What I Learned From Camp Happy Heart + Q&A Answers

Unless you’re new to this blog, (in which case, hi! I hope you like it!) you’re familiar with Camp Happy Heart, an extravagent summer project of mine. My original goal was to post every day from June 1st – August 30th. Well, obviously that didn’t happen. But what else was planned for Camp and didn’t get included? Today, I’m going to share some things I learned from camp, share some things that I didn’t get to include, and finally, I’ll answer the questions you guys asked from the Q&A. Make sure to read to the end if you want to see the answers to your questions!

Camp is definitely too much work.

Ok, so I went into camp knowing that posting every day would be a lot. However, I didn’t plan to have a lot of other responsibilities this summer, so I found out within the first couple weeks that I would get burnt out quickly if I posted every day. I quickly changed the schedule to five posts a week, and I only got about 4 done most weeks, but hey, that’s more than half! I think I did pretty well. If I do CHH again next year, I will definitely lessen my posting schedule XD. (especially now that I have more blogs to work on!)

I started planning for Camp in February, and I got a fair bit of it planned out before Camp even started. In fact, the only weeks I didn’t plan out almost 7 posts, were Battle of the Bear Bands, Blast from the Past, Out of this World, Adventure is Out There, and oh yeah, I had absoultely nothing planned for Ashtonishing Athletics. I was really not looking forward to Battle of the Bear Bands and Ashtonishing Athletics, but looking back, they were some of the better quality weeks.

Even though I planned out what to post, I wasn’t very inspired by it.

I ended up changing quite a bit of the plan.(I even swapped Styles of Summer with Blast from the Past!) Most posts had a great concept, but the execution of them would have been very difficult. Maybe I’ll post something similar eventually, but not during something like Camp Happy Heart.

Here are some of my scrapped ideas:

• DIY Chairs
• DIY Pillow
• Watering Plants Photoshoot
• DIY Tent
• DIY Pool Toys
• DIY Pool
• Fairytale Plays
• Cinderella
• Sleeping Beauty
• Beauty and the Beast
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Pinnochio
• Fairies
• Peter Pan
• The Little Mermaid
• Decorating for July 4th
• DIY Firework Decoration
• DIY Stage
• 50’s Sock Hop
• DIY Walkman & Tapes
• Time Travel photostory
• DIY Backpack
• DIY Closet Planner
• Pirates Photostory
• DIY Cooler & Hot Dogs
• Ice Cream Truck visit
• Hanging out by the Campfire
• DIY Water Bottle
• Off-roading in the jeep
• Overnight in the Camper
• DIY Hammock
• Going to the Beach
• Scrapbook DIY
• And, Camp Parade

As you can see, I scrapped a lot. However, I might use some of these ideas later on. (Especially if you guys say one looks like fun!)

The Setting isn’t as important as you’re making it out to be.

I was getting super stressed out over the setting. I tried out quite a few different bed ideas, and nothing seemed to work. However, when I found a few trays at A.C. Moore, everything fell into place.

I also could’t figure out where to do it in my house! I thought I was going to use the setting a lot more than I actually did. I had originally wanted to have an actual main hall, and actual cabins, etc. I think the scrapbook paper did a decent job.

Apparently the original plan included BAB Takeover Week as part of camp?

Yeah, that wasn’t in the plan for very long. Maybe next year?

There were supposed to be camp uniforms?

This is kind of a cool idea. I did incorporate it a tiny bit, with the Camp tees during Fashion Week, but I can’t see having uniforms at a summer camp.

I was going to do more life at camp type posts.

I think it would have been fun to do more posts like these. Although, I guess there was a fair amount.

The counselors should’ve had a larger part.

I really do think I should have included the counselors and adults more. The main reason I didn’t is because I lost Starburst, and then when I found her it was halfway into camp and I didn’t really want to start incorporating them then. However, I did begin to use them more toward the end of camp. If I continue camp next year, I’ll definitely use the counselors more.

I was going to change my whole design?

Apparently my original plan said to have a summer camp design on my blog? Uh, no.

There was going to be a bulletin board with a weekly schedule posted on it.

This actually seems like a really good idea, and I would definitely use it next year.

There was a supply list?

Yeah, I was actually going to release a supply list for camp. The list I made was actually pretty comprehensive and basic, so maybe I’d use that idea in the future.

Camp isn’t going to be as big as you’re hoping

Ok, so I was hoping that Camp would end up being something like Camp Doll Diaries. It wasn’t anything of that magnitude.

Also, Camp is going to bigger than you’re expecting.

At the same time, CHH ended up being a lot bigger than I was expecting! I got quite a bit of participation, and I broke most of my personal records. I’ll share some stats below.

Stats

I got 24 followers since I started Camp! That doesn’t sound like a whole lot for some people, but that’s nearly double what I had before!

Out of this World Week was the most popular week according to pageviews.

Also, all three months of CHH had more pageviews than any other one. May(the old record) was 339, but June had 425, July had 350, and August had 347.

