press & praise

May 2, 2013 10 Comments

behind the scenes with JoAnn

Today I’m sharing a bit about a project I’m working on with the amazing team at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores.

JoAnn is talking Creativity Made Simple. It’s all about finding the time do what you love when life gets busy.

As part of Creativity Made Simple, JoAnn has selected one crafter to feature each month all year long. And they asked me to be their May craft influencer! {Yep, that’s my face on the homepage of the Creativity Made Simple!} I couldn’t be more honored.

You see, when I was still in my corporate career I would escape to JoAnns and a book store (located just next to my office) for a long lunch break to dream of starting my own company and to browse the isles for all the crafty things I was going to get into on the weekend. And to have such an amazing brand ask me to be a craft influencer only five short years later… well let’s just say that I feel incredibly blessed!

So as part of my role as craft influencer for the month of May, I created a new circus party idea for JoAnn. As well shot three videos showcasing easy ideas to help viewers craft their way to a fabulous party! Over the next few days I’ll be sharing the videos and more! {giddy}

Kim Byers

In the meantime, here’s a peek at the behind the scenes of my video shoots!

The JoAnn team was not only kind, professional and super helpful, they were also a riot. If only I had some of my out-takes to share with you. Oh the faces I made when I messed up! {smirk}

Kim Byers

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you’ve seen these before. And if you don’t, I’d love for you to join me. I’m under “The Celebration Shoppe.”

Kim Byers

Much more coming about my projects and videos with JoAnn and Creativity Made Simple. Until then, and as always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate!

Happy Thursday!

Join The Celebration Shoppe on facebook, sign-up for the daily ideas to come right to your inbox (never miss an idea, giveaway or free printable!), connect with Kim on twitter, pinterest and on instagram. And don’t forget to shop the party store for birthday, baby shower and holiday party supplies. Oh, and now you can follow the blog with Bloglovin too! Hope to see you around!

Bloggy Boot Camp recap

Good morning everyone! What a weekend! I had the opportunity to speak at Bloggy Boot Camp Business Edition in Phoenix this weekend.

There is something about being in the room with so many smart, driven, like-minded women (not to leave you boys out!), that just gets you energized.

This event is completely and totally focused on business. From working with brands and PR professionals to building your own brand to understanding the business of social media and blogging to how to navigate copyright and the law of sponsored posts.

It is just packed with information and when I say packed… I really mean it. There was barely a bathroom break! Gracious! But let’s face it, when you’re spending money on a ticket, who needs a break! {grin}

Another thing I really like about the way Tiffany and Francesca, aka the SITS Girls, run this event, they give you assigned seating that rotates between almost every speaker so you get to meet everyone. No staying in the comfort zone of only talking to your friends. At Bloggy Boot Camp you meet everyone! And isn’t that what we all truly want?! To make new friends, new connections, get new opportunities. It’s pure genius!

I personally had the opportunity to meet so many lovely women. Some I’ve chatted with on Instagram or shared a tweet with, others I’d not had the chance to ever meet but now I’m popping over to their blogs to see what they’re all about.

The next Bloggy Boot Camp Business Edition is in Dallas this November. If you’re interested in taking your blog to the next level, you can find more details over on SITS Girls.

As always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate. Oh, and if you want, earn money doing it!

By the way, if you can’t make a Bloggy Boot Camp this year I highly recommend you take Laurie Turk’s Mom Blog to Money Blog. It is so worth the money. 30 days of activities, 16 checklists, 17 how to videos.

p.s. Pics taken by A Night Owl Blog, The Baked Equation and @shesuggests (with Danielle Smith & Momiverse). Thanks ladies!

Join The Celebration Shoppe on facebook, sign-up for the daily ideas to come right to your inbox (never miss an idea, giveaway or free printable!), connect with Kim on twitter, pinterest and on instagram. And don’t forget to shop the party store for birthday, baby shower and holiday party supplies. Oh, and now you can follow the blog with Bloglovin too! Hope to see you around!

speaking at Bloggy Boot Camp!

Good morning everyone! I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be speaking at Bloggy Boot Camp Brand Edition again! This time in lovely Phoenix! If you’ve ever wanted to learn how better to work with brands and monetize your blog, then Phoenix is the place you need to be on April 12 and 13!

