Retrospective

Today is a very special day here at Floral Prints and Common Sense.

It's my blogiversary!

Ok actually it was yesterday.

There were a lot of retrospectives around the blogosphere on New Years, and this post is going to be mine.

I started Floral Prints and Common Sense (then named Floral Prints and Kissing) in February 2012, as a place to showcase my outfits, art, and crafts, and that's still what it is... albeit outfit-heavy. Over the past year of blogging, I've been inspired by my peers' countless outfits, made new friends, and become more courageous when it comes to getting dressed in the morning.

Here are some of my favorite outfits from each month of 2012.

 Something weird happened with this post and I can't link to it. It's in the archives on July 11.

 barn red

 common sense

 checks please

 i can't get no

 future's so bright i gotta wear shades

 mauve over

 falling slowly

 cotton

pokemaniac

bird's eye view

short skirts

Some accomplishments:

-I went from 0 to 80 something followers. It's really cool that people want to read this blog! The sense of community among fashion bloggers is something I haven't experienced on any other social networking site (especially among strangers). Commenting on other's posts and getting feedback on my own has been so fun!

-I joined a swap blog! When I was accepted to join Flock Together, I was really excited! And I didn't really know what to expect, since I'm so new to this thing. Of course borrowing fancy clothes is fun, but I made friends, too! Internet friends had always been a foreign concept to me, but it's not weird! Really.

-I got a free dress. You've probably seen eShakti reviews around, because they contacted a lot of bloggers. I was so excited to get a dress to review, it made me feel like a real blogger or something! Even if it didn't fit me right.

-I started doing commissions. As someone who wants to make a living out of illustrating things for people, this was a dream come true! Not all of them ended in me getting cash, but they were all fun. Working with people who admire my art is probably the most important thing I can hope for in my future career!

-I've improved as a photographer. My earlier pictures were mostly taken by my boyfriend with his iPhone. But looking back over the months, I have some cool photos that I took myself, in interesting locations! I've still got a ways to go, but I've definitely improved.

-I've become a more creative dresser! I think this is one of the biggest changes in myself, pertaining to this blog. I look back on the way I used to dress, and now I like it so much better! That's not to say that this time next year I'll have the same sense of style, but I really am proud of my outfits because I put work into them. I wear skirts and dresses so much more now (I mean jeans aren't bad), so I get more wear out of them seasonally.

-I've learned how to sew. Making my own dresses is like realizing a dream. Putting my vision into reality, a reality I can touch and wear, makes me so proud.

-I started an etsy shop! I finally plucked up the courage and set it up! I put a lot of work into it, and I'm trying not to get discouraged while waiting for sales. I'm really proud to have a good-looking place that is all mine!

In the future, I hope to get better. Better at photography, sewing, art, and dressing. I want to do more DIYs, and more commissions! I'm really glad I started this blog, as lame as it feels to tell people, "oh um, I take pictures of myself and put them on the internet," I've grown so much, and I can't wait to see where 2013 takes me!