What Is Your Favorite Cat Breed?

I grew up with two beautiful Siamese cats, one blue point, one seal point. I always thought I would look for a Siamese for my own children but our family cats have been mixed breed kitties we inherited from other families. One was part Siamese but was white with Spots on him, our current kitty is a typical tabby of unknown origins but with a lovely temperament. What is your favorite cat breed? Are you a fan of long haired Persians or do you prefer something a little different? I have enjoyed finding out about various breeds and their origins in preparing a series of "Loved By My Cat" t-shirts like this one:

Abyssinian Cat Breed Loved By A Gift T-shirt by personalizedpets
Browse Abyssinian T-Shirts

That Summer Feeling

June 20th marked the first day of summer! Summertime might mean vacations, playing on the beach, long days in the pool, or family barbecues.  This week our family has been enjoying the carnival put on every year by the local fire hall. A little birch beer, a few apple fritters, and a ride on the Ferris wheel have always made our summers special.  Perhaps nothing says summertime, though, like a big juicy slice of watermelon and an ear of buttery corn on the cob.

I Love A Good Corn Feed Tee Shirts by MainstreetShirt
See more Love T-Shirts

Our Cookie Grandma

When our kids were growing up, my mother in law always made a point of mailing them a box of homemade cookies along with their birthday card and cash. She sent $1 for each year of their age, a tradition she still continues for our younger children. Our kids called her the "Cookie Grandma". Because we live 3 thousand miles away and haven't been able to visit often with her, she wanted our children to know who she was and not get her mixed up with their other Grandma. She sent a photo of herself with "Cookie Grandma" written on it that I taped to our kitchen wall and which hung there for many years. Here is a picture of one of our kids, all grown up, visiting my mother in law at the house where all those cookies were baked. Now, cupcakes are all the rage, so in honor of our Cookie Grandma I have made a series of "Cupcake Grandma" aprons and shirts for all those Grandmas out there who love to bake cupcakes and cookies for their grandkids.

Grandpas Are Great

Any kid can tell you, having a Grandpa is great. He lets you climb on his back, he lets you eat ice cream before dinner, he makes the best forts out of blankets and chairs and always lets you stay up as late as you want when you visit him. Grandkids often have special nicknames for their grandparents. Whether you call your Grandpa Gramps, Nonno, Opa, Abuelo or PopPop, it's a great idea to remember him in a special way on Father's Day.

Poppop (Funny) Pizza Mug by MainstreetShirt

Grand Re-Opening Of StudioMetzger.com

One of my favorite graphic artists is Ne' Metzger, a talented young mom who uses her God given talent to create everything from websites to logos to unique graphic clipart for her clients. This week her website StudioMetzger.com is having a grand re-opening that includes special offers each day. If you need web design, a fresh new look for your business or a special set of graphics for a work project, please stop by and see what Ne' has to offer. Here is a link to her Rates and Packages page: StudioMetzger Pricing And here is an example of her business logos:

Here's A Little Christmas In July

Through the years I've been invited to several "Christmas In July" crafting parties, where I would get together with other moms and make cute Christmas ornaments, tree skirts, holiday table decorations or front door hangers. It was always fun to come in out of the heat, turn on some Christmas carols, and work together with friends in a nice air conditioned room to create cute family holiday gifts and decor.

So here is a little "Christmas In July" shopping trip for those of you that aren't into crafting, but would like to get a jump on buying some cute holiday ornaments for family and friends, or some fun Christmas gifts to tuck in the closet until the big day arrives in December.

Make Custom Gifts at CafePress

Happy Father's Day To All The Great Dads Out There

I've been selling a lot of Father's Day gifts over the past couple of weeks. Mostly they are shirts or mugs featuring different things that a Dad might love to do when he gets a little time off from work. It got me thinking about my own Dad who passed away a few years ago, and what some of the things were that he liked to do.
Dad was a career Army officer who retired and became a prison guard for awhile. His kids were really his main hobby; he loved to take us on summer camping trips, would play dominoes, Cribbage, board games, horsehoes and badminton with us. And he always took us fishing when we camped, usually getting us up while it was still dark so we could drive to a lake or stream and have our lines ready to go in the water as soon as dawn arrived. If we were lucky enough to catch any trout, my Mom would have cornmeal ready to roll them in and would fry them up for our breakfast along with pan fried potatoes. That always tasted so good on a cold mountain morning! My Dad's hobbies may have been different than some guys are, but I have great memories because of them.
Anyway, here are a few designs in honor of my Dad. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Dad Fueled By Chocolate Father's Day Gift by MainstreetShirt
See other Dad T-Shirts

Trivets, Coasters and Aprons for Mom

A friend of mine designed this extra special kitchen set that includes a handy apron plus coasters and a cork trivet, all with matching Cookie Shoppe design. I absolutely love it, and just bought a set for myself to enjoy. If you are looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift this year, consider getting a personalized apron and gift set or just a set of cork coasters for your Mom, Aunt, Step-Mom, Grandma or friend.
Here is a picture of the set; I know you will love it as much as I did when I saw it.