Dates: April 12 and 13, 2013
Tickets: $200
Location: Zona Hotel and Suites, 7677 E Princess Blvd Scottsdale, Arizona

Here are a few of the topics for Phoenix’s Bloggy Boot Camp Brand Edition:

Paid Blogging Campaigns: How to partner with a brand to successfully execute a paid campaign on your blog.
Brand Ambassadors: Becoming a brand ambassador/social media spokesperson can be a very lucrative opportunity for bloggers. Learn how to pitch and secure these positions.
Work/Life Balance: We all talk about achieving a balance between our online and offline worlds, but how do people really do this? Learn sure-fire techniques to succeed online while managing to not lose sight of the people who really matter.
Managing Social Media for Businesses: Monetizing your blog isn’t the only way to make money online. Another option is to manage social media for a business. Learn how to put your skills to use by growing social media accounts and increasing the bottom line for businesses.
How to Get Help, aka Be More Effective and Work Less: What if it were possible to clone yourself and get more done online? You can, but only if you consider getting an intern or assistant. Let us help you understand how to secure a paid (or unpaid) employee, what to look for in a candidate, and where to find people.
From Blog to Business: Setting yourself up as a business matters. Get the inside scoop on insurance, taxes, and which type of corporate structure is best for you.

Hop over to Bloggy Boot Camp to learn more about the Phoenix event including a complete list of speakers with bios and more. I have to admit, I’m excited to hear from Bethann Stenseth, a member of the New Partner Development team at YouTubePlus!

If me telling you isn’t enough (and it should be, right… ha!), hop over and read the top 10 reasons to attend, plus read testimonials from fellow bloggers. You can also follow @BloggyBootCamp on Twitter and 2013 attendees with the twitter hashtag, #BloggyBootCamp.

I’d love to see you there!

Join The Celebration Shoppe on facebook, sign-up for the daily ideas to come right to your inbox (a box in the right-side navigation bar), follow us on twitter, pinterest and on instagram at @thecelebrationshoppe

contributor for Gibbs Smith Books blog

Good morning everyone! It is always flattering when someone enjoys your work and has a kind word to say about what you do, but when it is also a publishing company that you admire, well… that makes for a good day. {grin}

About a month ago I got the best e-mail! The fabulous people at Gibbs Smith Books asked if I would contribute to their new blog, Red Barn ~ A Merry Menagerie of Style. Well of course I was in! You can find me there on the third Wednesday of every month!

Please show them a bit of love. You can visit and follow them at:

Happy Friday everyone! And as always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate!

Join The Celebration Shoppe on facebook, sign-up for the daily ideas to come right to your inbox (never miss an idea, giveaway or free printable!), follow us on twitter, pinterest and on instagram at @thecelebrationshoppe.

ivillage holiday card feature + 30% off

We’re honored to be part of the iVillage Best Holiday Card round-up! Our Modern Dots Photo Card made the cut and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

And to celebrate I’m offering 30% off all of our holiday cards with discount code iVillage30. Shop the complete collection.

Happy Friday everyone!

off to Bloggy Boot Camp!

So this is what my boys and my living room looks like the day after Halloween! {grin} I hope your little ones had a great night too. I know I’ll be hiding most of this and/or giving it away!

And now I’m off to Bloggy Boot Camp for the weekend. If you’re attending, I can’t wait to meet you! Please make sure you say hi. And if you’re not, you can follow the antics on Twitter with the hashtag #BBCChicago. AND, you can plan to join next year’s tour. We’ll be chatting about some fabulous topics including how to pitch brands, making money beyond your pageviews, affiliate marketing, balanced living and so much more!

I’ll be back Monday with some fabulous Thanksgiving finds. Happy weekend everyone!

Join The Celebration Shoppe on facebook, sign-up for the daily ideas to come right to your inbox (a box in the right-side navigation bar), follow us on twitter, pinterest and on instagram at@thecelebrationshoppe

5 secrets to building a business

A few weeks ago I shared that I’ll be speaking at the last stop on this year’s Bloggy Boot Camp tour. Honestly, I’m incredibly honored that these smart ladies want me to share what I’ve learned over the past four years.

