Tom and Misha the dolphins

Well done to the Born Free Foundation for securing the release of two dolphins Tom and Misha held in a dirty swimming pool in Turkey.

It's sad to think this is just one of many stories where wild animals are being held in captivity in appauling conditions.

The dolphins are currently in a holding tank off the coast while under going medical assessment and then will be transferred to a rehabilitation facility until they can be released back into the wild.

The Born Free Foundation is looking for donations to cover the £150,000 expense of rehabilitating these two dolphins. Donations can be made through their website http://www.bornfree.org.uk/

Introducing ARTvelopes

Tree-Free Greetings introduced designed to match envelopes for their greeting cards in 1999 and customers went wild.

Now over the next ten years, they have decided to add unique one-of-a-kind work of art envelopes specifically designed for the card it envelopes.

As with all cards and envelopes of the past ARTvelopes are earth-friendly full coloured envelopes using soy based ink.

We're hoping these beautiful greeting cards will inspire more people to send random acts of thoughtfulness to friends and family.

Shop Safely Online

My usual blogs are about our products however; having done a lot of online shopping myself recently I decided to do a blog about shopping online.

With the recession and job layoffs we see a lot of new shopping sites popping up all over the internet. We have a lot of customers phoning in orders as they're afraid of making a purchase online. I also had a few bad experiences myself recently (a seasoned online shopper).

So for the "silver haired surfers" and the "internet newbies" what should you look out for?

• Don't be tricked by the fancy site and stunning display of flash images. (Yes our site has it) be wary of sites that don't include telephone numbers or more than one way to contact the web owner.
• Avoid websites that state "we are not responsible if", there are a few exceptions including delays due to postal strikes, and holidays.
• Sellers that state they aren't responsible if your order goes missing; and that they will give you the proof of postage receipt so you can follow up the loss yourself, should be tarred and feathered. Wrong answer. Sellers are responsible to make sure the order gets to you the customer.
• Be wary of websites that give you an option of standard postage or recorded delivery. Chances are if the order goes missing they'll be one of those sellers that makes you track your own lost parcel.
• Recorded delivery is for the benefit of the seller, not the buyer. Recorded delivery doesn't track the order, it just shows when the order has been signed for. If you've signed for the order you know you've received it. Recorded delivery helps prevent fraud and charge back for sellers.
• It's perfectly acceptable however; for a website to give you the option of trackable service or standard. As you are then able to follow every step of the delivery process.
• Look for sites that have a full set of terms and conditions that cover returns, exchanges, delivery times, procedures for lost orders etc.
• Don't assume anything based on the photo of a product. Colours look different on various monitors. So be sure to ask questions prior to ordering to avoid disappointment.
• By law customers making purchases online are allowed a cooling off period. This generally varies between 7 to 14 working days (sometimes more). This should be stated on the site. If the site doesn't include this, ask and if you aren't given the appropriate response AVOID.
• Websites should include a list of payment methods. If you're making a purchase by credit card or debit card make sure the page asking for your financial data has a lock symbol somewhere on the page which indicates the page is secure.
• Google the site. This gives you an opportunity to see if there are any negative press on the site or unhappy customers venting their anger about the site's performance on other forums.
• Websites should clearly mark information about dispatch and delivery times. The last thing you want to do is guess when you're order will arrive. Good websites will keep you updated throughout the transaction. Be sure though to check your spam folders as sometimes these updates may end up there.
• Once you've made a purchase and received your order write a review. If the site has a review section make sure you write one. You're helping future customers make decisions on the safety and efficienty of that site.

Glow In The Dark T-shirts by Skulbone

Skulbone t-shirts are a sub-division of the popular t-shirt company The Mountain. The same company that manufacturers the internet phenomenon Three Wolf Moon T-shirt .

One of our most popular skulbone t-shirt is "Zombie And Ghosts" a glow in the dark t-shirt featuring the artwork of Vincent Hie. This design is two in one really. By day the t-shirt displays a haunted house with gravestones and zombies. By night the walking dead disappear and are replaced by glowing ghosts.

What sets this design apart from other glow in the dark t-shirts is the fact that it's not your typical ironed on design that flakes off after a few washes. As with all The Mountain and Skulbone T-shirts their unique dying process strips out the colour from the t-shirt and then re-dyes the colours back into the shirt. Which gives the end product a design that will not only last for 100's of washes, but also feels soft to the touch.

"Zombie and Ghosts" isn't the only popular glow in the dark design. We also carry "Feast" and "Pale Horse" .

Three Wolf Moon T-shirt

Three wolf moon t-shirt has become an internet success. Now if you google this t-shirt manfactured by The Mountain you'll find hundreds of pages, blogs, news articles about this viral phenomenon.

Tam's Treasures has been successfully selling Three Wolf Moon for a while now, and it came as a sudden surprise when our own sales sky rocketed on this particular design. After the second or third order in a row we assumed it was a coincidence, but when we had ten in a row we knew there was something special going on.

Reviews and spoof videos have branded this design somewhat of a tacky, white trash kind of design. However; art and wolf enthusiasts can appreciate Antonia Neshev the artist's detail in this beautiful image.

There's no getting around the fact this t-shirt is high quality. It's not your average t-shirt where the image is ironed on or heat pressed on. The dying press is unique and it allows the image to last for many years to come.

In addition the manufacturer's environmental ethos is something that adds to the appeal of this remarkable t-shirt.

We carry all The Mountain T-shirts ranging from wolves to fairy and fantasy. With designs and sizes to fit most of the family they are ideal for gifts and collecting.

Tam's Treasures offers 10% loyalty discounts, free delivery over UK orders of £100. We also offer a free t-shirt if you're a previous customer of ours, who is willing to send a picture we can display on our site of you wearing a Mountain t-shirt.

Whether you're looking to purchase the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt or any other t-shirt visit www.TamsTreasuresOnline.co.uk

New Website

In the past 24 hours we've had a new website design uploaded at www.TamsTreasuresOnline.co.uk . Hope you all like it! We sure do. There's some new features like the new drop down side menu. We're hoping customers will find it easier to find categories and products.

There's still more to be done - the home page will show featured products, new items added and special deals. We also have to go through each product page and tweak some of the text fonts as they've all seemed to have gone a bit wonky. So patience please there's a lot of pages to change!