California Redwood Birding Trail

Archive for November, 2011

The new U.S. president Barack Obama always wear a stylish necktie with a dark suit on the big events so he is becoming the fashion icon in the political world. As a fashion man in the office, you can learn a lot from Obama. If you can choose a perfect tie in different texture and color and tie a different knot to meet the occasion, you can upgrade your overall outfit to another higher level. An appropriate necktie is definitely a fashion symbol and could win great compliment in the office.

The Windsor knot is a classic choice for the business, even though the tying process is a bit complicated. However, the advantage is that it can have the control over the shape and size of the knot. Furthermore, the space of shirt collar can be fully filled so that the professional elite image is created. Because of the multiple steps to tie the Windsor knot, silk ties are good to control the remaining length of a tie from the thin texture. In addition, the dark color is better to show the calm and vitality at the meeting.

The half Windsor knot is more casual than the Windsor knot so it is better to show the street style. As the name suggests, it is a modified version of the Windsor knot and the tie knot is smaller than the Windsor knot. The step seems easier but the folding can be complicated. It is a test for your tying skill so the narrow ties are easier for the beginners. The half Windsor knot can handle all different styles of collars in a variety of occasion so it is known as the universal way of tying. If directly matched with a collarless T shirt, it can show the unique delicate style. You can also create an elegant and grand feeling if go with a wide collar shirt in the official activities.

The romantic knot is a perfect choice for a sweet dating because of the symmetrical knot shape and the elegant lines. It provides an easy control on the knot while the remaining length of the tie can be adjusted according to the actual need. With the flexibility of the romantic knot, it is better suited to the free and casual style. You can even dress like a male model: put on a casual suit and the necktie is casually hanging on the neck.

The Prince Albert knot has a small but smart shape. The correct way of tying is to reserve more space at the wide end and try to fit together to make a perfect tie knot during the second round. This knot is not suited for the wide neckties, especially the multiple color ones. The ties in the solid color or plain color can create the symmetrical visual effect. For the vintage style shirts with the decoration in the chest, the solid color and narrow tie can show more elegant.

The groom knot is the most simple way to tie a tie and suitable for the narrow neckties in the thick fabric. It will not cause any cumbersome and very convenient for the travelling for its easy length adjustment. The elegant V collar sweater is the first choice to go out in spring which means the exposed neckties are the highlight for the upper body.

Having your child’s room neat and organized sure makes life a lot easier. wouldn’t it be nice to spend more time on getting your little girl dressed than looking for things like hair bows and hair clips? You can solve that problem by adding a way to organize all of her hair accessories.

When it comes time to dress up your little ones, and you have to spend time that you really don’t have looking for a hair bow or clip, it just makes getting ready that much more hectic. We all know how that can be. The best way to solve that problem is to have a way of keeping all of your child’s bows and hair accessories organized in a designated area.

There are several ways that you can do that. You can add an organizer that not only will help you be able to go directly to what it is you’re looking for, but, it will also add to the decor of the room itself. The organizer that I’m discussing will keep all of your little girls hair accessories neat and organized. The organizer is made using a piece of ribbon normally around 24″ long. The ribbon will be made of two layers. The first layer is the wider of the two. The second layer is smaller accent ribbon that runs down the full length of the center.

The organizer is made up of a ribbon wrapped ring, two strands of ribbon for the body of the organizer, and a crystal gerbera daisy attached near the top of the ribbon as an accent. The ring can be hung around a dresser knob, on a closet door, or on a wall using a nail, according to your preference. Easily accessible for placing all of your bows and hair accessories on the ribbon strip. Again, not only will you know exactly where to go to find what you’re looking for, but it will look great as well, not to mention keeping them clipped on the holder will keep the shape of the bows, as opposed to them laying on the floor under a shoe.

You can find just about any number of color combinations imaginable when picking out your hair bow organizer. I’m quite sure that if the room you’ll be hanging the organizer in has a colorful paint scheme, that you will be able to find a hair accessories organizer to match the colors. You can mix and match different colors of bows to compliment the organizer as well.

Perry Mink – Author
To keep your little girls hair bows and hair clips organized, a colorful hair bow/clip holder will make the job a lot easier. When shopping for hair accessories or a variety of children’s fashion accessories, one popular place to go that has great quality and very reasonable prices is http://www.beanies2bows.com

I have some great tips on designing your own hair bow/ hair accessories organizer. We all know that when you have little girls, they are going to have all kinds of hair bows and accessories spread from one end of the house to the other if they’re not organized properly. Hopefully, these tips will alleviate that problem.

Supplies you will need for a hair clip organizer: Foam Board or Art Canvas, Non-Toxic Acrylic paint, Paintbrush, Grosgrain Ribbon & a Stapler.

