Green Tip

Holiday Green Ideas 

1.  Use energy saving LED lights to decorate your home. They use 90% less energy than conventional bulbs.

 2. Recycle your holiday tree. 98% of trees are grown on farms, not in forests. Each year 10 million holiday trees end up in the landfill. Many cities offer programs to turn your tree into mulch or wood chips. Check out earth911 to find a tree recycling program near you.

3. Add organic and local foods to your table this holiday. Support local farmers and sustainable meat and produce.

Magazine Christmas Trees

Transform old magazines into glittered table tops trees. Fun for the whole family!

Tools required:

Old magazines of any size
Gold, silver, or clear spray paint
Glitter in desired colors
Bone folder (optional)

Instructions:

1. Open magazine and bend to break spine.

2. Fold individual page from top right corner to inside seam. Fold same page from bottom right edge to gutter.

3. Fold bottom triangle of each additional magazine page up, making the bottom of the tree flat. Then, fold top of all pages down to form tree shape.

4. Spray-paint folded tree desired color. Immediately sprinkle glitter over wet paint. Let dry.

Enjoy decorating your home for the holidays!

All of us at Irons Brothers Construction would like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

There is still time to enjoy some festive activities with your friends and family, check out these local events:

• Gingerbread Village - Seattle Sheraton Hotel, now-Jan 2nd, open all day
• Snow Shoes at Pacific Place, 600 Pine St., now-Dec 31st at 6pm
• Holiday Carousel at Westlake Park, 401 Pine St, now-Jan 1st, hours vary
• Toyland Village at Seattle's Waterfront Park, 1201 Alaskan Wy, Pier 57-59, now-Jan 1st
• Teddy Bear Suite at Fairmont Olympic Hotel, 411 University St. now-Dec 26th, 10a-7p
• Zoolights at Point Definance Zoo & Aquarium, now-Jan 1st, 5-9p
• Garden d'Lights at Bellevue Botanical Gardens, for ticket info click here
• Winterfest at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., now-Jan 1st, 10a-6p

Happy Holidays from All of Us At Irons Brothers Construction!  

Have you seen these? QR codes are popping up everywhere in print media; in magazines, catalogs, posters, newspapers, and flyers.

A QR code is otherwise known as a Quick Response Code.

Originally created for the automotive industry to track vehicles during manufacturing, the QR code is now most popular as a 2 dimensional bar code scanner. 

The code consists of black modules surrounded by a square pattern on a white background. The information that's encoded in the barcode can be made up of any kind of data. They actually have a fairly large storage capacity.

QR codes are now mainstream and are quickly becoming an effective advertising tool geared towards owners of smartphones. Simply add a free application to your phone and scan away. Once the barcode is scanned your phone will route you to the code's data, in many cases this is a website (such as ours pictured above). This technology for advertising and information is being frequently used in Europe and Japan.

We've recently seen local company's using QR codes to lead scanners to an incentive, such as a coupon or discount code.

To learn more about QR codes and bar code scanners for your phones, check out this info from Denso-Wave, the creators of the original code. QR is a registered trademark of the Denso-Wave corporation.

We're excited to be one of the first local professional remodeling company's to add QR codes to our company vehicles. We're excited about this visual marketing opportunity. Next time you see us on the road, scan us!

Check out our company MINI

The Giving Season

Melissa Irons and her children celebrated the holidays decorating Gingerbread Houses at the North Helpline "Home for the Holidays" decorating party. This fun family event was a fundraiser for the North Helpline's emergency line and food bank. This non-profit organization is dedicated to combating hunger and homelessness in the Greater North Seattle area.

'Tis the season for the hustle and bustle of the holidays. But don't forget to take time to remember what this season is really for, giving.

So you might be wondering, how can you help your local community during this holiday season? Some of the best ways you can give back:

• Shop locally and support local businesses - this puts money back into your local community
• Volunteer your time at the local food bank, animal shelter, or homeless shelter
• Most are in need of blankets, jackets, socks, and other cold weather items
• Support local artists - singers, musicians, painters, and craftspeople
• Attending holiday events and concerts will support them into next year
• Donate to your local food bank or charity
•  you can also donate in lieu of gift giving

Have a wonderful holiday season and thank you for supporting the communities you live and work in!

Thank you for reading this month's holiday issue. I am looking forward to celebrating and creating memories with my family and friends this holiday season. Please support your local businesses and charities so that this season and New Year is prosperous for all.

Remember one of the benefits of hiring our company is that I am personally involved in your project. Contact us to schedule an appointment and ensure your spot on our upcoming project calendar.