Tuesday 10 September 2013

#CraftBlogClub - What Makes A Good Craft Blog?



As I sit writing this, I'm currently in jail.  Twitter jail.  I've exceeded my daily limit of tweets, due to retweeting the sheer awesomeness that was #CraftBlogClub this evening!

Well, week 2 was another storming success over on #CraftBlogClub and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every person who joins, reads, retweets and takes part in our Twitter chat.  I have a list of blogs to read and follow on Bloglovin (and while you're reading this, why not give mine a follow too)!  I just need a nice quiet few hours to go through them all - there are so many fantastic and creative blogs out there, I can't wait to get stuck in!  I'm so excited about this chat and I've got so many ideas (which I shall keep under wraps - but just for now) for #CraftBlogClub and where we can take this!  Keep it here for more updates and information!

So, this week we started off our discussions with 'What Makes A Good Craft Blog'?  We have had a few newbie bloggers join our discussion, plus I never think it hurts to rethink and rejig mine every once in a while!  The general consensus seemed to be felt by most of our twitterati this evening.  The main points of a 'Good Craft Blog' were:
1. A good mix of projects and tutorials - tried and tested methods alongside the blogger's own creativity.
2. Decent Photographs - Whilst nobody expects mini-David Baileys, decent photographs to accompany your blog posts really help.
3. Be passionate about what you are doing - I could almost write another blog post about the importance of personality and honesty in your posts; but we decided a lack of passion or belief in your craft was visible and off putting on a blog.
4. Share your mistakes - Nobody wants to read about perfection ALL the time!  Look at the backlash A Beautiful Mess are getting for blogging their 'perfect, showhome' existence! We love nothing more than a behind-the-scenes look at where things may not have worked out so well! Don't be afraid to show your human side!
5. Be prepared to let others copy you - We are brilliant at what we do, we want to inspire others.  This will occasionally mean a little bit of copying - hey, if we get a mention and we've inspired someone, let's make that a good thing!

The one interesting sticking point that came up was a rift between those of us who liked to view blogs as a 'lifestyle' and others who just wanted to see crafts.  The jury is out on that one - I'm a lifestyle blogger so I talk about outfits, recipes and other such ramblings and that's the sort of blog I like to read!  I'll leave that one open for another debate, another time.

Finally, tonight, we also launched our first #CraftBlogClub Challenge.  I had some amazing ideas sent to me and I've made a note of all of them for future challenges - but tonight I thought I would set a very simple one that could encompass any range of craft activity, the idea came courtesy of the lovely Amanda over at Gift Frippery. The challenge is to Cover A Notebook.  A simple task to upcycle and 'pretty-fy' a notebook using your creative skills!  At the end of September - anyone who takes part can do a post and link it to my blog with their finished piece.  I hope everyone wants to take part - it's a bit of fun to really get our creativity flowing and get crafty!  I look forward to seeing the finished pieces!  Though I'm a bit of a technophobe - I shall look into setting up a linky or hop for this challenge (if you're good with this, please get in touch!), as I am hoping we will be able to do one every month.

So far the feedback on the challenge has been great - I think it will challenge each person to either use their skills or try a new one!  I really hope you enjoy the creative process and, if you post any 'WIPs', make sure you use the hashtag #CraftBlogClub and I'll try and Retweet for you!

I think that's it for tonight, I'm off to read a few blogs and plan for next week!  I hope this evening was as fun for everyone else as it was for me - until next Tuesday*! x

*If you have any ideas on topics you would like to discuss or challenges you think we could set, please email me at missemmaberry@gmail.com.  I would love to hear from you!  Join in the #CraftBlogClub every Tuesday on Twitter 7-8pm

15 comments:

Unknown said...

I hadn't even heard of Twitter jail. Masses of congrats on the success of the second week of #craftblocking! X

Unknown said...

Grr autocorrect! #craftblogclub

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for hosting tonight's craft blog club, it was really good to meet lots of folk. And I'd been wanting to find some other blogs for a while to have this sort of interaction. Am looking forward to the craft challenge! And would be up for linky blog thing in the future - had always wondered how this worked. I will look into this if you like, as once upon a time, I actually graduated in computer science. Which is incredible, given my lack of mental agility these days....Anyway, I'll have a look, and I'll aim for the end Sept, same as the notebook challenge, if that's ok.
Thanks again, Vicki from ChlorisBoris x

Icy Sedgwick said...

I read a lot of blogs about writing and they all counsel that you should blog about whatever is important to you, and if it doesn't interest a reader then they just won't read it, but at least they've had the choice. I'm a bit like that, I want to read crafty posts, but I also want to see what books people are reading or what films they're watching! If they suddenly blog about The X Factor then I'll just skip that post!

Unknown said...

Ha ha! Autocorrect! Thank you so much I'm.so pleased people are enjoying it xx

Unknown said...

Hi Vicki no worries! I really enjoy hosting it. I felt craft blogging needed a platform without the pressure of selling, luckily people seem to be in agreement! If you could help with the Linky that would be amazing! I'll have a read too and see if I can work this out! X

Unknown said...

I'm in complete agreement with you, which is why my blog is like it is. Sometimes a prescribed blog can be a bit like reading a magazine and I like blogs that really show a personality through the many facets of one person! I love getting snippets of people's lives in the same way that I hope my readers get from mine!! X

Caroline said...

I feel very excited about the challenge Emma. I love making but sometimes it's nice to have a brief to work too. I'm delighted to be discovering more crafty blogs too, I don't feel I quite fit in as a mummy blogger but crafty bloggers feel like 'my people' :)

Unknown said...

Thank you for hosting #craftblogclub I had a great time =) Also very excited about the challenge x

Kate @craftsonsea said...

Personally I am rubbish at just sticking to craft stuff on my blog and if I try to do it I just feel like craft becomes a chore that I feel obliged to do. This is possibly why I do not have a book deal yet ;o) Have already been out and bought a notebook so I can take part, it's totally useless for the craft project I was planning on doing with it but it's a proper lurid pink so I couldn't resist!

Anonymous said...

I missed the #craftblogclub and i'm gutted!! I have technical issues atm. Not impressed! I have been thinking about covering a note book for a while and now I have the perfect excuse!

Many thanks and until next tuesday
@girlinknits

Unknown said...

Thanks Caroline and thanks for your comment. I feel exactly the same as you, which is one of the reasons I set this twitter chat up. Looking forward to seeing how it develops and I'm so glad you're joining in the challenge! X

Unknown said...

No worries Hayley thanks for joining! So excited to see everyone's notebooks! X

Unknown said...

I think your blog is great and I know what you mean about crafting being a chore! Hopefully your pink notebook will be nothing short of brilliant to cover!!! X

Unknown said...

Ah shame you missed it but hopefully you can join next week! Yay to the challenge too! I can't wait to see these results!! X