Blank Paper Planner Stickers

Blank Paper Creations sent me some planner stickers to review.

The stickers came in this cute package. I love the hand lettering used for my name.

I got two kits including the Fall Friends kit.

This is one of the spreads I created with the planner stickers. I thought the stickers were well made and I love the cute designs on these stickers.

Have you ever used planner stickers?

What’s On My Vegan Bookshelf

Thinking of going vegan? These are some of my favorite vegan books with recipes or tips on going vegan.

• Student’s Go Vegan Cookbook by Carole Raymond: This was one of the first cookbooks I picked up when I became vegetarian. I like these recipes because they are easy to make and don’t need a lot of complicated ingredients. It is a great book to start with if you are a new vegetarian or vegan or if you are a student going to college.
• Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser: I read Fast Food Nation when I was younger when I first became vegetarian. I liked the information in this book and learning about the fast food industry. There is also a film version of this book.
• The Kind Life by Alicia Silverstone: This book has tips for following a vegan diet. It was written by the actress, Alicia Silverstone. I like this book because it talks about the health benefits of a macrobiotic diet.
• Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau: This author has a lot of good cookbooks. I found the author from listening to her Food for Thought program. This cookbook takes a different approach and breaks up recipes by color. It also talks about the nutritional value of different colors. I especially loved the avocado pudding.
• The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Jonie Marie Newman: This book has a lot of helpful information about vegan substitutes with lots of recipes to try. I haven’t tried a lot of recipes in this cookbook myself, but I like to keep tr book for reference.
• Food Rules by Michael Pollan: Not necessarily about being vegan, but this book has a lot of good tips about food and cooking in general. For examples, some tips are to eat slowly, eat mostly plants and don’t eat products with more than five ingredients when you can. I like the tips in this book because they are simple rules for eating well. The tips are organized as a manual so it is a good book to just keep in your kitchen or read a page a day. I actually met Michael Pollan because I heard him speak and got this book signed when I met him.
• Vegan Stories: I picked up this book on a swap website. It has stories from vegans all around the world. It also has poems related to veganism. I haven’t read a lot of it to be honest, but I liked the concept of this book so I wanted to include it on the list too.
• Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin: This is a fun book about going vegan and starting a healthy lifestyle. It uses lots of swearing in its writing style. It talks about the food industry and the health benefits of going vegan. It also has a recipe plan for new vegans.
• Cooking with Compassion: This cookbook is from Etsy and had vegan recipes from the members of Vegan Etsy, Cruelty Free Etsy and EtsyVeg teams. I actually have a recipe in this book from being part of the EtsyVeg team. It is a small, paper book that has recipes from other Etsy members. I do not know if this book is still for sale, but you can look on Etsy or similar places for vegan cookbooks or recipes.
• Vegan Made Easy by Anna Leehey: I have my own vegan cookbook all about going vegan. It is a simple guide for new vegans. Check it out if you want to support me and are interested in veganism.

What are your favorite vegan books?

Interview: Megan Lee Designs

Megan Lee Designs specializes in screenprinted apparel, tote bags and greeting cards that have fun and quirky illustrations and graphic prints. All designs are drawn by Megan and are printed by hand.

Why did you choose to sell on Etsy?
I wanted to reach customers without having to create my own website (I began selling on Etsy a LONG time ago) and also still believe that you can reach a much wider and/or different audience through Etsy than you can through your own website. Etsy’s search function has brought me lots of customers who have never heard of my shop before.

How do you come up with design ideas for your shirts? What is your creative process like?
It’s a lot of sketching/doodling and just thinking about things I like. It’s honestly super simple and I often go back to my first sketch when I try and re-draw things a number of times.

What is your best selling product in your shop?
I think its still my “Midwest is Best” heart design, which doesn’t surprise me because the Midwest is amazing and it also covers a LOT of ground. I never really even realized how many states consider themselves Midwest.

Do you ever have creative blocks?
I definitely do, and thankfully I don’t have to create and come up with designs daily because I have so much business-y stuff to take care of. I find that my creativity sometimes comes in waves, and I honestly have no idea what it corresponds with, but its like every few weeks I’ll just get a burst of lots of good ideas.

Do you use social media?
I do, and need to use it more and more effectively. I am getting a little better at posting daily on Instagram, and I do enjoy it. It is just that there is always so much to do, especially now with having two very small children.

Do you have a blog?
No, and sometimes I wish I did, but I feel like its something I just wouldn’t update often enough!

Do you sell at craft shows?
Yes, definitely! Not quite as much as I used to, but we do probably from 10-25 shows/year. Our next big show is the Spring One of a Kind Show in Chicago. Can’t wait!

Do you sell wholesale or consignment?
At this point almost all wholesale, but I definitely started selling on consignment and we still have a few good consignment accounts from a long time ago. They can both be good options depending on a number of factors, but at this point we are only adding wholesale.

Do you ever have problems with customers?
Honestly nothing too major, but just things like items being delayed in the mail, maybe a hole in a shirt, things that are usually easily fixed.

What do you hope for in the future for your shop?
Just to keep expanding my designs and possibly trying some new products based on my customers requests.

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