MOTHER'S DAY GIFT GUIDE

ONLINE SHOP PACKAGING BASICS, WHAT YOU NEED

When I was getting started with my business, one of the biggest challenges that I ran into was figuring out how to package my orders and where to purchase packaging supplies. I thought that a post covering all of the basics might be helpful for those of you facing the same thing. Let's get started! Here's an idea of what you will need, along with photos of what I use for my shop...

1. Inner Packaging

This is the more "pretty" packaging for your items. If your item was being sold in a brick and mortar store, this is the packaging that it would be shown in. The purpose of this is first of all to make the item look nice and professional, and secondly to protect it a bit as it's sliding around inside of the outer packaging / shipping materials.

Inner Packaging Ideas...

• Prints / Stationery / Flat Paper Items: clear sleeves (I get these ones)
• Jewelry / Accessories: jewelry boxes or small stamped bags
• Stamps / Other Small Items: stamped muslin bags, tissue paper with washi tape or a sticker

2. Extra Protection 
This is the stuff that has no "pretty" factor at all - it's purpose is simply to protect your items.

Extra Protection Ideas...

• Prints / Stationery / Flat Paper Items: Cardboard sheets to keep the item from bending (I get these ones)
• Fragile Items: Bubble wrap, inflatable protective stuff, recycled paper, kraft paper, newspaper, etc.

3. Promotional / Branding Materials 
This usually includes some type of card that portrays your brand and provides links and other information to keep your customer coming back and/or subscribing to your social media. It also might include a logo stamp or stickers for the outside of your packages. I design my own and have them printed by my printing company that I use for all of my shop items but there are lots of places online that can print these types of items for you, or you can contact a local printing company in your area.

Promo Material Ideas...

• Business cards
• Larger cards that tell your story / show photos
• Stickers
• Stamps
• Custom tissue paper
• Custom packing tape

4. Shipping Materials 
This is the outer protection for your package, and what will be arriving at your customers' doors. Depending on the size and shape of what you sell, this might be either a box or a flat mailer. Shipping materials also might include a shipping label printer (I use this one), sticky labels, and the invoice for your order. Rather than including an invoice with prices, I always just include a gift receipt. I get a lot of requests to not include prices in the packaging so since I already send a full receipt via email, I don't include the prices in any of my orders. This is your personal preference.

Shipping Material Ideas...

• Flat mailers (I get these ones)
• Bubble / padded mailers
• Boxes (I like these)
• USPS flat rate boxes and mailers (note: this can be a great option depending on the weight of your items. I recommend weighing the cost of shipping flat rate vs. using your own box or mailer and seeing what works for you.)
• Shipping Label Printer and Sticky Labels (Etsy offers a discount on this one, and it is the one that I use)
• "DO NOT BEND" self-inking stamp - this is a MUST for those of you who sell flat items that cannot be bent. I designed my own - email me if you would like the same one that I have, and I can have one made for you.

My Favorite Places to Buy Packaging Materials:

- Clearbags (Protective sleeves)

- The Boxery (Protective Cardboard Sheets, Boxes, and Mailers)

- USPS (Flat Rate Mailers)

- Amazon (Dymo Labels)

& check out my video on the topic as well!

FASHION FRIDAY: MIXING PATTERNS

striped top | translucent stone necklace | teddy loafers | textured bangle set

Today's Fashion Friday outfit post is from last week actually when I was in Ohio visiting my family (check out my mom's pretty tulips in the background!). This outfit is definitely nothing fancy - just a simple, comfortable outfit for hanging out, walking around, grabbing lunch, etc. The mix of patterns adds a tiny bit of a fashionable feel to the very basic pieces.

Also, I've noticed that all of the shopping that I have done over the last season or two has been from J.Crew Factory! haha I'm a little obsessed. Do you guys ever order stuff from there? I feel like it has the great quality of J.Crew without the outrageous price tag.

I hope you guys had a great week! xo

shop the look:

5 TIPS FOR DEALING WITH PERFECTIONISM (BEING A PERFECTIONIST REALLY SUCKS)

You know in high school / college when you take those interview prep classes and they tell you that when you're asked the question "What is your biggest weakness?" that you should turn it into a positive by saying something along the lines of "I'm a perfectionist and sometimes I can be too picky with co-workers...blah blah blah"?

