Macy's Heart of Haiti

Two years ago at BlissDom I was introduced to Heart of Haiti. While talking to the gal at the booth in the expo hall I fell in love with the purpose behind the Heart of Haiti project. They had a heart for Haitian artisans living in poverty who wanted more for their lives. And Heart of Haiti was making dreams come true for them.



A couple of weeks ago I was reintroduced to Heart of Haiti through a Twitter party. Again, I fell in love with their cause.

Heart of Haiti is an initiative that grew out of a partnership between Fairwinds Trading Co. (Formerly run by Willa Shalit), the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and Macy's. Macy's had already worked with Willa and Fairwinds in the past on Rwanda Path to Peace, an initiative similar to that in Haiti that purchases products from basket weavers in Rwanda who are recovering from the genocide almost twenty years ago. 

Very shortly after the earthquake in 2010, Willa established a group of artisans that she thought had immense talent and simply needed an opportunity and some training to be successful at selling their art internationally. She brought in designers such as Rachel Roy and Martha Stewart to help the Haitian artists find products and designs that would sell in the U.S. Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren also visited and wanted to find a way to help. Therefore, Macy's Heart of Haiti was born. It was formed and for sale online with months of the earthquake, putting income back into the pockets of the artists. Originally around 450 artists as a part of the Artisans Business Network, and is now closer to 750. 

The collection features more than 40 home decor items including quilts,

metalwork, jewelry and paintings all made almost entirely from recycled and

sustainable items such as old cement bags, cardboard, oil drums and local

gommier wood. 

Macy’s Heart of Haiti upholds the belief that “trade not aid” is a powerful way to

create sustainable work and much needed financial opportunity.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and despite the

devastating earthquake people there are filled with hope and a desire to improve

their lives through employment.

The Spotted Black and White Paper Mache vase you see in these pictures is from Macy's Heart of Haiti. It is truly a work of art. A piece of handcrafted beauty.



I'd love it if you'd watch the following video to get a sense of what Heart of Haiti is doing to help the people in Haiti. Then, I challenge you to head over to Macy's and take a look at all of the beautiful pieces of art that are for purchase. I know you'll love them!




Everywhere has provided me with this Macy's Heart of Haiti product to review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.

NECCO Sweethearts Candies Contest {and a giveaway!}

Disclaimer: NECCO sent me a case of Sweethearts candies in exchange for this post. The opinions are my own. Also, there is an affiliate link within this post. Should you make a purchase, I get a small commission. Thank you for supporting jonahbonah.com.

Valentine's Day is one of my very favorite holidays of the year! There's something about all things HEARTS that I love.

Sweethearts heart candies from NECCO are one of the staples of Valentine's Day in my book. I grew up looking forward to them every year. I was excited when I got a box in my treat bag at school. I just loved them! I still do!

Did you know they've been around for one HUNDRED years? For real. No wonder they're yummy! They've had years and years to perfect those little heart-shaped yummies. {I wonder what the messages on the first Sweethearts were. Now we have sayings like, text me and UR GR8--is UR GR8 one of them? It should be. LOL}

This year NECCO Sweethearts came up with a fabulous idea! Each box is black and white so your children can use their imaginations and color their own box of candies. What a great way to let the kids get creative. {There's also a contest! Keep reading.}

NECCO sent me a case of Sweethearts for my kiddos to "color their own". What better way to get them to ALL sit at the table together and do the same project than to bribe them let them eat the candy when they've finished!

Here's each of their finished boxes. Jake's says #WCW and #MCM. {Do you do social media?? They mean Woman Crush Wednesday and Man Crush Monday. His logic to add #MCM is that these candies are for boys AND girls.} Jonah's says Read Your Bible. {Way to be straight forward!} Jett's says Love God. {Sweet boy!} McKinley's is colored oh, so pretty!

Sweethearts Conversation Hearts, the little sugar hearts with sweet, quirky sayings, have been a Valentine's Day staple for the last century. NECCO, the manufacturer of Sweethearts, makes 8 billion candy hearts each year to meet demand! This Valentine’s Day, Sweethearts, has a brand new package so kids can personalize their Valentines to friends and classmates. The new Sweethearts “Color Your Own” box is black and white, with stenciled hearts and a matte finish so children can color/design their own boxes with crayons and markers.

Want to win a case of NECCO Sweethearts for your kiddos to give to their classmates on Valentine's Day? Enter in the Rafflecopter below. {see below raaflecopter for a pin{able} image for pinterest.}

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Pin this picture for an additional entry in the drawing.

the one where i pretend i'm michaelangelo.

saturday night i went out on the town with the girls in the neighborhood.
there were sixteen of us at dinner and twelve of us at swirlz, the art studio.

just me.
no kids.
no husband.
just me.

us mommies need that every now and again, donchya know!


this is my "i'm so excited there's no noise coming from my back seat" face.


first stop while alone?
target, of course.


dinner time.
i love olive garden's salad.
and you'd be proud...this was dinner.
no pasta.


next, we went to swirlz art studio.
where i painted like a rock star.
or a preschooler.
whatev.


this is the canvas we started with.


first step complete.


getting a little color added.


almost there.


finished.

a work of art.


here we all are in all our glory.

we had a really great time.
i wish i was going to be living here longer...i'd love to go back to this place to create some more masterpieces.

i'll have to look for one of these art studios in jacksonville.

the family rules.

have you guys heard of ryan alexander?
no.
well, i'm here to tell you about his little shop on etsy.
he has quite a few irresistable prints for your home.


ryan sent me one of his *family rules* posters.
isn't it great??

it's a black and white poster on super quality paper.
20x30 in size.
BIG.




my kids favorite rule on the poster is share everything.
jake said to me, after reading for the first time, "mom, you have to share everything. even your money!"
um, no!
you must share your toys and your love and your jesus.
i must not share my money.
HA!

there are many other prints to choose from in his shop.
here are a couple more of my favorites...

for us mama's with boys.
i may need this for my boys room when we put them all together next summer.


personalized with your family name!

****************************
want to own an alexandercreative of your very own???
go to his shop and enjoy 20% off today through friday!
{thank you, ryan!}
simply use the code OVERWHELMED at checkout.

art, art, i want you

this was inspiring.
many changes are ahead for me.
many changes are ahead for my shop.
i needed this video to tell me it's ok.
you didn't get that message from it?
oh, well, i did.
*smiles*

(thank you meg for sharing)