Soiree Favours...

I am so happy to introduce these little fancies to you and to the shop!

These party favors are one of those projects that I've had in my mind to do and had just been waiting for the time to put together. I've finally gotten them out of my head and made them real. They're even cuter than I imagined!

Don't you just want to throw a soiree now?

Determination...

...and a little patience!

We decided that Rayne was getting too big for her beginner bike and we put some training wheels on her big bike today. She was so scared, but so determined to try. Brent has so much patience with her and she loves having him help her.

I'm so proud of her. She did great and she's handling that big-girl bike like a pro!

Way to go, Rayne!

One woman's trash...

It was yard sale day at our house today. I couldn't believe that with our garage and half our driveway filled with items that we still have a full house of stuff! Such is life though: accumulate, purge, repeat. We did well at our sale and made some extra spending cash for our upcoming vacation. I have to say though, if the girls would have been paying customers then we'd be rich tonight! They found so much joy in all those toys and old baby things that I had long since been forgotten about sitting right in our house. Hey, here's a great idea for bored kids...just put their toys outside! It's like Christmas all over!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Shades of Inspiration: Blue

I finally got around to uploading some "blue" pictures to my Flickr page and to the group. Blue was hard for me this week. Even though it is one of my favorite colors, I was surprised at how hard it was to come up with blue themed pictures. Luckily, my daughter's eyes are as blue as the ocean! She helped me out a bunch. Oh yea, and some birdies, too!

A black apple Inside

I now officially own an original Black Apple print! I can't say that it's Emily's artistic style that I'm so drawn to. Her prints are not the type of art that usually attracts me. However, her young spirit, extremely mature manner, and innate business sense inspires me greatly.

I'm honored to have her work in my home. Welcome Apple, as the girls and I have named this cute girl with her big egg. She now joins us in our kitchen and we like having her there.

Introducing...

...the Mini Scrub!!!


I've been offering these tiny wonders in bridal gifts sets for a few months now and thought it was time to get them in the shop. I think they are a great travel or trial size of the body scrubs that I am admittedly in LOVE with. I only wish I had more time to use them...


Off to add more new stuff to the shop!

Little Cuties!

Yesterday I attempted to have a little photo shoot with the girls. They were feeling very silly and affectionate so, as you can see from the photo, most of the time they were a big heaping pile of love! But I did get some beautiful shots of the girls that I hope to get printed for our friends and family. I haven't gotten high quality prints of the girls since Spring of 2007 so we were certainly due.

Today, I'm hoping to get some serious work done. My hubby is home to help with the girls so I'm looking to hunker down and cross mounds off of my enormous to-do list. I also hope to have some new items in my shop on Monday! I just added these little cuties yesterday...

I'm in a lip balm making haze (I make mass amounts at a time) so there might even perhaps be some new flavors appearing soon!!!

Have a great Saturday!

Shades of Inspiration: White

Here are this week's submissions for Sadie Olive's "Shades of Inspiration" photo challenge...

Delicious...

I had the most delicious lunch today. It was worth blogging about (and photographing) for a number of reasons. Most obviously, it was a very good wrap...turkey, spinach, tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It was extra yummy because it was so healthy and wholesome: the wrap was all-natural whole grain, the tomatoes were grown on our hanging tomato plant, etc.

The most delicious part of this lunch however is that as I was making it, the words from my latest newsletter came to life. This month I wrote about enjoying the process of life rather than the progress and living all your moments fully. Often I write about things that I know I need to work on and this month was no exception.

Typically, I hurriedly make the kids lunch and get it on their little table as quickly as I can. Then I scramble to make my own (usually a duplicate of what I've just made for them) and devour it rapidly so that I can be ready for the split second that they decide they are finished. Not today, though. The girls were happily watching Thomas after their swimming lessons. Their lunch was made and waiting for them, and I took the time to enjoy the process of making my beautiful wrap. It was so therapeutically relaxing to focus on the particular moment that I was in and not just trying to get to the next one.

