Heaven in a Dish

Hey guys!

Sorry for being so MIA lately, I've been REALLY busy.

Between girls camp, my BFF moving, and school starting, I've had plenty to do, and not much time for posting!

There's something else that's been taking up my time . . .

A new blog!

I really have loved doing this, but so few people can look at it! I want to be able to show others my stuff, because I work hard at it.

And, while I crazily love desserts, I want to post a few of my family favorites, like my favorite chili, the best white rolls, stuff like that.

So, welcome . . .

Heaven in a Dish!

This has taken so much more time, because I designed everything myself! This has been a HUGE accomplishment, because there's some adult bloggers that can't even do it. There have been so many glitches and errors and sometimes I just want to pull my hair out! But it's finally ready. There still are a few things I want to work out, like the recipe index, but for the most part it's all ready.

So, I won't be posting over here that much. So head on over to Heaven in a Dish!

Spread the word please, and see you over there!

Yearbook

I created this, more info to come during Bites of Craziness!

Please don't copy unless you happen to be my yearbook teacher.

How-To: Pin Descriptions

I was going to have this on Bites of Craziness, but it was hugely long. So I decided to do it into a real post.

Just so you know, the pin description above isn't the best. Anyways, let's get to the deets.

So, why would you want to know how to have good pin descriptions? Because it directs traffic.What looks cooler this

Brown Butter Apple Pie by sallysbakingad... - so easy, and delicious, warm & buttery! #recipe #dessert  

or

Brown Butter Apple Pie

I think the first. Knowing how to do this is helpful when adding descriptions to your own images on your site, and also get's people to repin things on your boards, and really let them know you have great stuff and they should follow you. Anyways, the most important thing in this is . . .

1. Keeping it short and simple. No one wants a huge description that takes up the whole thing, they'll just skip it and won't repin. You want to cut corners wherever you can, using & signs and not using every word.

What's in a pin? Let's do a little dissection here.
Titleofthing by whoevermadeit.com - putasupercooldecscriptionhere #hashtag #hashtag
You put the title, who it's from, a cool description, and hashtags.

You can cut down on the title too by putting hashtags there. Instead of doing Apple Pie #dessert #pie, do Apple #Pie by person - yummy #dessert. This way you cut down on numbers. 

With who it's from, put the website, like crazyforcrust.com. This will cut down on size, because it will show up as crazyforcrus... plus it adds a link to the site, which is critical with pinterest's new design. The only time you wouldn't do this is if the site is longer than the name, or different than the name. An example is my site. The name is Occasional Indulgences Handbook, but the site is beccabrownies.com , so you would just put my site name. Another thing, use the word 'by' instead of 'from'. Instead of Apple Pie from Cookies & Cups, put Apple Pie by Cookies & Cups, because every little bit helps! Another thing, you'll often find it say www.somethingswanky.com, but you can just do somethingswanky.com, and it will still have the link, and it isn't as long.

The description is the most important part, it's what really sells the people on the recipe. You can either describe what's in it, or why it's so great.
Saying, 'carrots in a creamy ranch sauce' is nice, but 'this is so easy, and so good, my whole family was asking for more!' will really convince the person they want it.
 Cut down on things by putting & signs, just like in other places, and delete unnecessary stuff. No one needs to know about the thing caramelizing ten times.

Hashtags are really important, but sometimes can take up too much space. Having hashtags make it so anyone who clicks on the link can go to other recipes that sound the same. So if Dorothy from Crazy for Crust put a hashtag for #bread and I put that on my pin for Banana Split Bread, then anyone who clicked on her hashtag could go to mine, letting more people look at my stuff, and more people look at hers!
But hashtags can sometimes be too long. You only want two hashtags, and you want them broad. Instead of #cinnamon #slushie, you want #dessert #recipe.

The most important thing is shortness, so if your pin is too long, get rid of the hashtags, and if necessary get rid of the site. Your description shouldn't be more than 2 sentences, 1 is actually best. Because as nice as the standard pin outline (title, website, description, hashtags) if it's too long, no one wants it. 

