April Random Loves

Oh goodness, this week has been so rough. I debated on whether I wanted to do a post about everything that’s been going on, but I decided to refrain and keep with my scheduled Random Loves post. However, I will let you all know that I had to go to urgent care and my health hasn’t been doing very well lately. I’ve been a little slower in responding to emails, comments and may not be able to schedule as many posts in advance as usual, but I’m going to try my best to keep things running as smoothly as possible. Just a little heads up.

If you have followed my blog for some time, you know that each month I host a Random Loves feature. I always enjoy getting to share what I’ve been using and the new products I’m eying. It’s been so much fun to see YOUR lists over these months and check out the items you are listing. I’ve been introduced to many new things thanks to your suggestions!

Let’s get started on this month’s feature….

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plate can be found here

You all know I’m a huge fan of the items in the Re.Served Etsy shop. Each month it seems like Victoria comes out with even cuter items {which I’m not sure is even possible} and this new plate is one of my absolute favorites. It highlights a few of the iconic Seattle locations and who could resist those adorable colors?!

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sequins can be found here

Can you believe that I haven’t spotlighted sequins in a Random Loves feature yet? There really aren’t any words to describe how happy these small sparkly embellishments make me. I will admit that I have pulled out all of my sequin packets and spent hours playing with the color combos and different ideas on multiple occasions. Speaking of which, there just might be another sequin card coming to the blog later this week. *wink*

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paper pack can be found here

I try hard not to feature more than one craft product in a feature, but I couldn’t resist on this one. I am IN LOVE with this Echo Park Dots & Stripes paper pack. I ordered this one a few weeks back and have been carefully rationing out the sheets. The colors in this pack are divine and definitely can be used outside of baby cards.

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I fell in love with this nail polish color the moment I saw it online. The sad thing? Every store that I have gone to has sold out of this color! It’s such a pretty shade of aqua/ seafoam green and all of the photos I have seen on Pinterest with people wearing it has made me in desperate need of owning this color. Hoping I can somehow track one down before it’s out of season!

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What are a few of YOUR random loves at the moment? It can be drinks, shows, clothing, movies, etc…. whatever products you’re loving, or have on your wish list, I’d love to read about them!

I’ll see you all tomorrow for the 10 Minute Craft Dash #16 Highlights and info on how you can get an exclusive peek at the upcoming challenge!

Blogging 101 {Pt. 5}

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“All good things must come to an end.” This isn’t a quote that I exactly enjoy, but it’s so very true. After five weeks of doing the Blogging 101 series, today is the last installment. We’ve covered a whole gambit of topics and I hope that you have learned things along the way. As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, it’s been neat to hear the stories of how this series has inspired my readers– if you feel like sharing your story, I’d love to hear it!

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: following trends and staying connected.

If you missed the earlier posts, here are the topics I have covered previously.

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This topic may be controversial for some, but it’s one that is important to me. I will confess, I’m not always the most trendy crafter or blogger around. It took me ages to jump aboard the washi tape bandwagon and I was SUPER hesitant about the sequin trend in the beginning.  Whether you’re a fashion blogger, or a crafter, being aware of the trends {ie following other blogs/ websites that are up-to-date & trendy}, is a must for those who want to be a relevant blogger.

I don’t partake in every single trend, but I think it’s important to know what the trends are and as much as possible, incorporate them into your creations and posts. You can pull inspiration from trends in a variety of ways– colors, layouts and/ or products. You may notice that I stay current on many trends, but at the end of the day, I also remain true to my style. I’ll be the first to admit that there are many trends that I love, but they don’t work for ME and my crafting aesthetics. It may take a little while for you to find the right balance of being true to your style and going outside your comfort zone, but you CAN find it. Trust me.

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This is going to piggy-back on the being a friendly blog neighbor point from Blogging 101 Pt. 2 a little bit.  As I mentioned before, it’s important to be a good blog neighbor, especially when you’re a beginner blogger. Once a blogger achieves as sense of “popularity” or “fame”, I’m sure it can be easy to disconnect and become submersed in your own little world and focus solely on what you are doing. Notice, I am saying this in somewhat uncertain terms.

I personally haven’t achieved hundreds of thousands of followers, reached my dream monthly page view number or had a post go viral on Pinterest {yet}. However, I WILL say that if these things did happen down the road, I would absolutely still stay plugged in and connected to the blog community. Am I trying to stir the pot here? No, not at all. I believe it to be extremely important to start and maintain  relationships and friendships, no matter what stage you’re in as a blogger. Not only could these relationships develop into future collaborations and be a spring-board to take your blog to the next level, it could also bring you an even greater reward: true friendships. That, blog friends, by far the greatest thing I have gained during my 4 1/2 years of blogging.

