41 Open When Letter Ideas and FREE Printables

September 4, 2018

Open When Letters – Ideas for a boyfriend, best friend, husband, etc. or loved one, with a list of ideas of what to put in them and free printable cards!

I absolutely love creating printable cards, printable decor for home, and even creating birthday invitations, so these “Open When” Letters were right up my alley too!

Open When Letters

So what are open when letters? Well, if you are in a long-distance relationship, have a dear friend or relative far away, or if you find yourself away from your sweetheart longer than you’d like, creating a gift that allows you to speak to them when you are away is more than words can describe. I especially love the open when letters ideas as a birthday present for my husband.

Even though it’s hard to top the year that I kept a secret from him for a YEAR and surprised him for his 30th birthday with a trip to Mexico with friends… this heartfelt gift just keeps on giving all year!

See ALL of our gift ideas for the sweet person in your life!

Open When Letters can be a sweet way to send a heartfelt message to your loved one when it’s hard to find the right words to say, and they’re just super fun anyway to create and give!

How do Open When Letters Work?

Open when letters work just like a regular handwritten card.

However, the difference is that you give them instructions on the letter for when they are supposed to open them.

They can be specific such as an anniversary or a set date, or broad such as “when we’re having a fight”.

You can be as creative as you want with these, and the more specific they are to your loved one, the better the experience will be.

Free Printables and Envelope Ideas

When I created my own, I wanted to make them so I could re-use the master copies for a friend, relative or even my husband again one day.

Then, when I made them, I remembered that I can’t keep a good thing to myself, so I wanted to share 4 different free printables with you so you can make your own! You find where to save them below.

Here’s how I made mine, and hopefully it will spark some ideas and help make your “open when” letter project a little easier!

How do you write open when letters?

I simply grabbed size A2 envelopes from Walmart, and I had NO idea until I picked up my Walmart grocery pick-up that it was a box of envelopes AND cards! BONUS! I thought it was just the envelopes. Woot! (You can grab a2 envelopes and cards on Amazon HERE if you prefer shopping there!)

However, for the letters that I’d be writing, I had already decided to use colorful paper that I already had on hand for the letters that I’ll put inside the envelopes, so I’ll save the blank cards for something else later.

But to make things super easy, you can totally use the cards that come with the envelopes!

Once I had everything that I needed to get started on the open when letters, it was time to print off the printable cards.

Blank “Open When” Cards

When creating the master printable card, I ALMOST typed in the “when” on each card, until I realized that I may like to switch things up sometimes and that not everyone has the same relationship and things to say to one another as I do to my husband.

So, I thought the blank space to write in exactly what you want it to say, would be the best bet.

Plus, I think the handwritten “when” on each card has more of a personal touch, and how sweet is that, right?

"Hey love" open when letters - free printables

Free Printable Open When Letter Cards – Four Options

I have included four different options in case you prefer one over the other.

“Hey Love,” in Pink or in Black

…for a boyfriend, husband, finance, etc.

SAVE the Pink “HEY LOVE” CARDS HERE

Save the Black “HEY LOVE” Open When Printable Cards Here!

and

“Hey You,”

…for a friend, sibling, relatives, etc.

Save the Pink “HEY YOU” Open When Printable CARDS HERE

Save the Black “HEY YOU” Open When Printable Cards HERE!

This way, you can choose which of the above greetings works best for the person you’re sending them too!

Note: I’ve included a list of ideas below of what you can fill in the blanks with.

To Write:

For the hand-written portion on the free cards, I’m a sucker for a good gold metallic sharpie, and I thought it looked adorable paired with the coral border and font on the card.

(Perhaps I’m partial to these colors because of the colors I use in my logo here on the blog, but I digress.)

Open when letter ideas - for boyfriend, husband or friend

Cut.It.Out.

(Insert the impression of Joey from Full House here. Just me? Ok, sorry.)

Once the cards are cut out, they’re ready to glue on the front of each envelope!

