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Join the StumbleUpon Party!

StumbleUpon, stumbleupon

STUMBLE TUMBLE TUESDAY

This fun weekly event is hosted by Acting Balanced, Sunshine and Sippy Cups and Wyoming Girl Turned Coastie Wife! The goal of this hop is to use Stumble Upon to help you promote your blog posts and get more traffic. It’s fun, it’s a big boost to your best posts, and you can find new great friends to follow too!

Even if you think you are stumbling correctly, please read this post on how to check and see if your stumble was successful. Once you get the hang of it, it’s simple as can be, promise!

IT’S SIMPLE TO JOIN THE PARTY

  1. Add a link to a blog post that you would like people to stumble to the linky below. It *must* be a link to an actual post and NOT your main site. Please do not list giveaways, time-sensitive coupons or deals, or other content that is not appropriate for StumbleUpon.
  2. Stumble as many other posts as you care to, check to make sure that your stumble went through by clicking on the “Info” icon. If you’d like to, you can leave a comment on their post saying something like, “I’m stopping by from Stumble Tumble Tuesday and just stumbled you – great post! My post is _____(add link)”. That makes it easier for them to return the love! The great thing about Stumble Upon is that it is fast and easy to do with the Stumble Upon toolbar.
    PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR LINK IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO STUMBLE ANY POSTS – Let’s all have fun and play fair :)
  3. Remember, link directly to the actual post, not your home page.
  4. PLEASE – Don’t list any giveaways. StumbleUpon is for Evergreen posts.
  5. PLEASE – Only one link per blog.

Feel free to post about Stumble Tumble Tuesday on your blog too, and help us spread the word – The more people are stumbling, the more traffic we’ll all get, and, hey – the more, the merrier, right? It’s easy to add it, you can grab the code right under the linky below! {Feel free to use my image and copy too, just be sure to link back to the hosts. If you join us let me know in a comment so I can promote YOUR post too!}

LET’S GET TO STUMBLIN’ – AND HAVE SOME FUN!

The first person to “like” a post on StumbleUpon assigns it a category. If your post has not been discovered yet, please leave the category you would like, in your link to help the discoverer assign it correctly. Example: Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (food).

If you have ANY questions on how this works – remember to read the post above, which covers some great basics. If that doesn’t answer it, leave me a comment here or on my Facebook wall – and I’ll get back to your right away. StumbleUpon can be an uh-MAY-zing new way to increase traffic to your site – and this is a fun way to use it!

STUMBLE TUMBLE TUESDAY LINKY

 

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Posted by on March 7, 2012 Filed Under: Blog Hops | No Comments

Click, Color, Capture Weekly Photography Challenge: Blue

THIS WEEK’S COLOR IS Blue

Welcome to Week 3 of the Color, Click, Capture photography challenge hosted by East9thStreet, A Helicopter Mom, Nap Time Is My Time and Sunshine and Sippy Cups. Each week we have a new color theme – and this week’s color is blue.


Source: weheartit.com via Dominga on Pinterest

“Use the talents you possess – for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best.” – Henry Van Dyke

This week, my post to share the photography challenge is a couple of days late. And, I don’t have a photo to share, so I used a favorite photo from Pinterest. Now, this isn’t all because I’m lazy. And it’s not because I forgot. It’s because I had a major crisis this week – Sunday morning, my hard drive failed. Yep. I restarted it, and got a message saying, “Hard-disk drive failure” on a big, mean-looking black screen. That’s all it would do – nothing more. The repair guy I use was out of the shop Monday. Tuesday afternoon I brought it in. Wednesday night he called with the bad news – there was no way to retrieve the 6 years of family photos, my files, or any of the information that I had on my computer – which I did NOT have backed up. Heartbreaking, seriously.

Movin’ On…

I am incredibly behind on all of my work, due to not having a computer for most of the week. I’m overwhelmed trying to figure out how to get things together, after losing the drafts of my ebooks I’ve been working on, and all my projects, graphics, media kit, everything. And I’m still devastated over the loss of all of my precious photos. Ugh. So – I definitely didn’t have a favorite photo to share this week. And I just didn’t have time to take any new ones either. But I LOVE this weekly photo link up, and have so much fun checking out your posts each week! So – Link up if you haven’t already. And if you don’t have a good backup system in place for YOUR photos, do it today.

