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5 Money Saving Blogger Hacks & £50 John Lewis Voucher Giveaway

voucher giveaway money saving hacks

Creating Photo backdrops

I think we're all well aware of this hack, most of us don't have a house kitted out in marble so the easiest way to achieve this is by using wallpaper samples or sticky-back plastic. It's such a simple way to create a more interesting backdrop and you'll save a lot more than if you were to splash out on a real marble table. Some of my favourite backdrop props include fluffy rugs and marble but these are so easily DIY'd (some cheap samples from Amazon: marble, wood, brick) and nothing beats white sheets!

photo backgrounds DIY

Camera Straps

Chances are if you're a blogger you've got a camera, whether it be a DSLR or a compact camera, such as the Olympus PEN, blogging can be pretty hard without one. This wasn't something that bothered me until I got the Olympus PEN E-PL7 and realised how awful the strap that came with it was (I'm guessing this is because they want you to buy one of their own straps - very annoying). I didn't want to buy a strap but every time I went out with my camera I feared the strap would come loose. On a whim I used a spare handbag strap I had lying about and voilá, problem solved. My camera feels much safer now and I can easily interchange it if I want to! Plus I'd rather buy a new bag than a new camera strap any day.

Camera Body

Although I haven't done this myself I've heard more and more about just how beneficial it can be. When I started out blogging I actually bagged a really good deal and got my Canon 700D with two lenses, the standard kit lens 18-55mm and a 50-250mm lens for the same price as the camera body so I was really happy with that and used these for most of my early photography. But now I practically only use the 50mm lens which is really affordable at less than £100, a much better deal if you're a blogging newbie.



Work with Friends & Bloggers

Blogging fashion and personal style, one of the most important things is having someone to take my photos for me as living in London I can't just step out the door with a tripod and remote ready to take my photos in the middle of the street - my biggest fear is someone running away with my camera and me having to chase after them in silly heels! I've been lucky enough to have my friends help me with this, both Faith and Maria have been my go-to girls and majority of my posts have been shot with them and it's so rewarding to see our progress. But I also think other bloggers just get the general blogging vibe and it can be incredible to bounce ideas off of each other whilst shooting, especially these days as photographers can be so expensive to work with!

At Home

And now, big girl stuff, I know this won't apply to everybody but I thought it would be worth mentioning. I've recently signed a contract for my university house next year and for the first time ever our bills aren't included meaning I've been doing my research to help me save money and prepare for blogging away from home as a student for another year. E.ON’s Smart Meters display shows you how much energy you are using in real time and allows you to keep tight control on how much you spend; perfect for those of us who are students/young adults thinking about moving out or have already.


Giveaway time! For your chance to win a £50 John Lewis voucher all you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know what your blogger hacks are, I'm always after new ways to better my blogging and stay on top of things whilst at university or just generally busy (which judging by my recent hiatus, I've recently found to be much more of a problem) use the Rafflecopter below to enter!

Terms and conditions
- The prize is non-transferable and no cash alternative is offered
- Open to UK residents aged 18 and over
- Competition is closed to employees and relatives of the host* and E.ON
- The competition opening date is 20/04/16, and the closing date for entries is 04/05/16.
- One entry per person
- Entrants must log into Rafflecopter and leave a comment stating a tip of their own which links to the bloggers post
- The winner will be chosen by using a random number generator build into the
Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted direct on the email address provided. If the winner does not respond within 7 days a new winner will be drawn.
- The winner’s name will be available on request. By entering this competition participants consent to their full name being available by request from the host
- The prize will be sent within 28 days of receipt of the winner’s address
- E.ON reserves the right to amend or withdraw the competition at any time without notice or liability
- Entry to this competition confirms that participants have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions
- This competition is governed by the laws of England and any dispute shall be governed by the English courts.
*The host = the participating blogger

This post and competition is brought to you in partnership with E.ON Energy. See if you could save money with their gas and electricity deals today. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

32 comments

  1. Replies
    1. I'd love to know your money saving hacks anyway haha! X

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  2. I'm with you on creating my own DIY back drops x

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    1. Such a good one isn't it?! I'm currently lusting over some more prints X

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  3. Love the post babe! I have my own back drops too..cant afford the marble flooring in the house haha! x