This going to conclude the Blogging 101 series. I believe I have covered all of the topics that I wish I had known when I first started this world of blogging. Granted, there are several smaller topics I could have covered, but honestly if I did this, the series could continue on for a year. *wink* If there are more intermediate blogging topics you would like me to cover, I just might start a Blogging 102 feature down the road. I know many of my readers are in the beginning blogging stages, so I’m not sure if there would be enough interest….

Thank you to those who have followed along and shared this series with others. I can’t wait to see how you incorporate what you’ve learned onto your beautiful blogs!

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Bright & Bold Craft Dash

CD_16largeI’m back with another card for the current 10 Minute Craft Dash #16! I’ll confess, these colors have been my go-to colors at work for quite some time and I’m so glad I was able to bring them here! There’s something about these colors that are so striking and well, this combo just makes me happy!

In yesterday’s post, I brought out the Avery Elle Petals & Stems set and it was more subtle, almost country in its feel. Today I’m doing a 180 and going bright and bold!  I pulled out some of the other stamps in the set and went to work. Thanks to some paper strips and colored ink pads, this was finished with a little time to spare!

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Time it took to create: 9 minutes 20 seconds

If I had an extra minute, I would have added polka dots on top of the strips….Yes,  sometimes even I run out of time!

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I hope that you can join the DT and I for the current 10 Minute Craft Dash. There’s still 3 more days to get your submissions in for a chance to qualify for that Avery Elle gift certificate!

That’s going to wrap up today’s post. Hope y’all have a fabulous rest of your day!

Country Petals + Shop

I am so impressed with a few of my readers {don’t worry, I LOVE you all, I’m just amazed at a few}. Late Sunday night I posted the “shop” section on the blog and had slowly started to add some of the items I’m selling there. Since I’ve been under the weather, it’s been a slow process getting everything up– for some reason, feeling light-headed and nauseous comes at the most inopportune times! Anyhow, getting back on topic, I quietly posted the page and was so surprised that a few already noticed and started checking things out. Way to go super observant readers! I still have quite a bit more to post, but if you want to buy anything now, the page is up.

This week the 10 Minute Craft Dash #16 is being sponsored by Avery Elle. I am loving the latest AE addition to my stamp collection, Petals & Stems. This set is so much fun to use and I love how easy it was to quickly cut out these bold images! Since I had used this set in a bold way previously, I thought I would switch it up and go a more subtle, almost country feel this time around.

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In yesterday’s post, I LOVED that Cindy noticed I still managed to get sequins into the photo even though I didn’t add them to my card. She’s so observant! I wanted to share that there’s actually some reasons I’ve been adding them to my pictures, in case any of you were wondering.

  1. They’re inexpensive and are a great “filler” for pictures.
  2. They help my camera pick up on colors from the cards, hence making the pictures better. {Weird, right?}
  3. I will find any way possible to include sequins on/ in anything. I have an full-on obsession.

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This week was  scheduled full of different things I was supposed to go to {including my very first women’s conference}. I REALLY don’t want to miss any of these things, so the plan is to just go to work and rest up as much as possible. If you think of it, I’d love prayers as far as this sickness bug– it’s definitely not something I need and it’s throwing everything out of whack, including flaring up my back pain. Yucky stuff. I know quite a few of my readers are prayer warriors, so I’ll welcome any prayers! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope all of you are staying healthy and your week is off to a great start!

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Guest Designer: Iron Craft

Fact: I truly dislike cooking, but I can’t seem to turn away from any cooking tv shows.

I am such a sucker for Top Chef, Master Chef, Chopped, along with many others. Another favorite: Iron Chef. The concept of this show is so neat- they highlight one particular ingredient and then the chefs compete to see who can use it the most creatively. While the show is over-the-top in regards to sound effects and the chairman’s facial expressions, I still love the premise of the show.

A little while back Chaitali contacted me asking if I would be interested in joining along in her Iron Craft challenge, which is similar to Iron Chef in its premise. Each week she has a special guest join her and each person uses the same stamp set/ colors/ sketch/ photo and creates something. Over the last few weeks she has had some of my favorite crafters join her- I am so very honored she asked me to be among them. {Though I also got nervous since I am nowhere in the same league as many of them! The pressure was so great!}

Here’s the inspiration photo and sketch we decided to base our cards off of…

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I could not make the sketch look right, so I decided to flip it and voila! Just switching the layout completely got me back on track and I was able to whip up this card. I have to confess something: stamping with these strawberries definitely brought out cravings– thankfully this one was a healthy one!

