Finally Getting Somewhere // On Owning a Dream

A while ago I did a guest post over on PulpSushi about living creatively.  Lately I've been putting more & more thought into just going for it & trying to make it on my own.  No boss, just me telling me what to do.

I have to admit this dream of being self employed has mostly been more of a fantasy.  For the majority of my time working on etsy & trying to sell things has discouraged me.  But I stuck through it for some reason that I'll never understand and finally feel like I'm getting somewhere.  Honestly, I didn't stick through it because I knew I could get somewhere.  I stuck through it because, why not...it was fun.

But now that I've sort of seen my sales grow & now that I kinda see that I am making sales, I want to keep going.  I would eventually like to add a whole slew of pottery to the shop & just haven't had time to.  Taking a class & making pottery is different that being able to sit down & make when ever you want.  If I could do that, I'd be at the wheel every single day.  It is so hard knowing that I have a kiln & wheel waiting for me when I move & it kills me every day not be able to go into a studio & make.

But I feel like things are falling into place for me.  I feel like I may finally be making something for my self or of myself even.  I am finally seeing results.  I know it is hard. I know you have to work.

So long story short I just wanted to share with you some lovely jewelry I have for summer in the Five Sixteenths Shop:

Coral, Green, & Gold Beaded Necklace

(perfect for layering!)

Turquoise & Gold Medallion Necklace

Wooden Geometric Bead Necklace

Each item has been carefully designed & is totally unique! I only make one of a kind pieces.  You can be assured that there will not be another person with your same necklace, bracelet, etc.

I love being able to make & share.  I am so thankful that I live in an age where it's possible to connect with so many people.  I value that more than I value any sales I could ever make!! Connecting with others & sharing experiences makes me feel like I am a part of something!

Have you ever struggled? What did you do to make it?

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Pretty, Pretty Things

Sometimes it's just nice to look at pretty things.  I love all the adventures I've taken in this past year.  A lot of the adventures have happened in the few months that Zach & I have been dating.  It's weird to admit this, but now that I am thinking about someone else I see the world a bit differently.  I don't look down as often as I did before.  Colors are much brighter & I feel much happier.

The adventures I take with out Zach while he's gone are lonely but a bit of self discovery.  I can now figure out who I am with him even when I'm without him.  I love reflection.

All these photos were taken with my phone & edited with Camera+, VSCO CAM, & Instagram.

Not to say I wasn't happy before.  I did like being single.  I am saying I was a bit selfish before thinking that I needed to do things all by myself.  Not having someone to intimately share things with is different than having it. Being single is the best time of your life & you need it to realize who you are.  I am an advocate of women to be single in their twenties...gives you time to enjoy the best part of your life.  Save the serious stuff for later.

But it's also nice to know who you want to be with.  Love should be anything but mediocre & if you can't stand to be away from someone then you should hold on to them.  The best part of love is when you both feel it the same.

Thought I'd just share this with you on a rainy Wednesday morning here.  This blog post isn't full of much substance...but it sure is pretty!

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Trend Tuesday // Three Stripes You're Out

So, I think it was last Tuesday where I mentioned I was going rename the Tempted Tuesday feature here on the blog.  At first I thought I'd just leave it nameless but still post trends I am loving.  Then Trend Tuesday hit me.  Same great stuff, new name.

I can't believe how sick I was last week.  I am still getting over it & in fact don't really know what went on at work the other day because I was so out of it! Missing two days is really going to put a damper on this paycheck but hopefully I'll be able to still save up to move with Zach here in the coming months.  If anyone has any cross country moving calculation tips, I would totally appreciate them!! (But if you wanna help out, please consider shopping at the Five Sixteenths Shop or checking out my Online Yard Sale.  I'd appreciate it!)

Anyway, this Trend Tuesday I am totally loving stripes.  Stripes aren't the best choice for my body shape, especially horizontal ones, but I still dig them just the same.  A great way I am going to incorporate stripes into my wardrobe is with nail art & accessories.  I do have one horizontal striped dress that I totally love, but all the other stripes will probably be on a slant.  One of my fave slant striped dresses is from Target.  I need to get back into taking outfit shots.  It's much easier when Zach is around!

