Your social media accounts speak for your brand - does it look like your brand? These tips can apply to influencers or any brand or business with a social media account. These tips work on any social media platform - Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter. Branding your brand starts with your website and your logo. Many of us spend a lot of time making our website look beautiful and our social media accounts should mirror the look and feel of your website. Versatile Logo - Is your logo versatile? Will it work on all of your different platforms? You'll likely need several different sizes and orientations of your logo. You may even need it with a transparent background. If you're working with a professional designer they will be able to guide you to creating these different versions. If you are starting small and creating your own branding and logo you can use websites like Canva or PicMonkey to look professional and high quality. These websites can give you ... [ Read More ]
My Creativity This Week – Episode 1: Funky Florals
Are you a creative person? Do you struggle with finding your inner creative spirit? Sit there staring at the blank canvas or journal page wondering what you'll work on next? This series is something new to me where I'll share what I'm working on this week. I feel like my creative spirit is ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE and I'm always trying something new each week. That doesn't have to be a bad thing because it's broadening your inner creativity. This week I've been working on Funky Florals. One of my favorite Instagram creatives to follow is Megan (@MakeWells) and her awesome Funky Florals. I love the bright colors and the use of mixed media in her work. I love that she works on canvas, paper, wood, walls, and more! She is seriously inspiring to follow. View this post on Instagram I’m thoroughly convinced that I will never run out of ways to paint flowers. The possibilities are just endless people! I may have a ... [ Read More ]
Give the Gift of Awesome Photos
I am a "Picture Play" affiliate and earn a commission when you order through my links in this post. Have you ever wanted to take better pictures with your iPhone or Android? Did you know that there are a few free or low cost (like less than $5) apps that can make your regular iPhone pictures 10X better? It's possible with some of the tips that Jill Krause (and Happy Loud Life) shares in her new Picture Play ebook. I have a fancy DSLR that I bought a few years ago and kinda learned how to use, but it's so big and bulky that I never take it with me. I'm really happy with the overall quality of photos from my iPhone 8+ but it doesn't always take perfect photos. Sometimes they are too dark, or too light, or there are things in the background that are distracting. This is one of the photos I took a few years ago with my DSLR. It showed up in my memories this week so I thought I'd try to edit it again using the tricks in Picture Play. Look closely behind her head, in the new version I ... [ Read More ]
Are you Green Enough? {Book Review & Tips}
Hint: There is no wrong answer here! You ARE enough and we can all make changes in our lives to be a little more green. About a week ago I received a book from a friend and fellow blogger, Leah Segedie. The book, Green Enough, will be available on Amazon starting March 20th. You can preorder it now! To shop my Amazon Affiliate Link: http://amzn.to/2HOCmAG Green Enough is available in hardcover and on Kindle. ...before you start rolling your eyes, I need to confess something. I am NOT the super "eco chic" that many of my followers once considered me to be. Way back in the days when I first started this blog it went by a different name, The Eco Chic. A few years ago I was struggling with identifying with that title any longer because I felt like I was more than just someone who wanted to write about eco-friendly living. I also realized that there was so much more to being a green influencer/blogger than recycling, cloth diapers and menstrual cups. Several years ago, the ... [ Read More ]
Zapzapmath App Review & Giveaway
This post is sponsored by Zapzapmath App. Third grade math is hitting us hard here! Over the past few weeks my daughter's class has been working on multiplication and now division. They are still mastering their multiplication facts and she's not as fast as she needs to be. I know that all of this will come with practice and patience; but it's a struggle! I've been downloading app after app to help her master her facts. The team at Zapzapmath app contacted me recently and asked if we'd like to give their math app a test drive! The app is free to download and works on iPhone or Droid; but also on your computer and Chromebook. The premium subscription is $9.95 for a year and will unlock the entire grades worth of activities and games. Bai tried both the standard app and the premium app on my iPhone this afternoon and I can tell that the premium version is more beneficial since it covers a wider range of math skills. The standard version for 3rd grade math allows your child ... [ Read More ]
How to Make a Snapchat Geofilter for Your Next Party
