for the love of Wanda [I love new to me blogs]

This morning I sat down and did a major purge of my google reader account. Blogs that haven’t been updated in months, ones that I always skip over, people who’s posts are a recap of their social media posts… oh that feels good.

Ah but now the FUN part comes in. I’ve spent the morning out surfing blogs (I so rarely visit actual BLOG pages it’s cool!) and looking for new favorites to add. Here is my #1 “I’m so excited to have found her” blog:

http://www.ablogcalledwanda.com

*LOVING* Wanda and her amazing cards. LOVE! I am so card challenged – this is such an inspiring blog. LOVE IT!

I’m back to my quest for awesome-ness. What do I look for in a blog? I look for a few things:

  • photography [good pics, nice angles, proper lighting, etc]
  • ‘voice’ of blogger [style of writing that I want to keep reading!]
  • happy/uplifting [no sad/poor me/depressing people!]
  • inspiring [ideas, thoughts, projects, etc]
  • sharing [favorites, projects, ideas, etc]
  • honest [feels real, legit, and not fake or filled with product placement for $ junk]
  • posts on a somewhat regular basis [and doesn’t post sorry/my life is busy lengthy posts when content lacks!]

I love all kinds of creative/artistic/crafty blogs. I’m also liking some book and food blogs, and most of all PERSONAL blogs where the person has a ‘focus’ (such as paper crafting) but shares bits of themselves as well. I do like a blogger with a ‘face’!!!

So – what do you like? and do you have suggestions? I’d love to hear them!!!

19 thoughts on “for the love of Wanda [I love new to me blogs]”

  1. I have found some of my fave blogs by checking out design team members of products or sites like BPC and Electic Paperie. I have also found some by googling for a recipe or a how to make or do something. One of my favorite food blogs, Duo Dishes.com, I landed on because of a family connection. I do agree about the depressing blogs. We all have enough of our own tragedy and drama. I also try to stay away from these because of my need to help people even though they probably only want to vent and do not want advice or help. Blog searching and hopping is a lot of fun, but I do way too much of it. I actually need to put myself on a blog diet!

  2. I just added ablogcalledwanda to my faves. I love her cards plus the lucky duck went to an Adele concert.

  3. Hey May! Good blogs are hard to find….so glad I found yours 🙂 I enjoy crafty blogs that inspire with lots of photos and also love a good story. I blog about scrapbooking and my goofy family experiences. For a giggle, you can visit me at http://www.kellycreates.blogspot.com where I write about the lighter side of parenting and the adventure of raising teenagers 🙂

  4. I visited the blog you recommended and loved her cards too. I enjoy blog hopping too, when I find the time.
    I do have a blog also, if you care to visit. It has scrapping, card making, crafting, traveling, my grandkids since my kids are mostly grown up, cooking sometimes. Just everyday life and not much depressing there. If you care to visit:http://mtcanuk.blogspot.com/.
    Have a great Sunday, May

    Leslee in MT

  5. How interesting, I have just been going through all the blogs listed on Tim Holtz’s page and quite a few of them have not been updated since March or before! I am not saying that people must update daily, just regularly, with something worth reading. On my blog it shows me when my favorite blogs have updated and the title of their page, I find this helps a lot, when choosing what blogs to check out each day.

  9. Hi May! WOW! I’m so totally flattered by this kind post! It’s so nice to know that people are out there reading and enjoying what you do. I’m very happy to have all the new readers today! I’m a big fan of your work and your publications! I’m really overwhelmed by your compliments. Have a wonderful day! Hope I see you around soon. 🙂
    Wanda

  10. Lol…I have a ton of blog links on my blog. I think I’ve become a blog pig. I love to visit as many of them as I can as they update, but it’s hard as my time is limited. I really need to go and cull the ones that haven’t posted in months. Thanks for the little nudge to do so.

