Wow guys. They didn't call this a "challenge" for nothin'!
I learned a lot from participating in The Nester's 31 Day Writing Challenge, especially from failing miserably. No really. I learned a lot about my writing style and ridiculous perfectionist tendencies, not to mention a serious respect for "professional bloggers" who write posts everyday. Wow. Just...wow.
I did manage to get a few good posts out.
We made a super easy, super thrifty DIY fringe scarf (my 5 year-old helped!)...
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| DIY fringe scarf from white t-shirt - easy peasy! |
Shared some thrifty holiday crafts...
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| DIY thrifty skull decor for Halloween - going scary-glam! |
Showed creative ways to add length to shirts, skirts, and dresses...
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| Think about news ways to add length to your short t-shirts and skirts - bye-bye camis! |
Scored some chic vintage mirrors and frames, plus a silver platter...
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| Thrifted gold mirrors and frames - score! |
I shared a buffet find that's going to get a bright, cheery makeover for our loft...
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| Vintage buffet is going to get some coral love! |
We talked about how to dress for your body type and what to look for when thrift shopping...
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| What shape are you? It's easy to dress to look awesome when you know what to look for! |
Aaaaand, I shared my amazing thrift shop score (Deseret Industries) that landed me items from a handful of designers!
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| Recycle, Upcycle, Refashion love for some thrifted clothing haul! |
All said and done, I did okay. I did more posts last month than I ever have before, so that was a great accomplishment for me. What I didn't do well was realize that the point of this exercise was to write a little every day. It didn't need to be a tutorial, or an amazing before and after, or totally epic. I also intended the month to have a broader subject (hence the "Thrifting and Refashion" topic), but since I began the month with a fashion and dressing for your body type mini-series, I felt like readers then expected to hear all about refashioning and clothes for the month. Suddenly I felt trapped into doing a bunch of clothing refashions when really, I also wanted to share my thrift shop finds and decorating ideas for the month (it was my second favorite holiday to decorate for, after all)!
In retrospect, I should have done what any good blogger will tell you: Write about what you want to write about, and don't let yourself fall into the trap of trying to write about what you think your readers want.
Regardless of a few sleepless nights staying up to finish a post, a couple semi-anxiety attacks, three emergency dentist appointments, and fighting with sunlight (I tend to craft/refashion at night which equal no bueno tutorial pics), I'd say I actually had a good time.
Will I do it again next year? Maybe. Did I learn something? Yup. Am I glad I participated? You betcha!
I hope to see y'all around. I still want to share those t-shirt tutorials I kept promising (I'll be posting them in the 30 Day Challenge list to keep with the theme).
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Who else participated in the Challenge? What did you learn? Did you have to blow into a paper bag a few times to keep up with posting?