Well, I think it's cool ...

Holy Batgirl! Cutest iPhone case ever

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:50:00 +0000

OK - I'm not even a Batgirl fan, but how can you resist this adorable phone case?

It's Batgirl in all her glory, molded into a rubberized hard phone case for the iPhone 4/4S. The rectangle that goes around the phone has the cute super hero (heroine?) attached to the back with the shape extending out around the edges. I'm mildly concerned about tiny bits like the points of her headgear getting messed up when it's bouncing around in a purse or backpack, but it ought to be OK.

Downside to cases like this one are definitely the design because there is no way to slip an iPhone in a case like this into any kind of pocket or clip designed to hold a phone. I can't even put mine into my back jeans pocket with a case on it.

BTW, if Batgirl isn't your super hero of choice, she's just one in the line of Chara-Cover iPhone cases, which includes Batman, Thor, Harley Quinn, Superman and a few others. A mix of DC Comics and Marvel characters.

If you'd like a super hero cell phone case but have a different phone, check out the collection over at Super Hero Stuff. Not only are there cases for iPhone 3 and iPhone 5, you can also get them for HTC, Blackberry and Samsung. Oh - and the designs are a bit more grown-up and include characters like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, probably enough to get a stick of gum. I generally only recommend products or services on this blog that I would use personally and believe you will find cool as well. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Perfect time to pick up those Little Miss Match socks for gifts

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:45:00 +0000

My niece loves to talk about her cool aunt - the one who wears mismatched socks and has purple hair. (Hint: it's me!)

I realized recently, though, that my Little Miss Match socks are looking a little worse for wear. And apparently Addie has completely grown out of hers. Shopping time! And almost in time for prime gift-giving season. Sweet serendipity, Batman!

Now, Addie is easy, since Little Miss Match now has team spirit items and they have her school colors. Perfect! (She can wear them to play basketball. :-) The team spirit items include socks, arm warmers and these little pompom things they call hair poochies. Which I have yet to see in a picture actually in anyone's hair, so I'm not sure just what a poochie is. Along with maroon and gold, they come in green and white, navy and gold, UT burnt orange and white, among others. Surely they'll add more color combinations later?

One of the reasons my socks have gotten a wee bit pathetic rather than being replaced so far is that the styles and designs of socks offered has just gotten bigger and bigger and bigger and it's so hard to pick! Especially during the summer, which I spend mostly in flip flops. (I know. They have flip-flop socks and cute flip-flops too.)

I'm toying with some of their fuzzy socks. I had the chance to touch some of them at the LMM store in Grand Central once and when they say fuzzy and soft, they mean fuzzy and soft. Incredibly, unbelievably soft. Liking these striped ones, a new design, but I have to get two packs (different ones, of course) at a time. I like the miss matched designs, but the idea of not being able to create pairs drives me nuts! So I must have multiples of two.

Which is where I'm really digging the gift sets and bundles they've come up with. Now, I'm not entirely sure anyone really needs the Ultimate Sock Drawer with 99 socks in there. Or the Trunk Full of Socks with - count them - 999 socks! I suppose you would be set up with socks for the rest of your life, but then you lose out on the fun of buying new designs when they come out. Poo on that.

Wait. Back to my socks.

Anyway, there are two gift sets that are attracting my eye at the moment. They've got this set called Juicy Socks that comes with 10 socks (each different!) in either black Zany or pink Zany colors. Perfect! I get the complete randomness I love while also meeting that weird need for an even number total of socks. Plus, I tend to wear these with my black sneakers, so that works well.

If you have someone who's never had LMM socks, there's a cool starter set I'm considering picking up for my other niece. You get four sock packs in different heights and designs. All in a lovely little box ready to wrap. (Love that!) You get liners, anklets, knee highs and over the knee socks, and the box is more than half off right now. Perfect!

Wait. Last thing, even more perfect. (Well, more perfect would be that they start having women's sized t-shirts and bring back the PJs. But for now ... .) I've got two discount codes you can use while you do your own Christmas shopping for the tween and teen girls in your life. Well, as long as you get it done by Sept. 9, that is. Free shipping on all orders with code F1BTSFS or get 20% off orders of $65 or more with code F1BTS20.

