The Backardigans have moved into the Mabelhood!*

Your backyard friends have moved into the Mabelhood! Available only in Canada, choose between The Backyardigans Label Pack or The Backyardigans Stationery Kit, customized with your name and favourite character.

--

* only available in Canada.

Changes to the website!

If you haven't been by the Mabel's Labels website for a while, drop by and see the new changes!

Look for:

• Their Summer Camp Packing List (PDF)
• The new "Track My Order" feature
• Canadian residents need to have a peek at Mabel's new backyard friends!
  

Help! I've got more than one child!

What do you do if you have more than one child and don't want to spend a fortune on personalized labels for each one? Here are some ideas for you:

Solution A: Family name

From the FAQ on the Mabel's Labels website:

I have 2 kids, could I have half my order as "Jenny" and the other half as "Kate"?
Unfortunately we can’t split orders. But you might consider going with the family name, so everyone can share the labels.

Should you order the Classic Stickies you'll be able to give each kid their own colour (assuming you've got no more than three children).

Solution B: Give children have same initial

If your children all have the same initial (such as Nicole, Nancy, Nathaniel and Ned) you're all set. Get the initial with your family name!

What's that? You didn't name your children with the same initial and you don't want to rename them? No worries.... we have more ideas below!

Solution C: Two children -- icon / no icon

If you've got two children with a large age difference, you may be able to convince the older one that icons on the stickers are for little kids. Then order your labels with the family name and cut off the icon for the older child to use. The younger child will identify anything with the name and the icon to be theirs.

Be sure to round the corners when you cut as approximated by the red lines in the image to the right.

Solution D: Two initials

If you need labels for two children, Nicole and Mabel, you could order the label as shown to the right.





Then for Nicole, cut off the ",M" and the icon. Be sure to round the corners when you cut as approximated by the red lines in the image to the right.




For Mabel, you cut off the "N." Again, be sure to round the corners when you cut as approximated by the red lines in the image to the right.

Solution E: Two initals, short family name

If you have a short family name and need labels for two children, Nicole and Mabel, you could order the label as shown to the right.




Then cut the label in half, one for each child. Be sure to round the corners when you cut as approximated by the red lines in the image to the right.

Solution F: Multiple initials

Use all the initials separated by a "/" for Nicole, Mabel and Tricia. No cutting required!

I hope you've found an idea in here that works for you. If you have other solutions you'd like to share, please let us know!

End of year gift for teachers

The end of the school year is approaching and it's time to start thinking about gift giving for your child's teacher or caregiver.

Moxie has some great posts with terrific comments about gift giving to teachers. Some of my favourite points include:

• "If you really want to buy a gift, please please please no cheese balls and teacher mugs or tchochkes or ornaments. The most appreciated gifts I ever got were books, office supplies, or gift cards to Borders and Staples."
• "The greatest gift your child can give is a handwritten letter -- something like, 'Ms. Maura, this is my favorite class. I really loved the project we did on X. I'm always going to remember you because of X. Thank you for teaching me X.'
• "So, the best gift is cash on the barrel, closely followed by gift cards to retailers so large and ubiquitous that they are cash equivalents. So cash it is for daycare providers. I don't know what we'll do for teachers once we hit elementary school. Gift certificates to places school supplies are found, plus other stuff, sound great."
• "Both schools I worked at had policies about accepting checks/cash."

If you feel like you want to send a tangible gift along with your child's handwritten note and / or gift certificate, add a Mabel's Labels Classroom Pack! For years, teachers have been telling Mabel's Labels that they need labels for the classroom.

Removing iron-ons

Mabel's clothing labels resist the wear and tear of laundry and children beautifully! Iron-ons are the classic choice for clothing labels.

But can they be removed?

The short answer is, it depends.

Many people are able to just pull them off by picking at a corner that has come loose over time. By design, however, the iron-on label ever so slightly melts to adhere to the fabric.

If you have been aggressive with the iron (by heating longer than recommended on the package) to adhere the labels (as I was with the socks shown to the right*), you may be left with a little bit of residue on your clothing. Note that I was able to remove the name part of the label, but not the base part that melted into the sock.

Some people recommend to "Try ironing it and when it is warm ease up a corner and pull fairly hard." I understand that some people have had success with the following method:

1. Place a piece of parchment paper over the label and heat the label with a hot dry iron.
2. Remove the parchment paper.
3. Pull it from a corner while the label is still hot. (Be careful not to burn yourself! Use a blunt knife to do this.)
4. Peel label away from the clothing.
   
5. The label may break as it cools.
6. Repeat as necessary.

I haven't had a chance to try heating up the label and then removing the residue -- when I do I'll post back here with the results.

Alternately, one could iron a new one over the top (should the item be used by another member of your family).

Variables which may affect the ease with which labels are removed: washing in hot water, excessive washing, time, fabric (smooth cotton vs fleece).

--
* The labels on had been on these socks for about six months. In that time they had only been washed in cold water.

Not just for kids' stuff!

You may know that Classic Stickies and Skinny-Minis™ are perfect for toys, containers, cups, bottles and more. You may even know that they withstand the dishwasher, microwave, UV Rays and hard wearing children.

Don't let that stop you from using them to label your things too! From your reusable lunch containers to USB memory keys, make sure that your valuable things come back to you!



Because they withstand water and UV rays, they are the perfect solution for identifying your indoor and outdoor tools!

Help out your teachers!

Do you send stuff (like group snacks or craft materials) to school or daycare in reusable bags? Imagine being the teacher or caregiver and trying to remember which bag belongs to whom at the end of the day! Make their lives just a little bit easier by eliminating the guesswork with the creative use of Mabel's Labels products.

(Images show a Bag Tag on a reusable grocery bag and a Skinny-Mini™ on a can opener.)