Weekly Instagram series round up

This has been a quiet week for me on Instagram. My favourite of the social media platforms, I can usually gauge my creative mood by how many pictures I’ve posted that day or week – a quiet week means I’m feeling a bit low, or I’m drowning in work. Recently it has seemed that every time I notice a great weekly Instagram hashtag it’s too late for me to give it my best effort, so I’ve decided to get myself organised and create a mini diary of my favourites.

These weekly Instagram hashtags or series are prompts set by a fellow Instagrammer that happen on a specific day of the week. They’re great because they give you a creative kick up the bum when you need it. Sometimes just a simple prompt is all I need to get me thinking and creating – it might be just a quick snap to share on my Instagram feed, but often the idea grows into something bigger that I can also use for the blog. And by far the best thing about these series is that using the hashtags helps you to discover new, inspiring people to follow, and in turn, mean that people can find and follow you (you’re not following me yet?! I’m @heatheryounguk).

MONDAY
#makeitsewcial by @Allison_Sadler_ (The People Shop). Share a pic of a crafty make or handmade project on IG to find others that share a common love of all things homemade. Allison sends a little prize to her favourite project of the week.

TUESDAY
#gatheredstyle by @aquietstyle (A Quiet Style). Celebrating the creative process of styling, Emma challenges you to style gathered and found items, snapping them as a vignettes to share on IG. She picks her favourite and her 7yo daughter, Elvia, also chooses the one she likes most and Emma posts them both on her blog each week.

WEDNESDAY
#natureinthehome by @littlegreenshed (Little Green Shed). Doing just what it says on the tin, Lou celebrates the use of nature in your home. This hashtag runs Wednesday – Wednesday so you have a whole week to post your weekly submission.

FRIDAY
#floralfridaycompetition by @emilyquinton (Makelight). A photograph of something floral inspired by Emily’s love of floral photography. Emily picks a winner which is then shared on her blog every week. I love that this hashtag prompts me to have flowers in my house (which always cheer me up).
#fridayfaffingcompetition by @am_i_dreaming_now, @katherinedorrington and @juliabesidethesea. Celebrating faffing (hurrah, fellow faffers across the world unite!) – get creative and snap a styled vignette. Winners are announced on Sundays.

SATURDAY
#nurturestoreideaswap by @cathynurturestore (Nurturestore). Check out Cathy’s prompt for each Saturday to share ideas for play and learning with kids at home.

There are also some hashtags that happen once a month rather than once a week..

MONTHLY HASHTAGS I LOVE
#stylingtheseasons by @aptapothecary (Apartment Apothecary) and @Lottsandlots (Lotts and Lots). A monthly styling challenge to chart the changing seasons and share on your blog and IG
#1day12pics by @mycreative (MYCreative) and @emmadaviesphoto (Emma Davies Photography) Each month Michelle and Emma nominate a day to take a photo every hour all day, sharing the pics on social media and your blog. Check their blogs for the next proposed date (though you can still take part on a different day if you can’t make that one). I love this challenge because it really makes you work hard to think creatively.
#urbanjunglebloggers by @igorjosif  (Happy Interior Blog) and @joelix (Joelix). Igor and Judith are out to inspire you to create your own urban green space, with a new prompt each month. Sign up to receive the monthly topic and then share on your blog and across social media.

I’m always looking for new hashtags and I’m sure there are some fantastic ones out there that I don’t know of yet, so if I’ve missed any from my list please do share them in the comments below. Feel free to add your IG name too, so that I can make sure to follow you.

Happy snapping 😀