Every Step We Take with Trendy Shoes

Casual boots have been a huge fashion trend for years, and they're still hot today. Boots add sophistication and interest to even the most basic jeans and tee outfit. They can make you taller, keep you warm, or just look cute!
Open-Toe heels are 2008 season's hot items. It's elegant yet stylish.

Runway Inspiration - Trends in Boots For Fall 2008
Here are some of the different causal boots that we saw on the runways this season. Designers used boots in many of their fall 2008 looks, and they were the most popular footwear choice by far. The funny thing about this year, though, is that there wasn't one main trend that stood out. Boots of all sizes, styles, and colors showed up on the runways, each as trendy as the next.

The Season's Hottest Shoes - Open-Toe High Heels
There is something about a peep toe shoe that is irresistibly vampy and sophisticated. The open-toe shoe has enjoyed a strong revival over the past few years, and fashion forecasts for 2008 indicate that the trend is expected to keep up its momentum over the next few seasons. This year, women can look forward to wearing the peep toe in retro-inspired looks as well as styles that have never been seen before.

Classic Peep Toe Style
Ultra-high heeled peep toe shoes, open-toe wedges, and stacked-heel peep toe mules are all reminiscent of 1950s pin-up girl fashions. This season, designers are throwing patent leather, suede, straps, chunky heels, metallic finishes and platforms into the mix to update the classic style.

There is something about a peep toe shoe that is irresistibly vampy and sophisticated. The open-toe shoe has enjoyed a strong revival over the past few years, and fashion forecasts for 2008 indicate that the trend is expected to keep up its momentum over the next few seasons. This year, women can look forward to wearing the peep toe in retro-inspired looks as well as styles that have never been seen before.
and we mainly talk about casual boots that girls wearing for beauty purpose here:

Casual Boots For College Girls
Now that you've seen the runway looks, lets start translating the latest trends into something a college girl can actually wear.
Boots Need To Be:
Comfortable to walk in - this means no 6 inch heels, stilettos, or extremely pointy toes.
Durable - we need leather boots that won't fall apart after three wears, or that can't be walked around in for more than an hour!
Cute and wearable - college girls need boots that are stylish but can work with many different outfits. We want versatility with our clothes, and a studded pair of bright red snakeskin boots is not going to cut it!
Not overly expensive - $250 dollars is the top price a college girl will probably pay for a pair of boots, and even that may be way too much for many.

Tips and Knowledge about Shoe Accessories

Inside the shoe - Shoe insoles

From almost everyone can benefit on a pair of good insoles. Insoles major role in the following:

First, shock-absorbing.
Although the shoes themselves will have this feature, but the role of insoles can not be underestimated.

The second is stability and support
Such as the above plans. Insoles are the latter part of a plastic for the support to give feet a very good supporting role. Certain extent, the support of good insoles of boots stronger than general support for the ankles. Perhaps listening to a bit ridiculous, but in fact a good insoles's role is enormous. For example, the map super feet, have such an effect.

Third, it is corrected.
Most people will step pose a problem, Pingzu, inversion, eversion, not the correct attitude not only lead to further foot problems and even cause of ankle, knee and even back problems. Good insoles can be corrected foot problems.

Elegant Shoe Material Choice

Linen is an elegant, durable fabric that can be used in nearly every type of clothing from pants to dresses to suits. Linen is made from flax and is the strongest of the vegetable fibers. Naturally, linen is an off-white color, varying from creamy white to light tan. However, it can be dyed any shade and the color won't fade when washed.

What's great about linen is that it's a cool, breathable fabric that is perfect for warmer months. Though it does wrinkle easily, linen presses easily as well. This season in addition to beautiful linen skirts and dresses, look for an array of stylish linen shoes and handbags.

Socks is a small thing, but it is very important.

The production of socks use several key material, do you know which one to choose when you are wearing an Basketball Shoes and want to keep your feet sweat away? Let's see:

First, wool, wool, particularly merino wool.
Warm and good, flexible, strong absorptive capacity, it features.
Second, acrylic
This is a kind of chemical fiber materials. Most of the buffer used to increase flexibility and shock absorption.
Third, nylon, nylon
Mainly used to increase durability, increased strength, ductility.
Fourth, coolmax
This is not that we all know, perspiration breathable
Fifth, Teflon, Te Fulong, reducing friction
Sixth, lycra, Leica or spandex, to provide flexibility, and so on.

Walk With Style And Comfort

Stylish shoes don't have to be a pain. The biggest misconception is that comfortable shoes can't be fashionable and fashionable shoes can't be comfortable. You'll find that more and more fashionable shoes have been specifically designed with comfort in mind.

Many women walk wrong

Look, it's not your fault. It's your shoes. Unsuitable Shoes hurt your feet. They change how you walk. In fact, your feet—your poor, tender, abused, ignored, maligned, misunderstood feet—are getting trounced in a war that’s been raging for roughly a thousand years: the battle of shoes versus feet.

Okay, so shoes can be less than comfortable. If you've ever suffered through a wedding in four-inch heels or patent-leather dress shoes, you've probably figured this out. But does that really mean we don't walk correctly? (Yes.) I mean, don't we instinctively know how to walk? (Yes, sort of.) Isn't walking totally natural? Yes—but shoes aren’t.

Needless to suffering from stylish shoes

Ask a woman if she's ever worn uncomfortable shoes in the name of style and she'll look at you like you asked her if she brushes her teeth. The thought of strutting around town in a beautiful pair of high-fashion heels brings to many women's minds the pains of squished toes, tender metatarsals, aching arches and sore backs.

But the days of suffering for style are no longer. After years of women assuming the two could never be combined, function and beauty are being united as footwear brands put their most comfortable foot forward, changing the way women think about fashionable shoes.

The message is clear: beautiful shoes can be created without sacrificing foot health and comfort.

Comfort is the most important factors when I choose my shoes. If you hurt your feet, it’s not just the pain that will make you regret, but it may leads to some serious foot health problems that you may not imagine before the dangerous trying. Not all stylish shoes have to be high-heel.

Let your feet be free, don't make them painful, choose the stylish shoes designed with comfort of fee in mind. I think many shoe designers have aware of this serious unbalance problem. You just need to be more careful when make you pick.

Drinking in Style with IKEA Coffee Mug

In the world of coffee mugs and tumblers, it's not about discerning tastes; it's about function and style. Just take a quick look at the newest IKEA catalog: 16 different mugs and tumblers to choose from, some with handles, some with wide mouths, some small and dainty, even one called Älmhult that looks more like a tiny planter than something you'd pour coffee into.

Yet, according to industry experts, people want strange, stylish and sometimes even barely functional models. Crema, aroma, aftertaste: all afterthoughts.

I am passionate about IKEA. IKEA offers clever and functional design at a fair price. Our home has a few IKEA furniture items (newer and older) that have lasted quite well.

On design - I was enchanted with the design. I valued the difference in aesthetic design and clever engineering. IKEA’s growth is evidence that they provide value to customers.

I'm a big fan of efficiency. Many of their designs use materials that reduce cost, and the markets dictate that solid wood is too expensive. So their designs make use of materials made from pieces / parts from the larger lumberyard, for example. Isn’t efficiency a virtue as the human population dominates our planet? Especially when many people in the world cannot afford more expensive goods.

I'm also a big fan of quality. If we want higher quality furniture for our home, we plan our budget accordingly and shop elsewhere.

Possibly the least expensive and most innovative products from Norse furniture powerhouse Ikea is the TORFE What at first glance seems to be a simple ceramic mug hides a cunning piece of industrial design that solves a problem almost everyone has had to deal with; water pooling in the base of an upturned cup after washing. TORFE solves this issue with a small notch that allows water to trickle down the side instead of stagnating up top.