3 Stripes & You're Out by fivesixteenthsblog featuring a crop tank

I am loving all of the striped accessories.  Like I said, that is the simplest way to work a trend into your outfits especially if you don't have a lot to spend.  I would totally even DIY some of these with paint & masking tape:

Straw Hat // Have a hat from last year that needs a bit of a pick me up? if it's in a solid color, consider taping off strips & hand or spray painting a new pattern.  Pick a bold color for a statement or a neutral to go with everything!

Beach Bag //  You can pick up a plain canvas tote from the craft store or repurpose an old one for this.  Again tape off stripes & paint.  If you have a tote that has text or a print on it, water down your paints or spray one even coat of a light colored paint to let the text show through.  Place a piece of cardboard in your tote so the paint doesn't bleed through

Striped Flats // Old canvas flats take on new life with a few taped off stripes.  Do it only on the toe for added interest.

Spruced up Sunnies // I have an old pair of sunnies that need a make over!  Take paint pens or your good ol trusty spray paint & masking tape combo & have at it.  Paint stripes only on the frames or only on the arms to spice it up.

Striped Tee //  Spice up your plain old white tee (or pink or green or yellow) with a fresh set of stripes by taping off large stripes in a horizontal, vertical, or slant pattern.  Place a piece of card board in the shirt to stretch the canvas & prevent bleed throughs.  Stand a good bit away (probably 3 or 4 feet) & spray a light misting of a neon color spray paint.  Let the droplets fall for a cool paint splatter effect.

Beach Bangles // Have an old wooden bangle? Found a cool plastic bangle at a thrift store? (Or did you pick one up from the Online Yard Sale?) Then tape that sucker off & give it a good coat of spray paint.  Hand paint different colored stripes in acrylic paints then give it a good seal with a spray sealant.

How about that? 6 ways to Stripe Out your wardrobe.

Do you like that pun? See what I did there?

What trends are you loving this summer? How do you incorporate it into your wardrobe?

Trend Tuesdays is a reoccurring post featuring awesome trends to inspire your wardrobe.  For more Trend Tuesday posts, click here!

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Make It Monday // Phone Photos become Blog Worthy

I will be the first to tell you that you should leave the camer apps off the blog.  I will be the first to tell you that I break that rule all the time.  The good think about the no apps rule is if you know how to break it well, you don't have to worry.  As with most blogging 'rules' nothing is written in stone.  The main goal of this 'rule' is to remind you that quality photos go a lot farther than overly filtered phone photos.

After all, the best kind of camera is the one you have with you...so I actually encourage you to use your phone, especially if you have a smart phone.  Having a pretty decent camera in your pocket at all times can actually help you become a better photographer, not just a better iphoneographer.

My favorite app for making phone pictures blog worthy is Camera+ (0.99 in the app store but it's worth it!).  I'm going to show you how I got this image to be blog worthy for this post:

You can see that I already started out with good lighting & a good composition.  Make sure you start off on the right foot because you'll make a good picture great.

Open up Camera+ & hit film strip in the lower left hand corner of the screen.  This will bring you to the lightbox where you can hit the + at the top right to add your photos.  Add a photo from your camera roll, select it in the light box, & select edit.  You'll be brought to a scree where the first edit is scenes.

There are a ton of edits you can do to make your photos toy like, but to give them the best quality I suggest sticking with the scenes part of the app.  These scenes are sort of like different actions to apply to your photo for color boost, white balance, etc.

9 times out of 10 the first scene I pick is Clarity.  Clarity is good for boosting texture, highlights, & color in a picture like this.  Clarity doesn't work too well on busy photos or portraits.  On portraits, Clarity will enhance any imperfections in the skin & it doesn't look good!

In order to apply more scenes to you photo, commit your edits by hitting done in the top right corner. When you're taken back to the lightbox, hold down the save button until a screen appears with Commit Edits as an option.  Select that in order to layer more scenes on top.  You only have to do this step if you want to layer more effects of the same category on the photo (more scenes, more effects, etc).

For most pictures, Clarity is enough to make you photo blog worthy.  For this example though I really wanted to give the sand more color so I Committed Edits & chose another scene, Cloudy.  Once you've completed all of your edits, select Done.  Click save on the lightbox to save to your camera roll to remove the image from the light box.

This is an example of a photo that wouldn't benefit from the Clarity effect.  Busy photos become too overwhelming & a bit flattened when this scene is applied.

