Storybook Quilts Rocks! » Children’s Gifts

Your caption?

Nancy — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:38:25 +0000

We’re down to just a week for the caption contest! What are those two (male) finches up to? Did they sneak out for a drink and get found out? Is there a finch babe up there in a bikini? Did a giant bag of thistle seed suddenly appear? Are they asking for a little lemon in their water? Are they watching to see if the outdoor thermometer will hit 100 degrees?

To enter, just leave your caption in a comment. We can’t wait to read them!

What keeps you in your grandchild’s thoughts?

Nancy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:47:32 +0000

In today’s world, grandparents and grandchildren all too often live quite a distance from one another. Is this true of you? How can that distance be overcome?

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re keeping in contact using e-mail and possibly also Facebook. Maybe you have a webcam and mic so that you can see and hear one another “live”! Maybe you send things back and forth in the mail – cards or gifts or photos.

Is there something very special that you share that keeps you in your grandchild’s thoughts? Is it something that your grandchild will still have when he or she is a grandparent?

A Storybook Quilt can be the tie — and last for a lifetime. The quilt can be customized with a short message, names and dates.

The book can include a longer message from you and a photo – and even be specially rewritten to include family details in the story itself.

To make this even more special, your grandchild can help make the choices, so that it’s not just a surprise, it’s a special project and a lifelong connection.

Until July 4th, we are offering a chance to win a discount on any of our Storybook Quilt themes. Enter to create a wonderful summer memory for you and your grandchild!

Celebrate the 4th of July with us!

Nancy — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:43:58 +0000

Storybook Quilts is celebrating the 4th of July with a contest. Did you know that the Declaration of Independence had 56 signators? In honor of those brave and visionary men, we are offering a prize of 56% off any of our Keepsake Storybook Quilts. To enter to win, answer 10 simple questions about our Storybook Quilts. Clues are posted each day on our Facebook Page.

Not Just Another “Storybook Quilt”

Nancy — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:15:06 +0000

We’ve noticed some confusion about just what one of our Storybook Quilts is. It seems “storybook quilt” is now a descriptor for several products.

Enjoying our cat theme Storybook Quilt

Our Storybook Quilts combine a quilt designed and handmade by us with a original story that we weave around the fabrics in the quilt. Both the quilt and the story are entirely original. The process is intense and can be lengthy – the quilt has to be visually pleasing and it also has to fit perfectly with the story. We often need to look more than once for the right fabrics; the story has to be adjusted to fit the fabrics available and be fun to read out loud.

Other types of storybook quilts exist — all different from ours. Some are quilts designed around an existing, separate children’s story. A few are quilts made to echo the story a child has written. Some are made from fabrics commercially printed with the characters from an existing story.

Our Storybook Quilts are unique in several ways.

First, no other “storybook quilt” pairs an original story with an original handmade quilt.

Second, our quilts are created so that the patterns in the fabrics can be the basis for any number of stories – a great way to tickle a child’s imagination.

Third, our Storybook Quilts offer a range of personalization and customization options. The Storybook Quilt can be built around
your child, not a fictional character.

We specialize in customizing both the quilt and the story. An embroidered square can be included in the quilt that is personalized to fit the giver and the recipient. The story also can be customized. We can include a message and photo from the giver — and we can alter the story itself to include the child’s name and other information, making the story their story.

Here’s what one mom has to say about the Storybook Quilts her two daughters received from their grandparents:

“The quilts themselves are really beautiful and obviously made meticulously by a talented artist. I absolutely love the different printed fabrics–really vivid, unique patterns and just so interesting to look at even without the story line to follow. A real feast for the eyes!

“About the stories: [my two daughters] loved that their names are in the stories. Their eyes lit up when they heard the stories were about them. They also really like listening to the story and looking at the quilt so they can point out when I am reading a part that matches a quilt square.”

If you’re looking for a one-of-kind gift that will capture the hearts of the children in your life for a lifetime – contact us. We would love to create that special Storybook Quilt just for you!

Grandma Starts a New Family Tradition

Nancy — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:08:20 +0000

This week, one of the Storybook Quilts we shipped off was to a grandmother with a great idea. She fell in love with the Storybook Quilts, Luna the Turtle in particular. With three grandchildren and another on the way, she struck on the perfect solution to please them all, including herself!

