How to Use Pinterest to Improve Blog Traffic

As Pinterest has grown in users, the company has grown as well. There are so many ways to get your business or blog known simply by using Pinterest. For example, when I first started The Blissful Bee last April, I have to thank Pinterest for getting my name out there. When I blogged about my DIY factory cart table, people pinned that project over 3,000 times! My DIY drum light fixture has been pinned over 5,000 times! It's pretty crazy to think about, but very exiting as well. Over the two years I have been on Pinterest, I have somehow gained 2,600 followers! I do have to admit that I might be on Pinterest a little too much at times, but I really do believe it has helped my blog grow. 

Today I want to share a few of my favorite tips for using Pinterest. My first tip is to ALWAYS include a "Pin it" button somewhere in your post. Whether it's a button that is placed above the image, at the top of the post, or hovering over the image, they will all work wonders. Simply by having that button somewhere on the post will remind your viewers to pin your project. Including a "follow me" button in your sidebar is another great way to remind your readers to follow you. As you can see, I designed a custom button that matches my blog, but Pinterest offers a "follow me" button as well (as seen in the widget builder below).

I also include a watermark of my website URL on each image I post. That way when it's pinned on Pinterest, people will hopefully start to recognize your blog name even if they don't repin your stuff. 

As you can see, Pinterest has given us an easy to use Widget Builder (pictured below). It gives you a few different options to choose from, but a really fun option is the Board Widget and Profile Widget. You can also add your "pin it" button and "follow" button here as well. The hover button is a little more difficult to add because you have to add additional HTML coding. This cannot be done through the Pinterest website, but you can see a tutorial on adding the hover button [here].

To build your own Widget Builder, click [here].

Another helpful tip is to include your blog name on your account. For example, my Pinterest name is Amy@TheBlissfulBee. Instead of using my first and last name, my first name is Amy, and my last name is "@TheBlissfulBee". This is also a great way to get your name out there. To make this change, go to your profile, and click on the pencil icon at the bottom right corner. There, you can change your user name and also write a short description of yourself. I have also included my blog website in this description.

Here are a few of my favorite boards on my Pinterest account. If you like what you see, make sure to follow me!








I also try to pin my project after I have published my post. For a while, I felt silly pinning my own projects, but I feel like it really does lead new readers to my blog. I don't do it with every post, but I will on some of my more important ones. If I feel like it's something a reader will really enjoy or learn from, I will pin it. I hope that some of my words of wisdom will help you all in your Pinterest journey! Let me know if you have any further questions and I will try to help answer them:)

Who I'm linking up with:

Rain on a Tin Roof

Blooming Homestead

My Top 10 FREE Fonts

As a graphic designer, I design SO many different things on a daily basis and I strive to make each design look unique and different. I not only want the design to be unique, but I also want my fonts to stand out as well. I am always looking to expand my font archives and finding free fonts online are ALWAYS a good thing! Today I have accumulated my top 10 favorite FREE fonts and where you can find them. I hope you enjoy my little graphic for the day. Feel free to share the love and pin your heart away to share my FREE finds!

1. Return to Sender  2. Ostrich Sans  3. Hooverville  4. Weston Free  5. Lemondrop  6. Honey Script  7. Budmo  8. Matchbook  9. Neoretrodraw  10. Intro Free

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have! 

And just a quick reminder that Google Friend Connect will be GOING AWAY on July 1st, so please please please follow along with Bloglovin. It is SUCH a great blog reader, and I even like it better than GFC! Who knew?? Anyways, you can follow along from the link below, or see my sidebar to click on the button. It took me 2 seconds to sign up for FREE and it literally transferred ALL of my blogs over in about 30 seconds. Can't get much better than that, right??

