What I have learned: a Year in Review

A quick note, I have turned OFF word verification. I am SO SORRY that it was on, it shouldn't have been. I'm sure I had it off at one point and it magically got turned on again. Please leave me sweet comments again! Thanks Amy for pointing it out to me! And if it happens again, do let me know! Ok, onto the post...

Did you know that I didn't really do crafts before I started this blog? It's true. I'd like to say I'm a crafter who blogs, but really I'm a blogger who crafts is more appropriate.

I have, however, always been a DIY-er at heart, because of my dad. I just never had much excuse to do stuff before I moved out of my parent's and got my own place without a roommate.

Before coming to the crafty/DIY bloggy world, I wasn't much inspired, nor motivated. I didn't know where to get stuff, or what stuff TO get. I didn't know HOW to make the crafts. I never realized I COULD make so much fun crafts, either!

So in the past year, I've been experimenting A LOT. I've learned SO much. Some of it I learned from others, but really it's easier for me to learn if I make the mistakes myself. I'm stubborn I suppose.

So as a little celebration for my 1 year Bloggiversary, here is a compilation of the trial and errors, and just general experiences, that have helped me grow as a crafter, DIY-er, and blogger in the past year.

click on the picture to be taken to the post

When you start blogging, it's not gonna be as easy as you think
My first post! I've made a few of the things I had set out to make when I wrote that post, and some are still on my to-do list lol I have 49 published posts as of before this one. That's not even 1 a week... Blogging takes a lot of time and effort, which I wasn't entirely ready for!

You need to learn to take good, flash-less photos!

Still one of the most google searched of my posts, really wish people had nicer pictures to look at once they find my contact paper backpslash... Still thinking of updating the pictures... And don't mind the picture corners I tried out for this one post. That was not a good idea.

Anyway, I still have room for improvement here, and I think my stupid camera is stupid and part of the problem. Oh and also my dark apartment doesn't help...

You might be a tad embarrassed looking back on some crafts you have made

Seriously, what WAS I thinking? They look SO childish! They were even featured on a child-made site (which got me some nice traffic when I started out...). But now, I'm just a little embarrassed that I actually posted this.

Stenciling: Do NOT use a brush, use sponges/dabbers and DAB.

In the end, I still LOVE my handpainted chandelier, and people always mention it when they first visit, which makes me very proud.

Hot glue does not hold anything and everything together.

The little saw-tooth hanger I used at the back for this project kept peeling off from the hot-glue. I think it must've fell about 4 times (some spikes are a little damaged because of it...), and finally after that 4th time I had enough and used epoxy glue. It hasn't fallen since :)

DIYing your own blog design is super fun, but takes a lot of time and patience
Every design element on the blog was made by me. Well, I did use Just So Scrappy's scrapbook kit Tweet Tweet, but the actual blog header image, menu bar, sidebar titles, footer, background, I tweeked myself. I kinda like playing with html and css :)

Linking up to linky parties will really pay off once you get featured

And boy did I get featured with this one! Most featured post (but not most viewed...). Still want to make myself one of these.

Persistence can pay off and Not all crafts work how you imagine

Took me one month to get this simple thing right, but in the end I finished it and love it!

Painter's tape is not vinyl
Pictures can only describe this one:


What you think is common knowledge might not actually be common knowledge

Seriously, if you have not yet read this post of mine and don't know what hotlinking or bandwidth theft is, please read!

Things don't need to be complicated to be popular and Getting featured on a big blog will bring you lots of traffic, for a long time!

I never thought this one would be so big. It's so simple, yet very effective, and I still LOVE and enjoy the end result!

I'm still not a very good seamstress, but I'm not giving up!

Seriously, you'd think I would be able to do straight lines easy enough, but no...

Start seasonal/holiday crafts EARLY

I got so many comments saying if only they had seen this craft earlier, they would have loved to make one! I really bit myself in the butt for that one, could've had lots more traffic if only I hadn't procrastinated making this once I got the idea to.

Paper punches can hurt, when you need to punch a LOT of little flowers!

BTW, most viewed post on the blog! And one that must have taken the longest to make. I am going to think twice about a craft that I need to use paper punches so much.

I still LOVE playing/crafting with wood!

My first, very small scale, distressing adventure! I can't wait to get a big piece of furniture to redo one day! Will be looking for a new desk and buffet/dresser in the near future!

Sometimes having a blog pushes you to do some much needed cleaning

Seriously never would have deep cleaned my kettle had I not wanted to show it for this post (alternative use for electric water kettle: hard boiled-eggs). Speaking of, it needs a cleaning again... It's not as bad as in this picture, so I still got some lee-way ;)

You can find really fun stuff for free if you shop your parents' home!

With just a bit of spray paint, this pretty frame now fits into my decor. Oh, and you'll want to ask your permission before snagging anything from them lol.

Blogging without internet is really hard and no fun
Read more about that here.

