Lovely Package Gift Exchange

Happy Monday all! To start the week off right I have some more lovely packaging to share. At the end of last year I participated in Danni of Oh, Hello Friend's Lovely Package Gift Exchange. The gift exchange is such a fun idea (maybe I'll start a Crafted one this year...hmm, what do you think?) because it can connect creative bloggers from around the country. It helps introduce you to new friends and new blogs and it just helps foster this community of like-minded individuals. Now who doesn't want to be a part of a community like that? You don't need to be close in proximity to feel connected to people (thank you internet) and that's exactly why I wanted to participate myself. 

I was paired with the lovely France of Banana Fish Studio (check out her blog and say hi) and I was so happy to get to know her and send her pretty presents. She also spoiled me and sent a gift box full of treasures that I opened like a giddy school girl on Christmas Day. Thank you France so much for your thoughtful gifts. Before I sent off my presents I snapped some pictures (literally the last pictures before my camera went kaput) since the whole point of this gift exchange was to highlight the packaging. Here is what I wrapped up special for the exchange:

In emails France mentioned that she liked crochet. Now I can't actually crochet myself (hopefully I'll learn soon) but I found this beautiful vintage one in a local antique store. It was too pretty not to highlight.

When I utilize my striped bags from Whisker Graphics there isn't too much more I have to do. The bags are so cute on their own that all I need to add is some twine and a tag. Super simple packaging done right!

Fun details - stamps, gold paper clips, washi tape, glassine bags...

I found these vintage tart tins while antique shopping and filled one up with small goodies and sealed it with a clear plastic bag and some bakers twine. The tart tins would be perfect for holding small desk accessories, like paper clips or push pins. Hopefully France can repurpose it into something unique.

I found a mini mustard stapler while antiquing (on the right). Even the staples were mini. I thought it was so perfect, especially for a vintage paper lover like France. I hope she liked it.

Vintage postcard love.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these pretty packages today. I really enjoyed wrapping them up and sending them off to a new blog friend. Have a great week everyone! I have all kinds of great stuff to post in the next few days so check back in. 

Twelve by 2012 Recap & Some New Goals

Some of you may remember that in October I participated in Oh, Hello Friend's project of goals called Twelve by 2012. It was a great project and I'm glad I did it. By making my goals public and posting them here I held myself more accountable for completing them. I couldn't totally embarrass myself and not complete any of them. I wouldn't be able to show my face here again. So I kept the goals in mind and got to work.

Side note: It's so good to set deadlines sometimes isn't it? When you don't, things can just drag on forever (for no real reason). Why do we let ourselves do this? Then you feel guilty because it's taken you so long to complete something that should have taken you 4 seconds. And then the guilt forces you to push it back even more. Does anyone else fall victim to this? I occasionally do it, not proud to admit. 

But back to my twelve goals, I did alright completing them. I definitely didn't finish all twelve but I'm proud of the ones that I did accomplish. Here's my finished checklist (complete with some fudging and cheating):

My List of Twelve before 2012: 

1} Make a business proposal/strategy for my new Lauren Elise Crafted ideas  still finishing up a bit but definitely started so I'm going to consider it completed for the sake of this list

2} Take someone special on a picnic

3} Make a Blurb book...finally!  completed on November 28th

4} Make ribollita soup from scratch

5} Visit with my friend Edward  completed on December 24th - actually I saw him and my two other good friends Pat (both are named Pat)

6} Take a weekend trip to Sacramento to see a friend

7} Throw a holiday party for crafty, local friends

8} Perfect my stuffed animal idea & get better at stitching

9} Go vintage shopping in LA with David (my brother)  ok, we didn't go vintage shopping in LA, just locally but the whole point is to spend time with David and I did that

10} Make apple pie from scratch  completed on November 24th

11} Crochet something even if it's small  I didn't crochet anything but I used my weave & loom kit and made a few small squares - not quite the same thing but kind of so we're going to count it

12} Go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market  completed on December 11th

So I completed 7 out of my 12, more than 50%! Hopefully I can complete a few more of these in the next few months because I still want to do them. Did anyone else participate in Twelve by 2012? How did you do on your list?

Since I enjoyed this project so much, I decided to continue it into the new year. I didn't want to post goals for the full year, it's just too far ahead in the future to map out and hold myself accountable so I decided to set a deadline three months from now, which is about the same amount of time I had for the last list. So I am now announcing my Thirteen in 3 list which I will be striving to complete in January, February, and March. Here is what I hope to accomplish:

So there is my list of 13. As you'll notice, the crochet thing is still on there (my aunt promised to show me some techniques) and I also included the party with local friends. These were just too important not to include in this second list. Hopefully I can accomplish them this second time around. I'll be updating the list periodically and letting you guys know how I'm doing (remember, hold me accountable). I'd love to get a better completion percentage than last time.

If you'd like to play along and create your own list of 13, go right ahead! If you do, let me know and comment below with a link to your post. I'd love to see what other people are planning in the new year. Here is a little badge if you want to include it on your blog. I'll have mine up in the right-hand column.

 

How ever many goals you have for 2012, good luck completing them!  

Update: If you're thinking of starting your own 13 in 3 or similar goal list but don't have a blog, here's what I recommend: make yourself accountable by sharing your list with others. When I set a goal in my mind but just leave it there and don't share it, I usually tend to forget about it or it gets pushed aside by other more pressing matters. I do so much better when others know what I am working towards. It actually becomes real when you tell someone. So share your hopes with your family, your spouse, your kids, your best friends, your coworkers...anyone. Make a list and post it on your refrigerator or in another highly visible part of your home. Not only will you see the list and be reminded of what you're working towards but so will your loved ones and hopefully they will provide encouragement along the way. 

