Sticker Releases 7/13/15

Hey guys! Things have been a bit wacky around here, and that's why this post is going up on a Monday at almost midnight...I have quite of explaining to do, and a lot of fun, crazy and interesting stories to share, but I'll be saving those for a post later this week!

But I'm finally here, after a long day of designing stickers, printing them, cutting them, working, and uploading stickers onto Etsy. I started my store with about five or six different sets of stickers. Obviously that didn't get me very far, and I still had a lot to learn about sticker designing and making.

Also if you stopped by a week or so ago, then you may also know that I had issues with my cutter.

But after slaving away last night and the majority of today, I've designed, printed, cut, and uploaded a total of 19 different sticker sheets!! YES!

My goal is to add new sticker releases to my store at the end/beginning of each week. I don't want to get bored of the same stickers, and I don't want you to get bored either.

I don't know if I'll be posting 19 different sets each week, it depends on the week, on the weather, and just how creative I feel. I want to get my shop stocked nicely with some basic stickers, and even some fun ones, so I'll probably keep up with these pace for a while, and then start slowing it down a bit.

Besides posting new sticker releases each week, I also want to write a blog post, displaying each sheet! I thought it would be a fun way to share with you guys, what I've been up to and what's available in my sticker shop!

Without further a do, let's get into it!

These first five sets of stickers I designed, are "Pay Day" or "Bills Due" stickers. I wanted to have something cute, small and fun in my planner to mark those good, and bad days...no one likes bills. I couldn't decide which design to go with, so I just went with them all.

After completely my "Pay Day" stickers, I knew exaclty what to make next! I LOVE "To Do" lists, and make them at least ten times a day, so I decided to make a few of those! I made some rounded in pastel colors, and some in a ombre square design.

To get away from all of the things I have to do, I decided to have a little bit of fun! I decided to start sketching and drawing my own sticker designs to prevent from any kind of legal issues. At first I thought this would the be the biggest chore, but turns out otherwise. Drawing my own stickers is relaxing, and knowing they are mine, feels amazing!

And finally to mark ANY AND ALL special dates, I created these colorful and bright dots! These are so bold, there is no way they can be overlooked, or something forgotten!

I'm SOO excited to finally get the chance to use them in my planner! I also can't wait to see them in your planner, and how you decide to incorporate them!

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you take the time to check out my Etsy shop:

www.etsy.com/shop/turningpagesco

Technical Difficulties....SO SAD!

As some of you may know, I opened my Etsy sticker store on July 1st. Some of you may also know that I'm been struggling with everything, from getting the Cricut program downloaded on my computer, to many, many other small bumps in the road.

Originally this post was going to be fun, happy, and filled with pictures of the new stickers being released on Turning Pages Co. But as things turn out, my Cricut machine is not working.

I can plug it in, and my computer recognizes that it's there. But when I get onto Cricut Design Space and try to get the machine to cut, Design Space doesn't recongize my cutter, and keeps giving me the same message that the Shockwave Plugin is busy or unresponsive.

I've been struggling with this issue for the last three days now, and don't know what else to do. I've tried everything that has been recommended online, I've tried deleting everything and reloading it, I've done everything.

I'm absolutely frustrated, and exhausted from this machine.

I tried calling the Cricut hotline, but sadly they're closed for the holiday. I'll be calling again tomorrow, to see if they could help me with this issue.

If they can't I basically wasted my money, and only had the machine for about a week and a half. I'll also have to spend money to buy a different machine, and it'll delay the release of new stickers. But I'll most likely buy the new machine that day, in the hopes of having everything up and running again soon.

So if you noticed that nothing went up on youtube or this blog on Friday, well now you know. I spent the entire day trying to prepare for today, and got nothing else done.

This post isn't very long, and that's because I'm in a crummy mood, because nothing ever seems to run smoothly for me. I'm just stuck in a rut, and hoping that calling Cricut tomorrow will help resolve this issue.

Thank you all for being so patient for me, and I hope I didn't bum you guys out too much!

Just Get Rid of It Already!!...Book Unhauling

So before I start today's post, I want to inform you all about my Etsy sticker Shop, Turning Pages Co, that just officially opened this morning! I'm offering a free sheet of stickers with any purchase made within the first 48 hours of business. Meaning if you make an order before Thursday at 8:00 am, Pacific Time, you'll be sent an extra sheet of cute stickers!

What stickers you may ask? One these cuties of course!

