It must be the dog days of summer!! The days are long, the weather is HOT and we are at long last, we are in the process of mailing out my 2008 cataloged Christmas & Fall collections.

This year, catalogs are only being mailed to those consumers who have sent in a registration card since August of 2004. If you haven’t sent in any registration cards since before that date, a catalog is not being mailed out. You can still see my 2008 line here on my website. Just go to the PRODUCTS section and look for all of my 2008 introductions. One of my favorite new little elves is to the right. There are 9 different designs of them, and they really do embody the spirit of the North Pole. Be sure to check out my new purse designs for Christmas and Halloween…you are sure to be a hit with one on your shoulder. In a month or so, I will share with you a few stories I have about my new purse designs…one is pretty funny.

For those of you who sent in more than 5 actual registration cards over the past 12 months, I have included a special gift for you…a gift box of 10 Christmas Cards for you to send out to your families & friends. Thank you so much for your support.

Many people send in multiple registration cards in one envelop to save postage. I often get photos & notes along with these. Because of my extensive travels & work schedules, I often do not get to respond to them, but rest assured, I do see them and enjoy them I do!

Because the mailing is pretty substantial, and because we use the North Pole post office, which is amazingly slow by the way, you may not receive your catalog until mid September. If your mail carrier has pointy ears…well…you know he came direct from the North Pole…and in that case, you might want to give him some cookies.

The first chef themed Fairy I did outside of Christmas was actually an inspiration from my brother David. He & his wife like to cook, and very late one nite, while he was at my home and we were talking, the beginnings of that Fairy were laid out. Since then, I have done quite a few cooking themed Fairies.

For this year, 2008, I did the Cookbook Fairy, which includes some of my favorite recipies my mom used to cook. I actually made up a tiny little book with the actual recipies. Now…for those of us who are visually challenged…(like we cannot read something that small)…there is a link on the RECIPIES tab at the top of this page, where you can view and download these same recipies. The Fourth of July cake was always both my dad’s & my birthday cake, as our birthdays are the same week as Indpendence Day. (And I thought those fireworks were for MY birthday!!)

If you want to try out some of those recipies, let me know what you think of them. And if you have any 21st century revisions to them, feel free to share them! My mom was always great about twisting recipies in unusual ways, often with great success.

My 2008 Cookbook Fairy makes for a great kitchen companion, just as he makes for a great summer gift. At least for me, my cooking seems a bit better with the Cookbook Fairy around.

I hope you are enjoying your summer!