Hi there and merry Christmas. I am sure your preparations are all fired up.
Anyway, this is an easy to follow tutorial that will add some sparkle to your Christmas decorations. It will show you how to make
pom-poms. They are cute little things that will be fun for the family to make. Hope you enjoy it.
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So I decided to drive some engagement and followership to my craft blog/Facebook page and what did I do? Yeah you guessed right.
Did it work? Well, no for the first one and not really for the second one.
Was I frustrated? You bet I was. But then again, it was probably me not doing it right. Yeah, I wasn’t doing it right.
I did some reading on organising craft competitions after which I made some really good crochet crafts, one for a guy winner and the other for a girl. Just in case, I wanted to cover all bases. I can almost swear that these crafts were awesome but then again, I made them so my judgement might be biased. But just to be sure, this is a picture of them.
I thought to myself that since the prize was ready, the competition should start. So I posted the picture on my page and wrote something that went like invite your friends to stand a chance in a lucky dip. You get the idea right? The invitee had to post on the page stating who invited him/her. Simple right? This post was shared everyday on my Facebook page with reminders of when the competition would end.
Don’t get me wrong, I got a winner it is just that the participation was poor.
What Did I Do Wrong?
Planning: I knew the time frame, rules to be followed and all. I probably didn’t structure it well.
Picture: If I was to score myself, I won’t say 0/10 , it will be more like Are you nuts/10 or Reserved comment/10.
Promotion: Not good enough. I honestly didn’t do it well, it wasn’t consistent and am not sure it covered all the social platforms that I have accounts in plus it was not as repetitive as it should have been. You know, bombarding my followers with it so that any time they saw craftyOgo, they saw the competition. Not sure that is right though, it would have been too much.
Generally it just wasn’t captivating .
Did I learn my lessons? Yup I did. My next craft competition will be way better than the first two. Hopefully.
On a lighter note, did you notice that my competition disaster has 3 Ps? I honestly didn’t plan it like that. Hehehe. The 3 Ps of Craft Competitions, sounds catchy.
So tell me good people, have you organised a competition before? How did it go? Any lessons/tips you want to share?
This crochet magazine is 26 years old, it is filled with so many lovely crochet projects. Do you have any old crochet magazines? Have you tried any of the projects? More crafty pictures coming soon.
I have been thinking about what to post on gift giving for a long time and then it struck me. This is probably how some of us feel when they are thinking about gift ideas. Can you relate to this? Sometimes the energy put into this can weigh you down and even push you away from the essence of gift giving. Granted getting someone something really expensive can be awesome but most times, it is the thought that goes into it that counts. I know someone who gave a birthday gift that was just a piece of paper that had the signatures and good wishes of family members. It was very much appreciated and was even framed by the receiver.
To others it might be a hug or a word of kindness but whatever you choose to do, whether it is a gift worth £1000, £1 or nothing at all, what matters is that it comes from the heart of the giver to the hands and heart of the receiver. Genuine gifts are easily detected and its appreciation warms the heart.
That aside, what gift have you received that took your breath away?
I remember when I learnt how to crochet, I spent every time practicing. Every old sweater in our house went into my projects. I got better and made caps for my sisters and dolls. Oh, they were so pretty. My aunty still has one of my earlier crafts, a purple crochet purse, She taught me how to make crochet purses. She is very crafty and into pottery, crocheting, knitting, soap making and many more.
People noticed I could crochet and would ask me to make things for them that they paid for. I was always so happy and would concentrate on making those items and on record time. Didn’t know I was developing customer service skills. 🙂 I was thrilled when I got a review about how quick I was with an order. That is one of the things I do not want to compromise. Continue reading
I was looking for the picture of a crochet rucksack I made when I saw these. Brought back good memories :-). Remember making my first stuffed crochet animal normally called amigurumi, it was the pink pig. I was so excited that I went on to make more, even a mushroom house. I might do some more when I get the inspiration.
Pigsville
Pink and Grey Pugsy Continue reading
Just made some crochet cases for sunglasses. Tried to pick colours that will match the glasses. It was fun making them because they are so easy and an avenue to experiment, you know, trying out various forms of crochet patterns. I did some nice mix and match patterns, unfortunately, my camera isn’t showing the details. I also lined the inside so the wool won’t leave particles on the glasses.
My website has some of my other cool crochet work. You can head on there for a peep. 😉
Oh well, here they are.
Oh boy, these beads are HEAVY, I worked with them sometime ago. Nigerian women wear them on their heads like a crown, as bracelets, earrings and necklaces. These necklaces are worn in layers of maybe 3 or 4 but some do wear one or two. This style is mostly worn by royals and women during their traditional/Nigerian cultural marriage.
Back to corals. Coral beads like the name implies are got from corals and they live in reefs that they predominantly construct. Below is a picture of a coral reef. The red bushy like organisms are corals.
Credit: Michal Bednarek.
This will show you what it looks like unprocessed, straight from the reef I think. Looks like it though. Continue reading
I have made some decorative flower vases with beads. The unique thing about them is that they are different from the usual glass, porcelain, plastic, wire or mesh. They will make the ideal unusual gift. Although I call them decorative vases, they have containers that can hold cut flowers. So they are not just beautiful, they also work like normal vases.
One other thing that stands out is that they are all handmade and made to your specification. In other words, you won’t find them anywhere else. Continue reading
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