Green Giving…You Bet!

It’s no secret that here at Color Me House we are all about inspiring kids to be creative while being eco-friendly. And since it’s that time of year, we thought we’d share with you a few of the environmentally-friendly, kid-friendly gifts we’ve run across recently.

Our criteria for the list is simple: fun for kids, eco-friendly and made in the USA (let’s do our part to keep the economy going, right!). There are certainly thousands of children’s items out there that fit this criteria, but here are a few of our favorites. If you have ideas that you’d like to share, please let us know.

Hope these help make your holiday shopping just a little easier!

 

The Green Toys Dish Set

The Green Toys Dish Set ($40) is made from 100% recycled plastic milk containers that save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The set includes everything you need to serve a dinner for four, and even though it’s a play set, it’s dishwasher safe and meets FDA food contact standards. And it comes in cute colors that girls will love!

 

Little Sapling Toys

This game is called Skittles ($35) – it’s a 10 pin retro wooden bowling developmental set. The 10 pins are made from maple and the two balls from hardwood. They are sanded satin smooth and a light local beeswax and organic jojoba oil finish enhances the natural beauty of the wood. All Little Sapling Toys are 100% recycled (80% post consumer) and recyclable.

 

Chase Dreams Building Block Crayons

This set of Building Block Crayons ($3) will be a hit for any child who loves Legos. They are made from recycled non-toxic crayons. Each set includes a red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.

 

 

 

 

Bebeloosh Mini Snack Bags

Forget about the plastic baggies. we don’t know any kid who wouldn’t love to open their backpack and find these great Reusable Organic Sandwich/Snack Bags ($25 for 4). The bags are made from 55% recycled hemp and 45% unbleached cotton cotton – giving them great durability and wearability. The eco-friendly sack has a velcro closure that keeps all the crumbs inside.

 

Mama K's Aromatic Play Clay

Mold and shape away with Mama K’s Play Clay ($22). This 100% natural modeling clay made from certified GF flours and organic essential oils. There are no synthetics or artificial dyes. Comes in a tube of five 4-oz. tubs in aromas like lavender, lemongrass and other wonderful smelling scents. The tubs are reusable and the tube is recyclable.

 

 

Raising Money for Ronald

We’ve always been fans of the Ronald McDonald House – what a wonderful organization. As you probably know, many families have to travel far from home to get treatment for their seriously ill or injured children. Treatment sometimes takes days or months or even longer – that’s a long time to be away from home.

Ronald McDonald Houses around the world offer families a way to stay together, be close to their children’s hospitals, and be comfortable and cared for during their stays.

Recently, we were lucky enough to be involved with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington D.C.’s “Houses of Hope” fundraising event. It means so much to help an organization like this.

 

The D.C. Ronald McDonald House partnered with about 18 schools and companies to decorate Color Me Playhouses as a part of their fundraiser. After the playhouses were decorated, many were displayed at a local mall to show the community the many organizations involved in the Ronald McDonald House event.

One of the ways the schools and companies raised money was by collecting spare change for a week – using their Color Me House playhouse like a giant piggybank. On Monday, the organizations collected pennies; Tuesday, nickels; Wednesday, dimes; Thursday, quarters; And Friday, dollars. All told, about $20,000 was collected for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Washington D.C. in just one week.

Wow! Great job, Washington D.C., and keep up the good work, Ronald!

Take a Deep Breath…Here Come the Holidays

It’s mid-November already. Eek. Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. Eek eek. We feel our collective blood pressure rising. We know that the holiday season is supposed to be jolly and bright, but it’s hard to keep our sanity when the kids are already seeing all the toys ads on TV and asking for a Wii and Legos and Disney Princesses and this and that and the other thing.

You can imagine our relief when we came across “9 New Traditions for a Greener, Saner Holiday Season” on the Planet Green website. Ahhh.

It’s time to take back the holiday season. Start your own traditions, and make memories of the fun you had rather than all of the shopping you did. Focus on living more deliberately this holiday season; making real choices about how you are going to spend your time and resources. Rather than getting caught up in the shopping frenzy, make eco-conscious choices whenever possible. It’s not about giving up those holiday traditions, it’s about making them better!

The nine ideas that writer Colleen Vanderlinden suggest all make perfect sense. Slow down and refocus on what really is important this holiday season. It’s not about the latest greatest electronics. It’s not about “trying to go all Martha Stewart on your Thanksgiving table,” as Colleen so eloquently puts it. It’s about sharing time with family and friends and creating new traditions.

We can do that. Are you in?

Color Me a House Call

While we don’t normally like to toot our own horn – paint our own playhouse…yes, toot horn…no – we are thrilled to have received a few awards lately. It’s always gratifying to be recognized for the products we have worked so hard at creating.

 

So we were thrilled earlier this year when the Color Me House and Color Me Rocket made Dr. Toy’s “Best Classic Toys” and “Best Green Toys” list, respectively.

Dr. Toy, a.k.a. Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D., has been tracking trends in the toy business for more than 30 years. Each year, she searches the toy aisles – figuratively speaking, of course – for the best toys on the market.

To be on the 2009 Best Classic Toys list, Dr. Toy looked for products that are fun and have high play value. The award-winning green toys are “made by companies striving to inspire children to appreciate the environment and help them learn to take better care of our natural resources,” according to Dr. Toy’s website.

That’s us. How cool! Thanks, Dr. Toy!

