Community...

When I began blogging two and a half years ago, I had no idea what I would write or who would read it. I had created my blog mainly as a marketing tool for my then handmade soap business. My beginnings were rough and sparse and I had no consistent patterns or styles...and I had no comments. None.

But I enjoyed blogging. I was never one to keep a journal, but I found myself really loving having this space to share my days, my thoughts, my pictures, and my life. So I wrote...perhaps to no one at all...but I wrote. Then during the summer of 2009, I joined a couple of online groups/happenings/e-courses and I became more active on Flickr. I started to meet some people and, much to my surprise, I started to make friends. Now you must know that for a long time I was embarrassed to tell people that some of my best friends I had met online and we had never actually met in real life. But the more I interacted socially online, the better I got to know these online friends, and the less I even cared that I wasn't exactly sure what some of my best friends even looked like. I can honestly say that for perhaps the first time in my life that I have a network of women friends whom I really respect and appreciate. I rarely think of the fact that we have never officially me.

A few months ago, a couple of my online friends {who also were online friends} had a vision. They wanted to create a small network of like minded friends/bloggers who could unite in an effort to deepen and enrich our online communities. When I was approached to be a founding member of this network, there was not one bone in my body that didn't leap at the opportunity. The idea was that together we could dream bigger, do more, reach further, and connect deeper.

I am so excited to finally introduce you all to Bigger Picture Blogs...{from our website}

a collaborative effort between five like-minded writers — Corinne, Hyacynth, Maegan, Melissa and Sarah — who wanted to deepen their relationships with the readers they call friends as well as with each other. We know that this motherhood journey is a long road and that it’s too tough to forge alone; we need the support, encouragement and love only found in the words and thoughts from other mothers traveling that unique yet oh-so-different road of living while juggling the responsibilities of being a mother/spouse/friend/daughter/waitress/sanitary director. And, importantly, sometimes we need encouragement to turn our eyes to our own souls and nurture ourselves; we find that here.

By coming together, we hope to deepen the conversations started in our posts and shared in the comments. We’ve been sharing stories, tears, joys, advice and life in general. Won’t you join us on this road as we look at the Bigger Picture while soaking up the moments that make up everyday life?

Because the journey is so much better with friends.

It is the very sincere vision of our group to bring all sorts of people together in connection and friendship by a variety of means: projects, adventures, discussions, and more! We all hope that you will join along with us and help to form a big, humongous, supportive, friendly network of all of us that live life to the fullest, love with our whole hearts, and write about our journeys.

To read more about Bigger Picture Blogs {including fun bios of all its founders} you can visit our website. Also, we'd love for you to tell us your thoughts and ideas or extend a topic that has come up in one of our posts over at our Blog Frog Community. Also, please become a fan of {aka: Like} the Bigger Picture Blogs Facebook page so you'll get updates of all our happenings.

We will be having our first group blogging activity after Boot Camp...you definitely want to join in!

As far as this particular space goes, aside from hosting a weekly link-up every once in a while, nothing much will change. It will still be me trying to make the best of this crazy life. And I will still be grateful that you're here...whether you comment or not! But if you are looking for community, for discussion, for connection, or all of the above, we hope to be able to provide that as well through this new and exciting venture. 

A Time For Change...

It is with a heavy heart that I announce that I will be closing my little soap shop for a time. At this juncture, I’m really unsure whether it will be a “closing of the doors” or a “putting on the shelf for a while” , but what I do know is that after trying to make it fit into my busy life as a wife and mom to three, that it simply does not. I have attempted to shrink down, cut back, hire help, etc…but at the end of the day, the fact of the matter is that there was just too much. From invention, to production, to packaging, to marketing, to selling and distributing…there simply is not enough of me there for the kind of business I want Madeline Bea Soap Co. to be.


I am always stressing the need to live your most authentic life. And my most authentic life most certainly involves my family coming first. With an active baby, an inquisitive preschooler, and an involved Kindergartner, our lives just keep getting busier and my kids are needing more and more of me. And I refuse to put my husband on the back burner while I spend our free nights and weekends working. I will always be a creative person and I will continue to foster my creativity in ways outside of coloring with my kiddos…but they will have to happen in less time consuming, all encompassing ways.

Yes, I have poured a lot of me into this business over the last three plus years and I have gotten so much from it. The experience I’ve received with regards to starting and growing a business has been invaluable and I’m positive that I will always be a business owner in some sense. I have learned so much about business, yes, but also about myself. I’ve learned that anything is a possibility and I’ve learned what is important to me, and what is not. Will I miss this? Absolutely! I loved this job and this business so very much. But I will also miss you, my customers, and our regular interactions. I’ve enjoyed meeting you and working with you over the past few years.

So, as I begin to wrap up business and tie loose ends, I’ve marked down every single item in the store…

Soaps…$3.50

8 oz. Scrubs…$6.50

4 oz. Scrubs…$4.00

Salves…$8.00

Facial Cleanser & Toner…$9.00

Facial Serum…$10.00

Lip Balm…Buy One, Get One Free!

Yes, prices will eventually get lower as an effort to move my entire inventory. However, stock is limited in almost every item. So if you have your eye on something, snag it up! I will not be making more. I will also be putting some packaging items in the shop as well such as ribbon, tulle, and organza bags so if you are planning any sort of showers or parties, you can snag up some great supplies at near wholesale costs!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and patronage over the years. This was an incredibly hard decision to finally come to, but I'm 100% sure that it is the right one for me right now. I will, however, continue to blog about my life and my creative journeys here at Life Set To Words!

A Dream Come True...

I have been waiting five long months to share this with you. I am beyond thrilled to announce that my blog has been featured in the Spring 2010 issue of Artful Blogging magazine!!!

When Chisten Olivarez, the senior editor of Artful Blogging, contacted me last September about the possibility of being featured in one of my favorite publications, I was over the moon. I almost didn't even allow myself to believe the news until Christen sent me a pdf file of the article a couple of months ago. I can still barely believe my good fortune even as I hold the issue in my hands.

I was so honored to write this piece. Blogging has become such a meaningful part of my life. It was a joy to write an essay about sharing my life in an open and honest manner because I believe in its power to connect us all in this great big world.

I am so excited to have a this treasure to look back on someday; with a little piece of all my girls, our life just as it is, and my views at this precise moment. So how do the girls feel about being in a magazine, you ask? Well, let's just say they have other interests at the moment...

...but for the most part, I think everyone is pretty giddy over the whole thing!

Aside from my being included, it's a really wonderful issue filled with so many inspiring women that I admire {I'm still pinching myself that I am among them!} You can find Artful Blogging at large bookstores like Border's and Barnes & Noble and at some specialized retailers. You can also order a copy online from the Stampington website.