They say that because people throw the word "perfectionist" around so much that we have really lost sight of its true meaning and we take it to mean that you have high standards, an excellent work ethic, and will work really hard to achieve perfection.

That's not really what it means to be a perfectionist.

A true perfectionist will tell you that it is an absolute curse. Being a true perfectionist, I will tell you that it is the thing that probably holds me back the most in life. 

I think that the most successful people in life are most likely not perfectionists, and here's why...

*We put things off and procrastinate big time because the thought of starting something is very overwhelming, knowing that we will want to do it perfectly.

*We are "all or nothing" in everything that we do and find a life of moderation nearly impossible.

*Making a simple mistake or being only average at something is seen as a complete failure in our minds.

*We don't bounce back quickly from failures.

As an example, I once saw an episode of Oprah back in the day about perfectionists and they showed a woman whose home was a complete disaster (think "Hoarders" status) because she had let it get to the point where it was so far gone that she felt like there was no hope of getting it perfect so she just went the complete opposite direction. THAT is a true perfectionist. It's not a good thing!

Can any of you relate to this? I struggle every single day with my perfectionism (which you now know is not a humblebrag), so I thought I would share some tips that I've come up with for fighting it because I'm pretty sure there is no cure:

1. TRY to practice moderation. It's a real struggle for me to be moderate about anything, whether it be working out, eating healthy, cleaning the house, etc. It's like I have a switch in my mind and if I'm "on" with working out, then I'm really into it to a point that it's almost too extreme, but if it's "off" I just make it the last priority until it gets so out of control that I hate myself (haha...but seriously). I've really been trying over the last year or so to remind myself to be moderate. The next time you start a new fitness routine, for example, remind yourself that you want these habits to last for the rest of your life not just a few weeks, and try to scale back your intensity so that you don't burn out.

2. Be your own friend. By that I mean, ask yourself what you would say to a friend in your situation. I tend to be much harder on myself than others and sometimes it helps me to think about what I would say to a friend of mine who was going through whatever "end-of-the-world" event I'm dealing with.

3. Focus on the big picture. Getting caught up in details can cause you to give up on something that's actually fine or (worse!) not even start to begin with.

4. Create realistic schedules / goals. This is something that I've been putting into practice lately that has really, really helped me. I used to make gigantic, unrealistic to-do lists every morning and I almost never got everything done. I was setting myself up for failure, so no matter how much I did that day, I felt like it wasn't enough. These days, I've been putting three things on my day's to-do list. Just three. The three most important tasks for the day. Then I have a weekly list where I write everything that I need to do for the week, and I use whatever time is left over during the day to pull from that larger list. I really feel like this has made my mind so much clearer and I feel so much more at peace! Highly recommend.

5. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO PEOPLE! No seriously, stop that now. Don't compare yourself to strangers on the Internet. Don't compare yourself to some gorgeous girl in a magazine. Don't compare your home / wardrobe / family / life / etc to other people if you ever want to be happy. That's just the truth, y'all. This is one thing that I really feel like I've gotten a handle on over the years. Maybe it's just getting older, but I fully recognize now that photos in magazines are photoshopped, celebrities have entire teams of people dedicated to making them look good, and people who seem perfect in other areas of life have most definitely made some type of huge sacrifice to get to that point. If only I could speak to my high school self about this...she was a mess.

FASHION FRIDAY: TUNIC, LEGGINGS, AND SPARKLE

I hope you guys had a great week! Today, Wes was off for Good Friday so I got my orders filled early and we spent the day relaxing, walking around town, and taking it easy. I wanted to be comfortable so I had a leggings day (I have those a lot haha). I wore my long sweater tunic so that it would be acceptable to wear "out" and I jazzed it up with a sparkly necklace. I love this sweater tunic because it keeps the rear area covered and it has these long slits in the side that makes the fit nice and comfy and long. Highly recommend. Have a great weekend, everyone! xo!

tunic sweater | necklace | leggings | flats from Gap, old (similar, obsessed with these) | bag | lipgloss