Elegant Party Favors For A Special Baby Shower

You have been asked to plan a baby shower for a dear friend. One week into your planning, you get a call saying that your friend?s great grandmother will be coming as well as her three Aunts. Not only that, but they are all the type to wear white gloves and carry a pocket sized version of a well known etiquette book in their purses. Before you start to panic, be comforted in the fact that you can find some beautiful, elegant party favors that will dazzle even the most formal guest.

Remember, half of the battle is the presentation. You can take an ordinary favor and dress it up with a beautiful organza bag or fancy container. A quick internet search can help you find ideas for packaging. You can buy organza bags in larger quantities and one website had an adorable square tin with a custom label for your shower. Precious baby shower boxes with cute gingham designs come filled with a variety of candies or chocolate. If you are having a tea party type shower, look online for gourmet tea organza favor bags. They are beautiful and would be a lovely addition to any shower. When all else fails, give fine chocolate as a party favor!

If you are setting a more formal table for your guests, a small silver frame to hold the place cards makes an elegant party favor. Clear favor boxes shaped like mini handbags can hold the place card as well.

You might be worried that elegant means expensive. This is not necessarily the case. Many websites offer elegant looking favors for reasonable prices. Do a price comparison. Search a variety of online stores. Most websites sell by the dozen which often keeps the price down. If you are on a tight budget, you might want to try making your own elegant party favors. If you see an idea online that you like, go to a local craft store and see if you can find similar materials. Then see if the store has weekly coupons and save some money that way. Whatever you decide, don?t stress yourself out trying to find the perfect baby shower favor. Remember that this day is for the mom to be and your goal is to honor and celebrate her.

Kelly Jezek is a successful Webmaster and publisher of mybabyshowerhelper.com. She provides more helpful tips on planning the perfect baby shower at her site. Visit my baby shower helper today!

Thomas Chippendale and His Legendary Chairs

Chairs crafted by Thomas Chippendale were dazzling examples of quality furniture in their day. Today, they remain extraordinary examples of antique furniture. Chippendale style, ball and claw and ladder backs, there?s lots to know. Here?s your guide to one of the world?s most celebrated chairs.

Who is He.

Thomas Chippendale (1714-1779) was an English furniture maker in the mid 18th century whose work was influenced by English, French and Chinese furniture design.

A Book Made Him a Household Name.

In 1754, Thomas Chippendale published the first of three editions of his book, Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker?s Director. It put him on the map. This illustrated directory showed examples of the furniture that Thomas Chippendale could make for his customers. Wealthy clients could see illustrated examples, pick out the designs that they liked which would be handcrafted in his workshop. At the time, Thomas Chippendale probably didn?t expect that this book would become so widely copied for so many years by other furniture makers. It continues to be used today.

A Claim to Fame.

Thomas Chippendale was the first non-reigning monarch to have a furniture style named after him. Before Thomas Chippendale, furniture styles were named after reigning Monarchs such as Louis XIV, George I, Queen Anne.

Chippendale versus Chippendale Style.

Anything made by Thomas Chippendale?s workshop in England is a Chippendale. Furniture made incorporating the features used by Thomas Chippendale is Chippendale-style. American Chippendale refers to Chippendale style furniture that was made in the US ? mostly in Philadelphia.

Chippendale Style Particulars.

The style reflected elements of the Rococo, Chinese, Gothic and Noeclassical styles. Deep hand carving was prevalent. Common motifs were of shells, lions, masques, eggs, darts and scrolls.

Favorite Wood.

Mahogany was preferred choice of wood for Chippendale style furniture. Solid wood; not veneers was often used because of the detailed carving involved.

A Lesson in Legs.

There are six basic style ? lion?s paw, ball and claw, the late Chippendale, the Marlborough, the club and the spade. Early Chippendale furniture used the cabriole leg which is a serpentine style ending with a lion?s paw, ball and claw or the club. The late Chippendale, Marlborough and spade were straight legs and appeared later in the period.

Seat Selection.

Chippendale style chairs were wood, upholstered or caned.

Chair Back Choice.

Upholstered, rail backs, ladder backs, rung back, splat backs, carved backs, ribband backs. The chair backs are one of the most definitive parts of the chair that typify the style. Ribband backs are carved to look like bow. Very few were made in the 18th century because it required expert craftsmen and was very time-consuming. And very few survived passed the 18th C. Most ribband back chairs around today were made in the 19th and 20th centuries.

What to Look for When Buying.

Look for original condition. Repairs and replacement lower the value. Actual pieces from Thomas Chippendale?s workshop are rare indeed. Make sure the provenance is strong documented when a dealer says it is a Thomas Chippendale versus a Chippendale style chair. Keep in mind that very few ribband back chairs survived from the 18th century. Be wary when someone tells you that they have one.