The great part about this app is there is a scene for everything & experimentation yields awesome results.  For example, this image above is not of a concert, but the Concert scene is the best for this image.

Do you like how I'm sneaking in a Boost Your Blog post under a Make it Monday post? I do!

Check out some of my post that I've used this app for here, here, & here (some are more toy than others!).

What apps do you use to get your photos from your phone to your blog?  Any pro tips you can share?

p.s.  Sponsor spots are still available! Check out these 5 reasons to sponsor Five Sixteenths in June (& peep the discount rates!)

Make it Monday is a weekly feature on Five Sixteenths dedicated to showcasing some DIY fun & inspiration.  If you'd like to see more DIY posts, clickhere!

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Fan Friday // Feeling a Bit Better

Well, I'm feeling a bit better thanks to a two day dosing of Alka Seltzer Cold Medicine (night time, I might add).  After several loopy conversations with my mom & with Zach and having a dream where there were magazines all over me (thanks to a fever) I feel half alright today.  My head is still stuffy & I am still drinking my orange juice/Ginger Ale cocktail.

Additionally, if you're waiting to hear back from me (sponsor-wise & otherwise) I promise I'll get to you.  I don't know how I've been keeping everything straight these past two days with my head all spinning!

Anyway, being laid up in bed has left me some time to just mess around on blogs I love to find some awesome stuff to share with you:

Mandy over at Miss Indie found an awesome double exposure app called Duomatic.  So you know I downloaded it ASAP! I used to play around with Fusion Cam but since Duomatic lets you take pictures from your camera roll, I like it a lot better.  I don't like having to commit to taking pictures right there! I want to pick & choose.  I agree with Mandy, I could never do it with film!  So here are some of mine.  I used photos from my Take a Break post earlier this week & then added some text using Quiption:

If you want someone cool to follow on instagram, I suggest following @owlbolt.  It's a lot of pictures of her adorable son, but also a lot of iphonography tips & tricks.  She knows all the awesome apps & is even starting an iphonography blog. I haven't tried a lot of her stuff, but she's always doing awesome things with her photos!

I also love this skirt I found on Pinterest via Danielle Thompson:

It's located over at TopShop but Danielle's boards get me every time.  She is a lover of all things Vintage & makes me swoon over vintage things I've never seen before.

Links Loved

+Miss KB over on Little Chief Honeybee shared this week that her lovely blog turns 3! Happy Bloggy Birthday!  She wrote a great post on Blogging With Intention.  This post is a great self reflective read!  I love reading other's stories...and this one is awesome!+

+Kam (from Campfire Chic) wrote a great post on the 5 Blog Posts you Should Be Writing.  She gives a great list of posts to make your blog awesome.  She also touches on something that I've found myself doing lately: I'm a blog reader, not a blog viewer'.  I used to head over to blogs, look at the pictures & then leave.  Now I find myself wanting to know more about the blogger.  Who are you & why should I like you? I really want to know about you in every post!  Telling a story is something I am going to touch on in the Blogging 101 eBook to be released at the end of summer!+

+Jessica asks us how many backgrounds of photographs do we think we are in.  A lovely question, I might add.  Think about how many people have you in a photo album.  Think about how many people wonder who you are, or think about you everyday! It's so crazy to think we are all connected.  Wonderful post Jessica!+

+If you are interested in knowing which eCourses are going to be released on June 1, click here.  eCourses are designed to take you a while (hopefully no longer than a weekend) & min-eCourses are designed to take you an afternoon.  No one likes their blog to be left hanging...so finishing up a tutorial needs to be super quick!  Each course is designed to teach you something specific but to also teach you a bit more about your blog, the Blogger platform, & how others interact with your blog.+

Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your 3 day weekend!

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Feature Interview // Kristin @ Tales from the Nook

Today Five Sixteenths is interviewing Kristin from Tales from the Nook.  And although I am all laid up in bed with a crazy sickness, I can't wait to share with you her awesome answers!  Kristin is a pretty cool girl who is oh so very motivated.  

