giving back

choose our birthday charity

February 12, 2012
By

Can you believe our Rochester location will be 6 spankin’ years old this March? To celebrate we’ll be offering 20% off EVERYTHING at both our locations on Saturday, March 10 + donating 7% of all our sales that day to a Detroit charity. There are so many fantastic non-profits making a difference in our city, it’s hard to choose just one.

So we need your help! We’ve selected 3 charities and would love for you to vote for your pick.

The Focus:Hope mission: Recognizing the dignity and beauty of every person, we pledge intelligent and practical action to overcome racism, poverty and injustice. And to build a metropolitan community where all people may live in freedom, harmony, trust and affection. Black and white, yellow, brown and red from Detroit and its suburbs of every economic status, national origin and religious persuasion we join in this covenant.

They’re changing Detroit by educating for the future, transforming communities & fighting hunger.

The Detroit Free Press Summer Dreams program is all about one thing: helping kids. Helping kids make new friends, learn new skills, dream new dreams and enjoy a summer they will always remember, no matter where life takes them.  These programs provide hope, change lives and grow character. This is your chance to make a difference in a child’s life.

For more than 19 years, the readers of the Detroit Free Press have supported metro Detroit camps with donations to Summer Dreams. The 53 camps benefiting from this year’s program serve more than 20,000 children, 57% of whom are minorities. Of the camps, 36 serve children of low-income families, 14 serve children from middle- and low-income families and three serve children of all economic backgrounds.

Cass Community Social Services is dedicated to making a profound difference in the diverse populations it serves by providing for basic needs, including affordable housing, promoting self reliance and encouraging community inclusion and improvement.

Some of the many creative ways they’re fighting poverty & creating opportunity is through green industries & micro-enterprises.

We’re looking forward to blessing one of these amazing groups this March.  And don’t you agree… it’s soooo hard to choose!  Help us decide with your vote below.  Thank YOU for helping us make days brighter for those in our community.

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volumes of valentines!

February 11, 2012
By

I spent my Saturday afternoon sorting & organizing hundreds of your creative Valentine cards that will be traveling to Children’s Hospital of Michigan on Monday.  This is our 3rd year playing cupid & I’m always impressed with your crafty talent.

Ever wondered what 1,100 Valentine cards look like?  And this isn’t even all of them!  No doubt the kids are going to be showered with love all day long on Tuesday.

I couldn’t help to share some of my favorites with you…

There are LOTS of way to say ‘I love you’.  Can’t help to be  a bit partial to the basset hound in the beret sticker ;-)

Awwwe… look at those fun love bugs.  Plus this gets the GINORMOUS CARD award!

Thank YOU Thank YOU Thank  YOU for helping us make this Valentine’s Day one to remember for kids that could really use a smile.  We have the best firefly fans and they have definitely mastered the art of sharing some serious love.  You make us PROUD!

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Rochester Post Feature 2.1.12

February 5, 2012
By

Handmade valentines spread joy to sick kids

Catching Fireflies collects cards from the public through Feb. 12

By Mary Beth Almond
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER — As a child, April McCrumb loved getting out her construction paper, scissors, doilies, glue and crayons to make homemade valentines for family and friends.

Now the owner of Catching Fireflies gift shop in Rochester and Berkley, McCrumb still loves to use her creativity to craft valentines for those in need of a smile.

For the second year in a row, Catching Fireflies — at 203 E. University Drive in Rochester and 3117 W. 12 Mile Road in Berkley — is collecting blank handmade Valentine’s Day cards, which will be delivered to sick children at DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

“I grew up loving to make valentines. … They are a fun way to spread love, so I thought it would be fun to encourage our customers — adults and kids alike — to get out their scissors, construction paper, and make some old-school valentines to help bring a smile to kids who really could use it, because who wants to be at a hospital on Valentine’s Day?” McCrumb said.

Last year, approximately 1,500 valentines were collected and donated, and McCrumb hopes to collect even more this year.

Catching Fireflies is asking the public to get involved by donating a blank handmade card or two through Feb. 12.

Deanna Scanlon, child life projects specialist at DMC Children’s Hospital, said the blank cards are made available to all staff and the children at the hospital Feb. 14.

“The staff sign the cards, and if they have any interaction with the children on Valentine’s Day, then they can give them a card. It’s really kind of neat because it gets the staff involved, and the kids are getting personalized cards from the staff members and people that they know and are involved in their care,” she said. “We also give the children these blank cards so they can sign them and give them to the staff.”

The project really has a big impact on the staff and the kids, Scanlon said, especially those in the cardiology unit.

“It does really make a big difference to the kids that are in the hospital because it normalizes hospitalization and brings something familiar to them that they can do on Valentine’s Day that they would be doing at school,” she added.

As a thank you to those who bring in three or more handcrafted cards and make a purchase, Catching Fireflies will offer a “joyful heart” necklace.

“To sweeten the deal and make it a little more fun, we have these lovely little necklaces that are handmade by an artist out in California. They are really simple. They have the shape of a heart and they have a little word, ‘joy.’ Joy comes from giving to people, so it’s just a nice little token to remember that they are spreading joy by taking time out and making a lovely valentine,” McCrumb said.

Scanlon said the Valentine’s Day project, which is one of her favorites, wouldn’t be possible without support from the community.

“We wouldn’t be able to do something like this without Catching Fireflies and support from the community because we’re a 228 bed hospital — that’s a lot of kids that could potentially be here on Valentine’s Day,” she said.

wanna help us play cupid?

January 19, 2012
By

It’s that time of year again where we like to share some love by giving Valentine cards to the kids at The Children’s Hospital of Michigan.  So we invite you to put your crafty hat on & whip up some sweet sentiments for kids who could use a smile on February 14th.

Here’s a few clever card ideas we found that were TOADally awesome…

Print these quirky cards at Crap I Made

Buy a book of Mad Libs & tear out sheets for these very funny cards ~from Family Fun

Like to play with clay?  How about these salt dough hearts from The Long Thread?

Google eyes always makes things more fun don’t they? ~from Family Fun

Hey matie… aren’t these some grrrreat cards? ~print them at mer mag

Pretty pencil toppers from Alpha Mom

Whooo do you love? ~from Family Fun

Valentine cards from the hardware store?  Who knew paint samples could make such brilliant bookmarks?! ~from Lu Bird Baby


And for those of you who like to color, you can print this cheerful coloring sheet HERE  (if link doesn’t automatically open try hitting the refresh button)

We’ll be collecting and displaying your handcrafted cards at our Berkley & Rochester locations until February 12.  And if you don’t live near by and want to participate, please send your cards to: catching fireflies 3117 W 12 Mile Berkley, MI 48072.

A note from The Children’s Hospital:

When making your cards, please consider not signing the cards so family members and/or staff could personalize the cards themselves and give them to the patients. It means more to the patients to receive a card from someone familiar vs. a stranger. The patients also like to be able to give cards to their family members or the nurses and staff caring for them.

Also if you could avoid messages like “Get Well” or “Feel Better Soon,”  as well as anything with a religious connotation. Some of the patients here, unfortunately, have life long illnesses like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, etc. that they won’t necessarily be “getting well.” We service so many different cultures and religions that we try not to offend any of our patients/customers.

As a thank you for bringing or sending in 3 or more cards, we’ll give you this joyful heart necklace with any purchase to thank you for helping us send smiles to kids who aren’t feeling too well.  We may not be doctors or nurses, but we can still prescribe the best medicine around… LOVE.

Thanks again for helping us spread JOY & LOVE to those in our community!

(for online orders, please mention your participation in this project so we can include the free sign in your shipment.) *1 free necklace per family

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planting seeds of happiness

January 5, 2012
By

Come January, I always feel a bit overwhelmed.

Things floating around in my head at the moment… the need to create a new & exciting 2012 event schedule for catching fireflies & yellow door, selecting new artists moving into yellow door next month, creating a new a.i. paper design trade show display for the New York Gift Show, launching 50 new a.i. paper design goods on the web & in the studio, get the wheels rolling again for the 11th Annual Berkley Art Bash, finding fresh & new goods for catching fireflies, creating new & interesting facebook material & blog entries.

New, new, new, new, new… isn’t that how the world seems to work?

I needed to hit pause on the ‘new’ & take some time to embrace the old.

What seeds of happiness have we planted in 2011?  How have we made days brighter?  I’m not big on resolutions but this is one challenge I continue to strive for every year.  After trolling through our facebook photo albums & past blog entries, turns out we are farmers of joy.

Our managers, Danielle & Dena & web diva, Stephanie are smile experts.  Their humor & joy keeps our whimsical world a very happy place.

With your help we were able to give loads of Valentine cards to kids who spent the day at the hospital.

Child Life Projects Specialist, Deanna Scanlon shared, “Just wanted to let you know that Valentine’s Day here at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan was a HUGE success! Thank you so much! We have managed to give away most of the cards so far! So many patients, families and the staff had made positive comments! It’s just awesome!  It would not have been possible without your efforts! You are truly appreciated! Happy Valentine’s day to you!”

Our Rochester location celebrated it’s 5th birthday by offering sweet discounts & donating a portion of the proceeds to Care House.

We love selling whimsical wares, however giving them away to our firefly fans is even more fun!

Our Berkley store cat has her own fan club & is very fond of pets & compliments.

Knowing that Detroiters love our little shops makes us very~very happy & also encourages us to strive to earn that awesome title next year.

Lots of kids got snazzy new back packs, pencils, crayons, notebooks & more because or your generosity.

Our Berkley location celebrated it’s 11th birthday by offering sweet discounts & donating a portion of the proceeds to Camp Casey.

We gained over 600 new animal loving facebook fans & collected goods for our furry friends at Almost Home Animal Rescue.

Crazy good times for gals & guys who like Twilight, margarita cup cakes, Halloween & festive German-style Christmas markets.

Because of your generosity, families in Oakland county had food in their pantry.

We wrapped a LOT of gifts this December & were thrilled with the donation we can give to THAW this January.

Plus we gave out 36 gift card books valued at $60 each to local non-profits & schools to be auctioned for fundraisers.

Thank YOU firefly fans for helping us plant these seeds.  They’re all small things, just like flowers… but when grouped together, don’t they make our world a stunning & beautiful place to live?

imported from bethlehem

December 20, 2011
By

This year Steve & I have a different perspective on Christmas since we spent a week in Bethlehem this past May.  We had the opportunity to meet with a variety of Palestinian business owners who face difficult challenges doing business in the West Bank. 

The group we were traveling with met with the Anastas.  They own a tourist shop in Bethlehem.  Originally their shop was on busy street, but unfortunately in recent years the security wall that separates Israel from the West Bank has drastically changed the traffic flow & customer volume.

Another place we visited was the inspiring Tent of Nations.  This land is owned by the Nassar family & they’re using it to bring people of various cultures together to build bridges of understanding, reconciliation, and peace.

It’s hard to imagine the Prince of Peace was born in this land of conflict near shepherd’s fields like these.  Hearing these people’s stories filled with passion for peace was incredibly moving.  I personally felt overwhelmed & couldn’t imagine living in their reality day after day.  My spirit would be crushed, but their strength, vision & hope for the future is unwavering.

We also spent time with Israelis and visited a nearby settlement. There is such a rich history of this land & such strong opinions about the future of it.  Steve & I left this part of the world heart broken about this ongoing conflict.  How can there be peace?

We’re really looking forward to our church, Kensington sharing more about where it all began this Christmas.  If you’re looking to attend a Christmas service this season & live in Metro Detroit, we invite you to experience this non-traditional, dynamic & moving service.

We’re blessed to be part of church that is all about bringing heaven to earth.  We strive to do the same in our business & personal life.  Thank you for allowing us to continue to pursue our dreams.  We’re grateful everyday for this amazing life God has given us.

open hands delivery

December 6, 2011
By

I wanted to thank all our firefly fans for helping us collect over 250 pounds of food for Open Hands Food Pantry this season.

The volunteer team was very happy to add all your cans & boxes to their shelves.  Many Oakland county families will benefit from your graciousness.

helping our furry friends find forever homes

November 2, 2011
By

We were thrilled to deliver loads of supplies & donate over $600 to Almost Home Animal Rescue in celebration of Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog month this October.

Gus could hardly believe all the great canned food, toys, treats & towels that our firefly fans brought in for his furry friends.

Isn’t Tucker the cutest boy?  It’s hard to believe he hasn’t been snatched up yet!  And Greta started purring as soon as we picked her up :-)  You can see the rest of the dogs & cats they have available for adoption HERE.

Being a rescue himself, Gus thinks it’s pretty awesome we have such generous firefly fans.  Thank you for making days brighter for furry friends looking for forever homes!

Like to see how you can help us make days brighter for those in need? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these inspiring updates in your email inbox!

pet supply drive

October 12, 2011
By

This October it’s all about the dogs.  In addition to donating  a dollar to Almost Home Animal Rescue for every new facebook like we get,  we’re also collecting supplies they could use at their kennel.  Since they have no government funding, every little bit helps!

We invite you to bring in paper towel, dog & cat toys, grooming brushes, used terry cloth towels, canned cat & dog food to our Berkley & Rochester locations during the month of October.  As a thank you for your donation, we’ll give you a humorous note pad or magnet of your choice with any purchase.

Thanks a bunch for helping us make days brighter for animals in need of forever homes.

Like to see how you can help us make days brighter for those in need? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these inspiring updates in your email inbox!

5 reasons to become a fan on facebook this october

September 29, 2011
By

1. In celebration of Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, we are donating a dollar for every facebook like we get in the month of October to Almost Home Animal Rescue & Haven.  Our goal is to get 2,000 likes so we can write a check for $2,000 that will go to helping our furry friends find forever homes.

We rescued our Basset Hound, Gus over 2 years ago & he still makes us smile everyday :-)

Fb1

 

2. FREE GOODY FRIDAY!  Every Friday we give away fantastic finds to our firefly fans.  All you have to do is tag yourself in the giveaway photo & you’re entered.  We draw three lucky winners on Monday & you get to pick up your loot at our Rochester or Berkley location.

Fb2

 

3. Fun Firefly Facts that are interesting & amusing like…

Fun Firefly Fact #477: The delicious flavor of mushrooms intrigued the pharaohs of Egypt so much that they decreed mushrooms were food for royalty and that no commoner could ever touch them. Don’t these stuffed shrooms look good enough for a queen?

Fun Firefly Fact #480: Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year & a popular observance during this holiday is eating apples dipped in honey as a symbol of a wish for a sweet new year.

Fun Firefly Fact #448: Lemon trees bloom and produce fruit year-round. Each tree can produce between 500 and 600 pounds of lemons in a year. Who knew you could do so many things with this pretty fruit?

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4. Visit our store in your pajamas.  Want to see our hip Halloween display… the latest scarves & hats we put out…  the load of trend jewelry our UPS man just delivered or get ideas on what to get your dad for his birthday?  You can tour through all our goods with a click of your keyboard.

Fb4

 

5. Tasty recipes that will inspire you to mix up your same-old dinner routine.  What’s one thing we love besides whimsical gifts? … Delicious dishes & tempting treats!  That’s why we can’t resist posting links to recipes that make us drool like… mushroom & swiss sliders with spicy fry sauce  banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and poor mans smores.

I warned you about the drool  ;-)  So what are you waiting for?  Head on over to catching fireflies facebook page & give us a thumbs up so we can give Almost Home Rescue another dollar!

Fb7

Thank you for helping us make days brighter for our furry friends!

Like to see how you can help us make days brighter for those in need? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these inspiring updates in your email inbox!

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hello there

April McCrumb

I'm April McCrumb ~ a creative gal from Michigan that loves to share clever gift ideas, simple recipes, my favorite tunes & all things crafty.  Thanks for stopping by my whimsical world. I hope you enjoy your visit.

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