This Luna the Turtle will remain with “Babbie,” as she’s called. She’ll have it at her house when the grandchildren come to visit and she will take it with her when she goes to visit them. It will be a very special treat the entire family looks forward to, creating memories that will be cherished for the lifetimes of them all.

Any bets on how many readings of the story it will take before the grandkids know it by heart?

Valentine’s Day, Gumdrop Day and Amos the Bear

Nancy — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:30:40 +0000

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is just one day before National Gumdrop Day? Valentine Amos, a very lovable teddy, is a special edition of our Amos the Bear Storybook Quilt – which always features gumdrops.

Amos the Bear is all heart. In fact, his heart is soooo big that it shows on the outside. He’s the best friend of a little boy named Josh, who’s the best buddy of his Grandpop. They both love gumdrops and Grandpop always carries a bag – hidden away somewhere.

Love and gumdrops feature prominently in the story that accompanies our Amos the Bear quilt. Josh goes to the zoo with his Grandpop and Amos, where Amos mysteriously disappears! The search takes forever. Impatient Josh goes off on his own to find Amos, asking the animals for help. A slightly scary leopard sends Josh rushing back to Grandpop for safety. The two of them then find Amos in a most surprising place! Reunited with Amos, Josh is now ready to share Grandpop’s gumdrops – he finally can enjoy them.

Valentine’s Day 2010 can last a lifetime for your child or grandchild with this one-time edition of Amos. He’s available, at a special price, through Tuesday, February 9th. Our usual Amos always is available!

SNOWMAN!

Nancy — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:07:28 +0000

Snow is a big deal here, in southeastern PA — or at least two feet of it is. Today, with just a bit of sun and near-freezing temperatures, it’s THE day to build a snowman! Growing up on the Tug Hill plateau, I’ve built more than I can count — of all sizes and shapes.

This had to be the largest snowman in my life. I helped a bit with the first ball, but after that was relegated to documenting his growth. He looked a bit like Charles DeGaulle when he was done!

What a great way to spend an afternoon! His eyes were margarine containers and his mouth was two bricks. We never did find a hat big enough! Rumor was that this snowman didn’t fully melt away until May.

I have to admit that my favorite snowman of all time is one that will never break my heart by melting away! Dapper Dan the Snowman offers a wonderful way to spend time with a snowman who always will keep you and at least one of your favorite children, or grandchildren, warm and entertained.

Dapper Dan Storybook Quilt Package

In the story that matches the quilt, Matt creates Dapper Dan with his Dad, but has a difficult time deciding on his face. The story, which is woven around the fabric in the quilt, tells the tale of Matt’s search for a face for Dapper Dan, including what he remembers as an exciting trip into a magical forest — or was that just a dream?!

In the storybook, we have included images that you and your child can use to decide what face Dan should have.

Learn more about Dan and our other heart-warming Storybook Quilts on our website.

Blue Monday is Today!

Nancy — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:38:23 +0000

SAD sufferers take heart. We have a lot of company today! The Monday of the last full week in January is “Blue Monday” – a danged depressing day, even worse than the “January blahs.” According to Scottish psychologist Cliff Arnall, the causes are: dreary weather, left-over Christmas debt, the time since Christmas (that is, no reason for cheer), giving up on our New Year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action. For Jets and Vikings fans, our course, this year is worse than usual.

Blue Monday is serious, folks. Some companies actually hire counselors to help and there’s even a Blue Monday website! Most of these efforts are based in the UK where, I can attest from my years there, the much shorter days and the general winter gloom are pretty bad.

So, what can we do to fight this scourge, which certain affects many of us in northern latitudes?

Here are a few ideas. We’d love to hear yours!

1. Make a special effort to bring cheer to someone who seems down – maybe a loaf of banana bread or a phone call or an e-mail greeting card. Cheer is infectious, so you should benefit, too!

