Depends on you to do his thinking!



Just a public service announcement because I love you guys- have a happy and safe New Year's Eve.



If you find yourself celebrating a little too much, call on AAA's tipsy tow program to bring you and your car home safely, free of charge- even if you're not a AAA member. I think it's so awesome that they do this!! See the AAA Newsroom for a list of participants in your area and save a phone  number to your cell phone- just in case!





I'll be partying hard at work tonight, with some good movies, coffee and a new knitting project from the shop- see you all in 2013!

Thank you to all of you for your sweet comments on my 3 years blogging post. I am so very excited about what 2013 will hold.


So, yep, I'm starting a magazine with my dear friend, Daffny. Issue 1 will be released on February 2nd. We're hoping that we'll have enough time to make it a monthly thing. Working on a few issues in advance as we have spare time does help- and we have a few amazing ladies interested in contributing articles which I know will be a blessing as crunch time nears! If you would like to send in article ideas or pics of your vintage outfits or finds, drop us an email


 

 Anyway, on to our 3 years blogging giveaway. I used a random number generator and the winner is...number 7, Voodoo Kitten! Please email me with your mailing address and choice of mug!


My work week has begun and I have a very exciting vintage buying appointment on Wednesday so I'll see all of you after the new year!!

I told you I had some fun things in store for the new year....

                                Hey!! Don't forget to enter my 3 year blogiversary giveaway!!


I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas this year! Ours was very tiring with all of the places to go but we had a wonderful time. I had been wanting to show you my vintage Christmas decorations forever so a little late but still fun, here they are!

This Santa and reindeer set was my grandma's when she was a girl. I'm so honored that it was passed down to me because this thing was my first vintage love.




We left cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer with my vintage northstar plate and northstar mug from my shop. The mantle was pretty full with my decorations so we set them on one of my 50's dinette chairs.



Due to a 2 and 3 year old in the house, we have a mix of vintage and modern ornaments on our tree. I bought these silver and green starburst thingies from Michaels craft store last year, along with the retro starburst ball ornaments (see the gold one by the pixie). I love the colors and the starburst but I especially love them because they were very cheap and are plastic!

3 years ago today, I was at my mom's house for dinner. We had my grandparents over for Christmas and after they left, the rest of us were just laying around watching movies and relaxing. I was fiddling around on my little brother's lap top when I had finally thought of a name for a blog: Va-Voom Vintage.

 My little 3 month old Olivia was asleep in her travel swing so I logged on right there at the kitchen counter and created a blog and made my first post.

Olivia and I when she was 4 months old- wearing my first 50's dress and early attempt at vintage hair

 I had spent the past year in my pajamas. As pregnant housewife, I had no excuse to dress up except for my baby shower or to look like a normal person when I went to the doctor's office. I had awful morning sickness and various pregnancy problems so looks weren't on the top of my priorities list. I was a new mom- exhausted all the time and needed something just for me and a blog would do that. It would motivate me to put myself together, to sew more, to share my love of vintage fashion with others and connect with other adults, which is something that hadn't happened for me in over a year.


                              Isn't it amazing when you find a friend that's just as crazy as you are?

Friends I've made while blogging: Emily from Livin' Vintage,  Amanda- who lived in my city and recognized outfit post locations and Daffny from A Vintage Nerd, who flew in from New York to hang out this past spring

top left: first blog outfit post and first 40's hat and attempt at victory rolls top right: Rhys just 1 day old bottom left: early blogging outfit bottom right first attempt at pin curls

 If I could have told this tired little momma what would come of this quick project at mom's kitchen counter that night, I don't think she would have believed me. In 3 years, I've been published in magazines and featured on other blogs and  I've made life long friendships both online and in person. I've started to support my family through blogging and etsy and most importantly, I've inspired other women who felt like I did to take time to feel good about themselves again. Here I am right now, back at mom's kitchen counter, relaxing in my new pink Christmas robe. The hair turned out more red than brown but I kinda like it! More pics later this week, when the day job has slowed down a bit.



I have amazing things planned for this blog, for myself and for my readers in 2013. I really can't wait to see where another year of blogging takes me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who takes time to read, comment and email me. You guys are amazing!!

