Planner sticker organization can be a tricky thing the more your collection expands. You want to be able to access all of your stickers while still keeping things reasonable and organized. Today’s video shows you how I organize my mess of stickers into categories in an accordion file. From functional to decorative I break it all down and give you a show of my collection as well.
Planner decorating has taken my little world by storm and I’ve loved every second of it. It does seem like quite the daunting thing to dive into if you’re considering trying it out, so I thought I’d write a quick chatty post about the easiest way to get into planner decorating.
So I don’t recommend buying shed loads of stickers or supplies because if you’re just getting started, you won’t know what you need! The best way I found is to buy a weekly kit and give it a go for a week. That way you aren’t putting too much money in, you’re able to get a sense of your planning style, and you’re about to see exactly what stickers you tend to gravitate more. The kits always come with a good variety of functional stickers so you aren’t getting stuck with a bunch of one type. Once that week is over you’ll know if it’s for you or not and if it is, what stickers you should get more of.
If you can’t possibly pick one specific weekly kit theme to bank your whole planner decorating experience on, then sampler sets are the way to go. You’ll get a bunch of little icons and functional stickers that you can play with in your current planning style without having to devote completely to the concept. When I started planner decorating I added a few icons and things to my normal planning style and expanded on it from there. Sampler sheets allow you to quickly see what stickers you use up and which ones you’ll never use and can purchase full sheets of whatever icons or decorative stickers work best for you.
But honestly the easiest way is to just give it a shot and see what happens. There are so many different forms of planner decorating and piling on the stickers is just one of them. Test things out here and there and you’ll be sure to find a style that makes sense to you.
When I first dove into the high-end makeup pool I spent a lot of careless money on products that just didn’t work for me. From foundations that cost a pretty penny to mascaras that just didn’t work for me, I could have definitely used a guide to help me along the way. I picked products that aren’t over the top for this starter kit. The base is light and the colors neutral and simple. A starter kit should ease the transition into a new category rather than shock the system and make you never want to try anything new.
I love the Stile One Step Correct so much it had to be the primer of choice. It kind of acts like a moisturizer as well as a setup for makeup and I love how hydrating it feels on the skin when I wear nothing but it. Moderation is key with this product though because you can run out of it quick if you aren’t careful.
For base there are literally tons of options in the high-end makeup world, but if you’re just starting out something on the lighter side is best so you aren’t finding yourself with a seriously heavy foundation and no idea what to do with it. The bareMinerals Complexion Rescue has a mousse-like texture that blends out easily and lightly on the skin with any tool (sponge, brush, or fingers). Plus it’s not nearly as expensive as most of the other foundation options and the shades are pretty forgiving if you go for the wrong one.
The NARS Creamy Concealer is a great choice if you’re looking for something light to medium coverage that doesn’t slip around or crease. It’s definitely not the most coverage, but can be built up and worked with for desired effect. Brows are not a high priority if you’re just getting into makeup, but if you do by chance want to give it a whirl nothing beats the Anastasia Brow Wiz. It has a spoolie built in and a small little nib so you don’t have to worry about making a huge mess on your brows.
If you’re looking for a solid brush that won’t let you down I’m sure you already know about Tarte‘s options. Pick one that’s good for all occasions and you’ll never need another one. You can explore a lot more when it comes to eye shadow. A lot of the luxury brands have very similar shades in consistency and pigmentation, but if you want to buy one palette and be set for years, Urban Decay is your promised land. Pick up one of the Naked palettes and you won’t need anything else. Mascara is the trickiest of the high end products because a lot of drugstore brands are just as good if not better at it. If you are looking to splurge and try something though anything by Lancome is good and Marc Jacobs also really brings it.
Lipsticks is another category that you really can’t lose for high-end makeup. Almost all the brands produce high quality lipsticks that last, but I always gravitate back to MAC if I want just a basic, solid lipstick. Urban Decay will be releasing their new VICE collection with a lot of great color options. For liquid lipstick Kat Von D’s Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks have some funky shade options, but the consistency and lasting power can’t be beat.
