40th Birthday Cake Ideas

A 40th birthday is a great time to celebrate! If you're going to be throwing a birthday party for someone who is reaching that milestone, here are some 40th birthday cake ideas for fabulous cake possibilities.

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First, consider the old standby. A simple cake should work for this one, but have the number 40 written as big as possible. Then, surround the edges of the cake with 40 candles. Don't forget to light them. And don't forget to have a fire extinguisher standing by.

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Second, why not try a photo reproduction cake? These are becoming more and more popular and they can be very beautifully done. You'll need a favorite photograph of the birthday gal or guy. Maybe one with the spouse, or even with the kids. Phone around to local bakeries to find one that has the capability of turning the photo into a cake topper. They'll make an actual edible photo to put on top of the cake. Most cakes I've seen like this are real conversation pieces. Everyone loves them. And then you get to eat it, and it's always fun to see who gets to eat Uncle Larry's head.

Third, try the hobby angle. Does your brother like to fish? Then, have a cake decorated with a fishing theme. Does your aunt like to golf? Golf-themed cakes can be super cute. There was a very beautiful cake at my local bakery that was decorated with shoes and handbags for a woman who loved shopping. Whatever the hobby, the bakery can do it!

Next, you can't forget the "Root for the Hometeam" cake. Does your family love the Razorbacks? A cake in the shape of a hog, covered in bright red icing will always make people happy. And then you get to make fun of everyone because after they eat the icing, their lips and mouth will be bright red for the rest of the day. Any team colors or logos will make a super 40th birthday cake really special.

Lastly, don't scoff at the tried and true tombstone/over-the-hill cake. Yes, it's been done and overdone. But it also makes people laugh every time. And, truly, the 40th birthday is a great time to poke a little fun.

Whatever cake you choose, make sure to take a picture. Because the recipient is going to remember this birthday for a long time!

40th Birthday Cake Ideas

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Adorable New Costume Ideas For Halloween - The Ladybug Costume

Thinking about what to be for Halloween this year? The Ladybug Costume is an adorable new look for Halloween. Costume stores predict the Ladybug Costume to be very popular for girls this Halloween due to its widespread appeal and classic good looks. And it's very, very cute. One of those costumes you'll get tons of compliments on.

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The Ladybug Costume is available in a variety of different styles and sizes, so you can get the perfect ladybug look for your baby, toddler, teen, young girl and adult women. In terms of styles, there are classic ladybug looks along with sexy ladybug looks, sweet tutus for the little ones, and bunting for the infants. Basically, there is a ladybug costume to suit any age and style.

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If you are thinking about wearing a ladybug costume this Halloween, you want to get the basic outfit and then accessorize it for personality. As an example, Infant or Toddler Ladybug Costumes can be matched with black leggings and a long sleeve shirt to keep your little bug warm throughout the evening. For ladies, some sexy black shoes and a pair of fun stockings will complete your look.

Infant Ladybug Costumes come in several different options. There is a bunting for infants, designed to keep your baby nice and warm all evening. There's also an adorable ladybug cape that works well over a simple black outfit, and it comes with black mittens and booties. There's a hat with red pompoms that will not bother your baby the way a headband might. It's very sweet!

The Toddler Ladybug Costumes are available in some really cute styles to choose from, including a number of different dresses, and an adorable pajama one piece version. Depending on whether you are looking for total comfort or pure cuteness, you can find something that works perfectly for your little bug. Complete the look with wings, leggings and antennae.

Girls Ladybug Costume options are plenty. Dress styles that range from classic to flirty are available, some being very sweet and innocent, while others are more in a sexy style better suited to young women. There are some great accessories to personalize your look, including stockings in a ladybug pattern, as well as different styles of wings. Black platform shoes or high heels complete the look.

You can also add to the look with a custom makeup look. I've seen some really cute videos that show how to do several different ladybug makeup looks, from red eyes and black polka dots, to a series of ladybugs crawling across your face for a very unique look.

This Halloween, there are some really great looks available for a Plus Size Ladybug Costume. Depending on your taste, you can go with a classy or vixen look. The classic style ladybug costume includes an a-line dress with elbow length black gloves and a pill box hat. Then there's the sexy ladybug costume with a tight dress for showing off curves. Accessorize with some bad girl black boots or platform heels and stockings. Both looks are fantastic, it just depends on if you are feeling naughty or nice.

