Exclusive with Live Life In Style creator

Hello Blogger enthusiasts, Shalanda from the fantastic featured blog, Live Life In Style has been gratious enough to share details and her insights on her blog and blogging. I very much enjoyed corresponding with her and I am sure you will as well, especially those of you who are upbeat and into fashion. Read our "exclusive" interview with her below!


Photo © and courtesy of Shalanda TurnerWhat is your name?/Introduce yourself
Hello! My name is Shalanda but my nickname is Shasie to my friends and in the blogging community. I'm 27 years old, and I am a Project Engineer, Fashionista by night.

Tell us about your blog.
The title of my blog is Live Life in Style (http://live-life-in-style.com), and this is the second naming of my blog. It originally started off as Shasie's Fashion Advice, but I soon came to realize that I didn't like "forcing" my opinion or style advice on others. My tips work for me, but they may not work for everyone else, and I'll let my readers decide that on their own. So I thought long and hard on what to rename my blog and then it hit me!! My friends always joke that I dress up for everything, even if it's casual. And I thought, well I like to always look stylish, so I'm living life in style!

Describe a popular feature/post or a favorite feature/post of your blog.
The more popular features on my blog have been Throwback Thursday and Fan Feature Friday. I started Throwback Thursday because I wanted to show some of my blog outfits from a year ago when my blog was less popular. Fan Feature Friday is a way for me to give back to my readers, by featuring a new reader and their style every week!!


Live Life In Style

→ Visit Blog
→ Gallery EntryDo you have any blogging tips you'd like to share, or have any advice for fellow bloggers or would be bloggers?
I have a few. Please make sure you are blogging for the right reasons. I started blogging for myself, and to have a creative outlet to document my outfits outside of Facebook. I am not caught up in the number of fans I have, though I would love for my blog to grow, it is not my main focus. It's also good to network with other bloggers. Don't be that blogger that just posts and never checks out other blogs. Be genuine in your postings, and be yourself. No one wants to read blogs where they feel the person isn't being real to themselves.

Are there any other ways that you can be contacted or other social networks where those interested can "connect" with you?
You can find me on the following
Email: Shasielove@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/livelifeinstyle
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/LiveLifeInStyle
Bloglovin: http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/1713432/live-life-in-style
Formspring: Ask me anything http://formspring.me/Livelifeinstyle
Independent Fashion Bloggers: http://heartifb.com/members/pg/profile/Shasie
Fashiolista: http://www.fashiolista.com/style/shasie/
Lookbook: http://lookbook.nu/shasie
Chictopia: http://www.chictopia.com/Shasie
Chicisimo: http://chicisimo.com/fashion/fashionista/shasie/profile/public/

Tell us about your personal favorite blog or blogs, or share one that you would recommend to others.
I actually follow a ton of blogs, and no longer have one favorite. I follow blogs from people with only 3 followers to those with over 4000 followers. I like following the smaller blogs, because they respond to your comments and it's more personal. Blogs with over 200 comments on one entry, my comment is going to be lost in the mix, and they probably don't have time to respond to all of their commenters anyway, which is a turnoff. I started blogging as a push from my friends and them introducing me to Jessica Quirk's Blog: What I Wore . It was her own personal style blog, and it was and still is hugely popular. It sparked my creative juices to start a fashion blog of my own. So I definitely recommend her blog to everyone, and she just launched her first style book!

♥ That wraps up our "exclusive" Q. and A. session with Shalanda, the creator of Live Live In Style. Do take a moment and stop by her blog. And of course, I'd like to say thank you so much Shalanda for your kindness and time in participating in our "exclusive," feature. Keep up the great work and keep on blogging!

5 New Entries, One Update July 30th

It has been too long since the last new entries to the gallery, I know. And I do regret the absence and I bring five new entries today.

• Indian Violets
• The Blogger Formerly Known As
• Vivacious Blog
• TECH
• Over 40 Beauty Product Queen
  

And one entry has been updated with a new screen capture: Shanimal's Crackers.

Three More Entries to the Gallery

To keep the Blogger inspiration flowing I didn't want the day to pass me by without adding a few new entries to the gallery. Especially considering the amount of submissions still in the queu, which I am so grateful to have received. Thanks so much everyone for sharing your blogs and becoming a part of GlitterBurned. I am so glad to have you. Here are the three new entries I am also so glad to have received:

• tntechie
• Diary of a Redcherie
• Stylish Blogger Templates 2011
  

Stay tuned I have a few Exclusive entries on the way!

