Good Stock Photos

Happy Monday, friends! I hope you had a good weekend. I spent mine indoors, getting my home office in order. Last week I worked mostly from the couch and, let's be honest, from my bed, and that was not terribly productive. But today I'm starting fresh with my newly rearranged and organized office, and I'm ready for the week! 

Part of my goals for this week are getting my editorial calendar set up for the blog (I've fallen woefully behind) and part of that includes finding good photos for every post. If you do much writing online you know the struggle that is finding decent photos to go with your posts and articles. I do try to take photos on my own, but usually I don't have time to take photos for everything I write. So I often rely on stock photos.

My go-to stock photo option has long been Death to Stock Photos. They have some great stuff. Unfortunately, everyone else seems to think so as well! I see their photos everywhere, and I'm starting to realize it may be time to find another option.

Enter GoodStock.Photos. All photos on the site are free, but if you want the really good stuff you'll want to sign up for a membership. There are two options: Plus and Premium. Plus Members get a pack of 20 hi-res photos each month while Premium Members get the same pack plus access to all previous monthly packs. Both paid options also give back to the community, with $1 of every Plus Membership and $10 of every Premium Membership going to charity.

Good Stock Photos is relatively new, so there is only one photo-pack so far. But it's a good one, so I'm excited about the future of this site! Here are a couple of the photos offered in the current photo pack:

If you're interested in joining GoodStock.Photos, I've got good news for you. You can save 25% off a Plus or Premium Membership with the code "sparkles" - just enter that in when you checkout and you'll be good to go! The code is valid until July 31st, so if you're interested you better head over there now!

What are your go-to stock photo options? I know a few photographers who are also looking to put together their own stock photo sites, and I'd love to have a few places to pull from!
 

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

Full disclosure: I did receive a one-year Premium Membership to Good Stock Photos in exchange for writing this blog post. However all opinions are my own! I am excited to be trying out Good Stock Photos, and I think you'll like it too.

When I Grow Up: An Interview with Kathleen Shannon

Y'all, I'm super pumped about today's post! This edition of When I Grow Up features Kathleen Shannon of Braid Creative! I have a bit of girlboss crush on her. I first learned about Kathleen when she was a guest on the Elise Gets Crafty podcast. That led me to Kathleen's personal blog and to her business, Braid Creative which happens to be based here in Oklahoma City! Kathleen is one of the geniuses behind the Being Boss podcast that I'm pretty much obsessed with, and I had the pleasure of having lunch with her a couple weeks ago. I tried to play it cool, but I was fangirling on the inside. (We went to Nourished Food Co, and if you haven't been there yet, please stop by! So yummy. Plus it is super healthy!)

I could go on and on about Kathleen, but you're here to hear from her. So let's do it!

 As a child, I wanted to be a ­______ when I grew up. I wanted to be a jet fighter pilot or wartime photo journalist! Then I was really into the idea of being a doctor. 

How close (or far) is your current career from that dream? Well, I essentially became an artist. So my current career is the total opposite of my dreams of battle and blood. 

What is your official job title? Co-owner of Braid Creative (the best part is I get to make up my official job title from day to day – sometimes it's "writer" or "podcast host" or "designer")  

Ok, now what does that really mean?

In my job I do branding and business visioning for creative entrepreneurs. Every day is a little different. Some days I'm designing a logo. Other days I'm writing new content for our ECourse. I also do creative coaching which means I help coach creatives through the work / life blend so they can live what they love without all the anxiety that comes with being your own boss. 

What is a typical day like? I usually wake up around 6AM. I get some oats on the stove and heat a bottle and make a banana pancake for my 14 month old son. We spend a couple hours eating and getting ready for the day. My husband and baby leave the house around 8AM for work and daycare and that's when I get started. I usually have 2 meetings a day with clients or creative colleagues. I review my calendar and to-do list which usually has tasks like "Write blog post. Record podcast. Send in bio for talk. All the emails." on it. I usually take an hour or so to hit the gym everyday around lunch. My work day is over around 3 or 4PM when I go pick up my baby from daycare. We'll usually go for a long walk to decompress and come home just in time to start dinner before my husband comes home from his day job. We spend our evenings watching Netflix after the baby goes to bed. 

How did you end up in this career? I got a degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in graphic design. I worked at an advertising agency with my sister for 5 years (she was there for 13) before quitting to freelance. A year later my sister quit too and we started Braid Creative together. 

What kind of education or training did you complete for this career? I always loved art as a kid and went to the University of Oklahoma for a degree in fine art. I thought I would be a painter but when I heard the design program was super competitive I decided to audition. I graduated in 4 years with a bachelors degree but I've found since then the learning never stops. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants a similar career? Focus on becoming an expert in your craft for at least 10,000 hours. Love what you do so much that you nerd out about it on the weekends. Make friends with other creatives and have fun. Make it your job to make everyone else's job or life easier and better. Do the work. 

Do you have any other career dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up? I just launched a podcast called Being Boss with my creative gal pal Emily Thompson. I'm obsessed with growing that brand into something BIG. I just don't quite know how it will all unfold but I love being along for the ride. 

Any last thoughts or encouragement for others trying to decide what they want to do “when they grow up”? Just be yourself 100% of the time – on and off the clock – and everything else – money, love, success – will show up. 

I want to say another huge thank you to Kathleen for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions! If you haven't listened to Being Boss yet, go do it now. Great stuff there, plus the Facebook group is incredible (and yours truly helps moderate it).

Also, I know Kathleen mentioned her company's e-courses above and I can't say enough about them. I've personally taken two of them, and I'm enrolled in the next course! It's called Shape Your Content, and I can't wait for it to start! If you want to join me in the e-course, follow this link and use the discount code BRAIDECOURSE50 to save $25. Plus we can be e-course buddies, how fun is that? 

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...

The Braid Creative e-course link is an affiliate link. 

Sunday Sparkles Coming Soon!

Happy Friday my friends. It has been a wild and crazy week, but we've made it to Friday. I may or may not have a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge right now. (Ok, who am I kidding? It is a $10 sparkling wine.) I'm ready to head home and pop it open to celebrate that one week from tomorrow I'll be in NYC with James!

But that's not all I'm celebrating. No dear readers, I am also celebrating the launch of Sunday Sparkles!

Starting March 15th, I'll be sending a weekly newsletter each and every Sunday. If you want sparkly goodness in your inbox, enter your info in the form below. (If you are reading this in Bloglovin' or in email you may need to click here to sign up.)

And just a heads up: even if you receive my regular posts in your inbox, you will still need to subscribe to the newsletter. I have long vowed to use the emails you all have provided wisely, so I don't want to just take your email from that list and move you to the newsletter list. That seems like a misuse of your email address to me. I'd rather err on the side of caution and ask you lovely readers to sign up on your own!

So sign up today to receive exclusive content that you won't find here on the blog! There may be a freebie or two in the near future as well :)

Previously on Mrs Robbins Sparkles...