Where to Find a Doll That Looks Like Your Kid

Have you ever looked at your child and thought, "If only I could capture that beauty forever," and desire to have a doll that looks like your son or daughter? Well, now you can capture those wonderful moments and have a keepsake to forever remember your child's youth without a camera.

MyTwin allows parents to capture a child's beauty in a doll that looks as if it is the child's twin. Parents can either upload or mail in a photo of their child, and then choose hair, eye coloring, skin tone, clothing, and all the characteristics that match their child; these features will be placed onto the doll. For instance, if a child has freckles, these speckles will be added to the doll's face.

For a good price, children can have a twin doll. Before purchasing, MyTwin allows consumers to personalize a doll online and get an idea of how the doll will turn out. These beautiful, life-like looking dolls will be sure to please both parents and children.

Paperkids is a site for those who enjoy paper dolls. These paper toys were fun pastimes of early years, and now have been remade to be enjoyed with a familiar look to them.

Allowing parents to order a doll resembling their child, Paperkids has a portrait artist who uses a photo of the child and makes a paper doll replica.

There are many packages ranging from $60 to $105, which include paper dolls, outfits, and accessories. Paperkids saves orders allowing parents to order more prints and more clothing at a later date for $18 and customized outfits for $15.

Bishonenhouse is for a spectacular porcelain custom doll, this is the place to purchase a look-a-like doll. This company offers exquisite looking dolls and is usually booked two to three months in advance.

Starting at $1200, a molded porcelain doll is created by artist Donald Kinney. Kinney painted costumes for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3, designed puppets for Fox Clubhouse, and animates plays giving Donald Kinney notoriety for his outstanding ability to design and sculpt.

If a ceramic recreation of a child is desired, Behonenhouse is the place to order this more lifelike custom dolls.

These three unique companies bring lasting memories to families. A porcelain doll, a paper doll, or a play doll made to look just like a lovely child can be made bringing lasting and unique playtime to children and are now easy to find and purchase.

Autor: Victor Epand Victor Epand
Level: Platinum
Victor Epand is an expert author for a variety of subject matters, including clothing, jewelry, computers, toys, and flowers. Please visit KrishnaDesign.com to browse a ... ...

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids toys, stuffed animals, and dolls. You will find the best marketplace for kids toys, stuffed animals, and dolls at these sites for kids toys, stuffed animals

Added: June 30, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

A Fun Magic Trick For Kids to Perform

Magic tricks are a lot of fun to watch and they're also fun to perform. Many kids especially love magic and they also would love to be able to perform some tricks. Many tricks are too difficult for kids to perform. However, there are some tricks that are easy to perform. Sawing a Lady in Half is a fun magic trick for kids to perform.

For this trick you will need paper, an envelope, a pen, and scissors. With the paper you want to make a figure of a lady and then cut it out. Then y tube you want to make two slits with the scissors. You want the slits to be big enough so you want to seal the envelope and cut off both ends. This will create a tube. On the bottom of the that the paper doll can fit through them.

Now you can prepare to perform the trick. What you want to do is slide the doll into the envelope. When you slide the doll in you want to slide her out the first slit so that the doll comes out the backside of the envelope. Then slide the doll back through the second slit so that she goes back into the tube and out the other end. This will give the appearance that the doll is completely in the tube.

Now comes the part of the fun magic trick for kids to actually perform. While people are watching, explain that you will take the scissors and cut the tube and the doll in half. Then take the scissors and cut the tube. This is the most important part. When you cut you have to make sure the scissors go over the top of the center of the doll, the part that runs outside the envelope. That way when you make a cut, the envelope will be cut in half but the doll won't. (Of course the spectators won't know this.)

After you make the cut you'll have to hold the envelope together. Then pull out the doll and show that it wasn't harmed. As you are displaying the doll, quietly crumple the envelope so that people won't be able to ask to examine it. And that will complete the trick.

Sawing a Lady in Half is a fun magic trick for kids to perform. This is an easy trick and it� s entertaining for people to watch. Any kid can perform this trick using only scissors, paper, an envelope, and a pen.

Autor: R Even

If you're looking for more easy to do magic tricks as well as more impressive tricks like Criss Angel Magic Tricks, check out Master Mentalism right now.

Added: June 29, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

History of Dick and Jane Readers

Do you remember sitting in your first grade classroom learning to read from one of the Dick and Jane books? We older folks on the planet can just about mark our ages based on which Dick and Jane edition we learned to read from. Learn to read with Sally, Dick, and Jane? Then you are probably a child of the fifties. Remember Mike, Pam and Penny? Then you most likely are a child of the sixties, when black children were introduced into the readers.

The series is called the Curriculum Foundation Series and was authored by Dr. William S. Gray and William H. Elson. The Curriculum Foundation Series evolved out of a set of elementary readers called the Elson Readers. A Dick and Jane collector will recognize some of the same stories in both sets of readers. All serious Dick and Jane collectors should strive to include the Elson Readers in their sets.

The first Dick and Jane book was a 1930 Pre-Reader, a wordless picture book. New titles were introduced in 1940, 1946, 1951, 1962, and lastly in 1965. The illustrators for Dick and Jane books changed, as well as the look of the books through the decades. Mew the kitten became Puff. Happy changed from a Terrier to Spot the Cocker Spaniel. Toys changed, as did clothing, and the cars Mother and Father drove.

The books are based on limited basic vocabulary and the plot of each story is delivered through profuse illustrations. Well-known Dick and Jane book illustrator Eleanor Campbell used photographs of children at play to create vivid colorful illustrations. Richard Childress had his two young daughters model for his Jane and Sally illustrations.

Besides the paper books with staples and cloth tape spines, there were also Dick and Jane hard cover books, workbooks, guide books, posters, puzzles, calendars, napkins, valentines, mugs and teacher manuals. There were picture books without words for pre-readers, and there were pre-primers (We Look and See, We Work and Play, We Come and Go), the Junior Primer (Guess Who), and the Primer (Fun with Dick and Jane). Dick and Jane also taught basic hygiene and health in Good Times with Our Friends.

Along with reading basics, each release of the Dick and Jane series taught values such as sharing, responsibility, health, safety and helping others. Exact copies of the books were published for Canadian schools. Catholic schools also adopted the curriculum and revised the books to include Catholic teachings in the stories. In about half of the Cathedral editions, Dick, Jane and Sally have been renamed John, Jean and Judy.

In the sixties, the perfect family life of Mother, Father, Dick and Jane in their white suburban world began to be questioned. In response, the publishers in 1965 expanded the neighborhood of Dick and Jane to include a black family. Despite this major change, controversy continued to grow. In 1970, Scott, Foresman and Company made the decision to stop publishing the Dick and Jane series.

Many schools ordered all remaining books be destroyed. Teachers, staff, and some students kept some of the discarded books, and these are the books collectors seek today. Dick and Jane pre-primers and primers can still be found, but are becoming scarcer. Teaching aids such as the flashcards, the paper doll cut-outs and Our Big Book (the large easel-supported book) are commanding high prices due to their scarcity.

