Before I left for vacation, I did myself a favor and set up January in my planner. I planned out a cute design for my full month page as well as each week in January. I knew when I got back I would be playing MAJOR catch up - in life and work. I really want to keep to my goals I'm setting for myself and I knew this was the best way.

My favorite week is the first week. I was inspired by a layout I saw on Pinterest and loved how they didn't really use it to plan, but just be a mood board of color and sayings. Since I was on vacation this week and I didn't really have a "to do" list other than my morning habits, water intake, taking my meds and closing my apple rings (which actually is a lot, haha), I was really excited and love how it all turned out.

The rest of the weeks look pretty much like this. I've got an area for to do lists for doing the week as well as tracking my water, medicine, morning routine and apple rings. I have my weekly cleaning and laundry checklist - I don't assign days to give flexibility during the week. Next month I'll incorporate space for working out because I totally forgot about that whole thing. ;)

Now to just get myself motivated to start setting up February and March!
xo. Lauren

2019.

A year to be filled with self-improvement and photos of my new year/thank you cards on my grandparent's carpet because it's too hot to go outside in Florida. I'm looking forward to growth and downsizing in my life. 

I made a vision board this morning for goals for the year covering different parts of my life. I also am working on getting back to my SAVERS mornings and drinking lots of water. When I get home from vacation, the healthier eating and new, home cleaning schedule will be started.

This year is about resolve and I'm looking forward to actually keeping that resolve. And maybe (finally) stick to my planner. I already set up January so I have no excuses this month.

My crafty goal this year is to make 8 projects a month. I am in some major need of birthday cards - especially for guys and kids in my life. I'm also starting to get behind in card kits (I've got November and December under my desk and January on the way) so one kit will count as 2 projects.

January Crafty Goals: November, December, and January kits,  Abi's birthday party invitations, and a Valentine's Day card or two

Do you set any craft goals? Tell me in the comments.
​xo. Lauren
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I just purged.

And by purged I mean I finally went through my stamps and dies and put quite a lot in a big bag to sell or giveaway or do anything with but stay in my crafty space. All my RG Studio 360 products as well as quite a lot of Lawn Fawn were sitting. On my desk. Taking up space and not being used. It feels SO much better to have purged and re-organized. I can find my stamps again, I can read my dies and embossing folders and I brought the more fun coloring tools to my desk for easy access. I think I made quite a lot of use of all of my different products on this card.

I used a new RG Studio 360 stamp, a fun Lawn Fawn die, an old Stamping' Up! embossing folder, some embossing powder I picked up at Paper Source, Nuvo Mousse from a local scrapbook store and some embellishments from my stash. I even used scrap paper (which means I didn't cut into whole sheets of paper for most of this card. WHAT?! Who am I??

As I sit and type this, I'm dreaming of my next card since I can see my stack of fall stuff from my desk and I'm so excited to get to crafting again. I have a few Thanksgiving cards I want to send out and I think this one (sorta) fits. I was going to use it as a thank you card, but I think it would be very cute as a Thanksgiving card as well. Maybe I'll tie in more autumn shades on my next one.

Happy Tuesday from a voter who mailed in their vote and forgot to wear her sticker!
xo. Lauren

I turned 32 last Monday. I can't believe it really... 32! What a number.

This year for my birthday, I packed up Jonny, Abigail and some crafty tools and drove to Arizona for the RG Studio 360 RISE Event and it was so amazing! I love being a part of a community of crafters that have a sense of humor like me as well as the same hobby.

We had an AWESOME goodie bag (like, literally a giant bag) with free items from Simple Stories, Gel Press, Webster's Pages and Scrapbook Adhesives. We received 4 of RG Studio 360's new stamp sets (yes! stamp sets again)! We used them to make our make & takes for the event.

But my favorite part of the event was the introduction of the new Certified Studio Designer (CSD) program. Save 25% off of my one of my favorite designers and his amazing product? YES, PLEASE. I am a part of the Studio Squad with my crafty pal Alex and I'm so excited to be a part of this amazing community. You can read more about becoming a CSD here.

 Now it's time to sort through my new purchases and find their new home on my shelves. I can't wait to play this week with them - Abi is excited about them, too! Did you watch our live video in our Make & Take Club Facebook group? Here's a little sneak of the video, but go join our crafty group and watch the full video!
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xo. Lauren

I think this was my favorite card I made last month. The colors from the challenge I participated in turned out so vibrant and coloring in the jellyfish just made me so happy!

​Images: RG Studio 360 So Jelly
​Supplies From My Stash: blue cardstock, white cardstock, blue ink pad, light blue ink pad (pool color), black splattering ink/paint, glaze, alcohol markers, vellum, circle die, natural twine, blue sequins, clear glitter

This was the first watercolor background card that I was so happy with as I’ve always struggled with this technique. (It inspired me to make my first video in quite a few years, too.) I kept my coloring simple with the cactus images.

Images: RG Studio 360 Stuck With Me
​Supplies From My Stash: kraft cardstock, white cardstock, pink re-inker, black twine, pink sequins, black splattering ink/paint, glaze, alcohol markers, clear glitter

The two of these cards were the most popular for me on Instagram and Facebook. YouTube, too, but does it really count when you only share one video? :) The background and large floral images are really what make these cards pop!

Images: RG Studio 360 Happy Days
​Supplies From My Stash: black cardstock, kraft cardstock, white cardstock, black twine, black splattering ink/paint, glaze, alcohol markers

Lastly, my other most popular post on Instagram and Facebook was this gift of bicycle cards I made for a family member. Most of the hard work was done by my Silhouette and Minc machines, but they turned out so pretty!

Images: RG Studio 360 Joy Ride
Supplies From My Stash: white cardstock, gold foil, alcohol markers, natural twine, clear splattering ink/paint, black splattering ink/paint, light blue panpastel, white sequins, blue ink pad, lime green ink pad, light brown ink oad

I hope reading my supply lists help you go out and create cards inspired by the ones above. Have a great rest of your weekend!
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XO. Lauren