Shutterbean’s Favorite Things 2023

It’s my annual favorite things list. As always, everything that’s on this list is something I own/have paid for.  This is what brought value to my life this year! I hope it inspires your holiday shopping. I love hearing how many of you were gifted things from these lists.  YAY!

So let’s get into it. Here are my Favorite Things from 2023:

Favorite Art Things (Planner Supplies) 

This year I leaned heavily into planner life and this is what I LOVE! 

Tasteful Post-It notes– Aren’t these pretty? I don’t like a lot of Post-it colors in my planners. These allow me to use fun pen colors. 

Posca Paint Pens Extra Fine– To say I am OBSESSED is an understatement. I have been on a mad search for a white marker and this one is thick and lovely. Now that I have found the best extra fine white pen I can move on to the next chapter in my life! 

Black Gesso– I use this stuff all of the time in my journals. I like to apply it with an old credit card, let it dry, and draw on top with white markers. Pencil looks very cool on it too. 

Zebra Brush Tip – this is my favorite pen to use for writing, making lists, and drawing. You can highlight words written with this pen and color on top of it and it doesn’t smear and I love that in a pen. 

Silver Chrome Pens– pure magic. PURE. MAGIC. I love all of these chrome pens. 

Sticker Book – these stickers are beautiful! I put so many of them in my daily art planner this year. I have built whole scenes around them! 

Tombow Tape Runner – This thing is the best thing in the whole wide world if you love to put things in journals but you hate dealing with glue. It’s like correction tape but with adhesive. Love love love.  

Tombow Correction Tape: I’m partial to this brand if you don’t already know. I love Tombow brush pens SO SO MUCH. 

Polaroid Printer– I use this Polaroid printer to print photo stickers in my planner. It’s a fun process to print things from your phone!

Stencil Ruler– this is the ruler that started it all. And when I mean that…I asked my husband if he could print me some journal templates with his 3D printer and he went wild and made me so many fun templates to use from Instructables. 

Currently Workbook- This is my monthly self-reflection workbook! Next year will be my 6th year working on this project. I am hoping to do more live streaming events in 2023 with this workbook! If you’re on my newsletter, I’ll be sharing more info there.  If you are international and want a copy, here’s link to get one through Blurb. 

Graph Paper Notebooks- These are the best notepads for writing notes while at your computer. I have three in rotation. I love the spiral and the graph paper is perfection. 

Hobonichi Techo– this is the planner I used this past year for a daily art practice.  I filled mine with lists, photos, color, tape, stickers, pens, paper, makers, and magic. Every day this year I checked in with myself and made art while I was at it. I did it with a couple of friends and it was fun to share our pages via text together. A lot of my pages have ended up in My Everyday Life posts. 

Hobonichi Cousin– I will continue the daily art planner thing next year but am stepping up in size. While I loved the techo, it was just too small for me at times. I want more real estate so we will see how this one goes! 

Intentions for the Week Planner – This is what I use to plan out my weeks! Next year will be my third year using it. This past year was a little tough for me as I was experimenting with a daily planner so for a few weeks, I fell off the habit. It’s cool though because I designed the planner to be a template for whenever I needed it. I don’t feel guilty about not having every week filled in. It’s there when I need it and I’m glad I made it.

Favorite Beauty & Wellness Things

Revlon Hair Dryer Brush–  I’ve been wearing my hair curly this past year so I mostly let it air dry. When I want to dry my hair before bed, I use this thing and it works fast and makes my hair very smooth. My Mom would have loved this thing.

BrioGeo Fairwell Frizz  – I got this in one of my FabFitFun boxes last year and it is SO good with helping me have weightless curls. I put it on wet hair and then scrunch it and let it air dry. No frizz. Hooray for NO FRIZZ. 

Big Retro Reading Glasses– I bought this pack and love them. My family thinks they’re silly but I like that I know IMMEDIATELY that they’re my readers. I have one pair that lives on my nightstand, one in my office, and the other next to where I sit on the couch and read. 

