Life can get us all down sometimes – what with the dreadful news on the TV and awful stories in the papers – but sometimes all it takes is a friendly word and a kind smile from someone and your day can be instantly brightened.

Now you can be the catalyst of change in someone’s day by using a SmileCloud tote bag from Busy Life. Quite literally you can turn people’s frowns upside down because once someone sees your lovely bag then they won’t be able to resist a smile! 🙂

This lovely ‘A Smile is A Friend Maker’ Gold SmileCloud tote bag was kindly gifted to me by Joanna at Busy Life. She has designed this bag – along with many other Smilecloud designs – with the sole purpose of spreading awareness of the positive power of a smile.

I was allowed to pick whichever item I liked from her shop and I went for this design because it spoke the truth. A Smile really is a friend maker. I pride myself on being a happy, chatty person but sometimes even I can get a bit shy around new people but at the end of the day – a simple smile can be enough to make you a new friend.  Having this quote on your tote bag for all to see will not only prompt them to smile but it will be make them realise that you are a friendly person who is open to making friends. For that reason I can see this being a great tote bag to use on lots of occasions. Some good examples would be when you go to a networking event alone and don’t now anyone or you go to a kid’s party where you don’t know any other parents. These are the kind of situations where you need a little ice-breaker to get the conversation flowing. This tote bag – accompanied by a big smile – is sure to make lots of people feel happier and we could all do with a bit more happiness in our lives in this day and age!

Some of the other SmileCloud Designs which are available on tote bags or t-shirts are ‘Life is like a mirror. Smile at it and it smiles back at you‘ and ‘A  smile is the shortest distance between two people‘. If you want, you can just have the beautiful background design with your own personalised quote/message.

The organic cotton tote bag I was sent is a gorgeous khaki green colour and the #MySmileCloud hashtag is in black with the Smile message also being printed in black on top of the SmileCloud design.  The bag is £15 with additional P+P to pay. It would make a great gift for someone or the perfect treat for yourself!

The tote bag is made is India in an ethically accredited wind powered factory and then it is printed here in the UK in a renewable energy powered factory.  The bag is really to quality! I am impressed by the slightly wider than normal straps as it makes it so much easier and comfortable to carry, the stitching is done really well and the print was still fine after being washed in the washing machine.

Ever since receiving this bag I have been using it as a handbag. I normally use a polka dot minnie mouse backpack on a daily basis but I thought I’d have a change and put my essentials in this tote bag and use it daily for a while. Unfortunately due to sometimes having back pain I usually stick with using a backpack most of the time as I find it easier but for a change I thought I’d use my new tote as I didn’t need to carry around too much with me the last couple of weeks. I have found it comfortable to carry, spacious enough to store all the usual ‘essential’ bits and bobs you need in a handbag -Purse, keys, tissues, more tote bags for shopping etc and most importantly, it looked good and made me feel positive.

Although going forward  I won’t use the ‘A Smile is a Friend Maker‘ tote bag as my ‘handbag’ it will still be used daily as I will instead use it as my shopping bag to put things in that I buy in the shops.  I love everything about the bag and I think you will too. If you would like to order one please go to https://diversity-designs.teemill.com/collection/smile-cloud/ and then select your chosen product /design / colour.

Before I finish this post I would like to tell you a little bit more about the lady who designed this tote bag. Her name is Joanna and she has a company called Busy Life. Part of that business is her Diversity Designs collection of clothing and accessories that embraces us all. ‘The collection illustrates, embraces, and celebrates the diversity of being human and, is, therefore, inclusive! To name a few examples, this means able-bodied and (dis)abled, people, people of different races and religions, and young, old, slim, and curvy people!’

She says “What I think we need is a more inclusive society that embraces, celebrates, and welcomes the diversity of the human in achieving this goal, inspiring and empowering disability“. This is what she also wrote on her website …..

“At the tender age of 50, I found myself with lots of qualifications and 30 years of work experience. My first career, as an Environmental Scientist, had been rewarding. I had tried to forge a career in teaching special needs in Higher Education. I nearly made it, but luck was not on my side. I am a worker bee, always have been, always will be. I needed to do something! 

So, I began to think about what made me tick. I have always had a conscience in terms of challenging social oppression. I believe that communities have the power to act together to facilitate positive changes in society. I think that we need to think, speak, and act in the best interests of others, who may not be as fortunate as ourselves. In doing so, we can all make the world a better place for us to live today and for our children tomorrow.  Personally, I can’t sit back and wait for someone else to do something that I care about! Mostly, I think, all we need to do is be kind to ourselves and each other.  

So, I decided to start Busy Life. I started building a website and I opened my gift shop. I also committed to giving 10% of sales to a different charity every month. I found I really enjoyed this (much to my surprise!) My products have grown organically and are a reflection of me and my values. I love to write, champion inclusion, kindness, smiling and giving. I am also a keen amateur runner. I am always thinking about new ideas to add to my portfolio! The rest is recent history, and as described throughout my website. Have a look and see!”

SmileClouds is another one of her collections and with it she aims to spread positivity and kindness. I love these designs!

Joanna from Busy Life really does like to keep herself busy and she seems to thrive on it. 🙂 She runs an “Inclusion Hour” on Twitter every week and anyone can join in by using #thinkINC to tweet, retweet and like everything positive about disABILITY. It’s Mondays at 6.30pm.  Follow her on Twitter by going to  >> twitter.com/Busylifeandme.

www.busy-life.co.uk