Life. June Featured Bloggers #2.

I would like you to meet the lovely Kristin from HelloSweetWorld! She is one of my blogging buddies and we love to have a sook to each other on twitter. Please do go check out her blog, I promise you a good time.

Name: Kristin 

Blog Name and link: HelloSweetWorld - hellosweetworld.com 

Twitter handle: @hellosweetworld

1. Tell us about your blog?   My blog is just a little place where I share bits and pieces of my life and photography. Mostly it's sharing about my travels and daily finds, with a few extras thrown in. Oh, and some vintage too. 

2. What made you want to start blogging?  I started blogging back in February 2007 under a different name after a friend of mine had shared her blog with me. I had no idea it was such a community and after some life changes, I started HelloSweetWorld in 2008. I wanted a place where I could be creative and document my life, mostly in photos, so I could follow my own journey over the years. I guess I can credit my friend for starting a blog, because she inspired me. 

3. What makes blogging so fun and worthwhile for you?  As stated above, I wanted a place to share and follow my own steps through life. And when I started, blogs were just starting to become more popular. I had no idea there was such an online community for them and since I've started blogging, I've had so many opportunities and met so many people because of it. I love how we can all come together and feel like we're best buds because of blogging. That's just one added bonus to keeping my so-called 'online diary'. I also enjoy seeing how I've evolved over the years and being able to go back and see what I was doing in 2009. It's kinda like an electronic time capsule. Ha!

4. What 5 blogs do you read regularly?  Wow, I have a long list of blogs that I try to catch up on during the week but I guess if I had to narrow it down to five that I read regularly, or at least followed for quite a while, it'd be....

• Carosello -  http://www.caroselloblog.com/  
• Em, Busy Living -  http://triskay86.blogspot.com/
• Smile and Wave -  http://smileandwave.typepad.com/blog/
• Something Big is Coming -  http://jencoen.blogspot.com/
• ZieDarling -   http://ziedarling.blogspot.com/

xx Samantha Alice

Pretty. June Featured Bloggers #1.

I'd like you all to meet three lovely blogger ladies. If you'd like to be featured next week, or know of someone who fits the bill, contact me via email or twitter!

#1 

Name: Zie Campbell

Blog Name and link: Darling Dear 

Twitter handle: @ziedarling

1. Tell us about your blog? 

Darling Dear is a little slice of blogland that is completely dedicated to giggles, glitter and something else really cool that starts with 'g'. Darling Dear is also a documentation of the life graphic design student who lives in Nashville, TN and loves tea time and making lists.  

2. What made you want to start blogging? 

Originally, I started blogging to document my life & keep track of things. So I could look back and see what I did even just a year before. Kind of like a fun little way of seeing how I grow and develop.

3. What makes blogging so fun and worthwhile for you?

The people. Since I started blogging, I found a bunch of really awesome, half-crazed folks. And they're beautiful in their madness & without all of them, blogging wouldn't be anywhere near as fun. 

4. What 5 blogs do you read regularly?

1. boys with banjos  
2. once upon a time in war... 
3. girls and doll houses 
4. petitevanou
5. goffgough

Why should you check it out?

Zie is an amazeballs illustrator (yes that is a very technical term I know) and her blog is super pretty and super lovely to read. 

#2

Name: Alexa Curtis

Blog Name and link: A Life in the Fashion Lane 

Twitter handle: @FashionLaneBlog

1. Tell us about your blog? 

My blog is a diary of my personal style as a teenager in high school. I try to influence people to be comfortable in what they wear and always be willing to take risks. I try to take the average sweater and leggings attire and turn it into something totally unique.

2. What made you want to start blogging? 

I always had an interest in fashion but until I was given the idea of starting a blog never knew how to get my ideas out there. Once I started blogging I was hooked and had to keep doing it!

3. What makes blogging so fun and worthwhile for you? 

I think the fact that you may be changing someones life by helping them feel more fabulous. Everyone has a little bit of creativity inside them, and if I can keep blogging and making people feel comfortable to let their ideas flow is what makes it all worth my time. Not to mention I love to write so communicating to the world through a blog makes me feel like I am doing something closer to being an editor at a top magazine, which is my dream.

