Feb
03
2012

posted by

Julie Gambino

6 Weeks of Wonder

B. is all in the family and we take any opportunity to share and make merry with kids. And to dress up our logo.

My little sister, Miss Kristine, celebrated Groundhog Day with her students yesterday—and B. was invited to the party. A box full of crayons and seventeen B. stencils got the students in her 2nd grade class skipping down B.eauty-color Avenue to dress up Punxsutawney Phil and his shadow. How wonderfully unique all of our B. stencils became : )

This year Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means we should expect six more weeks of winter. Maybe it’s time to cross our fingers for a little snow this year, and prepare six weeks of winter activities? Here are a few to get you started: Watch your children bundle dive outside and make snow angels. Go out and make one with them—and don’t forget to get it on camera! Have an acorn hunt. Make maple syrup popsicles. Decorate a snowman/snowgal with Pop-Arty! beads.

Embrace it now because Spring is just around the corner and any white, sparkling snow we get will melt just like ice-cream does on a hot summer’s day.

—Julie

Feb
02
2012

posted by

Gisela Voss

Bubbles and Giggles and Pajamas

Is there any sound more soul-filling than a cascade of child laughter?

My niece and nephew, Maya and Jack discovered the joy of sharing a chocolate milkshake with two straws.

And made our entire family's day in the process.

May you enjoy many such moments and have the time to relish them.

—Gisela

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

Jan
19
2012

posted by

Gisela Voss

B. there—with bells on!

We have a summer home near Nantasket Beach's historic Paragon Park Carousel and have 19 years of photos of our kids growing up riding around and around and up and down on those 1928 horses. They represent so much that is good to me…old-fashioned family fun, happy music, laughter, childhood.

We infused all that goodness into the design of Carousel Bells. The pitch perfect scale sounds lovely and crisp (perfect to sing along with to Twinkle Twinkle or O Sole Mio). The rainbow prism of B. colors swirling in motion is mesmerizing. Hold the wand on the bells as they spin and be transported to a day when you were 8 and ran a stick along a fence.

Then read our tips for musical fun.

Together, with B.ells on, we can keep the magic of childhood alive.

—Gisela

PS
Carousel bells will be available in two sizes. Right now for spring (can we say spring yet?) 6" diameter Piccolo hand-held size and sometime in the future you'll see a 9" Colossale tabletop version like the one we are composing with in the video above.

Jan
13
2012

posted by

Carly Hagins

Made by Hand and by Heart

Little ones learn the art of homemade gifts from a very early age. Fingerprint snowmen and peanut butter pinecone birdfeeders are de rigueur for grade school classrooms during the holidays. Even though many of the same school crafts have been in rotation since I was in kindergarten, I’m still filled with surprise and delight every single time I get to open one of these special creations. And I love catching glimpses of what other people receive from the children in their lives.

Homemade gifts have intrinsic value because of the thought, time, and love that goes into them. They take planning and execution. You can’t buy them in a store, and that is precisely the point.

You don’t have to be part of the preschool set to make something meaningful by hand. I was thrilled this Christmas to open a stunning ornament my mom made out of Pop-Arty beads. It’s beautiful and thoughtful and just right—the perfect memento from this year of my life.

The holidays have come and gone, but it’s not too late to gift your loved ones with something special. Here at Team B. we believe there’s reason to celebrate every day of the week. (Happy Monday! Happy Tuesday! Happy…you get the point :))

Our online quote maker makes it easy to share an invaluable gift—the wisdom of children. You can make beautiful art out of the insightful, wise, or just plain silly words of your wee one. Then it’s easy to share with relatives, friends, teachers, and even the mailman via email, Facebook, or Twitter. Better yet, print it out and make a card (glitter and puffy paint strongly recommended) to mail to a lucky recipient—or three.

Sending my very B.est wishes for a joyous and love-filled 2012!

—Carly