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Despite living in a world that is more and more visual and relies more and more on artists, photographers and designer's work, the concept of copyrights is still a topic that many do not fully understand or think doesn't apply to them, or can be bended with ease, which has lead to many myths about them still persisting. Chances are that if you are over a certain age like yours truely, you saw the birth of VHS tapes, and later DVDs. These always came with a disclaimer at the beginning that nobody read, but really was the first copyrights disclaimer you probably been exposed to. The one that said you were not allowed to reproduce the content of the tape, redistribute it, or even play that tape to a wide audience. Things haven't changed at all regarding intellectual property and copyrights, yet, people still don't have a good grasp of what it means, and what is allowed and not allowed to do. As an artist who's been victim of art theft more than once, I wished people would be a lot more educated about it and stop spreading the same old boring myths about the very notion of copyrights. Here are eight of them I'm debunking for you today. You need to apply for a copyright certificate license in order for your work to really be copyrighted. Copyrights aren't the same as applying for a patent, an artist, musician or author's work is considered an intellectual property and it's copyrighted by default the instant the work is created. This is why in the past (and probably still to this day) photographers, and writers used to mail themselves the negatives or the original manuscript by post and kept it in a sealed envelope with the postage date acting as the date of first publication. They did so BEFORE sending the work to any publishing house. Why? Because in the case of a court trial, whoever is in procession of the work with the earliest date on it, is going to be the original rights holder. In the digital world, the timestamp appear when you first save your file, and also when you publish it anywhere on the internet, replacing the postage stamp proof. Creators do not have to apply for any certificates to copyright their work, so assume everything you find online is copyrighted unless specifically stated otherwise. If i use a picture or artwork another artist created and change the colors it no longer is copyrighted to them and I can sell that work. NOPE! Changing the colors or anything about someone else's artwork or photo only creates what we call a DERIVATIVE, and derivative work is still the property of the original author. They have the right to decide who is authorised to create derivative work and profit from it and they are still entitled to demand their share of that profit. Imagine this scenario in term of physical property if you struggle to see the logic above : You see a bicycle in the street you really love, so you take it home, spray paint it pink and add ribbons to it. It doesn't stop the fact you stole it and the new paint job doesn't make it your own. Same thing with art! fan art is 100% my work so i can't be sued for copyrights infringement. No, it's not 100% your work, even if the whole drawing/painting is yours, the characters belong to the original author, and in many cases are also trademarked (different from copyrights), which means the rights remains with the authors, and owners of the franchise. Fan art counts as a kind of derivative work, this means you should apply for a license to create and sell that type of fan art directly with the owners of the right. Usually you will need to provide some sample work and they will decide if they want that kind of work to be associated with them and commercialised. There are many artists that got caught selling fan art on sites like Etsy, Society6 and Redbubble without having the rights to do so. Marvel/Disney has an army of lawyers on their payroll to serve copyrights infringement notices, so it you are selling fan art without the license to do so, you are taking a HUGE risk. if caught i can always claim "fair use" and get away with it Fair use! The mythical "get out of jail free" card of the creative world! if it were that easy! First fair use is a US legal doctrine so applying it outside of the US might not work. Then it only applies to very specific situations and is always debated in court and is pronounced by a judge. There is absolutely ZERO guarantee that your intellectual property theft will be covered by fair use. What can possibly fall under fair use is parody work of an original, using the original IP as part of an educational manual or text and in the context of research. But again, it can and will be contested in court and the "fair use ruling" comes from a judge. everything on the internet is free to use This myth also has a little brother : "But I found it on Google image search!" Nothing on the internet is free unless stated otherwise, so you can just google an image, take it and decide you can use it as you please and profit from it. Google is a search engine, it crawls and index URLs of pictures and will pop them in a search if the keywords you input matches the keywords associated to that picture. The URL where it appears isn't even a proof of ownership sadly, I had several of my former's blog picture stolen and used on other people's websites. In the case of social medias like Facebook and Instagram, the content belongs to the creator again, despite the popular and quite wrong belief, Facebook/Meta does not own the material posted on their platforms, and if prompted, can remove infringing content and ban repeat offenders. creative commons and public domains are the same thing Though there are similarities, they aren't the same thing at all and there are different type of creative commons to begin with. Creative commons is a license deal in which the author of the work agrees to make it available for other to use for free under specific terms. The owner still owns the rights to the intellectual property, and nobody can claim exclusivity over that content. Usually creative commons like stock photos are free to use at personal and commercial ends but they are not free of clauses, and you must always read the fine prints, sometimes attribution to the original author is required and sometimes commercial use is restricted to some uses. Want to know more about Creative Commons? This website lists all the different types. Public domain means the copyrights on the intellectual property expired, this usually happens about 70 years after the author/artist's death. Longer or shorter depending the country. This means that for example the work of Picasso despite being around 100 years old is still NOT in the public domain because Picasso passed away in 1973, it's been 49 years so far, so his work is not due to go into the public domain for another 21 years. The Mona Lisa is in the public domain and you can use her at commercial ends and do all the derivative work you want on her, because Da Vinci died in 1519, but there might still be restrictions in place as to how you can commercially profit from creating art prints for example. The Louvre museum might have the exclusive rights to sell reproductions on certain support out of their gift shop, so always make sure you are not infringing on those rights Exclusive rights means I own the work I bought those right for Exlcusive rights isn't the same as giving up all rights to an intellectual property, so if the artist gave the exclusive rights to a company, or individual over a piece, it usually means that under specific terms, the licensee enjoys exclusivity to commercialise it...kewords : UNDER SPECIFIC TERMS. This means that in an exclusive contract, the ownership to the work is still with the artist, and they are granting you a specific license to use said work under very specific condition, and usually for a limited duration. Those terms are always included into a contract that binds both parties. For example, the artist might give you the exclusive right to sell their work on a coffee mug or cushion cover for a duration of 5 years. During that time, the artist can't sell coffee mugs or cushion with the exact same design elsewhere or license it to other parties to be sold on coffee mugs on cushions. But they are free to license it to another licensee to sell as bedsheets and art prints. If you obtained the exclusive rights for coffee mugs, you can't sell it as an art print without negotiating another contract with the artist. In an exclusive or non-exclusive rights contract for that matter, the licensee also usually owe royalties on each pieces sold for the duration of the contract, because again, the artist still OWNS the work. I commissioned an art piece so it means I own all rights to it No you don't, unless you specifically asked for the work to belong entirely to you and the artist to release ownership to you. When you commission a piece, you need to be specific about what you will use it for and if you want FULL ownership, you need to request it and have it put in a contract in written form. Know that your asking for ownership of the intellectual property rights will come at a price, because in letting those rights go, the artist agrees to let go of all rights to further profit from said piece. Similarly, when you buy an original painting, you only get the right to hang it in your home or office, and the right to resell it if you don't want it anymore. It doesn't give you the right to create art prints and sell them. The only person authorised to do so is the artist, unless they sold the reproduction rights to someone or sold the property rights (two different things). Copyright laws applie to any creative work, analog or digital, so always make sure you check the fine prints of everything if you plan on using something you didn't create yourself. We artist spend hours creating work, and we don't take lightly to someone stealing it and profiting from said work in our place. Just take the time to contact us to ask us what our terms are, if we are open to licensing the work, or open to work on a commission, state your terms clearly, and in the end if you can't agree to the price or terms of a contract, just move on, don't go behind an artist's back and steal their work anyway.

