Busy Bee Stationary Review

I've been searching for unique gifts for family and friends this year. Especially since it can be tiring to give the same old things each year. You know what I mean. Fruit basket. Movie. Gift Cards. Don't get me wrong, sometimes that is the best thing to get someone. But sometimes, I like to shake it up. And this subscription box could be just what the doctor ordered. 

*Disclaimer: I received these products free of charge in exchange for my honest review. I was not otherwise paid or endorsed. All opinions are my own.*

Creativity is a dying skill in this world. Rare are the people who can take ordinary objects, add some skill and voilà - you have an extraordinary work of art. I'd like to say that I'm one of those, but the truth is that I'm only trying to be. I don't fit in with most artistic types. I color outside the lines. I march to my own drum. And it can often be messy. But with a little help, I just might be the artiste (come on, say it with the French accent) I wish I were! 

That is where Busy Bee Stationary comes in handy. They provide you with the products that can inspire you to create something wonderful. Take the products from the August edition box (yes, August. It came a little late.) 

What beauties did they send me?

When I opened the box, my husbands attention was immediately drawn to two things: the notebook and the design tool.

He is an Engineering student who is designing a prototype generator in his spare time. Seeing those two items gave him an idea on using them together to sketch out the details. Especially since drawing is not his strong suit. 

I, on the other hand, look forward to the uses for the tape and markers.

Silver and gold can make an awesome combination! I can make personalized cards. I could use them in scrapbooks. And even my canvas arts.

The products included in this box:

Tim Holtz idea-ology Design Tool

Gold Sharpie

Silver Sharpie

Pentel Art Pen

Little B Tape

Leuchtturm 1917 Notebook

Who are these perfect for? 

Busy Bee Stationary is a great Christmas gift idea for anyone you know who is crafty and/or likes to write. The types of items they provide are geared towards these activities. They provide you with quality products. You can order a subscription for yourself or for another. The month-to-month plan is $39.90, the 3 month prepay plan is $109.70, and the 6 month prepay plan is $214.40. 
So check them out and let me know what you would do with these things or what you liked most in the comments below. Would you or someone you know like this as a gift? 


From the previous owner of Busy Bee Stationary (They now have a new owner)
August Box – Black & White, Silver & Gold
Without doubt, Leuchtturm products are quite possibly the most popular and a huge favorite of yours. So, for this box we wanted to provide you with something Leuchtturm, plus some gorgeous accessories to complement this Leuchtturm. There are so many blogs and videos of what you can create with your notebook, so I encourage you to have a look around and find something that suits you.
Happy Exploring!!!
More information about your surprise supplies!
Leuchtturm 1917 Pocket Hardcover Notebook - White
In your box, our first feature item for this month, is your Leuchtturm 1917 Pocket Notebook. Details make all the difference! Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks are manufactured with the highest quality materials and construction. Each notebook is thread-bound with high quality bleed-proof, fountain pen-safe paper. The book opens flat with a durable hardcover and rounded corners that washes off easily and is pleasant to the touch.
Leuchtturm will help you get organized; the blank table of contents and page numbers will make leafing through your notes easier than ever before!
Your Dotted Pocket A6 measures 3.5” x 6” / 90 x 150 mm / 185 pages
Acid free, bleed-proof, 80 gsm paper
Fountain pen friendly
Pocket in back for loose notes
Elastic closure
Bound-in bookmark
We hope the quality and organizational features of this notebook will make your life easier and more enjoyable!
Pentel’s – Hybrid Technica Gel Pen – 0.5 mm - Black
The Pentel Hybrid Technica is a favorite and classic thin gel ink pen. With its strong needle-point tip, the pen writes neat crisp letters and fine lines. The water-based pigment ink is water-resistant and fade-resistant, and provides a smooth writing experience. The ink is also refillable! A perfect complement to your box this month.
Little B – Decorative Foil Tape – 15mm x 10m Gold Feathers
Our Gold feature product for this month is Little B’s Decorative Foil Tape. We know how much you all love washi tape and we appreciate the fun of adding beautiful designs to your projects. The perfect addition to all your paper crafts and more! 10 meters of 15-millimeter-wide designer foil tape.
Tim Holtz – Idea-ology Design Ruler – 12”
This feature item for this month is this very handy Tim Holtz idea-ology design ruler. After researching the most popular bullet journal tools, this is definitely a must-have! The Tim Holtz Design Ruler is a clear ruler with a tapered acrylic straight edge on one side for measuring lengths and drawing lines and a metal straight edge on the other side for accurate cutting. In between is a grid, two sets of measurements and holes for piercing. The grid is measured in quarter inches. The holes are spaced 1/8 of an inch apart. The ruler is lightweight and sturdy. A great accessory to your Leuchtturm or any other journal you use.
Sharpie – Silver & Gold Metallic Markers
Yep, you guessed it! The Silver & Gold components of your box this month are the fabulous Sharpie silver and gold metallic markers. Make your work shine with these! These fine point permanent markers give a brilliant sheen to writing and design, and they’re great on both light and dark surfaces. The opaque metallic ink is quick-drying for less mess, and it’s perfect for labelling hard to mark surfaces or jazzing up craft projects. There’s no shaking or pumping needed to start ink flow, so you can just uncap and write whenever you need it! The AP certified nontoxic ink is waterproof and smear and fade resistant. We hope you enjoy your Sharpie’s 😊

