SouleMama

february vacation

We've just wrapped up a pretty fabulous February School Vacation week, if I do say so myself. When vacation was looming and all of us were still in various stages of recovery from the many kinds of funk that have been going around our family for the past month, I have to admit that I had my doubts about how this week would go. The kids said that "ALL" of their friends were traveling to warm places, and what would we do all day at home? Oh kids, I've got you. This home thing, we do it well. And we did - loads of chess and sledding and art and all those good things. And I managed to fit in a whole lot of out-of-the-house time too. Which means that there were several days of skiing, an epic cousin sleepover that we hosted, a few more friend sleepovers, a fun Nordic state championship, and gosh, so much more I can't even remember now. I even managed to squeeze in some very random but lovely sewing, which was reassuring that I still remember how to use that machine. (I know it hasn't been that long, but it sure does feel like it sometimes!) I made a horse-themed tote bag for a little friend's birthday (I told you kids, not EVERYONE is someplace warm right now!), and a pile of new potholders because the old ones were so beyond washing/repair that making a new pair seemed the wiser option than putting them back on the shelf as is. Utilitarian and gift sewing - my favorite. And there's nothing like an easy peasy log cabin to get you right in the groove. 

Last night at the dinner table, the most melancholic of my children declared "That was an awesome vacation!" Indeed, it was!

"Valentine's Day Eve Morning"

That's what Ani said to us this morning when she woke up - "Happy Valentine's Day Eve Morning!" And so it is! It's a snow day too. Another ten inches fell overnight, and so the kiddos are all home from school. It's perfectly timed, of course, for making all those class Valentine's that we hadn't quite finished before, interrupted by breaks for sledding (and shoveling!). It's a good day. 

I hope you're having a lovely day! 

Silk Oak {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Silk Oak!

While new designs continue to emerge each season, it is the tried and true, beloved, vintage designs that keep customers coming back to get the same prints for their new babies that they remember loving when they were small. Truly my favorite part of Silk Oak!

Follow Silk Oak on Facebook (silk.oak.tees) and Instagram (#silkoak).

SouleMama: Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about?

Jan: It is bittersweet to be doing a Giveaway this weekend. Being a part of the Soulemama community these past years has been a true privilege. I look forward to continuing the journey with Amanda and her family as we all write this new chapter in our stories. Cheers!

This weekend, Silk Oak is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky SouleMama reader:

a $100 gift certificate!

In addition, Silk Oak is offering 15% off your purchase from 3/30-4/6 with coupon code SOULEMAMA.

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

Would love to win. Our toddler loves the designs.
Posted by: Livia

Nova Natural Toys & Crafts {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Nova Natural!  

As we watch winter slip slowly out of the valleys, spring creeping up the knees of the mountains, our thoughts turn to the rush of new life this time of year brings. Watching for the nest-building of birds and the first baby bunnies to peek from their burrows, we happily celebrate spring and Easter. We’re excited to share this giveaway opportunity with SouleMama readers to get ready for their own festivals. Our simple egg dying kit comes with seed to plant a little grass for any visiting rabbits. Ready to move beyond basic egg-dying? Visit our blog for more challenging egg decorating crafts. Add to your nature table with hand rolled beeswax candles and a pair of Ostheimer bunnies.  Learn all about eggs with this beautifully illustrated picture book An Egg Is Quiet and visit our NEW activity center for more Eggsploration opportunities, from printable coloring pages naming the parts of an egg, to science experiments using eggs, and more!  



This weekend, Nova Natural is generously offering the following gifts to ONE lucky SouleMama reader:

$100 gift card for you to choose something to celebrate spring.

In addition, Nova Natural is offering all SouleMama readers, free shipping on orders over $75 through 4/7. Code SMSPRING19

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

What a delightful store!
Posted by: Kara

Nest European Toys & Home {a soulemama sponsor}

Photo Credit: Grain HandMade

Greetings from Nest European Toys & Home! 

We are an online shop in North America offering a wide selection of quality handmade natural toys and crafts, books, clothing for kids, and sustainable home goods.  Some of our suppliers include Ostheimer, Drewart, Grimms, Grapat, Norbert Verneuer, Fagus, Ruskovilla and Disana clothing, Walter Kraul, and many, many other lesser known but wonderful individual crafters and small companies with great ecological and social ethos.  We have a growing and great selection of furniture and home accessories.  Our focus is on sustainability and materials that biodegrade and that are sustainable in more than one sense.  The questions of how to move from where we are now in terms of our shared carbon footprint, energy use, and social equity propel us to continue to shape our business and its greater impact.

Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about? 

As our business keeps growing, we keep thinking about the ecological footprint of our activities, and how we can make improvements.  Our focus has always been on biodegradable materials, and selling products that offer good value.  The energy that goes into manufacturing goods should be justified over the lifetime of its existence.  If that's my own creation, it's different, I'm spending time with my children crafting/cooking/creating, I'm working on my skills, I'm feeding my family, I'm modeling for my kids, I'm using my mind and my body in different ways.... it's a different perspective, even though it's also what to do with our precious time and energy as well.  However, when it's goods being actively manufactured, we can take our time to think about the question more, and the effects from all the inputs.  We're working on narrowing our criteria further in this regard.  The other thing we spend a lot of time thinking about is coming from the overall systems thinking I'm usually employing as a parent of a now-turning 6 and 8 year olds, and that is how our time and activities are organized within our family.  We're working on some changes to our business that focus on these two topics, in manners that are accessible to different budgets, and on working harder to act locally and think globally.  

 

We draw inspiration from those around us in all these efforts, but it doesn't escape us that the heart of this kind of work is not found just anywhere on the internet.  The work of the SouleMama blog, and others online, has been for all these years a unique space where people can pause and breathe and share their inspirations for our own intentional living.  Thank you for all these years of sharing and inspiration!  For the families that grew up with you, and the ones coming afterwards, it's been a pleasure.  Sharing five minutes with a warm drink on a Sunday, or some cherished time to go through archives, or whip up some can-do for an art project, all that you've shared already on the blog is with us still.

Photo Credit: Spring and Summer Activities Come Rain or Shine from Floris Books

This weekend, Nest European Toys & Home is generously offering the following gift to THREE lucky SouleMama readers:

A Zero-Waste bundle from our shop or a $50 Canadian gift card to use at nest.ca!

Our book selection has grown wonderfully over the last couple years, and I am so happy to spread the word. We'd like to offer people 10% off books and anything else from our 'Arts & Culture' section on our website from now until Easter. You can use code 'ThankYouAmanda&Katie'

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 10am EST on Tuesday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

Lovely items!!! Thanks for the opportunity to enter for a chance to win this wonderful giveaway!
Posted by: Vicki

This company has wonderful customer service and a great selection! Best wishes Soul Mama!
Posted by: Marcie

oh yes please
Posted by: Beka

Texture Clothing {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Texture Clothing! 

We believe in focusing on love. With so much fear and hate in the world it’s easy to get pulled down by negativity. But love is a verb, and we believe that making the choice to actively love is the power that can help us rise above the rest. Our clothing is made from the best things to help you focus on the important things. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Let yourself fall in love with an outfit you know was made sustainably right here in the USA. We try our best to stay true to the concept of shopping local and support businesses who do the same. Texture Clothing is created in Bellingham, WA with high-quality materials like hemp and 100% organic cotton. The beautiful fabrics we use are ethically sourced and made by wonderful hard working artisans around the world.

Texture Clothing is on Instagram.

Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about? 

Since the last time we were featured on SouleMama, we have been putting even more of an emphasis on “towards zero waste”. We have been busily using up scraps and it feels great! We are really interested in being clever and throwing less into the landfill.

This weekend, Texture Clothing is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky SouleMama reader:

With straps that cross in the back and stabilized with elastic, the Ballerina Bralette is just what you need to end the never ending fight against falling straps. Made with two layers of a hemp/organic cotton blend, elastic is also sewn into bottom seam to provide continual support. In the side seams of the inner bodice layer, we put slits that allow placement of additional padding between the layers, making it great in the cooler months and for swimming!

Texture Clothing is also offering a discount to all SouleMama readers, 15% off of Ballerina Bralette. Please use code BRALETTE15 at checkout, Expires: March 29^th.

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

How lovely! Thank you for the chance at this giveaway!
Posted by: Karen

Oak Meadow {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Oak Meadow! 

Oak Meadow offers an affordable independent school experience for students in kindergarten to grade 12. Our progressive, experiential homeschooling curriculum can be used independently, or by enrolling in our accredited, teacher-supported, distance learning school.

Our curriculum is built on strong academic standards that can be adapted to meet the needs of the developing individual. The flexible format allows you to create your own rhythms for learning and to adjust lesson plans to fit your homeschooling schedule and student interest.

Visit our website to learn more and to view curriculum samples. Call 802-251-7250 to speak with one of our educational counselors or send your questions to [email protected]. Check out our online bookstore to see all our curriculum offerings, or apply to our accredited distance school for one-to-one teacher support. You can start anytime!

