My Top Ten Tips For Instagram Everyone Should Know

I've had instagram for over a year now and just wow. That is actually crazy. I remember when I first got it and it made me sooooo happy. Since then I've grown my account to almost 1.5k and I've started doing collabs with brands which makes me super happy. :) People ask me a lottttt for tips for insta which has made me realize I still haven't done a blog post on it???? Um what???? So today I am collabing with the awesome Grace and we will both be sharing our top ten insta tips. After you read this post make sure to go check out her post over on her blog. :)

Related:
7 Things I Have Learned About Instagram So Far
17 Instagram Accounts I'm Loving Right Now

1. Post Good Quality Photos

I know this is so duhhhh and at the top of everyone's tips list but seriously!! I am not saying what pictures you have to post because of course the unique photos makes your account unique but they should be good quality. This means:

-not fuzzy

-you can actually see the main focus of the photo

-it's not dark 

How to help that:

-don't use the front facing camera

-natural lighting is always best

-golden hour is a real thing, photos are soooo good when the sun is setting/coming up

Related: How To Take Awesome Photos With Your Phone

2. Use all of the hashtags

Instagram allows you to post 30 hashtags per post and not using absolutelly alll of those is a waste! Hashtags are one of the best ways for people to find your account. 

tips:

-the more specific the better 

-relevant to the photo and to the audience you want to attract 

-don't make them to long

-always have more words in your caption then hashtags or else it's just annoying 

-put the hashtags in the post itself (not the comments) but at the end of the post 

3. Post Consistently 

You need to actually post more than once a month. If you don't post a lot then it will be a lottt harder to get people to follow you. Plus when you do post they will have already forgotten about you since they followed you like two weeks ago so they will either unfollow or just not be engaged. I would recommend posting every other day more then every day cause I think it's just the right amount of posting consistently but not the spammy amount that might annoy people. 

4. Be Active On Other Peoples Accounts

This and hashtags are basically the main ways to grow your account. Set aside time every day to actually engage with your followers and comment nice things on there posts. When people comment nice things on my posts it makes me sooo happy and definitely makes me want to follow them. 

5. Only Follow Accounts You Enjoy

There are a lot of people that will follow back there followers or do follow for follow and follow/unfollow and hey that works for some people. I personally believe though that you should only follow accounts you reallllllllly enjoy. This makes instagram more fun and makes it so much easier to be active because you genuinely enjoy what's on your feed. 

6. Make Friends

Friends are pretty much the best things in the entire world. They just are!! Making friends on instagram is sooooo essential for both growing your account and also just having fun. If you make a lot of online friends there will always be someone online even at like 3 in the morning when all of your irl friends are asleep because time zonessssss. If you think someone is super cool just reach out to them! Even if they have a bigger following than you I promise they are not as scary as they seem. :) 

Related: 

The Steps Of Becoming Friends With Someone 

How To Easily Make Online Friends 

11 Fun And Easy Things To Do With Friends

A Post About Friends 

7. Make your captions personal

I've noticed that when my captions are talking about my day more then just my new blog post they do sooooooooooooooooooo much better. I never thought people would be interested in my life but they for some reason are????? Your followers want to know you and who you really are! You might have amazing photos but if you don't engage and share, then it basically means nothing.

8. Post On Your Story

This one hundred percent goes with the one above and just being personal with your followers! Especially if you're more of a niche account and share actual facts/tips/something in your posts and less your life it makes it even more essential to use your stories. Share little bits of your life and use all of the cool features like questions and things like that! 

9. Make Your Photos Go Together

I'm not saying necessarily have a super rigid theme and only post one color but to make your feed as a whole, look good. Maybe for you this means taking more photos outside and maybe having kind of a greenish theme or using one filter for all of your posts. Personally I use the filter P5 on VSCO and it gives all of my photos a blue tint and I love it. I would recommend planning out your photos in advance with an app like UMUM to make sure all of the photos work together and everything. 

10. Have A Good Bio + Username + Profile Pic

These are all super important because they are the first thing that people see.

For bio: Share a little bit about you and use that link!! If you have any other social media accounts this is a perfect place to put it.

