\"\"

The SITS Girls

The Secret to Success is Support

Blog

Finding Your Friends on Instagram

·

Having friends and interacting with them is essentially what puts the “social” in social networks. Luckily, Instagram knows that you already have friends you would like to connect with, so they make it easy to find your friends on Instagram as well as finding and making new friends.

How Do You Find Someone on Instagram in 2022?

Instagram has made changes since this post was originally published. We’ve updated it with notes on the search features that are no longer supported in the Instagram app and walk you through the most recent methods for finding your friends on Instagram in 2022.

How To Find Your Friends On Instagram

How To Find Someone You Know On Instagram

To find friends you already know on Instagram, you will start by syncing up your phone’s contact list.

To sync your contact list:

  1. Tap the profile image on the bottom right of the screen (it’s your profile pic).
  2. On your profile page, click the three lines in the top right corner to reveal the settings and menu options.
  3. Click on Discover People and connect your contacts.
  4. Tap on the “Follow” button next to the people you want to follow from the list that populates on the Contacts tab. You can also follow people from the Suggested tab in this menu section.
  5. You can also go to your main settings by clicking on the settings gear at the bottom of the menu, tapping “Follow and Invite Friends” and following contacts there or inviting friends.

Instagram Tip: If your friend’s Instagram account is private, you may have to tap “Request” instead of “Follow,” so they can approve the connection.

Instagram Profile Screenshot - Android and iOS
Instagram Profile Screenshot: Android and iOS versions

Screenshot Instagram Settings For Finding Contacts

How To Find Facebook Friends On Instagram

Instagram has reinstated the option to connect to Facebook in the Discover People section to help you find your Facebook friends easily. After you connect to Facebook, you will see a list of your Facebook friends who are also on Instagram. This will also help Instagram to give you more suggested people to follow based on friends of friends.

How To Search Instagram By Phone Number

You can try searching the phone number in the main Instagram search, but phone number searches mostly work for businesses that have their phone number listed on their profile or location tag.

If you want to find someone on Instagram by phone number, make sure you add them as a contact in your phone, and then make sure you have authorized Instagram to access your phone contacts.

How To Find Someone’s Instagram By Username

If you know someone’s Instagram handle, you can search for them by clicking on the magnifying glass at the bottom of the app and searching within the Explore page.

Screenshot of Instagram Search Tabs

You can actually search for specific accounts, hashtags, and places in this same spot. Sometimes, even if you don’t know someone’s exact handle, searching by their real name will work. This usually only works if they have their name listed in their bio separately from their handle.

As you spend time on Instagram, the app will get to know you. The Discover feed on your Explore page will be populated with suggested categories and posts that Instagram thinks you might enjoy. This is a great place to find new people or hashtags to follow!

But what if you want to find even more people to follow on Instagram?

How To Make Friends On Instagram
– Find New People To Follow On Instagram

  1. Check out who your friends are following! Chances are, your friends like some of the same things you do, so they will be following people who you would also like. Clicking through your friends’ following lists is an easy way to find new people.
  2. Check out who your followers are following! Similar to looking at the people your friends are following, people who follow you probably follow other people who have a similar style or niche as you do. This is another easy way to find potential new friends on Instagram.
  3. Get social on your favorite hashtags! When you use a hashtag in your Instagram post, spend some time scrolling through it. Like some pictures. Leave comments. And when you find someone who’s pictures or captions really speak to you, follow them. Do this with locations, too! Check out people who are hanging out in the same spots you are. This is a great way to find people who live local to you.
  4. Ask! Shout out some of your favorite people on Instagram Stories and ask your followers to send you their favorites. This will not only help you find new people, but it will strengthen the community you are already building.

If you have someone’s username, you will not be able to see their images if they have a private account. If you do have an Instagram account, and they have a private profile, you will need to be approved to see their images.

Instagram names can be different from people’s given names, which is why these search tips are incredibly helpful. When you join Instagram, finding friends is probably one of your first tasks. So, go find your friends and enjoy spending time on Instagram!

More on Instagram

Looking for more tutorials and more details on how to find someone on Instagram? Then be sure to check out:

How to Add Captions to Instagram Stories

Step-by-step guide covering everything you need to know to start a blog in 20 minutes or less. It's easy to get started blogging.

Magic Mosaic Easter Egg Coloring

·

Are you looking for an easy and fun way to jazz up your hard boiled eggs for Easter? Consider Magic Mosaic Eggs. They are a simple way to transform your plain white eggs into something magical! You won’t even need any special supplies, just food coloring and water. Easter egg coloring has never been this fun or this pretty!

A new spin on dying easter eggs, Magic Mosaic Eggs are a fun easter craft.

