Relax on Thanksgiving, go crazy on Small Business Saturday!
Nov.24
We like to shop as much as the next gal or guy, but there’s something a bit unsettling about the mad “Black Friday” stampedes — which have started to creep into “Black Thursday.”
At the risk of undercutting our own sales, I’m going to beg you: PUT YOUR CREDIT CARDS AWAY ON THANKSGIVING DAY and chill out with your family.
Go to your local high school football game. Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with those oversized cartoon hot air balloons. Tell your Mom you love her cooking or go toss a Frisbee with Dad. Or tell your Dad you love his cooking and go play Frisbee with Mom.
There’s a reason why Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and it isn’t about going to the mall.
Now with that sermon out of the way, let me make it clear that I am neither anti-holiday shopping nor anti-credit card. Small Business Saturday, sponsored by American Express, is the ultimate blend of the two.
Amex is encouraging Americans to devote some of their gift budget to local businesses, a badly needed boost for Main Street — especially in this economy. It almost sounds too good to be true, but the company is also giving $25 in free spending money to its cardholders who spend $25 or more at a local business which takes American Express. What a deal! (Click here for details).
If you want to spend that “play money” on WallCandy removable chalkboard wall stickers, wall decals or temporary peel-and-stick wallpaper, we wouldn’t protest. Your best bet is to go to the WallCandy Small Business Saturday page!
You can enjoy four days of HUGE savings on WallCandy from Friday, Nov. 25 through Monday, Nov. 28!
No matter which credit card you use, you’re eligible for our four day Thanksgiving special: Buy One and Get One for Half Price. This deal applies to all our easy-to-apply stickers with the exception of the Occasions collection and gift certificates.
With all our stickers and decorations made in America, WallCandy certainly fits the spirit of Small Business Saturday. Listen to WallCandy CEO Allison Krongard explain why she refused to manufacture her products in China on the Fox Business Network.
And closer to home, here’s Allison celebrating more than 225,000 WallCandy kits decorating rooms around the world!
WallCandy Profile for American Express from Allison Krongard on Vimeo.
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.
BRIGHT BULBS – Night Light wall decals glow beyond energy debate!
Sep.7
WallCandy's "Night Lights 2" decals can brighten up any evening!
Not sure if you’ve been following the ugly light bulb debate in Congress, but there’s been a huge fight over whether Americans should be using traditional incandescent light bulbs (the ones we’ve been seemingly using forever) or more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. The former are much cheaper than the latter, but don’t last as long. Critics of the new efficient curly-Q bulbs say they don’t produce the same brightness or quality for reading light.
You can weigh the pros and cons yourself by clicking below on the comparison chart created by the McClatchy Tribune news wire.
But Congress has strangely overlooked a third and more attractive option: glow-in-the-dark removable wall sticker light bulbs.
Yes, it’s true: WallCandy’s Night Lights decals will add a friendly glow to your child’s bedroom without a single volt of electricity. Go ahead and unplug that incandescent blub night light – and retire it forever even. Stringing these Night Lights stickers along the wall from the windows to the hall will safely guide your little ones to middle-of-the-night bathroom trips or even a midnight snack.
BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED: Night Lights that don't require any electricity but still do the job -- in style!
You get 48 glow-in-the-dark light bulbs and 18 feet of “electrical cord” to festively string them along the wall. Did we mention that the cord also doesn’t add a penny to your utility bills?
Personally, I have fond memories of a glow-in-the-dark monster poster that hung on the back of my childhood bedroom door. The message was “PLEASANT DREAMS!” in a glowing spooky font, with the eyeballs of Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and a zillion vampire bats staring at me all night long. Those monsters helped me find the bathroom for at least two of my formative years without a single stubbed toe.
Quite frankly, these Night Light bulbs are a lot classier. And if you are in full decorating mode, the WallCandy Arts classic decal gallery now includes Benjamin Moore paint color suggestions for each sticker set!
(Are you redecorating your child’s bedroom or playroom? Share your before and after pics with us at hello@wallcandyarts.com )
Toast the Royal Wedding with Hip Housewares and a Fairytale Sale
Apr.28
Only 24 hours to go! (Photo credit: Chris Ison/AP)
With Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton only one day away, Royal Wedding Fever is at its most contagious. If you find yourself scowling at your spouse’s sudden obsession with E!, your dental hygienist’s plan to host a WilliKate lookalike party, or your cubicle neighbor’s suspicious new accent, just breathe and remember it’s perfectly natural to find the British monarchy fascinating, if only because any governing organization that dates back to 400 A.D. makes our own political pot look so shallow. If you’ve watched even 20 seconds of The Tudors by accident (or the entire series in one shameless sitting, thank you very much), you and I probably share a category – temporarily interested, but only because it’s more tantalizing than baseball or bickering politicians. Yawn.
If there’s one thing about the Royal Wedding I’m enjoying, aside from a wicked case of gown anticipation, it’s the opportunity to save on a few Kate-inspired fashions or home accents for my own Buckingham Palace, which is slightly smaller and much more prone to hosting city mice but still my favorite place to fix up and Feng Shui. I appreciate any occasion that inspires my favorite designers to add new items to already fabulous collections and oft-visited stores to knock a few bucks off the things I’ve been eyeballing for weeks but avoiding due to a mysterious wallet drought. (If you know a few stores who are taking advantage of the Royal Wedding by allowing me to take advantage of a sweet sale or two, post a comment and clue me in!)
Brandon and his Union Jack
I admit that I never paid much attention to the Union Jack until I visited the humble abode of WallCandy®’s leading lady. I’d seen that most famous of flags numerous times on postcards and flagpoles – and once on a well-sculpted forearm – but its place in the Hall of Style Icons is hard to recognize without the proper medium. As a high-quality home accessory carefully planted among complementary shades and shy standards such as, say, a quilted maple bench purchased straight from the furniture maker’s dusty warehouse, the Union Jack truly stands out as a lovely bit of geometry done up in bright, classic colors. One of the most noticeable items in Allison’s house is the crown in her son’s bedroom, a thick Union Jack throw rug, which I daresay he’ll enjoy as a bit of warm-but-masculine décor well into his teenage years.
The Union Jack toolbox
In case you were wondering how cool the Union Jack can get, take a look at the newest addition to WallCandy’s hip housewares collection, the Union Jack metal toolbox by Alice Supply Co. What better way to commemorate Prince William of Wales’s terrific taste than to treat yourself (or your hosting dental hygienist, who just might know the secret to making homemade Aero bars) to the most stylish method possible for keeping up appearances? Use it to keep jewelry in a safe place, corral day-to-day supplies, or give an inherited tool collection a proper home. However you use this sturdy does-it-all, you’ll surely fall in love with a classic historical icon that just happens to be an effective space-sprucer all on its own.
WallCandy’s own Royal Wedding celebration doesn’t end with a groovy toolbox. From now until May 7, every item for sale on the website is 10% off – simply enter the code royal10 during the checkout process and save on a few fun things that will surely last way longer than the televised exchanging of vows.
Queen Elizabeth II prefers sprinkles.
Anyone itching to start a new season can score a pack of large whiteboard wall stickers or a chalkboard wall decal for planning a warm weather bake sale to christen the newly green front yard. Once rampant Royal Wedding Fever has subsided and we can all unglue our eyes, help your kids plan a menu of royally decorated pastries on our spacious cupcake chalkboard wall decal, throw those windows open, and let the scent of springtime baking permeate the neighborhood with the sweet smells of reality. When the first batch is sold out and everyone’s enjoying a sugar coma, it’s a cinch to move any of our reusable chalkboard decals to the playroom wall for an entire summer spent pretending to be the Royal Family’s official caterers.
Wall Sticker Oscar Countdown: (#1) “The King’s Speech”
Mar.1
(Removable wall decals are a visual art, as are Oscar-nominated movies. To celebrate this year’s Academy Awards, we’ve been exploring what WallCandy Arts has in common with all 10 nominees for Best Picture. That’s right, we believe some of the best pictures for your walls don’t come from Hollywood!)
Movie: THE KING’S SPEECH
Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter.
One-Sentence Summary (from IMDb): “The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.”
Odds of Winning*: 2:1
Best Wall Decal Match: Peel and Stick Whiteboard and Chalkboard Tiles.
Regrettably, we’re a bit behind with this post, but we are delighted to have predicted the winner of the Best Picture Oscar. When in doubt, go for the period piece with the British accents and Helena Bonham Carter in a hat.
We were naive and thought it was the industrious American factory worker that helped give Allied soldiers the extra boost they needed to beat the Nazis. Apparently, a rich guy’s stuttering problem was really the “X-factor” on the battlefield.
When King George VI was practicing his speech, it would have been extremely helpful if he had erasable removable whiteboard sticker panels in the bunker. Ditto for the cast of “The King’s Speech,” who may have found them to be a more affordable and renewable alternative to cue cards.
As for writing down ideas about how to defend London from the Luftwaffe’s bombardment, these chalkboard wall decals would have been equally practical.
Meanwhile, speaking of awards, WallCandy Arts was just nominated for a coveted Cribsie Award in the “Cutest Nursery Wall Decals” category. The prestigious Cribsies recognize “the best brands, products, services, and websites for babies and tots.”
We’re proud to be nominated, but we’d appreciate your help to get on the winner’s stage and give our own King’s Speech. Your votes will be accepted through March 18. Just click on the Cribsie below!
(* DISCLAIMER: WallCandy Oscar odds are based on personal whims and were chosen a week before the Academy Awards.)
Wall Sticker Oscar Countdown: (#2) – “The Fighter”
Feb.28
(Removable wall decals are a visual art, as are Oscar-nominated movies. To celebrate the 83rd annual Academy Awards last night, we explored what WallCandy Arts has in common with all 10 nominees for Best Picture. That’s right, we believe some of the best pictures for your walls don’t come from Hollywood!)
Movie: THE FIGHTER
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo.
One-Sentence Summary: Two boxing brothers, Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, overcome the odds to go from their drug-ravaged neighborhood to the world stage.
Odds of Winning*: 3:1 – Far better odds than “Irish” Micky Ward had to win the championship belt.
Best Wall Decal Match: Forest Friends
Chipmunks and squirrels are generally considered peaceful creatures who frolic in the wilderness, but their moods can turn in an instant. Try to take away their acorns and you’ll find they can be as ferocious as any fighter in “The Fighter.”
One area that forest animals can’t match, however, is physical fitness. They just don’t have access to the same Cybex machines and protein shakes as Hollywood stars. Be honest, now. Who has better abs: Mark Wahlberg or the Forest Friends rabbit?
Meanwhile, speaking of awards, WallCandy Arts was just nominated for a coveted Cribsie Award in the “Cutest Nursery Wall Decals” category. The prestigious Cribsies recognize “the best brands, products, services, and websites for babies and tots.”
We’re proud to be nominated, but we’d appreciate your help to get on the winner’s stage and give our own King’s Speech. Your votes will be accepted through March 18. Just click on the Cribsie below!
(* DISCLAIMER: WallCandy Oscar odds are based on personal whims and should only be used as the basis for intellectual discussion. We do not assume any responsibility for customer gambling debts.)
Wall Sticker Oscar Countdown: (#3) – “The Social Network”
Feb.27
(Removable wall decals are a visual art, as are Oscar-nominated movies. To celebrate the 83rd annual Academy Awards on February 27, we’re exploring what WallCandy Arts has in common with all 10 nominees for Best Picture. That’s right, we believe some of the best pictures for your walls don’t come from Hollywood!)
Movie: THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake.
One-Sentence Summary: Harvard University dropout Mark Zuckerberg founds Facebook, gets filthy rich and is accused of backstabbing the people who helped get him there.
Odds of Winning*: 3:1 – Some of Zuckerberg’s 500 million friends are Academy voters.
Best Wall Decal Match: Chalkboard Heart
Aside from revelations about lawsuits over the ownership rights to Facebook and the portrayal of Harvard University as a shallow place, The Social Network also sheds light on Mark Zuckerberg’s original motivation. He wanted to use it to hook himself up with dates.