If you are really bothered by water pooling in the bottom of your mugs while they are in the dishwasher, IKEA has the solution. These mugs have a little notch on the bottom to prevent the pooling. The stoneware mugs are also stackable.

Nanjing Residents Finally Have Design Giants IKEA

Before August 28, Nanjing IKEA fans will go to shanghai to purchase their home furniture, and it really not very convenient.

But now If Nanjing residents are worried that there is no place to buy decent home furnishings, they now have a savior.

Design Giants - IKEA

Ikea's Nanjing store, located at the east of Kazimen Square, was formally opened on August 28. With a total investment of USD54 million, the new Ikea store covers 60,000 square meters and its business area is about 30,000 square meters.

In the store, consumers will see 65 sample rooms of four different styles and three "complete homes", covering 25 square meters, 35 square meters, and 55 square meters, respectively, offer complete solutions for interior decoration. In addition, there are more than 6,000 kinds of products sold in the store.

Affordable and simple. IKEA hands the screwdriver over to the customer. Founded in 1943 by Ingrod Humfrod, the company rapidly became the preferred interior outfitter for students, ingles and young families. Annual sales now exceed six billion dollars.

Price Strategy in Nanjing
IKEA have investigated Nanjing consumer market before they implement their Price strategy. They price of most furniture will be acceptable by most consumer with above average wage. Their targeted consumer would be the female with good flavor and certain economic capacity.

Transportation
There is no subway in that district where IKEA located, the nearest subway stop have at least 3 kilometer away. But since IKEA is the symbol of elegance and humanized design, many consumer attracted are mainly upon class. So most of them will have cars and IKEA prepared enough parking places to make them feel comfortable.

Anyway, we can also take the public transportation, which I personally think NO.60 bus is the most convenient one for people who live in the central city area. Other buses are available too.

Store Decoration
The decoration is attractive and most advanced. Lots of people went there and couldn't afford to take many pictures down, because when they see those sample room, and delicately designed Bedroom,they feel at home there, very cozy feeling. Curiosity is always pops up.

Popularity
Apart from these furniture products, the new Ikea store also includes a 2,512 square meter restaurant, which offers Swedish food, and a children's room, which can accommodate 50 children. So lots of people are attracted there on the fist opening day. In that area, there are many furniture large stores, but IKEA seams not to be fear about those competitors due to their unique style, creative design, and amazing store decoration.

Living Colors – Good Design Can Change Your Life

The first time I saw Living Colors (a kind o LED lamp that can handle 16000 colors) designed by Philip, I was totally in love with it. I remember last year I got that impulse to buy it home immediately, but even Amazon got no sign of this lamp. One can only purchase it in very limited places such as England or Holland. Considering the surprising price to be 150 dollars, and the postage under the risk to be detained by the Custom, I finally decided to wait for other chances to buy this romantic LED Lighting genius. Just as I'm kind of forgetting it, I came upon it on certain famous design forum recently. So it really makes me feel heart touching again.

She – not just for lighting purpose
Color your world with light – cause color is your best emotion media

See few flash promotion pictures as follows, it was all taken from the official website.
What color is...

·What’s the color for your precious memory?
· The color of love ？
· What about a lazy Sunday?

It's the best combination of design and marking. Not to forget to mention is the design conception of Philips: Sense and Simplicity. Their effort and exploration on the creative idea and simplicity is admirable. Designer got a lot to learn from many classic Philips design such as "The Simplicity Event".

Pressure and Expectations for London 2012

The massive spectacle that Beijing put on for the Opening and closing ceremonies has shocked the whole world including Chinese people themselves. It's said that Beijing has put a lot of pressure on London 2012.

It's hard to imaging how London could possibly do to compare to the sheer scale of the Chinese efforts. Someone argue that maybe London don't need to match that scale, London will be excellent just by being itself. London could not compete with China on splendor and majesty of ceremony, nor should it be expected to.

Each opening and closing ceremony can be considered to be the self-narrative of the hosting country. The sheer scale of the Chinese ceremony was meant to induce a sense of China's ancient history and vast size and emerging power. I don't think that will be the case for London.

It's totally different case for the two countries, Beijing and London, for which the former has got a 5000 years' old cultural history to show to the whole world. So such a massive scale and size is suitable and at the same time Chinese performances are good at.

But London Olympic will have its unique side to manifest like having enough food at the venues; let all kinds of people protesting against anything, including the Queen's hair color and weight problems, and Charles' boldness. And, of course, free Scotland. No Internet blocking and full stadiums will make the London Games much better. Just for kidding here.

It is not how much you spend, not how many new buildings you build. It is allowing people having a good time that makes the Games. We will sure not having another Boring Olympics, or No Fun Olympics.

As the Chinese saying goes, Every field has its own zhuangyuan (the best scholar of the imperial examinations). China's ceremonies can be considered to be the 'zhuangyuan' of pomp and grandeur. I expect that England will try to become the 'zhuangyuan' of another field, and that the London ceremony will have distinctly London attributes.

Extraordinary Insight along Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course (Part 5)

Continued with my last post to introduce the most beautiful yet most challenging bike course in the Olympic history, here is the introduction of the last three locations where the bike course has been passed. For anyone who like travel, those are all good choices. Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course will be totally open to traveller when the olympic is over. You can do a bike cycling here with your own professional bike or even with electric bike, at the same time enjoying the beaufiful insights here.

Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Palace


Dadu city of the Yuan Dynasty was built 700 years ago, between 1267 and 1276. The ten-meter-high remain of its northmost part, which were left outside the city when the north city wall was moved southward in the early Ming Dynasty, can still be seen and are popularly known as tucheng, or the earthen city wall. In 1957 it was designated by the government of Beijing as a key historic site under municipal protection. On Sept. 25, 1974, a greening team was formed in Chaoyang District to protect the relics. On March 10, 1988, the government approved the building of a park named "Yuan Dynasty Dadu City Wall Site Park".




Beijing Olympic Tower

The new office building, located near the central Olympic area, is a well-equipped office building that not only meets the needs of BOCOG's major preparatory undertakings, but also will facilitate Beijing Olympic Partners' provision of services for the Games.

The picture here is from Chinadaily Olympic section.




Juyongguan Pass



Juyongguan Pass is located in an 18 kilometer-long valley named "Guangou" which is inside Changping County more than 50 kilometers from Beijing City. It is one of the three greatest passes of Great Wall of China. The other two passes are Jiayuguan Pass and Shanhai Pass. It had many different names in the past dynasties. However, the name "Juyongguan Pass" was used by more than three dynasties. It was first used in the Qin Dynasty when Emperor Qinshihuang ordered to build the Great Wall. Juyongguan Pass has two passes, one at the south and one at the north. The south one is called "Nan Pass" and the north one is called "Badaling".This Pass was connected to the Great Wall in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.


To any foreign travelers who are planning a trip to Beijing, especially those who are planning a short trip either for sightseeing or for the 2008 Olympics famous building, I hope it will be a helpful guide and that you find the information useful.

Sceneries from Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course (Part 4)

Continued with my last post to introduce the most beautiful yet most challenging bike course in the Olympic history, here is the introduction of the third, fourth and fifth stage for the Course:

Tiananmen Square

Nowadays the Tiananmen Square represents the heart of China’s capital Beijing. It spans an area of 50 hectares and is the biggest square worldwide. Most of the time Tiananmen Square is being associated with several happenings which had quite an enormous impact on China’s history. For example the demonstration on the 4th of May in 1919 when China lost its right over the German colonies in Shandong to the Japanese after the Second World War. Students and other intellectuals demonstrated against the result of the treaty of Versaille and demanded the democratization and wersternization of China.

