Feb
07
2012

posted by

Carly Hagins

Sweet Treats

There’s nothing quite like Valentine’s Day in grade school. Friends exchange small gifts and there are classroom parties with festive decorations. One of the first holidays since late December, it’s an excuse to let people know you care. And maybe eat a candy heart or five.

The B.ig day is only a week away. Are you still searching for creative ideas about what your wee ones can bring to school on February 14? If so, you’re in luck! We’ve combed the internet to come up with these suggestions just for you.

For many, Valentine’s Day is all about candy. The options are endless: there are heart-shaped boxes full of chocolate, lollipops wrapped in red, and conversation hearts printed with sweet sayings.

Personalized matchboxes from inchmark are adorable—and hold a perfectly petite portion of your favorite sweet treat.
Gabrielle Blair, better known as Design Mom, always has ingenious Valentine’s ideas. We’re blown away by these portraits-turned-lollipop-holders. (Bet they’d work with pencils too!)
These See-Through Valentines (made by Kelli Wilson) are elegant enough to bring to a big kid’s party—or gift to your sweetheart.

Maybe you prefer to think outside the (candy) box? Lots of schools have started enforcing sugar-free celebrations. We love the idea of Valentines that last a little longer than a candy stash.

Mer Mag’s color theory cards make our designer hearts sing. We’re considering making a set for every holiday this year.
Simply wrapped, bouncy balls become a unique and very boy-friendly treat. Thanks to Super Mom Moments for the super idea.
These beautiful painted rocks from Aesthetic Outburst are a fun craft and a sweet memento. There’s no better way to say ‘you rock!’
Do you have a drawer full of crayon nubs? Cottoncandycastle’s heart-shaped mishmash crayons look soooo cool, are fun to use, and can teach a valuable lesson in recycling.
Little ones will feel like the head zookeeper with these wild cards from Design Mom. Don’t miss the free printable!
Food coloring and shaving cream come together to make these awesomely crafty cards from Modern Parents Messy Kids. Our recommendation? Put the kids on shaving cream duty, keep the food coloring in adult hands, and have a camera close by!

Valentine’s Day can also be the perfect time to teach your little ones about the importance of helping others. What better way to show your compassion than by providing opportunities to people who might not have them otherwise?

Me to We has many Artisan-made gifts that would be just right to give to your loved ones. Our favorite? The mood elevator!
Bee mine? A gift of honey bees via Free The Children can be life changing for families in need. If you ask us, that’s sweeter than any box of chocolates.

And if you’re looking for a gift for the loved ones in your life who have graduated from the days of pencil cases and milk in mini cartons, we suggest sharing the wisdom of your wee ones with our online quote maker. Quotes can be downloaded, emailed, tweeted, printed, and framed. The incredible insight of the most precious little people in your life is truly one of the greatest gifts around.

—Carly

PS- This year I’m sending Valentines from tattly—makers of awesomely design-y temporary tattoos—to my friends near and far. You’re never too old for a little treat!

Jan
27
2012

posted by

Andrea Gavin Becker

The Perfect Valentine's Day Gift: the words of a child

While it can seem impossible to find a Valentine’s Day gift that truly imparts the love, joy and gratitude you want to share with that special person, we think it can be easy and (almost) free.

Those brilliant, hilarious, poignant and priceless things children say can be turned into a gorgeous keepsake to be treasured forever using the B. Quote Gallery quote maker. Here's what I did:

First, I chose a quote by my nephew I know my sister is going to love. Then I entered it into the the Quote Maker which automatically turned it into beautiful art (ready for gifting to moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, babysitters and teachers).

Once I created my quote, I downloaded it to print. (You can also click on the envelope to email it, creating a personalized e-Valentine.) When it was printed, I added a few personal touches to turn it into a gorgeous valentine.

Here are a few step-by-step instructions to create heart art for Valentine's Day:

For each card, print a quote on matte card stock paper at your desired size. For the simplest of quotes, size them to fit in envelopes you have purchased at a stationery store or online. You can go super tiny or ultra big. Anything goes! Some of my favorite ideas are brown kraft envelopes or glassine envelopes you can find a photography supply stores.
Round the corners of the valentine with scissors, and then have your wee one sign the valentine if you like. Finally, decorate the envelope with hearts, doodles and love. One of my favorite things to do was to make hearts with a heart hole punch out of scraps of the quotes. I also found stickers and metallic pens added to the fun.
For a fold-over card, I simply printed 2 quotes and used glue tape to stick them together back to back. Fold over and voilà!
For that extra special someone, try printing several quotes and using tiny clothespins and baker's twine to make a string-a-long anyone would love.
Finally, if you want to go bigger, you can download the quote then send it to Shutterfly.com, Kodak.com, Mpix.com or Vistaprint.com to make a wonderful keepsake—a book, a bag, a calendar. You can use these quotes any way you would use a photo.