:: Follow my blog with Bloglovin ::

Who I'm linking up with:

Beyond The Picket Fence

House of Hepworths

The 36th Avenue

Shabby Creek Cottage

504 Main

French Country Cottage

Common Ground

Pieced Pastimes

Serenity You

7 Rules to Using Craigslist Efficiently

When your a gal who likes to change things up around the house as much as I do, then you will fully enjoy this post. It's all about making drastic changes in a room without having to throw money down the drain. So here is the million dollar question! How do you re-design a room on a close to zero dollar budget? Well it's easy my friends and here is my answer... Craigslist! Let me explain:)

I have always seemed to accumulate a ton of JUNK over the years. Most of it was {hand-me-downs} or furniture that my friends/family were going to throw away and I decided to take off their hands. Some of it ended up being used in our home, and some ended up in the garage. I kept all of these things because I'm thrifty and always thought I might use it for something one day. I'm also an avid shopper and tend to find really good deals on items. I'll end up buying an item for super cheap and later not like it as much as I anticipated. Most of the time they are from vintage or antique stores so you can't return them... which means they go to the garage!

Well it finally hit me that if I just sold all of these items that were just lying around, that I would have enough money to replace them with furniture pieces that I really loved. And what do ya know?? I was right!! That's when it all changed... I discovered Craigslist!

Here are my 7 rules to using Craigslist efficiently:

1. Replace an item by selling many unwanted items that are sitting around the house. By selling multiple items, you will be able to obtain enough money to buy the newer, nicer item basically for free!!

2. Sell just the item that you are about to replace. You might not make enough money to completely cover your cost of the new item, but your new purchase will be much cheaper than not selling it at all.

3. List items for a little more than you expect people to pay. Most everyone will try to haggle the price down, so you don't want to price your items too low to begin with. And make sure to include good, clear pictures!!

4. CASH ONLY!!! I have gotten SO many calls from people who say they don't have cash now, but swear their checks will go through once they've been paid at work... Um... NO thank you! That is just too sketchy for me. After they tell me that, I basically tell them the item is no longer for sale. Also, make sure to watch out for SCAMS! There are a TON out there. If it sounds too good to be true, IT IS! Stray away from anyone who is asking you to ship your item. Local only!

5. Don't give them your address until you have made a deal and agreed upon a time for them to come over to your house. Only then will I give them my address. If you don't trust the person on the phone, simply tell them the item already sold, or meet up with them at a secure location WITH a friend or spouse. If I don't trust them, I typically just lie and tell them it's already sold:) 

6. If an item hasn't sold for a few days or weeks, renew the post title with a {PRICE REDUCED} headline. People love to think they are getting a good deal, even if it's just a five dollar drop in price!

7. And last but not least, if you are looking for some new furniture, shop for items on Craigslist that could potentially be re-done. Items on craigslist are SO much cheaper than antique stores because most of the time the seller has no idea the value in what they're selling. For example, I bought a beautiful chair for ONLY $40 and transformed it for just about $40 more. A typically $400 chair was brought to life for just $80!

For a while, I never felt comfortable listing anything on Craigslist because I didn't like strange people coming to my house or calling my phone. But as I began shopping for my new replacement furniture, I soon got over it! The key to keeping on budget was to shop for the item first. 

Here is an example of one of my Craigslist successes:

When making over my formal living room, my two upholstered nail head chairs were one of my biggest purchases. 

After I spotted the pair at Home Goods for $199 each, I knew I needed to sell $400 worth of my stuff that I no longer wanted or needed. Since these chairs were at Home Goods, I needed to buy them ASAP or they would be gone within a day or so. Over the next 3 weeks, I sifted through my house and began listing things on Craigslist.

The {Home Goods} chairs I bought were to replace 2 black chairs that sat in my formal living room. I never liked them, but they were passed down to me when I graduated college, and at the time they were just about all I had. 4 years later they still sat in my home and it was time for them to go! I ended up selling the pair for over $200 and was already a big step closer to my goal. I also had a ton of smaller furniture items, accessories, lamps, etc. that I had been meaning to sell for a while that brought me over my $400 mark. Most of the smaller pieces sold for just $20 or $30 a piece, so most people wouldn't waste their time. But honestly, those little items eventually added up and made ALL the difference.

{ From this... }

{ To this! }

What a difference, right!?? The chairs were just one example of (of many) of my Craigslist successes. I basically used my 7 rules to transform my ENTIRE formal living/dining on a near zero dollar budget. By selling everything off and replacing them with new bargain finds, I was able to design a whole new room!!

