Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 69
March 14, 2019
Review: The Umbrella Academy
***I received no compensation of any kind. This review contains my unbiased opinion.***
The Umbrella Academy is a TV series on Netflix. Season one consists of 10 episodes.
If you've read this blog for a while, you'll know that I don't watch a lot of TV series. I mostly get bored or frustrated and give up on them. The few exceptions (Limitless, Life on Mars, My Own Worst Enemy) get cancelled quickly. That's part of the reason why I'm reviewing Umbrella Academy. I want enough people to watch it so that Netflix will order a second season. :-) Official Trailer below:
The gist of story is that 7 children with extraordinary powers are raised by an eccentric billionaire (my interpretation) to save the world. Only he isn't exactly a warm and loving father (he called them by numbers rather than names) and the children end up dysfunctional and almost all of them leave their home and go off on their own. They're reunited for their father's funeral.
It's when Number 5 shows up (he has the ability to time travel) and warns them that the world ends in 8 days that things really get kicked up a notch. It's a race against time--and against their personal issues--to prevent the apocalypse. Especially when there are those working to ensure it happens.
The show starts off a little slowly. After watching the first 2 episodes, I posted on Facebook that I wasn't sure what I thought. I was intrigued, though, and after numerous people told me to keep going, I watched episode 3 the next day. That's when I become totally hooked and I powered through the final 8 episodes in two days.
This is an ensemble cast, so if you don't like one of the characters, there are others to follow and root for.
For the most part, I thought the writing was smart and snappy. The one exception was a character I thought was TSTL (Too Stupid To Live). I debated with myself at first because the characterization was there to support the behavior, but as I watched further, it became apparent that it was mostly done for plot convenience. That's a large reason why I didn't like this part of the scripting. But that's about my only complaint about the series.
The acting was great! I especially love how Aidan Gallagher portrayed Number Five. This character is a 58-year-old man in the body of a 13-year-old boy. He made it believable. Everyone, though, made their character believable, even the TSTL one. When you're talking about a superhero series based on a comic book where almost everyone has some special power, this isn't necessarily an easy feat to pull off.
Also, the relationships between the characters added to the dynamics of the series. And contributed more than once to setbacks experienced in their quest to save the world.
One of the interesting choices made by the creators was in set design. I don't remember seeing any cell phones in the series anywhere. The characters use pay phones and home phones that would have been more in keeping with the 1980s than 2019. The other interesting choice was how dark and gray the vast majority of the sets were. Even the mansion where the children grew up seems dingy. My stretching my memory, but I don't believe there was any location in the show that was light and shiny.
This is not a show for younger children. It's dark, there's some violence that's stark, and the themes and nuances are for adults, IMO.
I highly recommend this series! You probably guessed this already. The first two episodes setup the rest of the series, but aren't as exciting as the final eight. I'm so glad I kept going because it turned out to be completely awesome.
5 stars and two thumbs up!
The Umbrella Academy is a TV series on Netflix. Season one consists of 10 episodes.
If you've read this blog for a while, you'll know that I don't watch a lot of TV series. I mostly get bored or frustrated and give up on them. The few exceptions (Limitless, Life on Mars, My Own Worst Enemy) get cancelled quickly. That's part of the reason why I'm reviewing Umbrella Academy. I want enough people to watch it so that Netflix will order a second season. :-) Official Trailer below:
The gist of story is that 7 children with extraordinary powers are raised by an eccentric billionaire (my interpretation) to save the world. Only he isn't exactly a warm and loving father (he called them by numbers rather than names) and the children end up dysfunctional and almost all of them leave their home and go off on their own. They're reunited for their father's funeral.
It's when Number 5 shows up (he has the ability to time travel) and warns them that the world ends in 8 days that things really get kicked up a notch. It's a race against time--and against their personal issues--to prevent the apocalypse. Especially when there are those working to ensure it happens.