This week’s Photo Tip

This week’s tips come from Jen Villa, photographer, collage artist and owner of The Little Beach Gallery in Hyannis, Massachusetts. She is a trained photographer and alumni of world-renowed photography school, Brooks Institute of Photography. She has been studying art for over fifteen years and worked as a food and editorial photographer for award winning publication, The Santa Barbara Independent. Her photography and artwork have a very unique style and combine her love for the ocean and passion for travel.

  1. Light is EVERYTHING! Lighting really makes or breaks a photograph. A lack of light will leave the subject looking flat and produce a usually boring image. I love using natural light whenever possible. It’s best if you can set your scene or subject (not always easy!) near a window and use warm light coming in from outside if you’re shooting inside. The highlights and details reflected are usually wonderful! The best time of day to shoot is early morning and late afternoon. High noon sun is very harsh and creates shadows that usually create difficulties, especially when human subjects are involved. This isn’t always an option so if your shooting your subject outside at the peak of sunlight try and get them in “open shade” and you will have a more neutrally lit image.
  2. Learn to operate your camera. If you’re new to manual options on a digital camera, memorize your manual and EXPERIMENT! Try out all the menu options. Always remember to concentrate on getting the main subject matter in FOCUS. Without a sharp focus, you don’t have a good image.
Use these great tips to help you improve your photo skills over the few days, and be sure to come back to link up again next week, so you can learn more tips from Jen Villa.  I can’t wait to see what photos you share here this time.

Link Up Your Favorite Blue Photos!

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Posted by on March 2, 2012 Filed Under: Blog Hops | 2 Comments

Celebrating One Year of Blogging – It’s Almost Here!

LeapPad Giveaway

Time to Celebrate!!

It’s almost here – at the end of March, it will have been one fantastic full year since I started this site. It seems like it wasn’t that long ago – but it also seems like it’s been forever! {Funny how time works when you get old…. } I had set some pretty ambitious goals for myself when I started – and said that if I could make my 6 month goals, then I could continue to stay home with my new baby, and keep working at this project. I blew them out of the water! So I set even bigger goals for my one-year mark, and decided that if I could make most of those, then this was going to be my new career path – freelance writing, running this site, my Examiner.com Frugal Living column, and the rest of my million projects. I would really start taking things seriously, invest a bit more money, and ROCK this.

Almost there…

One of my goals was to reach 10,000 fans on Facebook this first year. Well sistahs – I’m currently at 9,000! So close, right? It will be tough to ramp things up enough to grow as much as I’ll need to, but I’m always up for a challenge! And to celebrate the one year mark of my blog – I’ll be joining a TON of super cool giveaway events, so that I can shower my readers with loads of fun prizes!

Want to Join the Fun?

Here is the info for a super cool event that I am especially excited about – Sign ups are now open for the Leap into Spring LeapPad Giveaway hosted by Karma Media to boost your social media links! Sign up fee for two links is $5. You can receive a free link for advertising on your blog or you can buy extra links at $2.50 each or $2.50 for a daily entry!

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Posted by on March 2, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Events | No Comments

Weekly Bloggertunities – 2/29

Blogging Opportunities, Sponsored Posts,

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordon 

What obstacles have you faced lately? Is it a lack of motivation? If so, that could be because you’ve lost the excitement about what you’re doing. Think back to why you started your blog – then make a list of 5 things you LOVED back then. Then take a couple of days to work those things in again. Or think about your long-term goals…. And dream big. Write down those giant ideas, and smack ’em up on the wall where you’ll see them every day! Is it a lack of time? Maybe you just need more help getting organized. I have a great list of free printable planning sheets, and some sweet tips on setting up a schedule system that goes everywhere you do. What other challenges do you deal with? Share your trouble spots – and any solutions you’ve found! – in the comments. I’m sure someone else will benefit from what you have to say too.

Sponsored Posts

One of the major ways that I earn an income with my blog is through sponsored posts. I’m careful about what I accept – it’s not worth any money to post junk. Your readers will hate it, you’ll hate it, and it’ll make your blog spammy. But – when a brand wants to compensate you for sharing great information that will entertain or educate your readers, that’s a total win-win, right?

  1. Post Genius: I just signed up with them, so I don’t have a ton of feedback to give – but it looks interesting. You sign up your blog, and set a price per post. Then, if brands would like to work with you, they’ll make an offer. If you’re using them, I’d love to hear what you think… Leave a comment with some tips.
  2. Social Fabric: My. Favorite. Network. Seriously – they rock. They’re open to very limited new members right now – Gulf State Bloggers (from these states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi). They’re are also recruiting bloggers in Mexico, specifically Guadalajara and Mexico City. If you fit any of these categories, shoot me an email {Meagan at sunshineandsippcups@gmail.com} with your blog and a little about you, and I’ll send your info to their recruiting team!
  3. Social Spark: Get fun paid posts, and get paid quickly with PayPal! This is one of my favorites – and I totally recommend it. I make a few hundred dollars a month her on a good month – Love it.
  4. Blogvertise: I’ve been having more luck here lately – The payouts are usually kind of low, but they’re very simple posts. I don’t get a ton of offers emailed to me, so I pop in each day and get the grab bag tasks that are a good fit for me. Doing that daily earns me a couple hundred bucks a month, and isn’t too time consuming. Check it out – Earn Money Blogging.

If you have any other great networks that you use – feel free to share them in the comments. {Yes, it’s ok to post a referral link, as long as no one else has posted it yet. If I’m going to join something, I love to be able to benefit another blogger with my sign up!}

Reviews & Giveaways

Here are some great places to find new products and services to review, as well as opportunities for sponsored giveaways. Giveaways can be a ton of work – but they also are a great way to say Thank You to your readers for being such loyal fans!

  1. Giveaway Blogs: This is a great network – You can meet great bloggers and connect with new brands. I’ve found some very cool opportunities with them – The forums are filled with fun companies looking to connect with new bloggers. Sign up here – Join Giveaway Blogs.
  2. Doc Milo: Click the link to see their totally gorgeous products – then up in the right corner, you’ll see a big yellow link for Blogger Sign Ups. Click there to be taken to the blogger partner application.
  3. MyBlogSpark: Sign up for a free membership with this site to do fun product reviews and giveaways – See an example here – I’ve been a member for a year, and have had some fun opps. Nothing huge, but very fun. Blogger Program Sign-Up.
What other networks do you use for review and giveaway sponsors? Share in the comments! And, if you’re a review blogger – You do NOT want to miss the biggest event targeted towards us this year – Reviewer’s Retreat 2012! Will I see you there?

Events and Fun Stuff

Here’s an assortment of cool happenings around the web, for moms and bloggers. If you’ve found something cool going on – I’d love to hear about it!

  1. Mompreneur’s Challenge: Join this 30-day challenge from Business Among Moms – Small Steps to a Big Business. Each day you’ll get a new tip or trick emailed to you. Then challenge yourself to do that task, and watch as your business improves day by day!
  2. MamaCon: This is a SUPER fun event coming up – and it’s not just for bloggers, so plan to attend with some of your best girlfriends too. You can learn more, and enter to WIN tickets and a stay at the totally gorgeous Hilton Bellevue too, from The Maven of Social Media.
  3. LeapPad Explorer Giveaway: This sounds like a totally amazing event – $10 bucks gets you any two links you want. The giveaway is HUGE – full LeapPad Explorer set, games, accessories – the works! Learn more here – LeapPad Giveaway.
  4. The Mommy Club: Each week Crystal & Co does my favorite link up of the week – Share Your Mommy Solutions! Totally me, right? Check it out, find some amazingly cool info, and link up your own favorite posts too!
  5. Furst:Access: Sign up for an account here to get notification of new movie screening events. Very cool, right? Furst:Access Sign Up.

Who loves to party? This girl! Are you hosting a Twitter party? Share the info with us in the comments. Excited about a cool conference or event coming up? Let me know about it!

