Showing posts with label Bumblewood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bumblewood. Show all posts

November 11, 2013

Are You My Mojo?



You know that children's book Are You My Mother? In the book mother bird leaves to go find food for her soon-to-be-hatched baby, but while she is gone is when he hatches. What follows is a long journey of him searching for his mother, going up to cats, dogs, chickens, even a back hoe, asking each one "Are you my mother?"

That's what I've felt like this year, searching for my mojo.



Somewhere along the line early this year I think I gave up on life. I stopped meal planning (which meant barely cooking and what I did cook was trash), I just about stopped cleaning, I pretty much stopped knitting, I stopped blogging (and interacting), I stopped doing the normal things I did. You know all those things I used to talk about that had you all fooled I had it together? Yeah. I didn't have it together this time.



I spent most of the summer battling some bouts of depression and trying to figure out why I wasn't "normal" anymore. It's been a long summer, filled with changes, working through pain and problems, looking at myself,  dealing with a lot of shit (sorry, best word I have for it), and still trying to make sure our home is a home and trying to pull together what little bit of myself I could to not let everything go to hell.



On top of all that, I've been working so hard to get Bumblewood launched and going, all by myself, late at night, which I think was actually good because it gave me a ... purpose. Something to keep me going and not let myself slip so far off the edge. (I hate to make this sound like my kids and my husband aren't a good enough "purpose", they are! and I love them all deeply, but I don't think I could really describe it to you unless you've been there...)



I think, I hope, I've finally figured out my problems and settled into the new me. I feel like I'm finally coming alive again. I feel like I'm finally walking out of the fog I've been in for months, like I finally care again.

Iron Man, Batman, Hulk, Black Widow, and Spider Man

Anyways, enough of my pity party.

It's been a busy summer, busy last couple of weeks since I posted.



Bumblewood did another show at the beginning of the month, this time at the American Heroes Car Show which raised funds for the Wounded Warriors foundation, Young Marines, and Soldier's Angels. I had a great time, launched a new line of all natural Deodorants, and was nestled next to a sweet friend who sells her amazing candles. It was a wonderful day!

We very sadly had to get rid of the puppy, Annie. She was just too rough with our little guys, nipping and jumping and plowing them over. They didn't know how to handle it, and they had just about stopped going outside because she was too rough. That on top of destroying absolutely everything in the backyard (including the rope bridge of their new fort).... It was too much. So we are pet-less again, and it will probably stay that way for awhile.

The soaps have gotten so popular in just a month that I had to order two more molds. I started this all with two little 3 lb molds, and I can barely keep up with demand. So I've ordered two 6 lb molds and that should hopefully be good for awhile. I just need more shelf space to hold all the soap. :)

There have been some very frustrating aspects of the business, but it's not really worth getting into and I'm trying to let it roll off my back. It's just surprising, and interesting, in a way. 

The boys are doing excellent in school! Jack is trying to read things on his own, sounding out words and making good guesses on the ones that are really big. Ty can read the words I give him, but isn't interested enough to do it on his own, so we won't push it too much and will wait until he shows more interest. I believe the best way to make a kid hate something and cause fights is to force them to do it, so we go with the flow around here.

They are all growing like weeds! And eating like dinosaurs. They have consumed so much food lately.

We have been sick twice in the last month. This is mostly my fault, and mostly to do with my issues and not cooking like normal. I stopped cooking all our meals from scratch, and we supplemented a lot with either fast food, or boxed food. And our immune systems paid for. So I'm determined to get back on track because being sick is not fun and I really don't have time for it.

I have a few Christmas orders for knitted items that I am working on. One is a set of head band ear warmers with flowers on them. They are really simple and really cute, and I am almost done with them. After that I have a set of stockings for a friend.

I'm sort of in limbo right now as I wait for supplies (totally not happy with the slow service of my suppliers right now) and printer ink. I can't make things, or label what I do have ready right now. I told that to Ben and he said "You mean you actually have to SIT DOWN and RELAX tonight?!?" Heehee. I said "Nope, I have to knit". ;)

Today, for the first time in months, I deep cleaned my entire house. Everything is absolutely spotless. I'm hoping it stays that way for at least the night. But I think I'm going to sleep good tonight, haha.

The wonderful Molly over at Molly Makes Do has sweetly offered me some free ad space on her side bar for a bit. If you don't read her blog already, you really need to. It is filled with family and faith and she has the best, most positive outlook on life, despite some hard times. Very strong woman, and I admire her greatly.

