Merry Merry. Merry Merry.
Who is panic wrapping??? Who is panic wrapping???
If it’s going to be 80 degrees for Christmas I’m a If it’s going to be 80 degrees for Christmas I’m asking Santa for a spray tan gift card in my stocking.
As my boys have gotten older there is almost alway As my boys have gotten older there is almost always a friend eating dinner at my house or spending the night. The weekends are reserved for a driveway full of bikes and basketball. This year, in my haste to make my @shutterfly card I accidentally added a picture with one of my bonus kids in it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ #themorethemerrier
You are not shadow banned. Your content is not bei You are not shadow banned. Your content is not being hidden. Most of the time, it simply is not resonating with your audience anymore, especially if you are using the app correctly, which I will explain at the end.

People blame “shadow banning” when they see a drop in engagement, but when I look at their metrics, I can usually see small declines long before they noticed them. Social media platforms have millions of users. They are not punishing you because you took a week off.

What actually happens is this. Your audience stopped engaging with your content, and when you took a break, they filled that space with other creators. When you returned, the algorithm showed them the accounts they interacted with most, which was not you. They were not looking for your content because it was not relevant to them anymore. I see this over and over.

There is one real caveat. How you are using the app. If you upload unlicensed music, follow and unfollow in large numbers, run giveaways that break platform rules or respond to comments in negative ways, you can hurt your reach. That is not a shadow ban. That is violating the service agreement.

A case study. Someone told me they was shadow banned. When I looked at their account, a few things stood out.

1. There was no aspirational layer to the content. It was a business that relied on people physically coming in, yet nothing showcased a luxury experience, or a story people could connect with. Photos were blurry, captions were minimal and there was no searchable language to help people discover her business.

2. There was no engagement back to the audience. Not responding to comments is one of the fastest ways to lose your community. People want acknowledgment. If they do not get it from you, they will give their attention to someone else.

3. They were not using the app like a real user.  Instagram and TikTok know you are a business, but they still reward accounts that behave like humans.  Comment, watch stories and sending DMs. That signals genuine activity and community building.

Most of the time the issue is not a shadow ban. It is content, connection and consistency. And the good news is all of that can be improved.
Candy cane bow tutorial!! #chrismas #christmasbaki Candy cane bow tutorial!! #chrismas #christmasbaking #christmascake #christmastreat #holiday #holidaytreats #coquettechristmas #twee #coquetteholiday
Coffee with my favorite collaborator… Coffee with my favorite collaborator…
Shop local gift guide @shopstelladallas!! Shop local gift guide @shopstelladallas!!
Last Christmas, we took the Annual King Cookie Par Last Christmas, we took the Annual King Cookie Party in a whole new direction and it ended up being one of my favorite versions yet. I invited some of my closest friends to Kismet Cosmetics, decorated gingerbread houses, and made our own lip gloss and face glitter. It was such a fun way to reconnect with my friends during the busiest time of year. The full recap is on the blog now. Link in bio.
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At Home, Holiday, Home, Life · September 12, 2018

Fall Front Porch for under $100

Every year when September rolls around I think of Steve Martin in Father of the Bride.  “This house is warm in the winter, cool in the summer and look spectacular with Christmas lights.  It’s a great house.  I never want to move.”

I feel the same way with my house.  I love it.  I loved it from the moment we laid eyes on it and even more the day my friend Danielle called to tell me there was a for sale sign in the yard.  This house is cute, and the orange stands out and the view of the pond from our living room sold us.  I never want to move.

This house also looks spectacular with Christmas lights, but this house is truly in its glory in the fall.

I have decorated this house for many seasons and it’s always fun but the way it looks in the fall always gets me.  Our house is a French colonial style with columns and French doors, but the unique part is they finished the front porch in stucco and painted it burnt orange.  My house sticks out and I love it.

The Halloween Trick or Treating is epic in our neighborhood.  We used to do the whole yard up for Halloween but now that we are out trick or treating with the kids we decorate for fall on the porch and leave it that way until we decorate for Christmas.