Yonghegong Palace

Yonghegong is a famous lamasery located in the northeastern part of the old city of Beijing. It was a palatial residence built in 1694 by Qing Emperor Kangxi for his fourth son, Prince Yongzheng who later succeeded to the throne. This magnificent temple consists of five main buildings lying on the north-south axis, with annex halls standing on both sides. The temple is listed by the Chinese Government as one of the important historical monuments under special preservation.

Temple of Earth Park

The Temple of Earth, also named Ditan Park, near the North Second Ring Road in the northern part of Beijing city, is where emperors prayed to the earth for favorable weather and national prosperity. Built in 1530, it has square altars and walls in line with the ancient chinese concept of a square earth.

The Most Amazing Bike Course in the Olympic History (Part 3) - The Temple of Heaven

The Beijing route will make Athens seem like a cakewalk, as it is widely considered one of the most challenging in Olympic history, yet the Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course is also the most beautiful bike course.

Continued with my last post, here is the introduction of the second stage for the Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course:

The Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is one of the most strictly protected and preserved cultural heritages of China. There are 12 million visitors every year. The Circular Mound Altar The largest group of architectures ever to be dedicated to Heaven, the Temple of Heaven served as an exclusive altar for Chinese monarchs during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was decreed that rulers of successive dynasties would place altars in their own capitals to worship Heaven and pray for good harvest.

The ancient Chinese believed that Heaven was the supreme ruler of the universe and the fate of mankind, and thus worshiping rites dedicated to Heaven came into being. The Heaven the ancient Chinese referred to was actually the Universe, or nature. In those days, there were specific rites of worship. This was especially true during the Ming and Qing dynasties when elaborate ceremonies were held.

The garden grounds have six entrances all leading up to the most important ritual places, the Round Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests which have all been arranged on a central north-south axis. The Hall of Prayer for good Harvests is mounted on a three-tiered marble terrace and its four inner pillars support the roof and represent the four seasons.

The Hall was burnt down in 1889 and was fortunately rebuilt following the original architectural blueprints from the Ming-dynasty only a year later. The grounds of the Temple of Heaven were regarded as sanctuary and therefore forbidden to the public until 1912. And as so many other landmarks in China, the Temple of Heaven has also been listed as a world heritage by the world heritage committee since 1998.

The Most Amazing Bike Course in the Olympic History (Part 2)

Olympic Cycling BMX match is really like traveling around Beijing's most classic sights. No wonder the Chinese media called the Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course the most beautiful bike course in the Olympic history.

Continued with my last post, here is the introduction o the first stage for the Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course:

Beijing's North-south Central Axis

The Forbidden City remains important in the civic scheme of Beijing. The central north-south axis remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis extends to the south through Tiananmen gate to Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial centre of the People's Republic of China. To the north, it extends through the Bell and Drum Towers to Yongdingmen. Interestingly, this axis is not exactly aligned north-south, but is tilted by slightly more than two degrees. Researchers now believe that the axis was designed in the Yuan Dynasty to be aligned with Xanadu, the other capital of the empire.

Beijing central north-south axis bifurcates central Beijing, straddling the fourth ring road. The importance of this north-south axis is clearly explained by Zixuan Zhu and Reginald Yin-Wang Kwok in their essay "Beijing: The Expression of Political Ideology," in Culture and the City in East Asia: "Following the Confucian tradition, Beijing was planned along a north to south axis, representing the authority of the state. The Imperial Palace, government offices, religious buildings, and minor royal residences were all located, symmetrically, on the east and west sides of the central axis. Political power and social position were clearly demarcated on the urban landscape." The location of the Olympic Park thus embodies the Chinese government's stated goal of "integrating the 2008 Olympics with Chinese culture and spiritual civilization."

The Most Amazing Bike Course in the Olympic History (Part 1)

Beijing Laoshan Mountain Bike Course has left us an exciting match and impressive scenery around Beijing.

According to Wikipedia, the bike cycling venue project involves a competition course of 4.6 kilometres in circumference, a fixed building with a floor space of 8,275 square metres, a temporary spectator stand that seats 2,000 and other temporary facilities for competitions.

The Chinese media called the Beijing Laoshan mountain bike Course the most beautiful bike course in the Olympic history. After seen the match, most people totally agree with this.

According to BOCOG, the racers will start from Yongdingmen Gate at the southern end of Beijing's north-south central axis, by way of the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Yonghegong Palace, Temple of Earth Park, the Yuan Dynasty City Wall Relics Palace, the Beijing Olympic Tower, enter the Badaling Expressway through Xiaojiahe entrance and spurt at Juyongguan Pass. It is described as "the cycling course with the most beautiful scenery in the Olympic history."

Let's begin to introduce the amazing scenery one by one.

To be continued in the next post.

Jade - Special Stone with Rich Chinese Culture

The history of jade is as long as the Chinese civilization. Xu Zhen defined jade as beautiful stone in the first Chinese dictionary. Jade is generally classified into soft jade (nephrite) and hard jade (jadeite). Since China only had the soft jade until jadeite was imported from Burma during the Qing dynasty (1271-1368), jade traditionally refers to the soft jade so it is also called traditional jade. Jadeite is called Feicui in Chinese. Feicui is now more popular and valuable than the soft jade in China.

Throughout the jade-mining history in China, Hetian jade has always occupied the center stage. Hetian jade, found in southwest Xinjiang Autonomous Region in Northwest China in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), has a history of more than 2,000 years. Most of the imperial jade seals were made of Hetian jade, which has been considered as the "real jade". The saying that "gold is costly, but jade is priceless" is in recognition of Hetian Jade. But after a long time of excavation, resource of Hetian jade is dwindling. It was at this time that Kunlun jade was discovered.

The manufacture of Chinese jade articles was already highly developed by the Shang Dynasty (16th to 11th century B.C). The Chinese of this period had the technology to produce jade articles of every imaginable type, shape, and size. By the end of the Chou Dynasty (11th century to 256 B.C.) and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Chinese jades reached a second peak in their development; craftsmen had more advanced tools as well as more efficient methods of polishing jade and creating unsurpassed masterpieces. From this point on, jade craftsmen could accommodate practically any and every customer demand.

When polished and carved into various objects, jade was attributed with certain cultural characteristics. In ancient Chinese cosmology, the heaven was considered to be round, and the earth square. Thus a round jade ornament with a hole in the center, called a "pi", was carved to honor the gods of heaven, and a long hollow jade ornament with rectangular sides, called a "ts'ung", was made to honor the terrestrial spirits.

According to ancient Chinese legend, the phoenix and the dragon were animal deities that were the life-source of family clans. For this reason, jade was often used as a material for carving phoenixes and dragons which worn as ornaments and fashion accessories. These ornaments symbolized the noble bearings of a gentleman, and so is the origin of the Chinese saying: "The gentleman's morals are like jade."

Jade Olympic Medals Surprise the World

According to BOCOG's design, gold medal will incorporate a light, fine jade set in its back while the silver has the white-greenish jade. A greenish jade will be used for the bronze medal.

Jade represents honor and virtue in traditional Chinese culture and the medal design is regarded to well combine Olympic spirit and Chinese culture, the publication said.

Kunlun jade recognized as a world-class jewelry

Kunlun jade is found in the Kunlun Mountains in Qinghai Province. The type of jade is now recognized as a world-class jewel. Kunlun Mountain is the birthplace of many legendary stories in China, and the discovery of Kunlun jade added more mystery to it. As Wei Zhoubin, general manager of Golmud Kunlun Jade Company introduces, Kunlun jade and Hetian jade are both found along the Kunlun mountains, the quality of Kunlun jade is no worse than that of Hetian jade.Jade carry with them beauty, respect, love and help in China. That's one reason that they have been chosen for the Olympic medal making.They compliment the Olympic spirit, the use of jade in Olympic medals will definitely spread China's rich jade culture to the world, while relaying the concept of "People's Olympics". Jade is also A Mirror of Chinese Culture.

