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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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:

What would you sacrifice for your dreams?  How about your dream house in the suburbs?  Yikes, we just did that!  Seriously!  We are “putting it all on the line” and decided to rent out our Renaissance home in an effort to continue to grow our children’s playhouse business–Color Me House.  Our decision to rent our home in order to cover monthly business expenses was a sacrifice we were all willing to make to build a future for our family.  So while all five of us can’t exactly live in a Color Me House, we were willing to give up our house for a while to really give this playhouse business a go! They always say Dream big right?!

Color Me House Web Site

Creative play is something children do naturally and the act of being creative brings with it so many benefits. According to Lynn Toomey, of Let’s Gogh Art, “It is proven that visual art is critical to a child’s development and fosters academic achievement throughout life.”  Creative play is the freest form of self-expression, there is nothing more satisfying and fulfilling for children than to be able to express themselves. So, while it’s tempting to leave all the ‘messy’ creative activities for your child to do at school or day care, there are so many skills they can learn by having the freedom to do them at home. Developing a love of creative process will set your child up as a creative thinker in all areas of their life.

To read more go to  http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/magazine/home-is-where-the-art-is-how-to-inspire-your-kids-to-be-creative/1763/2