Here's my annual "Year in Review" post! :)
1. What age did you turn in 2023? 42
2. What was your relationship status in 2023? Johnny and I celebrated our 6th year of marriage and 11th year together!
3. Did you move in 2023? Nope. I've been living here for 10 (and a half) years now!
4. Did you purchase a new vehicle in 2023? Nope. It's lasted 4 years...hopefully it'll last quite a few more!
5. Did you add any new family members in 2023? Nope.
6. Did you lose any family members in 2023? The dog my grandparents adopted from the Humane Society more than 16 years ago passed away just before Christmas. :(
7. Did you have any school or work changes in 2023? I started CandiMakerStickers in January! I realized how much I really like making stickers...and actually decided to stop doing sublimation. I really enjoyed it at first...but I just wasn't passionate about it. I spent so much time working on my sticker shop--designing and making stickers, filling sticker orders, working on SEO for my sticker shop--that I neglected to work on new designs or SEO for the digital design and transfer shops. I was still getting orders trickling in that I was filling, but I wasn't really making an effort to get more orders. So in June I shut down CandiMakerTransfers and in October I shut down CandiMakerDesigns. I may still end up utilizing those shops for other products that I plan to start selling in the future, but for now I'm really enjoying stickers. :)
8. Did you travel anywhere in 2023? Nope. We really need a vacation! :P Then again...I'd want it to be somewhere we can take the dogs. And now that I think about it...it'd be really hard not sleeping in our king size Tempur-Pedic adjustable bed, too. :P
9. Did you make any big purchases in 2023? I bought a cold roll laminator in March which has been amazing for self-adhesive laminate sheets for my stickers.
10. What was the best gift you received in 2023? Definitely my printer! A few months ago, the Epson ET-16650 was on sale for the same amount I paid for my ET-5800 (which is basically the same printer, the ET-16650 is just bigger and faster). So my mom bought the new ET-16650 which I got, mom is getting my ET-5800, and my sister got the ET-16650 that I was had already converted for sublimation.
11. Did you learn any new skills in 2023? I started making sticker sheets! I can't really think of anything else since I started practicing making die-cut stickers in December 2022.
12. Did you redecorate in 2023? Just more reorganizing in my office...especially my desk. Oh and I redid the tabletop that I use for my Cricut Maker 3. I took the top of my art desk and covered it with contact paper...much sturdier than the heavy cardboard I was using before (which was actually the backing of a short bookcase that we no longer have). One day I'd still love to build a wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling unit for my office...but we'll see. :P
13. Did you read any good books in 2023? No. I just haven't made time for reading. Most of my time is spent on CandiMaker things.
14. Did you see any good movies in 2023? I think my favorite movie that we watched was Expend4bles for my birthday.
15. What TV shows were your favorite in 2023? Definitely Reacher! It's SO funny! We watched the last seasons of Manifest and Blacklist. Still watching the Law & Order franchise and NCIS. A new show we watched in 2023 was Chance on Hulu! I really loved it. And it's not a TV show, but I've been watching the Talkville podcast on YouTube. I've been rewatching Burn Notice. I really miss that show...they should definitely make a comeback. Oh and at the end of the year we started watching The Man in the High Castle. We're on Season 2 right now and it's pretty good.
16. What things did you do in 2023 that you'd never done before? Honestly, I can't really think of anything. I did make some new recipes: Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread and Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies.
17. What do you wish you'd done more of in 2023? Walked the dogs, honestly. I've been having horrible back pain and just walking short distances is incredibly painful...even more so holding the leash of two dogs that haven't quite caught on to the not pulling thing. I also have so many books that I've wanted to read but never make time for it.
18. What were you proud of in 2023? CandiMakerStickers! I opened my Etsy shop on January 13, 2023...National Sticker Day! I'd set my goal at that time to have 300 sales by the end of the year...and I met that goal in October! Then my goal was to reach $2000 in revenue on my Etsy dashboard, and I accomplished that on Christmas Day! :) Oh and I also got my first Faire order in November and my first eBay order in December. :)
19. What was the one defining moment of 2023? Starting my CandiMakerStickers Etsy shop. :)
20. How would you describe 2023 in three words? Productive, Successful, Loving :)
And now for some 2024 questions...
1. What did you NOT have in 2023 that you would like to have in 2024? Same thing I say every year! A vacation!
2. What skills do you want to learn or improve in 2024? Always want to improve my arts and crafts skills! <-- same one again
3. What do you want to do more of in 2024? Just keep working on my Etsy shop(s) to make them even more successful. :)
4. What do you want to buy in 2024? I finally purchased a new laptop today! That's the only "big" purchase I have planned.
5. What is your number one goal for 2024? Increasing products and profits for CandiMaker...same as last year! :)