I hope you stop by at Turning Pages Co, and take advantage of this opportunity!

As some of you may know, I recently went through a huge change in my life, mainly through blogging. I decided that I was done reading books that I wasn't excited about reading, and that I was done forcing my way through them, just to write a review were I explained just how okay the book was.

Like everyone else and their blog, Turning Pages was created from the pure enjoyment of reading, and sharing my thoughts with others, who also shared this enjoyment. I wasn't expecting to get review books sent to me, nor was I expecting to go to amazing clearance book sales. I was like a child in a candy store, with a pocket full of cash. My eyes were wide, and I took more than I could handle.

After years of doing this, I lost the enjoyment of blogging, of reviewing, even of reading. It felt more like a job, than a past time. That's why I decided to take a two month break, and reconsider my options.

Now that I'm back in full swing, there is something huge I need to do. And before I can truly feel free from those times of constant pressure, and feeling that I NEED to read all of these books, I need to get rid of them.

Dah, Daaah, DAAAHHHH!

So today I decided to go throw my shelves, and get rid of anything that I know I will never read...then again for those books I actually know I won't read...and then one more time for books that I'm just not interested in.

 

Time is truly limited, and I don't want to waste it on books, that I'm not excited for, that I'm not absolutely dying to read.

It's time to let go of them!

Even with getting rid of this many books, I still have a lot of work to do. Not only by getting rid of more books, cleaning and organizing my shelves, but also when I purchase or receive new books.

Of course I plan on buying new ones, and accepting review books offered to me. But I need to remember that if I'm not 100% interested and planning to read it within the month or two, I shouldn't be picking it up or accepting it.

My ultimate goal, is to have a cute book shelf, with my favorite books, cute book ends, and some bright decorations. Right now, my shelves are crammed, stacked, and stuffed with unwanted books, so I still have a ways to go. But I'm excited for the future. I'm excited for books, that I'm excited about...no matter how ridiculous that sounds!

Getting Started With Turning Pages Co

People are always saying that starting a business is hard, and keeping it up and running is even harder. If you would have listened to my thoughts two weeks ago, when someone told me this, they would have sounded something like, "What can be so hard about it? People do it all the time! Look at all of those cute Etsy sticker shops...I CAN DO IT!"

But after two weeks of struggling, and battling my way through, I've learned that there is nothing more truthful than that statement.

It takes a lot of time, patience, ambition, and money to get a business, even as small as my sticker shop, up and going. Before you can start up a store, you need to decide what you plan on selling. Once you've done that, you need to purchase any tools and materials needed to create the product. When that's done, you need to establish your store, getting the look you want, writing policies and other information you want your customers to know. You need to take pictures that will take the customers breath away, and decide on prices that will make them want to buy your amazing product. And finally you need to build a customer base, provide a great quality product and the best customer service possible.

Opening up an Etsy shop and throwing up a few cute stickers sounds pretty easy, but there is so much more that goes into.



Here's my story...

About to weeks ago I decided I was going to take the plunge. After working an eight hour shift in a little coffee shack, dealing with a handful of rude customers, and battling the heat (almost 95 degrees) which the owner of the shop isn't willing to provide a good AC system for their employees, I decided it was time to take things into my own hands.

If you think I quit my job, you're wrong. This barista job is what's putting me through school right now, and I'm not willing to give that up. I need the money to attend school, get my education and do better for myself and Joshua, in the future. But after working this job for almost a year (in August), and having a few tough days these last few weeks, I've learned that it isn't what I want. I need it now, but it isn't what I want.

Working this job, in these crappy circumstances is what's pushing me to do better, to improve and to finish off school. And ultimately, create and build my own Etsy shop.

The first thing I wanted to accomplish, before I did anything else, was to buy a cutting machine and learn how to properly work it. Of course, there are so many different things you can do with this machine, and I'll learn all of those possibilities sooner or later, but I wanted to know exactly what I needed to know to create and cut stickers.

I was lucky enough to find a cutting machine on clearance at my Michael's Craft Store for only $200 (they ran for $250 at my local Hobby Lobby). I bought some sticker paper as well as some ink to restock my printer. 

Who knew setting up this cutting machine would take almost two hours? The machine came completely built, but getting it connected to my computer and the program downloaded were the difficult tasks. 

