Last month, I had the privilege of playing with Paper Sweeties stamps for the first time {see cards here, here and here}, so I was honored when Debbie asked if I would be one of her guest designers this month. Have you seen how cute her stamps are?! It’s literally like playing with paper dolls- you get to change outfits, scenes, coordinating pieces- in a grown up form!
One of the more recent Paper Sweeties sets, Jelly Bean Time, was calling out my name, so I decided to feature that in today’s card. I love this sweet dress and hat and couldn’t wait to paper piece with it.
As many of my readers know, I have an obsession with sequins and will find any excuse to add some to a project. I wanted to use them in a different way and decided to adhere them to the card and add pearls on top of them. I love how it turned out! You could also use this idea with rhinestones…. it’s twice the amount of “bling” without being too much.
Have you checked out the adorable Paper Sweeties line of stamps yet? Debbie has released so many cute sets recently and she has new stamps releasing on April 15th! You can be sure I’ll be tuning in to see what cute new items she will be releasing!
Thanks for stopping in and joining me for this special post.
I have a little surprise for you all…..I filmed a new 10 Minute Craft Dash video this week! Two videos posted within a week is definitely not something that happens often here. With the pretty color palette and my infatuation with sequins lately, I was inspired to show you how I combined them onto a sweet and simple card. In case you missed the colors for this week, here is the graphic again.
You may have seen me do this technique on a card before {post here}. I wanted to show you how EASY it is to do this and also be a little ambitious and see if I could pull if off for a Craft Dash challenge. Do you think I was able to pull it off? You’ll have to watch the video to see!
It’s been quite a while since I had a crafty session with friends- I’m talking like over a year- so I thought it was time to fix this. A quick text to Ginny {the person who started the Craft Dash challenges with me} and we arranged to have a day of crafting on Saturday. After a tweet, some texts and a little coxing, I got my bestie to join us as well. There were laughs, food, craft supplies scattered about and music going for ten hours straight. Here’s a glimpse into my craft studio and a little peek into our night….
I have one last surprise for you… I filmed Ginny creating for the current 10 Minute Craft Dash! She’s such a pro at crafting quickly- I think you guys will be impressed. {I apologize in advance- I didn’t realized I laughed so much in the video!}
Thanks for stopping in and always being so encouraging. I’ll be back tomorrow with a guest designer post- hope to see you then!
It’s time for Blogging 101 Pt. 2 and today’s post is one that I really wish I had read when I first started blogging. For a little background, I’ve been blogging for 4 1/2 years now, but didn’t really get serious about blogging until April of last year. It’s been a wild journey of trial, error and some embarrassing mistakes. If I had known back when I started what I know now, oh my, things would be different on my blog. Alas, I went into all of this “blindfolded” and hopefully speaking about some of my mistakes will help you from making the same ones.
Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert on blogging- I have so much more to learn myself. Throughout the years that I’ve been blogging, I have learned a lot, seen so many things and gained a lot from this world. I’ll share the good, bad and ugly {okay, there really isn’t too much ugly, but just thought I’d throw that in}.
Today’s topics: be a friendly blog neighbor, being authentic & transparent and having blog goals.
I cannot express the importance of this truth, particularly when you’re a new blogger. The blog community, especially a special category one such as crafting, is smaller than some believe. I am still amazed at how some of my blog friends, from different walks of life, know each other and have built friendships outside of the circles I met them through. I’ve interacted with a large gambit of bloggers and craft designers through the years, and something that I wish I did more of was be a better blog neighbor when I was a new blogger that didn’t have much on her “plate”. I wish I had left more comments for others {especially since I know how I appreciate them} and built better relationships with fellow bloggers. Granted, yes, I did build a large amount that I still maintain, but I could have done better. For me, it’s not just with the intention of networking, but rather building friendships with those in the same circles I am in. Having those personal & working relationships are vital to encourage and keep the blog community healthy and thriving.
