No Bonez Soap and Gift Baskets

No Bonez Soap Company is back in business and now serving the all-natural soap loving soul inside you at The Blue Door. Made from 100% vegetable oil and other natural ingredients, these soaps are guaranteed to make you smile and give your skin a nice treat.

Why buy handmade soap as opposed to the cheaper commercial alternative? 

This is a good question, and one that is quite simply answered. Commercial soaps contain chemical additives that, more often than not, leave your skin dry and irritated. Another reason for this is that commercial soap makers remove the natural glycerin from their soaps because they can make more money selling it to lotion manufacturers. To sum it up, using handcrafted soap ensures that you are getting 100% all-natural ingredients along with all of the natural glycerin (moisturizing). In essence you get all the cleaning, exfoliating, and moisturizing properties in one bar of soap without needing anything else.

No Bonez Soap Company has the following soaps for sale right now: (more coming soon)

• punk'IN bread   -  pumpkin, oats
• paddle faster, i hear christmas music  -  orange, peppermint, rosemary, cocoa
• Don't Choke on the Mocha   -   coffee, cocoa
• Smell like a hippy today    -   patchouli, cedarwood
• Catch Up!   -   sundried tomato
• Go Marry & Lather Her   -   rosemary, lavender
• Sunny Side UP!    -    orange, spices

No Bonez Soap Company is also offering up special holiday gift baskets, in which you can include a handcrafted crochet washcloth, crochet face scrubs, body scrubs, and bath salts. Come on in and let us help you make an all-natural "bath and body" gift for that special someone on your list.

TuTu Cute Dance & Tote Bags

We are now carrying a collection of TuTu Cute Dance Bags at The Blue Door. These are hand crafted bags made by Donna King. They are perfect for that little dancer in your life. They are all made with their own little tutu to match the ballerina carrying them. They are also just the right size to keep up with and carry little dancing shoes from one place to another. They are made with a nice wide strap for easy carrying and a drawstring top to keep things inside where they belong.

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Another item from Donna King are the TuTu Cute Tote Bags. These wonderful gems are also hand crafted and perfect for a variety of uses. They make an awesome simple handbag, a tote to carry around work stuff, a small diaper bag for short travels, or just everyday use. They are also made with nice wide straps for easy carrying. Each one has two inside pockets to store the important things you need in a hurry.

Just in time for the holidays, these bags would make perfect gifts. Or better yet, gift bags: grab one and fill it up with other goodies for that special someone in your life.

Stop in and see us today and pick one up while supplies last. These are all we have and it's a given that they won't be here long because they are just "tutu cute".

No Bonez Soother Bagz

An entire cotton flannel shirt was used to make these three Soother Bagz.

Give the gift of warmth and comfort this holiday season!

No Bonez Soother Bagz are now available at The Blue Door and they are a must for every household, meaning that they would make the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list. Not only that, they are also an eco-green choice due to being made with repurposed materials.

So what are they exactly?

No Bonez Soother Bagz are the ultimate in portable and reusable heating/cooling bags made with repurposed 100% cotton shirts/material remnants on the outside and all natural microwavable feed corn on the inside. Why corn? Corn is a larger grain which holds heat and cold longer and safer than flax seed, rice, or wheat. It's also safe to microwave multiple times without fear of burning.

A variety of styles created using remnant materials found at Goodwill.

No Bonez Soother Bagz have multiple uses as a portable alternative to the traditional electric heating pad. No more struggles and worries with cords as long as you have one of these. Simply throw it in the microwave for a few minutes and have constant and steady heat that is portable and lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour*. Warm up a Soother Bagz to help soothe the following:  sore muscles, lower back pain, menstrual cramps, earaches, arthritis, fatigue, tired muscles/joints, and much more. You can also throw them under the blankets at night to warm up cold toes instead of using your spouse's legs/lower back, put one in your child's lap on a cold winter's morning/night until the car warms up, or even use it to keep a dish warm as you travel to your holiday potluck dinner. They are great to hold in the heat under the blanket while you are at the football game, or under a jacket while you are shoveling snow in the driveway, or even if you just need some hand warmer sizes for pockets while you take a chilly morning walk in the park.

Small square Soother Bagz made just for small kids with their small boo-boos.

No Bonez Soother Bagz also have multiple  uses as an alternative to messy ice packs that do little more than leave you feeling cold and wet. Wrap them in a bag and throw them in the freezer for a few hours and use them for the following: migraines, tendonitis, black eyes, post-surgical swellling, fever, sports injuries, toothaches, and much more. The corn holds the cold for extended periods of time and lasts much longer than the standard ice pack. In addition, it's possible to place the cold bags directly on the skin with no discomfort and no sweating.

The mastermind behind Soother Bagz demonstrating his favorite neck wrap bag made from sleeves of a Tommy Hilfiger shirt.

No Bonez Soother Bagz come in several different sizes and shape, guaranteeing that there is one just right for you and your individual needs.

Do you have a favorite shirt or piece of material that you would like to have made into Soother Bagz? 

Contact Jim or Lee at The Blue Door about doing custom Soother Bagz for you. The only requirement is that the material ---- your grandfather's favorite shirt, your first born's baby blanket, etc. ---- has to be 100% cotton. We will be more than happy to do custom orders for you to fit your wants and needs. 

