Closing Up Shop! HUGE SALE!!

Just wanted to give you all notice that I am closing up my shop for a while.
I am hoping that is will just be for a few months (for the summer),
But it may be longer than that. I am just not sure.

I really LOVE my shop, and creating, I am going to miss that.
But for several reasons I am going to close it for a little while.
Before I close down shop, though, I would like to clean it out,
so my paid for listings dont go to waste! 

SO I am having a HUGE sale...
 50% OFF EVERYTHING!!
Yes you read correctly.
Just use coupon code "LOVED50" at checkout.

Once something is purchased it will NOT be renewed,
so if you had your eye on something, grab it NOW before it is gone! :)

I will be officially closing up shop on June 30th, unless all items are gone before them.

Also, just wanted to mention that I am having a SALE on my ad spots too!
So if you need advertisement for your blog or shop,
check out my sponsor page, my prices are very reasonable and I WORK HARD for you!
Right now you can get $5 OFF any ad space with promo code "FIVEOFF".

 Happy shopping!

Sponsor an "In Post" Ad!

For more info Click {here}

Much Love & Hugs,

Blog-erview with Bronwyn of Our Beautiful Blessings

Its Wednesday and time again for another Blog-erview!!!

 

Lets welcome Bronwyn from Our Beautiful Blessings to Agape Love Designs!!

If you are new here, find out about the Blog-erview Series, 

as well as a list of previous blog-erviews {here}!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Tell us a little about yourself and Your blog (and shop if you have one)

Hello there lovely readers! 

I'm Bronwyn & I blog over at Our Beautiful Blessings.

Over at my blog, I write about life. The life of a newlywed. The life of a Christian. The life of a college student. The life of an etsy shop owner. I love to write and I write in order to remember. I want to remember this time as a newlywed, and all that God is doing in my life. It's an incredible journey, and I hope you'll hop on over to my blog and spend a little time with me!

How did you first get involved with blogging? In late 2011, I had started reading a few blogs, and I just decided that I wanted to start one too. I started my blog in January of 2011, and about a month later, I discovered what an awesome community bloggers have really formed.

Has blogging played a role in the start of or development of your shop? If so, how? If not, tell us how your shop came about. Blogging had definitely played a role in the decision to open my etsy shop 'Dorable Poseys. I had previously considered opening a shop, but blogging really gave me the push to do it because I saw other bloggers opening shops. My husband and I really like the make things, so we thought we would try to make a little money by selling what we make. So far, we have fabric flower headbands and digital prints in our shop. We will soon have name signs as well.   


How do you come up with material/content for your blog each day, What inspires you? When I first began blogging, I would try to write about the same thing as other bloggers, but then I discovered that I have slightly different interests. I blog about my life and how God is working in my life. I also do a weekly series called Faith Friday, where I write about my faith and examine different passages in the Bible. I also blog about newlywed stuff.  

What has been the most challenging moment in being a blogger? For me, my most challenging moment was when I started finding a lot of blogs that started at the same time as I did that had 10x the amount of followers I had. But, it's really not about the number of followers, and I have some awesome followers.  

Name some of the bloggers whom you look up to and why? Mrs. Robinson from My New Wife Life. She was one of the first lovely ladies I really met in bloggy land. & I love reading her blog, and hearing about the heart she has for God. Erin from Sweetness Itself is an awesome lady, with a heart that is totally sold out to God. I love reading her blog. It's definitely inspiring and challenging.  

If someone was interested in blogging, what would be a few things you would suggest? Definitely take some time to think about what you want to blog about. It's good to have a general focus going on even with a lifestyle blog. And, take the time to come up with a unique name that is totally you. Other than that, just get to writing, and look up some simple html helps to get started.  


What Social Networks are you on?  Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin

What networking do you do, that you feel helps your blog and/or shop the most? So far, the thing that has helped to grow my blog the most and helped me to network is sponsor swaps. I've also found that participating in link-ups helps as well.

What goals do you have, if any, for your blog/shop right now and in the future? My goal is to really just keep blogging, being open about my life and how God is working in our lives. I'm also very excited to see how my blog will grow over the rest of this year.

What has been the best thing about blogging so far, feel free to share any exciting triumphs or milestones you have had or reached! :) I've had a great time just writing and meeting new people. I was also very excited when I reached 50 followers last month.  

Is there anything you know now that you wish you knew before you started blogging? I wish I had known about the awesome blogging community! I would have started blogging sooner.

Is there anything else you would like to share with my readers? I just want to say thank you for having me! & I hope you all will come check out my blog.

Sponsor an "In Post" Ad!