When it comes to having stickers printed, the common misconception is that it's a job better left to a professional, even more so if said stickers need to be printed on glossy vinyl sticker paper. Printing stickers at home with your inkjet printer is something few people think is doable. Well, it's not only possible, it actually gives you some really good results. So you should definitely not let the fact you have a basic inkjet printer stop you from printing your own planner or journal stickers. All you really need is the right paper and an inkjet color printer and be familiar with the printing settings (it's really not difficult at all, don't let that scare you). The first thing you need is a fairly decent inkjet printer and make sure it has the original brand's cartridge or ink in its tank. I cannot vouch for results with cheap refill inks, but you can still give it a try. I currently use a Epson L805 ink tank printer made to print photos, which is a bit more high end than your regular all purpose home printer, but you will get good result with a more basic color printer model just the same. In general, and from experience, Epson and Canon printers give better color printing results than HP, but this doesn't mean HP is bad by any mean. This means I don't want any of you to think you absolutely need a premium printer to do the job. I repeat, your regular printer WILL do just fine. Next, you need sticker paper that is compatible with inkjet printers, and that one is VERY important, the inkjet printer ink tend to stay tiny bit wet during the printing process and the wrong paper could cause the ink to smudge and your printer to get insanely dirty, so when you buy sticker paper, make sure it is specifically made to be used with an inkjet printer and NOT a laser printer. There are several brand and finish options out there with different finish. My 2 favourite are TeQuiero Vinyl sticker paper with a glossy finish, and True-Ally Vinyl sticker paper. Last but not least, you will need to pay attention to your printer settings carefully. On most printer, you will be better off using the best printing quality settings available and select "Glossy Photo Paper" as your paper option. The print speed will be a lot slower than with regular paper, this is normal, this is your printer's way to ensure the ink gets to dry and not smudge during the printing process. One thing I recommend is to make a test print on regular paper before you print your stickers, to check if all ink nozzles are clean and working correctly, and to make sure the color mode of your printer is giving you the best color results. Not all printers and inks are equal in that department, some printers convert the on screen RGB color values better than others, and denpending the print results, you might have to tweak the color settings a bit before you print. You will find those color options in your printer settings as well. A few years back, I made a YouTube video explaining it all. Cutting your stickers for use Once your stickers are printed, you'll need to cut them out of the A4 size paper, and you don't need a fancy plotting machine to do that. All you need is a good pair of scissors and a bit of patience. I usually cut mine out with regular craft scissors and then store them all in a box for when I am ready to use them in one of my journals. When I use to sell stickers on Etsy (Which I don't anymore) I would use an exacto knife and a cutting mat to do it. With an exacto knife, you can also "kiss cut" stickers so that just the sticky paper side get cut and the backing paper stays intact, it's all a matter of applying the right pressure with the knife on the paper. I do kiss cut more now that I have long acrylic nails that make peeling the backing of a completely cut out sticker really hard, ultimately you've got to stick with what works best for you right? If you are a sticker addict, make sure you sign up for our newsletter, you'll get a cute printable sticker set immediately upon signing up, and then a new sticker set every first Sunday of the month. Simply click on the picture below to head to the sign up form, it's that easy! Plus, you'll never ever miss an update. Disclaimer : This post contains Amazon affiliate links, if you click on them and make a purchase I get paid a commission at no extra costs to you.

What if I told you there is one foolproof way to instantly boost your mood and energy and has the potential to change your life? This thing is a real thing and it's called "gratitude" and this has been a practice pretty much every self-help guru, entrepreneur and successful people have bee practicing and advocating for quite some time. In fact, gratitude is at the core of the "Law of attraction" (LoA for short) practice. You may or may not believe in the LoA, but psychologists agree that simply being grateful for what you have has a big impact on your overall happiness and mental health, and yes some researches have been conducted on the topic, it's even published by the Harvard medical school. I myself have been a big fan of practicing gratitude for a number of years. I've always been a believer in the power of positive thinking, and I do believe in the law of attraction as well, but I didn't connect the dots with gratitude until I think about 10 years ago when I picked up the book "The magic" by Rhonda Byrne in a bookstore. The link I just shared, is an Amazon affliate link by the way, more on that at the bottom of this post. That book was my first real exposure to the art of gratitude, which I was kind of already practicing unconsciously already. The general idea is that by being grateful for what you have, you can bring more into your life. You may or may not believe that part, but you can probably agree that when you are being grateful or say thank you for something you are not focused on what you DON'T have and that alone is a big win. There is a right and not so right way to practice gratitude This might come as a shock to you, but often, people practice gratitude out of a place of condescension or lakh, and we've all been there at least once. Raise your hand or nod if you have heard or even uttered some of the following sentences : I'm grateful for the food on my plate, because there are people less fortunate than me who go hungry I'm grateful for my half broken down car because at least I have a car Or you have had people make you feel guilty of feeling a certain way because some people obviously have it "worse" than you and that means your feelings whatever they are invalid. I'm sure you have been in a similar situation at least once : You : "I'm so exhausted, being a mom whipped my butt today" Well meaning person : "At least you have kids, you should be grateful, there are people who are desperate to be a parent and can't" Sounds familiar? I bet! If it's not about parenting it's about other things, I remember more than one instance of me expressing my frustration about my maid breaking my dishes or constantly slacking only to have "well meaning" friends point out "At least you have a maid, show a bit of gratitude" The fact I was paying for a certain level of professionalism I was clearly not getting was apparently to be equated with a lack of gratitude. Let's be clear about one thing here, having something that someone doesn't is NOT a reason to be grateful, and it certainly not a reason to invalidate certain feelings you may have. You can be grateful about being a toddler mom AND be dead beat exhausted and on the verge of loosing your sanity. Feeling worn out, tired, and frustrated are VALID feelings you are ENTITLED to have. If gratitude has to be tied to someone not having something you have, it is not REAL gratitude. It comes from a place of lack and in the LoA lack is a negative energy, let it creep into your life and it'll bring more of it to you. but, wait! Didn't you say gratitude is the key to happiness? Yes it is! But not at the expand of other feelings. Nobody can feel super happy all the time and it's actually healthy to have moments when you don't feel your best. We are all humans. Plus, just like you can be grateful to be a parent, but super exhausted and frustrated at the same time. You can lead a happy fulfilling life and still have moments of frustration and anger. The difference is in how you let certain feelings get at you. You must acknowledge them, but the key is to not wallow in them and let them rain on your parade longer than they should. this is