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A Birthday Gift Basket Is Sure To Please Anyone

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Sometimes people receive the same kinds of birthday gifts all the time. Year after year, it’s always the same things – clothes, bags, accessories, books, perfume, etc. Usually it is the same. You can change the trend this year and give something that’s out of the ordinary. Why not give a birthday gift basket.

Creating Your Special Gift Basket

Here’s how to make a birthday gift basket that’s truly unique and special. First, find the basic basket – one with a unique shape and appearance – for example, heart-shaped, or made of an unusual material like twisted raffia. Second, perhaps you could paint the basket with the birthday person’s favorite color. The next part of the process is to put a cloth or soft paper lining on the inside of the basket. Place a small round birthday cake in a plastic container (without the cover) and set it at the center of the basket. Arrange colored decorations, like confetti, paper flowers, or party blowers around the container.

Carefully place your gift beside the cake. Wrap the gift in decorated paper and tie with a fancy ribbon. Your gift must be small enough to fit inside the basket but not too small as to be covered by the decorations in the basket. Attach a birthday card or place a card and personal note inside the basket.

Now for the finishing touch, the final gift wrappings. Place the basket on a large sheet of colored cellophane paper. Bring up the corners of the cellophane paper and bunch them together at the top. Tie the ends of wrapper with a large bow. Tie two or three balloons to the basket. For the final decorative touch, you can tie curled paper or streamers around the cellophane wrapper.

The fun in giving this birthday gift basket is no one expects it and no one can tell what’s inside the basket. Personalized gift baskets are extra special gifts. You can also put into it what you want in terms of your design preferences, as well as the kind of gift you want. A birthday gift basket is always an exciting one to receive. After opening the gift and eating the cake there is still the basket to remember you.

Suitable for Anyone

A home made birthday gift basket is special and can be made to suit anyone. Different types of baskets, different cakes and gifts, and different decorations can be used depending on the age, gender and interests of the person. That is why birthday gift baskets are unique and special, and people have fun giving them and fun receiving them.






What To Consider When Choosing Your College Bedding

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One day you’ll want to be sophisticated. One day you’ll pay hundreds of dollars for Tommy Hilfiger bedding or thousands for Aninachi bedspreads. For now though, you want machine washable college bedding that’s colorful, decorative and inspirational, as well as spill/puke friendly. After all, there will be a lot of parties and a lot of stuffing your face with leftover Chinese food (in bed) while cramming for that exam. Space and stylistic options are both limited in dorms, so what is a confined college student to do? Well, choose the most interesting comforter set he or she can find!

Here are a few helpful tips for you when you go shopping for dorm bedding. First, buy extra-long twin sheets. Normal sheets won’t fit the beds properly. Secondly, don’t get white. You’ll be pretty much living in your room and the last thing you want is something that’s boring and will show stains. Buy more than one set of sheets because, regardless of your intentions, you’re going to put off doing laundry. You should change your sheets every week, ideally, so keep that in mind. Lastly, buy a mattress pad! Whether it’s memory foam, feather down or egg crate, you’ll need some sort of defense against the rock solid, one-inch-thick dorm room mattress.

Next, you’ll need to consider choosing a college bedding style. Girls generally choose brighter colors, modern or contemporary patterns. They usually have an idea of exactly what they’re looking for and have many options to choose from. For guys, there are some comforter sets that come with two pillowcases and two fitted sheets (one for the bed and one for the wash) for guys who don’t use top sheets. They like dark colors like navy, crimson, mocha and dark sage, experts say. Extra-long twin sheets in denim and white sell well, as do down comforters with cotton duvet covers, which add comfort that even bare-bones basic guys can appreciate.

So how do most people shop for college bedding? A 2007 survey revealed that 33.6% of male consumers said they shopped for comforters at specialty stores, like Bed Bath and Beyond. Internet shopping, however, is also on the rise. “In many cases the mother does the legwork but consults with the son, and they will often look online together. She’ll make the purchase after she knows what he wants,” explains Jeff Gawronski, manager at www.dormbuys.com. Last year, parents shelled out an average of $1,200 on electronics, bedding accessories and dorm furnishings.

Taking A Look At Bedding Collections For 2008/2009

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Luxurious bedding collections for 2008/2009 range from rich coffee and taupe to crisp white and spa blue. You can get chic contemporary embroidery or an ethnic Moroccan flair. One thing designers seem intent on is providing you with a diverse range that encapsulates your personal style and offers a subtle hint of color or pattern without whacking you over the head with it. The designs are all striking, at first glance, but ultimately soothing and enjoyable to keep around for years to come. Eco-friendly designs are beginning to emerge this year as our global consciousness seems to shift and vivid accents are in.

“Sex and the City” fans may recall Charlotte’s fun red-and-white, poppy and ivory silk charmeuse bedroom set. The exotic design is one of the bedding collections from designer Ann Gish and can be purchased for $200 to $810 at Neiman Marcus. Gish is known for her attention to detail, quality construction and experimentation with various textures. She likes to layer her comforter sets with various velvets, high-thread-count cottons, silks and taffetas. She’ll mix a bright and bold with a neutral to bring a room to life. Her “Ready To Bed” collection offers 100% silk at a reasonable price. These bedding accessories are fit for royalty!