Blank "open when" letter printables - free

Glue on the free open when download cards and put letters in the envelopes

Glue on to the front of each envelope:

I just grabbed a glue stick from my kid’s coloring cart and went to town. This worked amazingly well actually and I’d highly recommend it.

I did hesitate using the glue sticks that we had, because they were purple, but I was excited to see that it dries clear, so that made a big difference!

Write the open when letters to put in the envelopes

Write a little note for inside:

Once the cards are glued (or taped is fine too) on to the outside of the envelopes, it’s time to start writing your sweet love notes to go inside.

I kept mine short and sweet and sealed each letter into the coordinating envelope and it was ready to seal!

Open when cards - free download and ideas

Open when letters and ideas for boyfriend, husband, friend, sister, brother, military, etc.

Seal for the perfect time!

After you’ve inserted your little note into the envelope, it’s time to seal and it’s ready for them to open when needed!

Box/Bag Them Up!

Although you can give them to your loved one just like they are (or with a rubber band wrapped around all of them) I thought it would be a super cute touch to put them into a cute basket, box or bag.

I even love the idea of putting them in a decorated shoebox, recipe card box, or narrow plastic container with a lid, (almost like a library card file) so they can sort through them easily when they’re looking for the right one!

Here are a few fun ideas of what you can put the open when letters in. Just keep in mind you get a size that will work with the size of envelopes that you used!

The Ground Rules for Open-When Letters

Rules? Well that sounds pretty harsh, but let’s just say when you’re dealing with someone who wants to read them all RIGHT NOW, it may be best to give them some guidelines.

When you first give them this Open When Letters set, you want to start by having an “open first” letter to get the ball rolling.

This should include the “rules” of when to open the letters and how it works. You also want to make your letters in such a way that they won’t open them all in one go. Try to space them out the best you can, and let life handle the rest!

Open When Letters - Ideas for a boyfriend, husband, best friend

Open When Letter Ideas and Topics:

Here are a few ideas to help you get the ball rolling, and with the “fill in the blank” free printable open when cards that I’m giving you, you have the freedom to choose which cards work best for you and your loved one!

Feel free to fill in your own “open when’s” on the cards to really customize the experience!

Open when…

You first get this
You are having a good day
You can’t fall asleep
You need a good laugh
You are upset
You are feeling lonely
You feel really far away
You need a reminder of how much I love you
You are worried
You could use a pep talk
It’s your birthday
It’s our anniversary
You miss me
You are mad at me
You feel bad about yourself
You need a hug
You are sick
You feel like giving up
You’ve made a mistake
You want a surprise
We’ve said goodbye
I’m angry
You need to make a big decision
I’m driving you crazy
Someone passes away
You’re missing home
It’s my birthday
You’re stressed out
You’re bored
You want to talk to me
We haven’t been able to talk in a while
You don’t feel loved in a while
It’s Christmas Eve
It’s New Year’s Eve
It’s Valentine’s Day
It’s [insert favorite holiday]
You’re feeling nostalgic
You’ve forgotten what I smell like
You’re nervous
You’re embarrassed
You’re thinking about the future

The Perfect Love Letter Ideas

Open When Letters can be a thoughtful and sweet way to show your spouse that you love them. Instead of trying to come up with the right words on the spot, prepare these letters ahead of time so you can say the right thing at just the right time.

Do you have a fun “open when” letter idea? I’d love to hear it below in the comments!

Purse Organization: How to Organize the Inside of your Handbag

September 6, 2018

This post was sponsored by Playtex® Simply Gentle Glide™. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Purse Organization: How to Organize the Inside of your Handbag – Keeping related items in one spot, in a designated pouch can help you say “goodbye” to purse digging!

Purse Organization

Oh how excited I am to finally be sharing with you, my purse organization strategy.

As you know, when it comes to organizing, I owe all of my natural organizing “skillz” to my momma. She is a genius when it comes to making sure that everything has a “home,” and growing up seeing that… I’ve developed SOME of the same tendencies when it comes to organization.

How to Organize the Inside of your Handbag

What I’m sharing today isn’t a certain organization product that you have to purchase at the store, but rather a system that you can implement and create in your own handbag, for exactly what YOU need!