Learn everything I know about blogging and DIY blog design with my ecourse Bloggerific: A Guide to a Beautiful, Successful Blog 

And now for a giveaway:

This giveaway is sponsored by Coaster Canvas. Coaster Canvas creates beautiful vintage inspired coasters for your retro home. These coasters feature cork backing, made from sustainable tree bark to protect table tops and a high gloss, scratch resistant top coat. The archival quality of this printing process extends the life of products for up to 4 times longer than any of the best photo archival papers out in the market!




Mary, owner of Coaster Canvas says:

There's nothing that adds glamor to a look like bright platinum locks but recently, I've been loving some of the beautiful brunettes of the world and decided to go back to my roots...har har!

 I love the blonde- truly I do! And if it didn't involve so much time, money and damage to my hair, I'd probably keep it up for a long time. I'm sure I'll go back to it eventually but for now, I"m rockin' the darkness.

These 10 gorgeous girls prove that there's no lack in beauty or glamor when you're a brunette.

 Stay tuned tomorrow for my new hair!

Everyone gets a little blue in the winter. With stressful holidays, crummy weather- there's plenty to keep a girl down. Some people, like myself, suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. It's a very real depression that lasts for months and can be debilitating. For years, I had no idea that I had SAD. When winter came, I became miserable. I was tired (no matter how much I slept), annoyed, stressed out, had no interest in seeing friends, family or doing my  hobbies. I gained weight every winter and not just from the holidays. It's more than just "feeling blue".

These past few days have been -incredibly- rough and I'm trying to remind myself to pull it together and get over it. Here are some of the things I do to try to stay cheery in the winter months.

 Eat Colorful Foods



I eat loads of citrus and leafy greens in the winter time. Not only are they good for the body but the colors, flavors and scents remind me of sunny days.

Copycat Zuppa Toscana

Orange Marmalade

Alton Brown's Aunt Verna's Orange Cake


Soak up the Sun 

image

Winter days are pretty grey around here but when there's the slightest bit of sunshine, I open the windows and soak it up. It's scientifically proven that 5 minutes of sunshine boosts a person's mood.

When winter comes and the days get shorter, I close all of the windows as soon as it gets dark. I look like a crazy person, running around closing up the windows but I hate to see all of that black at 5pm! I dress the windows in bright colored curtains and turn on lights inside to pretend that it's still a sunny day outside. Last Christmas, my mom bought my a special lamp for light therapy, which has been wonderful! Mine is from Verilux.  With a focus on a colorful knitting project or a funny movie, the early nights aren't very bleak after all.


Find Distractions

Although the winter time has a serious toll on my mood, there's a lot of happy moments to look forward to that only happen when the weather gets cold. Some of my favorite winter things are driving around looking at Christmas lights, having hot chocolate, taking my kids to see Santa, holiday baking, my mom's Thanksgiving stuffing and cranberry sauce, feeding winter birds and cozy sweaters. Make a list of things you love about winter and check your list when you're feeling down.

Dress for Winter with a Summer Attitude

Color has a major impact on a person's mood. When you're taking inventory of your winter wardrobe, make sure you have lots of cozy, colorful pieces to keep you warm and cheerful. Some of my winter must-haves include:

green socks
a yellow, green or purple winter coat (or all 3!)
a red wool skirt
colorful wool berets
coral lipstick
a selection of basic cardigans in every color


Getting enough sleep and exercise also makes a big difference while managing Seasonal Affective Disorder. I hope that helps any of you who may be dealing with SAD or simply feeling down sometimes. May us all get through the winter and have a happy holiday season!

This afternoon, I was driving home from work, listening to Christmas music and it got me thinking about the new year and all of the things I want to accomplish this year. As always, one of  my goals is to amp up my blogging game. If you find yourself in a blogging rut or want to boost your traffic, here are 7 blog post ideas that really do work!!

1.) Write a list post. Hey, I'm doing it right now....and you're reading it. Ta-da, told you it works! These posts are : # ways to do something great or # items you must have to look absolutely fantastic- you get the idea.

2.) A tutorial I'm big on tutorials. I love to read them on your blogs and I love to write them on mine. Everyone loves to learn new things and see how it's done so create a tutorial for your niche. It can be a step by step style with pictures or something more generalized like a list of ideas on how to organize your kitchen.

3.)A Themed Feature Earlier this year, I was contacted by Stephanie of Lollipops and Roses to appear in her themed post Show and Tell. I thought it was such a clever idea because she was giving her readers beautiful things to look at and featuring other bloggers at the same time. Since she featured me, I posted about it here and exposed her blog to all of my readership -and- I got exposure from her readership. It's a win win and it's great content for your blog.

