12 Things That I Learned From SNAP!

I’m back from SNAP, and I’m struggling a little with what to tell you about my experience.  I realize (or at least I think) that most of you aren’t bloggers, so you probably won’t care a whole lot about the blogging stuff that I learned.  I think there were some things that I learned that can apply to anyone though.  So take what you want and leave the rest.

Here are 12 things that I learned from SNAP!

1. The social anxiety from high school that you thought you had conquered?  Yeah… that comes back when you are in a room of 500 people, and you are all by yourself.   (I am the socially awkward penguin.)

2. But, just like in high school, there was also that small group of friends that I could count on to be there for me.  Meet my new BFFs.

My roomies, Bobbie, Natalie, and Britni

Bethany, Alexis, and Britni at the 80s party

3. If you say “yes” to something, what are you saying “no” to? – This came from a class by the Dating Divas about not getting burnt out.  It’s ok to say no!

4. When you’re with you’re family, be with them 100%.  Don’t be thinking about your blog, your job, or anything else.  Disconnect from “blog brain”.  – This was another class about staying sane while blogging. (Notice a trend here?)  This one was by the girls from Our Best Bites, and I loved it!

5. Find your voice and remember what it sounds like.  Don’t get swayed by the trends; do what you like to do.  (Also from Our Best Bites.)

6. I’m afraid of famous people. – This is as close as I got to Jen from Tatertots and Jello.  She was teaching a really small class that I attended, and I still didn’t have the guts to go say hi.  She seems so nice though!  Next time.

7. I shouldn’t be afraid of famous people. – Don’t even worry, I sat down next to Wendy from The Dating Divas at a sewing class because I just knew I had seen or talked to her before.  She introduced herself, and I was like “Duh!  I just sat in a class that you taught yesterday!”  Oops!  She was really nice, and we helped each other sew a ruffle skirt.

8. Ruffle skirts only look good on skinny girls. – Love the fabric, but I think I’ll be turning this into skirts for my girls.  Ok, it actually looks semi-cute here, but trust me, ruffle skirts are not my thing.  Thank you husband for stifling your laugh.

9. Don’t give up. – Alex Boye’ came on one of the nights to entertain us with his music.  He talked about how he was working at a job that he hated, some bloggers shared his Youtube video, and now he’s doing what he loves.  He encouraged us not give up on doing what we love.  (What a horrible photo… yeah I was afraid to get close to him too.  Haha.)

10. I don’t want to write a book. – Not a “real” book anyway.  I never realized that people who write “real” books make squat from them.  Maybe an e-book with patterns?  We’ll see.

11. No isn’t no until someone says “no”. – Don’t assume that just because you don’t hear back from someone about something that the answer is no.  They might just be really busy.  Ask them again, nicely.  This was from Jo Packham in the publishing class.

12. The airport thinks a bag full of swag looks mighty suspicious!  Look at all of that awesome swag!  So glad they didn’t take anything.

Along with all of the swag, I also came home with a few questions to think about.

1. Is my blog a business or a hobby?

I’m still not quite sure.  If the IRS asks, I tell them I’m a business because I do make a little bit of money… at least enough to cover my craft supplies.  I enjoy doing it, but I don’t think I could ever stick to a schedule and force myself to craft.  That would take the fun out of it.

2. What do I want to use my blog as a platform for?

I’ve talked to some other bloggers about this before and talked about it again with my roomies at the conference.  We are all doing the same things on our blog, but the funny thing is that we all had a different answer to this question.  Some want to sell things on etsy, others want to write e-books, one talked about holding some kind of event.  If you are a blogger, how would you answer this?

3. How do I find my blogging “voice”?

Maybe I should have gone to the class that talked about this topic.  I struggle to share things about myself.  Apparently social awkwardness translates over to social media as well.  Told you, I’m the penguin.

Overall I had a good time.  I was completely exhausted when I got home, and I missed these little faces like crazy!

I’m proud of myself for stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing something new.

Meeting up with these girls while I was there made it all worth it!

And finally, huge thank you to National Nonwovens for sponsoring part of my trip!!  You guys, I couldn’t have gone without them!  I love them even more than I already did before! 🙂