Purse from Nordstrom - How to organize a handbag

The purse I decided to use today for this tutorial is a larger handbag, without dividers, because I feel that these are a major culprit of where things tend to disappear into the big black “hole.”

How to organize beauty items inside of a purse

1. Health + Beauty Pouch

I start organizing by categorizing the items in my purse, and since my health and beauty items tend to take up most of the space, I start organizing these.

Using a small makeup bag, I place items in it like:

Playtex^® Simply Gentle Glide^™ Tampons
Mirror
Nail Kit
Lotion
Facial Tissues
Lip Gloss
Hair Tie + Hair Pins
Pain Reliever
Hand Sanitizer

Mini organizer - small items for inside of a purse

I also include a smaller pouch that includes teeny tiny beauty “emergency” items like:

Deodorant Wipes
Needle + Thread
Fingernail File
Mouthwash
Fabric Tape
Lip Balm

Then, I just slip the little pouch into the makeup bag, and it’s all contained in one spot! No more digging and fumbling around looking for what you need, when you need it.

Separate kids items in purse to organize

2. Kid Zone

If you’re not a mom then this may not pertain to you… but I’m going to go out on a limb and say you can use this idea for your own stationery needs though too.

I’d much rather have any items that my kids may want or need while out in public, all in one spot. Usually, when they want or ask for something out of my purse, it’s because we need it in a hurry.

You know what I’m talking about. The moments in the store when you just want to get grocery shopping done and they’re so over sitting in the cart, or when you’re out to dinner with friends and they’re getting antsy?

It’s like you can’t get something out fast enough to hopefully entertain them so you can finish.

This pouch (which is typically another small makeup bag, or a pencil bag will work) is where I keep things like colored pencils, small notepads, and small little toys. Then, when I need to grab something for them, I can easily grab this bag and everything I need for them is right there, super handy.

Where I keep my phone, pen keys and other items that are often grabbed

3. Convenience Pocket

You know what pocket I’m talking about… the one that almost every.single.purse has. Friends, don’t fall in to the trap of slipping everything into this pocket.

Save this little handy feature for ONLY the items that you need to access often. Things like:

Keys
Phone
Sunglasses
Pen
Gum

It may be hard at first to get used to placing those items in to that pocket only, but after a while, it will become second nature to slip your keys and other important items in that handy spot.

What a world of peace you have when you actually find something that you need quickly.

The items I keep inside of my purse to organize it

File Them In

After the small items are organized into bigger items, it’s time to start placing them inside your purse.

During this, I don’t so much worry about where things go, because this part typically moves around quite a bit and that’s not a big deal when the pouches are big enough to see and grab when needed.

Biggest item in the purse first, to keep things organized

TIP: Now although it doesn’t really matter how and where you place your items in to your purse, I DO typically try and place the biggest item in first if I have more of a narrow handbag, so I’m not having to pull big things out to find the smaller items.

My Purse Contents:

In my bag, you’ll find my makeup bag and wallet, and kid zone bag…

Purse organization - how to keep things organized

If there's room, and when I'm working, I keep my planner and laptop in my purse too.

…then depending on the handbag, if I have room for my planner, that is DEFINITELY going with me. Odds are, when I don’t have it on me, I need it.

How to organize a purse: Purse organizer

In this specific handbag, I love how I also have room for a bottle of water to take along.

Not Pictured:

I do also keep my son’s emergency epilepsy medicine in the right-hand side, of this purse, which comes in a large plastic box… but I knew that this doesn’t apply to a lot of you, so I purposely left it out.

Although, I still have room for that on the other end of my purse! So if you have things like epi-pens, or other medical items to carry around with you, then you can totally relate! If it’s smaller medicine, then keeping it in the health and beauty pouch would work perfectly for this!

When you need something in a hurry, especially a medical emergency, what a life-saver (literally) having it all organized, can be. Right?

Final Thoughts

In a nutshell, keep it simple, use what you have on hand and your purse can quickly be something that’s no longer a black hole where things disappear.