Well, I'm sure I've bored you enough and have definitely talked your ear/eyes off. So I'm off.

Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you to all who have and continue to serve!

Meg






October 15, 2013

Downtime..? Ha! So Here's a Quicky Update

I've been trying to write this for two days, but my time at the computer is few and far between these days. And when I do have it it's usually filled with business activities. But I'm scratching out these few minutes (I should be soaping! ) because I miss you guys!

My beautiful sister behind our display!

The Bumblewood launch at the CBC Craft Show this past Saturday was a great success!! I got to share the booth with my beautiful sister, who displayed her photography and booked shoots. I sold about a quarter of my inventory, which is so much greater than I could have expected!! I met so many new and lovely people, and I had so much fun I'm still coming down off the high. :D It was excellent!

The Bumblewood Etsy shop also went live this weekend! There you will find all of our current offerings (minus a few soaps I haven't gotten listed yet). So if you can't make it to a show be sure to find what you're looking for there!

I will be doing another show at the beginning of November called the American Heroes Car Show. It benefits the Wounded Heroes Fund and Soldier's Angels, and last year they raised over $4,000! I'm really excited to do this one! And thankfully I have the details worked out now as far as packing and prepping so hopefully it won't be quite as hectic. Be sure to follow Bumblewood on Facebook to get all the updates of what's going on and where I'll be!

We've had germs all over the house in the past week. The kids came down with head colds on Tuesday, and I of course got it hard Friday night. Thankfully a good night's sleep had me going strong on Saturday, only to be bombarded with the scratchy throat and snuffles again on Sunday and I am still fighting it now. Oh well. At least it skipped Saturday, which is all I prayed for!



I have been working on Christmas ornaments slowly as my down time allows, and a pair of fingerless gloves in my ever-favorite "Foliage" colorway which is a perfectly autumnal mix of oranges and yellows and browns. I'm hoping to have a few custom orders coming up pretty soon, just need to finalize details with the recipient.

I have a very large box full of some just ever-so-scrumptious processed fiber from Tombstone Livestock. It's just beautiful. I pull it out and pet it every now and then and my fingers itch to get it on on the wheel. Just a few more batches of soap to ready for the Car Show and then I'm spending quite a few nights with those lovely fleeces.

School has been going well, the boys are picking up in both reading and math. They had been struggling with numbers, and I had to all but throw out the way we were doing math because... Well I have boys. Boys don't do "sitting" work very well. So one day, in a moment of frustration and desperation, I just picked up a little white board we have and started drawing out long and loud and raucous scenarios involving dinosaurs, aliens, asteroids, birds, police cars, helicopters, cannons and all kinds of boyish things. There were explosions. There were people getting arrested. There were asteroids taking out alien space ships. And all the while I would ask them "ok how many X do we have now" after we added or subtracted from the story line. Ben had walked in as I was doing it and he said he's never heard them yell and giggle so much, especially not during school. And you know what? They've been picking up numbers and counting like crazy. Who says school has to be done from a book? :D

The weather has been amazing. We haven't had an honest October in years and years, but this year is cool and crisp and clear. I've been making soups and baking bread and my itch for autumn is slowly being scratched as the leaves start to turn and the temperature keeps dropping ever so slightly. We even had a very tiny patch of rain last week. Supposedly going to be a wet winter, which would be fantastic! My soul and the valley are both in need of it.

Alright, I really need to go soap. Tonight I'm making up a batch of my Lemongrass Scrub, which was a best seller at the show! It's great for getting the grunge off dirty, hard worked hands. Perfect for a show about cars! ;)

Happy Wednesday!
Meg

October 10, 2013

The Big Giveaway Winner!

Yesterday was a beautifully stormy and cloudy day. We even had a few little cloud bursts. Nothing to really wet the ground, but I'll take whatever I can get right now. I am in desperate need of a wet winter and we might *supposedly* get one. We'll see what happens. Today is bright and sunny, but it is quite crisp outside. I love it!

Once things (hopefully) settle down after this weekend I hope to get back to blogging at least slightly normally, and getting back to commenting on all of your blogs! 

And now it's time to announce the winner of the Big Giveaway - a large set of soaps, skin care, and more! Thank you to everyone who participated! If you haven't won recently be sure to check back - I will have at least one more closer to the holidays. :)


The winner is....


Congratulations Diane!! Yay!

dbaker4jc said...

I shared your giveaway on Facebook.