The Camp Happy Heart tag has 83 views.

June’s most popular page was Camp Happy Heart 2019, while the most popular post was Cali’s First Day of Camp, and my personal favorite was the Pool Party.

July’s most popular post was 70’s photoshoot, and my favorite was the Band Performance.

August’s most popular post was Awards and Trophies, and my favorite was the Picnic.

I got 63 pingback notices for the Camp Recap, so I’d say there were about 65 CHH posts. That averages to be 5 posts per week, like my second goal!

We got 349 likes and 221 comments during CHH! Yay!

Questions

The questions I asked myself(because I can)

How did you come up with Camp?

It’s kind of funny, because I really wanted to have an original idea for my blog. Summer Camp isn’t technically an original idea ( I was greatly inspired by Doll Diaries), I think I did a good job at putting my own spin on things. I’m so glad I had that idea though! It was pretty random actually.

Will you continue Camp?

Hm, I actually don’t know yet. There’s still a whole year for me to decided. I mean, this year worked great for camp because we didn’t really go anywhere this summer (next year I’d love to go on a cross-country road trip), but I could possibly see just doing it for a month or so. I really want to do at least one week of Camp next year, even if it ends up being a bit different.

McKayla‘s questions:

Who’s your favorite Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D character?

I really like Fitz! I also like Trip though.

Which color is most like your personality?

Black…Actually probably more of a Rose Gold XD.

Live-action or animated movies?

I mean, it depends on the movie. I think animation can do some things pretty well, but some things feel more realistic if there are actually people acting.

Do you have a favorite celebrity?

Chris Pratt.

What are your favorite Sabrina Carpenter songs?

Hm, Alien, First Love, Exhale, In My Bed, We’ll Be the Stars, and Smoke and Fire.

Do you prefer Taylor Swift’s country or pop music?

Well, for one thing, I feel like Red is a little bit pop, even though it’s marketed as country, so with that being said, pop.

Which Disney princess are you most like?

In all the quizzes I’ve taken, I usually get Rapunzel. I think it’s probably pretty accurate.

Who would win in a fight: Black Widow or Melinda May?

Ooh, that’s really tough. I kind of feel like May would? She just seems like she’s been in the field longer. Though, Natasha wouldn’t be afraid to use guns, so maybe she would win. It would be a very close fight regardless.

What are your hobbies besides blogging?

Listening to music, watching movies, and writing.

What’s your spirit animal?

I’m not entirely versed with spirit animals, but can I say Stitch?

Who’s more powerful in your opinion: Captain Marvel or Scarlet Witch?

Ooh, that one’s tough. If we’re talking about physical power, I’m going with Carol. Marvel hasn’t really shown weakness for her. However, I feel like Wanda is more stable emotinally(at least given the circumstances) She had to watch Vision die twice, not to mention her brother.

What are you most excited about in Marvel’s Phase Four?

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3!

What was your favorite part about Camp Happy Heart?

I really liked having a theme for each week and planning out posts that fit with the theme.

Which Marvel character do you think is the most underrated?

I feel like ALL of the characters in Agents of SHIELD are underrated. However, I think Rhodey is also really underrated.

Which Build A Bear of yours is your favorite?

Gosh, do I have to pick just one? I have so many! Um, I really can’t pick, though I do tend to pay the most attention to Summer.

If you could get another Build A Bear who would it be?

At this point I really don’t know. I mean, I just got Andy, so I’ll probably get another one in a year or so. It really just depends on what they have at that point.

Do you have any other toys besides Build A Bears?

Oh yeah. Most of them are packed away though, but I do still have my AG girls out.

Rebekah’s questions:

Which week of camp was your favorite to put together?

I actually thought I was going to hate Battle of the Bands going into camp, but I really ended up liking it! I also liked Reflections of Camp, because it highlighted the best parts of camp.

Which week of camp was the most difficult to put together?

Out of This World. It was really hard (mainly just the Guardians post,) to find props. Also, I don’t really think it quite payed off. *sighs*

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Finishing my novel! It’s only around 25k, but it definitely felt significant.

What do you value most in a friendship?

Loyalty. I really wish one of my friends would put me above something else(I mean, not something important, but you know,) but I still have pretty good friends. I just hate it when a best friend decides to put hobbies over their friend.

What has been the best moment of your week so far?

Ok, so by the time you’re reading this, I’ll likely be just returned from Universal(we’ve rescheduled like 5 times due to Hurricane Dorian,) so definitely going to Universal! Today, (September 3rd) I would have to say going to BABW and getting a new BAB!

If your house was on fire and you could only save one BAB, who would it be?

You monster! That’s a really tough choice, I mean, first I would focus on other things to save, and it would probably be based off location( Carol, Periwinkle and Andy are all near me, but all of the kids are in a nice transportable tent. Can’t I take them?) but if I could only pick one, I would probably pick Brownie, because she was my first.

Well, that concludes the Q&A! If you haven’t taken our camp survey yet, go ahead!