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Much Love & Hugs,

Raid My Purse

I cleaned out my bag recently, it totally needed it.
It had become an endless pit of random junk, receipts, and garbage!
Now that its nice and clean, I thought I would let you raid my purse,
and just what I decided was important enough to make the cut and STAY in there. ;)
First, here is my bag, a pretty XOXO purse, which I got from Ross.

 I made this adorable key chain/zipper pull myself, using my avatar & logo!
I LOVE it.
You can make your own custom key chain, using my tutorial {here}.

 Here is a picture of ALL the contents of my purse.
haha I got a text from my sis, right when I took the pic.

 Now lets break it down!
1. Pens 
(Pink and black of course)
2. Tide to go pen
(Ive got 3 kids... this is a MUST)
3. Bag of Flossers! 
(The Hubs thinks Im weird, but you dont know how OFTEN these come in handy when I am out and about!)
4. Cheap pair of $5 Sunglasses from Walmart.
(They are cheap but amazing & last forever!)
5. My phone...
(no its not a smart phone :( Im just not that cool)
6. Cucumber Melon Hand Sanitizer
(Again, with 3 kids.. this is a must!)
7. Ear phones
(for when I go to the gym)
8. Little Speaker Key Chain
(I can plug it into my phone and blast my music! I got it at walmart for like $5)

 ~Yummy Sugar FREE gum
~ 90 Calorie Special K bar - For when I am on the run and need a quick snack!
I dont eat those often, but they are my "just in case" snacks.

 ~Card & Cash Case
~Bobby Pin Holder 
Find my tutorial {here} to make your own bobby pin holder!
Those adorable rose bobby pins are from A3 Sisters!

 Two Adorable DEER Zip Pouches from Wonder Forest
The smaller one I use to hold my business cards, so they dont get all roughed up in my purse!
The bigger pouch I use for my random lip gloss collection, pocket mirror and Tweezers. :)

Well, that's whats in my purse!
What are your purse MUST HAVES?

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Much Love & Hugs,

DIY Panda Manicure!

I saw this CUTE idea for Panda nails on Pinterest a few days ago,
there wasnt a tutorial, but it looked easy enough! So I just had to give it a try.

 They are super simple.
But just for the fun of it, here is a quick run down of what I did for my panda manicure.
1.) After a clear base coat, I painted half my nails white.
I wasn't so worried about getting a perfect even line, because panda's are furry so its ok if its a little messy!
2.) Using this tip I made a dotting tool!
I used 3 different sized sewing pins... and just swapped them out as needed.
3.) used the biggest pin for the panda ears & black outline of the eyes.
4.) Used the 2nd biggest pin for the nose and white of the eyes.

 Lastly I used the smallest pin for the pupils of the eyes!
Let dry and then finish with a top coat! :)

Simple and adorable! I just love them!
Even my son, Zander, LOVED them.
When he saw them he got so excited and said "MOMMA, That Kung Fu Panda on you nails!"
So cute. ♥

Linking this post here:





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Much Love & Hugs,

P.S. YES, I realize how MESSY my nails look with getting polish on my skin.
I took the pictures before clean up, because I was in a hurry. So please don't be too harsh on me! ;)

Check Your Blogger Stats {Tutorial}

Sometimes I think because I know how to do something and understand it simply,
I assume its common knowledge and that everyone knows how to do it.
It came to my attention yesterday that some people might not know how to check their stats in blogger.
SO I thought I would share a quick and easy tutorial for those of you who would like to know!
As well as why its important to know your stats, just don't allow them to make you obsess. :)
First you start off in your blogger dashboard.
Under your blog name, there is a squiggly "stat" line followed by numbers and the word "Pageviews".
(High lighted below) Click on that.

 That will bring you to your stats Overview.
This page will show you a little over everything.
Like your page views for the day so far, yesterday, last month and all time history.
A shortened stat list your Posts page views and your Traffic sources.
If want to see a longer list click MORE (high lighted below).
I clicked more posts first.

 Here on the full Posts stat page I can see which posts were being viewed and how many page views they got!
You can view these by All time, Month, Week, Day and even who is viewing your blog right NOW.
The cool thing about seeing these stats is you know which of your blog posts is most popular.
Which gives you an idea of what people like the most and want to read more of on your blog.
Also, it helps knowing people are reading or at least LOOKING at your blog, even if you didn't get any comments.
I know when you don't get many or ANY comments on a post, you think no one read it.
But here you can see IF and how many page views you actually got.

Speaking of comments, this page also shows how many comments were posted on each blog post.
As you can see my TOP viewed post for the week (The Secret to longer lashes)
got 559 page views, and only 19 comments!
Obviously that doesn't add up. Not everyone takes time to comment.
But that doesn't mean no one is reading your blog.

 Next, over to the left side you can go back to the stats overview... or click right to your traffic sources.
Which is what I will show you all next.

The Traffic sources page is awesome!
I LOVE checking out this page, because it shows me JUST WHERE my traffic comes from!
This page is important because it lets me know if a blog or place
I am advertising on is actually giving me traffic.
Which helps me decide whether or not I was to keep sponsoring or advertising with them or not.
This also shows me places who might have linked to my blog without me knowing it!
I can click the links and see where they lead.
More than a few times I had found a new blog that had featured on of my posts, to my surprise.
A lot of my traffic, though comes from pinterest and google searches.

 Speaking of google searches, from this same page,
you can also see the key words people search that bring them to your blog.
Below is a look at the Search Keywords from the past week and today.
These are words people put in google search that end up leading them to my blog.
Its always interesting to see what key words lead to my blog. :)
Knowing these key words are important because they let me know what people search for,
and I want to bring more traffic to a certain topic, I can use some of these key words,
that I know are bringing people to my blog.

Lastly you can view who your audience is through your blogger stats.
To be honest I hardly ever look at this part of my stats.
I am sure it is or may be useful to some, for different reasons,
but I don't find it as important, for me at least.
Though it is kind of interesting to see where my audience comes from and such.

 Well that is about it for checking your stats in blogger!
Hope you found it helpful. :)
If you have any questions or anything to add, please leave a comment and let me know.

Much Love & Hugs,

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Treasury Trade Off Link Up #17

Welcome to week 16 of Treasury Trade Off!!

We had a really great come back last week!
Thanks to all who joined in last week, and those of you who plan to join this week. :)

I am really wanting to GROW TTO, SO would you help me out by sharing 

this post on your facebook page so that others can join in??

The more participants we get, the more exposure you and your shop/listings will get!

Thanks so much!!

Before we get onto the new theme and link up, here are a few great treasuries from last weeks link up!

Free For All

 Purple Mint

If you are new to Treasury Trade Off, here is the idea:

Each week I will post a new theme. I will have a list of items/listings from my shop

(and maybe my sponsors shops) that go with that weeks theme.

All who participate in this will have to create a treasury using one MY listings that I have provided.

In return you will leave a comment telling me you are participating with a link to item(s) from YOUR shop

that go with this weeks theme, and I will create a treasury (or two) including listings from those who participate.

Once you have created your treasury, come back here and link it up to the linky party for me & others to check out.

I will share some treasuries on my facebook page as well as feature a couple of my favs in next weeks Treasury Trade Off post.

If we all comment on, click links in and share treasuries on our fb pages from a couple others then we all get more exposure!

Here The Rules if you want to participate:

This weeks theme is: {Rosettes & Hearts}!

Link up anything with hearts or rosettes!

 1.) Leave a comment with a link to your facebook fan page letting me know you will participate,
in the same comment leave a few links from your own shop listings that go with this weeks theme.

Please make sure to leave a clickable Link to your listing(s) here is how:

<a href="LINK HERE">WHAT YOU WANT IT TO SAY HERE</a>

2.)  Create a Treasury which features only one of my items listed below:
Feel free to also check out the comment section & use any of the listings other participants have shared!
But your treasury MUST include one of MY items listed below to participate.

A.) Two Hearts One Love

B.) Antique Bronze Chandelier Earrings

C.) Spring Bouquet

D.) Infant Headband

E.) Sweetness Rosette Headband
F.) Heart Verse Ring

3.) Come Back here & link up the treasury you have created to the linky party!

4.) Check out the other treasuries, leave comments on at least two others
and click at least two listing from each treasury you check out.

5.) Share one or two of your favorite treasuries from the linky party on your FB fan page.
It would be awesome if you tagged the creator in the link as well!

Some extra helpful info:
~When creating a treasury please do NOT include your own items in your treasury.
Etsy will not feature a treasury if you are featuring your own items!
They encourage you to share the love and help promote others. So please keep that in mind.

~When creating a treasury, please try your best to make it cohesive and to use up ALL 16 listing spaces! 

~It would be really great if you could leave a link to this post in the description of your treasury...
to help encourage other etsians to participate in this treasury trade off! :)

You have until Monday at Midnight to link up the treasury you have created!

