craft: Christmas packaging

i don't even know where to begin to express to you how excited i am that Christmas is finally here. what a wonderful and meaningful time of the year. between purchasing our first Christmas tree together, our first Christmas in our new home, baking, gift giving, the list goes on and on. all of these details are wonderful but the most important part of this beautiful time of year is the celebration of Jesus's birth. i am so thankful i am able to celebrate and share this joy with others. 

i wanted to start my Christmas blogging with one of my favorite things... paper and gift wrapping! boy oh boy do i love paper. it started a long long time ago when i loved collecting journals and notebooks. my brother and i still enjoy doing this today ha! i wanted to share a few ways to wrap your packages for the holidays and for your loved ones.

another reason i wanted to share my packaging ideas with you is because i am following in my great aunt lorene's footsteps and placing a gift or detail on top of each package. my great aunt lorene always had a small gift, ornament, candy, etc on top of each package that she gave us. i loved that she did this and wanted to do the same with my packages. i hope to continue this tradition each year in remembrance of her. 

as you can see in the photos above, i used craft paper for all of my gift wrapping this year. i love the rustic and simple look that the craft paper gives. i used faux greenery, pinecones, ornaments, candy bars, and several other items to add to each of my packages. i also used chalk markers and calligraphy pens to create my lettering on all of the packages above. 

i can't wait to share many Christmas blog posts with you this month. reed and i are putting up out Christmas tree this weekend we have a few days to enjoy it with Christmas music and hot chocolate. i love this time of year!! i hope you enjoy your Christmas details as much as i do and always remember the true reason for the season. 

hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy! thank you for stopping by!

my new lifeplanner

okay, i am so excited about this post; i don't even know where to start. first of all, if you haven't heard of erin condren just go to her website and see for yourself... wonderful. www.erincondren.com

i don't know if you are obsessed with paper and planning as much as i am but this planner and brand is simply awesome. my friend allie introduced me to the brand and i wish i would have had this through high school and college.

anyway, erin condren is a paper and planner extraordinaire. the brand is known for the "erin condren life planner." they also have teacher planners with lesson plans for all of those teachers out there that want to stay organized. they are adorable! my first life planner came a few weeks ago and it took about 2 weeks to ship with their high volume of orders but i didn't even care how long it took ha! (i have paper problems, i know). 

i mentioned to reed, that a blue box should be arriving soon and to look out for it. he said oh birch box! no reed, not birch box this is a new box haha! i thought it was so cute that he snapped a pic of the box when it arrived at the door, as you can see above with his work boots in the corner haha!

above, i have several pictures of my life planner and my crazy self taking a pic of each and every step of opening my planner (it was definitely like Christmas). i ordered a personalized water color dot planner with, elastic sleeve holders, a meal planner insert, and stickers. 

each planner comes with a ton of stickers they design for you and also a birthday pocket to keep track of your birthdays and major events. i love the birthday stickers that come in each planner and also the blank colored stickers that come as well. i used mine for several different occasions. 

you can definitely jazz up your planner with your own personal style to make it fun. i purchased a ton of washi tape and polka dot stickers from target of course to add to my dot obsession. 

i just wanted to share with you.i hope you enjoy this post and let me know if you have any questions about the planner :) it is wonderful and i recommend it to anyone who loves to plan!!

watercolor cards

i love making cards & gift wrapping for loved ones, for a personal touch. i made a few watercolor cards for mother's day and i loved how they turned out!

enjoy!