Millions of children learned to read with the Dick and Jane textbooks. Sally, Dick, Jane, Spot and Puff are a part of our national culture. While there are no books or stories within the Dick and Jane books series titled See Spot Run, it is a sentence used in several early stories of the series. This nostalgic sentence, See Spot run, has even become a part of our cultural background with the release in 2001 of the movie by the same name.

Many of us want a Dick and Jane book because it is a part of our past. Others want their children to learn to read from them. Many baby-boomers remember them well, for they taught us to read, they kept our interest, and they helped us become life-long readers.

Autor: Barbara Gardner

The author is webmaster of Book Brigade, where you can buy discount children's books online.

Added: June 28, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Dressing Up Your Smartphone - Cyber-Bling For Your IPhone

One of the absolute coolest new features to the Smartphone technology that we've seen in recent years has got to be the ability to personalize. My own phone, which is only two years old now, seems extremely outdated in comparison to these new phones, like your Sidekicks and Blackberries, which have tons of different features as it is. My phone only has four wallpapers you can cycle through and two different color schemes, as well as MIDI-sounding ring tones that aren't really all that spectacular, but what I knew then to be the "norm." Now? I call my sixteen-year-old sister and hear Sting's "Fields of Gold" while it's actually playing something by Rihanna on her end and she's got a built-in camera that allows her to take pictures of her kitten to her heart's content and turn it into a wallpaper.

So, when taking a look at my older phone and now looking at the brand new smartphones, which has the wallpapering options of a desktop computer, as well as ring tones you can buy in great quality from iTunes, it just seems unfair to have an older phone. In fact, this move towards customizing your phone has started several different websites, both legitimate and not, that are specifically geared towards giving your phone ring tones that are both free and have to be paid for. Either way, you can be assured that if you have a new phone, you'll be able to dress it up more than a paper doll and a whole set of crayons.

In fact, there are actual commercial sites dedicated to being able to provide you with any single sort of images for your wallpapers, themes for your smartphone, ring tones galore, and even animated screen savers. Screen savers. For your phone. Doesn't that just sound like it doesn't make sense? But, with these new phones, the fact is that you can actually have a screen saver and even play movies on these things.

Either way, the fact is that it's incredibly easy and convenient to dress up these phones with multiple forms of media that will make it personal and fun to look at. Take a look at some places, such as SmartPhones technologies, which is one of the leading content libraries for these kinds of multimedia out there today. You can surf the web and find several different websites that will offer you different ways to make your phone much more personal.

Autor: Sue Webster Sue Webster
Level: Platinum
The author, Sue Webster, provides information for readers interested in purchasing a gadget or other related accessories....

You can find a great range of smartphones up for auction, as well as many other electronic gadgets at GadgetsAuction.com

Added: June 26, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Bible Story Crafts For Kids - The Good Shepherd Craft Game

This adorable sheep is one of our Easy Bible Story Crafts for Kids for kindergarten, first grade and second grade. Creating and displaying this cute, fluffy sheep reinforces the Scripture that tells us Jesus watches over us and calls us, like a good shepherd calls his sheep.

This is one of our Kids Bible Crafts that is complimented by a game. The craft and game help children to remember the verses: "I am the good shepherd. I know each of My sheep by name, and My sheep know Me." "Those who come through Me will be saved. They will have everything they need." Scripture: John 10:1-21

Supplies

• Empty toilet paper roll
• Cotton balls (30 to 40)
• 4 Q-Tips
• Elmer's School Glue
• White tissue paper
• Brown pipe cleaner (only if a ram)
• Clear tape
• Disposable container (such as a margarine container)
• Black construction paper
• Paper punch or scissors

Directions

1. For support, stuff paper (any kind) inside the toilet paper roll, leaving about an inch empty from the end.
2. Create the sheep's legs by taping the Q-tips to toilet paper roll.
3. Create the sheep's head by scrunching up some tissue paper and stuffing part of it into the end of the roll.
4. Pour a little glue into the container.
5. To add the sheep's wool, dip cotton balls into the glue and press onto the cardboard roll. Once it is covered, add another layer or more until the sheep is nice and wooly.
6. Create the eyes with a paper puncher and the construction paper. Use glue to adhere to the front of the sheep's tissue paper face.
7. For a ram, do Steps 1-6 and then add horns, which are made by twisting pipe cleaner into two curly cues and attaching with glue.
8. Allow to dry.

Displaying the Sheep

Before children bring their sheep home, you may want to create a classroom display:

1. Begin with a tray of wheat grass you've grown and trimmed short or Easter basket grass spread out evenly.
2. Add shepherd or Jesus figurine or paper doll.
3. Invite children to add their sheep to assemble the flock around the shepherd!

Stray Sheep Game

This tag game is sort of a classroom version of the backyard pool game, Marco Polo. The child playing the stranger is blindfolded and stands in the center of the circle. The others are the sheep and wander around the inside of the circle.

The blindfolded stranger tries to tag the sheep. When calling "Sheep!" the others must reply with "Baa-baa." The first sheep tagged takes the place of the stranger. This game reinforces the lesson that just like the sheep we should only answer to our Good Shepherd.

Look on our site for more Easy Kids Crafts and Bible Kids Crafts.

Autor: Magriet Du Plessis

For more great Bible story crafts for kids you can visit Bible Crafts For Kids. Magriet is a work at home "Gran" and she has sites on family matters. For more bible story crafts for kids you can go to Fun Kids Crafts. For a fun Mother's day craft you can go to Mother's Day Crafts For Kids

Added: June 25, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Girls Birthday Party Ideas

Birthday parties are forever fun to plan and arrange and if it is a party for a girl, then the party can be planned with more creativity. While planning a girl's birthday party, ensure that the party is fit for girls with the chosen theme. It's good if you have your own birthday party ideas but in case you are open to new and refreshing girl's birthday party ideas then the easiest place to look is online. Nowadays there are lots of websites offering you exciting ideas for giving the birthday girl a fabulous birthday party.

Some popular themes are Pyjama sleepover parties which are great and the glow-in-the-dark accessories can make the party extra special. If you have a digital camera, take each girl's picture and then print it out. Let the girls glue the picture to a piece of cardboard, using glue. Cut out the picture and you have a personalised paper doll.

Try to decorate everything in party. Drape and hang lots of streamers and balloons, add some feather boas. Dress up your party table with table cover, plates etc. Scatter sequins all around the table. Make a centerpiece with a bouquet of balloons tied to the handle of an inexpensive matching purse. You can arrange a special welcome party also. When the girls arrive, give them a fun, but simple make-over with the help of another adult/teen. Then let the girls select special hats, feather boa's or some other fun fashion statement. Play some kids friendly hip-hop music and let the girls do a "fashion show" announcing each girl's name.

For an all-girls birthday party, you can decide on the party favours that include little dolls, stickers, hair clips, nail polish and other things, which the little girls would find interesting.

Autor: Ricy Chacko

Be My Bear can offer some great girls' birthday party ideas. We are always one step ahead in the girls' birthday party ideas league table, so you need not look further than here.

