In a time when ‘pinning’ creative DIYs (Do-It-Yourself projects) on Pinterest and oogling over aesthetic photos on Instagram is on the rise, blogs are skyrocketing among creative-minded people. Molly Garvin ‘17 has taken her time to create her own blog, ‘THIS + THAT,’ throughout her high school career.

“My passion for blogging began as Pinterest was just becoming popular,” Garvin said. “I really enjoyed scrolling through the DIY and craft posts, and I thought to myself, ‘I can do this!’”

Garvin’s first blog, ‘Love, Molly,’ only lasted three weeks before her friend Lauren Baukus from Colorado came to visit during the summer of 2013. The two girls, on a trip to the mall, stopped in at Paper Source crafting store and were inspired to start a new blog together called ‘The Lolly Project’ (TLP). As time went on, Garvin became engrossed in blogging and posting about all of her adventures, whereas Lauren felt she didn’t have enough time to post interesting content. The two decided together that Lauren would back down from TLP, and Garvin would be on her own in the blogging world.

“Once I became the sole editor of TLP, I was never really happy with the way it looked,” Garvin said. “So, after a bit of brainstorming, I set out and decided to rebrand myself. From there I created ‘THIS + THAT,’ a collection of projects, recipes, made tires, favorites, and more, told through photos and videos.”

Garvin tried to find her niche with this new blog by posting a myriad of crafts, outings and projects. Now she shares things like her weekend excursions, picnics in the woods with friends, fall recipes and Cubs game outings.

“‘THIS +THAT’ documents my life and through it I am able to look back on what I did years ago,” Garvin said. “Just by looking back at one post, all the memories can come flooding back. It helps me appreciate all the hard work that I have done.”

‘THIS + THAT’ is not only a blog, but also an Instagram account, Pinterest page and YouTube channel. Pinterest and Instagram are the two platforms that drive the most traffic and the Instagram account has almost 2,000  followers. According to Garvin, the theme is minimalistic with a neutral color palette and warmer hues rather than cooler.

“The aesthetic of my previous blog was never where I wanted it to be,” Garvin said. “So I kept working hard on ‘THIS + THAT.’ It continuously changed until I found something that I was pleased with and knew other people would love.”

Molly works with her younger sister, Claire Garvin ‘19, who is behind most of the recipes that go on the blog. Claire and Molly’s relationship has been strengthened through working on ‘THIS + THAT,’ Molly said.

“I admire the way she works and how she manages her blog,” Claire said. “We both get to mix our talents and passion in photography, videography and style.”

Not only has the blog provided a creative outlet for Molly, but she has also found it to be a way to earn money. Through advertising agencies like Linqia, Molly is matched with large corporations to promote their products and ultimately is allowed to keep the merchandise. The most expensive item she has promoted has been a $200 backpack.

Molly plans to keep blogging while in college, and although she is planning to be a nursing major, she aims to continue to blog on campus and share a bit of her life with her followers. The key to keeping it up next year will be time management and lots of planning. ‘THIS + THAT’s’ posts can be scheduled to go live during the week, so as long as she dedicates time on the weekends, the blog will have posts published on a regular basis, Molly said.

“Some people really love running or painting or some other hobby,” Molly said. “But ‘THIS + THAT’ is my passion, and anything that results from the hard work I dedicate to it is just a benefit.”