Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A time to Elevate- a Blogging Conference Recap

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Elevate Blogging Conference; this was my second time going.  This is a smaller conference that focuses on building friendships and connections and helping lift each other up as bloggers and women.  I totally love this conference.

Last year when I went my biggest regret was not getting enough pictures with the ladies I met that day, this year I did not make that same mistake.
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Tracy of From a Mom of Boys, Sarah of Little Penelope Lane,  Me
Tracy shared her adoption story of her beautiful little girl, so she is no longer a mama of just boys. You definitely have to read her story, it is so sad what her daughter went through until they were able to bring her home and love her as she should be loved. 

I have meet Sarah a few times before, through blogging and Power of Moms. Sarah is truly a beautiful person inside and out.  She has created a huge crafting boutique in SoCal and even more impressive is the opportunities and experiences she has brought for her daughter Katie.
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Top Left to Right: Sarah Little Penelope Lane, Me: Me  Megan of Absolute Mommy.
Bottom: Trisha of Trisha Designs: Chrissy of Let Me See You Sparkle, Ashley of Little Miss Momma, Me
I was so excited to meet Megan of Absolute Mommy, she and I have become good Instagram friends and so I couldn't wait to meet her in real life.  She was a lot shorter than I thought she would be, but she is so awesome and I love how honest and real she is.


The decor was beautiful
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The food was so yummy, lunch from BJ's and dinner from Cafe Rio, and cookies that I could eat forever!

I was the first one to fill my Bingo card and started off the day by winning a prize!
View More: http://letmeseeyousparklephoto.pass.us/elevateconf
Picture courtesy of Chrissy
The speakers were awesome.

I loved Desiree from the 36th Avenue- loved hearing how she began blogging (she had no idea what a blog even was), love her honesty, her genuine smile and her amazing accent.  She gave us great advice about staying ahead of the game when it comes to crafts and projects.  Her message of embracing your "accent" was truly magnificent.
View More: http://letmeseeyousparklephoto.pass.us/elevateconf
Desiree of 36th Avenue  (Picture from Chrissy)
Chrissy of Let Me See You Sparkle gave great tips on taking pictures.  Chrissy is one of those people that just always bring so much happiness and light to every moment, someone who just makes you automatically smile.  She even gave tips on taking a selfie- including the group selfie-- what do you call a group selfie?

I shot my hand up super fast and was lucky enough to be picked my Cara of Maskcara for a mini makeover.  I wish someone would have recorded her doing my makeup so I could watch how she did it over and over again.  It was fun to hear how she got into makeup and did you know she has her own makeup line? Which I bought some of and love.  She is awesome and so totally sweet too.
View More: http://letmeseeyousparklephoto.pass.us/elevateconf
Ashley from Little Miss Mama spoke again this year; she spoke at Elevate last year and was the perfect spark and inspiration I needed to get out of the blogging rut I was in at the time. This year she spoke more about practical tips.
Chrissy, Ashley Little Miss Mama and me
We also got to here from Lisa Leonard of Lisa Leonard Design.  I loved hearing her journey and how her company started as something she just did at home to the huge successful business it is today.  She talked about the B's of blogging. The one that stuck out to me the most was 'be brave'-  being brave to be who you are and true to your own voice in blogging.
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Lisa sharing her thoughts and wisdom with us
We also got to do some crafts- the lady from Fiskars (who had the best English accent) told our table we were the "creative table" and by that she meant the messiest.  We totally embraced it.
View More: http://letmeseeyousparklephoto.pass.us/elevateconf
(Picture from Chrissy)
At the end of the night we had some fun with some minute-to-win-it games.  Almost our entire team disappeared (wanting to get makeup advice from Cara, I don't blame them for that) leaving only 4 of us- but though small in number we totally rocked it and won first place!
View More: http://letmeseeyousparklephoto.pass.us/elevateconf

It was such a wonderful day.  It helped me remember what I love about blogging, it helped me remember the importance of our voice, of our story and our ability to share it.  No one else has your voice, no one else can share your story. Stay true to who you are.  Yes you can gain inspiration from others but if you are not true to you then you will never be successful.  Don't try and be someone else, be you.

I am already excited to go again next year.  Thank you everyone for the wonderful day.

20 comments:

  1. What a fantastic conference (and concept!!) I need this on the east coast. :)

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    1. You should get together with some other bloggers and just start one- that is what the two founders of Elevate did three years ago.

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    2. Or you could just be like me, buy a ticket and then tell your husband, oh by the way I need to go to California in May! I live in Chicago so the conference was a hop, skip and a jump for me to go, but it was totally worth it. I really hope I can go again next year.

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    3. That is awesome you did that and I am glad he was supportive of it in the end :)

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  2. I have used the Maskcara blog many times - that's so exciting that you were able to get personal advice from her! One of these days I'll attend a conference...

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    1. Yes, she really was awesome; I have definitely been watching her videos trying to figure out what all she did.

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  3. That sounds like an awesome conference! That is so wonderful that you were able to go and meet so many awesome ladies :D One of these days I will go to a conference!!

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    1. You really should, I think you would love it. I definitely recommend a smaller one like this- I think I would feel so lost at a Blogher or something like that

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  4. It was such a blast! I cannot wait until next year! It was so fun meeting you and sitting with you throughout the whole day!

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    1. Yes! Thank you for being my crafting buddy. I am looking forward to next year too

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  5. You are such a sweetheart! I so wish I got to talk to you more and get a picture with you (next year??) but am so happy we got to meet! It really was a beautiful day and lots of fun! <3

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    1. I know! You are definitely one of the people that I am kicking myself about not getting a picture with! I did better this year but still not good enough. It was a great day.

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  6. Love the recap! This was my first year and I definitely made the mistake of not getting enough pics with people...but there's always next year!

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    1. Yes, I did a lot better this year about getting pictures with people but there are definitely a lot more I wish that I did. So yes, we will both have to do even better about it next year :)

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  7. Love the recap, if I make it next year, we will definitely have to meet!

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    1. Yes!! Definitely hope you can attend again next year so we can meet

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  8. Such a great recap- we'll have to meet next year in person! I missed out on your awesomeness!

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  9. Darn, too bad I didn't live closer to there, that sounds like an amazing conference!

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    1. Some people fly out to it. ;) Just saying

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  10. Aw yeah, first place winners!! Great recap! ;)

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