Make A Date With Your Best Friend

The forecast for St. Louis this weekend is looking pretty choice...low 80s for the high! We're used to muggy, miserable 90s this time of year. If the weather in your area is anything like ours, why not make a date with your best friend this weekend and do something fun? The Woof Report just published a great article entitled "Summer Adventures for Pups and Their People." Ideas include hiking, heading for an off-leash beach (unfortunately not an option for us Midwesterners), swimming or dining at a dog-friendly restaurant. Like the article says, it doesn't take much to make a dog's day so get out there with your pooch and enjoy the beautiful weather! Ellen

P.S. We recently took our new puppy, Scamp, to the Boathouse in Forest Park. He enjoyed a boat ride with the kids and me, then lunched alongside us at their dog-friendly eatery.
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Yummy Homemade Ice Cream Cones

If you like ice cream as much as I do, then you probably know that the first ice cream cone appeared at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. We St. Louisans love our ice cream whether it's a sinful frozen custard concrete from Ted Drewes or a large scoop from one of the many local ice cream shops scattered across the region. In our house, drumsticks are a favorite treat so when I saw this blog on how to create your own homemade ice cream cones, I had to share. Enjoy! Ellen
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Drumsticks - More DIY How To Projects

PET PICKS: Smile for the Camera

It's always fun introducing a new line of products on Best Friends Studios. During July, I've had more fun than usual creating a new line of photo stationery note cards that feature custom photos of pets. Each foldover card is matte printed on smooth, bright white 80lb cover and left blank inside for a note or greeting. Front personalization (name or greeting) is optional on all cards. Cards are available in quantities of 10, 15 and 25, with prices starting at $18. All you have to do is send us a cute photo of your dog or cat...we do the rest, including converting color photos to high-contrast black & white, cropping and color correcting. If you have any questions, please send me an email at ellen@bestfriendsstudios.com. Thanks for looking! Ellen
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NEAT TRICK: Tropical Plants for Water Gardens

We have two water features in our yard and for the past two years, I've been experimenting with growing colorful annuals right in the water. Impatiens seem to work the best and transform our waterfalls into something right out of a Costa Rica rainforest.

If you have a water feature with shallow edges, you can easily get the same effect with plants such as coleus or impatiens. Simply pop the plant out of its container and gently hose off as much potting soil as possible from the roots. Then place your plants in pockets and crevices on the sides of your water feature, using small rocks to hold the plant in place.

Within weeks, your plant will take off. And what's even better...you don't even have to water them! Ellen
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YOU TUBE PICK: A Soccer Dog in the Making...

And now something fun to start off your weekend... My stepson Mike has been trying to train Jasmine, our 6-year-old yellow lab, how to juggle a soccer ball. She has a ways to go, but who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Have a spectacular weekend! Ellen
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Best Friends Studios Christmas in July Sale

We're jumping on the bandwagon and joining the "Christmas in July Sale" retail phenomenon!

FROM MARY ANN'S STUDIO: All felt appliqué ornaments are being rolled back to 2008 prices. Each ornament will be available for $24.00 which includes shipping (a value of $4.95 priority mail.) New Breeds are now available. All appliqué stockings are being marked down to $75.00. We only have a few stockings on hand, so get them while they're hot!

FROM ELLEN'S STUDIO: Don't wait until the last minute to order Christmas labels and gift tags. All Christmas stationery items are on sale for 25% off through July 24, 2009. Use promotional code christmasjuly09. In August, we'll be adding a new option to our personalized note cards and announcements...coordinating envelope seals. Now, for a limited time, all customers who order personalized note cards will automatically receive a FREE sheet of round, self-adhesive seals to spice up their envelopes. No code needed; just place your order for any note card or announcement design by July 24, 2009. [Please note that your seals will be the same breed/color combination as your note cards.]

So get a jump on Christmas and head to the Holiday Boutique! Mary Ann & Ellen
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Wise Words

3.  Process is more important than outcome.

When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome, we may not know where we're going, but we will know we want to be there.