1. Why did you start blogging? I've been blogging personally for over 10 years. I've had everything from Xanga to Livejournal. I've always loved having a journal, and for me digital was always preferred over hand written journals. For me, I started blogging to have a place to keep track of what I was doing. A lot of my friends had livejournal accounts. We kept them all friends only, and we had lots of fun reading and commenting. :) 

2. What is your favorite part about blogging & the blogging community? My favorite part of blogging is the people that I've gotten to know. Through my blog, I have found so many other women who are going through the same things that I'm going through. Women that I can talk to about anything from religion to infertility. There are so many people out there who understand your circumstances, whatever they might be. I've met so many amazing people through blogging. 

3. What is the hardest part about blogging? Content is sometimes hard. Finding a good balance as your blog grows between monetizing and staying true to your writing. 

5.  What is your favorite feature on your blog? I had a feature called Bella's Blog Corner where my sister Bella did video blogs.That was always fun :)

Click the image to help Kristin meet her goal!

6.  Give us the best blogging advice you've ever received? Keep writing, followers will come naturally. Keep your blog true to yourself

7.  Give us the best advice on life you've ever received? ummm.... i think I give myself the advice that things happen for a reason, and even though decisions may be hard, if you feel they are right in your heart, things will work out for the best. 

8.  What is your favorite fruit? i love cantaloupe! 

9.  What is your favorite color to wear? I used to be all about pink, but lately I go for my black and white.

Well there you have it, Kristin summed up in 9 questions.  If you want to connect with Kristin, follow her on twitter & connect with her on her blog Tales from the Nook.  Happy Thursday!

If you're interested in sponsorship, check out the sponsorship page here & then shoot me an email!

Boost you Blog // 4 Ways to Interact with Blogs you Love

Hello all! I hope your week is turning out lovely.  Today as a part of the Boost your Bog series here on Five Sixteenths I wanted to share with you 4 ways to interact with blogs & bloggers you love.  You may be thinking, "How will this boost my blog, Moe? Won't this boost the other blog?" 

Yes, yes it will boost the other blog.  But that is good for you! Here's why: If you are interacting with blogs you love, the blogger behind that blog will notice you & pop on over to your blog.  They may find something they love & start to follow you, leave you comments, or mention something they've found on your blog. 

Here are 4 ways you can interact with a blog you love -

Be an active commenter // If you love the blog & the posts, let them know!  Comment on the posts you love leaving a genuine message for the blogger.  We love comments, as I am sure you know because you love comments too! I know that if you leave a comment on my blog I try to go peep through yours.  Sometimes I end up finding AWESOME stuff where I have to comment.  If I think we have a lot in common or I want to keep learning about you, I'll also hit that little button called follow.  See how that works? By interacting on someones blog you'll in turn have them interacting with yours.  Pretty cool, eh?

Linking to a relevant post in your comment //  This totally just happened to me so I had to throw it in here. I will tell you I am writing this post for you in advance so it is scheduled to go up (like most of my posts) & while writing it I got an email about a new comment on my LDR post.  This girl Amanda from Little Tranquility is awesome.  She linked to a post she thought I'd be interested in on here blog.  Boy was I ever interested.  I immediately sent her a note back telling her that she was telling my life story in that post.  I totally follow her now & made a genuine connection.  So, if you think a blogger would like to read a post on your blog relevant to the topic they've posted about, leave the link.  But again be genuine! Don't spam, it's not nice.  Don't shove your blog in people's face, it's not nice.  Don't leave a link in every comment on every post on their blog, it's not nice & sort of annoying.  But I am so glad Amanda took the time to share her post with me.  It made me feel special, that she thought I'd enjoy it & really let me get to know her better.

Tweet it, Tweet it real good //  Sometimes blogs have a pin it, or tweet it, or other social-media it at the bottom of their post body.  I know that blogger has a built in one on my posts but I'd eventually like to add a widget that throws in my twitter handle as well.  If you find a blog post you love, tweet it to your followers! Be sure to mention the original blogger so twitter sends them a notification.  They'll see the notification and be like 'oh sweet!' then they'll head over to your profile & check you out.  Make sure you are public though!  If you aren't, your fave blogger won't see & your post will be left in the dust.  (For more awesome social media tips, check out CampfireChic.  That girls got some awesome sauce running in her blood)

