Thrilled to share another woman chasing her dreams and transforming her talents and loves into making a living:

Welcome to Bloomies Handmade, ETST new sponsor.  Bloomies Handmade offers an impressive variety of handmade hair accessories–felt bows, flower clips, head bands and more.  Bloomies Handmade offers 6 types of felt flowers, 3 styles of felt bows and over 35 colors to choose from.

Their tiny bows are perfect for newborns, and one tiny drop of their Girlie Glue (100% all natural, made out of agave nectar) will hold a bow in place all day.

You can find Bloomies Handmade on IG at @bloomieshandmade and on Facebook here.

Bloomies Handmade is offering the generous discount of 30% off all shop orders using code SMALLTHINGS for the month of April.

A little more about Jennifer, the talent and motivation behind the Bloomies business:

1. You attribute your creative handmade gene to your mama. Tell me about how she influenced your business and the satisfaction of making a living on handmade goods.

I’m very lucky to have the mother that I do. My mother inspired my career by showing me how important it is to take on passion projects and really run with them if they are a good fit. She always showed passion and drive in any project she took on, big or small. Having a strong, driven, multi-talented woman in my surroundings has shaped me in so many ways, and I am so grateful. Never in my life would I ever have imagined that I would be able to run a successful business from home.  I am so thankful I am able to make handmade accessories from my home. It is such a blessing to do something I truly love and make a living from it.

2. You quit your job last year to run Bloomies full time. How did you decide to take that risk and how has the business grown since then?

When I first started Bloomies I figured it would just be something small I did on the side to make a few extra dollars for my family. My husband and I always talked about how nice it would be for me to quit my job as a full time server and work from home, but we never thought it would actually happen. Almost a year after starting my (small) business I was getting really frustrated with my serving job and talked to my husband about quitting. My husband was a little apprehensive at first, so I decided to wait a few more months before throwing in the towel. Well, I couldn’t wait so a few weeks later I quit my serving job. Although I was making a decent amount of money from my business, I was still really nervous about quitting. I was nervous about failing, I didn’t want to let my husband down. What if it didn’t work out? Well, to my surprise (and my husband’s) my business did better than we ever could have imagined and that year I tripled what I made as a server! Taking this risk was scary but SO worth it.

3. Describe a short typical day-in-the-life of being a hair accessory business owner. Where do you make your products? Do you have employees who help?

Oh goodness, well, there never is a “short” day, haha . I wake up at 6am every morning and start work at 7am. I have to make a long exhausting commute from my bed to my living room everyday! Haha. I know, you feel bad for me! My commute is horrible! Anyway, I work 7am-10pm Monday thru Friday. Of course I take breaks every now and then but from the minute I wake up to the minute I fall asleep I am usually working. Right now, since my business is still very small I have to be in charge of every little detail. A normal day I would print invoices, respond to e-mails, send out lots of packages, take pictures of my products, buy supplies and find new ways to advertise. I have one full time employee who comes to my home every day and helps me package orders and two part-time employees who make my flowers from their home. I make some of my products but most are made by my two part time employees. Just in case you were wondering we do not have any children yet, hopefully soon.

4. Bloomies is successfully growing (deservedly so!). Why do you think Bloomies has done so well? (and I see it’s your goal to open a Bloomies boutique and expand into retail stores–think it will happen soon? Congrats!)

I believe Bloomies has done so well because our products are unique and very affordable. We truly care about our customers and want to do everything in our power to make them happy. We have had to overcome several obstacles to get to where we are now and our customers have been so supportive and patient with us. We have the best customers and are so thankful for each and every one of them. We would LOVE to open a Bloomies boutique, hopefully within the next few years. We are currently working on getting our products into retail stores.

*****

I’m excited to share Jennifer’s talents with readers today!  Don’t forget to use code SMALLTHINGS for 30% off your Bloomies order.

It’s April. 

There.  I typed the first sentence. 