I came across Bruce Mau Design's "An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth" the other day and #3 really stood out to me. Most crafters and artists will tell you that they love the process of their work and are often a bit let down once a project is finished. But sometimes, when your art needs to pay the bills, you can get caught up in the outcome. For me that usually affects my products....not always necessarily for the good. So once in a while I need to remind myself that the process is more important than the outcome especially when I need to reach beyond where I've already been.

Photo via Stumbleupon.

Mary Ann
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St. Louis Grabs the Nation's Spotlight!

Tonight is the 2009 All-Star Game. Ordinarily, I don't pay much attention, perhaps because it's much more fun to watch my 12-year-old son play baseball than overpaid professionals. But this year the All-Star Game came to St. Louis and the city is on fire with baseball fever. Yes, St. Louisans love our Cardinals but more importantly, we love baseball. USA Today ran a story this morning entitled St. Louis: Home of Fan Appreciation that pretty much sums up the St. Louis baseball experience. So tonight we will all be watching—with a large measure of pride—as our city grabs the spotlight. Go Albert! Ellen
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Leather Dogs

Time for another Etsy find.  Leather Prince designs and creates these fun little key chains and coin purses. All handmade by a husband and wife team living in Taiwan....but they ship everywhere, so shop till your hearts content. At $17.50 for the key chains, they make an affordable and unique gift! They also have iphone holders (shown below) priced at $37.50.

...and they even do kitties....

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My Little Studio

Happy Monday and Tuesday everyone. I hope you all had a very happy and safe 4th of July. My weekend was spent at an All-Star girl's softball game, a birthday party, and a night at home with friends and cheap sparklers. (They just don't make them like they used to)!

I was taking photos of my studio recently for a magazine submission and thought, why don't I share the pics with you guys?...give you a look-see into my little studio where I spend my days. I know it's going to look horribly cluttered to some of you, but all those things in there help keep me creative and smiling while I work. I have stuff from my travels, family items, vintage pieces, and artwork from some of my favorite Estians. If anyone spots something and wants to know where I got it, just send me an email or leave a comment here.

Have a great week and do a little "moon-walk" tomorrow in honor of Michael Jackson. Whatever you may think of him, you gotta admit he was tremendously talented. He brings back the best memories of growing up for me...of my bestfriend Regina trying to teach me to dance to the Jackson 5's music! If it weren't for her and Michael, I would have no rhythm today!

Mary Ann
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Happy 4th of July--Keep Your Dogs Safe!

Since our yellow lab, Jasmine, has been such a great sport this past month (new puppies can be really trying for the "top dog"), I decided to hand over the writing reins to her today. Happy 4th! Ellen

Fireworks...Humans Love 'Em, Dogs Hate 'Em
This is my sixth year celebrating the 4th of July and I have to confess, it's not my favorite holiday. Yes, the flag bandana is nice and all, but the noise this holiday generates is more than a bit painful for me. You see, a dog's hearing is 10 times more sensitive than a human's. All those fireworks blasting away tend to sound like cannons going off in our ears. But we dogs understand...humans love fireworks and since we love our humans, here are three tips to help us get through this noisy weekend.

1) Leave Us at Home. I know, you've been working a lot and naturally want to spend more time with us this holiday weekend. Please resist the inclination to bring us to your local fireworks display. We won't mind if you leave us at home. Just trust me on this one...
2) Don't Lock Us in the Hot Car. This should be common sense, but I can't tell you how many well-intentioned humans have opted to leave their dogs in the car in order to save them from the stress of a fireworks display. Dogs can die within minutes, even with the windows cracked. So follow the first rule and we'll all be OK...
3) Keep Us Indoors. Like I said, we don't like the noise of fireworks. It hurts our ears and stresses us out. If we are left outside, even in a fenced-in yard, we may freak out and run away. For those of us who might get destructive, consider putting us in a crate or room where we can't hurt anything. Leave a radio or TV on to help us remain calm.

For more details on keeping dogs safe on the 4th of July, check out what the Dog Channel has to say. Oh, and one more thing... I know my feline brother, Kit Kat, doesn't like to admit fear of any kind, but cats don't like fireworks any more than dogs, so keep them inside this weekend. Have a safe July 4th weekend! Jasmine
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YUM!

My first tomatoes of the season!

And Buddy, the next door neighbor, is trying to break in and steal them!

Mary Ann
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