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I had so much fun creating for this challenge! With a busy schedule, I just haven’t been able to find time to create for a challenge other than my own, so this was a nice change of pace.  Be sure to stop by Chaitali’s blog and see what she created!

Blogging 101 {Pt. 4}

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When I first started this series, my goal was to jump start new bloggers, help current bloggers re-think the atmosphere and content of their blog and possibly inspire some of my readers to start blogs. It has been such a dream to get the feedback I have from this series. Hearing how people have started blogs, revamped their blog goals and shared this series with others has been AMAZING.

If you missed the earlier posts, here’s the rundown and links of what I’ve covered so far.

It’s time to get started on Blogging 101 Pt. 4 and now that I have talked about most of the big things, I’ll be talking about some smaller, but still important, topics. Today I will be tackling blog aesthetics, developing a following, and blog comments.

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Back in the Blogging 101 Pt. 1 post, one of the points was to make your blog a reflection of you. I’m going to piggyback on this just a little bit. I am ALL for making your blog your home and having it showcase your style and personality. As my personal style has changed and evolved over the years, my blog has gotten a few makeovers. As one who is constantly checking out blogs {both personally and professionally}, there are some things that are a big no-no in my opinion. Here are my top three pet peeves:

  1. Music playing in the background= a majority of people clicking out of your blog instantly. I will confess, back in the day I thought this was so cool and actually had it on my blog. *hides face in shame* If you have this on your blog, I would highly recommend disabling this immediately.
  2. Busy backgrounds can be over stimulating and distract from your content. If you’re unsure, white is always safe.
  3. Pictures that are too large {or too small} are never pleasant. Large pictures result in longer loading times and no one likes to wait around for pictures to load, especially when there are many in a post.

BLOGGING101-12Whether it be on their blog or other social media sites, a blogger strives to develop a following. If you are new to blogging, or branding yourself, you will want it to be easy for your readers to follow you. Be sure to have your links easily visible {preferably near the top or sidebar of your blog} so your readers can just click and go straight to the other site. The biggest tip I suggest: keep all of your social media usernames the same. I go by “prettypinkposh” here on the blog and on all of my social media sites- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest….. If someone enjoys you and your blog, chances are they will want to follow you on your other sites and keeping your name consistent makes it easy for them to find you.

*There is nothing worse than wanting to follow someone on a social media site but their name isn’t consistent with their other sites. Chances are if they have to dig around to find you, they won’t follow.

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If you are a blogger, it’s likely you know that comments don’t always come readily. I cannot tell you how many of my earlier posts have a big fat zero in the comments section. Does this mean that no one read the post? No, it doesn’t. I won’t give you a magical answer on how you can get more comments on your posts because honestly, there isn’t one. There are some blogs that gets hundreds and hundreds of comments, then there are some that get zero. Does it mean that one blog is more popular than the other? Not necessarily. Here’s a few insights, tips and thoughts on the subject:

  • If you ARE a blogger, you know the feeling when you read a comment someone left you? Try to share that with others! While my time has become more limited as my responsibilities grow, I still try to make it a point to leave comments whenever I can. I start out by leaving them for some readers who visit my blog regularly, then I’ll go out from there. I know that I greatly appreciate whenever someone takes the time to share their heart and thoughts on a post and I love being able to do that for others. Also, you never know, you may develop REAL friendships because of comments! Over the years, what started out as blog friendships have turned into real-life friendships. Comments have a special way of bringing people together and bonding them.
  • If you are NOT a blogger, you may not realize the power a comment can have for an author. It’s almost like validation or a pat on the back, in some ways. Do you remember how a teacher would write a note at the top of the paper if you did a great job on a report? A comment is a way you can do this on a post. Whether you felt challenged, inspired or even if you disagree of something, this is the perfect way to give the blogger your feedback and thoughts. I can’t tell you how many times a comment from a reader has inspired a post later on.
  • One last thing on this topic- try not to get discouraged if you don’t receive any comments on your posts. I know from experience this is SUPER difficult at times. Remember: every blogger had to start somewhere and sometimes it can take months or years before a blog “takes off”. In the meantime, continue to be YOU {and pull from some of my previous points} and keep on being diligent about blogging.

That is going to wrap up this installment of Blogging 101. Have you been enjoying the series? Like I mentioned earlier, it’s been great to hear how this feature has inspired some of you. If you haven’t already, I’d love to hear what YOU have gleaned so far.

