Unique Girl Gifts

Have you been invited to a baby shower? Do you want to give the mother-to-be a creative and original gift that she’ll actually end up using? With a few tips I found on Wikihow.com, you can now make your own!

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Things You’ll Need:

• At least two packs of diapers
• Gifts to hide (i.e., pacifiers, washcloths, onesies, mittens, socks and baby supplies like lotions, rash cream and baby wash)
• Rubber bands (various sizes; you can find a variety pack for less than a dollar at Target)
• Wooden dowels
• Cardboard large enough for the base
• Colorful ribbons and bows
• Netting or cellophane

Steps:

1. To form the top of the diaper cake, roll up a diaper, starting at the ‘open’ top end. Wrap a rubber band around the rolled diaper to stop it from unrolling.
2. Add 7 more diapers to the rubber band. For the middle layer, repeat step 1. Then add a new, bigger rubber band and add about 15 diapers. You can also secure them around a new 8 oz baby bottle.
3. For the base, repeat step 2. Add a very big rubber band and add about 30 diapers.
4. Now that you know how big your cake will be, cut a circular base out of cardboard.
5. Place the largest layer of the cake on the cardboard base. Or, use a decorative plastic tray or even a pizza pan from the dollar store.
6. Remove one or two diapers and replace with a gift. Inside each layer, hide a surprise, such as a coupon, a doll, some cream, or a piece of baby clothing. Use a bottle of baby lotion or shampoo in the center for stability.
7. Once you have the gifts inserted into each layer, assemble the remaining tiers of the cake.
8. Secure them together by carefully inserting 1 or 2 wooden dowels through the base layer and then carefully stacking the other two layers on top of it, being careful to get the dowels between the diapers and not through any of the diapers.
9. Add a ribbon around each layer to cover the rubber bands.
10. To finish off (and help transport) you can wrap the “nappy cake” in cellophane or netting. Tie at the top with a bow, or add a stuffed animal to the tie for a “topper” to the cake.
11. An alternative to rolling up each diaper is to use the diapers as they come, placing them side by side and forming a rolling circle, place a large rubber band or ribbon or both around each “tier”.

Tips:

• One of the things that is very helpful is seeing the expected result before setting to work. Flickr.com is a great place to search for images of diaper cakes, and then it’s much easier, both in the building process, but more important, in decorating.
• Most packages have a see-through side panel or a picture of the diaper on which you can see the design on the diapers. If the design colors are really busy it might detract from the overall look.
• Use size 2 diapers or larger. That allows the mom to enjoy the diaper cake longer before needing to take it apart. Be sure to let them know if any of the gifts are perishable.
• On the other hand, using size 1 diapers will allow the mom to have some on hand to use right away. You could also make the top 2 layers out of one size and the bottom layer out of a larger size, depending on the number of diapers in the bag you buy.
• The number of diapers in each layer are just an indication and will change depending on the brand of diaper and how tight you wrap them.
• For a fatter cake, add a ring of diapers to each tier.
• You can buy commercial diaper cakes, but people will love the fact that you’ve put effort into the project.
• You could do this project with cloth diapers if the parents are environmentally conscious. The cake would be smaller because you don’t need as many diapers and they’re more expensive.
• You can use the same directions, but instead of using diapers, use hand towels, decorate with small flowers and add a few small kitchen utensils, and use it as a Wedding Shower gift to the bride to be.

Fall is right around the corner, and with the days gradually getting shorter and the nights getting longer, more people like to burn candles. Here are some great tips I found on HGTV.com on utilizing candles.

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Candle Basics - Tips on Utilizing Candles

• Burn candles in appropriate, heat-resistant holders on heat-safe surfaces.

• Never leave a lit candle unattended.

• Consider using refillable candles. These act as a very safe taper candle. They twist together and can be lit and used like any other taper candle.

• Place a small amount of water in the bottom of a votive candleholder to prevent the votive from sticking.

• Candle stakes come in a variety of different sizes and are great for putting together floral arrangements.