The show starts off a little slowly. After watching the first 2 episodes, I posted on Facebook that I wasn't sure what I thought. I was intrigued, though, and after numerous people told me to keep going, I watched episode 3 the next day. That's when I become totally hooked and I powered through the final 8 episodes in two days.
This is an ensemble cast, so if you don't like one of the characters, there are others to follow and root for.
For the most part, I thought the writing was smart and snappy. The one exception was a character I thought was TSTL (Too Stupid To Live). I debated with myself at first because the characterization was there to support the behavior, but as I watched further, it became apparent that it was mostly done for plot convenience. That's a large reason why I didn't like this part of the scripting. But that's about my only complaint about the series.
The acting was great! I especially love how Aidan Gallagher portrayed Number Five. This character is a 58-year-old man in the body of a 13-year-old boy. He made it believable. Everyone, though, made their character believable, even the TSTL one. When you're talking about a superhero series based on a comic book where almost everyone has some special power, this isn't necessarily an easy feat to pull off.
Also, the relationships between the characters added to the dynamics of the series. And contributed more than once to setbacks experienced in their quest to save the world.
One of the interesting choices made by the creators was in set design. I don't remember seeing any cell phones in the series anywhere. The characters use pay phones and home phones that would have been more in keeping with the 1980s than 2019. The other interesting choice was how dark and gray the vast majority of the sets were. Even the mansion where the children grew up seems dingy. My stretching my memory, but I don't believe there was any location in the show that was light and shiny.
This is not a show for younger children. It's dark, there's some violence that's stark, and the themes and nuances are for adults, IMO.
I highly recommend this series! You probably guessed this already. The first two episodes setup the rest of the series, but aren't as exciting as the final eight. I'm so glad I kept going because it turned out to be completely awesome.
5 stars and two thumbs up!
March 12, 2019
Feisty Men
I was doing research on Saturday and stumbled across this article: 11 Words We Need to Stop Using to Describe Women
I skipped past it in the results because it wasn't what I was looking for, but then scrolled back and clicked as curiosity got the better of me. While I definitely agree with many of these words being eliminated from descriptions of women (and I could add at least one more), one of them stopped me short. Feisty.
That would be last week. Yes, I call the guys I work with feisty ALL THE TIME! Seriously. All. The. Time. Just because the author of this article has never heard it, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. Join me in calling men feisty, people! It's an awesome word.
The word she should have put on this list and didn't is bitch.
I don't care if another woman is using the word, it is not friendly and it is not something we're taking back, which is what I've heard others claim. All women are doing by using this word in relation to other women is giving men more license to use it. And believe me, men use it enough without our encouraging it.
When I use the word--and I do--it is 100% insult.
There's a image I saw online of a woman holding a sign that says: "Not your bitch." Exactly.
I skipped past it in the results because it wasn't what I was looking for, but then scrolled back and clicked as curiosity got the better of me. While I definitely agree with many of these words being eliminated from descriptions of women (and I could add at least one more), one of them stopped me short. Feisty.
The article says: "When was the last time you heard someone describe a "feisty" man?"
That would be last week. Yes, I call the guys I work with feisty ALL THE TIME! Seriously. All. The. Time. Just because the author of this article has never heard it, doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. Join me in calling men feisty, people! It's an awesome word.
The word she should have put on this list and didn't is bitch.
I don't care if another woman is using the word, it is not friendly and it is not something we're taking back, which is what I've heard others claim. All women are doing by using this word in relation to other women is giving men more license to use it. And believe me, men use it enough without our encouraging it.
When I use the word--and I do--it is 100% insult.
There's a image I saw online of a woman holding a sign that says: "Not your bitch." Exactly.
March 7, 2019
A Few Too Many
It's possible that I might have made a few too many stickers to add to my planner. (I talked about buying a machine that--among other things--can make stickers.) Here's a picture of my 2019 planner, I've flipped it to the front section so you can see the way the year bulges.