• Use independently and follow our 36-week print curriculum for a comprehensive experience, or customize to meet student needs and interests.

• Enroll full time and earn an Oak Meadow diploma, or take individual courses for enrichment, credit recovery, and transferable credit.

Sign up for a free Virtual Info Session to learn more about Oak Meadow.

Visit us on Facebook and Instagram.

Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about? 

It’s time for Oak Meadow’s annual Valentine’s Day special! From February 14 to 28, take 20% off all items in our bookstore!

This weekend, Oak Meadow is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky SouleMama reader:

$150 gift coupon to use in the Oak Meadow Bookstore

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

We love Oak Meadow!
Posted by: Robin

Morris & Essex {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Morris & Essex! 

Morris & Essex makes gorgeous and colorful textile and paper goods. Everything is designed in Maine by me, Eliza Jane Curtis. I work hard to use sustainable and recycled materials and ethical practices to turn my designs into durable, fun products for you to gift or keep. My work is inspired by the textures and colors I find in nature and by folk art and vintage textiles from around the world. Most items are silkscreened by hand in my studio in Cornish, Maine. Other items are created using my own original patterns and designs in collaboration with talented maker friends here in Maine and by carefully selected ethical producers in the USA and Europe.

I believe that the things we use every day are important and valuable; rather than contributing to a culture of disposable goods, I strive to produce durable, meaningful, beautiful items that last beyond the first impression and create a world filled with pattern and color. I love what I do, and I'm honored to share the joy of the process and the finished product with you.

Morris & Essex is on Instagram.

Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about? 

In the past year, I've started creating new Infinity Scarves using recycled materials. These are one-of-a-kind pieces created with leftover pieces and misprints from my regular scarf production, hand-printed in my studio and then stitched together into a loop, by another talented fellow Maine artisan, Natasha of Mama Hen. This is my new favorite style to wear, as they are so quick and easy to throw on, and I never have to think about how to tie them or what to do with the ends! I'm also currently hard at work on a new line of limited-edition scarves using natural dyes and 100% vintage and thrifted, recycled fabrics! Over the past few years, I have been learning more about the Slow Fashion movement and trying to move my wardrobe and my work in this direction. As a designer and printmaker I love making new things, but I feel like we already have so much fabric and textile goods going to waste, so I'm thinking of this as a new design problem to solve: how to continue creating new and exciting work, using materials that already exist. I am super excited about these, bringing together new techniques, designs, and natural colors to make some new work that is exciting and fresh for me, as well as more sustainable and environmentally responsible.

This weekend, Morris & Essex is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky SouleMama reader:

A hand-printed Infinity Scarf.

These are super-soft, one-of-a-kind scarves that mix and match patterns and colors, so your scarf will not be exactly like the ones pictured, but the winner will get to specify a preferred color range. These scarves are stitched in Maine using my soft, hand-printed bamboo fabric. Here’s a link to my full line of scarves: www.morrisessex.com.

I’m also offering a discount to all SouleMama readers, 20% off all hand-printed goods (scarves, greeting cards, tea towels, t-shirts, tote bags and zipper pouches) for this weekend. Please use code SOULEMAMA at checkout, anytime before midnight on Monday. 

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed. The winner is...

Your scarves are so lovely. Thank you for the generous giveaway.
Posted by: Kristen

Farm & Fiber

I'm slowly emerging from the cave I've been living in since last week. It turns out that "little chest cold" I thought I had, turned into the full-on, real-deal flu. I guess yarn wasn't the only thing I brought back from NYC (I heard from several others at VKLive who came home with the same, oh boy!). I was down for the count, I can't remember being that sick in a very very long time. I tried my best to quarantine myself from the world - and my family - in hopes of keeping everyone else away from it. With lots of fire cider, and elderberry, and good rest...fingers crossed I did just that! 

But I'm emerging now, back to reality slowly but surely. Towards the end, when I started to feel a bit better, there was a good deal of knitting. And way too many entire seasons of Grace and Frankie. And then a new book (There, There by Tommy Orange). So...not all bad things, really. And then we had two days of fifty degree weather! Now that was a treat and a welcome back to reality for sure.

Assuming that healthy trajectory continues, I'm excited to be heading to Boston this weekend for the second annual Boston Farm & Fiber Festival! Taproot will once again be sponsoring the Knitting Lounge (this year, in the bigger kitchen space). If you're local, come on by to this fun, free, and open to all event at the Boston Public Market. Bring your knitting!