I think we’re all in agreement that summer can’t come soon enough, right? Warm weather, lounging at the beach and longer days are just some of the things that we need in our life. Judging from your submissions to this week’s project – most of you can’t wait for summer so that you can show off your sartorially stylish self.

Here are our 10 favorite submissions from Project #48: Summer Style Kick Off:

1. Barefoot Duchess shows us the best in floral & striped patterns – perfect for the beach
2. Clothes Line Finds shares some summer picnic essentials including a recipe for a quinoa salad
3. Librarian for Life Style illustrates day & night looks for one summer staple: the white dress
4. Little Room in the North lists 5 ways to wear summer styles even if you live where the sun doesn’t frequently shine
5. Whether you call it a bralet or bustier; Looks by Laura finds 7 styles perfect for summer
6. The Blue Hour defines her 10 Summertime Essentials
7. twIn STYLE showcases some of their favorite retro-inspired swimsuits
8. Blushing Black uses a slideshow to illustrate her summer must-haves
9. Not Daydreams’ summer style is influenced by vintage movie stars specifically Grace Kelly & Brigitte Bardot
10. Beauty and the Street’s Memorial Day beach essentials are stylish and practical

To see all the submissions click here and remember to check back on Saturday for the newest project!

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Grab your favorite gadget and follow Independent Fashion Blogger’s exclusive cross-country Instagram road trip

Embark on the blogging community’s ultimate summer escapade with Independent Fashion Blogger’s (IFB) “Day in the Life” Instagram campaign, a virtual summer road trip that gives Instagram users the chance to explore the country through the eyes of their favorite digital personalities.

Making virtual pit-stops in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Nashville, Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC and New York City, each selected blogger will share five original photos on the IFB Instagram account. With a different featured blogger each day, the “Day in the Life’ campaign will highlight the diverse voices and personalities that can be found within the nation’s digital space. Each photo will be posted on the @_IFB instagram account and will be shared with both IFB’s and the participating blogger’s social media community.

Follow each blogger’s Instagram postings with this posting schedule and the #DayintheLife dedicated hashtag:

5/28/2012: Mollie Ruiz-Hopper, www.MollieInSeattle.com, @MollieInSeattle
5/29/2012: Whitney Powell & Brittany Hebb, www.BrittandWhit.com, @BrittandWhit
5/30/2012: Erin Hiemstra, www.Apartment34.com, @Apartment_34
5/31/2012: Tara McNulty, www.TheWonderGirl.com, @TaraDear
6/01/2012: Lauren Wickman, www.LAintheBay.com, @LAintheBay / @CallMeLoLo
6/02/2012: Krystal Bick, www.ThisTimeTomorrow-Krystal.blogspot.com @Krystal_Bick
6/03/2012: Natalie Goel, www.LikeFreshLaundry.com, @NatalieGoel
6/04/2012: Samantha Hutchinson, www.CouldIHaveThat.Blogspot.com, @CouldIHaveThat
6/05/2012: Mara Ferreira, www.MLovesM.Blogspot.com, @MaraFerreira
6/06/2012: Bradley Agather, www.LuellaJune.com, @Bagather
6/07/2012: Sarah Faye, www.LivingGoldie.com, @goldie_locks
6/08/2012: Jennifer King, www.IfIMustSaySo.com, @birdflygood
6/09/2012: Allyson Noriega, www.AllysoninWonderland.com, @AllysoninWonderland
6/10/2012: Audrey Huber, www.ALovelyEscape.Blogspot.com. @MissAudMarie
6/11/2012: Amy Creyer, www.ChicagoStreetStyle.com, @ChiStreetStyle
6/12/2012: Cait Weingartner, www.PrettyandFun.com, @PrettyandFun
6/13/2012: Megan Gilger, www.TheFreshExchangeBlog.com, @hitchdesign
6/14/2012: Elise Yetton, www.PennyweightOnline.com, @Pennyweight
6/15/2012: Jessica Nell Graves, www.TheLoveList.net, @thelovelist
6/18/2012: Jewel Hazelton, www.EatDrinkShopLove.com, @Eatdrinkshoplove
6/19/2012: Meg Biram, www.MimiandMegBlog.com, @MegBiram
6/20/2012: Molly and Sally Miller, www.APieceofToast.com, @apieceoftoast
6/21/2012: Lacey Maffettone, www.ALaceyPerspective.com, @laceperspective
6/22/2012: Alison Coglianese, www.ChainStrapPurse.com, @AllyCog
6/23/2012: Sarah Morgan Shepherd, www.HemenwayStreet.com, @HemenwayStreet
6/25/2012: Laura Ellner, www.OnTheRacks.com, @ontheracks
6/26/2012: Erika Sheffer, www.StyleActivist.com, @styleactivist
6/27/2012: Lauren Brenner, www.EveryDayToRunway.com, @Everyday_Runway
6/28/2012: Sarah Lederman, www.ChevronandStripes.com, @Chevronsarah
6/29/2012: Caroline Knapp, www.SweetCarolineintheCity.com, @CarolineinCity
6/30/2012: Jinna Yang, www.GreaseandGlamour.com, @GreaseandGlamour

Don’t forget – the campaign starts May 28, 2012 over here with the #DayInTheLife hashtag!

