Happy Thanksgiving Pony Pair of The Month Club Members!

Hello Pony Pair Members!

Why do you see brioche, not non-slip barrettes in this photo? Because they are a beautiful bread I love to make and go beautifully with a Thanksgiving meal (why else? :-). Do you have a favorite? Leave me a comment (update - got an email request for the recipe - now posting it below - enjoy)! In the meantime, here's your letter for November:

November, 2009

Dear Pony Pair Members,

Where we are located, the chill has definitely hit the air! It’s time to bundle up and think warm thoughts. Holidays are coming swiftly on the coat tails of north winds and I have to admit, my favorite of these is only a few days away.

Thanksgiving seems to take on greater meaning as we grow and our lives become more complicated. It’s a day to give thanks and, in doing so, it’s usually not difficult to realize that what we hold most dear is often very simple. Those we love. The time we have to share. And the “little joys” that bring us comfort throughout the year. At Maiden America, we’re thankful for your participation in our pro-parent efforts all year long, via your membership. This month’s pair is…

“Velvet Stripe Crystal Daisy” is the name of Maiden America’s November pair – a low profile, non-slip hair barrette in royal and light purple tones (ignore photo’s colors to the left – that’s just a picture for “style” :-).

There is also a bonus gift set that will be a total surprise (no online sneak peak here!).

May your Thanksgiving be filled with great joys, large and small!

Sincerely
Maiden America


Okay - here's my brioche recipe:

I’m half Sicilian so I’m genetically pre-disposed to making twice as many at a time – this recipe will give you about 38-46 yummy brioche!

2 packages yeast (I use quick action)
1 cup warm water (can’t be too hot or too cold – you want yeast to bubble / activate)
4 tblsp sugar
1 tsp salt
12 eggs (pay attention to how these divide)
1-1/2 cup butter (softened – look away – can’t be any fat in THESE rolls!!!)
7 cups flour
2 tbsp. Water

In the late afternoon, dissolve yeast in warm water in a generously sized mixing bowl.

Add sugar, salt, 10 whole eggs + 2 additional egg whites (save yokes in separate bowl) and 4 cups of the flour. Beat on low speed for a minute, scraping down sides several times. Then, raise speed to medium and keep going for about ten minutes (again, scraping sides down, periodically).

Stir in remaining flour until you have a smooth ball. I remove this from the bowl and work it on a board (lightly) for a minute or two, then clean out the bowl, oil it very lightly and return the dough ball to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in bulk (1 - 1-1/2 hours).

Stir the dough down by beating it +/- 25 strokes. Return it to the bowl, cover tightly with the plastic wrap and then put it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. It should puff up like crazy in there!

NOW – you know why I said “late afternoon” – finish the rolls the next day!

In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and get out either some brioche tins or muffin tins. I used a mix of both. Grease the tins. Stir the dough down. Then divide the dough into manageable sections and roll it and cut out circles roughly 3-1/2” in diameter. Place those in the bottom of the tins. Then take portions of the dough and shape them into small “cones” and place those (pointed side down) into the tins, on top of the rounds that you just put in (note, when I use muffin tins, I just made balls shapes - my method is…if it looks pretty going in, it will look pretty coming out – so just shape them with love and they will turn out beautifully!).

Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Either put plastic wrap over the tins of dough OR, place tins in clean, plastic trash bags and let them rise until they’re all puffed up (double at least) = +/- 40 minutes.

Beat the remaining yolks with 2 tbsp. Water and then brush the brioche with the egg yolk before putting them in the oven. Bake them for 15-20 minutes, until you just know they are perfect! Eat with pride!

-Tristan Benz

Copyright 2009, All rights reserved.

Nonslip Barrette of the Month - "Autumn Mist" - (October is the perfect backdrop!)

Dear Pony Pair Members,

It may be that autumn now blankets your world in orange leaves and red sweaters, brown earth and black boots…

But, this month, we were inspired not by the pumpkins and witches and the green-gone-golden fire tones that you will find and seek out, with ease.

Nope. We were caught up in the cool autumn mist that hovers in the early mornings, landing on leaves, lashes and, yes…if you walk long enough…even leashes.