Lovely Package Workshop Pictures

A few weeks ago I shared that Danni from Oh, Hello Friend was organizing a Lovely Package Workshop and that I was asked to be involved. I could not have been more excited to get crafty with our little group and get some ideas for my own holiday wrapping (which has yet to commence...remember, I have no presents yet). The workshop took place over Thanksgiving weekend and it was the perfect way to spend an afternoon, surrounded by friends and packaging. What more could a girl want! I have a handful of pictures to share today so I'll let the eye candy speak for itself. In a separate post I will share my own DIY that I demonstrated at the class which involves wrapping with a mason jar. Thank you to everyone who came out, I loved meeting you all. I felt so welcome. And most importantly thank you Danni for thinking of me and asking me to participate.

Our class would not have been nearly as successful if it weren't for the beautiful venue that hosted us. Beth, the lovely owner of Salvage Life, opened up her little shop/office space for us and how fun it was to see her collection of vintage curiosities. It is such an inspiring space. Beth is one lucky lady!

Danni filled these vintage muffin tins with all the craft ephemera that each guest would need. The guests were smart and brought their own presents so not only were they learning new packaging techniques but also getting some of their holiday wrapping out of the way. I gave each guest a little glassine bag filled with goodies like colored twine, fabric ribbon, and wooden tags. The mason jar on the top right is my DIY but I'll share more pictures of that in another post.

That would be glitter wrapping paper on the left...how fabulous! I believe Danni got it at Michaels. I think I must make a stop at Michaels now.

I love all of the layering in this present, such a great combination of fun elements. The paper is actually vintage wallpaper. Since it is thicker than normal paper, it is a little difficult to wrap with but such a beautiful effect it has. Search Etsy for all kinds of vintage patterns and add a new twist to your holiday packaging this year.

Here is Danni and Elizabeth working on the best way to wrap. Collectively everyone shared their secrets. I know I learned a few tips. Elizabeth claimed she got fired from a job where she had to wrap presents but we all doubted her because she was pretty pro at it.

The lovely Tristan from Besotted Brand demonstrated this bow DIY which was super easy to create but still perfect looking. That glitter ribbon is kind of the ultimate, don't you think? Tristan's shop is packaging heaven. I wouldn't mind having one of everything under my Christmas tree this year. Did you hear that Santa?

So that was our Lovely Package Workshop! I hope we'll have more in the future because packaging is fun no matter what time of year. Thanks again to Danni, Tristan, and Beth for all their hard work and for having me.

Happy Wednesday friends! 

Lovely Package Workshop

I have such an exciting announcement today!  If you follow my blog regularly you know that I love packaging and all the little details that go with it.  A pretty package can be an extra treat even when the actual gift lies inside.  That is why I was so jazzed to partner with Danni of Oh, Hello Friend and Tristan of Besotted Brand and help host the Lovely Package Workshop happening on November 26th in Long Beach.

Both Danni and Tristan are such masters of packaging so I am so honored to be working with these ladies to create a unique workshop.  With the holidays quickly approaching I think this class will provide all the attendees, as well as myself, with a lot of inspiration for those presents that will soon need to be wrapped (wait, I need to actually buy some presents first).  And who can't use some pretty inspiration right before the hectic holiday season?  

If you are interested in attending, you can visit Danni's blog for more details or check out the event's page to reserve your spot.  You will go home with a bunch of awesome little goodies and get to spend the afternoon in a fun, vintage environment at the Salvage Life shop.  I hope some of my local blog readers can attend, I would love to visit and chat with you all.

Happy Tuesday!

Twelve by 2012

Last week Danni of Oh, Hello Friend challenged her readers to start a project of goals, to come up with 12 little hopes and wishes to try and accomplish before the end of 2011.  Calling it 'Twelve by 2012,' she encouraged me and her other readers to think about our own goals for the coming months.  Deadlines can be super encouraging and with 74 days (or 2 months & 13 days) left until the end of the year, I think twelve items is a reasonable challenge.  In 2008, Danni shared a similar list, a 101 in 1,001 list but she said that trying to finish 101 things in 1,001 days was a bit overwhelming.  I started my own list of 101 things about a year ago and I must admit that I soon abandoned it.  At this stage in my life my hopes and dreams change quite frequently and it is hard for me to clearly map out the next few years of my life.  So I really like the idea of creating smaller lists with shorter deadlines.  You will get that satisfaction of completing your goals a whole lot sooner than you would with a longer list.

This weekend I created my own list of 12 goals after thinking long and hard about the things I wanted to accomplish.  Some things are more serious and business-related while others are fun and purely for my own entertainment.  

My List of Twelve before 2012: 

1} Make a business proposal/strategy for my new Lauren Elise Crafted ideas

2} Take someone special on a picnic

3} Make a Blurb book...finally! completed on November 28th

4} Make ribollita soup from scratch

5} Visit with my friend Edward

6} Take a weekend trip to Sacramento to see a friend

7} Throw a holiday party for crafty, local friends

8} Perfect my stuffed animal idea & get better at stitching

9} Go vintage shopping in LA with David (my brother)

10} Make apple pie from scratch  completed on November 24th

11} Crochet something even if it's small

12} Go to the Rose Bowl Flea Market completed on December 11th

So that's my list of twelve things.  What would your list look like?  I encourage each of you to create your own list if you want some encouragement with your goals.  Let me know if you blog about it and definitely share it over on Danni's blog as well.  I think this is a great project she has started and the more who join in the better.  

And because we all need reminding sometimes, I wrote out my list onto hearts and turned it into a garland that I have hanging in my room.  This way I will always see my list and be encouraged to complete the twelve things on it.  And I can check off things when I complete them...who doesn't like that sense of accomplishment right?  

Happy goals & list making!

{Twelve by 2012 banner by Danni}