Wednesday, February 15, 2012

2012 Silly Bee's Calendar

It's here! It's here!  And the first quarter of 2012 isn't even over!

The 2012 Silly Bee's Chickadees Calendar is ready for download. You probably all have your calendars by now, but I hope you'll download this one as it has a bunch of fun holidays and celebrity birthdays that would be fun to create kids activities around!

You can preview the entire calendar in the window below. Cool, eh? To get your very own official 2012 Silly Bee's Chickadees Calendar, click the "download" button. It's the one that looks like a little cloud with an arrow in it. If the calendar preview doesn't show, just click on the highlighted text above the box. Have a great 2012, silly chickadees!

2012 Silly Bees Calendar

P.S. I would love for you to share my calendar with your readers too, but please don't save the file as your own to distribute. Instead, include a link to this post. I greatly appreciate it!

Don't you just love the cute fonts that I used on the calendar? Kevin and Amanda. Check them out!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

TOMS does Ballet!



Woo Hoo! TOMS ballet flats are here! Finally, a cuter alternative to their classic unisex flats. Yes, they are pricey for canvas shoes, but you gotta love their One for One business model.





For every pair sold, TOMS gives a new pair to a child in need.  According to their website, the pair that they donate to children (called the Giving Pair) is most frequently the black above mentioned "alpargata".  They found these to be the best because they are generally approved for school uniforms, kids can walk and play in them while protecting their feetsies, plus they don't require shoe laces which can break easily and are difficult for many families to replace.



It's an awesome company--one of the first to adopt a buy-one/donate-one philosophy for their entire product line and they have inspired many other companies to do the same.  Here's what else:  TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie, who attended SMU for two years before his entrepreneurial spirit whisked him away, won the 2011 Emerging Leader Award from my alma mater!  Pony up!


So, that guy is Blake...but who's TOM?

There is no TOM. We like to say that everyone is TOM, because what TOMS stands for, it's a derivative of the word 'tomorrow' and the idea that we have a better tomorrow.  When we started the project, it was called the Shoes for Tomorrow Project. Then it was just Shoes for Tomorrow. Then that didn't fit on the label, so I just named it TOMS.  You buy a pair today, we give a pair away tomorrow. And collectively, everyone who buys a pair, everyone who works here, everyone who's an intern, we all are TOMS. So that's who TOM is.  --Blake Mycoskie from an interview on Tree Hugger Radio.




P.S. In case you are deciding what to get me for Valentine's Day, these Alessandra ballets would be awesome. Size 7 1/2, m-kay? Thanks.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Jello Marzipan Hearts


Are these not the sweetest Valentine candies ever?!  I made these pretties using the Jello-style strawberry marzipan recipe.  After I formed the hearts, I dipped them in Wilton Cake Sparkles to make them super glittery.




I think they're just beautiful and would be such a special treat in a little bento box or a pretty gift box tied with a ribbon! (Harry not included.)

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