Posts Tagged ‘car_theme’

Up, Up and Away!

Friday, June 4th, 2010

Summer. Hot air balloons. Seeing colorful balloons floating through the air on a sunny summer day is relaxing and exciting at the same time!

Did you know that hot air balloons have been around just about as long as the United States? The first unmanned flight was 227 years ago today — June 4, 1983 — in France. The first manned flight was later that year in Paris – Benjamin Franklin was there to see that. In the US, George Washington watched the first flight here in 1793.

If you want to watch the beauty of hot air balloons yourself, visit one of the many hot air balloon festivals that take place around the world every year. To find out when there is one near you, check out this excellent list. There is one near us in just two weeks – we’ll be there!

The romance of hot air balloons has crept into our own stories here at Storybook Quilts. It’s a ride in a runaway hot air balloon that creates such an adventure for Emily in our Maurice the Cat Storybook Quilt. In our red sportscar Storybook Quilt, a hot air balloon helps Dad warn David about the dangers on his exciting drive to the game with the star player.

Of course, you don’t have to be a character in one of our Storybook Quilts to take a hot air balloon ride. HotAirBallooning.com lists dozens of companies in the US that offer rides.

Have already ridden a hot air balloon? Tell us about it!

Tags: ,
Posted in Fun facts, SQ themes | Comments Off

The Birthday Surprise that Keeps on Going!

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

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.

DavidAloneWe 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.
CarFinalPhoto_David
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.”

FINALCarCoverSmallerBut 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.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Children's Gifts, SQ themes | 1 Comment »

November’s Busy First Half

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

November 7th. Last night, we had our first hard frost here in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania and, except in protected spots, that’s it for the flowers. And for most of the leaves.

As mentioned in earlier posts, second grade for me included memorizing Helen Hunt Jackson’s poems for September and October. I couldn’t remember a November poem and, having looked it up, I can see why! It beautifully captures November in the North, but lacks the rhyming cadences that would make it fun to recite.

This is the treacherous month when autumn days
With summer’s voice come bearing summer’s gifts.
Beguiled, the pale down-trodden aster lifts
Her head and blooms again. The soft, warm haze
Makes moist once more the sere and dusty ways,
And, creeping through where dead leaves lie in drifts,
The violet returns. Snow noiseless sifts
Ere night, an icy shroud, which morning’s rays
Will idly shine upon and slowly melt,
Too late to bid the violet live again.
The treachery, at last, too late, is plain;
Bare are the places where the sweet flowers dwelt.
What joy sufficient hath November felt?
What profit from the violet’s day of pain?

Fortunately, we are distracted from the worsening weather by all November’s events, many in just the first half! For example, the first Tuesday after the first Monday are elections — which can be celebrated by winner and loser alike if only for bringing an end to the barrage of TV ads and robot phone calls.

Car

Baseball is over, of course, and football is in full swing, from Pop Warner and Vince Lombardi to the big guys on TV. The Vroom! Vroom! Storybook Quilt is all about getting to the big game — with the star player in his hot car.

Imagine cuddling up under this quilt and reading the matching story on cold November nights!

November’s important Veteran’s Day has become even more treasured in the past few years, as more young veterans have seen actual combat. It’s a solemn occasion, usually, although we all should celebrate the bravery and willingness-to-serve of our troops, present and past.

What’s happening in your November — the first half? I’d love to hear!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in General | Comments Off

In Honor of Grandparent’s Day: Their Special Role

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Maggie the Dog Storybook Quilt

Maggie the Dog Storybook Quilt

One of the most wonderful things about today’s world is that people live longer. More children have a chance to fully enjoy their grandparents and more grandparents have a chance to enjoy and to guide their grandchildren. But no matter how determined we are to not fall behind on the latest technology, the latest vocabulary, the latest fashion or the latest animated film characters, we inevitably do. That’s not necessarily a bad thing!

Grandparents, I believe, have a special role in being living proof that one doesn’t have to always be involved in the latest latest to be valued or find satisfaction in life. Grandparents also provide a link to timeless traditions and activities that are both exciting and comforting.

It’s grandparents, often, who have the time that busy parents do not to dabble in such things with their granchildren — a little fingerpainting and papier mache creation, making (and “testing!”) a few cookies, helping fit together a puzzle, exploring the wondrous animals at the zoo, feeding the squirrels in the park, going fishing in the beaver pond, planting a garden and watching it grow, or reading stories together.

These are timeless pleasures that do much to restore one’s soul, at any age, and are the building blocks for a good set of coping skills that are invaluable throughout life.

At Storybook Quilts, the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren is one thing the spurs us on to create the quilts and write the matching stories. We imagine a grandparent cuddled with a grandchild under a quilt, reading a story that plays out in the fabrics in the quilt. The stories are adventures that keep one’s attention to the end; the quilts become companions that can help recollect that cozy, comforting feeling of being held and read to by grandma or grandpa. These are memories that always are precious; our unique quilts with matching stories help ensure that they remain strong for years to come.

We are continuously adding to our themes and now have eight available: DanZy the Rabbit, Amos the Bear, Maggie the Dog, Maurice the Cat, Dapper Dan the Snowman, Vroom Vroom the Red Sportscar, Winnie the Frog and the yet-to-be-named sea turtle. (The contest to name the turtle has just ended; the winners will be announced shortly.)

Happy Grandparent’s Day!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Grandparenting, SQ themes | Comments Off