• Before inserting a taper candle into foam, slice off one end from the bottom on an angle to help it stay put. You could also use a stake to insert the candle into foam. These can heighten the candle too.

• Shave off the extra wax on the very bottom of a taper candle to make sure it sits flat.

• Refrigerate candles a couple of hours before using and they will burn longer. Do not put them in the freezer.

• Clean candles by rubbing gently with a nylon stocking or a nylon kitchen scrubber.

• Always cut the wick to about a 1/4 inch in length. If the wick is any longer, it could be a fire hazard.

• If you lose the wick, cut off 1/2 inch of the wax to the wick and start over.

• If you use hurricane candleholders make sure they are very stable. One way to do that is to secure a candle in marbles, or place on an anchor pin with double-sided tape. Both of these techniques prevent the candle from getting too close to the glass inside a hurricane and becoming too hot.

• Place votive candles inside really large candles to prevent burning the large ones.

I found this great article in About.com on helping teens and parents cope with the stresses of going back to school. Since I am a mother of a teen myself, I know first-hand and how stressful it can be for a teen going back to school. Here’s wishing you all the best!

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Back to School in 5 Trouble-free Steps

Every school year your teen faces big changes when he/she goes back to school. Your teen is older, classes are getting harder and his/her future is getting closer. All of this causes very real stress - your teen is going to need your help!

You can give your teen a strong trouble-free start this school year by following these five back to school steps:

Organize your family’s time. As appointments and daily schedules for the year form, take note of them and write them down. Place a weekly schedule for each person on the refrigerator or other prominent place in your home. All changes and additions to this weekly schedule should be made on the family calendar which is kept in the same place. This is your ‘what’s going on at a glance’ center. Make a habit of checking it twice a day - in the morning and at night. Teach this habit to all of your family members.

Purchase new school clothes. Take advantage of all of the back to school sales to purchase what your teen will need for the school year. Don’t forget gym and practice clothes. Your teen will feel good about himself/herself when he/she is sporting the new duds. While you don’t want to spoil your teen, or turn him/her into a shop-o-holic, the new clothes will give his/her self-confidence a much-needed boost on his/her first day of school.

Buy and organize school supplies. In high school your teen is going to need everything from a sharpened #2 pencil for all computerized tests to deodorant for gym class. Use your teen’s school list as your guide and sit down with your teen to make your shopping list. Be prepared to have to go out and purchase something else the night of the first day of school. There is always one teacher who requires a certain supply but doesn’t let their students know until the first day of school.

Set goals and expectations. The start of the school year is a wonderful time to re-examine school performance – both academically and extra curricular activities. Remember to set doable goals and try not to over stress your teenager. Be sure to set the time for homework.

Get emotionally ready. A new school year can mean a lot of stress for a teen and parents alike. Take some time before school starts to relax and enjoy an activity together. Talk to each other about the school year coming up and reaffirm with your teenager that you are there to help whenever help is needed. Be sure to tell him/her this and don’t assume he/she already knows. It is easier to handle stress from outside sources – like school – when you know someone is on your side.

In response to my blog readers’ requests for more articles on the Law of Attraction, below is some information on a program I recently discovered called the Attraction Accelerator, which is simply amazing, and I would know because I started using it recently.  (I also included a link to this amazing program in my blog article, “Attracting Wealth, Success, Love & More Into Your Life.”)

With a push of a button, the Attraction Accelerator locks your brainwaves into a precisely tuned frequency where you can experience powerfully focused visualization.  Take a minute and read about this incredibly amazing program below.

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The Attraction Accelerator 

Why does one person seem to have so much success in life, business, and relationships when another doesn’t?  Is it smarts?  Luck?  Who you know?  A combination of all three?

Nope. I’ll tell you exactly what it is. . .

The successful person has a crisp, clear visualization of who they want to be, what they want to achieve, and the lifestyle they want to live. That’s what drives them.

They’re focused, determined, and will let nothing stop them from reaching their ultimate goal. Success comes to them like a magnet.  It’s the basic principle behind the Law of Attraction.