By following these tips, your descriptions will look a lot better, people will repin things, and you'll get more followers! It's not too hard, the key points are
*keep it short
*tell them why THEY want this recipe
*have a title, who it's from, description, and hashtags

Anyways, happy pinning!

Vacation

 Hi guys!

I'm on vacation with my grandparents for a week, so I won't really be posting. Because none of my photo stuff is here. I might try once or twice (I've got some ideas involving macaroons) but for the most part there won't be any posts until next Monday.

I might pull out some tutorials, and I'll try to get 2 posts in this week.

Remember how I said around the 4th of July I'd try to bump my posts back up to 3 times a week? Well, I did it! And . . . it's harder. But I'm going to keep trying. There definitely won't be 3 posts this week, probably only 1 and maybe 2.

Anyways, just wanted you to know I didn't desert you! 

Hopefully I'll have lots of fun, I might check in a couple of times, and either way I'll come home with lots of recipes.

Happy 4th of July!

Vacation

 REMINDER: I ALREADY WENT ON THE VACATION, SO THIS IS SORT OF LATE.

So, my uncle is graduating. We're going up to Washington to see him.

We were planning this for a while, tons of fun with my cousins, my grandpa packed into our huge van.

Well, my aunt changed her mind, so she's not coming, slight damper on the fun, but anyways, we'll still have a blast.

We're going to be gone for a week, which means . . .  no posts for a week.

Guys, I am so sorry, I've been such a blogger slacker lately! I have tons of free time but no ingredients, pretty much all I have is cake mix and bananas, and I don't like posting the same thing over and over.

Sorry I didn't post much this week, really busy.

I will have 2 posts next week that I scheduled, they're pretty much exactly like what I posted earlier this week, sorry about that.

Anyways, hopefully I'll be posting more later. I promise when I get back I'll have three posts, okay!

Bye!

I'm Back!

So, I love my new camera.

Like L-O-V-E love.

It takes great pictures.

I've only had a couple photo-shoots with it, but I like it.

Of course, nothing is perfect, and my photos have lots of imperfections.

That's what PicMonkey is for!

I'm not really used to uploading photos, and the process can be slow, but I have a feeling it'll be worth the final product.

But taking my own pictures, the photo-shoot, the clean-up, the editing, uploading, etc., is hard. And it takes a lot longer.

So, I think I'll be changing my posts to 2 times a week.

Don't worry, this will definitely change, probably around the 4th of July. But first I gotta' get used to this and figure it all out.

This does kind of change Craziness Friday. What I'm going to do is . . .

Bites of Craziness!

Cute name, huh? I'll do them every once in a while, that way I can still share some of my stuff, but not just recap 2 posts. Because that's kind of pathetic. It'll probably happen every 1 or 2 weeks.

Anyways, I'll be posting a totally delicious recipe tomorrow, make sure you stay and check it out!

Bye!

My New Camera

So, you guys know that I do photos differently here.

I've talked about it a lot.

I haven't had a camera. As a food blogger, pictures are a big part of the post. I knew that I wanted to blog, and I wanted to have pictures.

I started out just using others photos that sort of looked like what I made and just having credit at the bottom.


Then I started editing photos. It made it a little different from the other people's photos, a little more mine.



Then I started merging photos. I loved doing this. It totally changed the picture and added a unique look. I could also make things look a lot more like what I had made.
 

For my birthday last week I got a camera. Now I can take my own pictures.

I'm still really new with it. And I found out that my photos . . . aren't all that great.

I'm trying to adjust to this and figure out how to make my photos and all that.

So, I'm taking a little vacation! It's just for a week, then I'll come back with MY photos. 

Now, if I was an experienced blogger with friends I'd have people come do guest posts.

