31,129 words … Still going in the right direction

NaNoWriMo update: today is the day we’re able to validate our novel by uploading and verifying our word-count – can you believe some people have already gone passed the 50000 word mark and we still have ten days to go! I can’t verify mine until I’ve reached 50,000 words (so for now, you’ll just have to believe me). I have some catching up to do over the weekend with a surge of writing and flexing my typing fingers. In the meantime, I’ve saved it all and it’s stored on here

and on my computer. I’m tempted to print it all out and see what that many words look like on paper! I can always remember when I owned a computer which had a floppy disc drive and the printer was a dot matrix (very noisy and to create bold type, it would ink over the page once then go over the text again!). Not only did it go through a lot of ink, there was not much else it could do apart from play ‘Snake’ and word process letters!
When my son was about eighteen months (he’s now 18 years) I was busy typing up letters to publishers and sending out submissions and manuscripts. While busy typing a new story, my son became very inquisitive and before I knew what had happened, he’d pressed the power button off and I lost pages and pages of creative writing. I could only hope that the second draft was better than the first! Thanks son!

wired!

I was delighted to be nominated for the Liebster award by fallfromgrace! Just as I was compiling my questions and answers, I was bowled over by being nominated a second time. Thanks craftmanicmommy 🙂
(http://craftmanicmommy.wordpress.com)
Wow! It was a lovely to be selected as I know there are some amazing blog sites out there that all deserve to be given this award too 🙂 Nominating 11 others is a tricky task as there are so many to nominate for different reasons, so I have just added some questions at the end of this blog for my followers or anyone who happens to view this blog to answer or reflect on them, should they believe they deserve to earn the Liebster award! Here are the answers to the questions submitted by fallfromgrace: 1) What first started you off blogging?

My eldest daughter had been taken ill while in France and came home for a few weeks. We’ve always found crafting and art a way to relax; therapeutic and rewarding. People admire my daughter’s painting and very large drawings. I already knew that there are limitations where craft is concerned to do and it’s not just to do with ability or talent – there’s a cost involved. So, I started a blog with the intention of investigating, creating and developing crafts for others to try with some focus on recycling what others may have lying around their homes. 2) Do any of your friends or family blog (not friends you made via it)?

An ex-colleague of mine presents a drawing or photograph a day as a blog. 3)Have you ever received a comment you found offensive?

No (thank goodness!) 4)Do you think of ways to attract people to comment on your posts or are they purely from the heart?

For some posts, I have asked people to comment (such as when running a free giveaway contest ;)). Other comments have come freely from what I’ve blogged about.
5) What do you think your next post will be about?
6)Do blogs you follow have a running theme? (like mainly about crafts etc)

The blogs I tend to follow vary from crafts, creative writing, art and photography to food! I enjoy discovering new recipes (although I confess that I’m not a great cook) and admire people’s efforts. I also enjoy reading about people’s life adventures such as moving abroad or overcoming difficulties. 7)Would you consider yourself a blogging addict?

Well, erm … at the beginning I set myself a challenge to do a craft a day (sometimes, I’ve blogged more than one post in a day). I think with creativity, once you start making things lots of ideas begin to surface, including memories of crafts done years ago. Blogging is becoming a habit!
8) Would someone profile picture or name influence if you looked at their page?

There are some ‘about’ pages that I’ve clicked on and found nothing on there. It’s helpful, I think, to have an overview of what the blog is going to be about, Some names are intriguing, aren’t they and curiosity does get the better of me!
9) Do you reply to every comment left?

I respond as soon as possible to a comment; sometimes there isn’t the need to write a response – an emoticon can provide a reply too.
10) Has anybody reblogged one of your posts?

Yes – it would be nice to have a comment though for the reasons for reblogging (which is what I try to do, such as with the penguin jumper request)
11) Do you enjoy answering questions on yourself?

Depends what the questions are asking! p>Rules for the nominees (apparently)

1. link back to the blogger that awarded you (done)

2. answer the 11 questions from that blogger (done)

3. ask your own 11 questions (done)

4. nominate 11 other bloggers and let them know of their nomination in their posts (see explanation above why I’m not nominating ;)) I would like to know where the number 11 came from!

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Here are my questions then for any interested person who would like to spend time answering them or reflecting on them:

1. How did you come up with your blog name or how did you decide what to blog about?

2. What advice would you give a newbie who was either just starting out blogging or considering keeping a blog?

3. Do you set yourself goals and do you manage to keep them 😉

4. How did you feel when you published your first ever blog post and what was it about?

5. Do any of your friends or family give you suggestions on what to blog about?

6. What positive things have come about due to you blogging?

7. What is the most helpful comment you have received?

8. Have you ever won anything?

9. Do you have more than one blog?

10. What is the most unusual thing you have written about or created?

11. (borrowed from nominator) What do you think your next blog post will be about?

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On that note, thanks again for the nomination and enjoy your day!

First day of spring and the sun is out, so how about a craft which involves wire, tissue paper and glue?

I ran a workshop for a small group to show the community how to do this craft. A frame is made from a pliable wire that isn’t so thin that it doesn’t stay in shape. For those less confident in embarking on manipulating wire freehand, it’s possible to draw out an outline on paper and then try and follow the outline by bending the wire into shape.