Karina Ramírez

A Prosper business will be featured in an upcoming episode of the popular television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Bugs-n-Blooms, which specializes in girls decor for nurseries and bedrooms, will provide some of its handcrafted items for a family in Lyme, N.H.

“It was an honor to be asked to supply my handcrafted items to this well-deserving family,” Jennifer DeVol, owner of Bugs-n-Blooms, said in a news release. The 35-year-old Prosper resident’s store provided a number of lightweight pieces for the show.

“They are going to be used in two little girls’ room — a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old,” she said. The items weren’t specified in the news release.

The busy mother of two girls — a 7-year-old and a 10-year-old — who also devotes time to local charities said she has always enjoyed decorating.

DeVol established her business in California six years ago.

“I started decorating my first daughter’s room when she was 2 with ladybug designs,” she said. “I’ve always had a passion for decorating, and since I have girls I know what little girls like.”

Some Bugs-n-Blooms designs are garden-themed, such as hanging dragonflies, bumblebees and daisies. But the most popular decorating item is the butterfly, DeVol said.

The Extreme Makeover show featuring Bugs-n-Blooms will focus on Jay and Elena Marshall and their eight children, including their 9-year-old son, who was diagnosed with leukemia. The Marshalls, once overwhelmed by mounting medical bills, lived in a home with high carbon monoxide levels, mold and rotting wood, which affected the health of the entire family.

The episode will air at 7 p.m. Nov. 29, on WFAA (Channel 8).

For information about the Bugs-n-Blooms, call 972-837-6646 or visit www.bugs-n-blooms.com.

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Members of American Humanics, a nonprofit management student organization in the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of North Texas, will contribute 26 works of art that represent each of the United Way of Denton County partner agencies.

Art students in the College of Visual Arts and Design met with directors of programs and services. The students’ pieces will be on display during a silent art auction benefiting the United Way from 4 to 7 p.m. next Sunday at the Lightwell Gallery inside the UNT Art Building.

The net proceeds from the event will go directly to the 26 partner agencies: Adult Day Stay; American Red Cross, Denton Chapter; Ann’s Haven VNA; Arc of Denton County; Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas; Boy Scouts of America Longhorn Council; Court Appointed Special Advocates; Child Study Center; Children’s Advocacy Center; Communities in Schools of North Texas; Denton Christian Preschool; Denton City/County Day School; Denton County Friends of the Family; Family Resource Center of North Texas; Fred Moore Day Nursery School; Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas; Health Services of North Texas; HOPE Inc.; Interfaith Ministries of Denton; People’s Clinic of Denton County; Pilot Point Goodfellows; Reading and Radio Resource; Retired & Senior Volunteer Program; Salvation Army; Special Programs for Aging Needs; and Southwestern Diabetic Foundation, Camp Sweeney.

A sampling of the art is available at: http://picasaweb.google.com/unitedwaydenton/AmericanHumanicsSilentArtAuction#.

Tickets cost $10 for the general public, and $5 for students and UNT faculty and staff. Refreshments will be served.

For more information, call the United Way at 940-566-5851.

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The Green Business Conference, with reception following, has a new date and location.

The conference will take place on Jan. 13 at the University of North Texas Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building, located at 1704 W. Mulberry St. Registration costs $25 through Nov. 30 and $40 thereafter. The fee covers lunch, parking and admission to the reception.

To register, visit www.denton-chamber.org. For more information, call Alicia Brosey at 940-382-9693.

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The Argyle Chamber of Commerce has moved into new offices at the Courtyards at Argyle Town Square, located at 130 S. Old Town Blvd., Suite 200. For more information, call 940-464-9990.

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It seems that consumers are looking forward to the Christmas season.

In their Holiday Spending Survey released on Monday, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and Goldman Sachs said consumers will spend about $543 on gifts. The survey found that consumers are planning to spend more on Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — than at any other time during the Christmas shopping season.

“Bargain hunting will continue to be an important element of the consumers’ holiday shopping strategy,” said Michael P. Niemira, ICSC’s director of research and chief economist.

Survey results, taken from a national sample of 1,000 adults between late October and early November, also noted that consumers will spend less on gift cards.

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The federal $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit was extended last week. The extension approved by Congress gives new homebuyers until April 30 to purchase a home.

Stacy Curtis, owner of Curtis Mortgage Inc. in Denton and a member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, said the incentives coupled with interest rates near all-time lows should help the market prosper.

Borrower income limits have been increased to $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for couples — up from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively, under the current program. Also new is a tax credit not exceeding $6,500 for buyers looking into “moving up” to other homes who have been in their existing homes for at least five years.

Coming up

The Aubrey Chamber of Commerce will meet for its monthly luncheon Wednesday at the Prairie House restaurant, located at 1001 U.S. Highway 380 in Cross Roads, at 11:30 a.m. Cost is $12 per person. RSVP to chamber@aubreycoc.org. For more information, call 940-440-9760.

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The Lake Cities Chamber of Commerce will meet for its weekly coffee on Wednesday at Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County, located at 1854 Cain Drive in Lewisville, from 7:15 to 8 a.m. For more information, e-mail lccc@lakecitieschamber.com.

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The Denton Chapter of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas will meet Dec. 2 at TLG Language Resources, located at 316 Dallas Drive, at 7 p.m. Members will be collecting gifts for the needy. For more information, call 940-382-5681 or visit www.hwnt.org/denton.

KARINA RAMÍREZ can be reached at 940-566-6878. Her e-mail address is kramirez@dentonrc.com.