Notice anything different around here??? We're working really hard to give our little ol' blog a face lift. I mean if Nate Berkus was coming to your house, you'd get all prettied up right? We are not HTML gurus and we're doing our blog work as we do everything else… DIY and trial and error. So, you might see some wacky changes in the next week or so, but hopefully the finished product will be awesome! We're definitely loving the cleaner look for all our social media buttons. I might have actually jumped up and down and yelled,"I am the Zeus of HTML" when I finally figured out the spacing. It really took me 3 hrs! Our header is totally still under construction, but what do you think so far? (I know it's way big, but it will be smaller soon!)
We'd LOVE to get some ideas and input from you, so leave us a comment and let us know what you think!
I'm happy to share that I'm in the October 2010 issue of The Crafts Report Magazine!
This is especially exciting for me as not only have I been a reader and avid fan of the The Crafts Report for years, but because this is the definitive journal for high end handcrafted art. A while back I was interviewed for an article on using social media to market your artwork. The piece is entitled Expand and Enhance Your Business with the Internet (written by Nancy LaFever) and is one of the feature articles in their October issue, which is their Special Internet Marketing Issue.
This is the necklace that accompanies the article.
Visit The Crafts Report Magazine online at: http://www.craftsreport.com/
Last year Jess and I shared with you our 2012 goals for our homes, the blog, and our community. We did a pretty good job chipping away at our lists (more on that later). This year, we're going start with our goals for this little ole blog. We have some fun changes and some big aspirations for EC2 in 2013. This is kind of like"What to Expect When You're Expecting", but a blog version! Here goes…
For the first two years we've pretty much kept it all DIY projects and home decor on the blog. Occasionally we've shared some of our lives and what's important to us. From all your emails and comments, you like the inside scoop, so we're gonna give it to you! We plan to work in the occasional post about our friendship, how we survive as moms (did you know Jess' son is a super picky eater? Well, soon you will), and just life in general. Don't worry, we'll still be focused on DIY, but just injecting a bit of"Us" along the way.
Holy moly we are beyond excited about this one. Here's a BIG hint- we're going to be hosting a contest that we won last year! We purchased it back in October 2012 and will be giving you all the details soon. Think HUGE prize packages, some crazy famous bloggers, and you!
In 2013 we're going to invite you into our casas (I'm fancy because I took four years of Spanish… casa = house. Ha!) We'll be adding home tours to the blog. You'll get to see the layouts, finished rooms, rooms in progress, and the downright ugly, unfinished. Trust me, this will boost your self esteem! We hope to have these up in the next month.
Blogging can feel like a one-way conversation sometimes. We love interacting with so many of you on Facebook (don't already LIKE us? Go do that now, then come back and finish reading)
and other social media outlets, but we also want to have an intentional forum for Q & As. About once a month we'll be answering your questions (anything goes) and giving you ideas on your own design dilemmas.
We'll admit that we loved seeing our names and faces in HGTV Magazine and Ladies Home Journal in 2012 (ok, I-Monica-didn't love seeing my face. Can you say Bad Pic?) We've made it a goal to have a full article or feature in another publication. I was doing a little magazine research and do you know that these are actual magazines: Bacon Busters, Miniature Donkey Talk, & Girls with Corpses… Umm, I don't think you'll find us in those, but who knows, maybe Bacon Buster readers need some DIY help?
We never want to compromise our commitment to keeping it real here on EC2, but we do want to provide you guys with better pictures. We'd like to be more intentional about learning about photography and using what we learn to take it up a notch with our blog pics. Don't worry, we'll still take plenty of cheesy midnight pics that look so grainy you think they were taken in 1963.
Yes, we know the"Big Screen" refers to movies, but saying"be on TV" doesn't sound as fancy. Jess and I are both Big Idea people and when you combine the two of us, the combo can be pretty intense. We loved working with Nate Berkus on his show last year and we were surprised how much we enjoyed the process of working on a TV show. So, I'm happy to announce that we'll be taking over for Whoopi and Barbara Walters on The View! Ok, nope that's a total lie… we are however, in the early stages of pursuing our own TV show. We've gotten feedback from so many of you that you'd watch us again, so we figured we'd give it a shot! If you think it's something you'd want to watch, be sure to leave a comment or email us and let us know! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, tell us: What do you think of our goals? What would you like to see us do this year? What are your big plans for 2013?? As always, thanks for joining us on our blog journey!
A few months back we put out the word that we needed some help here at EC2! We were overwhelmed by how many of you responded and were so honored by how many of you said you would enjoy working with us!! (That just means we've actually tricked you into thinking we're semi-normal people. Mwhahah!) We should say here that if you reached out to us about the position and didn't hear back, please forgive us! That's exactly why we needed help- neither one of us is type A, which sometimes means a bit 'o chaos and unreturned emails!!
Anyhow, after much thought, lots of phone calls, and emails, we found just the right gal for the job!! We're super excited to introduce Diana as the newest member of the East Coast Creative Team! (We can call it a team now that it has more than two people! I'd like to call it a posse, but Jess would most likely roll her eyes at me-ha!)