When building stuff out of wood, take the time to properly protect and seal it

Especially, if it's gonna be in the kitchen with flying oil everywhere. The wood turned darker where there was nothing covering it...

Dads are awesome. and When a space doesn't work for you, make it

I'm seriously so lucky to have a dad who can build stuff, and who passed on that love to me. I just lack the experience, but it will come! I gained so much space with this unit, it was so worth it!

All in all, I'm still very happy I started a blog. It gave me a purpose. Sure there are days that I want to throw in the towel, but then I just give it a rest for a week and then I want to come back. I'll continue doing it for as long as it's feasible and I enjoy it.

I'm really not expecting to ever be a big blog. After all, I only reached just over 100 followers in 1 year... I'm just not able to put that level of commitment to the blog at this point. And I'm really ok with that.

Still, I'd like to do more next year. They key, I think, is planning, and not procrastinating!! A little at a time, right?!

Thank you to each and every one of you! I know a lot of bloggers go a long time before they are ever noticed and have followers. I don't think I would've stuck to it if you guys weren't there. I've really enjoyed getting to know some of you, and I would really like to get to know some new faces :) So don't be a stranger, say hello once in a while!

Oh, and I've got a big blog announcement coming this week! So stay tuned!

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August Wrap-Up

Is it just me or does it feel like September? When school starts again I feel like it's September. Though I've been "in school" the entire summer (I'm a grad student, there's no such thing as summer vacation for us :( ), my boyfriend started up his 3rd year of medicine last week, so things have been more... normal since, which I love!

I've been trying to get myself in a routine these past couple of weeks because of that, and that's why I hadn't posted last week. I just didn't feel like it, I wanted to get myself up to gear with other things; hope you don't mind, and appreciate the honesty. We've slowly fallen back into good habits, ie going to bed at a reasonable hour, and waking up early.

I'm also trying to meal plan a little more, though I still need some work on that.

I'm not quite sure what the next month holds, to be honest. See, we've been on strike since March 3. And by we I mean the post-graduate students of Quebec(most anyway), and against the government for wanting to raise tuition fees by 75% in 3 years. Long story short, the strike was temporarily called off last week, and we've got less than 1 month to catch up 2+ month's worth of classes.

Which means I gotta whip up a presentation about what I've been working on for the past 2 years (or close to 2 years), that I'm to present in 2 weeks. One thing about me is I HATE oral presentations, I royally suck at them. So I'm trying to prepare myself as much as possible in this short amount of time. And no I couldn't prepare myself before, I'm also a HUGE procrastinator and didn't want to think about it until I had to.

So that's my life right now in a nutshell. I'm really stressed about the presentation.

To top it off, I caught a cold a few days ago, and instead of being able to work on my presentation, I'm lounging around not knowing what to do with my body. Cold's hit me hard and I can barely think straight. So.... excuse me if I'm a little off my game today with this wrap-up.

The wrap-ups are a way for me to round-up all the posts I've done in the last month so you can catch up if you've missed anything, thank all the lovely people who've featured me, give you sneak peaks of what's to come and little things that are not worth an entire post.

Last month's posts

My First Garden and how I Started from Seeds



and a 2 Months-In Update



FYI, my cukes ALL died the weekend after I posted this :( But I'll still be doing one more update on my garden at the end of the season (whenever that may be, we're still having beautiful and hot weather here!).

The Laundry Shelving Unit Saga! My dad helped me build some shelves for the laundry space in my kitchen, which I had to divide into 3 posts.

The first was all about the planning and how we built it.



The second part was the final product and all it's special features.



And the third was how I've been using it so far as an extra storage space, which was it's main purpose.



The last post of the month was how I organized my cleaning supplies with the pretty new bins I got at Michael's on special.



Features

I'm always so happy when I get featured at linky parties, so I want to further promote these parties/blogs. For a full list of parties I attend from time to time, check here.

My DIY Mug Shelf was featured at:


And my Custom Built Laundry Shelves were featured at:


So thank you ladies, again!!

Updates

Speaking of my Kitchen Mug Shelf, I got a small update on that. When we made them, we only sealed them, but didn't varnish. I really wish I had now...



I think it's the fact that my boyfriend loves to stir fry stuff and oil flies everywhere making the wood darker where it fell. I'm half thinking of removing everything from on top of it and letting it like that for a month so the lighter spots can get oiled. Or just rubbing some oil on there. I'm not exactly sure what to do yet... Any ideas?

Next, I mentioned on Facebook that I had bought myself some washi tape a few weeks ago. I'd seen this site being advertised on many blogs and thought it was too good a deal to pass up.

Downtowntape.com sells rolls of washi tape for 2$ each, and, here's the best part, there's a flat shipping rate of 2.95$! You really can't get much better than that! Shipping is always so expensive to Canada, which is why I rarely buy anything online, but this I could work with!

Well my tape finally showed up a couple of days ago! Can't wait to do some projects with these. Are you tired of seeing washi tape projects, or can you not get enough of them?! I was a little tired of them before I got my own, so I can understand if that's how you feel...