It's not supposed to do that. :-/
But I added a deco sticker to every page and then I made stickers for my 5K training--I'm doing a 10 month plan. After that, I decided that I wanted to keep track of the temperature because I'd like to knit a temperature shawl. This is where the color you'd knit is dependent on the high temperature, so say the temp is 70 degrees, then I'd knit a row in green. If the temperature is 30, I'd knit a row in blue. Of course, I needed a sticker on every day to keep track of this, and then, I thought, well if I'm keeping track of the temperature, I might as well keep track of whether or not it's raining or sunny or whatever. More stickers!
I also made stickers for my free weights and the weight machines I use at the gym and stickers for the elliptical and for blogging and for trash day. I'd already bought stickers for when I work from home and have an appointment and for watering the plants, so of course, those are in there, too.
Basically, I'm stickered up the wazoo and I'd like to make more. I want to make airplane stickers with Delta aircraft--I work at Delta--and I'd like to make my own deco stickers and social media stickers and, well, the list goes on and on.
But now, when I try to write on my planner, it's hard because of the wad of stickers in there. As much as I love having my pages decorated, I'm going to need to rethink this for my 2020 planner because gah!
It's not supposed to do that. :-/
But I added a deco sticker to every page and then I made stickers for my 5K training--I'm doing a 10 month plan. After that, I decided that I wanted to keep track of the temperature because I'd like to knit a temperature shawl. This is where the color you'd knit is dependent on the high temperature, so say the temp is 70 degrees, then I'd knit a row in green. If the temperature is 30, I'd knit a row in blue. Of course, I needed a sticker on every day to keep track of this, and then, I thought, well if I'm keeping track of the temperature, I might as well keep track of whether or not it's raining or sunny or whatever. More stickers!
I also made stickers for my free weights and the weight machines I use at the gym and stickers for the elliptical and for blogging and for trash day. I'd already bought stickers for when I work from home and have an appointment and for watering the plants, so of course, those are in there, too.
Basically, I'm stickered up the wazoo and I'd like to make more. I want to make airplane stickers with Delta aircraft--I work at Delta--and I'd like to make my own deco stickers and social media stickers and, well, the list goes on and on.
But now, when I try to write on my planner, it's hard because of the wad of stickers in there. As much as I love having my pages decorated, I'm going to need to rethink this for my 2020 planner because gah!
March 5, 2019
The USPS Logic
Or lack thereof.
When I lived in Minnesota, if I had a package and the post office had to come to the door to deliver it, they would bring all my mail with them and hand me everything. The Georgia USPS (at least in the two cities I've lived in down here) do not do this! It makes me crazy!
But I've become accustomed to this lack of service, so the USPS decided to add a new level of annoyance to their repertoire.
I recently ordered a new ergonomic keyboard and a set of cutting blades from Amazon. In their infinite wisdom, they shipped them separately rather than putting them in one box. Maybe it's because they shipped from two different places--I don't know--but whatever. Since the keyboard will not fit in the mailbox, the post office had to come to the house. I found it next to the front door when my phone popped up alerts that my packages had been delivered.
Do you think the post office put both packages next to the front door? Of course not.
Despite the fact that they had to come to my house anyway, they stuck my blades in the mailbox. Why? Why wouldn't the driver just put it next to the door, behind the keyboard? My mind boggles at this especially since I know they were delivered at the same time thanks to my alerts.
No, it's not a big deal to go to the mailbox and get it, but I don't understand why anyone would deliver one package to the door and put the other in the box. Logic doesn't live at the USPS.
When I lived in Minnesota, if I had a package and the post office had to come to the door to deliver it, they would bring all my mail with them and hand me everything. The Georgia USPS (at least in the two cities I've lived in down here) do not do this! It makes me crazy!
But I've become accustomed to this lack of service, so the USPS decided to add a new level of annoyance to their repertoire.
I recently ordered a new ergonomic keyboard and a set of cutting blades from Amazon. In their infinite wisdom, they shipped them separately rather than putting them in one box. Maybe it's because they shipped from two different places--I don't know--but whatever. Since the keyboard will not fit in the mailbox, the post office had to come to the house. I found it next to the front door when my phone popped up alerts that my packages had been delivered.