I just need you to shoot me an email at meg.bumblewood(@)gmail.com, or a Facebook message with how to get these to you, and whether you'd like the fingerless mittens or a pattern. :)


Happy Thursday y'all!! Be sure to bookmark www.bumblewoodhandmade.com - the shop is launching this weekend, where you'll be able to find everything from my giveaways, and more!

~Meg

October 4, 2013

Bumblewood Giveaway #4 - The Big One!

Here it is! The big giveaway you've been waiting for! Or at least the one I've been waiting for. :)

This is the last and biggest giveaway I'm doing for the Bumblewood launch, happening NEXT WEEKEND! (I'm a little nervous, are you nervous?)

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the last giveaways and for all your comments of support and best wishes. You are the best readers anyone could ever hope for! 

So here it is:



A big gift set of Bumblewood goodies including (basket not included):

4 - 4 oz bars of handmade soap, in the scents of your choice
3 - 1 oz lotion bars in the scents of your choice
2 - .15 oz lip balms, in the scents of your choice
2 - hand knit wash cloths made from 100% cotton (one large, one small)
PLUS
Your choice of either a finished pair of dark grey cabled fingerless gloves


OR if you're a knitter you have the choice of one my patterns (you can find those here).

Here's how to enter:

- Get one entry for leaving a comment here saying you'd like to enter.
- Get a SECOND entry for liking the Bumblewood Facebook page and letting me know you've done so (new likes or old!).
- Get a THIRD entry for sharing this giveaway on Facebook or your blog and letting me know you've done that as well. 


And the rules:
- I will only count the entries that follow the rules! If you like or share, but don't leave a comment here I can't count it. Make sure you leave a comment if you do either!!
- Not open to immediate family members. (Sorry y'all, but you know where to find me to get some. :) )
- In an effort to be fair, anyone who has won something from me in the past 6 months is not eligible.

This contest will be ending on Wednesday, October 9th at 11:59pm. The winner will be announced Thursday, October 10th!

Good luck everyone!
Meg

September 27, 2013

Winner Winner Number 3!


We have a winner! The Random Number generator spit out






Number two!


Tombstone Livestock said...
Count me in, and added my like to FB. Guess all this is not leaving time for spinning .... good luck on the endeavor.

Congratulations!! I just need you to email me your address and the scents you want to meg.bumblewood(@)gmail.com (without the parenthesis of course).

And no, not much spinning going on. ;) Hoping to be able to sit down at my wheel when things settle down a bit... Not that they ever do, heh!

We'll have one final giveaway next week before the launch, and it will be a big one! A whole big set of goodies! So make sure you're back here next week to enter. :)

Happy Friday!
Meg

September 20, 2013

Bumblewood Giveaway 3!


Happy happy Friday! Can I tell you how crazy excited I am that it's Friday?

We are 3 weeks away from the Bumblewood launch! I am getting products labeled and photographed, business cards are here, the lotions and lip balms are being created, I'm slowly working on a separate Bumblewood blog/site and I'm getting ready! I'm so excited! I hope you are too. :)

On to the Giveaway!

This week you have a chance to win....



A little gift set that includes TWO 4 oz bars of soap in the scents of your choice* (one scent each, or two of one scent!) and ONE 1 oz lotion bar in the scent of your choice*.

Here's how to enter:

- Get one entry for leaving a comment here saying you'd like to enter.
- Get a SECOND entry for liking the Bumblewood Facebook page, then leaving another comment here saying you did so (or leave a comment saying you're already a fan if you've liked it before!)
- Get a THIRD entry for sharing this giveaway on Facebook or your blog and leaving a third comment saying you've done that as well. 


And the rules:
- I will only count the entries that follow the rules! If you like or share, but don't leave a comment here I can't count it. Make sure you leave a comment if you do either!!
- Not open to immediate family members. (Sorry y'all, but you know where to find me to get some. :) )
- In an effort to be fair, anyone who has won something from me in the past 6 months is not eligible.


This contest will run until 11:59 Thursday the 26th, and the winner will be announced the next day!


Good luck everyone! And if you don't win this one, I will be holding one more giveaway before the launch on October 12th!