Added: June 24, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Keep Austin Weird

Like most catch phrases, "Keep Austin Weird" has a basis in reality. Austin is many things: political, vibrant, intelligent and fun, but it is also undeniably weird.

For example, where else in the world would you find a cross-dressing vagrant who wears high-heeled shoes and runs for mayor? Leslie Cochran, a man who has been dubbed "The Queen of Austin," is one of its most beloved characters-so beloved, in fact, that local stores sell "Leslie's What to Wear Refrigerator Magnets" that act as a magnetic version of a paper doll kit.

Leslie is not the only local attraction that keeps the city interesting. There is Hippie Hollow, the only "clothing-optional" beach in all of Texas, as well as the fact that Austin, in addition to being the state capital, is supposedly the Frisbee Golf capital as well. Also consider the Alamo Drafthouse, a series of movie houses-slash-restaurants-slash-performance theatres, which has an eclectic event calendar and funny promotions to keep patrons coming back for more. There are not many places where you can attend a showing of "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" that includes all the miniature burgers you can eat.

Down in South Austin, one can visit the infamous "Cathedral of Junk," which was started in 1988 and is constructed of an array of throw-away items like bottles, bumpers and wheels (oh my!). Despite its appearance, the cathedral is structurally sound, passing inspection by the city each year. While in that part of town, there is also the Museum of Ephemerata, which has hosted such weird items as the last cigarette Marilyn Monroe ever smoked.

Each year, Austin plays host to biker rallies, burlesque shows, rodeos, political demonstrations, theatre events, street markets, live music performances and festivals, poetry readings and barbecues. There truly is never a dull moment.

And yet, perhaps it is simply the people of Austin who keep it weird. Austinites, both native and self-made, continually contribute to the city's atmosphere, full of flair, fun and energy. It is they who buy from the funky shops, they who attend the crazy shows, and they who take pride in occupying such a unique place in the world

Autor: Ki Gray Ki Gray
Level: Platinum
Ki Gray is a real estate agent working in Austin Texas. He has enjoyed helping clients look for right home for their needs. If you ... ...

Austin real estate properties works to help client locate properties in the Austin market. For people interested in the purchasing a property their website provides users a search of the Austin MLS along with his Austin Realtor Blog.

Added: June 22, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Vintage Paper Dolls - The Beginning

In Pioneer America, vintage paper dolls were a valuable treasure since paper was limited. Imagine yourself as child living in a small cabin with very little to play with. You were given a paper doll, maybe two. You know how valuable they are and want to treasure them, so you find a special book and place them between pages or in a special box that you guard always for protection of your treasured paper doll.

The paper doll provides a very broad look at the cultures from all around the world. They represent so many costumes, clothing, accessories and many other things of importance for historians. The most obvious were the vintage paper dolls representing royalty and for the children of royalty.

Paper dolls first appeared in the 18th Century in Paris, during the reign of Louis XV. This is also when toys first appeared in this French Society. On the other side of the English Channel, proper British printers printed the paper dolls. They would mix fun and virtue by printing stories with morals and values, on flat sheets of paper, and that comprised the dolls. Vintage paper dolls were then produced as a beautifully lithographed full-color collection. They represented no only the famous theater personalities but of the Royal families, which included the House of Windsor and the German Royal Family. It was from that era the paper doll was invented.

In 1866, an artist named Raphael Tuck, was perhaps the best known manufacturer of the vintage paper dolls. In December of 1940, Tuck's German Manufacturing facilities were destroyed by a bombing, and with it destroyed all records, plates and documents. But his dolls were easily identified by the trademark and series name and number which was on back of each piece. The trademark style of this company was the set of vintage paper doll costumes and interchangeable heads. He also made some "regular" dolls including Sweet Abigail, Winsome Winnie, My Lady Betty, Prince Charming, the wonderful Fairy Tale series and more. He continued to make the vintage paper doll collections well into the twentieth century.

During the beginning, having paper dolls was a privilege and only the children of the Royalty were able to have them. There were dolls representing actors from the theater, stage, opera and even television. The time when the vintage paper dolls were the most popular was during the 1930's to the 1950's. This could be called the "Golden Age of Paper Dolls." Paper toys were the most affordable toys to have during the depression even though it was of a lesser quality of paper, due to the WWII.

Collecting vintage paper dolls is exciting and can be done very inexpensively. There are enough varieties to satisfy every collector. Venture back in your memories of sitting down with your paper dolls, playing with your friends. Now you will be able to relive those memories with your vintage paper dolls collection.

Autor: Annette Jensen Annette Jensen
Level: Basic PLUS
I am the mother of Amy Bass, who is the creator of The Niche Blogger, and has taught me more than I could have imagined. ... ...

Please visit my Vintage Doll Collection to discover rare and hard to find vintage paper doll collections. You will find the most incredible paper doll collections from all eras.

Added: June 20, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Fun With Barbie Doll Crafts

Many little girls love everything there is about Barbie. They like the fashion and beauty that goes along with these dolls. They also like to pretend to be adults. Their imaginations run wild. If your child likes Barbie dolls, then you can have fun crafts that they can do in order for them to have even more fun with this popular doll brand.

One of the best things you can have your child do is be creative and use their imagination. The main theme of Barbie is pink, so you can do crafts that use this pink theme. A great craft that your daughter can do is make her own Barbie doll. This doesn"t require any plastic doll parts. All she needs is a piece of paper and some coloring utensils. Ask her to draw her favorite doll. She could even draw herself as a Barbie doll. The options are endless. This can add more fun without having to buy her a new doll. You can also have her draw separate clothing on a different piece of paper. If they are cut out, then they can be used to clothe her paper doll, adding even more fun to the experience.

If your child is interested in the clothing aspect of Barbie dolls, then you and she can work together to make clothing that resembles the type of thing that Barbie would wear. This also teaches your daughter how to sew and be creative with fabric and ribbon. This is an especially good craft if you, as a parent, already have the sewing machine and the skills to use it.

Autor: Gail Leino Gail Leino
Level: Platinum
Mrs. Party... Gail Leino is the internet's leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette, living a healthy lifestyle while also ... ...

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for barbie party supplies and fun party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free holiday printable games and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Themes including Party Supplies to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or "just because" parties. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

Added: June 19, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Reverie - Musings Of A Little Girl - How Do You Break The Silence?

Designate communications to your child, lest they slip away. Precedent communications behind a door that does not want to open, but will if you keep trying. Aspergers parenting autism pdd? Or a reverie of silence? I think that ice can be seen through if you keep on trying. Reverie mind you is a dream world that oft times creates art and blesses all of our souls.

"Reverie"

Reverie.
Let me hear that distant call
a daydream
musings
a little girl
in the back seat of her parents car.
I slipped into reverie.
Who really needs to speak at all?

What else is there to do?
Parents speaking to one another
once in awhile to me.
I am happy for this pencil
and this tablet
sitting here on my knees.

Driving and driving
from state to state
I wonder
do they know where they are going?
When they get there
finally
will they be happy?
Or will we go again?

Reverie.
If I draw a paper doll
will she stand up
pull herself from my picture
and speak to me?