4.) Product Reviews Bigger bloggers will receive free products to review on their blogs but if you're a small fish, you can still do reviews! Check out handmade sellers in your niche on etsy and purchase samples to review. Many cosmetic/bath/beauty sellers sell very affordable product samples for this purpose.  I love this approach because it helps support those handmade businesses by giving them a few bucks when you buy a sample and they get advertisement. If you have products that you use and love on a daily basis, tell your readers about them. As your blog grows, these reviews will reflect your ability to give a shout out and will open doors to paid sponsorship and free products to review.

5.) A series or theme post- Again, I  love a good theme. I like to do a new one every year to post about once per week. Last year, I did Friday Fashion and a Movie and this year was  Friday Fashionistas. I'm already planning posts for next year's theme.  A series or themed post can be weekly, monthly or whenever. This helps build a strong category within your blog and gives readers something to look forward to.

6.) A search-related post or series This is a fun little trick that I learned on my own this year. Do you ever read what search words bring the most traffic to your blog? If not, go to your blogger dashboard, stats, traffic sources and finally look under "search keywords" at the bottom. Click the tab at the top that says "all time" and this will give you ideas on what to write about. My top search keyword, "Grace Kelly" led me to write Grace Kelly Week last month, which has since brought a ton of page views.



7.) A trendy link round up what's really hot in your niche that everyone and their mother is blogging about? Go ahead and blog about it too and do a round up of your favorite posts on the subject from around the blogosphere. Make sure to use keywords that reflect the trend in your title and post so it gets attention in seach engines.




Learn everything I know about blogging with my new ecourse, Bloggerific: A Guide to a Beautiful, Successful Blog

New in the shop this week is a lovely selection of dresses from the 30's-60's in a wide range of sizes and many plus sized 1940's-1960's dresses available!

30-40's Rayon Dress 48 inch bust

60's Dress and Coat Outfit 44 inch Bust

late 50's-60's teal cocktail dress 58 inch bust

late 50's-60's green and gold brocade cocktail dress 44 inch bust

1960's Little Mod Black Dress 42 inch bust

1970's red shirtwaist by R&K Originals 26-30 waist

late 50's little black wiggle dress with green collar 44-46 inch bust

1940's Rayon Day Dress with matching belt 55 inch bust

1940's Silk and Shauntung Day Dress 38 inch bust

1940's Tropical Pint Handmade Cotton Sun Dress 38 inch bust

1960's Adorable Novelty Print Day Dress 42 inch Bust

1940's Pink Polka Dot Wartime Dress 40 inch bust

1950's Lanz Originals Heart Print Dress 33 inch Bust

Oh, I'm tired today but it was well worth it! I stayed up t ill the wee hours designing a whole new blog for one of my very best friends, Daffny. I don't know about you, but I absolutely have a blast doing blog design!! Isn't she looking fabulous?

I've never made custom social network buttons before but I gave it a whirl last night and it worked out. I'm finishing up with some final touches this morning. Cute footer and signature time!!

She's closing her old blog and making lots of blogging changes for the new year so go follow her on her new one, Bunny's Vintage Victory

EDIT: Bunny's Vintage Victory is now A Vintage Nerd



Don't you love the Dalek? Bunny is a huge Dr Who fan so I had to throw him in there somewhere! Her little blog button victory girl was blonde but I worked some magic and gave her brown hair and eyes like Bunny.

This month's new sponsor, "She'll Make You Flip" carries a vast selection of rare vintage sewing patterns from the 1920's to present.

I don't know about you ladies but I always plan my new year of sewing early so I can keep an eye out for the perfect fabric and notions for my patterns. Deb has collected some truly amazing patterns for dresses, coats, nightgowns, separates and more.  Here's a little peek at some of my favorite patterns from She'll Make You Flip on etsy. Va-Voom Vintage readers save 20% off at the checkout this month with code "VaVoom20"




1.) 1930's Peplum Dress  2.) 1930's Coat Dress 3.) 1930's Dressing gown 4.) 1930's Spectator frock and jacket



1.) 1940's Weskit and Cape Ensemble 2.) 1949 Day Frock 3.) 1940's Sweetheart Neck Dress 4.) 1940's Blouse



1.)1950's Two-Piece Dress   2.)1950's bolero suit pattern    3.) 1950's Coat or topper  4.)1950's Elegant Square Neck Sheath


Keep up to date on sales and new listings by liking She'll Make You Flip on facebook

I started this blog 3 years ago this month. I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. I learned a lot along the way so here are a few simple blogging tips that I have picked up through trial and error.