2. Hide. Get inside an engrossing book and stay there until today passes.

3. Listen to Fats Domino singing, Blue Monday – all but guaranteed to get your toes tapping!

4. Connect with your favorite child and plan the Storybook Quilt you’ll create together or make up a new story around one of our existing themes

5. And, for those of you who already have one, cuddle up under your Storybook Quilt with the child(ren) you love, read the story together, and enjoy the special closeness that creates. The only thing “blue” will be the colors in some of the fabrics in the quilt.

As the World Turns – Too Fast!

Nancy — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:21:13 +0000

Has your 2010 begun like mine – full speed ahead? For many of us, it’s been a jolt back into days in which every minute is consumed by an obligation. This isn’t good, for adults or for children.

Our minds need to get off the Merry Go Round. We all need to make a point of scheduling in quiet time. This can be any number of things. For an adult, it might be reading, sewing or needlework, playing the piano, listening to soothing music, waxing the car, praying or meditating, light gardening, walking – just about any activity that requires focus and/or slow and methodical action.

Schedule quiet time

For children, quiet time is even more important than it is for adults. The whirl of activity in which they are engaged is more extensive than ever, with organized activities of one kind or another taking a huge chunk of a child’s day. Quiet time can easily get lost. Unstructured time alone — daily, not just once in a while — helps children learn self-reliance, enhances their abilities to make decisions, encourages independent thought, and fosters their imaginations. (Quiet time does not include outside stimulation, such as electronic games, DVDs or television.) Some parents say that quiet time makes their children both more thoughtful and more adaptive.

Adia and Luna the Turtle

Quiet time doesn’t necessarily mean idle time. Play is an important part of a child’s quiet time. Parents and grandparents can help by ensuring children have ready access to the right “tools” – a Storybook Quilt, for example. Making up a new story based on a Storybook Quilt would be a great way to spend quiet time – the fabrics in the quilt enhance an appreciation of color and making up a new story builds imagination. It’s also something the child can share, if he or she choses, when quiet time is over.

To see all our themes, visit our website at www.storybookquilts.biz

The Birthday Surprise that Keeps on Going!

Nancy — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:15:36 +0000

Along about this time last year, Monica, an American mom who lives in Switzerland, was wondering what to get her son, David, for his fifth birthday. Her nephew, who lives in the US, was turning five just a few days earlier than David. Monica wanted something that would create memories for a lifetime for both boys. She chose Storybook Quilts – Winnie the Frog for her nephew and a sports car for her son.

We were in the midst of designing a hot red sports car theme, so the timing was perfect! Monica ordered the Forever and a Day Package, our most customized package; even some of the content of the story was customized for David. We interviewed Monica to gather the information for customizing the story. We learned that David loves red Ferraris and soccer; that his older brother, Marcus, is a very good soccer player; that his father loves hot air balloons; and we learned about a few of David’s habits. We wove as many of these things as possible into the customized version of the story.

In the story, the Swiss national soccer team has gotten to the finals for the World Cup. David wants to go to the big game, which is on his birthday, but the tickets sell out before Dad can buy them. Of course, David is disappointed. Imagine his surprise when, the morning of the game, the Swiss national team star, Alex Frei, arrives in his red Ferrari to drive David to the game! Another star, Marco Streller pulls up right behind Alex and offers to take Mom and Marcus with him in his vintage Corvette. Dad rides in the team’s hot air balloon to watch out for danger along the road. The story uses fabrics in the quilt to tell the tale of the thrilling ride to the game and the unexpected barriers the travelers overcome to get there on time.

A few weeks after David’s birthday, Monica wrote: “Just wanted to let you know that you have helped make a 5-year-old boy named David in Switzerland very happy!!! He loves the quilt and the story. I have to read it to him every night.”

But that’s not the end of this story. Recently, Monica wrote: “David still loves the Ferrari quilt. Over the summer, we got the storybook autographed by Streller and Frei when they attended Marcus’s summer football camp for a day! They even had a fun ‘argument’ about who got the better sports car in the story.”

Is there any doubt that David will treasure this Storybook Quilt for a lifetime?

We may not be able to promise you’ll get the autographs of your favorite sports stars, but you can delight your son, grandson or nephew with his very own Vroom! Vroom! Storybook Quilt. We offer this Storybook Quilt in several sports themes – soccer, football, hockey and baseball.