Join the conversation // This is another one related to twitter & to instagram.  If you follow bloggers you love, talk to them.  Comment (nicely & genuinely) on their tweets & get into the conversation.  If they want to hear from you, give it to them.  Additionally, (like the second tip up there) link things to them that made you think of them. Anytime I see something related to sharks I immediately send it to Kaelah of LCH.  It's only happened once, but if I think she needs to see it I let her know! Same thing with Becky of Strumpets Crumpets.  Her little dog Mickey is just too cute so anything related to little white puppies, lambs, or even Halloween gets sent right over.  Getting to know someone on a social network makes you almost friends.  I love when people see things that remind me of them.  You may eventually build up a little twitter/instagram inside joke (I'm looking at you Kristin - cake, Judge Judy, & Dr. Phil).  After all twitter & instagram are a place to be social, not just promote your blog/shop/etc.  You want to appear to be human too.

Actively participating with the blogging/social media community means your name is going to more & more people.  See something you like, let them know!  You don't have to follow every blog in the universe but even if you stumble upon something from Pinterest or HelloCotton that you love make sure you let the blogger know.  Being genuinely interested builds friendships & not numbers.

On the Blogging 101 eBook front, I am making progress! I am so excited! May is almost over & I have just about finished the first section I wanted to talk about.  Because a lot of you commented on that post wanting to know how to make your own social networking buttons I thought I'd do a little eCourse on that.  So, if you notice to the left there after the sponsors there is a Take an eCourse link.  If you click through it (or click here) you'll see that there are 3 eCourses going to be available on June 1st....one about Social Networking buttons!

Do you have any tips for getting involved with blogs you love? 

Boost your Blog is a (most of the time) monthly feature offering advice & tips on creating a better blog, a better blogger, & better interactions around the web. click here to view more Boost your Blog posts.

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Learning How to Step Away & Keep your Balance

I consider this blog to be a very important part of my life.  I love spending the time generating awesome content for you all & I love the dedication I put into Five Sixteenths.  Before you get too worried, no I am not taking a break from blogging...now that I have a momentum going I don't see stopping anytime soon.  This post is a post about encouraging you (& myself) to step away from blogging sometimes.

I go out to look for something that makes me feel small.  This usually clears my head & levels my thoughts

While I am not getting paid to write this blog, I act like I am.  (Just like I pretend I am blogging to 3000 followers!)  This means I dedicate probably about 40 hours a week generating things for this blog.  Since I just got really excited about Blogging eCourses & eBooks I've been spending a lot of time with my head buried in my laptop.  While this isn't good for my posture it's also not good for my relationships.  There were times when I was ignoring Zach because I had to blog something or was working on a blog design.  I am very thankful that he is understanding & wants me to be successful at the things I want to do with my life (after all, he did buy me a kiln!!).  With him gone, I've now got more time to blog & spend with my room mates.  I found that generally with this more time, I was spending it (again) buried in my laptop.  I don't want my real life relationships to suffer because I want to succeed here.  It's about balance.

I couldn't imagine living any where with out water to wade in.

So on Monday, I decided to take up an offer to go see Avengers & to head to the beach.  The whole time I tried not to think about what I could be blogging & it was hard!  I did take pictures of this trip, which means I was thinking about blogging, but I was also thinking about documenting my trip.  I tried not to think of time restraints, I tried not to check my watch, I tried not to hurry the movie a long.  I even pulled out my instax camera & took a few shots...talk about analog!  This break was great for me.

It's important to remember that blogging is a hobby & that I am not getting paid for it. Though I'd like to turn it into a source of income one day, blogging is not the top priority.   Taking a break to smell the roses & just enjoy life is something I want to strive toward as I go on this summer.  I don't want to coop myself up all day in my room with my computer & only venture out to take outfit photos.....I want to live!  I have friends & a family I need to spend time with.  I also need to spend some quality time with Me, Myself, & I.

This filter is called Nostalgia & it's one of my faves on Camera+

On the flip side of all of this, blogging is my responsibility (for lack of a better word) & I take it seriously.  And I know if I want to succeed I have to say no to hanging out sometime.  It's important for me to live up to what I expect my blog to be, not only for you but because I set out on this journey & I really love it!  I need time to dedicate to making Five Sixteenths better!

So mainly this post is about keeping a balance & keeping a promise to myself to put work down and to just have fun for a little while..even if it's only for an afternoon!

How do you keep a blogging balance?  Do you feel blogging is a responsibility of yours or is it something that is just fun?