Magic Mosaic Easter Egg Coloring

The secret to DIY Magic Mosaic Eggs is the preparation of the shell.
It does not take long, and the visual results are well worth the wait!

Collect these supplies for Magic Mosaic Easter Egg coloring:

  • hard boiled eggs
  • food coloring
  • cups or bowls
  • water

Supplies for Magic Mosaic Easter egg coloring.

First, make sure your hard boiled eggs are cool to the touch. To prep your eggs for the dye, gently tap your egg shell on a hard surface. You want the whole surface of the egg to be covered in lots of little cracks.

Crack your hard boiled eggs before coloring them to make Magic Mosaic Easter Eggs.

Next, gently peel a couple of the egg shell pieces away. Don’t peel the whole egg though! You only want to remove about 10% of the shell!

Peel small pieces of the egg shell away, but leave most of it intact.

Then, mix your food dye with water in a bowl or a cup and submerge your eggs.

Fully submerge your eggs in food coloring.

Place your eggs in the fridge for at least 4 hours to allow the dye to get into all the little cracks. If you want extra vibrant eggs, allow them to sit in the dye overnight.

Allow your Easter eggs to soak in the fridge over night.

Next, remove your eggs from the dye and peel off their shells. You will be left with a burst of colorful mosaic-like cracks all over the surface of your egg. Rinse your egg under some cool running water and then pat it dry with a paper towel.

Remove the remainder of the egg shell.

These eggs are perfect for a spring brunch, packed in a lunch box, or made into deviled eggs.

Magic Mosaic Eggs are a great Easter craft idea. They turn out beautiful, and your kids will love being able to eat the design.

The plain food coloring does not alter the taste of the eggs, only adds a pop of spring color!

Magic Mosaic Eggs Step-By-Step Video:

 

Learn how to make your own Magic Mosaic Eggs. This is a fun Easter craft the whole family will love.

Concerned about using boxed food dye for your eggs? No problem! Check out this post with ideas for creating your own natural egg dyes using food, and use it in place of the boxed stuff!

Learn how to make natural dyes for your Easter Eggs using food.

DIY Photography Backdrops

· Aimee Reatherford

Creating beautiful product and food photography doesn’t need to be challenging; all you need is soft and even lighting with a lovely photography backdrop. Of course, having different backgrounds can get expensive and take up a lot of space, especially for those working in their kitchen or living room with limited space. These DIY photography backdrops made with foam board and contact paper are perfect for taking your photography to the next level.

The best thing about creating your own photography backgrounds is that you can pick and choose which type of contact paper fits your style and aesthetic, allowing you to continue to develop a cohesive body of work.

DIY Photography Backdrops

DIY Photography Backdrops

Materials needed for photography backdrops:

How To Make Your Own Photography Backdrops

Before you start adding your contact paper to your foam boards, determine if you have the space or plan on needing the full-size foam board. I realized that I’m never photographing with a wide lens, so I felt that I could cut down my foam board in half and still get the results I wanted. You may want to make your boards larger.

Measuring tape on top of a piece of foam board with a mark at the center point of the board.

Now, you’ll see in the following two images that I’m measuring my board to cut in half. If you can cut in a straight line, that’s amazing, but my edges didn’t come out perfectly straight.

Pro Tip: Use a kitchen knife. Your edges will come out cleaner than scissors. 

Foam board with a line drawn down the middle.
Piece of foam board cut in half.

Once my boards were cut down to the size I wanted, I rolled out the contact paper over the top and cut it to fit the foam board. I recommend that you give yourself some extra contact paper on the ends. 

Piece of foam board with black, wood-grain contact paper on top to make a photography backdrop.

Depending on the size of your contact paper, you might have to cut a smaller piece to cover the whole board. I had a few rolls that were larger than the board itself, so it made for an easy application.

Black, wood-grain contact paper and pair of scissors on top of a foam board.

After completely covering your board, begin to smooth out the contact paper to eliminate any air bubbles. Flip your board over to the back and cut the edges of your contact paper to allow the paper to fold nicely. 

Backside of DIY photography backdrops, with contact paper edges folded over.

Flip the foam board back over, and you have your finished product!

DIY Photography Backdrops with different patterns layered on top of one another.

You can make as many of these boards as you need. I did keep one white as that can be interchangeable with the other boards I made.

Cupcake on a white plate in front of a black photography background.

Additional Recommendations for Photography Backdrops

If contact paper isn’t your jam, which is understandable, it can be tricky to apply; you can paint or pin fabric to your boards for added texture to your images. The options are endless. Never underestimate the foam board’s potential. This will give you a great start to creating beautiful photography!

More Photography Tips

Cookie Cup Nests

· Amy Fulcher

Cookie cups are easy to make and can be so much fun. The best part of making a cookie cup is you can choose your favorite cookie recipe – or just use refrigerated cookie dough from the grocery store! A cookie cup nest is the perfect spring treat.

