homes today. Making a small room work for your loved ones can be frustrating and confusing. Here are some great low budget ways to simply transform your small rooms no matter what your budget!
- Holiday Decorating on a Budget!
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Let me say this is my favorite reason to decorate! Here you will find the reason this issue is so special, great ideas for the holidays, all of them easy on the pocketbook, and some of them are free! Have a wonderful holiday, and remember to stop every day to "smell the roses"!
- 7 Ways to Decorate A Thanksgiving Table on a Budget!
[Home-and-Family:Holidays] Thanksgiving is traditionally a day when we invite our loved ones into our home and give thanks for all we have. But with Christmas and other holidays looming just around the corner, it sometimes can be tough on the budget to put out a beautifully decorated table. No problem, The Budget Decorator is here to help you create a tablescape for your home that represents your creativity, and gives you yet another thing to be thankful for....money saved!
- The Budget Decorator's Top 10 Home Decorating Tips
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Learn the top ten ways to save big money on home decorating!
- Decorating Your Outdoor Room (On the Cheap!)
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Decorate your outdoor rooms with style, charm and best of all...without a lot of cash!
- How to Start an Internet Business (When You are Already a Full Time Mom!)
[Home-Based-Business] Top tips to help full time Moms find the inspiration to start their own businesses and better their lives!
- Teen Rooms on the Cheap!
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Creating teen bedrooms with flair, on a budget!
- Faux Fireplace, on the Cheap!
[Home-Improvement] Ideas on making faux fireplaces for the budget impaired!
- Decorate Your Outdoor Spaces on a Budget!
[Home-and-Family:Gardening] Learn how to decorate your outdoor spaces with warmth and charm, but with a tiny budget!
- Five Quick and Cheap Ways to Decorate for Fall
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Quick and easy ways to dress up your space for fall, without breaking the bank!
- 5 Tips to Preschoolers Bedrooms, on a Budget
[Home-Improvement:Interior-Design-and-Decorating] Simple, easy ways to transform your preschoolers room without spending a lot of cash!
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