$10 Bonus Gift!

Order $60 or more from any of the Union Eight galleries between now and December 24th and you will receive a $10 gift coupon with your package that makes a great gift for friends, family or for yourself!
Here's the details:

$10 discount applies to orders $10 or more for all Zazzle products, excluding gift certificates. Enter promo code at checkout to receive the $10 discount. Minimum order amount does not include shipping and handling charges or taxes. Promo code may only be used once and may not be reproduced or transferred. Valid through December 31, 2008 at 11:59 PST. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers.

You still have time to receive those special holiday gifts on time for Christmas, but order today! The deadline for ground shipping for T-shirts and apparel is December 15th for Christmas delivery. Here's some of the awesome T-shirt designs you'll find in Union Eight galleries!

I Used to Rock by MotherandFatherGifts

Keep On Truckin' T-Shirt by thekiddiepatch

Your Family Name Customizable Crest Kids Hoodie by TeeShirtsTShirts

Official Mistletoe Inspector by TeeShirtsTShirts

Warning ADDICTED TO CAFFEINE Women's Dark T-Shirt by warningsignshirts

Retro 60's T-Shirt by sagart1952

Jolly Old Santa Kids T-shirt by smallpotatoesdesigns

Pretty Blue Nurse by occupation_tshirts

Male Construction Worker by stick_figures
Shop the Union Eight galleries and earn yourself a $10 gift coupon while finding great gifts and T-shirts for everyone on your holiday gift list!

Holiday Gift Ideas from Union Eight

There's still plenty of time to order gifts for everyone on your holiday gift list. Union Eight has great gifts for everyone from the babysitter you adore to your child's preschool teacher, the lady next door who brings over soup when she knows you're not feeling well, Uncle Bob who loves nothing more than a good laugh, your sister Susan who loves to cook, and the new baby who just arrived on the scene and is celebrating his first Christmas. You can still take advantage of the $1 ground shipping deal by using coupon code ONEDOLLARGRD on orders of $45 or more. This offer is good until December 15th.
Whether shopping by product or by design, you're sure to find something unique. Let's take a look at a few aprons in various Union Eight galleries.

Cute Chef Gift Apron by chef_tshirts

Funny Not My Life T-shirts Gifts by sagart1952

Mom's Bakery Kitchen Apron by CowPieCreek

Maybe you're thinking you'd like to buy a baby's first Christmas T-shirt, or perhaps a holiday design T-shirt for the kids or youself!

Fleece Navidad Funny Christmas T-Shirt by CowPieCreek

Who Needs Santa When I've Got Gramps by TeeShirtsTShirts

Frosty Snowman First Christmas Tshirt by christmasshop

Nothing beats a nice hot cup of cocoa as you sit together on a cold winter night in December, the twinkling lights of the tree, the soft sound of holiday carols. These holiday design mugs are perfect for that special time!

Discover the Magic by christmasshop

Santa Rocks Red and Green Christmas by TeeShirtsTShirts

Merry Christmouse Mug by christmasmuggifts

For the babies and toddlers on your holiday gift list, check out some of these cute T-shirts!

Honey Bee by teewitbaby

got candy (2) by teewitbaby

Noahs Ark T-Shirt by kids_tshirts

Warning ONLY CHILD Women's Dark T-Shirt by warningsignshirts

Warning LITTLE SISTER Women's Dark T-Shirt by warningsignshirts

Embroidered Gifts

Real embroidery has arrived at the various Union Eight member galleries! We have been busy adding some of the beautiful new products such as zip hoodies, sherpa lined hoodies, jogger jackets, track jackets, chino twill caps, wool caps, and adjustable caps as well as some cool new tote bags! Not only is there new products on the scene that make great gifts for the holidays, but they are embroidered with real thread! If that's not exciting enough, we've added many products that you can easily customize yourself with a single name, bride and groom's names, your college or university name!
Check out some of the new customizable designs from various members of Union Eight! The Crest Initial hoodie can be customized with an initial as well as a name! Change the thread color, change the product as well if you desire.

