Winter Board 2018 & My Planner's January Collage

I try to put together a little mood or inspiration board for each season because it really puts me in the spirit. Whenever I sit down on my desk this is what I see first and foremost. It's the ultimate mood setter and a treat to my eyes. This season I was a wee bit late in putting together my Winter board but I managed to do it at last. I'll be honest, at first I thought I would never be able to perfect it while Winter lasted. I also had that tiny moment when I asked myself if I should just skip Winter and do something sassy and girly instead. Then I finally got a chance, some snip snap of scissors was heard, paper scraps fell around everywhere, and a while later my pretty little Winter Wonderland board was ready! It's this bright and snowy spot with all the cozy feels which I love about Winter! It's lovely!

In the top left corner there's a little bit of Frosty the snowman with some chocolatey goodness, candy spoons, more snowmen, and snowflakes. I had found this in a magazine and loved it! It is just the perfect kind of Winter graphic, isn't it? Oh and right on top is the super awesome knitted red flower by my mama! Check out its close up ...

It's actually a two piece knitted flower. She made a large one and a small one so I can use them as two separate flowers too. This time I chose to pair them together and they look so pretty! I wanted to have some kind of knitted element on my board to add that cozy feel of Winter and this was just perfect!

I found these mugs all dressed up for Winter on the Woman's Day magazine's cover and loved them. They're microwave mug cakes featured on the cover and are such a genius idea. I loved the way the mug is carrying the spoon and there is so much detail like that tiny knitted pocket and the muffler. So cute! These had to instantly get up there on my Winter board!

I don't know why but this year I was particularly in love with Starbucks's Winter cups. They were so pretty and bright and screaming holiday cheer all around. The minute I saw them advertised online I knew I had to get myself some hot chocolate so I could collect that adorable holiday cup to use somewhere in my room. I'd wanted to do a lot more with the cups I'd collected throughout Winter but since I was away on vacation and then got busy I ended up pinning the cup on my board. Love it!

Remember the socks advertisement with Fall scenes on it which appeared on my Fall board last month? Well, I found a Winter version in another magazine! *laughs* It was so cute I put it up on my board instantly! Oh, and spot the birdies from Starbucks's Winter packets! I saved one for my Winter display when Abbie and I bought the iced Gingerbread loaf on one of our Bestie Mall days.

I wanted to have a hand written something on the board too so I cut out this cloud like curvy shape and captioned it 'My Winter Wonderland' to go right in the center of the Winter display. It looks as cute as a snowflake amidst the hot chocolate cups and the marshmallows and what not!

The Winter Wonderland caption is placed against a beautiful hot chocolate magazine graphic with adorable marshmallows and snowflakes. The hot chocolate cups were so tempting when I saw the recipe in a magazine. I thought, "Hmm, I may not be making this recipe thanks to my diet but I sure can have these babies up on my board staring at me!" Actually, if I think about it I've had a good load of Starbucks Hot Chocolate throughout this Winter season so I have absolutely no complains!

On the lower left side I decided a super dressed up Gingerbread man and some Winter gloves and hats would be perfect! Isn't the Gingerbread dude adorable? He's all bundled up and warm and I swear sometimes I can even imagine the smell of fresh Gingerbread Cookies thanks to him!

A super duper special feature on my Winter Board 2018 is my recently bought Walt Disney World magnet. I just returned from the most magical vacation ever in Orlando, during which we spent a day in Disney World too. I left the place with the castle etched in my memories forever and a souvenir magnet to preserve the memory forever in my room. I think I'll be placing the magnet somewhere in my girly shelf later but for now it is displayed with love on my Winter board. Each time I sit and look at it I'm instantly transported to Disney. It truly is a place where dreams come true!

Finally, not directly pinned on the board, but nevertheless part of it is my beautiful 'peace' Winter snow globe atop the other Starbucks December cup. Abbie and I got these matching snow globes with two adorable snowmen inside. I love shaking up the globe to let it snow! It is so peaceful to watch!

Along with the cozy Winter board I also designed my planner's January collage. I always like keeping a sort of 'cover page' for each new month in my planner because it looks pretty and makes me feel all organized. So this month it was all about Winter and the New Year! I wanted it to look different than the holiday themed collage from December of last year but still be Wintry! When I was done, I stepped back to admire it and it looked beautiful and bright!

The main focus of January's collage was the new year beginning. I used magazine cutouts over a cookie recipe page to caption 'Goodbye 2017' and 'Hello 2018'. The years in numbers were handwritten. I loved how snowy the cookies in the background looked and the colors were bright and comforting!

I got a bit over excited and wrote a Happy New Year wish on one of the cookies on the page too!

Recognize those cakes in mugs? Yes, they are the same as the ones on my Winter board only smaller! I hunted them down inside the magazine and then cut out their smaller sized pictures for the planner collage! Even that adorable snowman was in some magazine - I forget which one though. He reminded me of this snowman I used to have back when I was a teen and in Pakistan. We'd gotten it from Dubai as a souvenir holiday present on behalf of our hotel on New Year's Eve. It looked almost the same as this one in the picture, made of ceramic, and was a cookie jar. If memory serves me right I think it opened at its neck. It was really adorable!

Last month in December I had decided I would do all my blog planning in writing instead of on an online document. Writing things always helps me out and clears my mind. So I kept a page for blog planning again this month!

I found this beautiful and extremely fitting quote for my planner this month!

I think I can gladly say that I've had a productive, happy, and creative Winter season. I'm going to miss the cold and chill, contrary to popular opinion, I know! I liked the no-bug, no heat, no stress season so much. I got enough snow to melt my heart with joy, a magical Winter vacation, cozy days, and delicious hot chocolate! What more could you ask from life?