I was surfing through Pinterest looking for some new fall ideas and came across picture as my inspiration piece.

So, in full disclosure, if I had to do all of the things on my porch it would have cost me more than $100.  I found several things in my house that I used outside like the lanterns, wagon and rug.  The rest I did purchase, and my total came out right at $108.  Not too bad for a person who can blow through a budget like a kid through a birthday cake.

  • Pumpkins:  I purchased the pumpkins at a few different places.  Two of them were left over from last year.  All of the white pumpkins were from Michael’s and the small orange I found at the Dollar General.
  • Hay: I found small bails at Michaels and Hobby Lobby.  They are usually cheaper at the feed and seed, but I grabbed these with a 50% off coupon.
  • Buffalo Check Ribbon:  This was one of the harder items to find and stay on budget.  I found several online but they were all $30 or more for a roll.  I was trying to stay on budget so I found smaller rolls in the Christmas department at Hobby Lobby for $3.99 and half off.
  • Wreath:  I made this for less than $18.  There is a metal ring base that was $3.  The leaves are two $9.99 garlands that were 50% off.  The ribbon was off of the roll I bought, and the small pumpkins were $1.47 and 50% off.  I would have made it fuller but again, I was on a budget.
  • Mums:  Every single year I buy mums and they die.  I don’t care if I water them every day or every other day or never they just die.  This year I wanted to buy some fake ones but again too expensive for my budget.  I went to the Dollar General again and grabbed as many mums as I could find, and they also had these cute terra cotta pots.  I glued the mums into the bottom of the pots and there you go!
  • Topiary:  The topiary was one of my more expensive projects.  I had the pots and the small orange pumpkins.  The bas inside the pot is an amazon box cut in half and then padded with grocery bags.  I secured the first pumpkin to the base and then cut a hole in the bottom of the other two and placed them on top of one another.  I glued it all with hot glue and a little E6000 for staying power.  Peyton bought me the polka dot washi tape for the base pumpkins.  I finished off the top with a little black ribbon I had left from Prima Donnas last year!
  • Lanterns:  These are from my fireplace.  I love them so much and thought they would be the perfect finishing touch to the porch.  The candles are on battery timers and start at 6 and end at 10pm.
  • Wagon:  I bought this wagon on Craigslist for Peyton’s first birthday.  I think I paid $15 for it.  The wagon is one of the best things I have ever purchased.  We use it for everything and it has become a signature piece in my porch displays.  If you ever see one of them available at a garage sale just grab it.

Now I want to see what you are doing for fall and do a little GIVEAWAY!  See I  told you to read to the bottom.   Inside or outside, you pick.  Send me your pictures by email,  Instagram or Facebook.  I’m going to pick my favorite and there will be a little bonus in it for you.

I am also going to pick a second winner randomly and these are my criteria…

  • One entry for a picture of your fall decor
  • Two entries if you are in the picture and holding something pumpkin
  • Three entries if you set a budget and stay within it

This is going to be fun!

Happy Fall Y’all…

Tippy

 

In: At Home, Holiday, Home, Life · Tagged: autumn, fall, fall decor, fall front porch decor, fall leaves, holiday, home, pumpkin

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I'm Tiffany. Although some of my favorite people call me Tippy. My favorite color is pattern. Seriously, I've never met a pattern I didn't like. My style is as bold as my personality and you should never trust my hair color. I am all about size inclusive style on a Nordstrom Sale budget.
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Merry Merry. Merry Merry.
Who is panic wrapping??? Who is panic wrapping???
If it’s going to be 80 degrees for Christmas I’m a If it’s going to be 80 degrees for Christmas I’m asking Santa for a spray tan gift card in my stocking.
As my boys have gotten older there is almost alway As my boys have gotten older there is almost always a friend eating dinner at my house or spending the night. The weekends are reserved for a driveway full of bikes and basketball. This year, in my haste to make my @shutterfly card I accidentally added a picture with one of my bonus kids in it. 🤷🏻‍♀️ #themorethemerrier
You are not shadow banned. Your content is not bei You are not shadow banned. Your content is not being hidden. Most of the time, it simply is not resonating with your audience anymore, especially if you are using the app correctly, which I will explain at the end.

