Serenity You

Kids Summer Outfits

2013-06-18T14:00:00.000+01:00

Now I've got my Summer wardrobe sorted now it the kids turn.

Here are some of my favourite Summer Kids Clothes

For Caitlin

for Caitlin by serenityyou on Polyvore

for Aaron

for Aaron by serenityyou on Polyvore

for Ryan

for Ryan by serenityyou on Polyvore

And here are my favourite Summer Swimwear for Kids

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and 100% mine

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Get 20% off at Funsational

2013-06-18T10:00:00.000+01:00

Funsational have 100's of printable games including Father's Day Games, Summer Games, Printable Birthday Games and loads more!!

From now till 30th June you can get 20% on your next purchase of $15 or more!

Starts: June 17th
Ends: June 30th
Code: SUNNY20

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My Summer wardrobe

2013-06-17T12:32:00.002+01:00

Summer is officially here and I love the summer it is my favourite season. I love going through my wardrobe and finding all my lovely summer clothes and best bit of all is going shopping to find some new bits and pieces.

This year I have been looking at Summer Maxi dresses, here are a few of my favourites

You can't beat the classic black maxi dress and strips are in fashion this season, everywhere I go all I see are stripy dresses. I love these two and that patterned one is just so unique

And here are a few outfits I would choose for myself from New Look

This would be something that I would wear shopping or taking the kids to school

A day in the sun by serenityyou

and this one would be the outfit I'd wear taking my kids down to the park and playing football with them

day playing sport with kids by serenityyou

I already own a pair of these 3/4 jog bottoms, and I love them, very soft and comfy

What's in your summer wardrobe?

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and 100% mine

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FREE Mini Courses on Craftsy

2013-06-14T14:00:00.000+01:00

Craftsy have some great Free mini courses running through out June, take a look below and sign up for one. You have nothing to lose as they are all completely FREE

Know Your Wool: Do you wonder where your yarn comes from? Learn about different types of wool and the individual characteristics of each.

The Hand-Painted Cake: Elevate your cake with Erin Schaefgen's freehand painting techniques. Create beautiful and edible works of art with Erin's tips and tricks.

Creative Quilt Backs: Make the back of your quilt just as interesting as the front! Oh, Fransson! blog author Elizabeth Hartman walks you through everything you need to know to make beautiful quilt backs.

Modern Buttercream: Learn to use buttercream like a pro! Discover the tricks and tips to construct and create a beautifully finished buttercream cake.

Micro Torch Basics: Go ahead, play with fire. Using a butane micro-torch, learn the basics of creating beautiful and unique metal jewelry in your own house.

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Fragments Jewelry - Which is your favourite?

2013-06-14T10:30:00.000+01:00

In 1984 Fragments was first introduced to the world by founder Janet Goldman. Janet saw a gap in the market for fashion Jewelry and Fragments was born. You can find Fragments retail store in SoHo New York which showcases all their amazing designers. They currently have over 50 designers and have have launched many designers careers that have become today's most acclaimed designers. Fragments jewelry has been in many publications and have also been worn by many celebrities including Oprah, Julia Roberts and Demi Moore.

Fragments have a wide range of different styles and pieces.
Each of the designers have their own personal style but I think my favourite designer has to be Anna Ruth Henriques. I just love her little insect pieces and how they have a gothic feel to them.

I just love that dragonfly. I thinks that's my favourite piece overall. And that Looking Glass Ring is Amazing, so unique!!

some of my other favourite pieces are:

How cute is that zebra necklace!! I'm in love with it.
And I would love to have either of those two rings.

Go take a look through all the designers and tell me which is your favourite and which piece of jewelry you like best

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are honest and 100% mine

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Fundraising with Mabels Labels

2013-06-13T10:33:00.000+01:00

With the back to school season just around the corner, help start a Mabel's Labels fundraiser for your child's school or daycare! Once the fundraiser has been set up you can shop through a specially created website link and your group gets a percentage of all sales. No more hauling boxes and filling forms because Mabel's Labels handles all orders, payments and deliveries. Get started today!

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Blogger Opp! My 2nd Blogiversary Giveaway

2013-06-12T16:33:00.000+01:00

5th July 2013 is my 2nd Blogiversary!!
I am so excited! and to celebrate I'm having a giveaway!!!

But this is where you come in. I need help in making this a great celebration.
I am looking for co-hosts, sponsors and others to help out

The prizes are all dependent on how many people I can get to help me out.
So far I have a small kids craft pack and a small adult craft pack, but I'm hoping to be able to add more thing to these. Also I'm hoping to have a few Amazon gift cards and also some paypal cash to giveaway. The more people wanting to buy a link in the rafflecopter, co-host or sponsor the giveaway the better and bigger the prizes will be! yeah!

So here's the details.

I am looking for between 4-8 co-hosts. Co-hosts will be able to have 4 links in the rafflecopter and will be placed under my links but above sponsors and other brought links. Co-hosts will have to place the giveaway post on their blog and also promote it via social media. There will be a photo of yourself and link back to your blog on the giveaway post. Co-host spots cost $15
I'm also looking for between 2-8 sponsors. Sponsors can have 3 links in the rafflecopter and will be placed under mine and co-hosts links but above other brought links. Sponsors will have there button placed on the giveaway post linking back to you. Sponsor spots cost $12
You can also buy links in the rafflecopter. 1 link = $5, 2 links = $8 or 3 links = $10.
But that's not all. The person who refers the most sign ups, will also win $25 paypal cash

So if you are interested in being a part of my 2nd blogiversary celebrations please copy this HTML into a new post on your blog/site then fill in the sign-up form by clicking the link below

TTCkit

Fun in the Sun Giveaway!! Win $100 Lowe's Gift Card

2013-06-12T10:15:00.000+01:00

Happy (almost) summer and welcome to the Fun in the Sun Giveaway Event hosted by Famous Free Samples! We’re looking to give away a $100 Lowe's gift card (delivered electronically) to one lucky winner to make this summer even more enjoyable!

This giveaway begins on June 12th and will run through June 26th at 11:59pm EST. Open to residents of the US only, 18+. Use the PromoSimple form below to enter the giveaway. Be sure to come back daily for more chances to win. Best of luck to all!

$100 Lowe's Gift Card

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How to Add a Post Signature in Blogger

2013-06-12T10:00:00.000+01:00

See my name down there at the bottom of this post, just above my social media icons?
Well, today I'm going to show you how to add that there permanently, so every time you write a new blog post it's already there

Ok, first off you need to open a photo editing service like, Picmonkey. Upload any old photo it doesn't matter. Then click the resize button

I resized mine to 250 x 60.

Then click on the overlay icon, select geometric and then the rectangle

Drag the overlay over the photo so it covers it completely, then choose your colour. Make sure the colour you choose is EXACTLY the same as your blog post background. my blog post background is white - FFFFFF. then click the icon near the top

Click on the P on the left and then select your font style and colour. When you are happy with everything click the save button.

Ok. so now you have your signature saved as an image, now you need somewhere to host it. Or you can use my little trick an save it to a UNPUBLISHED blog post. once you have done this right click on it to get the image url. Then go to settings in your blogger dashboard and select 'post and comments'. Then in the post template box add:

<img src="YOUR IMAGE URL">

then paste your image url, where it says too. Then save.

If you want your signature aligned centered write this instead:

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="YOUR IMAGE URL"></div>

Now your signature will appear at the bottom of all your future posts.
Please note: this will not appear in past posts, you'll have to do them manually.

Also see my other posts in my Blogging A-Z series

How to Start Blogging
How to Make a Blog header and Button
How to Make a Blog Button Grab Box
Social Media Tips

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Help Your Child Gain Confidence in Learning

2013-06-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

I have recently read the new ebook A Parent's Play Book for Learning by Jen Lilienstein. According to Jen Children have different learning profiles and each learn in a different way.

