Creating Pins

I recently took a webinar on creating pins for Pinterest. I didn't even know you could make your own pins! As I listened to the hostess, I couldn't believe this wasn't something I've been doing all along. Since I found Canva several months ago, I've been creating my own posts. You may have seen several of them on Facebook and Instagram. But I never knew I could create pins! How fun.

Now, I won't lie. It is a bit tricky to figure out exactly how to pin them properly, but I learn as I go. I created my first pin to advertise my newsletter to new and future readers. I created what I wanted on Canva, went to my Pinterest account, selected "upload an image" from the Pin icon, and selected the image. Now, here's what threw me: When I selected "view pin," I saw a blank pin. But, now I know to refresh the page and I'll see my latest creation. I then, added the URL I wanted the pin to link to. It's so much fun!

Here are a few tips I learned about creating pins from the webinar:

• Choose the type of headline you want to use
• Choose the image format you want to use
• When creating product pins (these are what I create), pick your layout, add a human element, add an inspirational quote, demonstrate how the product can be used.
• Think outside the box.

Here are the two pins I've created so far:

If you're interested in learning more about creating pins, check out the webinar.

Have you created your own pins? I'd love to see them! Post them in the comments, and I'll give them a like.

The Morning Light

My husband was running late this morning and asked me if I minded making his breakfast. It was just after 7 am, and though that is extremely early for me (I usually sleep 'til 11), I didn't mind getting up to help. I let the pups out the back door and discovered the beautiful morning. The sun was out, the sky was a beautiful blue and there were no clouds. A perfect morning.

So perfect that I decided to stay up. I sat quietly on the couch with a cup of coffee, grabbed my iPhone and began playing with my apps. When I got to Pinterest, I found several quotes to pin to Spoken from My Open Heart. When I was done pinning, I looked at the board and enjoyed the mix of quotes, stories and pictures I've collected over the last four months since starting the board. I was really happy with what I saw.

It's amazing how relaxing and inspiring it can be to get up earlier than normal. The quiet and the view make it a peaceful way to start the day. Try it sometime!

Inspiration

I found some cute dragon pictures while pinning today, and decided to look the artist up. Randal Spangler does beautifully animated fantasy paintings! His work is truly inspiring, and I will definitely be visiting his website often for inspiration.

Inspiration comes from a variety of sources: art, music, movies, TV.... When I need to feel inspired, I know I have several sources I can tap. I often find myself needing some inspiration when I'm feeling down or tired, unsure of what to do next, or feel blocked in my writing. This is very frustrating, and I often just walk away and hide.

But I'm really trying to break this pattern, and I'm hoping some inspiration will help me do that. So, thank you, Mr. Spangler, for your help.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Pin of the Week

I have a lot of Pinterest boards and add new pins almost daily. This week, I've noticed a lot of my followers repinning this one:

Saved from

srtrends.com

From http://www.society19.com/dorm-decorating-ideas/

It's a great pin for college students and college-bound students to help you make the most of your space, show off your style and make your room your own. Since there are some rules you have to follow when decorating your dorm, these tips will help you work around them so you can decorate how you like. Take a look. Enjoy!

What's Your Favorite Social Media App?

I love Facebook and Twitter, and use them every day. But I tend to jump around with other apps from day to day. The one app I seem to forget about using is Tumblr. There are just so many!

Here's the way I see it:

Facebook is for connecting with friends - including virtual ones - on a daily basis, sharing things that are happening in your life, and commiserating with each other.

Twitter is a quick way to update what you're doing throughout the day and wander aimlessly through your feed reading about your favorite movies, TV shows, books, etc.

G+ is a cool place to post articles, blog posts, and other things you find online that you want to share with your followers, not to mention the cool extra feature, Google Hangout.

Tumblr...OK, again, I'm not familiar enough with this app. Can anyone share some details with me?

Pinterest is a place to save anything and everything you see on the Internet that you don't want to forget about, and share with your followers. I can lost for hours on Pinterest!

I know there are plenty of other apps out there, but these are the ones I notice teens using on a regular basis.

What I'd like to know is what apps you use? Which one  is your fave? Share with me!