The jade medals have become the talk of the town

In Chinese culture, jade is a symbol of class and elegance. According to Games officials, the medals combined western and eastern elements. For example, 13 kilograms of gold and 1.3 tons of silver were sourced from Australia, and nearly seven tons of bronze was sourced from Chile. While jade were collected from west China's Kunlun Mountain.

The designers put a seal between the inner layer and a groove to bond metal and jade. The seal can also buffer the effect of vibration to protect the jade against impact. Shanghai Mint was the official manufacturer of the medals. In Beijing, the jade medals have become the talk of the town.
The Olympic medals have caught the eyes of athletes and spectators from around the world. According to The Sun, for the first time in Olympic history, the Olympic medals blend metal and jade. The technique of inlaying jade into metal can be dated back to the Han Dynasty 2000 years ago.

Jade Culture, A Mirror of Chinese Culture

The Chinese love jade because of not only its beauty, but also more importantly its culture, meaning and humanity, as Confucius said there are 11 De (virtue) in jade. Thus jade is really special in Chinese culture, also as the Chinese saying goes "Gold has a value; jade is invaluable”.

The wise have likened jade to virtue.

For them, its polish and brilliancy represent the whole of purity; its perfect compactness and extreme hardness represent the sureness of intelligence; its angles, which do not cut, although they seem sharp, represent justice; the pure and prolonged sound, which it gives forth when one strikes it, represents music. Its color represents loyalty; its interior flaws, always showing themselves through the transparency, call to mind sincerity; its iridescent brightness represents heaven; its admirable substance, born of mountain and of water, represents the earth. Used alone without ornamentation it represents chastity. The price that the entire world attaches to it represents the truth. To support these comparisons, the Book of Verse says: "When I think of a wise man, his merits appear to be like jade."' Because jade stands for beauty, grace and purity, it has been used in many Chinese idioms or phrases to denote beautiful things or people.

The beauty of jadeite and its cultural connotations

Since ancient times, men of moral integrity have been seen as processing the fine qualities of jade: tenderness, modesty, urbanity, among them. In the eyes of the Chinese, jade is not as shiny or sparkling as other precious stones such as diamonds, which some believe characterizes people who are aggressive or arrogant. Because of its physical qualities, jade, jadeite in particular, suits the artistic and intellectual tastes of the Chinese people,” said Ouyang Chiumei, a world-renown expert in jade. "The Chinese are reserved and mild. In their eyes, westerners are straight forward and aggressive, quite like the diamond."

Jade has been ever more popular till today

Jade as The Gem for Olympic Medals has wowed the whole world. Jade ornaments have remained popular up until the present day. The purchase, wearing, and giving of jade items as gifts is still very common. Jade is viewed as an ideal gift for couples making a mutual commitment, and for one's children when they get married. Even now, the Chinese retain the idea that in addition to being beautiful, jade can protect from misfortune and bring good luck.

Today, traditional forms and modern styles are combined into striking new creations, and modern technology has greatly elevated the quality of workmanship. No longer is jade for the exclusive use of emperors and noblemen; just about everyone has the means to own and wear jade. Beyond maintaining its historical role, jade artistry has been further developed with creativity and skill, and has become an indispensable part of everyday life. Jade remains an eternal symbol of China's magnificent civilization.

Beijing Olympic Makes China Jade Popular

In Chinese, "jade"(yu) refers to a fine, beautiful stone with a warm color and rich luster that is skillfully carved. In Chinese culture, jade symbolizes nobility, perfection, constancy, and immortality. For ages, jade has been an intimate part of the lives of all Chinese people. It is considered the most valuable of all precious stones. Jade is found in mountains and riverbeds, and Chinese consider jade to be "the essence of heaven and earth."

Cutting of Jade is vital
Jade is an essence produced through the natural forces of rivers and mountains over eons. However, if it is not skillfully cut and polished, there is no way for the potential richness and luster that people prize to be expressed. The Chinese have a saying that goes. "If jade is not properly cut, it cannot be made into a useful utensil." Cutting is an important step in the process of producing jade articles.

Add special beauty for the Olympic medals
The medals for the 2008 Olympic games will be made in parts with Kunlun jade, which are found in the Kunlun Mountains in Qinghai Province. These will be the first Olympic medals to use non-metal material. How did Kunlun jade stand out from its competitors and become the material for making Olympic medals? Had it been difficult in using jade to make medals?

The quality of Kunlun jade is very high, no matter from its rigidity and exquisiteness. When People learnt that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will use jade in the medals, they submitted the request letter for donating Kunlun jade to BOCOG immediately. Following extensive research and examination commissioned by BOCOG and conducted by jade experts and organizations, Kunlun jade was deemed to meet the requirements for making the Olympic medals. BOCOG then accepted the proposal for the jade donation from Qinghai Province.There are many jade dealers who wanted to donate, including representatives for Hetian jade, Xiuyan jade from Liaoning Province in northeast China and Dushan Jade from Henan province in central China. BOCOG invited experts to investigate Kunlun jade, and the result was if they chose Hetian jade, which is facing repletion of resources, it could hardly meet the quantity standard for making Olympic medals. Also, considering that athletes may toss the medals up into the air from excitement, there is a strict requirement for the rigidity of the jade. Kunlun jade passed the test.

Jade (Stone of Heaven by the Chinese) is priceless Testifying to how much the Chinese are fond of jade is this time-honoured proverb: "Gold may have a price, but jade is priceless." The value of gold can be determined by measuring its weight. Not jade. The value of a piece of jade is "assessed" by taking numerous factors into account. For example, the luster, purity and color, the sound it produces when struck, and when the jade piece was discovered or when and where a jade artefact was produced can affect a piece's value.

Changing trend Jadeite is becoming increasingly popular in western countries, at a time when more and more Chinese are taking a liking to diamonds. Westerners are fascinated not only by the fine stone itself, but more importantly by the cultural messages it carries. Now beiing olympic games has make china elements or china classic ornaments even more popular.

Jade as The Gem for Olympic Medals

The Beijing Olympic medals made of Kunlun Jade are the most special medals in the Olympic history ever. The Chinese medal designers have made the impressive medals with creativity and great techniques.

Jade carry the Olympic spirit well

Jade carry with them beauty, respect, love and help in China. They compliment the Olympic spirit, the use of jade in Olympic medals will definitely spread China's rich jade culture to the world, while relaying the concept of "People's Olympics".

Legendary Jade in Chinese history

Yu 玉 , the Chinese word for jade, is one of the oldest in the Chinese language. Its pictograph is said to have originated in 2950 BC, when the transition from knotted cords to written signs supposedly occurred. The pictograph represents three pieces of jade, pierced and threaded with a string; the dot was added to distinguish it from the pictograph for "ruler". Jade was traditionally defined by its "virtues", namely a compact, fine texture, tremendous toughness and high hardness, smooth and glossy luster, along with high translucency and the ability to take a high polish (Wang, 1994).

Mystical powers to the Jade

But they also ascribe mystical powers to the stone. Particularly popular is the belief that jade can predict the stages of one's life: If a jade ornament appears more brilliant and transparent, it suggests that there is good fortune ahead; so people often give it as a Wedding Gift, if it becomes dull, bad luck is inevitable. It's always a precious gift choice for putting into your Gift Baskets and send to your loved ones or best friends.