The Dr. Toy website is packed full of great toy ideas – let’s not forget that Christmas is just around the corner. Ugh! And, oh, there’s just so much – there’s cool stuff like a page that lists how to say “toy” in 67 different languages. And the Kids’ Page has links for multiple toy design contests for kids – time to get your kids in an inventive mood!

Dr. Toy, you rock!

 

Hoosier House

We love to hear from customers! And it’s so cool for us to get letters from folks across the country. When we started Color Me House in 2008, it was our dream to inspire creativity in children across the country – our dream is now a reality!

Here is what one of our Indiana customers had to say:

Hello,

First off I would like to say thank you for the wonderful House. My children (ages 11, 8 and 2) love it! Second, I would like to share an interesting story with you. We noticed today after buying this house from our Costco in INDIANA that your company is in Sherwood, Oregon.  That just happens to be where I grew up and where my parents still live. It is such a small world that we live in! So this House now has extra special meaning to it. I have a feeling that my kids will draw pictures that represent their Grandparents house on it. What a great and inventive product. We love it.

Thank you so very much,

Tiffany Bosket

We love getting mail and photos of your playhouses and rockets. Hope to hear from you soon!

Playing with Nature

We are always happy to be asked to participate in fundraisers that make a difference in kids’ lives. So when the nice folks over at White Wave Foods, makers of Silk Soymilk, Horizon organic milk and several other delicious dairy products, asked us if we would donate some Color Me House playhouses for an employee fundraiser, we were in!

Individuals, department teams and employees’ families let their creativity explode onto the walls of the playhouses (Isn’t that dairy delivery truck great!). Then the houses were auctioned off to benefit the Thorne Ecological Institute, a Colorado-based non-profit that teaches kids and adults about nature through hands-on activities.

The White Wave folks were SO creative and did such a bang up job that they raised more than $850 for Thorne. How cool is that?!

We are so proud to be a part of White Wave Foods fundraising. Thorne Ecological Institute has connected more than 185,000 kids and adults to nature since it began in 1954. Fifty-five years of teaching kids about nature – congratulations to Thorne and many thanks to White Wave Foods for helping them out!

Color Me a Haunted House

Halloween is nearly upon us, and party plans are in full swing. You’ve got games planned, candy purchased and maybe even a few scary surprises up your sleeve.

As we all know, kids need lots of activities to keep them occupied. Hello, short attention span! Why not add a Color Me House playhouse to your Halloween repertoire and watch as your little goblins get crazy creative.

Pop up a playhouse and have all the little ghosts and ghouls at your party decorate it with their favorite Halloween trimmings.

Here’s what you need:

* Color Me House playhouse

* Markers

* Black, white and orange streamers

* Black, white and orange construction paper

* Scissors

* Glue and/or tape

* Pre-cut bats, spiders, cats, witches hats, pumpkins

* String (for making spider webs)

* Other fiendish accouterments

If you’re feeling ambitious, put the house up a day or two ahead of time and paint it black with spray paint or latex paint. Spray paint will dry faster than latex paint. Just be sure to give it enough time to dry before decorating it.

A Color Me House playhouse is a “ghoul-ed” way to liven up a “dead” party!

Things are getting Better & Better…

Fun, fun, fun on Fox 12! Last week we had such fun going to the Fox 12 studios in Portland to film a segment for BetterTV, which aired on Monday, October 12. The kids had a blast on the news set doing a news report: “Looks like it will be sunny with a chance of fun. Now back to you, Hailey,” said Nick. “Thanks, Nick. Let’s take it over to the Color Me House and play!” Hailey cheered.

We had a great time working with Brooke Carlton and the Fox 12 crew. And how cool was it that Brooke even said she bought a Color Me House for her nieces for Christmas last year. “It was the hit!” she said.

And the chance to tell the BetterTV audience about our new distribution deal with Costco was invaluable. It’s so exciting to have the Color Me House available in 405 Costco stores across the country – and just in time for the holidays!

Madelynn, Hailey, Nick and Zack at the Fox 12 Portland news desk

On the road again with Color Me House!

Come join the fun with us as we Color it up at the Danville Fall festival on October 25th and 26th.  We will have houses and rockets out for your little ones to color, create and design!  Danville is a beautiful family town east of San Francisco.  Dont miss out on your opportunity to enjoy a great weekend with family fun.   After your little ones have made their rembrandt and monet impressions on our products you can pick up a coupon for $10.00 off your very own Color Me House or Color Me Rocket – Imagine the Fun!

Everybody Wins at the Emmys with Color Me House

Color Me House was selected to be included in the 2008 Everyone Wins at the Emmys nominee gift bags!! That means some celebrity tots may also get a chance to enjoy their very own Color Me House!  What could be better than winning a prestigious Emmy at the annual 60^th Emmy Awards ? Well, for us, having some of

Primetime Television’s biggest stars check out our products!  This is an extraordinarily exciting opportunity,  somebody pinch me!

Here’s the list of recipients:

Hugh Laurie (House)

Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment)

James Spader (Boston Legal)

Jon Hamm (Mad Men)

Michael C. Hall (Dexter)

Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men)

Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies)

Steve Carell (The Office)

Tony Shalhoub (Monk) Holly Hunter (Saving Grace) Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order:  SVU) Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters) America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?) Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds) John Slatterly (Mad Men) Michael Emerson (Lost) Ted Danson (Damages) William Shatner (Boston Legal) Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) Kevin Dillon (Entourage) Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) Rainn Wilson (The Office) Candice Bergen (Boston Legal) Chandra Wilson (Grey’s Anatomy) Dianne Wiest (In Treatment)* Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters) Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live) Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men) Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Dasies) Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty)