I mentioned on the last post – Handmade Monday – that I had some problems with the linky tool (the little thing that makes the whole Handmade Monday thing possible) because of Internet Explorer.

restaurant on the beach at Nidri, lefkas

The other problem I was having because of Internet Explorer was Pinterest – if you’ve not tried it, you’re missing out!

beach unbrella

You can use it like an interest board – pin your favourite photos from the internet (or your own collection) on there.

hello, who are you?

It’s really easy to use – once you leave IE behind.  I just couldn’t make it work at all in IE (although you can browse it quite easily in IE).

wonder what's behind the door?

Have a look at my pins here but I must warn you – it’s far too easy to lose several hours “playing” and “pinning”!!

van delivery Greek island style

It’s a fabulous way to build collections of favourite photos, wishlists, inspiration and ideas.  It’s very visual, so if that’s the way you work, Pinterest will surely work for you.

Egremni Beach

I’ve uploaded a mixture of favourite images from the web, some of my own products and some of my personal photos.  It’s a fabulous way to share things!

come and rest awhile

I like the way it saves the web address alongside images you’ve found online and the way you can “re-pin” other people’s photos and finds.

baby rabbit asleep on the book shelves

So, just to illustrate my point, I’ve scattered a few of my all-time favourite personal photos throughout this post!  (See, I knew you were wondering at the randomness of the photos! )

orange juice and blue skies

OK, so I haven’t got a hangover – but it definitely feels a bit like the morning after the night before.

the morning after

Yesterday was the very first time I’d hosted my Handmade Monday.  I worried about it for a little while before I jumped headlong into it . . . I’m definitely not the most technical of people and I don’t understand all the technology behind all this kind of stuff.  Heck, I don’t even understand how the internet works at all, if we’re being honest!  I write it, I click publish, and somehow you find it and read it – wherever you happen to be in the world! 

It’s a bit like those magicians who pull a rabbit from a top hat – no idea how that happens either!

rabbit from tophat

There seemed a flutter of interest in Handmade Monday among other bloggers, and I especially thought of newbie bloggers who struggle for so long to acquire readers and followers.  I know that feeling – I started blogging well before I started my business as I’d been told it takes quite a while to establish a blog.

So I jumped headlong into creating Handmade Monday and I’m glad I did!  A truly lovely mix of bloggers joined in – the newbies and the more experienced alongside those looking for a bit of motivation, with a really diverse and excellent mix of creativity.  I’d urge you to look at the list on the last post (if you haven’t already) and have a browse through the totally inspirational creativity, gorgeous handmade projects and oh so beautiful finished products they’ve blogged about!

If you want to join in next week, I plan to make Handmade Monday live sometime on Sunday evening (ideal for those people who are short of time on Mondays) and have the linky tool open for at least the 24hrs that is Monday and a few hours either side of midnight too  - all times are UK times (GMT).

Has there been a learning curve for me in this?  I would have to say: oh yes, most definitely!  One area of blogging in which I have to hang my head in shame is the area of commenting on other people’s blogs.  In the 2+ years I’ve been blogging, I’ve messed it up so many times – people have failed to receive a comment so often when I’ve tried . . . then I finally managed to comment but not link back so there’s been nothing to let them know who I am.  I hate being anonymous!  The problem stems from me being on a self-hosted wordpress blog and not Blogger, which most craft bloggers seem to use.  There are steps in place for people like me to use, but they didn’t work for me (me being me!).

As well as that, my own blog broke at one point and wouldn’t accept comments.  Then my blog was hacked – and I felt like giving up altogether!  That’s all in the past now, so onward and upward (as they say)!

So I’ve gone back to good old Google, who of course own Blogger, and set up a new profile (it seemed my old profile is lost in the big internet filing system somewhere – I never was much good at filing!).  I’m hoping that, although it won’t redirect back here, it will at least direct people to my profile so at least I’m not anonymous.

So, I’m pleased there’s been a learning curve for me – and even more pleased that so many seem to have gained something from this too! 

Roll on next Monday!

handmade monday