Blogging - is it all over?

Is blogging over?

Has it died a death or is it about to be resurrected?

I don't know the answer all I do know is that I've really missed my blog and for a long time have been planning content but for some reason keep putting it off.  I think it's the time factor.  We are so spoilt with Instagram (there are other social media platforms available) I'm also still banging on about moving from blogger to wordpress but keep putting it off.  I'm so worried I will lose everything.  Although, looking back on some of the content does that really matter?  Also, I just don't like wordpress.  I find it much more restrictive than blogger, especially when uploading photos.   If anyone has made the transition I'd love to hear from you?

Do you still read blogs?  I have to admit I only do on rare occasions but have been trying to make a conscious effort to get back to it.  I think the good thing with blogs is that you can cover more ground on a topic but also share more photos, especially of DIY's etc  

I also feel we are sharing so much valuable content on social media that is quite hard to reference back to, whereas with a blog you can do a really quick search for old content and tag it too.  I for one can take sometimes up to 20 photos for an Instagram post and only use one and the rest are just wasted.  I really try to re-use that content as I know it's classed as "evergreen" but I prefer to share fresh photos everytime I post, even if it creates more work.

So let me know what your thoughts are.

Have a great weekend!!

I've moved

After  so many years here on Blogger I have made the move to wordpress.  

With great reluctance I might add. 

I can clearly remember the day I sat in my apartment in Manhattan and wrote my very first blog post here on the 5th January 2008.  Wow, so much has happened and so many dreams have been fulfilled since then.  

You will find me here  from now on at

w w w . m i c h e l l e m a d e t h i s . c o m

I'm not so keen on the 'look' of the blog over there but I'm working on it.  Any suggestions/resources you can recommend would be great. 

In the meantime you can also find me here ... 

Facebook

Instagram 

Twitter

Pinterest

Snapchat 

I hope you pop over and say hello in my new abode.   Thank you for all the comments, likes etc over the last 8 years xx

Michelle xxx

New Blog Headeer

Feeling restless with my blog ... again 

So I thought I would give it a little makeover and decided to start with a new header image. 

The problem I have with 'michellemadethis' is that I can't be put in a box.

Story of my life!

I don't like to be labeled with just one description ... michellemadethis is, as the name suggests, about things I make and I can't just stick to one medium.

It's very frustrating as a 'business' model as all the books, business guides, mentors encourage you to find a niche and market the hell out of it.  I don't have that 'niche' I'm an all rounder. 

I like to knit, sew, paint, draw, write, crochet and lots more !!!

So the other day I played about with some ideas and a scrap of wallpaper saved from my bathroom!

and this is what I came up with ...

It's a little dark and I know there's a stain and tear and crease in the picture but do you know what I like it like that.  It sums me up perfectly.  I'm all for recycling, upcycling, or whatever the trendy crafters of today want to call it.  

So here's a big shout out to those of us who don't want to be put in a box!!  

Is that you?  Are you a multi-crafter? 

Guest Bloggers Wanted

Afternoon my lovely blogettes, how are you all today?

I'm freezing sitting here at my kitchen table - gutted that our summer has come to an end.  However on the plus side (there's always got to be a plus side) I'm loving the excuse to curl up on the sofa by the fire with my crochet :O)

I'm also hoping that this weather will lure me back to my lovely blog.  I'm not sure if it's the summer or my ipad that is mostly to blame!?  Oh and instagram and pinterest and .... everything else that sucks up my precious time!  I just bought a 2014 diary this afternoon and am already planning my New Year Resolutions/Vision Board and top of the list is to tackle time wasting.  I'm getting better since setting the alarm on my phone when online and the horrific €300 phone bill for going over my data limit (yikes).

How do you manage your time?  I think the fact that I work from home and that I don't have an official start and end time makes me dilly dally a bit ... ok a lot !  Whilst I love the freedom of working from home I am finding that I tend to dilly dally a little too much - time is money afterall!

Ok back to the guest blogging.

I'm looking to open up my blog to guest bloggers

I'm planning to publish one guest post on the 30th of each month here on my blog

In particular I am looking for people who are running a business with their craft full time.

