What makes a good blog?

image courtesy of Nujalee/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you are on Twitter you may have come across 'Twitter chats'. Usually based around a particular theme, hobby, interest or TV program and usually accompanied by their very own 'hashtag' to enable users to follow the conversation.

Tuesday nights see not one but two Twitter chats I like to make an effort to follow - #craftblogclub I have mentioned before, hosted by Emma @livepeachey and #CBUK hosted by Hillary at @craftbloguk 
Both chats are aimed primarily at craft bloggers (although if you are looking to find NEW craft blogs to read then these hashtags are a great place to start), and both are a great source of inspiration and advice.

Last night's #craftblogclub chat was all about Pinterest. You know how much I love Pinterest - it's a great place to store ideas and get inspiration! You can read Emma's round up of that chat here.

#CBUK concentrated on the tricky subject of engaging readers.
The whole point of blogging for most of us is that we are sharing our thoughts, images, ideas, knowledge with the world wide web (does anyone actually still use that term?). In return we like to see that people are interested - whatever people say about not caring about the stats, in the end we want people to visit our blogs, look around, comment and, perhaps most importantly, subscribe, follow and come back another time.

Now I am not one to worry myself too much about keywords and SEO - I like to think I write descriptively enough for searches to find me and I always make sure I use a number of different phrases within each post to ensure that I have covered several search options. For example my tshirt yarn projects posts include phrases like 'tshirt yarn projects' 'tshirt yarn tutorial' 'making tshirt yarn' 'crochet with tshirt yarn' and 'recycling tshirts' - phrases I would hope anyone actively searching for tshirt yarn related blog posts might use.  That said I have had more vistors to those posts via the images I have pinned on pinterest. I know there is room for improvement and I realise I am going to have to take SEO a little more seriously if I am to get more visitors...

But once they are here, how do we keep them here, get them to contribute and better still get them to return?

I don't know if there is a set formula that works - great content obviously is the key. You have to be writing stuff that people WANT to read or else they will just click away. Great images help tremendously, particularly if you also use Pinterest to promote your blog. I have noticed a distinct upturn in visitors via Pinterest over the last few months - never underestimate the power of a beautiful photograph, particularly if it illustrates a tutorial/recipe/how to!

But most importantly you must LOVE what you are doing! If you're not mad keen on your latest blog post how can you expect anyone else to be? Content written because you feel you HAVE to will never be as good as content written that you really love/believe in.  I have always said that when blogging becomes a chore it's time to step back and re-evaluate.

So what do you think makes a good blog?
What makes you hit the 'Subscribe' button? (top of right hand column by the way ;-) )
What makes you want to keep coming back?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Look! I got an award!! :)

I have my first blog award!!
Many thanks to Anna at The Light Boat for nominating me for a Kreative Blogger award. This a lovely twist on the 'pay it forward' theme that's been featuring quite strongly in my universe lately. A great way to show your appreciation to the authors of blogs you enjoy reading, introduce them to your readers (that's you!) whilst at the same time reveal ten facts about yourself so your new readers can get to know you a bit better :)

so... Ten Things You Didn't Know About Me

1. I am an archaeology geek with particular interest in the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods of pre-history
2. When I left school, I didn't go to college, I joined a band!
3. I make amazing pastry - a skill inherited from my Grandma
4. I lurve marmite (ok, I know I've possibly lost some of you with that one...)
5. I haven't been to the dentist since I left school (oops...there go a couple more! )
6. I have been working (on and off and on again) on two novels for best part of 20 years. They WILL get finished one day...
7. I have a soft spot for Louis Theroux
8. I have a green belt in Shaolin Kung Fu
9. I love the films of Terry Gilliam
10. I swear FAR too much

And the ten blogs I would like to nominate are:

• Poetry, Prose and Real Life
• A Life Less Simple
• Creating Trouble
• Mopshells Musings
• Teens N Twincesses
• Painted Ghost
• Live Otherwise
• Seasider in the City
• The Gingerbread House
• Mummy from the Heart

They are all bloggers I know personally, or have got to know recently via the Bloggiverse and Twitter.

What's in my fridge...

Ok so I have seen this meme floating around blogland recently - one fridge of particular note can be seen here at The Blog Up North. I had hoped that, as I am relatively new in the Twitter/Blogging community I might escape unscathed, but alas I have been tagged... (Thanks Clare at Seasider in the City )

So for your visual delight I present...my fridge

In case you want to re-create this fridge at home you will need...
2 lt semi-skimmed milk, 3 lt orange juice, Tip Top squirty cream, pickled onions, balti paste, sundried tomatoes, olives,4 eggs (free range of course;) ) baking margerine, carrots, potatoes, onions, spinach, baby leaf salad, grapes, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, small vacuum pack of cooked beetroots, cooking apples (I promised to make apple crumble this weekend), nearly empty tub of houmous, half a tin of Alphabetti, baked beans, jam, pickle, mayo (reduced fat - I am on a diet after all), lemon juice, Very Lazy Chopped Ginger, some homemade marmalade, cheese, Dairylea in all it's forms, kids yoghurts, low fat fruity yoghurts, fruity jelly pots and some buttery spread, something unidentifiable in a tub (which has been thrown away you will be relieved to hear!). Oh, and a cling wrapped lump of gingerbread biscuit dough...

