The Sun Will Come Out.. Tomorrow

Well, according to the current weather forecast anyway. The point being, it is not out TODAY, which is the day I had planned to take photos of all our stock items and list them in our Artfire shop.

But, with deadlines fast approaching for shipping (see this post) I really want to let you guys know what we've got in stock and ready to ship! So I'm going to post a list -- if you want anything, just send us an email at thegirls@iheartthatdance.com and we will send you a link to make the credit card payment.

If you'd like to see a picture of something, just let me know and I can snap a quick one -- it's taking the e-commerce worthy fancy schmancy ones that take sunny days and lots of time.

Now for the list (tartans used in applique are listed where applicable). Links will be added as the items become available over at Artfire (note the prices there are in USD)!

Pajama Pants: $25 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Kids S, Pink, Dress Purple McRae (Dalgliesh) tartan (pink, blue & white) Trinity Hearts applique
• Kids S, Purple, Dress Purple McRae tartan (purple & white) "Dance" applique
• Kids M, Pink, pink & white "Dance" applique
• Kids L, Green, green shamrock print "Irish" applique
• Kids L, Blue, Dress Blue Wallace tartan (royal blue & white) "Dance" applique
• Kids L, Purple, purple & white "Irish" applique
• Ladies S, Green, Dress Ireland (blue, green & white) tartan "Dance" applique
• Ladies M, Pink, Irish
• Ladies M, Blue, Dress Royal Menzies (royal blue & white) tartan "Dance" applique
• Ladies M, Green, Dress Green Milne (green, gold & white) tartan "Dance" applique
• Ladies L, Blue, Dance, Red

Long-Sleeve Shrugs: $35 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Small, Black, blue & white sparkly trim
• Small, Black, purple fuzzy trim
• Small, Blue, pink & silver trim (two of these available!!)
  
• Small, White, brown & tan trim

Ghillie Slippers: $30 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Small
• Medium 

Legwarmers: $30 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Regular Length (18"), Black, baby blue stripes, royal blue & silver shamrock embellishment

Messenger Bag: $45 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Lucky Design, Pink & White applique, Denim Base
• Love Knot Design, Pink, White & Gold applique, Olive Twill Base
  
• Rockstar Design, Pink, Turquoise & White applique, Navy Cord Base
  
• Winged Heart, Blue Cunningham applique, Black Cord Base

Open-Top Tote: $40 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Love Knot design, Dress Green Cunningham (white, green & gold) tartan applique, Black Twill Base    
• Love Knot design, Dress Turquoise Scott (white & turquoise) tartan applique, Black Cord Base
  
• Rockstar design, Dress Purple McRae (purple & white), Black Twill Base ***This one is an OOPS -- it has a crooked interior pocket -- so we are selling it for only $30!***
  
• Sword Dance design, Dress Red Cunningham (red & white) tartan applique, Navy Twill Base
• Sword Dance design, Dress Blue Wallace (royal blue & white) tartan applique, Khaki Twill Base
  
• Sword Dance design, Dress Red Lennox (red & white) tartan applique, Embossed Black Cord Base *** This is our discontinued grommet tote design and is ON CLEARANCE for $30 ***

Practice Mat Bag: $35 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Rockstar design, Dress Royal Menzies (royal blue & white) tartan applique, Navy Twill

Deluxe Makeup Bag: $25 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Trinity Heart & Shamrocks design, Pink & white applique, Denim base
• Trinity Heart & Shamrocks design, Turquoise & white applique, Black Cord base
  
• Knotwork design, Dress Purple McRae (purple & white) tartan applique, Khaki Twill base
• Knotwork design, Green, orange & white applique, Black Embossed Cord base

Sword Carry Case: $35 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Love Knot design, Dress Green Cunningham (white, green & gold) tartan applique, Black Twill base
• Sword Dance design, Dress Red Cunningham (red & white) tartan applique, Navy Twill base

Throw Pillow Cover: $17.50 Canadian + shipping & tax where applicable

• Block Font "N" with heart, Pink & black applique, Pink embossed hearts minky base
• Script Font "A", Dress Green McRae of Conchra (green & white) tartan applique, grey velour base
• Rockstar design, Dress Red Cunningham (red & white) tartan applique, black wool base 

In addition to the things listed here, we also have a wide variety of MP3 player felted cozies (like this one), Zippy makeup pouches and hair accessories in stock! Just send us an email at


thegirls@iheartthatdance.com

if you are looking for something in particular!

Wheeee!

All your Christmas shopping problems solved -- come check out the great offerings from the vendors at Diddlyi! Plenty of special deals for Diddlyi members too!

