Mama Monday #27

Theme: Scratch

Well, MSO, you've done it again. Another theme, another opportunity to go, Huh? and Ah! all in the same moment. I must admit, your choices are nothing if not multi-faceted.

I actually had lofty aspirations for this one - turning "scratch" on its head and writing some inspirational, yet amusing take on scratching the surface of a new life's adventure. But that wasn't going as well as I'd hoped. So I scrapped that idea and here I am, starting over from scratch, to more shamelessly plug a new endeavor.

My Hubby, a true Renaissance Man if ever there was one, was recently lurking around the blogosphere and greater www when he visited a favorite woodworking magazine's site. The mag had just started up a new feature - a Cafe Press shop - allowing them to sell shirts, caps, mugs, etc., with their own logo and designs on them.

After learning about this myself, I commented to Hubby, Oh yeah. That's where I got your Renaissance Soul T-shirt.

Knowing what a good quality shirt that is, we started to look more closely into what Cafe Press has to offer.

The answer? The opportunity to create your own designs, have them placed on clothing and accessories, and even sell the products to the masses. Want a mug with your daughter's picture on it? No problem! Want to supply your family with next year's reunion shirts? Done! Have a great T-shirt design you think the public will totally eat up? Cool! Just find the picture or create the design, upload it to the site, and Cafe Press will make the products you choose on demand. With no set-up cost, and only minimal work (not so tough for my graphic designer Hubby), this seemed like lots of fun and potentially profitable. What a great idea!

Now that Hubby has minimized his professional design hours to pursue his professional interests in woodworking, restoration and repair, this opportunity is just the ticket to keep his hands more firmly in the creative world. He's able to make the quality products that express his, and my, varied interests. Items we both want to own and wear ourselves. And if others are similarly interested in what we've created, so much the better. They can click on over to Blanchard Creative, check out our shop, and purchase some unique, well designed pieces for themselves.

Admittedly, right now our shop is pretty lean. We only have one design up so far, offered on three types of shirts. So, unless you or your own Hubby is interested in woodworking, you may not go for the current choice. But - oh boy - will there be more! Hubby and I are currently working on a design for the spina bifida community, and we've got plans in the works to tackle all sorts of different areas - cooking, comedy, wine, parenthood, and more. Like I said, Hubby has a wide range of interests, as do I. Together, we're definitely going to come up with some fun, interesting and creative product designs.

Just like homemade baked goods - made from scratch with plenty of love and care - we've designed these unique products from our hearts - for ourselves, for those we love, and for those who love the same things we do.

Check us out today! See what Hubby's created, from scratch, from deep inside his Renaissance Soul. With my help as a writer and his talent as a designer, we're sure to come up with lots of wonderful, varied options. Come on back as often as you like - you never know just what you'll find.