That concludes this month’s box and thank you all for beeing (busy) and amazing - we can’t wait to hear your thoughts about this month’s goodies!

Labor Day Adventures

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day with those they love! I know I did. We took the kids to our favorite park, Converse City Park.

They have made some additions to the expansive park that make it more fun for the medium-sized kids.

Even my husband and I joined in the play.

So glad I had my Nexcare bandages with us. It seemed to be a day for everyone to have need of them at the park.

Even with temperatures being around only 90 degrees, we found ourselves running out of water and overheating. So we made a run to the store on the way home to get stuff to grill and ice cream to make milkshakes with.

It was a beautiful day that had the kids ready to sleep by 7! Which was good since they had school the following morning. It is days like this when I feel truly blessed. No matter what happens in my life. I am reminded that we have so much to grateful for. So much to enjoy. I hope you can find something every day!

What did Hurricane Harvey bring you?

Hurricane Harvey brought more than just torrential rains, deadly flooding and loss of personal possessions. For me in particular, it brought a personal image revelation. It showed me how truly selfish I was. 

We left home on Thursday night after reading that Tropical Storm Harvey, had the potential to become a category 4 hurricane. Though we are a few hours from the coast, I know how far such a big storm can reach. Our area is known to flood. And with all the power line work going on, loss of power seemed inevitable.

To be honest, we didn't even know there was a storm coming until that day. We don't have cable, we aren't checking local headlines daily, and we don't go to Facebook to get updated. My husband heard about it at a meeting just before leaving work in the morning. I heard more about it from a quick radio snip. 

So while sitting at my in-laws house in Waco the next day, I felt quite foolish. We "prepared" for the storm with the intention of staying home to ride it out. As a Florida-raised lady, I have seen my fair share of storms. I laugh at native Texans who can't handle the light showers we get from time to time. So I figured we would be fine. Sure, we might get flooded in. But that's why I bought water, diapers, and food. Yes, we would most likely lose power. That's why I made the kids eat refrigerated foods during the day and bought non perishables to eat when the time came. I put towels against the base of the back door where I was sure water would come in. I started washing all the clothes and keeping the dishes cleaned up so that I wouldn't have them pile up if we lost power. I bought paper plates and cutlery as well. 

But the biggest things I invested in were the portable butane grill so that we could cook little things without electricity. I bought flashlights too, to help the kids while making sure we had our candles ready. I'm thankful I had money in my savings for emergencies like this. But now it seemed like a waste. As my husband said, however, we will be ready for the next time. 

Why did I prepare if we were just going to flee to Waco? We were checking the updates and seeing that the storm was building strength. It was to become a category 3 with potential to be a category 4. I know what that means. It means strong winds. It means torrential rains. For my husband, it seemed like the best option to play it safe and travel North. Put just a little more distance between us and the coast. I can agree that his logic in doing so was sound. 

So I shouldn't feel so bummed out, right? After all, our family is safe. And yet... I almost wished we were back home. I have laundry that needed to be done. I had a craft to finish. I had blogging to work on. I wanted some game time on 7 Days to Die with my husband. Or even on our family Minecraft map. Instead, I was trying to keep the kids in line. I was dealing with neck pain and migraines. And I felt bad that we were imposing on the in laws last minute. Don't get me wrong, they had assured us they were happy to have us and that they felt better we were there. 

(Made it back in time for their first day of school on Monday!)

But this wasn't planned. I had plans. Things I wanted to do. I'm human. I'm selfish at times. I have to remind myself that my family comes first. Their safety. Their health. Their happiness. I have to remind myself that I can do the laundry and crafts when we get back and they are asleep. Same goes for the blogging. That video games, while a great chance to bond, aren't important. And when we got home on Sunday, I could be grateful that we were safe. 


