Friends! I hope you had a fab holiday season!! I am having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I started writing my 2012 project wrap up post and wanted to kill myself…so I stopped. I am in Salt Lake right now with my family and so technically I am still on vacay…don’t judge.
Last year I wrote a post about the things I learned in 2011 and it was so great for me to see, written out, things I need to remember. The best thing to get me out of a slump is to write. So that is what we are doing today. I am going to share with you a few of the lessons I learned this year.
1. You never know who is reading your blog. Sometimes I feel like I am talking to myself, which is fine, but its really easy to forget that there could be ANYONE on the other side of that computer screen. I have a few REALLY amazing things that are in the works because of this little old blog and I am so grateful
2. There is a difference between Pageviews and Influence. The best blogs have a combo of both (think Young House Love or A Beautiful Mess). If you are caught in the pageview comparison cycle STOP IT. The # of pageviews that you have does not dictate your awesomeness.
3. We have all been in this situation. You come up with some crazy awesome idea for a project and are SO excited about it. You execute said project and tell your friend about it and they say the most dreaded words known to a creative gal…”Oh! I just saw that on Pinterest!” GAH! This exact situation happened to me with my Toilet Paper Roll Stamped Lampshade
So here is what I have to say about that. SO WHAT. Just because someone else had a same/similar idea that you had doesn’t devalue your creative process at all. It was still a great idea! I think with the creation of Pinterest our creative world just keeps getting smaller and smaller BUT that doesn’t need to make us feel like our ideas are getting less and less fantastic. They are fantastic!
4. We have all heard a million times to Be Yourself. So many times in fact that we don’t even hear it anymore. But guess what? As amazing as other people are and as much as we want to be like them…we cant. So don’t even attempt it. Hands down my favorite compliment to get from a reader is when they say “You are EXACTLY like you are on your blog.”
5. There is more to life than blogging. (GASP!) Sometimes you just have to walk away for a minute even if you don’t want to.
I love you all more than you will ever ever know. Thank you for being such fantastic friends!
Love Your Guts, Mandi
Now THAT’s the Mandi that I know. Love ya girl. See you soon.
Mandi,
We have been in “testing” mode for our little blog for 2012. 2013 is the “real world” for us. We have been doing crafts and coming up with neat neighbor gifts for years. Someone just told me the similar thing “Oh, I just saw that on pinterest”. Kind of hard to come up with something NO one else has tried before. We have just decided to do our thing, maybe one day someone will say that about something original we created! You definately share your Sparkle! Alliesparkles.blogspot.com
I am so glad to have found your blog this year, you are such an amazing talent and an all around inspiring person! Thank you!
You rock Mandi! 🙂
You are so awesome, and I love “Pinterest Does Not Devalue My Creativity”. That is so encouraging to me :). Thank you so much.
Pinterest bites. Love you!!
Great tips! Love your quote! So true! I heard once if you’ve come up with an idea… 100 other people have too. 😉
Great thoughts…And I love the pinterest quote. I just have one thing to add, if you are inspired by something you see on pinterest just give credit where credit is due. I’m facing that situation right now with a major personal battle going on right now. My husband and I wrote a teen cell phone contract back in August, posted it on my blog for others to see and use, and now this lady wrote up her iphone contract for her son at Christmas and is getting all this attention. I am not angry, just annoyed. So give credit where credit is due. That’s all I have to say.
Thanks Mandilicious. You are a wonderful person. I’m sure you get told that all the time. But I love your sassy-ness and your real-ness. I look forward to reading your posts every time they are published. Keep doing what you’re doing. xo
Ditto! Well said, Mekenzie!
I love your blog. In fact it is the first blog that I started following. I saw your teal kitchen table and it inspired me to revamp some of my old furniture. For me, Pinterest is just like the blogs that really inspire me, and I love that I can organize everything on my boards. Thanks for helping me find my inner DIY-er!
Excellent post, Mandi. Imagine how we mere mortals feel! 😉
And what a great reminder about how ANYONE could be reading. One of the bloggers I read every day discovered that the editor of an enormous shelter mag was a regular reader!
I look forward to what 2013 has in store… including hopefully finally meeting you in person. Hee!
xo
Love this post. I so agree with #5…there is so much more to life. As good as blogging is, it creeps into life and becomes a bit addictive…important to remember that the ones who are physically around you need you too. Can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeves for the year to come!
What amazing advice- to be the same in real life as you are on your blog. This is something I REALLY need to work on. I think I am/can be fun in real life, but am SO hesitant to get overly “CRAZY” on my blog in case whoever is reading it gets offended, turned off, etc. etc.