The road goes on and on
I look up at times to see if there are any trees.
When will we get there
I wonder
yet I do not say one single word.

Florida was nice
I think I liked the palm trees.
There was a neighbor near
I rode my tricycle there
sat in a chair
watching their home movies.

Reverie
Somewhere that cloud will hold me
I will dance on stars
tip toe on the Milky Way
find the reason stars dance
Learn the sparkle words they say.

My father made a sled of ice
He used a a garden hose
to wet down the snow.
It was very cold
but the day became warm
despite the temperatures bickering.

I stared into the icy surface
took off one mitten
felt inside my pocket for my paper doll
who really needs to talk anyway
when everything you need
is there
inside your pocket.

Reverie.

05 August 2007

Autor: Kathy Ostman-Magnusen Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
Level: Platinum
ABOUT Kathy Ostman-Magnusen I am an artist, I paint and sculpt women primarily; in their daily lives, in lives they might be afraid of, and ... ...

ABOUT Kathy Ostman-Magnusen

I paint and sculpt female fantasy art and map faery tale adventures. I dream of beautiful women on canvas and art of exotic women.

I have illustrated for Hay House Inc.,"Women Who Do Too Much" CARDS taken from Anne Wilson Schaef's book. I also illustrated for Neil Davidson, who was considered for the Pulitzer Prize in feature writing, and several other publications. My paintings are collected worldwide.

Giclee canvas art work, greeting cards & posters are available for sale on my website:

http://www.kathysart.com

Sign up for my mailing list FREE ART GIFTS: Drawings of whimsical angel pictures, legends of mermaids & fairies in art. Tiny angels & mermaids for shrink art, or coloring pages. Also a "Letter From the Tooth Fairy". Ya just never know when you might need one!

Check out my Squidoo about creativity: Unlock Creativity|Critical Thinking Creative Writing Active Reading=Great Art
http://www.squidoo.com/createart

Added: June 17, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Helpful Tips on Announcing Your Engagement and Inviting Guests to Your Wedding

The days when wedding invitations came in one size and color are long gone. Today couples invest a lot of time and effort in designing a wedding invitation that not just accomplishes the task of inviting guests to the wedding but is also a great memento.
Designing the wedding invitation and getting it printed should be one of the first items in your wedding plan. Ideally, wedding invitations should be sent out to guests at least six weeks before the wedding so that they have plenty of time to make travel arrangements. If your wedding is taking place during the holidays, send your wedding invitations out even earlier.

If you want certain relative or very important (VIP) guests to be there at your wedding ceremony and reception, you should consider sending out advance announcements so these special guests can calendar, reserve and save the date reserved for your wedding. Formal written announcements letting family and friends know you popped the question and are engaged are also a nice way to let your guests know in advance when and where you plan to get married.

There are a number of new items on the market designed just for this purpose. When you get married--they'll be sure to reserve the date on their calendars if you send them a magnet that says "This is the Day--we're getting married!" These Save the Date magnets come with mailing envelopes to make it easy for you to give them enough advance notice. There are "save the date" magnets with
elegant, three tiered wedding cake graphics or bold, black and white magnets with intricate cut out paper doll like shaped like bride and groom that announce the date of your wedding.. A classy way to announce your engagement. There are pretty pink and white magnets pink hearts, iced wedding cakes or ones with pink roses to get their attention and decorate their refrigerator in the kitchen where many family"s post and keep the family"s calendar of events.

If money is no object, you can also send your friends, family and VIP guests personalize zed "save the date" mint candies in tins decorated with beautiful, personalized labels. These wedding mints also are available in adorable designs. The mints are delicious and will be appreciated, thoughtful little gifts. Everyone buys mints at the grocery store in decorative, reusable tins. Sending these creative engagement announcements can be done before you send out the wedding invitations.

The typical format of the wedding invitation consists of the names of the bride and the groom, the invitation to the wedding, the day, time and venue of the wedding and the reception and an RSVP card and address. Within this broad format, lots of variations are possible. The names of your guests can either be written on the card itself or on the envelope. As far as possible, include the names of all the people you are inviting and avoid generalized suffixes like "and family."

The first thing that you need to decide is the tone of the wedding invitation - will it be formal or informal? A formal invitation typically starts with "Mr. and Mrs. Smith request the honor of your presence..." A more informal wedding invitation can start with something as simple as "Please join us...". You also need to decide on who is going to announce the wedding and invite the guests. Traditionally, it was the bride"s parents since it was they who paid for the wedding. However, this is no longer the case. It is up to the couple to decide whether the wedding invitation should go out from one or both sets of parents or from the bride and the groom themselves.

Remember to clearly spell out the day, date and time of both the wedding and the reception in the wedding invitation. Specify the time zone if there is likely to be any scope for confusion. Also give the full address of the wedding venue and the reception venue. It is a good idea to enclose a map as well especially for out of town guests.

The RSVP card is now an integral part of most wedding invitations. This is usually a card with a simple message where the guests enter in their names and indicate whether they will be attending the wedding or not. It is the done thing to include a self-addressed and stamped envelope as well with an RSVP card. In case you decide not to enclose a separate RSVP card with your wedding invitation, just indicate by when you expect an RSVP and give them your address, email id and phone number so that they can do so in a way that is convenient to them.

Those are the essential elements in a wedding invitation. Apart from this, it is up to you to use your creativity to design a card that is truly unique. Some couples do this by including a personalized message. Others include a poem or a quote from a favorite book. You can also play around with the look and feel of the wedding invitation. There are many different materials and designs available for you to choose from. If you are having a theme wedding, it is a great idea to include some design elements in the wedding invitation that are related to the theme. After you ask a friend to be your Maid of Honor and decide who you want as your bridesmaids, you can ask them for help in addressing and sending out your engagement announcements, save the date magnets or mints and your formal wedding invitations.

Autor: Shirley Tan

Shirley Tan is currently the owner of American Bridal Accessories, an online website that features the most popular wedding favors and new products to announce your engagement and that will help your guests save the date so they"ll be sure to attend your wedding. Visit http://www.AmericanBridal.com and have a look around!

Added: June 16, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Little Girls and Their Dolls

I have had people say to me...Little girls just don"t play with dolls any more. My response... Have you encouraged her, or played with her?

I know growing up, that dolls played a very important part of my life. Our family struggled to make ends meet, and our toys were treasured and few. So treasured in fact, that the dolls I owned as a child, are still my treasured possessions today. I rescued them from the toy box after my two younger sisters had also had their turn with them!

My dolls were babies when we played pioneers, with a wagon and trunk. They were my patient clothing models, when I began to learn the art of sewing, and they put up with countless terribly designed and sewn outfits. They were my comfort on cold winter nights.
My sisters and I played with and treasured our dolls much longer than most young girls seem to today.

Paper dolls were another huge part of our creative childhood. A few magazines of the era such as McCalls came out with a sheet of paper dolls each month. We had a neighbour who subscribed to McCalls and saved the paper doll sheets for us. Betsy McCall and her friends were greatly anticipated on a monthly basis! Carefully cut out, the dolls glued to the back of cereal boxes and cut out, they made fantastic play things. Looking at the elaborate craft sets that are presented to today"s children, it is hard for me to imagine that they really stimulate creativity any more than our own imaginations did.

