By no means of jumping on the band wagon, I actually do want to sum up this past year. It's been a good one. The number alone is a lovely deep red, which gives the year a nice backdrop as it is. But the events of the year - while dull by a lot of people's standards - have been wonderful for me. But before I get into all of that, I want to start on a more personal note:
Seeg: I realise how lucky I am to have you, someone who can always make me laugh, and is very smart and shares all the same interests as me. While you are capable of annoying me from time to time, I have never loved you any less. You're honestly more than I could ever hope for, and I really would be quite lost without you, especially with the things we've been through, and deal with daily. I'm so grateful for having you. I love you.
I'd also like to say that I'm pleased to have met some wonderful people this year, and I'm glad to call them my friends. The artist Connie of Constantly Constance, the blogger Krysten of Why Girls Are Weird, Sarah of Last Sarah Ann, and the wonderful Vicky of Vivid Please. I appreciate all of their support and friendships, and I appreciate the opportunities I've had to bounce ideas back and forth with some of them, and that my ramblings are (hopefully) not as tiresome for them. Yet.
Now, onto the year:
I feel it's been successful. My blog is presentable, my shops are doing very well, and I feel like I've taken risks, as far as my outlook is concerned. I may have opened Peaches and Pebbles in July 2011, but it was this year that it came into its own and better established itself. I also took the chance and opened a second shop, Grumble Cave Monsters, which, despite my expectations, managed to make some sales in its first week, rather than first month. Sewing is not something I've ever been strong at, but I really tried hard with my first few monsters until I was confident that they were a sellable quality. I've sold a few on Etsy, and a few off, and I'm so proud of them. It would be wonderful to get a sewing machine, however, because my enthusiasm for my monsters has dropped considerably since it takes 6 hours to make a single one. I decided to raise my prices for that fact, and as soon as I get a sewing machine, they will drop again. It might seem like a bad move, but 6 hours of work that results in an aching back is worth more than £15-20, in my mind.
It's been tough looking after my mum this year, as she has a tendancy to lean to one side of her chair when she gets tired. This can result in her falling out of her wheelchair, and she is next to impossible to straighten up, because her muscles more or less lock into position. This usually happens most in the summer due to the heat, but unfortunately, this year it's carried over into the winter, and is likely to only get worse when summer returns.
But we do our best, and I'm grateful for Seeg being here. It means that I can take a break if it gets too much for me to handle, which it does from time to time, but it also means I have constant companionship, and someone to pick me up if I start to get down.
My dad is equally stressing himself out, but we're doing what we can for him. The Xbox we gave him for Christmas was wonderful, and is giving him something to look forward to on a night once my mum has gone to bed.
Now, onto a blog post list I took from The Curious Pug! Let's see if I can manage it!
Most Beautiful
Penny For Your Thoughts - my free templates for Mini Moos, a new way to request feedback on Etsy.
Most Controversial
Most Controversial
A Little Blogger Disappointment - a rant about how most (not all) popular bloggers piss me off.
Most Helpful
Most Helpful
Creative Writing Tips - the collection of posts I'm putting together to help aspiring writers like myself construct fictional works; though most posts revolve around fantasy writing, most of them can be applied to science fiction writing, and some to general fiction.
A Post Whose Success Surprised Me
Origami Love Notes - a DIY tutorial for making origami hearts, posted around Valentine's
A Post I Didn't Feel Got The Attention It Deserved
A Post I Didn't Feel Got The Attention It Deserved
Paper Mache Ship - a tutorial for making a ship out of paper mache. I love this thing, I still have the ship hanging from my ceiling. It's one of the best tutorials I've done. In truth, this spot is, however, a toss-up, between this ship and my xbox clock. I'm just as proud of each, but I think the ship should have attracted more views, given its nature compared to a repurposed console.
Post I'm Most Proud Of
Post I'm Most Proud Of
Creative Writing Tips: Antagonist - I would have chosen a piece from Kysharok to go here, but to be honest, I believe I failed with it. I only managed to write 10 or 11 parts, and the story was nowhere near finished. I put it on hold to focus on my actual writing that I want to get published, and it just ended up never being thought about again. So instead, this spot goes to one of my favourite writing tips posts: antagonists. Antagonists, in my opinion, are one of the most important characters you can have, and in my post I tried to get across the idea of having a deep villain rather than one that was just evil through and through and you never learn much about.
Best Blog I've Followed
The Curious Pug - a real, honest blogger; Alycia will swear when necessary and is completely open and honest. Her "what's in my bag" post is the most believable that I've read, and, unlike almost everyone else out there, she greatly disagrees with the need to bring out more and more ipads and similar items. I love reading her blog, and I know that whatever I read is her honest opinion, and not shaped to please the masses.