Kunlun jade stands out

Gold, silver and bronze medals will have the same design, with finer white jade in gold ones, light green jade in the silver ones, and dark green jade in the bronze. The flip side of the medals carry a design based on the origins of the Olympics in Greece. The most important and difficult step is to choose the right jade to make the medals. Only about 10% of the jade stones can be used for making the medals."The stones used for medals have to meet very high standard. Such as the color of the white jade used for gold medals should be the same. However, it's impossible to find identical pieces of jade since the patterns are all natural, not produced by machines." But no matter how difficult it is, Wei and his colleagues have tried their best to find the most similar ones for making the medals.

Designers have taken out all the jade stones in storage, and Kunlun Jade are the best ones.

Chinese Tea as Olympic Gifts

Tea is cosy, comforting, easy to brew, and can be enjoyed anywhere at any time. Chinese green has more varieties than any other tea in China as well as any other country in the world.

Many tea-related items have been specially made for the Olympics

VIP's to the Beijing Olympic Games will also be treated to a special gift. The Beijing Organizing Committee commissioned the Indian-based Lochan Tea Limited Company to produce 5,000 special gift packages that will include Assam and Darjeeling teas. Along with these limited edition gifts, tea from the famed Makalbari estate will be served alongside Chinese teas at the games. The inclusion of these beautiful Indian teas at the Beijing Games can be seen as a symbol of international cooperation and the sharing of each culture's take on the nearly-universal beverage.

With all this tea, you'll definitely need some special Olympic tea set to go along with it. The official Olympic merchandise being sold worldwide features a variety of glass and porcelain ware for everyday use- teacups, teapots, travel mugs, cafe mugs, all featuring the Olympic logo, or printed with those adorable little Fawa creatures. For the tea connoisseur, for whom a simple souvenir mug won't cut it, they will be pleased to see yixing-like pots produced alongside the regular tabletop wares. A variety of designs and colors are available

Tea Much Enjoyed among Chinese

When friends pass their casual time together, they may choose to drink tea to add atmosphere. Drinking tea becomes a habit for many old people in China.

There are 4 basic types of tea you will find at the mall. Green tea most people are familiar with, a lightly oxidised tea. Oolong, a semi oxidised tea is often pretty close in flavour to green tea and is my personal favourite, at it's best grassy and almost sweet. Red tea, or what we know as black tea, is more heavily oxidised. Pu'er is special tea, actually from a different type of tea plant, and is the Bordeaux of the lot. Aged pu'er teas are sought after and are extremely pricey, fetching more than 50 rmb per gram. You'll see dinner plate sized cakes of this tea, wrapped in identifying paper, adorning the walls of many of the shops.

I think pu'er tastes like ashtray water but it's worth giving it a go just to say you have. Add to this all of the different grades of tea, the different methods of rolling and drying, flavored teas (lychee, rose, ginseng, etc... ), herbal teas, etc... and it would take you a solid week of tasting to conquer them all. Finding a tea you like is a lot like finding a wine you like, having a sample of one or two of the above will give you a jumping off point from which to explore further, and the staff will be more than willing to keep you sampling until you're jacked beyond belief in the hope that you'll purchase.

We all remember Tea Culture Expressed in the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony. The Olympic tea gifts is so special that it's so welcomed. This gift is full of culture flavor.

LED Lighting and The Beijing Olympic Opening Feast

For the first time ever in Olympic openings, Beijing used a technical monitoring system for program control of more than 18,000 performers through their identification codes. Light-emitting diodes (LED) were installed across the 20,000-square-meter National Stadium, better known as the Bird's Nest, to create an ideal multimedia environment, with storage cells backing up electricity supplies.

An LED screen 147 meters long and 22 meters wide was laid at the center of the ground, and about 44,000 colorful LED beads were embedded with a distance of 600 millimeters between each two. Tiny LED beads were also embedded on the costumes of performers who fan out to create a falling starry sky and a brightly-lit Bird's Nest.

There are two main applications of LED including "llumination" and "decoration" being used during the Olympic Games. However, the difference is the "proportion" it is used in the application. Besides, the "display" function of LED Lamp will be included as well.

LED play the "key role"

We have listed some LED applications, which are probably known to you by news related to the Olympic Games on TV. This includes:

1, Bejing National Aquatics Center- "Water Cube" which is integrated into the competition venue.
2, Illumination device of each venue.
3, The LED billboards which show the messages of various competitions in each venue.
4, The illuminations and decorations of "Bejing Olympic Park" such as the "Golden DRAGON LED".
5, The outdoor TV wall and the large LED billboard such as the "Morgan" of which the area is 3,400 square meters located in "Bejing Pangu Plaza", and the "Sky LED" is 7,500 square meters in "The Place" of Bejing.

6, The olympic openning feast, there was sea of people wearing LED lamp equipped Cotton T-Shirt that making a very amazing sights.

In addition to the above mentioned applications, we can also connect with others including "advertising billboard", "street lamps", and "traffic lights". However, the Chinese government has already started to carry out the landscape works in each city in order to welcome the Olympic Games. Undoubtedly, LED will be the "key role" in the works.

Enchanting Tea Culture in the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony

We chinese are pride of our tea cultures. Chineas hand picked green tea leaves are pretty love by chinese and foreigners around. Chinese tea as part of Chinese culture, is delicately showed in the olympic ceremony feast, which make it more popular.

The amazing Beijing Olympic ceremony has left with us many unforgettable moments. I was deeply impressed when the tea culture was expressed. A green color Chinese word of "Tea" showed up in the LCD with elegant tea photos. Even some foreigners may not know this word equivalent in Chinese, but I bet they have been deeply attracted by this tea cultures and want to learn more about it.

Olympic villagers amazed by Chinese tea culture

In the international zone of the Olympic village lies a small Chinese teahouse. Small as it is, it possesses all the features a teahouse should have. Old-styled tables and chairs, fake bamboos, miniature bridge and brook and melodious Chinese traditional music created a perfect atmosphere for tea degustation.

Every afternoon, the teahouse will perform three tea-themed classical dancing shows and Ballantyne made her way through the heavy rain only because she did not want to miss the show.

Many tea fans have taken notice of the Olympic Games, as China is where many of our favorite teas are from, as well as the drink of choice among the Chinese.

Chinese Tea is A Way of Life

A cup of tea in the morning sets the pace of the day. Sitting and chatting with a few good friends over a couple rounds of tea makes life worth living. Brewing Chinese tea calms me down. Chinese tea is more than just something to drink. It has in fact become a way of life for many. Chinese tea. have various designs and add more flavor to the tea culture. No other cookware can have such art elements and delicate feeling associated with them.

Chinese Diet Green Tea and Longevity

It's better than health medicine sometimes if you drink it for a long time.The role of Chinese diet green tea in promoting longevity has been investigated upon by many researchers. They found the premise of their study on observing that Japanese women who are greater-than-average Chinese diet green tea drinkers; have lower mortality rates compared to others. This led the researchers to believe that Chinese diet green tea has "a protective factor against premature death."Tea is so magic, it's not that inspiring like coffee, but more delicate and romance with lots of culture elements around it. Tea is cosy, comforting, easy to brew, and can be enjoyed anywhere at any time.