Who I'm linking up with:

How To: Hide those annoying cords!!

Ok so who has else an issue with cords showing all around your house? Isn't it just the MOST annoying thing ever?? You work SO hard to make your house as perfect as you can, but then you have the unavoidable problem of cords... Whether it's your TV cords, speaker cords, or just a whole bunch of random electronics being pluged into one area... it's just flat out annoying. 

For years I have always used a little trick to make those annoying cords "invisible", and today I am going to share it with y'all! In the past, I used to try and place some sort of furniture or decoration in front of the bundle of cords. Well, that never worked very well because it always ended up looking awkward, out of place, and/or cluttered. Thats when I started using my little {basket trick}. It's SO easy, SO cheap and much less cluttered!

Check out my {How-To}!



Step by Step:

1. First, try to grasp the size of your "cord bundle". Mine was rather large because we were dealing with a VERY dated, VERY large set of speakers. Yes... I think they are seriously from the late 80's... Ok maybe not, but they sure aren't from this decade! Hey - they still work, so thats all that matters! They really bring a whole new meaning to "vintage", huh??

2. Anyhoo! The next step is to go shopping! I went to Ross (OF COURSE) to find my basket. I mean, lets be honest... There really isn't any better place to shop for wicker baskets. I found this one for ONLY $13!!! And it's massive. Great find:) I had to make sure to find one with no handles since I was eventually going to flip it upside down.

3. ** This next step is only if your dealing with cords for speakers or anything that you might need to have easy access to any sort of extention. In my case, we need this cord to plug into our iPhone to hook up to the speakers. So I didn't want it to be hidden underneath the basket.

When you get home with your new basket, flip it upside down and feed the needed cord through your desired area of the basket. Since the basket is wicker (or seagrass maybe?), there are tons are openings to feed your cord through. I chose a back corner so I could just leave the cord hanging out the back. It still remains hidden, but it's also really easy to get to anytime we want to play some tunes!

4. Keep the basket upside down and tuck everything in underneath. Make sure it's all hidden so your basket sits flush against the floor. I chose to top it off with some vintage luggage pieces to give the corner some height. And there ya have it! You're all done:)

This whole project literally cost ONLY $13 and it makes SUCH a difference! It's truely amazing how much better it looks with no more cords:) You can also use this trick other areas in the house as well. Another way you can use the {basket trick} is to NOT flip the basket over and simply place the cords into the basket. Drape a throw over the basket and it hides the cords! 

Hope y'all enjoyed my little tutorial! Have a wonderful long weekend everyone:)

{How-To} Style a Kitchen Cart

Hey there guys! Today I'm going to talk a little about styling:) Particularly about styling kitchen items if your obligated to a small space.  I think it's pretty obvious that I don't have the largest kitchen in the world. But I actually really don't mind because it's very open and has all the space I need for now. But there are times where I really wish I had more counter space and also more storage space. That's where my new kitchen cart comes into play.

A few months ago I found {and fell in love with} this fabulous vintage green metal cart. It's old. It's rusted. The paint is chipping everywhere, and I just LOVE it. I had to have it the moment I found it. And it was only $16!! Seriously couldn't pass this one up. I had no clue where it was going after I bought it, but after bringing it back to the house, it quickly found its new home in the kitchen. It wasn't overwhelmingly too large and also not too small - the perfect accent piece for a small kitchen.

The next challenge was to style it to really make it fit into the space. When you add a piece of furniture into a kitchen that isn't traditionally used, you need to find ways to make it look natural in the space. That's where you begin styling the piece of furniture with kitchen related items. Here are some quick tips to styling a kitchen cart:

Simple Tips to Styling a Kitchen Cart:

1. Tie in some of the same materials into your accent pieces that you already have in your kitchen. i.e. kitchen towels to incorporate colors, wicker baskets to add texture etc.

2. Include a lamp to add character and attention to the area.

3. Need a place to display your decorative dishes or mugs?? A kitchen cart is a perfect place to do so! You might not use them often, so this is a great way to display those items that typically hide away behind cabinet doors on a regular basis.

