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Thursday, April 24, 2014

A New Blogging Journey



me and my girls on Easter 



I've been struggling with this blog for almost three years now.  Back in 2010/2011, it was mainly a trash to treasure makeover blog.  At the time, I was also selling most of what I made. I was constantly going to thrift stores to find items that I could upcycle and resell.  I would occasionally blog a craft or project.  

In the Spring on 2011, I began to struggle with what I was doing.  Most of the craft projects I blogged, ended up being donated to Goodwill either because they didn't fit in with my decor or I just didn't have room for the volume of finished items.  I'm going to just assume that this is probably common among DIY bloggers.  That just seemed like a big waste to me.  Like I was just throwing money away.  The bigger issue was that it seemed like my thrifting was getting out of control.  I was buying faster than I could makeover and sell.  Around this same time, I went through a Hoarder's marathon on Netflix, and totally saw myself in some of these people, scouring thrift shops for cool stuff. At the time, I'd taken over most of the garage, and our spare bedroom with items that I needed to re-purpose.  You can imagine the uneasiness I felt creeping into my thoughts.  

About a month later, I found out I was pregnant.  This was a complete surprise.  It'd been 13 years since my last pregnancy, and we'd assumed that there were no more babies in our future.  Needless to say, we were ecstatic! I couldn't think about anything else.  I was going to have a baby!!  I completely lost interest in my Etsy shop, and stopped doing my makeovers.  I stopped thrifting.  We cleared out the spare room to make room for baby, and I donated a lot of stuff back to Goodwill.  I was too tired to do any kind of big projects around the house and I didn't want my blog to be a baby or mommy blog.  So, I basically stopped blogging.  I did a few posts during this time, on the baby's room, but other than that, it was silent around here.

Zoe was born in Feb 2012.  A few months after she was born, I felt like I wanted to get back into doing my Etsy thing so I started chipping away at my mountain of thrifted items.  Still, I wasn't really blogging.  Just a post here and there.  I still didn't want to have a mommy blog, and I just didn't know what to write about.  With a new baby, it was hard to be able to do a lot of projects, and I just didn't have the time to sit around and come up with blog post ideas anymore. 

The whole time that I'd been not blogging regularly, I still thought about it, and missed doing it.  I would think about how I loved the blogging community, and about how many friends I'd made while doing it, and I missed that!  At the beginning of the year, I decided I would start blogging again, and so I did! Most of my posts have been filler posts, which I really don't like doing because there's no substance there.  I've done a few project posts, but I've found that I sometimes don't have time for that.  Anyone who is a DIY blogger knows how much time goes into a project post.  Stopping before every step to take a bazillion photos, going through all of the photos to find just the right ones, editing photos, then doing the post.  Then, to get your post out there you have to do the link parties.  Oh gosh!!  Sometimes it's just too much.  I just don't have the time to blog like I used to.

So now, I'm here, trying to figure out what I want this blog to be.  I'm mainly sewing these days so I think any projects I blog, will most likely be sewing-related.  My life these days is very much Mommy so as much as I didn't want to have a mommy blog, I think that's the direction I'm going in.  Not so much a mommy blog as a life blog.  I'll be sharing pieces of my daily life with some recipes and tutorials mixed in.  I still have a lot of stuff in the garage, leftover from my thrifting days, so I imagine there'll be some makeover posts thrown in too.  

I hope that I can build my little blog back up, but I've found that where I used to crave a quantity of followers, what I really crave now, is quality.  I want to make connections with people I have stuff in common with. I really enjoy the friends I made through blogging, years ago. They're some of the people I interact most with on my personal Facebook page, and I've even met a few IRL.  I want more of that!!  So please, join me on my new blogging journey!  If I'm still in your reader, and you see this post, pop in and say hi, and leave me a link to your blog so I can visit you.



Until next time... 

9 crafty peeps said:

  1. I know exactly what you mean and I am happy to keep following you. I love all kinds of crafts and DIY stuff and have just gotten back in to sewing myself. I started my blog focusing on card making ( I still have a butt load of cards that i will never use and are not suitable for donating) but it has morphed into a general craft blog and I now only post when I have done something that has a purpose.
    I get tired of reading blog posts about what you referred to as fillers. I usually just delete pretty quickly. I look forward to following along on your new journey.
    My blog - http://paperrocksscissors.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I've thought about getting into card making because I hate store-bought cards. I just know that would be one more thing that I would go overboard on, with supplies, and then never get around to doing it.

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  2. i am happy for you- feeling lost in blogging terms STINKS! it sounds like you know what direction you are moving in so go for it and do what matters to YOU!

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  3. Sometimes it is hard to find your place in the blog world. You really need to know yourself and decide why you got into this in the first place. I so agree, blogging is about the people and the connections. It is not about numbers. It's all about being true to yourself!

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    1. Sharon, it really is! I'm not out to make money from this so I really want to focus on quality, and getting to know people.

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  4. I think quite a few people have stopped blogging because they've become overwhelmed. Their blogs weren't fun anymore because they had become something they had to do...kinda like a job. I blog when I feel like it. I read blogs when I have extra time. Sometimes I won't read or post for weeks. I've never worried about numbers and have never understood why people thought that was so important. If the blog is for making money, OK. If it's just for fun, don't worry. Do your own thing. I follow blogs anonymously so I can drop blogs from my reader and no one is hurt. If I feel like leaving a comment I will. I don't have to follow someone just because they follow me. People are much less likely to follow you if they think you're not following them, but I'd rather have a few people that really read what I post than a bunch that feel obligated and skim what I write just so they can leave a quick comment. Go ahead...do you own thing. Have fun!

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    1. Hi, Betty! Yes, I think people get caught up in it once their blog starts to grow. I know mine started out as a hobby, but as it grew, I began to grow it into a business, and you're right, it did start to feel like a job. It got overwhelming, and it wasn't fun anymore. Now, I really just want to do it for fun, and networking with other crafters. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your thoughts!

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  5. I know we talked about this and I know absolutely what you mean and how you feel/ felt! Glad to see you back and looking forward to all your updates...and to soon being so close to you!
    What a lovely photo of the three of you! Love it! xxx

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