Chinese Green Tea – Tasty and Healthy

Chinese Tea culturea are famous around the world for its rich connotation and tasty flavor. After the 2008 beijing olympic openning ceremony, where chinese tea culture was delicately expressed, the chinese tea has been attracting more and more attention.
Many studies suggest that fresh-brewed tea can benefit health and fight disease very well. Chinese tea is healthy in a lot of ways. It lowers blood pressure, protects the heart, helps to prevent obesity, prevents tooth decay and increases immunity, etc. Sounds like a TV commercial but it has been working on more than billions of Chinese people over thousands of years.
Tasty and Healthy
Grean Tea is like jewelry in china food. It's announced in November, 2001 that research has found scientific evidence that Chinese tea can actually help to prevent cancer. It's more than just empty talk now. As a fellow Chinese tea drinker puts it "when I am home after a busy day, I make myself a cup of tea while sitting slanted on the sofa. A sip of hot tea down the throat, the whole world loosens up. The feeling is soooo ... you know... ". Yes, as a Chinese tea drinker, Kam knows. Chinese tea's impact on one's psychological health is immediate.
In summer or warm climate, tea seems to dispel the heat and bring on instant cool together with a feeling of relaxation. For this reason, tea-houses abound in towns and market villages in South China and provide elderly retirees with the locales to meet. You could bring your own Tea Set too.
The above, however, does not go to say that the stronger the tea, the more advantages it will yield. Too much tannic acid will affect the secretion of the gastric juice, irritate the membrane of the stomach and cause indigestion or constipation. Strong tea taken just before bedtime will give rise to occasional insomnia. Constant drinking of over-strong tea may induce heart and blood-pressure disorders in some people, reduce the milk of a breast-feeding mother, and put a brown color on the teeth of young people. But it is not difficult to ward off these undesirable effects: just don't make your tea too strong.
Handpicked Yield High Quality Tea
In China, most leaves are still handpicked, which yields a higher quality crop. Many of the top grade teas are still handmade, allowing tea masters to finetune their process to optimise the quality of the individual leaves.Knowledgeable tea drinkers can find the best of the finest in the Land of the Dragon. The low cost of living in China often results in affordable prices for many teas.Traditionally, the Chinese uses three firing process: steaming, pan-frying and baking. Japanese tea only uses steaming.Pan-frying was the most popular method in China. It was preferred over steaming for two reasons: it is quicker to pan-fry than to steam, and it stimulates an intense chestnuty aroma and flavor.Baking can be done using either charcoal or electric oven. It is preferred over pan-frying when it is important to preserve the shape and texture, such as when making floral infused green tea. Many Chinese green tea are produced using combination of pan-frying and baking, allowing the advantages of each method to be exploited.

Liu Xiang Deserves Understanding for His Decision at the Olympics

To those of you who haven’t been living here for the past couple of years, it’s hard to describe how omnipresent this guy was in the media. He endorsed virtually everything. Driving back this afternoon from the Bird’s Nest into town I saw his face on billboards no les than six times.

The popularity of Liu Xiang, this nation's great expectations on him and the unspoken yet prevailing feeling that only Chinese athletes excel in so-called mainstream sports like basketball or swimming can some Chinese fan feel assured of this nation’s success as a genuine sports superpower.

So his sudden drop-out hurt many Chinese people’s feelings, who really put too much pressure on a single track athletes. The CCTV reporters showed little emotion in what is an enormous disappointment for Liu. Back at the studio, an anchor mentions that this was an unforeseen result. “We expected Liu Xiang to win,” he said.

In Beijing 2008 Olympics, when Liu Xiang finally shows up with those trendy running shoes, people are filled with excitement, but we can see the face expression on Liuxiang, which is not showing much pain, yet not confidence. I know he is making the most hard decision of his lifetime. He was painful both in body and psychology. He needs understanding.

Liu's drop-out is a little bit hard for ordinary people of China to accept. The endings of the story is beyond anyone's expection, but if the pain on his heel is the only reason why he quited, I do understand. And we still have the other two sprinters that qualify for the next round, hope them can spark on the world stage. Four years of the Olympic period is a circle, Liu Xiang maybe fall on the ground this time, but I believe he will soar again. If you search the web, you'll find at least 80% of netizens just show thier understanding. If you search the web, you'll find at least 80% of netizens just show thier understanding.

While he couldn't win gold in Beijing, he showed Chinese athletes that they could win gold in sports outside their traditional areas of dominance. He will have to share the spotlight with new stars now, but should be proud of what he helped to inspire on the track in Athens in 2004.

Women Love Chiffon Fabric

Fashion apparel made of chiffon is so hot this summer season. Despite the price to be a little higher, women still hold great enthusiasm to this chiffon fabric.

We love it!
Chiffon's biggest USP is the way it clings to the curves of the wearer and it is, in my opinion the perfect foil for our naturally curvy figures. I am talking real women here, size 10 upwards. Namita Manek, 30, a businesswoman buys sarees only in chiffon. She says," In my opinion unlike nylon fabric or other cotton fabric there's no fabric like chiffon to hide your body flaws and play up its best points. Especially chiffon sarees. I love my chiffon sarees with sequins and beads, they are downright glamorous and the colours are so pretty."

Tripti Ganatra, 25, an upcoming trousseau specialist, agrees with Namita, “I am into the business of putting together trousseaus for young brides and when I am planning the trousseaus I have seen that chiffons are a must-have. I am told to get sarees, lehengas, salwars and even western outfits in chiffon. For functions like the pre-wedding cocktail parties, chiffon fabric with heavy embroidery are hot favourites.”"

What's chiffon all about?

You could learn some Basic Information about Chiffon Fabric in my previous article.Chiffon is an artificial fabric created out of cotton or silk. It can also be created out of synthetic fibres. The best part about chiffon is that it can be dyed in any colour. Which is why you see chiffons in such beautiful shades. Though people prefer chiffons with lots of embroidery and threadwork, it is very difficult to get this done because of the slippery nature of the fabric. If you ask me, plain chiffons look the best.

Ajanta Sahani, boutique owner, finds chiffon salwar kameezes the fastest moving item in her store, “Whatever the season, I always have customers coming in and asking for chiffon outfits. I love chiffon. I am also very nostalgic about this fabric, as my mom, who is no more now, would wear only chiffon sarees and that too plain. She had them in all the colours possible and she would wear stunning accessories with it. I have never seen a more elegantly dressed woman than my mom. In fact, even people who didn’t know her, knew her as the woman in chiffons.”
So it looks like, chiffons will never really go out of wardrobes in India, age no bar!

Not only in india, chiffon is a fashion fabric around the world now. Women love this fabric expecially during summer time.

The Fashion of Chiffon

Chiffon fabric is associated with romance and comfort. A major material adopted by fashion designers in the design of high class fashion is Chiffon.

Chiffon is originated from the French word for cloth which has reflected its importance in fashion history. Chiffion fabric is very popular during summer time mainly because of its cozy feeling and delicate softness. So it's now a fashion material for many designers.

Most chiffon nowadays is made from polyester (for stain resistance). Silk chiffon is regarded as the premium type of chiffon. It is dry cleanable and does not suffer from the same level of degradation and tearing as polyester chiffon.

The romance of chiffon

Chiffon is quite the rage on the international fashion scene. Women Love Chiffon Fabric. In India it remains an eternal favourite. Say chiffon and you can see Yash Chopra movie heroines drifting down innumerable dream sequences in a sensual haze. The pallu of the sheer fabric going over the hero's face, while the camera pans in to his expression of longing and adoration. With any other fabric the idea doesn't work as well. That's the beauty of chiffon, it is perhaps the only fabric that conveys that sensuous and dreamy feel. Just like the Switzerland tourism industry, the chiffon fabric industry certainly owes a big one to the Yash Chopra banner, he has single-handedly brought in a lot of takers for this fabric. Check out any of the innumerable rain songs in our movies, nine out of ten times the wet saree is chiffon! Remember Sridevi in the sensual rain dance in Mr India? Raveena Tandon in Mohra? Madhuri Dixit in Beta? The list is endless.

New age chiffon
Today on the international fashion scene too chiffons scores high on the style meter. But not chiffon as in see-through, dreamy or romantic variety, but as chiffon that’s young and adventurous.