The most important thing to remember that it really truly is the thought that counts! Even a printout of a quote just folded in half would make anyone's day.

Happy Valentine's Day card making!

—Andrea

Dec
22
2011

posted by

Carly Hagins

Bow-WOW!

When we started working on ideas for musical toys like a drum filled with instruments, a keyboard in the shape of a cat, and a hound dog guitar, we pictured them in the hands of little ones. We envisioned parades through back yards and dance parties in playrooms. But we never imagined that our toys would make their way to the daytime talk show circuit.

A year ago we couldn’t believe our eyes when Ellen DeGeneres played a kitty ditty on Meowsic during her show’s Cat Week. And then, just a few days ago, we positively howled with delight to see Nate Berkus play with Woofer, Meowsic, and Parum Pum Pum as part of his show’s holiday gift guide.

It was a huge, humongous honor to be featured by such a positive, design savvy star like Nate Berkus. We’ve watched the clip over and over and over and it makes us smile each and every time (especially when Nate explains that you don’t have to have kids to love Woofer!)

Now if only we could get Ellen, Nate, Meowsic, and Woofer together for a barbershop quartet… :)

—Carly

Jun
23
2011

posted by

Carly Hagins

“Words are the voice of the heart” — Confucius

I was introduced to quotes as a 15 year-old right in the middle of my first backcountry hiking trip. One evening, after the tents were pitched and the fire was roaring, our 20-something year-old leader read us a few nougats of inspiration from her well-worn quote book. Immediately, I was hooked on these distilled bits of wisdom that were capable of making a person look at the world differently.

Now my favorite quotes come from B.’s online quote gallery. We are so lucky that people share their children’s wise words with us every single day. Many make me laugh out loud, and all of them, without exception, provide a welcome dose of perspective.

Our online quote maker lets you share the wisdom of wee ones in many ways: you can email quotes directly to friends and family, share them on Facebook and Twitter, or even print them out to hang on your wall or make into craft projects. But the B. team is always thinking, and we started thinking it would be pretty great for parents to have a book full of personal quotes from their own little ones.

Around the time these thoughts were brewing, the Austin Community College Children’s Lab School wrote to us to see if there was any possibility for a partnership with B. With smiles as big as Meowsic, we answered with a resounding, “Yes!”

Since then, we’ve collaborated with the Austin Children’s Lab School to make personalized B. quote books a reality. We’ve made take-home fliers to introduce Austin parents to B. and our quote maker, set up photo book templates, and learned sooo much. Quotes from Austin parents have started to pour in. They’ll soon be printed together in a book that we hope will bring smiles, giggles, and fond memories for many, many years to come.

Want to make your own B. quote book? Here’s how: Use the B. quote maker to add your child’s wise words to our online quote gallery. Download quotes from the gallery, then upload them to Shutterfly. Click on “photo books,” and follow the prompts from there.

And whenever you share a quote, know that an entire team of toymakers is grinning, and giggling, and nodding in agreement with the incredibly insightful words of your wee one. The voices of their hearts touch ours.

With smiles and belly laughs,
Carly

Jun
17
2011

posted by

Gisela Voss

A gift of giggles for dads: the wisdom of wee ones.

The perfect Father's Day gift doesn’t come from a store, it comes from a child.

At B. we always want to make lives easier for moms because we knoooow how busy you (AKA “we”) all are.

We’re also pretty sure dad does not want another tie, or bbq tools, or socks, or soap-on-a-rope. There’s no need for you to spend money to make something memorable. Your kids create memories every day! Just capture one.

So we have a fast, fun (and free!) way for you to make his day in five minutes.

Take something funny or wise or loving or silly your kids say about their daddy (or life) and turn the words into gorgeous art. Add it to a scrapbook page, frame it if you wish, or simply send it to dad’s email address for a reminder that he’s oh so loved…

When you check out the quote maker on our website you’ll see it’s easy and fun and lets you download your child’s brilliance to save for eternity. Try it, you’ll thank us. And he’ll thank YOU!

Daddy, Papa, Pappi, Grandpa, Opa, Abuelo, Nono, Dan –
Whatever your child calls the fathers in his or her life, a child’s quote is a loving way to celebrate them.

For all the horsie and shoulder rides, all the games of catch or bedtime stories, or fishing trips or pancake breakfasts.
For the dads that are close, and those that are far.
For the future fathers we hope our sons will be. For the partners we hope our daughters will have.

Let’s remember that the little things are not so little. That words are often the most poignant gift we have.
That when we’re old and gray our life will be made up of memories, not days.

My own heart is bigger because of my Pappi. And his “Hoppe Hoppe Reiter” knee bouncing.

—Gisela

See some wonderful quotes in the B. quote gallery or make your own quote now.