Gadanke Journal Review

I was extremely intrigued to discover these sweet handmade journals from an online store named Gadanke.

Gadanke Online Store

Don't panic!  I'm not loosing my mind and giving up creating my own scrapbooks, but sometimes, it is nice to take a break and have someone else do the creative part.  Sort of like bringing a yummy cupcake to a professional baker.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying the cupcake even if you didn't slave over it yourself. 

Now I admit that I am a bit indecisive at times, but WOW, did I have a horrible time trying to decide which journal to get.  I looked through every.  single.  one.  Twice.  Then I asked Billy (the hubby) for his opinion.  He told me which SEVERAL he liked.  Ugh.  Then I asked my kids.  DUH.  They liked the kid's journals.  That was no help.  Here are some of the reasons for my brief brain freeze moment:

 SEE why I had such a hard time?  I finally decided on the Love where we Live journal.  I thought it would be nice to do something as a family.  This is what it looks like on the inside (I picked the cheery yellow cover.).

Okay, I will admit that even as I was pushing the send button, I still thought about a few others that I should have ordered.  They all look so good!

After that tormenting decision (yes, I tend to lean towards the dramatic), I sat back and waited for it to come.  I just love mail!  And I did not have to wait very long.  Fastest shipping time ever!  I love that it was addressed to: the fabulous Bethany Hardy.  How on earth did she know, right?  Katie (the owner) does a lovely job with the details that make this such a special purchase.  It comes tied with a cute rafia bow and even had a note to me in the package.  I felt pretty stinkin' special.

The book itself is 4x4.5 inches, which is the perfect size to put in a basket with all of your other mini albums.  For me, the hardest part of journaling is thinking of what to say (I know...but I am an English Teacher...weird, huh?).  Katie has such a creative and fresh outlook on how to journal about your topic (in this case, my house).  I love all of the journaling prompts (like what we do during our together time and what big splurge we made for the house) and the meaningful quotes scattered throughout the album.  It is all designed to really get you to think about what you are writing.  Even the photo spaces are marked with suggestions for pictures to take and put in them.  I LOVE that.  She really walks you through how to make a meaningful book.  I think my favorite part has got to be the mini maps.  They are so cute!  I have some good ideas for those!

Basically, I love that the book is ready to use, as is, but lends itself to adding your own special touches to it to make it uniquely yours.

If you want to check out Katie and her Gadanke shop, here are some ways to do it:

Gadanke Shop

Twitter

Facebook

Blog

Intrigued by these journals?  Katie is offering YOU a special code for 10% off your order.  Hurry!  This offer expires November 25th! 

Code:  COUNTERFEIT10

Design Your Own Stickers

Our Blog Hop Sticker Challenge inspired me to get out some new stickers that I won from Momenta a little while ago. 

You can check them out HERE.

They come as blank white stickers in quite a few different styles.  You can use them as they are (white stickers are always a fun touch on a project...I can see them looking great on some Kraft cardstock). or use their really neat design your own sticker feature on their site.  I am NOT a techy person, so I was hesitant to try it (something ALWAYS goes wrong for me...I don't know how I manage to do it).  But thier site made it look so fun and easy that I had to give it a try.

You can go on line and pick out which sticker style you have.  They have some really cute fonts!  Then you can pick the pattern you want on your stickers.  There are SO many to pick from that it seems a bit overwhelming at first, but it is awesome to have so many choices!



And if that is not enough...you can customize the color of your pattern, too!  I was impressed with how easy it was to make it exactly match my project.

I picked a fun wood grain finish for my stickers and followed the directions to print them out.

Aren't these cute?  I am impressed on how easy it was to make them.  The hardest decision was what to pick for the patterns/colors.  I know I will get alot of use out of these.  And I just found an in town source to buy them:  Joanne's!



Here is how I used my stickers.  I will definitely be doing this again..and again...and again!