The Ladybug Costume is a great look for this Halloween, especially if you desire something with lots of personality and style. Happy Halloween!

Adorable New Costume Ideas For Halloween - The Ladybug Costume

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Ideas for a Small Wedding Reception in Las Vegas

If you are planning a Las Vegas wedding and only want to have a small wedding reception, there are many options available to you. A lot of Las Vegas wedding chapels and banquet facilities offer small, intimate reception packages that are elegant and affordable.

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Little Chapel of the Flowers is one of many Las Vegas wedding chapels to offer reception packages. The receptions are held in their Desert Falls and Garden area which is an outdoor garden patio that features a waterfall. The Little Chapel of the Flowers reception packages start at just 0 and can include cider, wedding cake, appetizers, coffee, tea, and photography services.

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The Grove at Silk Purse Ranch is another great location for a small wedding reception in Las Vegas. This wedding venue offers a wedding ceremony and reception package for 50. The package includes a garden ceremony, pictures, video, flowers, and limo service and a one and a half hour reception in their Garden Bistro restaurant for up to 35 guests. The reception includes a wedding cake, champagne toast, vegetable tray, and table centerpieces. For an additional cost, they can also arrange for appetizers or dinner.

You may also want to consider some of the fabulous restaurants that Las Vegas has to offers as an option for a wedding reception. Upscale Las Vegas hotels like the Wynn Resort, Bellagio, and Paris offer wonderful gourmet restaurants with intimate atmospheres perfect for a small wedding reception.

These are just a few of examples of what Las Vegas has to offer if you desire a small wedding reception. Thoroughly research all your options before settling on a location for your gathering. You will be surprised by the vast amount of venues in Las Vegas that offer wedding receptions. There is something for every taste and every budget!

Ideas for a Small Wedding Reception in Las Vegas

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How to Put Your Best Cricut Ideas Into Your Cricut Projects

Looking for some Cricut projects? Here are some Cricut ideas for you.

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Now that you own your Cricut cutting machine, why don't you start making great projects such as handmade greeting cards? Start selling them either at local craft shows, online, or at specialty shops in your area.

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Now days everyone could use a little extra cash. Your first of many cricut projects will be to make an assortment of about 10 to 12 cards. Be creative, there are a ton of ideas you can think of. Included in this assortment you should have a couple of Birthday cards (make sure you make cards for women, men and also cards for children), make sure to include Thank You, Anniversary, Get Well and even a Sympathy card. Some more projects that you can make on your Cricut cutting machine would be to make blank inside note cards for any occasion. You can have some card ideas such as flowers that are layered on the cover with a rhinestone center, or maybe just the word hello decorated with some other shapes. You can package them up in sets of 4-6 cards. With your Cricut cutting machine making all kinds of projects are all at a touch of a button. All kinds of ideas will start flowing from your creative mind. You can even make decorated boxes to put your cards into.

Now you need to take your Cricut projects along with some of your ideas and take them around to a few shops (Florists, Bakery, Salons, and small Gift Shops) and talk to the owner. Have your pricing available for each shop owner. Make sure to personalize the price sheet with the name of the company that you are going to sell them at. You will come across looking like a very professional business person and not just a crafter trying to sell your card ideas. Some owners may even let you leave your cards in there shop on consignment and just take a percentage when you sell them. (I have done consignment in the past in at a local florist and also in an upscale nail salon and did great. What a better place to display your Cricut cards than in an atmosphere that is 95 percent women, who by the way are the best shoppers. Besides the cards that I sold in these shops, I also received special orders for Baby Showers and Birth Announcements) Just don't forget to leave your business cards at these shops.

Customers may want to contact you personally for special orders. You can also sell online a great place online is called Shop Handmade, it's great because it is free. Or you can also sell your Cricut projects at local craft shows. While creating your cards, don't forget Christmas and other big holidays that people send cards such as Valentines Day, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day!