Click on the banner to go to the main catalog page or come check us out here:

http://mag.diddlyi.com/2009/11/gift-ideas-from-i-heart-that-dance/

REMEMBER: Ordering deadlines for Christmas are fast approaching! See our Shipping Deadlines post for more details.

Shipping Deadlines!

Hoping to get it in time for Christmas? Here are our ordering deadlines:

These are based on the holiday shipping information from Canada Post for regular parcel service (expedited within Canada). **EXCEPTION** International surface shipping takes 4-6 weeks, so that deadline has passed for custom orders. The dates shown in the chart are for air shipping -- please contact us for a quote!

Missed the deadline? We've got options!

1) Buy a Gift Certificate from the online store! You get the confirmation and web code in your email right away.

2) We can certainly finish your custom order before Christmas past this deadline, and would be happy to email photos of the finished product to wrap up and put under the tree. We will also ship ASAP in the hopes that it will get there on time!

3) We will ship using overnight and 2-day courier options where available -- please contact us for a quote!

Featured Items For Irish Dancers Part Deux

Good afternoon IHTD shoppers! Here are the last two products destined for the inaugural issue of the Diddlyi Christmas Catalog:

Pajama Pants

Stay comfy and warm with these 100% cotton flannelette pajama pants in a selection of cute colours and embroidered with your choice of text and design! Any five-letter or less word is included in the price so YOU choose anything you like to make your pants one-of-a-kind. Additional letters available at a cost of $1.50 Canadian.

Ready to order? Visit the homepage:
http://www.iheartthatdance.com
Click on Knitwear & Clothing then PJ Pants
$25 Canadian + tax & shipping

Tote Bags

Great for carting around your dance stuff or anything else, these durable and spacious tote bags can be embroidered in your choice of five Celtic designs or your monogram. Match your solo or just pick your favourite colours -- a wide range of fabric choices for the applique means we can make YOUR bag perfect for YOU!

Ready to order? Visit the homepage:
http://www.iheartthatdance.com
Click on Bags then Open-Top Tote Bags
$40 Canadian + tax & shipping

And don't forget -- these are just a few of the great gifts for dancers we have available this holiday season! Check out our online store for dress bags, dress protectors, messenger bags, knitwear, bath & body and dance-proof mineral makeup too!

Featured Items For Irish Dancers

Well, it's that time of year y'all. A chill is in the air, kids are on their best behaviour and everywhere you look it's all sparkle and the colours of the season. Yes, that's right, it's time for... the Oireachtas!


Ha, gotcha :D OK, in all seriousness, I know many of you are wondering what to do this holiday season to treat yourself or your favourite dancer, say thank you to the TC who saw you through another year of competition or to make sure your dancing BFF gets the perfect gift. Well, we're here to help.... and it's not just us!

Coming soon, the fabulous folks over at Diddlyi will be presenting an all-ID Christmas Catalog (you know, like Sears, only probably with more rhinestones :) ) Those of us who are vendors over there will be participating to present some of our gift ideas for you guys, plus there will be some great contests with AMAZING prizes! So if you are not a member of the Diddlyi community don't wait to join in the festivities --sign up here:

http://www.diddlyi.com/

In the meantime, I can at least tell you what we'll be featuring in the catalog! Based on an informal poll of the lovely IDers and ID dance moms over on Twitter, here's the first few items we have decided to go with:

Ghillie Slippers

They really are as comfy as they look :) Totally adorable ghillie style slippers are hand-knitted from 100% wool and felted to your size!

Ready to order? Visit the homepage:

http://www.iheartthatdance.com

Click on Knitwear & Clothing, and then Ghillie Slippers

$30 Canadian + tax & shipping

Legwarmers

A dancer favourite! Knit with very soft yarn to keep your legs toasty warm during warm ups and between dances (plus great for keeping your poodle socks clean at a feis). There's an adjustable elastic tucked into the cuff at the top, so they are sure to stay up! Comes in either plain or striped and decorated with your choice of embellishment if you like: flowers, hearts, stars, or shamrocks.

Ready to order? Visit the homepage:

http://www.iheartthatdance.com

Click on Knitwear & Clothing, and then Legwarmers

$30 Canadian + tax & shipping

Wig Bag

Keep your Irish dance wig frizz free with this satin lined bag. Drawstring handle closure -- opens flat so you don't have to stuff your wig in there and ruin the curl. Applique on the bottom in one of our signature designs or your monogram. The photo on the far right is my wig, cooperatively modelling for the wig bag shoot -- note that the bag isn't fully open here.

Ready to order? Visit the homepage:

http://www.iheartthatdance.com

Click on Bags, and then Wig Bag

$20- $25 Canadian + tax & shipping

Check back soon for our next installment of featured items!