Off to shop! Which socks are you getting?

First Hobbit t-shirt makes its appearance

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 17:25:00 +0000

Excited about The Hobbit coming out in big, blockbuster movie form? Me too. Every other version I've ever seen - a couple of animated ones and a live-action - have been severely lacking. One of those "how can you make such a great story so bad" kind of deals.

So having a version that follows in the footsteps of the stunning Rings trilogy is exciting. (Planning to re-read the book this next week in preparation for the movie!) And the very first shirt you can get to show your Hobbit love is out.

I love the image here. It's definitely a "the world is waiting" kind of image, one that promises awesome things just beyond the horizon. ("The world is waiting", BTW, is what Phil says at the start of every Amazing Race.)

Anyhooo, you can only get this particular shirt at the Warner Brothers online store. It comes in Adult, Women's (relaxed or fitted) and Youth sizes.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Exclusive T-Shirt

Counting down to the Disney/Pixar movie Brave

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 21:41:00 +0000

Excited doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about this movie. Just a few days left until it comes out.

I've been following news and info about the film for months now. Months. Come on! It's Pixar - one of the best story-telling movie studios out there. Add to that the fact that it's a female lead (their first!) and a princess with no prince in sight and this is going to be one to break the molds.

As I read around the web, though, I find it interesting how mixed reactions are. Some people are just dismissing it as another Disney girl picture (my nephew and hubby among them, it seems) without giving it the benefit of any doubt. (Not sure why they would be doubting. It's not like they didn't like every other movie Pixar has put out. Come on!)

Anyway, I've pulled together all kinds of information and shopping guides related to the movie and the characters. Merida is going to be a hoot! See you at the pictures.

All About Brave - Movie trailers, reviews, character descriptions and more.
Meet Merida - Complete character page, including merchandise featuring Merida.
Meet Queen Elinor - Learn more about Merida's mom
Brave Costumes and Ideas for Adults - Ideas for adults to dress up like the characters
Merida Costumes to Make or Buy - Make or buy a costume for Merida. More focused on adult costumes and the detail needed for cosplay.
Queen Elinor Costume - Make or buy a costume for Queen Elinor
Brave Books - Picture books, chapter books and coloring books with the Brave characters.
Brave Birthday Party Supplies and Ideas - Ideas for a medieval party in keeping with Brave as well as official Brave birthday party supplies.
Brave Soundtrack - All about the composer and the songs you hear in the movie
Merida Costumes for Girls - Official Disney costumes and others to dress up as Merida
Brave Toys - Dolls, plush and other toys based on the movie Brave
Brave Clothing with Merida - Shirts, pajamas and accessories featuring Merida

It's almost Easter time, kids!

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:18:00 +0000

Not sure just what I've been thinking lately, but it certainly hasn't been about hanging out over here, obviously. And only a tiny bit has been about Easter, surprisingly.

But, I have taken a little time to create some Easter stuff at Squidoo, mostly to test the water, but also because I see cool stuff and just can't not do something with it. That's part of how I ended up doing Hello Kitty Easter merchandise - the plush toys are just too cute! And of course, that leads to more poking around and realizing that you could create a pretty cool Hello Kitty Easter basket with all the Hello Kitty toys and candy. Sweet!

I have no real desire to get into a coloring book niche; too much controversy and flack among the rabble there. But I am testing the waters a little with one on Easter coloring books. Again, just some really cute things like Peeps coloring books. Who knew?

Speeding along in a NASCAR bedroom

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:35:00 +0000

Not a NASCAR fan here, but when I ran across this M&M comforter, I had to stop and take a better look.

Turned out, it was NASCAR bedding for Kyle Busch, who is sponsored by M&Ms. Who knew? Well, maybe you did, but it was news to me.

And of course, that set me off to see what else you could get NASCAR-wise for the bedroom.

I started out looking for NASCAR decor, which led me to some cool things like the Ace Bayou NASCAR Signature Video Bean Bag Chair shown here. Add in some NASCAR wall decals and you're all set. (Oh, and of course, I had to add in a NASCAR calendar lens to that set over there. Nice bow to wrap things up with.)