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Feature Sponsor Guest Post - How to Be a Good Bloggy BFF

Hello there, friends of Five Sixteenths! I'm Kristin, and I blog over at Tales From the Nook. Call me bold, but I pretty much consider myself Moe's blogging BFF. It's not easy being a blogging bff, but it has it's moments :) Take a look at some of the hard work it takes to be a blogging BFF.

must be creative with communication, even when drunk

Always be ready with a compliment. 

You keep secrets! Like BFF's do. Duh. 

So, if you have a blogging bff, treat her right! Keep her secrets and text her when you're drunk. It'll pay off in the end when you can finally hang out and eat cake. Or wait, is that just an inside joke between Moe and me? Well, anywhoo, thanks  Moe for being the bomb honey boo boo. 

Thank you so much Kristin for this guest post! I have to say that you are one awesome chick!!  Check her out over at Tales from the Nook!

If you're interested in sponsorship, please view the sponsor rates here.  There are a few medium sponsor spots left & don't forget each spot is at a 10% discount!

Make it Monday // Makeshift Light Studio

A few weeks ago, before Zach left in fact, I set up a little make shift light box/light studio area in his kitchen.  He had the perfect dining room table, wall space, & lighting to make a great space to photograph in.  So I set to work finding things around his house that would add to the lighting, give a good backdrop, & prop up my pieces.  Here's how the photos came out:

Here's what you need: Table big enough for your piece, clear wall space big enough to push the table back to, an over head light -preferably track lighting, but use bright white bulbs, freezer paper (or wax paper but freezer paper is better) that is pretty wide, a few standing lamps with a reading light attached (those cheapo ones from Target/Wal-Mart are fine), tape, camera.

The Setup: Pull out a long enough piece of freezer/wax paper to be taped onto the wall & then draped down onto the table.  Use your masking tape (I used electrical tape) to fasten the paper to the wall and to the table.  Make sure there isn't an abrupt crease where the paper goes from the wall to the table.  You want a wide U shape.  Place your object in the middle & begin photographing.

The reason why freezer paper would have worked better is because it is white where as wax paper is grayish.  I liked the effect, but suggest using freezer paper unless you have something tiny.  The width I would have liked to have had my wax paper be is about 18.5 inches so I could photograph the objects horizontally.  So take these things into consideration when you are getting ready to set this up.  I was so excited to have found these things around the house though to do a quick photo shoot & list things on etsy (which have sold now!)

This is the most successful lighting I've ever had for my photos.  I am so bummed that Zach is gone from that house! We are looking at places to live when I move & studio with a lot of light is something I am dying for. And, in case you missed it, I mentioned yesterday why Zach is the best boyfriend in the world.  

Have you ever set up something makeshift like this? Give me your photography tips, I desperately need them for photographing products!

Make it Monday is a weekly feature on Five Sixteenths dedicated to showcasing some DIY fun & inspiration.  If you'd like to see more DIY posts, click here!

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Sum Up Sunday // Creativity & Beer

Apparently, a favorite past time of mine is drinking.  Over the last weekend I went to a Beer Festival where I sampled some lovely beer then was a vendor at an art fair that preceded a trip to our favorite bar.  Apparently I appreciate alcohol too much.  Don't give me much crap though, I seem to be fairing quite well.  I blame it on the fact that one of my good friends is a home brewer & beer enthusiast.  He knew the guy putting on the beer fest & he needed to relax after a hard day of sitting with us at our booth.  (yeah right.)  However, I will say that at the bar last Sunday I had the BEST EVER chicken sandwich.  I couldn't believe how tasty it was.  I want like 100 more!

Here are some pictures of last weekend:

That guy in the plaid shirt is the home brewer who drags our (not so) reluctant butts to cool places that have beer & live music.  I will say though, beer fests aren't the greatest if you are out in the hot sun & don't drink any water.  Carry a bottle in your purse!  We got 4 tickets to sample local & other Virginia breweries.  I, however, only sampled two because I didn't quite like the 2nd one.  So I gave away my tickets.  We stood & sat for a good few hours enjoying good music, good friends, and good beer.