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    1. Thanks gorgeous, imagine! I feel like that's only really possible in Portugal where it seems to be the norm haha! X

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  4. You don't need a really expensive camera. Even if you can only take photos on your phone, if you can edit them, they can still look good. I use Picmonkey which is free, or if you want a few extra options is a couple of pounds a month. It has loads of different options for editing your photos to make them look so much brighter and clearer. Other apps worth trying are Pixlr, Befunky a Fotor.

    http://imbloggingforsanity.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. I love PicMonkey! I use it for creating YouTube thumbnails, I think more and more bloggers find cameras to be quite important these days but if you're just starting out or have a phone with a really great quality camera then it can definitely work! X

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  5. My biggest blogger hack - for flatlays, blue tack is your best friend! I can't believe how much time I used to waste trying to balance objects that would constantly roll around like Mac lipsticks! Got myself some blue tack, and voila! A flatlay now takes half the time :)

    forevabelle.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Yessss! I never used this much until I started shooting beauty products and realised just how important it is! X

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  6. If you have an iphone 6 the camera on that is good enough for high quality photos! Hold down on what you want the camera to focus on and it will lock in place, so even if your hands are a bit shaky you'll still get a clear shot!

    DippyWrites

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    1. I've heard about holding down and shooting but I never remember to! I recently upgraded to the iPhone 6s and it's a HUGE jump from the 6, definitely worth it for the increased camera quality! X

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  7. I love this, so many useful tips! My sister is a photography student so I love roping her into helping me with shoots, and when it comes to backgrounds for flat lays my go-to is my wardrobe (and my housemates!), you'd be surprised how many interesting and pretty textures and patterns you can find!

    http://marthamolly.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. That sounds perfect! The things I'd do to have a photographer on hand at all times. I love that idea! Just thinking about how much is in my wardrobe I feel the possibilities are genuinely endless! X

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  8. im not a blogger but i love reading them and the great ideas everyone has

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    1. I bet it's super interesting to read what blogger's get up to behind the scenes haha! Xx

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  9. I'm not a blogger but drinking coffee whilst blogging speeds up your metabolism ;)

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    1. I think coffee is a necessity for just about everybody! X

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  10. Write about what you love. I am not a blogger but that what I will do.

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  11. I'm not a blogger but caffeine helps me when I need to write anything - especially when I used to study!

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  12. DIY back drops are a must. I have a certain spot when the sun hits makes a great photo! I am not really a Blogger anymore but absolute money saver! I use cashback when buying ANYTHING online even Pizza haha that all adds up. I found when Blogging I had to note down my ideas and post ideas when they came to me and save drafts other wise I sit down to blog and it's gone!

    I am old school and my notebook is my life line!

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    1. All about the DIY backdrops, I love doing that too! I have so many notes on my phone as I find it so handy to reach for X

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  13. Write about your passions, i'm not a proper blogger but I recently set up a blog for my friends and family to keep up to date with 3 month travelling adventure. If you enjoy what you're writing about, its never a chore to do it and in my opinion, it comes through in your writing if you love the topic instead of just writing about it because you "have" to.

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    1. Oh wow! That's so incredible, I'm trying to do a lot more travel posts too and it's definitely inspiring to visit new places and really do what you love! I completely agree, writing comes so much more naturally when you're writing about what you love X

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  14. I'm not a blogger, but my favourite thing to do before shopping is to look for vouchers or discount code. Such a treat to find them :-)

    Thanks for a brilliant giveaway. xx

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    1. I'm a sucker for a discount, there are so many student codes flying about at the moment and I can't stop shopping! X

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  15. I use backdrops for my instagram posts a lot (faux marble and wood definitley being my favourite). I'm about to go on a trip to Thailand and am going solo! So I will be using lots of blogger hacks to get photos like my remote, tripod and a selfie stick of course haha. Love those red shoes by the way! x

    www.freydefleur.com

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    1. Yess! That seems to be a blogger favourite. Wow! That sounds incredible and so challenging from a blogger's perspective, the remote will be your best friend. Thank you X

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  16. I'm not a blogger, but I love reading blogs! If you're passionate about something then the ideas will flow :)

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    1. That's so lovely to hear! I'm always so interested in whether people who don't blog are interested in reading blogs so super pleased you've left a comment :) X

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