Merry go round - Has your blogging style changed?

It's the last Friday of the month, so join us on our merry go round for a quick spin.  The merry go round is where a group of 11 artists/craftwomen link together around the world and tell you a little about their art and craft, through blogging on the same topic.

This month's topic is "Since you started blogging, has your style/content/feeling about blogging changed?"

I started blogging on July 1st 2008.  Actually, it was a couple of weeks earlier when I tried out blogging to see what I would write about.  It was a real exploration for those first few posts, then I realized what I wanted to write about, so deleted the first blog!  Since that time, I've written 1,132 blog posts. Some of those were written by guest bloggers...but over a thousand were from my hand.  I have been blogging daily for nearly 2 years, but took a break this month ....and it did feel strange!

Since July 2008, yes, my content, style, and feeling about blogging has changed in that time.

My new Cathedral Window bracelet

First of all, I now love blogging!  I just really enjoy sitting down - normally at cocktail hour! - and sharing new pieces that I have just made. To begin with, it didn't feel natural and I had to think up what to write. Now the story behind the piece just comes out, or why I named it what I did, etc etc.  Blogging also encourages my productivity greatly, as I want to have something to write about.  So I tend to make sure I finish new pieces each week so that I have something to share.

Although I generally blog daily, it isn't a time consuming thing.  I guess I've become quite efficient at it.  I do wish I had a little more time to be more creative with my photos however. I really enjoy it when I do "staged" photos - ie adding props and things to my bird and animal pieces, to create a little scene. 

Style-wise, I occasionally introduce regular topics each week and let them run for a few months, like my "inspiration" posts or my "business matter" posts from a few years ago or like this "merry go round" post and my current Saturday "bird in the hand" posts.  It's nice to have some structure in there but also some flexibility.

I have enjoyed having guest bloggers but currently just have my husband blogging once a month about our vineyard.  I'd like to find another guest blogger who would write maybe a couple of times a month also.....

I find blogging a great way to connect to people - to friends, customers, potential customers, casual readers, other bloggers and also my family.  This audience expands beyond blogger as my blog automatically publishes to  Facebook and Twitter as well. It's great to get comments - hint, hint - and get feedback on what you are doing.  I find it really useful for my business.

I can't imagine myself not blogging!  It's definitely become part of my life.  If you don't blog - I highly recommend giving it a try.  And if you don't like it when you start, you can - like me - delete that and start again when you get in the flow of it.  Give it a try!

To find out what the other members of the merry go round think about blogging and how their style has changed, click on the links below:

Samantha at Vintage is for lovers - http://www.vintageisforlovers.com/
Jen at Painted Fish Studio - http://paintedfishstudio.com/
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles - http://www.dirksendabbles.com/
Laura at Blue Terracotta -  http://blueterracotta.com/
Monika at Red2White - http://red2white.wordpress.com/
Mitsy at ArtMind - http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com
Kim at Vilt a la Kim - http://viltalakim.com/blog/
Sara at Crafts of Texture - http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com
Mariana at Florcita - http://florcita.eu/wordpress/
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent - http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com
Ruth at Birdland Creations - http://insidetheartisan.blogspot.com

Or else you can click on the blog hop below.  If you are a merry go round participant, please add your link if it's not already included. You can then copy the code and put it on your blog post too.