Craft Ideas for the Festive Season

The holidays are a great opportunity to really connect with your kids: you don’t have to go to work and they don’t have to go to school, so you have plenty of time available to spend together. But in order to make the most of your free days, it’s always a good idea to make some plans in advance and decide which activities for kids you’d like to do over the holidays, so you don’t end up sitting around and getting frustrated.

You might already know what you’re going to do with your kids over the holidays, but if you still need some inspiration, arts and crafts are activities you can easily do at home, and just as easily give a festive twist. Why not keep yourself and your kids occupied with a festive arts and crafts project ? We’ve put together two festive projects that you can work on together here, and there are plenty of places you can find further inspiration on activities for kids online.

A DIY 2015 Calendar

If you’ve got enough time, why not work on a do-it-yourself calendar for 2015? All you need is a blank calendar (you can order one online, or simply head to the nearest stationary or arts & crafts store), some pretty collage paper, lots of photographs, coloured pens, glue, scissors, and whatever additional crafty ingredients your heart’s desire – such as sequins or stickers, for example.

• First, sit down together and make a plan. Which pictures go with which month? Are there any phrases or stories you want to write down? And which colours are best suited for the different seasons?
• After you’ve got a solid plan, all you have to do is get started. Don’t be shy – experiment with different techniques, such as ripping the paper or cutting it, and place everything the way you would like it on the page to see how it will turn out before you get gluing.
• If you and your kids are happy with the result and ready to commit, apply glue and stick on the pictures, paper, and any decorations.
• Finally, write the month chosen on the page and any important dates – and then repeat the same procedure 11 more times. This is a fun and very useful project to work on over the holidays, and will certainly keep your family occupied for quite a while.

Make a New Year’s Resolutions Collage

 

image:supermommy.com.sg

The holidays are also a great time to reflect on your plans for the next year with relevant activities for kids. And what better way of doing that than expressing yourself through art?

• Get a big sheet of white paper and let your kids paint it using watercolours. Write something like “Our New Year’s Resolutions” in big, beautiful letters at the top of the sheet.
• Next, you will need smaller coloured sheets of paper for both yourself and your kids. Everyone can express their plans, hopes, and resolutions for the New Year on their personal sheet. Pictures are great, drawings are even better – but it’s always great to have at least a few words about every resolution too.
• Spend some time working individually on your resolution sheets, and then take the time to look at each other’s resolutions and talk them through with your kids. It’s great to draw boxes next to each resolution too, so you can tick them off at the end of next year if you’ve succeeded.
• Stick all the sheets to the big poster, do some more decorating, and find a good place to hang it up so you can always see it during the year – maybe somewhere in the kitchen? This is a fun and easy way to introduce kids to New Year’s resolutions and encourage them to think ahead.

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To Make Your Valentine’s Day Greetings Special

Valentine’s Day will come in several weeks. Though it’s still the beginning of January now, it’s no harm at all if you already start preparing things for welcoming this wonderful day next month. Anyway, what plan do you have in mind?  

 

For many couples, Valentine is a perfect moment to state their love to their dearly loved one or to convey a marriage proposal. Whatever the reason, Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with giving the best gift to the special person in someone’s life. 

 

It’s a fact that lots of people spend lots of money in trying to make their spouse happy on Valentine’s Day. Is it really necessary? I think it’s not a must. Actually, there are various low-cost ways to impress your dearest. The item presented can be a simple one, but filling it with your heartfelt feeling would make it much more valuable than anything else.

Don’t underestimate the high value of a simple thing like a card along with its envelope that beautifully created. A set of well-designed Valentine’s Day card and envelope can convey your deepest affection as effectively as a gift. So, for your happier Valentine’s Day moment ahead, you may check out first a collection of Valentines Day Printed Card Envelopes in the Printed Envelopes category that offered by WorldofEnvelopes.com.

You’ll see eight lovely designs; I share here one Valentine’s Day printed envelop which I most liked. Each design comes to you in two sizes, wallet format, and handy peel-and-seal closure type. They all are high quality and well made. Whichever envelop you choose, it would make the receiver impressed by its romantic and elegant look.