For username: 

-make it something that kind of shows what kind of posts you have

-easy to remember

-not to long

-either interesting or have your name

Profile pic: 

-of your face

-close up

-bright

-clear  

I really hope that that was helpful to y'all!! If you liked it make sure to also check out Grace and her post! I would super love to follow all of y'all on insta so if you have an account make sure to link it down below! If you don't follow me you can find my account here. Also feel free to share all of your tips in the commmmmmentssss. :) 

13 Super Easy And Cute Halloween Costumes (aka inspo for next year!)

Halloween happened recently and it was quite cool! Where I live it sadly flooded so lots of things were cancelled and lots of people couldn't get anywhere but I was able to go trick or treating for a bit! Besides the candy my second fave thing about halloween is of course the costumes! There were a lot of cool costumes I saw this year! :) I'm going to be sharing some super easy halloween costumes perfect if you want to dress up but don't want to do thattttt much. :)

*I found some of these on pinterest so I don't own any of these images. If you are the owner please contact me if you want credit/if you want me to take it down. Some of these are also some my wonderful readers have sent me so make sure to check those awesome peeps out. :)

Sun And Moon

This from the super cute girly over on The Ray Of Sunshine Blog and I really like it! A fun costume to do with a friend. :)

Needed: 

-grey + yellow outfits

-grey + yellow headpieces

Alvin And The Chipmunks 

The amount of chipmunk costumes I saw this year is kind of crazy. People like it because it is sooooooo easy and such a fun thing to with friends. 

Needed: 

-red + blue + green shirts

Optional:

-names on shirts

-chipmunk makeup 

-color coordinated socks 

From: Simply Maliak

Galaxy

I want to get someone to do this one me next year cause ahhhh it's so cool!! 

Needed: 

- (safe) acrylic paint 

Optional: 

-wig

From: Paper Pizza 

Strawberry

Needed: 

-Red dress/outfit

-Green top which you can make out of paper

Optional:

-dots on said dress

Minnie Mouse

Needed: 

-the minnie ears

-something with red and white/black polka dots

Optional: 

-yellow shoes

There are a lotttttt of variations of this outfit so you can switch it up. The essentials are the ears and the polka dots. 

Medusa

Needed: 

-white dress

-miny toy snakes 

Optional: 

-arm band

-more snakes as accessories

-dyed hair

This is super easy but also super fun and original! 

Pineapple

Needed: 

-yellow dress/outfit

-green top which you can easily diy

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Needed: 

-shirts that say peanut butter and jelly or plain shirts where you can paint/draw it on

Optional: 

-an actual peanut butter and jelly sandwich 

Snow White

Needed: 

-blue tops

-yellow skirt

-red bow 

Optional: 

-shoes

-belt

There are also sooo many variations on this outfit so the only things you realllllly need are the three colors and either a skirt or dress to make it more obvious. 

Artist

Needed: 

-artsy outfit

-paint brush

Optional: 

-beret 

-paint palette 

White rabbit 

Needed: 

-white ears

-white outfit/dress

Optional: 

-watch/something to do with time

-red jacket 

Rosy The Riveter 

Needed: 

-blue shirt

-red bandana 

Optional: 

-we can do it sign

Wednesday Addams

Needed: 

-black dress

-boots

-double braid

Optional: 

-dark makeup

-skull/other dark accessory type thing 

Moth

Needed:

-Wings/wings kind of thing like this

-black outfit

Optional: 

-double bun

-makeup designs

Alex kindly sent me these pics and I just think they're so crazy cute!!! 

Yay that was fun! I will definitely be looking back on this post the next time I need a costume idea haha. Make sure to check out Loni and her blog post!

Other halloween blog posts:

-A Halloween Themed Interview

-Totally Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas

-The Halloween Tag

What did you dress up as this year? What are you planning on dressing up as next year? What's your fave costume you've worn? 