Grab a button:


<a href="http://www.agapelovedesigns.com/search/label/Treasury%20Trade%20Off" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l539/AgapeLoveDesigns/TTObutton.png" border="0" alt="Treasury Trade Off Linky Party At Agape Love Designs"></a>
~~~~~~~~~~~~

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For more info Click {here}

Much Love & Hugs,

Blog-erview with Stephanie of Life Created

Its Wednesday and time again for another Blog-erview!!!

 

Lets welcome Stephanie from Life Created to Agape Love Designs!!

If you are new here, find out about the Blog-erview Series, 

as well as a list of previous blog-erviews {here}!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Tell us a little about yourself and Your blog (and shop if you have one)

My name is Stephanie, and I live in Arizona with my 2 baby girls, husband, dog and cat. My blog is new, and only a few people read it right now, but I have high hopes...it is called LifeCreated. Its all about loving your organized and handmade family! Most of my posts are about DIY, family friendly crafts, organization, food and photography. I love healthy eating, so recipes and tidbits about our life in the Marine Corps, love for God... and more are thrown in there.
I hope to soon have my blog and ETSY shop up to date and just the way I like it. I have a vision in my head, and just have to find a way to make it the way I like it ;)

How did you first get involved with blogging?

I had a blog a few years ago for my handmade wedding invitation business, but started over when I decided I wanted a different focus. LifeCreated is a better name because it is broad enough to include all of the things I enjoy ...creating, living and loving my family.

Has blogging played a role in the start of or development of your shop? If so, how? If not, tell us how your shop came about.
My shop is being built right now, and only has a 1/3 of what I intend on putting in there. I have a lot of ideas and hope my blog will reflect my shop, but I dont really rely on my blog for my shop to succeed. I just love creating new things and showing them in my shop for others to enjoy with their family.

How do you come up with material/content for your blog each day, What inspires you?

Being a stay at home mom to two girls, I have a lot of inside conversations in my head...lol...if I have something on my mind, or if I am creating something for my family-I blog about it.

It seems I am always trying to create something or learn a new skill. My #1 thing I try to do in each post is have pictures that relate. I am a newbie at photography and find any reason I can to take a picture! Product photography is something I am beginning to practice more of.

What has been the most challenging moment in being a blogger?

After leaving my invitation business to pursue things I enjoy with my family, I saw my fan number drop from the 700's to barely 100. That was hard. Challenging moments include writing blog posts that mean so much to me, and then repeatedly getting no feedback from anyone. It sometimes feels like I am talking to my computer and that's it. I just have to keep reminding myself of the positive things blogging gives me...realtionships with people I would normally never meet, and a way to communicate feelings and ideas.

Name some of the bloggers whom you look up to and why?

The bloggers I look up to are too many to list! I love 100 Days of Real Food, and Craftaholics Anonymous, just to name two! I don't know how the moms with 5 kids do a blog, homeschooling, homemade cooking, and all of the rest. I have 2 (3 if you count my husband;) and I can barely get it all done. I am thankful blogs can be started in advance and saved until I'm ready to hit "publish"!!

If someone was interested in blogging, what would be a few things you would suggest?
Don't get disappointed if no one pays attention in the beginning. We all have to start somewhere. You have to want it and believe in what you are writing, otherwise no one else will. Also encourage other bloggers, and you will also be encouraged. Also, be original.

What Social Networks are you on?

 Life Created On Facebook

 Life Created Etsy Shop

Blog: www.lifecreated.com

 Life Creared on Pinterest

What networking do you do, that you feel helps your blog and/or shop the most?

I really only get on Facebook and Pinterest. 
Twitter scares me and seems like just ONE more thing for me to be busy with. ;)

What goals do you have, if any, for your blog/shop right now and in the future?

My shop is sort of slow going right now, and my blog is my main focus. It is a vent for me as I go through these busy months of transition for us. My goals include getting more followers, having more interaction and mostly, more time making things for my shop and practicing as a product photographer. I love taking pictures of handmade products, food, nature, etc.

What has been the best thing about blogging so far, feel free to share any exciting triumphs or milestones you have had or reached! :)
 I am choosing to not focus on numbers, but instead focus on my writing, photography and creating. The biggest triumph so far is having a comment here and there from friends who say they enjoyed reading one of my posts on a particular day---Makes me feel pretty good.

Is there anything you know now that you wish you knew before you started blogging?
Some bloggers are nice and generous. Some think numbers are what matter.

Is there anything else you would like to share with my readers?