4. Add a basket or two to store your everyday items and to organize your clutter.

5. Not enough room in your drawers for utensils? Display them! I actually turned to this idea only because our drawer was having trouble opening and closing, but I ended up loving the fun display. I just might keep them out even once the hubby fixes our drawer;)

6. Once you have chosen your items, make sure to arrange them in a balanced manner. If you have a basket on one side of the shelf, think about pairing it with something organic in shape.

Also consider filling an open basket with fruit and veggies. In my case, I chose a vintage wired basket with bananas and spices:)

You might also notice that I used a small scale lamp on the cart as well. The lamp was originally too short, so I added some height with a few home decor magazines. This was so easy to do and lifted the lamp to the perfect height! It would also be a fun idea to use cook books if you've got some laying around.

7. To keep organized, add some fun tags to your baskets to label your items. I actually just cut up a few old retail tags that I never threw away. I liked their {recycled} look so much that I knew I could eventually use them for something. Cut them into a "tag" shape, poke a hole through the pointed end, and thread some twine through the tag to tie it to the basket.

And there ya have it! Simple as that;) 

Evercare Fabric Shaver - For My Couch!??

Do you have trouble with your fabric couch balling up??

I DO TOO!

 

Hey Guys! So today I will be posting about the BEST product I have used in YEARS!! I seriously think it has changed my life... ok well maybe I shouldn't be so dramatic, but it has changed the life of my couch;)

I want to start with saying I'm not in any way being paid to endorse this product. It's all me my friends! I'm just so giddy with my new toy that I just HAD to share it with y'all:) Ok lets begin!

So you might have noticed that I sometimes post about how much I want a new couch for our living room, and if you look at my Pinterest boards, they are FULL of new couch options. The reasoning behind this is not because I dislike my current couch. I actually love my couch! But there is one little problem that bothers the heck out of me. It balls up like nobody's business! And it's not like it does it over a long period of time. I will sit there for 30 minutes picking every little ball off of the fabric (or at least as many as I can get), and 3 days later... they are balled up again. SO very annoying!

After many many months of frustration, I started looking for solutions to my problem. One of those solutions was buying a new couch, and that just was not an option! I had heard that Velcro would help pick up the balls off the fabric, but this wasn't the best solution and I wouldn't recommend it. I only tried it a few times because I was nervous that over a long period of time it would ruin the fabric. After almost 3 years of owning the sofa, I eventually just gave up on my losing battle. Fine couch... you win.

Then last weekend when I was in Houston, I was running errands with my mom and stopped into Bed, Bath and Beyond. I knew while I was there I wanted to check out to see if they had one of those fabric shavers that you sometimes see in random stores or in the "As seen on TV" isle. Years ago I had one of these fabric shavers for my sweaters, but only had one memory of it. I somehow shaved a hole in my sweater and haven't used a fabric shaver ever since. It was probably a "user error," but I still really didn't want to take that risk on a $1000 couch! I mean, a $20 sweater I can handle... but kinda scared to use it on my one and only couch. So for years I kept the idea in the back of my mind wondering if it would ever work.

Fast forward to last weekend. After browsing around the store I eventually found (and bought) the Evercare fabric shaver for right around $12.00. I haven't tested out any other brands, so I can't really compare, but I have been very happy with my purchase thus far. (Just make sure to buy AA batteries because they don't actually come with the shaver)

After about 4.5 hours in the car on the way back from Houston, we didn't get to Fort Worth until around 8:30 p.m. I was SO exhausted from the long weekend and long drive, but guess what was the first thing I pulled out of the car to try?? Yupp - my new fabric shaver. I first tested it on a section of my cushion where no one would ever see (just in case I somehow tore the fabric). After the product worked perfectly on the test area, you couldn't get that thing out of my hand! I practically cleared up the entire couch that night! Even the hubs wanted to get in on the action and helped me out with a few cushions. After just few minutes of using the shaver, it was like we had a whole new couch. Yesss!!  