Black Licorice Vanilla Body Butter– I put this stuff on before bed. If you love black licorice like I do, you’ll love this. It’s soooo creamy and doesn’t make you feel super greasy. My bed ends up smelling like it and I love that. 

Spiral Hair Ties- I almost always have one of these on my wrist. They are so convenient, they don’t pull my hair and they aren’t annoying on my wrist. I don’t lose them as much as I do regular hairbands. If they are stretched out, you can just place them in hot water and they go back to normal. Hooray for life hacks! 

Insta-Dri Nail Polish in C-hill Out– I am currently wearing this color as I type this. I fell in love with dark green this year and I am glad I can make my nails my favorite color! 

Insta-Dry Nail Polish in The Queen’s Velvet– Another one of my faves this year. I sometimes add a glossy top coat to this one. It’s SO PRETTY.

Essie Nail Polish in Gadget Free-  This one is almost chrome-like. I love looking down at my nails when I’m wearing it. It’s like JEWELRY for my nails. 

FabFitFun Subscription- I’ve kept this subscription up for the past few years because it introduces me to a bunch of new products and also helps me with gift giving! One month I got really nice cheese knives and beautiful beach towels to gift.  Here’s $20 off your subscription if you want to check it out too! 

Apple Watch 9 Series- This is what I got for my birthday this year and I love it so much! I used to be loyal to Fitbit for many many years and made the switch and there’s no turning back, baby. I am motivated to move every day and close my rings. I also like that I can control the music from my phone and text. 

Ice Shaker 26oz. Insulated Tumbler- I am always blown away that there can still be ice cubes in this tumbler a DAY LATER. I drink more water when I use a straw so this thing is gold. Now if I could only just glue it to me and drink from it all day long instead of putting it down somewhere in my house and losing it. Big sigh!  

Spirit IEX 195 Elliptical Machine– This has been part of my workout routine for the past two years. It’s held up well and when I went on a trip and used another elliptical machine, I really missed my machine at home. That proves that I am loyal and love my elliptical. End of story. 

Favorite Home/Tech Things: 

JBL Speaker- I use this one in my bathroom. It connects easily to my phone so I can listen to music (LOUD!) while I get ready or shower. 

Noise-canceling headphones – If you are an introvert and you have to be around people a lot, these headphones are INCREDIBLE. There’s a TV in the same room as my kitchen and my family will watch shows while I’m cooking it can be SO IRRITATING to listen to something that I don’t want to hear. I put these headphones on, put on some music or a podcast and I am in another world. The ultimate coping mechanism! 

3D printing machine- Casey got this at the beginning of the year and it’s been really fun to see how much he uses it. He makes things for Cooper and I and it makes me so happy! 

iDiskk iPhone storage– I use this thing to pull videos off my phone so I can work with them on my computer. It’s great!! It’s handy. I just wish I didn’t lose it all the time because it’s so small. 

Linnea Poster Calendar- I’m continuing my Mom’s tradition by purchasing this calendar every year. She had it in her kitchen and delighted in seeing what the artwork looked like for each month. The print quality is amazing and the colors are so vibrant. I think of her every time I glance at it. 

Bubble Bear– This guy lives in my office. He was gifted to me by my friend Reese. This bubble maker brings a lot of joy to my household. I catch Cooper blowing bubbles every now and then. It’s one of the best ways to find your breath! It would make a great stocking stuffer for sure. 

Timer Cube– this is one of my favorite productivity tools! I LOVE IT and have two! One for my kitchen and one for my office. 

Nakano Classic Chef Knife Set- Chop therapy is easy with this set. It has all of my favorites and THEY ARE SO SHARP. The handles feel great in your hand and they are BEAUTIFUL.  If you use code: SHUTTERBEAN, you can get 30%off your purchase! 

Art Sack Reusable Bag- These help me carry groceries and they carry A LOT! I love that Yellow Owl Workshop has a lot of fun patterns this year. 

Thanks for reading my annual Shutterbean’s Favorite Things 2023 edition! 

Happy Holidays xo