Creator Spotlight | Vaishnavi From Water Under The Bridge

Another collaboration post this time a fun creator spotlight with Vaishnavi from Water Under The Bridge. She's a super coolio newbie blogger (although she's been in the blogging universe for about tow years) and I like her blog. That might just be because she mentioned me in one of her posts and said she liked my blog when she emailed me but DETAILS DETAILS. Let's get started with her interview and welcome her to the blog!

via GIPHY

What is your name and what does it mean? If you're named after someone who is it and what does that person mean to you?
So my name is Vaishnavi and I was named after Saraswathi, the Hindu god of education and arts! But since it's hard for some people to pronounce they just call me Vaish. Pretty cool if I do say so myself.

Oh my gosh that's so cool!! What is your blog name and what does it mean? How did you come up with up?
My blog name is Written in Stars. I'm a little.. okay very obsessed with Doctor Who, and the show inspired me to dive deeper and delve farther than any one's ever gone. So Written In Stars just means that my story will live on with the stars in space- The Final Frontier... well not that dramatic but yeah :p

Haha I love that. :) How do you spend an average day?
Besides school since it takes up much of my time, I feel really energized in the morning so I like to either work or read in my garden. And okay, I do have to admit that I feel lazy in afternoons, so I just relax and either watch anime or read some more. In the evening I either blog, journal, or listen to music. Basically like a third of my day is spent reading cause I'm a bookdragon. Really. Sometimes I feel like I can just live off books and spend all of my time doing that. Wait, does that make me a vampire?

I think you're a book vampire. It's official now. What are your favorite hobbies?
Reading is my favorite thing to do when I have down time. Otherwise, I like listening to rock, making collages and practicing my drawing, chatting with my friends, and taking pictures (I'm super into photography).

Fun!! What is your favorite thing about the blogging community?
Wow, where do I begin? Well when I first discovered the blogging/bookish community, I was kind of baffled at how everyone was like family. Everyone was really supportive of each other so that was awesome. Also I feel like while every blogger has their own individual personality, you can all relate with each other :)

AWWW yess same!! We're all a big family and it's great. :) :) How do you come up with blog posts and how do you usually go about writing one?
I totally don't publish my post at the very last minute.  Okay just kidding. Well...
I feel like ideas just come to me whenever I'm doing something I like or have never tried before. For example, I wrote a post on deconstruction- something that I've never done before and it was tons of fun to write. Whenever I have an idea I make note of it, so if I'm stuck I can just check it out. As for writing a post, I just let the words flow. I usually just ramble and free-write about the subject and edit it all later. I add pictures and formatting, and boom! A blog post is born!

What does your blog mean to you and why would you say you blog?
My blog is like an outlet for me to express my thoughts. I blog because I want to tell a story- many blogs I read inspire me, so I hope that maybe I can inspire others. Plus, I want to meet new people!

Meeting people is one of my fave things about blogging. If you could hang out/meet any living person for an hour who would it be?
I was not expecting this to be so hard. There are so many people I could choose. I feel like most of them would be adults, so sticking with people around my age I would probably want to meet Ella Fields. If you don't know, Ella is an awesome filmmaker- she writes, edits, and shoots short films on awareness. Every creation has an impact, you know? She would probably be someone I'd hang out with.

I don't know who that is but wow she sounds so cool! I'll have to check her out! If you had to choose a career now what would it be?
Photography/journalism! I feel like these are two things I love to do. If I could, I'd be a travel photographer, because I'd also want to travel the world one day. 

OH MY GOSH SAME. What do you see happening with your blog in the next year? What do you want to happen?
Hmm, well I see myself continuing to blog for one thing, because I usually stop what I start. I hope that I can be genuine in whatever I make and not be afraid to be myself! I also hope that I can create a small community within my blog and meet amazing new people.

I hope you keep blogging to. :) Anything else you would like to share?
That's pretty much it. Thanks for interviewing me Nabila! Oh wait. I need to know- what are your thoughts on activism and pizza. Yep, a totally random question.

Of course girly! And activism and pizza are probably some of the best things on the planet.

If you want to see more of her feel free too heck out her google+, Pinterest, and of course her blog! I love collabs so if you ever want to do anything feel free to email at nabilaeve@gmail.com or dm me on instagram!  

