Sum sum summertime. Fun-filled vacations, grilling and BBQs, and of course, that warm weather that embraces shorts, summer dresses, and the ultimate freedom for your feet…flip flops.

CafePress now offers custom flip-flops for men, women and kids! Don your favorite footwear or design your own custom flip flops. Not only can you give your feet some breathing room from the constriction of tight shoes, but you can also choose or create your favorite design that will give your feet an extra pop of color and pizzazz. Dreaming of a Hawaiian sunset? Channel your inner beach bum with some tropical flip flops. Monet on the mind? Find some cool art flip flops to slip into.

And now for the best part – for TODAY ONLY, we’re offering 20% OFF* our entire collection of our flip-flops: but hurry, because this flash sale only lasts until midnight PST tonight! Use coupon code FLIPTOIT at checkout to walk off with some sweet savings.

So get your foot fetish on…and I’ll dream along with you about that beach in Hawaii. Mmmm, mai tais…

* Save 20% off flip flips from CafePress.com, excluding shipping charges, gift wrap charges and  applicable sales tax.  Excludes bulk orders. Coupon code FLIPTOIT must be entered at check out.  Promotion starts on August 23, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. (PST) and ends on August 23, 2011, at 11:59 p.m. (PST).   All orders must be from the CafePress Marketplace. Offer valid online at CafePress.com only, cannot be combined with any other coupons or promotions and may change, be modified or cancelled at anytime without notice. This promotion cannot be applied to past orders.

Surf’s up, critters. Animals are riding high on our Cultural Barometer wave of popular products this week.

We know how much dogs love food, but they rarely talk about it. But one poor dog speaks his mind as his owner taunts him with delicious food in the ultimate talking dog video. And almost overnight, a canine star was born – and now he could even wear one of his own talking dog t-shirts…or if he feels like sharing, get one for his owner. As long as he shares the maple bacon.

Normally penguins are cute and cuddly, but don’t piss them off…like the bad penguin, which topped our seller charts this week. He’s got a gripe about something – don’t let it be you. And he’s not the only evil penguin on CafePress – he has company in the form of a penguin demotivational poster.

Assuming Darwin was correct about survival of the fittest – this trending T-Rex t-shirt may explain why the deadly dino is now extinct. After all, if you can’t pass the pushups portion of your physical fitness test, you may be out of luck.

With the maddening billionaire NFL team owners reaching an 11th-hour (4^th and long?) agreement with the infuriating Prima Dona multi-millionaire players, it looks like the professional football season is set to kick-off as scheduled. Now that the ink is dry on the lock-out (or lack thereof), designers and buyers are sprinting towards the goal of a grid-iron celebration.

It looks like the American public is in a forgive & forget mood, as we’re seeing a huge up-swing in football-themed merchandise in the CafePress marketplace. Chances are fantasy football gear will be hot on its tail.

Not to be overshadowed by such a fall-and-winter-centric activity as football, the summer season is still sizzling just like your grill. With the mercury soaring across the nation, sun worshippers are temporarily chilling in their air-conditioned homes and offices, making, sharing and buying Summer-themed products. You’ll see them on the streets again soon, sporting fun white t-shirts celebrating El Sol.

If you have children – or have children on your shopping list, hint, hint –

then make a bee-line for My KIdentity. It’s a fun CafePress shop specializing in kid-themed designs (although there are also plenty of products, according to shopkeeper Alisha Joseph, for adults who never quite grew up).

Alisha gets much of the inspiration for her designs right from the source – yes, her children. As a mother of two adorable kids, oftentimes she simply watches what they do, and how they act, to come up with fresh ideas. “Right out of my kids’ mouths,” Alisha explains. They’re often her muse for topics from camping and kid humor to siblings and school.

Truth be told, though, it’s not easy being creative around the children, she’s quick to point out. You try drawing on a tablet, working on the laptop or create “kid-looking” text on the couch, while children climb on you.

Ah, the sacrifices we make as artists… But the rewards are many. Perhaps just as important as the money Alisha earns from selling designs in her shop, she also enjoys the praise. Her proudest moment? “The very first time a stranger noticed one of my kids’ shirts and shared a compliment with me,” she explains. “They hadn’t known it was my design.”

Well, consider this another compliment. You’re doing a great job and bringing a lot of joy (and smiles) to parents, grandparents and everyone who loves the joy of childhood.

People are weird. Period.

Of all the quirks that make you who you are, you bring them with you everywhere you go, including the Apple Store. Sometimes that means a grumpy pout. Sometimes that means your pet goat.

