Hi friends,
Happy 2018! Can you believe that 2018 is finally here?! This year has flown right by and I know I say that literally all the time but that’s because it’s literally always true! I genuinely feel like I blinked and this year is gone already. This time last year I was halfway through my first year teaching – a total nervous nelly about doing something wrong and my students hating me for it – and now I’m into year two – a total pro (ha!) and building stronger relationships with my kiddos everyday. BUT! We’re not here to talk about my adventures in teaching but my adventures in blogging in the year 2017! Let’s jump right in!
Top Ten Posts of 2017
1. DIY Grillzebo with GAF Shingles
This was the #1 favorite post of the year and it was definitely my favorite build! I was contacted by GAF to create something outdoors using their shingles, and I came up with a grillzebo! I wanted a specific place to keep my grill and have counter space for entertaining in the summer. While it may not be the best time to do any roofing (hello, 5+’ of lake effect snow!) you can easily pin now and read later for a summer vacation project!
Yinz sure do love your upcycles! In fact, 50% of the top ten posts of 2017 are upcycles and I’m not mad about it! Like all my upcycles, I was browsing through Sal Val and came across this decorative brass container. It needed a little cleaning up (life hack: ketchup works wonders on brass) and I turned it into a 3 wick candle! I love Bath & Body Works candles, but this is a much more budget-friendly option!
3. DIY Christmas Diorama Ornament
Like I did in 2015, I participated in the Ornament Exchange Blog Hop this Christmas season. I was paired with Pam from P.S. I Love You Crafts and she told me about the “whimsical” tree that just spoke to my soul. I wanted to create ornaments that would fit right in with the whimsy so I DIYed 3 different diorama ornaments for her!
If there’s one thing you should know about me by now, it’s that I love the combination of rose gold, white, and navy. It’s my go-to and I will probably broaden my color palette (mayyyybe), but for now I’m gonna stick with what works. I picked up this desk organizer the same time I bought the brass container and I knew it could help with my crazy desk situation at work. My desk still gets a little cluttered, but it’s definitely better than it was!
After a failed attempt at what my upcycle was going to be for the month of April, I ran out to the thrift store the day before my post was due to pick up some hardcover books. I had seen these DIYs going around the interwebs and I had always wanted to try to make a secret storage book, so upcycle challenge time seemed perfect! It’s seriously the best to keep little trinkets and whatnot in!
Surprise, surprise, another upcycle. When I found this random mini-pallet, I knew I wanted to create a piece of wall art, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I ultimately decided on an inspirational verse and hand painted it. I love how it turned out!
As I was getting my room prepped over the summer, I wanted to update an old, gross cork board that was left here and literally sat behind my desk all of last year. In the way, much?! I went with my trusted and true color combo of white, rose gold, and navy (duh!) but this time created a cool color block design.
8. 100+ Things to Buy on Amazon Prime Day
So while this title does say “Things to Buy on Amazon Prime Day”, you can totally buy them any day of the year! Everything on this list is just so cool, and unique, and weird that you’d be crazy not to buy at least one thing!
9. Swirling Stars & Stripes No-Churn Ice Cream
How can I even be thinking of ice cream during this frigid season? Well it definitely was a delicious treat during the super hot months of summer! Pin for later so you can have it on hand for memorial day or the 4th of July!
10. Free First Day of School Printable Signs
My last top posts are these first day of school signs that are free to download! When I was making them, I wanted to make a few options and you guys loved ’em. The coolest part though? My principal found them and used them for OUR STUDENTS on their first day! So cool!
Goals for 2018
1. Consistency
Getting into the routine of lesson planning, doing DIYs, writing posts, shooting photos, supporting my students in extracurriculars, and having a small time to relax has definitely been a challenge. 2017 was a year of transition and I’m happy to say I think I’m in a place where I’m able to actually go back to my schedule of posting 2x a week!
2. Social Media & Email
Not only do I plan to be more active on social media, I really want to focus on growing my accounts. I also want to develop a newsletter of some sort. Props to those who do a weekly but I’d probably start out monthly and we’ll see how that goes! If you want to follow along on adventures, check me out below!
Facebook || Twitter || Pinterest || Instagram || Snapchat || G+ || Bloglovin || Youtube
3. Videos
Ok, if you’re an OG Fox Den friend, you know that I’ve said I want to video for a billion years. Not really, but you get the gist. I was really good for a while (like, a year and a half ago) but then I moved and everything got crazy and videos just weren’t something I could dedicate time to. But I’m actually serious about it this time! I even have videos pre-recorded and ready to go! And I may even be vlogging a little bit. Wooooaaaah, what? Yes! My goal is to have at least 3 videos uploaded to my YouTube channel each month so get pumped!
4. Content
Not only do I want to create a lot of video content for yinz, but I just want to create good content in general. But I never want to get to the point where I’m writing posts just for the sake of writing posts. That’s icky to me. As long as I’m creating things that make me (and hopefully you!) happy, I’m good. :) And boy, do I have a lot of fun things planned for this year!
5. Learn
This is both a personal and a blog goal. I don’t really care what it is, but I want to learn something this year. Whether it’s learning how to be a better photographer, how to better edit videos, how to up my SEO game, or all of the above!
Welp, there’s the first post of 2018! Pretty soon I’ll blink my eyes and I’ll be sitting here writing the first post of 2019! What was your favorite post this year? Did it make the list? Do you have any professional or personal goals you hope to attain this year? Let me know in the comments!
Love all your upcycle projects! Great goals for 2018. I’ve wanted to jump into video-ing as well. Just gotta do it, I suppose! Visiting from Merry Monday.