Three Photo Storage Tips for your Next Vacation

A few months ago Zach & I got back from week long trip to Korea.  I know, I know....you've seen like 3 pictures of Korea ever.....I promise I'm working on that.  I really am.  When it came down to packing photo gear for this little trip I had one thing on my mind -  I am not packing my DSLR, it takes up too much space.  So I promptly went out and bought a 64 GB memory card for my old point and shoot (+ an iPhone external back up, just in case).

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When I got to Korea....turns out my old point and shoot can't handle a new fangled 64 GB SD card.....so I put my phone in airplane mode and used that as my video camera and my point and shoot.  I only have the 16 GB phone, so here's what I did to free up space for the photos I was going to take:

Delete apps you don't need

This is sort of a duh moment here but I went through and deleted all the apps I wouldn't use in Korea.  Like my Starbucks and Subway app - I'm probably not going to use those half way across the world.  I would suggest deleting the apps you have for fun if you're going on a trip in the US and will probably stop at a Starbucks.  If you have any games you haven't played in ages or photo apps you never use, get rid of them and add them on later when you get back from your trip.  Who knows...you might get rid of some and make room for more.....if you never used the apps anyway.

Move your photos through different apps

When I wanted to take a picture and do a bit of editing on it right there I found this tip to be the most helpful.  A good example, that I do often now anyway, is to start in an app like PicFrame.  Create your collage the way you want, then under the share option find other apps.  This feature will find the other photo apps on your phone so you can move the photo to that app with out saving it to your camera roll.  You've just freed up space for another picture!  So then you could move the photo to let's say, Afterlight.  Once you've finalized you're edits there, you could save to camera roll or select other apps and move it to Phonto, for example, to add a caption or other text over your photo.  Then from Phonto, you could save to camera roll oooooor move it to Instagram (or countless other apps!).  You've just saved one, fully edited photo instead of saving 4 images - one of each edit.  This leaves room for 4 more photos.  I think this is pretty cool!

Buy back up storage for your phone

I picked up a SanDisk iXpand Sync back up.  This one is super cool (and the only thing I've ever had like it) because you can create folders to organize your photos and you can set auto back up once you plug it in.  In the limited time we had before running around the next day, I'd pop in the back up, wait for it to sync, then go back - tap, tap, tap - and put the photos into the Korea folder for the corresponding day.  If later I wanted to go through and edit a photo on my phone, I could plug the back up back into the phone, save the image back to the camera roll and work from there.  This back up was a life saver for the videos I took on my phone!  The back up also has a USB end so you can plug the back up right into your computer and download your videos/photos there too.  Pretty awesome storage device!

These three tips are great for everyday storage saving on your phone but even better when it comes to travel.  I love the quality of the camera on the iPhone 5S....but honestly I can't wait to upgrade to the 6!  You can capture beautiful photos and video in the palm of your hand....and that is pretty amazing.

How do you store your vacation photos?  Do you use your phone as your main camera?

xoxo, Moe

Make it Monday // Inspirational Charm Bracelet

When fall rolls around not only do I bust out the knitting needles and crochet hooks, I suddenly become an arm candy queen.  I don't know why - maybe it's the boots and the scarves - but I will stack up the bracelets like to tomorrow.  My favorite are charm bracelets with lots of dangly things.  I found some cool little charms in my stash and at the craft store the other day, so I knew I needed another 

Supplies :: charm bracelet base (like these, found mine in the Joanne's clearance section), tassel charms, inspirational charms, pilers, assorted jump rings.

If you're unsure of where to find inspirational charms, check all your craft stores in the jewelry aisles.  I found these a bit ago and find any excused to use them.  This DIY is also about how to properly open a jump ring.  If I have one creative pet peeve it is the improper opening of a jump ring.  Instead of pulling the two edges apart, twist the jump ring apart.

Using the pliers in one and and your thumb and forefinger (or second pair of pliers) center the opening between the two.  The edge in the pliers twist toward you and the edge between your two fingers twist away from you.  You don't want to stretch the ring out as you want it to be able to go back to it's original shape.  Twisting it like this should do the trick.

Attach the charms to the loop on the bracelet so that the charms don't fall off.  You could also use a bracelet that is in a continuous circle for this DIY as well.