Reproductions Versus Antiques.

You can tell modern reproductions from the real thing by looking closely at the carving. Is it uniform in depth and symmetrical? If so, it?s a modern reproduction. Antique Chippendale?s would be hand carved which is irregular in depth and never exactly symmetrical because it?s virtually impossible for even a master artisan to achieve it.

Pricing.

Any Chippendale 18th century chair whether it was made by Thomas Chippendale himself or one of his contemporaries will cost several thousands of dollars. If it?s not in that price range, it?s most likely not 18th century. Even high quality modern reproductions can be pricey.

Martin Swinton owns Take-A-Boo Emporium located in Toronto, Canada. He has appeared on a variety of television programs; does furniture restoration; caning and rushing repairs; appraisals and has taught courses on antiques at the Learning Annex. Martin can be reached at http://www.takeaboo.com

Artcoustic Loudspeakers No Gimmick

A few years ago, I watched an episode of my favourite TV show, Grand Designs. The show follows individuals as they fulfil their dream of building, renovating, or converting their dream home. In this particular episode, the refurbishment of a North London Victorian terrace, I wasn?t particularly impressed with the results, but one item of ?furniture? which made it into the finished article did catch my eye, and I quickly set about finding out more about this stylish and ground-breaking product.

The product was the Artcoustic Loudspeaker; a revolutionary, high-quality speaker that seamlessly blends into any home. Now you may doubt these words. After all, every home is different, and everyone has their own individual sense of style and taste. To compound this, the surrounding environment, furniture etc. bring yet another element just itching to clash with your audio-visual system. Not so!

Artcoustic have developed a loudspeaker with a sound quality amongst the finest HiFi loudspeakers. By housing each plasma speaker in a cabinet the depth of the average canvas, each wall-mountable with the least effort, and by offering a full range of artistic and interchangeable covers, the finished article resembles a work of art. Each Artcoustic loudspeaker can therefore be hung in any interior with no fear of appearing misplaced, whilst retaining the technical quality to satisfy the most ardent audiophile. The applications for these speakers are endless. By combining many smaller speakers, full surround sound capability can be supported, without the unsightly speaker stands and wires. By incorporating a larger subwoofer, you can really bring life to those action movies you love so much! Literally anywhere you would put artwork can now be fair game for the Artcoustic speaker.

Many chic hotels have incorporated these speakers into their rooms, bars and restaurants ... the ultimate endorsement. Cinemas have mounted them behind their screens to make the most of their space-saving capability. But in my opinion, it is in the home that the Artcoustic truly makes a difference. It will change the way you feel about audio visual systems. To label them as ?speakers that look like pictures? would be doing them a massive disservice. Able to compete with many of the space-hoarding, often higher-priced speakers which adorn the pages of ?What HiFi??, and yet one of the few products to truly blend into its environment, this is a true revelation in itself.

Matt Hodkinson is Managing Director of Matizzi. We offer a wide range of Audio-Visual and Home Automation products for your home or business. Visit us now for more information, at http://www.stylishautomation.com

LEARN the Basics of a Sane Parental Relationship

Hey PARENTS- Hassling with your hip-hopper making you Holler?!!!Hey TEENS- R u having trouble getting the 'rents off your back? Well, No matter what the case, I have the solution. Just follow these simple guidelines:

L.OVE your parent/child unconditionally. This is an easy step that if missed, can screw-up a person's life majorly!!!

E.NVITE open conversation on why you're hurt or upset, etc. Open conversation is always nice because you always know that, as long as you're not interrupted, you'll always be heard through!!!

A.GREEMENTS should always be met when everyone has said all they want to say. This balance the fairness out a lot!!!

R.ESPECT your parent's/child's thoughts, opinions, and privacies(to a certain extent).

N.EVER leave a disagreement without attempting to resolve it. If you do, you're asking for trouble with bottling-up, over-anxiety, stressing-out, etc., etc.

If you noticed, each new line spelled LEARN. I used this acronym because I know that I always learn from my mother and father, and it betters me as a person and a pre-adult. If you follow these guidelines, your life probably won't change completely, but it may just be an inch short of mile!!! And remember always: learn to live to laugh and love!!! G'day

***Note:I fully understand that invite in obviously spelled with an i not e, but then again, L.I.A.R.N just doesn't come close to being as cool!!!

Forever Blowing Bubbles the Importance of Aeration

Have you ever lay in the bath fully submerged holding your breath, before slowly let out a breath to allow the bubbles to rise. Next time you do watch what it does to the surface of the water above you.

Bubbles or rather air plays an important part in the environment of a fish tank. Unlike us fish are fully submerged in water every day of its life, but they still need air to survive.

