General Information Requests

[gsf]

I haven't eaten turkeys.Are they delicious?Do they taste like chickens?

[MintyFemme2]

gsf . alot of things taste like chicken LOL. Seriously I think turkey hs it's own special taste.

[susieB]

Hi all!

My good friend has just announced that she is getting married (2nd time around) and she has asked me to be a bridesmaid! I am so excited, I love celebrations! Anyways, I told her I would try to think up some unique ideas for centre pieces and wedding favors (give-aways).

So, I thought of you all!

Any ideas?

[WA114]

Susie:

For my recent high school reunion in August, we rented tall glass cylinders and bought several packets of floral gel crystals.

You add water to the gel crystals and they expand. I also bought a few packets of metallic confetti (royal blue discs and pearlized stars) and stirred that into the "goo" of gel crystals. I then spooned a some of the "goo" into the glass cylinders. (It's best to do this the night before, so the gel has sufficient time to expand.)

Because the cylinders are glass, you will be able to see the metallic confetti in the gel. Set a floating candle on top of the gel.

Then, we set our glass cylinders on round mirrors in the center of each table. We extended the motif by sprinkling metallic confetti on the tablecloths and by placing glass beads on the mirrors. (You can use flower petals or silk flowers too, if you want, but we chose not to, thinking that might be overkill.)

Our school colors were royal blue and white, so cobalt glass beads (you can get these at Michael's or at any Dollar Store) looked really beautiful. I also got some white, pearlized ones and although hard to see from the photos, they are star-shaped.

It's inexpensive and really neat looking. This also seems to be the "in" thing in table decor right now. Here are 2 pics to give you an idea of what it looked like.

I know the pics are small; I cropped the people out because I don't think they would approve of my posting their faces without permission. Hopefully you'll see the effect of the metallic confetti in the gel, and the way we carried the motif down and outward onto the cloths by putting the beads on the mirrors and the confetti on the cloths.

<center><img src="http://www.rachelleweb.com/centerpiece.jpg" border="1"> <img src="http://www.rachelleweb.com/centerpiece2.jpg" border="1"></center>

We were on a really tight budget, and this did the trick, but still looked very classy. No one knew how little I spent!!

The gel is about $4 a packet and you can probably get it at a specialty gift shop, a florist, or a craft supply store. One packet makes enough for about 3 cylinders. Mix one packet with several litres water (I can't remember the "recipe" offhand...) in a big Rubbermaid tub.

We rented the round mirrors at $2.50 each.

The floating candles were about $2 to $3 each, though you can probably find them cheaper at Wal-Mart, a Dollar Store or other discount store.

The metallic confetti was about $3 to $4 a packet, and we bought 2 packets of pearlized stars and 2 packets of metallic blue discs. With the 4 packets, there was more than enough for 8 tables of 8 <i>AND</i> our 8 cylinders!! You can get the confetti at any special events rental superstore and it comes in different shapes and colors. (Hearts, stars, discs and every metallic color imaginable.)

The glass beads in different opacities and sizes will probably be your most expensive item. I can't remember how much these were...

Hope you like the idea. Good luck!

<b>Note:</b>
If I had to do it a little differently, I would have also rented the little glass toppers that sit on top of the cylinders. As you can see, I rested the candles directly on top of the gel, and as the evening went on, they "sank" a little and started to smoke up the cylinders. You can rent the glass toppers to fit on top of the cylinders, fill with a little water, and float your candles on top.

[susieB]

what a neat idea {{{WA}}} thanks so much, I will certainly show my friend the pictures as well!

[WA114]

I forgot to mention that rental of the glass cylinders will average about $7.50 apiece, but it will depend on their height.

Glad you liked the idea.

{{{ susie }}} Stop by here more often; I miss you!

Something else I saw that I thought was rather neat for an outdoor theme was red and white checked tablecloths, aluminum campware for the place settings, glass "cowboy boot" mugs, and drapery cord "lasso" napkin rings around the napkins. Neat idea for a corporate picnic, and although it might sound tacky to read this, if you actually saw it, you wouldn't think so. It looked casual, but not at all tacky! I loved the "lassos" tied around the napkins. I would never have thought of that. Our special events superstore has some really cool ideas sometimes. It's neat walking into their showroom to see what they'll come up with next!

[MintyFemme2]

susieB For wedding keep sakes you can make Cinderella Slipper ( a tag on the heel with the date and the couple's names) filled with candy ( to match the color of the wedding) or bird seed/rice to toss as the Bride and Groom leave the reception. You can find the Cinderella Slippers at your local craft store. You can also get mini bubble bottles with doves on the lid for the guests to blow, again it is easy to attach tags with the couple's name and date on the top. Another thing you can do is get some plastic wine glasses and fill them with candy to match the wedding's color theme. I can't top Wa's center peice LOL. I almost forgot to tell ya to wrap the shoe /wine glass netting material.

[susieB]

awesome ideas {{{minty}}} thanks hun!

[IRISH_EYES_99]

((((( susieB )))))) great to see you.
(((((WA)))) great ideas
(((((Minty))))) your ideas too CRS has set in so I can't think of any..

Susie,
A to your friend.

May your eyes be open.
May your heart be full,
All good wishes I hoping
Love blossoms true.

[susieB]

{{{irish}} you are so sweet - nice to see you hun!

[gsf]

Have you given your children pocket money?I wonder whether I should give or not if I am married and have my children in the future.How should we have our children learn how to spend money?

[Cod]

gsf, it seems that parents today are always giving their children money for school activities, sports, entertainment, etc. I'm not sure the old "weekly allowance" is popular anymore. However, I think that a set amount, even if not a lot, is probably a good idea so that a child has to make a decision to save or spend and on what.

[PoohsBigSister]

we give $5.00 a week to each child (ages 10 and 12). When they become teens, we will double that. They get their money based upon two things...if they did their assigned chores (on a chart posted on the fridge) and if they turned in all their homework that week. If not, then amounts are deducted accordingly. In my book, this is their "work" and they are earning the money I pay. I don't pay for grades (although when my daughter brought home straight A+'s last semester, we did give her a special something) and I don't take $$ away for anything but the above reasons. They usually tend to spend pretty quickly, but have figured out to get something they wanted really badly (gameboy games) they had to save up so many weeks...and they did. So far, this has worked pretty well for us. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed....

[gsf]

Thank you,Cod.
Thank you,PoohsBigSister.
I saw a woman and her child walking in front of a store near my house several months ago.He found a vending machine and run toward it.Then she suddenly shouted with anger and said to him,"I won't buy the soft drink".He had said nothing,but perhaps she might think that he wanted it because he had got toward it.I didn't feel that what she had done was very good.I wondered how we should have bring up our children.

[Cinderellen]

gsf, I often think that at least part of that kind of behavior would stop if the parents could see themselves on a video recording. You don't realize in the heat of the moment what you look and sound like to others and to your own child. I don't know the events leading up to her yelling, but I know that most all parents have embarrassing moments in public. Once, my son was hiccupping and I jumped around the corner and tried to scare him. He giggled, I giggled, and the lady near us preceded to lecture me about the proper way to treat my child. I was embarrassed and angry. She totally misinterpreted what happened. However, I have never done that in public again. Raising children is hard, I wish they came with an instruction manual.

Maya Angelou said "It is very important for every human being to forgive herself or himself because if you live, you will make mistakes- it is inevitable. But once you do and you see the mistake, then you forgive yourself and say, 'well, if I'd known better I'd have done better,' that's all. " A lot of raising children involves growing up yourself too. They can teach you alot about the kind of person you are. I just say to myself, now that I know better, I'll do better.