I need to remember this moment: the calmness, the focus, the light-heartedness, the un-hurriedness, and try to incorporate it into more areas of my life. I need to remember this especially with Madeline Bea. I'm always trying to do more, do better, make more sales, get more exposure. I need to slow down my pace, accept that success will come in it's own time with or without my pushing it, and enjoy the work that I'm doing and the "place" that I'm in right now.

Shades of Inspiration: Green

I know I'm way late in posting for last week but here are my green images for the week...

Now I'm off to work on white...

*Shades of Inspiration is a photography challenge affiliated with Sadie Olive's blog.

New Beginnings

I'm currently having a hard time believing that I haven't written a blog post for 10 days! I've been thinking about doing it for about nine!

It official...I'm full time Madeline Bea Soap Co.'s owner and sole employee. I wish I could say that I've been super productive with my added availability...but seeing how it's also been the first week of our summer I've been a bit lazy! The girls and I have been playing outside, getting together with friends for pool parties and play dates, taking long naps, etc. By the end of this week, I had accumulated a bunch of work and had to hunker down. Hopefully soon I will find my new working groove and I'll be able to both enjoy my kids and get my work done.

I have to say, though, giving up my other income was a risk and I sort of took the chance on fate. I trusted that this was God's plan for me and our family and that it would work out...somehow. And, as anyone who has experienced the joy of trusting God will understand, this week sales have picked up and there have been a few new opportunities that have presented themselves. I know that no matter what, we will be fine. But I'm excited by the prospects and I thank God for showing me the way.

I have to share this picture. The soap batch that I was coloring in this post turned out just as I had wanted. Soapmaking is a big chemical process, so you can change variables and hope the outcome is what you were shooting for, but it's not always the case. Fragrances disappear or change completely, colors rarely stay the same or behave logical ways. But every once in a while you'll get lucky and get exactly what you were aiming for. So here it is...our brand new Lotus Bath Bar that will be ready in about 3 weeks:

I Saw Red...

...yesterday while mixing colors in a batch of soap I was making. I was attempting to get purple, which I eventually did, but had to pause here a moment to snap a picture for the 'red event'!

Happy red hunting to all participating!

Moving Forward

It's kind of official...this is my last week of my "other job" and I'm quickly moving towards my first week of creative living. My income will come entirely from my creative efforts. Being the owner of Madeline Bea Soap Co. will be my full time job. But I don't want to lock myself into being just anything, creatively speaking. I want to leave it open that something else may come along to fill my life that may or may not bring income but will definitely be part of who I am. I'm tired of our roles in this life being defined by what we do, how much money we make, what kind of car we drive, etc. We get one opportunity in this life to be who we are. I am an artistic, creative, open minded person. I do not need to fit into someone else perceptual boxes. Nor do my children need to fit into pre-made boxes. Yes, this decision to live the "artist's way" may not be the most financially sound decision. Nor may it be a decision that other people will understand. But to me, it was the only choice. I will not spend my life un-happy at the mercy of someone else.

That being said, I am taking steps toward fostering a nurturing and creative environment. Being surrounded by non-like-minded people can easily cause me to question my life decisions. I could easily start to wonder what in the heck I was thinking giving up solid income to pursue a "dream." But if I foster new relationships and patterns that reinforce and encourage the need for the lifestyle I have chosen, then I will continue to feel confidant that I made the only choice that made any sense for me.

So, I'm working on some projects that will enable such a life. One that I've just stumbled upon is a photo challenge for this week. In exploring my new found interest in photography, I've been reading some great photography blogs from some amazingly talented and creative women. Sadie Olive's Blog is so pretty and inspiring to read. Low and behold, she's just beginning this wonderful color inspired photo challenge...

So, here are my entries for Monday, June 2st (which I missed) and today, June 3rd.

♥What a good morning! Fresh thinking and fresh coffee. I read the photo challenge and, bam, just like that I saw my new Body & Soul magazine and then remembered one of my favorite coffee mugs. I'm amazed at how much red is all around.

♥The Rhododendrons are in full bloom at our house. They are the second wave of flowerings in our landscaping. We have been spending so much time outside during this beautiful weather and these crazy pretty flowers were just begging to be photographed! They are so incredibly bright and beautiful!

I'm happy to join this challenge and I look forward to what I will find for tomorrow's "red."