Toad Suck Mini Golf invited local crafters, from candle makers to dog treat bakers, to spread community creativity March 2 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Employee Serenity Pruitt said, “We wanted to be able to give back to our community and help out other small businesses as a small business.”  

Melba Kennedy, founder of Melba Peach Candle Company, said the grief of losing her husband turned into “creative energy,” which jumpstarted her candle-making business.

She sells a variety of hand-crafted food candles, from lemon pound cake to strawberry shortcake bites.

“I started my business in 2008,” she said. “I lost my husband, and I couldn’t sleep, and I was up at night making creative candles.”

She said then other people started asking her to make them candles.

“So I started making my friends’ candles, their mom’s candles, and it took off from there,” she said.

She said with the help of a starter kit, she learned the craft.

“I got real good at it. You have to be kind of like a chemist doing these,” she said. “Once you know what it is, it’s like cooking. Now, I don’t have to do so much — yes, on the temperature, not so much on the measurements anymore.”

UCA alumnus Keane Guiden said he founded Milestone Beads three years ago after his mother passed away.

“Beading was a way to cope with that,” he said.

He said he learned how to make bracelets through “trial and error” and many YouTube videos.

“I just sit down and have some beads in my hand and just kind of let the creative process set in,” he said.

Brittney Christian sells custom tumblers, T-shirts, keychains and game tables. 

“I got started just doing something for fun,” she said. 

She said she learned how to design merchandise from “YouTube, experience and failures.”

She said her son and nephew helped her set up her booth.

“They normally come to every event,” she said. 

Christian said her son occasionally gives her ideas, such as a Fortnite or Roblox cup.

She said, “My next adventure is going to be doing bridal boxes.”

Dee Dee Lantz, owner of Pawsomely Mia Dog Treats, said the business was named after her boxer Mia, who passed away last year in July.

“I had issues dealing with the grief of her passing away, so I ran across a course on making homemade dog treats as a business,” she said. “I decided to do that to honor her.”

She said the dog treats are made with all-natural ingredients and have no sugar or preservatives.

“I taste every recipe,” she said. “Because they don’t have sugar in them, to me, it tastes like cardboard, but dogs love them.”

“It gives me an outlet because I do have a full-time job, and it is a little bit of a stressful job because it’s in the legal field,” she said. “After dealing with deadlines and whatnot, when I come home and need to bake for an event, it really, truly is relaxing.”

Besides dog treats, she also makes dog necklaces and resin name tags. 

Toadsuck Mini Golf is located at 500 Highway 64 E in Conway.