On the other hand, the unsuccessful person is more scatterbrained and unfocused. They always seem to be chasing after the newest money-making-method-of-the-month.  They never visualize what they want, and therefore have no set goals in mind. And eventually…they fail.

So which one are you?

When Mission Control was frantically looking for ways to bring Apollo 13 back to earth safely, lead flight director Gene Kranz told them in no uncertain terms, “Failure is not an option.”

And it’s the same with the Attraction Accelerator.

When you play the Attraction Accelerator CD, you will hear some dreamy music with specially designed beats in the background. Those beats are scientifically proven to train your brain to go into the ideal mental state for focused visualization so you can harness the full power of The Law of Attraction.

Within a few moments, you will have the ability to visualize deeply, vividly and emotionally - guaranteed.

That’s when the Law of Attraction goes into Turbo Drive - you apply the juice and your new successful life is off and running. And the Attraction Accelerator is the conduit for that juice.

The Attraction Accelerator works the first time you use it and every time after. 

Every so often I run across information that is both powerful and life-changing. I read about the Law of Attraction a couple of years ago and have since seen it manifested in my own life.

I thought my blog readers would enjoy reading some information I’ve gathered on this powerful universal law. I also included a couple of links below where you can get more information on this subject if you like.

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The Vital Secret to the Law of Attraction

How do you go about getting the Law of Attraction to work for you? How can you attract more wealth, success and love into your life? What are you thinking about right now? The Law of Attraction states that “whatever we think about, we bring about.” The Law of Attraction is always around us, every minute, every second. It is simply everywhere all the time!

Law Of Attraction

The Law Of Attraction in its simplest definition is that whatever you think and focus on, you will attract into your life. However, it is not plain positive thinking. Many people mistake it that you can just sit around and daydream and your wishes will come true. This is simply not true. The real Law of Attraction is about you focusing on your dream with emotions, intense passion and belief, then take action to achieve them.

A few men in history who understood the Law of Attraction were Alexander Graham Bell, Winston Churchill, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford and Issac Newton. Recently, a movie on the Law of Attraction was made called “The Secret,” created by Rhonda Bryne who had read the Law of Attraction book by Wallace D Wattles, “The Science of Getting Rich.” This movie brought about more awareness on the Law of Attraction and what it is all about. (The teachers of “The Secret” are offering 7 free lessons that you can get by clicking here.)

3 Steps To Abundance

Step 1 - “Ask”
The very first step is to ask what you want. Write down anything or anyone that you want. Put those down in writing. There is no wrong or right way but just a matter of acknowledging and writing down what you want. Think impossible? Think not! Just write down whatever comes to your mind that you want, things, people, places you want to go, things you want to do, people you want to meet, your dreams etc.

Write down at least 50 things that you always wanted. Here’s the part where you need to do more work. But did I mention that it is fun? Have that list of things you always want? Read through the list of things that you wanted, think about them and then prioritize them.

Next, buy a board, it can be a sticky board or a cork board or even just a simple cardboard. You really just need a board where you can stick pictures on. Get out your magazines and scissors and start snipping pictures that you can relate to your list of things you want. Once you have sufficient pictures, stick those pictures up on board you have prepared. Voila! Your vision board is now ready!

Step 2 - “Answer”
This step is fulfilled by the Universe. You do not have to do anything. Sit back and let the Universe do its work. Things around you will start rearranging in its own subtle way in order to fulfill whatever you want.

Step 3 - “Receive”
The Universe has done its part. However this last step is the most crucial. You need to be in alignment before the Universe can present to you what you want. The Universe needs to know that you are indeed ready to accept its gift of whatever it is that you want. If you have feelings of passion, happiness, enthusiasm, joy, gratitude and positive energy, the Universe knows that you are ready to receive the gift. However if you have any doubt or is negative and have bad feelings, the Universe will know that you are not aligned to receive the gift.

The real secret is having goals in your life, not to give up and taking action when the time is ripe. If you want to accelerate the universal law of attraction in your life, click on this link, enter your name and email address and you will get a free 20-page law of attraction book sent immediately to your email. I have already read the book and it is very good.