Spring Treat: Cookie Cup Bird's Nest

How To Make Cookie Cups

To make cookie cups, you’ll need:

  • Cookie Dough
  • Cooking Spray
  • Muffin Tin

Make (or buy!) your favorite cookie dough. Press it into a muffin tin that has been generously sprayed with cooking spray. Bake according to the recipes for the dough and allow to thoroughly cool before removing from the muffin tin.

Depending on how much your cookies puff up, you might want to scoop out the cookie cups a bit once you take them out of the oven. Be careful that you don’t scoop out too much of the cookie if you choose to do this.

Cookie cup sitting on blue plate.

Once your cookie cups have completely cooled, insert a butter knife and use it around the edges to gently remove the cookie cups from the muffin tins.

Now it’s time to turn these cookie cups into bird’s nests!

Cookie cup nest with candy eggs and sprinkles.

How To Make Cookie Cup Nests

To make a cookie cup nest, you’ll need:

  • Cookie Cups
  • Frosting Tinted Green
  • Piping Bags
  • Grass/Fur Decorating Tip
  • Sprinkles
  • Candy Eggs

Load the grass/fur tip in a piping bag and fill it with green frosting. I used vanilla frosting mixed with a little green food coloring to make my grass-colored frosting.

Cookie cup filled with green frosting that looks like grass sitting on a blue plate with a piping bag next to it.

Fill the button of your cup with frosting.

Cookie cup bird's nest sitting on blue plate with sprinkles on the frosting.

Then, create the grass effect by holding the piping bag just above the edge of the cup, and squeezing the piping bag to create about ¼ inch of frosting “grass.” Check out the below video tutorial if you’ve never tried this piping technique.

Video Tutorial: Cookie Cups with Green Frosting Grass Nests
Add sprinkles and candy eggs to your edible cookie cup nest, and it’s ready to serve!

Edible birds nests made with cookie cups, frosting, and chocolate eggs.

Make these for your Easter or spring celebration. They will be a big hit!

How To Create Canva Templates for Pinterest

· Jemimah Scarlett

Canva is the best-kept secret when it comes to creating professional-looking graphics for your social media content. If you haven’t heard of Canva, or aren’t sure how to use it, this post will shed a little light on how you can utilize Canva templates to create eye-catching graphics on Pinterest that will drive traffic to your desired links.

How to Create Canva Templates for Pinterest

Using Canva for Pinterest

Canva is a web-based platform that offers a free and paid version of easily customizable templates that can be used for a range of things from Instagram posts to resumes and presentations. In this particular post, we’ll be looking at how using Canva for Pinterest can not only elevate your content from a visual aspect but can also be helpful in getting more eyes on your content.

Canva is a search engine of sorts that draws interest based on visually appealing content, so it’s very important to make sure that your images/videos are crisp, bold, and eye-catching to get the best results. There are a variety of free Canva Pinterest templates that have been designed by professionals that are just waiting for you to customize with your personal brand colors, favorite font, and photos. 

How to Create Canva Templates for Pinterest

When you access Canva via the free or paid version you gain access to a variety of templates. From the homepage, you will want to select the “Social Media” menu item and then select “Pinterest Pin” from the drop-down.  

Screenshot of Canva showing where to choose Pinterest templates.

The beauty of using Canva for Pinterest is that the templates have already been sized to the ideal ratio for the platform so all you have to do is get creative. 

From here you will see a list of available Pinterest Canva templates categorized by type. This is where the fun starts! You are able to tweak (or not) the Canva templates, by changing the color, fonts, and images to put some shine on your content. 

Screenshot of Canva with available templates categorized by type.

Pinterest prefers long pins, so think of that when taking your photos. Technically vertical images work best, but if you have horizontal images choose a Pinterest template that has been designed with a horizontal image in mind.

Once you are down creating, you’ll download the image to your device so that it can be uploaded to Pinterest. 

How to Upload a Canva Template to Pinterest

Once you created your masterpiece now it’s time to upload it to Pinterest!

Depending on your version of Pinterest you will see a “plus sign (+) either at the top or the bottom right of the screen. Once you click the sign, you will need to select “Create a pin.” 

From there you will see this screen, where you will upload the Pinterest template image that you saved to your device from Canva. Be sure to add an SEO-friendly title, a short description, and don’t forget to add the link to where you would like to drive traffic.

Screenshot of pin upload.

Once you’ve filled that in, you’ll need to select one of your personal boards to add it to from the dropdown in the upper right-hand corner. Once that is selected you hit “Save” and your Pinterest Pin is ready to inspire and educate others! Great job!