8 Gift Ideas That Teens Will Totally Love This Holiday Season For Cheap

My first holiday post of the season! Because the holidays are coming up that means that the rush to get people presents are coming up. Maybe it's christmas or hanukkah or some other random holiday no one knows about. I DON'T KNOW. Anyway chances are you will be buying a present for someone, so like the amazing person I am, I thought I would help you out. Today I'm going to be listing 8 presents that teens will love! None of these are too expensive and I'm going to try and list things a lot of people will love. :) This is a collab with the wonderful Maryam from Infinitely A Day Dreamer. I actually found her through insta and she's so cute! After you're done reading this make sure to go check out her post with a bunch of fun present ideas for the creative people in your life!

*this post contains affiliate links which means if you buy something through one of my links I will gain a small comision with no extra cost to you

Alright let's get started!

                 

1. Popsocket

Popsockets are freaking great!! I have one on my phone and seriously the amount of times it has probably saved me from a nose injury because the phone was going to fall on my face, is to many to count. It's a cute accessory that you can add to a phone especially if someone has a more plain phone case and it's super cute!

2. Face Mask/Other Skin Care Products 

Teens have acne. And also just general skin problems. It's not fun. I know from experience. I also know that I love masks!! I've used a couple face masks and they're both fun to use and also help your skin. A lot of masks really only work for certain skin types though so if you don't know what problem the person who your buying for has, maybe think of getting something more general. 

3. Ring

Rings are super fun, you can get cheap ones, and it's also kind of hard to mess up on them. I feel like if you get pretty much any simple ring (we're not thinking engagement ring here we're thinking more of what I linked) it's gonna be pretty cute. I have been getting more and more into rings and I know a lot of people around me, who has as well. 

4. Phone Case

Most teens have a phone and if they have a phone they need a phone case! And even if someone already has a phone case that definitely doesn't mean they can't have another one. There are soooooo many cute phone cases on amazon it's kind of crazy. Annnnd having a cute phone case will totally lift your mood! It's a little energy booster everytime you pull out your phone. 

5. Mini Backpack 

I got a mini backpack for my birthday and I'm obsessed with it! It's super easy to carry everywhere but not too big that it's weird and fits everything I need it to. This is a super practical gift to get someone! Plus it seems like all mini backpacks are cute and definitely a cool way to spice up an outfit. 

6. Cute Mug

I've been getting some more cute mugs lately and ahhhh I love. There are a bunch of fun personalized one so you can totally find one that your friend will think is super funny or cute. 

7. Charger Accessory

I recently learned this was a thing but there are a bunch of cool stuff to spike up chargers. There are cute charger protectors that are animals and different colored chargers and just so much. Definitely a cute fun gift for a tech savvy friend. 

8. Cute Graphic Tee 

No one can ever not want another cute graphic tee. Like seriously. T-shirts are cool gifts because they're not too expensive but it's still kind of big because it's a clothing item one might wear like every other day (hopefully with washing in the middle). You can might graphic at pretty much any clothing store or online! 

I super hoped you liked that! If you want more ideas of what to get your teen friend for the holidays refer to my birthday wishlist where I list like a thousand things I want haha. Comment down below something you super duper want/are hoping to get this holiday season and also something you're planning on getting a friend! 

10 Things I Really Want To Do | Bucket List

Today is a collab with the awesome Lexie from What Lexie Loves! I love her and I'm happy we're collabing today! We're both sharing a fun bucket list of just a bunch of fun things we want to do in our lives. :)

1. Be in a movie/tv show 

I seriously just want to appear in a show or on tv sometime. Maybe I'm in the background or have one line or maybe I'm a lead. No one knows. Or maybe I'm even in a commercial. I just need like one second of fame. That's all I ask.

2. Go in a helicopter

Helicopters are so cool!! I just want to ride in a helicopter once. That would be awesome. 

3. Go to a concert of someone I love, with friends I love

I MIGHT ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO DO THIS IN FEBRUARY AND Y'ALL MY EXCITEMENT LEVEL IS HUMONGOUS 

4. Record a song and make a cool music video

I've been wanting to do this for a while!! Maybe I actually try and get together some of the lyrics I've written in the past or do a cover and record it somehow. My dad actually has a professional microphone so it might sound cool. And then make an actually good music video. I've actually done a cover video on my channel before but it was very much terrible so I kind of need to redeem myself haha.  

