Pals Blog Hop – February 8, 2017

Before you sign up for the Pals Blog Hop for this month, consider the following…

>  Will you be available the night before and the day of the Blog Hop? This is absolutely necessary in case problems occur.

>  If traveling for pleasure or for work commitments, will you have access to your blog hop post the night before and the day of the Pals Blog Hop? Again, this is absolutely necessary in case problems occur.

Will you follow all stipulations for participating in the Hop? You must check all links before scheduling your post. You must schedule your post to go live the same time as everyone else regardless of time zone or site/blogging platform restrictions.

Do not schedule any changes to your blogging platform within the two week window prior to the blog hop. Generally these changes can go awry causing you grief when trying to finish and schedule your blog hop project. If you would like to discuss potential blogging platform changes and its effect to meeting the blog hop schedule, please contact Rae Harper-Burnet (rae@wildwestpaperarts.com).

Having correct links for Blog Hop participants is vital to maintain the integrity of the Pals Blog Hop. When your link fails, the Blog Hop is broken. We are taking measures to minimize the linkage required to participate. Your diligence to maintaining the flow of the Blog Hop is key to the Pal’s success in providing a professional Blog Hop.

Hop day information (problems with your post or the hop in general) will be communicated via Email and Facebook in the Pals Stampin’ Chat Group. Changes must be made promptly on the Hop Day.

If you have any questions at all, please contact Katy McGloin (katy1mcgloin@msn.com) or Rae Harper-Burnet (wildwestpaperarts@gmail.com). 

Specific Details for the Oncoming Blog Hop: 

Blog Hop Date & Time:  Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 5:30 am EST/ 4:30 am CST/ 3:30 am MST/ 2:30 am PST. 

Theme:  CASE The Catty” Participants select a card or 3-D project featured in a current catalog (Annual, Occasions, Sale-a-Bration) to CASE and make it yours. CASE it entirely or mix it up…it’s your decision.

Sign-Up Deadline:  Tuesday, January 31, 2017 by 12 noon EST. This is a firm deadline!

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How to Complete the Sign-Up Process: 

>  Include the full URL of your blog’s HOME PAGE– it should start with http://(your blog home page)/  Do NOT provide the link to the specific blog post URL.

>  If you have a DBWS blog, be sure the URL will go directly to the home page on your blog rather than the DBWS home page.

>  Confirm the spelling of your name, blog name and the link URL.

Confirmation of Participation:

> Watch for a confirmation email from Rae Harper-Burnet (rae@wildwestpaperarts.com) which will ask for verification that all information provided by you is accurate.  Rae has set up a brand new autoresponder email for sign-ups.  You should receive a sign-up acknowledgement almost immediately now.

>  Your response to the email must be received by Thursday, February 2, 2017, no later than 11:59 pm EST, or you will be dropped from the current hop.

>  This is a firm deadline!  Changing the hop information can be painful for fellow hoppers who have set up their posts early.

Mandatory Details for Hop Participation

>  Blog Hop Date & Time:  Your blog post must be scheduled to go live on Wednesday, February 8, 2017 at 5:30 am EST/ 4:30 am CST/ 3:30 am MST/ 2:30 am PST.

>  Your Hop Project/Post:  The blog hop post should be reflective of your best work.  Pictures should be of good quality and of adequate size (largest dimension should be a minimum of 400 pixels)

>  Blog Post Format:  Follow the narrative provided below to provide a uniformed look for our Pals Blog Hop.

>  Excerpt Homepage:  If your blogging platform shows an excerpt style homepage that requires the reader to “read on” rather than displaying full content of your post, your excerpt picture must be the Badge for the blog hop in addition to displaying the Badge on the detailed post.  If you have questions, please contact Rae Harper-Burnet.

>  Supply Lists:  Optional Stampin’ Buddy or My Stampin’ Blog lists (and the like), if provided, must be placed after the entire Line-up.  Disable any “Sticky Posts” the day of the Blog Hop.

>  Personal Promotions:  Refrain from posting any personal promotions in conjunction with the blog hop.  Personal promotions are those that are not offered by Stampin’ Up!

>  Preview:  All links provided with the Blog Hop information must be previewed by each hop participant to ensure that all links are working.

>  Potential Last Minute Changes:  Be sure to check your email for any updates/last minutes details that may pop up unexpectedly.  If YOU have any participation changes, let Rae Harper-Burnet know ASAP so she can notify the rest of the Pals in a timely manner.  We completely understand that emergencies happen.  Letting us know ahead of time keeps the blog Hop running smoothly despite whatever curve balls come our way!

>  Assistance with Blog Post:  Please contact Rae Harper-Burnet for help with scheduling posts, etc.

>  Badge:  Do NOT copy the Badge image to paste it into your blog post.  You must right click the image, select “save image as” and save the image to your computer.  The image may then be uploaded to your blog platform’s media/library.  That way, if the URLS change, there won’t be broken links later on.

WHAT TO POST ON THE DAY OF THE HOP

Pals Blog Hop Theme/Title:  CASE the Catty

Add a badge to the top of your post – choose one from the badges listed at the end of this post.

***(Hop Text:  Copy the following text in its entirety)***

Welcome to the Pals Blog Hop for February 2017. We are thankful you stopped by to take a look at our 2017 Blog Hop monthly themes.  This month we are CASE’ing a project shown in a current Stampin’ Up! catalog. After all, with the Annual, Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogs available right now, there is much inspiration from which to choose. We hope you enjoy our creations.

You may just be starting the Blog Hop or may have come from the previous link from the Line-up on the Pals Blog Hop listing shown below.  The full lineup will help you move along from blog to blog so you may see all the projects.

(Insert your project picture and information)

Thanks for visiting. To continue with the hop, please refer to the Blog Hop Line-up below. We hope to see you on next month’s Pals Blog Hop! 

Blog Hop Line-up:  

Forthcoming in an email from Rae…