The Know Insider Weblog

Before buying random gifts and hoping that they will be pleasing to the recipient, read this article and learn how to avoid aimless gift buying. Discover ways to purchase what they desire, or ideally, provide them with a gift card and then enjoy the remainder of the day in each other’s company.

Each year Holiday spending gets more and more excessive. Everyone says that Christmas will be different next year but it will be the same boring holiday. When we are gift buying for adults, do we really need to go bonkers? Kids get excited for gifts, but adults buy for themselves what they want to have most of the time.

The problem is that most people don’t know what everyone wants. According to theory, you increase the odds someone will be pleased when you buy a large amount of stuff for them. If you really want to go all out for someone, then do some research first. You need to get opinions from people who are sure of what they are looking for. Over the course of the year, a mild interrogation with in depth and probing questions will aid in identifying a suitable gift. This will hopefully stop you from buying those useless gadgets and trinkets. There isn’t anything wrong with a gift card when ideas elude you. These can be personalized by including a few ornaments or hand-baked cookies or even a personalized card telling them that you wished that they have the last say about their gift. Even if you get to spend all your time surrounded by gifts, the best gift of all is spending time with loved ones.

While gift cards may be considered a bit impersonal, it is better than getting that loved one a gift they do not need or like. Gift cards are a great back-up plan when research and questioning have failed to provide you with any ideas. For the most part people either don’t know what they want, or they don’t know how to express it. There are lots of ways to give pleasure to this group. Here is a great site for some gifts for everyone.

What do you think the earliest recorded use of beads is - is
your first thought perhaps beadwork created by the Egyptians?
Yes, there certainly were a lot of beaded items in Egyptian
times, but beadwork has been found dating back to the Stone Age
(the Upper Paleolithic period). Beads were added to rudimentary
clothing; these beads were made of shells and ivory. Of course,
the beads weren’t as finely crafted as later beads, but still,
they were beads. So even in caveman times, men and women were
interested in improving their clothing and appearance with the
use of beads.

The beads that we tend to think of as traditional beadwork are
called seed beads - because of their small size they resemble
seeds. These beads were used in early beadwork - the work of the
Egyptians. The Egyptians used a type of bead called faience
beads. Our seed beads today are made of glass, but Egyptians
were using beads long before the invention of glass. Their
faience beads were made from quartz particles fused together. A
glaze was applied over the quartz. The beads were then woven or
strung into a variety of jewelry and clothing.

Beaded necklaces were found in the tomb of King Tut. Other
beaded items in his tomb were a pair of slippers he perhaps wore
as a child and a hassock. It’s unusual for ancient beadwork to
survive since it was strung on cords made from leather and
cloth, which tend to disintegrate with age. We are fortunate to
have these few examples to give us a perspective on the history
of Egyptian beading.

Some religious texts from India refer to beads being woven into
hair and into horse’s tails. These references were recorded
around the 9th century BC. And beads were also widely used
throughout Asia in ancient times. There were beaded items found
in temples in Japan that date back to 800 A.D.

Early beads were fashioned from shells, ivory and stone. Early
Egyptians valued the beads according to the stone that was used
to create the beads. Different stones were thought to have
different properties.

Lapis Lazuli, a beautiful blue stone, was believed to protect
the wearer’s health. This stone was often fashioned into beads,
as were carnelian, feldspar, amethyst, turquoise and jasper -
many of the same stones we use today.

Glass was introduced as a component of beads around 1480, when
Venice began drawing glass tubes and turning them into beads.
Once the technology for pulling glass tubes was invented, it was
easy to suddenly produce thousands of beads, all uniform in
size, color and shape.

Modern jewelry and beading certainly benefits from the advances
made in the production of beads, but there’s no doubt that even
today, an individually handcrafted bead can be the star
attraction of any beading piece.

While all tattoos fade over time. Some of the reasons for early fading are avoidable while other reasons are not.

Some ways to prevent premature fading include: Stay out of the sunlight while the tattoo is healing.

Getting a tattoo doesn’t mean you have to turn yourself into a vampire and stay out of the sun forever. It just means that you have to take precautions when exposing your tattoo to UV rays. If you can’t cover up the art then make sure you use strong sunscreen. Improper healing is another reason for fading. Pay attention to the tattoo artist when they give you directions on how to take care of the tattoo. Follow all the cardinal rules and never go in a pool, Jacuzzi or spa while a tattoo is healing.

Water can get into the skin and dilute the ink which could cause disastrous results. Don’t pick at the scabs. This can cause scare tissue that will affect the lines. Always go to a professional. Tattoos done by unprofessional artists often fade either because the tattoo is not deep enough allowing the colour to leach away or it’s too deep, which causes scabs and scar tissue. To understand the unavoidable reasons that tattoos fade you need to have some knowledge about how body systems work.

The skin has three layers; the top layer is the epidermis, a middle layer called the dermis and an internal layer called the hypodermis. One month after the tattoo is received, the bottom part of the epidermis is finishing the healing process. The dermis still has ink concentrated in the top section and is surrounded by collagen. Ink is still being eliminated in the epidermis with ink present in tiny cells, which is why it’s important not to pick at scabs. This could remove some of the ink. After three months the ink is completely healed in the epidermis and is only present in the dermis now.

Experts think that ink moves to deeper parts of the dermis over time while the lymphatic system is constantly removing toxins by flushing away skin layers. This is what causes tattoos to look bluish and blurry over time. The best way to keep your tattoo looking good as new is to make appointments with your tattoo artist for touch ups. Artists usually do small touch ups for free or at a reduced rate.

By Christine Pinella for Black Cat Tattoo Aftercare

A favorite at many wedding receptions edible wedding favors will always please the vast majority of guests. The next decision to be made is which type to use; sweet or savory and whilst there are no hard and fast rules on this, most guests will prefer to have sweet! Quite often, a bar of chocolate candy in a specially designed wedding wrapper is effective enough to make a good impression. I haven’t come across many people that won’t eat chocolate in any of its varieties especially if it has a special flavored center. Most brides and grooms opt to have their names plus the date of their wedding printed on the wrapper and to select a wrapper design which relates to love, weddings or the specific theme of the wedding.

Some brides and grooms may even decide to have their pictures on the wrapper along with their names and the wedding date. Other edible wedding favors can come in the form of small pieces of candy in tins. These tins become mementos of the big day if the bride and groom have gone to the trouble of having the wedding details placed on every tin. You can guarantee your guests will take the tins away with them even if they are empty because not only will they be a reminder of the day but they are practical as well. Most people will tuck into an edible wedding favor even if they do not normally eat candy because the occasion makes them more susceptible.

By using a large glass bowl in the center of every table, the bride and groom can fill them with their own choices of candy for everyone to share. Otherwise a small container, which can be themed if appropriate, can be used instead. You can guarantee it won’t take long before the guests start filling their boxes with the candy. An unusual edible wedding favor is a cookie that can be made especially for the day. You can select cookies which are rather plain in nature but place them in keepsake boxes with the bride and grooms’ names as well as the date of the wedding.