So if you think this may be of interest drop me an email with a link to your blog and I will send you the interview questions.  Then, all you do is give me your answers, send me some pics and I'll publish it for you. Don't worry I'll tell you when and we can sort out our links to and from one another's blogs :O)

Any questions just leave a comment below or email me.

Thanks a mill!

Web design by day, hooking by night

I don't know about you but I'm feeling much chillier in the evenings these past two weeks.  I've even had the fire lit a few times !  But you know me  ... any excuse to snuggle up on the sofa with my crochet.

I'm totally hooked on it now.  I've been making all sorts.  Mostly granny squares for a throw for my sofa and then in between I try a new motif out, most recently little hearts which I hope to make into a garland.

Apart from all that I've been busy busy sorting out my Autumn Workshops which I've had lots of bookings for so far.  I've also been doing up a new website behind the scenes as mine seems to be under the weather and is looking pretty awful at the mo.  I can't seem to fix it either which is most frustrating. Why do these things always go wrong at your busiest time ?

I was thinking of using wix to create an entirely new site.  Has anyone else used this? If not, can you recommend any other sites?

If you're seeing this I would be so grateful if you would leave a comment as it's gone very quiet around here.

Nominated for Blog Awards 2013

Supa excited to be nominated for the Blog Awards this year especially in the Craft category with so many amazing bloggers.  The best thing about this, apart from the little moment of blog pride seeing my name on the longlist is checking out all the other fabulous Irish blogs.  

Best of luck to everyone and thank you so much to the team at Blog Awards Ireland for putting the whole event together!!

The Big Switch

Now that I have my new laptop I am finally catching up on long overdue blog posts, tutorials and all that behind the scenes stuff.

While I was away google reader disappeared and bloglovin seems to be the new way to follow blogs so I've jumped aboard the bloglovin train.

If you fancy joining me and giving my blog some lovin ... please do 

you can do so by clicking on the link below

give my blog some lovin

If you're starting to panic and think Oh No something else to learn please don't.  It's very simple.

All you do is log into the bloglovin site and click on the join bloglovin button.

Then you will be sent a password.

Once you have that you follow the link in the email and claim your blog (if you have one, you don't have to have a blog to follow blogs)

To claim your blog you click to the right of the blue circle with the white heart and choose My Blog  then click on the button CLAIM BLOG

All you do then is type in the full url of your blog and press the Search button

Once you find your blog you click on that and you will be given a code to copy into your next blogpost.  

That's it, you're then set up on bloglovin and you can start lovin lots of blogs 

It's just so lovin awesome :O) 

See you there!

give my blog some lovin

Vote my blog for an award

Nominations are open for Blog Awards Ireland 2013

I'm a little late getting on board the promotion train as nominations close tomorrow

So .. if you see this within the next hour please vote for my blog

You can nominate HERE

Thank you x

Shortlisted for Blog Award!!

I'm SUPER excited!!

Really!!

First of all I was excited just with the fact that I had been nominated for an award.

But then ....

I found out I had been

S H O R T   L I S T E D
DING DONG!

Beyond happy peeps - thank you so much xxx

I defo recommend checking out the Blog Awards Ireland website not only to see little old me appearing on the shortlist but to see all the fabulous Irish blogs we have.  

OMG Did I mention how excited I am ???

I'm having a Rosie moment!!

Thank you so much to all you lovely peeps that voted for me.  

I am smiling from ear to ear here and just giddy with pride over my little blog :O) 

Forgive me?

Hi all

Are you still there?  

Are you still reading?

I'm sorry ... yet again for being a bad blogger of late. 

Is it just me or are the days just not long enough?

I have to say I have been doing a lot of pondering, thinking, soul searching (hmm that might be a bit heavy) about my little blog since my last post regarding the blog awards.

As soon as I hit 'post' I felt "I'm not worthy".

I am struggling to find the time to pin, tweet, post, like, follow etc etc and starting to suffer badly with a #smoverdose (social media overdose).  

I have become engulfed in the world of micro blogging but forgetting about where it all started  .... this blog. What a fickle person am I ?  Seriously!  I'm already eagerly awaiting the "new thing" - what on earth is going to come that is better than all the other sites I spend hours of my days oogling over?  

