Nocturnal Decoration Countdown: My Six Favorite Owls of All-Time!
Jul.26
My love for owls, totally based in jealously for their ability to turn their necks 360 degrees and get away with sleeping during the day, has been well documented on the WallCandy blog. Heck, I was excited when owl wall stickers made a cameo in the Forest Animal Wall Decals set.
So you can imagine my joy when I learned that WallCandy Arts was expanding its owl population — a bonafide excuse for me to think about my Six Favorite Owls of All-Time. Without further ado…
#6 — WOODSY THE OWL
This mascot of the U.S. Forest Service was hooting about not polluting way before all this global warming stuff. If the animation style is familiar, it’s because Woodsy came from the same pen as the creator of Smokey, the fire safety-preaching bear.
#5 — CHARLIE, THE “NEW ZOO REVUE” OWL
This 1970s syndicated children’s variety show, which was usually paired with other preschool favorites like Romper Room and Captain Kangaroo, featured singing animals along with friendly folksingers named Doug and Emmy Jo. Charlie, who wore his Ivy League credentials everywhere, lived in a tree trunk equipped with an elevator. His know-it-all attitude provided some desperately needed tension with the syrupy frog and hippo.
#4 — MR. OWL
As with Charlie, the Tootsie Pop Owl always wore his college graduation cap in public. His scientific experiments, carried throughout numerous lollipop commercials, sought to determine how many licks it would take to get to the chewy center of a Tootsie Pop. The epitome of impatience, the owl would inevitably bite the candy after only a few swipes of the tongue. Dentists must LOVE this commercial.
Ever the savvy marketers, Tootsie Roll Industries will send you a free Clean Stick Award if you do get to the center without taking a bite.
#3 — OWL THE OWL
Would you name your dog “Dog?” The curiously named Owl plays the intellectual straight man in a Pooh world inhabited with goofballs like Tigger. Only the Rabbit (same name situation) is his academic equal. Much like many cartoon stereotypes of owls, the Disney one is often blabbing life advice to friends regardless of whether they asked for it or not.
#2 — X THE OWL
A staple character on the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, the puppet kingdom of King Friday XIII on the PBS classic “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood,” the friendly owl often chats about his hero, Benjamin Franklin. You have to respect a bird that’s proud of American history. Even though he seems quite content living in a monarchy.
#1 — THE NIGHTLY NEWS 2 OWLS
For imaginative kids who like to get a little surreal with their coloring books, WallCandy Arts ditched the brown-tan palette and treated these owls like brilliant parrots or toucans. The deep purples, reds, greens and oranges contrast nicely with the subdued silver crescent moon and stars.
Your boy or girl may want to name these owls and incorporate them into nightly bedtime stories. As notorious nocturnal creatures, the Nightly News Owl gang will watch over their bedroom with wide-eyed enthusiasm — graciously keeping their hooting down to low volumes not detected by the human ear.
(Is there a creature– real or fictitious — that you would like to see in a future WallCandy removable wall decal set? Tell us who and make the case why they are wall-worthy at ideas@wallcandyarts.com)
What do Wall Stickers and Actress Julianne Moore Have in Common?
Nov.1
In the latest issue of New York Family magazine, actress Julianne Moore (Frannie Hughes on “As the World Turns,” and Nancy Donovan in “30 Rock”) dishes about her childhood as an insecure girl with freckles.
The popular actress has written two autobiographical “Freckleface Strawberry” books to encourage children to be happy with who they are.
Fittingly, in the very same issue, WallCandy’s Dottilicious wall stickers are featured as an editor’s pick! I say “fittingly” because these colorful dots (which have ice cream-themed colors) are really just freckles in disguise.
Yes, WallCandy removable wall decals are more cost-effective than hiring a painter. But they are also a heckava lot more fun. When they were younger, my own kids loved grabbing the cardboard paint color samples at Home Depot and Lowe’s and then tossing them on the floor to give me something to do. But chalkboard decal elephants and giraffes are much more exciting than paint.