There are 8 different profiles and when you have found out which personality profile your child is you can read each section to find out which is the best ways to help your child learn, gain knowledge, do their homework, learn in a group setting, what helps motivate them, enrichment activities and more! My eldest son's personality profile is an Introverted Sensing Judger (ISJ). And reading each section about ISJ is all bang on! everything it says is so true. It has described my child perfectly. Not only this but it has now helped me as a mum to help him learn and understand the world around him. And also in school.

Since Moving up a year from infants to the juniors in school last September it as been quite a struggle for my 8 year old, Ryan, to settle in. As before in year 2 it was easy work and they often played games but now in year 3 they are expected to be more work focused and this has been a big unexpected change for my son.

From the book
"Because your child uses previous experience as a guide for present understanding, introducing new concepts without foundation can be very uncomfortable for your child."

This is what is says for ISJ profiles like Ryan. This rings so true to me. Not only does the book identify what my son may struggle with, it also helps me to understand how to help him overcome these struggles and puts me on the same way length on how he learns.

Jen, the author of the book also has a website Kidzmet.com, where you can also have your child take a simply personality test. They are simply questions like 'Do you like team sports' and your child just has to click on a face from smiley to confused. Ryan did this test and his result for his personality profile where the same as in the book, Introverted Sensory Judger.

here's what it said:

Ryan's Personality Type Profile:

Ryan's Personal Motto: "Why reinvent the wheel?"

Our top 5 tips for learning for Introverted Sensing kids like Ryan are as follows:

Introverts process initial thoughts better by thinking them through, so give Ryan time for private consideration and quiet reflection of new concepts before talking about how Ryan is going to approach an assignment.

When a project or homework assignment comes in, help Ryan highlight the key aspects of the task and eliminate extraneous information.
Judgers are consummate planners, so a daytimer with individual action items will work better than an at-a-glance calendar for project planning. Similarly, if Ryan comes how with a long-term assignment with a single due date, help Ryan to develop a timeline for assignment completion that includes drafts.
If Ryan is struggling with a certain subject, do your best to remember the minor details of test day—for instance, what Ryan wore, had for breakfast, how Ryan studied the night before, etc. If Ryan earns a low score on the test, you can help minimize test anxiety the next time by changing these elements and making note of them. Because introverted sensors like Ryan replay impactful memories over and over again and experience the same emotions, anything you can do to separate the past experience from the present one will psychologically help put Ryan in a different frame of mind in advance of the test.
If Ryan seems to be lost or overwhelmed by an assignment, help Ryan reveal the path of least resistance toward successful completion by breaking down the assignment into bite-sized, step-by-step instructions.

This has described Ryan exactly.

I am so glad That I have read the ebook A Parent's Play Book for Learning as it has really help me identify with Ryan. And now I know how to help him with his learning and help him progress effectively. And I would recommend any parent or teacher to read this book and help your child to gain confidence in learning

You can find Jen here:
Kidzmet
Pinterest
Twitter
Facebook

I have been paid to review this ebook. All opinions are honest and 100% mine.

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Jewelry Candle Giveaway!!!

2013-06-10T14:34:00.001+01:00

Jewelry Candles are giving away one of their gorgeous Jewelry Candles. They are called jewelry candles because inside each one is a piece of jewelry! but that's not all, the piece of jewelry can be worth anything from $10 up to an amazing $7500!! Wow!!

Enter the rafflecopter giveaway below for your chance to win one of these special candles

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Thank you for entering to win a Watermelon Kiwi candle from Jewelry Candles

Jewelry Candles was inspired by the famous classic movie, Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory! If you remember in the movie there were only a few golden tickets won by a few lucky kids but with Jewelry Candles, everyone is a winner! Inside all our candles is a hidden jewel that can be worth anywhere from $10 to $7500. Inside your candle could be a ring, necklace, pendant, bracelet or a pair of earrings! You just never know what you are going to get but you will always get a gorgeous piece of jewelry! About Jewelry Candles:

Jewelry Candles are 100% natural soy and use premium quality fragrances so they all smell great!
Jewelry Candles are 21 oz and have a burn time of anywhere from 110 hours to 150 hours
All Jewelry Candles are hand poured in Louisville, Kentucky!