This may be a phrase that you hear or see in other posts about starting a blog, but it’s a big one. The way you write and convey your thoughts, emotions in posts should be in a way that YOU actually communicate. If you aren’t dynamic in real life, but in your posts you use a lot of “amazing”, “fantastic”, “gorgeous” type words, that’s not really being true to yourself. Do you see me using these words in my posts? YES! Why? Because I actually do talk like this in real life. I would like to think that I’m expressive and using these words help me to convey in writing how I’m really thinking and feeling.
In the same way, like I mentioned in the Blogging 101 Pt. 1 postlast Friday, write about things YOU enjoy and are interested in. If you pair that with writing how you communicate in real life, this will translate to your blog and really reflect who YOU are. After all, your blog is your “online home” and you don’t want phony or fair-weathered readers. If you are being true to who you are, people will sense that and want to visit you often. {Isn’t that true of the blogs you enjoy most? I know it is for me!}
Whether it’s in school, your career, or even life, it’s good to have goals for yourself. If you want a promotion, you need to start planning on how you’ll get one. If you want to get better grades in school, you need to think of the steps that will help ensure you get them. In the same way, if you want to have a successful blog, it’s important to have some goals for yourself. If you want to see ___ amount of unique viewers in a month, most likely, it won’t just land in your lap. You have to provide posts that will encourage your readers to share your blog, keep them wanting to return and stay engaged and of course with social media, it can spread quickly. One could have several different types of blog goals: wanting to post ___ amount of times per week, achieving a winning card on a challenge or link up, driving up a certain number in viewers, or if you are really serious, getting a specific number of sponsors each month. Whatever direction you take your blog, it’s important to have some sort of goal for yourself.
Can I be honest? When I started blogging, it didn’t even occur to me to have goals for my blog. I never researched how to be a better blogger, or how to run a successful blog, so it didn’t cross my mind in my starting stages. Now, I would say that having goals for my blog is definitely one of the things in the forefront of my mind. I’m a person that sets goals and likes to achieve them, it is SO very rewarding when something you worked hard for gets achieved. With all of this in mind, you must also stay realistic. If you have 10 followers, you can’t set a goal of getting 1000 followers within a month- that’s just not realistic. I suggest starting out with smaller goals and as you get more comfortable and achieve those goals, you can start gearing up for the bigger ones.
Well, sweet readers, that is going to conclude this second installment of Blogging 101. I hope I left you with some food for thought today. Was there a particular point in either post that you plan on trying out? Feel free to leave a comment {or send me an email}- I’d love to hear about it!
I’ve been contemplating on whether to do this post for a little while now. For those who don’t know, I was in a car accident back in August that changed my life. {post here} I’ve come out of it a different person and it is reflected in my posts, my outlook on life, just to name a few things. Since then, I’ve posted a few snippets of updated info and then I did a health update {post here} back in November. I haven’t done another real post about it since, mostly because there hadn’t been any major changes and big steps forward.
In the past week, I’ve had a lot of people ask me via email, Twitter and text if things have changed recently. As of this very moment, yes, there have been changes! Actually, a lot of progress has been made in the past week or so. *insert squealing and happy dancing all around*
A few months back, while I was going to the chiropractor/ naturopath, he randomly suggested that I might want to change some of my eating habits, to see if that would help with the severe back pain. We quickly learned that I had digestive issues and my body no longer could handle any sort of MSG products. Uh, for those of you who don’t know, that’s in a LOT of things, especially Asian foods. Oh, and don’t just look for the label to say MSG, it’s disguised under a LOT of names. Lots of research, cutting out of just about every place I used to eat and no longer consuming my favorite “go-to” items, I could tell a difference, but I still wasn’t feeling that great. Time for more experimenting….
Another visit to the doctor and he suggested cutting out all grains {not just wheat items} and processed sugars. I won’t lie, I cried when he said this. My life pretty much revolved around breads, rice, and any sort of sugary drink or treat, how was this going to work?! Honestly, I was in so much pain, I knew I had to at least try this for a little bit. One week in, no changes. Two weeks in, a slight improvement. One month in, I could tell something was changing.