Finding time to write has been a little challenging the last few days. I’ve sat down, typed a few sentences and then switched gears to read some e-mails or answer a text or Google “red clogs” ‘cuz Lord knows that’s very important.  I’ve stopped mid-writing to fold two shirts from a full dryer, open one piece of mail from a tall stack or match five puzzle pieces with Lainey before running off to finish another task. 

But here I am–a full hour of uninterrupted writing ahead of me, in my makeshift office–the back booth of Applebee’s.  A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. 

So yes, it’s April–a great “start here.”  I’m far more motivated to tackle resolutions come April than I am in January.  Something about the spring. 

The great thing about being disorganized is the thrill of getting organized.
The great thing about losing something is the hope of finding it.
The great thing about stumbling off the path is the anticipation of relocating the trail.

I don’t mean to be cryptic, it’s just that this spring thing has me excited beyond finding that perfect mint green thing for my closet.  I’m also reorganzing my priorities, straightening my routines and cleaning up my little brain that tends to soak up more than it should sometimes. 

So I start here.  With what I know.

What I know is that my love for my family is the most driving, settling, comforting, inspiring force in the universe.  It is always a great place to start.  When things feel messy, uninspired, overwhelming, I find such clarity in thinking about my family.  My goals for us, my hopes for them–and all the little happy things that fill in the spaces around the big big love I have for us.

. 

Our big big love this weekend included Easter traditions. This year Nella got it–the whole egg-hunting, basket ransacking thing. We stayed in our pajamas until well past noon, drank coffee, showed the girls how to spray silly string and covered each others’ attempts to throw Easter egg candy in the garbage can without Lainey catching us.

Dash pulled a Mr. Rogers with his Easter cardigan.

“I wear your granddad’s clothes…I look incredible.”

And the night ended like this.  My babies falling asleep in a tent, watching Franklin. Translated: Christ is Risen.

*****

So with spring cleaning and routine jump starts, I get excited. 
I’m ready to clean my closet again.  I’m ready to finish paiting our living room.  I’m ready to be a better listener.  I’m ready to practice my best “GET INTO MY ARMS, I MISSED YOU” hug for Lainey when she walks into the door after school.  I’m ready to move on from picture books to chapter books before bed for the girls.  I’m ready to search vacation rentals for that Tennessee cabin we want to hole up in this summer.  I’m ready for more beach sunsets.  I’m ready to plant flowers and run and make swimming laps a weekly priority.  I’m ready to find those perfect red clogs.

I’m ready to do something that scares me a little. 

I love spring cleaning.  It never stops with my home. 

And writing with a baby means I have to finish this.  Dash has the hiccups.  Which means all hell breaks loose in this house.  He hates the hiccups.

I’m going to pull a Picture-Plop-and-Go.

Happy April.  Happy Spring.  Happy “Start Here.”

Weekend Sunset Date:

In a world of hurting people, there are some who stand out as true compassion–not only able to transform the gift of kindness in a way that we all should be able to model, but to breathe it in a way that makes others around them want to be kind too.  My friend Glennon is the latter.  Her writing pulls out the things inside of you that you knew existed but perhaps just needed a reminder–the things that tell you that you’re normal, that you’re doing a good job, that you have the strength to face whatever you’re dealing with, and that you are not alone–you are loved.  Her words are a hug, and her compassionate spirit is contagious.  The whole she’s hilarious and relatable bit is just a bonus. I’m honored to call Glennon my friend, and I’m thrilled to share her words with you today.

Oh, and she just had a baby.  Well, not a real baby, but her book baby hits shelves tomorrow.  Carry on Warrior is a collection of essays about life and struggles and making it work.  It’s honest, hilarious and a reminder that the hardships we face as parents, daughters, wives, friends–they are shared.  And it’s okay to screw up sometimes.  We are in this together.  So think of Carry on Warrior as a diary full of all of our stories.  It might not have kittens on the cover, but it’s still purty. 

