By Heather Sanders.
Until about six months ago I knew nothing about Kickstarter, a funding platform for those trying to kickstart creative projects. If you are unfamiliar with Kickstarter, the website basically helps Creatives raise monies for specific projects without any risk for them or others who decide to back their project with personal pledges.
Each project must reach its funding goal or it’s basically dead in the water. The site’s “all-or-nothing” funding method means that no money exchanges hands unless the project is fully-funded.
With my recent introduction to Kickstarter, I couldn’t help but get a little excited when PW Reader, Elizabeth S, sent me an email about a Kickstarter project to create unique, beautifully illustrated, indestructible, wallet-size alphabet cards for kids.
The project, if funded, will design highly durable, educational, nontoxic wallet cards for small children to play with.
There will be 26 cards in the deck, each with its own illustration representing a single letter of the alphabet. Absolutely perfect for the child who loves to get into Mom’s wallet and pull out her driver’s license, credit and debit cards, these wallet-size cards will teach children the alphabet and associated words.
Of course, only the prototypes are available right now, but once funded Australian illustrator Marc Martin has agreed to illustrate completely original work (like the accordion, bike and cat cards) on all 26 cards.
The project creator is Marie-Claire Camp, a former graphic and interaction designer turned stay-at-home Mom of twin two year-old boys. She understands the importance of working with high quality materials, so she intends to create cards that can “withstand child-induced breaking, scratching, bites, rips and tearing.”
In addition to their durability, the Children’s ABC Wallet Cards will be BPA free, recyclable, and designed on FDA-approved, food-grade, non-toxic plastic. Even the ink specified will be non-toxic, food-safe ink.
With a hole punched in the corner of each card, they will secure together with a sturdy carabiner-style ring. The cards can come off the ring to use to make words, hold, view, or slide in a pocket. In other words, the cards will handle regular, daily usage with ease.
For more information about how Camp came up with this idea, click on the image above to watch the short video (or you can view it at the link below).
For more information about the project or making a pledge, you can visit the project at Kickstarter.
This project launched on July 20,2012 and has 3 days to go (August 19, 2012). So far it has 211 backers and $8,640 dollars raised toward a $12,570 goal. There are different reward levels for pledges based on the amount pledged, but as the project states, even $1.00 will help.
———————————————————————————————
Please note: I am in no way associated with this venture and receive nothing for writing about it. However, I do intend to make my own pledge because I would love to have them available to give out as gifts. Plus, if there was anything like this around when my crew were younger I would certainly have purchased them.
———————————————————————————————
OMSH/Heather L. Sanders is “Momma” to three kids, Emelie, Meredith and Kenny. When not homeschooling, or writing about homeschooling, Heather is busy designing websites or going on dates with her husband Jeff, the love of her life.
Thinking of Home Schooling? Read mine and 24 other homeschooling families’ stories shared in the new book, You Can Do It Too!