Meg


* Soap scents available:
Apple Pie
Spiced Orange
Chocolate Peppermint
Naked (Unscented)
Brazilian Red Clay
Lemongrass Scrub
Coffee Scrub
Oatmeal & Honey
Lemon & Lavender
Lavender Olive Oil
Tea Tree & Rosemary

*Lotion bar scents available:
Grapefruit
Naked (unscented)
Lavender
Peppermint


September 18, 2013

First Day Pics, and Why I Fail At Blogging

First day pictures

We've been doing first grade for two and half weeks now and I'm already exhausted! But don't they look handsome? (Munchie has started this new little sideways jaw grin. It's kind of funny. He sports it whenever the camera comes out.)

I don't know why but this year seems to be so extremely hard. I think most of it is because Munchie is very rambunctious, and very demanding, and he spends most of our school time fussing and wanting to be picked up, which doesn't happen, which in turns makes him angry... It's a vicious cycle. Pair that with three boys who don't sit still very well and.... I'm sort of pulling out my hair.

Oh how I wish this were my view.

So I'm changing our curriculum a bit and I will be adding lots more "hands on" activities and more things to do outside. Like using hopscotch for math. We'll see how it goes.

Annie gave us quite a scare over the weekend. I noticed on Wednesday evening that she hadn't touched her food from the morning, which I thought was weird. When I went out Thursday morning to feed her, her bowl was still full. Since she's been a dog that really enjoys her food and wolfs it down in seconds, I knew something was wrong and got her to the vet Thursday afternoon.

A quick test showed us that she had parvo, and by the next day she was vomiting, very lethargic, and had stopped drinking water as well. When the vet sent me home he gave me a slew of antibiotics and medications and instructions for feeding and keeping her well hydrated.

This is how my brain feels.

It was a very long and stressful weekend, with alarms set for different medications, and every hour the alarm would go off for us to get fluids into her somehow. Thankfully, with lots of care and lots of prayers from friends and family, she was eating some boiled chicken and rice and drinking water from the faucet by Sunday night. Today, she is bouncing and happy and wolfing her food again. Completely back to normal! Totally scared the crap out of me though.

After schooling and dog caring, and trying desperately to keep my house clean (have I ever told you how extremely messy four little boys can be??), I am trying to get things ready for the Craft show and Bumblewood launch in three weeks.

The soaps are getting labeled, the lip balms and a small amount of lotion bars are being made, the finishing touches are being put on everything, and I'm filling a few custom orders.

By the end of the night I am falling into bed and usually asleep before I hit the pillow.

I am desperately hoping for a wet winter.

But! Autumn is coming! I can feel it. The last few days have been breezy and cool and delicious and I can't wait for colder weather and jeans and comfort food and baking and the visit to the apple farm and all the wonderful things that come with fall! :)

And in the back of my head there is that little voice that says "Plant a fall garden...."

I'm not sure if I want to listen to it right now.

Happy Wednesday y'all,
Meg


September 13, 2013

The Bumblewood Giftcard Winner!

This is but a tiny showing of the plethora of soaps taking up residence in my closet!

Happy Friday the 13th everyone! It's a LUCKY Friday the 13th, as today someone is winning the $25 Gift Certificate good towards anything in the Bumblewood shop, launching the October 12th weekend. (That's in FOUR weeks. I might be panicking a little.)

There were 19 entries for this giveaway, and since I'm sure the suspense is probably killing you by now, the winner is....





Number 18: Molly!


Molly said...
Ooh I'd love this Meg!

Congratulations Molly! If you'd like an email version of the certificate send me your email address to meg.bumblewood@gmail.com. Or if you'd like a hard copy I can mail it to any address you give me!

Please go check out Molly's blog too at Molly Makes Do. It's a very sweet blog, and she posts lots of wonderful ideas for homekeeping and child raisin'!

Be sure to check back next week, as I'll be holding another giveaway next Friday!

Happy Friday y'all,
Meg


September 6, 2013

Another Bumblewood Giveaway!



Happy Friday everyone!

It's 5 weeks until the official Bumblewood launch date, and so I'm holding another giveaway! I'm pretty excited about this one, and even more excited about the next ones! So if you don't win this time, check back later as I'll be holding more giveaways as the launch gets closer.

This week I'm giving away...


A $25 gift certificate good for any Bumblewood item! You can use this gift certificate both online AND, if you're local to me, in person at the craft show on October 12th!

Here's how to enter:

- Get one entry for leaving a comment here saying you'd like to enter.
- Get a SECOND entry for liking the Bumblewood Facebook page, then leaving another comment here saying you did so (or leave a comment saying you're already a fan if you've liked it before!)
- Get a THIRD entry for sharing this giveaway on Facebook or your blog and leaving another comment saying you've done that as well. 


