One thing that a few of us were looking forward to this past weekend at Creative Estates was the opportunity to take “outfit pictures” of each other in a different setting.  I know you’re all probably sick of seeing the area around my house with all the distracting street signs and cars in the background.  My husband is always such a great sport taking these photos for me but it was fun to have a different photographer this time, one that does outfit pics herself, the fashionista Much Love, Illy!

Cardigan: Forever 21 | Dress: Forever 21 | Tights: Target | Shoes: Target | Necklace: Forever 21 | Nail Polish: China Glaze – Re-fresh Mint

There’s a whole ton of things I love about this outfit.  Every piece of it was SUPER AFFORDABLE, I mean, everything was from Forever 21 or Target.  I love love love how colorful the bottom half of the dress is, I mean, you could pretty much pair any number of shoe, nail polish, necklace, cardigan colors with this dress and it would match.  And I’m not usually a nail polish girl, but felt like being on this weekend.  I got a ton of compliments on my fun nail polish color (it’s China Glaze – Re-fresh Mint) this weekend, so thanks Much Love, Illy for letting me use yours.

Over this next week I’ll be sharing tons more pictures from the conference and advice that really resonated with me as a blogger/shop owner.  Here are some that were tweeted/retweeted over the weekend (with #CreativeEstates), hope you are able to take this and use them as a daily reminder, I know that I am going to be referencing this list often, especially when I feel overwhelmed and exhausted.  Thanks to all the amazing speakers, such as SheyB, It’s A Tradition, Whippy Cake, Becky Higgins, Brassy Apple, Allison Waken, NoBiggie, Above All Fabric, House of Smiths, Crap I’ve Made, The Daily Blarg and more!

1. Don’t worry about competition in blogging. You are the only one who can be you.
2. Figure out your thing and do it well
3. Get down on your subjects level when taking pictures.
4. Celebrate all the little steps along the way to the end goal.
5. Plan rewards to stay motivated (like buying shoes for me).
6. Write things down in a centralized notebook so you can free up more space in your mind for creative ideas.
7. Choose between what is good, and what is BEST for you, fam & biz!
8. Spell out how you need support from family & friends!
9. Balancing life = keep ONE calendar for everything.
10. You need to achieve your own level of success. You are you.

More pictures to follow later this week… I just HAD to spread out my posts since I don’t want the energy of the weekend to end!  🙁

For all those that attended the Creative Estates conference or other blogging/handmade conferences, what was your favorite piece of advice?