Crest Initial A with last Name Anderson Customize by TeeShirtsTShirts

Real embroidered shirts sure to be a hit with your maid of honor, bridesmaids, and other members of the wedding party!

Maid Of Honor Embroidered Shirt by weddingpartygifts

Want to get that special godfather or stepmom a great gift but never know what to get? Show them they are special with these awesome embroidered shirts from Teewit

World's Greatest Godfather by MotherandFatherGifts

Here's a great gift for Dad this holiday season, but why wait? It's a great hat any time to let Dad know he's the best!

World's Best Dad Embroidered Baseball Cap/Hat by CowPieCreek

We all know how difficult it can be sometime trying to find the perfect gift for a teacher. Customize an embroidered hat from Cute Teacher T-shirts And Gifts easily on the spot before ordering for a great, personalized teacher gift!

Personalized 3rd Grade Teacher Cap by teachertshirts

Monogram initial jackets with custom embroidery are sure to be a hit with anyone on your gift list, and this sharp looking jacket that you can easily customize before ordering is sure to be a "wow" gift!

Custom Monogrammed Jacket by CustomEmbroidered

The future bride can proclaim her love for the lucky man who has her heart by sporting this great looking hoodie that reads "Future Bride" on front and can be personalized with the couple's names on the back! Makes a great bridal shower gift!

Add Your Names Future Bride Embroidered Hoodie by weddingsareus

November Is Alzheimer's Awareness Month

In November, America remembers those who can't. A few facts about Alzheimer's Disease:
*As many as 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzhheimer's Disease
*AD is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German doctor who noticed changes in brain tissue.
*Genetics play a factor in some forms of Alzheimer's disease
*Alzheimer's dementia is not a normal part of aging
*nearly half of those age 85 and older may have the disease
(see National Institute On Aging Fact Sheet)


Please consider signing a petition to our next president to make Alzheimer's Disease a priority in their administration!
ALZHEIMER'S PETITION - from the Alzheimer's Organization.




Alzheimer's Steals Memories Womens T-shirt by memoryshoppe of Union Eight

10 WARNING SIGNS OF ALZHEIMER'S - from Alzheimer's Assoc. Website

1. Memory loss. Forgetting recently learned information is one of the most common early signs of dementia. A person begins to forget more often and is unable to recall the information later.

What's normal? Forgetting names or appointments occasionally.

2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks. People with dementia often find it hard to plan or complete everyday tasks. Individuals may lose track of the steps involved in preparing a meal, placing a telephone call or playing a game.

What's normal? Occasionally forgetting why you came into a room or what you planned to say.

3. Problems with language. People with Alzheimer’s disease often forget simple words or substitute unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand. They may be unable to find the toothbrush, for example, and instead ask for "that thing for my mouth.”

What's normal? Sometimes having trouble finding the right word.

4. Disorientation to time and place. People with Alzheimer’s disease can become lost in their own neighborhood, forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.

What's normal? Forgetting the day of the week or where you were going.



Purple Ribbon Alzheimer's Keychain by memoryshoppe of Union Eight

Should I be concerned?
If you’ve noticed memory changes that are worrying you, call us
anytime at 1.866.ALZ.4199.

5. Poor or decreased judgment. Those with Alzheimer’s may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers on a warm day or little clothing in the cold. They may show poor judgment, like giving away large sums of money to telemarketers.

What's normal? Making a questionable or debatable decision from time to time.

6. Problems with abstract thinking. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may have unusual difficulty performing complex mental tasks, like forgetting what numbers are for and how they should be used.

What's normal? Finding it challenging to balance a checkbook.

7. Misplacing things. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may put things in unusual places: an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.

What's normal? Misplacing keys or a wallet temporarily.

8. Changes in mood or behavior. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease may show rapid mood swings – from calm to tears to anger – for no apparent reason.

What's normal? Occasionally feeling sad or moody.