If you like bedding collections that whisk your heart away to old world Europe, then Anichini is for you. The “Tempting Taj” luxury bedding comes in rich, romantic earth tones; envelope yourself in curry, rust, sage and terracotta Rupia Silk and Sateen Sheets as you dream of ancient Indian adventures. The “Persia” collection of 2005 excites the senses with bold red, embroidery with an intricate gold design, which matches up nicely against a mahogany wooden bed frame and dresser set. The “Hazeran Turkish” collection is inspired by the decadence of the Ottoman Empire, with tulips, circles and pine cones woven into a Hikmet design, bathed in soft gold and violet, with mocha accents. “Celestine” and “Dreamy Erema” are also luxury collections in more subtle and modern blue, black, gray and white tones. Check www.anichini.com for more collections.

Luxurious bedding collections never truly go out of fashion. Beds are such large pieces of furniture and instinctively the eye is drawn to them; therefore, it’s critical that you choose a sheet and comforter set that defines your sense of style, opulence and decadence. Your bedroom is your sanctuary. It is a place for quiet reflection, for unwinding and enjoyment of sensuousness and comfort. Don’t cheapen your experience by simply grabbing a Bed-In-A-Bag from JC Penney when you could be sleeping in five-star resort comfort every night.

Roman Numeral Jewelry Celebrates Life's Special Moments

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The jewelry that will be most cherished will be meaningful in addition to being beautiful.

The use of cultural symbols in jewelry can create this special combination of beauty and meaning. Jewelry with Roman numerals, in particular, can keep close a memory of the special times and people in your life.

Roman numerals are a numbering system originating in ancient Rome based on seven letters given values as numbers. Any number can be created with a combination of these seven letters. While thousands of years old, Roman numerals continue to be popular today and are a wonderful way of giving gravity and meaning to a special number or date.

Romanesque symbols evoke boldness, strength, longevity. It represents permanence and tradition. Roman numerals are enduring, solid, time-honored.

The straightforward and elegant lines of Roman numerals create an artistic and attractive design on their own. They communicate confidence and steadfastness that combine with their meaning to create a very meaningful piece of jewelry.

Roman numeral jewelry helps us embrace moments in time – birth, graduation, first date, engagement, marriage, and other special memories. It can celebrate either a beginning or a culmination. As a gift, it can be a deeply personal message to the recipient. Or, celebrate with a gift to yourself for a achieving a goal or marking the day that changed your world.

Whether a Roman numeral ring, pendant, bracelet or charm, date jewelry allows the wearer to hold a personal moment close. The special date is always with you, but you choose whether to share its meaning. Your statement can be open and public or kept private and discreet with only your and a few others knowing the true meaning.

A simple numeral can create hidden and deeply personal meaning in a piece of unique jewelry.

How To Get The Fabulous Costume Jewelry

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Costume jewelry emerged in the United States in the 1920s. Antique American Costume Jewelry is the base of the term Fabulous Fakes. It is particularly made with colored glass stones, rhinestones, gold plated metal, or sterling silver. During 1925, Miriam Haskell and other designers began selling their jewelry pieces. Numerous European immigrants began crafting their fascinating jewelry in Providence, Rhode Island as well as Chicago and New York between the 20s and 30s. Thus, those regions are famous with its costume jewelry.

Around the 1940, when Hollywood movie stars started wearing it in both films and real life, costume jewelry became more popular. But todays it is also popularity on the celebrities costume like Madonna Costume, for instance. Joseff of Hollywood was one of the most renowned designers of that age. Hattie Carnegie, Eisenberg Originals, Nettie Rosenstein, Ciner, and Napier are some of other noted designers whose costume jewelry is sought by modern collectors. Modern collectors find it very hard to possess pieces from the 30s to the mid fifties. Pieces that have been marked or signed by the designer are perfectly desirable as well as valuable.

Today, the collecting of vintage costume jewelry has become a popular life style. It costs thousands of dollars to get many antiques pieces. Classic costume pieces have become a clear fashion statement. Many of today’s celebrities favor costume jewelry, including Diane Keaton, Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Demi Moore, Nicolette Sheridan, and many more. Who could accuse them? Antique costume jewelry reflects vibrant, bold colors and a larger than life scale. The unique part of vintage pieces are attentive craftsmanship, originality, and striking attractiveness.

Words for the Budding Costume Jewelry Collector

When searching for vintage pieces, you need to make sure pin clasps work. This is because they are very hard to fix. Also choose pieces in which the metal has not started turning into color of green. Like jewelry for Madonna costume, Santa costume, Indian costume etc, avoid purchasing pieces with missing stones as they will not be easy to replace. Searching antique fairs, garage sales, as well as flea markets may turn up exceptional deals on vintage costume jewelry. Church bazaars are another great place to find great deals on pieces, usually well kept jewelry that has been locked away by someone’s grandmother or aunt.

If you expect to make some memories of your own to share with the future generations of your family, you can try to buy discount costume jewelry. You can also put it on with elf costume for the special event. You will exactly have a least a few that will one day just as valuable and desirable as the antique pieces sought by collectors today when building your own collection of great modern pieces. If it is affordable, Armani and Prada can be a good pick if you want to buy a few pieces from designers, especially their couture collections. These pieces are really original and are made in only small quantities. The people who haven’t got a chance to have these pieces will absolutely envy your costume jewelry.

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