Well drum roll please ....

After copious amounts of this

and lots of slices of 

I have decided 

that ...

my blog is going to come first.

I must however (I feel I need to) explain for my sporadic posting.  

Aside from taking on other projects that have sucked away my time and ... OK! ...

my adulterous behaviour cavorting with other blogging sites (I'm sorry, please forgive me, you are my first and one true blog love) I ... this is going to be hard to hear but I need to be honest ... 

I was a little embarrassed by you for a little while.

Please don't be mad ... let me explain ...

When I started this blog I lived in New York.  I was in the middle of Manhattan in an apartment a few blocks up in the East Village.  What I'm trying to say is that I knew no-one, no-one knew me, I was anonymous.  Not that I was embarrassed or ashamed - the total opposite in fact.  I was embracing my crafty side and was happy for all to see/hear about it. 

But now 

Now I live in Roscommon, a small (yes Roscommon peeps it's small ... especially in comparison to NY) town in the middle of Ireland.  A lovely town, but a small town.  So small in fact that it is possible to overhear a conversation in a local cafe where two 'ladies' (take a deep breath and move on, leave the 'ladies' and do not replace with another word) are discussing this very blog and how hilarious it is and how they " "go into it just for a laugh and to have a nose at what she's up to".    I kid you not.   Let's just say that conversation hit a nerve, that conversation did upset me and as a result (and some other comments said direct to me) I have found it hard to blog and be honest I have sat and thought about who will be reading this, what will they think etc  

But ... like I said nearly 10 minutes ago (sorry are you still with me?) I'm moving on and sausages to those of you who just come 'for the nose'.   For the rest of you who genuinely visit to see my makes and bakes thank you so much for calling by and especially thank you to the lovely peeps who leave the most lovely comments.  They genuinely make my day.  

Have you forgiven me?

I hope so

I promise to be a better blogger and give you the attention you deserve xx

Irish Blog Awards 2012

Nominations are now open for the Irish Blog Awards 2012 and (only if you think I'm worthy) I'd love to be nominated :O)  If you think I'm worthy click on the button on the top right over there and nominate me.  My email address is michelle@michellemadethis.com (you need this when you nominate me).  Thanks a million xxx

If you know any other Irish blogs worthy of a nomination be sure to head over and nominate them too!  This is a great way to promote Ireland, Irish business and Irish people.  I don't know about you but I'm all for that.  Despite all the doom and gloom in the press we have a fantastic country here with great people and we should be proud to promote ourselves.

Since returning to Ireland I have found that it seems to be shunned upon to 'self promote' but that's what social media marketing is all about isn't it??  I'm self employed and I am paddling in a very big pond and if it means I lose a few friends along the way just because they think I'm gloating well so be it.  That's what I'll do to keep my head above water.  I'm doing something I totally love, that I'm totally passionate about and can't wait to get out of bed in the morning to do so I'm going to do all I can to keep it that way.

Thanks to Lorna, Amanda and Beatrice for organising these awards.  We need more people like them to get this country back to where it was. Forward thinking, creative, energetic, optimistic ladies.  I will try not to emphasis the 'ladies' bit too much. Oh panse of course I will ......Sisters are doing it for themselves !!! (Sorry I couldn't resist!)

  

Happy Wednesday peeps!

Keeeeep blogging!

Mx

Pinterest How to - Part 2

So are we all set for pinning today? 

Following on from yesterday's post - Pinterest, How to Part 1 - today I'm going to talk about creating boards  and pinning.

What are Boards?

Boards are like tags or categories in blogs.  For example I have a board called "Needle crafts" so I 'pin' anything to do with knitting, sewing etc onto this board.  Don't worry I'll show you how to do that in a mo.

First of all you need to create your own boards.

To do this click on the Add button in the top right of your Pinterest home screen and the following box will appear

Click on Create a Board and the following box appears:

Give your board a name  and categorise it ... example below

With regard to "Who can pin?"  that's up to you.  I have my boards set so that only I can pin on them but if you want other people to you can chose theother option.

Once you have all that filled in click on the Create Board button and voila you've just created your first board!

