Two Year Blogoversary and My Favorite Posts

I cannot believe I just typed that!  Has it been two years already? Yes, it…

I cannot believe I just typed that!  Has it been two years already? Yes, it was two years ago today that I started this blog.  In fact you can see my first ever post here.  It didn’t look like that when I first posted it.  I had no photography skills to speak of back then. Time sure has flown by fast. 

​Last year on my one year Blogoversary I talked to you all about my life and how I came to be a blogger. 

Today I’d like to review the past year and talk about what I have done and also share my favorite posts which by the way are not always the most popular. But more importantly I’d like to discuss what is important in blogging. I always manage to go overboard with these milestones, so grab a cup of coffee or tea and let’s talk. 
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The Projects

Blogging is much more than just a job.  It is a passion.  At least the part where I get to do the projects. That is pure joy. You’ve already seen my most popular projects of the year. Now I’m going to share my favorites.  

The year started off with a Spring project that really surprised me. It was a spring wreath.  I have made wreaths before but this was the first time I incorporated many different elements, from nature and from the house.  Those branches you see below came from my almond tree.
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April was a very busy month.  Along with my friends, we started the Sweet Inspiration Link Party!  It’s been going strong ever since.  And we have met so many wonderful bloggers and become good friends with them.  In fact one of them, Michelle from A Crafty Mix,  joined us as hostess later on in the year.  

This was also the month that I tackled my ugly fireplace.  I had been inspired by another blog post, but it was the gentle nudge of my friend Kim that helped me to finish it. I met her on Facebook and she is not a blogger but an artist  This is another happy byproduct of blogging – connecting with amazing people who inspire. I painted the fireplace in two stages and below is the final result. I am so proud of this project.  When I walk into the house this is the first thing I see and it is something that will be here for years.   Had I not been blogging, I would not have attempted such a big project. 
May came around and I made my favorite wreath ever… at least till the next one. This May Day wreath was absolutely free, just flowers and branches picked at the farm. I still go back and look at this one and worry that I will never be able to replicate it. Once it dried, it took on a nostalgic beauty that stayed for months.
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May was also the month the International Bloggers Club attempted their first furniture makeover. We started this group at the beginning of the year and have learned so much about each other’s countries and cultures.  In the end, we are all fruit, as the wise old man from “My big fat Greek wedding” says. These projects and the club have only served to bring us closer together as a tribe.
Another favorite was the photo displayer made from barbecue grill parts.  I gave this as a gift to my husband for Father’s Day but of course it can be used for much more than just photos. And the grill parts were used in a few more projects. I believe I got much more mileage out of that grill than anyone has a right to. 
Over the summer I slaved away at this vintage suitcase makeover, which proved to be much harder than I anticipated. I first painted the outside and then decoupaged the inside with maps, as you can see below. It was also the beginning of my participation in the ArtDeco blogger outreach program. They have so many different types of paints. 
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 I use this suitcase now to keep all of my sewing notions and ribbons.  It’s nice to have everything in one place. And it’s even better to know that my basement has one less occupant.  
I guess the summer is when I do my organizing because I also tackled this easy project which I gifted to myself. A framed jewelry organizer. This was part of the yearlong blog hop I participated in where we made gifts each month for Christmas 2016.  How did that go, you ask?  Well, I kept most of them for my family.  But that is perfectly fine with me.
And we come to October where … well I really don’t know how to explain this one.   A pumpkin took over the blog and took on a life of its own.

Mr. Paranoid Man Pumpkin became so popular that he appeared in five of my posts. He has won all of our hearts and he is sitting on my living room table as I write this. There have even been requests for a Facebook fan page. Oh and let’s not forget that he even has a portrait of himself painted by the lovely Michelle, of A Crafty Mix. 

In November the International Bloggers Club held a gift swap. Each one of us chose something to make over and then gifted it to ourselves.  The catch was that the other members had to choose which project we would work on. The ladies picked this antique cauldron for me and I was able to spruce it up for Christmas.  But you can bet I’ve been using it a lot since then.

​And what a special gift this was, from friends that are spread out all over the world.  Had it not been for them, this old beauty would still be in my basement hiding in a corner. 

The photography

It’s no secret that I love photography, I even have a gallery just for photos. And I work hard to improve even if I have a simple camera.  What matters is what you do and not so much what type of equipment you have.

