My crochet new years resolutions.

So today is the end of the first week of the new year and I have yet to post anywhere My crochet new years resolutions. So I thought that here on my blog would be a great place to start. The following is my list of crochet resolutions.
1. - Blog at least twice a month
2. - Keep journal of Blog topics
3. - Keep posting Cast Off Crew Videos once a week
4. - Come up with at least 6 new patterns.
5. - Finish doing the 27 stitch tutorial videos series.
6. - Stay current on Linky Blogs.
7. - Promote my business through Facebook and other social media.
8. - Revamp Website.
9. - Keep a journal of projects you want to work on with picture and yarn ideas
10. - Start my Etsy shop
11. - Do more Craft Fairs
12. - Organize pics of crochet items 13. - Start/join a crochet group near you.
14. - Make project tags for new projects that you start.
15. - Organize yarn
16. - Organize crochet and knitting tools
17. - Come up with new earring tutorials
18. - Start a free crochet class at the local library!
19. - Organize ravelry page and use more consistently.
Some of them I feel are a little overwhelming but I feel energized by the thought of actually trying to focus on my passion. So my question to you is: Did you write down your Crochet Resolutions for this year? If you have I encourage you to share your list by commenting down below. If you have not, why not start now. Even if you don't have a full list, pick 3 or 4 (or more) things that you would like to accomplish this year and share them with me!

Do you have Blog Button?

I came across this wonderful blog tutorial on how to make a blog button. Now I had been craving a blog button for a while now, and just didn't understand how in the world to go about creating one. Well DP Nguyen from http://www.mypregnancybaby.com gave me what I needed. She has a few how to tutorials for bloggers.

Now I do have to say that if you are not familiar with how to work with html code it can be a little scary. I do encourage you to try it. The most you can lose is a little of your time. I thought I would give it a shot since I also think working with HTML code is scary.

Needless to say I forged ahead and after a few errors I finally got my button to look like I wanted it to and include the code for you to copy to your blog or website. If you look to your right that is where you will find them but if you still don't know what I am talking about, here is what mine ended up looking like.

Watermarking your photos

So I was at a point in my craft when I had accumulated a lot of pictures of my work. I was at the verge of paying someone to create a logo and a watermark.

At the last minute I decided to do a little research and see just how hard it was to create a watermark first. I found a few videos on how to create your own watermark but the best help I found was this blog, http://temptingthyme.com/2013/03/25/how-to-create-a-transparent-watermark/.

It went step by step and so easy to follow that I immediately started creating my own. I will try to post them here so your can see all the ones I created in a matter of a few minutes. The first 6 watermarks I made using Picmonkey.com and the last 2 I created with Ribbet.com. Because the watermarks are transparent and white I went ahead and edited them again with paint so that you would be able to see them clearly, but originally the background is white(transparent actually).

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 These are some of the few watermarks that I made for the holidays. I still have a few holidays to work out but I am really loving it.

 I will soon post a video tutorial on how I did my watermarks. A very special thank you to Shauna Tafelski for a wonderful tutorial on this topic. If you want to learn how to do other things for your blog or website, visit her blog.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

I feel and apology is in order. I'm sorry if I have been neglecting my blog but for some apparent reason having a full time job and crocheting in the evenings to fill orders just doesn't leave much time for blogging! Not to mention cooking dinner, doing laundry, helping my girls with their homework, etc, etc..... Well I am here to let you know that I have recently given my notice at work. I will no longer be employed outside the home. I have made up my mind (and my husband as well) that I need my time to focus on my passion. CROCHET. Sorry to scream but that is how I feel. I have always put away my dream because it wasn't the right time, or not enough money, or whatever excuse I deemed reasonable enough at the time.

I only went back to work in August of last year but it didn't seem as fulfilling as I thought it would be. So needless to say it took up all my time, in fact so much so that I stopped volunteering at church, and the library. I was not a happy camper.

I hope that this new endeavor will be fruitful not only for my pockets but also for my soul, and I promise to blog on a regular basis from now on.

Thank you one or all who follow or have read my blog post. I greatly appreciate you hanging in there!