April Blog Angel - And I was not bored!

So this time I have been the worst Blog Angel out there.... and it is such a shame because the blog I tried to help out this month is simply awesome!!!

April Blog Angels half-way post

As you know I have been participating in Rosie's Blog Angel 'program' for a while now. But what is a Blog Angel? 

If you look up the following 2 words BLOG and ANGEL you will find the following definitions:

Blog: a Web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc.,and often having images and links to other Web sites. (http://dictionary.reference.com)

Angel: a person having qualities generally attributed to an angel, as beauty, purity, or kindliness. (http://dictionary.reference.com)

So if you combine the 2 words you know what being a Blog Angel is all about! It is about helping an other blogger by:

- Commenting on posts
- Button exchange
- Helping with the lay out 
- Guest posting
- Writing a post about them
- Following them on other social media platforms
- etc, anything you can think of will work!

For this month I haven't been the ultimate blog angel.... But luckily the blog I am trying to help is a blog that already has all the features and qualities of being a great blog! So I feel there is not much I can add.... But this blog does give back by inspiring me! So being a blog angel is not only about helping someone else it is also a great way to get new inspiration and to make new friends!

At the end of the month I can reveal to you which blog I am talking about, but I will try to find some way to end this edition with a special something. Not quite sure what it will be... but I am working on it.

Blog Angel Reviel post February

Are you a blogger? Do you want to help other bloggers? Do you want to share your amazing stories with other bloggers? Do you want some support with your blog? 
 If your answer to all these questions is YES you are the perfect Blog Angel Candidate!!! Because this is what being a Blog Angel about!

This was the first Blog Angel round for 2013 and we had to choose our blog. So I decided to go for Anja from Cocalores. Besides being an amazing blogger she has also become my German Blog Friend which is amazing! Oh and she also loves PINK so what what's not to like?!

So what did I do to help her out:

- I started following her on Pinterest, and since I really loved a lot of her Pins I made a post about her Pinterest boards hoping she would get more Pinterest followers. You can read the post here.

- Of course I did the regular commenting, since I already was a daily reader of her blog I had hoped that this wouldn't raise too much suspicion about me being her Angel.....

- Beside being a Blog Angel I am also participating in the Craft Challenge 2013 and so is Anja! So I also wrote a post on her amazing February DIY project in which she transformed a basic Ikea dresser (I have the very same dresser) into something special. You can read about it here and here.

- We also had great email conversations about our blogs and things we read! Which is always nice.

My goals for her was to attract some new readers and followers on Pinterest, and I hope I made that happen. But besides helping her I also gained a great friend which being a Blog Angel is all about.

So what are you waiting for?!

Go over to Craftbotic, start reading about our Blog Angel Society and get in contact with Rosie so you can also be a Blog Angel the next round!

February Love List

Blog Angels February Part 1

Surprise Surpise... guess what I am doing this month.... Yes you guessed right I am (yet again) a Blog Angel!

If you are new to this blog please click here and here to see what being a Blog Angel is all about.

This time (again) we got to choose for which Blog we wanted to be an Angel ... my pick was pretty difficult.... But in the end I choose for a blog that I really like to visit on a regular basis and I thought it would be a good blog to put my BA (Blog Angel) skills to the test. Because this Angel requires a different strategy... she knows how to blog and how to attract readers, but I hope I can support her in getting more readers and maybe help her gain some more (social) attention.

I can't reveal my strategy but I do have a plan... it does need some fine tuning.... but in the end I hope I can make her proud!

Because it has to be a secret till the end who my BA is I like to add some secret details to the "in between" posts.... and this time it is a quote which I think describes my Blog Angel in the way I've got to know her over the past year.

If you yourself are a BA this month, good luck! If you are new to the game, stay tuned because by the end of February I will reveal who my Angels was.

Lieke's December Blog Angel Scrapbook

As you know in December I was a blog Angel for a blog I got choose! Curious to see which Blog I chose???

