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Show HERALD, Friday, Jdeas for Decorating By BARBARA MAYER For AP Special Features It's summer, and America's out-d(living areas are in need of a - fix. A random telephone sampling of I. (MX) people found that 77 percent of Americans with a back yard plan to improve it. According to the survey by S.C. Johnson Wax of Racine, Wis., those improvements will be part of the nearly $6 billion we spend annually on planting and - !W6 l- a- l: I in V;.?a ihi. 1!!; ' . I J 1M . Vii.ii ''' i m iMtm pi ipjp fa Outdoor My 5, rel'u.-bishi- outdoor living areas. Swimming pools and hot tubs are high on the list of improvements, but there are less costly projects, such as a barbecue grill. There also are improvements that ate strictly aesthetic. "I enjoy a back yard that is filled wiih flowers and is easy to maintain," Mary Engelbreit says. "But if all I see is weeds, I won't go outside." So she plants oodles of annuals in early spring. Then Engelbreit, an artist who illustrates everything from greeting cards to home accessories, concentrates on other projects. Most of them are simple poking holes in a rusted toy wagon to use as a planter, setting flower-jng plants on an old bench at the back door. Many of her ideas and photos are in "Mary Engelbreit's Outdoor Companion," (Andrews and McMeel, $24.95). But artist that she is, she likes to paint, particularly to repaint old wood furniture. She uses deck paint plus a clear sealer that will weather the elements. Colors she likes are bright pink, yellow, bright blue, deep green and white. Decorating with naive motifs such as checkerboards, cherries, Scotty dogs, sunflowers and the cottages that are her trademark further gilds the lily. Those who can't draw can use stencils or buy decoupage sheets from a crafts store. . , "With several coats of varnish, the decoupaged images should last for several seasons," she says. Those with no land to till should not despair. "You can plant a flower in virtually anything, including kids' plastic buckets," Engelbreit says, adding that she's always on the lookout for weathered baskets, chipped pitchers and other containers that have seen better days. Clay pots can be turned into table bases and bird baths. Turn AP photo Barbara Elliott Martin This bright pink bench accents dark green chairs and floor on a porch from "Mary one pot upside down. Nest several more on top of it like a stack of lamp shades. Then glue a large clay saucer on top. Fill the saucer with water and wait for the birds. For a table base, fill the drain holes in several large clay pots of equal size. Set one pot upright and Till it with sand for ballast. Turn another pot upside down and set it on top, matching the rims to create a hexagon. Repeat, gluing the bases together if necessary. Engelbreit likes to paint them in bright acrylics, with stripes and flowers and other motifs. Another simple idea is to partially fill a small clay pot with sand and set a candle in it. Use several to mark a garden path or other unlit outdoor areas. After the labors come the rewards. A theme party is a festive way to christen a refurbished yard. Deborah Durham, a spokesman for Johnson's, suggests a beach theme using plastic sand toys as serving dishes. "Fill a pail with punch and use small sand molds to make ice cubes," she says. "A sand castle form can hold potato salad, with a shovel as a server." above the wire planters. Engelbreit loves a back yard filled with flowers. Engelbreits Outdoor Companion", a book on outdoor decorating. Note the tin sand pails Network Leo Lines eaBtty 1774 North Univ. Pkwy. Brigham's Landing Suite 20 Provo, Utah 84604 Network Realty Each Office Independently Owned & - Four badroont rantier win il brick win garaga, kwQB shop, and CofwinHi4y Lsa. looted 375-212- 1 Residence 226-02- 68 Operated Amaflcan Folk batts. 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