A key “aha moment” comes when Zuckerberg wonders how the dating scene would be different if there was a way to instantly know if a prospective crush already had a boyfriend or girlfriend. Enter the “Relationship Status” that indicates if you are single, in a relationship, engaged, married, divorced, separated or “it’s complicated.”
This month, Facebook just added two more options to choose as your status: “In a Civil Union,” and “In a Domestic Partnership.”
That’s all well and good, but how do you know if that special someone is in a relationship if you are not currently wired in to Facebook? The solution: WallCandy’s Chalkboard Heart.
Now your co-workers can slap up their relationship statuses on their office doors. Ditto for college students in their dorm rooms.
And when it comes time to erase your status and introduce the latest social life update, rest assured that it comes with dustless, allergy-free chalk that contains no traces of latex, dairy and casein, egg, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts or soy.
In case you missed it, TIME Magazine recently did an entertaining photo essay on the corporate headquarters of Facebook and noted it had plenty of empty wall space — and we recently noted that Zuckerberg has plenty of options if he decides to impress the social media world with stylish removable wall decals.
Meanwhile, speaking of awards, WallCandy Arts was just nominated for a coveted Cribsie Award in the “Cutest Nursery Wall Decals” category. The prestigious Cribsies recognize “the best brands, products, services, and websites for babies and tots.”
We’re proud to be nominated, but we’d appreciate your help to get on the winner’s stage and give our own King’s Speech. Your votes will be accepted through March 18. Just click on the Cribsie below!
(* DISCLAIMER: WallCandy Oscar odds are based on personal whims and should only be used as the basis for intellectual discussion. We do not assume any responsibility for customer gambling debts.)
Wall Sticker Oscar Countdown: (#4) “The Kids Are All Right”
Feb.25
(Removable wall decals are a visual art, as are Oscar-nominated movies. To celebrate the 83rd annual Academy Awards on February 27, we’re exploring what WallCandy Arts has in common with all 10 nominees for Best Picture. That’s right, we believe some of the best pictures for your walls don’t come from Hollywood!)
Movie: THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Starring: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo.
One-Sentence Summary (from IMDb): “Two children conceived by artificial insemination bring their birth father into their family life.”
Odds of Winning*: 4:1 – Lots of chemistry here.
Best Wall Decal Match: Deerly Beloved
Love triangles come in all combinations. This one features lesbian couple Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) with the biological father (Mark Ruffalo) of their children. How does a family stay together under such circumstances?
I’m not going to ruin the movie for you. But I will say this. Love is something special that you shouldn’t mess with once you have it. Nothing in our removable wall decal gallery expresses this better than the Deerly Beloved sticker set.
We deliberately only include two lovey-dovey deer in the set so there is no opportunity for extramarital affairs in the woods.
As a total aside, we have a soft spot in our hearts for this movie because Julianne Moore recently shared the spotlight with WallCandy Dottilicious wall stickers in New York Family magazine.
And speaking of awards, WallCandy Arts was just nominated for a coveted Cribsie Award in the “Cutest Nursery Wall Decals” category. The prestigious Cribsies recognize “the best brands, products, services, and websites for babies and tots.”
We’re proud to be nominated, but we’d appreciate your help to get on the winner’s stage and give our own King’s Speech. Your votes will be accepted through March 18. Just click on the Cribsie below!
(* DISCLAIMER: WallCandy Oscar odds are based on personal whims and should only be used as the basis for intellectual discussion. We do not assume any responsibility for customer gambling debts.)
Wall Sticker Oscar Countdown: (#5) – “True Grit”
Feb.24
(Removable wall decals are a visual art, as are Oscar-nominated movies. To celebrate the 83rd annual Academy Awards on February 27, we’re exploring what WallCandy Arts has in common with all 10 nominees for Best Picture. That’s right, we believe some of the best pictures for your walls don’t come from Hollywood!)
Movie: TRUE GRIT
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin
One-Sentence Summary (from IMDb): “A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer.”
