A few months ago, I was lucky enough to win an $80 prize during the Canadian Planners Collective sale, which gave me $20 to spend in four different stationery shops (!!), and I can’t wait to show you the adorable goodies I picked. It felt like a mini stationery adventure, hopping from shop to shop with my little prize budget! 🥰
The four stores I got to shop at were The Prairie Planner, KD Makes Stickers, Planner Penguin, and Watch Me Washi. I knew most of them but had never stopped to shop, and one other was completely new to me! Here is a recap of my little discovery adventure along with an account of what I bought in each shop with my prize money! Let’s have a look!
- ✨ Shop-by-Shop Breakdown
- 🎨 How I Worked With My Prize Budget
- 💭 Final Thoughts
(Note: This post isn’t sponsored; just sharing the joy!)
(Note #2: All the shops featured in this post are Canadian.)
(Note #3: Please, forgive the clumsiness of my pictures; I am just learning how to use my brand new photo light box.)
✨ Shop-by-Shop Breakdown
🛍️ Shop #1: The Prairie Planner
I’ve known about The Prairie Planner for a long time, but I never really shopped there because I didn’t think the art style matched my usual vibe. Winning this prize finally nudged me to push the door open and step inside… and honestly? I was pleasantly surprised! ✨💖
🎁 What I Got
⭐ Shop Impressions
The Prairie Planner’s style feels like stationery for cozy afternoons wrapped in a blanket with a warm drink ☕🧣 — soft palettes, cute icons, and sweet seasonal-or-bookish motifs that gently whisper, “Relax and plan your week with calm joy.”
The illustrations are simple, hand-drawn (but I’m not sure by whom), and planner-friendly, but they still have enough little details to make each spread feel like a tiny moment of comfort. I love that their kits match almost any mood — while still keeping that warm, homey vibe. ✨
💬 Quick, Honest Notes
✨ Huge selection! Make sure you give yourself more than 10 minutes to look around — it’s a whole universe.
✨ Weekly kits, monthly kits, Hobonichi kits, functional stickers, icons, die-cuts… it’s all there.
✨ Subscription? Yep!
✨ Rewards system? Also yes!
✨ Unique sections like $2 Tuesday, Book Journaling, and Pay-It-Forward.
✨ I’d totally shop there again — especially for the holiday-themed book bingos!
✨ I was happily surprised by how many of the die-cuts were book-themed 📚💖
😢 My only tiny wish: a little more cute/kawaii stuff!
💗 To Sum It Up
🌈 Selection: 🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀+
💌 Packaging: 🎀🎀🎀 (packed with care in an envelope printed with the shop’s name)
🧸 Cutie Factor: 🎀 (would love more kawaii!)
🛍️ Shop #2: KD Makes Stickers
Just like with The Prairie Planner, I’ve known about KD Makes Stickers for ages — but I never really stopped to look closely. The art style is soft, elegant, and so pretty… just not exactly “cute,” so I always assumed it wasn’t quite my vibe.
But thanks to this prize, I finally explored properly — and I’m so glad I did! ✨🌿
🎁 What I Got
⭐ Shop Impressions
KD Makes Stickers walks straight down the lane of classic charm and cottagecore aesthetics 🌿🍄✨. If you love cozy florals, rustic textures, calming palettes, and gentle artwork, this shop will feel like stepping into a tiny woodland cottage.
The color range goes from soft, dreamy watercolors to deeper, beautifully contrasted designs that feel timeless and elegant.
And while there are lots of florals, there’s also:
- ❄️ lovely winter scenes
- 🐾 cute animals
- 📚 a delightful bookish theme
- 🎅 whimsical gnomes!
✨ And a fun tip: if you like creamy, buttery-feeling stickers, choose the Unicorn paper — it’s deliciously smooth!
💬 Quick, Honest Notes
✨ Huge selection — especially for planner folks!
✨ Weekly kits, monthly kits, Hobonichi Cousin + Weeks kits, vertical kits, icons, die-cuts, scripts, and more
✨ Subscription? Not that I could find…
✨ Rewards system? Yes!
✨ I’d absolutely shop there again — especially to complete some of the kits I just bought
✨ I fell in love with the A5 Bottom Page Deco section (I put deco at the bottom of every page!)
😢 Like many shops, the very cute / happy / kawaii items were a bit tricky to find
💗 To Sum It Up
🌈 Selection: 🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀+
💌 Packaging: 🎀 (packed with care, but nothing fancy)
🧸 Cutie Factor: 🎀 (kawaii is rare — but the cozy vibes are lovely!)
