With every blog post, I write I try my very best to encourage YOU to get out of your comfort zone. I want you to turn your dreams into actionable plans and provide you with as much support as possible to get there!
The only way I can get the knowledge and experience needed to do that. Is by leaving my own comfort zone constantly and working hard to make my personal dreams come true. So let’s look back a second to the very first blog post I published back in June:
[…] My second goal I want to accomplish this year is to finish setting up and opening my Etsy Shop. Since ‘Planning’ is a big addiction of mine and I try to come up with new ideas to improve it all the time I thought it’s a good idea to create Planner Stickers which will help you get more organized and stuff done! […] You can read the full article right here!
Having written that on my blog for the world to see, I can tell you now that it is a great way to hold yourself accountable. I knew that no matter what would happen, I would open the doors of my Etsy Shop this year even if it is only five minutes before New Year’s Eve.
And so I will. Drumroll!
Being able to finally announce WundertastischDesign excites me so much and I’m so grateful to YOU for your continuous support. Without your encouraging emails and wonderful feedback, I wouldn’t have gotten so far. And I’m so very glad that I can reward your patience and understanding very soon!
Sharing your goals publicly is a great way to hold yourself accountable! Click To Tweet
And since I don’t publish a blog post without some useful tips for you, I take you now behind the scenes of WundertastischDesign and show you what sticker creation involves. It will also give you an overview about how you can print and cut my Etsy Shop Printables in the near future. I got a lot of questions about this topic. And so I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to share it with you all!
This post contains affiliate links. This simply means that if you purchase something through the links provided I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can be assured that I will never recommend something that I don’t enjoy using and wouldn’t recommend to my best friend as well! For more information, see my disclosures here.
Designing Bullet Journal Stickers & Printables
The very first step, of course, is the brainstorming and design phase. I really enjoy decorating my bullet journal with little doodles and full page monthly coloring pages. This makes being productive just way more fun for me.
Every drawing I create not only has the purpose of being pretty. But also to give me visual cues about the content of each bullet journal page. It’s way easier for your brain to recognize an image than reading a couple lines per spread. Which makes it a great time saver while searching for a specific note in your BuJo.
Most of the time I start with a pencil sketch, before going over it with my much loved Staedtler pigment liner. A pencil is a perfectionist’s best friend This again saves me a lot of time and also frustration since I can make sure I like the design before making it permanent.
Editing Bullet Journal Page Designs
When I like a design I scan the page into my computer and open Adobe Photoshop. I use this program mainly to fix little drawing mistakes that might have happened. And also to get the background pure white and the lines pure black. This not only results in beautiful Instagram images but also saves me a lot of time in the next step – taking the image into Adobe Illustrator. This whole process so far already involves hours of work both on paper as well as digitally.
While my free printables are nearly done at this point and only need to get turned into a downloadable PDF file for you. I spend even more time on my Etsy Shop Stickers and Printables. So in Illustrator I will vectorize all stickers and printables as well as remove the white background. This step is very tricky since I want to keep the hand drawn feel of the original. So while vectorizing I have to even out the lines to the extent that they look great as prints. But also not too much. Since I want to avoid it looking like it was created digitally from the beginning.
I also prepare the files for cutting by adding registrations marks and cut lines to each page.
Printing & Cutting of Planner Stickers
After printing the stickers with my laser printer onto white sticker paper the fun part starts. I will place the sheet I just printed out onto my cutting mat and insert it into my Silhouette Portrait cutting machine. Thanks to the registrations marks, the machine knows where my stickers are placed on the sheet. And thanks to the cut lines I defined earlier in Illustrator, it knows where to cut.
By giving cut lines different colors, you can tell the machine exactly how deep it should cut each line. So while the green line (only visible on the computer) makes sure the blade cuts through the sheet completely. The red line makes sure it’s only a kiss cut.
Kiss Cut – it’s as sweet as it sounds
For me, kiss cuts have something magical. Being able to create stickers where you can peel off your sticker from the protective sheet so easily fulfills me somehow with a lot of joy. I now know it means that I can adjust the blade to only cut into the upper layer of the paper. But I never thought I would be able to do it at home with such a small machine
If you would love to print and cut your own stickers, but all the programs named above scared you off. Let me assure you the Silhouette Portrait cutting machine comes with its own software which is easy to use and makes the cutting process a piece of cake. It’s not as sophisticated as the programs above. But it does the job if you only plan to create stickers for your journal and home.
I already have a detailed tutorial planned, explaining the software this machine comes with. So you can print and cut my Etsy Shop Printables in a very professional looking way. I also will explain the difference between ink and laser printers and what advantages each one has to offer.
Have you already secured your special thank you gift?
Click here to visit my Etsy Shop, make it a favorite and secure your special Thank You Gift! The Thank You Gift is a Free Printable if your order is a digital download. Or it is a Free Sticker Sheet if you order stickers per post.
This post contains affiliate links. This simply means that if you purchase something through the links provided I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can be assured that I will never recommend something that I don’t enjoy using and wouldn’t recommend to my best friend as well! For more information, see my disclosures here.
This is so awesome Sandra! I’m so excited to see your shop when it’s all up 😀
It’s also so much fun to look behind the scenes, and to see your process, thank you for sharing <3
Dear Tale, thank you so much again! I’m already counting the days and can’t wait to share it with you all 🙂
And I’m especially excited to hear your thoughts on it. Still so much to learn 😀 I wish you a most wonderful weekend!
Let’s talk very soon <3
Amazing post! So cool to see behind the scenes because you always wonder how much work actually goes in to making these kind of things.
Mostly you doubt yourself because you think that everyone else are doing things in a jiffy and it looks so perfect 😉
Hi Tessie, please excuse the late reply. The last weeks were just manic with all the work that needed to be done to get my Etsy Shop launch-ready. After sending out my first orders, I took a much-needed break and spend time with family and friends over the holidays. 🙂 I’m so incredibly thankful for your kind words and support. You not only follow my blog since it’s beginning but also were one of my very first customers. Thank you so much!!!!
You are absolutely right about the amount of work a project like this takes and the time it eats up. But I enjoy(ed) every second of it and I can’t wait to see what 2017 will bring. I most certainly plan to keep giving it my all and improve my skills and content. Doubting yourself is a very big part of running your own business, especially since everyone shows his/her best side online. I think the best course of action is to compare your current self to your past self and use this as a measurement. You never will know everything that goes on behind someone else’s curtain. So focusing on your own strengths and tackling your weaknesses is the way to go. 🙂 Many thanks again! I hope your parcel will arrive very soon and you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it! <3 Happy New Year! Talk to you soon, Sandra