At the end of each year and the beginning of the next, I sit down to reflect on the past year in my business & in my personal life. Click on the year to go back to read the 2018,2019, & 2020 reflections.
In 2021, I really took a step back from my business temporarily due to some of the big life changes that I’ll discuss below. For that reason, I really want to focus this blog post on my personal life. I still cannot believe it is 2022 already!
Let’s talk about some of the highlights from my personal life this past year.
Adam and I bought our first house in Alabama. Shortly after, I moved across the country alone (with Tracer) in the midst of teaching during a pandemic and planning a wedding. Yikes.
We got married!!! In May, we had a small, intimate wedding in Tennessee surrounded by our closest family & friends. If you haven’t seen our wedding video, I shared it on Instagram and you can click here to watch it. Due to relocation, I had to leave my job. My last day was in May and it was so bittersweet. I decided to take the summer “off” from my business (other than posting on social media) to settle into our new home and unwind after the whirlwind that was the last year and a half.
At the end of July, Adam graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School. The first week of August, after a year & a half of long distance (… again lol), we moved Adam down to our home in Alabama.
At the very end of 2021, we added four new paws to our family. We brought home Sully!
Thank you for supporting Bossy Brushstrokes!
Thank you, as always, for supporting my business whether it is with a like on social media or a purchase from my online store here or a purchase on my Etsy shop. I can’t wait to see what 2022 holds for me personally and for Bossy Brushstrokes. Until next time, stay bossy y’all.
I wrote the below blog in July of 2019 when Instagram started hiding likes in Australia. As users in the United States (where I am) start to experience hidden likes as of lately, I thought it was the PERFECT time to re-post this blog because I still believe it wholeheartedly. Let’s dive in…
You may have found your way to this blog post by a Google search, or you may be reading this because you saw my Instagram post and clicked the link in my bio. My business only exists because of Instagram. I starting sharing my lettering on Instagram, which led to me making a blog, which led to me making sales across the globe, because social media allowed me to connect with others around the world with ease. I’m a business who relies on Instagram and I’m EXCITED about Instagram getting rid of likes.
Yep. I said it. We’ve known about this rolling out in different countries slowly for a while. On Thursday, July 18th [of 2019], Instagram got rid of likes in Australia. I’ve seen a number of posts, read a few different blogs/articles, and it’s like anything else with social media: People love it or people hate it. But, I thought it was important to share my opinion as somebody who has a platform on Instagram and even more important as a business with the primary source of sales being directly from that platform.
Now you see, I don’t refer to it often about being a platform unless I pair it with the word community… because that’s what I built on Instagram. I built a community surrounding my business.
I preach often about algorithm-smalgorithm. Yes, the algorithm is “important“, but I truly do not believe that you should base your every move on it. I think what makes a platform powerful (aka what allows an account to become an influencer) is being authentic enough that those that follow you on Instagram trust your recommendations and that they interact with you often. Now the downside to this is when you dive into the deeper question of why accounts care about likes, and it’s because they’re trying to beat the algorithm. I think that is something that Instagram should take into consider as they continue to implement these changes.
I had barely surpassed 1,000 followers when I got my first sponsorship on Instagram (and that company reached out to me). Why? Well, long story short, because they liked the content I was creating. Period. I always remind people that they can have 100,000 followers but if only 100 of those followers make a purchase or interact with your content, that number doesn’t mean much to businesses (or to that person either likely as they realize the number is irrelevant). My understanding is that the goal behind Instagram’s decision is to allow you to focus back on creating content you love & less on creating content that OTHERS love (aka what gets more likes).
I truly do not believe that Instagram getting rid of likes is going to ruin your business as an influencer or as a business that relies on Instagram.
As a business or a creator on Instagram, you’re still going to have access to your insights that can allow you to have statistics to share with businesses. If you pay for ads, you’ll still be able to see those insights in your Ad Manager. You’re still going to be able to have information to share with companies that you partner with or that sponsor a post. You can even still go in and see how your own post did. But, you won’t click on your feed and think, “I loved this post. Why is it half as popular as the last post?” If you’re somebody who the numbers discourages, this makes it easy to turn a blind eye to the numbers on a daily basis and focus back on the “why” behind your posts.
What do I think this will do? Well, I’m not quite sure yet. This will have an impact on Instagram users & businesses across the globe because Instagram is a powerful tool and any change that is implemented is going to have an impact. But, what do I hope comes from this? My hope is that it encourages others to interact more (comments, etc.) and that it places more power in that than likes. My hope is that it takes the pressure off of personal users, especially young users, to post certain things or post in a certain way.
My hope is that it allows people to focus less on likes and more on living and sharing pieces of that with others.
What do YOU think about Instagram hiding likes? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or reach out on Instagram! Until next time, stay bossy y’all.