Now the question: what was causing my back to be in pain {after the accident}? Sugar, grains or both? After carefully planning out a day where I could afford to be sick, I ate a couple of Wheat Thins. Just a few triggered something, but then I realized it was dumb because it had both wheat and sugar in it! Another go at something with grains and I learned that was the thing that was inflaming my back. After introducing sugars into my system again, it seems to be okay and doesn’t trigger any major pain.
So……I’ve had to completely cut out all grains, MSG products, all nuts {since my body doesn’t seem to digest oils very well} and this seems to keep my pain level at bay. Granted, it’s not gone completely, but I’m SO grateful for this improvement.
Now the question that I get asked a lot, “Are you back to driving?”
Up until literally six days ago, I was only driving 10-15 minutes away from my house alone. Anything further and I would get panic attacks and flashbacks. I had a few failed attempts at driving further, which resulted in a mental/ emotional breakdown. Why couldn’t I get past this? It had been over seven months since the accident, surely I should be “over it” by now. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t seem to shake the fear and anxiety.
Thanks to the suggestion of one particular reader, I looked into talking to someone about my anxiety. I know many would try to hide the fact that they are seeking a counselor, but honestly, this person has helped me so much. Not only have I been able to talk through my fears, she’s been able to show me that some of the things I’m allowing myself to believe are completely untrue. I’ve had two visits with her {I have a third one today} and I can tell I’ve started to change the way I’m thinking of the accident and various situations surrounding it.
So I still haven’t answered if I’m driving alone yet. Well, the last couple of days, I’ve been able to drive 40 minutes away BY MYSELF! This feeling is even greater than when I first got my license! Do I still get nervous? Absolutely. However, as I’m doing it more, I’m getting a little more comfortable and hopefully, I’ll be driving everywhere by myself again!
What happens from here?
Well, we still haven’t figured out how to get the pain to go away completely, so hopefully down the road, that answer will reveal itself. I’m not able to stand for longer than 5-10 minutes at a time without pain shooting up and getting nauseated, which is still a mystery. I’ll still have to continue to eat the way I do, since my body literally won’t allow me to go back without major effects. I’m hoping and praying that as time goes on, I’ll be more comfortable driving and won’t need to have help with transportation anywhere.
Thank you from the very bottom of my heart to those who have checked in on me, sent me cards or gifts to encourage me, or somehow contacted me during this time. My blog has almost been a lifeline, since I wasn’t able to go many places for a long, long time. Your comments, words of encouragement and prayers have {and still do} mean so very much.
Whew! I know this was a super long post and I probably lost a lot of you along the way. However, for those who have been wondering or asking, I hoped this cleared up any questions. If there are any more improvements, or changes, I’ll let you all know! :)
It’s time for the a brand new 10 Minute Craft Dash and I’m thrilled to have an amazing line-up of special designers along with a swoon worthy prize for the winner. Whether you like to stamp, scrapbook or just like to dabble into a variety of crafts, you can join along in this challenge!
Now some may be a little intimidated by this color palette- don’t be, it’s really not as scary as it looks. You can take some slight creative freedoms with the colors {as you’ll see the DT did}, but try to stay as true to it as you can. Scroll below for the guidelines on how to play.
* If you aren’t able to stay within the 10 minutes, you can still link up your item! While it won’t quality for the winner spot, it still might be featured in the favorites section!
As I mentioned yesterday, we have a first time sponsor providing the AMAZING prize this week. A giant thank you to Gossamer Blue for offering up their April Bits & Pieces kit to the lucky winner of this challenge. This kit is packed full of yummy crafty items, as you can see below.
If you were inspired by the DT’s cards, just wait until you see what some of the Gossamer Blue DT created! I was so giddy when I heard some of them were going to be able to participate- they all are so incredibly talented! Be sure to visit their blogs and see their inspiring creations!
You know a challenge is a success when 1) you get the most international views you’ve ever received 2) people are raving about the color combination 3) you get multiple entries from participants 4) people are having FUN!
The 10 Minute Craft Dash #14 ended on Saturday and this one was packed full of both beautiful and cute cards. It’s always a joy to see how you all interpret the palette into your creations. Each one is so very unique! I’m constantly amazed at how much some of you are able to accomplish within the 10 minutes!
