throwing kids’ art away

Those End of School Year Papers

I have two things to share with you today regarding the ginormous bags of stuff that my children brought home at the end of the school year.

First, the bags were placed in a heap near our mudroom on the last day of school. On the very next day, my husband came home from work and said forlornly, “Gee, I was really hoping those would be taken care of by now.”

Ha ha ha ha ha!

Them’s fighting words, Pa! I can sue you for divorce over words like that and every mother in America would sport t-shirts that proclaimed “Team Experienced Bad Mom”.

Second, I did manage to pick through one bag. And I found this:

I’m frightened.

Truly. Frightened.

My beloved 6-year-old daughter created ”Clown Parade” artwork. And those clowns look EVIL. Like the fruits of the devil!

Seriously, that clown guy in the middle looks like it will jump out at me and go all Poltergeist.

Now, nobody tell her that her “Clown Parade” freaks me out, okay?

And, please, tell me that either 1) you haven’t cleaned up the bag of end of school year paperwork, or 2) it took you 3 weeks to do so, or 3) you found something worse than “Clown Parade” in your bags!

June 18, 2013 By Katy24 CommentsFiled Under: Bad Mom, kindergarten, school Tagged With: artwork, clowns, throwing kids' art away

Happy Doodles Custom Stuffed Animals – Review and Giveaway!

A couple months ago, I posted a tongue-in-cheek Help Wanted ad. I desperately wanted someone who could throw out my kids’ artwork, so I wouldn’t feel guilty doing it.

Many of you stepped up, commiserating or offering your services. One mompreneur, Heather, introduced herself and her business, Happy Doodles. I love the idea of Happy Doodles and am so excited to tell you about this product and give one away to a lucky reader.

Happy Doodles takes children’s artwork and transforms it into soft, huggable stuffed animals.

A sweet blue piggy

A pretty pink kitty

After mailing or emailing your child’s artwork to Happy Doodles, the artwork is digitally printed on soft cotton, then backed with soft and furry fleece, and finally stuffed with polyester fiberfill. The final product is available in two sizes:

Large, approximately 18” long or wide, 4” thick, for $60
Medium, about 12″ long or wide, 3″ thick, for $40

Each Happy Doodle is unique, since it is made in the shape of the character that a child draws. And Happy Doodles are great for big kids, too. I know many tweens and teens who would love to see their art come alive!

A super bunny

Besides the custom stuffed animals, Happy Doodles will soon be offering key chains/backpack decorations and Christmas ornaments. What fun ideas!

Happy Doodles is a company I love to support, too. Heather’s goal is to grow the business enough so that she can employ mothers of children with disabilities:

Heather, founder of Happy Doodles

“I know from personal experience that when a mom takes a child to over 200 doctor’s appointments in one year, or spends weeks sleeping on a chair next to her child’s hospital bed, that it is hard to imagine an employer that will tolerate that schedule. I also know that this mom needs a creative outlet, a way to earn some money, and (not least) a legitimate reason to take a break from the worries about her child, the endless medical appointments and calls to straighten out insurance claims, the struggle to find an academic environment where her child can thrive.” – Heather, founder of Happy Doodles

Heather has graciously offered 1 gift certificate for a medium Happy Doodle for this giveaway. Just think how excited your child or grandchild will be when he sees his very own masterpiece transformed into a soft friend!

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. Note the easiest and most entries you can get is for liking Happy Doodles on Facebook. Don’t forget to leave a blog post comment below outside of the Rafflecopter widget, then go back in and click “+1 Leave a blog post comment” if you want to earn an entry via that method. This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only. One lucky winner will be randomly selected and announced next Monday, August 20.

Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: the opinion expressed in this review is my own. I did not receive compensation in exchange for this review.

August 13, 2012 By Katy18 CommentsFiled Under: giveaway, good mom Tagged With: giveaway, Happy Doodles, throwing art away, throwing kids' art away

Help Wanted

Wanted

Experienced Bad Mom seeks stealthy individual capable of successfully tossing children’s artwork into the trash.

Minimum requirements:

3-5 years of progressive responsibility getting rid of mountains of drawings, paintings, and the like.
Must be able to bury artwork so that children cannot find it when they look in the trash.
Must be able to show no remorse or guilt.
Experience identifying 1-2 archival-quality pieces per year to save for posterity is desired.
Ability to quickly sort artwork into trash or recycling is a plus.

Please forward cover letter, resume, and at least one reference to ExperiencedBadMom {at} gmail {dot} com. If called for an interview, please prepare a role play on the topic “Mom! How did my drawing/painting get in the trash????”

Pay is commensurate with experience. Pay may consist of children’s artwork.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.