Odds of Winning*: 5:1 — The Oscar conspiracy theory against the Coen Brothers was shattered with their 2007 win for “No Country for Old Men.”
Best Wall Decal Match: Baby Elephant Chalkboard
Vengeance has no age limits. When 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross finds out who killed her father, she naturally wants the murderer dead. But the tough U.S. Marshall she hires doesn’t expect the cute braided girl to insist being part of the manhunt.
To Ross, sticking up for family is the ultimate moral value. And you know who else ferociously fights for loved ones? Elephants, of course. Elephants don’t forget anything and they will hunt you down to the ends of the earth if you dare to harm their kinfolk.
OK, well maybe it is a stretch to toss a pachyderm in the middle of a classic U.S. Western.
But it’s not a stretch to stick one practically anywhere else. The Baby Elephant Chalkboard is a whimsical decoration appropriate for both boys’ and girls’ bedrooms, nurseries, day care centers and classrooms. And unlike the dust clouds popping up on those gunslinging dirt roads in the Old West, the chalk we use is dustless and does not contain any of the following allergens: latex, dairy and casein, egg, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts or soy.
Meanwhile, speaking of awards, WallCandy Arts was just nominated for a coveted Cribsie Award in the “Cutest Nursery Wall Decals” category. The prestigious Cribsies recognize “the best brands, products, services, and websites for babies and tots.”
We’re proud to be nominated, but we’d appreciate your help to get on the winner’s stage and give our own King’s Speech. Your votes will be accepted through March 18. Just click on the Cribsie below!
(* DISCLAIMER: WallCandy Oscar odds are based on personal whims and should only be used as the basis for intellectual discussion. We do not assume any responsibility for customer gambling debts.)
Wall Sticker Oscar Countdown: (#6) – “Black Swan”
Feb.23
(Removable wall decals are a visual art, as are Oscar-nominated movies. To celebrate the 83rd annual Academy Awards on February 27, we’re exploring what WallCandy Arts has in common with all 10 nominees for Best Picture. That’s right, we believe some of the best pictures for your walls don’t come from Hollywood!)
Movie: BLACK SWAN
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel
One-Sentence Summary (from IMDb): “A ballet dancer wins the lead in “Swan Lake” and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan – Princess Odette – but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odette’s evil sister, Odile, the Black Swan.”
Odds of Winning*: 5:1 — Kudos for showing the evil side of ballet.
Best Wall Decal Match: Sweet Dreams Fairies, Cupcake Chalkboard
As fellow WallCandy blogger Amber so eloquently put it, who knew there were swans with anger management issues?
Well, I knew. I’ve been attacked by maniacal geese. The second any waterfowl lowers their neck and starts to charge, watch out!
At the risk of discussing serious social issues in a fun wall sticker forum, ballet also has a weight management problem. Professional primadonnas are usually given a somber choice: perform or eat, you can’t do both.
One instant foolproof way for Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis to gain back the weight they lost for these roles is to adopt the Sweet Dreams Fairies Diet. Along with lots of leafy green vegetables and fiber for digestion, mix in a daily dose of lollipops, jelly beans, candy hearts, ice cream pops and macaroons.
Take a look at the fairy decals: See any excessive cellulite on those calves? Of course not, because these snacks are enjoyed in moderation and flying around all day increases your metabolism.
A more hearty version of the cupcakes distributed by the fairies is Wall Candy’s Cupcake Chalkboard. I have a feeling that Natalie Portman is craving one right now.
Meanwhile, speaking of awards, WallCandy Arts was just nominated for a coveted Cribsie Award in the “Cutest Nursery Wall Decals” category. The prestigious Cribsies recognize “the best brands, products, services, and websites for babies and tots.”
We’re proud to be nominated, but we’d appreciate your help to get on the winner’s stage and give our own King’s Speech. Your votes will be accepted through March 18. Just click on the Cribsie below!
(* DISCLAIMER: WallCandy Oscar odds are based on personal whims and should only be used as the basis for intellectual discussion. We do not assume any responsibility for customer gambling debts.)