1.) Have comments sent to your email. This makes it super easy to respond to your readers comments and questions. Responding to readers is so important. They take the time to read, subscribe and comment so keep those lines of communication open. To do this, go to "settings" "mobile and email" and enter your email address in the box for comment notification email.

2.) Turn off your captcha. If you love comments, turn that darn thing off. It's easy to get rid of spam comments by deleting them as they come in. You won't get hundreds a day or even per month so make it easy for readers to leave some comment love.

3.) Promote your blog posts on your social networks such as facebook, twitter and pinterest. This is a great way to bring traffic and to update those that don't have Google accounts or RSS feed. I read a ton of blogs and sometimes I miss posts in my feed readers so when I see your updates elsewhere, I'm always thankful that I didn't miss out.

4.)Make friends with other bloggers. I have several blogging friends that I don't know what I would do without. Bounce ideas off each other, collaborate on posts, help each other in blog design or anything you can do to support one another.

5.) Post big photos. Not too high resolution or they'll take time to load but post nice big pics so we can see all of the details!

6.) Declutter the side bar from time to time. Avoid too many pointless gadgets and pictures and please ditch that music player all together! Music can be shared on blogs in a post, with a button that a reader can click if they choose to listen to it. A human brain cannot read and listen to music at the same time and still give equal attention to both.

7.) Have a way to contact you If a company wants to sponsor or have you review a product, if a reader wants to say hi or has a question- make sure you have an email address that's easy to find.

8.) Have all of your social networks and other sites match your blog name. Twitter, facebook, pinterest, etsy, etc should all match your blog so your readers can easily connect with you elsewhere.

9.) Comment on other blogs. Show the love and support for other bloggers by leaving comments. It's good for your traffic, good for the community and it brightens someone else's day!

10.) Have a clean blog design. Use colors and fonts that are easy on the eyes



Don't

1.) Feed into negative comments or let them get to you. I don't know why people feel the need to act like jerks to total stranger but sometimes they do it. Just delete that crap or move on...or both! I've had plenty of negative comments on here and I'm sure I'll get more. Some of them are just constructive criticism so think about those ones and see what you can improve on. Others aren't worth a second glance.

2.) Obsess over your statistics. Sure, do keep an eye on them to see what people like and get ideas on how to improve your blog but spend that valuable time wisely.

3.) Post without a photo We love pretty pictures! They grab a readers attention and make the blog a stimulating read. Always post at least one visual item to go with your text.

4.) Cry when you lose a follower It happens to all of us. Don't take it personal when your number drops. Some people lose interest in the subject matter, they are too busy for blogs, etc. It rarely has anything to do with the blog author, I promise!

5.) Blog about your job or personal details There's a fine line between being personable and sharing too much information. My rule of thumb is: if I wouldnt mind my little brother, grandmother, boss and mother in law reading it, then I can post it.

6.) Be afraid to reach out to other bloggers Most bloggers that I have met either in person or online are very friendly! Drop them a line and say hello some time

7.) Waste too much time with affiliate programs. Affiliate link posts take an eternity to write and rarely yield a lot of profit. If you want to monetize your blog, try selling your own ad space or getting a few legitimate paid posts that your readers would enjoy.

8.)Post your links in a spammy way. It's totally acceptable to link to your blog in a comment but make sure that the comment is relevant, substantial and genuine. Instead of using www.myblog.blogspot.com try this code in your comment
This will appear as your blog name only, with a clickable link.

9.)Spend your life on the computer. Spend a few minutes each morning (or evening) with your social networking. Use sites like Hootsuite to set up tweets and facebook updates to post automatically. When you're not on the computer, you can spend time with family, being creative and thinking about your next great post.

10.) Blog if you're not loving it. Some days, we all get in a mood and we just aren't feeling it anymore. A successful blog is extremely rewarding but only if you're still having fun! If you get in a blogging funk, reassess your blog goals. Think about why you started your blog, what you really want out of it and maybe give it a re-design. It's always okay to take a blog break!

Learn everything I know about blogging and DIY blog design with my ecourse Bloggerific: A Guide to a Beautiful, Successful Blog