Another of many projects you can make with your Cricut cutting machine is to create a Custom Baby Shower or Wedding Shower or even Wedding Invitation. There are so many ideas for these types of cards. There are a lot of Cricut cartridges that are made especially for these projects. In the Cricut Solution series there is a cartridges called Wedding for all the great wedding shapes you can think of and they also have Home Accent cartridge that has beautiful swirly shapes and flowers that you can also use for a wedding theme. If you decide to go the Baby Shower or Birth Announcement route, there are great cartridges such as New Arrival and soon to be released A Child's Year.

Which ever route you take make sure that you make several samples in a variety of styles. Take them to Wedding Shows; contact Wedding Planners in your area, Bakeries, Florists and Baby Boutiques. I can't stop thinking of ideas. I just had another one for a fantastic project. See I told you that your ideas will start to flow once you get started using your Cricut cutting machine. If you have any party centers for children birthday celebrations in your area you can offer decorated and personalize goodie bags, and Name tags. Show them samples of different themes that you have (depending on the Cricut cartridges that you have). You may even make up a catalog to leave there so customers will be able to see the selection that you have to offer.

Have fun and be creative. Cricut Ideas and Cricut projects will start popping into your head. I guarantee it!

How to Put Your Best Cricut Ideas Into Your Cricut Projects

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Snack Facts: The Incredible History Behind Some of Your Favorite Foods

Quick...what's your favorite snack?

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If you answered OREOS® with milk, or RITZ® Crackers and cheese, or
maybe even a MOON PIE®, then you just named a snack enjoyed by
millions of people the world over. But do you know how some of these
popular snack foods got their start? Many of these tasty tidbits have an
awesome history. Check out the following incredible snack facts:

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THE INVENTION OF THE MOON PIE®

Bet you didn't know the genuine MOON PIE® is produced exclusively by
the Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee. But no one knows for sure how
MOON PIES® were invented. Supposedly, back in the early 1900's, a
man named Earl Mitchell, Sr. (a salesman for the bakery) was visiting
one of the company stores that catered to coal miners. Mr. Mitchell
asked the miners what they would like for a new snack. They told him
they wanted something for their lunch pails - something solid that would
fill them up. When Mr. Mitchell asked the miners what size they wanted
this snack to be, one miner saw the moon rising. He put his hands up
and framed the moon. Then he said, "just this size."

Mr. Mitchell went back to the bakery. He saw workers there coating
graham cookies with marshmallow, then putting them on the window sill
to harden. Mr. Mitchell asked them to put two of these cookies together
and coat them with chocolate, and that's how the MOON PIE® was
invented! By the late 1950s, the MOON PIE® was so popular it was all
the bakery had money to produce.

HOW FIG NEWTONS® COOKIES GOT THEIR START

The main ingredient for this famous snack is figs, of course, since FIG
NEWTONS® cookies are soft, cake-like cookies filled with a chewy fig
jam. But, the creation of these delicious sweets wasn't possible until
1891, when a special apparatus was invented just to make them. Until
then there was no way to get the fig jam into the cake or the cake around
the jam. James Henry Mitchell invented this special funnel within a
funnel. The inside funnel supplies a stream of jam. The outer funnel
produces a tube-like stream of dough, creating an endless rope of
yummy, fig-filled cookies we know as FIG NEWTONS®.

RITZ® CRACKERS ARRIVE ON THE SNACK SCENE

Times were tough for Americans during the Great Depression. Few
people could afford luxuries or fancy foods, but everyone wanted a great
cracker. In 1934, the National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) tried
recipe after recipe before they developed what they knew would be the
finest, tastiest cracker on the market. They named their luxurious, but
affordable, cracker the RITZ® Cracker (probably because anything
glamorous, classy, or fancy was called "ritzy" back then). It was popular
everywhere - from the most modest home to the elegant Waldorf-Astoria
Hotel, where it's still a regular feature on the menu.

THE BIRTH OF THE OREO® COOKIE

The OREO® cookie was born in 1912, but no one seems to know for
sure where the name came from. Since then over 362 billion of these
cream-filled chocolate wonders have been eaten, making them the
world's most famous cookie. If all 362 billion OREO® cookies were
stacked on top of each other the pile would reach the moon and back
more than five times. Now that's a lot of cookies!

