Creative design studio

Keep in touch. We say it after long conversations with forever friends. We say it after a quick run in with an old acquaintance at the grocery store. We say it when we hope for a call back, but don't know how long that hope will hold out before we realize that the call will never come. When you say keep in touch, do you follow through? Do you update loved ones on the ins and outs of your daily life? Do you remind a friend how much you care, even when you don't see each other

Do you ever look back on moments in your life and remember the very first time you did something? Sometimes we get so caught up in life, and things, and people, that we forget to look back and see how far we have come. Yesterday, I remembered the very first box that I made when I started J. Isabel Designs. I have been gifting all of my life, but there was one gift in particular that caught the eye of a friend and became that "something more" that led to the creation of my sma

The best gift ever? Think back to the best gift you have received. Was it something you really wanted? Something really thoughtful? Whatever it was, you remembered it for a reason. If it wasn't that new doll that Jenny down the street had and you just had to have too, then I am willing to bet that it was something really meaningful that took a lot of care and consideration by the person who gave it to you. That feeling that you got, and that feeling that you can give, are two

How do I make decisions? I am constantly asked what my process is for putting together my gift boxes for J. Isabel Designs. Mostly the questions relate to how I find products, and how I choose what to put in each box. I have to admit that it is quite random, and for the sake of not sounding too cheesy, it just comes to me. It comes to me like any other random thought during the day. I see something, I like it, I buy it. I shop at many different stores and I love to come acros

A grandmother's love. Before starting my blog, I started my own business designing gift boxes. This is something that was a long time coming. I have always loved to give gifts, so the passion was already there. It started from a young age with my grandmother teaching me how to wrap, curl ribbon, and tie intricate bows. That was a woman who was specific about how straight she made her cuts, the use of invisible tape, and ensuring that she had the perfect card to go with her gi