  11. Yeah, I’m a little particular:

    * real dialogue and images (only the characters on Little House on the Prarie tv series – which I refuse to watch – and the Stepford Wives are perfect) we don’t all see the world through rose colored glasses and if you always look as though you had a makeover 5 minutes ago, you lack self-confidence…
    * child stories are OK, but again…not everything they do is earth-shattering and wonderful and they aren’t the smartest or most creative children to have ever lived
    * mostly upbeat and witty or thought provoking: the occasional “I can’t believe what happened today” or true tradegy happens and is part of real-life and is totally tolerated
    * craft ideas and inspiration are great – how-to’s if it’s new or complicated – photos a plus and video even better
    * but don’t get condescending or preachy – I’m a good wife and mom even if I don’t do the same crafty/scrapbooking/kid-related things that you do
    * if you’re using some supplies that can’t be found in general craft stores such as Hobby Lobby, do give me some ideas on where to find them since we don’t all live in cities w/ lots of shopping items – but I don’t need to know the shade of lipstick or fingernail polish you’re wearing – I’m a big girl and can find my own (that is unless it’s part of the funny story of what happened today!)
    * remember that normal people don’t have companies giving them supplies – remember that normal people buy theirs – I’ve seen people be wasteful with their embellishments or use $50 of items on a page – give some options
    * I would rather see how to use ordinary items like paper/card stock, ink/marker/colored pencils, brads, etc to make the really cool flower than for you to talk about the cool pre-made flower that would cost me $3 plus $6.95 in shipping to purchase
    * if it’s not a politcal blog – just don’t go there – being patriotic for the 4th of July is fine as long as I don’t know your presidental candidate choice or your feeling on the deficit reduction plan
    * not everything is quick, easy and takes less than a 1/2 hour – be honest about the effort and time
    * update a minimum of once or twice a week – occasional lapses happen in real life, but if your norm is once or twice a month, I’ll probably stop checking – more often than once/twice a week is an enjoyable bonus 🙂

    my favorites:
    Lain Ehmann: http://www.layoutaday.com/
    Cathy Zielske: http://cathyzielske.typepad.com/
    Graphics Fairy: http://www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/
    Mod Podge Rocks: http://www.modpodgerocksblog.com/
    and of course have been enjoying yours 🙂

  12. Ah, but Denise don’t we all have a limited # of hours in the day?

    My solution, and the solution I think everyone should have is to have a blog reader/feed service like google reader. No surfing or getting sucked into blog hopping – new content is just listed email-like and I read, skim, or skip FAST through each morning and usually evenings too. 15min is usually my max – it is such an efficient use of a little time, I love that.

    It’s hard though – I do LOVE surfing blogs and miss that aspect… so I let myself go surfin’ about once a month… gather new favorites, add them into my reader. 😉

    May

  13. There are just some people who are so ALWAYS with the doom & gloom… ugh! Once in a while, or if you really want to write about something, that I get. But overall attitude, well, I look for creative + happy people. It’s uplifting!

    May

  14. I don’t judge how often people post or if they do – no rules or judgement! But at the same time I just am not gonna keep a “semi-annual postings” blog in my google reader. When I do, I’m always so confused as to who I’m reading/where they came from/what’s happening!! So I just don’t.

    The beauty of the reader is that I don’t ever have to check a person’s blog, which was once my biggest peeve (lack of posts) and also a time-suck as it takes a LOT more time to read that way vs skimming in more email-like format.

    I love your idea of how you’re using your faves on your blog to see/know about updates. BRILLIANT!

    May

  15. This looks like a great blog & I’m going to check it out as soon as I’m done here. I visit a lot of blogs, usually in the morning while I’m having a cup of tea. That cup of tea can last an hour to an hour & a half though lol. Maybe I need to switch to the blog reader thing. I do get a few that way but then I read the email & hop over to their blog anyway.

  16. Wow what a gorgeous picture and great looking blog. My blog falls in the category of neglected. I need to make blogging a priority

  17. So glad you found Wanda, although we don’t like to share her because she is so Wandaful and amazing. But I do like what you state in this blog and I can relate I am new to blogging and take your comments under consideration for keeping my blog up to date. Thanks for the tips.

    http://katstampfever.blogspot.com

  18. Her blog does indeed look good. I have spent the day being very lazy and spending entirely too much time on the computer looking around at all sorts of blogs. I agree completely that a great attitude is a huge attraction to me. Tim Holtz’s blog is great because of his amazing creativity, energy, and wonderful attitude. If you follow the 12 Tags of Christmas, you’ll get hooked 🙂

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