So Diana is going to be my stunt double… nah… Just kidding, I do all my own stunts! Actually, she's going to be helping us with lots of the behind the scenes stuff that makes a blog run smoothly. We might actually remember to pin our posts… might tell you on Facebook when we post… heck, we might even post regularly 4x a week and get all our Knock It Off tutorials online! It's going to be epic people!! Diana has a ton of social media experience and has been working on other sites for the past few years. We're excited about the mad skillz she's bringing to the table! Diana is also known for putting together awesome round up posts, so be on the look out for a few contributor posts from her as well. Everyone loves a good round up! Jess and I will still be the ones blogging and working on projects etc… Diana is just going to be like our nagging mom telling us when we have to do the less fun parts of blogging like paying bills, actually posting about projects that we might have forgotten about etc… She's gonna keep us in line: ) (Ha! Good luck with that Diana!) So, that's all the news we have for now! But since this post was project-less, how about you head over to Knock It Off's page and check out the insanely awesome formal living room project we'll be posting about here later this week!! Click HERE to watch this episode!
I can't even tell you how much I love Instagram. If you follow me (Jess_EC2blog), you'll quickly find that out. Out of all our social media avenues, IG is definitely my favorite. I comment and"like" things more there than on Facebook. For real! There's something so charming and fun and real-lifey about Instagram photos and I wanted to figure out a way to show them off in my house. But even if my version (which is not original, by the way, I've seen it done many a time!) isn't your cup of tea, I've rounded up a few other fun ideas of what to do with those cute, square pics.
I found a site called FoxGram that makes ordering your pics super easy. Just sign in using your Instagram account on their site and all your pics load right up. Choose your favorites and for 25 cents a picture, they'll print them and send them out the same day!
It didn't take long for me to get my prints in the mail, and when I did, I was thrilled with the quality. The pictures are nice and clear and the size is just plain adorable. Love, love, love them. I kind of went buck wild and ordered way more prints then I needed for this project so I sorted them out and decided which would go in my frame.
Since I already has this large frame for our Advent Calendar, it was already set up for me to use. You can check out here how I threaded the twine and adhered it to the frame if you want to make your own. I used the mini clothespins I got from Consumer Crafts (check out our ridiculous haul video here!) a while back and started clipping the photos in the frame.
I love this method because I can change the pictures out whenever I feel like it. Plus, it really adds some personality to our kitchen and makes me happy when I walk in that room.
I love the subtle pop of color in the pictures as you enter the kitchen from the hallway, and I think the dark frame is a nice change from the all-white gallery wall going on in the hall.
I couldn't stop there, though. I had to find some other awesome ideas to get your Instagram juices flowing. Take a peek! Instagram Friendly Softcover Books from Artifact Uprising
DIY Giant Instagram Frame from The Handmade Home
iPhone Cover from Casetagram
DIY Instagram Coasters from A Nerd Like Me
DIY Instagram Necklace from dot coms for Moms. Isn't this soooo cute?! Like a modern day locket.
Don't forget to follow Monica, too, @Eastcoastcreative! What do you do with your Instagram photos? Leave us a comment with your IG name so we can follow you and add to my Instagram insanity.: )Linking up to: I Heart Naptime
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group ™ and Sharpie, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #NeonSharpie http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.
So, occasionally I have those,"You Know You're a Blogger When…" moments. They're the moments when you step back and realize that yes, you are taking pictures of Chili outside and decorating it with wooden pallets and leaves… or like this week when I was checking out at the grocery store and this is what it looked like…
(Want more of our crazy lives? Follow us on Instagram! @Eastcoastcreativeblog @Jess_EC2blog)
The boy at the checkout counter was giving me some seriously weird looks! Anyhow… I scored the crazy realistic skull for $3.99!
We have a bit of a"Not Too Scary" Halloween rule at the Mangin house. We're all for having fun and dressing up, but we're not into the darker, creepo side of the holiday. So, while I loved how authentic the skull looked, I knew I needed to pretty him up and my new Sharpie Neon markers that I bought at Target were just the thing I needed! I couldn't resist playing around a bit before he got his makeover!
After playing around, I got down to work. I used the Sharpies to add a pop of color to all the fissures on the skull and then I got to work on his grill!
He be all up in my grill… and I love it!
Isn't he looking a lot more cheerful and less scary?!?
Then came the moment I was most excited about! Seeing this bad boy GLOW!!
Ahhh! I was jumping for joy over this for some reason! I can't believe how vibrant the colors are when you put them under a black light.
Look at the difference with the black light!
After seeing how simple it was to kick the skull up a notch, I decided that I'd use my Neon Sharpies to do a little more decorating. I used newspaper wrapping paper I had on hand (although real newspaper would work too) and made a Halloween themed table runner!
I had just watched the movie A Beautiful Mind and I thought making the plain paper look like it had hidden messages would be fun! It was amazing how easy it was to find Halloween-like words! And once again the Sharpie Neon under the black light added just the right pop to make it seem totally legit!
So, if you're looking for some simple ways to decorate this Halloween, instead of dishing out big bucks, just grab a pack of Neon Sharpie markers at Target using this $1.00 off coupon (while supplies last in select stores) and add a POP to some items you already have around the house. You could add some style to plain, dollar store mugs, make a glowing pennant banner, and so much more! One added bonus… my kids thought I was the coolest ever when I showed them how the black light worked! For more ideas using Sharpies for Halloween check them out on Pinterest and Facebook. If you love our Neon Sharpie Halloween decor ideas, then check out the other bloggers who linked up with Sharpie as well!
