Nostalgic Fun: The playroom makes an unexpected cameo in the 2012 presidential race
Mar.23
What will be the next children's plaything to bask in the national spotlight -- removable wall stickers, perhaps?
Besides being fervently pro-America (you did know that all our removable wall stickers are made in the USA, right?), we wisely keep our nose out of politics in the WallCandy world.
Why? Well because, quite frankly, there are Democrat Princesses and Republican Princesses. To our knowledge, Cowboys and Owls have no staunch positions on national health care — at least the decal-bodied ones who live in our bedrooms and playrooms. And heck, you can scrawl any political screed you wish on the Rococo chalkboard decals or our Stick-On Dry Erase Whiteboards.
But the playroom is our domain here, and we were overwhelmed with amusement and nostalgia this week when the Etch a Sketch made a surprise guest appearance into the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
First, a Mitt Romney spokesman said that the general election against President Obama would be like a clean slate for his candidate:
“I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign. Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again.”
Then his rivals pounced, alleging that Romney has no core values and can erase his views without any moral hesitation before creating new ones that suit his audience of the moment. Ann Romney didn’t like the metaphor, defending her husband on CNN.
But the amusing part was seeing both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum hold up Etch a Sketches at multiple press conferences. For a split second, at least for me, the political noise was turned down to silent and I just saw two grown men smiling with a classic toy that spans most of our childhoods. (Remember the Etch a Sketch’s fun cameos in the Toy Story movies?)
More amazing: Shares of parent company Ohio Art more than doubled in Wall Street trading, according to Bloomberg News.
Martin Killgallon, the company’s senior vice president of marketing and product development, had a clever spin on the hoopla for Bloomberg: “Etch A Sketch has right and left-hand knobs,” he said. “We speak to both parties. And together we can draw circles.”
Now, any suggestions for infusing children’s bedroom and birthday party decorations into the national election?
Puppy Love: Dog Balloon Birthday Wall Decals and other Canine Curiosities
Jan.24
So when is the Museum of Modern Art going to open up a Birthday Balloon exhibit?
Having waited in line at numerous family festivals and kids fairs to spend 15 seconds with a balloon-twisting clown, I know the magnetism that animal balloons have for little children. Heck, why bring age into it? I’m blown away by how a thin latex tube can instantly be transformed into giraffes, lions, party hats, etc.
In case you missed it, I highly recommend that you check out the movie trailer for “TWISTED: A Balloonamentary,” which highlights some of the world’s most creative balloon artists. Forget one-balloon creations. These ambitious folks have created balloon suits of armor for themselves and even made a balloon lounge chair that will support the weight of the average adult:
If you like this stuff, you’ll LOVE WallCandy’s Dog Balloon Wall Stickers for birthdays or just for overall playroom or bedroom decor when you want to add a splash to a boring plain wall.
As our clever marketing copywriters suggest (hey I can’t take credit for this), these doggies will provide you with “commitment-free cuteness.” That’s right, all the fun and pleasure of owning a dog without having to worry what time you get home to let it out of the house. No messy clean-ups. No “accidents” on the new rug or scratched furniture. And no expensive food or vet bills.
Of course, I jest.
No hard feelings, dog lovers — I know in my heart that Dog Balloons will merely enhance your love for those precious pups and can never replace them.
Balloons that will never ever pop!
Speaking of dog lovers, if you’re not one of the more than 6.65 million people who have seen “The Bark Side,” the new Volkswagen doggie tribute to Star Wars, you absolutely must! There’s a fantastic Internet parlor game going on to see if you can match the correct breed of dog with the right Star Wars character.
Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Chewbacca are obvious, but can you name the alter-egos of the rest of these cute pups?
Forget Politics: Tea Party Birthday Wall Stickers will charm girls everywhere
Jan.23
Girls will have fun playing "Tea Party" long after the birthday party is over!
We’re apolitical here at WallCandy Arts — we fervently believe that the children of Democrats and the children of Republicans will equally enjoy the restickability and imaginative play elements of all our removable wall stickers and chalkboard decals.
So while the country is focused on the conservative Tea Party clash with establishment Republicans, we’ve decided to celebrate a more universal, traditional Tea Party.
We didn’t go all Alice in Wonderland on your birthday girl and stage a chaotic party that will stress her out. The WallCandy Tea Party is a serene social hour with nature, an opportunity to daintily sip iced tea (certainly hot beverages remain an option) with 5 birds, 4 bunny rabbits, 2 hedgehogs, 12 butterflies and a fox.
Watch out for those butterfiles…. from what I understand, they have deceptively huge appetites!
Birthday hat decals are included so the woodland creatures can fully participate in your little girl's special occasion!
The best part of the Tea Party Birthday Wall Decal Kit? The birthday banner and hats can be stored separately, leaving your little Tea Partiers free to socialize in the woods all year long. For that matter, the banner and hats can easily be mixed with any of our other Wall Decals for instant birthday fun.
Depending on your child’s fancy, you could have a Tea Party now and perhaps an Owl Birthday, a Princess Birthday or even a Jungle Birthday next time.
And don’t forget about our bouquet of Pastel Balloons Wall Stickers for any happy occasion!
By the way, if you do happen to be a member of the political Tea Party, we’d love to have your business, too. Your political bumper stickers can easily be integrated into the woodland Tea Party scene, and your candidate will be delighted to know that all our non-toxic PVC Vinyl wall decals are proudly Made In the USA!