My youngest turned eight a few weeks ago and insisted on having a YouTube themed birthday party. It's hard to make a party "YouTube" themed without incorporating a few other social media outlets as well. My daughter and her friends are addicted to Snapchat filters and share silly pictures of themselves all weekend. It's absolutely hilarious to see some of their silly snaps back and forth. What does a YouTube birthday party look like??? Great question and one that I had to create on my own with her suggestions. We had a selfie station, took a "Try not to laugh" challenge, and opened mystery boxes. Plus there were lots of emojis and YouTube was playing in the background all day. Confessions and Rules: Yes, my eight year old has an iPhone. Yes, she is on Snapchat. Yes, we monitor her account and she's only allowed to share snaps with her friends and family. No, she's not allowed to post to her story or friend anyone she doesn't know. ...and both of my kids have YouTube ... [ Read More ]
Stonyfield Bloggers on the Farm
If you follow me on social media, you may have seen some of my recent pictures from the Stonyfield Farm Tour (#StonyfieldFarmTour) in Vermont last week. The Stonyfield company selected 13 of their blog ambassadors to tour 3 farms in Vermont. This is the second year that they held their Farm Tour and I'm so thankful that they invited me (and paid my expenses....in case you were wondering), this is a trip that I won't soon forget. The Stonyfield blog ambassadors are made up of the Yo-Getters and the Clean Plate Club. Most of the bloggers have never met and live across the US. We all blog about different topics; some of us are lifestyle bloggers, some are food bloggers, some are eco-friendly bloggers, and I'm sure there are a few more niches that we belong to. We all share one thing, we love Stonyfield and their mission to bring healthy and organic food into our homes. This year's Farm Tour bloggers..... Welcome to the 2016 Stonyfield Blogger Farm Tour Team! Follow our ... [ Read More ]
Did you see? The Eco Chic has a new name!
Wait, you mean I'm not The Eco Chic anymore? Something awesome happens over the years, you are continually changing who you are. While you will always be you, your identity may change. You start your childhood as a child of your parents, then you grow your wings and leave home, maybe you get married and change your name, have children, change jobs, etc.....but you're always you! The same holds true with this blog. When I first started this blog 8 years ago I had no idea what I was doing. The world of blogging was still new-ish and bloggers were defining their roles on the internet. At the time I was working as an environmental consultant and "The Eco Chic" sounded like the perfect identity for me. During that time I added another child to our family, changed jobs, and became heavily involved in the cloth diapering and natural parenting community. This blog blossomed during those years and I'm thankful for the opportunity to still be relevant in the community. Now that ... [ Read More ]
Parenting a Tween and Electronics
In just a few more months I'll officially be a mom of a teen, not to be confused with a Teen Mom!! Right now I'm in the heart of the tween (kids age 10-12) and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this parenting a teenager stuff. I feel like every week my oldest is grounded from something for doing something stupid. One week it was calling girls names that I won't even type (he claims he didn't know what they meant), then it was flipping off another student in class, and the lying.... .....oh my goodness the lying!! The issues I've been having aren't unique to our family, they are regular tween antics that other friends his age are going through also. I remember lying to my parents, but tween's today have one more level of complexity that we never had to deal with as kids, the internet! I'm going to start aging myself now and sounding like "those parents," but the internet didn't even exist when I was his age. If we wanted to talk with our friends we had to pick up the ... [ Read More ]
#JustBeYou with prAna & Oh My Yog {Coupon Code & Giveaway}
This post is sponsored by prAna and Stonyfield Yogurt If there's one thing that I've learned over the last 40+ years, it's that all you need to be in life is YOU. As a child I always wanted to be just like the other girls, those popular girls. I wanted to have the perfect hair, the perfect clothes, and the perfect friends. What I didn't realize at the time was that I'm not who I wanted to be when I was little.... ...I'm better! I look back over the profile pictures on Facebook of those girls I wanted to be like, and I realize that I'm more than happy with who I've become and who I've always been. I don't want to be "just like them" any longer and I wouldn't want to be anyone else but me. Oh, how I wish I had learned that 30 years ago. This was me today after a full day at work, after homework was done, and after dinner was in our bellies. This is how I looked at 8am this morning when I left to take the kids to school and the only difference right now is that I've ... [ Read More ]