9. Changes in personality. The personalities of people with dementia can change dramatically. They may become extremely confused, suspicious, fearful or dependent on a family member.

What's normal? People’s personalities do change somewhat with age.

10. Loss of initiative. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may become very passive, sitting in front of the TV for hours, sleeping more than usual or not wanting to do usual activities.
What's normal? Sometimes feeling weary of work or social obligations.



Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Stamps by memoryshoppe




Help Fight Alzheimer's Kids T-shirt by memoryshoppe

It's All Because of Peacocks

It's 3:30 am, I should be asleep. I'm tired, I worked all day and I'm still working. I'm blaming it on the peacocks. Yes, you heard me correct (or is it correctly? I'm honestly too tired to go to webster.com and find out). It's all the fault of the peacocks.
It all started innocently enough. "Let's start an ecard site" he said. Who is he? He is an online friend who out of the blue one day said "Let's start an ecard site". I laughed. I mean, neither of us knew a thing about ecards other than they are fun to send now and then. We both dabbled a bit in Paint Shop Pro but, really, did that qualify us as being owners of an ecard site?
Yet as days went by his enthusiasm was contagious and before I knew it, it sounded like a good idea, and so it began that for the next year I made ecards and more ecards. I haphazardly (wrong spelling?) learned Flash5 and animation, and looking back now I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Some of the ecards I came up with prove that point, yet there are others to this day I am quite proud of. Ok, now the ecards were made, how do we get them to be available to a site visitor? Again, we had no idea where to look or who to ask, but we figured it out. And I began to realize something I never understood before in my life. You see, I had been a stay at home mom, a high school graduate with no college education, and this was a very new venture for me. I was starting to realize that dreams are possible! If you want it bad enough, and you run into obstacles, like ...having no idea how to get these cards from my computer to on a site where a customer could send them...you do one of two things. You either quit, or you figure it out. That was one of the biggest lessons in life I ever learned. Well, not quite as simple as that perhaps, but yes, the message to me, the learning experience was, that you can do anything if you just keep plugging away at it. I spent about ten hours one time trying to figure out how a "library" works in a Poser4 program. I asked a zillion goofy questions on a Poser forum and finally, finally after ten hours someone gave me the answer I needed. You ask questions, you read, you google for answers, you spend time on forums bugging people smarter than yourself, you team up with people who have similar interests and similar work ethics and you push ahead until you get to that dream. Of you can quit of course.
But that brings me back to the fact that it is now a quarter to four in the morning, and I'm still working! I am telling you, it's the fault of those blasted peacocks. Oh dont' get me wrong, I love peacocks, I have several really cool ones, not living breathing ones of course, but nevertheless peacocks. It all started out with wondering what to name this free ecard site we started. I'm not even sure who came up with the name. I think it wasn't me, and I think it was actually even based on a joke, but hey, peacocks are cool, peacocks are pretty, beautiful even, and our ecards were going to be G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S! And so, Peacock Cards it was, and still is. Might not be the best name, relevant even to designing and selling T-shirts, but I do think it's memorable.
Check out my Peacock Cards Store if you have a chance. Peacock Cards is a proud member of Union Eight! Maybe one day I'll even have peacock designs in my galleries! Until then, here's a couple designs I did a while back, drawn with my mouse.

Black and White Cow
by toddlersplace

Little Angel
by girl_stuff

Traditional Santa

Sarcasm at Its Immature Best

So what's a twenty-something year old supposed to do when she gets pregnant and has a litte one?

Step One: Begin an immediate search for snarky baby clothing, of course.
Step Two: Discover that the appropriate snide baby slogan bibs and onesies do not exist.
Step Three: Fall into a deep depression.
Step Four: Snap out of it ten minutes later and realize that maybe it's possible to create some oneself.
Step Five: Take a nap.

Thus began the dark and complex journey into Teewit.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't dark.