** This product was not made for upholstery so I was also nervous about that, but like I said - it worked perfect and I have no complaints!  

Isn't the {before & after} just crazy?? The fabric hasn't looked this good since we bought the couch back in 2009. Very pleased with our purchase and would totally recommend it. 

I couldn't find the link on the Bed Bath and Beyond website, but you can just google "Evercare Fabric Shaver" and there will be tons of options for ya.  Who knows, you will probably even find a better deal online!

Enjoy!!

Pottery Barn Copycat!

Can YOU tell the difference?

For YEARS I have loved the Pottery Barn "look" but never been able to afford it. I always hoped one day I could, but lets be honest - I will probably never be able to spend that kind of money. Even if I somehow win the lottery one day, I think I will still find bargain shopping way more fun than just walking in and buying out the entire store. ***I'm sorry Pottery Barn for saying that... you know I love you.***

But yes, I try to not even walk into the store, because all I really do is get my heart broken. Mainly because I know none of it will go home with me. *tear* It's depressing really. But enough of the pity party because I've got some good news my friends! There are seriously SO many other stores out there that offer the same kind of "look" that Pottery Barn is selling. If you're working on a budget like me, you better keep reading! I am about to let you in on a little secret of mine! Well ok, it's not that much of a secret because I talk about them all the time. Their names are Marshalls, Ross, TJ Maxx, and Home Goods. Ahh just saying their name makes me happy. You want to know why? It's because they have got some great products to really make your house a home. Now don't get me wrong, you might have to dig for a little while to find just what you're looking for. But when you take a look at the price tag, you won't be disappointed. Ok now on to the good stuff! Below are some of my Pottery Barn comparisons.

Alrighty peeps, it's on! Who will win!???

Their { pricey products } vs. { my bargain finds}  

Here we go!

1.) Decorative Lanterns, Candle Holders, Candles, Glass Containers, Accessories, Etc.

The Pottery Barn versions range anywhere from $39.00-$69.00. I can find similar items for a fraction of the price at the bargain stores.

Here are a few of the pottery barn examples:

{via}

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Here are a few of my finds:

Not exactly the same, but it does give off the same look and feel.

This wired glass container was found at Ross for $7.00. Pretty darn good, huh? The contents inside were also found at Ross for about $6.00. 

That wire basket was found at antique mall near my house for about $10. You also might be able to see the driftwood sitting inside the basket. That was also found at an antique mall for $5. Ain't too shabby if you ask me!

These beachy accessories were found at Garden ridge. I think the smallest was like $3.99 and the largest maybe around $6.99? They sell similar "found" objects at Pottery Barn that you can easily find at places like Hobby Lobby, Garden Ridge, Ross and Marshalls for much cheaper. You just gotta look!

2.) Wicker baskets or any type of storage basket

Some of the Pottery Barn examples range anywhere from $15.00 to $200. I mean... that is just RIDICULOUS. For example, the large rounded basket below is $199. I mean really?? There is just no reason for that large of a price tag. Who knows... Maybe they're like hand crafted or something, but I still can't fathom paying that much for ONE basket. Yikes!

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Here are some of my bargain finds. The price range for these are about $3.99-$16.99. Much more reasonable! My largest basket here was $16.99 at Ross. It's just a bit smaller than the Pottery Barn version, but they did have a larger one in the store for about $24.00. I wanted to buy it so bad, but I just simply didn't have a space for it. But still, $24.00 compared to $200??? Amazing!!!

The baskets above were found at Ross for I think $5.99 and $7.99?  The pillow inside was from Marshalls. I think it was $16 maybe.

These storage baskets were from Target at $50 a pop. I wouldn't normally spend that much on one object, but they were one of my wedding gifts from my mom a few years ago. Yay! Thanks mom!! That wire basket sitting on top of them is vintage and I think was like $14ish.