Giveaway closes 6/23/2013 at 11:59 EST. Open to US and Canada residents 18 years of age and older Enter to win using the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Prize will be delivered to the winner directly from Jewelry Candles. Serenity You is not responsible for prize delivery and has received no compensation for participation in this giveaway.

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Rosemary Crackers

2013-06-10T09:00:00.000+01:00

I saw these yummy Rosemary Crackers on Pinterest. There by Beth from Budget Bytes and thought they looked quite easy to make and I also had all the ingredients to hand so I gave them a go. I'm not very good at baking and this is the first time I have ever tried to make crackers, so I was expecting them to come out very well. But to my surprise, they came out perfect!! Not only did I love them but my kids couldn't get enough of them either. My husband was out when we made these and he didn't get a luck in because by time he got home they were all gone.

Recipe slightly adapted from Budget Bytes

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt (plus extra for sprinkling)

1 tbsp rosemary - I used dried so used a bit more

4 tbsp butter

1/2 - 1/3 water

1. Add the rosemary, flour and salt and mix them in a large bowl

2. Add the butter and mix really well using your hands to get all the lumps out

3. Add the water a bit at a time till it forms a soft dough

4. Preheat oven to gasmark 6 or 400 degrees. Tip the dough out onto a lightly flour surface and roll out till it is the thickness you want. use a pizza cutter to cut into small squares. Prick each square with a fork

5. Place on a lightly greased baking tray and sprinkle with salt. Cook the crackers for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown. Allow the crackers to cool before gobbling them all up

These make a great little snack. I put them in small portion size zippy bags.

I don't know if these freeze well or not as I haven't tried that yet

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Serenity Saturday : 90

2013-06-08T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hi welcome to Serenity Saturday!!!!

Please help me by tweeting about the party on twitter and use hashtag #SerenitySaturday

And don't forgot
All features are pinned to my features board on pinterest

Here are this week's features

Crochet Elephant from Happy in Red

Cash Envelope Wallet from Stitches by Rachelle

How to Build a Loft Bed from Luv a Bargain

Peanut Butter and Nutella Quesadilla from If I had a Million Hours

Pinterest Bucket List from Creative Family Fun

Best Potato Salad Ever from Sara Live it Well

Pretty Kitties Play Set Tutorial from Sew Can Do

Secret Garden & Patio from Debbie Dabble

If you have been featured please grab a button Here

Rules :

you can link anything you want! only rule is that you place my link button on your post or somewhere on your blog. And please visit at LEAST 2 other link ups

I show off the featured links on my facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+

My favourite posts will be featured on next weeks link party

Sign up to Serenity Saturday Reminder and be the first to know when the party goes live and be the first to see all the party features
Subscribe to Serenity Saturday

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TTCkit

Dawn's Disaster 750 GFC Followers Giveaway!!

2013-06-08T01:00:00.000+01:00

Dawn from Dawn'd Disaster has reached 750 followers via GFC and to celebrate she is having a big giveaway! Me and a lot of other lovely ladies are helping her out in her celebration. So come along and join in the fun by entering the rafflecopter giveaway below for your chance to win ad space on 15 blogs!!

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THANK YOU SO MUCH! I've reached 750 GFC Followers! WOW! For a bit there, I didn't think it would happen. I am SO excited. In honor of reaching 750, I went out and got myself a {dot} com. So, your browser should re-direct you to www.dawns-disaster.com or dawns-disaster.com You can use any three options {the old-ish one dawnsdisaster.blogspot.com} and you will get to me! So, how to celebrate an accomplishment like this in the blogging world? Duh, have a GIVEAWAY! So, follow some great people and enter this grand AD SPACE giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Blogger opp! Sign up's for Fun in the Sun Giveaway

2013-06-07T14:00:00.000+01:00

Famous Free Samples’ Fun in the Sun Giveaway Event

Sign-ups are now open for this great new giveaway event!