Doll houses played another large part in developing our creativity. As we could only dream of owning a store bought doll house, or furniture, we industriously set out time and again to create our own doll houses out of whatever materials came to hand. A large cardboard box held infinite possibilities.

Items such as empty paper rolls, match boxes, bottle caps, to name a few became pieces of furniture, dishes and much more. Careful searching through the Eatons and Sears catalogue as well as weekly sales flyers also produced a wealth of accessories. Pictures from the food flyers glued to cardboard, were used to fill the kitchen cupboards, people cut out and glued to cardboard became the doll house families. My sisters and I enjoyed countless hours of creative fun with these simple materials.

I read an article recently that suggested little girls are tiring of dolls as young as 6 years old. What do they play with then, that can develop their imagination, creativity and nurturing instincts.

I hope parents everywhere will realize the value in simple, uncomplicated playthings for their children. A doll house, with a doll family, furniture, and accessories can provide countless hours of decorating and imaginative fun, as rooms are changed and rearranged. Not only is the imagination developed, but also fine motor skills are honed as children learn to manipulate miniature items.

I also cannot help but feel that a little girl who cares for, changes, puts to bed and adores a favourite doll, will learn valuable nurturing instincts that will stay with her into her adult life.

Autor: Jayne Cremasco

For more useful information on doll collecting and doll houses, visit http://www.eloradollhouse.co.uk. You will also find a wonderful array of miniature dolls, furniture and accessories on this website as well. The Doll House Elora has been serving the miniature hobbiest for over 25 years.

Added: June 15, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Old Fashioned Toys Inspire Learning

Toys don't have to feature loud noises, flashing lights, and other electronic functions to be fun and entertaining to children. Many simple, old fashioned toys still please today's children as much as they did twenty, and even forty, years ago. Old fashioned toys also inspire learning. Their simplicity encourages children to use their imaginations and to discover new things.

Reading is one of the best pastimes your child can enjoy. Provide plenty of age appropriate books about a variety of different topics. It is also important to introduce your child to all the various literature genres. Read fiction and non-fiction books together and discuss the differences. Explore several types of poetry and read biographies about someone your child has an interest in.

Dress up clothes are old fashioned toys that will never cease to delight young children. Career accessories, like fireman boots and hats, policeman uniforms, and mail bags, are great for role playing. Extra costumes are also a lot of fun for pretend play and are a good way to enhance language skills by acting out stories, movies, or favorite television shows. For real old fashioned toys, fill an old trunk with old prom gowns, wedding dresses, tuxedos, and suits as well as plenty of old fashioned accessories. Your child and her friends will enjoy hours of make believe fun.

Felt boards are also classic old fashioned toys that still promise tons of creative fun and learning opportunities. Felt board figures are available to create pretend play scenarios and to recreate stories and books or you can make your own old fashioned felt toys by cutting a variety of shapes from several colors of felt sheets. Your child can build all sorts of creations with the felt shapes.

Old fashioned toys like paper dolls and puppets encourage children to pretend and enhance language and social development as well. Paper dolls can be easily created by you and your child with a printer and cardstock. There are a number of templates available online. You can encourage your child to create their own paper doll clothes by tracing around the doll and coloring.

Puppets are old fashioned toys that have seen many, many changes. Today, special puppet stages are available as well as ethnic family puppets and several other characters. Children still love the old fashioned puppets they make themselves too. Simple sock puppets, craft stick families, and paper bag hand puppets are fun and easy to make and provide lots of learning benefits.

Instruments and musical toys have been a part of childhood for centuries. These old fashioned toys have also seen a lot of changes, with modern musical toys offering microphones, electronic sounds, and recording features. Traditional musical instruments like small drums, xylophones, and kazoos are still just as enjoyable and educational as their modern versions.

Instruments are fun and easy to make from basic household supplies. Shakers and maracas can be made from small containers filled with rice or beans or from paper mache. Help your child hammer nails across a small wooden block, then string rubber bands between the nails for a fun guitar. You can make music with just about anything from sand paper to a comb and wax paper.

The love of old fashioned toys will most likely continue through several more centuries of childhoods. These types of toys are held dear because of their simplicity. Old fashioned toys invite children to take over play time, to use their imagination, and to explore the world around them.

Autor: Gary Clay

Gary Clay is an expert on Fantastic Traditional Toys and owner of stylish kids store MonkeyShine a retailer of quality old fashioned toys in the UK.

Added: June 14, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Tips on Online Dress Up Games For Kids

Have you heard about the Bratz games wave lately? First of all, the Bratz dolls are these 10-inch dolls with 'a passion for fashion'. They are the current craze among tweens and teens around the world right now. The first few Bratz back in 2001 were called Cloe (Angel), Yasmin (Pretty Princess), Sasha (Bunny Boo) and Jade (Kool Kat). People cannot also help drawing parallels between Barbies and Bratz. Maybe its the flashy outfits, but whatever the reason, Bratz is indeed the biggest global hit right now!

On the web, the most inexpensive way to play with Bratz dolls are through Bratz games. These free dress up games located on hundreds of websites can provide children players of all ages some ideas about fashion in a fun way. And tinkering with dress up games online can help a child practice their hand-eye coordination. Younger children can also learn to avoid technology phobias and practice patience while playing these dress up games even with just a few hours per week.

Free dress up games can be a big boost to your budget considerations when it comes to finding activities for your kids. Kids like to have games they can play that their parents approve of and won't get them in trouble.

Mya-Free Paper Doll Dress Up Game

In this game, you get to choose any style of clothes in Mya's wardrobe and dress her up in those. Of course, hairstyles can also be changed with each outfit.

Glitter Dress Up Game

In the case of this dress up game, the doll dress up game lets the user to play with the names of their their character doll. If you wish, you can even download some of the games into your own computer. But downloading must of course be supervised by parents.

Fun Dress Up Games.

Did you know that in the other games, you get to play dress up with animals too? Another dress up game comes as inspired by Build a Bear, another site which is a certified hit among youngsters. Hours of enjoyment are guaranteed as you dress up these furry friends.

Dress Up Games with custom scenes

With scenic dress up games, you can customize your own background, decorations, characters, and food for each of the scenes. When you click on the link for the dress up game itself, check out "props" when you see it in some of the pages. Otherwise, try also looking for for the themes of the scene under the leading background picture. That is where you will find instructions for the dress up games.

Other Bratz Dress Up Games.

Still other Bratz games on some Internet websites not only have dress-up games, but also let you try out creative thinking and imagination challenges that test your sense of style. For example, in the case of the Bratz, Cloe and Sasha may have a hard time getting their living room to jive according to the current season of the year. Were talking about a game-cum-crash course of interior designing. Unleash the creative genius in you!

To end, Bratz games are really aimed towards younger girls, but who says adults who are fighting boredom can't enjoy them too?

