The Busy Grandma Blogger
Never in a million years did I think I would be creating a blog. I'm a busy retired person. In fact, my daughter told me I am the busiest retired person she's ever met. Grand-parenting is my number one priority. Three lively kiddos keep me running. When their parents (who are also busy) can't do it, I'm running them to gymnastics, school, dance, and boy scouts. Sometimes they hang out here and we play, bake, mix up slime, and sometimes just cuddle in front of the TV.
Crafty Lady
When I'm not busy with them, I'm busy with me. I'm a crafter and a seamstress. I have been making things since I was a little kid. Mom taught me to sew, just about everything. I have designed my own clothes, tailored coats and jackets, patchworked quilts, made teddy bears out of old minks, appliqued and monogrammed just about anything, and the list goes on. Just call me a fiber artist.
In addition to working in textiles, I get my hands into just about anything. Dad was an industrial arts (wood shop) teacher and taught me the finer things about woodworking. Refinishing and refurbishing old furniture has been a long time hobby of mine. Scraping, cutting, sanding, staining, painting, nailing; you name it, I've done it.
Then there was my career. Education was my dedication for 30 years. I was an elementary teacher and an art teacher. For 18 years I served the school community as an administrator. Crafting and creating kind of moved to the back seat. But now I'm free, and like I said before, busier than ever. Diving back into what I love has been a blessing.
Writing a Blog
My daughter told me one day she was going to write a Disney blog. She is in love with everything Disney and thought she could share her knowledge and experience. That got me thinking. Write a blog? Maybe instead of working my fingers to the bone making, promoting, and selling my creations, I could write about it. Sharing my wealth of knowledge with the world might be rewarding.
After giving it a lot of thought, I decided I could write about crafting and creating. Very few of my friends are of the "hands-on" disposition, but I know a lot of people who would love to learn.
Why couldn't I teach people online how to get comfortable learning a new skill? I'm a teacher after all. Years of experience making things with my hands has taught me a lot.
Thinking about writing a blog is one thing, doing it is another. I had NO idea where to start. So, I started Googling about it. I was following a few craft blogs on Facebook and Pinterest, so I began paying more attention. I even signed up for a couple of blogging "boot camps".
Blogging Frustration
Finding my way through a lot of information caused more and more frustration. I really didn't know what the heck I was doing. There are so many people "pitching" their programs and online institutes and none of them were helping me. And they all wanted a bunch of money up front. I'm a smart lady. I have a bunch of college degrees and was a school administrator. How could this be so hard?
About to give up, many times, I found a link about Wealthy Affiliates. They claimed to have developed a step-by-step training for beginner bloggers. They said you could learn at your own pace, have access to technical support, be a part of a community of bloggers who helped each other, and you could try it all for free! The step-by-step for beginners got my attention, but the try it for free sold me. So I gave it a shot.
Signing up for the Online Entrepreneur Certification - Getting Started Level 1 was the best first step at becoming a blogger. Wealthy Affiliate gave me information that was basic, yet specific and easy to understand. They taught me how I could make money by blogging, and how to set up my domain and start publishing posts and pages to the internet. There was no pressure to continue, and if I had a question I got answers right away.
Building Confidence
After completing the first ten training modules, I decided to sign up for the premier membership. This gave me access to all the training I needed to be a successful blogger. When I would run into a roadblock technical support was there to tell me what to do. And the best part about Wealthy Affiliate is the community of bloggers. All you have to do is post a question or concern, and a ton of people respond with suggestions, answers, video tutorials, and whatever you need. Successful bloggers tell their stories, and it inspires me when I feel like giving up.
Little by little I am becoming a blogger. I have been at it since the end of March 2020. Yes, right when the pandemic hit the nation. Actually, for this busy retired grandma, it was a perfect time for me to learn.
Success
My blog, Comfort in Crafts, is coming along. I am continuing to learn through the Wealthy Affiliate training modules, step-by-step. Some days I get frustrated and wonder if it is all worth it. It is. I am proud of how far I have come, and continue building and learning and creating posts and pages for the world to read. I know I have a lot of knowledge to share with my readers, so I will push forward. I am writing, researching, and hoping someday I might make a little money from all this hard work. But most importantly, I want to make people feel comfortable in crafting. By reading my blog, maybe readers will take that next step, learn a new skill, and maybe feel success too!
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Keep up the great work