My 3 Favorite Things about Blogging

I started this blog one day in July in 2010.  It has been a crazy ride since then and I have to say that I really do love blogging.  I do take breaks here and there to get my mojo back but I don't know if I'm ever going to quit blogging.  Social media and an online presence is such a second nature thing now that I don't think I can give any of it up.  I love creating, I love sharing, and I love looking back on this little part of my life from year to year. 

There are three things, though, that I absolutely love about blogging:

Pants are Optional

I don't have to wear pants (or a shirt!) to blog.  I love it.  I love that blogging is a way for me to be myself.  Not only can I share what I want to share, but I can be me behind the screen.  I don't have anyone to impress I just have a voice to express. This may sound weird but I feel like blogging has given me a feeling of empowerment.  People head to this blog and read my voice.  I can choose to share things that are important to me - sometimes it is frivolous things, but I really want to use my blog to voice things I care about.  I've posted before a few things I'd tell my teenage self, and that is about as much as an advocate for anything as I get.  But I want to use my blogging and other social media presence for more.  I am able to use this space as a reflection of me.  And that is the best.

Blogging is not my Income

While that may not seem like something that you'd expect, I love that I don't make a living blogging.  It is a small source of income but it is nothing major.  It is not even enough to keep this blog going.  Because I don't make a significant income blogging, I don't have to worry about creating content on a time line.  I create my content for myself, for my own agenda.  But if I worked with a network or sponsors or anything like that I'd have to create so many odd posts, in such and such amount of time, using such and such links.  I like to have total control over the monetized content I share.  Working with sponsors isn't always like that - deadlines, serious stuff, etc - but if you're trying to bring in X amount of $$ a month to sustain your blog and your life (buy groceries, gas, house payments, etc) there is a lot more to it than just blogging when you feel.  I would love to blog full time but I also know that really isn't for me.  I tried it, loved it, but my life wasn't steady that way.  And I do like predictability and control.  A steady pay check from someone else does that for me.

My Blog Changes with Me

As I change interests my blog can change with me.  I used to want to fight that, but everything changes.  I started this blog to focus on home decor.  I was in college when I started this blog.  How was I going to do anything related to home decor in college?!?!  I grew to be a crafty documentation of my life.  It grew to involve fashion & What I Wore type of posts and now it really doesn't.  I got really into make up so I started posting a lot of make up stuff.  Now I'm really into planning and organizing. So I blog about that.  Somewhere in there I realized this blog was really a reflection of my interests and if I had something to say about a topic, I should say it.  The tag line of my blog is 'living a creative life' and I really feel that I do.  Everyday I try to be creative and I love trying different things.  My favorite part about myself is that I am creative and I want to continue to express this creativity no matter what the topic is.

Blogging has been a big part of my life for the past six years and I hope to keep it going for another six!  I make time to do it as if it is a job because it is rewarding - not monetarily, but in personal growth.  Sharing what I've learned is important to me (like in this post on why I use my blog to teach), I like to connect with others.  I also like to produce content that I'd like to interact with.  I didn't find a lot of videos or blog posts I liked so I thought I'd make my own (and I watch my own content on YouTube...is that weird?)

Anyway, those are the three reasons I love to blog.  It's an expression of me, when it boils down to it, and I love that.

Do you have a blog?  Do you blog for different reasons?

xoxo, Moe

App Review // Paternator

I am not one for changing out my iPhone cases - I buy a case when I upgrade my phone every two years and then I stick with it.  I'm committed like that.  And you can bet I will pick a phone case that is purple.  My current case is glittery purple (reminds me of Barbie + mermaids, and that is pretty much perfect) and the case before that was a purple Mophie case.

I am all about that iPhone wallpaper life.  Even better if I can make it myself because I will make about 3 thousand of them and clog up my camera roll.  This app, Patternator, is a super fun app you can use to create patterned images to use various ways - most importantly as a wallpaper on your phone.

