HOW TO: Have a more Sustainable Valentine's Day (+ Exclusive Discount Code for Nordgreen)

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Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, so why not make celebrating it more sustainable this year? A lot of us are trying to make small changes towards living a more sustainable and eco-friendly way of life, which is so important for our planet and can be relatively easy to do too. Many of the Valentine's Day gifts, decorations or accessories are plastic based and not aimed for more than one use, so below there are a few ideas of how to swap those for alternatives that are more sustainable and reusable. I absolutely love any excuse to celebrate, make someone else feel special and spread joy, especially after the past two years. I think that we are all in need of little pick-me-ups and Valentine's Day can be the perfect time for that, whether it be celebrating with your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, best friend or your children. Let's kick start 2022 by spreading lots of love and kindness!

INTRODUCING: My Small Business...Isabella Mai-de - The Home of Personalised Hand Printed Gifts for Everyone

Starting this post feels a bit de ja vu because I wrote a very similar post back in 2016 when I originally launched Isabella Mai-de. Back then it was all about hand printed children's leggings and joggers, but after only a few months of being open I had to close due to morning sickness with my second pregnancy and then we entered the busy life of two children and I just didn't get around to reopening. However, in the spring/summer of 2021 I started to wonder whether I should open Isabella Mai-de back up again. Our middle daughter was due to start school in September, leaving just our youngest at home, so I felt that I'd have enough time to really concentrate on it this time. Then followed many excited months redesigning the logo, setting up the Etsy shop again, photographing products, making reels, filming TikToks, writing listings, trialing products, carving stamps, putting together new designs/patterns, sourcing stock, hand stamping labels/thank you cards, finding more sustainable packaging options etc. Along with the inevitable questions like 'will this work?', 'what if no one buys anything?' that I think are all part of launching your own business. 

BUSINESS: Isabella Mai-de Launch!

Many months ago I started researching ways I could personalise Isabella’s clothes, that’s when I stumbled upon hand stamping. It was instant excitement and after many trips to Hobbycraft/orders online I was finally ready to start hand stamping Isabella’s leggings. I stocked up on plain leggings, designed and made stamps, hand stamped the leggings and was amazed by the results! It quickly became a hobby I would do in any spare time I had, with the added challenge of carving my own rubber stamps too.