Just as we breathe in air through our nostril and mouth, and so do fish. Fish pull in water through their gills extracting the air. Now we all know that there is oxygen in water but if we imagine being in an airtight room with only limited amounts of breathable oxygen, pretty soon the supply will run out and we will soon be unable to breath.

Now imagine that you are breathing in a toxic gas that has been introduced into your air supply, wouldn?t we get quickly sick if we were to breathe in too much?

As a fish breathes in the water through its gills so too must it pass that water along with carbon dioxide back into the environment in which it lives through the excretory tracts. In the natural environment the area is vast with moving currents that naturally cycle the water and dilute those toxic wastes.

The movement of water across the surface absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere; the more turbulent the movement the more oxygen is absorbed. In natural habitat waterfalls, rocks, rainfall etc create a fast movement of water and the fish adapt to these conditions. As an aquarist our job is to recreate that process as effectively as possible. This will also circulate and dilute the toxic waste from fish excretion, rotting food and dead plants providing a safe environment for our fish to live in.

Aeration then is a great factor in providing both a safe environment for our fish and can add drama and more viewing pleasure to the keen aquarist.

Use your imagination.

Make the aeration process fun for the fish and yourself. Remember that part of setting up an aquarium is for your enjoyment as well as for the fish. Make a feature from your aeration system one that will keep your fish healthy and occupied, you entertained and wow any visitors to your home.

There are plenty of aeration tools on the market and most are very cheap, plastic piping comes in various lengths and diameter so that a varied effect can be achieved. Novelty decorations can be bought in the forms of divers, treasure chest with moving parts and other such decorations that add a little of your personality into the aquarium. To have a more natural effect why not choose an odd shaped or interesting stone, hollow log or ceramic vase or plant pot, insert a length of plastic tubing so that the outlet faces in the direction you wish the bubbles to appear and plug the inlet into your pump, a beautiful cascade of bubbles will be a real eye catcher, and the fish enjoy the benefits of the extra oxygen created. A curtain of bubbles from a long length of tubing with tiny holes pierced along the top can add a dramatic special effect and can also create a boundary within the tank between species of fish as some fish do not like to cross through the curtain.

Always ensure you buy the biggest tank you can afford and when using aeration pumps buy for at least the size of tank you have, too little power results in the pump being unable to push the air through the tubing. Always refer to your fish stockist for specific requirements as different fish species tolerate higher water turbulence that others.

Cerianwen is a keen tropical fish enthusiast with many years personal experience in tropical fish keeping. Cerianwen is an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Fiction Writing.

Horses Citation

In this article we're going to briefly go over the career of one of the most famous horses in racing history, Citation.

If you look past the losses that Citation sustained at the end of his career, this has to have been one of the greatest horses in racing history if you simply look at his accomplishments. Citation was a horse that was not only blessed with blinding speed but with great staying power. The horse just never tired. Add to that a killer instinct that literally willed him past the other horses and this horse was almost unbeatable until he just got too old to do it anymore.

Over the course of Citation's career there were many changes. After the patriarch of Calumet Farms, Warren Wright, died, trainer Ben Jones started to hand over more responsibility of handling Citation to his son Jimmy. He ultimately took this horse to a place where no other horse had been to that time; retiring as a millionaire in 1951. Unfortunately, the losses he sustained in the last 2 years of his career greatly diminished what he had accomplished in the eyes of others.

The truth is, racing was never easy for Citation in spite of his natural talent. Injuries kept him completely out of the 1949 racing season. To compound matters, Warren Wright's dying wish that Citation retire a millionaire kept this horse racing into his sixth year when most other horses would have already been long retired. In spite of all this, Citation somehow managed to shake off the defeats late in his career and win his final three races, something nobody expected him to be able to do. His final victory was the Hollywood Gold Cup, which was the race that put him over the million dollar earnings bracket, the only horse to ever reach this plateau.

Warren Wright was actually more responsible for the great horse that Citation became than anyone realizes. It was his choosing to breed Bull Lea, a less than successful triple crown winner, and Hydroplane II, a horse he purchased from Lord Derby in the spring of 1941. Obviously, this pairing was a work of pure genius on Wright's part.

Citation's career began in 1945 with great fanfare. By the time he reached his 3 year old season in 1947 he was honored as racing's Horse Of The Year. That year he won the Flamingo Stakes and Everglades Handicap and he was on a seven race winning streak.

But the pinnacle of that year was when Citation won the triple crown, winning the Kentucky Derby by 3 1/2 lengths, the Preakness by 5 1/2 lengths and the Belmont Stakes by an amazing 11 lengths. With that victory, Citation became racing's 8th triple crown winner.

But he wasn't through. Citation won 9 more starts in 1948. By the time his 3 year old career had ended Citation had won 27 races and came in 2nd twice in 29 races.

Citation died on August 8, 1970, at the age of 25. He was truly one of the greatest.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Horses
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