Emmy Recap: Celebrating our own Modern Families!
Sep.19
Which "Modern Family" Character Are You?
You know that silly question of which child or grandchild you like the best?
That’s how I felt watching the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category during last night’s Emmy Awards. Four actors from “Modern Family” were up for the honor — Ty Burrell (Phil) Ed O’Neill (Jay), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell) and Eric Stonestreet (Cameron) — as well as two outsiders, “Glee” songbird Chris Colfer and Pretty in Pink guy Jon Cryer (better known as Charlie Sheen’s surviving sidekick in “Two And A Half Men.”)
There was no doubt that last night was Modern Family’s Night — the sitcom won five Emmys in all. But my mind went blank when it came time to choose who to root for. The show has a true ensemble cast with the laugh lines getting spread pretty equally. My preference would have been to kick out Cryer and Colfer and give the two remaining nominee spots to the Modern Family kids: Nolan Gould (sweethearted but clueless Luke Dunphy) and Rico Rodriguez (precocious Manny Delgado).
Check out the pic of Manny holding the Emmy above. Doesn’t he seem like age 10 going on 40 — even in real life?
America's First Comedy Couple: Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell.
A pre-Emmy US Weekly poll favored Burrell and Stonestreet, but Burrell won out in L.A.
I think the Phil Dunphy character is super relatable as a goofy dad who will do anything to entertain his kids and himself. And the actor’s acceptance speech reflected it, too. Burrell also seemed more excited for actress Julie Bowen (his TV wife)’s corresponding Emmy victory than her real life husband did!
Entertainment Weekly recently posed the "Modern Family" cast in the most realistic scene in family life... The dreaded competition for the bathrooms.
The success of Modern Family is truly remarkable because the episodes focus on the absurdities of “normal” suburban life. When we take a big step back, all of our lives could be made into sitcoms.
It’s the perfect fit for the WallCandy family demographic. The show pokes fun at sibling rivalries, the struggles of work-life balance, the crazy competitiveness of PTA moms, zealous youth sports coaches and where our life’s dreams and realities unexpectedly meet. As a dad, I love the ongoing dynamic between popularity-obsessed Haley and her goal-oriented bookworm sister Alex; and the contrast of Peter Pan-like Luke and his can’t-wait-to-grow-up cousin Manny. You can’t miss “The One That Got Away” episode which spoofs those birthday tribute videos we all make for relatives’ milestone birthdays or wedding anniversaries.
The new season premiere is at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The one-hour special has a Dude Ranch theme (click here for the preview) and was shot in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, exploring how the family dynamic changes on vacation.
Which brings me to my tangential excuse for writing about Modern Family on a wall stickers blog. We all have an Inner Cowboy or Inner Cowgirl clamoring to break free. And the brand new WallCandy Arts Western Birthday Decorating Kit is a way for your boys and girls to continue their role-playing fun long after the candles go out.
I’m curious to see if Manny rediscovers that he’s a kid and reluctantly enjoys the cowboy masquerade — or if he dismisses the entire exercise as too juvenile. In any case, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode and if there are any other birthday party sticker themes you think we should explore! Drop us a line at hello@wallcandyarts.com.
This Birthday Decorating Kit Requires No Bull
Sep.12
One candle? No way!
As the girlfriend of an Irish lad with a host of small nieces and nephews, I celebrate a lot of single-digit birthdays. Because we were lucky to find an old Queens apartment with a massive living room connected to an equally large, U-shaped kitchen, we regularly host birthday parties for kids (when we’re not respackling the ceiling after the daintiest spring shower, that is).
In fact, we recently wrapped up a first birthday party in early September. Baby James turned one, which meant he didn’t yet have the vocal ability to share any recurring favorite characters or themes to inspire his party decorations. James’s mom and dad planned to stock our apartment with snacks my dearest and I will get to enjoy for weeks to come, so we felt that supplying the venue and decorations was the least we could do. Just as we were wondering how to make his first birthday memorable and easy, on ourselves as well as his parents, WallCandy® debuted the first design in their blooming collection of birthday decorating kits. The kit contains a room’s worth of western-themed wall decals, perfect for celebrating a child too young to insist on decorations that feature a trademarked cartoon character or comic book superhero.
Shopping for party decorations is burdensome; I’ve been to a gigantic party supply store and I could never call the experience anything but overwhelming. Instead of shopping multiple aisles to find complementary or matching decorations, I pressed a button and ordered an all-in-one western birthday decorating kit that just so happened to match a leftover hoard of plain red party servingware.
Once the kit arrived in the mail, I found preparing the party room to be a cinch. The peel and stick wall decals are removable and reusable, so I was able to play with a few different arrangements on the wall before finding one I thought made a lovely focal point. It took less than an hour to create a festive space and I never once worried about the post-party condition of our interior paint job. The cutest part of the kit has to be the bandana birthday bunting, which both inspired and matched Baby James’s party favors, miniature bandanas and sheriff star stickers.
At the end of the party, we returned the wall decals to their original backings and sent James home with some memorable playroom décor to inspire and give setting to any horse operas he might think up as he grows. I suppose we could have kept the kit to decorate birthday parties for other young’uns in the future, but we like to think we’ve planted some western obsession seeds to follow up on once James is old enough to appreciate Gene Autry and John Wayne. And is there a better gift than that?