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I had a feeling the ‘Show Us Your May Flowers’ topic would bring out some great bloggers and inspiring outfits. The response to this week’s project was overflowing (so many posts!) with your stylish take on the floral trend. Whether it was skinny pants, a designer-inspired DIY project or sweet sundress, you showed us that you’re not afraid to embrace botanical prints…everywhere!

Here are our 10 favorite submissions from Project #47: Show Us Your May Flowers:

1. Knocked Up Fabulous gets it right with this floral button down
2. Love Maegan’s DIY cobalt & white jeans are perfection
3. City of Skirts nails the tropical party pants look
4. Fashioneek’s LED Ravishing Roses Dress is pretty amazing
5. Fly Song Bird shares some inspiring floral images
6. The Joy of Fashion shows off her special occasion dress
7. CindieMindie uses black accents as a contrast to her floral pants
8. A Matter of Style wows us with a DIY Blumarine inspired top with plastic flowers
9. Natasha Fatah successfully mixes florals and stripes
10. Tamara Chloe makes black & white florals pop with splashes of tangerine

To see all the submissions click here and remember to check back on Saturday for the newest project!

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We’ve been noticing a trend here at IFB headquarters - it seems as though fewer and fewer comments are being left on blog posts. It’s been a gradual decline, but it’s noticeable. Blogs that once got hundreds of comments per post now only receive a dozen or so.  Smaller blogs are only getting a handful here and there.

Are bloggers getting to busy to get their own post published, bet alone visit and leave notes for other’s in the blogging community? Or have blogs become something different than what they were 5 years ago?

An article spotted on Social Media Today helped solidify these ideas, and got us to dig in a little more.

Here are our thoughts on why conversations have left blogging – and why we need to work to bring them back.

• Social Media Has Exploded. Really, think about it. 5 years ago we were just getting used to Twitter. Facebook was still only open to those of us with .edu email address. And Google was years away from thinking up G+.
  So if one of your readers wanted to chat, the only logical place to do so was in your comments. The only way for you to show love to new blogger friends was by leaving comments for them. Commenting was really the only community we had.
  Fast forward to today: My grandma has a Facebook page, my dad is on Twitter… conversations have become fragmented and dispersed over all our various networks. Tweeting at someone when you love their post, or discover their blog feels more natural and conversational. And let’s face it – it’s just plain easier.
• We’re All Busy. Is it just me, or does it seem like life had gotten a lot busier lately? It’s no longer about just updating your blog and visiting the links on your blog-roll. We’re trolling twitter, stalking old friends on Facebook, trying to read the thousands of un-read posts in our google readers. All while searching for jobs, finishing final papers, working towards promotions or something else on the endless list of life’s important tasks. Responding to our commenters and leaving comments of our own seems to take a back burner.
• Chalk it up to Spam? As spammers and bots became a common threat to blogs comments more and more bloggers (and even blog platforms) implemented anti-spam tactics. The good ol’ “Prove You’re A Human” step in commenting that we’ve all grown used to. However, CAPTCHA and its fellows are sometimes to much of a roadblock. The words are un-readable, you have to try to many times to post a simple comment and in the end you just give up. It’s not worth your time. Spam comments might be gone now, but sadly so are notes from your friends and fans.

What Can We Do About It?

Here’s our proposal to you bloggers – Let’s bring community back to blogs. Constructive and kind comments do amazing things for us – they boost our confidence as bloggers, they get our links out to the world and traffic back to our blogs, they find us new friends and they help us learn and grow. And we could all use more of that.

So here are just a few quick steps to get us back on the commenting train.

• Make the time. Set aside a little bit of your day just for leaving comments. And really think about what you are saying. Try to start a conversation instead of just leaving a generic ”Love this!” comment.
• Respond to the comments on your blog. Socialize with your readers right under your posts. It will engage them and keep them coming back , and you might even make new friends.
• Do away with CAPTCHA. Unless you have a huge spam problem – make it easy for your readers to leave comments.
• Leverage Social Media. We aren’t telling you to do away with tweeting at your favorite bloggers or having conversations outside of your blog. But be conscious of how you are using your social platforms. Try encouraging people to comment on your posts by asking them to on Twitter or Facebook!

 Do you think blog comments are important? How often are you commenting on other blogs?

[image by Nando Alvarez]

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For many of us, our mom was the first fashion influence we ever had.

Whether or not it was your mom, your grandmother, your aunt, your older sister or that crazy lady that lived across the street, we were all influenced by the strong female figures that surrounded us in our childhood. Whether you played dress-up in her closet or secretly loathed her sweater sets as an angst-y tween, these women played a role in how we all view fashion and personal style today. Whoever your greatest female influence was, let’s show her some love.

Project #46: In Honor of Mom

For this week’s post, create a post that’s dedicated to your mom, moms everywhere, or a favorite female in your life. Dig up old photos, take some new ones, ask her to share a story about a fashionable event from her past, it’s up to you. We all owe so much to the people who raised us to be who we are, the least we can do is treat them to a little blog post. (Sending flowers is also encouraged, but not required.)

Share your post below, and check back on Wednesday, May 10th for the round-up, just in time for Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 13th!

 [Image credit: One of the cutest moms with a blog ever, The Rockstar Diaries]

 

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