OK… I think I can change it.
Great post Mandi!! 🙂
I LOVE YOU!!! And I don’t care what you say, I want to be you someday. It will never happen. But I’m gonna keep tryin’. 🙂
Such a great list, Mandi! I was feeling the Pinterest slump awhile back too – there’s nothing more deflating than feeling like your great original idea was not so original after all. After a few days of moping around and not wanting to post anything anymore, I actually saw the discussion you had posted about it on your Facebook page awhile back, and all the encouraging responses from your readers snapped me back to reality. Thanks for reminding me that I’m still uber awesome (even if everyone else is awesome too ;))!
I get the Pinterest comment all the time. I just say, “Thanks. Great minds think alike. And, you know, if you Pin it but never do it, Pinterest is just a giant waste of time. Let creativity from any source never be wasted on me.”
GREAT post!
Yay! So true! It is sometimes disheartening when somebody “beat you to it” … but I hit publish anyway. In this world, there are a lot of creative types … you just have to keep on keepin’ on and stop worrying about being accepted. Otherwise, your blog becomes a chore, and that is exactly the opposite of why I started blogging. I always want my blog to be a creative outlet that is therapeutic for me.
Good post!
Thank you for this post!!! It is so true, but it is hard sometimes to remember all of these things. Sometimes, I think I should just create and blog, without ever looking at FB, Blogs, Pinterest or anything, then I would be making things I want to make and not worrying about if it’s “in style” or “trendy” or anything like that. I like what you said about page views as well. I’ll admit, it is hard for me to not get caught up in how many page views I’m getting.
Your blog was what inspired me to dive into my passion and start my own business. I attribute your wonderful, zany “I’m going to do it (or figure it out) anyway…” to building my courage to do something I love. I am so grateful I found you. Thank you for you!! You simply ROCK!!…and make my laugh my booty off!!! Happy 2013!!
You are just the best! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2013!
great tips–thanks–I needed those reminders!
I could see from a blogger’s standpoint where pinterest would be a bummer at times, however through pinterest I have found some amazing blogs, which have inspired me and got my creative juices flowing.
Pinterest is just a way to organize my thoughts and see what direction I want to take a project or room. The real creativity comes from great blogs like this one!
Thanks for your hard work and willingness to share your talents!!!!
Indeed… THANK YOU for this post Mandi. The Pinterest comment certainly CAN be deflating ~ but you just put it in perspective for me and I feel so much happier! Your blog, and YOU, are a bright spot in my day… I feel confident in saying you are the bright spot in MANY people’s day. We love you and your zany ways. (Thank you Angela Nunn for the word zany is perfect!) Happy New Year all!
I LOVE IT! You’re right. And a good friend of mine pointed out even if someone else has “already done it,” they haven’t done it from your perspective or written about it with your voice. There are a MILLION DIY/home decor blogs. I follow this one because of your personality. 🙂
I like your points but honestly pinterest, for me, is only a source – it’s YOUR presentation and tutorials that make me want to execute! Keep doing what you are doing – I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2013. Happy new year Mandi!
This is my favorite post that I’ve read so far this year. What amazing words of advice. I’m so glad you were in a slump and decided to write. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
Debbie
You seriously inspire the heck out of me! I’m brand new to DIY blogging, and it can be so intimidating with all of the talent out there. sometimes, I just wanna give up because I feel like a talentless hack compared to all of you! But, this post just reminded me that I’m blogging FOR ME, in order to share my story and hobby, not to get page views or followers (although, it’s still kinda nice for the ego, right?) Thanks for being so inspirational! Love your guts, too!
Thanks for this post! I was just having a conversation last night with my husband about some of this. It’s so hard not to get caught up in the comparison mindset. I needed to hear this today. Thank you. 🙂 XO
These are such great lessons/tips/brilliant things to remember. It is so easy to get stuck comparing yourself to others, but sometimes you’ve just got to remember how awesome you really are, and then everything turns out alright 🙂
Thank you! As I am reviving up my new year on my blog, those words will help!
Great advise Mandi! I always try to be myself on my blog also. 🙂 Pinterest is great, but you do start to see everything over and over. I actually “copied” a DIY project off there and tried it myself. It’s going on my blog this week and I give the person and Pinterest full credit for it. I just REALLY loved it and wanted to CREATE it myself.
I love #4! I am kind of new to blogging, and when I first started my friends told me “I can totally see you saying the things you write on your blog.” I took that as such a compliment!