The new way for chiffon in the west to be is completely un-baby doll like and very unexpected.Cavalli, Paulo Andersson at Chloe, Stella McCartney, Alberta Ferretti are some of the big names that have given chiffon a whole new twist. Literally.

While McCartney and Andersson teamed up jackets and cardigans to counter the see-through wispy mood of chiffon, Ferretti’s chiffon creations are stiffened with drapes and pleats.

Indian designers’ fabric
Back home, Vineet Bahl's collection ‘Autumn Affair’ at LFW featured kurta dresses, kimono tops, jodhpur churidhars and kaftans in chiffon in addition to other materials.Designer Swapnil Shinde too went for chiffon to achieve fluid effects for his dresses. His opening creation at LFW was a deep blue chiffon gown with black floral appliqué down the front. Swapnil also teamed net with chiffon to achieve that dreamy effect that is popular in India. As I said earlier give us our chiffons flowing, diaphanous, feminine…highly romantic!

Basic Information about Chiffon Fabric

You may not heard of this fabric, but you must have a dress made of chffon fabric if you are a lady keen on fashion elements, because chiffon fabric is this summer's hottest design fabric.
Its quality of softness, cozy and delicate makes it the most desiable item for the fashion ladies.

Chiffon fabric is now welcomed by the fashion designers. They enjoy special features and expecially fit for the summer clothes, making the clothes more softer and more comfortable.

Chiffon is a lightweight, balanced plain-woven sheer fabric. Chiffon can be made from cotton, silk or synthetic fibers, but is usually associated with silk or nylon fabric. Chiffon can be dyed to almost any shade desired, however if made from polyester it is difficult to dye. Chiffon is a good companion with satin as both are are light weight and give a feeling of elegant and floating by overlaying each other.

Therefore it is a popular fabric used in evening wear such as gowns, blouses, ribbons, scarves and lingerie. Like other crepe fabrics, chiffon can be difficult to work with because of its light and slippery textures. Due to this delicate nature, chiffon must be hand washed very gently.
Chiffon can be made from cotton,silk or synthetic fibers, but is usually associated with silk or nylon. Chiffon can be dyed to almost any shade desired, however if made from polyester it is difficult to dye. Under a magnifying glass it resembles a fine net or mesh which allows chiffon to have see-through properties.

Chiffon is most commonly used in evening wear, especially as an overlay, giving an elegant and floating appearance to the gown. The fashion of chiffion is greatly recognized. It is also a popular fabric used in blouses, ribbons, scarves and lingerie. Like other crepe fabrics, chiffon can be difficult to work with because of its light and slippery textures. Due to this delicate nature, chiffon must be hand washed very gently.

Since chiffon fabric is a light weight fabric that frays very easily, bound or french seams must be used to stop the fabric from fraying.

Interesting Wedding Trends Your May Not Familiar With

Wedding trends for 2008 promise to bring more vitality and excitement to your big day! These will be fun weddings that you will really enjoy attending! Wedding trends for 2008 include different and more unusual wedding themes, wedding gifts, and honeymoon locations.

Photo Invitations
Forget the traditional heavy stock invitations with engraved ink to graciously invite your guests to your wedding day festivities. Many brides today are choosing to go a different, more personal route: photo invitations! Once people see the book, it takes their breath away and they always ask, ‘can I take the book home and pour over it?’ We let anyone borrow the book to look through. People are usually pleased with the quick turn-around time and the quality and uniqueness of the invites.

Wedding Color and Flower Trends
Color trends for weddings are continually changing. Each spring designers preview what color or colors they think will be the hot trend for the following year. The wedding color trend for 2008 will bring a fashionable new color scheme and a monochromatic color palate to brides to select from.

Keep in mind that if you draw your color inspiration from nature, and the season you are marrying in, your wedding will be beautiful. Colors drawn from nature are always fashionable, yet timeless. Ultimately, the color you select for your wedding should be something you are comfortable with. Select colors you will be able to enjoy in your photographs for years to come.

Elegance through color and texture bring attention to the bride and to the event itself. Casual weddings, formal weddings and everything in between are now enveloped with colorful flowers and apparel accessories. Even the coffee mug and wine bottle are decorated with beautiful colors.

Brides are choosing different flowers for their bridesmaids. Traditionally, bridesmaids have a smaller version of the bride’s bouquet. In recent years, brides are choosing to make bridesmaid bouquets smaller than "normal" and are putting their money into their own bouquet. With silk flowers this is an easy task as different flowers can be made in similar shades of the primary bridal color.

Different Wedding Themes for Your Wedding Design is avalable, and you can pick the one that most suitable for you.

Clothes and decorations
Going back to clothes and decorations, one of the most popular themes includes the use of embellishments such as embroidery and lace. The more intricate and delicate the décor, the better it is. However, these decorations are not only limited to the bride’s and bridesmaids' wedding dresses but can also be applied to table cloths, runners, and even to invitations and other decorations used in the wedding. Along these lines, dresses used for weddings tend towards having sleeves. This is because sleeves can be made from lace and other similar materials.

What’s new about Entertainment

What about entertainment? This is the trend for this year as well. Usually, the cocktail hour is spent for photography sessions and guests milling around. Now, it is made more enjoyable by having live music and other forms of entertainment. Some of the more interesting forms of entertainment that have been used for this purpose are flamenco dancers and other traditional or exotic performances, impersonators, fortune tellers, and even fire eaters.
A note before we end, these are only trends. It does not mean that you have to follow what other people are doing. If you have your own ideas in mind, then put them into reality by all means!

Choose The Right Theme for Your Wedding Design

Wedding theme is the core factor to a succesful wedding. Choose it right, you are half success. The whole wedding is a big issue, lots of work to do. But the most central one, is the theme, you need to decide the theme first of all.

Do you want to add a little creative design elements to your special wedding day. Your wedding day is absolutely your own day; it's up to you to decide how to make it unforgettable. Your wedding theme reflects your attitude towards the event. If it's your first wedding, then lots of color and decoration shall be in order. However, subsequent weddings are usually quieter affairs, with somewhat low-key and subdued themes. Using the appropriate theme for your wedding will not only reflect your good taste, but also liven up the event for your guests, and put them in the right sort of mood.

Numerous kinds of theme for you:

Butterfly theme:
If you are a bride, you can release butterflies instead of rice. If you are a groom, then too you can fill your hall with thousands of colorful butterflies. They will add color and charm to the ceremony. The same effect can be produced with birds, too. Create the ambience of a passionate summer evening or treat your guests to an untimely blissful spring. You will also need an romantic wedding dresss for add more flavor.

The oriental theme:
Use an oriental theme to contrast with the crowd of occidental guests. You may want to adopt some Asian wedding rituals to reproduce the essence of the mysterious far east. You can create a small tropical forest, with pictures and plants. Add an uncanny and adventurous color to the atmosphere through the use of tribal attires and statuettes of wild animals. Prepare fashion belts such as fashion leather belts decorated wich china cross-stitch, that would be catch more attention.

Color theme:

This may be the one of the Interesting Wedding Trends Your May Not Familiar With. You could want to accentuate a particular color by using it in flowers, fruits, dresses, lights and even foods. Try to find out what color your future partner likes best.

English garden theme:
Marry in the lap of nature, or better still, bring the elements of the nature within your four walls. If you are fond of the ocean, decorate the hall with nautical elements like starfish, pearls, or an image of the setting sun against a backdrop of sea. Use a matching color tinged with blue, the color of the sea.

Romantic Candlelight
Tell them he/she lights up your life. Light up the candles....lots of them. Create an ambience of romance.