Her words today–a letter to her son, Chase–were originally published on her blog, Momastery.  My favorite line: “It is a decision that compassion is more important than fear, than fitting in, than following the crowd.”

*****
For Adam
By Glennon Melton

Dear Chase,

Hey, baby.

Tomorrow is a big day. Third Grade – wow.

Chase – When I was in third grade, there was a little boy in my class named Adam.

Adam looked a little different and he wore funny clothes and sometimes he even smelled a little bit. Adam didn’t smile. He hung his head low and he never looked at anyone at all. Adam never did his homework. I don’t think his parents reminded him like yours do. The other kids teased Adam a lot. Whenever they did, his head hung lower and lower and lower. I never teased him, but I never told the other kids to stop, either.

And I never talked to Adam, not once. I never invited him to sit next to me at lunch, or to play with me at recess. Instead, he sat and played by himself. He must have been very lonely.

I still think about Adam every day. I wonder if Adam remembers me? Probably not. I bet if I’d asked him to play, just once, he’d still remember me.

I think that God puts people in our lives as gifts to us. The children in your class this year, they are some of God’s gifts to you.
So please treat each one like a gift from God. Every single one.

Baby, if you see a child being left out, or hurt, or teased, a part of your heart will hurt a little. Your daddy and I want you to trust that heart-ache. Your whole life, we want you to notice and trust your heart-ache. That heart ache is called compassion, and it is God’s signal to you to do something. It is God saying, Chase! Wake up! One of my babies is hurting! Do something to help! Whenever you feel compassion – be thrilled! It means God is speaking to you, and that is magic. It means He trusts you and needs you.

Sometimes the magic of compassion will make you step into the middle of a bad situation right away.

Compassion might lead you to tell a teaser to stop it and then ask the teased kid to play. You might invite a left-out kid to sit next to you at lunch. You might choose a kid for your team first who usually gets chosen last. These things will be hard to do, but you can do hard things.

Sometimes you will feel compassion but you won’t step in right away. That’s okay, too. You might choose instead to tell your teacher and then tell us. We are on your team – we are on your whole class’s team. Asking for help for someone who is hurting is not tattling, it is doing the right thing. If someone in your class needs help, please tell me, baby. We will make a plan to help together.

When God speaks to you by making your heart hurt for another, by giving you compassion, just do something. Please do not ignore God whispering to you. I so wish I had not ignored God when He spoke to me about Adam. I remember Him trying, I remember feeling compassion, but I chose fear over compassion. I wish I hadn’t. Adam could have used a friend and I could have, too.

Chase – We do not care if you are the smartest or fastest or coolest or funniest. There will be lots of contests at school, and we don’t care if you win a single one of them. We don’t care if you get straight As. We don’t care if the girls think you’re cute or whether you’re picked first or last for kickball at recess. We don’t care if you are your teacher’s favorite or not. We don’t care if you have the best clothes or most Pokemon cards or coolest gadgets. We just don’t care.

We don’t send you to school to become the best at anything at all. We already love you as much as we possibly could. You do not have to earn our love or pride and you can’t lose it. That’s done.

We send you to school to practice being brave and kind.

Kind people are brave people. Brave is not a feeling that you should wait for. It is a decision. It is a decision that compassion is more important than fear, than fitting in, than following the crowd.

Trust me, baby, it is. It is more important.

Don’t try to be the best this year, honey.

Just be grateful and kind and brave. That’s all you ever need to be.

Take care of those classmates of yours, and your teacher, too. You Belong to Each Other. You are one lucky boy . . . with all of these new gifts to unwrap this year.

I love you so much that my heart might explode.

Enjoy and cherish your gifts.

And thank you for being my favorite gift of all time.

Love,

Mama

*****

To read more of Glennon’s words, check out Momastery–where all are welcomed.  And you might have seen her on the Today show this morning where she rocked it.