Do you think the post office put both packages next to the front door? Of course not.
Despite the fact that they had to come to my house anyway, they stuck my blades in the mailbox. Why? Why wouldn't the driver just put it next to the door, behind the keyboard? My mind boggles at this especially since I know they were delivered at the same time thanks to my alerts.
No, it's not a big deal to go to the mailbox and get it, but I don't understand why anyone would deliver one package to the door and put the other in the box. Logic doesn't live at the USPS.
February 28, 2019
Bye Bye Bat Cave
When I moved into this house, I suspected that the lighting in the family room would be an issue. I was hoping that I'd be wrong. All I had was a ceiling fan with three lights. This picture gives you kind of an idea of the glare and of how cave-like this room is when the sun goes down. Only an idea, though, because I turned on every light in the vicinity to take this image and you can see that it's still daylight.
This lighting made it a nightmare to do so many things. If I wanted to knit, I had to turn the light on over the kitchen table (which is located behind the couch). Forget about reading anything on paper or making writing notes. Doing anything other than watching television or playing on the phone was unpleasant.
The house I built when I lived in Minnesota had lots of recessed lights in the kitchen, foyer, and family room. It was one huge great room. The house I bought when I first moved to Georgia had six recessed lights in the family room. The couple I bought the house from had installed them.
And then I moved into the house with the Bat Cave...
I tried lamps (as you can see in the picture), but that didn't help very much. It became clear that I was going to have to get an electrician in and add my own recessed lighting to this house. And on Tuesday, they came and installed it! Hurrah! Last night as I sat on the couch, I could see what I was working on! Fabulous!
Here's a shot of the family room ceiling of my new lights.
They did such a good job on the installation that I won't need a painter to come in to touch up my ceiling. Those of you who've read my blog for a while know it was months and months and months to actually get my walls fixed.
Anyway, there is nothing cave-like about my family room now and I'm ecstatic!
This lighting made it a nightmare to do so many things. If I wanted to knit, I had to turn the light on over the kitchen table (which is located behind the couch). Forget about reading anything on paper or making writing notes. Doing anything other than watching television or playing on the phone was unpleasant.
The house I built when I lived in Minnesota had lots of recessed lights in the kitchen, foyer, and family room. It was one huge great room. The house I bought when I first moved to Georgia had six recessed lights in the family room. The couple I bought the house from had installed them.
And then I moved into the house with the Bat Cave...
I tried lamps (as you can see in the picture), but that didn't help very much. It became clear that I was going to have to get an electrician in and add my own recessed lighting to this house. And on Tuesday, they came and installed it! Hurrah! Last night as I sat on the couch, I could see what I was working on! Fabulous!
Here's a shot of the family room ceiling of my new lights.
They did such a good job on the installation that I won't need a painter to come in to touch up my ceiling. Those of you who've read my blog for a while know it was months and months and months to actually get my walls fixed.
Anyway, there is nothing cave-like about my family room now and I'm ecstatic!
February 26, 2019
Planner Thoughts
I was thinking about the different planners available and how so many people buy planners that they have to buy a ton of stickers for in order to make them useful. Now we all know I love stickers in my planner, but they're not there to make it usable. The planner I use is extremely functional out of the box. (I use a daily planner, BTW. The weeklies don't work for my life.)
My daily planner has space to menu plan, it already lists 8 glasses of water so I can just cross them off or color them in, there's a box for top 3 priorities, and a blank box that I use to record my workout.
When I see people buying stickers to track hydration, menu plan, and keep track of their priorities, I'm like why did you ever buy that planner?
Then there are the people who buy a ton of stickers to decorate the boxes on their weekly planners. Now I will grant that my planner isn't covered in decor, but that works for me because I add stickers to make me happy. Here is Moana, a gym bag, and a sticker showing I voted. (Sorry that it's from last December. I'm feeling too lazy to get up and get my phone to take a picture of my current planner.)
