Confessions of a Blogger Kari from Lovilee

This weeks Confessions of a Blogger features one of my favourite creative minds and local bloggers, Kari from Lovilee! We have never met but I feel like I know Kari so well! I was featured on the Lovilee Website last year, in a Kitchen Feature, after the mini kitchen makeover we did 🙂 Hopefully some day soon I can meet this lovilee lady in the flesh!

Hi I am Kari, a creative at heart, who loves pretty things and sharing pretty things with others. Even thought I have a BSc in Mathematical Sciences and a background working in corporate, I have always loved to create things and make little handmade things. I am so privileged to be able to run lovilee and share what interests me with others. I believe that if you do what you love you will love what you do!

When did you start your journey as a blogger and why? I started lovilee in 2010 as a place where I could share my thoughts and DIY projects of my wedding. It later became a space where I shared the projects of the house we had just moved in. A friend and my sister joined the blog and we formally added the Wedding + Kids sections. They later moved on to pursue other projects and I have been running lovilee myself for just over two years.

If you are not blogging where will we find you? Probably at the Wimpy down the road where my little man can play on the jungle gym 🙂 But if I have free time I love to create handmade products that I sell in a little on-line store on Hello Pretty . I also enjoy planning styled shoots, we roughy do one a quarter and this keeps me busy for weeks. Some of my favourite ones include the Delft Christmas table {above} and the Glitterazzi Wedding shoot{below}..

Tell us a little about your space on the interweb and what you blog about? My blog caters for a wide audience, staring with brides + brides-to-be, aspiring home decorators and mommies, and mommies-to-be. I aim to keep inspiring lovilees past their special day to where they move into a new space or later on have kiddies. Spreading the lovilee one article at a time.

What do you think makes a blog successful? Being passionate about what you write about. If you just blog to make money you will soon lose interest in what you do. I find that when I blog about topics that really interest me the words just flow and other people enjoy reading the article and comment on it.
Being a blogger is not always easy – what motivates you and keeps you going? I’ve met some of my best friend in the bloggersphere. I try to surround myself with positive people and know who to chat to, to get me motivated when I feel down. I also have to remind myself that I do not have to measure my success against others’, I am privileged enough to do what I want and enjoy.
What have your biggest blogging challenges been? I try to do as much as possible of www.lovilee.co.za myself. I did the current design, most of the coding and then most of the articles. The biggest challenge is to remain calm when something goes wrong! Especially when you think you are busy upgrading something to find that the whole blog has vanished.
What do you love most about being a blogger? I enjoy meeting other lovilees that are more creative than myself. It challenges me to set higher standards for myself and become a more lovilee me. I also appreciate that I can spent time with my family on a daily basis and am not tied to a 9-5 job.
What has your journey as a blogger taught you {about yourself or in general}? Has it changed your life in any way? It has showed me that your dreams are not as far out of reach as you believe them to be. I never thought that more than 10 people would read what I posted every day. It also taught me perseverance. There were many a time that I wanted to press the DELETE button on the blog, but positive feedback and friends were always there to keep me from it!

What are your top 5 SA blogs? I love The Saltbox, That Little Blog, Wedding Friends, Troukoors and Inspired Living off-course! I also follow quite a few local wedding and lifestyle photographers.
If you had to give a newbie blogger any advice, what words of wisdom would you impart? Wow, there is sooo much that I have learnt that I actually started a blogging series at the beginning of this year entitled Blogging 101. In the series I aim to try and give some advice on what I have learn’t in this journey of mine of just over 3 years now. http://www.lovilee.co.za/tag/blogging-101/

Thanks Kari for sharing a bit more about your life and blogging journey with us! You can find out more about Kari and connect with her here:

Blog link: www.lovilee.co.za

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovilee.inspiration

Twitter: @LovileeDsigns

If you would like to be featured on Confessions of a Blogger or would like to see a blogger featured here, then please email Fiona or leave a comment below.

Image Source: Lovilee, Delft Photoshoot ~ Photographer Duane Smith, Glitterazzi Wedding shoot ~ photographer Melanie Wessels