I am closing in on the last one or two installments of this series- we have covered so much this last month! If there is a topic you want me to cover regarding blogging, be sure to leave a comment and I’ll try to get that included before I wrap up this series. Thanks for stopping by!

Coming Soon….

I had plans to post details on my craft de-stash {which I mentioned on the Pretty Pink Posh Facebook page}, but my body decided to succumb to this sickness bug I’ve been fighting. Yesterday my day was spent resting up and taking in the items pictured below. I’m still not feeling 100%, but I’m hoping the worst part is behind me.

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Just about all of you know about my car accident. I have stayed away from talking about the bills and such that came with it mostly because insurance and my savings were able to take care of it. Well, I just got the biggest bill, which was for my three MRI’s and it was a bit of a surprise. I had talked to the company about it five weeks ago and it sounded like bill was behind me, but alas, it ended up in my mailbox a couple days ago. Such an unpleasant surprise, especially since I had already booked things for San Francisco next month was told the bill was down to zero.

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In my effort to pay off this bill and help get the stress of this daunting amount from my head, I’ve done some cleaning of the craft studio. While it’s a sad thing to part with some of my beloved craft items, I’m hoping that they’ll go to homes that can love them. Gotta look at the positive side, right? :) Stay tuned….

10 Minute Craft Dash #16

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I’m thrilled that you have stopped by for the new 10 Minute Craft Dash challenge. As I was looking through the previous color palettes {available here}, I noticed I had yet to officially highlight purple. How could this be? A little rearranging and I got this one up on the roster immediately. I have always been a fan of this trio of bold colors and I hope you all will be too!

* 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 could qualify as a favorites pick!

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Now onto the great prize! I’m so thrilled to announce that Avery Elle is returning as a sponsor for the 10 Minute Craft Dash. The winner of this challenge will win a $20 gift certificate to their website and boy, they have lots of cute goodies! I recently purchased some of their storage pouches and they are amazing!

cd_16_gcNot only do we have a fab prize, we also have the owner of Avery Elle joining along in this challenge. Be sure to stop by their blog and check out Jamie’s creation!

Avery Elle Blog

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How to Play

  1. Create a card/craft project within 10 minutes featuring the color palette.
  2. Post the time it took to create.
  3. Be sure to include the challenge graphic in your post and link to the challenge.
  4. You may combine a total of three challenges with your entry. You may enter the challenge a maximum of two times.
  5. Subscribe to Pretty Pink Posh via Email

You can pull out your supplies before your timer starts!

10 Minute Craft Dash #15 Highlights

The latest 10 Minute Craft Dash challenge ended on Saturday and it’s time to announce the highlights! I must say, I thought this color palette would stump some of you, but it looks like it did the exact opposite. The talent that was packed into these creations was amazing. Bravo to you all for taking this challenge with gusto!

We have many new participants join in this challenge, which is always so exciting. See new names, along with “regulars”, makes me so giddy. Thank you all for continuing to spread the word and participating in the challenges! Okay, now onto the winning entry and the six favorites…

Congratulations to Rachel I!

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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!
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Ready for some of my favorites? If you’re new to the Craft Dash, I always pick out some entries to showcase and share with you. Be sure to stop by each of the blogs to take a look at the beautiful cards and also peek at their inspiring blogs! {Ladies, feel free to grab the badge below and put it on your blogs!}

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Betty J

Barb Murphy

Serena

Therese

Beth

Joyce M.

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!

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I hope to see you tomorrow for the new challenge that will bring along a returning sponsor. We have  some BOLD colors coming your way and I have a feeling you will do beautiful things with them! I shall see some of you on the Pretty Pink Posh Facebook page later. Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Tulips

I know it’s technically Spring, but sadly the weather here in Washington hasn’t reflected the season change. We had a couple of days with sunshine a while back, but now it seems to be all rain and we even had some hail here over the weekend. I am so ready for more sunshine- this dreary weather is just not fun anymore. If I could transplant my family, friends and job to another state, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Since the sun hasn’t been shining lately, I thought I’d bring a little sunshine to the blog today. After all, we could all use a little more sunshine in our day, right?

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The current Product Spotlight over on the DeNami blog is the Elegant Oval Frame. What does that mean? It’s 10% off until Wednesday! I LOVE this stamp so much, it was so hard for me to put it down so I could move onto other projects. If you didn’t get to see the post where the DT created items using it, click here.

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I hope that you all get a little sunshine today. I’ll see you tomorrow for the 10 Minute Craft Dash #15 Highlights post. I went through all of the entries and left comments and boy, this one is definitely going to be a tough decision. So thankful I have helpers to help me make the final decision! Thank you to everyone who took the time to play along and share their talents!