My other planner thought came when I discovered an author planner I'd bought for 2018 and never used. I believe I opened it when it arrived, paged through it, and put it aside with the intention to use it later. Of course, I didn't.
I've made stickers with the dates on them so I could use it for 2019 if I wanted to. I'm debating right now if it's worth the effort or not. The planner is also bound like a paperback book, which doesn't make it super usable. I'm also debating pulling it out of the binding and punching holes. The thing that stops me is destroying a book. I mean, I know it's not really a book book, but it looks and feels like one and tearing it apart makes me cringe. I don't even crack the spines when I read paperbacks.
It might be 2020 before I decide what to do with the old planner. :-)
My daily planner has space to menu plan, it already lists 8 glasses of water so I can just cross them off or color them in, there's a box for top 3 priorities, and a blank box that I use to record my workout.
When I see people buying stickers to track hydration, menu plan, and keep track of their priorities, I'm like why did you ever buy that planner?
Then there are the people who buy a ton of stickers to decorate the boxes on their weekly planners. Now I will grant that my planner isn't covered in decor, but that works for me because I add stickers to make me happy. Here is Moana, a gym bag, and a sticker showing I voted. (Sorry that it's from last December. I'm feeling too lazy to get up and get my phone to take a picture of my current planner.)
My other planner thought came when I discovered an author planner I'd bought for 2018 and never used. I believe I opened it when it arrived, paged through it, and put it aside with the intention to use it later. Of course, I didn't.
I've made stickers with the dates on them so I could use it for 2019 if I wanted to. I'm debating right now if it's worth the effort or not. The planner is also bound like a paperback book, which doesn't make it super usable. I'm also debating pulling it out of the binding and punching holes. The thing that stops me is destroying a book. I mean, I know it's not really a book book, but it looks and feels like one and tearing it apart makes me cringe. I don't even crack the spines when I read paperbacks.
It might be 2020 before I decide what to do with the old planner. :-)
February 21, 2019
Sticker Issues
Two weeks ago or so I blogged about my new sticker cutter. I still love it--I've made so many stickers!--but I've run into one small issue. It only happens when I buy printable stickers online and I use the pre-formatted Silhouette files provided by the designer, but it's so frustrating when it happens.
The first time it happened, the designer had moved the registration marks for the machine on her design. Silhouette didn't like this. It likes its default registration marks. (Registration marks tell the machine where to cut. I print the stickers on my laser printer with the marks, then attach it to the cutting mat and the machine reads the marks to know where to cut.)
I managed to get it to read the registration marks, but the cut was off and my stickers were a mess. Everything had to go the the trash.
Luckily, someone on my planner group had recently run into the same issue and had talked about how to fix it. She offered two solutions--either delete some stickers or make the stickers smaller so that they fit within the default marks. I went with option 2 and everything printed right.
Problem two is one I'm still grappling with as I type. The designer fit everything within the registration marks and is wasting a ton of the page. So wasteful. I duplicated the graphic so I could fit two on a page and the machine absolutely will not recognize the registration marks. I think it's because the two sheets overlap even though the cut lines are clear of each other and everything is visible. I'm working on this one.
Here's a picture of stickers I made successfully shortly after I got the Cameo 3. From scratch. Well, mostly. I bought clipart and then made my own stickers out of them for the elliptical and the gym weights. The Auto Shipment sticker was a design I bought online that worked correctly and the Christmas Eve sticker is from Happy Planner.
The first time it happened, the designer had moved the registration marks for the machine on her design. Silhouette didn't like this. It likes its default registration marks. (Registration marks tell the machine where to cut. I print the stickers on my laser printer with the marks, then attach it to the cutting mat and the machine reads the marks to know where to cut.)
I managed to get it to read the registration marks, but the cut was off and my stickers were a mess. Everything had to go the the trash.
Luckily, someone on my planner group had recently run into the same issue and had talked about how to fix it. She offered two solutions--either delete some stickers or make the stickers smaller so that they fit within the default marks. I went with option 2 and everything printed right.