Say It With Flowers
Your love in full bloom, reflected in your choice of buds. Select a flower and work with that. How about combining different flowers in a similar colour. A client once chose 3 different flowers - Tulips, Iris & Matthiola as her wedding flowers because the first letters of the flowers spelt out her husband Tim’s name.
Flowers can be used to decorate the church, the reception area, the home and even the food display. The same flower(s) can be used in the bouquets and the car decoration. As a thank you to your guests for attending your wedding, how about presenting them with a stalk of your favourite flower.

eart-To-Heart
You can have a heart theme for your wedding. Decorate everything with hearts, whether in different colours or in a single colour. Big hearts, small hearts. You may even wish to have little hearts sewn onto your wedding gown. A good designer will be able to incorporate any theme into your wedding dress.
Now, guess the shape of the wedding cake.

A well-planned theme wedding also gives you the pleasure of knowing your guests will attend a memorable wedding, where everything has been well thought out & executed for their maximum enjoyment. Your "es-theme" will rise knowing your guests will leave your wedding with sweet memories of how personal & different your wedding was. A theme wedding also offers a good reflection of you & your partners personalities as you incorporate your likes & hobbies into the scheme of themes.... and what better time to do this than at the start of your lives together.

Walking in the Clouds - Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch

The olympic torch is designed by Lenovo, it's a great piece of art, I personally think it's the best looking one I ever thought, and with rich culture elements.

There is good reason why they choose cloud as the most important design elements. And it's amazing that they give the cloud such a good design. Through this image, we would like to spread a message of peace and promote Chinese culture to the rest of the world.”Choosing the scroll theme was also a lucky accident, said senior team member Qiu Jiayu.“We came up with the idea when a colleague rolled up a piece of paper casually at a meeting and we saw that it naturally resembled the shape of the torch.”“Paper is one of the four great inventions in ancient China that was spread to the rest of the world along the ancient Silk Road. Since the planned torch relay route borrowed the idea of the Silk Road, we thought the idea was perfect.”The team decided to cover the torch with rubberized paint to make it more ‘human.’“When they hold the torch, the bearers can feel more of a human-like touch, which is in line with the passing of the flame from person to person."

Design Elements:
Looking like a Chinese paper scroll rolled up at both ends, the symbol of the xiang yun - or auspicious clouds - can be seen from the top and bottom perspectives. The top half of the torch’s length is similarly etched repeatedly with the same motif. This motif is traditionally used by the Chinese to symbolize harmony.

The dominant color of the torch is red, a favorite color among the Chinese (especially during the Lunar New Year) to signify good luck and prosperity. The bottom half of the torch’s length is solid red in color, while the cloud etchings at the top half are similarly in red.
This is the same color used for the seal in the design of the official Olympics emblem for the Beijing 2008 Games, to represent good luck, passion and the Olympic flame. The emblem itself is centrally featured among the etchings of auspicious clouds.

Walking in the "Clouds"

Looking back at the torch design days for the past few weeks, I've been thinking hard about the design elements that went into this project. Among many thoughts coming into my mind, CLOUD is the most important element. As its designers state, it is inspired by a sheet of paper and in this way Chinese want to remind that paper was first manufactured in China. By the way, paper bag now is in fashion now since the plastic bags has been partically banned.The idea of walking in the clouds is so romantic that it been used in the sports clothing design since the 2008 olympic year is so related to sports games. There is with the cloud pattern been produced, receiving great welcome. Abundant Cultural Elements In the design of the 2008 Olympic torch, cultural elements play a very important role in this innovative project. The "cloud of promise" design is far more culture-oriented than most other Lenovo designs. This torch design integrates three Chinese cultural elements: scroll, cloud pattern and lacquer red. Today, I will discuss the cloud pattern. In the following pictures, on the silver aluminum surface of the upper part of the torch, you will see the embedded red cloud pattern with strong ties to Chinese cultural style. The gift decorated with cloud patter you see people waving in the opening ceromony is so greatly looking. Besides, this cloud pattern is also widely used in the design of fabric.Cloud symbols in the past In modern life, cloud can be seen everywhere. Cloud reflection in building Cloud pattern in carpet or Cloud pattern added fresh elements to the fashion design, for example, the leather belst. Redesigning the cloud pattern Focusing on the humanistic spirit of the harmony between human beings and nature, Lenovo's designers studied the cloud patterns found on a lot of original vessels - "bubble pattern", "0ine pattern" and "cloud pattern" all have long histories and auspicious meanings. Cloud design The preliminary pattern is a screw-style pattern - very simple, but too geometric. It can't deliver the original ideas and expound the understanding about cloud. From the universal archetype of clouds, we wanted to refine a brand-new cloud image with rich meaning: one that has a sense of fashion style, three dimensions and a flowing effect.

We also attempted to design a decorative cloud image with a more classic style. Ultimately we were unsatisfied with these prototypes, but we kept designing until at last, we designed the cloud pattern we wanted. The cloud pattern is not only the symbol abstracted from thousands of years Chinese culture, it endows the torch with more culture-oriented features and gives the torch the feeling of light and intelligence.

Not Focusing on Beijing Air Anymore

The fact speak for itself, beijing air is quite good for the olympics and even good beyong imagination. That's the result of much effort spent by the beijing govenment.

Beijing air quality has been the focus of foreign reporters since a long time ago. Even though Chinese government has tried every means possible to make the air clearer and better, some people still don't show any trust due to their deep prejudice about the air quality in Beijing. One athlete even declared to wear mask when coming to Beijing in order to protect his lung.

About those U.S. cyclists with gas masksI don't mean to judge them as people. They did the right thing in apologizing. But in wearing protective masks inside the Beijing airport they were acting like jerks.

Chinease effort to clean the air

“Beijing will be built into a liveable city,” Du said. “We will take some new measures to ensure that air quality will reach a new level after the Olympic Games.” Du said those measures would be announced after the Games end on Sunday, once officials had studied Beijing’s “successful experiences”.

“Whether it is automobile emissions reduction, or construction site dust reduction or coal pollution reduction, I believe that the requirements will be more stringent,” he said, naming three of the top sources of the air pollution that has bedeviled the fast-growing city of 15 million.

Beijing air been a focus and debate

Just before the Olympic begins, images of the Beijing skyline seemingly bathed smog and haze. The air have been a common sight on the world's TV screens in recent days and weeks. Foreign journalists with handheld air pollution detectors have been popping up on street corners checking levels of soot and dust. Everyone seems keen to prove that the city's air will be a decisive and debilitating factor for one of the world's most high-profile sporting events.

The debate about the Beijing games deserves more fair play than it has received. Indeed, real and, one hopes, long-lasting achievements have been made by the Beijing organising committee for the Olympic games, the city as a whole, the government, and the six provinces concerned. This is all the more remarkable when set against the city's double-digit economic growth and the fact that the games are being staged in a developing country, with all the social, economic, health, and environmental challenges this entails.

Other things to be considered about besides the Beijing air

There is lots of sports related stuff for people to care about like the quality of sports shoes or the sports cap; how the Olympic game opening ceremony is designed. We all fully aware that the Beijing Olympics pops up a lots brilliant design work that make the whole world surprise. Olympic is our pride. Fashion elements used in the Olympic design need to be studied. Decoration in the bird nest is amazing that we can bring a few elements into home decoration.

Beijing air quality getting better with more to be done

What they (China) have done is extraordinary: planting millions of trees between the Gobi Desert and Beijing, removing hundreds of thousands of polluting cars, closing polluting petrol stations I think they have done a commendable job. The statistics are very clear. The pollution levels are coming down. It is not yet perfect. (But) it is safe for the athletes."Rogge had a word of advice on the haze that shrouded Beijing a day before the start of the Olympics, too. There is a difference between the haze enveloping the city and damaging air pollution, he said, rubbishing claims to the contrary.What you see is the result of "humidity and heat", he said. It does not mean it "is the same as pollution".