A few things that went wrong from there include,

• The cutter didn't cut through enough of the paper, to be able to peel the stickers off....even though I had it on the recommended setting for this specific paper.
• The cutter wasn't lined up, so it needed to be calibrated a few times.
• The sticker paper was extremely thick, almost the thickness of heavy duty cardstock.
• My printer was printing croaked, causing the cuts not to be lined up.
• My new sticker paper I bought kept getting stuck in my old printer, so I had to purchase an entirely new printer. (One that is wireless, thank goodness!)

A few things did go right though,

• I was able to design the first 5 or 6 sticker sets that I'm releasing.
• I was able to find some cute envelopes for cheap, as well as plastic baggies to send my stickers in.
• I created To and From labels for the envelopes, and designed a small freebie sheet for the month of July, to send with each package.
• I also decided to come up with a special offer for the first 48 hours Turning Pages Co is open, and I finally came up with an idea for that.

Finally getting the entire process of producing quality stickers down, it was about time that I start working on the shop itself.

I decided to name it Turning Pages Co, to go right along with my blog and other social media. I love the name, and it means a lot to me.

From there on, I had to take pictures of the stickers I want to sell, provide descriptions, write policies, decide on prices, and be identified so people can use credit cards and Etsy gift cards in my shop. 

There is still a lot for me to do before July 1st, which is in two days, but I'm extremely excited to finally get started. I can't wait to share my sticker designs with the world. 

So thank you guys so much for stopping by and giving this really long blog post a read. Also for being so patient with my late blog posts this week; I've had to throw a baby shower, attend a wedding, and get things going for Turning Pages Co.

If you're interested in taking advantage of the first 48 hour special for my shop, stay tuned here or follow me on Instagram @turningpageslisa!

Starting Up My Own Etsy Sticker Shop WHAA?

Instead of writing this entire story down in a big ol' paragraph, rambling and jumping back and forth from one idea to the next, I'm just going to answer the six most important questions. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

ME! That's who!

Yes, Lisa is starting her very own business.

I've been contemplating this idea for a while now, and about two weeks ago, I decided it was finally time to take action. I'm excited about the shop and about the fun and bright stickers! I hope you guys are just as excited as I am!

It's a sticker shop! Where I'll be selling all kinds of stickers and decals! And probably anything else I create. I'm planning to have a handful of different sets of stickers, in different colors, but obviously I'll be new to the entire thing, so I won't have too much up just yet.

Because I'm still working out a few kinks, I won't be opening until July 1st. I wanted to open as soon as possible, but I know it isn't realistic. I want to have a good amount of stickers designed. I want them to be made from good quality paper and ink. I want to have amazing pictures of them to post in my shop. I want to be able to ship the cutest and most fun packages in the world. And I want to have affordable prices.

All of those things take some time, practice, and patience.

I'll be posting in the near future about how I finally got started and the steps I took to doing so!

On Etsy! I want to be able to ship out not only in the US, but also Internationally! I absolutely love Etsy, so it seemed like the perfect choice! My shop is called Turning Pages Co.

Because I absolutely LOVE stickers, from my middle school years when my friends and I collected them, up until today. After purchasing my planner, I started watching Youtube videos and looking up ways I can plan, organize and decorate. I realized a lot of stickers are based on other types of planners, so I really wanted to start making my own.

I've purchased all the materials required to start an Etsy sticker shop, and I'm starting to design my very own stickers. I'm doing it pretty much all on my own, but with the love and support of my family and friends. I hope to soon change my brother's old room into an office, but that's still going to take a lot of convincing my mom.

I will be opening the shop on a Wednesday, but I hope to have new sticker designs out every Sunday. To keep you all updated, and informed, Sunday's post will be dedicated to the new sticker releases! I will also be constantly updated on Twitter and Instagram, so follow me there if you're interested.

I don't know too much about specials and discounts, how and when I plan on doing those. BUT! I do hope to open the shop with either a special discount code, or a freebie sticker sheet!

So I hope this was clear and covered the most important information! I will go into some more detailed about the process of starting a Etsy shop in tomorrow's post, which is why I wanted to cover the most general information today.

Again, Turning Pages Co is officially opening on Wednesday, July 1st, and I will most likely open with a discount or special offer. I hope you guys stop by and check it out!

Book Review: Dead Until Dark

(Sookie Stackhouse #1)
Charlaine Harris

..."Lisa, SHUT UP! You're reading adult books now?"

YES! You know, just little ol' me over here, maturing n' stuff!