It’s been a great road, at times a bit bumpy, but great. I like to call those bumps learning opportunities… oh, and did I learn! Just know, if any business owner tells you it’s all cupcakes and rainbows they’re fibbing. I’m just thankful I have a super supportive husband, kids that don’t mind holiday parties (where they’re photographed from all angles) three months before the real holiday and some wonderful entrepreneur (bloggers and store owner) girlfriends that I can vent to and ask advice from. Oh, and my masters in marketing has come in handy a time or two too as well. {smile}

That said, you don’t need a masters in marketing, or a masters in anything for that matter, to be a successful business owner. And since I doubt I’ll get to see each of your lovely smiling faces in Chicago (although I’d love to if you can get away for a weekend on November 2!), I thought I would outline the highlights of what I’ll be sharing.

It’s not rocket science, but it’s all very true. These are five secrets to building a successful business from the ground up:

Do what you LOVE, not like, LOVE - anything less and you won’t have the passion to see your company through. The good days are easy, it’s those bad ones that will kill your ambition.
Business plan, have one – it doesn’t have to be an elaborate 80 page brief, but you do have to have one. It will help you stay focused and it will force you to articulate your goals.
Value yourself – if you don’t, no one else will, including brands. Do the math. Your time, your creativity, your opinions and your reach are all critical factors in setting your “value.”
Don’t be shy and don’t be afraid of no – if I was afraid of hearing no I would never have been featured in Parents, All You, Better Homes and Gardens, etc., because they didn’t come to me. I pursued them. Have I heard no? Of course I have! But you can’t be afraid of it.
There is nothing better than the “REAL” you - this one is hard for business owners and bloggers in the early days, but I’m here to tell you that if you’re not “real” I’m not reading you, watching you, following you, and neither is anyone else. You can be inspired by others, but don’t be intimidated by them and don’t mimic them. We all started somewhere.

I’ll be diving into each of these in much more depth at Bloggy Boot Camp Brand Edition and if you’re planning to come, please introduce yourself!! I’d love to meet you!!

And if you can’t, but you want to learn more about the business of blogging, visit the SITS Girls for daily inspiration and tips. They cover everything from how to pitch a brand to how to make the most of your WordPress account.

Happy Sunday everyone!

introducing Mirabelle Creations

Good morning everyone! I’m so happy to share that Deanna of Mirabelle Creations (shown here with her son) will be contributing her creativity here on The Celebration Shoppe blog regularly!

She’s a mom of two beautiful children, Mira and Sam, a southern girl (you gotta like her already!), a former lawyer and a party lover!

You can get to know more about her in this recent article with Central Kentucky News where she shares that party planning is her “way of showing the people I love that they’re important to me.”

Please welcome Deanna! You can also find her:

Happy Friday everyone and check out Deanna’s first official contributor post later this morning, adorable and easy Vampire Bat Cookies!

As always, we hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and CELEBRATE!

Photo credit: Central Kentucky News

talking Halloween on parents.com

Thrilled to once again be contributing an article of ideas to Parents magazine and this time I’m talking Halloween party crafts and sharing my Tricks & Treats printable party collection on parents.com.

I had so many favorites from this shoot, with all the fun DIY costumes and crafts, but I think my favorite to make was my DIY Halloween Monster Pedestal Candy Dishes.

For all the details, visit my original posts and tutorials and to shop the collection head over to The Celebration Shoppe for printable party supplies and custom cookies from Sweet Tooth Cottage, and to Sew Jewell on Etsy for Halloween t-shirts, owl table runners and owl chair backers.

And make sure you join Parents for their 100 Days of Holidays to get creative holiday ideas right in your inbox every day.

A big thank you to Angie Arthur Photography for all the lovely photographs of that day! And as always, I hope you’re inspired to craft, bake, create and celebrate!

host a BBQ bash with free printables

Summer is zooming by and I still have so much that I want to do! One of which is have friends over for a big BBQ with a campfire for roasting s’ mores after sunset. It’s on my summer bucket list. {grin}

As I was thinking about decor, I pulled these images out of the archive. I contributed to an article in Mom magazine a few years ago and designed these summer party printables for the shoot.

And of course I’m giving them to you.

DOWNLOAD our FREE BBQ BASH PRINTABLES