3.) Natural Fiber Rugs or Jute Rugs

Most of the Pottery Barn versions range from $100 to $500... but sometimes upwards of $1,000. They actually have BEAUTIFUL selections and I would die to have one, but that whole budget thing still gets in the way. Here are some of their examples:

{via}

 {via}

Aren't they so pretty?!! Thankfully I have been able to find many natural fiber rugs (similar to these) for much cheaper - mainly at Ross. We have 2 different Ross's near my house and over the past few years I have found a hand full of bargain finds. Here are some of my favorites:

This is kind of an older picture, and not a great photo of the rug, but you get the gist of it, right? This rug is a natural fiber 9x12 rug with a black fabric border. Please guess the price. Please! Ok ok ok I'll tell you! It... was... $30!!! YES. You heard me! $30 for a 9x12 rug that looks exactly like the Pottery Barn option!! Except the PB rug was $972 for this EXACT SAME LOOK! Holy cow. I'm still amazed when I think about that. I've had this rug for about a year now and it's held up perfectly. Thank you Ross for your great deals!!

The above rug was only $19!! It is perfect for my entry way and exactly what I was wanting. I found this one at Ross.

This above rug was also from Ross and ONLY $7.00!!!! I freaked out when I found it because I knew it would fit perfectly in our guest bathroom. It will look especially great once I get the walls painted Navy! That project will get started this week {hopefully}!! The paint and supplies have already been bought!

4.) Pillows & Pillow Covers: 

Ok, before I start, I have a confession to make. I own 3 Pottery Barn pillows... I know, I'm kind of ashamed. I typically just don't spend that kind of money on something I could find a similar {good enough to me} option at a bargain store. But I have to say, the 3 PB pillows that I own, I LOVE. I actually just recently bought a pair a few weeks ago, and minus the $80 price tag for just two covers, I was very happy with my purchase. They are exactly what I had been looking for and are great quality! But most of my pillows around the house are not Pottery Barn. If they were, I think I would be bankrupt by now! For those of you who don't know me... I have this strange addiction to pillows... lamps... ya know, the norm. I think I will take a head count one of these days, but that's for another post! Here are some Pottery Barn pillows that you might be able to find similar styles to at the bargain stores.

 {via}

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Pottery Barn pillow covers are typically pretty expensive by them selves, but then on top of that, you have to buy the pillow insert as well. So that jacks up the price even more. My advice would be to frequent your closest Marshalls, TJ Maxx, or Home Goods stores. They typically have the best copycat options out there if your looking for a good pillow. They have VERY similar looks, and they come as a whole pillow - not just the pillow cover! Here are a few pillows I have found at bargain stores over the years:

Most of these pillows are from Marshalls. I actually think all of them are! I have many many more around the house, but I'll spare you the photos!

5.) Lamps & Lamp Shades

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These lamps are all beautiful, and I LOVE them. But they range from $60.00 to $200. Ahh! Ok, not affordable in my books! Here are some of my copycat lamps that give off the same look as the Pottery Barn versions:

Shockingly I found these glass lamps at Wal-Mart of all places. They were SO cheap at right around 11ish dollars and I couldn't pass them up. The shades were separate, but still only like $10 extra per shade. I've had these lamps for about 2 years and they are still my favorite set of lamps in our entire house. Thanks Wal-Mart!

This lamp sits in our office and was purchased at Marshalls. I believe it was about $36? Right around there I think. Still much better than the Pottery Barn comparison!

These lamps were from Target and I think they were $39 per lamp base. I then bought the shades separately for about $14. Pretty amazing huh? I bought these a few years ago, but I think they still have this style or something similar at least. They aren't real glass, but who cares???

So what do y'all think??? 

Great bargains, huh!

Ok, Ok, Ok... Now it's time to give Pottery Barn some much needed props. As much trouble as I've been giving them for their high prices, c'mon, we ALL know how much we love that dang store. Why do you think I spent all this time writing up an entire copycat post on them?? It's because we all adore their fabulous style. They are SO classic in their design yet they're always up with the latest trends. Imitation is the best form of flattery, right??

Yes, I love them, but I just can't quite afford them yet. Who knows, maybe one day, but I think as we have all learned from this post, we can all find similar items that actually fit our budget. All it takes is a bit of dedication! I hope you all enjoyed this little comparison today. Good luck finding your favorite bargains!