🛍️ Shop #3: Planner Penguin
Planner Penguin was completely new to me, but with a name that cute and an adorable little penguin logo, I went in with very high hopes. 🐧✨
I’ll admit — I was a teeny bit disappointed at first when I realized the shop leans heavily toward cottagecore and vintage styles again. But I kept browsing… and I ended up finding quite a few goodies that really caught my fancy! 💖
🎁 What I Got
⭐ Shop Impressions
If you’re a fan of cottagecore and vintage aesthetics, this shop will feel like a treasure trove. 🌿📜
There are tons of:
- 🌸 floral and nature-inspired designs
- 🗓️ monthly & weekly kits
- 🎨 watercolor splotch headers
- 📝 journaling elements
- ✂️ torn-paper textures
And speaking of journaling — I’m personally partial to their journaling kits. I don’t know what it is about torn-paper-effect stickers, but they just make my spreads feel so soft and artsy. ✨
Also: yes, the cute penguin exists in sticker form!
You’ll find it tucked under the Functional section — and it’s adorable. 🐧💕
💬 Quick, Honest Notes
✨ Huge selection — especially for planner lovers!
✨ Weekly kits, monthly kits, Hobonichi kits, journaling kits, deco, die-cuts, scripts, ink swatches, and more
✨ Subscription? No
✨ Rewards system? Yep!
✨ I’d absolutely shop there again — especially because they’re so generous with freebies 💝
😢 There’s a bit more cute stuff here than in the previous shops, but still… never quite enough for my kawaii-loving heart!
💗 To Sum It Up
🌈 Selection: 🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀+
💌 Packaging: 🎀🎀 (packed with care, but nothing fancy)
🧸 Cutie Factor: 🎀🎀 (a little more cute, but still mostly vintage/cottagecore)
🛍️ Shop #4: Watch Me Washi
Since I’ve been following (and shopping!) the CPC sales for quite a while, I’d already received a couple of free samplers from Watch Me Washi — but they were always the same bow-design washi in different colors. Pretty, yes, but a bit far from the cute animals and little characters I usually adore. Still, I had a lovely $20 prize to spend in the shop… and, well… let’s just say my cart expanded very quickly. 😇✨
🎁 What I Got
⭐ Shop Impressions
If I’m 100% honest, the bright yellow backgrounds on every product photo caught me off guard. I’m used to soft whites, gentle neutrals, and cozy pastels — and yellow has never been one of my favorite shades. But! Once I actually started browsing, I realized something amazing: Watch Me Washi is a treasure trove of small-quantity goodies!
If you’re like me and sometimes feel overwhelmed by full rolls of washi that could last until the end of time, this shop is a dream. They offer samples in tons of styles, at super reasonable prices, plus adorable grab bags filled with surprises. 🌟
💬 Quick, Honest Notes
✨ Huge variety — so many styles to explore!
✨ Tons of washi, but also die-cuts, tiny figurines, and fun little extras!
✨ Subscription? Sadly nope.
✨ Rewards system? Also no, since the shop is Etsy-only.
✨ Would I shop there again? Absolutely — especially for cute finds and low-commitment washi samples!
💗 To Sum It Up
🌈 Selection: 🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀+
💌 Packaging: 🎀🎀🎀 (packed with care in a bubble padded envelope)
🧸 Cutie Factor: 🎀🎀🎀🎀 (yay!!)
🎨 How I Worked With My Prize Budget
I really tried to stretch each $20 prize as far as possible, so I focused mainly on sticker sheets and washi — the things I knew I’d get the most use and happiness out of. I also peeked into every shop’s sale section… you know… just in case something magical was hiding there. 😇✨
Of course, I went over budget in all four shops (some more spectacularly than others 🙈), and I even added a few items to my wishlist along the way. Even though most shops leaned heavily toward cottagecore and vintage aesthetics, I actually struggled to pick items while staying within the prize amount! In the end, I chose pieces that showed off each shop’s range and, most importantly, items I was genuinely excited to receive and use.
💡 Pro Tip:
If you ever need to shop on a budget, try this! Add everything you want to your cart first. Then go through the cart slowly and rate each item from 1 to 5 based on how much you actually want it. Keep your 4s and 5s, and save the rest to your wishlist for later. It makes decision-making way easier — and way less sad! 💖
💭 Final Thoughts
And that’s my little four-shop prize haul! 🧁✨ Exploring these shops with a tiny-but-mighty budget was such a delight, and I even discovered a few new sticker loves along the way. A huge thank you again to the giveaway organizer — this whole experience felt like opening a pastel treat box filled with surprises! 💖🎀
If any (or all!) of these shops caught your eye, you’re in luck: the CPC Sale is happening right now until December 1st, and most these shops (and many others) are participating with discounts ranging from 20% to 45% off. Happy shopping! ✨🛒💕 (I know I will…😅)
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