I love the sentiment of these charms - Be Here Now - is something that I'm really trying to work on.  When Zach is here I try to take the time to enjoy us together.  But of course I get wrapped up everyday things.  I need to try to enjoy the time we have more.

How do you remind yourself to enjoy the moment?

xoxo, Moe

Boost Your Shop // Why I Keep Going Back To Etsy

When I first decided to dive into selling handmade goods, I turned to no other place but Etsy.  I posted my first pair of earrings for sale at a boyfriend's suggestion and it was a snowball from there.  My last year of college I challenged myself to make 10 sales before Christmas - I wasn't a successful seller really - and met my goal.  Then with Zach's encouragement I opened up my design shop selling blog designs.  With the invention of the instant download I was hooked.  We then opened up our vintage shop, 516Vintage (we've since shuttered the doors, but who knows...we may open up again).  Between those two things though I switched my handmade things to an ecommernce platform called Storenvy.  This switch had it's pros and cons, you can read that here.  You can also read a slightly dated Storenvy Rundown here.

But once I finally decided I really wanted to open up a shop again.....with out a doubt I chose to go back to Etsy.  Now, you may say that it costs too much to run an etsy shop, that you're going to be up against those who sell mass produced items from China...but I say the ease of use, recognition, and necessary evil of seller fees are great considering one has to do very little in the grand scheme of things to promote a shop.  Here are the pros, for me, for sticking with Etsy for my ecommerce needs:

They do the advertising for you - If you didn't know not only does Etsy promote through various targeted ads on websites, but they also have a crazy cool email marketing strategy, and even get their name in print.  I've seen adz for Etsy in various magazines in various doctors offices and waiting rooms.  This targeted marketing and promotion means that Etsy has made a name for itself.  Etsy has become the go to place to search for independent artists and creators.  Meaning it is a great market place for you - the artist or creator - to be a part of.  Millions of people all over the world are constantly searching Etsy for billions of keywords hourly (these stats are totally made up, but they make sense).  If you're a part of the largest market place you'll be a part of something big.

They do the ecommerce for you - Do you really want to be responsible for building & maintaining an ecommerce site?  Yes, you can add ecommerce to your Wordpress blog (Blogger platform forever!) but do you really want to deal with that?  Do you really want to be responsible for security certificates?  Do you really want to deal with a design?  Do you really want to figure out how to make your stand alone site mobile friendly?  Do you have all these resources? If you do, wonderful! But for the average hobby seller all this seems crazy.  Of course you could go with a place like Storenvy or Tictail for ecommerce, but when you have the biggest name in indie commerce behind you......why would you bother?  Everything is integrated from fees to shipping to instant downloads to revenue to stats to payments to label printing.  Storenvy has at least a majority of those things done through 3rd party websites.

Simplicity & ease of use - All those things above leads me to this point: Etsy is easy to understand for the novice seller.  You don't have to manage security certificates on Etsy because they do the eccommerce for you.  You don't have to figure out a mobile design because Etsy does it for you.  You can get to the creating, making, and listing with out having to worry about the crazy stuff.  Etsy is a great place to learn what works, what doesn't, what pays, and what you need to charge to make what you need to make.  If you end up being a big shot and going into your own website, great.  But Etsy is easy to use, easy to understand, and easy to build from with out having to worry about who's credit card might get stollen.  The fees are a necessary evil of running a shop where you don't have to deal with the things mentioned above.  Listing is easy, tracking is easy, hosting a shop is just plain easy.

You'll be among creators like you - I would say the majority of buyers on Etsy are looking for a creator like you.  Etsy is a leading name (in my opinion) in handmade sellers.  Buyers navigate Etsy to find something unique and made by an independent creator.  People want to support those doing things their own way.  Yes, you're also in the boat with mass produced resale from China but you're also among creators that like to create.  You can find tons of Etsy communities on Facebook as well to really reinforce the handmade community.

Using a site that does nearly all the important things for you is important to my sanity as a shop owner!  I love that Etsy is everything I need wrapped up in one site.  I hope this little post was helpful for you to see why hosting your shop on Etsy can many pros for the small time (and big time) shop owners.  If you're just starting out, there's not too much to be overwhelmed with.  If you're a seasoned Etsy pro, then you realize the importance of being a part of the popular market place.

So, if you're down for starting your own etsy shop....go ahead and get started here.

Do you love Etsy?  Is there another all inclusive ecommerce site that I need to know about?

xoxo, Moe