Then on Sunday Katie & I loaded up the car with our goodies to sell at an art festival. We didn't make many sales & it gets me rather discouraged.  But I just keep on keeping on.  Hopefully one day I'll be able to make it some sort of my living you know.  We wrapped up the evening by heading to our fave bar for food & mug night.  I've never had such a delicious chicken sandwich in my life!

Then, on about Tuesday night or so, Zach told me a secret he's been keeping along with Katie.  This is all mine:

Zach bought me a kiln.  He bought me a kiln for crying out loud! I never expected it in my wildest dreams.  We talked about it a while ago when we were in Michigan...but I never thought he'd get me one.  Are. You. Kidding. Me? Best. Boyfriend. Ever!  Talk about encouragement.

So that was my week. How was yours?

Sum up Sunday is an end of week feature where I show you some behind the scenes looks into the life of this blogger.  To catch more weekly roundups, click here.

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Sponsor Call June 2012 // 5 Reasons to Sponsor 5/16

Howdy, howdy! Today is the day that I officially open up sponsor spots for June.  However, like always, if you are ever interested in the middle of a month, by all means send me an email!

Today I'd like to share with you 5 reasons to sponsor Five Sixteenths.

Sponsorships make Friends //  Do you want a cool friend?  I know I do!  Do you want  more cool friends? Yep, so do I! Sponsoring 5/16 means that you are introduced to a bunch of new people each month.  New followers, new commenters, new awesome people.  I do my best to promote the heck out of you so that you meet more rad people.

Frequent Interactions //  I post on Five Sixteenths at least 5 times a week.  Sometimes two times a day.  The posts reach hundreds of awesome people looking for awesomeness through many social networks.  I also promote your posts!  If it's awesome, I'll tweet it.  If I love it, I'll mention it.  That's what Fan Fridays are for right?

Full Circle // You sponsor me, I sponsor others.  The more rad you are the more rad-er blogs I'm gonna sponsor.  All sponsorships go full circle meaning that I don't profit from your hard earned & carefully spent sponsorship money.  I turn right around & hand it over to stinking awesome blogs to get you more traffic.

You Help me Help You // By sponsoring Five Sixteenths you let the world know you're here.  You help me help you get noticed.  There are zillions of blogs out there buried under zillions of posts.  Help me help you break out & stand out by putting an interesting & expressive button on my sidebar.

Perfect Spot, Perfect Price // There is a spot to the left there named Sponsors & Friends.  If you don't want to be there, then that spot is empty! Get your hands on some lovely sidebar real estate at an awesome price!  In fact, for the month of June I am extending some offers!

XL ad space - Usually $12 a month is now at a 10% off discount.  What? Yes, you heard right!

Medium ad space - Usually $8 a month is at a 10% off discount now, too! Want to book more than just one month to get more exposure? I've got some package deals too! 

Small ad space - Up for swaps! let me know if you'd like to swap your button with me.  Only requirement is that a Five Sixteenths button is on your blog!

So there you have it.  Top 5 reasons to sponsor Five Sixteenths. Now shoot me an email if you're interested!

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Guest Post // My Favorite Spring Activity - A Trip To The Met

Hello friends of Moe and Five Sixteenths readers! My name is Marilyn and my blog is Pulp Sushi - I also have an Etsy shop by the same name. Earlier this month, Moe shared her goals for May and one of them is write more Guest Blog Posts. That's why I'm here, because she's hanging out at Pulp Sushi sharing some tricks she's learned thus far about blogging and running her Etsy shop.

I would like to go in a different direction with today's post and share one of my favorite Spring and Summer activities. New York has a museum for almost anything but my favorite place to visit is The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I live just north of NYC and have good access to the city so I make it a point to visit at least once a year - preferably in warmer weather as it's right at Central Park and it's nice to lay out after a day of walking. Truth is, this place is so big, you need more than a day to see everything. Here are pictures I've taken from my visits just to give you a taste, I hope you enjoy them!

Aren't these photos rad! Marilyn is an awesome blogger & small biz owner.  I had so much fun working with her in the past & I am so glad she is here today to share some lovely pictures of the Met.  Unfortunately I've never been so that makes me more excited to see these pictures!
If you wanna catch up with Marilyn, pop by her blog, follower her on twitter, & stop by her shop!

If you are interested in doing a guest post on Five Sixteenths our would like to contact me as a possible contributor, please send me an email here.