4. What 5 blogs do you read regularly?

1. Sincerely, Jules
2. Natalie Off Duty
3. Color Me Nana
4. Flashes of Style
5. The Man Repeller

Why should you check it out?

Alexa is a super confident young lady who makes me wish I had even a small dose of her confidence when I was in high school! 

#3
Name: Made Stuchbery
Blog name: 365 Days of Made 
Twitter handle: @madestuchbery 

Why should you check it out? 
I happen to think Miss Made is pretty rad AND she is also moving to England around the same time as me AND if you watch this space we might just have a collaboration in the works. (But ssshhhhh, it's a secret!)

Made is a journalism student from Melbourne who blogs about her life and studies. She writes really well so definitely pay her blog a visit!

xx Samantha Alice

Pretty. Photoshop Basics. PEN AND MASK.

I can't tell you how much fun these have been to make! I have been so flat out busy that I have been neglecting this little blog (sadness) so the fact that I can whip up a tutorial in half an hour makes blogging easier at the moment. Plus making pretty things for you all is a nice change from the endless sea of paperwork I find myself in; man, becoming a teacher is tricky, and getting my British Passport is even trickier! I want to give a shootout to Becky from Becky Bedbug for her insight into the British education system, was great to hear first hand from a teacher. Plus her blog is pretty rad.
I promise more outfit photos and other little goodies very soon (I have a package on it's way with some new clothes!) but until then I hope this tutorial satisfied your need for pretty things.
Like I said, I am going through the things that I never learned, so I am really no expert, but I hope I can give you some ideas for using this intimidating program with all its many bells and whistles. So let's get into it with a quick look at the Pen Tool and Clipping Masks.

Life. The Insta Eight

{Blogging Life} Ten Things They Don't Tell You About Blogging

1. It can feel very narcissistic putting photos of yourself out into the internet
2. It can be lonely tapping away on your computer at 2am
3. It can be so frustrating when things don't go right
4. Getting traffic takes loads of work and time and knowledge
5. Taking photos of yourself can feel like an incredibly stupid thing to do
6. Making enough money from blogging to live is probably not going to happen to any but a few
7. Content doesn't magically appear out of thin air-it takes imagination
8. Bloggers are the nicest people ever, but there are haters out there that can't be avoided
9. No matter how many posts you read saying that you don't need a DSLR to have quality images, it isn't true. My posts taken with a friends DSLR have the highest traffic by far. 
10. All those advertisements on blogs probably don't make a lot of money for bloggers

xx Samantha Alice

{Life} One Hundred Thank You's + A le'LOVE Blogging Event

ONE HUNDRED POSTS. I can't believe it!
I have had a tendency to start things and not finish them or push them to their highest potential. I am determined that this blog is going to be the end of that. I am motivated to push le'LOVE to be the best it can be, and for me that means quality content posted often and amazing readers and followers. So far I feel pretty good about my content, but you know my favourite part of my blogging experience so far? You. If you are here reading this, you are one of my favourite and most cherished people in the world.

Why? Because I am someone who has struggled with confidence for a long time, and in the three or so months since starting this little blog, my self belief and self confidence has grown immeasurably. When someone comments on my blog I feel so very thrilled and that little bit of happiness stays with me all day. I am serious; ALL DAY.

So I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for taking a little piece of your time to visit my little piece of the web. I hope you genuinely like what you see when you visit le'LOVE and I hope that it only gets better from here.

Specifically I'd like to say thanks to my Mum (hey Mum!), Kaelah Bee and her wonderfully helpful e-book, Melon Heart for her excellent guest post and responding to my random tweets, Kate Gabrielle for being awesome and having such great sponsorship options (seriously, go and sponsor her, she is brilliant), Becky, Jen, and Dayle for leaving such amazing comments so often.



Please share your 'One Hundred Thank You's' post below! I can't wait to read what you have come up with.