Reflections {and a Family Christian Giveaway}

Earlier this week, I shared how my family has been struggling with illness in one of my little guys. It’s been another rough week. He spiked a high fever yesterday, and we had to take him back to the emergency room. Even though much of it is protocol at this point, I still find it very stressful. With all the doctor’s appointments and couch time that we’ve had over the past few months, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect about everything. One of the things that I’ve been thinking about is this blog space and where I feel like it should go.

 

When I started this blog several years ago, I didn’t really have a goal. I just wanted a place to share projects that I did with my daughter and things that I did for my family. I had stumbled across a few other blogs and thought, “Hey, that’s cool!” I needed a creative outlet, and so I jumped in, not knowing anything about blogging. I’d always enjoyed writing, and in high school I had always wanted to be an author, so a blog seemed like a nice fit. Over the years, the blog seemed to take a life of it’s own, and between a former full time job and getting pregnant with triplets, I let it. But the events of the past few months have made me reconsider the types of projects that I want to share.

 

A few weeks ago, I found myself standing in my craft room, staring at this plethora of craft supplies and fabric. It’s sad, really. I have so much stuff that I’ve bought with intentions of using and have never done so. Or when I do use it, what am I really doing with it? So I’ve spent the last few weeks trying out an experiment.

 

Everything that I made, I made it to give away. I made a wreath for a lovely lady in our church who had surgery. I made several Thank You cards to send to people who have been gracious and generous to our family. I made a family favorite recipe to take to a gathering. I made a kid’s craft to use in children’s church, and the kids had a blast with it.

 

And you know what? I had the best crafting time of my life. Making things for the sake of making things was the pattern that I had fallen into, but I realized that isn’t the reason that I started this blog. I really like making things that make someone else smile. It’s what this big ol’ crafting stash is for.

 

Then, I  looked at the most popular posts on my blog. Know what they are? This Cheesy Potato Casserole for a Crowd, Easy Cross Bird Feeder (a children’s church craft), and Washi Tape Tape Gift Boxes are have been the most popular articles for a while now. From Pinterest, this pin for 20 Potluck Side Dishes and another pin for the same Easy Cross Bird Feeder from above have been the most popular pins. I scrolled down the lists to look at the other most popular posts, and they all had the same theme of feeding a crowd, a craft for a group, and gifting to others. Not that other posts aren’t viewed, but those are the topics that drive the majority of readers here.

 

I wouldn’t describe it as an epiphany, but I realized that if I enjoy crafting and creating for others the most, and if others enjoy replicating those the most, then why aren’t I posting those types of things the most?

 

With those thoughts in mind, I’m refocusing the projects that you’ll find around here.

What you’ll find:

• Recipes with a focus on feeding a crowd or potlucks. You may notice that I’ve added a “Potluck Recipes” tab in the menu bar. It has two sub-tabs- Potluck Desserts and Potluck Dishes. There aren’t a ton of recipes there yet, but the surprising thing is that all the recipes under those tabs are the most popular recipes on my blog. I’m excited to be posting more of these!

• Giving crafts- crafts that make great gifts to others
• Kids Crafting Through the Bible series- I get many requests and emails for Bible themed kids’ crafts. So we’re just gonna start from the beginning and Craft Through the Bible! Many of the crafts can be used for other purposes, too, so if you’re not interested in that sort of thing, don’t discount the series quite yet! For instance, I originally posted these Pony Bead Fish as a children’s church craft, but it gets pinned to lots of summer fun and water themed boards, too.
• Less ads- I’ve decided to use less ads in my sidebar. I’ll also be getting rid of all mobile ads. This will take a few months due to contract guidelines, but you will see these disappear eventually.

 

I still have projects in the works that may not fit these categories. These are projects that I had already planned and committed to prior to deciding to refocus. But, overall, you’ll see a general shift.

 

I’m excited to refocus, and I’m also excited to have Family Christian to help me celebrate! They are letting me give away a $10 Saving Passes to (5) lucky winners! These $10 Saving Passes are like “cash” to use in the Family Christian Store. Combine them with coupons, sales, or anything that you want!

 

As always, thank you for following along with me and allowing me to share with you!

Want to be one of the (5) lucky winners? Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter to win!

Details: Giveaway ends June 3, 2015 at 11:59 PM EST. Open to Residents of the US only. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Prizes will be delivered via mail from Family Christian Stores. Five winners will be selected randomly and be notified by email. Winners will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. This giveaway is sponsored by Family Christian Stores. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Pinterest and Twitter are in no way associated with this giveaway.  By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone.  I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner. Winners’ names and mailing addresses will be shared with Family Christian Stores in order for prize to be fulfilled. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway