The "Blog Cos You Want To" Club

Want To No.3: Leave a List Lying in Limbo

Maybe it's time for another meeting of the "Blog Cos You Want To" Club? How's the blogging been going for you in January? It's been busy round here, and I've been finding myself with a little less time than usual for thinking about what I'd like to post. Usually I enjoy flying by the seat of my pants - wake up, do something, write about it - but it doesn't always work. Yesterday something came up, I had to go to it, I didn't have time to write. So, with that in mind, I'd like to suggest a bit of thinking ahead.

 I know lots of you do plan, and there are plenty of very pretty, printable blog planners out there to help: but there's planning, and there's actually opening up that new post window and putting it all together. Something non-seasonal, something timeless, something just sitting there, ready to go when you need it. Leave a list lying in limbo.

Some years ago now, when I started blogging, there was a trend for posting "bucket lists" or wish lists. I had a go at writing my own - 49 Things, I called it. Not really a bucket list, more a "rite of passage" note: not things I desperately wanted to achieve, more an everyone-has-to-think-about-doing-that-once-in-a-lifetime. I'm going to revisit that list and post it here so that you can make it the starting point for a list of your own. Go on - open up a new post, paste this is, and then take a few minutes to tailor it to your own life. Pick and choose what you want from it, add some ideas of your own, then highlight the ones you have done and - here's the thing - do not publish it this week! Or next week! (unless you really have to). keep it for half term, or when you have the flu, or any other time when you need something fast. Save it up. Just don't post it yet. Promise?

Here it is, then...

49 Things: My Life in a List

I have (or have not - yet)

• Kept a friend for more than twenty years
• Made my own jam (lots of it, in a Little House kind of way)
• Sewn a quilt
• Learned how to tap dance
• Ridden on a tandem
• Walked up the outside of a volcano
• Found or sent a message in a bottle
• Crossed the equator
• Slept in the open air
• Appeared on Live TV
• Been locked in overnight - or long enough at least for it to start getting scary
• Seen the Terracotta Army in China
• Admired the Crown Jewels in London
• Looked at Paris from the heights of the Eiffel Tower
• Caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights
• Visited a penpal
• Tracked down a long lost relative or friend through the internet
• Set my heart on something and worked tirelessly to achieve it
• Driven from one end of my country to the other
• Flown in a hot air balloon
• Built my own house
• Found a beautiful fossil to take home and keep
• Gone to a school reunion and enjoyed it
• Met an idol
• Been photographed with someone famous
• Held a stranger's hand just because they needed me
• Had a handsome man buy me champagne
• Partied through til breakfast
• Won a bet
• Found something valuable and make sure it is returned to its rightful owner
• Sold something I made myself
• Had an interesting part of my body pierced (or maybe a tattoo?)
• Dyed my hair a crazy colour
• Gone out on the town in an outfit I've made entirely myself
• Spent far too much money on something I've never worn
• Spotted a ghost
• Discovered a peacock feather lying on the grass and take it home
• Been recognised for some kind of community service
• Judged a competition
• Won a competition
• Started a Mexican Wave
• Taken part in some kind of endurance event
• Scored an own goal, figuratively or otherwise
• Discovered disappointment, but found a way out of it
• Got something published
• Seen my name in lights
• Taken up something new and discovered that I'm good at it
• Asked for my money back
• Been treated as an emergency

There you go. Copy and paste it - just don't post it. Yet!

WHY WILL THIS WORK? Well, obviously, to start with you have the satisfaction of knowing you have a post in reserve. That gives you more time to plan something else. But there's more to it than that. The big, clever bloggers talk about the "takeway" - what you give your readers, what they get from reading one of your posts. If you post a quick list, your readers can post it too. You'll have given them something they can use themselves. They might even thank you for it! And there's more - every time you post something like this, with your answers, you reveal a little bit of yourself. And that's what we all want to see. We read because we want to know about the person behind the posts: why not tell everyone if you have climbed a volcano? You never know what conversation it might start...

Are you with me? Blog Cos You Want To..

The "Blog Cos You Want To" Club

"Want To" No.2: Play on the Popular

Today I thought I'd call another meeting of the "Blog Cos You Want To" Club: what do you think? I've spotted quite a few Five Things posts popping up, so maybe it's time for a new suggestion? 

if you are anything like me at the minute, you are busy, with a big list of things to do and people to see; but you are still hoping to keep in touch with everything blog. A quick run around to see what everyone is up to, maybe, a few hello's; and something fast and fresh for your own blog. Sound about right? But wait - today I'm going to suggest you forget fresh and play on the popular. Post something from the past.

Usually I do like to keep it new when I'm posting. I don't schedule  or plan too much, so that what you get is where I am right now. But, once, when I was feeling short on inspiration someone very wise told me not not to worry. You have plenty of posts already there if someone feels a read she said. That's a reassuring thought. You have plenty of posts already there. Give it a minute and think - haven't you got something great in your back catalogue? 

I'm going to suggest that you go back as far as you dare - a couple of years if you can - and find something seasonal (a Christmas project for now!) and something with as broad an appeal as you can conjure. Not a scrapbook layout, then, but maybe a recipe or a general craft project. I have one post which has been pinned many times - it's Christmassy and it's not a scrapbook layout. I'll show you in a minute. Go ahead! Post a popular pin, or a post with lots of views, or positive comments 

WHY WILL THIS WORK? 

- Trust me: not all your readers will have seen it the first time. In two years a readership can change. Bet you have some new readers who would love to see what you were making a couple of years ago if you find the post for them! And think about it - how many times have you spotted something you like and promised yourself you'll go back because it was such a good idea? Regular readers won't mind a seasonal reminder of a great project, especially if they didn't save it or pin it the first time.

- Pinterest has changed the way we look at older material. I have no doubt. It has reclaimed blog posts from years ago, kept them in view and reinforced the idea that it doesn't have to be new to be good.

- It's going to give you a chance to take a look at what you were posting in the past and maybe muse on how your style has changed over the past couple of years. Do you have a different way of taking photos now? what have you learned since then? or were you doing something then that you might like to go back to? Just take a minute to think about it. One thing I noticed in my "popular post" was that I had two differently styled photos - some pin one and some, the other...maybe it's nice to include a choice?

- If you are very short on time you can simply cut and paste. If you have a little more time to spare, you can tweak. I had the link to Tagxedo in my post (below), but I found I was getting emails asking me how to get to the site, so it obviously wasn't clear enough. Look now and you'll see I have added "click here".Why not use the hard work you have already done and take a couple of minutes to add in an extra tip or re -edit a picture or include some useful links? If you do, you have every chance that your project will become more pinnable. So, one final tip: take charge of the Pinterest description which will appear under your photo. Think of a compelling way to describe your project.. When you are uploading your photo into blogger, click on it, click on properties and add your description to the ALT text box. That will be what appears when someone pins your post. Honestly? I think my "popular post" became popular because of the way it was described by a pinner. Get there first.

Convinced? Let's see what you have in that storehouse of yours! Play on the Popular! This is mine:

Tagxedo: Making Great Cards Just Got Easier

 This started out as an experiment and turned into a little project. Have you heard of Tagxedo (click here) ? It's a word cloud creator, a bit like Wordle only even more fun. As soon as I tried it out once I could see lots of possibilities.

You can paste in any text you like, choose a shape, colours, fonts, themes, whatever. I put in a few lines of "Jingle Bells", picked out a tree shape and came up with this:

Both photos today edited in RadLab

Then I gave it a bit of From High In The Sky and it gave me this:

which I'm pretty pleased with. Both of these are printed out at 7x5 and put into little Ikea frames.

But they would also make great cards or Christmas tags. And there's more: you can upload a photo and shape a favourite bit of text round it. I'm thinking of snaffling some schoolwork and turning it Tall and (Not So) Small shaped. That would make a different kind of birthday card next year. Or a poster..

The "Blog Cos You Want To" Club

"Want To" No. 1: Five Things

Blogging?

• Some days I think I'll never come up with another story again. Other days I can't get the words down fast enough.
• Some days I get unstuck when I try to do something technical. Other days I take a deep breath, start googling and work it out (and that's very satisfying).
• Some days I have nothing to show you because I didn't get it finished, or I have to keep it quiet for a bit longer, or whatever I was making didn't turn out the way I wanted. Other days I discover a page just ready to go

Like this one which just came back from Scrap365 (a tongue in cheek look at my top housekeeping tip, for the "And Finally" column in the last issue)

• Some days I go with short because there just isn't any more. Other days, I discover that quick and snappy can be very effective and gets lots of you talking
• Some days my camera battery runs out, the light is bad and I can't find the tripod. Other days, I nod my head and say I'm glad I took a picture of that even if it's a bit on the blurry side.
• Some days I wonder how some of my early readers are doing, what they're up to, how they are. Other days, I'm delighted to welcome a new face.

Is this starting to sound a little familiar? Maybe you feel like this too? It comes, it goes, it ebbs, it flows..I was talking to my good blogging friend Ruth the other day, about motivation in part; and she said maybe we needed a bloggers-in-a-rut group. I think she's right. Just for fun I'm going to try to pull together some occasional posts with easy ideas, and tell you why I think they work. So even if you don't like the suggestion. at the very least I'll get you talking about why not! That's the Blog Cos You Want To Club. What? You don't blog? Then go on, make it your mission to support someone who does! Pick a blog you usually read and comment on it, follow it, "like" it, pin from it and say thanks...you know what they say: Use It Or Lose It!

So, an idea for today? If you are in a serious blogging bind I suggest the first place you start is with Julie Kirk's excellent series The Push Up Bra Approach to Blogging.There isn't one piece of advice I could give you that she hasn't covered. But if you want someone to throw out a quick idea and say - here, you'll get a post out of this one, read on..

FIVE THINGS
Back in 2011 I ran a series of posts called Five Things.
- 5 Things I've Noticed
- 5 Holiday Observations
- 5 Things I've Learned about Blogging
- 5 Reasons to Love an Uncle
- 5 Reasons to Come Back here Tomorrow
- 5 Things I Need Explained This Week
- 5 Signs of Spring
- 5 Ingredients for my Perfect Weekend

You can see by the titles that my lists ranged far and wide. That's what makes it so much fun to do.
WHY WILL THIS WORK?  Because you can scribble down a list or a half anywhere and everywhere. Treat it like a shopping list and just scribble. Because you can come up with titles first and then fill in ideas when they come, or you can have a thought and create a list round it. Because it gives your readers a peep into one tiny little bit of your world. Because it intrigues. Because it chimes. Because it invites your readers to say Me too! 

Trust me. Try it with a few new fresh-out-of-the-box ideas.

- 5 Useful Things to Know About
- 5 Things to Think About at Midnight
- 5 Products I Love
- 5 Colours in my Home
- 5 Books I Have Read More than Once
- 5 Comfort Foods
- 5 Favourite Comments on my Blog

I haven't used these ones yet myself. Coming to a blog near you soon! The Blog Cos You Want To Club. Are you with me? More suggestions as they happen...

A Bit of Better Blogging - Part Seven

I'm tying up loose ends

on several projects this week. So I've put together my latest collection of better blogging finds for today. I hope you see something of interest:

1. Pinterest - Good or bad for bloggers? This is a must-read. It's persuasive, it's heartfelt and I couldn't agree more. If you love Pinterest, read this! By Darcy of Life With my 3 Boybarians
2. Clean Slate Blogging by Judy of Cats Eye Writer. There is always somethng to think about here. I also enjoyed her Harry Potter Headlines.
3. Blog Posts that Start Life as Something Different - using comments to create content. By Sarah Arrow at For Bloggers by Bloggers
4. Keeping up with the New Facebook by Paint The Moon. Tips for setting up a fan page. I need to have another look at this one myself!
5. Also, How to Get More Likes on Facebook by How To Make My Blog.
6. And finally, I had to include an older one I like Ten Most Overused Words on Craft Blogs from Crafterminds (thanks Sue for recommending this site!)

Have a browse and think about blogging goals for 2012. Or maybe you've done that already?

A Bit of Better Blogging - Part Six

I've been waiting for this book to arrive

"Scrapbook Workshop - Favourite Techniques From Favourite Scrapbook Bloggers"

and it has inspired me to pull together another selection of blogging tips, tutorials and thoughts I have found interesting. I hope you find something here worth a look!

• From Write to Done (great writing site) an interesting post here - are you a Blogger Buddy or a Blogger Bum?
• Pugly Pixel - all round very lovely site with lots of video tutorials for photoshoppers who like to blog, iPhone photo tips, freebie web design items. A pleasure to browse.
• Scoutie Girl offers a reasonably priced blogging ebook and more which I think would make an interesting follow on to Shimelles's classes. I haven't used it, but if you browse around there are some free extracts to tempt you
• BlogU - lots of useful tips which don't assume a lot of knowledge. Check out her popular posts sections.
• WhatThe Font allows you to uplaod a sample of a font you have found and loved to find out what it is
• My Girl Thursday - cute videos with "your blogging questions answered" and some free printables

I'll be creating a Pinterest board with my blogging favourite tip sites just as soon as I can - so keep an eye out for that. And check out the Pinterest Parade too - it's still growing!

I hope your Tuesday is a great one. On a sidenote - I have been unable to access my email since about 6.00pm yesterday. I might be waiting until my technical support gets home tonight before I'm back. But I will be back. Definitely.
ETA: Email has returned. Hurrah.

Five Things I've Learned About Blogging..

...since my first post. To mark the end of Beyond Blogging For Scrapbookers, with thanks for a great class

1. Catchy titles are fun to write and great to read but they are only successful if they deliver.

2. Keeping a notebook close so that I can write down any inspiration which comes my way is A Very Useful Thing.

3. It's harder to be funny when people can't see your face.

4. Some readers visit every single day, and never say hello. But that's okay. Sometimes I like to be quiet too.

5. There is a google-world full of blogging resources out there; but my current favourite (because it's so lovely to look and so useful at the same time) is The Blog Guidebook

And you, what have you learned since your first post?

My first blog look

A Bit Of Better Blogging: Part Five

Better Blogging? It's been a while, but I'm marking the return of Shimelle's Blogging For Scrapbookers class (hurrah!) with a new selection of good things I've found. I hope you see something here to interest you.

• Blogging Bookshelf - has a nice reminder here about adding your blog to your email signature. And a lot of other marketing based articles to browse - you could spend an hour in here.
• Blog World - here is their update on the planned new Blogger interface. Did you know Blogger now boasts over 500 million posts? Wow.
• Jacq's Blogger Tips - has lots of practical advice for playing about with your blog. It's unassuming and helpful. A nice site.
• Makin' Cute Blogs - has free tutorials including this one on google webmaster tools and this one on meta tags. And she has some for WordPress too.
• Just for fun - have you seen these blog cards? Like a business card, but for your blog!
• Finally, I just had to include Julie's Tips For The Twitter Curious. Did I say comprehensive? This has everything you need to know! She very nearly, almost has me persuaded..

But wait, before you go, Mel's post on blogger stats got me thinking. Have you ever checked to see which posts are your most popular? I had a look and my all time most popular post in my first Storytelling Sunday. How about you? I'd love to know..

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We'll be having potato bread for lunch. With lots of butter.

Five Blogs Into Books

Five blogs which have been turned into books (or vice versa)

1. Angry Chicken - Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing is a favourite of mine.
2. Meet Me At Mike's - Pip Lincolne's new book Sew La Tea Do looks like a fun sewing compendium. It's newly released here this month so I haven't seen a copy yet though.
3. Inside A Black Apple - with The Paper Doll Primer. This one is on my wish list. I love paper dolls, always have, collected them into my teens and beyond. And who could resist a book described as "a fully illustrated wondrous oddity"? With "activities and amusements for the curious paper artist"?
4. Pure Style - The books came before the blog with this one , but I'm not complaining. More of Jane Cumberbatch's chic-ly simple style can only be a good thing. There is a new cookery book in the works too.
5. And finally, a reminder of Orangette - the nicest cookery blog I know. And, of course, the blog of the book featured in Pass The Book this month. If you are quick there is still time to enter, but you'll have to be fast because I'm doing the draw Sunday morning..

And now you've got the idea..what about 5 steps to finding the book that's hiding in your blog from Cats Eye Writer. It's certainly something to think about!

What I've Learned About Blogging By Watching A Hamster

Gary The Magnificent, our Christmas hamster (no. wait. Strike that. A hamster is for life, not just for Christmas), is an interesting character. He lives his life according to his own rules, the best way a hamster knows how, and I like his thinking. From what I have seen, it goes something like this:



Not actually Gary. Gary is FAST



• He keeps one eye closed until he is completely awake. This is smart. It reminds him not to jump until he is ready. It reminds me that letting my brain limber up before reading, writing or commenting is a good thing. Jumping in with the first thing that comes into your head is not always a good thing.
• Once he is awake, his reactions are sharp and fast. He can be right back up that tube again in the time it takes me to say "What, Gary? Eating again?" I like this one too. It reminds me to pass on what I've discovered or what I've been doing before the next big thing comes along. Don't save up your good stuff - use it before somebody else does!
• He spends time every day cleaning out his house and doing a bit of housekeeping. Yes, I've been learning the value of maintenance in the blogging world too. I've set up a couple of new pages which you can see in the sidebar - my Archives and my Storytelling Sundays. Take The Tour will show you some of my favourite posts. Which brings me to:
• When he sees something he wants, he stretches for it. He balances and tests and reaches until he gets there. And when I get there, you'll know because I will have worked out how to put smart matching tabs beside the ones I already have. Blogging has shown me that you really can teach an old dog new tricks.
• But back to hamsters. Gary sleeps a lot. Oh, yes. A break can be good. Very good. Turn off the computer. Walk away - and when you come back, chances are you'll have a new idea or three all ready to go.
• And last, but not least: Gary eats a lot..but, no. Let's leave it there and say no more..

But remember the Hamster World View. It could work for you too.

Journal Your Christmas - Picking Up The Pace

Oh, it's less than a week to go now, and we are nearly ready. The scrapbooking is getting faster as the preparations get more frantic* - how about you?

Sometimes I like to spend hours on a page, in a contemplative kind of way. But when I want fast, I want really fast. So I found a quick fix (which I spotted first on Snaps and Snippets, thanks S! and then on another favourite Beautiful Blog Designs). It's a site called joliprint and it's a little bit of magic. All you need to do is copy and paste the URL of any web article you'd like to keep, and almost at once it turns it into a PDF for you to print out. Almost at once! It's really simple to use and, um, addictive. I need to buy more printer paper. You can quickly make a print of any blog post you like - and that's what I did. I turned It's Thursday And I'm Thankful into a PDF, printed it out on photo paper and put it in my album. Try it! I'd love to know what you think (would a print-out-this-post button be good?)

I didn't photograph that page for you (because that would be a funny copy of a copy of a copy of a post), but I do have two others finished up. My numbers and dates are a bit pick and mix, because I wanted to use certain photos on certain days so each double spread in my album looked good together. These two are blue and brown, but still papers from the Basic Grey Nook And Pantry line.

That snow has certainly been a surprise! We have had no post since last Wednesday and school had a snow day for the first time in 23 years. But we are warm and comfortable and it really is lovely to look at. All we need now is a fresh supply of mince pies and I'm going to see to that Any Minute Now. .

*Sorry. Artistic license. We are actually feeling quite calm. Especially when we think about mince pies..

It's Nearly A Post

As soon as I got up this morning, I knew I was going to be running behind. I'm not usually a panic merchant; but I've got one off sick, worrying about missing her Band concert on Thursday, my mum's Christmas cards to finish AND I haven't come close to waving my camera in front of my Journal Your Christmas pages.

So, I thought I didn't have a post for you, and I was pondering this when I took a quick look through my Google Reader and - Oh Happy Day! - I found this: How To Chill Out When You Forget To Post . Take a look. Honestly, it should be required reading at this time of year. Any time of year, maybe.

I'm breathing easy again now. A quick trip to the shops for some more paracetamol and some popcorn ( you always need popcorn when you are home sick and want to watch Christmas movies with your mum), and I'm sorted. Journal Your Christmas will probably return tomorrow, But, until then, remember - Chill Out When You Forget To Post.

A Bit Of Better Blogging Part Four

It's been a while since I did one of these. What do you think? Have you got time for a couple of interesting links?

• Blogdoctor - this one takes a while to load, but I think it's worth it. Want to know how to back up your blog (I did!)? It's here in the sidebar.
• How To Make My Blog - this is a great one for dipping in and out of. Lots of concise posts, each with a little nugget for you to go away and think about.
• Sneaky Momma - I love this one! She has her tips and tutorial arranged by ability and blog experience, how clever is that? Lots to keep you entertained here if you enjoy thinking about messing about with your design.
• The Blog Guidebook - it's pretty to look at and it's useful to know about. Have a browse.
• And finally, Crockpot 365. Not a blogging site, but definitely very, very useful . I've always said that crockpots were the scrapbookers secret weapon. I wouldn't be posting without mine today.

It's much easier to settle down to make something when you know you have a stew to serve up at the end of it! This is what I've been finishing up this week:

Two more  knitted dogs: a bulldog at the back and in front a little Westie who is a gift for a friend in need of a puppy for her pocket. I hope he helps. Both patterns from this book

I'm off to do a bit more cooking up - my project for Amy's Let's Eat Blog Hop. This Sunday. Here, there, and many other places in between..

Better Blogging Three is here, Two is here and One is here

A Riff On Reflection

Dedicated to Alexa whose windows are giving her trouble.

Good prose, George Orwell once said, is like a window pane.

That was in the days before blogging, of course, but then he always was a man ahead of his time and maybe blogging would have suited him. He certainly had a point.

The very best posts, like the very brightest of windows, are sparkling. The words reach out from the page and carry us along, lift us up and set us down again, our mood altered, our spirits raised. A clean window offers us a clear view. It does its job, without extras. Like a well built blog post.

But perhaps Orwell also meant that a window reflects. If you look carefully you can see yourself. Look again and you can make out little snatches of the world going on around you. And that's what it's all about. When you blog, you put a little bit of yourself out there, you find out a little bit more about the world and the people in it. You connect.

Which brings me back to Alexa who has continued to blog and write and create throughout a truly trying building project. It should have been finishing up soon, but she is still without windows, and when the kettle goes as well and you can't even make a cup of tea, what's a girl to do?  We're cheering you on today Alexa! With your windows and your writing. You may not have one, but we love what you do with the other.

So it's over to you now. Leave a message of cheer for renovators everywhere (hello Amy!), a story about windows, a ramble on writing. A reflection of your own..



Blogging With A Cherry On The Top

Wow, what can I say? Thank you to every single brilliant blogger who took the time to comment on my last post. So many of you chipped in (hurrah!) and I've loved reading every last word. Seems like you all enjoy writing those words just as much as I do. Some of you plan, some write on the hoof and I think both approaches have something to offer.

I scribble and edit so that you get the best of what I have to offer, as a way of thanking you for coming. But spontaneous can be stunning - when you think as you type, we're getting the real you, fresh and unfettered and that makes for great blogging. Maybe we should take a day and swap? Change methods just for a post and see how it works? Could be interesting. Anyway, both ways work, both are good. Both have you musing as you get on with life. And isn't that an amazing thought? Not just are you all modern, multitasking women: you are modern, multitasking women who blog.

Thanks, too, to everyone who asked after my birthday which was earlier in the summer. The picture at the top today shows the gorgeous book I got from The Tall One (nice choice!) and you can also see the fantastic cards I got from Jacky and Amanda

And finally, thanks are due to Sheleen, Becky, Deb and Sandi who have been kind enough to award me this:

I hope you all know how much I enjoy reading you too. I'll be coming back to this one.

Writing Out Roughly

What I'd love to know from you today is how you plan your blog posts? Must be that going-back-to-school feeling (new pencils, new paper) making me think about this. That, and a cool comment from Carmen who wanted to know if I was writing my stories down anywhere.

What do you do? Do you type as you think as you write? Or do you sketch out ideas first? I don't plan too far ahead (usually only a couple of days) but I do like to write my post out roughly first. In pencil. In a notebook. I have a friend who is a BBC Broadcast Journalist, and when I told him this he laughed and said that I need to learn how to "compose on the keyboard". But I tried and I can't.

I like to scribble and score things out, slip in a word here or there, pull out another if I don't like the look of one or two - and then I'll often read the whole thing out loud (ok, into myself); just the once. Do you ever do that? 

I've been using a scruffy exercise book lately - but look what came in the post for my birthday. A beautiful blogging notebook from Amanda. Thank you. It's almost to nice to use..

So, which is it for you? Speed typing? Or writing out roughly? And while you're here, I'd also love to know your favourite blog reading day of the week. Weekend? or weekdays? I'm interested.

Making A Clickable Button

Once upon a time there was a girl (girl! ha!) who could barely switch on a computer. Her kids wanted her to learn, her husband asked her to learn, her exasperated (but thoughtful) Californian sister-in-law even tried bribery: You know what? If I showed you how to send an email and google at least, then you could find stuff you liked and write me to send it to you. Tempting (she thought); but it took scrapbooking to get her surfing, in the end. Message boards, kit clubs, classes all opened up before her..

So, where am I going with this? I'm going to the next step, that's where. I'm actually trying to figure out how things work (I know, I know, I bet lots of you are already there; but please humour me, I'm feeling a bit good about it). I spent some time yesterday thinking about making a button for Pass the Book. I looked at a couple of tutorials; but I couldn't get them to work properly, so I played about and this - at last- is how I made a clickable button. Maybe there are better ways around (and I'd be interested to hear about them) but this works for me

* I chose my photo and in Picasa I cropped it to a rectangle and added text, then I uploaded it to Flickr
* Next Click on Share This and then on Grab HTML. There are 3 size options and I chose small. Copy the code.
* Then go into Blogger design and select add a gadget. Choose the HTML box and then into it copy the code exactly as you see it here

* Check that it works and add it to your layout

* The next step is to generate a box of code other bloggers can pick up and display on their own blog. To do that, select another HTML gadget and copy in the code exactly as you see it here

* Now if you place it under the button that should be it done

I'd love someone else to give this a try and see if it works for them. Oh, and I'm keeping the Pass the Book comments open until Monday 3rd in case you haven't had a chance to throw your name in. If you're not in, you can't win..

A Bit Of Better Blogging Part Three

It must be time for another Better Blogging round-up, what do you think? I hope there is something new for you to enjoy here:

• WriteMindSet...all kinds of writing advice, from avoiding grammatical errors to writing opening paragraphs.
• smartpassiveincome.com..lots of other good articles, but I especially liked this one on The Bloggers Guide To Facebook.
• My3boybarians.com.. love this! Great list of 10 blogging mistakes and how to avoid them. There are lots of other good things too, though, photoshop tutorials and tips..take a look.
• cinnamongirlstudiodesign..one to think about here. It's a tutorial on helping to protect your images on blogger
• Beautiful Blog Designs..a good resource for free backgrounds and templates and other tutorials
• Creature Comforts...guide for better blogging series. You need to have a look at this for the beautiful photographs . Stunning stuff.

If you have found this useful, you can find Part Two here and Part One here

A Bit Of Better Blogging Part Two

And a winner from Sunday. A big thank you to Rinda for her fabulous organistion and to everyone who blogged and hopped and partied and commented. It took Horsey quite a while to fill his hat with all the names (today he used one of the beanies I'm knitting for Helen's appeal) and it's taking him even longer to pull out the name of the winner..

So we'll start with my blogging tips round up for this month. I hope you find something new here:

• I've got Jo to thank for this first one. It's fantastic! So many excellent free tutorials, it's really not to be missed at Adori
• Another excellent stop for blogger fans is Blogger Scrapbook (more tutorials and freebies)
• And its Wordpress sister here. Both by Reflecting The Designer
• We've just missed the Bling Out Your Blog class at Little Light Studio but it's still worth keeping an eye on, and they might run it again
• Likewise, the Blogging Your Way class at A Creative Mint. But the photos alone on this blog make it worth a visit. Really something to aspire to!
• If you like to write even more than you like to photograph, then check out The One Minute Writer for a prompt every day. You can scrapbook it or you can blog it!
• Or check out Seven Days Seven Answers for more ideas
• And finally for this time: a free printable blog planner right here. Love it.
• You can find A Bit Of Better Blogging Part One here

Oh, I knew there was something else. We're still waiting for Horsey to pull out the winner!

Here you go:

Becky..please get in touch and I'll get your prize out to you. I hope you like it!

A Bit Of Better Blogging

When I started blogging, and it's still not really very long ago, my blog looked like this:

But since then I found out more about what I think looks good and I've found new ways of doing things. I just love to learn something new; and because my most clicked on link ever was this one about bloggers block I'm guessing that you do too. So I've gathered up some of my favourite links and tips on blogging and I'm posting them today for  (I hope) your blogging pleasure:

• The link that got me started thinking about this post (and I have Cate to thank for it) is Marta Writes. If you only pick one place to go, go here! Last week she did a blogging workshop with plenty of tips and thoughts right there on her blog. It's an excellent read.
• Another great link from a new blogging friend of mine Carmen: Blogger Buster. Lots of technical help here. It's easy to follow, too.
• Fresh Blog Tips Love this one.
• Blog Herald I like his thoughts on recognising your own blogging achievements
• Copy Blogger Blogging lessons from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo? That's hard to resist
• Thou Shall Blog
• Top Ten Blog Tips Watch out! You could spend all day in here
• Blog Writing Course
• Tricks For New Bloggers

and a few other useful bits:

• Web2pdf I haven't tried this way of making your pages printable, but it sounds good.
• Photography tips at Digital Photography School
• Blog Challenge running this month at Get It Scrapped
• This book would be a nice treat Kirtsy Takes a Bow

• And finally, the ultimate bloggers Look Book Artful Blogging by Stampington Just gorgeous.

So, that's it for now. I'm going to keep on collecting and, if you like, I'll do another roundup of favourites soon. Let me know if you see anything great!