Networks

Here are a few of the cool networks that I’m in, that I thought you guys might want to check out too. They’ll give you new ways to network, find cool partnerships, and more.

  1. Zurker: This is a really cool idea – they want to let users be more in control of this social network, and give you ownership in it. So – for inviting friends and helping to build up the site, you are actually given stock in the company! How cool might that be, right? Check it out and sign up here – Zurker, new social network sign up.
  2. SheSpeaks: Join their Blogger Society – You get to share opinions, try new products and give feedback, and participate in cool events.
  3. Blogaholic: I’ve been featured here a few times, and realized lately that I’ve kind of been a stranger over there! It’s a really great place to connect with other bloggers, and learn a ton. Everyone interacts so much – You’ll love it. Join Blogaholic Social Network. Already a member? Connect with me too!

What are your favorite networks, and what do you love most? Are you a part of other networks, outside of the blogging world? I’m looking for some new places to join, for moms – something fun, where I can meet some new faces. Any suggestions?

Cool Tools

Are you ready for the big Facebook change? Here’s a tool to help you prepare. And another great tool that can help you build your Twitter presence too.

  1. Facebook: Are you ready for the new change? Yep – On March 30th all Facebook pages will switch over to the Timeline format. Are you ready? If you want to get started now, so you can optimize your layout before it goes live, this might help – Free Facebook Timeline Cover Templates.
  2. Paper.li: You’ve probably seen these on Twitter – and they’re a great way to share posts of people you follow, meet some new faces, and share your own best posts.  People can subscribe too.  Want to see an example, and get your own? Here’s mine –The Daily Sunshine. {Tip, when you set it up, make sure to click the settings button that has it go out automatically. I missed that the first time I did mine.}

Share your favorite tools too. I am ALWAYS looking for the newest ways to rock my social media. So…. Yep, you guessed it – share your tips in the comments!

Love it? Share it!

I love to be able to help out my blogging buddies – which is why I put together this resource each week. So, if you found something helpful – pass it on! Use this easy button to retweet it out to your buddies too, or share the link to Facebook, StumbleUpon, Pin it, or whatevah! You’re welcome to post it wherever you think it’ll help out more peeps! Thanks for reading – and I look forward to reading YOUR comments and tips too.

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Posted by on February 29, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Resources, Weekly Opp's | 3 Comments

Working Together to Support Busy Moms

mom-owned business, shopping, moms, mom business“I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow.” – Woodrow Wilson

I love this quote… And I think that it applies perfectly to the idea of being a Mompreneur. Being a mom is a busy job in itself. When you add in the housework, running kids around, meals, and time with your Mister – it starts to get a little stressful. When you add a full-time job on top of that – Whew! Life can get a little bit overwhelming, right? So, as busy moms, we need to support each other in every way that we can. Moms are smart, and when we work together, we can do some pretty great things! That’s my passion here with this site – finding and sharing the best Busy Mom Solutions – to help solve some of those challenges we all face. And as a mompreneur myself, I understand how tough it can be to run a business while also running a household, so I love to support other women in business. Which is why I am excited to introduce you to a couple of great sites today – Seed Mommy and The Mommy Shops!

Why these sites rock

The Mommy Shops is a unique marketplace featuring products made by, sold by and invented by Moms. As a Mompact consultant, I’ve seen how very hard mom business owners work to build their brands, market their companies, and balance it all while taking care of their family too. It is so very important that whenever we can, we moms shop other Mom Businesses.  We are helping them make ends meet for their family, keeping them home with their kids instead of working outside the home and helping them grow their business one sale at a time.  Target and Walmart won’t miss you. It can be so tough for smaller, mom-owned businesses to get their products marketed to a large audience, since they just can’t compete with the huge resources that the big brands have. So The Mommy Shops is a great solution that helps us all work together to support each other:

  • If you’re a mom with a business: It’s only $3.99 a month to feature your products with them in your own Mommy Shop, which is an amazing way to work together with other business-minded moms and boost your brand!
  • If you’re a mom who shops: And of course you are, right? We moms do the majority of the family shopping. You can visit one of the great shops on their site, and use your purchasing power to support other moms!