were real gratitude comes in The practice of gratitude is a daily practice, but if I feel low, I take a pen out and write a list of all the things I am grateful for right this second. It doesn't matter of small they are, if thewy make me feel warm inside, I'm grateful for them. I have written things like "I'm grateful for tea" in my gratitude diary. Just tea, and NOT because there is someone who potentially doesn't have it. I am grateful for tea...just because. The very act of listing all those small things that make you happy and say thank you for them is actually distracting you from feeling like your anger/fear or anxiety is going to eat you whole and if you go at it long enough, you'll suddenly find that you suddenly feel at peace. If that is hard to picture, imagine a bottle that has some mud stuck at the bottom. Now imagine trying to fill that bottle with clear water and seeing all the water turn muddy. If you keep on filling the bottle and make it overflow, it pushes the muddy water out. Do that long enough, and eventually, the water inside the bottle will become clear again. This is what the power of gratitude does. Imagine your anger, fear of any negative feeling that is taking a too strong hold on you as the mud at the bottom of the bottle. The water you pour in and let overflow is all the things you are grateful for. The practice of gratitude is not about negating the negative, it's about making sure that the positive outweighs the negative at the end of the day. If you have more things to be grateful about than you have to be frustrated with, your general state will be a state of happiness. Ultimately is all about tipping the scale in the favour of what you want. a gratitude journal is a good way to start If you are just getting started on practicing the art of gratitude in a conscious way, keeping a journal and setting 15 minutes a day to fill it is a great way to start. Consistency. like for everything else, is the key. It takes about a month to form a habit, any habit, so make those 15 minutes a day absolutely NON NEGOTIABLE. I personally do it at the end of my day, but seriously any time that works for YOU is a good time. During those 15 minutes, start listing all the things you are grateful for, one by one : I am grateful for tea I am grateful for a quiet, peaceful morning I am grateful for breakfast on the balcony I am grateful for a good night sleep No matter how big or small these things are, list them in, and notice how with each one you write down, you feel lighter, more at peace, take time to be grateful for that feeling as well. After a few months of keeping a journal, you might not have to do it as often because you will probably notice that saying thank you for things all through the day is becoming a second nature to you. I know some people make fun of people who say tank you to taxi drivers or doormen for holding doors, or cashier who give back the change at the supermarket. But guess what? If saying thank you is the key to happiness, then there is no reason not to, as long as you are doing it genuinely. I myself am a serial "thank you" sayer, nobody is too insignificant to not deserve a thank you from me. I am truly grateful for baristas making my coffee, the doormen holding doors for me, and taxi drivers taking me places. I don't write as much in my gratitude journal anymore, but I end my day silently giving thanks for everything at bedtime. I'm not religious at all, but this act of giving grace is one that is present in every religions, the concept of gratitude is in the prayers of every faith. If you would like to never miss a post and get access to cool printable freebies, please take the time to sign up for the Home Cyn Home newsletter, simply click on the image below : This post contains Amazon affiliate links, this means that if you click on them and make a purchase, I get paid a commission, at no extra costs to you.

When you live in a rented flat or house, you are always at the mercy of your landlord's rules and expectation, and sometimes it could mean not having the right to drill any holes in your wall to hang pictures. It's something that could seriously impede your ability to turn your rental property into a home that reflects your personality. Fortunately, there are ways around draconian landlord rules, and not only are those rental friendly, they are also a wonderful way to decorate your wall if you just plain hate drilling holes every time you want to change your home decor. I've got 2 words for you : command strips (Amazon affiliate link). I lived my entire life in rental properties so far, and in all that time I only had one landlord who included a 'no holes in walls" clause to the lease agreement, if I remember correctly he also was against using scotch tape on the wall, but turns out he wasn't too strict about that and we stayed years in that flat and he also ended up having no problem with a few holes here and there. In the flat we currently live in, we have no holes restrictions, other than my finding it a pain in the behind to call a handyman each time I want to hang a new picture, and abide by the homeowner association's rules about timings for noisy work. A few of my paintings, namely the ones we had when we first moved in are held with screws in the wall, but a few years ago I discovered command strips and there was no turning back. When I decided to make a gallery wall with some of my mint and pink illustrations a few months ago, I knew the hardest part would be to choose which artwork I wanted up on that wall. The whole part of putting them up took just a few minutes per canvas print. To make sure you end up with a balanced, harmonious gallery wall I HIGHLY recommend that you create a mockup with kraft paper to decide where everything should go. To do so, simply trace the size of your pictures, frames or canvas on a kraft paper roll and cut each of them out. Then using masking tape or washi tape, stick those mockup shapes to your wall so that you get an idea of how each picture will look. If you aren't sure you are going to remember which kraft square correspond to what, just write the description or name of the artwork on the square. Once your kraft paper squares are in place and you are satisfied with the placement of each of them, take a light pencil and mark the corners of each of them onto the wall. DO NOT remove the paper squares just yet! Following the instructions on the command strips pack, stick them to the back of your frames or canvas and then, one artwork at a time, place them on the wall. To do so, remove the corresponding kraft paper square and line the two top corners of your artwork with the lines you traced on the wall and press the frame against the wall so that the command strip adhesive gets to work its magic. Repeat the process for each and every frame or canvas that needs to go up. Command strip can be removed off the wall without leaving a trace if you follow the removal instructions, which is to pull down on the little tag at the bottom of the strip. Since the pictures are held to the wall with a velcro system between the wall and the frame strip, you also have the option of removing one canvas and swapping it for another by simply sticking a set of strip to the new canvas and placing it on the old strips on the wall. That method would only really work if you swap two canvas of the same size. The most important thing with command strips is to choose one that can bear the weight of your frame, so do pay attention to the weight bearing capacity of each sizes of strips in the range. In the pictures above, I used medium strips on each of those 12x12 inches canvas squares. I used 2 strips set per artwork. It's probably a tad overkill in this case and I could have done it small strips but I liked the idea of the canvas being hooked to the wall on a larger surface of strip. This post contains Amazon affiliate links, this means if you click on any of the links above and make a purchase, I'll get paid a commission at no extra cost to you. If you haven't already, take a minute to join the Home Cyn Home newsletter, you'll get a printable stickers set as a welcome gift and you'll get weekly updates, a new stickers set every months and the printable calendar page at the start of each months. Simply click on the image below :