But back to Julianne Moore. If you happen to be a fan and want to simultaneously pay tribute to her AND make your kids’ rooms look fantastic, I have some ideas:
* To commemorate Julianne’s role as Dr. Sarah Harding in “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” check out our Dyno-Mite Dinosaur Wall Stickers!
* To honor her gig as Linda Partridge in “Magnolia,” how about some other flowers such as these Roses Wall Sticker Frames!
* And for her role as Alec Baldwin’s girlfriend in “30 Rock,” these lovesick deer stickers should do the trick!
As for the Dottilicious stickers featured in New York Family magazine, we have some other exciting news. Stay tuned to this space to find out how Dottlicious designs have been recently used to brighten up an arts education center for impoverished women in South Africa!
Exclusive Sneak Preview: Line Your Walls with Sunny (and Sticky) Optimism!
Jun.27
OK, so the zillion-gallons-a-day oil spill is bumming you out?
Or maybe you’re a little melancholy because most of your favorite TV shows are in reruns?
WallCandy Arts has the perfect thing to cheer you up: SUNSHINE!
Hey, I don’t know about you, but I when I was real estate shopping for my current house, “natural light” was one of my top criteria. There’s something about the sun — both the real version and the children’s art incarnations — that instantly makes us smile.
Check out the latest removable wall decal design called “My Sunshine!”
It’s called MY Sunshine because you or child takes ownership over where the vibrant rays will shine. The fuschia, red and yellow sun (wasn’t Superman born under a different color sun?) will instantly infuse optimism into your child’s bedroom.
The removable, reposable, remarkable sun — along with the blue cloud accessories — would make a splendid addition to any wall decal mural. I especially think “My Sunshine” is a perfect complement for WallCandy’s Season Tree (a gorgeous blooming tree teeming with birds and butterflies), the vibrant Blossoms collection, and Deerly Beloved, frolicking woodland creatures so cute you just want to pinch them!
Hey, without sunshine there can be no photosynthesis. I remember a first grade science experiment where we took one beansprout plant and put it on the windowsill and another beansprout and put it in a dark closet. Both seedlings were given equal amounts of water and love.
Not surprisingly, the closet-imprisoned beansprout grew up sad and lonely. The sunshine-infused plant had tons of self-esteem.
Brighten up your child’s room with “My Sunshine” and please share pictures of your murals with us — especially if you incorporate the sun with other designs. We LOVE to showcase our customers’ creativity in our Inspiration Album!
(Tune in here for news on the official “My Sunshine” release date or sign up for our free newsletter.)
If WallCandy® Arts Removable Wall Decals Could Blush…
May.31
We’re absolutely flattered to be endorsed recently by two of the media’s most influential parenting venues, blush Magazine and MomFinds.com.
Blush Magazine just named WallCandy Arts CEO Allison Krongard one of its “Featured Mompreneurs,” and as a busy dad, I really appreciated how she tackled their question about the ongoing challenge of finding the right work-life balance:
Allison: “When I’m with the kids, I turn off my phone and computer. I try to give them quality mom time by being present. For example, I make it a point to talk to each of them privately every day. Instead of reading to them at night, I rub their feet before they nod off. It provides us with the same intimacy as reading in bed but they’ll talk in a relaxed state instead of just listening. It’s too hard to get any real scoop out of them after school before tennis or play dates. My pediatrician gave me the idea last year and it’s become a treasured ritual.”
“Also, since my husband has a flexible schedule, we often go out to breakfast together after dropping the kids off at school. This gives me the rest of the day to work but also the comfort of having made a connection with him.”
You can read the rest of Allison’s blush Magazine interview here!
And Momfinds.com, the popular parenting shopping guide, just named WallCandy Arts removable wall stickers their “Find of the Day.”
Momfinds expressed high regards for the latest offerings off the WallCandy press. They say that our Race Me car decals will “satisfy every little boy’s need for speed.” And they kindly recommend our Sweet Dreams Fairies as a “sweet deal.”
Check out the race cars, the candy fairies and dozens of other designs that will delight your children in our stylish Wall Sticker Gallery.
Sign up for our email newsletter and score an even sweeter 10 percent off your next order as well as upcoming scoops on subscriber-only coupons and sales!
