The Homemakers Handbook

A monthly offering of new andsometimes "classic" family recipes for busy working women at home!







Brown Derby Steaks

1 lb. ground beef, lean
salt & pepper to taste
1 can brown gravy
2 Tablespoons Ketsup
1 Teaspoon Worchershire Sauce
White Rice

Form ground beef into small 2 1/2 inch patties and season with salt and pepper. Brown patties in skillet over medium heat. When patties are almost cooked through remove from pan and hold on a plate. In the same skillet add brown gravy, ketsup and Worchestershire sauce, mix well. Return patties to the gravy mixture and cook over low heat until cooked through. Serve over white rice. The gravy is great over the rice and this is a quick and easy alternitve to take out.

July Trade Days

The Mercantile is happy to introduce you to this months Featured Site, Country Crafts from the Farm!


Country Crafts From the Farm started back in 1974 on a small farm in Northern Indiana. Steve and Marvene Johnson, and their daughter Amy, raised and showed horses at that time and making crafts was just a hobby. Marvene's hobby decorated their home and the homes of many family and friends. It was with the encouragement of family and friends that they decided to take this hobby into something more. They started going to small shows and bazaars to sell their ever increasing inventory of handmade items. In 1976, Country Crafts from the Farm had an Old World Santa featured in a Country Sampler magazine and sold several around the world. They carry a variety of craft items including, Children's tepees, Personalized Items and Ornaments, Primitive's, Stain Glass, Handmade Gifts and Decorations, Custom Embroidery, and Specialty Award Items, Wooden Deck Chairs and much more! To see the wide variety of items they carry check out their entire site to see for yourself!

Thanks for getting to know Steve, Marvene and Amy, they look forward to working with you. Since they are a family owned and operated business, keep in mind if you have any ideas, they can help make it a reality. Just because they don't have something on their website doesn't mean they can't help make your idea or dream come true. You can find a schedule of their upcoming shows on their website - just click the "On The Road" button.

We hope that you will come see them when they are at a show close to you and don't forget to bookmark their site and come back often.



Hope you enjoyed our Featured Site and see you next month at "Mercantile Trade Days"!

The WAHM Home Companion

Time tested household tips, from various sources, for busy Work Women At Home!


Try these laundry tips using vinegar!


*Prevent lint from clinging to clothes by adding 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to the wash cycle.

*To remove soap residue that makes black clothes look dull use white distilled vinegar in your final rinse.

*Get stained white socks and dingy dishcloths white again. Add 1 cup white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil and drop in the articles. Let soak overnight.

*Remove perspiration odor and stains on clothing, as well as those left by deodorants, by spraying full-strength white distilled vinegar on underarm and collar areas before tossing them into the washing machine.

*Before washing a mustard stain, dab with white distilled vinegar.


Talk to you next week for the Mercantile Trade Days!

News From the Mercantile

Website Advertising

In our last few post on Website Basics, we have been talking about how to start a website and all the things you need to do to get the site noticed by Search Engines. It is not enough that you opened your website and that you have the cutest darn merchandise, you have to get some of those millions surfing the net to stop by and make a purchase.

The first question you ask is how do I get noticed? How do I get those customers to come to my site and see my wonderful items? The answer is to advertise, advertise, advertise! Not very many new sites survive on word of mouth or search engine referrals. You have to get your company name out there and target your potential customers.

The first thing I would suggest is to take a little time to analyze your customers. Are your customers women? Are your items Shabby Chic, Country, Modern, Primitive or have a special interest? Really think about who will be buying these items and where these customers might be shopping already. Now you have some useful information and you are ready to make your marketing plan!

You know what they say "You have to spend money to make money!", so now it is time to start spending some money! There are lots of ideas about how to drive traffic your way, some cost a monthly or yearly fee, but many are FREE. Take a look at the list below to get some ideas on where you could spend your advertising dollar.

*FREE Topsite Listings - A topsite is a list of websites that you join and it keeps track of the number of website hits you are getting. Because you are in a group, and everyone is linked together, you could get customers from new areas and better Search Engine exposure. Many of these sites have specific traits, like Candle Topsites, Etsy Shop Topsites, Primitive Topsites or Marketplaces - like our Shoofly Pie Mercantile Topsites. My suggestion is to only join the ones that you think your customers would enjoy, no one will spend time searching for primivite candles when it is a Shabby Chic Topsite.

*Business Cards - Not everyone thinks of their business cards as advertising, but they are! This is something tangible that you can give people or include in shipping that has your name and all your contact information on it. Make sure your business cards have current phone numbers and web addresses. Use your website graphics on your business cards, this makes your logo recognizable and easy to remember. These small items leave a lasting impression. If you are in need of custom business cards, stop by our sister site, www.PrintMePrim.com for all your professional LASER printing needs.

*Exchange Links - Here is another FREE advertising tool. Remember only exchange links with established websites that have a direct connection to your site. Use good website manners in asking the site owner for a link. You are the person requesting a favor, so make it as easy as possible on the other website owner, have your URL, company name, your full name and banner all in the email asking for the link. My own rule is, if I have to track all this information down for the other website owner, I DON'T link to them. Get your stuff together and have already added them to your site, this makes me think you know what you are doing. Also remember, many site owners don't do site maintenance everyday, it might take a week to get you added, don't bug the site owner.

*Plug Boards - Here is another FREE opportunity. Personally, I hate plug boards. I think those blinking, flashing things are a nuisance and I don't click through them. I think they are a big waste of time, but if you have the time and they are FREE to join.

*Online Marketplaces - In my opinion these are places where money is well spent. But I must say not all marketplaces are the same. In order to really know if your advertising money is being well spent you need some website information. I suggest installing AddFree Stats on your site. This tool lets you analyze your traffic and lets you see where your advertising money is working. Use the same criteria for selecting your Marketplace, do they cater to YOUR kind of customer? Look at who advertises on that site, if you do a lot of research into them, you will see the same established, successful websites on many of them. Don't be fooled by cheap prices, you get what you pay for!

In today's slow economy, many website owners are looking for a way to save money, but you can also look at this as a way to regroup and have your site ready for increased sales. If you are in the market for advertising please stop by our Marketplace, www.ShooflyPieMercantile.com, and see if there is something we can do for you.

Next month we will start a new series on Craft Shows - are they for you?

Thanks for stopping by,