What happened?

Did I fall from the face of the Earth? Euh, non... Still here, been actually tweeting and pinning quite a lot recently - what you are not following me yet @NoasLibellule?? What are you waiting for! I just took a break from sharing on the blog. And to be honest I missed it. I always knew I would be back when I was ready. And I am ... to tell you I am leaving again. What?  Yes, I am leaving soon to a brand new space. This blog is going to see its ending, and a brand new spanking one will take its place, with a new mood board. 

You may have seen the MiH board appeared on my pinterest a couple of weeks ago. I am working with a blog designer on the new blog, and I was looking for inspiration for her, so that she could put my vision into a beautiful new blog. SO exciting! 


It will be a sad moment to leave this blog. But it is time to move to something new. The launch is due in May, and from now to then I will share progress with the new blog, review my best and worst projects, what has become of them (do I actually use those things that I made?)... and bid my virtual alter-ego Noas'Libellule farewell. But it will be fun, with more great and exciting projects coming up.  

My thoughts on blogging (Popbabe7)

Hi everyone I'm hijacking Noa's Libellule blog for today! For those of you who don't know me, my blogging ID is Popbabe7 and you can find me here. We've been old blogging buddies now, and when she requested me to guest post I felt very privileged as she is just so fabulous!

I have been known to start a blog, write a couple of posts, cringe when re-reading them and then deleting the whole thing altogether, hoping that nobody other than me read it!!! I bet most of us did that didn't we? It is very hard to start a blog, and unless you have a clear idea of what you want to write about this is just going to be a collection of random posts (some people are great at it- I am not!). I felt more at ease when my blog got a "direction" and I started writing about learning to sew and knit. It even got easier when I started my "A Project A Week" in 2011. Overall I did a good job at updating regularly my blog, and blogging has become a bit of a second nature to me now. Even when I haven't been busy myself I try to share my thoughts, and will include pictures that inspire me.

Some of my projects from"A Project A Week"

The best bit about blogging for me is meeting new people. I always get very excited when someone takes the time to leave a comment about one of my posts, and I also love to discover new blogs who will inspire me. Back in December I had my first blogger meet-up and had a fantastic day- highly recommended!! Because sewing and knitting tend to be "solitary" hobbies (unless you join a knitting group) it is lovely to know that there are some people out there sharing the same passion, and willing to pass on some of their wisdom should you get stuck on a project! Did I also mention that the people in the craft community are the nicest people ever?? I have blogged about things that have gone terribly wrong, because I'm quite honest and hoped that maybe I would get some help from crafters more experienced and more talented than me. All I got was kind words of encouragement- which is really good when you are not so confident!!

You also know that people who blog about something are truly interested in it. Is it just me who found myself getting all excited about a knitting pattern/ sewing project only to be met with a blank/ amused stare from my partner/ colleagues? At least on blogs you can oooohh and ahhhh over a finished project without other people being worried for your sanity!

Finally I was asked to provide a picture which will sum up my idea of blogging. I am a notoriously bad photographer- most some of the pics on my blog are atrocious, so I pinched a picture from Shakespeare and Company, a library in France. I often see the internet as a giant town with all its good and bad things, big shops, small shops, dark areas, luxury quarters and so on. In this town, blogs are little clusters of knowledge and passion, scattered on virtual library shelves.I thought this was the perfect picture to represent my idea of the blogging community.

Source

 

That's it from me! Before you go, don't forget to enter Noas' Libellule fantastic giveaway- you still have time to enter and share your thoughts about what blogging means to you. Thanks for reading my ramblings!!

x

Home Alone

Hello everyone! It is Friday, yeeeaaahhhhh! It may have been a short week at work, but I still cannot wait for the weekend. M is going to spend the weekend with his mates in Wales, climbing and sleeping in a tent. Definitely not my thing - so I am glad he has friends who go with him and does not force me to do it ... And I am looking forward to a weekend at home, alone. I have been making a to-do list for the past week of what I want to do.

1. Making a bathmat

M has now requested it. I said some time ago I would make one '- Me: They are so easy to make, saw so many amazing projects on pinterest, we cannot possibly buy one?, M: OK', and then we went on holiday, on weekends away, too tired in the evening... My bathroom is still mat-free and one day one of us will slip on the travertine tiles. So this weekend, this is my priority no 1. Here is my inspiration (via pinterest)...