Reason I choose this blog is not only because Amy is a friend of mine, I also really like her sense of style and variety! This is why I wanted to share her Blog with the rest of the world! My goal was to help her get more readers, not sure if that worked... but here is what I did to help her:

1) to start I did the easiest thing, which is just commenting on her posts which mainly consists of nice outfits. Below an overview of her December posts:

 2) I noticed that she did not have any buttons, and as we all know buttons are essential in the blogger community, so I made her 2 buttons. I don't think they are on her blog yet, but now if she needs them, she can use them.

3) Besides things on her blog, I also also wanted to do something which was more in the Christmas spirit.... but I was not sure how to handle it.... so I decide to just give her a hand made Glossy Box! I am not sure if you know what it is, but it is a monthly subscription on  a box which contains all these amazing beauty products each month! And since she is not yet sure if she wants to order the Glossy Box I decided to give her her first box! I did include a little hint.....

The box contained: Burt's Bees Lip Balm / Weleda Facial cream / Yves Roches Mascara / Reload Soap / Vichy Facial Water Spray / Opi Shatter nail polish / Herome nail file.

And the little hint..... an (Blog) Angel Christmas card!

4) The last thing I did was this post: Better Sale than Sorry!
This is such a good post and really something that can help all of us!

So there you have it! This is what being a Blog Angel is all about, Caring & Sharing!
Have wonderful New Year's Eve and I will see you in 2013

Half way post Blog Angel December edition

December is half way and Christmas is right around the corner! This can only mean one thing.... It is time for the Blog Angel Half Way Post! Again hosted by Rosie from Craftbotic. So this Blog Angel edition is a special X-MAS edition! And why is it so special? Well we could all choose our own blog we wanted to be an Angel for. This is very cool but also comes with great responsibility....

1. How have you helped your blog so far?
Well of course I have been commenting on each and every post, liking these posts on FB, sharing some posts on FB and I also have a special project going on which I cannot say too much about..... The advantage I have is that the blog I choose is a blog I really like and have been following for a while now so it is so easy to keep on commenting and check up on new post on a daily base.

2. How has the contact been with the other blogger?
Well basically the contact is good, but a disadvantage is that I do not get any replies on the comments I leave behind... I think all comments are set as "no reply' comments. So you can only see the comments of the blogger by going back to the blog and check up on the comments..... I feel this really gets in the way of a good 1-1 relationship with the readers...

3. How easy has it been to help someone else in blog land?
Again I soooo love being a Blog Angel!!! It is such a great way to meet new people, discover new blogs and expand your network. Is it easy to help someone? It is easy but it is hard to say what the result is of all the effort.... 

4. What are your favourite experiences from the program so far?
I am really a big fan of the FB platform Rosie created! This is a BA's platform only, but here we can help each other with being a Blog Angel. Really nice initatives have been posted, like please comment on this blog, or read this blog etc. So cool!!!! 

5. What do you hope to do in the final two weeks?
Well I am planning on using the FB platform. Maybe I can help to get some more new readers.... And of course Christmas is near... so who knows I might do something with that.....

I you are inspired by this story and want to become a Blog Angel, let me know and I will get you in contact with the ever so sweet Rosie, our Blog Angel Mama.

Oh how pinteresting!

So my inspiration for this post came from the lovely Kaitlyn from Keeping up with Kaitlyn. I always liked this item which you can see on her blog as a reoccurring feature. Curious? Just click here, here and here. This item is actually part of a link up party hosted by Michelle from The Vintage Apple (love this name!) so what else to do than start pinning and start sharing!

Source: tarastarlight.tumblr.com via Hansol on Pinterest

I love bikes :)

Source: shop.uncovet.com via Leandro on Pinterest

This made me think of my niece :)

Source: showded.com via Hansol on Pinterest

Beautiful!

Source: happyadvocates.blogspot.nl via Lieke on Pinterest

Your welcome :)

Source: hautelook.com via buttercup caren on Pinterest

Love this!

Which one do you find most interesting?

I hope you enjoyed this! If you want you can follow me on pinterest! Just click  on the below icon:

The ultimate Blog Angel Xmas Edition!

Good morning!

So this weekend I am helping out Rosie from Craftbotic! She helped me out so much over the last months and since Christmas is around the corner it is time to give back and share all the love and I trying to help her reach her December Blog Angel goal.