I love sites that make it easy for me to do something good – And using my dollars to support great women making great products is perfect. You know that when moms invent a product, it’s because they saw a challenge in their busy life, and wanted to solve it. And moms put so much heart into what they do – ensuring that get not only an awesome product, but also a wonderful experience too.

Seed Mommy – Your Mompreneur Resource

The Mommy Shops has a partner site too – SeedMommy.com is their advice site. There you’ll find resource info on how and where to market your Mom Owned Business, and tools to help it grow. They even have a great giveaway going on now – one lucky winner will receive a prize package that includes lots of free advertising, a brand makeover including new logo, SEO Services, PR services, and so much more. They’ll also share information on the fabulous services SeedMommy has used over the years to help them grow. This could be a great boost to your business – and you can enter until March 30th, 2012.

Enter The Mommy Business Makeover Contest!

While your there, check out the other great services that they offer, too. You can add your blog or business to their directory – it’s only $10 to join the SeedMommy Business Directory for a full year. That’s less than a $1 per month! And make sure to sign up for their newsletter, to stay updated on great new updates. Whether you’re a blogger, in direct sales, run an Etsy shop or sell your own invented products – SeedMommy can be a great resource for you.

Social Media Junkie?

I’m a total social media junkie – so I love to find great new companies to follow. It’s the easiest way for me to stay updated on things, since I’m always checking my profiles throughout the day! And you’re in luck – both SeedMommy and The Mommy Shops can be followed…

Find SeedMommy and The Mommy Shops on Facebook, and follow them on the fabulous Pinterest too!

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Posted by on February 27, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 3 Comments

Weekly Bloggertunities – 2/22

Sponsored Posts, Reviews, Freelance Writing, Bloggers, Mom Bloggers, Blogging Opportunities

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you. Not you.” – Jim Rohn

Go big, or go home, right? I love this quote above…. Some people blog as a creative outlet. Some bloggers use it to promote a cause or idea that they’re passionate about. For others, {like me} it’s more of a business. Whatever your motivation for blogging – You probably spend a ton of time on it, and are always looking for new ways to grow and improve. I have some really cool projects coming up that I think you guys will love – some things to help boost your blog up to new levels, and bring you new opportunities. Until then, I hope that these weekly Bloggertunity posts are helpful to you. And as always – if you have a fun event open for sign ups, a linky or blog hop, or an opp that you have permission to share – I’d love for you to leave a comment below!

Reviews & Giveaways

  • OXO: Join their Blogger Outreach program – Get opportunities to review some of their super cool gadgets and tools, which are some of my VERY favorite items for the kitchen!
  • Rafflecopter: They’re starting Round 2 of connecting bloggers and brands for fun review and giveaway opportunities. I was a part of several of these last time, and they went really great. Since they’ve made improvements since then, I’m sure things will be even better this time around! Sign up to partner with Rafflecopter for Blog Giveaways.
  • MomFuse: Sign up for POP Alerts – {Post Our Pitch} – to be notified of cool new opportunities for bloggers. These are random and cover tons of different topics – so there’s always something for everyone, no matter what you blog about.

Sponsored Posts

  • Beauty Review: Apply to sample a new beauty product, and be compensated for a sponsored post to promote the launch of this new item. Sign up to apply here, and you can use me as a referral if you’d like, Meagan Paullin – Sponsored Beauty Post Sign-Up.
  • Blog Frog: I’ve had a ton of people asking me lately how to get started working with Blog Frog. It’s very simple – Just fill out the Blogger Partner form with all of your info, and they’ll get in touch with you if they have a campaign that’s a good fit for you!
  • The Motherhood: Sign up to join this amazing network. I’ve partnered with them on a few projects, and have had a wonderful experience. Find their form here – Join The Motherhood.
  • zuuzs.com: Sign up as a blogger affiliate today with zuuzs to earn cash back on your own purchases, while also earning a steady income from referral purchases too. You earn not only on your own referrrals – but from THEIRS too. Learn details here – How to earn with zuuzs – or sign up directly here for a personal account, then scroll to the bottom to convert it to an affiliate account. You earn bigger bonuses, and have opportunities for sponsored posts and giveaways too.
  • Social Spark: One of my favorites. Sign up, and they’ll send you new sponsored offers that are a good fit for your blog – Accept only what you want. Pay ranges from $15 – $200+ per post, and the longer you’re with them, and the more your blog grows, the bigger your payouts get. Once you hit $50, request PayPal payment, and it posts within minutes. Love that!

