Author Archives: schatzi

4 Creative Ideas Utilizing Decorative Christmas Gift Wrap

Posted on by

Perhaps the most festive time of year for everyone is Christmas. The excitement of the season is in the air, anticipating getting together with friends and family, snowfalls making the landscape look like a greeting card and all of the lights and colors of the holiday season makes it a particularly unique time of year to enjoy. Decorating for Christmas is a big deal and many people put hours and hours into lighting up their yards with miles of lights as a way to show their Christmas spirit. While gifts used to be given without fancy wrapping but creative Christmas gift wrap and all the accessories for wrapping the gifts has become the way to go.

Here are some neat and creative ideas using Christmas gift wrap and accessories to dress up your packages:

1. When giving potted plants or flowers, it’s nice to keep the surprise as long as possible so you’ll want to enclose the entire plant. You can pre-wrap the base after it’s been watered for the last time before you give it and right before you go out the door you can cover the top part to hide it as well as to protect the flower or plant a little.

2. While bows have been put on packages for years, they keep getting larger and more ornate. Being able to dress a very nice gift up with an especially beautiful bow is like putting the cherry on top of the sundae.

3. Gift bags have become extremely popular over the years as they make wrapping a present a lot easier. Instead of having to try to find boxes to fit gifts that just don’t like being boxed (clothes being the most difficult), gift bags simplify the process immensely. While most people use tissue to wrap and conceal the gift, a great idea is to use decorative Christmas gift wrap instead. Not only does it do the job of concealment but it looks a lot better than plain tissue.

4. Don’t forget the gift tags! Regardless of how many great decorative gift wrapping ideas you use, you still have to ensure the present makes it into the hands of the right person. You can even have personalized gift tags that make them easier than ever to use.

Christmas is an awesome time of year for kids and adults and part of the dynamic that makes it so great are the ways everything is decorated. Using creative decorative Christmas wrap on presents is one thing but taking it to the next level with new ways to use wrapping and accessories like bows and tags to make them even more beautiful is what makes Christmas even more fun and special.

Raw Food – Appliances You Will Need

Posted on by

It seems more and more people are becoming interested in eating raw. While 10 years ago you were considered a freak if you told anyone that you did not cook your food but instead ate only raw food, now it seems quite fashionable to be a ‘rawy’ which is someone who indeed eats mainly or even only raw food.

Although the basics of the diet are quite simple, you do not heat your food above 115 degrees F / 45 degrees C, so that you do not destroy the enzymes in the food; it is quite confusing though when you start reading the recipe suggestions. Terms like food dehydrator, juicer or slicer are common. If you are new to the raw food world; these are appliances you will need if you even consider the change to a raw food diet. Without them it becomes quite difficult to really make the change in your diet.

To be straight forward, if you consider going on the diet you will need the following appliances in order to make life easy and the diet versatile enough to stick to it.

1) A food dehydrator.
Although food dehydration is usually advertised as a way to preserve food, when using it for a raw food diet it allows you to create recipes with ingredients that are too rich in water to otherwise combine. Think of a nut pizza with tomato slices. This bottom will become soaked before you can eat it. Dehydrating food also intensifies the flavors in the food.

When considering which dehydrator to buy there are a few things you need to consider. Make sure you get one where the fan is at the side (often referred to as horizontal air flow). The ones with the fan at the bottom often produce an uneven result. Get one with enough power and a drying area that is large enough because you will use the dehydrator a lot. A thermostat is an absolute requirement but most dehydrators have this. Price, to compare prices divide the total cost by the square drying area.

2) High speed blender.
To properly juice both fruits and vegetables check if the juicer does indeed do both. A lot of juicers that are good for juicing fruit do less of a job when juicing vegetables; this is due to the difference in structure between the two.

Consider the method via which the juicer gets rid of the pulp, does it do this automatically, or do you need to do it manually?

3) Salad shredder – although you can slice all your veggies by hand a salad shredder is something you might want to purchase. Usually they are not too expensive and really helpful.

Reading Sunglasses For Function and Fashion

Posted on by

Reading glasses aid people’s vision defects. Sunglasses protect the eyes from excessive light and harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. But what if we put reading glasses and sunglasses together? We will come up with the brand new and fashionable sunglasses for reading!

Manufacturers have developed the reading sunglasses not just to provide protection and perfect vision, but also to follow the trend of fashion. Both men and women want to have a fashionable look while strolling around malls or merely walking around the neighborhood. That is why the most popular choice for fashion today is the polarized reading glasses.

This type of eye wear has a variety of frame styles and shapes available to fit one’s personality and convenience. The color of the lens is also an important factor for one to consider. People can have the design of their choice.

Many people love to read books and magazines on the beach or pool side while enjoying the ocean breeze and the heat of the sun. Others simply feel awkward when wearing plain reading glasses, especially during summer, when the sun is scorching hot. It also works best when you are inside the car and driving out of town. This type of glasses minimizes the intensity of light that hits the wind shield which is very inconvenient when reading road signs and maps. In addition, it will make tiny characters and details in maps appear larger. Now, with the new reading sunglasses, people won’t be experiencing too much hassle on bringing and changing two glasses when outdoors.

When we see a person who wears the traditional reading glasses, we will surely think that he is a nerdy type or something. But with the help of these multipurpose glasses, you can have the function and the fashion at the same time!

Washing Machine Tips – Do’s And Don’ts In Washing Clothes

Posted on by

You don’t need to be an expert clothes washer to get your clothes washing chore done. I am sure many people will admit to themselves that washing clothes can be a little daunting. A lot of things can go wrong and you might inadvertently damage your beautiful clothes.

Washing machines are huge helpers. They make our clothes washing chore simpler and easier. Make your work easier by using the washer and using the following do’s and don’ts guide:

1. Do separate your clothes into batches.

Find out how much clothes your washer can accommodate. Avoid overloading your washer with clothes as this might impair its ability to distribute detergent properly. When running full laundry cycles, only wash the right amount of clothes in one washing cycle.

Separate the white garments from the colored ones. When you are placing your clothes inside the washer, make sure you even out the load. Don’t just dump your garments inside as this might lead to uneven washing cycle. It causes the machine to move and jerk around.

2. Don’t use a lot of detergent.

Even with non-HE washers, it is important to use just the right amount of detergent. If you use too much, soap suds can accumulate inside. Moreover, the washer will have a difficulty dissolving powder detergent. It is also better if you use liquid detergent instead of powder detergent. Even if you use cold water cycles, liquid detergent dissolves easily.

3. Do use the right washing cycles.

Use the right water level, temperature and length of washing time. Modern laundry appliances today have built-in intelligent features that can easily determine the right amount of water and energy that can be used to clean the garments inside. This will prevent the washer from using too much water or energy.

4. Don’t leave your washing machine unattended.

Most washers have an end-of-cycle signal that will alert you if the washing cycle is already done. However, you should not leave your washer there to go for a long errand. If you leave your moist garments inside the drum, molds can appear. It might make your clothes smell moldy.

5. Do pre-treat stains in your clothes to avoid using the hot water cycle of the machine.

The heating process of water consumes a lot of energy. By pre-treating stains instead of using hot water, you can save a lot of energy. Moreover, it prevents the washing machine from breaking down easily.