May is mental health awareness month and it's right around the corner which means the blog will focus on self-care, personal development and well being post a whole lot all throughout the month. I am taking a bit of a head start with it because one of the most affordable, yet powerful tool for self-care and growth is keeping a journal. I encourage ALL of you to give journaling a go if you haven't already because what you'll get out of it is something that is hard to quantify or explain. I've been keeping a diary, aka journal since my teenage years, I think my first entry ever was when I was 13 and the victim of a nasty bully in my class. I was full of rage, and felt pretty let down by a system that unfortunately, didn't take bullying nearly seriously enough, it was back in 1992 and since then, my diary became a confident and quite frankly a great way to sort out my feelings and thoughts. It worked so well as a teen, that I kept on doing it as an adult, in one way or another and has helped me see clarity on a lot of things and heal a few trauma wounds from my past as well. As a 40 something grown up on a mission to move past certain negative patterns and blocks, I embarked on a journaling mission on steroids during the 2020 lockdown and have called those journals my "Life journals" because unlike all my previous diaries, these are notebooks I go through again regularly, re-reading old entries to keep track of my progress. And quite frankly, this is the best kind of journaling you can do. i call it "life journaling" It's a fancy term I came up with to describe the kind of journaling that has the express purpose to address your own self care, explore past trauma, and dive deep into your set of own negative patterns you are attempting to break but don't quite know how just yet. In ma case a lot of them were around material posessions, belief about money and the idea that work has to be hard and draining to be considered work. All in all, it helped me grow into my power, rewrite certain beliefs and move past serious blocks that were preventing me from living my own best life. All you need to get started is a notebook, and ANY notebook will do really, don't feel it has to be a super expensive one. But! Make it a notebook that will feel special to YOU. This is after all a LIFE journal, and I believe your life is important enough to be jotted down in a notebook you feel happy about. Personally, I like pretty journals, with enough potential to draw and doodle in them, for those reasons, my life journal is currently a pretty pastel pink Leuchtturm 1917 (Amazon affiliate link). It has dotted grid pages which gives me the flexibility I want to have right now, but if you prefer to write on ruled paper or even blank, go ahead, it's again all about what feels right to you. Over the years I have written on all kind of paper, in all kind of journal sizes, one thing that was always important to me was the whole ritual of choosing the notebook in the first place, or perhaps it was the notebook choosing me...You'll know it when you will feel that push just just buy that ONE journal out of all the others in the stationery shop. how to start writing in your journal? So, you got your notebook, you made it home and now you are sitting down, looking at it and wondering how you should start filling the pages. What the heck do you even write in a life journal? Where do you even start? Here is my advice: Start by writing down what the best version of your life should be like if there was no financial, work or family constraint. As my favourite author, Denise Duffield Thomas calls it in her books "Lucky Bitch" and "Get rich lucky bitch": write about your "First Class Life". Once you have done it, re-read it and see how you react to it all. Chances are you are going to find some of it impossible to reach, or you might be tempted to play it down, replacing a first class dream with a more practical one. These reactions will be your cues as to were you should start digging deeper into your subconscious to unravel the reason why your reasonable self decided your dream life is...well...nothing but a dream. One of the thing I trained myself to do while "life journaling" is to challenge my inner voice each time it comes with downplayed scenario or a rebuttal to what my goals and vision are. If my inner voice say "Seriously get a real job already" I will ask it "Why do you think that way?" and usually it's very vocal and reply with a reason that pretty much come from something someone said in my childhood at one point or another. Because guess what? A lot of our self-limiting beliefs actually have a root in our childhood. It often has to do with the fact that our capability to really reason things out do not really develop fully before we hit puberty, so a lot of the things we witness as kids are often taken at face value by our subconscious. In order to grow, you need to rewrite those "truth" and this is why mindset is pretty much everything when you are going after a goal. In order to reach a goal, you need to change your mindset accordingly, and sometimes, your mind will oppose those changes because there is a mental block, somewhere that need to be addressed first. This is where journaling really helps you get down to it. Often those blocks can be tiny but deep rooted enough that it could take you weeks or months to go over them and a journal is a great way to keep track of your thoughts, reflexions and progress. I usually find that the very act of writing down what bothers me on paper is making the problem clearer and less scary. It's pretty much like I can look at it and say : "Well! Hello there! You aren't as mean as I thought you were' Writing my problems and blocks down gives them a shape, a physical form on paper that let me see them for what they actually are. I am a visual person, so for me writing is really the best kind of therapy there is. You don't have to solve the problem right away In fact, from experience with journaling and getting in touch with my feelings, trying to force a solution really doesn't really work. Those repressed feelings, traumas and mental blocks really just want to get out and away, so more often than not, you just give them an outlet through journaling so they can do just that. Once they are out, you'll just be able to implement a new thought pattern without resistance. You must realise that the things that are holding you down, are often things you repressed too long and just want to be acknowledged and given their due importance before they can leave. They don't want to fight you, so don't feel you have to do so. Sometimes you will have to rinse and repeat a few times, you'll find that certain theme will pop back up often, but the good news, is that each time, they will pop up a bit less strong util one day, they get to fly free and let you be. This is why re-reading old journal entries is ALWAYS as good idea. write about your successes too The beauty of journaling is that it's also a place to log your personal wins and celebrate them. My journals have lists of goals I want to achieve and lists of things I succeeded at. It also has gratitude logs, because the power of gratitude is a force not to underestimate on your journey to your best life. Do take time to acknowledge those wins as much as you acknowledge those pesky mental blocks, your life is made of both and both need to be addressed and given value. if it's too hard don't do it alone A journal is NOT a substitute for the help of a professional therapist. If for any reasons you find that your introspecting journey is stirring up a lot of anxiety, more negative thoughts, make you aggressive or send you down a path of self harm. I URGE you to seek professional help RIGHT AWAY! Seeking help isn't a weakness, and you should not suck it up and bottle up those feelings again. If journaling opened a big wound, you will need to have the help of someone that can help you heal such a big would. Just like some physical wounds are beyond the help capabilities of a simple band-aid, some emotional wounds can't be just addressed with a journal, sometimes you need someone to stitch you back up together, and that is OK, more than ok in fact. If you liked that blog post and don't want to miss on any updates, please do take the time to subscribe to the Home Cyn Home newsletter for printables, shops updates and weekly blog post recap so you can live your best life and be bold and colorful. Simply click on the image below. This post contains Amazon Affiliate links, this means that if you click on them and make a purchase, I get paid a commission at no extra cost to you.