Hair Clip Holder: You can go to an arts and crafts store like Michaels or even Walmart, and pickup a 1/2″ piece of foam board or an art canvas, either one will work. I would suggest the art canvas because it’s more durable. The dimension of the board depends on how many bows you have to store. I personally like 24″ to 30″ wide by 24″ to 30″ tall because it will easily fit on most bedroom closet doors. It’s best to measure the door that you plan on installing it on so you will get the correct size. You will need to paint the board or canvas with a non-toxic acrylic paint in the color of your choice. Once the paint has dried, you will take your ribbon and cut it 5 inches longer than your board. For example, if your foam board is 24 inches tall, cut your ribbon 29 inches long, that way you have enough ribbon to go over the edge of the board and have approximately 2 inches left on each end. Place your ribbon from 1/2″ to 1″ apart, one at a time, across the width of the board. Wrap the excess ribbon ends over onto the back of your board and staple each one to the frame (that’s another good reason for using art canvas, there is a wooden frame to staple to). Repeat this step for each strand of ribbon. The ribbon should be snug because over time it will loosen up on its own. Once you have the organizer complete you just attach the organizer to the door with a couple of small nails and wire. If you would prefer not to have holes in your door, you can get a door hook and hang a decorative clothes hanger from the hook, attach two snap clamps to the clothes hanger and clamp the organizer to that.

Headband organizer: A couple of simple and inexpensive ways to keep your headbands organized is to take your empty 2 liter plastic bottles, wash them out good and fill with water and add food coloring of your choose. The headbands will fit nice and snug over the bottle. Another good way to organizer headbands is to take an empty cardboard container, like an empty oatmeal container and paint the container with a non toxic acrylic paint or wrap the container with gift wrapping paper. Both are very inexpensive and practical ways to keep your headbands organize.

Perry Mink – business owner/author. Hopefully these tips will come in handy when it comes time to organize your hair bows and accessories. There are several websites to choose from when shopping for your hair accessories. One of the more popular websites that has good quality products at unbelievable prices is http://www.beanies2bows.com

Pink ribbon pins and other awareness products have become very popular in recent years. This is due in part to a growing trend of items “for a cause,” with proceeds often donated to research foundations or charitable organizations.

Pink ribbon pins, pink handbags and other breast cancer awareness goods are also popular due to the overwhelming number of lives this life-threatening illness touches. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 1 in 8 women will suffer from breast cancer at some point in their lives, leaving families, friends and communities to come together in support of the women they love.

Not only do breast cancer pins show support for the struggles of women suffering from this illness, they also support research and other programs. This includes the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), a charity devoted to prevention and cure of the disease. The BCRF promotes the famous pink ribbon pin, and other goods that display the pink ribbon logo associated with this cause. Jewelry, clothing, personal care items and a large quantity of other supportive products are also offered by companies that have relationships with BCRF, which pledge donations to the foundation in exchange for purchase.

Pink ribbon pins are also sold and distributed by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the United States’ largest organization devoted to the fight against this disease. This organization is also responsible for the “Race for the Cure” fundraising events. For this reason, they also sell several types of athletic clothing and sporting goods emblazoned with the pink ribbon. While the pink ribbon pin is perhaps the best-known type of breast cancer pin, there are also several other varieties sold. For example, the Komen Foundation also sells its own lapel pins for breast cancer awareness, including enamel pins especially made with the charity’s name.

Since all these awareness items are generally sold by charitable organizations, much of their purchase price is donated directly to support cancer programs. For example, the BCRF uses 90% of all monies collected by the charity to fund research and awareness programs, with only 10% going to production of goods, printed materials, salaries and other administrative costs. High percentages are also typically donated by companies who have partnerships with these charities, such as Baccarat, Swarovski and Sephora.

Simply put, breast cancer pins and similar items allow more people to make meaningful contributions to support research and awareness, even if they don’t feel like they’re financially able to donate directly.

Sienna Pacific is a manufacturer of custom lapel pins of the highest quality and offers free artwork with your breast cancer pins order. Or if you wish, you can browse their awareness pins in their online store.

Hanging canvas wall art does not have to be confined to hammering a nail into the wall, installing a wire hanging kit behind a canvas and propping up the painting onto the nail on your wall. There are creative ways to hang artwork aside from this standard method. Hanging paintings in unusual ways can add interest to your room’s visual appeal.

The method of hanging your canvas can also make it the focal point of your room or wall. You can hang your art creatively but be sure not to add things that could take away the attention from the artwork itself. Sometimes your hanging method becomes part of the artwork itself. Here are 4 creative ways to hang your paintings:

1. Frame – You can make a painting look more formal with a frame. Frames can be expensive if you have them customized to your artwork. A cheaper way to frame your painting is by getting ready-made frames at home decor outlets or art stores. You can also look for old frames from thrift shops and yard sales, and refurbish them with new varnish or paint. Check out pretty metallic gold spray paints at hardware stores. Take measurement your canvas wall art before hunting for frames.