Sadly, this is sort of a "fake" blog. I think there are 5 people who read it or randomly stumble upon it, so no one really knows I'm here, so no other bloggers know me, so I've got no friends to come sub in.

Hopefully I'll learn and accomplish a lot during the week.

See you next Monday!

Tips on Healthy Eating as a Dessert Blogger

So.

This post is, kind of weird.

I mean, if you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you should just do it. And really, most of you aren't dessert bloggers, and if you are, you already have it all figured out.

This is more of a reminder to me of what I need to be doing.

(Note: I was mentally planning this in my head even before my parents went on a health rampage. This is mainly a note to them, because they are some of the only ones who read my blog.)

Tip #1 Don't work for the blog, make the blog work for you. 

This means you shouldn't be making things you wouldn't normally make. If you don't make five desserts a week normally, then don't! Make it a craft blog, whatever you would normally do.

Or do a food blog, a combo of main meals and desserts. Don't make yourself do things that you wouldn't do with a regular occupation.

Another tip that goes with this, don't overdose. If you wouldn't normally make ten desserts a week, then don't! Make two desserts, and make some of your posts be tips or how to's on dessert blogging.  

Tip #2 Be Skinny
 (This is a skinny muffin from Sally's Baking Addiction)

This does not mean you need to go try and lose weight. Skinny in the blogging world means healthy. Not exactly a salad, but a lightened up muffin.

Try to post one skinny recipe a week. Most recipes are very easy to make skinny by substituting things like: greek yogurt, applesauce, bananas, that kind of thing.

Another tip that goes with this is single serving is the key. If you just have a whole pan of brownies lying around, you are likely to eat them. If you only make single servings, then after you eat it there won't be anything left to eat. As a result, you won't overeat.

Tip #3 Don't Eat Snack Food

This is super hard for me, because all I do is snack!

But as dessert bloggers, you make desserts. And most of the time eat them. There is no room left over for snacking with all those desserts!

So, don't buy snacks, and don't eat snacks. Whenever you feel really tempted, think of what you want to make for your next post. And then go make it.

Tip #4 Exercise
 
This isn't really for dessert bloggers, it's for everyone.

But since dessert bloggers tend to eat more desserts, we need to exercise.

Of course, I'm super bad at this. But, you know, I run to the bus stop every day. That counts, right? Riiiiight?

You don't need to go overboard. But try to get an hour of exercise every day. At least that's what they're always telling me in school. Maybe it's different for adults.


I know, not a healthy picture. But doesn't it look yummy? Come on, you know I'm not that healthy.

Anyways, I hope these tips help you. And even if they don't, they're a good reminder for me.

Great Pinterest Tips and Tricks for Bloggers

Have you seen Pinterest's new design?

The pins are bigger and . . .

It's a lot harder to find the website they came from.

Now, maybe this is just me, but that's what I think.

Because where it used to say beccabrownies.blogspot.com

it now says repinned from whoever you repinned it from. 

So, when I try to find the site that has whatever delicious recipe the pin describes, I get taken to another board. 

And another. And another. 

Anyways, this will come up later in one of the tips. 

1. Make a Great Caption

You know how with some blogs, when you pin something, words will automatically pop up?

Like it would say . . . Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Patties from Occasional Indulgences Handbook - a fun twist on peppermint patties. A carrot cake patty base covered with carrot cake bark, these are melt in your mouth delicious and decadent. 

When it would normally say carrotcakepattiesimageedit4 , something like that. 

Making a good caption really helps, because it let's people know what's in the dessert, and who it's from. 

I think on Wordpress there's someway to do it that's all fancy, but I'm on blogger, and it's a little different. 

Here's how. . .

(BTW, these pictures are Lisa's from Wine and Glue. All I did was add an arrow to make it more clear. I have no idea how to copy images like this and post them. If anyone knows, please help!)

When you pick the size you want your photo to be, there's a little blue rectangle.

Click on the properties button. 