No, wait- it was. Literally. Mostly because I had to wait until that little stinker/darling went to bed every night to work. When you have a newborn, you don't get a lot of sleep anyway, so I decided to forgo all rest completely in favor of designing. And hey, it's paid off, right? So what if I've got eyes puffier than the Michelin Man. And deep shadows are great since black's slimming anyway. Fab way to hide the baby fat, no?

I've taken the time to incorporate every single one of my immature thoughts along with ideas from other friends (ok, toddlers) into one big sarcastic enterprise full of funny baby clothing, maternity t-shirts, and gifts for the whole family. My now three year old approves. This one's her favorite:



Definition of Share
by

teewitbaby


*sniff*
I get all teary-eyed thinking about the lovely toy throwing, biting episode between cousins that inspired that one. We are family.

Welcome to Teewit. 'Cause you're family too.

Like it or not...

Just A Thinkin!

The other day I was thinking about Union Eight and was pondering the question of what people might believe Union Eight to be. So just out of curiosity (and because I was trying to put off my routines chores), I decided to look up the word Union ... just to see what it produced.

This is what my exploration produced:

Union – The act of uniting or the state of being united. Yep, I guess it applies to Union Eight as we are united in some ways and some activities.

Union – The state of matrimony; marriage. Lordy no, that tain't us folks! Most of us are already hitched up with someone and not interested in becoming polygamists. Too much laundry and dirty dishes involved for me to even think about it.

Union - A labor union that admits all workers in a given industry irrespective of their craft. Nah, that tain't us either! Even though most of us labor night and day, we don't admit all workers in our industry into Union Eight ... and are not card carrying Union folks. With that said, there are times I do feel like striking!

Union - The act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes; "the casual couplings of adolescents"; "the mating of some species occurs only in the spring". Now that's just down-right tickles me innards! Somebody get me a bible because I swear that is not what Union Eight folks are up too. But it did clear one thing up for me. Do y'all get a bit friskier in the spring? Fess up!

Union - An association of individuals or groups for a common purpose. Yep, that pretty much describes us in my mind. Each of us have separate identities and contributions that we combine for a common purpose in Union Eight. Bingo, we nailed it!

Well folks, we've uncovered the true meaning of the word Union of our Union Eight group. Mystery solved ... just call me Shereluck Homes. Now, we could go and explore the word Eight, but my head hurts from thinkin' so much and I only learned to count to five anyway. Therefore, we'll let all of you figure out what the Eight means in Union Eight for yourselves.

Before you set off on your own thinkin' exploration, just take a gander at the great gear Union Eight offers!

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Union Eight goes Political...

One of the best things about being part of a group of very talented designers is that we all bring something different to each category. So since the Presidential race is heating up pretty good I thought I'd add what each of us brings to Politics.

This great Obama 2008 with stars is perfect for any age supporter of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Red, White, Blue Obama 08 Stars Shirt  by  obama_08

If you support John McCain and Sarah Palin then this is the perfect design for females of all ages. Girls, Women, Children anyone.

John McCain Sarah Palin  by  gettingoutthevote

If you want people to vote and are volunteering to get people registered, then wearing this great sticker would be perfect.

Ask me how to Register to Vote  by  TeeShirtsTShirts

Maybe you just can't believe what our choices are this time around. Then maybe this design says it all.

Seriously (White)  by  TeewitMaternity

If you want people to know what state you are from and what party you are voting for then this shop has all of them.

Democrat Party T-shirts  by  tshirt_politics

Maybe you want to show that you support Sarah Palin in a very subtle way. This would do it.

Chicks Rule Stick Figure  by  stickpeople

Or maybe you need a great hat.

McCain Palin Stars  by  McCainPalinTShirts

But whatever you want or need, Union Eight has it.

How To Create A Union - Union Eight, That Is

You've already read about what Union Eight isn't, what Union Eight is, and a little about some of our members. Today it's my turn at the keyboard.
Let's get right to it and talk about how to create a union. Why? Because I am so busting my britches proud of Union Eight and everyone in it that I can't wait to let you know how I feel to be part of it. So here we go!
HOW TO FORM A UNION
According to Webster's Dictionary, a union is several things.