Another set of 6 new Gallery Entries

Right on schedule, I have posted six stunning new entries to the GlitterBurned Blogger showcase gallery, please do take a look at them and of course, give them a visit. Also, gallery entry posts do have the the star ratings enabled, so why not be a part of the GB tema and give some of those blogs a rating? You know, if you want to that is. :D

• Live Life in Style
• Funny JavaScript
• Frugalicious Me!
• SMAHKIN - The Remake of Internet
• RoseyTeaParty
• Noct Blog

6 New Entries to the Gallery

Hello, hello! Today I have added six new entries to the gallery for your enjoyment. Do take a moment to check them out and visit.

• Nebula One (News)
• Life of Lovely
• Jenny Creates
• Everything About Blogging | Free Premium Blogger Templates
• GeeKoniK
• Caring For Carleigh

And I must say that I am pleased by the volume of entries I have been receiving, so keep em' coming. If you have submitted to the gallery, remember to expect 1-5 business days for your submission to be reviewed and added.

Exclusive with the creator of Crossword Unclued

Today I present the lastest Exclusive with one of the gallery's featured blogs, Crossword Unclued. Hopefully you enjoy learning a little about Crossword Unclued and it's creator, Shuchi from our Q. and A. session. I sure did and Shuchi has shared some top notch blog tips with us. And of course, do stop by the wonderful blog!

What is your name? 
Shuchismita Upadhyay. That is quite a mouthful even in my native tongue and friends usually shorten it to Shuchi – that is the handle I use online.


Crossword Unclued

→ Visit Blog
→ Gallery EntryTell us about your blog.
Crossword Unclued talks about crosswords of the cryptic kind. I write on various aspects of the word game – solving tips for beginners, guide to cryptic clue types, analysis of published crosswords and crossword-related trivia.

I have been blogging for close to three years now and am enjoying every minute of it.

Describe a popular feature/post or a favorite feature/post of your blog.
My first-ever post on the blog continues to be the most popular - a 7-step guide to solving cryptic crosswords.

The article that gets the most traffic via social bookmarks is about a special crossword from the New York Times, which was published during the US elections of 1996.

Of the articles posted in the last year, my personal favorites are those I gave a lot of time and thought to: Do you make these mistakes when writing clues? and Failures in solving crosswords: A statistical study.

Do you have any blogging tips you'd like to share, or have any advice for fellow bloggers or would be bloggers?
My top three tips -
(1) Blog about topics you truly care about. When you’re interested in your own writing, your audience will be interested too. Enthusiasm is contagious.
(2)  Don’t worry about doing things “right”. There is no single right way of blogging. Go by what makes sense and feels good to you.
(3) Participate. Engage with your readers and other bloggers. For me the best side-effect of blogging has been getting to know some wonderful people.

Are there any other ways that you can be contacted or other social networks where those interested can "connect" with you?
You are most welcome to join my blog’s Facebook page and follow me on twitter @ShuchiU.

Tell us about your personal favorite blog or blogs, or share one that you would recommend to others.
I read several fascinating blogs and find it hard to pick favorites. Since Glitterburned is about web design, I’ll mention my favorites from this niche – Smashing Magazine, Line25, BlogSpoon Graphics and Nymphont.

To those interested in cryptic crosswords, I recommend all the blogs linked under “Solving Sites” on Crossword Unclued’s sidebar.

♥Thanks so much Shuchi for participating in The Exclusive for GlitterBurned!

9 New Additions to the Gallery

Since I have been receiving such a large amount of submissions and I don't want to keep people waiting to see their blog added, today I have added another full-front page's worth of entries. Here are the nine new additions, enjoy.

• Release Me Create
• HT-Hackers Thirst
• Stylify Your Blog
• Except Nothing
• All Top Ten
• Christian Bale ~ Baleheads Blog
• MUXLIMO'S LAIR
• Artisteer Tutorials, Tips & Tricks
• What Does a Remote Writer Do?

I'd like to add, that I have noticed many blogs have changed their look since their screen capture was added, so I thought some might like to know that you may request an update. Just let me know. Have a super one as always, and keep those submissions coming!

July 9 and 12 Updates

There have been several new entries posted to the gallery with the last two updates, do take a gander at the recent lovelies:

On July 9, six new entries were added:

• Blue Skies, Calm Seas &  Me 
• MONSTER BRAINS
• oh, hello friend
• DAYDREAM LILY
• Noir Novelle
• Racquel Writes

And on July 12, nine new entries for a full new frontpage were added:

• Mint Tea and a Good Book
• Saving with Sybil
• Get Fit With Juju
• Bible Prophecy Blog
• Video Buz
• Wagging Tales
• SimplifiedBlogging
• iBlognet
• Berbagi Inspirasi Seputar Dunia Blogger

And we would like to thank Antje Cobbett from What Does a Remote Writer Do? for featuring GlitterBurned in her post: GlitterBurned http://www.glitterburned.com, stay tuned for her blog to be featured in the gallery shortly!

