A peaceful walk along a country road with her granddaughter sparked Sandi Stonebraker’s interest in writing a children’s book, which became the impetus for her opening her namesake toystore, Stoney’s Etc.
Stonebraker recalled that during their walk, her granddaughter pointed to a wooded area off the road and asked if princesses lived there. This benign childhood question became the inspiration for Stonebreaker to write her first children’s book, “On Being a Real Princess, Secrets of the Happy Heart Princess.” Besides writing, she was also a painter – something she took up in her 50s after taking a class at a community center.
“She got me thinking about it, so I did write a book about the Happy Heart Princess, a children’s book that I still sell, and I also started doing these paintings, because I did one for her,” said Stonebraker. “Those are the two things that people paid attention to and said, ‘Well, I want you to do that for me, and I love your book, and why don’t you sell toys?’ That’s how it evolved.”…