Handknits by Lisa and Knit/Crochet Classes

There's been quite a bit of activity around here since my last update.

One of the more exciting things is that we are now carrying some new merchandise by a local crafts lady, Lisa Morris: Handknits by Lisa. This is a wonderful collection of colorful knit hats made with 100% wool. Each one is unique and offers its own sense of style and personality. They also come in a variety of sizes, making it easy to find just the right one for you or that special someone on your holiday shopping list this year.

Lisa is also going to start teaching a knit/crochet class at The Blue Door starting next week.

We are so very excited to be adding this class to our weekly schedule. In addition to the classes, we also plan to have a weekly "Stitch 'n Bitch" on Thursday mornings from 10am - 12noon. This will be perfect for those who already know how to knit/crochet and just want a place/time to come together and socialize as well as help one another and share tips/tricks.

If you are interested in the classes, please feel free to contact us and arrange to be part of all the new and exciting things happening in downtown Decherd.

New Blood, New Life

Around here, we like to give new life to objects whenever possible. We strongly believe in the concept of recycling, reusing, upcycling, and all that jazz. Sometimes you find the possibilities in some of the most unlikeliest places.

Take these bunnies, for instance. Our daughter had a collection of Precious Moments figurines for years that were displayed in her room on a bookshelf. Over the years, these two bunnies were somehow added to the display. This past summer we had a big yard sale to get rid of random stuff around the house that none of us wanted anymore, bunnies included. Unfortunately, no one else wanted them either. Fortunately, my husband found a way to bring new life back into these bunnies' lives, thanks to a Bottle Of Blood that no one wanted as well.

With some new blood, new life was given to these precious pink and white bunnies. (And a little eye make-up work on the big one, courtesy of Mr. Permanent Marker.) And who doesn't love Vampire Bunnies? Come by and see these lovelies for yourself and take them home with you, just in time for Halloween. No worries, rabbit food (um, the blood) included. 

Mixed Media and More by Emily May-Ragland

We are super excited to be carrying some of Emily May-Ragland's mixed media and acrylic/oil pieces at The Blue Door as of September 1.

Cool Dudes

Stop in and see us because you just never know what kind of characters you will run into while visiting The Blue Door.

Does this dude resemble Joe Camel or what?

His act is a little dated, but he was still good for a laugh or two.

Acrylics by Dewayne Williams

No sooner than we announce our first artist's paintings here at The Blue Door, another walks through the door. And what a contrast it is with the first one, which is a great thing in our minds. Introducing the acrylic paintings by a young local artist, Dewayne Williams. He has a very unique style and we found it very interesting that he sets all of his work on fire to set the paints when he is done. Awesome!

Watercolors by Georgie Speers

The Blue Door is proud to announce that we are carrying some watercolor paintings from local artist, Georgie Speers. She has quite a refreshing and detailed way of working with watercolors that you are sure to love. As a big bonus, she is VERY reasonably priced! Don't miss out on your chance to get one of these beauties. 

Open Mic Nights

A local sister and brother duo, Jesse and Ben Ayers, teamed up with band mate - Greg Singer - and The Blue Door owner - Jim Messerli - to do a cover of Angel From Montgomery at The Blue Door on August 19. They were just a sampling of the entertainment for our Open Mic Night, which included some poetry and book readings. 


Some more videos from that night can be found here and there are more videos from other events on our Facebook Video page.


If you are a local musician (Middle Tennessee or beyond) and would like to come perform at our place, feel free to contact us. 

Taking Our Best Shot

You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take.  ~Wayne Gretzky

My husband (Jim) and I (Lee) have been talking about opening our own business for at least 13 years. In May of this year, he found a perfect building for lease at a good price (it was a fixer-upper) in our little downtown area and we finally decided to bite the bullet and see what happens. 


Ladies and Gentlemen,
I give to you ..... THE BLUE DOOR. (official before and after photos)

What a difference some hard work and a few months makes.

What you see here are my children helping out with the initial building cleanup (before) and a full house at our second open mic night a little over a week ago (after).


I can hear you asking, "What is The Blue Door?"


Here's the short version, complete with a disclaimer that The Blue Door is primarily an organically evolving work in progress and we hope it stays that way:

We are a store front with many sides. We offer a unique, yet comfortable, environment to sit with a cup of coffee on the big blue couch and listen to live music from local artists on Friday and Saturday nights. We offer a few gently used (vintage) retail items for sale around the store. We offer all local artisans retail space to display and sell their artworks for a commission fee. We have some stocked bookshelves with various new and used books for sale. Plus, we offer up The Blue Door for rent to anyone wanting to host a private function such as baby shower, bridal shower, birthday party, girls night, or formal meeting in a not-so-formal environment. The Blue Door also comes with FREE WiFi and an open invitation to just pop in and hang out. Coming Soon, we hope to be hosting various arts & crafts classes along with a few music lessons. 

We would like to extend the invitation to all who read this - come on by and see us. Hang out and talk to us. Find out what we can do for YOU and how we can all work together to bring some excitement into downtown Decherd, TN.