My First Blog Hop

I found Aquarianne's Autumn Blog Hop through the Blog Team today.  I thought I would give it a try - my first blog hop!  It puts me in mind of my first sock hop :).

Here is the button for the hop:




Stop by and join in, if you like!

Inspired by a Blogger

Last week I read a blog post from Duni about how popular gray, pink and orchid are right now.  She showed some lovely pictures of this color scheme.  A few days ago, I was looking at a necklace that had gotten broken because it had been thrown in a drawer with sharp objects (don't ever do this to your jewelry, by the way).  This is the only picture I have of it:

I got to thinking, when I repair this necklace, I could add some pink and orchid to it to give it a little more pizzaz.  So I did.

This is my Work In Progress picture:

I liked the idea, but I felt the center piece was a little dull, so I added pink to it:

 I like the way the labradorite flashes complement the colors in the necklace.

 I just listed this necklace in my Etsy store today.  What do you think?

Why I Blog

I recently replied to a forum thread asking why people blogged.  I kind of liked what I wrote, so I thought I would share it ...and this totally unrelated photo of a sunflower from my mother's neighbor's garden :)

I started blogging for the same reason I started Twitter and FB - to promote my shop. I hadn't really participated in social media, and I wanted to try everything to see what suits me.

It took me a while to find my voice and start posting regularly. I have found that I like blogging best over all the other social media activities I have tried. I like to write, and a blog gives me a chance to tell the whole story, from start to finish.

I also really like the people I have met by following other blogs. They are funny, kind and interesting! I love the fact that they come from many parts of the world.

Blogging has made me look at my life a little differently. Now, as I go through my day, I try to look at what I'm doing through the eyes of a stranger. Would this be interesting to another person? If so, can I photograph it somehow? I find I am taking a lot more family photos as well. I can see how some people might find this process tiresome, but I like it. It wakes me up from my routine and makes me really pay attention.

As for how it has affected my shop... I am more visible on the web since I started posting and commenting regularly. I get feedback on what's interesting and what people would like to see. Some of my jewelry has an involved backstory. I can link from my listing to by blog entry about it and vise versa. I don't have any sales due to blogging, but I still think it is helping in an indirect way.

I'm pretty new, and I know I've just barely tapped into the possibilities of blogging. I'm still trying to absorb all the good advice out there. I recently saw a really good hub page on crafting blogs my one of my team-mates on the Etsy Beadweavers team:
starrynightsdiva.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Get-Traffic-to-Your-Craft-...
I really like the way she does her blog - she is very engaging and friendly:
www.randomcreativeart.com/


So thank you to all of you who have helped make blogging a great experience.  You are a wonderful community.  Speaking of which, why do you blog?  Do you have a story behind how you got started?