Oh Goodie, Goodie!

I'm pretty sure that one of my love languages is gift giving.

Not only because it's a nice way to show someone that you're thinking of them, but it's also fun to think of gift ideas and pretty packaging (y'all know my love for paper and presentation!). Although most people associate gift giving with Christmas, I also think that Thanksgiving is an opportune time to show people that you are thankful for them and that you appreciate them.

And in my eyes, what better way to show this than by food.

Bake a loaf of pumpkin bread or banana bread! Its super easy to make, and will last quite awhile. I made pumpkin bread for my good friend Mary, and she said that she ate it for breakfast for a few days! As far as gift wrapping a loaf of bread goes, I bout the bread gift bags at Wal-Mart (they'll be located with the extravagant cake decorating supplies, usually close to the craft aisle and wedding aisle), which included the ribbon. I got the free 'Thankful for Sweet Friends Like You!' tag from Lil' Luna {all things good} blog, and wrapped it with white and gold twine that I found at Target.

If you don't quite feel like making bread, or feel like your on a time crunch, there is always that wonderful thing called Nestle Tollhouse Cookie dough. Buy them precut, slap them on a cookie sheet and throw them in the oven for about 10 minutes and voila, you're a domestic goddess.

Obviously, you still want to make it look like you put a lot of time into this gift. Presentation time! I like to find pretty little gift bags and tags to snaz it up a bit.

I found these mint and gold bags from the Oh Joy! collection at Target (I'm obsessed with her stuff and was tempted to buy everything in her little corner of Target!), I also picked up these gold glittered clothe pins from their craft aisle as well. I printed out these pretty little tags from She Wears Many Hats blog, and added a pop of color to them by painting over them with pink watercolor paint.

I hope my friends love how they turned out as much as I do!

Keep Celebrating!

#Girlboss

We all have our favorite brands and companies, but how many of those can we say where either started or run by women? Not very many.

"Who runs the world? Girls."

-Beyoncé 

Since Sophia Amoruso's memoir #GIRLBOSS is on my fall reading list, I've been thinking a lot about girl bosses.  The women who have created something out of nothing and who have decided to make their own path. A few big names that come to mind when I think of girl bosses are Lilly Pulitzer, Kate Spade, and Lauren Conrad (maybe because I'm obsessed with their stuff!), but I also think of all the Etsy shop owners, bloggers, and artists who have gone out on a limb to share their gifts and talents with other people.

"What's your favorite position?"

CEO.

-Lauren Conrad

Considering  'Small Business Saturday' is coming up on November 24th, I'd thought I'd share a few of my favorite girl bosses that own small business (and some of which who are growing pretty fast or aren't so small anymore!)

1. Amanda Catherine Designs- After ordering her "Gentle Reminders" pencil set I knew I was in love her shop! Her pencils are a perfect addition to any desk or office and her prints are beautiful for any gallery wall. Plus she just added an adorable market tote printed with a grocery list that any girlie girl could agree on.

2. Evelyn Henson- I adore this lady's prints. Colorful and unique they bring a little sunshine and happiness to any room. Whether it be whimsical animals or pairing up with blogger College Prepster to create a collection of all things pretty and preppy, I'm sure you will find one that fits you! I'm currently loving her 'Suri the Camel' print.

3. Charm & Gumption- Owner and creator Holly Casto designs fun coffee mugs, prints, notepads and T-shirts. I purchased one of her 'The Little Things' gold foil prints and it is one of my favorite things on my gallery wall! I am also drooling over her 'I Woke Up Like This' mug. Be sure to check out her shop if you're a lover of simplicity, fonts, and gold.

4. Be There in Five- I bet you never thought a welcome mat could be this cute did you? Well, creator and etsy shop owner, Katherine proved us all wrong with her reminder and affirmation doormats. If you feel like you're having déjà vu, you might have seen her mats featured in Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Good Housekeeping. Because who doesn't need a cute reminder to turn off their curling iron?

5. Ashley Brooke Designs- Need a little fancy in your life? Ashley Brooke's mugs, notepads, and stationary is just what you need to add a little sparkle into your everyday grind. Her mugs are my favorite item that she sells. They make perfect gifts for the girl who has everything!

6. Confetti Cake Collection- Creator B. Mckensey Williams has created  t-shirts that are both comfortable and trendy. With cute sayings and fun fonts, I promise you'll fall in love with this brand as much as I have! What can I say, we 'mermaid' for each other.

Do you have any small shop owners or girl bosses that you love? Or are you a girl boss? Emily C. and I would love to know about them!

Keep Celebrating!

How to Create a Spook-tacular Care Package

My little sister is away at college and what better way to show her some love than by sending her a great care package!

Care packages are perfect for long distance relationships, siblings in college, friends or family on mission trips, or if you just want to send a pick me up to a loved one (y’all know my love for snail mail, and care packages are no exception!)  

I always like to pick a theme for my boxes. This makes it a little bit easier to figure out what to fill it up with and it helps with thinking of ideas on how you want to decorate your box. With Halloween right around the corner, I decided to create a “Boo Box” for my little sister.

Here’s a list of what I put inside:

• Caramel Apple Lollipops (Might possibly be my favorite fall candy that comes out this time of year!)
• Amy’s Favorite Candy with a Vampire tag (I made it using Microsoft Publisher and printed it out on cardstock) and attached Vampire Fangs to it.
• Glow Stick Bracelets (97 cents at Walmart)  
• Pumpkin Carving Kit
• M&M cookies that I placed in a small Halloween Tin (I found the tin at Walmart for about $3)
• A broom goodie bag filled with sweet treats (for how to make the broom, click here)

• Hot Apple Cider packets (**the postal service kinda condemns mailing liquids, so opt for packages of hot chocolate or apple cider)
• Count Chocula Cereal (only the best chocolate cereal of all time!)
• Glow in the Dark Vampire Fangs ($1 at Target)

What else you could add:

• Fall candle (Bath and Body Works usually has their mini ones 3 for $10)
• Bags of popcorn
• A fun Halloween mask
• Halloween Movies (Here’s a few of my favorites: Hocus Pocus, A Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Hotel Transylvania, Young Frankenstein, and Coraline)

Once you fill up the box, it’s time for the fun part (or at least my favorite part), decorating your box! I purchased a 14 by 14 box at Walmart for about 68 cents, I assembled the box then painted the flaps (card board does soak up paint so you will have to paint two or three coats, or you could glue on scrapbooking paper instead). I printed off a few Halloween themed clip art that I found online onto cardstock and cut them out. I modge podged them on the flaps, then drew out cute sayings like, “ghouls night out” or “I am ‘BATTY’ for you” that I went over with Sharpie or paint.

Since I was giving the box to her and it wasn’t going to be tossled and jostled while being shipped, I decided that I still wanted the surprise to be hidden when she opened it.  I bought decorative spider webs (at Target for $1) and stapled them to the box and placed stretchy colorful spiders on top (also at Target for $1).

 It turned out pretty fun and cute if I do say so myself! I hope you have as much fun compiling your care package as I did!

Keep Celebrating!