1. "an act or instance of uniting or joining two or more things into one"

Take a lot of great products, eight of the hardest working designers I've ever met, an elephant's load of the coolest designs around, add the ease of internet shopping, and you have just formed Union Eight.

2. "a confederation of independent individuals for some common purpose"

At Union Eight we have taken the creative talents of eight successful designers, joined all their work under one brand, and set out to offer the online shopper an Uber experience in gift and apparel shopping.

3. "an organization on a college or university campus providing recreational, social, cultural, and sometimes dining facilities"

Wait a minute... what does this definition have to do with the forming of Union Eight? Well, it just so happens that it fits the members of Union Eight to a tee. In between working to fill our sites with hot new products for you, we share jokes, support each other during personal trials like family illnesses, discuss current cultural and social issues and how we can bring them to our customers on the products we design, and yes, we've even been known to share a recipe or dinner menu with each other. How about some pork butt BBQ or banana pudding, a hot from the oven Pillsbury sugar cookie or a recipe for some yummy buttercream icing?

Back to the dictionary one last time...

4. One example given by Webster's of the word union included the following use:
"a gracious union of excellence and strength"

For me, that sums up Union Eight in seven perfect words and that's why I'm so proud to be a member. We promise to provide excellence to our customers in all we do and stand committed in the strength of each other's hard work and support.

Thanks for stopping by... I hope you'll visit us again.

(teaser) Oh - and next time, I'll tell you a little about myself.

One of Eight, Make that Union Eight!

Hello from Michigan!

Do you remember the show The Waltons? It was one of my favorite shows. I think anyone who has seen it a few times remembers, if nothing else, the way they would say goodnight to each other. One would start, and another would join in saying goodnight and adding a goodnight to another family member until everyone had said goodnight.
Union Eight has reminded me of that show a lot in the past weeks. Our group of eight spends so much time together online discussing things like new programs, design tips, meta files, color codes, promotional and marketing plans, and the like that they are the first people I talk to when I wake up and the last I say goodnight to. We have become friends, close friends. I think in part that is why what we offer is so unique. We work together for the benefit of the group, for the benefit of creating the best possible designs and the best variety of designs to the public, to the people just like us, people with kids and grandkids, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and pets. We are from all walks of life, all different areas of the country, have different job skills and people skills, and if you put them all together you get this amazing mish mash of talent, creativity, and sincere dedication in giving our very best.
Coming up with the name Union Eight wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. We threw a lot of names out there, some that I look back on now and think wow, thank goodness we didn’t use that! Of course, when the name “Union Eight” was first presented to the group by one member, I admit I wasn’t all that fond of the name. It reminded me of trains, and copper mining as it was big in my area of the country when I was growing up and “union” reminded me of copper miners and trains. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just …what does it have to do with T-shirts? But, everyone else liked it and so I was okay with it as I didn’t exactly oppose the idea of it either. Then someone mentioned Old Navy and how it really doesn’t have anything to do with the military and I thought “well, that is true!”. I didn’t love the name until I saw the amazing Union Eight logo that one of our members created. She did such a fabulous job with it! For me, that logo made it all come together! And together we are, eight of us, online friends, entrepreneurs, business women and men (man!) with a strong work ethic, a lot of creativity, and a need to design. Designs that appeal to you, to your mother, to your children. Designs that say what you feel, designs that make you laugh, make you think, celebrate something special happening in your life. Nothing you need, but everything you want. Union Eight.

Go check it out!


Union Eight Signature Logo
by

UnionEight

Union Eight On The Move

SagArt here, and another proud member of Union Eight.

So y’all are probably wondering how this Union Eight thingy got started, right? (This is where y’all shake your head in the affirmative whether ya' want to or not.) A couple of years ago (things move slow in the south), I was sittin’ in my rockin’ chair on the front porch, sipping sweet tea and shootin’ flies with my B-B-gun ... and I got ta' thinkin' bout how ta' peddle my wares on the internet better.