Before I became an illustrator and surface designer, I did an apprenticeship as an interior decorator specialised in upholstery and soft furnishing. It was back in 1999 until 2003 and the home decor trends were still heavily inspired by the 90s and the ridiculous amount of beige everything. Most of our clients back then were playing it safe within the trend and I saw enough boring beige, cream and white curtains and sofas to last a lifetime. Our shop had a wide array of very colorful fabric samples and colorful, bold prints that had me dream of doing my future home all in colors yet I think about 1% of our clients would consider these. I would have blamed it on trends then, but if time has taught me anything, is that most people will play it VERY SAFE within any given trends. The beigy-beige of the 90's and Y2K era just gave space to the era of "Everything grey", a commercial even safer than beige tone family and if you ask me, quite boring on its own, and I currently have a dark grey sofa (don't judge!). I know now that people shy away from colors because they are afraid to screw it up. Color theory is not something everybody is well versed into and there is that fear that what is popular now will not age well, or look so bad in your home that it's better to leave it alone entirely. I'll let you in on the professional insider tip though : NOTHING stays timeless and there will ALWAYS be a moment at which something will not age well. BUT! Like the Phoenix, trends die only to be reborn from their ashes a few decades later and the cycle goes on and on. Hello mid-century modern revival and cottagecore! You should always go for home decor that you like and take any trends with a huge pinch of salt (or rather a whole tablespoon). If you like colors, give them a chance, and don't worry about screwing it up, because thanks to the marvellous invention that is the internet and the surge in home decor blogs and Instagram accounts, you'll get all the help you need if you are color wheel challenged. I think it's pretty clear from the vibe of this website and my designs that I love turquoise, pink and mint tones. In my home decor I also like white, and pretty much every shade of blue and my style is pretty modern and minimalist with splashes of colors everywhere. Before we got that grey sofa, I had a velvet peacock blue one, which was old and worn out and had to go. But the rest of my decor is so fun and full of colors that one grey couch is not looking as boring. My advice is to first start with white walls. I live in rental so it's pretty much my default for walls, but even if you own your own place and are a newbie at venturing in the world of colors, go with neutral walls. If you can, also keep your furniture in neutral colors, as I said, I prefer white, but we also have some natural wood around. With those basics and neutral big items, playing with colors will be a lot less scary because the color splashes will pretty much just come from the textile items like curtains, bedding and throw pillows and thing like wall art and small decorative items. Those are all small items that you can get rid off and change if you end up hating them or simply want a change of decor. They are also quite affordable and you will find colorful soft furnishing and decorative items for every budget. The second step is to decide WHICH colors you want in your space and start looking at how they go together. In the basics of color theory you can either work with analogous colors or complementary colors. A complementary color pair is always a primary color (red, blue or yellow) paired with the secondary color directly opposite on the color wheel. This means red pairs with green, blue with orange and yellow with purple. Complimentary colors offer a very SHARP contrast so if bold is not your thing, you might want to soften then a bit with softer tones. Analogous colors are colors that are side by side on the color wheel and they usually flow into one another. I typically use analogous color combination in my decor and in some my designs and illustrations as well : Mint and turquoise are basically greens drifting into blue, and the blue drifts into the purple and pink. The Home Cyn Home signature mint and pink palette is actually a COMPLIMENTARY palette, Mint belongs to the green family and pink to the red family, but because they are pastel tone, the contrast is a bit toned down. If you go with mostly analogous tones, like for example an interior that is blue and blueish-purples, my advice is to introduce a complimentary color as well, in small doses. In this case the color would be a yellow or orange hue, and it can be a pastel tone to make the contrast more harmonious. The reason being that an all blue can really become too monotonous and cold. Altgernatively, you can play with different hues in the same family. Navy blue pairs well with other lighter blues on the green or purple side of the spectrum. The key to a successful colorful decor is to NOT be all matchy matchy. if you ask me this is the rule to ANY home decor, the matchy-matchy beige from the 90s and the grey overload we have right now is also pretty boring, precisely because it all matches oh too well. Still scared? Pick 2 colors you love to start with, and stick to those color family to buy your decor accents, without being obcessive about all the shades matching. If you like blue, just pick blue items without worrying about them matching what you already have. Chances are it will match anyway because we are all wired to like certain colors over others and certain tones within that color family. Personally, I will always pick a turquoise or a lovely sky blue over a Prussian or cerulean blue. But if by any chance I end up finding a really cool cushion in those lesser used tones, they will still match the lighter blue and blue green I have around. take baby steps If your home is all neutrals and you still feel on the fence about using colors, simply out of fear of messing it up (you won't) start small. For example you might want to just start with putting a colorful tablecloth on your dinning table and find chair covers in a similar tone. Or, you could start with just a few cushion on the sofa that match the artwork you already have on the wall. Then, as you go, you can build on that and add curtains that falls in the color palette you are working with, or upgrade your photo frames to match, or introduce a few colorful decorative vases and bowls. Building your decor over time is totally an option, do not feel you have to just go for one giant makeover and then learn to love it right away. Doing one giant makeover when you are a colorful home decor newbie is actually very scary...don't feel like you have to do it, because you truly don't have to. If for any reasons you grow bored of your decor scheme, change it, place all those pillow covers and trinkets in boxes and explore a new theme, you don't have to have a lifetime commitment to your color palette and if you went in with neutral walls and furniture, the fix is going to be quite inexpensive...heck you can even change the mood of your home each season by introducing different colors all thorough the year, fellow home decor blogger Rukmini and her brand Trumatter is the queen of dressing up her French farmhouse decor to go with each seasons. And, always remember, even if you end up painting your walls or funriture : It's JUST a little paint, if you don't like it, paint over it. Just the same as if you hate a certain throw pillow cover or blanket, just CHANGE them. Donate what no longer works for you and move on. But I beg you my dear, do not stay away from colors in your home if your only reason is that you are afraid to mess it up. If you enjoyed this blog post and are looking at more colorful content and lifestyle tips on how to live your best life, join us by subscribing to the newsletter, that way you'll never miss an update, and will get access to cool printables and heads up about discounts in the shop. Simply click the picture below.

Be the change you want to see in the world! Who hasn't heard or read this famous Mahatma Gandhi's quote? While he meant it in the context of society to change, I seriously think this quote is one we should all apply to our personal lives as well. Too often we tend to wait passively until a change occur to start doing something, but it doesn't always happen and we keep on waiting passively for that one thing to happen to start living in a different way. If you believe in the law of attraction, you probably know that to make anything manifest in your life, you need to start acting like it's already there instead of waiting until the thing manifest itself. Last year, I was reading the book "Lucky Bitch" by Denise Duffield-Thomas (affiliate link) and had that "ah-ha moment" where the pieces fell together once and for all. See, the law of attraction is all very nice, but the problem is that it's easier said than done living as if you already have something, especially when you are starting from nothing and this is why it can feel super discouraging at time. What most LoA books and guru out there tend to miss, is that you don't have to go all in when you try to manifest a new reality, especially if this new reality of yours demands a whole new income. You can go about it gradually and level up your life bit by bit until you reach your goal. if you've read the blog post about journaling for self-growth, you know that the first thing to do is to write down what your ideal life, money no bar would look like. Go about it in all the tiny details you can or want. Once you have established that, look at what actionable steps you can take right away toward that life. It's not about going all the way to the goal, but finding the next doable step and then do it. Frankly, that bit was a huge revelation to me, and it made the whole process a lot less daunting. I have big goals, who doesn't? But for the first time since last year, I realised that I could change certain things in my everyday life without having to wait until everything else fell into place. In my "first class life" I have a spacious bathroom with a bathtub in which I take bath with scented candles lit around. The bathroom of my dream also has a cosy, inviting decor. It's actually a far cry from the bathroom I already have : tiny, not the most practical, no bathtub... Sure! I could wait until we move out of that place, luck out on a flat with a better bathroom, and hope that one day my dream bathroom will manifest. But that is not how things work, and there were actually several things I could do about my current bathroom anyway. For a start, scented candles do not require a lot of money and taking a nice warm shower with scented candles lit in the bathroom is as doable as with a bathtub, so I levelled up and started using some. Making a fairly impractical bathroom cosier just