TWO OHIO COMPANIES CONNECT AND BRING FAMILIES TOGETHER THROUGH QUALITY AND CREATIVITY(Cleveland, OH)  Beginning on February 13 – March 18, 2012 every Wendy’s Kids’ Meal® will include a Creativity for Kids® activity kit created exclusively for Wendy’s®.  Five fun activities are offered: 3D Drawing Activity Book that comes complete with a set of 3D glasses and crayon, Monster Lab Modeling Dough Set, Character Creator Set, Perfect Tracer Set and Fantasy Frame Set.  The activities will provide the opportunity for Wendy’s® customers to spend time with their children but are also age-appropriate for a child to create on their own.  The promotion coincides with Creativity for Kids® 2012 new products launch at the 109^th annual American International Toy Fair® February 12-15 in New York City.

These two Ohio based companies are known for being #1 in quality. When Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s® in Columbus, Ohio in 1969, quality was so important that he put the phrase “Quality Is Our Recipe” right on the logo.  Creativity for Kids® was co-founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1976 based on the core values of quality and innovation. 

“We are very excited about this first of its kind promotion for the Creativity for Kids brand,” commented Jamie Gallagher, CEO of Faber-Castell USA. ”We really could not have found a better brand than Wendy’s with whom to partner. We think families across North America are going to love this promotion.”

Wendy’s® and Creativity for Kids® know that spending quality time together as a family is important.   Wendy’s Kids’ Meals provide families with an opportunity to take a moment out of their busy lives to enjoy a meal and interact with each other.  Research shows that family crafting is on the rise and Creativity for Kids® products enrich that time together. 

from the Playthings Staff...

Magic School Bus Slime and Polymer Lab from The Young Scientists Club teaches kids aged 5 and up to take polymers out of milk, make slime and goop, produce a snow eruption, melt snow, grow super-absorbent flowers, germinate seeds in polymers, dehydrate polymers, and more. $39.99.

London, Ontario’s Brands in Balance (BiB) recently announced it will be representing the lines of two additional companies through 2012. Joining BiB’s roster of award-winning clients are Canada’s Empire Music, and the U.S.’s Pacific Play Tents.

Through its partnership with Empire Music, Bib will offer over 100 music-making toys and kid-sized instruments under the Halilit and Musical Fun brands. The Halilit line includes many best-sellers, such as the fabulous CrocoGlock xylophone. (Empire Music was profiled in the July 2011 edition of T & G.)

Based in California, Pacific Play Tents is known for its range of play tents, tunnels, and active-play accessories that are ideal for use at home or a school environment. The line includes a variety of models and themes, such as Fire Station and Little Red School House, all made with safe, kid friendly coatings and materials.

For more information contact Brands in Balance or visit them at the Canadian Toy & Hobby Fair, booth 368.

At the recent Canadian Toy Association’s Hot Toys media event it’s not surprising it was the toys that danced, beeped, sang or zoomed that capturing the most attention.  However, once the toys with battery-driven enhancements were put aside, kids returned to explore and concentrate on several of the quieter items.

The Young Scientist Club’s Magic School Bus – Microscope Lab is one of the few of the “quiet” toys garnering further attention from Toys and Games Magazine.  As the latest title from the award-winning line it is the perfect way to introduce young scientist to exciting new worlds visible through a microscope. Packaged in a distinctive Magic School Bus-shaped box, this kit includes a working microscope, blank slides, cover slips, tweezers, collecting vial, experiment cards, prepared slides and an observation / data notebook.

Two Creativity for Kids products are Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2011 Platinum Award Winners!!!#1051 - Best Friends Scrapbooks and #1726 - Make Your Own Kaleidoscope

The Oppenheim Platinum Award 

represents the most innovative, engaging new products of the year.

The kids at Paddywhack Lane are stopping their play for a quick HURRAY:

The editorial staff at TDmonthly Magazine chose Paddywhack Lane’s Costume Club Treehouse to be highlighted on the TOYDIRECTORY.com homepage on 8/7 for their 14,600+ registered retailers and other visitors to the site.

Paddywhack Lane toys were chosen as an Editors’ Recommended Specialty Toy because: "This play set for adorable child figures is high-quality and stimulates imaginative play in girls and boys."