There, I bet you're impressed! Thank God I cleaned it out and stocked it up this week. Had I been required to do this last week all you'd have seen was a tub of old beef stew, some squidgy veggies and half a tin of KiteKat...

Now I am supposed to pass it on. As I mentioned I am fairly new to all this so I hope the 'chosen ones' a: haven't already done this and b:don't mind getting tagged :)

Liz at Me and My Shadow
Julia at I Need Curtains for the Window...
Kelly at The Wonderful World of Kokokelli
Elaine at Fun as a Gran
The fab McCaskie Clan
Have fun with it all of you. :)

Competiton wins!

Do you ever enter competitions on blogs or posted on Twitter or Facebook and then forget all about them? I know I do! Most of them require no more than a click to follow and a retweet or a comment left and then, as I never win anything, most of them get forgotten about!

One I had completely forgotten about was run by Yorkshire Lavender (you can follow them on Twitter @yorkslavender ) to win a kilo of their fabulous dried lavender. So as you can imagine I was thrilled when the congratulations tweet popped up in my mentions column on Tuesday :) My box of lavender arrived on Friday morning. Do you have any idea what a kilo of dried lavender looks like?

...yes that is a carrier bag full!!!

...and it smells divine :)



I use dried lavender a lot in my designs, usually homegrown and dried so I have limited stocks, so this prize was much appreciated!

We will be holidaying in Yorkshire later this year and we may even fit in a trip to the award winning Yorkshire Lavender farm and gardens and buy a few plants to add to my own garden.

As if that win wasn't enough on Saturday night I was notified that I had won another!  This one run by one of my favourite online fabric suppliers SeamStar . Their competitions are always popular and as this as a bumper giveaway open for a month I knew they would have A LOT of entries and my chance of winning would be minimal. But it didn't stop me hoping...

When Courtney at Seamstar tweeted that I had won one of the three amazing hampers I was over the moon!!!

It arrived yesterday. I hope you don't mind if I share...

Beautifully packaged!

It was my birthday last week - this was like an extra special birthday present :)

I mean - just look at all these lovelies. Who could not be inspired by this selection?

There are even a couple of lovely owl prints by one of my favourite designers Saffron Craig. This one might become the netbook sleeve I have been meaning to make...

Riley picked out this funky bright print 'Lollipop Dreams' by Patty Young as his favourite.

...and just look at this selection of gorgeous cotton voiles by Anna Maria Horner I really don't know what I am going to make with them yet, but whatever it is, it will be special!

There was also a big bag of grosgrain ribbons in just about every colour you could ever need!

Not to mention some habdash extras - pins, buttons and zips.

As competition prizes go this was pretty darn amazing so thank you once again Courtney and SeamStar for making my birthday week one to remember :) I can heartily recommend that you visit the wonderful 'Seamzine' blog for all the latest products, projects, competitions and giveaways.

And good luck...next time it could be you!

**HANDMADE CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY** And the winner is...

Firstly can I say I am overwhelmed by the response to my giveaway! Thank you so much to everyone who has taken part and a big "HELLO!!" to all new followers of the blog, Forest Flower facebook page and Twitter.

So now for the result you have all been waiting for........ Drum roll please......

Gosh this is nearly as exciting as X-factor!!!

And the winner is....

Kerry LouLou Milne

(better known to many of us on Twitter and Folksy as LouLou'sLuxeries)

Kerry chose the Vintage Patchwork design as her favourite and her bespoke set of Scented Tree Ornaments will be winging their way to her shortly. :)

Congratulations Kerry and thanks again everyone else for taking part.

**Handmade Christmas Giveaway**

Well, approximately 24 hours ago I had 196 'likers' of my Forest Flower Facebook page so I suggested that if I could get 4 more I would do a little giveaway...

I have been truly overwhelmed by the response - I seem to have attracted over 100 more likers overnight!! In fact the current number is now 330, well over the 200 I was aiming for!

So as a big thank you to all you gorgeous peeps I am giving you the chance to win some of my handmade lovelies for your very own Handmade Christmas - in fact I am giving you several chances!! (more about that later...)

Here is what is up for grabs

First up we have a pair of felt birds in traditional festive red and green. Made from quality wool mix felt and stuffed with soft high grade polyester toy stuffing and a generous scoop of 'Christmas Spice' scented aroma beads for a warm, welcoming festive fragrance wherever you hang them. The cute gingham wings are blanket stitched in place by hand and decorated with matching buttons. Each bird has a little metal hoop so you can hang them from decorative tree ornament hooks or tie pretty ribbon through them - however you choose.