Best Etsy Purchase
Trilobite Fossil Plush - this is something I've wanted for a very long time, but when I finally went to get one a few months ago, they'd all gone! I happened to check back recently and I contacted her asking when they'd be back in stock, and like the wonderful seller she is, she actually sent me a message once they were listed. I bought one immediately. Admittedly I don't have it yet, since I only bought it on the 29th, but I'm postive, given the nature of the product, that I will not regret it.
Favourite Item (From My Own Shop; 1 Each)
Peaches and Pebbles: Fox in a Jar - this is doubtlessly my most popular item, and I have a new one lined up for Valentine's Day. But I love it regardless of popularity, and the piece that comes a close second place is my dinosaur skulls - which are not popular at all! But the reason the Fox in the Jar is my favourite at this point is simply because I'm still in love with foxes.
Grumble Cave Monsters: Paisley Baby Monster - I love this little guy, and a lot of others do, too! I love all of the white, and frankly, I love these little guys' faces. They're so cute! I haven't made one for myself yet, I've just kept my first attempts at the adults, instead. But I love them. The close second is the 3-eyed rabbit.
Best Experience
Dumbest Mistake
Xbox and tinsel - I was putting the decorations up this Christmas while Seeg was playing on his Xbox. We'd discovered that you can't be wearing gloves to turn it on or off, or to eject the disc, since it's touch-activated, but it turns out that tinsel will turn it on and off. I was reaching past it to put up some tinsel along some shelves while Seeg was playing Skyrim (Dragonborn DLC, hells yes, bloody brilliant), and a piece of tinsel hit the eject button, and it took the disc out. Fortunately, it had autosaved recently, but that was probably the stupidest thing I've done. Lately. I don't remember much else.
And now a final list of things I put together myself:
Best Blog I've Followed
The Curious Pug - a real, honest blogger; Alycia will swear when necessary and is completely open and honest. Her "what's in my bag" post is the most believable that I've read, and, unlike almost everyone else out there, she greatly disagrees with the need to bring out more and more ipads and similar items. I love reading her blog, and I know that whatever I read is her honest opinion, and not shaped to please the masses.
Best Etsy Purchase
Trilobite Fossil Plush - this is something I've wanted for a very long time, but when I finally went to get one a few months ago, they'd all gone! I happened to check back recently and I contacted her asking when they'd be back in stock, and like the wonderful seller she is, she actually sent me a message once they were listed. I bought one immediately. Admittedly I don't have it yet, since I only bought it on the 29th, but I'm postive, given the nature of the product, that I will not regret it.
Favourite Item (From My Own Shop; 1 Each)
Peaches and Pebbles: Fox in a Jar - this is doubtlessly my most popular item, and I have a new one lined up for Valentine's Day. But I love it regardless of popularity, and the piece that comes a close second place is my dinosaur skulls - which are not popular at all! But the reason the Fox in the Jar is my favourite at this point is simply because I'm still in love with foxes.
Grumble Cave Monsters: Paisley Baby Monster - I love this little guy, and a lot of others do, too! I love all of the white, and frankly, I love these little guys' faces. They're so cute! I haven't made one for myself yet, I've just kept my first attempts at the adults, instead. But I love them. The close second is the 3-eyed rabbit.
Best Experience
The Netherlands - I'd never been abroad until Seeg needed his tooth cut (shattered) out, but it's an experience I'm glad to have had (though Seeg disagrees, and for fair reason). I'd been very apprehensive about going abroad - it wasn't the plane that worried me, just being so far from home, but since we've done it once, doing it a second time would be much easier. Though, I'd still rather stay at home.
Dumbest Mistake
Xbox and tinsel - I was putting the decorations up this Christmas while Seeg was playing on his Xbox. We'd discovered that you can't be wearing gloves to turn it on or off, or to eject the disc, since it's touch-activated, but it turns out that tinsel will turn it on and off. I was reaching past it to put up some tinsel along some shelves while Seeg was playing Skyrim (Dragonborn DLC, hells yes, bloody brilliant), and a piece of tinsel hit the eject button, and it took the disc out. Fortunately, it had autosaved recently, but that was probably the stupidest thing I've done. Lately. I don't remember much else.
Have a safe and wonderful
new year!
Sounds like it's been a really big year! But a good one. Who knew tinsel had such power!
ReplyDeleteSeriously how would anyone ever know that tinsel would activate the XBox? That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness the game had recently autosaved! I'd have been in troouuublllllle! :P But if he'd have done it, so would he xD
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