So as you can see, you don’t need a lot of extras or a big fancy organization system for your purse. In today’s world, sometimes there’s just too much extra! Just like when it comes to your tampons, you want them to work with the things you need – comfort, protection, and none of the “extra” bells and whistles you don’t.

What Did I Miss?

What do you keep in your purse? I’d love to hear. Did I forget anything? Let me know in the comments below, and share this post with your friends to help them snag some purse organization sanity too!

3 Bean Salad Recipe – Mexican Side Dish

September 8, 2018

3 Bean Salad Recipe – Mexican Side Dish: An easy, no-cook, side dish recipe that can be made for a weeknight dinner, or for a potluck dinner at an event!

Salad recipes are my favorite. They’re super easy to make, can be made ahead of time (for the most part) and are usually loved and wanted by all!

3 Bean Salad Recipe

I’m not going to lie. When I’m at a potluck dinner, I typically reach right over the bean salads and head right for the potato dishes.

But now that I’ve made my own 3 bean salad recipe and have realized just how delicious they can be, I’ll be giving them a fair chance at the next church picnic.

Mexican Style Bean Salad

If you’ve made my guacamole recipe,

How to make guacamole - easy recipe with simple ingredients

then you know my love for cilantro and all things that remind me of a trip to Mexico!

Mexico Vacation, El Dorado Royale Resort Casitas Review https://fantabulosity.com

But in any dish, combine cilantro AND red onion and you’re speaking my love language.

The fresh cilantro, avocado lime dressing (store-bought, but you can make your own too) and the flavors of the beans, make this side salad dish a no-brainer for the next time you need something quick and tasty!

How to Make 3 Bean Salad

To start, open your cans of beans, drain, add to a colander, and rinse.

Next, open and drain your corn, then add to the bowl of beans. (Or make this Mexican street corn to kick things up a notch!)

If you haven’t diced your peppers and red onion yet, you’ll want to go ahead and do that now, and then add to the beans/corn.

If you don’t have a chopper like this one, to quickly chop peppers and onions… you gotta give it a try. It’s a life changer when it comes to chopping in the kitchen.

3 Bean Salad Dressing

The next part is quite possibly my favorite step because it’s so easy! I found a Sweet Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Dressing from Sam’s Choice, at Walmart when I was ordering online with my grocery pickup app, planning to make this salad recipe.

Now you know me, and how I prefer fabulously fast dishes, rather than making complete, from scratch meals… so buying a dressing instead of having to make it myself, was a no-brainer.

HOWEVER, if you have trouble finding this dressing at the store, have fun with it and look to see if you can find something similar, like a lime-dressing.

Or, you CAN make your own dressing too! I have put the ingredients for a 3 bean salad dressing recipe in the recipe card below too, that uses everyday ingredients. So again, don’t stress about finding this particular dressing.

Sweet Cilantro Lime Dressing - sams choice from walmart

Easy dressing idea for 3 bean salad recipe

Once you’ve poured the desired amount of dressing on to your bean salad, toss until mixed, add a dash of salt, and top with fresh cilantro if you have some on hand!

There’s just nothing better than fresh cilantro if you ask me. But I’m not one of those that think that it tastes like soap!

It’s such a mystery to me, with how that works and we can all taste different things like that. (Sorry, squirrel moment.)

3 bean salad recipe - quick and easy and a great side dish idea

Isn’t that a gorgeous 3-bean salad? I just love the vibrant colors that it has, the texture of the crunch of the peppers and onions, and the ease of the dressing.

Let us know in the comments below if you’re trying 3 bean salad for the first time, or if you’ve been a long time fan of it!

