I bet you really did think I was dead.

Is there anyone out there still reading? If so, bless you.

This is probably the longest gap in blogging that I have ever had! Unfortunately, that was not a PR I was trying to set. I don’t want to bore you with extraneous details of my absence, but I do have excuses.

(1) Time

Ah, the ultimate excuse. Because you can’t make more of it, you have to set priorities. For me that was taking on two part time jobs and training for my first Crossfit competition. I took the jobs so that hopefully this summer we can do more projects around the house. But I have to put in the time first! My jobs take up very little time compared to a full time job, but what they do is cut my days in half – making it difficult for me to tackle a large project in a day or two like I used to be able to. Eventually I’ll adapt and figure out how to manage my time better, but this is a huge change for me.

(2) Motivation

It’s no secret that we bought a brand new home. There is only so much I can do to it because gutting a perfectly nice bathroom is not an option. I have painted every wall, every cabinet, and every piece of trim in this place dozens of times. I have added molding to the walls, ripped up the carpet, and tiled the backsplash. I even glued faux stone to my boring bath tub. Simply put, I’m just running out of practical things to do that are share-worthy. Since I had nothing I REALLY needed to do, and not much time to get into anything big….well that just added up to a whole lot of inaction in the blog department. I still have a list of things I’d like to get accomplished (some small and some large), but nothing was jumping out at me in that I-have-to-do-this-right-now kind of way.

(3) Other interests

As much as I love a good before and after, I love sitting on the couch in the evening and knitting for hours. I also love cooking and lifting weights. I’m not sure how much of my “other stuff” to share here.

Is it interesting to you if it’s not a tutorial?

Is it interesting if it’s not a trash to treasure story?

Do you ever come across those pins that say something like “10 easy wall treatments?” You click on it, and it’s a list compiled by a blogger or website of other bloggers’ projects? As someone who has been included in lists like these, I can’t be too negative about the concept…but I have reservations all the same. I do wonder if that’s what I’m supposed to be doing when I have no tutorial or makeover to post about. If I did that, I may be able to post 5 days a week like I used to. But is that what I want to post about?

There is pressure to make your blog look a certain way, interact on all 50 forms of social media, use flashy fonts and shapes on a “pin it” picture, and to recycle content for the sake of putting up a new post every day. But sometimes I’d just rather knit.

Would a “Top 10” post bring a lot of traffic here and create more Pinterest presence? Maybe.

I don’t want to do that yet.

The main reason I started blogging was to share my experiences in DIY adventures and to hopefully help some folks along the way learn from my mistakes. But with the introduction of Pinterest, I wonder if anyone really needs me to write a tutorial on painting a piece of furniture when there are so many out there already. I love to go down the Pinterest rabbit hole as much as the next crafting enthusiast, but things can get tricky for me. It’s like seeing something at Anthropologie and “knocking it off,” except many times that project will be from a fellow blogger. My feed is full of blogger projects, crafts, and DIY home improvements.

Am I just recycling content?

If I was just a homeowner looking for a cute project to do, I would search around on Pinterest (like “stenciled wall ideas”), find something I like, then do it.

As a blogger, here’s what happens: I look around Pinterest, see a bunch of awesome ideas that I didn’t think of, and don’t do any of them because I feel like it’s redundant to blog about following so and so’s tutorial. Even if I think I have a cool idea for a project, one look at Pinterest will make me realize I’m not the only one who thought of it. Then I worry about looking like I copied someone else without giving credit. So what happens is that I end up spending my time in the areas I DON’T blog about. I knit from a pattern and cook from a recipe, and I don’t feel guilty about using someone else’s instructions or not being creative enough.

What I am hoping is that this blog will become a forum for me to share more than how-to’s. I want it to be more inclusive of  the other ways I spend my time. I want to not feel pressured to come up with a DIY project that hasn’t been pinned 1000 times already. In pursuing this, I hope I will not opt for silence over sharing a funny experience or dinner recipe. There will be crafts and projects, but there will be more of my life as well.

 

13 Responses

  1. Sandy R

    Rachael, your blog is always interesting to me. Whether you are doing a before/after, or just filling us in on your life. I find it enjoyable to hear what all is going on in other peoples lives across the country. Keep up the great work! Love hearing from you! xoxo

    Reply
  2. Sandy

    Well, I for one just like to read your prose. I would be interested in anything you would like to share from your experience at Starbucks to your thoughts on what it is like to be a sister. You are insightful, funny and have a way with words….any words welcome
    love, your mother

    Reply
  3. Mary Fran

    Rachael,
    I love this post…I was missing your blog, but I assumed that you had other things going on. I enjoy your adventures, and I would love to hear how you started knitting or what your part time jobs bring to your experience.
    I like your tutorials, but I don’t need “filler” to keep me following your blog. I think my favorite stuff is your adventures with Amy…I wish I lived near you guys!
    So do what you feel you have time for and what you want to share. I will be following!!

    Reply
  4. Melissa

    Why don’t you share some of your paleo recipes? I see them on FB & look good! Lovelycraftyhome can be anything home related! And we all eat! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Deby at So Sew Easy

    I know what you mean about finding original content. I had been working hard and had a month’s worth of future posts scheduled. A lot of different topics and subjects. In the preceding month, I’m not joking, almost all of those things I’d been working are were published in some way or another by other bloggers. Sewing patterns so similar to mine that they could have copied me! I was devastated. Now it would look like I had copied their work and put it out a month later claiming it as my own! I think we just have to shrug and think that there are no new ideas left, just variations on old ones, some done better than others.
    I’m a fan of the seasonal round ups. My readers love them and as a new blogger I don’t have a lot of old topics I can share, so I’ll put together a couple of my ideas and a dozen from some of my favorite bloggers and make a Mothers Day roundup.
    Don’t get disheartened. write about what you love and we’ll love it too.

    Reply
    • Rachael Evans

      Great idea about the seasonal round up! I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with content, thanks!!! I love your blog by the way!

      Reply
  6. Jonella

    Your blog was one of the first I ever followed, and I will say you quickly answered several urgent questions several years ago when I was brown papering my kitchen table. I love your projects and your tutorials. You make it seem like I can do it too. So what if there are 30 other projects just like that one on pinterest or the same tutorial how to do something by other bloggers. You will put YOUR spin on it! I can’t follow any more blogs than I already do, no matter how fancy they are. I don’t do fancy, I do real and your blog is real to me – and I mean that as a HUGE compliment! Also, know we will welcome your small projects too, and entries about your crossfit, knitting, and recipes!

    Reply
  7. Runt

    I think that’s all a great idea! I know sometimes it does seem like every blogger (and their mom) has done a certain project but SOMETIMES there’s a mistake made or an added something that completely changes the outcome and I think those are totally worth sharing! As far as recipes go, why not?! Everyone is always looking for something else to make for dinner. Pinterest is definitely a black hole of ideas and of things that everyone has done already, but if you feel redundant re-posting something, chances are everyone else does too so just go for it! =]

    Reply
  8. Julie

    While your furniture and room transformations are amazing and your tutorials are what brought me here in the first place, I keep reading because I like you. Your writing style is quite lovely and your personality shines through your words. I’ll be happy to read about your Crossfit competition (that stuff’s intense, you’re tough), paleo recipes, knitting projects, whatever you want to share will be awesome because you are.

    Reply
  9. carol w

    I love your blog and miss it. I love blogs where you just read about everyday life and problems, etc. Blog about anything and we will read it. ♥

    Reply

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