And the Apple Store is OK with this – just ask comedian Mark Malkoff, who put this idea to the test in a recent video to assess the boundaries of absurdity our favorite fruitful store would put up with. Malkoff visited various Apple stores in the NYC area and held a few interesting “experiments” with the stores and their employees – including getting a pizza delivered, dressing up as Darth Vader in need of assistance with a broken iPhone, and bringing in a pet goat.

We LOVE this video for many reasons. And, we also figured that since goats and the Apple store are cool with each other…why not adorn your beloved iPhone with a humorous goat iPhone case or other delightful goat gifts? Just don’t let them near the hardware…you know how they love to snack.

It must have been a long, c-c-c-cold winter. We’re seeing a lot of new designs and increased interest around big sisters and big brothers. The population explosion is, at least here at CafePress, back in fashion.

Speaking of kids…with students getting ready for back-to-school, there’s a spike in dorm-room worthy products. Whether it be funny demotivational posters to laugh at on the walls of your room, or a clock that tells time your way, these products tell its time to get your learn on. Teachers are also getting ready for their classes, as education themed products are scorching (but maybe not as much as the summer heat).

The heat is on this summer, as I’m sure many of you in the Midwest and on the East Coast are experiencing to a tee right now. Personally, if I were experiencing that heat right now, I’d be hogging the air conditioning between bouts of sticking my face in the freezer.  I was never that good at sharing…and heat only supports that quality in me.

Well, we can’t change the heat wave for you, but we have an alternative – enter CafePress’s new Performance Dry T-Shirts. Made for sports and fitness performance, these wouldn’t be such a bad idea for a hot, sweaty day either, with their ability to wick moisture away from your body, keeping you cool and comfortable while you’re busy being active. Voila! Almost as easy as running a marathon. (tee hee…)

Whether you’re a runner who cringes at the idea of cotton, a cross-fit aficionado, or have plans for a killer camping trip, don a dry-fit t-shirt in both men’s and women’s styles and a variety of colors that conveys just who you are and what you love. Because, after all, what’s better than showing off your passions on your sleeves – especially while you’re right in the thick of enjoying them.

CafePress shoppers seem to be in a positively giddy mood these days, as the pastafarian themed products are trending high. And who can blame them, when the Flying Spaghetti Monster is at the center of it all. Our favorite carbohydrate creature is at it again, making a cultural splash on the scene, and this time, he’s got more designs up his…noodly…sleeve. Did he grace your shopping cart with his presence the first time around, or did you decide to become a pastafarian member recently? Featuring fun designs with the combination of pasta, Rastafarian hair-dos and aliens from outer space, the Flying Spaghetti Monster products are sure to earn you a chuckle for more years to come.

Speaking of a laugher, it turns out the dreaded Carmageddon in LA fizzled. With a section of Interstate 405 closed for the weekend, fears of gridlock kept people at home. Hence, traffic was smooth. But that didn’t stop people from designing and buying lots of fun products to celebrate the “non-event.”

When the pressure’s on, girls really know how to bring it.

So as exciting as it is, it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that our US Women’s soccer team stepped up and head-butted that pressure in the face (figuratively, and probably literally too). The team, who’s currently slated to take on Japan in the Women’s World Cup finals this Sunday, garnered a cult following in a series of close-call games throughout the FIFA tournament that lead them to the finals. And on Sunday, the U.S. could be celebrating the newest world futbol champions.

We’re starting the celebrations a little early – we’re super excited they’re in the finals, after all! And to show our pride for our gals stateside, we’ve created a special edition bumper sticker in honor of them – and its only $1. A kick-a$$ deal because of some kick-a$$ females. We like it and hope you do too.

Interestingly enough, this is not the U.S. team’s first time battling for the top spot – the women’s team has previously won two Women’s World Cup titles, both in 1991 and 1999. Maybe they’ll add a third on Sunday and hence be triple as awesome as they were before?

It’s summer, so it won’t be hard to warm-up to this deal – and while you’re at it, check out a ton of other cool soccer t-shirts and gear – we’re pretty sure you’ll score on this deal.

Everybody loves doing this in the bedroom. A lot.

No, not that. The other thing.

Sleeping! And what better way to make your night as restful (and stylish) as you can than with one of our newest custom products: Pajamas.

Available in women’s, men’s and kids styles, our pajamas come in a variety of fun colors. Whether you enjoy the black t-shirt, black flannel pant combo, or a white tee, pink flannel pants mix-up, we highly recommend picking your favorite design and then snuggling under the covers wearing said design for a good night’s sleep. (We heard you might even count a few less sheep with them on, too.) And at $34.50, you’ll have a soft pair of pajamas that also go soft on your wallet.

So go don your custom pj’s, jump on the mattress, and jump on the sleep-train. It’s pulling into your station. (Yawn.)