What if you prefer to blank and colorful envelop to complete your Valentine’s Day card? Don’t worry; Simply-Envelopes.co.uk provides you with a wide range of quality colorful envelopes, yet I much recommend using stylish Textured Envelopes for your special occasion. You’ll soon agree with me once you see their stunning collection!

Textured envelopes look classy and graceful as their lightly shiny brocade finish. You face many options since the envelopes offered in 15 elegant colours and 7 sizes available for each color. You’ll find one that meets your needs and fondness. I share the Amaranth Textured Envelope here, I’m sure that you would also admire its texture and colour!

Both my chosen types of envelopes are ideal for your special Valentine’s Day greetings -with or without a gift. As many people say, the envelope is as essential as the conveyed message inside. So, choosing the proper envelope is your first main step in expressing any greeting. Finding it in the trusted place will lead you to the right and quality choices.

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Do You Have Hypertension Risk?

For this blog, it's my first post in 2015. Happy New Year to all blogger friends. Hope for great health, happiness, and prosperity along 2015!

The AirAsia QZ8501 tragedy ended 2014 in sadness. It's a big loss for every passenger's family. Pray to all victims and biggest sympathies to related families. We get support from different countries - thanks for this!

90% of the hypertension complaints can be cured without drugs, quite simply by changing your lifestyle. So, in fact hypertension or high blood pressure is not a disease to be feared, but this only applies if hypertension is known from the earlier stage. Unfortunately, since it may come quietly and without obvious symptoms, hypertension is often neglected.

As hypertension may come and silently weaken your health, if you don’t remember when the last time checking your blood pressure, immediately check your blood pressure. Early detection is crucial; therefore you also need to know how much your hypertension risk.

image:redorbit.com

Some things you need to consider:
1.Family History
Check out your near family, whether there is a father-mother, grandparents, aunts or uncles other brothers who have high blood pressure? If there is, you are also at risk of suffering from the same disease. If one parent suffers from hypertension, 25 percent of children at risk. If both parents suffer from hypertension, the risk of children gets hypertension up to 60 percent.

2. Excessive Weight
Is your weight is much heavier than ideal? You should be more careful, because it is known that 60 percent of people with hypertension are people who are overweight (obese).

To find out whether you are overweight or not, try this simple formula.

Divide your weight (in kilograms) by the square of height (in meters).

The formula = weight (kg): (height m)²
Results> 25: overweight (obesity), 23-24.5 results: pre obesity.

Why obesity negatively affect blood pressure? Too much fat in the body causes the body needs more oxygen. In order to meet the growing needs of the oxygen, the heart has to work harder. 5.5 kg weight loss resulted in a decrease in diastolic blood pressure of 10 mmHg.

3. Are you a fan of canned foods, salty foods, and instant food? If you have long and often eat food like this, immediately check blood pressure. Which became the source of the problem is that a lot of natrium contained in salt, canned food (sardines, corned beef), and other foods that have been mentioned.

The salt itself contains natrium of up to 40%. You need to know if the natrium bond doesn’t just exist in the salt, but can also be found in other materials such as MSG (natrium glutamate), preservative (natrium benzoate), and baking soda.

When consuming natrium-rich foods, your body will store a lot of water. As a result, the volume of blood increases and this condition makes the heart must work harder to pump blood, so blood pressure will be elevated.

There is another theory. High consumption of natrium will erode the walls of blood vessels. These fragments will fill up the blood vessels and it may cause blockages. The result: an increase in blood pressure.

4. Often feeling stress, restlessness, anxiety, irritability.
Have you often suffered emotional conditions above? There were over 20 years of research results conducted on 1,123 people that claimed that they were experiencing severe restlessness, anxiety, and irritability will be over twice the risk of suffering from hypertension. This negative emotion condition may trigger hypertension but not a typical symptom.

5. Often smoking.
Heavy smokers have a greater risk of hypertension. Nicotine in cigarette smoke damages the walls of the arteries and narrowing blood vessels, which in turn makes hardened the heart work. Carbon monoxide contained in cigarette smoke fills up the blood; it makes oxygen-poor blood. The lack of oxygen in blood makes your heart has to work harder in order to supply more oxygen to all body tissues.

So, what about your hypertension risk level? If you are including a high-risk group, although hypertension hasn’t yet come to you, it would be better to soon perform healthier lifestyle and do regular blood pressure checks.

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