As if that wasn't enough I am also offering a custom made complete set of my 'Christmas Spice' scented plush tree decorations. The set of four - a heart, bird,stocking and star- will be handmade to your specifications from a choice of fabrics. You can have ribbon hanging loops as shown in the pictures or you could opt for simple metal hoops as seen on the felt birds above and hang them from decorative tree ornament hangers. Each decoration measures approx. 10cm and includes a generous helping of the wonderfully festive 'Christmas Spice' scented aroma beads.  For more information and pictures please visit my Folksy shop

So how can you win these gorgeous handmade lovelies?

I am offering each of you not one but FOUR chances to win this great prize

First you need to pick which one (or more!) of these fabrics you'd like your decorations made with.

(1) Modern 'Dark Green with Gold Swirls'

 (2) 'Vintage Patchwork'

(3) Pretty 'Holly and Berries'

(4) Fun and Contemporary 'Modern Patchwork'

(5) Country Chic Red and/or Green Gingham or

(6) Pure and Simple 'White on White Stars'

Next leave a comment below stating your choice (that's one chance to win)

You could also become a blog follower (that's two chances...)

You can also 'like' my facebook page if you haven't already and leave a comment on the discussion board post *Handmade Christmas Giveaway* (that's three chances...)

and finally if you are on Twitter you can follow me here and tweet the message 'I have entered Forest Flower's #handmadechristmas giveaway. Have you? http://anthea-talesfrommountpleasant.blogspot.com '  just so I know and that's your fourth entry.

So there you have it. Simples :)

You have until midnight on October 31st to enter and the winner will be announced on November 1st at around 8pm (ish)

GOOD LUCK!!

Christmas is coming!! (no, really...)

 I know many people like to avoid even a sniff of the 'C' word before the second week of December, but these are probably the same people who moan and whinge about the 'commercialisation of a holy day' and the 'heaving crowds of desperate last minute shoppers' (of which they are a part!) They are also probably the same people who would sulk a bit if you 'forgot' their pressie!!

But putting the 'holy day' issue to one side for the moment I really think that anyone who leaves it all to the very last minute is really missing the point. It's not about buying as many gifts for as many people as you can think of in the shortest time possible or maxing out your credit card to keep everyone happy. It's about taking time to find something special for the people who mean the most to you.

As a crafter I have been thinking about Christmas all year, looking for ideas for presents, both to make myself and by other artists and crafters I have discovered on sites such as Folksy .

As a crafter who makes things to sell I have been fully immersed in Christmas since about the middle of August!!

This is my first Christmas as a seller on Folksy so I really don't know what to expect but I have been beavering away to produce, amongst other things, a line of gorgeous plush hanging decorations in a range of christmassy fabrics and ribbons all beautifully finished by hand and filled with the fabulously festive 'Christmas Spice' scented stuffing. They are very versatile and could be used as tree decorations or hung on door handles or in bundles around the hallway to welcome your guests. They would also make lovely additions to your Christmas present wrapping and are an extra present in themselves! Some are available in larger quantities (maximum of 5 listed but can make more to order). Some have been made from my stash and are limited. I am booked in for several Christmas craft fairs over the next two months and expect (hope) to sell the bulk of these to customers who can pick them up, appreciate the workmanship and most of all the divine fragrance but I would love to see some go further afield :)

There are three designs available from my Folksy shop right now but I will be adding more soon.

Here is a little glimpse of more of my handmade Christmas goodies...

 

In keeping with the whole spirit of giving I am currently planning my first blog/ facebook / twitter giveaway so if you like what you see above keep your eyes peeled for posts on how you can get your hands on some of my handmade lovelies for free!!

The Folksy A-Team!

After taking part in the June Loons and thouroughly enjoying myself, even if I did have to bow out halfway through when life kind of 'took over', I was itching to get back and do another monthly listing challenge.  July Jesters came and went and here we are in August with the A-Teamers. I have been doing my best to keep up to date, making and listing one item per day and so far so good...

Here's a little collage of the items I have listed in my shop this week. Unfortunately I just haven't had the time to blog daily this time but there are plenty of fabulous items on offer.

If you want to keep up with all the new pretties being posted each day and you are on Twitter keep an eye on the #augustateamers. Not only are the daily listings posted by those who tweet but also any related blog posts.

One of the best parts of being part of the Folksy community is that we all do our best to help, support and promote each other. Folksy Friday is one way to show your own personal pick of items for sale - usually with a theme. I do one on the second Friday of the month (ooo which means there's one due this Friday - I had better get searching for goodies ;)). Another way is with Showcase Sunday - this is where we pick one seller and promote their shop to all of our friends. I post this one on my Forest Flower facebook page and this week featured the gorgeous SnailEmporium.

Whatever you do a trip over to Folksy is worthwhile if you are looking for presents that are beautiful, handmade by artists and crafters in the UK, unique and unlike anything you'll find on the highstreet.