We'd also like to thank Paul from Spice Up Your Blog for his awesome feature of GlitterBurned in his post 2 New Blogger Resources.

2 New Entries & One Update

Two new entries have been added for your viewing pleasure, do check them out:

• Rosa Com Preto
• I think to Myself

Also, one entry, Always Abby Noel, has been updated with a new screen capture to show the blog's new look so do give that blog a visit as well.

Till next time,

~Lauren

3 New Gallery Entries for July 3

Today's finest are here for your viewing and visiting enjoyment:

• Sacolando
• Blog Studio
• The Magic Attic

Four More Entries Not To Miss

As I started working on some new gallery entries, it occured to me that I hadn't posted here about the last four entries I have added. So without further adieu, here they are:

• Love and My Guitar
• The Word Thoughts Blog
• The Diary of a Teenager
• Left Alone With a Full Moon

Don't forget to add your comments on them!  :)

Exclusive with "The incoherent ramblings of a single parent"

The Incoherent ramblings of a single a parent

→ Visit Blog
→ Gallery EntryPresenting our first "Exclusive" post, where we've had the honor to have a little Q. and A session with the blogger behind the gallery featured blog, 'The incoherent rambling's of a single parent.'

What is your name?/Introduce yourself
Lily Jo

Tell us about your blog.
The incoherent ramblings of a single parent, Initially started out as a serious blog examiming the hardships faced by being a single parent. But in all honesty, writing about loneliness and alienation proved to be a depressing experience in itself. The thing was, that I didn't want it to turn into just another 'mommy' blog either or, a diary about the wonderful joys of motherhood. (somebody let me know when the joyous part kicks in) Instead I chose to take real-life situations and events and to add a few twists,  albeit with the help of a little bit of exaggeration and a whole lot of  embellishments. Hence posts on the fact that my EVIL child is trying to kill me (which he is), an argument between the Devil and God or which one DOESN'T get my soul when I die and a lovely heartwarming tale that goes by the title of, 'The tale of the little boy and the very big poo'.

I can already hear my name being called out for the Pulitzer Prize Award.

Describe a popular feature/post or a favorite feature/post of your blog.
I wouldn't really class it as a popular feature but I do enjoy the conversational pieces that I write, especially between myself and my little man.

These are actual based on real conversations that we have, though many people tend to think othewise.

Do you have any blogging tips you'd like to share, or have any advice for fellow bloggers or would be bloggers?

Write for yourself . If you try to cater to what you think people want to read, then you start to lose some of the essence that made your work original to begin with.

In other words, Stay true to what you do. (Oooh, I made a rhyme)

Tell us about your personal favorite blog or blogs, or share one that you would recommend to others.
There are many blogs that I love reading but the ones that I read religiously are

'Diary of a crap wife'
'left alone with a full moon'
'I'd like cheese on my entire family.'

♥ This concludes our very first Exclusive entry. We'd like to thank Lily Jo from The incoherent ramblings of a single parent for taking the time to participate. I hope you enjoy her blog as much as I have. Stay tuned for the next installment of the Exclusive, where we'll share our Q and A session with another gallery featured blogger.

One new Gallery Entry...

Hello, it's been a busy week and I haven't been able to post as many new entries to the gallery that I had hoped to, but I glad that I was able to get one new blog featured. So if you have a moment, take a look at the latest entry to the gallery.

• Fashion Photography

Enjoy! The next update shall be coming shortly, with a full helping of new entries,  so stay tuned! Also, I have the first feature in "The Exclusive,"in store for the very near future as well.

Six New Entries to the Showcase Gallery

Right on schedule, six new blogs have been featured in the GlitterBurned Gallery. Just because I might always say that I really enjoyed visiting submissions to the gallery, doesn't make it any less sincere. But wouldn't you know, just like my timing being right on, I truly enjoyed my visits to the six newest additions to the gallery as well.

Do yourself a favor and take a gander at these fine blogs, if you would  ;).

• The world through my eyes! 
• life is a science experiment
• FAQ and answers
• Qui feci - Finding Inspiration
• BestBloggerTemplates.Net
• Spice Up Your Blog

Handy CSS Resources

In that never ending quest spawned by an addiction to blogging, I have come across a few really handy tools for the trade. Some of these tools I employ in a fashion fundamental to my blogging pursuits. Some I even consider essential in my blogging endeavors. Must haves.

Perhaps, a fellow blog addict would also appreciate these resources. Recently, CSS examples and tutorials have proven most handy. Here are the some sweet CSS treats I am loving right now.

