Sunday Social, Week 32

1. What is the name of your blog? How long have you been blogging?

My blog is Polish and Pajamas! I've been blogging on and off since high school, but this is the most consistent I've been! I'm really hoping to keep up with this one. 

2. Why do you blog?

I blog because it's both social and creative. It's an outlet with an audience. I love meeting and talking to people who share my interests. 

3. What is the first blog you ever followed?

Oh goodness, I don't know. Probably some that close friends wrote when I was in high school. I got into blogging with my friends at Journalism camp, and then got into tumblr,  but I don't think I realized the full potential until I started reading big makeup blogs like Temptalia. Whose blog is more of an empire at this point! 

4. What is your favorite post you wrote in 2012?

I didn't blog as much as I would have liked in 2012--- in my defense I had a very difficult year. I've already written more in 2013 than I did in all of 2012! Crazy. 

Anyhow, I loved this post on some great Etsy monogrammed goodies I purchased and loved:

Monogram Mail

5. What are your blogging goals for 2013?

I'd like to blog at least 5 times a week for all of 2012! That's the big one. I also just really want to learn as much as I can, and make lots of new blogging friends! 

6. Name your top 3 favorite blogs.

Danielle at Miss Glam Dan

Emily at Mrs. Wasp

and Sara at Pearls & Curls

These three wonderful ladies have been putting out such great work lately, and I've really enjoyed all of their blogs! Check them out :) 

Apps You'll Love- Part 1

I wanted to start a new series about iPhone/iPad apps. I've become obsessed with getting the most out of my iPhone, and I thought I'd share some of my favorite apps!

These two apps are both recent finds for me. One is a greeting card app, and the other adds words to photos- which sounds like no big deal, but I'll show you how much I've done with it!

 I love sending little surprises to friends via my phone. I'm also a huge greeting card fan. So when I saw this app, I was totally hooked. Plus, it's free!

When you open the app, you have tons of choices in categories for cards to send. Some feature photo  openings so that you can add in photos of you and your friends, and some are just designed with text and color. There are tons of really great options, like thank yous, announcements,  holiday cards, invites- so many great possibilities here! 

Some of the options available on Red Stamp

So if you chose, for instance,  Thanks, you could easily make a card to send via e-mail, text, facebook, or even postcard (too cool) in seconds. 

Here's what the selection looks like in one category: 

See how some have photo openings and others don't? It's great for different levels of personalization.

Then, all you need to do is pick one and add a message. Here's a mock up that I did here!

Each card also has color options on the side, as you can see here! 

Are you totally sold yet? I love this app and think it's really easy to use and useful for the well-mannered girl!

Phonto is my absolute favorite photo editing app. It's  FREE! 

My next favorite app is one that I use all the time to make different little quote backgrounds and monogrammed wallpapers for my phone. It is a really basic app that just allows you to add words to text. Sounds simple, right? It works best if you do some work of your own to have a wallpaper/print library on your phone, but if you have that it's an AMAZING app to own.

So here's a shot of my background library:

I compiled this by saving Lilly prints, taking photos of fabric swatches, and generally just saving any pattern that I like. Having a pattern board on Pinterest helps too! 

 Ok, so once you've done that, all you have to do is open the app and PLAY.
Seriously, you can add anything to your photos. You could do this with real photos too, but I've been having fun with my background prints lately. Here are some of my creations:

This one has been really popular on my tumblr. I love this saying! 

Super easy way to make monograms for your lock screen! 

I also use it to make inserts for photo collages I'm making for instagram. This was part of one I made when I got three new polishes, obviously.
The end product looked is below.

This uses another app to photo collage (PicStitch, also free)

My favorite quote!

Anyhow, I realize that this app was intended to just add text to photos, but I enjoy using it this way. 

Do you have any favorite apps? I'm hoping to stick to more unusual apps in this series, so I won't have any like Instagram or Facebook in here! Hope you enjoy this! 

Stay beautiful,
Hannah