required a few Ikea shelves, an artificial plant and a cute basket filled with rolled hand towels, another thing that didn't break the bank. What it did though is making me look forward to shower time and lifted my spirit up so I could tackle the rest of the day, or go to bed at night feeling more at peace. This slight shift in mindset got a cascading effect and I felt more relaxed, more productive and more tuned in to new opportunities that would take me closer to my main goals. See, when you start giving yourself more respect, you can hike your standards in life and take decisions that will be more in line with what you want. It's as simple as that. Last year, I realised I was CONSTANTLY settling for things, playing myself down and quite frankly didn't put the amount of care about myself or my life that was in line with my goal. Exibit A : I was too stupidly frugal to discard old frumpy, holey underwear and indoor clothes for the sole reason that I spent "good money" on them and it would be a shame to throw them away before they fully disintegrated. That's right! I was forcing myself to wear quite frankly, crappy clothes in the comfort of my home because it would save money! Quite incompatible with my money goals too, which include not being afraid to spend money or questioning the prices of things. Here I was, unable to let go of an old worn out pair of cotton Jockey panties! Good lord help me dear! Back then, I had to pretty much force myself to empty the entire content of my wardrobe and do some SERIOUS editing in the name of following what Denise said in her book. It was hard, I almost bailed a few times, but I pushed past it and it made room for not only better clothes, it also got me to reevaluate my standards a LOT. A while ago, a friend shared a meme that said "You can't expect to be treated like a Louboutin if you act as a flipflop". This quote speaks volume about how we first treat ourselves directly affects how the rest of the world will react to us and how we will see the world. And in general, people tend to see you the way you project yourself, so we have a big degree of control over that narrative since then change starts with us right? Give yourself a level up challenge Last year, I gave myself one whole month to do something each day to change my current lifestyle, mindset and situation and brought me closer to that "First class life" We were on lockdown, stuck at home while the Delta wav raged across India, but I still stuck to it. I took time each day to journal about it in a way or another to keep a log, 30 days of it actually kickstarted the habit for the rest of the year. The steps don't have to be big, they just have to bring you closer to your goal and hike your level of self-respect. As I said, I started with putting candles in my bathroom and discarding old frumpy underwear, hardly the kind of earth shattering move huh? So, let's say your ultimate goal if finances aren't an issue is to get your nail done and have regular sessions at a fancy spa. You don't have to actually wait until you have the perfect income to act on that goal. The next step could be to just buy a manicure set in your current price range and start doing your nails at home. Or buy skin care products within your current budget and start using these regularly. Or, if your current budget allows it, make it a goal to go to a salon once a month to get a basic mani-pedi. The point is, you've got to start levelling up somewhere and go about it in increments. Each steps that bring you closer to your ultimate goal, no matter what that goal is will also boost your confidence in the fact this crazy goal IS indeed possible. rinse and repeat once a year The challenge is one you can repeat once a year, dedicating a whole month to levelling up your life further. Get comfortable into your new personal reality, live it and enjoy it, and then dive back in and see what next step you can take from there and take it. Chances are you WILL face resistance again, your inner voice is going to protest it and try to get you to maintain the status quo again, so like the first time, you'll need to journal it out, and if you encounter any mental blocks along the way, journal about these too. If you don't know how, I encourage you once more to read "Journaling for self-growth". Along with the book Lucky Bitch, I also recommend you read "Get Rich Lucky Bitch" as a follow up. Both those links are Amazon affiliate links, this means I get paid a commission if you buy anything. But as a rule I never recommend things I haven't tried and tested myself and those books are quite frankly among the best I read on the subject of self-development, they are specially geared toward women who have quite frankly been conditioned by society to play it safe, dim their light, and settle for things rather than go for what they TRULY want. If you liked this blog post and want to keep being updated and access cool printables every months, do join the Home Cyn Home newsletter. Simply click on the image below.

There are crazy days, hectic days, and then there are the butt kicking days. You know, the kind of day that start wrong and end up giving you a run for your money. We've all had those days, the type that makes us wish we never got up in the first place and wants us to run away screaming hoping it'll make it move faster just so it can end. Yeah! We've all be there! Often, you can't even really predict those kind of days really, even if you woke up with the best positive intention, you could suddenly find yourself in an infernal cogwheel of things going wrong : toilet not flushing, right before you stepped in your dog's poopy accident in the middle of the living room, and facing a tea kettle that decided to bail on you... Usually this kind of chain reaction gets worse and worse as the day progress if you can't snap out of the bad mood that you got into at the very start. And frankly, as in favour of the law of attraction and positive thinking woo-woo as I am, they are probably just lessons to make us appreciate the good ones more. Seriously though, these days happen to everybody, and frankly, from experience it is better to accept that any form of resistance is futile from the start. Trying to fight these days, is pretty much like attempting to swim against a hard current : you'll only end up exhausting yourself further and faster (don't do it it is stupid). When one of these days of hell come upon me I usually adopt a much saner approach: by not trying to make it a better day, but to try to salvage what is left of it. On days like these, I set my expectations on low, VERY low. Over the years I came to see these as cue that maybe I need a break, and just stop achieving insane productivity at all cost, and focus on myself. Ticking off everything off my to-do list goes off the table and the couch becomes my best friend (along with Netflix). On those days, my goal becomes to keep everyone alive and fed and I'll count any small wins as a bonus. Deadlines can wait, my sanity can't. A cup of tea makes everything better, but if you rolled your eyes at this, I'm going to say "Go ahead and fix yourself a cup of coffee instead". When everything seems to be going wrong during the day, I tend to favour comfort everything : clothes, food, activities and warm beverage. The reason I particularly favour tea (me being a tea addict set aside) is that the very act of holding a steaming cup of tea and waiting for it to cool down while inhaling the aroma is near meditative. As long as I remember to keep the cup on a level, hard surface in front of me and not on my lap, I'm good to go. And if tea fails? Well! There is always wine... For as long as I can remember, I used to go walk the stress, anxiety and frustration away and that has always been my to-go activity whenever I needed to clear my mind. It's the cheapest, easiest way to leave your problems in the dust : slip on your shoes, grab your keys, and walk out the door listening to some music while your pound that negativity away. Walk as long as you need to to feel calm again, and then go back to taking care of yourself until bed time. Tomorrow is another day, one you will probably start on the right foot if you accepted the reality of an off day without feeling guilty about it. I find there is a lot of comfort in taking those taxing, challenging days easy, it reminds me we are all human, that we never were meant to work like robots and that maybe it was the only way my body could let me know to slow down a bit. In the spirit of mental health awareness day, I urge you to not push through a bad day (or week) and take all the time you can afford and need to focus on your own well-being first. If you like what you just read, please spread the word and share it, and take time to subscribe to the Home Cyn Home newsletter to get your cool welcome printable stickers, updates every week and cute additional printable every months. Simply click on the image below :

Every now and then, my production partners add new products to their range of items, which is the perfect occasion for me to enable my best designs on their new offerings. Last week, Redbubble launched 4 new products specially for your furry friend : Cat mats, dog mats, pet blankets, and pet bandanas. There is not reason why cool unique designs should only be reserved for humans when you can get your pet to be as cool and trendy as you are. Here is a walk-through of all 4 of the new products to treat your dog or cat to. Pet blankets Love your pet but not the hair they leave on your sofa, armchair or in your car? These new pet blanket can keep your furniture neat and do it in style. The blanket is made of soft polyester fleece and comes in 2 different sizes and is enabled in most of Home Cyn Home's designs. This cute blanket will also keep your pet warm on a cold day, and can be used in their pet basket or bed. pet bandana Dress up your dog (or cat) to match your style with those super cute bandanas. Like the blanket, they come in 2 different sizes : - Size S for small dogs and cats - Size L for medium and large breed dogs These pet bandanas are printed triangles of polyester fabric so that you don't have to fold the fabric and fuss to make it sit right on your dog's neck. Simply tie the corners and you are ready to go. You can hype both you and your pet's style quotient by twining. Redbubble has had fabric scarves for humans for as long as I sold my designs with them. pet mats Every pet owner will tell you that the feeding area is always a mess, after all, our furry friends do not have the same dinning etiquette we have. It's time to say goodbye to boring ugly plastic placemats and welcome in a cute, washable mat that will blend with your decor and prevent spills on your floor. Redbubble has them in two different avatar: - Fish shaped for your cat - Bone shaped for your dog Both are made of absorbent foam with a non skid backing so that the mat stays put where you need them even under attack from a rowdy hungry pet. When it's dirty, simply toss in the washing machine and wash it on cold water setting. Shopping on Redbubble is really the best way to ensure you find unique designs that will match your style perfectly and pays an artist/designer their fare share. Love what you see on Home Cyn Home and don't want to miss an update? Consider joining the newsletter. You'll get a welcome set of printable stickers and updates every week about new blog posts and discounts. You will also get the printable calendar page for the month, and a new set of printable stickers every months. Simply click the picture below to sign up :