“Autumn Mist” is the name of Maiden America’s October barrette - a shimmering, aqua-toned, non-slip hairbow that is so gorgeous, even a faceless October pumpkin head looks fabulous wearing it!

Naturally, autumn will offer you all the great background colors you’ll ever need to make this hair clip “pop” and come to life :-).

If you haven’t yet risen early and taken a walk this month, go do it! And be sure to wear your most glorious colors to compliment, not compete with, Autumn’s great beauty.

Happy October to you all!

Sincerely
Maiden America

When Life Gives You Lemons...

It hasn't been easy - we've had an extended suspension of our service due to the nightmare that IS CPSIA - but, now that there we have new members that are not children, we are back into the swing of things!

For those of you who have not been following the CPSIA saga, you may want to check out Rick Woldenberg's blog - he has most faithfully been chipping away, on behalf of all small business in America. Also, the CPSIA Chronicles are a well of valuable information, as is What is The CPSIA and Amend The CPSIA.

Okay - here's this month's letter - HAPPY SEPTEMBER!!

Dear Pony Pair Members,

When life gives you lemons…only make lemonade if you’re actually thirsty. :-)

Otherwise, lemons are good for so many other things! Anything baked with fresh, lemony goodness is MORE than worth an hour of your life. If you’re in a playful mood and have a wood floor in your hallway, you could turn lemons into a wobbly game of bowling. Or, if you’re feeling down, you could draw faces on your lemons, put dowels into them and arrange them in what you might call your beautiful, new “Lemony Face Vase!” Whether you want to lift your spirits, glorify a kitchen window, enjoy some teacake and lemonade or just be silly, when life gives you lemons, what you really are getting are…ALTERNATIVES.

This month, Maiden America is not sending you lemons. We’re sending you a new style inspired by customer Annie Braley. She was in search of a simple style with pearls and wondered if we could do one like another style of ours, “Velvet Sparkle.” Of course, it’s tricky to put these pearls onto velvet. It takes great care and impeccable timing. Each pearl must be hand prepared on the back surface and, if it isn’t set properly, you have to start all over again! Velvet is a very unforgiving textile…but, thankfully, we’re dedicated to overcoming challenges. If we used toxic glues, I’m sure this process wouldn’t be necessary. But we consider our customers as special as life’s lemony goodness! :-)

Well, we hope you enjoy these sweet September clips. We’ve also enclosed your Magic F-Hairy Wand with a “lemony twist.” Instead of flowers on the bottoms of the ribbons, you’re getting pins. They add weight to the ribbons (ever practical) but…once your growing collection of our unbeatable Non-Slip barrettes do that job for you, we thought it might be nice to be able to use these decorations as pins, too. So, when life gives you flowers…?!

Happy September club members!

Kind Regards,

Maiden America

My apologies - the rules of CPSIA are unfair to me and you!

Dear Pony Pair Members,

I am so sorry that we could not send you any barrettes this month and that it has taken me so long to get this note out to you.

Have you ever felt so sad about something that you just couldn't bring yourself to be happy for awhile? Sometimes it takes time to get all of the sad out of our bodies...to feel happy again. Lately, I've been sad because I have no choice but to disappoint you - to stop sending you barrettes.

It's not easy to explain why you can't have our barrettes right now (especially when dogs and grown ups can have them!). But, I bet your parents have told you that things aren't always fair in life, right? Well, it is true! Sometimes we have to work really hard to to accept things that aren't fair - sometimes we have to just live with the unfairness. Then again, sometimes things are so unfair that it's worth taking time to work really hard to change them - to change the rules (they are explained in greater detail for your parents in the CPSIA Chronicles, if they want to learn more).

When I was a little girl, my mom told me that it's always good to follow rules. But she also said, not ALL RULES are good rules and that it's important to ask questions and to think really hard about what makes a rule good - or bad, for that matter! Sometimes, rules need to change. She also told me that changing the rules isn't easy. But, if something is important enough to you, it's worth doing something hard, in order to work toward changing things for the better.

