What I learned at Evo 2012

I am just now blogging about my amazing experience at Evo a few weeks ago.

Let me tell you – it was AH-MAZING!

I learned so much and had a great ime!

Today I want to share with you a few reasons why I enjoyed it so much (as well as a few things I learned along the way)…

1. THE WORKSHOPS

Evo was full of wonderful classes and workshops. I was lucky enough to have gotten into 3 of them, and I enjoyed so much at each one.

The first workshop was sponsored by Truvia with special guest speakers, Todd & Diane of White on Rice Couple. Let me tell you, if you have not been to their site before, go check it out now! They are amazing. Their passion and love for food photography was so easily recognized in this workshop and made me want to take pics of food all day long. It was truly amazing! They talked about food styling and the most important topics involved in food photography.

WHAT I LEARNED:

• Things to focus on while shooting:

1. Focus on the hero/beauty
2. Balance
3. Texture
4. Color
5. Lines
6. Movement/Motion
7. Height
8. Moment
9. Story

We also attended a Workshop sponsored by Lowe’s. This one to me, by far, was the most fun.

After making some crafts, we were put into teams and asked to build something unique with the supplies they provided. I was on a team with Michelle, Linda, Kirsten and Kelli. We had SO much fun!! We spent an hour and 45 minutes running around like crazy trying to use as many supplies as possible for our “Camping Scene.” And thanks to you, we won!! Thank you so much to all of those who LIKED our picture and voted for us on Facebook. You guys are the best!!

WHAT I LEARNED:

• 5 Creative Minds Together is better than 1 Creative Mind.

I was able to attend one more workshop sponsored by California Avocados as well as several more classes taught by some amazing and talented people. Through these workshops and classes I learned even more and found an even greater desire to keep blogging and sharing my ideas with others.

WHAT I LEARNED:

• It’s important to connect with your audience
• Don’t try to be what you aren’t
• Bloggers are your community, NOT your competition

All great tips, right!?!

2. THE LOCATIONS

We were so lucky to score an amazing condo from Links Luxury Rentals! The place was amazing and looked like it came straight from a magazine!

Be sure to check out Links Luxury Rentals on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. You can even see a virtual tour by clicking here.

The conference was also held at The Canyons which is beautiful!! Mind you, I had never been to Park City before but I loved it. It was so pretty, and I loved that we had to take a ski lift to get to the workshops. Pretty cool, right?

{And yes, we had to ride that ALLLL the way to the top – it took like 15-20 minutes!!}

WHAT I LEARNED:

• Desiree from The 36th Avenue is deathly afraid of heights. Ride with her at your own caution.

3. THE FRIENDS

Being there with so many friends and with those that “get you” was wonderful. Two years ago I knew a handful of bloggers. Now I can truly say that there are bloggers who are my closest friends!! Not only do they understand where you are coming from but they are happy to share with you what they’ve learned as well as provided inspiration and encouragement for me. I am so grateful for them!

{I adore all these Disney-lovin’ girls!!}

{Love me some Dating Divas, I Heart Naptime and Six Sisters Stuf!}

{LOVE THESE GIRLS!!!}

WHAT I LEARNED:

• I LOVE my blogging friends and am so grateful for their friendship, support, inspiration and love!

4. THE FUN

{Me and my bf, Mickey!}

Evo had a ton of wonderful sponsors. The one I was most excited about was Disney cuz I’m kinda obsessed. We go there every year, so I was happy to see them in UT and to learn more about their Cars Land. I can’t wait to go and check it out!!

One of the highlights of the trip was the last night. We decided to have a little fun and scare some of the girls that were coming that night to hang with us. We may have spent an hour plotting it all. LOL!! We seriously had so much fun!!

We pretty much decided to have them open up the door that leads to the hallway in front of our room door. Nikki (Chef in Training), Me, and Jen (Eighteen25) wrapped ourselves in white blankets, put our long brown hair in front of our faces and waited for the other girls to get back. Let’s just say we scared the ba-jee-bees out of these girls. And yes, we may be immature, but we had a blast!!

Here are some of the pics:

{LEFT: Nikki, me, Jen; RIGHT: Scaring the crud out of Mandi, April, Shelley, and Brooke!!}

And here is the video of us scaring them. It’s a little shaky and was taken with a phone, but it’s still AWESOME!!

WHAT I LEARNED:

• You’re never too old to have a little fun!

In the end I was so glad I was able to go. I learned a ton and was able to be inspired by everyone around me.

A special thanks to Cut it Out Frames who sponsored me to attend this event.

Be sure to check out their site and follow them on Facebook!! They have the cutest and least inexpensive decorative frames around!!

ENJOY!

In case you didn’t recognize a face or two…

Shauna & Courtney from Orange Blossom, Michelle from A Little Tipsy, Brooke & Kirsten from The Crafting Chicks, Kelli & Kristy from Lolly Jane, Kristen Duke from Kristen Duke Photography, Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous, Mandi from Vintage Revivals, Shelley from The House of Smiths, Brooke from All Things Thrifty, Tausha from Sassy Style, Tara & Wendy from The Dating Divas, Camille from Six Sisters Stuff, Desiree from The 36th Avenue, Nikki from Chef in Training, Amy from The Idea Room, Heather from Whipperberry, Tauni from SNAP, Jen from Craft-o-Maniac, Jen & Jodie from Eighteen25, Landee from Landee See Landee Do