Event is free to join with an announcement post. If you don't wish to post the announcement, please send the $5 non-post fee to tiphero@gmail.com
You'll receive 1 free link for participating (either Twitter or Pinterest)
Additional links (RSS/Email, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest) are available for $5 each. Facebook links are now available for $10 each.
Sign-ups for this event close on June 10th
Event runs from June 12th - June 26th
Prize: $100 Lowe’s gift card

Please send all payments to tiphero@gmail.com as a "gift" via PayPal. Sign up for this event here.

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How Many Calories Do Toddlers Really Need? {Guest Post}

2013-06-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

source

Nicole Yontz is a stay at home mom in Arizona, a contributing parenting writer for WhatToExpect.com and a personal blogger at TheBetterHalfBlogs.com.

Because I have a toddler there are certain things I tend to say day after day. Usually it’s along the lines of “don’t use the dog as a napkin” and “please keep your clothes on.” But the one that frustrates me the most is "Will you PLEASE finish your food?!” I can’t tell you how many times a day I say that one sentence; it’s to the point where I absolutely dread meal time because of the subsequent battle ahead. Why can’t you just eat?!

My daily struggle with getting my daughter to eat got me thinking; Exactly how many calories does she really need in a sitting? Am I over feeding her? Is she just being picky or is she actually just full? As adults, we have it down exactly how much we can (and should) eat at a time but how can we be so sure for them? When Audrey first started eating solids, I would make her a plate and have to fight the urge to think, “That would never be enough for me” giving her more, and remember that it wasn’t for me…it was for someone 1/5 my weight and size.

According to KidsHealth.org, the average 2-3 year old needs between 1000-1400 calories a day depending on their size and activity level. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats should make up the majority of their intake, with sugar being at the minimum. Although sugar is full of calories, it is very low in nutrients. Foods that should be a huge part of your child’s diet are breads and grains, avocados, eggs, cheese, lean meats, and full fat milk.

Now if you’re like me and your child is like mine, you’re thinking, “How nutritious are dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and Kraft Mac&Cheese because that’s all I can get my kids to eat.” As much as I would like to (honestly) say to you that my child eats a healthy and well-balanced meal three times a day, it’s just not true. Sometimes it’s a frozen waffle in the car and I’m grateful she’s even eaten that much.

To make up for the lack in some places, I will over-compensate in others. For example, I know my kid loves avocado and I also know how good it is for her. So if she wants to eat an entire avocado for breakfast, so be it. She’s also a big milk drinker so I make sure we only have full fat organic milk in the house, same goes for cheese and eggs. (I will skimp in certain parts of my grocery budget to ensure that we have organic milk and eggs. The two things I know my daughter eats the most.) Home made milk shakes made with berries, orange juice and yogurt are a great way to sneak in some good healthy calories disguised as a treat.

Need more ideas? Check out these Healthy Kid Meal Makeovers at WhatToExpect.com

The little things that I do to pack in the extra good calories may not seem like much but when you have a tiny caloric budget, a little goes a long way. And don’t forget to get your child in the habit of taking a children’s vitamin every day!

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June's Sponsor and Giveaway!

2013-06-06T15:36:00.003+01:00

Here are the lovely ladies sponsoring me this month

Seasons of Homemakers

All that Glitters Ad 250 x 250 sidebar button + a feature blog post from Abigail at Seasons of Homemakers

ad Space 200 x 200 for & my favourite tea (White temple tea) & my favourite hand cream (Almond hand and nail cream from Body Shop from Nina at Thoughts and Images Along the Way

200x150 ad spot from Angie at Snack Cups and Smiles

Reagan’s Sponsors Ad Space {$10 value} from Lanaya at Raising Reagan

3 months of Ms. Middle ad space from Dawn at Dawn's Disaster

60 days of Medium Ad Space 400x100 from Ashley at Beauty Flawed

1 month free ad space from Kelsey at Keeping up with Kelsey

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Social Media Tips

2013-06-05T09:00:00.000+01:00

Social media is a big part of a bloggers life. Quite a lot of my traffic comes from these, especially Pinterest where in fact most of my traffic comes from. The other main social media outlets are Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