In June I began a series to share my most popular Facebook “photos of the day” with all of you who do not live on Facebook – like I do – and to say thank you.  The whole series is in the gallery.
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My personal favorite has to be the Top of the World photo essay. My husband and I drove up the mountains as it was raining and when we reached the top we saw a sunset. To this day I thank him for that magical drive. 
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And my second favorite, the boat ride into the sunset. Whereby we set out in the opposite direction from the previous year’s Magic in the Morning sunset trip. 
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And let’s not forget the sorts blogoversary where I showed you my door collection. 

The Blog

I was very lucky to participate in the blog series “Between the Lines” hosted by Katherine of Kathrine’s Corner where I talked about what it means to be a blogger “of a certain age”.  Much of what I wrote still applies today. I was also astonished by how many bloggers there are out there that are like me.  
I even learned how to semi-handle slippery Facebook and I wrote a guest post about it on Nikki Frank-Hamilton’s  blog. That was a first for me, since I’m more comfortable writing about DIY projects.

And sadly because of my ever increasing obligations I had to eliminate the Greek translating that I was doing. I made the decision to concentrate on the projects and good quality photos, but I did write a tutorial on how to translate. 

Musings

As you can see it has been a very busy year.  Blogging is time consuming, and hard work.  Like I said before, the projects and photography are just the tip of the iceberg.

It is all the rest that we need to learn, Codes, and Social Media, Algorithms and pixels. The list goes on and on.  I was finally able to tackle the beast that is known as SEO. Yes, I went back to the beginning of my blog life and redid everything. That was a major goal for me this past year.   It turns out I was so clueless at the start that Google did not even know I existed! And where would I be without Google? 

I was also able to monetize my blog. Getting paid, even if it is a little is rewarding when you think that I put 60 plus hours into this blog every week. No one wants to work for free even if they love their job.  

This is the hard part and I am so grateful to my tribe, Pili, Katrin, Keri and Michelle for their continued support.  I also want to give a great big shout out to my favorite blogging guru and friend Nikki.  And to my WAYWOW tribe. And my Blogging Fifty group.  I can go on and on, but it would not be fair, I’d end up leaving someone out. 

Have you noticed a pattern here?  What has made me stronger and helped me to improve my blog in these two years has been my blogging community. This is the same community that I did not know existed in the beginning. And now I am in daily contact with them as if they are my neighbors and we share daily cups of coffee together (hi Lisa)! Yes we may all complain about Facebook but for me it has become the great unifier.  And no, I do not have shares at the stock market. 

Looking Ahead

And what does this coming year hold for me?

Since I am a big believer in the power of paint, I look forward to getting to know the Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co.s products much better now that I’ve become a Brand Blogger for them. It will be a learning curve, but we’ll enjoy the ride together. 

And I want to continue to share my surroundings with you in photos.  And of course to keep on improving those photography skills. 

Improving the look and navigation of the blog is also very important. Your experience here should be user friendly.  So if you have any problems or suggestions, please feel free to let me know in the Contact me section above.  I am learning new things every day and the old brain cells are doing the twist now!!​

But mostly, I look forward to continuing with my repurposing and upcycling projects and I want to stress here that I always make things that a regular person can tackle.  I don’t have any special training or skills.  And I certainly don’t have any fancy machinery.  The never ending economic crisis here in Greece has limited my budget but not my imagination.  So with a bit of elbow grease and a lot of inspiration I will continue to share my sometimes wacky ideas with you. And I hope that you will try some of them too.  Not only do they make your home more pleasant, but they are also good for our environment. 

Thanks to all of you for putting up with this ridiculously long Two year Blogoversary post.  I only get a few times a year when I pour my heart out. Let me know which of my favorite projects were yours too. And if you have anything at all you wish to say reach out to me.  

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This blog is for entertainment purposes only; my DIY tutorials are not professional advice. Read my full disclaimer here.​

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Hello, we're Jane & Sonja, sisters, moms and lifelong crafters.

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90 Comments

  1. Congratulations on your two years blogiversary, dear Mary!
    I always enjoy reading your posts and I admire you for your ideas and creations! Keep on with the good work!

    1. Thank you so much Marie-Anne. It makes me so happy to be able to share these projects with everyone. I feel so lucky when the community shares all their amazing creations with me.

    1. Thank you Pat. I love blogging and that is what keeps me going every week. And the opportunity to meet so many wonderful bloggers keeps me moving forward.

  4. Congrats on your two year milestone! I enjoyed the look back at your favorite posts. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    1. Sarah my door essay was a year and a half. I take every opportunity possible to celebrate and to do more photo essays.

    1. And here I thought you had been blogging much longer Michelle. Your projects are amazing. Yay to us indeed!!

  8. Happy-Bloggy Birthday! You’ve accomplished so much in just two short years. I love all of your projects. Best wishes for continued fun and success in the coming year!