So here is the deal, Rosie is organising the first Ultimate Blog Angel Xmas edition! Below you can read all about it! Our goal is to have 250 people taking part of this BA edition.

So go and check out the below post written by Rosie herself, fill in the form, click on "Insturen" which is freaky deaky Dutch for "send".

______________________________________________________________________

The Ultimate edition of Blog Angels is about to start and it promises to be bigger than ever. If you're a veteran Angel then pay close attention as we've thrown the rule book for this round out of the window.

This time it is ALL about the giving. You will sign-up to help a blog of your choice, knowing there might not be any chance of receiving help. Most participants don't do this to be helped so I am excited what we can, as a community, do to spread the Christmas cheer.

So here are the December rules and the sign up form is right below.

1. Find a blog you want to help in secret - this could be new to you or an existing blogger in need of a boost. Try and give the URL of a reserve blog to help in case your first choice is in hot demand.

2. Fill in the form (on the blog from 10th November!)

3. Wait for an email before 30th November confirming you can help that person. I will make sure that everyone isn't trying to assist the same person.

4. Help them with their blog in secret for one month, commiting to commenting a minimum of twice a week. See more advice on what else you can do here.

5. Link up a post summarising what help you have given throughout the first two weeks. (15th December)

6. Link up a reveal post on 30th December and contact your blog to let them know you've been their festive buddy for the month.

Blog Angels December Sign Up Form

If you fancy helping me out in promoting the sign-up, I'd be so grateful. If we had 250 people taking part....well...we'll be a small way to changing the world.....maybe!

Christmas is my favourite time of the year. So what a better way to make my grin 8 feet wide than with helping out?

The glitter of being a Blog Angel!

As you might know this month I have been an angel, I am always an angel (it is in my name, see this post) but this month I have been a special angel, a Blog Angel to be precise. If you do not know what it is then you'd better start reading this post!

The blog that I have been helping might sound familiar.... it is The Glitter of Sunshine! Why does it sound familiar? Well check out this post which I wrote about this fabulous, awesome and always positive blog hosted by Sierra. Over the month I tried to help Sierra by commenting on her lovely posts. I also wrote a post about her blog with a direct link to her blog hoping to increase traffic. 

The posts that I loved the most is this posts called Happiness. I personally think we should all post the things we love and that make us happy at least once a month! I myself will start doing this in this post and will try to make it a monthly topic. 

In case you haven't yet checked out her blog start by clicking here!

Since I loved it so much I will also be a blog angel in October! So maybe I will be your angel this time :)

As for the things that make me happy; here we go!

Have a nice day and remember:

Blog Angel update uno!

Hi there it's me Lieke from Swirling Away Everyday! Today I want to tell a little something about a special undercover project I am working on this month. It is called Blog Angels! Which is totally awesome! In short it means I am to help and guide a certain blogger with growing her blog, reaching more people and getting more attention from other bloggers. I cannot get into any specifics, but my blog Angel is such a darling! Her blog is awesome, very positive, her blog is as bright as sunshine!Having a blog Angel is so much fun! But in the beginning it was a bit difficult, because you have to get to know the blog and the blogger behind the blog. This wasn't as easy  as I had hoped but the past few weeks I am having more interaction with my Angel which is awesome! This really gives me the feeling that I can help her and make a difference!

The main thing I have learned from these past weeks is that you have to be pro-active and consistent. If you do not get the feedback from your Angel you had hoped for, don't give up and just keep on swirling and trying to help your Angel! We all want people to like what we write so just keep on being positive and leave nice comments, or ask a question in your comment so you get some more personal interaction. 

My goals for my blog angel is to help her grow her blog and getting more followers. I started with just leaving nice comments on her blog and trying to grow her confidence in her blogging skills. Even though you write you blog for you it can be quite difficult when you don't get any feedback from other blggers. So by just leaving nice honest comments I hope her confidence and her blog will grow.

SabraKahn -  http://www.flickriver.com

So there you have it, an idea of what it means to have a Blog Angel. In case you are interested and also want to help bloggers just contact Rosie at CraftBotic!

XoXo Lieke