First off, I want to rehash some of my favorite overlay apps that you can totally use to make amazing backgrounds - here are 8 overlay apps that I love, here are 4 ways to add text to your iPhone photos, and here is a post on creating journaling cards on your iPhone (can totally be translated into wall papers!).  

What it is

Create the world’s cutest patterns, backgrounds, wallpapers and lockscreens. Pick from millions of cool stickers, hundreds of beautiful background colors, and endless pattern options.

taken from the Apple app store here.

What it does

Patternator allows you to create, quite litterally the cutest backgrounds ever.  Choose a sticker to add to the background - you can scroll through the seemingly endless categories or type in a key word to search.  The hardest part about this is picking a sticker to actively convey your emotion, as there are a ton to choose from.

Fine tune your pattern by selecting the layout and then adjusting the scale, spacing, angle and more.   Select the background color and export your image. The control you have over creating your pattern is great - though this app isn't a full on pattern maker.  You can not export your creation as a tile-able image but the quality of the image created is good enough to use on Instagram or small projects where a tiled image won't matter.

Why it helps you
If your a blogger or instagramer or shop owner, or anyone who uses social media this is a great app to create a background for an announcement.  Using this background in conjunction with another app like Phonto to overlay text is a great way to create unique advertising on your platform of choice.  Advertise shop sales, meet ups, announcements, etc.

If you just like being creative, this app is fun to have in your design arsenal on your phone.  Create backgrounds for wallpapers or to use in smaller projects the quality the image is saved isn't as high as I'd like it (you can get really hi res images from an app like Rhonna Designs).  You could use this to create pocket scrapbooking cards (in conjunction with this app tutorial and then use them in the Project Life app) or small stickers.  This is a fun app to play around with!

**I think you also used to be able to order phone cases right from the app, but that feature is no longer available.  I'm not sure on the resolution quality on a printed item like that though.

Do you have any pattern making app recommendations?  I can't seem to find too many in the app store!

Make it Monday // Fruit Slices Cup Cozie

It is finally getting to be the time of year where I can switch my parka for a tank top and my winter boots for bare feet.  This winter wasn't as bad as it has been in the past but it still was cold, it still was long, it still was winter.  Even last week we had a day in the 40's after a week of 60's-70's.  I was like WTF is going on here.

I decided to welcome the warm weather with a crochet project! Super weird, right?  But it isn't something you wear it is something for your cup to wear.  I've posted previous cup cozie projects before (here & here) and they are all themed for the season.  This is the second crochet applique cup cozie I've made and I have to say it is pretty fun to figure out how to make little shapes using various stitches.  I tried to make charts for the orange slices but just couldn't figure out how to properly convey the shape.  Hopefully you can go off of these charts for reference.  I did use a combination of single crochet and double crochet to get the look.

The half size slice has a row of double crochet in light orange, and then two rows of single crochet in light orange, increasing a bit each time.  The final row is single crochet in the darker orange.

The full circle slice is crocheted in the round with out turning and has a row of double crochet in the light orange followed by a row of single crochet in light orange, then a third row of double crochet in light orange.  The last row is single crochet in the dark orange.  Each row has an increase to help keep the shape.  Both appliques were made with a size G crochet hook.

I then used some white yarn to weave from center to outer edge to create some 'slices'.  I didn't do this equally around the slices though, to add some contrast.  Then I attached the appliques to the cozie with a needle and the corresponding yarn, tucking all loose ends inside.

The cozie was made by crocheting in the round 17 rows of 35 single crochet stitches using an H hook.  Because the appliques were so huge, the cozie had to be big enough to accommodate them.  Using thinner weight yarn and a smaller, corresponding hook will make the appliques smaller.  But this size works great for a cold beverage insulated cup.

I can't wait to sip something delicious on the porch out of this fun mug.  Or even throw a frozen lemonade or smoothie in it to go.

Was winter harsh were you were?  Are you excited for warm weather?

xoxo, Moe