Everbody kept sayin' that ta' be successful, ya' need to strut your stuff around the net like a proud rooster, write press releases, post to blogs, write articles, design products and so on and so forth. Well I'm here ta' tell ya' that there tain't a warm body out there that kin do all dat stuff and keep the mash flowing in the still. It jest tain't possible.

I rocked away sippin' my sweet tea en' suddenly the ole' noogin' started ta' perk grey water. Lordy be, I wuz as surprised as anybody when the solution ta' my problem jest popped right into my noogin' faster than greased lightin'! Eye knew instantly dat my idea was purdier than a speckled pup under a porch swing and kud wurk right nice, once it was put into place. Soon as I could find a clean grocery sack, I sharpened my pencil with my pig sticker and put together my grand plan to take over the world ... one t-shirt at a time.

It was a purdy plan en' I got so excited when some fellers from Zazzle flew all the way from Calliefornie ta' Hot-lanta jest ta' talk wif me bout it. I talked dem city slickers ears off and then got down and whispered in their earholes bout my grand plan. When I wuz done wif them fellers dey looked a bit dazed, but I reckon city slickers need a bit more time to get their own noogins to start perking. Least ways, dat's what I've been told.

Ta' make a long story short, eight mighty fine shopkeepers got together en' launched Union Eight wif Zazzle.com supportin' us all the way. Dat right thar, is how Union Eight wuz born and she sure is a purdy thing too. Eye cud git into all the particulars bout how et works, but den I'd hafta shoot ya'. Jest kiddin'. Y'all kin stay tuned to this station fer more on Union Eight as we cut a new path into the future for shopkeepers.

And, if you want the best ... forget all the rest! Shop Union Eight! (Sorry, I had ta' say dat cuz it's true!)

One-Eighth Of Union Eight

Hi readers!


I'm one-eighth of the Union Eight team, and although we don't want to bore you to death, we thought you might like to know a little about each one of us. I drew the short straw, so I'm first...lol.


My working past is a little varied. I worked mostly in the graphics art field, but took a few years off to join the show business community, and traveled the country as one-half of a two-girl singing/comedy team, playing almost all of the 50 states. In 1971, toured the Far East, entertaining the troops during the Viet Nam war, an experience I'll
never forget. That was probably one of the most fulfilling times of my life...being allowed to bring a "little bit of home" to our troops. Most of the guys were just kids, far away from home, scared, and very homesick.
They were so appreciative and ecstatic to see someone from home so they could forget, just for an hour, that they were involved in a life and death battle, and might not make it home again. I'm vey honored that
I was allowed to be there with them, if only for a short time.


Once I got back to the States, I went back into the graphic arts field, mainly because I was tired of traveling, and wanted to stay in one place for a while. I worked at a parade float company, designing and building floats for the Kentucky Derby parade, worked for a convention and trade show company, designing and building floor displays
for trade shows, and eventually became a sign painter. Three years ago, I discovered,
quite by accident, an on-line print-on-demand t-shirt company that allowed me to work out of my home and still stay in the graphic arts field. I jumped at the chance, and started designing my own t-shirts and other
gift items, and fell in love with the industry. I found that designing for t-shirts wasn't that different than sign painting or any of the other jobs I'd had in the past, so it was right up my alley.


A couple of months ago, I was invited to join the Union Eight team by several of my friends, and although I could say the rest is history, Union Eight is just beginning its adventure into the retail marketing field.
I'm so happy and honored to be included in this exciting new adventure we're all embarking upon, and the best part is...we're all friends. The other seven members of Union Eight are very talented designers, all of whom you'll meet
in the days to come, so stay tuned.


Here's one of my gardening designs I happen to like a lot.

Gardeners Get Down And Dirty
by

wolffie

Design Custom T Shirts On Zazzle
View other Hobbies T-Shirts