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission, probably enough to get a stick of gum. I generally only recommend products or services on this blog that I would use personally and believe you will find cool as well. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Ideas for toddler bedrooms

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

I got on a real kick lately with toddler bedroom idea lenses. (Also added a category for toddler bedroom ideas over on my blog.) It's interesting because that's definitely the age when they want things that are their favorite characters, so it's no surprise that a lot of the best selling toddler bedding is based on those characters.

I have a whole slate of them now, covering a wide range of characters and typically just put everything on one lens related to bedding and decor. The rare exception is something like Sesame Street, which has so much stuff between the main show and Elmo specifically, or Dora, who has just been around and a big hit forever.

Getting a jump on Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:33:00 +0000

Well, OK, maybe not so much of a jump given that the holiday is going to be here soon. On the other hand, most of my Valentine's lenses were created quite some time ago.

Last year, I made my first try with a gift lens around Hershey's Kisses based on the collectibles from the Bradley Exchange. They have some really cool items and I found others like beanie babies and so forth. It did pretty well, so I thought I'd try a few other things this year. Got them going last November as I was poking around with Christmas updates and ran across some cool gift ideas.

So were born a lens with romantic pillowcase sets and romantic mg sets. Just found the coolest stuff over on some of my merchants that come personalized, perfect for a Valentine's gift. Added another lens this week (late, I know) with Valentine's Day doormats after those did pretty well at Halloween and Christmas.

Cheer for a cheerleader bedroom!

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:02:00 +0000

Rah, Rah, Rah! Sis Boom Bah! (Wow, showing my age a bit there.)

But there's nothing aged about a cheerleader bedroom theme. And I put together a collection of cool things I found that are prefect for the cheerleader in your life. While I focused on things that work in a bedroom, a lot of the cheer decor items (like the personalized cheerleader wall peg rack in the picture) and even a few of the cheer bedding items (think pillowcases) would make great gift ideas. And definitely check out the cheerleader wall decals for other great personalized items.

Legos go Easter

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:10:00 +0000

I can't decide if I think this Lego Easter Basket is adorable or ridiculous. Well, it's actually a little of both, I suppose.

It is quite cute given that it's Legos and what a neat idea to build a basket with them. The hinged pieces make for a neat handle and the eggs are pretty cute.

The ridiculous comes in that it's a pretty small piece to build; despite having 86 pieces it's just 3" tall and 3" wide. And … what the heck do you do with it once you've built it? It's not like you can use it as an actual Easter basket or anything. Sheesh.

(Can you tell what I'm working on right now? :-)

Tons of Roxy bedding choices

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:07:00 +0000

I just love the Roxy bedding designs. They're fun and not too childish, making them a great choice for a teen bedroom.

The designs are tough to find sometimes, especially older styles, but I keep looking and adding to my Roxy bedding lens.

Two of my favorites of the ones I have now are the Summer Stripe bed in a bag set pictured left and the Element Quilt pictured right.

Roxy designs come in comforters, duvets, quilts, pillows and sheet sets. They're frequently hard to find, but worth it because they can make a "neutral" backdrop to whatever decor your teen wants to place in her room.

Zombie cycling jerseys

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:14:00 +0000

The zombies are coming, ya know. And you can get a head start as part of a zombie cycling team with these cool jerseys I found recently. A whole like of zombie cycling jerseys that will definitely turn heads. Just added them to my collection of novelty cycling jerseys as we get ready for spring (and bike season) to arrive.

Personalized Sesame Street shirts

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +0000

I've been adding some new styles to my Sesame Street shirts store, mostly personalized ones I've found. And wow, there are a lot of personalized options for you! Well, not for you if you're an adult, unfortunately. They're all for little kids. Sigh. I would love a "Susan *hearts* Grover" shirt!

Sesame Street Characters Alphabet T-Shirt or Elmo Initial Alphabet T-Shirt. Each are $14.99 at Identity Direct and you can personalize with your child's name - up to nine characters on the first and 11 on the Elmo.

Or you could consider the big face shirts that have been the rage lately. Walmart carries them for Elmo, Oscar, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster and Big Bird.

The other line I've found are the Elmo Loves ... and Abby Loves ... designs over at Personal Creations. You can get the design saying the character loves your child on t-shirts, rompers, even hoodies!