Right now, there are rules we have to follow that I and a whole lot of others are working hard to change. Because we believe that your parents and grandparents should be the ones who get to decide what is best for you (and that they should have a lot of different kinds of things to choose from, too!), we are working hard to change the rules - to make sure you can keep on checking out books at your library (that we read as children - GREAT BOOKS!) and wear clothing that is handmade with great care (stuff you don't chew on because you've already moved on to actual food! :-) and other stuff. There is a VERY long list of things your parents / grandparents can no longer buy right now, because of the new, unfair rules we've been told we have to follow.

As a mom with three little girls of my own, it makes me sad to see the rules change so that parents and grandparents don't get to be the RULE MAKERS. The whole reason I started my company was to help parents and grandparents be the #1 RULE MAKERS for our children, in America. My only thought has been, who knows better how to care for our children than we do? Well, my company alone can't help parents and grandparent now - we need all parents, grandparents and ALL companies that make things for children to work together if we want to be the rule makers again.

So I hope you parents and grandparents will join us in helping to change these new rules. They can watch a live rally (a group of us telling people why these rules need to change) on April 1st at amendthecpsia.com - just be sure to get them up really early if you live on the west coast because the rally is going to be in Washington D.C.

Well, again, I am very sorry that I can't send you any barrettes. Maybe, if we can get these rules changed, I can make you happy again. I sure hope so! Because nothing gives me greater joy than writing to you and sending you surprises because someone who loves you very much asked me to do so! Please know that I waited awhile before posting my letter to you because I had so hoped we could fix these rules before Easter - so I could write a happier note and send you something with flowers and sparkles, to make you feel like hopping with joy, yourself! But, it looks like we have a lot of work to do still, to change the rules, so I hope you can re-use some barrettes from other months.

Thank you for understanding. No matter how big we get, we get sad, frustrated - we have feelings. No matter how big we get, life isn't always fair. And, no matter how big we get, there are times when working to change what isn't fair seems like the hardest thing to do - but also, the right thing to do.

I hope you have a beautiful Easter. I hope you plant some Spring bulbs (do you like tulips?) in your garden! It's time for that, you know...

Warmest Regards,
Tristan Benz

© Tristan Benz 2009, All Rights Reserved

Maiden America Non Slip Barrettes for February!

Dear Members,

By now you’ve seen the stores are way ahead of us all – candied hearts, chocolate hearts, Cupids of every kind and even M&Ms in pinks and reds and whites have been on the shelves for a month already! But, as with other holidays, the meaning sometimes gets lost beside all of the candies, stuffed pillows and Teddy bears being sold.

As you prepare for Valentine’s Day, ask your mom and dad how many Valentine’s Day cards they BOUGHT when they were young. We bet you’ll be surprised to learn that it was very few – a LOT fewer than kids these days. We bet you’ll hear about doilies and crepe paper – about hearts cut from colored connstruction and messy bits of glue. We bet you’ll even hear about how many hours it took to make just one. The memories they now have to share only exist because they took the time to make their very own cards. Sometimes, it’s easy to buy them – sometimes that can be fun. But, at least once in your childhood, we hope you’ll find yourself sitting around a messy craft table, thinking about each special person who is lucky enough to get a handmade that NOBODY will ever be able to find in any store! Because it came straight from your heart – to your imagination – to your very own, original finished product.

Enclosed are some bits of this and that you can use to add decoration to your cards (even bought ones) this year. May you celebrate this special holiday by thinking about the unique and special joy each person brings to your life – because even those that may frustrate us also bring us joy. Seeking the good in others has just got to be at the heart of Valentine’s Day! J

Your February pair of matching nonslip barrettes are a new design – “Cupid’s Arrow” – we hope you like these, as they were hand made with YOU in mind and sent by someone who thinks of you each and every day!


Enjoy! - Maiden America

Your New Year Pair of Non Sip Hair Clips!

Happy New Year Pony Pair Members!

First, congratulations goes to our winner of December's giveaway - D.H.Remels - you've won a membership that will bring you a year of unbeatable non slip hair clips - we hope you enjoy.

Second - January barrettes have shipped so, here's your newsletter!

Dear Member,

Did you know that the month of January was named after Janus, the Roman God of gates and doorways? In relief (raised) sculpture, Janus was shown with two faces, looking in opposite directions. Why do you think that was?