5. Have a job that makes me happy

I feel like this is a goal for everyone but still.:)

6. Be in a book

Maybe I write a book or I'm in the acknowledgments for a book or maybe someone bases a character off of me. No one knows.

7. Have short hair

I've had long hair pretty much my wholllllllllle life and I just think it would be soooo cool to have short hair one time. :)

8. Dye all my hair purple

Like the short hair thing I want to change something up! I absolutely love the color purple and it would be so cool to actually have all of my hair purple. I probably would have done it already but I have bleach my hair and just ugggg. 

9. Reach 10k on any platform

I know that's a lot but I think over timmmmme I might be able to. Basically I just want to be famous haha. 

10. Get the @nabila on something

Ok so Nabila is a super uncommon name  (well in the US but details details) but it's common enough that it is taken on lets say instagram. Or the nabila.com. The .com is actually for sale (I think that's what it says when I look it up) and I kind of want to buy it but I don't know what to do???

Hope you loved thattttttttt. Make sure to go check out Lexie's blog and comment down below one thing on your bucket list!

68 Fun Things You Can Do While You're Stuck Inside With No Internet

Today is a collab with the awesome Audrey!! She is going to be sharing fun things to do with friends over on her blog and I'm going to be sharing a bunch of fun things to do while you're stuck inside with no internet on here. :) Maybe it's raining or the internet is just being weird or there is a tornado or a hurricane and you're low key scared for your life. No one knows. But either way you don't want to be outside at all and you're extremely bored because the internet has gone out. This happens sometimes. Let's get started and I hope you find some fun things to doooooo. :)

1. Play monopoly because it is lonnnnngggg and fun

2.  Play card games like:

3. Speed 

4. BS

5. Spoons

6. Gin rummy 

7. Uno

8. Spicy Uno (look it up it's great)

9. Make tea

10. Make hot chocolate 

11. Learn a new hairstyle 

12. Draw

13. Rearrange your room

14. Do that homework you've been meaning to do

15. Make your bed a cute way

16. Do a little photoshoot in your house

17. Record yourself singing

18. Write down fun insta post ideas

19. Go through your clothes and donate things that don't fit or that you never wear 

20. Make new fun outfits with the clothes you have

21. Call a friend you haven't talked to in a while

22. Practice a fun monologue 

23. Make a bracelet 

24. Do a face mask

25. Practice with makeup 

26. Do some yoga 

27. Dye your hair 

28. Write a list of goals for the day or maybe just your life  

29. Take some pics of your siblings or someone in your house 

30. Read

31. Reorganize your bookshelf

32. Reorganize your closet

33. Cook something

34. Practice another language 

35. Write a nice note to someone 

36. Paint your nails 

37. Do a duct tape DIY

38. Make a bookmark

39. Write a poem

40.  Write in your journal

41. Send a letter to someone 

42. Decorate something 

43. Cut off the ends of old jeans and make them cute shorts

44. Have a little dance party

45. Light a candle 

46. Just stare out the window. It can be really relaxing!! 

47. Write a letter to yourself in the future and seal it up

48. Clean out your room and get rid of everything you don't use

49. Make a smoothie 

50. Fix something that has been broken for a while

51. Make a bucket list 

52. If you have somewhere where you hang things up like a pin board put something new on there

53. Make a zine

54. Eat some fruit 

55. Go through old photos 

56. Make a photo wall with old photos

57. Roller skate around your house (if you have inside wheels and have permission)

58. Customize your backpack or one of the other things you carry around a lot 

59. Paint one of the things in your room a fun new color

60. Eat/make frozen grapes (by putting them in the freezer) 

61. Just sleep

62. Color code something

63. Look at a pretty magazine

64. Bake some brownies and give them to me

65. Make a pizza with all of your fave toppings ever

66. Take a bath

65. Have a mini picnic in your house 

67. Color something

68. Do some kind of exercise 

Ahhhh that was long haha. Once again make sure to go check out Audrey and her post about fun things to do with friends!! Comment down below fun stuff you like to do when you don't have wifi! :)