Now onto the winning entry and the favorites….
Congratulations to Leigh Penner
Please email me (click the contact on the top right) with your contact info to claim your prize. Also, you get to grab the badge below and proudly display it on your blog!
Here are my favorites picks from this last challenge. After I chose the cards I wanted to highlight, I realized I picked a mix of elegant and cute- such a perfect way to encapsulate this challenge! {Ladies, feel free to grab the badge below and put it on your blogs!}
If you are interested in getting a head start on the next Craft Dash, I have the colors that will be featured on the Pretty Pink Posh Facebook page. This is EXCLUSIVE to those who like my page. If you go there and go to “exclusives”, you get to see the next 10 Minute Craft Dash challenge a day early!
I have never revealed a Craft Dash sponsor before their challenge, or let you in on the prize, but this week is an exception. I am so excited to share that Gossamer Blue{a company new to me} will be sponsoring the challenge starting on Wednesday and this prize is BEAUTIFUL! I had the honor of playing with these products and I couldn’t help but film a video showcasing everything that is included.
Doesn’t that prize just make you swoon? Who wins this upcoming challenge will get their very own April Bits & Pieces kit, which has already SOLD OUT! Hopefully that entices you to play along and to share this with your crafty friends! *wink*
I hope to see you all tomorrow for the brand new challenge, along with links to the Gossamer Blue gals who will be joining along. It’s going to be a post full of beautiful inspiration, you won’t want to miss it!
For those new to my blog, on the first Monday of each month, I feature one of the bloggers that I follow. When I read blogs, I always enjoy getting to know the person BEHIND the blog. Whether it be a crafty blogger, a lifestyle blogger or a fellow young single gal- I love putting away the formalities and having a “conversation” with a blogger I enjoy.
My Featured Blogger today is one that is very well known in the paper crafts industry. She is Copic and Ranger certified, the Education Director at Hero Arts, has been a Paper Crafts Go-To Gal, and is one of the gals behind the super popular Online Card Classes phenomenon. I’m pleased to welcome Jennifer McGuire for today’s feature!
Let’s get started with the questions….
Tell us about your blog. When and why did you start it?
Ten years ago I quit my job as an engineer to do crafting full-time. So what was a hobby was now a job. About four years ago I wanted to bring back a bit of the hobby into my life – to make cards just for fun. Therefore, I started the blog. I enjoy it!
How did you get introduced to stamping/ paper crafts?
Eleven years ago, I volunteered to go on a mission trip with my church’s youth group. When we got home I wanted to make a scrapbook of the trip for the youth leader. This was my first paper crafting… and I fell madly in love. I did scrapbooking for many years, and then switched to card making thanks to my job with Hero Arts.
There are so many crafting trends right now, which ones are your favorite?
Tough question! I am normally not big on trends. (Can you believe I never used bakers twine or washi tape on a card?!) But I really am enjoying the many graphic stamps out there right now. Triangle patterns? Yes, please!
Is there a technique or style you admire, but aren’t able to “pull off” yourself?
YES! Clean and simple! I LOVE the clean and simple look. It is by far my favorite. However, I find it really difficult for me to do. I tend to go overboard on my cards!
If you could tell your “newbie” crafter self something, what would it be?
Honestly, I wouldn’t tell myself a thing. I think the adventure of figuring out your spot in the crafting world is a wonderful one.
How many hours do you spending crafting each week?
This is my job, so I spend a bit more than I would if it was a hobby. I probably create 15 hours a week… during Lila’s nap times! :)
Besides crafting, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I spend all of my time with my family. I also can be caught volunteering at the schools, working in the garden (when it is not snowing – ack!) and traveling. I LOVE to travel.
What is something about yourself that many people don’t know?
I can’t sit still! I am a busy bee!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
ANYWHERE. I love traveling anywhere and everywhere.
You have your choice to spend the day with any celebrity, who would you choose and why?
Kenny Chesney. Simply so I could ask him about his favorite islands. (Our family loves the caribbean!)