....AAAAND I am totally kidding!

Dead Until Dark/Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire/True Blood (are there any other names, or did I get them all?) has been floating around me for a while now. From all of the printed books, to the television show, to the ladies at my local library having an intense conversation about it, I decided it was finally time to make the move, and pick it up.

Dead Until Dark is the first book, in the thirteen book series, and I admire you, if you can name them all in order. It took me quite a while to figure out which order these books came in, thanks to crappy wifi in the bookstore, no numbers to be found in the book itself (maybe I'm delusional) and a confused book store employee. But after about a half an hour, I was all set to go!

Obviously this series revolves around vampires, and if you would have asked me to read this two years ago, I would have thrown it back your way. But quite some time has passed since my vampire phase, and I think I'm ready to get back into it!

Plus, Dead Until Dark isn't extremely clique vampire, but almost realistic seeming. The story follows a girl in her early twenties, from the south, who spends her days working as a bartender and waitress, and hanging out with her grandmother. Sookie lives in a time where vampires exist freely and people are beginning to get used to the idea of them roaming society.

The story takes off when a vampire shows up at Sookie's work, and sits down at one of her tables. From there people are dying off, one after another including a co-worker and Sookie's grandmother, Sookie's cat is strangled, and she finds herself tangled up with multiple vampires, and one very special one.

All kinds of weird and sketchy things happen, but Sookie isn't just any regular human...she has the special skill of reading peoples thoughts. Normally, you would think is totally awesome, but Sookie truly shows us what it would feel like to know what everyone around you is constantly thinking. Especially when it's about murder.

Besides that Sookie shows us a perspective of dating a vampire that isn't absolutely perfect. In every other movie or book, vampires are absolutely gorgeous, fast, strong, the relationships are amazing. But Sookie is much smarter than that, and truly thinks about the future. I mean how could girls in these stories not wonder about what would happen when they're all old and wrinkly and the vampire guy is looking as good as ever? Sookie considers that fact, along with never being able to have children, never getting to spend the actual day with him, never getting to experience normal couple things.

If you can't tell, I absolutely adored Sookie. She's so thoughtful and caring. She's smart and thinks before she makes decision.

Overall, Sookie is what made Dead Until Dark such a fantastic read for me. I will admit that I adored her relationship with Bill, but I couldn't wait to flip each page and see what Sookie would do next.

In the end, I'm glad that this was the first adult novel I read. I was worried about stepping into this different genre, and experiencing something entirely new, but Dead Until Dark made everything worth it for me.

Have you picked up this series yet? How far into it are you? Do you like it?!

Target Dollar Spot & Daiso Haul

If you follow me on Instagram (@turningpageslisa), then you may have seen a picture of some of these goodies!

Everyone in the Youtube and Blogger world is picking up these extremely cute crafting and planning supplies at the Target Dollar Spot, as well as Daiso. Even though I roam both of these store, I guess I wasn't looking close enough, because I had no idea they sold these supplies.

After drooling over blog posts and Instagram pictures of people hauling these amazing finds, I couldn't resist the urge any longer....I had to go to my local stores!

Two sets of lined sticky notes, and a line notepad. I've seen a few people pick up these sticky notes, but when I purchased this notepad, it was the first time I saw it. I love that it's pretty wide, and especially that it's lined. I can't wait to start using these in my planner!

As everyone else, I had to get some page flags. Of course I won't be keeping all four sets! Two of them are going into my giveaway stash!

And the last things I purchased, were these fun and bright Thank You cards! I don't really know when I'll be using them...probably just when ever I need to tell someone how thankful I am? Hahaha..? But they are extremely cute, I haven't gotten the chance to open them up yet...but if they were lined, or had an awesome quote inside, I could die happy...

WASHI TAPE! They had a few really sweet styles of washi tape, so of course I had to pick up a few rolls. I haven't tried them out yet, so I'm not sure how well they work, but they are REALLY cute!

This is another item I haven't seen too much around, maybe one or two bloggers. I honestly don't even know what I plan on using these for, but I'll figure something out. These are tiny little neon page flags, that can be clipped into your binder. If you're using these PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW!! Thank you!

And finally a huge stash of sticky notes. There were so many different patterns and designs it was hard to decide. I did pick up five for myself though, and two extra for a future giveaway.

Have you guys recently hauled anything from your Target Dollar Spot or Daiso? Let me know! I would love to see the treasures you found!