What You’re Buying — and What You’re Really Supporting

We’re not professionals. We’re not a big company. I'm just a mom with a five-year-old girl doing our best to use the skills we have to create something meaningful — and hopefully, raise enough money to bring home a life-saving diabetic alert dog for Maybel.

Sure, our candles might not always burn as perfectly as something from a big-name brand, and sometimes the soap ends up with a little extra glitter because Maybel got carried away — but that’s part of the charm. Each piece is made by hand, with love, learning, and hope.

When you buy from us, you’re not just purchasing a candle or a bar of soap. You’re supporting a cause. You’re helping a little girl who has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was 11 months old, and you’re helping her family make it through the journey with a little more peace of mind.

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Every Supply, Every Scent, Every Label Comes Out of Our Pocket

Behind every $10 candle or bar of soap, there’s so much more than wax and scent. There’s candle wax (soy, beeswax, or coconut), wax warmers, melting pots, digital thermometers, scales, candle wicks, wick stickers, wick centering tools, jars, tins, and lids. There are fragrance oils and essential oils — each one purchased individually for every scent we use, from cozy vanilla to fresh eucalyptus — and none of them are cheap. There’s mica powder, colorants, glitter, and dye chips to make each candle unique, plus heat guns, silicone mats, and safety gloves so we don’t burn ourselves in the process.

For the soaps, there are typically melt-and-pour bases, molds in every shape and size, mixing bowls, spatulas, and fragrance-safe colorants. We use rubbing alcohol spray to remove bubbles, measuring cups for scent ratios, and protective gear for safety. There are essential oils and soap-safe fragrances that make them smell wonderful, plus the fun (and sometimes messy) extras — glitter, herbs, mica swirls, and embeds that Maybel loves helping choose.

And for jewelry? It’s pliers, wire cutters, crimpers, jump rings, clasps, stretch cord, beads, earring hooks, and stringing wire. It’s bead organizers, trays, labels, and storage boxes stacked high in our little house. Each charm, spacer, and bead — whether donated or purchased — has to be sorted, counted, stored, and assembled by hand with care.

Then come the behind-the-scenes supplies: packaging bags, tissue paper, ribbon, thank-you stickers, price tags, ink, paper, printers, labels, tape, and shipping envelopes. Even our shelves, bins, and storage cabinets had to be purchased just to hold it all.

Over the last year alone, we’ve personally invested close to $4,500 in supplies, equipment, packaging, storage, and some booth fees. That total doesn’t even include our gas for travel to events or the countless hours we spend creating, organizing, and setting up.

Every single one of these things — big or small — costs money and has to be bought before we can even start making or selling a thing. We don’t have sponsors or bulk suppliers. It’s just us, doing our best to create something meaningful while keeping prices as low and fair as we can.

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How Mom & Daut Fits In

You may have noticed some of our items labeled under Mom & Daut and others under Juicebox Babies — and you might be wondering what the difference is.

Mom & Daut is a small creative side business run by me (Kylee, aka “Mom”) and Maybel’s Gigi, Vicki. It started as a way for both of us to have a creative outlet — something fun and enjoyable for us personally, not just another fundraising effort. After all the events, lemonade stands, benefit rides, and everything involved with Maybel’s fundraising, both Gigi and I were feeling a little burnt out and overwhelmed. This project gave us a chance to zone out, be creative, and do something that felt fun, while still helping in a meaningful way.

For me personally, it also helps cover the cost of supplies and extra materials needed for Maybel — things like wax, molds, fragrance oils, beads, packaging, and other tools that allow us to keep making and selling items for our fundraising efforts. Proceeds from the Daut collection go directly to Maybel!

While Mom & Daut helps support the work financially, it’s also a labor of love and a shared passion. Even after we reach our fundraising goal for Maybel’s diabetic alert dog, we plan to continue Mom & Daut on a smaller scale as a way for us to be creative and maybe support other causes that we care about.

So when you see both names — Mom & Daut and Juicebox Babies — know that they’re connected, each with its own purpose, both working toward the same heart-filled goal: supporting Maybel, helping other type 1 families, and spreading a little joy through handmade creations.

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The Bigger Picture

Once we reach Maybel’s goal for her diabetic alert dog, our mission doesn’t stop there. We plan to continue creating — on a smaller scale — to support Juicebox Babies in new ways. Our hope is to continue making sample packets and resource bundles for newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes families. We've done this the past few years, on a small scale but again, I'm just a mom with limited funds, time and energy, trying to make a difference.

We’ve learned so much through trial and error — switching between pumps, sensors, and supplies — and we want to help make that process easier for others. We’ve tried Dexcom’s G6 and G7, Omnipod, and Tandem’s T-Slim X2, and we’re continuing to test different supplies from manufacturers so we can share honest feedback and help families find what works for them.

If, along the way, we decide to stop making certain products (like candles or soaps), we’ll sell any remaining supplies and donate proceeds to the Juicebox Babies efforts.

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At the end of the day, you’re not just buying a $10 candle or bar of soap — you’re supporting a family, a dream, and a cause. You’re helping a little girl get one step closer to her sugar dog and helping us continue to give back to others walking the same road.

From our home to yours, thank you for believing in what we’re building — one candle, one bracelet, one handmade piece at a time.

With a sprinkle of joy,

Kylee