Problem two is one I'm still grappling with as I type. The designer fit everything within the registration marks and is wasting a ton of the page. So wasteful. I duplicated the graphic so I could fit two on a page and the machine absolutely will not recognize the registration marks. I think it's because the two sheets overlap even though the cut lines are clear of each other and everything is visible. I'm working on this one.
Here's a picture of stickers I made successfully shortly after I got the Cameo 3. From scratch. Well, mostly. I bought clipart and then made my own stickers out of them for the elliptical and the gym weights. The Auto Shipment sticker was a design I bought online that worked correctly and the Christmas Eve sticker is from Happy Planner.
February 19, 2019
Changes All the Time
I keep trying to find the perfect system to organize my writing, but nothing seems to stick. I've written in WordPerfect, Word, and Scrivener. I've tried organizing my research materials and images in folders, in OneNote, and Pinterest (and others). But no matter what I try, I always end up frustrated with the organizational system.
When I still lived in Minnesota, I started work on what I thought was the first Paladin League story. I sent it to my agent, received some suggestions, and started revising. I didn't finish, though. I needed to start working on other projects including Enemy Embrace and then my job was relocated to Atlanta and I fell into a void that grew deeper when my mom passed away. By the time the fog cleared and I was ready to work on what was now the second Paladin League story, I grew frustrated.
All the notes and research and images I thought I had organized? Could not find most of them. Anywhere.
I thought everything was in Scrivener. It wasn't.
I checked my files, I checked OneNote, I checked Pinterest and I'm still missing things I know I had. Where are they? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.
I'm sure I have handwritten notes and I actually do know where my notebooks are. Yes, notebooks, plural. Because at that time instead of having a dedicated notebook for each book or series, I was mixing everything up and using Post-it flags to color code projects. That was fine when I had one notebook, but with three full and one partial, it's not efficient. I still need to wade into this.
While I'm a big fan of everything digital, there's something about making notes by hand that sparks creativity for me. These pages are notes from revisions from Wicked Obsession.
The current system I'm trying is one notebook per series for handwritten notes. All images and research go to OneNote. Write in Word.
We'll see how this goes, but I won't be surprised if this changes, too.
When I still lived in Minnesota, I started work on what I thought was the first Paladin League story. I sent it to my agent, received some suggestions, and started revising. I didn't finish, though. I needed to start working on other projects including Enemy Embrace and then my job was relocated to Atlanta and I fell into a void that grew deeper when my mom passed away. By the time the fog cleared and I was ready to work on what was now the second Paladin League story, I grew frustrated.
All the notes and research and images I thought I had organized? Could not find most of them. Anywhere.
I thought everything was in Scrivener. It wasn't.
I checked my files, I checked OneNote, I checked Pinterest and I'm still missing things I know I had. Where are they? Your guess is as good as mine at this point.
I'm sure I have handwritten notes and I actually do know where my notebooks are. Yes, notebooks, plural. Because at that time instead of having a dedicated notebook for each book or series, I was mixing everything up and using Post-it flags to color code projects. That was fine when I had one notebook, but with three full and one partial, it's not efficient. I still need to wade into this.
While I'm a big fan of everything digital, there's something about making notes by hand that sparks creativity for me. These pages are notes from revisions from Wicked Obsession.
The current system I'm trying is one notebook per series for handwritten notes. All images and research go to OneNote. Write in Word.
We'll see how this goes, but I won't be surprised if this changes, too.
February 14, 2019
February 12, 2019
Stickers, Stickers, and Cool Stuff
***This post contains affiliate links. Should you choose to make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. FYI, I will never recommend anything I don't love.***
I've blogged multiple times about my planners. I'm not sure I mentioned, though, how much I love to put stickers on my pages. Mostly functional stickers, like for the gym, or blogging, or when the lawn was mowed, but I also do use some deco stickers. If you look at what planner stickers cost, you know this was getting expensive pretty fast.