Top 5 things you are most passionate about:
Family
Faith
Being healthy
Stamping
Sharing
I know that many of those in the stamping/ crafting industry have heard of Jennifer before, however, I have a feeling that quite a few of my readers haven’t been introduced to her work. Here are some of the places you can find her:
I hope that you enjoyed this feature and are just as inspired by this gal as I have been. Want to recommend a blogger, or yourself, for a future Featured Blogger post? Leave a comment with the blog link and you never know- you just might hear from me!
I’ll see you tomorrow for the 10 Minute Craft Dash Highlights, info on how you can get an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming challenge AND a video showcasing the prize for the sponsor. It’ll be a packed day full of info and I know it’ll get you excited for the challenge on Wednesday- I hope you’ll stop by!
I recently asked on the Pretty Pink Posh Facebook page and Twitter if anyone was interested in me doing a post on Blogging 101. I got a resounding,”YES”, all the way around. Awesome, now I just needed to come up with content….who knew what started out as a little idea would lead to so many ideas, tips, lessons and, frankly, a series that I wish I had read when I first started.
Before I start out, I want to say that I am NOT an expert on blogging- I have so much more to learn myself. Throughout the years that I’ve been blogging, I have learned a lot, seen so many things and gained a lot from this world. I’ll share the good, bad and ugly {okay, there really isn’t too much ugly, but just thought I’d throw that in}.
Ready to get started on Blogging 101? Since I don’t want to make this too terribly long, I’ll be posting a mini series of sorts, every Friday until I spill out all I have to say. Today’s topics: blogging your passion & making your blog a reflection of you.
When I first started blogging, it was a place where I could get out my thoughts. There wasn’t a goal or audience I had in mind, I just did it. Oh goodness, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but HERE is a link to my very first post. Random? Yes, it sure is. The only thing someone could get out of it? That I loved Starbucks as much then as I do now.
If you are new to blogging, or are revamping your blog, you’ll want to ask yourself these four words: why are you blogging? Are you doing it as a hobby? Do you want to engage with people outside of your “normal circles”? Are you trying to promote something? Is it going to be your job? If you truly are trying to build an audience, you’ll want to blog about topics you have knowledge in and are passionate about. Why? You won’t run out of material and it won’t be something you dread, rather it’ll be an outlet or perhaps even fun for you.
You may be thinking to yourself- “Paulina, you blog about a multitude of things. Are you really one to talk?” You are absolutely correct- I DO blog about a variety of topics. However, I didn’t always do this. Previously, I blogged almost strictly cards and didn’t tarry far from that. With a recent change in my life and me growing as a person, I opened my blog up to someplace that encompasses everything I enjoy. It’s me on a platter, basically. I will say that the things I blog about now ARE things I’m passionate about and opening myself up on my blog has been one of the best things I could have done. Are there downsides to this? Absolutely. I’ll share those a little later….
I would highly encourage those new to blogging to figure out the purpose of your blog and then proceed from there. Are you trying to lose weight? Awesome, start a blog about that! {I did that previously and stumbled across so many amazing people on the same journey} Are you interested in fashion and make-up? Do a blog on that! There’s a whole world of bloggers who do that. Whatever your passion is, blog about that.
When you go to someone’s house, their decor, furniture and paint colors typically are a reflection of their personality and style. In the same way, your blogging is a reflection of you. Your writing style to the colors/ layout/ designs, your blog showcases who you are as a person.
At a quick glance, I’d like to think that you can get a feel for my personality. I’m girly, love aqua, pink and pretty things. Even 4 1/2 years ago, when I hardly knew a thing about blogging, I knew that choosing a name for my blog was important. After writing out a huge list of some possibilities {and realizing that all of them were taken}, I finally decided to mix together three components that I love: pretty, pink and posh things. A quick search, some questioning if it was a good name and voilà, a name was born.
Now some may go as far to say you need to “brand” yourself, but honestly, if this is a hobby and you’re just starting out, this is far from necessary. Don’t worry about having THE perfect blog with the layout/ design that you’ll keep for years on end. Chances are, your style will change and you’ll revamp down the road. For those with a little extra spending money, there are places that can help you get the exact design you want.