Do you think it has anything to do with how people start the New Year? Do you ever find yourself looking back at what you did LAST year and also forward, to all the things you hope to do in the new year? What will you DO this year that you didn’t do last year? What will you TRY in the NEW YEAR that you forgot or were afraid to try last year?

Can you make a list of all the things you think you could do (that you’ve never actually tried to do)? Sometimes, making lists of stuff we want to do can be like a magic trick – if you put your list in an envelope and give it to your mom to put away for the whole year, when she gives it back and you open it again NEXT JANUARY, you might just be amazed at how much on your list you actually DID do! Go ahead – try it and see! To help you get started, we’ll share our rules when writing a list – you can use them if you want to (or not :-).

Rule#1: don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do – if you think you can do it, then write it down and try.

Rule#2: don’t let anyone tell you what you can THINK you can do – the ONLY person who knows what you are capable of in life is YOU. If you think you can’t then it will be true. BUT, if you think you CAN, you have a chance to discover things other people are often too afraid to even think of trying!

Rule#3: always write down a few things that are totally wacky and fun – like, “I want to write my name with miniature marshmallows.” It can’t hurt to have a few things to do when you get really bored :-).

Rule#4: always write down a few things that are the hardest thing you could ever imagine doing – but things you wish were easy to do because, how great would it be to be great at something super hard to do?!

Rule#5: make your list as long as you want to – there’s no limit to how much you can accomplish in your year – and it doesn’t matter if you’re 2 or 200, this rule is TRUE.

Okay - your January pair of non slip matching barrettes will look fabulous, no matter which way YOUR head is turned :-). We’ve sent you a pair of white Dahlia Adorabilis’ with pink crystals to add just a touch of color to the middle of winter.

Enjoy! - Maiden America


© 2009 Tristan Benz, all rights reserved.

Happy BLOOMING!

So we received another beautiful note this last month from a customer - I'll put it in my next post (it's been super crazy busy!). But I wanted to get our Pony Pair of The Month Club members their December letter, hot off the press! Your barrettes ship TODAY!!! Now, I don't have a picture of this new style yet - but there are a lot of new styles now up on the site (just a handful more to go!) and I'm putting one of those pictures here, just for the sake of having a lovely photo here!

Dear Member,

Are you ready for December? Are you ready for FULL BLOOM?

Thanksgiving is like a seed that gets watered every November. The feelings of thanks and giving we have in our hearts start to take on bigger, more glorious shapes and colors in our life. Just like Daffodils that lay beneath the soil in their bulbs all year, waiting for spring to do their magnificent thing, the holiday season is when our greatest blooming happens – when our love and joy really blossoms and gets spread about in the world, on a bigger scale.

Now, you might be thinking, “but I love and give all year!” We hope so – and good for YOU!

Still, at this time of year, people can’t help but bloom and blossom even more. Every single person – from little babies to people who say they’re older than dirt – every one of us seems to realize how much more we have to give that we haven’t yet given this year; that our hearts are somehow more full than they were before, in spite of all the loving we did in January and February; being a good friend in March, April, May and June; standing up for someone in July; Helping others in August and September; Making people laugh in October... No matter how much we gave earlier, we now see there is still more in our heart - that it’s still really FULL in there! The thing is, hearts are not like gas tanks,. At the holidays, they’re suddenly so full that we have no choice but to share love and joy in great, big, heaping hugs and handfuls – to give it away faster than we can think about it! As hard as that sounds :-)… it can’t be helped - it’s just how we human beings bloom at the holidays.

The other thing you might want to notice over the holidays is, sometimes people get confused by all the lights and presents – they think these things are what make the holidays special. But, in fact, the real holiday lights are what shine in you and the real present you have to give IS you. Throughout history, people haven’t always had decorations and presents – but they’ve always had hearts full of love and joy to give. They’ve always had time and one loved ones, with whom to share it. The’ve always found ways to bloom!