Guest Post and Writing Jobs

  • Guest Posts: Oh My Gosh Beck! is looking for new guest bloggers to post to her site. She’s awesome, with a huge fan base – so it’ll be a great way to get your name out there, and get some new fans too.
  • Examiner: Pick a topic that you’re an expert in, and write your own column on Examiner.com. {See an example here – I’m the Frugal Living Examiner}. You can apply here – Examiner.com Application – It can take up to 3 weeks to hear back, but if you are referred by a current writer, it’s usually much quicker. Feel free to use me – Meagan Paullin, or another writer you know. If you are not approved, feel free to email me with questions, and maybe I can help!

Blogger Tips and Resources

  • Pinterest: Want to learn how to Pin Like a Rockstar? Read my post for some great tips on getting started, and how to maximize your Pinterest account by cross promoting it on your other sites and pages too.
  • Twit Cleaner: This is a really cool, free online tool that helps you clean the junk out of your Twitter followers. Accounts that aren’t active, that only tweet affiliates, possible spam, and more. Plus – learn what it says about your own Twitter style too.
  • Free Blog Images: This is a big list of sites you can use to get free images to use in your blog posts – if you don’t have an image to use, this is a huge help. Remember, no one can pin your amazingly helpful info if there’s no photo in the post!
  • Speaking of Pinterst… Find new, helpful posts and resources added almost daily on my Blogging & Social Media Pinterest board.

Events to Join

  • Photography: Join our weekly photo challenge – Learn some new tips, share your favorite photos, and get some new traffic when you link up your post. Color, Click, Capture.
  • StumbleUpon: Join us each week, and link up your favorite post. Learn how StumbleUpon can be an amazing tool for driving traffic to your site – it’s always in my top 10. Join here.
Are we friends yet on Facebook? Stop on by – and leave me a comment to introduce your blog!

Want an easy way to share this info with your blogging buddies?

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Posted by on February 22, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Resources, Weekly Opp's | 10 Comments

Color, Click, Capture: Fall Flowers

THIS WEEK’S COLOR IS GREEN

Welcome to Week 3 of the Color, Click, Capture photography challenge hosted by East9thStreet, A Helicopter Mom, Nap Time Is My Time and Sunshine and Sippy Cups. Each week we have a new color theme – and this weeks color is green!

Nature, flowers, photography

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

This is another picture from my garden – this time taken in the fall. I was learning to use the Macro setting on my camera, and I love the way the picture captures the tiny prickles on the flower stems and leaves.

This Week’s Photography Tip

This week’s photography tips comes from Emily Anderson of Emily Anderson Photography.  Emily has been photographing children and families in the Northeast Arkansas area for several years.

“Don’t forget the details. Include more than just one image of the overall view. A wide shot of the entire object or scene may be necessary, but you can make it more interesting by including detail shots, too. Take a close up of an interesting button on a sewing project or one corner of the cake you baked, showing the texture of the icing. It can be very tempting to snap one or two images when you are in a hurry to get them uploaded to the computer for a blog or Facebook post, but challenge yourself to take several different images. This also applies to photographing people. Think about what details tell the story – wrinkled hands, grass-stained jeans, flip-flop tan lines, etc. You may find that you can take several different images in a row before you run out of ideas. Don’t give up then. Keep shooting. That’s when you turn on your creativity.”

WANT TO JOIN THE CHALLENGE?

Want to participate in our challenge?  It’s super easy!  Here’s how It Works:

  1. Take a picture the represents the color of the week.
  2. Write a blog post that features your picture and link it up.
  3. Visit other people’s posts and hopefully find some inspiration!
  4. You can put the button and link code on your blog if you wish but it’s not a requirement.

Join the Party – Link up your favorite Green photo

Here is the linky code:

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Posted by on February 22, 2012 Filed Under: Blog Hops | 7 Comments
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