Little Bit of Lovely

Yesterday, my baby sister and her tall glass of water got married in the Salt Lake Temple. I had high hopes of getting lots and lots of pictures of the happy couple, but this was the only able to snap one photo. 

*gasp*

In my defense it was soooo cold outside. I was expecting to come to Utah and enjoy a bit of warm weather, instead we were graced with rain, snow, and wind.  

I did however, take quite a few pictures at her reception. It was so lovely. My cousin made all the food and it was breathtaking.

So if you ever need a caterer and you live in Northern Utah you should really hit this chick up--she has some serious talent.

;)

My Mom is pretty talented too.

She designed and baked Kambrie's wedding cake and it turned out amazing!

To match the cake she also made coordinating cupcakes that she set in the cutest tulip cupcake tins.

Now, isn't this chick just the cutest thing you have ever seen?

Yes, I am sure you noticed the one fake nail.
Let's just say that Kambrie procrastinated on a "few details" and waited until the morning of her wedding to finish checking off her to-do list.

:)

Sun and Green Grass

Good mornin' friends!

We're in Utah right now for Little Sis's wedding and let me just say that it will be beauty-ful.  I can't wait to show off her amazing skills--she went with a shabby chic/anthropologie inspired wedding and it will be delish my friends!

And as you may have guessed there will be no Feature Friday today. I had a root canal yesterday so I have been kind of loopy. My loopiness combined with our insanely busy day finishing last minute wedding details has meant that I have been on the computer for a total of 20 minutes.

 But don't worry I will feature some of my favorites later this week ;)

Also, did I mention how great the weather is in Utah?

The conditions have been so perfect that I thought it would be a great idea to take Punk's eighteen month photos.
I took 185 pictures. Only two of them were blog worthy. I felt like a maniac chasing my kid around. I jumped up in the air, made silly noises, and waved my hands frantically all in the name of getting a few frame worthy pictures.

He didn't care how much of a fool I made out of myself--he wouldn't look at the camera. Hunk watched the whole ordeal from the sliding glass door of my cousin's house. I don't know what he enjoyed more--Punk running frantically away from me, or my crazy dance moves to get my son's attention.

Then Punk fell on a cactus and take a guess who he ran to? His Momma.
That will teach him to run away from me.

Don't worry he will live.

;)

Life is Better with Spunk-Week 2...

For those of you new to Spunky Junky let me introduce you to the Life is Better with Spunk series. Each week a challenge is provided that is supposed to help us spunk up our lives.

Last week's challenge was to get outside--not just the kind of outside that takes you to the garbage can and back, but the kind of outside where fresh air lives and catepillars roam. 

The weather has been so beautiful for the last few days that I felt somewhat guilty making Punk ride in the car for five hours on Saturday when it was such a beautiful day.

When he did get outside, though, he was in a dazed grassy heaven. His love for being outside was evident by his ability to run up and down the block for hours on end. When he was tired of running he would lay in the grass only to get up to chase the neighborhood boys until he would fall on the ground giggling with excitement.

While Punk released he pent up cabin fever, I laid in the grass soaking up as much Vitamin D as possible. Occasionally, I would sit up to stare out my energized toddler wondering how he had grown up so fast?

From time to time he would run to me with he big smile and runny nose and he would fall into my lap to relax for a moment and then he would be off again.

It was glorious--and very much needed!

How was your time outside? I would love to know.

************************************************************************

Now for this week's challenge eat at some place new.

 If you are not into eating out, then cook or bake that dish that you have putting off for the last year. 

You know what I'm about, right? That restaurant that you have been dying to eat at, but you are too busy to find any time in your hectic schedule. Or, the recipe that you ripped out of a magazine a year ago that is still stuck to your fridge.

Well, make no more excuses. Now is the time to make your taste buds tingle!

This will be fun--I promise!

Won't this challenge be a great excuse for a date night, eh? Or an legit excuse for your kitchen to get really dirty?

;)

macaroons cake pops

This week I will conquer my phobia of baking from scratch and I will finally whip out some macaroons or cake pops.

 

Get Yourself Noticed: Getting Sponsors

Over the last week I have been inundated with emails in regards to my post on "How to get Yourself Featured." Sadly, with the Easter weekend and the my sister's wedding, my ability to respond to emails has been majorly derailed.

No need for alarm my darlings. I found a solution to answer each of you.

I've decided to do a mini series entitled, "Getting Yourself Noticed."

This series will highlight everything from photography techniques to marketing your etsy shop. 

It will be fun and a there will be a test at the end. So take notes, lots and lots of notes. 

So, with that said, this week I am going to give you the 411 on sponsorship. 

*****************************************

Many moons ago before I started this blog, I use to sit at my computer for hours on end and stare at other blogs. I loved their tutorials, their funny little anecdotes, their constant inspiration, and their awe inspiring ideas.

Back then I believed that I couldn't start my own blog because I had somehow missed the blog train.

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Then one night while lying in bed I decided I would start a blog. In the beginning I was overwhelmed and frustrated. I didn't know where to begin. Slowly I began to write posts and overtime a positive correlation began to occur between the number of posts and an increase in my stats.

Once I had developed a platform for my writing and I had a sense of where I wanted my blog to go I then went seeking sponsorships. 

Here are my tricks:

1. Promote yourself.

Yep, I said it. In the beginning I was so small that I knew no one would ever sponsor me. So I sponsored myself. I had a etsy shop so I started to do small giveaways every week from my store. Not only did this help boost my numbers, but it also got my name out there.