Now if you want to step up your tool game, Real Techniques is a good middle of the road option, but I can’t help but reach for MAC ones. They’re definitely higher end on the brush ladder, but my MAC 217 is my most used brush as it really packs on the product and eliminates a lot of fallout issues.
If you are interested in getting into the more expensive, luxury side of makeup, definitely don’t be like me. Do your research and carefully select products you think will work for you and what you’ve enjoyed from drugstore makeup. Take your time with it and enjoy feeling pampered and fabulous every time you put on makeup.
Take it from someone who much rather be binge watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix for the thousandth time rather than working, being productive can be difficult. I find Wednesdays to be the worst of all the days of the week for a lack of productivity, so here are a few tips and tricks to really get the productive juices flowing.
Keep the to do list concise and not too long. One of the biggest pitfalls to productivity is trying to tackle too much in a day. Pick the top 3-5 things you want to accomplish that day and stick to those. That way you aren’t feeling overwhelmed by a never ending to do list and can actually check things off rather than giving up and pushing everything to tomorrow.
Give yourself breaks to recharge and refocus. I was definitely a strong believer in work till the project is done, but you’ll burn yourself out if you don’t take a break a couple of times a day. Plus you gotta eat right?
Assign designated social media time so you don’t fall into the Facebook vortex. Is anything really happening on there anyway? Besides the Helloigan group that’s always poppin’, I find myself just staring at Facebook and realizing every single time that there’s literally nothing exciting going on. So give yourself certain times during the day to endlessly scroll through Instagram, but don’t let it eat up precious work time.
Find out what time of day you work best and use it for all it’s worth. I find that I work best between nine and noon so I use that time to do all of the things I much rather not do, so the easier tasks are left for the afternoon when I’m sluggish.
Look for productivity inspiration in things like this post or on social media. That way when you’re taking that much needed break or winding down on Instagram before bed, you’re interacting with people or content that sparks creativity and inspiration. I follow a lot of people that are constantly motivating me to do better work and it definitely helps get me out of bed in the morning.
Love what you’re doing and then you won’t feel like it’s work. I have never been more productive than I have working with Oh, Hello. I enjoyed my desk job prior, but I still found myself not being as productive as I am doing something I’m incredibly passionate about. If you just can’t seem to find the motivation to get anything done, maybe it’s because you don’t want to be doing what you’re doing at all…
What are your tips and tricks to being more productive?
Do you ever just completely forget something from your childhood and stumble upon it again years later in an exciting triumphant way? No? Just me? I have this terrible habit of just absolutely forgetting what I had once deemed important things from my past and being pleasantly surprised when I fall back in love with them all over again years later. That’s definitely the story with enamel pins.
Growing up I had this little collection of gold textured pins from my grandmas that I was constantly toting around. There was a palm tree, ice cream cone, and a handful of others that I loved. I would never actually wear them for fear they’d go missing in seconds, but I often rubbed my fingers over their textured surfaces and stare at them like I was guarding a treasure trove. And then I forgot all about them.
I honestly couldn’t tell you exactly how my enamel, label pin rediscovery happened. It’s safe to say Instagram had something to do with it and all of a sudden I was over on Etsy falling down the rabbit hole. I had to have one. I found myself at Boy Girl Party’s shop and ordered two pins before I could talk myself out of it. They shipped just hours later and were at my doorstep within 48. And they’re perfect.
I got the otter one as they’ve surpassed elephants as my favorite animals and the puffin because Alex loves them. They’ve found a happy little home on my Oh, Hello tote and I’ve felt like a 90’s kid again carrying them around with me like badges of honor. And of course I want more.
I love this sort of thing. Something that’s fun for fun’s sake and doesn’t really have a point, but makes me happy. I’m definitely in a “back to grass roots” mindset these days and have kicked up my childhood loves into full gear. Just take a look at my My Little Pony collection or the Rugrats figurines I pulled out of one of my old toy boxes a few weeks ago. All this growing up business makes me want to grow back down and what better way than to embrace some quirky good obsessions?
So if you ever stumble upon some good enamel, lapel pins, point me in their direction!
