Welcome back, friends! I know that 2017 is already a few weeks old, but I took some time to enjoy a little blogging break. It felt good to have a few no-pressure weeks, but I am full of creative ideas for the new year and eager to share them with you! I thought I’d begin the new year by letting you in on my blog goals, along with some blog news.
2017 is going to be full of some very exciting (and as-yet-unknown!) developments for me personally and professionally. I’m currently on maternity leave, which will end in June, so I will be returning to teaching in the fall. Before that, we have some family adventures planned, along with lots of DIY!
Handmade Living in 2017: is it even possible?
It’s hard to know how exactly « handmade living » fits into a 21st-century life. We have computers to do everything for us, from blogging (!) to ordering diner to performing surgery. Even if we cook from scratch, we only occasionally grow our own produce, and very rarely raise or hunt our own meat. We buy most of our clothing, we purchase a lot of our home decor… And I understand why! We live in such a fast-paced, go-go-go world, where taking time to hand-make things is a rare occurrence.
This is why I want my year to be more handmade. I want to take time to do things properly, I want a great product, and I want to learn new skills. I want to slow down!
(If you know me, you just fell off your chair.)
I also want to focus on projects that really make sense for me and my family, and that make my heart sing!
So, without further ado, I give you my Blog Goals for 2017…
1. Use my stash instead of buying supplies
Whoa. I can’t believe I just said that. Seriously, I’m a craftaholic on the road to the craft store (or maybe the fabric store – you get the idea). But as they say, the first step is admitting there’s a problem. Well, for a whole lot of reasons, I need to cut back on my spending this year, so I’m going to be making a point to use what I have before buying new craft supplies. I think I own about four bottles of navy acrylic paint. Why? Because sometimes I’m so rushed to get going on a project that I don’t even take the time to see what I already have.
Also – and here’s where I’m going to sound a little holier-than-thou, so please forgive me – I’ve been feeling like the DIY blogging world is getting wasteful. There, I said it. (Please don’t hate me!) Creating stuff just to have content, making over rooms that are already beautiful… We’re not being good to the earth or to ourselves. So I’m going to try to cut back on the buy-buy-buy mentality around here.
To this end, I will be launching a FANTASTIC new series on the blog – just in time for spring cleaning – where I will use my stash and ONLY my stash to create something. (I actually have a similar post coming up next week, so that’ll give you a taste!)
2. Grow my subscriber newsletter!
Which means I need to HAVE a subscriber newsletter. 🙂 Please go sign up now in the sidebar! → → → → → → → → →
Kidding… But not really! I’ve admired the lovely newsletters emailed out by many of my blogging friends, and I’ve always wanted to do one. Not just as a place to round up my own latest posts, but as a way of introducing my readers to other great food and DIY blogs, and to create a chance for interaction. I really hope you’ll sign up! I’ll be launching the official newsletter, « Knotty News » in the next week or so along with…
3. My first challenge!
Yes, that’s right: I’m going to be hosting a subscriber-only challenge. I can’t share all the details with you just yet, but I promise that if you sign up for my email list in the box over there → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → → →
I will send you all the info in the next week. Pinky swear!
4. Please sir, can I ‘ave some more food… posts?
I want to do more recipe posts. I love to cook and I love to create recipes. ‘Nuff said.
5. Up my DIY game
I want to improve my basic DIY skills this year. I feel like I’m reasonable at a lot of things (sewing, using tools, etc) but there are a lot of gaps in my knowledge. I’d like to learn to use the serger my wonderful husband gave me this summer, I’d like to become handier with the power tools, and I’d like to learn to do some basic upholstery.
Looking back, 2016 was a great year for Flourish & Knot!
Some of my favourite projects were our Harry Potter nursery for the One Room Challenge, the hand-painted Día de Muertos pumpkin I created, and the infinity scarf/nursing cover I made just before Katherine was born.
So here’s a peek at what’s coming up, post-wise on the blog…
- A brand-spanking-new series about no-spend DIYs!
- Some fantastic themed blog hops, with lots of new-to-you (and me!) bloggers!
- The spring One Room Challenge! (Remember last year, when I made over our guest room into Katherine’s Harry Potter-themed nursery?)
- More recipes – yummmm
- A subscriber newsletter & challenge
- My adventures (or MISadventures) in learning some new skills. Stay tuned to watch the
panic set itexcitement unfold!
There they are: my goals and plans for this blog for 2017. Are there any topics or projects you’d like to see me tackle here? I can’t promise that I’ll start writing about basketball or bird-watching, but I’m open to suggestions. 😉 Let me know in the comments if there’s something you’d like featured on Flourish & Knot this year!
Here’s to a happy and blessed new year! See you next week for my first DIY of 2017. Can’t wait!
P.S. If you like what you read here at Flourish & Knot, please consider signing up for my newsletter!