Last Minute Gift Ideas

If you are looking for some last minute gift ideas, you can still get a good deal on shipping today in our Mainstreet Shirt store:
FREE 2-Day Shipping on ALL ORDERS - Use Code: JINGLESALE71 TODAY ONLY (December 17)

Cutie Pie Kawaii Jewelry Gift Necklace by MainstreetShirt
See other Kawaii Necklaces

Aunt Gift Worlds Best Butterfly Jewelry Gift by MainstreetShirt
Browse other silver necklace designs

It's holiday baking time! All across America you can smell the cinnamon and cloves and taste the sweet goodness of all those yummy cookies, tea rings and gingerbread men being baked and sent to friends and family members. Everyone has their own favorite recipes, some of which have been passed down for generations. In our family, we make some of the following:
Russian Tea Cakes
Molasses Crinkles
Sugar Cookies
Cinnamon Rolls
Danish Tea Rings
Gingerbread Boys and Girls
Candy Cane Cookies
I remember my mother making fruit cakes for the neighbors. She would start hers a month or so before Christmas and put them away to mellow and absorb all the flavor, then take them around the neighborhood with a red or green bow on top of each tin.
If you love to bake, here are some fun recipe binders for your holiday collection. Just add your own pages and dividers.

Holiday Recipe Binder - 2" Size by golden_oldies

Christmas Gingerbread Recipe Cards by golden_oldies
Browse more Christmas recipe Postcards

Avery Top Secret Recipe Binder Security Folder by janbalaya
Browse other 3 ring binders on zazzle.com

Free Shipping Sale In My Zazzle Stores

For those who love shopping in my Zazzle stores, I have a special holiday FREE SHIPPING offer for orders over $35 (not including tax).
*Use Code HOMEWISESHOP when you check out of any of my Zazzle stores, including the following:
MAD CONDUCTOR MUSIC
MAINSTREET SHIRT
SMALL POTATOES DESIGNS

*To qualify for this free shipping offer, one or more Zazzle products must be purchased with a net sale price equal to or greater than 35.00 dollars and economy shipping must be selected as the shipping option. The coupon code [ENTER CODE HERE] must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. The free shipping offer is for economy shipping to U.S. addresses only. Offer does not apply to premium ornaments, shoes, skateboards, binders, custom framed prints, or photo sculptures. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid through December 10, 2010 at 11:59pm PT. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special offer. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Graduation Ornaments For Christmas

If your son or daughter (grandson or granddaughter) graduation in the Class Of 2010 or will graduate this next spring in the Class Of 2011, a keepsake ornament will make a wonderful gift for them this Christmas. These work as Christmas ornaments or car mirror hangers, gift tie-ons or window decorations. Some are two sided, some are printed on one side only, but all have colorful grad designs to say "job well done".

I Still Love Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings

My kids are avid Harry Potter fans, and so am I. I read an article the other day that said J.K. Rowling might consider writing more Harry books one of these days, but for the mean time our family still likes listening to the original series on audio in the car, on ipods or at night. There is something about Harry, Ron and Hermione that I find so endearing that it keeps me returning to read or listen repeatedly. I find The Lord of the Rings series to be the same, and was very happy to be introduced to The Tolkien Professor by my son. It is a wonderful website that includes podcasts of this professor's lectures on The Lord of the Rings and others of Tolkien's works. I'm looking forward to working my way through those as I work at my computer this month.

Here is a fun Gryffindor tee for all you Harry fans:

Gryffindor Quidditch Badge by harrypotter
Create a personalized shirt on zazzle

Shopping Ideas For Pet Lovers

I've been lucky enough to become online friends with a very talented artist named Jean Fitzgerald. I love her wonderful pet art designs! She uses old masterpiece artwork and some of her own original art backgrounds to place dogs, cats, llamas and horses in to create wonderful, unique prints and gift items. My favorites are her holiday pet ornaments along with the pet art tote bags. I have also purchased her art on lovely wood and tile keepsake boxes and those who received them treasure them as a special gift.
I can't say enough good things about Jean. She loves animals, and it shows in her work. From taking in strays to creating one of a kind jewelry pieces for clients, she always aims to please and has many repeat customers. It's nice to know the world has wonderful people like her in it.
Here are a few of her beautiful designs and products for pet owners:

Fight Breast Cancer Through Showing Your Support For Families

When a family member has breast cancer, it affects everyone. Friends too are so emotionally involved as someone they love is being treated for this all too common disease. October is breast cancer awareness month. Won't you consider holding a neighborhood walk or get-together to raise funds for research and treatment or to donate to someone in your community that may be battling breast cancer? Be creative in finding ways to encourage neighbors to donate or help.
Energy can be at a low when undergoing treatment. Think you're too busy to get involved in a big way? When someone you know is diagnosed, consider helping in the following ways as a neighborhood support group:
* make meals for the family that can be frozen and cooked or reheated on treatment days.
* mow the lawn or vacuum out a car for a patient.
* volunteer to walk younger children to the bus stop or to drive carpool.
* stop by to help children with homework
* drop off reading material or music
* send an inspirational card anonymously with a restaurant gift card
* offer to walk a pet for the patient.
These are just a few little things that might be helpful, depending on the treatment or disease stage. Don't forget to say a little prayer for the patient and their family too.

Take Advantage Of Zazzle's 5 Free Sample Cards

At Homewise Shopper we are seeing a steady stream of Christmas shoppers starting to purchase their holiday gifts to tuck in closets and drawers, waiting for December 25th to arrive. Along with presents are season's greeting Christmas cards to purchase, and Zazzle is once again offering their "5 free cards" sampler this year so you can see which cards you would like to buy and send your friends and family for 2010.
Simple visit Zazzle's free sample holidays cards and choose 5 cards from the beautiful assortment on the page. When you receive them you can go back and order as many as you need to fill your card list, by taking advantage of the bulk discount for multiple card purchases.
You will need to pay shipping on the 5 free cards.
Here is our Homewise Shopper card offering for 2010, featuring the whimsical art of talented artist Ne' Metzger:

Santa Dog Merry Christmas Holiday Card Gift by MainstreetShirt
See more Christmas Cards

** Use promo code HOLIDAYCARDZ at checkout to receive up to 5 free cards from the selection

Simple Autumn Decorating Ideas

I went to the grocery store today to get some dinner items for our house guests, and noticed that they had a full display of gourds, pumpkins, Indian corn and other goodies that spell 'fall'. It reminded me that it is time to think about decorating our porch for autumn. With everyone watching their pennies these days, I thought it might be good to post a list of inexpensive decorating ideas for families who want to add a little sparkle to their porch, windows or walkway this fall.
What To Buy:
If you live in a farming area, as we do, start your decorating with bales of hay!
Hay gives you a good base to build your display on, is inexpensive, and can make great mulch cover for garden beds when autumn is over. We get our hay from the local garden store, but feed stores and farmers markets are also good sources.
Once you have your base of hay bales, then you are ready to add some simple, colorful items that can be picked up at your local market. Try adding these:
- pots of mums (our grocery store has them 3/$10 this week)
- pumpkins
- gourds
- braids of Indian corn
And when you buy your straw bales, get one extra one to stuff a scarecrow with!
Use old clothes and a pillow case stuffed with straw to make your scarecrow. Put him in the center of your display and you will have a wonderful, welcoming home for the autumn holidays.
For Walkways:
Buy small pumpkins and small pots of mums, and alternate them in two rows framing your walkway. Don't forget to water your mums!
For Windows:
Tie Indian corn to windows in the same place you would put a small holiday wreath.
I hope you have fun decorating your home for Autumn!

Dancing With The Stars

This week marked the start of the new season of Dancing With The Stars, Season 11 if you can believe it! I am a late comer to DWTS that started watching last season, but once I did, I was hooked. It takes a lot of guts for some of these performers to get out there and dance when they have little to no dancing experience to start with. I greatly admire the professional dancers who take them under their wing and teach them all the right moves for the dance floor.
The first dancer to go home this week was David Hasselhoff, but there are 11 more dancers still in the competition to win.
Cafepress recently partnered with ABC and allows its designers to make Dancing With The Stars fan t-shirts to show support for the various dance teams! Here are a few you can choose from.

Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Argh, Matey! It will soon be "Talk Like A Pirate Day" and these funny Pirate themed t-shirts will help you celebrate in true pirate style. Get matching shirts for you and the kids or just dress baby in his or her own little swashbuckling tee shirt. Our pirate gear doubles well for a Halloween costume too!

Arrgh Matey Pirate Boy 3/4 Sleeve Raglan by gotrum
See more Shirts created on zazzle

Talk Like a Pirate Day by Treehuggin_Hippie
design your own tee shirts on zazzle.com

To Arrr is PIRATE! by Jack_of_Arts
See more Pirates T-Shirts

Lovely French Horn Frosted Mug

This pretty horn music mug is a lovely gift for the french horn player in band or orchestra. Frosted mug has green horn design with flowers coming from the bell. You can personalize it with a name using the designer tool, to make a custom musical gift.