And before I go any further, Let me share with you a fantastic tip that Danielle from Sew Much Crafting mentioned to me the other week. When setting your blog up and choosing your blog name check to see if your chosen blog name is available on all the social media sites. If you are not that interested in setting up an account for certain social media sites at this time, still go ahead a make an account now. So in the future if you do deicide to start using that site you already have your chosen name set up and no one else has taken it. But to be honest, I think you should be using all 4 of these social media outlets right now!

Facebook

First we'll start with facebook. The first one I started out with.

Over the resent months facebook have made it hard for page owners, but I have seen some slight changes recently so hopefully they are going to make thing better for us.

After you have chosen your blog name you will notice that your url is something like

www.facebook.com/pages/serenityyoublog/19185602704

You will see that my name on facebook is Serenity You Blog - as Serenity You was already taken as a personal page

now my url is www.facebook.com/serenityyoublog

the 'page' and and all those numbers have now gone! to do this click on Edit Page, you can find this in your admin panel above your facebook page, then click on Edit Settings. On the right there is a list of items, click on resources then click on where it says Select a Username. Choose the name you want and see if it is available.

The next thing you want to do is upload a profile picture. I suggest you either use a photo of yourself or your blog button. Then you need a cover photo. I make mine with Picmonkey. Add a short description - I've included a link direct to my blog in this too. Then get sharing your content. I always use 'upload a Photo' then write a little bit about it and add the link to the post. Over the recent months if you had a link in the status your post would be seen by fewer people, so many published the post without the link and put the link in the comments instead, But I have noticed a change over the last few weeks, so hopefully things are getting better.

You can also schedule your facebook post. Simply upload a photo, enter your status message and link then click on the little grey clock in the bottom left corner - then choose the date and time you want to post to be published

Twitter

I have only been on Twitter a few months and already I have over 1,300 followers. I use my real name -Natasha Mairs - and I use Serenityyou as my username. I suggest you do this too. When tweeting, messaging someone or including them in your tweet, you use their username with @ before. So if you wanted to include me in one of your tweets you would put @serenityyou and I would receive a notification letting me know about it. The first thing you want to do before sending out any tweets is set up the look of your profile page, so click on settings - that little cog at the top of the page - then select profile. Here you can change your photo, header, your location, add your blog url *A MUST* and a small bio. Click on design on the left to change your background, and the colour of your links. Once your all set up get find others to follow. There is a follow to followers ratio on twitter, so if you have a massive difference in the two twitter will limit how many to can follow or how many can follow you. I am not sure what the ratio is as I have my ratio close together.

Google+

Google+ is the next big thing and many think this will be bigger than twitter and facebook put together.

I just use a personal page but you can make a page too. Many say it is best to use your real name, as it shows up higher in google searches. I use my real name followed by my blog name in brackets, so people know who I am - Natasha Mairs (Serenity You) -. OK first enter all your details, location, blog url, bio and a tagline. People can see your tagline when the hover over your photo so keep it short and sweet and let them know what your all about. Make sure you include your email address and add all your other social media accounts to the links section. Add a lovely photo of yourself and add a great cover photo.

Now to add your posts. Like facebook, don't just add your status with a link. In google this will give you a small thumbnail of a photo. You need to click on photos and upload. People love big photos, they are more noticeable and peopleare more likely to click the link. Add your message above the pic and put the title of the post or other text you want to stand out within the star icon *. This will make your text *bold*. add the post url and you can also use the # to include topics, so others can find your post if they search for that term.

Pinterest

My favourite!! and totally addictive, Most of my blog traffic comes from pinterest.