    1. Carol thank you so much for your well wishes. I feel as if I am just getting started. In the beginning I knew nothing about all those wonderful products out there. I had to make do with whatever was in my home. But now I can do so much more and have fun with all the crafting products that are available.

  9. Mary, Happy Two Year Bloggiversary!!!! That’s so awesome that you’ve been blogging for 2 years! It’s great to look back and see all the wonderful things you’ve made, learned, taught and accomplished, that’s pretty fantastic! You even made a pumpkin famous! 🙂 Mary, you’re an amazing blogger and an even more amazing friend!! I’m so glad to know you and that we’re in a tribe together!!! I pray God’s deepest, richest blessings on you, your family and your blog!!! 🙂

    1. Thank you so much dear friend. It has been an honor and a pleasure to grow this blog alongside you and the other ladies. Blogging is certainly hard and without all of your support it would have been easy to give up. But knowing that my friends get what I am going through makes it so much easier. And of course there are the laughs that we all share. I am looking forward to many more years as a tribe.

    1. Carole thank you for saying that. You don’t know how much I appreciate it. I always get annoyed when I go to other blogs and have to sit there and get rid of all those pop ups and so I made some changes a few months ago and eliminated a few things. I want this to be a pleasant experience not an obstace course. Thank you.

  11. Two years is quite a long time and you have done and shared so many beautiful, creative and inspiring things. Not only your photography skills have improved, but now you are tackling major projects as a pro. Would you ever have imagined updating your son’s bookcases, or the bed your kids used to have? Of course, that fireplace is a piece of art and you should be proud of yourself for everything you do. Happy blogoversary my friend!!

    1. Thank you dear friend for sharing all your wisdom with me when I had no idea what I was doing! I think blogging is so much more than just the projects. It helps us to conquer our fears and go for it. Take a chance to try something new and if we mess up well, it is only paint. Thank you for traveling along this path with me and the rest of the tribe.

    1. Good luck to you and remember we always do it for the love of the projects first. That is what drives us.

  13. Mary Happy Anniversary! Isn’t it satisfying to look back and see all that you accomplished in posting and making projects as well as the friends that came along the way. YAY!

    1. I am lucky to know all of you ladies Debbie. It is such hard work and knowing that a friendly face or a kind word is on the other end of the internet can make all the difference. Plus the house is full of one of a kind pieces.

  14. Happy Two Year Blogaversary Mary! How the time does fly! I remember you making the spring wreath and painting your fireplace like it was last month.
    Your photographs are lovely, I would never have guessed you weren’t into photography before, in fact I thought you were an old time blogger (as in blog age, not personal age!).
    I think my favourite upcycle of yours was the little barbecue grill thing that you turned into a decoration for the balcony. I thought it was very clever and effective.
    Wishing you many more years of blogging!
    xx

    1. Hah Debbie. It’s only been two years but I’ve managed to pack a lot of learning into them. When I was young before kids I had an interest in photography but had such a hard time learning and then developing all those bad photos was costing me a fortune. So I gave it up. But now with digital cameras it is so much easier. It is a pleasure to play with the images.
      Looking forward to many more years of photos and visits back and forth.

  15. Happy blogoversary Mary! I ‘m wishing you all the best and waiting for your new imaginative projects! The only thing I wanted to say (since you given us permission to speak haha) is to check the Website field of the comment form that doesn’t seem to support auto-fill (maybe it’s my browser? pls let me know if it works on other ppl PCs)

    1. Katerina, thanks for the feedback. I asked around and heart that on some browsers it is supported and others it is not. I think Chrome might support it. Thanks for your well wishes.

  16. Two years and already a mentor. I believe you were one of the very first bloggers I ever connected with 8 months ago. Your blog has evolved lots since then. I love the old cauldron post, but if I had to choose just one, its the suitcase with the map lining. I never see an old suitcase without thinking about you Mary.
    Glad I came across your blog.

    1. Thank you Leanna for your kind words. My first year was full of sputters and mistakes. But this second year was much better in terms of the actual business. As for ideas I think once you jump into blog land you are so inspired that the ideas sprout in your sleep.

  18. Congratulations, Mary! I would have never known you were only in your second year. Sara and I started in earnest a little over one year ago, and if we could make great strides like you have by the end of year two, I would be thrilled! You should be very proud.
    By the way, I love the photos of the doors 🙂

    1. Pam I pretty much wasted my first year. I had no idea I was supposed to be on Google Analytics or Webmaster. All the basic things that we first do when we start a blog. So I did a lot of catching up on my second year. You’ll do great!!

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