A friend recently reminded me of something very important. She told me that we need to put family first, always. Chores can and will be done later. If its not urgent, let it go for a few more minutes. Spend that time with those you love. This is especially true for moms. After all, how many times do we let daily household activities consume our time? How often do we forget that the children we treasure are steadily growing and will soon leave us? My oldest is turning 9 years old in October! NINE YEARS OLD! Where has all that time gone?? I look back through the years of old photos to rebuild the memories of the times past and see so many times I forgot that he was growing up. So much of the time I told him and his siblings that I was busy and "we will see" about whether I can play this game or watch that movie with them. Times I should have taken out just a few minutes to truly enjoy them. 

This storm brought that reminder home. I was so grumpy about going away from home and my plans, that I forgot why we were doing it to begin with. And then, having talked to people in my neighborhood, felt even more foolish as it didn't cause any of the issues we were thinking it would. No power loss or extreme flooding. 

But I look back now and realize that I need to change my way of thinking. I need to be more selfless. I do good deeds. I raise my kids right. I love my family and friends. But do I think of others more than myself? Do I put others before myself on a regular basis? Now that I think about it, no. Not enough anyhow. Do you? 

Prayers for those who dealt more closely with the storm. I've been donating when and how I can. My heart hurts when I see the news of the devastation. I thank God my family was kept safe. Especially when I didn't get to do what I planned.

And there were lice...

We have had a wonderful summer. Hard to believe it's coming to an end already. Monday is when my kids head back to school. With that being the case, I decided to get in as much fun as we can before then. Today, we went shopping. We did some crafts. And then, we went to the mall. While at the mall, my husband and I noticed our older daughter scratching the mess out of her head. She was really going at it. And when I asked her about it, she replied that part of her head just itched a lot. 

I don't know about you, but I grew up with very long and thick hair. When I was in public school, my hair was touched often by a lot of hands... And I came home with lice often. So often, that my dad even threatened to shave me bald. All of my stuffed toys, even one that I treasured, were tossed out. Bedding was stripped and washed. And I went through the long night of Rid in my hair while my mother combed through it with that sharp, fine-toothed comb. Far too often. My mother said it was about every two weeks. And I hated it! 

So you can imagine the dread I felt when I thought, please don't let it be lice! I told myself that maybe she was just sweaty. Maybe she hasn't been washing her hair too well. Can't shake a Mother's wisdom though. We got home and the purging began right after dinner. 

I started by looking through her hair. If you don't know, the sides of the head close to the ears, slightly above and the base of the head at the neck are the two spots usually affected by lice the most. I checked the base first. And boy was I shocked. She had eggs, or nits, EVERYWHERE! I grabbed the bottle of Rid I had from the last time we had to deal with them and got to work. We boiled water to dip the comb in after each stroke through her hair. They don't like heat. Like serious heat. So washing bedding and drying it in heat kills them on bedding, clothes and stuffed toys. Dipped the brush and combs into boiling water also kills them. Otherwise, they will maintain a tight grip. I call it the death grip. The eggs are attached to strands of hair in the same way. It takes a very fine comb to get them off. That's why you have to use the Rid version that comes with the special shampoo. 

The shampoo has an awful smell and goes on dry hair. You douse every inch of it and rub it onto the scalp. Then you take the comb and go over each hair pulling everything out. 

I think it took me at least 2 hours. Plus, I had to cut her beautiful hair. She had long locks that went down to the bottom of her back. Now her hair is right at her shoulders. She looks adorable, but still. As a Mother, I want to spare her from this. I mean, honestly! How did she get them when she hasn't been at school? We haven't been out much. And she is the only one that had them. I checked the boys and the baby. Nothing. I ran the comb through my own hair and only found a ton of dandruff. My scalp is dryer than the Sahara right now... So where is this coming from?? I told her that she must wash her hair. We went over the proper way to wash it (again). I explained the importance of it. And she cried. No one likes having this happen. Her brothers shied away from her when she got close. I helped her wash out the Rid and then I checked her head again. Can you believe that there was more? I had to comb through her locks once again. Pulled out more eggs and more lice. Thus, I started my tasks all over again. 

While dealing with her, I also had a load of her bedding running on the sanitizing option in the wash. I have about 2-3 other loads to follow tomorrow. My boys were cleaning up their room, picking up toys in the living room, and taking turns helping with the baby who was so tired - that she just wanted to scream at us. My husband was trying to get some sleep before work. I have a dishwasher to empty in the morning, a load in the sink needing to be done, and will have to check her hair again. I'll wash it one more time to be sure. It feels like I'm standing before a mountain of chores. All of them needing to be done. And none of them appealing to me right now. The good news is, this is happening before school starts. I would not want to be in this mess during school days... 

A word to the wise, if you see them scratching - get checking!