Please like my page and follow me if you would like to. :) I appreciate the opportunity to be blogger-viewed....thank you!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much Stephanie for your blog-erview!

Your daughters are beautiful, thank you for sharing with us. :)

I encourage all of my readers to stop by the Life Created  blog or fb page and say hello!

Much Love & Hugs,

DIY Custom Key Chain Tutorial

Last weekend I hosted a table for our church's Mother's Day Tea & Brunch.

I wanted to create a special little favor for each of the ladies attending my table.

Who just so happen to be my mom, sisters, my daughter and a few of my nieces . ♥

So I came up with a fun idea to create some adorable little key chains for them!

They are SUPER easy to make and turn out just adorable too!

These are the supplies you will need:

I found that bag of key chains at the dollar tree.

 You will also need:

 a Printer, 

(and possibly a scanner), 

Shrink paper, 

and some drawings, photos, or ANYTHING you might want for your custom key chain.

I decided to use some of the Saturated Canary digi's I had bought 

and colored to resemble each person at my table.

 I had to scan my colored images onto my computer in order to print them out,

but if you have an image already on your computer you wont need the scanner.

Anyways, so I picked my images and printed them out, onto the shrink paper.

I printed mine at about 5x7 size because images shrink to HALF their original size.

You can decide whatever size you want or need.

 Next, use the hole punch to make a hole at the top of your image, 

then cut out the shape of your image.

 Next follow the instructions on the package of the shrink paper.

The kind I bought said to bake on a Teflon pan, or cardboard, at 350 degrees for 2-3 minutes.

This is how big my images where to start out:

And this is how they looked after:

Smaller and thicker and So cute!!

 They are small, but the details are still perfect!

 Next, take the key chain and a jump ring and connect the image using your flat nose pliers.

 And thats it, just attach your keys...

 Or attach to your purse zipper for an adorable zipper pull!

They were a big hit with everyone at my table!

And I imagine they would be the perfect little gift or party favor for any occasion. :)

Think, theme birthday parties. 

Or use pictures of your kids as a gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day or for Grandparents. 

The possibilities are endless! :)

Much Love & Hugs,

Sponsor with an In Post Ad!

Find out more {here}

Wanna Hang Out?

Headband: Much Love Illy 

Wanna Hang out?
Hang out in my side bar, that is!
Or you can even hang out IN POST by Sponsoring Agape Love Designs this Month!!
 

To make things easy and convenient, Ive decided to start using Passionfruit Ads.

And you can purchase your ad right away, below!

But first, lets check out some of my stats:
Agape Love Designs is GROWING daily!!


Stats as of May 2012
983 GFC Followers
994 RSS Followers
2,280 Facebook Fans
301 Twitter Followers
616 Pinterest Followers

I average about 23,00-25,000 page views a month!

THIS IS A FULL CIRCLE Blog
Meaning... the money earned from your sponsorships goes right back into advertisement of my blog on other bigger blogs. Which will also get YOU more exposure. 

Ive been seen on Just Lovely Things, Eisy Morgan, & Wonder Forest. As of March 2012 Im currently on Vintage Wanna Been, Casey Weigand, & Much Love Illy. And Ive already purchased the Large ad on Much Love Illy for April & the Feature Ad on The Shine Project for the month of May!

You can sponsor in any of these ways:

Pay for Options:

Sponsor an "In Post" Ad!

For more info Click {here}

Much Love & Hugs,

P.S. Ad Space Winners are:
Large Ad Space: Barn Owl Primitives
Medium: Love Sparkle Pretty
In Post: Danielle from Draw String Studios
In Post: Life Created
Please email me asap!
agapelovedesigns@yahoo.com

Who Wears Short Shorts!?

Who wears short shorts!?

......

If you thought I was going to say me, well, you're wrong.

haha

I dont wear short shorts.

I dont even like shorts, well I didnt. Not for a long time.

In the past 3-4 years I have not worn shorts, at all.

BUUUUT.....

This week end I was going to be outside, in the heat, painting faces at a little carnival.

I had no idea what I was gonna wear, and I didnt want to wear pants.

Especially really lose, no longer fitting me, pants!

So, I reluctantly tried on an OLD pair of shorts (that I think I only wore once).

And they fit quite nicely actually.

Suddenly my hatred, well, FEAR really, of shorts was gone.

 I threw on my sweet red wedges and suddenly felt cute and confident.

Wait, what?

Ive never felt cute, nor confident in a pair of shorts!

Not with my chunky thighs.

But I guess there is something about high heels, or wedges, that really makes your legs look great.

So yeah, I felt good. Yay. ♥

Shirt & Shorts: Torrid, Shoes: Soda via Ross

 (BTW thats a black cami under the red shirt, not my bra hanging out!)

So anyways, I'm glad for the little confidence boost, I really needed to feel good this week end.

My weight loss has slowed, and I have only lost 5 more pounds since my last weight loss post.

That was 2 weeks ago. So I was a little bummed out that I hadn't lost more.

But I am down a total of 35 lbs now, and that's nothing to be upset about.

So I really can't complain.... Right? ;)

Much Love & Hugs,

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