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Website offers free shipping for a day on Thursday, Dec. 18

by Kimberly L. Jackson

Tuesday December 16, 2008, 11:22 AM

If you've still got holiday gifts to buy, is the mall really where you want to be?

You have an option this Thursday with "Free Shipping Day," a 24-hour online event for those near-last-minute shoppers who opt to enter a virtual shopping center through the doors of freeshippingday.com. The site will offer access to more than 50 retailers including Bloomingdale's, Brookstone, Circuit City, Crate & Barrel, Macy's, Nordstrom, Sur La Table and Target. And all promise free-shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve to their web customers.

Free Shipping Day is a holiday-related offshoot of freeshipping.org, a web clearinghouse of coupons and codes for shipping deals offered by the websites of dozens of major retailers.

And for those who get a rush from the crowds and challenges of last-minute shopping, the last weekend to get to the stores before Christmas is coming up.

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Kovels: Whalebone chairs draw big interest

by Terry Kovel

Friday December 12, 2008, 10:21 AM

This whalebone chair, probably American, had mortise-and-tenon joints and whalebone pins. The style is similar to chairs made from 1810 to 1830. It sold in November at Bonham's in Australia for $56,742.

Rare, unusual, well made, historic -- all of those things add to the monetary value of an antique. They also add to the "enjoyment factor" for an owner who wants to understand history and beauty.

Two very unusual and important 19th-century whalebone chairs were sold in November at a Bonham's auction in Sydney, Australia. Few of us realize the importance of whaling in America and elsewhere in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Whales were plentiful. The Dutch, English, Spanish and Americans all had fleets of ships sent to bring back whale products.

The whale was harpooned from a small boat, dragged back to the large ship, then skinned and butchered. The blubber was boiled to make whale oil, the preferred fuel of the day. It was used for lighting. The best whale oil came from sperm whales. The waxy oil in their heads was used to make candles that were smokeless and odorless. It was also a prime lubricant for machinery. Nothing else was as good until the 1860s, when oil was discovered in the ground.

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More holiday fun with photos

by Abode staff

Friday December 12, 2008, 10:14 AM

Ace Hardware recently launched "Ace Your Face," an online tool that allows individuals to upload photos of themselves and their loved ones in order to create customized holiday scenes.

The eight over-the-top settings feature kitschy group shots with matching snowman sweaters, winter sports adventures and Santa visits. "Ace Your Face" is a fun distraction that can easily be shared via e-mail, social media sites and blog links. Check it out at aceyourface.acehardware.com.

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Sew up a dress that's made for dancing

by Eunice Farmer

Friday December 12, 2008, 9:50 AM

Vogue pattern 8447

Dear Eunice:
My husband and I recently joined a dance club where the women all want to wear formal-type gowns. I would love to make one, but I need your advice on a pattern. It can be long or short.
-- Sallie C.

Dear Sallie:
I have chosen Vogue 8447, which is available in long or short. It is sized from 6 to 18, has a bare back and empire lines in front. It is very flattering and slenderizing. Be sure to choose a soft, flowy fabric because of the full skirt. This is a perfect year-round gown.

Dear Eunice:
I am working on a jacket pattern that features raglan sleeves that end in a dart at the shoulder. No matter how I stitch the dart, it always ends in a pucker. What am I doing wrong?
-- Leslie T.

Dear Leslie:
Often the dart is not tapered enough to look smooth. If your shoulders are rounded, be sure to round the dart. Everyone is slightly different; you must fit the individual.

You may contact Eunice Farmer at Box 31729, St. Louis, Mo. 63131.

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Holiday postage stamps help spread the cheer

by Joseph Bakes/The Star-Ledger

Friday December 05, 2008, 12:12 PM

The 2008 Christmas stamp features an adaptation of Botticelli's "Virgin and Child with the Young John the Baptist."

It's time to get those holiday cards in the mail, and the U.S. Postal Services again has given us some options.

For those celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday, there is a beautiful Madonna and Child stamp for the 42-cent first-class rate. The Madonna and Child stamp has been a tradition for 30 years.

This year's Christmas stamp is inspired by a circa-1490 painting by Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, "Virgin and Child with the Young John the Baptist." The painting is in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

For a more secular take on the holiday, the Postal Service offers four Holiday Nutcracker stamps, featuring Santa, a king, a military captain and a drummer. Festive nutcrackers have been around for hundreds of years and are a traditional element of holiday decorations.

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