Now you're going to want to add things to your board.  There are a few ways to do this.  The act of doing it is called "pinning".

One way to do this is by 'repinning' something on the Pinterest home page. 

Stick with me ... it will all make sense, I promise.  

How to Pin?

Once you login to Pinterest you can click on the "Everything" in the top toolbar.  This will produce a drop down list from which you can choose items you like e.g. DIY & Crafts. (Alternatively you can do a search using the search box in the top left of the screen)

Lots of images will be displayed which you can scroll through.  You have three options when you come to an image you like.  You can repin it (i.e. pin it to your board), like it and/or comment on it.  

There is no right or wrong thing to do here.  It's entirely up to you.

I tend to repin things that I really like and possibly want to make or refer to in the future.   I don't comment an awful lot unless something really stands out.  Although the longer I use Pinterest and the more I have images from my own blog pinned and commented on the more I now comment myself.   As with blogger it means a lot when someone takes the time to comment. 

Ok I digress!

To pin this to your board you click on repin which then displays the box below:

 "Fimo Love" is the board I created.  

If you have more than one board you can click on the drop down arrow to choose the board you wish to pin to.
You also have a section for comments.  It's important to credit the original source especially if you are pinning from someones site.  See more on pinterest etiquette here

Once you click on the Pin It button it's added to your board.

Have I lost you?  I hope not.

Another way to pin is by using the PIN it button but I think that's enough for today.  I'll be back later in the week with another Pinterest How to. 

Happy Pinning !

Pinterest How to - Part 1

Lately I've been getting a few questions about Pinterest so I thought I'd give you a quick run through on what it is and how to use it, well how I use it :O) 

First of all a W A R N I N G !  

Pinterest is totally addictive.  

If you thought Facebook was bad well let me tell you this is worse!  

I'm not telling you this to put you off, in fact the opposite. 

Okay so now that we have that out of the way. 

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is an online pin board.   

Basically it allows you to pin an image from any site on the internet onto your own virtual pin board. 

How do I get on Pinterest?

Go to the pinterest home page http://www.pinterest.com 

and click on the button Request an Invite  

You will then be sent an email with your login details. 

What then?

Let's get pinning!

Ok first things first you should edit your profile.  

In the top right hand corner you should see your name, click on it and choose settings.

Fill in the fields you wish to complete.

Bear in mind people use Pinterest for different reasons. 

Some people just want to just look at the pictures but many people are realising the power of Pinterest and setting up accounts in order to direct traffic to their websites/blogs.  

If you're one of them make sure you add a link to your site in your profile. 

On the settings page you can also create a link to your facebook and twitter page and upload a photo.  

It's up to you how much or how little you want to share.  

Once you've done that you're ready to set up your boards. 

I think this might be enough information for now so I'll come back tomorrow with part 2 of my "Pinterest - How to" which includes setting up boards, adding images to your boards aka 'pinning' and a few more hints and tips. :O)

If you're already on Pinterest you can follow my boards here

Have a lovely evening peeps xx

Lovely blog

I just had to share with you

this lovely blog I just found

by-ilona.blogspot.com

it's full of really cute crochet

and super cute makeovers.

So in LOVE with this caravan that she made !!

Have you found any pretty blogs lately?  Feel free to share ... 

So pretty

How pretty are these jam jar candles?

You can find details on how to make them here.

On a totally differet matter ...

Is anyone out there on wordpress? 

 I'm thinking about moving over but not sure, I'm a bit of a blogger lover :O)   Having a big re-jig at the mo and also wondering about my website? 

Do I keep it or leave it??  Does anyone use websites anymore?

It's so much updating - blog/facebook/twitter/pinterest/etsy/website ... where does it end?

Blogging

First of all thank you so much for all the comments and emails on this post.  I'm sorry I'm only replying but I've been away for a few days.  Just as well as it's given me time to think about what to do and I've dedided to leave it for now.  Today the sun has been shining and my hyacinths are blooming so I'm not going to let it get to me.

In the meantime I've found some really interesting posts on blogging etiquette and copyright.  Even if you have been blogging for years I think these are really interesting reads.