Autor: Mai Roberts

Mai Roberts is a doll lover and a die hard fan of Bratz.She is obsessed to any kind of Bratz Games. She is also a part of the http://www.bratzgames.biz, the game wherein you can make your own Bratz.

Added: June 11, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Online Games For Girls Only

In the world of countless games online for girls, arguably the most popular dress up characters are in Sue games, Bratz games and Barbie games. Let's check them out!

Sue Games
Avatar Star Sue games, or just plain "Sue Games," have the character Sue for both dress up and other games types. Here the player can give Sue an entirely original style in terms of her clothing and make-up. You may also want to just pick a new hairstyle that complements your own current mood or the one which you think would be fabulous on Sue.

When you have completed a new Sue game, you usually get to choose whether you want to save and keep your finished creation as an avatar or picture image on your desktop. You can also use your personal artwork for your profiles on forums or for MySpace or Facebook.

Bratz Games
Bratz are 10-inch dolls wearing flashy clothing. Going by the nicknames of Cloe (Angel), Yasmin (Pretty Princess), Sasha (Bunny Boo) and Jade (Kool Kat), the Bratz are the craze among youngsters and teens the world over. Whatever the reason for its success, Bratz is indeed a global sensation and is giving Barbie the real competition it needs!

On the web, accessories and fashion clothing are easier to match to Bratz dolls and girls by the hundreds are logging on to the different Bratz game sites to pore over the wardrobe choices and hairstyles available.

More often that not when you finish Bratz games you can't help but begin a new round rather than treasuring a single fabulous outfit forever. Aside from dress up games, there are also the makeover challenges. One version even calls for the makeover of the Bratz doll's room and her hairdo.

Other Bratz games are similar to video games that have mission objectives to them. An example is the timed search for your puppy which was lost in a huge virtual mall and the Fish Tank game, where you need to earn points to get more fish and to beautify your fish tank with new decorations.

Barbie Games

Last but not the least is perhaps what started everything we know about girl dolls: Barbie dolls, that is. There were Barbie games already too. The Barbie brand itself is close to fifty years old, with no signs of slowing down. Barbies still make good sales in toy stores because nobody loses in buying a classic. Barbies can also be found and bought just as easily on many pages of the internet. Barbie games will continue to be among the most sought-after dress up games for younger girls for years to come.

Like the sites that it competes with, Barbie games have a variety of fashion choices, and of course the player has to be a good manager in order not to overwhelm the player's dashboard. Dressing Barbie in the most up to date wear is a no-nonsense actvity online and when you find an outfit you like, you can choose to print out your completed online Barbie doll. Why not a collection of completed Barbie paper dolls in picture perfect outfits alongside your team of true Barbie dolls?

Autor: Mai Roberts

Mai Roberts is a doll lover and a die hard fan of Bratz.She is obsessed to any kind of Bratz Games. She is also a part of the http://www.bratzgames.biz, the game wherein you can make your own Bratz.

Added: June 9, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

How to Make Your Own Doll House Record Book

Designing a doll house is not unlike designing a real house, in that equal amounts of time and organization are required. One way of doing this is to start a doll house record book for each of the houses in your collection.

Having a doll house record book not only allows you to inventory the items in your collection, but it gives you an idea of the existing and future plans of each of the houses in your collection. This will help you plan for future purchases, and keep track of repairs and replacements.

Choosing a doll house record book is easy: a simple binder or scrapbook will do. If you have several houses in your collection, it's best to keep separate records for each one.

Start by organizing each section of the binder by rooms: i.e., Victorian Mansion: Section 1: Tea Room, Section 2: Living Room, etc. Take a picture of each room and place them in the appropriate sections, this way you can have an image of how each room looked like, just in case you need to re-assemble the house.

Next, inventory each room: furniture, accessories, wall colors, and wall papers. Make sure you write down where you bought each item, as well the year and its manufacturer, just in case it needs to be repaired or replaced. If possible, include thumbnail images of the items, particularly items such as paintings, curtains, carpets, and customized upholstery. Remember to include swatches of the wallpaper or paint chips of the colors that you used throughout the room.

It is also important to keep a record of each of the room's electrical system. Start by drawing a one dimensional lay-out of the room. Imagine flattening each of the rooms like a box, with the walls laying down flat on its sides. Some doll house kits come with 1D image layouts in the building instructions, so you can simply photocopy those pages. If not, you can draw a schematic of your own on a piece of graphing paper, which can be purchased in any office supply store.

Once you have your layout, carefully note your electrical wiring system, as well as the type of appliances and lights that connect to it. This will help in making future repairs and installations easier, preventing you from unnecessarily taking down walls and tearing down wall paper.

Your doll house record book can also be used as a planning guide: you can add a wish list of items you wish to purchase, as well as future decorating ideas. Add sample swatches of wall paper or paint chips, and reference pictures, so you can have an overall idea on how you want your house to look like. Making note of each room's progress will help you keep track of each of your room's development, and how far you are from achieving your own vision for your collection.

Ultimately, starting a doll house record book is easy, but it's filling those pages that make it so useful...and a lot of fun!

Autor: Lily Morgan

Visit the place for dollhouses and miniatures. Find everything from play dollhouses for young children to grand mansions for collectors. We specialize in collectible dollhouses for every skill level and budget. And don't forget the dollhouse furniture! Visit us online at http://www.TheMagicalDollhouse.com today!

Added: June 8, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Dressing Up With My Favorite Bratz Dolls

Before there were iPods, playstations, mobile phones, dvds or even the world wide web, little girls all around the world play with only two kinds of dolls: The paper dolls from cut-out card boards and those that are store brought. Now, the little girls in that era, whatever kind of dolls they were playing love to dress up their dolls in pretty dresses of every fluffs and frills imaginable. They would spend hours priming up their dolls and talking to them as if the dolls could talk back and to seal the shared secret between girl and doll, the doll will be given a new outfit to change into.

Fast forward to the age of YouTube and Facebook, little girls in this generation still love to dress their dolls in pretty outfits, but thanks to technology they can now do so with ease. Dressing up dolls now only involves a mouse click and, in case of Bratz games, drag and drop.

Bratz games are one of those on-line games that made this act of dressing up dolls virtually possible. Bratz games are a collection of flash games based on the highly successful franchise of Bratz dolls. If you do not know what are Bratz dolls or what they look like, they are those dolls that are fashionably dressed in modern attires making yellow-haired Barbie look like their grandmother.

The different games are unique in their own way and require different skills to play depending on the child's taste of fashion. But the Bratz games that enable children to dress their dolls with assortment of clothes are Cloe from Bratz, Yasmin Bratz Dress Up, Sheridan Bratz, Bratz Getting Ready, Bratz Ice Champions and Bratz Fashion Designer.

In Yasmin Bratz Dress Up, girls could have fun dressing up their favorite doll character Yasmin in a bunch of clothes in different styles. The same is also done in Sheridan Bratz wherein you get to dress up the raven haired character Sheridan. Meanwhile, Bratz Getting Ready allows the player to dress up their favorite Bratz character for a date with her Prince Charming. But the most innovative among these Bratz games is the Bratz Fashion Designer wherein aspiring little girls could become a virtual fashion designer all on their own.