Butterfly lover gifts just in time for spring

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:01:00 +0000

My mom loved butterflies and I made this series of lenses a few years ago in her honor. It's been added to and filled out over the years as I've found cool new stuff. Surprisingly to me, the car items are the most popular. Who knew? Anyway, great gifts to be found here if you know someone who likes butterflies, especially with Valentine's and Mother's Day on the way.

Hippo bedroom can be totally hip

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:43:00 +0000

Hippos can get short shrift when people start thinking of bedroom themes. You might see them make a brief appearance as part of a safari or jungle theme, but rarely do you see them on their own.

Which is kind of sad since there are some really cool items for creating a hippo bedroom. One of my favorites is this Modern Hippo Wall Art from The Land of Nod.

What got me started thinking about hippos, though, was this gorgeous hippo rug at Dimples and Dandelions. I love all the bright colors and the patterns and the funky shaped hippos. Definitely falls in the unexpected category and would be a nice piece to design a room around.

(Almost) all about libertarianism

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:42:00 +0000

I went in all kinds of circles about this particular set of lenses. The research didn't indicate much by way of traffic possibilities, and hey - it was right. But, I needed some more lenses to round out this account and it's an area with lots of good angles to create a full niche of lenses. Unfortunately, it is tanking badly. And it has some lenses I'm really proud of in terms of writing and creating. (This is why I tend to focus on product/sales lenses. Good informational lenses rarely do well enough to justify the time spent.)

I ended up with 16 lenses in the series, although I think I had 30 ideas to start. I have two in WIP that I never finished after I realized the first set weren't getting any traction. Most of these have fallen below the 400K mark, making them virtually invisible and thus making it more difficult to get them going. Sigh.

Libertarian bumper stickers
Libertarian publications
Best of Reason.tv (especially proud of this one)
All about Libertarians (lensography for the rest of the series)
Libertarian Fiction
Libertarian Blogs
Libertarian Books (of the non-fiction variety)
Free State Project
Jury Nullification
Libertopia
Libertarian Quotes
Libertarian shirts
Libertarian posters
Libertarian symbols

Best damn dog picture ever

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:45:00 +0000

Found on the cover of this Dogs 2012 Wall Calendar over at Amazon. Awesome!!!

Sesame Street bedroom

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:19:00 +0000

Come join me on Sesame Street for a minute! Well, in the Sesame Street bedroom specifically. After all, these are characters kids love and their parents remember fondly. So it's a great option for a bedroom theme.

Sesame Street bedding comes mostly in toddler sizes (like the cute set from Target pictured here), although there are a few crib bedding sets. And lots of blanket options that could be used on a larger bed in lieu of a bedspread. But you can just skip the bedding and get some cool Sesame Street decor to add around the room. Wall decals, rugs, artwork - tons of great choices here. And easily changed out if your child grows out of Sesame Street. (When does that happen anyway?)

If you're willing to make the investment, there are some great Sesame Street furniture choices as well. I absolutely adore the school bus desk. Way cool.

(For what it's worth, I think this is an area where an opportunity is being missed. How many adults do you know who would buy Sesame Street bedding? I can think of a ton of designs that would just jump off the shelves.)

Tinker Bell bedding just the start for a Tink bedroom

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:58:00 +0000

You don't need fairy dust for a cute Tinker Bell bedroom. You don't even need magic. But you do need a little fairy.

And there are a lot of ways to get Tinker Bell for your bedroom. You can start with some Tinkerbell bedding featuring Tink and the rest of the Disney Fairies like the Tink sheet set pictured here.

Or bring in a little Disney Fairy magic with decor such as banks and artwork. Or maybe you need to bring in a Tinkerbell chair or bed. And don't forget the walls. I just finished adding a series of Tinker Bell wall decals around my niece's bed. (She's so excited about finally getting them up!) They're so easy to do and just a really nice touch.

College cycling jerseys abound

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:06:00 +0000

I've had a lens featuring college cycling jerseys for quite a while now. But there are far more than just jerseys available for NCAA fans. Especially for a few colleges.

So I've been branching out a little bit here of late, adding lenses for Florida cycling gear, UCLA cycling gear, Texas cycling gear, Texas Tech Red Raiders cycling gear, Arizona Wildcats cycling gear and Iowa cycling gear. One of the cool things has been tracking down the cycling clubs for each of the schools, which tend to have their own gear, sometimes available for public purchase.