KOOL-AID® FIRST QUENCHES AMERICA'S THIRST

Did you know KOOL-AID® is the official soft drink of Nebraska? KOOL-
AID® was invented in Hastings, Nebraska, in 1927, by a chemist named
Edwin Perkins. As a child, Perkins developed many flavoring extracts
and perfumes. This led to his own mail-order company, which eventually
resulted in modern-day KOOL-AID®. Nowadays KOOL-AID® is an all
American favorite. And, more KOOL-AID® is sold the week right before
and the week after the 4th of July than at any other period during the
year.

The next time someone asks you, "Quick...what's your favorite snack,"
when you give them your answer, you might also share some of these
incredible snack facts.

Snack Facts: The Incredible History Behind Some of Your Favorite Foods

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Cheetah Print - Classy Or Trashy?

Cheetah print is one of the print patterns that have been around the fashion world for quiet some time. It makes a particular and strong fashion statement. The secret in making this print work is not to use it all at the same time which means you need to limit yourself. Whether it a purse, a pair of shoes, belt or scarf with this print are all simple touches that can be added to your outfit but this might just be what you need to create the statement that you desire.

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You need to look classy and chic when wearing this because some people see this print as trashy. When used accordingly, it will give you a stunning look. Do not do a cheetah shirt with cheetah jeans with cheetah shoes; that is an extreme fashion violation. Never mix and match different kinds of animal print as well.

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However if you can pull it of the outfit, you can interior decorate with it instead. Sheets, pillow cases, blankets and rugs are perfect for a room/house that is not restricted to cottons only. It will bring out the wild and fun side of the atmosphere. It is a great way of styling as well at a very low cost. You can find easily find decorations and bedding with this print just about anywhere. Whatever that is that you think will fit for you; it is a must that you stick to a certain theme. And do not forget that, even if the print is in, it doesn't mean that it works for everyone. If you think and feel that it's not going to work for you, do not force it. If you're not confident with your style, you're never going to be able to pull it off.

Cheetah Print - Classy Or Trashy?

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Porch Skirting - Dress Up Your Porch With Classy Vinyl Lattice Panels

How often have you driven by "that" house in the neighborhood and seen the unsightly underside of the house. This is a place where even the bravest of souls would not dare venture in (unless you're a rodent or small animal). Then you think, "a little porch skirting is all those folks need".

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In the older home - say 60+ years - there really was no such thing as lattice or lattice panels. Homeowners simply ignored the issue, and threw together some pieces of wood to make some semblance of an enclosure.

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The first time you really saw porch skirting was when mobile homes come about. There was everything from the low cost metal skirting and wood to the higher end brick, and even faux stone surrounds. Each was used for one purpose: to cover the eyesore that was and is the wheels and jacks.

Metal skirting came with a lot of issues since it would easily bend, make ground level maintenance somewhat difficult (and even unsafe), and was exposed to the elements. A good alternative - though not as expensive as brick or stone - was wood lattice. This was a good solution as it offered more ventilation than brick, sufficient pest control of rodents, and gave a more uniform appearance. The downside to wood lattice as porch skirting was the maintenance. Left untreated, lattice would deteriorate and repair was near to impossible. Even those panels that had been treated required upkeep with stain or paint.

As timed progressed, wood lattice phased out and the gate opened to vinyl lattice panels. They offered the same benefits as wood - ventilation, pest control, and appearance - yet the maintenance was slim to none. Better yet, vinyl lattice offered better choices when it came to aesthetics.

While the mobile home launched the trend, soon homeowners with open porches and decks were considering vinyl lattice panels as an option. The problem, however, was that there was really no selection. This is how Marcus McAvoy got his start: handcrafting attractive panels for his own home. One thing lead to another and porch skirting became not only functional but also very decorative and attractive.

Just one glance at the porch skirting choices available today and you will see there are no boundaries. There are classic geometric patterns, coastal scenes with palm trees and dolphins, geometric shapes, logos (and what die-hard, college football fan wouldn't dream of having his teams logo on the outside of his home!), trees and flowers from nature, as well as custom designs (for that homeowner who wants a cohesive and high-end look.

No longer must you be embarrassed at showing the visually challenged areas of your home. Vinyl porch skirting and deck lattice panels will transform your home into the classy showplace you have always dreamed it would be.

Porch Skirting - Dress Up Your Porch With Classy Vinyl Lattice Panels

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