It will say title text. In that space, right something. The best thing is writing what food it is, what website it's by (yours obviously) and then separating that with something, like this - or this ~ 

Then give a description of what it is. Most people like to add hashtags then. (I don't)

Then just click okay and do the rest of your post. 

That's it!

2. Put the website it's from . This is included in your caption if you do it, but even if you pin it from someone's website (i.e., not your own) and it doesn't include it, you'll want to add what site it's from. 

This is especially important with pinterest's new design. 

3. How to pin your own text

If you don't want something weird showing up for your pin like cake-batter-pudding-mousse-image-5-edit, then there's something you can do!

Before you pin it, highlight the text you want it to say. I usually highlight the title. That is automatically what will pop up when you pin it. I think this just makes pinning it faster and easier. 

4. Put your pins vertical.

(again, this is Lisa's picture)

When you look at this, which picture's stand out? I think it's the yellow pants, and the chocolate cookie dough cupcake. 

Both are vertical. Vertical pins stand out a lot more, and can get noticed easier. 

Whenever you post something, include a vertical pic. Try to make this the one that you add text to. 

(You know, text like this)

The part that says funfetti cake batter pudding. 

So, always put the text on a vertical pin (along with any other pictures you want to)

5. Pin things at good times

I'm sure you heard this before. What it means is you want to be pinning things at times when others are usually on. They'll notice them more, and be more likely to pin them, giving you more traffic. 

Good times to pin things are the afternoon (2 to 4 p.m.), the later evening (like after 8 p.m.), and Saturday morning. 

6. Group Boards

I'm kind of on the fence about this. I don't belong to any group boards, I just know that lots of people have said stuff like "I just joined this group board and my traffic has doubled you should do it too yadayadayda."

So while I haven't done it, just know that lots of people have, and it's helped them.

7. Pin it Buttons
You know those Pin it buttons on images? You know, with some blogs, when you hover over a photo, there's a pin it button so you can pin it right there?

I totally love that. Lots of times I'll find the photo I want, and when I try to pin it the thumbnails are so tiny that I can't even see which one I want.

To see a great tutorial on how to load that on YOUR website, there's one at Blogger Sentral

Now. With some blogs, they don't have this feaure.

Since I like the pin it button thing (like really REALLY like it) I don't always want to do the regular way.

With a blog like this, all you have to do is install an add in (don't worry, it's pretty small and won't take up tons of space on your computer) from either
Firefox

or QuickPin for Chorme

See, now when you right click on the image, this will pop up.

(that photo is from Kevin and Amanda if you can't tell)

8. Hashtags
This is another one I'm on the fence about.

Hashtags are those things you'll see with this # Ex. Cake Batter Pudding Mousse from Occasional Indulgences Handbook - so delicious and easy with only 3 ingredients! cake batter# pudding# mousse# easy#

When I started seeing all these weird number symbols popping up in my pin descriptions, I'd delete them.

But, lots of people are saying they're really helpful in generating traffic.

Apparently what they do is provide a link to other pins with the same hashtags.

Bloggers have said they get a lot more traffic on their pinterest page by having hashtags.

So, I guess it's a matter of preference, just something to think about.

9. Pinterest Profile Photos
This is a pretty simple tip but we'll go over it anyway.

When setting up an account, you can upload an image to be in your profile. You can choose what photo you have.

No matter what you do, do not leave it with the red pin symbol! This tells people you are a new pinner, or a spammer.

You can either decide to have a photo or a logo. It really depends. For most companies, logos are best.  But for bloggers, personal photos are best. (despite the fact that mine is a logo (because my mom made asked me to), this is important)


I realize that nine is no where close to five tips. I started typing this and realized I had a lot more than five. I probably should have aimed for ten, but I could not find any more tips! So, yeah, ignore what the picture says, there are nine tips. 

And guess what, no photo credit again! I created this at Picmonkey. So you'll have to see my new way of doing photo credit tomorrow.


Oh by the way : These are just things that I've heard around the web, and sometimes kind of figured out on my own.