Welcome to my first Merry and Bright August post!!! I have a seriously fun month planned for you!!!

This morning, we're going to focus on planning!!! yay!!!!

I've been doing Weight Watchers for a little over a year (my second time!! I'm only 2lbs away from goal again! yay!!!), and one of the biggest tenets of WW is to plan, plan, plan!!!

This is how we are going to have a fabulous holiday season this year!!! 

And we should plan beautifully, don'tcha think???

Several years ago, I took an online class called "Cut the Crazy Out of Christmas." {You can check out the Cut the Crazy FB here}. Again, the idea is to plan!! I created this notebook, or a Control Journal, as my center of planning…

…with cute dividers…

and printable sheets for each sections…

from food to gifts to addresses to ideas!

Today, let's talk about ideas!!!

There is a bevy of inspiration out there to get us started creating for Christmas. We just need to reign it in. 

*First, grab a binder, dividers, page protectors and some paper!!!

Let's start with projects…

Check out these awesome printable project sheets from Pixels to Patchwork. You can download and edit your project sheets and put them in your fun new binder!! yay!!!

Or you could have your own custom notebook made for you…HERE!

Here's another link I found on Pinterest for organizational binders!!

 

{from I Love Patchwork by Rashida Coleman-Hale}

Start looking for fun little projects you want to make for family and friends! This little lamby is on my list for sure!!! (yes, family, you all may be getting lambs for Christmas this year!!) 

You can go from a fabric perspective first, too…

Grab all of your favorite fabrics for projects…

 

Grab all of your Christmas fabrics for your decoration projects!!! 

So fun!!! 

*Take pictures of fabrics and document them in your notebook!

{my in-real-life Pinterest!!!}

Your two other fun resources you can go to are Pinterest and magazines!!! Cut fun pics out of catalogs that inspire great project ideas and tape them to a piece of paper. Put the paper in a page protector in your binder!!

What about Pinterest? Oh yes…so many ideas!! Again, reign it in. Curate one board just for your Christmas ideas! Make it secret so your friends and family don't know what you are making for them!! 

Don't know where to start? Start with my Stuff I want to Make board…anything you think your friends and family would cherish? Create your own stuff I want to make board!!

*Make a project list for what you are going to do for gifts and decorations. 

It's okay…it can be added to or taken away from!!! You are not beholden to everything you write down. But you need to start…

and lastly, don't forget about your piles of UFOs…unfinished projects!! It is a great place to start and FINISH!!! (this is my year of finishing, can you tell???) and GIVE!!

Speaking of giving, Christmas time is the perfect time for giving, so don't forget to comment on ANY Merry and Bright August post to be entered to win two charm packs of Basic Grey's 25th and Pine!! {one comment per post, please!} Yay!!!

{sneaky peek!!}

Get ready for Thursday…we have a fun free tutorial and more fun inspirational links coming!!!

Blessings!!!