I'm working out just how many more I want to consider adding at the moment. Many of the searches that land on my main lens seem to be for schools that don't have a jersey at all. The random mix of "university" and "state" on the page seem to combine with whatever someone is searching for and they land on my page. Which does them (and me) no good. And doesn't give me much guidance for which ones would be good for splitting out onto their own lenses.

Upside of this type of lens is that it shouldn't require much maintenance, if any. Occasionally a new shirt style is released, but generally, this is a pretty static area.

Thinking about Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:39:00 +0000

Time for our next holiday! Oh, wait. Thanksgiving. I just can't seem to get too excited about this one. And I don't really understand why. My family gets together for Thanksgiving every year, then we all spend Christmas with our in-laws. Works nicely and the kids get presents twice!

But as a holiday, it just doesn't resonate with me that much. We need a few traditions that don't involve food or football and help us remember the whole point. And I'm not talking about the pilgrims. I'm talking the thanks part.

So the only Thanksgiving lens I've ever created - and likely ever will - has to do with Tie One On Day. It's an invented holiday from the apron lady, EllynAnne Geisel. But it's a worthy thing to consider doing. It's the day before Thanksgiving and just involves taking home-baked bread wrapped in an apron to a neighbor. I love the whole neighborhood thing. Anything that gets you out the front of your house and meeting the people near you is great in my book.

Going cute with Tweety bedding

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:30:00 +0000

My sister was quite surprised when I told her Tweety was a boy. He has to be the first metrosexual ever given the fact that very few people realize that fact.

Still, he probably has more appeal for your girl than your boy as a bedroom theme. And you can get started with a few cute Tweety bedding options. Colors tend toward pinks and purples, making it easy to pair other options in solids and prints.

There aren't a ton of choices, but one of my favorites is the cute Tweety toddler bedding set pictured here and available at Walmart.

Toilet Tattoos for low commitment decorating

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:30:00 +0000

One of the strangest decoration items I've ever run across has got to be toilet tattoos. Seriously. Vinyl clings for your toilet lid.

I just can't imagine using these myself, but ya know, if you like to decorate everywhere in your house, these really are a great idea. They're easy to use and clean and don't require a big commitment. You can just pull one off and put another on to suit your whims or ... drum roll ... decorate for the holidays.

There are a ton of ideas for holidays like the haunted house design here. The Christmas choices alone are insane!

Heart bedding for a timeless bedroom

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

If you're trying to come up bedroom theme ideas that don't involve the flavor of the week, consider going with a heart theme. It's a classic concept that certainly doesn't preclude adding in other items for favorite characters.

Start with some cute heart bedding in subtle colors like this Jumping Beans Hearts bedding set from Kohls or some other bright and happy options. There are quite a few choices for a heart theme.

Already thinking Halloween costumes and decorations

noreply@blogger.com (lewister) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 15:13:00 +0000

I know! It just turned September so how could I be thinking about Halloween? Well, if you plan to do any decorating, throwing a Halloween party or making your own costume, you need to be planning ahead.

It never ceases to amaze me that costumes are popular year round. People have more costume parties than I thought! I have several collections of cool costumes, including ideas and directions for making your own. On some of them, that is.

Costumes

Wonder Woman costumes - buy a costume or check out the pieces I found to help you make one
Tinkerbell costumes - sizes for baby through adult and so many options to choose from
Sexy Tinkerbell costumes - definitely just for adults
Peter Pan costumes - the best accessory for a Tinker Bell
Tinkerbell shoes - just what kind of shoes does a fairy wear?
Sue Sylvester - the Glee villain has to be the easiest costume to put together. Tons of ideas to make it spectacular.

Once you have your costume in place, you can start thinking about that Halloween party. First step is appropriate invitations like the Fangtastic Halloween Invitations in the picture. (Way cool!) Beyond that, most people get the concept of Halloween decorations. So I've focused on two items you might have forgotten - doormats and wall decals.

Decorations and Party

Halloween wall decals - easy to put up and you can reuse them every year
Halloween doormats - I love the ones that make scary sounds
Halloween invites - choices from creepy to cute