This month, may you bloom with your new Sparkle Bows keeping your hair out of your joyful eyes. These bows are extra bright red because they’ve been packed with love. So, when someone tells you how cute your Sparkle Bows are, you can tell them it’s because extra time was taken – extra joy was put into packing them up, just for you! Then, go give a big hug to the one who made you a member of our club. And the pin that’s enclosed? Give it to that person – and whenever you see it, remember the holidays are a time for blooming!

Happy BLOOMING! - Maiden America
© 2008 All Rights Reserved Maiden America

Pony Pair of The Month Club - Maiden America non slip barrettes monthly newsletter now online!

At the beginning of each new month, there is always some excitement in the air around here, at Maiden America. Because, each new month, we choose (or sometimes are inspired to create) a pair of matching non slip hair clips for those little girls (and sometimes dogs!) that are lucky enough to be members of our Pony Pair of The Month Club.

By the grace of their wonderful mothers, fathers, grandmothers and others, these lucky little ones have been given a subscription to our club, which entitles them to receive a SURPRISE and matching pair of our unbeatable non-slip hair barrettes each and every month, for a full year! Plus, they get other stuff...you can find out more about that by clicking the link above.

Now, as much as I'm thrilled to see our club grow, I'm even more thrilled to have the delighful opportunity to write a special letter to our little members, each and every month. Since starting the club - and then with the blogging - I've opened up a can of worms for myself - in spite of homeschooling and retail going full steam now, I've been bitten by the bug - I LOVE to write! I love to think of fun, original stuff that might spark some excitement or ideas or inspiration in the mind of a child (or, even, a grown up!). I love what feels to me like a game of "pass it on" - passing the good stuff forward. So - here is yet one more opportunity to do so.

For this first post, I shall just begin where we are - November. I can replace the photo above as soon as we get photos of the new style we shipped this month - Chocolate Daisy. But, for now, here is a cut and paste of the newsletter that went out this November. Also, a follow-up response we received from the mother of one of our members. Her response was, in no way, wasted on me - I absolutely TREASURE the fact that she was so moved and, what's more, that she took time out of her own busy schedule to give us the gift of thanks - to share her beautiful feedback. You can read it, below, just after the newsletter.


Dear Member,

November is a most special month. Thanksgiving is a time not only to give thanks, but to know, by our actions, what it means to have that special feeling inside, knowing that giving is its OWN reward.

This month, we wonder, will you do something special for yourself?

We have enclosed an extra barrette with a card inside the packet – will you do yourself a favor and give this to a friend you think will enjoy something pretty, herself? You can draw a picture on the card or write whatever you wish . The only thing we ask is that you do give it away. There’s no greater joy in life than giving!

For you, there is a pair of Chocolate Daisies. We chose these because their colors are some you might find everywhere you go in your barrettes this month. If you notice what the yellows, reds and oranges fade into this fall and factor in how your cheeks turn pink when you run and play outside, you’ll see just what we mean J.
Hopefully, you’ll have some fun inside, too, this November. If you are lucky, you have someone willing to mix up some play dough. Have you ever worked with homemade play dough? Here’s the best recipe we’ve found so far – just be sure an adult makes it for you so when you get to work with it, it’s already nice a cool!

½ c. flour
¼ c. salt
1/2c. water (with food coloring added)
1 tsp. Cream of tartar
½ tblsp. Oil
Mix all ingredients in a medium saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly.
When ball forms, remove from heat – don’t let it cook too long (ball forms quickly).

Sincerely
Maiden America

© Maiden America 2008


So, on November 17, we received the following note via email from Jennifer Eberwine:

"I just wanted to send an e-mail to thank you for the extra barrette to give to someone. You did such a nice thing and allowed us to participate in your joy of giving. I had fun passing it along to my friend at church on Sunday. She said it was funny that I gave that to her because all during church her daughter's barrette kept slipping down. She said that she was thinking she would have to ask me where I got my daughter's because her barrette was staying in nicely.
So thanks again and God Bless!
Jennifer Eberwine"

Jennifer - your note is, to me, the ULTIMATE intro to my new blog - it brings together the ends, forming the circle of the intent behind my company, perfectly. My gratitude is to YOU, Jennifer. Thank you, so much, for your participation and feedback!!

To the rest we wish you...

Happy November Members!