StudioKat Designs September 08 Newsletter

September 2008

The StudioKat Designs Newsletter
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

HELLO and Welcome!- Ahhh September! One of my favorite months! It's finally cooling off, we've had some refreshing rains, college football has begun (GO WAKE!) and soon the leaves will start turning. I've been busy preparing for the Fall Quilt Market in Houston, TX, & so far I've made two chair covers and also a new banner. The Fall Market is always in Houston, so it's always considerably bigger than the Spring Markets which rotate from city to city. I think these new items will improve the look of my booth a lot! But enough of this, we better get started. I think you'll enjoy the links in this newsletter, especially since one of them involves a little thank you gift for YOU!
Also, especially for the convenience of our friends at Pattern Review & AOL, all of the hotlinks are listed in order at the bottom of this letter, and as always, if you prefer, you can go to www.studiokatdesigns.com/sept08.htm to see the online version of the newsletter.

Feline Quote for September- "Some people say man is the most dangerous animal on the planet. Obviously those people have never met an angry cat." Lillian Johnson

New on my Website!-
My dad is constantly patrolling for cute videos about cats & he has come up with TWO of them this month! First, click here for a cute little video that shows that even a kitten can be "King of the jungle!" Then check out this amazing video of a monkey with a death wish! (He's playing with 2 tiger cubs!) Anyway, this download is pretty big, so i would recommend starting the download, then go back to reading the newsletter. It should be ready for you to watch by the time you get done. Ready? click here.

My ol' buddy, Peg Rice of Westport Island, ME, wrote to tell me that she couldn't answer my emails because something had crashed on her keyboard AND her mouse was missing! I was really concerned until I clicked here and saw WHY!

Judi Graf of Tyler, TX has sure been busy. She sent me some pics of two gorgeous Harmony handbags she "whipped up". I'm not sure which one I like the best, this black n' pink polka-dotted number , or this scrumptious one with it's own matching PortaPockets Insert! But I can sure tell which one that Milo (her cat) likes the best! What a beautiful smile!
You might be wondering why Judi didn't enter these bags in the Handbag of the Month contest? It's because she has already won this year, and won't be eligible to win again until next year. Hmmm... maybe you should go ahead and enter that bag of yours now? :)

"Handbag of the Month" Gallery-
I love seeing the beautiful handbags you all are creating, and I'll bet you do too, but there's no contest to take part in this month. Sorry but we like to have at least 3 bags to choose from each month, and we didn't reach that mark for August. I know... I'm sad too, but let's face it, August is insane, there's so many other things to do in August but sew! But now the vacations are over, the kids are back in school now, it's time to get to work on holiday gifts, so get to work and send those pictures in, & we'll just pick up where we left off next month! The next winner could be YOU!
On a fun note, we had a record number of votes in the July contest, including a HUGE voting contingent from Europe! Susan Mautte of Eureka Springs, AR was our lucky winner in the July Handbag Contest, commanding 39% of the votes cast in August. Click here to see her winning Vervalise, which has also won a permanent place of honor on our website!

Join the StudioKat Designs Chat Group at Yahoo! Are you up for a new experience? Our new chat group has over 40 members now & I am finding that I like having this fun group of gals to bounce new ideas off of. It's also a great place to leave applause or questions for our handbag of the month contestants. Who knows... you might just pick up some ideas or inspiration for YOUR next project! Come ON! Join us TODAY by clicking here!

Website Spotlight- School Support
How about considering providing help to a struggling scholl this back -to-season? You can pick a local classroom, or have the site pick one for you, and donate funds that can be used for supplies, educational games, and other materials. If you are a teacher, you can use the site to register your classroom for assistance, or start a program in your school & community. With teachers spending an average of $1200 per year of their own money for classroom materials, they can use all the help they can get!

