Pansy Card for magazine...

Here's a retirement card made for Papercraft Inspirations magazine, it's one of four I have on a retirement theme in this month's issue - on sale now

The pansies were made with Sissix dies, I cut the aperture in a 5 x 7 card with a nestability die 

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Quite happy with the way that turned out....

I get a lot of emails about blogging. Lots of folk would like to start a blog but are afraid to because they think that advanced computer skills are needed. Not so, I am living proof of that. I can only talk about my own experiences, but here are a few of the things I've learned along the way. The type of blog you have depends on what you want out of it - if you want an online diary which outlines your crafting journey/holidays/life, then you can burble away to your hearts content and limit the people who can read your blog to the chosen few, who you can invite as readers. If you want to share your stuff with as many people as possible, then you need to keep your blog updated regularly and put yourself out there - start taking part in some of the many challenges, gradually, and to your delight, people will return your visits and even leave you comments

1. Blogger is easy. I have to use Wordpress for different design team posts, and can't get on with it at all. Probably user incompetence, but if, like me, you aren't that computer savvy, go for blogger. If you choose blogger, open it with Google Chrome, blogger is a Google platform and the two work well together. You can download both for free

2. You can set up a basic blog using standard layout templates, and add a few gadgets and gizmos to it. Just a tip, make your blog as easy to read as possible, and remember that the more gadgets you have, the longer it will take to load, and people aren't going to hang around for ages, they click on to the next blog. This is especially true of music. What may bring back wonderful memories to you of a romantic and blissful honeymoon evening, may remind others of the blazing row they had with their other half when he/she got paralytic at Grandmas birthday party and disappeared for a long walk around the garden with your second cousin.......people would click that little red X faster than you can blink. Safer to do without music, it doesn't always soothe the soul in my experience

3. If you get inspiration from somewhere, put a link to that site, and try to link or name products that you use as well. If you don't, you will get emails and questions about where you bought stuff, it's easier to put it on when you write the post

4. If you want to get fancy, there are loads of people out there who will help you design a blog. Mine was done by Sarah, her link is right at the bottom of this blog, and her prices were very reasonable. Before I used Sarah, I made a blog header myself, I think they were hopping frogs, I can't quite remember now, but it was fun to do

5. Be careful what you call it. What seems quirky and funny, or clever or witty may not be such a good idea when people are saying 'I visited a blog which I loved, but can't remember what the heck it was called. Take my 'Going Buggy'. I chose that off the top of my head because in those days I was very active on the Cricut message board (in its glory days). When you made a certain number of posts, under your name appeared 'Going Buggy' or something else (anyone remember any of the other names?). So as I was 'Going Buggy' on the message board, I pinched it for my blog. However, to register it as a web address I had to put Going-Buggy, and if you miss out that vital little hyphen between the words, up pops a blog called 'For God's Sake'. which is pretty much what I am thinking every time it happens!

6. Don't expect to make any money out of it. Although I work the equivalent of a full time job in crafting/blogging, I don't make any money (I spend quite a lot though!).   I get lots of free products, and I do get paid for magazine commissions If you want to do it, do it for fun, and hobby blogging  is fun. I have made some great friends, and get quite anxious if I don't see a familiar name popping up for a while....I certainly don't regret starting this blog, I occasionally look back, and since I put a lot of little anecdotes in about the children or something that happened on my travels, I remember things that I would otherwise have forgotten. So it's like my diary, which I am happy to share

I hope this helps anyone thinking of taking the plunge, jump in and enjoy, and let me know so that I can link to your new blog here, and come and see you, bringing some of my friends with me. Put the kettle on!