I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for 6 years now, I kind of feel like that’s ancient in the sphere of blogging. I started as a way to document and potentially sell the cute onesies and leg warmers I was making for my little man and I pretty much had NO clue what I was doing! There definitely was not the support, community, and resources that there are now. The past couple years as I’ve networked and branched out more I have fallen more and more in love with blogging. Rebranding earlier this year and switching from Blogger to WordPress has been one of the best blogging decisions I’ve made.

I’ve definitely taken the slow and steady approach, especially compared with many other bloggers out there. I’m pretty happy with where I am now and I’m proud to call Little Dove mine, but any blogger will tell you that it’s easy to get caught up in the comparison game when it comes to the world of blogging. When I started blogging in 2010 it was still a relatively fresh thing, but these days it seems like everyone has a blog. Everyone. And so many of these bloggers have been at it for such a shorter time, yet have such a larger following. Sometimes I can find myself getting discouraged, wondering how I can ever keep up with all those bloggers out there, especially the ones that don’t have four little ones running around creating chaos as you’re trying to photograph and write the perfect post.

So, for any blogger out there that may be feeling discouraged it’s important to think about why you started blogging in the first place. It’s important to remember that everyone starts somewhere and you can’t measure your success against anyone else’s. And above all else, remember that this crazy thing called blogging is about community, not competition.

If I did have one main piece of advice for new or wannabe bloggers out there, I would say to start making connections with other bloggers right away. Find your tribe and share ideas. I love the community of bloggers I’ve met and started friendships with. I also feel so blessed for the partnerships I’ve been able to form with both large and small companies. I especially love forming relationships with small shops, since I am one myself. With that in mind I knew that for this blogiversary giveaway I wanted to do something really special and different than what I’ve done in years past. (View previous years here: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011).

I discovered Meg and Stefanie via the wonderful world of Instagram, which as you all know, is my favorite form of social media! They both have gorgeous and unique small shops that I have been so excited to share with you! The three of us are getting together to give one lucky winner the ultimate state love giveaway!

• one floral state wall art of choice from Lovely Retro Renos

• one seaglass state necklace of choice from Made by Meg

• one “home” state tee of choice from Little Dove Creations

Stefanie owns the shop Lovely Retro Renos and makes the most beautiful wooden cut outs with her own watercolor images on them. She has several patterns to choose from and I am especially a fan of the cactus design. You can find her on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and Etsy.

Meg is the creator behind Made by Meg, a shop that sells beautiful seaglass jewelry. I love that she offers many different colors of seaglass and knows the rarity of each color. You can find her on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

So head over to my Instagram page to enter the giveaway!

Where are y’all from? What state would you get? If you’re a blogger, what advice do you have for others?