Once you click on a link of the chosen game, the flash window opens and the Bratz character (depending on the game) appears midscreen with clothes that are more than those found in some households placed on either side of the window. The clothes look like they all came from a fashion magazine. One only has to click on the clothes and release it once you reach the Bratz character.

Although the games are all done through a mouse click, the experience of dressing up a doll is no less than diminished. The choice of what the doll should wear still rest on the little girls. These little girls still get the same pleasure of making their little dolls as prettiest as possible in the corner of their quiet world.

Autor: Stephanie Bailey

Stephanie Bailey is a game enthusiast of http://www.bratzgames.biz - an online Doll games. She create her own personalized virtual games online. She love to play with young girls which they enjoy the lovely doll and Bratz Games.

Added: June 6, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Just Visiting

A long time ago their lived a little girl. She had long thick strawberry blonde curls that fell to the bottom of her pinafore and big sparkly blue eyes that made everyone smile when she looked at them. Her mother was a nurse and the little girl was her only child. Because the mother did not want to leave her child alone, the mother would take the little girl to work with her. The little girl loved this very much.

The mother worked at a special place. It was called "THE VALLEY OF THE SUNSHINE SCHOOL". Inside the school there were three large rooms. One room was for learning, the other for eating and the last for sleeping. The sleeping room had many iron beds that looked like baby cribs so the kids would not wander or fall out in the night. The children had no ages and smiled at the little girl all of the time. Some big kids wore diapers and some little kids looked very old. They gave her many hugs everyday and laughed at her jokes. Elliot hugged her the most often. Sometimes he hugged her so tight that the old little kids had to loosen his embrace. He was stronger than he knew. She knew he didn't mean to squeeze her to death. Her Mom told her so. She said he was just loving her to pieces. This made her giggle. The little girl loved them all very much.

One day the little girl saw a Father drop his child off. Mothers and fathers were hardly ever seen at the school. He said crying to the little girl's mother, "Her name is Phyllis. She is four years old. Please be kind to her. I will miss her always." Phyllis was wearing a diaper and a pink cotton t-shirt that said "Make me Smile". She was very pretty and her head was extra large with little hair for making ponytails. As the father walked out the door she cried for him, "Daddy come back. I'm scared!" The little girl, feeling Phyllis's fear ran up to her and said. "It's okay, I will play with you. It will make the sadness go away. We will make paper dolls and dance until the sunshine sets." Phyllis shared a faint smile and confidently replied, "I'm just visiting." The little girl's mother took them both to a safe corner where they could create, pretend and move about freely.

Phyllis was very smart. The little girl, being just six at the time, decided that Phyllis had a big head because she was smarter than most four year olds and her brains were just growing faster than her body. Every day they would read, write, play and dance. Then one day the little girl had to go to school. This meant leaving Phyllis alone a lot of the time.

Public School was nothing like The Sunshine School. The kids at the new school did not hug the little girl or laugh at her jokes. In fact, they were never glad to see her like her other friends at the Sunshine School. She already knew how to read and write and do arithmetic. She had known how to do this since she was three, so school was very boring and she lived under her desk and would sneak out on the playground or hide in the bathroom whenever she could. Sometimes her mother would come and get her and scold her. She would say things like, "you are going to get me fired if I have to keep leaving work in the middle of the day to come and get you." The little girl would cry for a minute and then she'd realize that she would get to return to the Sunshine School with her mother...where Phyllis was "just visiting".

Eventually, first grade became so boring that the school moved the little girl into a special class with other kids that had a hard time listening to old news. They made her read all of the time to other adults that would ask her big questions. They would bring in heavy big people books and grownup magazines and ask her to read to them. They would look surprised. She thought it sad that a little kid could read and they still couldn't. She did not like it at all. Finally she refused to read for anyone anymore, except Phyllis.

Summer break finally came around and the little girl had not seen Phyllis for weeks. She couldn't wait to see her. Carrying a bag of her favorite toys into the learning room, she noticed there was no Phyllis. Dropping the toys she ran into the eating room. No Phyllis. Could it be that her visit was over? Had her Daddy come back? Then as she peeked into the sleeping room she saw Phyllis sitting upright in her crib. Phyllis was all alone in the sunlit room. The little girl asked, "Were you sleeping?" Phyllis replied, "Oh No. I just can't stand up anymore. My head makes me fall over." The little girl crawled up and over into her crib only to find that Phyllis's head had grown to twice its size since her last visit. The little girl was convinced that Phyllis was probably a genius by now given the size of her brain and her head's obvious enormity. "It's okay", said the little girl. "I will play with you here until your body catches up with your head. It won't be long. Probably by the end of summer you will match." Phyllis believed her and they played with paper dolls until the sun began to set in the sleeping room.

The mother picked up the sleepy little girl from Phyllis's crib and kissing Phyllis on her giant forehead unclasped the girls' fingers from one another's grip. Both mother and daughter were tired and returned home. That same night after a bubble bath, the little girl crawled in bed with her mother and began to ask questions, "Mommy where did my friend Elliot the hugger go?" The mother answered "To the colony". The little girl asked, "What is the colony?" Her mother replied, " It is where the children go when their bodies are too tired to continue."

The little girl thinking that Elliot was reviving himself at a Disneyland place asked, "When will he be back." The mother looked gently into her eyes and said, "God gives them wings at the colony... so they need not ever come back." The little girl thought this was very cool and wanted to know when she could get wings. The mother told her "when your job is done". "But I don't have a job', she replied. The mother continued, "Your job is to love everyone just like you love Phyllis." With a shocked and disappointed look she exclaimed, "I will never get my wings then because EVERYONE is a really big number!"

The next day the mother went to work while the little girl's father took her to the dentist. Afterwards he dropped her off at The Sunshine School. The little girl excited to be there, ran into the sleeping room preparing to jump up and over and into Phyllis's crib, only to find her missing again. She merrily scouted the eating room, then the learning room and when she could not find her, she ran looking for her mother. Running back into the sleeping room just in case she had missed Phyllis in her search, she saw her Mother standing by Phyllis's bed with eyes fixed upon where she last played. The little girl asked, "Where is Phyllis?" The mother replied, "She has gone to the colony." The little girl cried and cried. The mother comforted her saying that she will have big big wings that can carry the weight of her genius and she will never fall over again. The little girl asked, "What was her job?" The mother softly replied she was "Just Visiting" long enough to love you.

"In Memory of Elizabeth Isabelle Reel" RN for The Valley of the Sun School aka "Angels Unawares" The story took place from 1959-1961. The school was a refuge for mentally retarded children (dwarfs, mongoloids, developmentally disabled, down syndrome and hydrocephalic victims). Located in Phoenix Arizona, where the temperature exceeded 120 degrees often in the summer, there was no air conditioning to sooth or television to entertain. Friendship came in fanning one another, playing paper dolls and dancing till the sunshine set.

