Hey guys!
Look at me go, two posts just a couple days apart!!!
I wanted to share just a quick update on some #Muttmalas stuff for those that haven’t seen, and I guess really just an overall BLOG update too, to get some feedback and opinions.
Firstly, I need to thank everyone who has continued to support my passion project, Mutt Malas. Honestly, I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be able to have a creative outlet as fun as mala making, and put that money to good use. I really need a better system, because I don’t have an exact amount that has been donated over the last 2.5 years, but I know it’s over $5000, thanks to your support. It’s gone to various rescues all over the place including:
Tierra De Animales in Mexico (where our little Pedro is from)
Lost Dog Foundation (based in Richmond, VA, focuses on lots of Mexican street dogs & run by a wonderful woman that helped us rescue Pedro)
Dallas Dog Rescue (when they had all of their flooding and SO many animals to take care of)
and a couple others in the states I’m sure I am missing!
Then of course, there’s the local ones here I’ve helped!
Happily Ever Esther got some #Muttmala love after a few girlfriends and I volunteered at the sanctuary for the day! SO FUN!
Grey’s Haven Farm Sanctuary was a must support after I went to see it with my mom, and then soon after with my nieces!
Emma’s Dog Rescue – Emma is such a sweetheart to work with and she saves as many animals as she can mainly from high kill shelters in the states – I’ve helped her a few times and that is where my next donation is headed next week actually 🙂
Central Ontario Dog Rescue – Maria is also a lady with a heart of gold, and I learned about her through Emma at Emmas Dog Rescue. My mom actually found her rescue pup, Austyn through Central Dog Rescue, so of course I support where I can!
Save Our Scruff – another Ontario/GTA based rescue that does some amazing work and caught my eye!
Niagara Dog Rescue – this is in my own back yard! How could I not support them!?!
I am sure I am missing a couple that I helped in the last couple years, but this gives you a pretty good idea. I like to spread the love as much as possible, especially if one of the organizations has a special case that is tugging on my heart strings and could use some extra love. Anyway, none of this could be done without your continued support in purchasing the malas I’ve been making… so THANK YOU! It means a ton!
That said, I have recently started dabbling into the world of Silicone Teething Jewelry! We’ve got our first babe on the way (Due in a week!!!! EEEE!) and I have a lot of friends/family that are either pregnant or have had a little one recently, so I figured I’d look into these and see if it was something I could make (thanks for the suggestion, Meags!).
(thanks for modelling, Manda!)
Turns out they’re really easy, and super fun to make! Something a little different than my gemstone jewelry! Of course though, these Silicone necklaces/bracelets come with the same set up as the gemstone jewelry …. I am making them in order to make money for the animals! So I am charging enough to cover my costs, and I am donating 100% of my proceeds to animals in need.
I have had a couple people reach out that are interested, but don’t really understand why my instagram is #muttmalas! They must have found me through a hashtag for teething necklaces or something and didn’t understand why I was doing what I was doing! Totally fair… but it’s SO important to me to be able to continue to help the animals where I can – even though some people may think… this is a baby product, wouldn’t it make more sense to donate to sick kids or somewhere like that. Yes, that might make sense on the surface, but if you know me, and know why I started making the malas, and now the teething pieces in the first place… donating to animals in need is the only thing that makes sense 🙂
Greg and I are huge animal lovers, and we can’t wait to instill that in our little one(s) as well! It’ll be something we will be able to share and appreciate as a family and I can’t wait for that!
So anyway, PLEASE let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in some teething pieces! I only have a few things to show so far, because I only started with a very minimal amount of beads … BUT … I’ve got more on the way and I can’t WAIT to play with them!!! and of course, I’m still making all of my regular Mala jewelry…. necklaces and bracelets, so hit me up for those too!!
LASTLY… I’m really hoping I can get into a nice groove again of blogging while I’m on mat leave in the next year 🙂 I hope to continue sharing my pregnancy and then postpartum journey and of COURSE workouts. I plan on running some Postnatal Bootcamps/Stroller Bootcamps, so I’ll be sharing info on those, and maybe even putting together some sort of pre/post natal fitness guide if there’s an interest for that.
I would love to continue to grow my blog following and post about things that people want to hear about! I want to get a better handle on the #muttmalas ‘store’ on my page so it functions better, and keep things more up to date. I’ve had some issues as of late with my developer unfortunately, and I don’t really know how to do a lot of these things. So if anyone know’s of anyone that does web stuff… I’d really appreciate the recco. Especially to get some help with the #muttmalas stuff! The more efficient I can be, the more $$ I can raise for the animals. So if you have web developer friends/reccos… please, send my way !!!
Thanks as always for reading, following along in our journey, and for the support with MuttMalas 🙂
Time is sure flying – I have my last day of work tomorrow, and then I plan on doing a whole lot of what you see below, until babe comes! 😉
xxx
Andrea
