Suwanee Mother of Triplets Makes Good!

Randy Bieniek has been a school psychologist, a mother of four (including triplets), a portrait artist, and, in her third career, a successful inventor. Her entertaining Canine Cardz, a dog-themed card game for children, provides family fun for kids, parents and grandparents across the country. 

Now, Tamara Monosoff, the guru and guide for aspiring mom entrepreneurs, has chosen Bieniek as one of 50 success stories to include in the second edition of The Mom Inventors Handbook: How to Turn Your Great Idea Into the Next Big Thing. Published by McGraw-Hill, the book was released on April 2. The products featured in the book range from a talking, elephant-shaped medicine dispenser for children to Bieniek’s gender-neutral card games. The inventors followed principles of entrepreneurship outlined by Monosoff in her many books about bringing dreams to the marketplace.

“In the invention world, you sometimes feel you’re all alone,” said Bieniek. “You realize along the way that you’re not. I’m thrilled to be in Tamara’s new edition.”

Bieniek’s journey began in 2007.  She was doing commissioned portraits of children in metro Atlanta when friends with pets asked if she would do portraits of their animals. An avid pet-lover herself, she immediately said yes. With a few pet portraits completed, she realized how much she loved capturing animals on canvas. She began collecting stories about dogs and cat and painting themed portraits of the animals based on their name or appearance. Some were hilarious and others, heroic--but each one was different. Randy called the group “Zazzy Pals.” She soon launched a line of note cards based on her portraits. Each card features a different dog or cat and his or her true story.

Three years later, when her triplets were ten, Bieniek realized with a shock that most of their friends had never played classic card games. Not Go Fish, not Old Maid, none. Soon, she created Canine Cardz, putting the dogs’ images and stories from her Zazzy Pals collection on playing cards and adding other dog-themed touches. Instead of Go Fish, she designed Go Fetch. Instead of being stuck with the Old Maid, an unlucky player is left with the Dog Catcher. She even included dog bone game pieces for the “high action” games.

 With one set of cards, you can play eight different games. The game container even has a bonus! Included are learn-to-draw dog cards, a sketchpad and colored pencils. Bieniek the artist wanted to share her love of creating with children. Bieniek the school professional designed games that can help children by improving fine motor skills and by reinforcing skills in reading, color recognition, matching, visual discrimination and visual memory.

“I couldn’t believe some kids had never dealt, or held, playing cards,” she said. “As an educator, I’ll tell you that there are benefits to old-school, unplugged face-to-face games.”

Canine Cardz is already finding a place in school classrooms. It's the perfect birthday gift or game for family night. To order your own game, visit www.zazzypals.com or find Zazzy Pals on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ZazzyPals