2. Ribbon – You can use pretty ribbons to hang your canvas on the wall. Instead of wiring the painting from behind, you can attach 2 pieces of ribbons to the top left and right sides of the canvas and tie it into a ribbon with some space between the knotted ribbon and the canvas. The ribbon will be visible above the canvas and used to hang the artwork to the nail on the wall. Get pretty ribbons but avoid too many patterns and printed designs on the ribbon to make the focus remain on the artwork.

3. Grouping – You can group several small pieces of paintings to make up the artwork on your wall or hallway. This is ideal if you have a lot of space to cover but only have small paintings or picture frames. It also makes an interesting wall art that house guests can view one by one. Group together photos or paintings with similar subjects.

4. Hang in rows – You can hang a series of paintings on one side of a wall like in a long office corridor, staircase, or hallway in your home. You can also do this in your living room or dining room. A good way to do this is by getting canvas art sets in 3 to 5 pieces of canvas that go together and make up one painting. These canvas art sets can have several pieces of canvas in the same size or in different sizes to make them an offset canvas.

Canvas wall art are supposed to complement the surroundings and existing home design. Consider your color theme, furniture style and your personal tastes in artwork. Take measurements of your wall to make sure you do not buy canvas art sets that are too large or wide. Match frame and ribbon colors to your room’s color theme but do not get them in the same color as your wall to create contrast.

Find a wide collection of canvas wall art at EverythingWallArt.com and discoverer countless choices of paintings, in different styles.

Crafting is so much fun and is meant to be something that de-stresses your life. But if your crafts are disorganized, scrapbooking and rubber stamping can become stressful endeavors rather than the fun hobby they are meant to be. Organization makes all the difference!

Rubber stamps are the backbone of card making and scrapbooking. But you need to know what stamps you have, and how to find them quickly and easily.

There are 3 basic systems for stamp organization:

1. Alphabetically
2. Number system
3. Category

There is not a one-size-fits-all organizational system. You need to have a system that works for YOU. So let’s look at each system.

1. Alphabetical: This is a great system as it’s quick and easy to find things. In addition, we are used to looking for other things alphabetically. The major drawback to this system is that you have to really know the names of your stamp sets. If you’re good with names, this is the system for you!

2. Number system: For this system, you simply affix a number to your stamp sets and keep a list, sort of like a library system where each book has a number. You can simply number your sets in the order you purchase them or make a more specific system where nature sets begin with a 1, greetings sets begin with a 2, etc. This is a great system for the very organized people out there. God bless you all!

3. Category: For this system, you organize your stamps according to the category they are listed under in the Idea Book & Catalog. So all the Holiday stamps go in one spot, the Occasions stamps go in another, etc. This is the system I use, and it really helps me. In addition to keeping my stamps straight, it helps me orient to the catalog. Since I use my catalog a lot, not only for helping people place orders but also for my own design inspiration, I feel that I kill two birds with one stone.

Whatever stamp organization system you choose, get one going. When you can find what you are looking for, creating hand stamped projects is much more fun. Stamping is meant to be a time of creativity and enjoyment, not frustration. So organize your stamps and you will be stamping stress-free!

I’ve given you ways to organize your rubber stamps, but don’t stop there! You can organize your embellishments, ribbons, and more. And the more organized your supplies are, the more you will create, and the more fun you will have in the creative process.

There are the spools, and then there are the scraps…

You can organize your ribbons in purpose-made shelves for easy access. But then there are those little scraps. You know, the pieces you cut for a project and then didn’t use. I like to store my scraps and pieces in a ribbon “jar.” I call it a jar, but it’s actually a vase, because I don’t want to have to open a lid when I’m looking for/grabbing a piece of ribbon. Remember, you want your organization to work FOR you not against you. You want it to SAVE time not cost you time.

Ribbon is my go-to embellishment. It adds the perfect touch to most any project. I use ribbon on my hand-stamped cards, scrapbook pages, handmade gifts, and more. Of course, they also make for extra-special packaging. When wrapping up a gift, even a small or inexpensive one, I like to make it extra special with nice wrapping or even just some nice ribbon. Stampin’ Up! ribbon comes in all our core colors as well as “in” colors (trendy colors that keep everything fresh) and is very, very nice quality. I like wrap a stack of hand-stamped cards in a generous length of ribbon for gifting. Super simple, super easy, extra special!

Candy Rattray is an Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator. Her Sweet Stamper business encompasses teaching card and gift making as well as scrapbooking, and selling supplies for those endeavors. Hand stamped cards and gifts are mini works of art that bring delight to those making them as well as those receiving them. Her Sweet Stamper business is showcased on the world wide web at http://www.sweetstamper.com, and she can be contacted at candy@sweetstamper.com.