Blogging stickers, for example. I blog twice a week. That's over a hundred of these stickers a year. A page of stickers will have like 30 on there. Even waiting for a sale, costs add up fast. I had to slow down or stop using the stickers all together for this reason.
Other planner and craft peeps are probably screaming Cricut or Silhouette cutter right now. :-)
I had a Silhouette cutter already and I'm not kidding when I tell you it was one of their early models. In fact, since they say they were founded in 2009, I probably have the very first model. I had it out on my desk, but didn't use it because it was so rudimentary compared to what I saw in the online tutorials available and it was hard to extrapolate what I was seeing online to my antique machine.
Then the post-Thanksgiving sales hit and there was a sale on a Silhouette Cameo 3. A bundle. I struggled to resist. After all, if I wasn't using the cutter I had now, what were the odds I'd use a new machine?
And then I caved like a house of cards on a windy day. :-)
The surprise was that (with this new, modern machine) I am using it. A lot! I bought printable stickers online and then setup my cut lines. I uploaded my logo for The Paladin League and made a giant sticker for my notebook. (This was super cool and had me geeking out! Personalized notebooks for every series is definitely in my future!)
I found clip art of people and characters online--free for personal use--and made Moana stickers. If you follow me on Facebook, you would have seen a planner page with the sticker on it that I posted in December.
The old model would still be sitting on my desk collecting dust.
Through tutorials, I also learned how to cut card stock which is what I bought the 2009 model to do. I was big into scrapbooking at the time. I also have a roll of vinyl that I'd like to learn how to use because I totally want to make my own personalized mugs. Not that I need another mug, but you know.... Oooh! Maybe I could make my own wall vinyls for the house! Not that I need to put vinyl on my walls, but you know... ;-)
But for right now, I think I'll just keep making my own stickers. It's actually turning out to be fun!
I've blogged multiple times about my planners. I'm not sure I mentioned, though, how much I love to put stickers on my pages. Mostly functional stickers, like for the gym, or blogging, or when the lawn was mowed, but I also do use some deco stickers. If you look at what planner stickers cost, you know this was getting expensive pretty fast.
Blogging stickers, for example. I blog twice a week. That's over a hundred of these stickers a year. A page of stickers will have like 30 on there. Even waiting for a sale, costs add up fast. I had to slow down or stop using the stickers all together for this reason.
Other planner and craft peeps are probably screaming Cricut or Silhouette cutter right now. :-)
I had a Silhouette cutter already and I'm not kidding when I tell you it was one of their early models. In fact, since they say they were founded in 2009, I probably have the very first model. I had it out on my desk, but didn't use it because it was so rudimentary compared to what I saw in the online tutorials available and it was hard to extrapolate what I was seeing online to my antique machine.
Then the post-Thanksgiving sales hit and there was a sale on a Silhouette Cameo 3. A bundle. I struggled to resist. After all, if I wasn't using the cutter I had now, what were the odds I'd use a new machine?
And then I caved like a house of cards on a windy day. :-)
The surprise was that (with this new, modern machine) I am using it. A lot! I bought printable stickers online and then setup my cut lines. I uploaded my logo for The Paladin League and made a giant sticker for my notebook. (This was super cool and had me geeking out! Personalized notebooks for every series is definitely in my future!)
I found clip art of people and characters online--free for personal use--and made Moana stickers. If you follow me on Facebook, you would have seen a planner page with the sticker on it that I posted in December.
The old model would still be sitting on my desk collecting dust.
Through tutorials, I also learned how to cut card stock which is what I bought the 2009 model to do. I was big into scrapbooking at the time. I also have a roll of vinyl that I'd like to learn how to use because I totally want to make my own personalized mugs. Not that I need another mug, but you know.... Oooh! Maybe I could make my own wall vinyls for the house! Not that I need to put vinyl on my walls, but you know... ;-)
But for right now, I think I'll just keep making my own stickers. It's actually turning out to be fun!