This Is Why There Has Been No Blog Posts Lately

Just follow the pink arrows :)

This is Laura, otherwise known as Lil Sprout, and she's been keeping me on my toes since August 15th :) So not so much time for blogging :P

But we're getting back into the swing of things and so there's LOTS of good stuff to come -- promise!

I Heart My Dance Parent Photo + Story Contest Winners!

The Girls @ IHTD are so happy to announce the results of our I Heart My Dance Parent Story and Photo Contest!

UNDER 17 WINNER: Kelly-Anne C.

No one other than me in my small family of three, my mom, my dad and I, dance, but everyone shares the spirit. Since the age of three, both of my parents have been very supportive of my Irish dancing. My mom got me started into it, and was the one that would bring me to competitions, class, and shows. Things were great.

When I was about ten years old, my mom went through a rough time medically. She had a less than perfect medical history to begin with, but at this time a doctor put her on a high does of medication, which gave her seizures. My mom lost her license, and her freedom. Simple things are now a chore, harder than ever. My mom lost one of her greatest joys, that was being able to attend every class, every competition, and every show. As hard as she tries to attend everything she can, it is very difficult for her. My dad pulled through amazingly well. He brings me to every competition he can possibly get to, to multiple classes a week. Both my parents were very supportive in my transferring of schools this past summer.

I find it amazing everything that they will do anything for my dancing, just because it is something that I love so much. Even through the recession: my dad losing his job, and our family finding it hard to pull things together, they found a way to still send me to dance. My dad has since gotten a job and my family is starting to recover. He is bringing me to more competitions, because he knows that that is something I enjoy.

I am a dancer in the Preliminary Championship level. I'm not used to placing, and when I started to place recently, my dad would be the first one up in the front – taking pictures of me, trying as hard as he can to catch my smiling face. A part of me knows that I owe my improvement in dancing to him. He helps me in more ways than he knows, driving me to practice, or lending me the car to go; paying for whatever I need for dancing; putting up with the repetitive accordion music he listens to day in and day out; building me a practice stage, taking me for runs to build up my stamina... there is so much more, but I can barely name everything that he does for me and my dancing. Without my parents, I wouldn't be where I am now in my dancing career, and I hope they are with me in this right until the end.

UNDER 17 RUNNER-UP: Emily C.

My mom is the reason I make it through any competition alive. She sees to it that my bun is in place, my outfit is neat, and every inch of visible skin is slathered with sunscreen. She helps me focus, talking to me when I need to talk and warding other people off when I need to be quiet. She is always proud and supportive, whether I win it all or don’t even place.

But these aren’t the best things my mom does for me. She supports me even more when it’s not competition time. She drives me four hours away once a month for dance classes, and in between she pushes me to do my best. She never lets me get away with “that’ll do,” but always makes sure I work as hard as I possibly can. She manages to balance challenging and supporting, pushing and loving. I don’t know how she does it.

All of these are wonderful, and they are all reasons why I “heart” my dance mom. But they aren’t the biggest reason. The biggest reason is abstract, intangible: it’s the life lessons she never fails to impart. “It’s your attitude – not your prizes – that matters most.” “Do your best, and I’ll be proud of you.” And most of all, “If the journey isn’t fun, it’s not worth it.”

This is what will still be with me years from now, when my turnout is gone, my elevation has faded, and my point has vanished. And that’s why I love my dance mom.

WINNER OVER 18: Hannah J.

I would like to nominate my Mom, Heather, for the I Heart My Dance Parent contest. My Dad passed away almost three years ago, and my Mom has done everything she can to keep me in the Irish dance scene. Although she hasn't come to a feis with me in many years, she stays by the phone to hear how I've done at each competition. She attends all of my dance dramas each year, and often helps fund part of my competitions since I have to travel to attend feisanna.

With my Dad's death, my Mom has had to take on many extra responsibilities, but she never ceases to remember how much Irish dance means to me. Her support has been invaluable! I come home from class each night to her waiting to hear how I did, and any stories I have to tell. She is truly an inspiration, and this summer she is hoping to make a vacation of my next feis; this is very exciting, and I know it would mean even more if she won this contest and could see just how much I appreciate all she does for our family. I love you, Mom; you rock my poodle socks!

Congratulations to our winners, and a BIG thank-you to all who entered -- as usual you made our choice very very difficult!

Stay tuned to the blog for your next contest and chance to win some great merchandise from I Heart That! Dance -- or sign up for the newsletter and get advance notice delivered right to your inbox (sign-up is in the green box right here on the blog in the right hand column).