My username is natashadm as I set my pinterest account up years ago, way before I was blogging and when pinterest was new and you needed someone to refer you to get in. I only used it now and again, but it has grown in leaps and bounds and is now massive with millions of users worldwide. As with google I have used my real name with my blog name in brackets. The first thing you want to do is set up your first board, I recommend maybe starting with posts from your blog. Then you need to find others to follow - you can follow me here www.pinterest.com/natashadm ;) . You will see on my profile page a small bio and my blog url. To add yours click on the small pencil on the bottom right corner of your profile and add all your info.

Start creating more boards and pinning others content. Arrange your boards by dragging them to where you want them. And choose and set each boards cover photo.

That's it for now. But the MAIN thing to remember which is a MUST, is for every post you share make sure you share at least 4 posts that belong to others. Many say you should share 10 to everyone post, which is great! but start off small and once you get the hang of it build up. Social media is great for bringing traffic to my blog and also finding other great and fantastic ideas, but it is very time consuming. Limit yourself to a set time each day or week. You don't want to spend all your time on social media sites and not having enough time to actually write your blog posts.

I hope these start up tips have helped. And I'll be sharing more social media tips in the future

and if your at all interest in follow me via social media you can find me here:

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Here are the other posts in the Blogging A-Z Series

How to Start Blogging

How to Make a Blog Header and Button

How to Make a Button Grab Box

Linking to some of these great parties

TTCkit

Need a Card for Father's Day?

2013-06-03T09:00:00.000+01:00

Aren't they all great!? I love the green one that says 'Don't tell Mom, but I like you the best' , I think my husband would like that one the best too LOL.

You can click on each card to buy it from Tinyprints. There are 100's of other Father's day cards to choose from on Tinyprints. And they also do photo gifts!! Perfect!
Just click on the button below to view all of their cards and photo gifts

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TTCkit

Special Offers

2013-06-02T18:18:00.000+01:00

Here I will share all the special offers I find

This page will be update regularly, so check back often
Newest offers are at the top

If you have a special offer that you would like me to share email me at serenityyou@hotmail.co.uk

Blurb Father's Day 20% Off Sale.Blurb is offering 20% off with code JUSTFORDAD ends 10th June
Save 20% on your next purchase of $15 or more! Use SUNNY20 at checkout! ends 30th June
Treat Million Card Giveaway - Free Card for All New Customers ends 17th June
Free Shipping With Tiny Prints Orders of $49+ ends 25th June
Save 15% off your I See Me! purchase for Mom with coupon code "mother" at checkout!
Free Nursing Pillow - Click on "Shop Now" and select the Nursing Pillow☺ of your choice in any of our 9 prints! - Use Promo Code - ENBABY
Raise Funds for Schools with Box Tops For Education. Join Today!
Dr. Seuss - 5 Books For $5.95 + Free Backpack
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Linking to some of these great parties

TTCkit

Share the Love Blog Hop - June

2013-06-02T09:00:00.000+01:00

Share the Love Blog Hop is here!! Yeah!!

Every month Share the Love blog hop will be on both Serenity You and Sew Much Crafting along with the co-hosts

Rules:
1. Please follow your hosts @ number 1 & 2 and The co-hosts at number 3 - 9. And any others that you like.
2. Please leave a comment on their blog letting them know that you are a new follower and found them on 'share the love blog hop'
3. Link up your blog's Home page
4. Copy and paste the code at the bottom into a new post on your blog (optional)
5. Have fun!!

I am scheduling co-hosts now.
so if you would like to be a co-host in July email me at serenityyou@hotmail.co.uk
At the moment this is free, but soon I will be charging a small fee

{HOSTS}

Natasha @ Serenity You

Danielle @ Sew Much Crafting

After you have linked up your blog, make sure you scroll down to add your bloglovin, facebook, twitter, pinterest and google+ accounts!!

Blog Bloglovin Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+

Linking to some of these great parties

TTCkit

Serenity Saturday : 89

2013-06-01T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hi welcome to Serenity Saturday!!!!

Can you believe we're into June already?!
I loved loads of lasts weeks link ups it was hard to choose just a few in the end I choose 12! so if you have been featured please grab a button and I can't wait to see what you link up today!!