Recipe

Print Pin

4.80 from 29 votes

3 Bean Salad Recipe – Mexican Style

3 Bean Salad Recipe – Mexican Style: An easy, no-cook, side dish recipe that can be made for a weeknight dinner, or for a potluck dinner at an event!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings servings

Calories 106kcal

Author Jessica Burgess

Ingredients

1 15.5 oz can black beans rinsed
1 15.5 oz can pinto beans rinsed
1 15.5 oz can dark red kidney beans rinsed
1 15.5 oz can corn drained
.5 red bell pepper diced
.5 orange bell pepper diced
.5 yellow bell pepper diced
.5 green bell pepper diced
.25 red onion diced
.5 cup Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Dressing
salt to taste
fresh cilantro (if desired) chopped

Instructions

Drain and rinse all beans and pour into medium size bowl
Drain corn and add to beans
Add in peppers, onions and dressing
If desired, sprinkle on fresh cilantro and salt to taste

Notes

If you’re unable to find the dressing that I used, you can make a 3 bean salad dressing with the following:

¼ c red wine vinegar, ¼ c olive oil, 2 T lime juice, 1 T lemon juice, 1 T salt, 1 clove crushed garlic/garlic powder, and a pinch of sugar for a sweet spin!

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is just a rough estimate and variations can occur depending on the specific ingredients used.

Nutrition

Hosting a Fiesta?

This is an OLD Fiesta Housewarming party that I helped style for a friend, years… I mean YEARS ago, but you may still find some fun ideas for your fiesta!

Fiesta Housewarming Party Ideas Margaritas in Mason Jars

Don’t Forget to Pin This Recipe!!!

You know how life gets. We see something online and say to ourselves,

“Man that looks good. I should make that sometime.”

Then we close out of the browser and never think about it again. Do yourself a favor and PIN this recipe to your Pinterest board, so the next time you’re looking for a pot luck side dish idea, you’ll have this one to turn to!

Daily Planner – Free Printable

September 11, 2018

Daily Planner Free Printable – this cute and free day planner sheet is the BEST for staying organized during the day. Why? Because YOU helped create it!

Daily Planner – Free Printable

Have you ever searched for a cute, practical, organizing daily planner, only to come up short handed? Yeah, me too.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have found planners that work for me, but I still feel like I’m wasting space and I’m still crossing things out to make it more of “my own” to help me stay on track for the day. I still felt like something was missing from the planner that I was using.

I also made this monthly planner that has helped on a bigger scale!

Is Something Missing From Your Daily Planner?

Then you all said something that started to make me really wonder…

“Jessica, PAH-LEESE create a planner that we can actually use!”

I hear you, heard you, and am exploring the idea to see if it’s something that should be created.

Gotta Start Somewhere!

So when I sat down to dream up what the BEST daily planner sheet would and could include in a daily planner (and after asking all of you for your input too) I’m sharing the result (and free download) with you to use NOW! Because why wait until everything is perfect.

That’s not real life, right? So, let’s see if we like this planner sheet… and if we do, it will validate that there needs to be more where that came from, yes? Yes.

Daily Planner Printables Free Organizer - so cute and best for organization!

But First…What do YOU Want a Planner to have?

So although this daily planner sheet is ready for you to use, that doesn’t mean that it’s the final version. It also doesn’t mean that it’s the only sheet that could be in the planner.

So what does this mean?

I want to hear from YOU! What do YOU want the daily planning sheet to have? And what other types of planning sheets would you like to see in a planner?

Some suggestions have been:

Pre-dated Sheets or Undated for use all year long?
A physical planner
Digital download sheets to make your own
5 x 8 or 8.5 x 11 size sheets/planner
Real life mom inspiration quotes, bible verses
Budget sheets
Meal planning sheets
Inside pocket
Stickers
To-do list for kids
Mom Hacks
Spiral-bound

Let’s hear your suggestions! I’d love to incorporate all that I can, to make it even better!

Or, feel free to let me know in the comments below, on Facebook or even send me an email at jessica(@)fantabulosity.com

Get Your Free Daily Planner Printable:

If you’d like to use this daily planner sheet now, go for it! I hope it helps you get more organized with your days, so you have more time to focus on the things that matter!

Then, download, print, hole punch if you prefer… and store it in your favorite 3-ring binder!

Download the Daily Planner Printable HERE!