Hello, my friends! If you’re like me, you LOVE using the GIF feature on your Instagram story. I wanted to create custom GIFs for two main reasons. The first reason is that I wanted to have stickers that were in my own lettering & cohesive with my branding. The second reason is that I wanted to be able to turn my ideas into reality for not just me to enjoy, but for all Instagram users! Ok… there might be a third reason, which is just that I think IT IS SO MUCH FUN. But, how do you even get your GIFs & Stickers into Instagram’s API? The answer is through GIPHY… but here are the details broken down into a few easy steps so that YOU can share your GIFs with the world.
Step #1: Make an account on GIPHY.
This first step may feel a little obvious, but just making an account isn’t enough. Complete your profile to the fullest extent. This means you’ll want to add an avatar image (your logo… duh) and add all of your links (your social media & your website). The last step is the most important one. You’ll want to add 5-10 GIFs to your account before heading to the next step. These need to be original, non-commercial AND animated. PRO TIP: Make sure these GIFs have transparent backgrounds to meet the sticker requirements.
Step #2: Apply for an artist or brand channel.
If you skimmed step #1… scroll back up because you need to have your account meet those requirements (or else it hurts your chance of approval). I applied for an artist channel. These channels are intended for artists who would like to create and distribute visual artwork via GIPHY. If that’s you then you can click here to apply. A brand channel is meant for a company, recording artist, actor or public figure with content you’ve created or own. Pick whichever one fits you best!
This step is absolutely crucial because you HAVE to have an artist or brand channel in order for your GIFs to be indexed for search. Those GIFs being indexed for search means that your GIFs & Stickers can show up in Instagram Stories, Facebook Messenger, and all the other great places we want them.
Step #3: Wait.
If you’re like me, you’ll wait impatiently. Personally, the application took roughly two weeks. As I waited, I created a few more GIFs and wrote down tons of ideas while I was feeling motivated that I can slowly work through creating. Once you’re approved, each GIF you create and add to your channel will be slightly delayed in showing up in the search because there is a manual approval process that each GIF goes through. They make sure that the GIFs meet their community guidelines.
Step #4: Enjoy.
You did it. Congrats! If you search “bossybrushstrokes” or “arlena” within your Instagram stories, you’ll see the GIFs below (& many more). You could also click here to see my GIPHY channel.
I hope that this helped break it down for you in a few easy steps. I personally make my GIFs from within Procreate on my iPad Pro using my very own Procreate brushes. Do y’all want to see a tutorial on how I do that? Let me know in the comments below or on my social media. Until next time, stay bossy y’all.
Happy November 1st! The colder weather means that I am spending time getting cozy on my couch and avoiding the Kansas winter. Haha! This month’s Create with Craftey project is creating a cozy DIY pillow cover using heat transfer vinyl. I’m sure y’all know the drill by now, but if you’re new here… You can snag November’s free hand-lettered SVG file and see the step-by-step process from the team at Craftey by clicking here.
November is an exciting month for me! If you’ve been around throughout 2019, you may know that Adam has been deployed for the majority of this year. November is the month that he will (fingers crossed) finally be coming home after hundreds of days apart! Deployment has been a crazy journey. It’s looked more like survival than it has anywhere close to thriving (and involves a lot of cereal for dinner). I remind myself that each day that passes is one day closer to him being home. Hugs to all my ladies (and gents) that have a partner in the military! You are not alone.
In last month’s post, I asked what your “go to” fall colors were. I still can’t get enough of these fall colors y’all! Searching for a specific color? Check out Craftey’s shop! The options are endless. This month’s project features their Color Chimp Flock heat transfer vinyl in Bordeaux.
Heat transfer vinyl is so much fun. These blogs have been the highlights of each month that has passed this year! It is so rewarding to watch our projects come to life and to watch the beautiful things that we can create. What is YOUR favorite part about crafting? Are you a lover of heat transfer vinyl? Or, do you prefer traditional vinyl projects? I don’t discriminate! I think they’re all fun. I just love any excuse to watch a vision come together piece-by-piece.
I hope that your November is off to a great start. I can’t wait to see what you create using November’s free hand-lettered SVG file. Don’t forget to tag both Craftey and myself on social media when you show off your newest project! If you aren’t following them already, you can find Craftey on their Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
It’s August and that means it’s back to school season! I know, I know. Maybe you have mixed feelings about this. As an office supply addict, it’s one of my favorite times of years. Who is with me?! Haha! Depending on where you are located, there are still a few weeks of summer left to soak up! This month’s Create with Craftey project is a DIY beach blanket using heat transfer vinyl. If you’re needing to personalize a swimsuit to go along with your new beach blanket, check out last month’s post here.
One word: GOLD. Yes. Please. If you’re wanting to snag with the gold HTV that we used, check out their shop here. You can snag this hand-lettered SVG file for FREE over on Craftey’s website. As always, they’re also taking you through step-by-step so that you can make your own DIY beach blanket (or just slap this design on anything your heart desires).
I hope that you’re all having a great summer 2019! I can’t wait to see what you create using August’s free hand-lettered SVG file. Don’t forget to tag both Craftey and myself on social media when you share what you create with this month’s design! If you aren’t following them already, you can find Craftey on their Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
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