And don't forget to come back tomorrow to link your blog up to Share the Love Blog Hop that runs till the end of the month

Please help me by tweeting about the party on twitter and use hashtag #SerenitySaturday

And don't forgot
All features are pinned to my features board on pinterest

Here are this week's features

Watermelon Star Cake from My Turn for Us

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake from A Peek into my Paradise

Nutella Muffins from Natasha in Oz

Rhubarb Crumble from The Wilderness Wife

Strawberry Apricot Swirl Ice Cream from Jazzy Gourmet

Butterfly Face Painting Tutorial from Atop Serenity Hill
Sunflower Book Mark Tutorial from Make it Easy Crafts
Fun, free and Easy Father's Day Ideas from Some of the Best Things in Life are Mistakes

Snickerdoodle Bars from She Turned Dreams into Plans
Triple Citrus Tart with Candied Peel from True Blue Baking
Creating Patterned Pages from Stuff a Chicken
Death by Chocolate Cake from Just Dip it in Chocolate

If you have been featured please grab a button Here

Rules :

you can link anything you want! only rule is that you place my link button on your post or somewhere on your blog. And please visit at LEAST 2 other link ups

I show off the featured links on my facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+

My favourite posts will be featured on next weeks link party

Linking to some of these great parties

TTCkit

Get a FREE Father's Day Card!!

2013-05-29T20:37:00.000+01:00

If you missed the FREE Father's Day card offer from Treat earlier this week, I have good news for you..

They extended it through the end of the month!

If you're not familiar with Treat, they are just like regular greeting cards except much better.. You get to choose your own message, add photos, and even pick your own fonts.

To get the card totally free, have it shipped to you. Then you can sign it and write a message in your own writing. For the cost of a stamp, you can have Treat mail it directly to the recipient. And since it's still a few weeks to Father's Day, you can even choose the delivery date.

Here's how to get the deal:

1. Check out their selection of nearly 500 Father's Day designs and choose your favorite card.
2. Upload pictures, choose your font and message, and preview the card to make sure it's right..
3. Use promo code TREATDAD when you checkout.

That's all there is to it.

Linking to some of these great parties

TTCkit

How to Make a Blog Button Grab Box

2013-05-29T09:00:00.000+01:00

Ok, So now you have made your blog button now you need a grab box so other people can get the code to put your button on their site.

First off you need somewhere to host your button image, like Picasa.

But I cheat and upload my image in to a blog post, but make sure you DO NOT PUBLISH the post.

to get the image url, right click on the image and select copy image url.

To make your blog button grab box simply copy and paste the code below, but where the words are in capitals replace with your urls. The hover text is what someone sees when they hover their mouse over your button. I have included height and width, so you can adjust your button size, But if you just want to use the size your button is already just delete these from the code

</center>

</textarea></center>

and you should get something like this:

To add your grab box to your blogger blog, simply select layout, then add a gadget. Choose the html widget and copy and paste the code above, changing the urls. save, then drag the html gadget to where you want it to show on your blog.

I have my blog button on my right side bar and also have my blog button on their own button page - see here

Here are the others posts in my Blogging A-Z series

How to Start Blogging

How to Make a Blog Header and Button
Social Media Tips

Linking to some of these great parties

TTCkit

#BlogTwitLov Blog Hop- I'm co-hosting!!

2013-05-29T06:30:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the Twitter Hop! The only "rule" here is to follow as many people on the hop as possible! I'd love it if you would grab a button and put it on your sidebar or "where hop/party" page. Alright, let's get this party started! So, put your TWITTER on the first link up (http://twitter.com/YOUR USER NAME) and your BLOGLOVIN blog on the second link up, then gain some new followers.

Dawn~from Dawn's Disaster

Kera~from Nugget on a Budget

Natasha~from Serenity You

Terri~from Rambling Momma

Ginger~from GingerSnaps

Don't forget to share and Tweet about this link up!

If you are interested in Co-Hosting for July, please email me: dawnsdisaster {at} gmail {dot} com to get signed up! Linking to some of these great parties

TTCkit