"Be creative, don’t steal other people’s content. Just because you don’t have anything to write to maintain your blog, does not give you the right to copy and paste other people’s work onto yours" 

This and more blogging etiquette can be found here

There's also some great advice at the lovely Creature Comforts blog here on etiquette and 'copying'.

The most comprehensive post I found is here on the lovely blog Design Sponge.  There are some really useful tips and great advice in this post and I recommend everyone read it. 

Thanks again for all your comments and support.

A little annoyed

I'm actually more than a little annoyed but I make a point of not blogging to moan about things.  My blog has always been my escape and it's my "ideal world". The place I get to spend all day sewing or card making or painting or basically doing whatever craft I want, gardening, cooking, drinking coffee with friends and all that.  However today I need to have a little moan. 

There are a few people out there that are copying what I do - using my tutorials as their own in workshops they deliver, taking wording from my workshop descriptions and using it on their blogs/facebook pages, even going so far as copying my status updates in Facebook !    I can't decide if I'm more angry or upset at the minute.  It's been going on for quite a while and I've been keeping a record of it with a view to maybe confronting them but I'm not sure yet what to do so I'm doing what my friends' mum tells her.  When you don't know what to do do nothing. 

Because of this I won't be sharing my "works in progress" for a while.  Has this happened to you?  What did you do about it?  It's so hard to know what to do.

In the meantime I'm sharing some pics of my christmas angels that I got the other day for a few euro.  I love picking up christmassy bits in the sale.

I'm keeping them on my kitchen window - they're too cute to pack away.

3 today!

Happy Birthday michellemadethis.blogspot

Happy Birthday to you

A big 3 today

Whoooopy doooo !

In keeping with tradition michellemadethis is having a blog revamp so bear with me everyone whilst "work is in progress" and I get the hang of the new blogger templates :O)

Once it's all done I can catch up with you properly. 

Have you made any new year resolutions, how are they going?  Mine are to give up the three big 'C's in my life - cheese, chocolate and crisps.  As I type this I am thinking I would love some cheese and biscuits, crisps and  chocolate!!  Hmmm of course my resolutions are going really well ...

My vision board is still a large blank white sheet of A1 card on my dining table.  Every time I plan to do it someone calls or something interrupts me so I must aim to get that done this week before I go back to college!!

The craft room, as per usual, looks like a bomb has gone off but I'm spending a few hours every day in there sorting, tidying and trying, I'm really really trying, to get rid of anything I'm not using.  It's not easy!

Let me know what you think of the new look? 

Tuesday through the winter window

I'm finally taking part in Julie's Tuesday Through the Window.  Julie has the loveliest blog over here called Swedish House.

She started this weeks ago and every week I say I'll do it but never get a chance.  However today I am snowed in, it's not that bad but it's bad enough driving wise, so today is the day.  The pics aren't great as it's very grey here this morning!

If you would like to take part yourself here are the details

 Tuesday Through...The Winter Window

ANY WINDOW

In your home, your shed, your school, your place of work, your favourite shop, your journey...

Wherever you are...Inside or Outside...

Share your view of the world!

Play Along With

Tuesday Through...The Winter Window

The new link list starts every Tuesday for the next 3 weeks

Post a photo and blog about your view

Link back to this post here

Happy Tuesday everyone :O) x 

Friday's Finds

I just had to share this with you.

I have spent at least half an hour going ooooohhhhh, ahhhhhh, ooooohhhh and saying to myself  "I so want one of those" since stumbling across this blog Liberty Biberty.

Just look at these pics of her adorable cottage.  I know I'm too old for dolls houses but I don't care  - I want one! 

I think these are my favourite - they must have been knit on darning needles !!

Have you come across any lovely blogs lately?  I've found so many more so I think I'm going to try and do a weekly (hmm maybe fortnightly) post on sharing blogs I've found.  I've noticed a lot of blogs lately have removed their blog lists and not only from their blogs but from their blog profile too.  I wonder why?  It's such a shame as I love to find a blog I like and then see who they follow, how else are we going to find eachother??

Actually I think I'll start this week.   I'm going to call this Friday's Finds ... a place for us all to share any new blogs we've found online.  Are you going to join me?

If so leave a comment here with a link to your finds.  Looking forward to seeing what/who you find :O)