And the rules:
- I will only count the entries that follow the rules! If you like or share, but don't leave a comment here I can't count it. Make sure you leave a comment if you do either!!
- Not open to immediate family members. (Sorry y'all, but you know where to find me to get some. :) )
- In an effort to be fair, anyone who has won something from me in the past 6 months is not eligible.

This contest will run until 11:59 midnight PST on Thursday, September 12th. Any comments after that will not be counted.

The winner will be announced on Friday, September 13th (we'll make it a LUCKY Friday the 13th!!).

Good luck everyone!! And have a wonderful weekend!

Meg

August 30, 2013

Some Knitting. Oh, And a Giveaway Winner!


After what seems like a billion years (Ok, it was 9 months...) I finally finished the shawl I designed and started in December! Yay!



But that's not what you're here for, is it? :)

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments and well wishes. There were 33 total entries to the Lip Balm Giveaway!

I put that number into the Random Number Generator and I got...


Lucky number 13! That means Miss Debbie, you won the lip balm!

Miss Debbie said...
I liked the Bumblewood Facebook page!

Congratulations! I just need you to email me your mailing address to meg.bumblewood(@)gmail.com (without the parenthesis) and I will get them in the mail to you. Or you can message it to me on Facebook. 

Stayed tuned for another giveaway coming next week!

Happy Friday everyone!
Meg

August 23, 2013

A Bumblewood Giveaway!





Happy Friday everyone! It's Giveaway day! I'll be having little giveaways like this over the next two months as I gear up for the official Bumblewood launch.

For those who might have missed out on what's going on: I'm completely redoing things around here and will be selling my handmade soaps, lip balms, and other skin care products in addition to my custom knitting and pattern design. The official launch will begin with a Craft Fair here in town on October 12th, and will continue with the reopening of my Etsy store that weekend. I'm so, so excited about this new adventure!

So here's what you could win this time!


A three pack of hand poured lip balm made with skin loving, all natural ingredients and scented with high quality essential oils.

You will be getting one each of the scents/flavors pictured above: Grapefruit, Citrus blend (lemon, sweet orange & grapefruit) and lavender.

Each tube is .15 ounces net weight, and the ingredients include coconut oil, almond oil, shea butter and beeswax.

Here's how it works:
- Get one entry by leaving a comment here on the blog saying you want to enter.
- Get a SECOND entry by liking the Bumblewood Facebook page, and coming back here and leaving a comment telling me you did so. (If you're already a Facebook fan you still get an entry for that! Just let me know that you've already liked it!)

You have until Thursday, August 29th at 12:00 midnight PST to enter (any entries after that won't count, sorry!). The winner will be chosen and announced on Friday the 30th.

Good luck!




August 5, 2013

Knitting, And What's On The Horizon



There are some changes coming to my business soon...

But first, what I'm knitting!


Last week my mom brought me a hand knit stocking, with the story that she had been at a friend's house and had been telling her that I was a knitter. Her friend walked into her closet and brought out this this stocking, saying her great aunt had knit it for her when she was born and she was hoping to find someone to make a similar one for her husband. She's been searching for the last few years for someone to do it, but has had no luck.

Well I love to knit, I love getting custom orders, I love a challenge, and this struck a special place in my heart since I have a similarly styled one that was knit by my great-grandmother for me when I was a baby.

After a few conversations with her, we decided to leave it pretty much the same, but change a few of the colors. I've been having so much fun with this! I loved deconstructing it and figuring out how it was put together, and recharting the motifs, and seeing the Santa and the words come to life as I knit. It's been a blast!

And now for the changes!

Mojito lip balm, Hazelnut coffee and unscented soaps


In October my sister and I will be participating in another craft show. This one is bigger, has been going for 12 years, and has had over 300 people attend (per show) in the past years. So hopefully it will be WAY better than the one we did a few years ago.

But here's my exciting news: I will be changing my business and using this craft show to launch my soaps and skin care products! I have been very busy building inventory, developing new formulas, designing branding, and doing lots of paperwork.

I will be renaming the Etsy shop and adding all of my new stuff into it.

I will still be doing custom knitting orders, and writing patterns as I design new things. You will still be able to find all my patterns on Ravelry in the same place.

I'm so excited about this new phase! I've been having so much fun with formulas and scents and ideas. I hope this will turn out to be very successful.

So stayed tuned for Bumblewood, launching October 2013! :)

Happy Monday,
Meg
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