*I recently paid someone to add elements to my blog that I have wanted for quite a while but were out of my realm of coding. If you’re looking to add some custom items, or want to do a whole new redesign, talk to Lauren and her team at Restored316 Designs. She has worked with me on several of my blog changes and has done a phenomenal job. I got exactly what I wanted with a quick turnaround time and a reasonable price.
Okay, so that will wrap up the first installment of Blogging 101. I hope you are leaving with some things to think about. If I’ve given you food for thought, I’d love to hear what stood out. If there’s a specific topic you hope I address in a future installment, feel free to leave a comment with that. While I do have an outline of things I want to tackle, I also want to mix in topics you may have questions about. I’ll try to be as open of a book as I can be.
Thanks so much for your interest in this series. I’m already looking forward to sharing with you again next Friday!
Give me a S-E-Q-U-I-N-S! What’s that spell? Sequins! Okay, so I would never qualify as a cheerleader…
I’m back with another card featuring sequins- this time in a slightly different form. I wanted to showcase how you could use your die cuts to allow your sequins to peek through and shine. I had so much fun picking out the sequins to feature on this card- there are so many color combinations I could use!
To adhere my sequins, I covered a sheet of cardstock with ATG tape and then lined up all of my pretty sequins. Once I had covered all of the paper, I overlaid my die cut chevron paper with dimensional tape. I will admit that it takes a bit of time, but for close friends or family, it’s worth it.
Recently on Twitter, I mentioned that I was going to host a sequins giveaway soon. Well, the day has come! I purchased extras of some of my favorite sequin colors {shown below} and want to share the sequin love with one lucky person!
Everyone likes to hear about a giveaway, so be sure to let your friends know about my site! I’m reaching some milestone numbers on a few social media sites soon- you never know when another giveaway may be coming!
I hope that today’s card inspired you. As you know, I’m a huge fan of sequins {now} and want to pass along this love to all of you, my amazing readers. Hope you’ll join me on this sparkly bandwagon!
It’s time for my March Random Loves blog post. For those of you new to my blog, every month I put together a post of some of the things I’ve been loving that month. You’ll want to take note, these are very random- I may feature jewelry, food items, entertainment items and things in between. You just never know what might appear in this feature, hence the name!
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m in love with my new bracelet. I love the turquoise color, how it’s a “big” bracelet but not bulky, and the fact that it’s comfortable. Another plus, it goes with so many of my outfits!
I’m a huge fan of Sharpie products. I have every single color of their fine tip pens, many of their ultra fine permanent markers and now these liquid pencils. I keep a blog calendar, but there are times when I move a post to another day and needed something erasable. Imagine my surprise when I saw these! They work like a charm and definitely live up to the Sharpie brand.
If you’ve seen my latest videos, you may have noticed my nails. I’ve always been a fan of glitter nail polish, but recently I have been doing a “fade out” technique and LOVE the look. It’s glitzy without being too much.
Recently I stumbled across Amazon Prime and boy, was I disappointed to have not found out about it sooner! The library of different shows/ movies that you can stream is impressive, not to mention you also get free two days shipping with your Amazon orders.
Lately, with my recent diet changes, I’ve been eating TONS of vegetables and fruit. When the store had a sale on asparagus, I bought a bundle {since I hadn’t had any in a while}. OHMYGOODNESS. I forgot how delicious this veggie was! Since then, I think I’ve bought at least seven bundles. If you aren’t a fan of eating them plain, try it in an omelet- it’s so delicious!
What are a few of YOUR favorite things at the moment? It can be drinks, shows, clothing, movies, etc…. these posts have introduced my readers to new things, and your lists have introduced me to new things as well. It’s so fun to see what everyone else is enjoying!
When I first started blogging, it was a place where I could get out my thoughts. There wasn’t a goal or audience I had in mind, I just did it. Oh goodness, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but 
bracelet can be found 
Recently I stumbled across Amazon Prime and boy, was I disappointed to have not found out about it sooner! The library of different shows/ movies that you can stream is impressive, not to mention you also get free two days shipping with your Amazon orders.