how I use pinterest for my christmas shopping

Pinterest can be a time-suck and super overwhelming, but I use it during this season before Christmas to help me stay organized and on a budget.

You may be thinking, "Uh. What? How? Show me  your magical ways." 

Oh, friends. I will.

The first thing I do is create a new board.

are you judging how many tabs I have open? hahaha

Make it secret! You don't want anyone to know about it, especially the ones who should be surprised! 

Then I start pinning. I'll pin from other boards I have (crafty mccrafterson, gift giving) if there's something I already know I want to do/buy/make. I also add things from other websites. 

To add a pin from outside of pinterest, click the "add a pin" then choose "from a website." Next copy and paste the link and where it says "describe your pin" I put the person's name and the cost of the item there. 

Seriously how cute are these peg Elsa, Anna, and Olaf from Pegtales? 

She does personalized families too when it's not a busy time. Love it! 

I use this A LOT to keep track of what I've bought and what I'm planning when I'm out shopping and trying to make decisions. I just pull the app up on my phone and double check my memory.

Y'all know I'm a student on a limited income...a whole lot of the fun is creating and shopping and finding the perfect item at a great price. ha!

A few more places I shop during this time:

• 6pm.com - this is my go-to for shoes and purses and AWESOME deals. Black Friday is usually baller, last year was a different item every hour for 48-hours or something like that and they were deeeeeeeeeply discounted. 
• Pen + Paint - one of my FAVORITE shops! She like many independent sellers runs specials here and there during this time, BUT you have to shop in advance with most independent sellers. This isn't Amazon. [She also runs dented/imperfect sales on IG every once in awhile, I've gathered treasures there as well.]
• Emily McDowell was sent to me by a friend and I love her stuff! So fun! She's having a scratch + dent sale next week for cards! I love to take a card and frame it like it's fancy! 
• Brad's Deals often has some crazy-good savings if you can get to them in time. 
• Get out to your local retailers! See what they have and what you can find there! 
• Find your favorite people on IG or social media - they often post about sales and discounts there! 

I hope that helps anyone who wants to try something different for organizing this year! 

xoxo