Sometimes, an artwork or illustration is born out of a strong story. It comes as a flash of inspiration striking at random that triggers an urge to create. This is certainly how the most iconic of all of Home Cyn Home's design came to be : The groovy Rickshaw. This adorable watercolor rickshaw, has had many avatars and variant created over the years but how the original came to be is one of those stories that proof you can get inspired just about anywhere at totally random times too. See, I live in Mumbai, in India and I tend to rely on rickshaws to get around (also known as "auto"). They are small 3 wheeler vehicles that can zip in traffics and get you from A to B at a reasonably fast pace, but are opened to the elements so getting stuck in a traffic jam while riding in a "rick" can be quite uncomfortable, especially in the hot Summer months because you inhale dust and pollution a plenty while sweating bullets. Even with that, they are my favourite way to get around and without them, this iconic illustration would probably never have been born. See, one day I was riding in one to just run my usual load of errands in my area when we suddenly got stuck in one of those infamous, totally unpredictable Mumbai traffic jams. The kind that turns a 15 minutes ride into a 45+ minutes one. At one point, I was stuck in a sea of rickshaws all trying to squeeze themselves in gaps. Honking and going inch by inch on a really dusty road, the stuff you want to get out quickly. Mumbai's Rickshaws are all black with a yellow stripe running on the side, which makes for a pretty boring sight. It's at that exact moment, while inhaling my fair share of fumes and dust and trying to tune everything out that my mind suddenly went : "This jam would be a lot more fun if all those rickshaws were pink" BOOOOOOOM! Right that second, I knew I had to write that idea down, because it was a great idea for a watercolor illustration and I didn't want it to escape me. So, I took my phone out, and wrote a note : "Pink rickshaw" to make sure I would not forget it. Writing that note turned out to be unnecessary, the instant I made back home, the urge to paint was such that i went to work right away. What came out was a pink and yellow rickshaw surrounded by blue leaves which I scanned immediately to edit into a design for my Society6 and Redbubble shop. The original had some elements I ended up not liking at all, namely the paisley design on the roof or the rickshaw, so I ended up removing it in Photoshop. I also created a version without the leaves, so that I could turn it into stickers and patterns later on. The original painting was created with my "Prima Marketing" Tropical watercolor set (Amazon Affiliate link), which I have used to the death with that magenta, pink and yellow colors. For a long while, that color palette was my to-go to palette, until finding replacement for those watercolor pans proved to be insanely difficult. From that original illustration, a lot of different versions were born, Including an ALL PINK version, and the most recent digital version called "hippie rickshaws" : It's the design that quickly became a best seller in every shop, including my Etsy shop when I was selling physical stickers in it. It became a pattern called "Funky Rickshaw", got turned into a notepad and a mousepad as well as resin keychain charms, still from when I was selling physical items on Etsy. And it even got a printable mini-stickers set version which is now available on Patreon. When a friend of mine left India, she comissionned a copy of my original Rickshaw and asked me to make 2 companion designs to go with it. It gave birth to the Groovy Indian truck, and Horn Ok Please sign in the same color palette. Both designs are doing well in my shops as well. The amziong part is that all of it started while being stuck in an insane traffic jam, I could have cribbed, lost my cool, and started to brew negativity, but I was in a relaxed mood that day, and I became a good receptors for ideas and caught this one. because, yes, like Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic, I believe ideas are live bodiless beings that visit us at random. If you want to be kept in the loop about new blog posts, shop updates and discounts and snag cool stickers and printables every month, do take time to subscribe to the Home Cyn Home newsletter. Simply click the picture below : This posts contain Amazon and Society6 Affiliate links, this means that if you click on them and make a purchase, I'll get paid a commission at no extra costs to you.

As and avid bullet journal keeper, I always wanted to try the famous Archer & Olive blackout notebook and 2022 is the year I got to do so. Now 5 months into it, I can give an in depth reviews with all the pro and cons of keeping a journal on black paper and give you all the details about my experience so far and where to buy it, or find alternative to it in India, along with the supplies you WILL need to write in one. I have been a fan of Archer & Olive journals since 2019 when Bigger Dreams Co. sent me one to review, and I've since then kept my 2021 journal in a white page A&O and KNEW I had to get my hands on a Blackout book next because I had been in love with how it looked in Instagram posts. Finding a site that sold the Blackout in India took me time, unfortunately Bigger Dreams was out os stock (and still is), but thankfully, thee is another BuJo supplies store in India that has them : Paper Planning and More. If you live outside of India and aren't sure where to start looking, the Archer & Olive website is where you need to start. Archer & Olive is known for their quality thick 160gsm paper and quality binding and is te kind of journal artists favour because this paper can take watercolor, pigment ink and gouache like a boss without much of a sign of ghosting or bleeding. The downside of them all being that you are limited to 160 or 192 pages depending the notebook, so if you want to fit a whole year in just one book, your spreads are going to have to be fairly simple. Black or white, the paper is the same exclusive quality one can expect from Archer & Olive, and there is no compromise on that one. Quite frankly though, the ghosting is not going to be mush of an issue at all even if it were thinner paper in the Blackout. Ink bleeding through is really a white page problem and will never quite be a black paper thing. you will need special pens to write Black paper comes with the unique challenge of requiring pens with an opaque ink, you won't be able to write with your regular fine liners and pens and you won't be able to draw in it with regular water or alcohol markers. The ink will simply not show on dark paper. this means that if you don't have opaque gel pens like the Gelly Rolls, or Posca pens (affiliate links), you will need to invest in those first. You will also need a black sharpie or copic marker to erase your mistakes as correction tape only comes in white and won't do in a black paper notebook. The biggest drawback of these opaque pens, is that as you reach the end of the cratridge, the gel ink inside become sticky and it becomes harder and harder to get clean lines. I currently have 2 white gelly rolls that are completely useless while it still shows they are about half full. It's a problem I never had with regular black and blue gel pens, so be prepared to have to replace these pens a lot more often than your regular white paper proof gel pens. Black paper is a LOT more forgiving You might be a bit limited with what you write and draw with, but black paper has the HUGE advantage of being a lot more forgiving than white paper and that is probably the biggest pro point in favour of a Blackout book. No matter what you use, you won't have to worry about ghosting happening with black paper. In my white paper A&O books, there were certain pens and inks that would still bleed through and Stabilo Boss highlighter are actually quite infamous for that...they bleed through 160gms paper!!!!! The blackout puts and end to that issue, because opaque pigments do not bleed easily to begin with, and then even if you use gouache, you won't see the wet spot on the other side of the paper. Heck you can correct a mistake with a sharpie or alcohol based marker without seeing it spoil the next page. So, if you are really 100% against the idea of ghosting or bleeding in your journal and are creative enough to use opaque mediums, go fo it. It's not ideal for washi tape I love using washi tape in my journals, and unfortunately, black paper is not the best for it. Washi tape is a bit translucent, and the black paper will show through and dull the colors a bit, unless you stick to metallic tape or tape with enough metallic accents to make you forget about the dull colors. It's also less than ideal for transparent stickers, but it's fine with white background stickers, so plan your spreads accordingly. For me, quite frankly, this is a bit of a deal breaker, and I now KNOW that the 2023 journal will be back on white paper because I don't like my washi tape use to be that restricted. All in all, writing on black paper has been fun so far, it's definitely different and gives a really cool vibe to my 2022 journal, but with all this in mind, I much prefer white paper because it's less limiting in terms of what I can use to draw, paint and write with and DEFINITELY better if you are a washi tape lover. Archer & Olive notebooks are also quite expensive, and fortunately there are black paper BuJo alternatives in India (not to mention white paper but that will be for another post. The Obsidian Paper press seems to have quite a few options of black dotted grid journals, and so does Onyx Printing Don't want to miss a blog post? Subscribe to the Home Cyn Home newsletter! You'll get a printable stickers set as a welcome gift, and additional stickers set on the first Sunday of every months, plus a printable calendar page and the scoop on all the shop discounts. Simply click on the image below to sign up : This blog post contains Amazon Affiliate links, this means that if you click on them and buy anything, I'll get paid a commission at no extra costs to you.