2. 10K

Sometime ago I decided to run a 10K in October. May not sound like a lot to some of you, but I am yet to have run 10K in one go. Plus, one of my colleagues has just done one and she managed to run it in less than an hour - so I decided that her timing would be my benchmark (M is mildly convinced this will happen - he is a former athletics county champion...hmmmm, so I have not a lot of chance right)! I will not be defeated, just need to get on with some serious training. So if you see someone resembling a sweaty lobster panting - do not get scared, it is probably me...

3. Necklace

I have loads of necklaces. But somehow, I always have the feeling that I need a new one, for an occasion, a dress, any excuse... I saw this tuotorial and tried it before going to Brittany. The necklace looked great, but it did not hold, I messed up somewhere, so this weekend I am going to do it again. Hopefully will have something to show you next week!

4. Photo shoot

So you know how I hate my picture to be taken, and there are very few pics of me on the blog. Well, despite my better judgement, I decided that M and I should have a photo shoot celebrating our first year of marriage.

I may need to give you some background here. Before I got married, I contacted a few photographers - as you do - and I found one that I loved... The pictures were quirky, fun, not posed - exactly what I wanted. We signed the contract and I sent the deposit. Two weeks later he sent me an email saying that he would not cash the deposit but that he could not be our photographer anymore - no more explanation (What!). In the end I got my second choice of photographer, who was really good and we have great pictures. But that story got to me a bit, and when all my friends started to talk about photographers for their wedding, I googled my first photographer - just to see if he was back on the scene. I found out on a forum that he had copied all his pictures from another photographer in Belgium - so actually the person I hired was not the photographer. Contacted the Belgian photographer - and here we are having another photoshoot with him! Have you followed all of that? By the way, I have never heard anyone else having problems with their photographer, so don't freak out.. (Oh there is ONE picture of the wedding HERE)

So I need to get prepared for the photo shoot. I bought this dress from Asos - I loved the mesh/lace detail. I put it on - and honestly I look like an elephant in it, I am probably quite offensive to the elephants. Noooo... what to do? I love the top part so much... Well the dress is now deconstructed and I am hoping to make a top out of the materials - this weekend... Stay tune (there will probably be updates on twitter @NoasLibellule).

5. Catching up

With you guys... I have been rubbish this week, and I have not really reading all the blogs I wanted to, so me and my new Ipad (how did I live without one before??) are going to stalk you, and that is a promise - expect a lot of comments!!!

Well all of that in addition to catching up with some beauty sleep (yeah), washing and cleaning (nay)... and probably be 'forced' to go for a couple of drinks with friends...

So guys, have you anything planned this weekend? Any crafty project on the go? Whatever you do, have a fab weekend!!

On Blogging - What do you do with the comments you receive?

Hiya Guys! Happy Thursday!!! How is everyone feeling? It is nearly the weekend!! Yeah!!! My brother is coming over to see the new house! He is working in Germany at the moment, but will be going to China soon, so will be great to catch up with him.

A different post today... I have been pondering this question for a while - what do you do with the comments you receive? As some of you know I reply individually to all the comments I receive, usually on my train journey from/back home. I did this, because another blogger I follow was doing it, and I actually quite liked it. I suppose I can do it because 1) my commute is quite long, 2) I blog only once a day on average and only receive a few comments, and 3) my blackberry is constantly with me. Also, I wanted to thank the other bloggers who comment personally. You came to read and comment on my posts! I think that it is awesome!




I know that some other bloggers do the same, others comment on the actual post (but I never get to really see that as I don't sign up for notifications - maybe I should ?), others do a general thank you on their next post, and some bloggers thank you by posting a comment on your post...

Don't get me wrong I do not think there is a right or wrong way to do this - I am just curious to know how you chose to reply to the comments you receive. I think it is quite interesting. I love receiving comments, and I have learnt a lot from you guys, I also got to know new people through the comments.

So how did you choose what to do with your comments? What did you decide to do? Did you decide to change the way you reply to comments? Would love to hear your stories guys!