Autor: Zannah Hackett Ph.D. Zannah Hackett Ph.D.
Level: Basic PLUS
Zannah Hackett is the Founder of YOU Consulting Group. She is an author, speaker, preceptor and relationship technologist. Her career experience, education and research over ... ...

Dr. Zannah Hackett
Author Speaker Relationship Technologist and Preceptor

Added: June 5, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Spending Time With Your Children - Family Day, a Bonding Tradition

What's on your family's plate? Work, volunteering, sports, school, groups, clubs, social activities, household chores? Do you ever wonder how you will keep your family bonded? I have worked as a child and family counselor for over a decade and keeping families bonded has been a particular goal of mine. Fourteen years ago when I held my daughter for the first time, the goal became personal. As my family grew, I knew I had to make a deeper time commitment in order to keep our relationships devoted. I wanted to avoid the pitfalls of my clients who found their families disconnected during crucial developmental stages. I could see that all the challenges my clients face could be challenges for me too. That's when I came up with the idea of celebrating a weekly tradition in bonding called Family Day.

Just like Valentine's Day or Thanksgiving, Family Day is a holiday of sorts that takes place on a weekly basis. We celebrate love, connection and the uniqueness of our family. We are committed to this day no matter what the obstacles: work, school, activities, sports or house maintenance. This is the day that we wake up as one and go to bed as one. Every moment is about togetherness, focus, and quality.

We started the tradition in 1999. We kept the day simple but active since our children were three and five. They crawled into our bed first thing in the morning for cuddle time. Then we would head to the kitchen and make a special breakfast. After breakfast, we wrote up a list of activities on a scrap piece of paper. Everyone chose an activity giving each family member a chance to share his or her favorite games or events. I cannot tell you how many times in those early years that we played blocks, dolls or hide-n-seek but the activity was merely an avenue for relationship building.

The activities changed as the kids got older and included movies, hikes and day-long adventures. But when the day was done, we felt connected for the long, busy week ahead. Family Day might be a beneficial tradition for you. It has brought many of my clients' families closer together, some that were on the brink of disconnection.

This is how it works:

1. Pick a day: We picked Sunday. A day is really a perfect amount of time to fulfill each person's special activity. If you find a whole day is too hard on your schedules, then an evening could work too. For example, a Friday family game night might be fun or a Saturday pizza and a movie could work. Or expand on a time you already have in your schedule like church and breakfast.
2. Wake up together: When our children were young, they usually made their way into our bed so we woke up cuddling, wrestling, or playing a guessing game. Now that they are older, we meet on the couch for something hot to drink, chat or tell jokes then head for the breakfast table.
3. Breakfast Time: Every holiday has a feast. Our feast is at Family Day breakfast. Everybody has a task as we all work hard to make the meal into an event. My son learned how to make coffee (with supervision) by the time he was four and my daughter makes her "famous" pancakes. We do not hold back at this meal. Our breakfast is filled with goodies.
4. Family Day Journal: Although we spent years writing a list of activities on a scrap piece of paper, one Family Day I suggested we write our lists in a journal. From that point forward, after breakfast we bring out our Family Day Journal and take turns writing our special list. We even added a page of family news. We look back fondly on our list every so often remembering our past Family Days.
5. Family Day Activities: In our family, we come up with eight Family Day activities. Because there are four of us, we each get two choices. The writer gets to pick who is first, second, and third. The writer shares his/her pick last. Ideas will vary with your children's age. My son tended to pick hide-n-seek when he was younger whereas my daughter tended to pick an art project. Now, they pick movies, games, or shopping. No matter the choice, we all must participate. Some suggestions are hide-n-seek, playing a board game at a coffee shop, planting a vegetable garden, baking cookies, making paper dolls, playing dolls, building a city with blocks, making up a scary story, going for ice cream, renting movies at home or going to a movie, painting each other's portrait on canvas place mats, decorating bird houses, making Christmas gifts, carving pumpkins, rock climbing, hosting an International Ping-Pong Invitational, putting together puzzles, playing house, playing I-spy with a special shell we found at the beach on our last Family Day, playing bingo, going to visit family, adventuring out to a museum, telling tall tales, making clay models, and so much more. The list is prioritized in terms of time-line or we'll put the ideas in a basket and draw. Although we parents do have some veto power (i.e. money or time constraints), generally anything the kids pick is accepted.
6. Commitment: We are committed to Family Day every week, however, there are always some exceptions. For instance, if I am going on a training weekend or my husband has a conflicting job, Family Day will be carried on by the parent at home or we will reschedule it in advance to Saturday. Our friends and family know that we are not available on Sunday because we are focusing on each other. After almost 10 years, I can say that Family Day was the best thing we ever established in our little clan.

Autor: Laura Doerflinger Laura Doerflinger
Level: Platinum
Laura Doerflinger graduated with her Masters of Science degree from Central Washington University in 1993. She then worked as a Family Reconciliation Therapist counseling and ... ...

Laura Doerflinger, a licensed mental health counselor, is the Executive Director of the Parent Education Group at http://www.familyauthority.com and the author of the audio book, Emotionally Balanced Parenting.

Copyright 2009 Parent Education Group - Reprints Accepted - Two links must be active in the bio.

Added: June 3, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

History of the Vintage Kewpie Doll

Rose O'Neill, the creator of the vintage Kewpie doll, was an author, illustrator, artist, sculptor and business woman of the early nineteen hundreds.

She was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and grew up in Nebraska.and won her first drawing contest at the age of fourteen. Rose moved to New York where she became a known illustrator and spent her time between homes in New York, Connecticut and the Isle of Capri.

"Do good deeds in a funny way. The world needs to laugh or at least smile more than it does."

This philosophy of hers shows in her Kewpie dolls which were based on drawings she had made of a little brother when she was a young girl playing with him. All of his little looks and gestures were incorporated into her Kewpie figures. The first Kewpie figures were seen as illustrations of love stories in the Ladies Home Journal around 1909 and followed in the Woman's Home Companion and the Woman's Home Journal, many of the illustrations having verses to go with them.

In 1912, paper cutouts of the them were printed in the Women's Home Journal. The journey of the Kewpie doll began there.

The popularity of the paper dolls led to the registration of the KEWPIE trademark and in 1913 the first dolls were produced in Germany by the J.D. Kestner doll company. These early vintage Kewpies were made of bisque. Others followed made in composition and celluloid, soap and Wedgewood. The popularity boomed around the world and it wasn't until around 1930 that it began to wane.

However.. Kewpie dolls have always been in production and are to this day. The modern ones are mass produced in vinyl. One company the German Doll Company produces them from the original bisque Kewpie molds. The Charisma Company owned by Marie Osmond is the latest company to produce the Kewpie doll which have been produced in every size from 1 inch to over 3 feet.

Today, if you hope to own a vintage Kewpie doll, you should be prepared to pay top dollar for it as they are high in demand and therefore high in price.

Autor: Ann Johnston

After collecting dolls for years, Ann Johnston finds the Kewpie doll to always be in demand. You can read more of her views on doll collecting at her blog... http://greatcollectibledolls.wordpress.com

Added: June 2, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/