Updated on June 12, 2024
Last week, I was in Salt Lake City, Utah for a creative blogger’s conference called Snap. This was my third year going and I plan to go back every year as long as it continues. I learn so much, have formed some amazing relationships with both new friends and brands, and I always come away feeling inspired.
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THE VENUE
For all three years, I have attended the conference has been held at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is beautiful there and the perfect venue for an event like this. There are beautiful flowers everywhere, both inside and out.
TAKEAWAY
The past two years I went, I found an underlying theme that resonated with me. The first year it was forward and last year it was to be authentic and make my loved ones a priority. This year was a little different for me in that there was not one theme that really stood out. However, I left feeling like I know what I am doing, I know what I need to do, and now I simply need to execute all that information to make my business grow.
But if I were to choose a theme that resonated with me the most, it would be to be consistent.
- Have regular office hours while working from home.
- Post a set number of times per week on certain days.
- Post the same number of times on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and other social media outlets each day.
- Create content on a regular basis and maybe even have one day a week where all I do is work on projects and photograph them.
- Regularly check what is working and what is not and tweak things as needed.
FRIENDS
One of my favorite parts of going to this conference is connecting with new people and re-connecting with old friends I have met online through blogging. The creative community is so welcoming and nice. Below you can see a picture of me with my new roommates from this year along with two of my roommates from years past.
Me | Katherine | Summer | Katie | Julia | Stacie
PARTIES
One of the fun parts of going to Snap is the parties. Each year they have been so much fun. It is a great time to mingle and chat with friends since we spend the rest of the time in classes and visiting sponsors.
The first night we had a party sponsored by Cents of Style and Uber Doors. The theme was fire and ice. It was so fun to dance and let loose. I love all the photo booths and props at all the parties and at many of the sponsor booths.
Me | Tyra | Julia | Katherine
The second night was a party hosted by Heidi Swapp and Instax. We were super blessed to have each been given an Instax camera of our own! This little camera has been on my wishlist for a while now. It was such a fun party. We earned tickets for posting different things on our social media channels. We could then turn in the tickets for prizes. I was so excited to get a picture with Heidi herself. Total fan girl moment on my part!
I met Heidi last year at Snap and loved how down to earth and real she is. I thought it was fantastic that one of the ways we could earn tickets was to get a selfie with her. She is truly one of the nicest people I have met. And all of her products are so pretty and fun! I got myself a personal sized striped planner that I have been eyeing for a while with my tickets.
Me | Heidi Swapp
SPEAKERS
A lot of the inspiration after the conference comes from listening to the keynote speakers at mealtimes. My favorite this year was Desirée from The 36th Avenue. She taught a class last year that I loved, so I was looking forward to her what she had to say.
Her speech brought me to tears and reminded me that I am enough. As women, I think we easily fall into the trap of feeling like we have to do it all, be it all, and we need to make everything perfect. But we are only human and we each only have the same little 24 hours in a day.
Desirée | Source: Alex Adams Photography
Hearing Desiree’s story on how and why she started her blog was truly inspiring and helped me to remember why I started blogging. We must all put our priorities first. For me, that is my family. One of the reasons I started my business is to have flexibility and be there for my kids when I need to. But, finding balance can be hard. And sometimes saying no and letting go is so difficult.
SPONSORS
The other amazing opportunity you receive by going to a blogging conference is being able to connect with brands. So many of these amazing companies are brands I already use and love. It is great to meet the people behind the companies and find unique and exciting ways to work with them.
And you guys, these companies have some truly awesome products that have recently launched or will be launching soon that are going to knock your creative socks off.
For example, I was able to try out the iCraft Deco Foil products from Thermoweb. This stuff is amazing! These foil sheets work with special adhesives. You can draw or stencil on a design with the special adhesive and then you simply rub the foil sheet over the adhesive. It creates a beautiful foiled piece of art with minimal tools! They have iron on applications, foam adhesive sheets and more. Seriously one of the coolest products I have seen.
Expressions Vinyl set up fun inspirational sayings on the bathroom mirrors. You can’t beat being told you are awesome every time you take a bathroom break!
Duck® Brand has some new things coming out soon. I got to check out their new transparent tape. It has all the strength of regular Duck® Tape, but you can see through it! And I personally did not know they had such a big collection of washi tapes, which as you all know, are my favorite. That glitter tape they used on this frame was so pretty in person.
I feel so blessed that I am able to work from home in a job that I love that allows me to be creative on a daily basis. But, I will admit the behind the scenes of blogging is tough. There is so much work to be done in order to have a thriving and successful business. Blogging seems like it should be as simple as “make something cute and then blog about it” but it is so much more than that.
Many times when I tell people what I do, I am met with blank stares and a ton of questions. Blogging is still a relatively new career choice and not everyone knows about it yet. It is so inspiring to be around so many amazing women that “get me”.
My Roommates: Stacie | Julia | Katherine | Me
Lastly, I want to say, I appreciate each and every one of you – my readers – for coming here daily or weekly to find some inspiration in your life. It is because of all of you that I am able to do what I love. So, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
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