Featured on Facebook

I'm aware that not all of you are following me on Facebook, and that is totally fine, I'm not forcing anyone. (But if you do want to follow, go right ahead!) However, I don't want to let that come between you knowing about these great tutorials or products, so I'm sharing them here, too.

If you like these ideas, go straight to the source before pinning!! Click either on the link or the photo to be brought to the post ;)

I know it's still a little early for Halloween (and even more at the time I shared this on Facebook) but I just can't get enough of these Halloween pillows!! (From Michael's, inspired by Craft Wars) They are just way cute! (If you follow the link you gotta click on the Project 8 and then you can download the instructions).


I thought this was a super neat way to transfer text onto cardstock in a really particular position: DIY Rub-On Transfer from Bluebuttonpress.


I love this method for stenciling from Lil Blue Boo! With bleach, looks SO cool!


I found this really nice Etsy shop(thewheatfield) that sells watercolor and acrylic prints, ranging in price from 6$ for a 5x7 to 24$ for a large print. I'm thinking of getting this one for myself (18$)! Soooo pretty!


Lastly, The Homes I Have Made made this vinyl tiled backsplash for her rental home. Reminded me of when I used contact paper for the backsplash behind my stove, one of the very first posts I did on the blog, and now I feel like doing the entire wall!


Coming Soon!

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to dedicate to blogging this month, or well for the first half of the month.

I've been working on our bathroom, making it a little more to my taste. So far it's painted... I chose this light blue color (with a tiny bit of green in it, almost aqua but not quite). It's darker than this on the walls, though, but I really like it!


I had a hard time choosing accent colors, but I think I've finally got it down. So I'm gonna do a few projects this month and hopefully get to show you guys!

Apart from the bathroom, I'm probably gonna get back to some seasonal crafting at the end of September, for fall and Halloween, so you can a expect that, too.

And there are 2 birthdays this next month: the Blog's 1 year birthday the 15th, and my own 25th birthday on the 29th. I'm not very big on birthdays, so I'm not really planning anything... (like giveaways- I'm sorry I'm just too poor and shipping is way too expensive, but I still very much appreciate every single one of you!!)

And that wrap's up the wrap-up!

Feedback is always appreciated, whether about this post, the blog design, blog content, etc.

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July Wrap-Up and Update

Wow, we are already the end of July. It seems like just yesterday I was telling you guys how I had been trying to blog without internet for a while, and that was why you hadn't seen much of me around. Ok granted that was the 9th of July but still. I don't feel like I've been a better blogger, getting back into it is taking longer than I thought...

A week later I explained where I was heading with this blog, my expectations for the future, and asking you for your input (not too late for that, it's always appreciated!).

In that post, I said I wanted to do a a monthly wrap-up and updates. I realize I haven't been up to much this month, but I still want to stay true to my word and see how this goes.

The first post I did after my hiatus was how to clean your iron cast pan so as to not remove the seasoning you've worked so hard to get.



I've been pleasantly surprised to see this post being featured at It's Overflowing this weekend AND it was the most viewed link at last week's Positively Splendid linky party!! So honored!

I did an apartment tour post this month, to have a before of what our apartment looked liked when we moved in, to better see the progress I make on turning this apartment into our home. Just because it's a rental apartment doesn't mean I can't make it homey!

And last week I wrote about the first project my dad and I built last month: my DIY Mug Shelf! My dad was super creative in making those shelf brackets, and I love the result.





Blog Design

After a few people suggested it, I changed my social media buttons, found on the right sidebar of the blog. I'm very sad to say goodbye to my little birdies vignette I made up, but if they were not properly advertising the follow options, then they were not doing their job! So bye bye little birdies :( (It still works btw, if you want to follow go right ahead!)

I've now got cleaner, simpler buttons made with a custom shape from this set. They are more obvious, so hopefully people won't have trouble finding and following my blog. I still want to tweek it a little to incorporate the birdies in it, though. It just feels too blah for my taste right now.

I also got inspired to make new sidebar titles while I was at it. I never liked the old ones. Again, these guys are simpler and cleaner, but still have a little bit of whimsy that I like to have.



What do you think about the changes?! If you have any questions about the blog design, how I did something or where I got the elements, don't be afraid to ask! It would be my pleasure to answer you!

Coming Soon

I plan on writing a post about my vegetable garden this week. Yup, I made my very first ever vegetable garden this year! I'm excited to show you the progress it's made!

I'm also working on writing the post about our laundry shelving unit I mentioned in the DIY Mug Shelf post. By far the biggest project that has come to the blog thus far, and probably for a little while, too.

I'd love to get a couple organization post up next month. I LOVE organizing like woah, and I'd love to show you simple things I use that make every day life a little bit easier and less frustrating.

Apart from that, I'm not sure what's in store for next month. But that's ok, I'm sure you guys like surprises, right?!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed your stay :)

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