All CSS "Tool-tip" With Click-able Links

The "tool-tip" with click-able link effect on the "Recently Featured..." thumbnails is modified from a CSS Play demo. With a few adjustments, I was able to create just the effect I was after.

All CSS Calendar With Click-able Link Tool-tip

After much time scouring the web for a CSS calendar tutorial for the gallery's archive page, discovering CSS Newbies was quite a site for sore eyes. It's just what I wanted, simple, and all CSS. The tool-tips were just an added bonus. Just a few adjustments and this CSS calendar fit the Gallery Archive page like a glove. It displays best in Google Chrome, but it is worth it. (It is also possible, that any display issues are the result of my own changes to the code, not existing in the original version.) I do recommend this for any such calendar needs on your blog.

Free Contact Forms by 123Contact Form

I have come to find out that my satisfaction regarding free contact form providers and services provided may increase or decrease with use, but thus far, 123ContactForm has fullfilled my contact form needs and comes out ahead of all the others I have tried.

The "pros" of this service outweigh my few "qualms" or the "cons." A key factor in their winning my vote, is that they allow up to 100 submissions per free form, which they allow five, this is a greater amount than I have been able to find with other similar services. The "qualms" I do have are minor, the interface at 123ContactForms takes a little getting used to and can be somewhat confusing, and some aspects of the forms design can not be customized.  I use this for all form needs in the Blog and Gallery.

All-CSS Speech Bubble

Why use an image when you can use CSS, right? That would be my thoughts on the matter at least. On the gallery, the post comment count links beside each entry are placed within an all CSS/image-less 'speech bubble,' devised with the help of this tutorial. An image could have worked, but it wouldn't have worked quite as well as this.
♥
Well, that wraps up this edition of GlitterBurned's must haves. I hope that they may provide useful to you as well.

Trying New Post Frequency Policy

It was brought to my attention via a dear and trusted fellow blogger and friend of mine, that each entry to the gallery should receive an ample amount of time on the "front-page," or index page as it were, to the gallery. Posting too frequently, either by posting more than nine new entries a day or posting several new entries everyday, would cause a blog to fall into the "next" page of entries, thereby ending it's "shine-time" on the gallery index.

Implementing a "post-frequency policy," with a 48 hour minimum interval between the next installment of new entries, and also limiting the next posting installment to a maximum of nine new entries garantees that each entry into the gallery will receive no less than 48 hours of "shine-time" on the main page.

 By internet standards,  2 days can be an eternity, it may prove to be even too long of an interval for the gallery as well. So as of the most recent gallery update 6/20/11, the policy is in affect, but it has not become part of the gallery's consitution. I do feel that each blog should have it's moment on the main page and this is something I would like to garantee, this 48 hour interval policy is still subject to change.

We'll see! One thing is for certain, I want blogger's and their blogs to have their moment, and hope that it does bring them some new visitors.

If you would like your blog to be featured in the gallery, submit it already!

Latest Entries to the Gallery

I posted the full main page's worth, nine new entries to the gallery during this most recent posting, perhaps this was my feeble attempt to make up for the few days lapse in new entries. While doing so, I pondered some ideas and concepts regarding posting frequency among other things, but that I will detail further in a future (my next) post.

Without further aduei, here are those nine new entries. Its not really my style to ask, but, please do let us (and the blog's author) know you love their blog by commenting on it there in the gallery!  Enjoy!

• My Spin 
• Pearl's Reflection
• My Hideaway
• A.T. Pratt
• Flash Fiction
• My Book Diaries
• Always Abby Noel
• Also Known As... 
• Marz Today

Launching The GlitterBurned Gallery Blog!

Hello, hello blogger friends and friends of Blogger. With this post, the official GlitterBurned has arrived.

If you are not yet familiar with GlitterBurned, let me explain what it it that we are. GlitterBurned is a design gallery, showcasing the best Blogger powered blogs, and only Blogger powered blogs.

While it hasn't been much time since GlitterBurned's humble beginnings in May of 2011, I (Lauren, the creator of the GlitterBurned gallery) felt the need for a traditional written blog, in addition to the gallery blog, where each post consists of an entry to the gallery.

This left no place for traditional blog posts, updates or articles. The GlitterBurned Blog solves this problem. Now the news, updates and other articles I might want to share pertaining to the gallery, have their place, here in this the official blog.

And besides, it also provides another spotlight for blogs in the gallery. On the homepage of this blog, five randomly selected blogs will be featured for an additional week, with a direct link as well.

Another additional moment-in-the-sun I have planned for blogs in the gallery, is an ongoing feature here in the official blog, tentatively titled "The Exlusive!," where Q. and A. with a featured blogger is to be shared

Stay tuned friends, and feel free to comment!