Venison Marinade + Grilled Deer Steak Recipe

September 15, 2018

Venison Marinade and Grilled Deer Steak Recipe: This deer steak marinade is delicious for grilling or frying venison on the stovetop. I’m also sharing how to grill deer steaks, one of our favorites on how to cook deer steak.

If you’re more of a “fried” recipe lover… then you’ll want to make sure that you grab my fried deer meat recipe that my dad let me share with all of you a while back (and even how to cut deer for best results) or use that air fryer to cook venison!

Venison Marinade Recipe

Poking around in the kitchen, I grabbed what I had on hand and what I thought would mix a great marinade.

I have to say, it turned out pretty good and honestly took out a lot of the gamey flavor.

So if you’re someone who doesn’t like such a strong “game” flavor in their meat, you may just love this marinade recipe. Plus, it uses ingredients that you more than likely have on hand!

Deer meat marinade recipe ingredients: soy sauce, hot sauce, brown sugar

Mix the deer marinade recipe mixed together in glass bowl.

You’ll find the complete recipe below, but I want to walk you through with pictures and tips along the way in case you’re more of a visual person.

Once you’ve mixed the marinade together in a bowl, it’s time to pour it over your steaks.

How to Marinate Deer Steaks

When it comes to marinating the steaks, I prefer to put them inside a plastic zip-top bag and pour the marinade over them.

It makes cleanup a breeze is easy to flip and turn the steaks around while marinating. But we’ll get in to that in just a second…

Pour your marinade over the steaks, inside the bag, and then seal it COMPLETELY.

Deer steaks in plastic bag with marinade.

Next you can either lay the steaks flat in the refrigerator, or you can place them inside a bowl.

I prefer to place them in a small bowl, so it really surrounds the steaks with the marinade, instead of the juices rolling around, not touching the meat.

However, when placing it in a bowl it’s a good idea to rotate the meat around after a few hours to make sure the bent areas get marinated too.

Venison put in bowl to really force marinade to surround me, rotating often.

Allow the steaks to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour, but preferably overnight.

I left my deer steaks in the refrigerator overnight and as you’ll see below, they came out with a perfect, marinated brown color from the juices! No, they’re ready for the grill!

Deer steak sitting on white plate after marinating.

How to Grill Deer Steak

If you have time, allow the steaks to come to room temperature before grilling.

Preheat your grill to high heat, and place your steaks on the hottest part of the grill and sear for 3-4 minutes.

Brush with Melted Butter

Deer steaks are very lean and different than beef steaks, so coating with butter after grilling is a great way to prevent the deer from drying out.

Check out this amazing Garlic Herb Steak Butter if you’re feeling super creative!

When done, brush with butter for extra moisture and juicy steaks

Deer Steak Temperature

At 3-4 minutes over high heat, you’ll have a deer steak that’s medium. If you prefer your steaks to be cooked longer, that’s completely fine. Please just know that venison can overcook quickly and that steaks continue to cook even after you remove them from the grill.

Grilled marinated deer steak on white plate.

Sliced venison steak, cooked, on white platter.

This is an absolutely beautiful steak, and a great way to cook deer meat when hunting season is here! Serve this with some grilled mixed vegetables and you’ll have a delicious meal.

Bite of sliced marinated venison on fork.

How to Store Leftover Venison

The best way to keep leftover venison is to store in an air-tight container, once cooled off from cooking. Or, chop up in to little pieces and use in this venison chili recipe!

More Steak Recipes

If you’re a steak lover like those in our house, then you’ll definitely want to try this oven baked steak, where I show you how to cook a beefsteak in the oven that will make your mouth water!

Or if pork is more your style, these bbq pork steaks are a HUGE hit with over 250, 5-star ratings!

Recipe

Sliced of venison that was cooked with a deer marinade.

Print Pin

4.82 from 27 votes

Deer Steak Marinade & How to Grill Deer Meat

This deer steak marinade is delicious for grilling or frying on the stovetop. I’m also sharing how to grill deer steaks, one of our favorites on how to cook deer steak.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 8

Total Time 1 8

Servings steaks

Calories 401kcal

Author Jessica Burgess