People blame “shadow banning” when they see a drop in engagement, but when I look at their metrics, I can usually see small declines long before they noticed them. Social media platforms have millions of users. They are not punishing you because you took a week off.

What actually happens is this. Your audience stopped engaging with your content, and when you took a break, they filled that space with other creators. When you returned, the algorithm showed them the accounts they interacted with most, which was not you. They were not looking for your content because it was not relevant to them anymore. I see this over and over.

There is one real caveat. How you are using the app. If you upload unlicensed music, follow and unfollow in large numbers, run giveaways that break platform rules or respond to comments in negative ways, you can hurt your reach. That is not a shadow ban. That is violating the service agreement.

A case study. Someone told me they was shadow banned. When I looked at their account, a few things stood out.

1. There was no aspirational layer to the content. It was a business that relied on people physically coming in, yet nothing showcased a luxury experience, or a story people could connect with. Photos were blurry, captions were minimal and there was no searchable language to help people discover her business.

2. There was no engagement back to the audience. Not responding to comments is one of the fastest ways to lose your community. People want acknowledgment. If they do not get it from you, they will give their attention to someone else.

3. They were not using the app like a real user.  Instagram and TikTok know you are a business, but they still reward accounts that behave like humans.  Comment, watch stories and sending DMs. That signals genuine activity and community building.

Most of the time the issue is not a shadow ban. It is content, connection and consistency. And the good news is all of that can be improved.
Candy cane bow tutorial!! #chrismas #christmasbaki Candy cane bow tutorial!! #chrismas #christmasbaking #christmascake #christmastreat #holiday #holidaytreats #coquettechristmas #twee #coquetteholiday
Coffee with my favorite collaborator… Coffee with my favorite collaborator…
Shop local gift guide @shopstelladallas!! Shop local gift guide @shopstelladallas!!
Last Christmas, we took the Annual King Cookie Par Last Christmas, we took the Annual King Cookie Party in a whole new direction and it ended up being one of my favorite versions yet. I invited some of my closest friends to Kismet Cosmetics, decorated gingerbread houses, and made our own lip gloss and face glitter. It was such a fun way to reconnect with my friends during the busiest time of year. The full recap is on the blog now. Link in bio.
I have been creating online for almost a decade, a I have been creating online for almost a decade, and the landscape has shifted in major ways. These are the changes that matter right now.

1. People don’t want to be influenced. They want to be educated. Audiences want content that improves their life, solves a problem or teaches them something useful. Value builds trust and trust builds connection.
2. Organic engagement is no longer the only metric. Paid reach is a smart tool when you know your audience and use the right placements. Sometimes your best content needs a push to reach the right people.
3. Community requires evolution. As you grow, your audience grows. Their needs change. Listening to what they save, ask for and respond to is how you stay connected.
4. Personality is the new niche. People follow people. Your voice, humor and perspective are what separate you from everyone else in your category.
5. Consistency matters, but sustainability matters more. Batching, content silos and systems help you show up without burning out.
6. Social SEO is essential. People use Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest like search engines. Keyword dense captions, clear hooks and intentional hashtags help your content get discovered long after posting.
7. Community is more important than virality. Viral moments fade. A loyal audience stays, engages and converts.
8. Creators are becoming brands and brands are becoming creators. Storytelling, personality and real time content now matter more than being perfectly polished.
9. AI isn’t replacing creators. It supports them. It frees up time so you can focus on creativity, connection and strategy.
10. Transparency matters more than perfection. And transparency isn’t the same as authenticity. Transparency means not gatekeeping and letting people into the process so they feel empowered.
11. Growth isn’t just about new followers. It’s about nurturing the audience you already have. Engagement and trust will take you farther than any number at the top of your profile.

The creator space is evolving and so are we. Staying curious, adaptable and connected to your community is how you grow long term.

#personalbranding #contentcreatortips

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