Back to School Toys That Help Your Child Learn
It’s time for kids to shrug on a backpack, grab their lunch and head back to school again. But it doesn’t have to be just about pencils and paper and books. Learning through play is an effective way to supplement the lessons taught at school. And whether your child needs extra help or is keen for some at home enrichment, there are certainly plenty of educational toys on the market. Here are a few of the best and newest available.

Mark-My-Time Digital Bookmarks
Drop everything and read! The biggest challenge facing busy parents is how to monitor and record daily reading homework, often for more than one child at a time. The Mark-My-Time Digital Bookmark or Booklight lets each child record nighttime reading minutes at the touch of a button.

The Young Scientist Club - The Magic School Bus™ Chemistry Lab  
Loaded with a generous assortment of tools and supplies to make science at home an affordable activity.  A great kit that gives parents the tools and background information to help your child discover a little bit of science at home.

Chicago - The American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) unveiled its 2011 Best Toys for Kids list, which includes 22 products in 12 categories. Shrinky Dink Fairy Garden (#1118) from Creativity for Kids is one of the products honoured in the category Pretend / Fantasy Play.   

The winners were chosen by ASTRA member retailers' votes at the ASTRA Marketplace and Academy, held last week in Anaheim, CA. (The 54 finalists were, in turn, selected from over 800 nominations by retailers.) This was the first time that voting at the show was conducted online, via a password-protected system.

Jamestown, RI (June 15, 2011) –The Young Scientists Club is batting a thousand this year with Creative Child. For any non-baseball fans out there, that means that every single one of the company’s new products was a hit with the judges, which is saying a lot.

To win honors at Creative Child’s Toy Awards, products are thoughtfully reviewed by the very folks who buy them – moms, educators and caregivers. Only one product per category can win a Toy or Kid’s Product of the Year award. The remaining finalists receive a prestigious Preferred Choice award. The Seal of Excellence is another prominent award that’s given to those products that are not finalists but exceed expectations based on the criteria for nurturing creativity and education in children. 

This year, The Young Scientists Club took home one Kid’s Product of the Year, one Toy of the Year, two Seals of Excellence, and one Preferred Choice. This marks the third year in a row that the company has taken home a Toy/Kid’s Product of the Year Award, showing the company’s consistent excellence in the science categories.

Here’s a line up of the five award-winning products:
The Magic School Bus™ Microscope Lab- 2011 Kids Product of the Year
(Educational Science Kits category)
The Magic School Bus™ Jumping Into Electricity- 2011 Toy of the Year
(Creative Play with Science category)
Bus™ Chemistry Lab- 2011 Preferred Choice Award
(Educational Science Kits category)
Science On A Fossil Dig- 2011 Seal of Excellence Award
(Educational Science Kits category)
The Magic School Bus™ Blasting Off With Erupting Volcanoes- 2011 Seal of Excellence Award
(Educational Science Kits category) 

Visit the award-winning The Young Scientists Club at www.kidsciencekits.com for more information.

Timonium, MD - The Parents' Choice Foundation presented awards to 57 companies in the toy industry in the Spring 2011 Awards for toys. The awards recognize toys that "spark" imaginations and act as a catalyst for learning.

Creativity for Kids has been recognized as a leader in the Toy Category and is a recipient of the “Recommended Award”, the “Approved Award” and the “Fun Stuff Award”!

Shrinky Dinks Fairy Garden

Sparkling 3D Paint

The Complete Tie Dye Kit

Today’s Parent Magazine is delighted to inform Brands in Balance that Jawbones has been chosen as one of the Top Toys for 2010. The complete list of Top Toys is published in our November 2010 issue. 

Creativity for Kids is excited to announce that three craft kits received a Platinum Award from Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. This is the highest award given by this organization to recognize outstanding products in the marketplace. Each product is carefully considered and tested by educators, parents, and kids to determine which provide enriching and engaging play experiences for children. The review process aims to discover products that are entertaining and encourage learning, plus are well designed and safe for children to use.