Back in March, when pools reopened and I found myself need a new water bottle, I decided to order one of my Society6 water bottle to celebrate. Now after a couple of month of using it, I can give you guys a full review of it, and yes! Society6 does deliver to India, and they are quite fast at it too, so don't let where you live stop you from ordering from them (hint hint, they shop worldwide). Having a sturdy bottle that is easy to clean, and keeps my water cool are two of my main requirement when I look at buying a water bottle, along with of course having no harmful BPA and being as plastic free as possible. Because I don't know about you guys, but plastic bottles all end up really stinking after a while, no matter how often you clean them, and that is a HUGE turn off for me. Society6's water bottles have been on my radar since they released them toward the end of 2020 but with the pandemic raging and the fact India had so many restrictions in place, I didn't want to order a bottle that could get stuck in transit so I waited for things to settle, and then 2021 hit, with the Delta wave and a whole renewed level of madness, so it was on the back burner again, beside a water bottle wasn't something I needed right away being stuck at home and not having access to a pool anyway. 2022 gave us some relief, pools reopened, life went back to almost normal, and when I went back to swimming regularly, I realised I forgot how stupidly dehydrated one can be right after a good swim, this is when I knew it was tine to FINALLY get one of my water bottles! The most difficult things was to CHOOSE a design, because my shop currently has 429 designs (and counting) to chose from and a vast majority of them are enabled as water bottles. I knew I wanted a summer vibe design that would be perfect for the pool and I ended up narrowing it down to my retro sunglasses design and my synchronized swimmers. I ended up choosing the sunglasses because it was less pool specific and I could carry it around without having to explain why my bottle has a bunch of ladies in swimming costumes on it. Plus I haven't done any synchro since my 20's! Those bottles come in 3 different sizes : 12, 18 and 32oz and with 3 different lid options : straw, sport or handle lid. I went with a 18oz bottle with a handle lid because years of experience with my daughter's water bottles told me that anything with moving parts tend to have a shorter life, and straws are a pain in the butt to keep clean in this hot and humid climate where things take time to dry. Ordering from India is pretty easy, and from the day I ordered to the day it was delivered it took 15 days, the first 5 days the bottle was in "production" since Society6 is a print on demand company that holds no inventory. This bottle wasn't the first thing I ever ordered with them, and 15 days is pretty much the standard for all ordered I placed with them. When I received the bottle, I did an unboxing reel on Instagram to show you all the quality of the bottle as I took it out, no filters, no edits. The print quality with Society6 has always been excellent and the colors are ALWAYS as close to the on screen design as possible which is a huge plus when you shop with them, you know you won't be disappointed with the colors. The bottle came packed in a fabric drawstring bag that was packed into a snug cardboard box so your bottle stays safe in transit and reaches your scratch free. The bottle has a nice matte finish which makes it easy to hold grip even with sweaty hands. This bottle is not going to be one you'll drop because it slipped through your wet hands which is a big HUGE plus for me, I can be a bit clumsy, and the last thing I need is dropping my water bottles on my toe because it slipped through my fingers after getting out of the pool. The other thing I am completely sold on with this bottle is the wide neck, it makes it super easy to clean and air dry, which means it won't smell off because some water pooled in it while you washed it. If you have kids and have spent a significant amount of time and money replacing their school's water bottle, you know how real the struggle of cleaning a narrow neck bottle is. With this bottle it's GONE, no more hassle, no more stinky bottles! One of my friend bought one for herself and said she prefers wide neck bottles because it's easier to put ice cubes in it, which I never thought of but is another valid point in favour of wide neck bottles if you ask me. It's a double walled steel bottle, which means the liquid you put in it will stay hot or cold a long time. Society6 claims cold water can stay cold for 24 hours and hot water stay hot for 12. I haven't used it to put anything warm in it, and I usually pack fridge cold water in it before heading to the pool and usually empty it after my workout. I'll say that though : A few times I had no choice but to leave my stuff in a sunny spot at the pool, 11am strong an sunny at that, and my water stayed fridge cool even with the outer wall of the bottle feeling hot for 2 hours. I have no difficulties believing the claims on S6, it is a properly insulated bottle, the kind you could pack hot tea, coffee or soup in if you need to in the winter. My bottle being a handle lid, is probably not the best option if you plan on using it WHILE working out, unscrewing it to drink can be a bit cumbersome if you are taking a quick water break in the middle of a Zumba class and will be impossible doing while running on a treadmill, so if you do a high intensity workout and need to hydrate fast, pick their sport or straw lid option instead. When you order from India, it seems the order will be fulfilled and shipped out of Korea where Society6 has a production partner that is probably in charge of delivering to all of the Asia Pacific region. Back in 2018 when I ordered last it was shipping out of US and there was no custom duty then, but I'm guessing that now with custom being levied on US parcels, Society6 must have found a better way around it. I ordered this water bottle and an Apple watch band in 2022, both shipped from Korea and attracted no custom duty. That said, I would still recommend not ordering anything in bulk, the bigger the order, the more likely you might have to pay some custom on it. Both parcels shipped to me this year had been opened by the custom office in Mumbai, so play it safe. Loved this blog post? Want to stay updated on what's coming next and know when a Society6 sale is coming? Sign up for the Home Cyn Home newsletter, you'll get a cute printable stickers set as a welcome gift, and get the calendar printable and a new stickers set every month as well. Simply click on the image below: