The Bag of Hope Project

We have a wonderful new shop and neighbor in downtown Milford. This summer Anne Jenkins moved to Milford and opened her art gallery just down the block from the LadyBug Shop. Anne is originally from South Africa and previously had a gallery in Georgia. It was there that she started The Bag of Hope project in December 2008. A group of unskilled women in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa, formed a support group for those living with HIV and AIDS, especially the orphaned children. The learned to sew and embroider, tutored by Jenkins’ sister. They produce little fabric landscapes or pictures made from donated handmade and dyed fabric and thread. Each picture is different and charmingly simple. Some depict African life, some are whimsical. Anne then uses these scenes to decorate canvas tote bags. Jenkins has set up a website
http://www.thebagofhope.com/ for the project and sells the bags for $30 each at her gallery.

http://www.annejenkinsart.com/


The group has constructed a community center to provide education, support and material help for the needy. And they run a soup kitchen and feeding program for the little ones. A portion of the money from the selling the bags goes directly to the soup kitchen. The price per bag has been set to cover the cost of the bags and shipping, with the balance of $25 per bag sent back to the group.
The LadyBug Shop is also now carrying these bags. Anne worked with the ladies in South Africa to produce ladybug themed landscapes.

These lovely and inspirational bags can be used for a variety of things – shopping or carrying a laptop computer. And they make wonderful Christmas gifts – inexpensive, handy and a way of helping people.

Ladybug Chocolates for the Holidays

What is small, round, has spots, brings luck and joy – and is delicious? Why ladybugs of course. However, you need to be careful that they are ladybug chocolates and not live ladybugs. We have read that the live ones have a very nasty, bitter taste. (But we have never tested this to see if it is true.)

With the upcoming holiday season, ladybug chocolates are a gift that you may want to consider. Here are a few recipes on the Web to choose from:

Lovely Ladybugs http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/lovely-ladybugs-686050/

Ladybug Truffles http://candy.about.com/od/valentinesdaycandy/r/Lovebug-Truffles.htm
Ladybug M&Ms http://everything-ladybug.com/ladybug-mms.html

And if you don’t have time or want to make your own ladybug chocolates, you can order some from John & Kira’s in Philadelphia. They have beautifully packaged boxes of ladybugs chocolates just for the holiday season. Some of their beautiful ladybug chocolates are shown in the accompanying photo.

And if you want to combine your chocolate ladybugs with other types of ladybug gifts, the LadyBug Shop  has the world’s largest selection from which to choose some. Check out our “Top 20 Holiday Gifts”.

NEW Pink Twilight Ladybug Nightlight by Cloud B

The Twilight Ladybug Nighlight has been a Best Seller and great gift for several years, the Ladybug Shop is now carrying the NEW Pink Twilight Ladybug Nightlight by Cloud B. The adorable bright pink ladybug is a wonderful twist on an already perfect design.

If you are not already familar with the award winning Twilight Ladybug Nightlight, the Twilight Ladybug Nightlight makes bedtime fun and helps ease children’s fear of the dark by projecting a starry night sky onto their bedroom ceiling and walls. The stars and Ladybug shell illuminate in three magical colors, emerald green, ruby red, and sapphire blue, all with the touch of a button, to help children sleep easier. It even has a 45 minute automatic switch off. The Twilight Ladybug features a book to locate the constellations the ladybug projects. It requires 3AAA batteries which are included. The Twilight Ladybug is the perfect sleep companion for children of all ages!

New Items at the LadyBug Shop

Our collection of ladybug gifts, turtle gifts, holdiay gifts and more...is still growing!! Our absolute commitment to finding the most unique and fun gifts for you to give any time of year keeps us "spotting" more and more gifts!

Browse our newest items added to our collection by visiting

New Items or Turtle New Items



The Ladybug Sisters

Last week the LadyBug Shop had some very special guests. Mid-day last Wednesday four sisters arrived together, all wearing their special ladybug t-shirts that they had made themselves. Each t-shirt was a different color, with a large L and a ladybug on the front. And on the back they had written each of their nicknames. They were Joan Santa Maria (the “Good Sister” from Arizona), Cate Lanphier (the older “Bad Sister” from Florida), Ethel Manns (the younger “Bad Sister” from Pennsylvania and Delaware) and Peg Sodano (the “Baby Sister” from Pennsylvania). To compliment their attire they had painted their fingernails and toenails bright red with black dots.

And they brought with them their pets – a collection of small toy ladybugs that they had decked out in a variety of costumes they had made for them. The sisters gather once a year to spend time together and have a fun outing. A couple of years ago when they visited a casino they took along a toy ladybug to bring them luck. And that started a chain of events that led them to now consider themselves the ladybug sisters. They are a lively and fun group and we look forward to having them visit us again.

We love having visitors at the LadyBug Shop so please plan a trip and Come See Us.



Ladybugs and Arbor Day

In 1854 Sterling Morton moved to a western frontier region located in what is now the state of Nebraska. There were virtually no trees on the plains of his new home, so he started planting them and encouraged his neighbors to do likewise. The trees flourished and provided shade, fuel and building materials, as well as much needed windbreaks to prevent soil erosion. In 1872, at Morton's urging the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture initiated a holiday to plant trees on April 10. This was the first "Arbor Day" in the United States.

About one million trees were planted in Nebraska on that first Arbor Day. All states in the US now have an official Arbor Day. Most are observed in April, but a few states hold theirs in other months. National Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April.

Releasing ladybugs is a great way to celebrate Arbor Day. Ladybugs are a natural form of pest control as they eat aphids and other pests that damage plants. This video shows children at an elementary school in Arizona celebrating Arbor Day in this manner. If you come to Milford next Saturday, April 30, you can help us release ladybugs as part of our annual Bud & Bug Festival when we celebrate Delaware's official state bug and Arbor Day. Stop by the LadyBug Shop to pick up your package of FREE Live Ladybugs, while supplies last!