And the 2010 Platinum Award goes to:
Create Your Own 3 Bitty Books comes with 3 blank hardcover books to write stories in, and then use stickers and markers to add pictures that illustrate the words. Add photographs for a personal touch. Each book is 4” x 5” and has 12 pages, plus there’s a book holder included for storing the books. ($9.99, age 4 & up)

Pop-Up Scrapbook features fun pop-ups to put your photographs and memories in motion. Create 14 scrapbook pages using colorful paper, stickers, rhinestones, and punch-out embellishments. Add captions and draw designs with markers. Your photographs of family, friends, and activities add the personal touch! The hardcover scrapbook is 9” x 11 ½” and includes a photo frame on the front. ($24.99, age 7 & up)

Here’s a really cool tree to make to hold your jewelry. Felt Fashions Jewelry Tree comes with a wooden tree covered in white and blue flocking that’s easy to assemble. Add a retro peace dove to decorate the top of the tree. Then make some fabulous felt jewelry to wear and later display on the Jewelry Tree – there are enough materials to design 2 bracelets, 2 necklaces, and a pair of earrings. ($19.99, age 6 & up)

All Creativity for Kids products are fully compliant with current U.S. toy safety standards.

Creativity for Kids has provided imaginative, high quality, innovative creative activity products for children for more than 30 years. Today our products are available all over the world, giving children the opportunity to create, pretend, and play in imaginative ways that encourage self-expression.

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Creativity for Kids…Awards… Accolades…Applause!

(Cleveland, OH)  Creativity for Kids is excited to receive the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) Vendor Excellence Award!  This award is given to companies that have exemplified overall excellence and outstanding service in the specialty toy industry over the past year.  The award was presented by ASTRA Committee Chair David Hesel to Phyllis Brody (Co-Founder, Creativity for Kids) and Jamie Gallagher (CEO, Faber-Castell USA) at the recent annual ASTRA convention.

In receiving the award Gallagher commented, "Our company appreciates this recognition as we strive for excellence in all areas of business, from developing high quality, award-winning craft kits, to providing world class service, to developing marketing and promotional programs that support retailer efforts in their local communities." 

(Cleveland, OH)  Faber-Castell USA is thrilled to announce that Phyllis Brody has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA).  This award is given each year to recognize a person who has demonstrated a career of service to the toy industry, and made a significant contribution to the promotion and stability of ASTRA in its mission to expand and improve the specialty toy industry.  Phyllis co-founded Creativity for Kids over 30 years ago with a mission to stimulate and encourage children’s natural creativity through arts and crafts activities.  The company pioneered the concept of open-ended creative experiences, and eventually became the leading provider of quality creative activity products for children in the United States and other countries.  In addition to being an entrepreneur, Phyllis was intimately and passionately involved in supporting and growing the specialty toy industry based on a shared belief in the benefits of quality play opportunities for children.  As a founding Board Member of ASTRA, she was integral to developing initiatives and programs to create a common sense of purpose and direction for specialty toy retailers, manufacturers, and sales representatives in a viable network to foster community, share ideas, and work toward shared goals.

In receiving this award, Phyllis joins a list of significant contributors in the specialty toy industry.  She feels her greatest achievements come from successful collaborations at all levels of business from product ideation to sales and marketing strategies and promotions.  In regard to this honor, Jamie Gallagher, current CEO of Faber-Castell USA (parent company of Creativity for Kids) said, "There is no one more fitting of this award than Phyllis.  Phyllis lives her passion for creativity and imagination every day.  Her contributions to this company, category and industry have been critical in keeping quality play experiences top of mind." 

The multi-award winning Creativity for Kids craft line, represented in Canada by Brands in Balance (BiB), notched up a few more honours on its awards belt. Three kits, Recycled Cardboard Dollhouse, Wind-Up Workshop Robots, and Texture Painting Set, won a 2010 Seal of Approval from The National Parenting Center, while a long list of kit titles, including Pop-Up Scrapbook, My First Scissors and Cardboard Racer—just to name a few—took home prestigious 2010 Gold Seal Awards from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.   

June 2010  

Brands in Balance has recently joined ASTRA, the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association. The association believes in the right of all children to achieve their full potential through fun and play.  ASTRA members are encouraged to educate parents and the community at large about the importance of play and disseminate information about appropriate toys and playthings.

ASTRA provides a forum for the specialty toy industry to come together to expand the professional knowledge of its members so that they may further the common goal with regard to children, the community and their individual businesses. 

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