New at StudioKat Designs- National Sewing Month Promotion
Let's all celebrate National Sewing Month PLUS the astounding fact that there are now over 7500 subscribers to our monthly newsletter, we are pleased to offer you, our loyal readers, a coupon worth $2.00 off toward a Purse Fan package. Simply type SEPTSEW in the coupon code box at checkout when you purchase online. For more details, click here.
Limit 1 coupon per person/ or email address. Coupon expires 9/30/08.

A Cool Place to Shop!- Susan Clarke Originals
Susan Clarke is a designer of uncommon button, charms, jewelry & other cool things. It's fun to look through her things, even if you don't need any right now! I LOVE her Cat Buttons, although the Frog Buttons are adorable too. The best item on the site though is her spectacular Necklace Purses, conveniently sold in kits!

Quotation of the Month-
"A woman in her lifetime will spend far more hours hugging a handbag than a man."
Ellen Rachlin

Your cat might own you if... you think it's cute when your cat swings on the drapes or licks the butter!

Surf HERE for Neat INFO!- Recipe for Success
There really are cookies that taste like a million bucks, and Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, MD bakes them! She was this year's $1 million grand prize winner in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest for her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. Get the recipe for them here, as well as the recipes for many other award-winning Bake-Off dishes, like Toffee-Banana Brownies, the winner of "America's Favorite Recipe Award".

New Word of the Month- Arachnijig (ah-rack'-nuh-jig)
The involuntary dancing pattern one makes when one accidentally walks into a spider web, or is told that there is a spider ON them!

Cats in the News- One Eye on the Road, the Other on the LitterBox
If you're up for a VERY funny story about traveling with cats, then check out this hysterical piece that appeared in the NY Times. It was sent in by alert reader Michelle Cummings of Greenville, SC., who enjoyed it so much she just HAD to share it. Click here to read.

Love Handbags?- Metzalli.Com
I am fascinated with intricate applique work and when I found this site, I knew you'd want to see it too. Metzalli Jones creates beautiful patchwork tote bags with adorable appliqued embellishments. One of my favorites is the Happy Sunrise Hemp Tote. I also enjoyed looking at Metzalli's interesting paintings. There's a light-heartedness to her work which I find quite refreshing. It's no more apparent than in this, my favorite.

Did You Know- that the biggest dog on record was an Old English mastiff that weighed 343 pounds? He was 8 feet, 3 inches from nose to tail!

A cool Internet Activity- Presidential Visit
Now that it's election time, what better place to visit than the White House?... the online version of course! Take a 360-degree tour of the Oval Office, then pick a few of your favorite presidents from the past & read through their full bios. Click here to read up on the history behind many beloved White House traditions, like the Easter Egg Roll, and the teachers among us might find the kid's games & quizzes useful!

Laugh Lines- The next time you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth... think of Algebra!

Surf HERE for your HEALTH- Fight Bac!
Keeping bacteria from spoiling your next picnic or cookout is easier than you might think. The mission of the Partners for Food Safety Education is to educate the public about safe food handling and they recommend following four simple steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill. Their website offers details on these bacteria prevention methods, as well as facts on the causes, symptoms, and challenges of foodborne illness.

Question of the Month- Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a ride in a car he sticks his head out the window?

Monthly Trivia- September is National Coupon Month, celebrating the nearly 2.6 billion dollars that Americans saved last year alone, by redeeming coupons. It's also National Sewing Month, so can there possibly be a better time to indulge your passion for sewing? I think not, especially if you use our Purse Fan discount coupon to sew up a few new bags!
Can you believe that broadcaster & commentator, Paul Harvey is celebrating his 90th birthday today? Baseball player, Mike Piazza, generally known as the best-looking (oops!), I mean best-hitting catcher of all time, is also eating birthday cake today. And if today is also YOUR birthday, here's a great big StudioKat Designs Happy Birthday to YOU! And if today is not your birthday, you can still celebrate the day, treat yourself to a little gift, AND pay homage to the fact that it's National Sewing and National Coupon month, by scarfing up our Purse Fan discount coupon to create a few fun, new bags!

Well, that's it for now, so until next month, remember!
Sewing Forever, Housework Whenever!

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