The Hobby Archives: Where It All Began

Today I am going to share with you how I planted the seed for something I never knew would even grow. That's right folks, this about how I even began making bath bombs and where the drive for entrepreneurship I believe stemmed from.

In order for me to give you the FULL story, I am going to take you back in time to when I was 5 years old when I was the proud business owner of a good ol' Lemonade stand...that's right. I offered walk in's and drive thru customers conveniently at the curb side offering the freshest and finest lemonade on the block. When lemonade wasn't in season, I would be getting crafty in my "office". I would make and design my own fake money; price and label random toys in my room; and I would play "cashier". When I wasn't building a home out of paper, playing with barbies or legos... I would also play nurse/doctor. (*So, if you have made it this far and read my previous blog post... you'd kind of see how my childhood imagination is very similar to the"adult" me..... and if you havn't read it..... wink wink*).

As I became a little wiser as a kid, I knew that fake money wasn't going to buy me more stickers to add to my sticker collection. So, around the same age- maybe 6 ish, I decided to pursue a singing gig. Using songs I learned from daycare and the radio, I retained the main chorus' from some of them that would make my performance. And let me tell ya.... they did not last long. During family gatherings I knew I had an audience- and who can't resist a cute face selling you tickets to see a show? Using that to my advantage- I would sell my own tickets for real money (if I was at my grandmothers), I would gather treats from the cupboard and price them as well to sell concession items for during my performance. ... I guess you could say I always had a thing for self-employment.

Now that you have a background history check on little ol' Meghan, we will now fast forward in time graduating High School in 2010. I decided to pursue Nursing as my career of choice because I loved the idea of being able to help heal people physically and mentally. I also have a stomach of steel and can handle essentially anything... diseases, wounds, and surgeries always fascinated me so I'd be right in there. 

During 2010-2013 I took the RPN program at Loyalist College in Belleville where I learned, studied my butt off and graduated from the Practical Nursing Program. Since the program, I had several opportunities utilizing my scope of practice for just over 5 years.

(*This is finally the part where I get to the point)

In the summer of 2014, I was big into DIY projects and keeping myself busy during my days off. I felt the need to constantly keep my mind and hands busy to distract myself from personal anxiety. I had ALWAYS loved arts and crafts since day one, through high school and still to this present day so I wanted to expand my crafting abilities and try a few new things out. For a while I got back into still-life drawing (which takes FOREVER to finish, but seriously offered so much zen); then I made like 24 jars of homemade jams; macrame; and then... amongst my list of random things...bath bombs became one of them. 

Drawn in 2011 - Hailey (Our Family Dog)

I was curious about the whole "bath bomb making" once the idea was presented in my search of DIY projects. I was able to get my younger sister Emily involved as something we could attempt together. We found a recipe on Pinterest, went to several stores for various ingredients and once we had everything we needed (based on what we were able to find in stores) we were ready to begin. 

If you have tried making bath bombs for the first time, you likely failed your first attempt... or second... or first dozen. It was not as easy as it seemed to be and ended up becoming a more expensive hobby than painting (*insert eye roll). The first bath bombs I ever made were too powdery and crumbly. Emily's bath bombs were way too wet and looked like colourful lava. We did in fact try recipe after recipe, tweaking and brainstorming how to make them as formed as bath bombs should be (moreso "me" than with Emily's help). 

Emily has always been a literary human. She would rather spend her whole day reading books and plays from Shakespeare than the "hands-on" arts and crafts that I seem to get into. In our case- we're complete opposites... so the fact that I was able to even get her to try making bath bombs with me in the first place was an unexpected surprise.

Eventually though, the bath bomb making became more of a "me" thing after Emily lost interest. I am honestly not sure what drove me to continue making bath bombs after so many countless failed attempts, but I kept trying until I made something that worked. When I finally made my first batch of successful bath bombs I had that "yes" moment. I FINALLY DID IT.  

As bath bombs became another hobby I acquired, I made them on occasion for personal use and gifted them to friends and family...and that's honestly how it all began. Little did I know that this was a start to something much more than I had ever imagined it would be. On that note... that's another story for another time so stay tuned for the story to continue on another blog post.