2. Friends rock.
Once I had tapped out my own giveaway budget I started to ask friends if they would like to do a giveaway on my blog. They all said, "yes!" And even today, I am still so grateful for their contributions and their faith in me when I was still a struggling blog trying to find my way.

3. Don't be afraid to ask.

The only way you will ever find sponsors or items for giveaways is to approach different companies and ask if they would like to do a giveaway. Yes, many "big blogs"  don't have to approach companies anymore because people are just throwing their items at them, but they were small once too. So believe me when I say that they had to do their own amount of sponsor searching in the beginning as well.  

4. Don't be afraid of the dreaded word, "no."

I have been turned down my fair share of shops. It happens and it is life. Let's be real for a teensy second-- You will get discouraged, but keep going my friends, with every "no" there will be a handful of "yes's."

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And just think, if you don't ask you will never know what their answer may have been?

5. Don't be afraid to approach "big" blogs or shops.

If there is a shop that you love, but it is huge--approach anyway. The least they could do is say "no," but who knows they may say "yes." And just remember, if you don't ask them someone else may and then you may have just lost a "big fish" opportunity!

6. Write an awesome letter/gushing email to potential sponsors

I have provided two sample emails for potential sponsors. While there isn't just one way to write a sponsorship letter, these two examples may give you a little guidance when you start to write your own letter.

Dear Sara

My name is Halsey Bishop and I run a little blog called Spunky Junky. Recently I came upon your shop and I love your announcement cards. You have such a wide variety and I catch myself favoriting all of your items. I am really having a hard time deciding between Blast Off and Twist announcements for my little guy's first birthday! 

Now, that I have Sara's attention and I have created a sincere effort to show her that I have actually looked at her shop then I would approach her about doing a giveaway.

Even in my initial letter I would provide her with a few facts about my blog including size, target audience, and why she would benefit from doing a giveaway on Spunky Junky.

If she emailed back saying that she would be interested in doing a giveaway then I would send her back a marketing packet

In this email I would include:

*Blog statistics

*Example giveaway posts

*Target audience (and relevancy to giveaway item)

*Social media coverage (Facebook and Twitter).

*Blog post sponsorships

*Sidebar advertisng

*Product review (FREE advertising for xx months)

The second letter is if you already have a product from a particular shop.

Dear Sara

My name is Halsey and I run a blog called Spunky Junky. Recently, I purchased 50 Twist announcements from your shop and I couldn't be more pleased. The quality of your announcements are amazing. Thank you so much for providing such a great product.

Once, I finished gushing about Sara's products I would then approach her about doing a giveaway. If she agreed, I would then send her the same marketing package as above.

Once, she agreed to the giveaway I would do everything possible to promote her shop and products. This is where the hard work starts for you! 

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Remember what I said last week about when you give love you will receive love. Well, this is where you should do it. 

Promote your shops, gush about them, tweet them, facebook them, post about them often. Do whatever you can to get there names out there, because when everyone else starts to love them then you will have done your job!

7. Here are a few ideas for promoting your lovely giveaways and sponsors:
*post dedicated solely to the sponsor's shop and the giveaway item
*daily tweets about the shop
*facebook updates about the sponsor's shop
*sidebar advertisement
*daily posts with a shout out about the sponsor at the bottom
* If you know certain days on your blog get hit more then other days put a special note at the bottom directing your readers to the giveaway.

8. When doing a giveaway, you could also make these mandatory or optional requirements:
*ask readers to visit the sponsor's blog/shop
*provide extra giveaway entries if they purchase something for the sponsor's store
*ask them to become a follower/fan of the sponsor's blog/shop
*have them tweet/post/or facebook the giveaway and the sponsor

Remember, to ask the sponsor how they would like to be promoted. Also, and maybe most importantly, ask them which of these requirements must be mandatory. ;)

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And remember...
helping others out is can fun and rewarding. Don't you think?

;)

Now, get to work finding those awesome sponsors! 

Meet my monochromatic friend.

A preface is needed for the pictures below.

 Every morning I wake up and stare at the chevron wall art that is on our bedroom wall. Sometimes I will lay in bed thinking, "wow, I should have spray painted more lids. Maybe I should start saving lids again. I think I need to go buy more shoes so I have lids."

Or, "I need something else on the wall. Maybe it isn't the wall, maybe it is that ghastly yellow chair? I really need to reupholster that chair. I wonder where I put my staple gun. I should really clean out the garage, maybe the staple gun is hidden in there."

Do you get my point?

I get gray hairs just laying in bed...thinking about a wall. Yes, I wake up in the morning and think about a wall.  

A few weeks ago I finally decided that I was going to add a lamp to the top of our dresser, thus to also help me stop thinking about "the wall". The lamp base was a beauty with it's intricate details, but all of that was overshadowed by it gold goodness. The lamp shade had that 70's-tastic yellow glow to it and it smelled of moth balls and dust.  

So I removed the clothe from the lampshade so that only that bare bones of it was left. Then I gave both the base and the shade a nice coat of Kilz Primer and Krylon White spray paint.

When you look at this picture please be aware that I know there is no light bulb in the lamp. I am waiting to find the right vintage edison bulb. 

And yes, the finial is still an outlandish gold color. I had to actually look up what a finial was because I was  going to write, "The twisty screw on top of the lamp."

Finial sounds way more professional, don't cha think?

I thought a skeleton lamp shade with a white base would be the right touch to complete my wall. I wanted a piece to go along with my chevron wall art that was simplistic in nature, but still made a bold statement. 

I wanted a piece that made me wake up in the morning and say, "Hello wall, why don't you look just lovely today." 

So be real with me. What are your feelings about my monochromatic friend?