Well, you may have figured out by now that I write these Friday morning posts on Thursday nights. I’d say it might be obvious by the fact that the last few weeks I have been utterly unable to string two words together from all of the distracting activity here in the family room. Tonight, though, we’re on Day Six of Spring Break, and everybody is pretty mellowed-out.
The boys have indulged in a lot of Minecraft this week, and in various personal projects of their own design. We’ve done some visiting with family, too, but mostly it’s been a nice low-key week in which to unwind. Right now both boys are typing away quietly on their laptops.
Aside from Neil’s ongoing Mass Effect 3 skirmish, which I can pretty well ignore, all is quiet here. As for me, I’ll be switching into my PJs and pouring a cup of decaf as soon as this post is in the bag.
I’ve added a new section, by the way, to this week’s Weekend Favorites. Be sure to scroll down and check it out.
On Flickr
Ah, Flickr. I’m not the addict I once was, but it’s still a lovely place to find inspiring images of places I want to crawl into. And I do eventually upload all of my own photos there, even if it does take me a a few weeks to get around to it. You can follow me there, if you like.
The mosaic below represents other people’s pictures that spoke to me this week. Be sure to click on the titles below the mosaic, if you want to know more about the image or the photographer behind it.
1. dining window after (it’s a duvet!), 2. prepping, 3. Bisutería y platos de arcilla polimérica., 4. Plaid Softie, 5. urban circus 2, 6. 03.25 006, 7. The Yarra, 8. Swords of Literature, 9. Day 85, 10. 27/52, 11. favorite, 12. Tin Types
On Pinterest
Ok, so here’s the new spot. I have been beefing up my Pinterest presence lately. Someday remind me, and I will tell you my pinning strategy (oh, yes, I do have a strategy!). You’re invited to follow me here, too. Pinterest has recently unveiled analytics for business accounts, so now I have access to some interesting information, including which Polka Dot Cottage posts get pinned the most.
I thought you might enjoy knowing what is popular here right now, so I’m sharing the top four most-pinned Polka Dot Cottage posts for the past week. If you missed them the first time, feel free to click on the links. And if you’d like to repin them yourself, I’m certainly not going to stop you… (thanks!)
- Lakeside Forest Hexagon Blanket: original post | pin it
- Strawberry-Lemonade Smoothies: original post | pin it
- Reversible Party Bunting: original post | pin it
- Loom Knitting Tool: original post | pin it
On Sulia
I spend an hour or so every morning, Monday through Thursday, sharing my favorite crafty links on Sulia. And then I repeat them here on Fridays, which, if the stats I’ve been looking at are any indication, is the way most of you prefer to see them. You are, of course, welcome to follow me on Sulia, if you like, but I’m still going to post the links here every week anyway.
Polymer Clay
- Wouldn’t you think this brooch by Sylvie Peraud was made from wool tweed? You’d be wrong.
- ArtStudioKatherine on @etsy has used polymer clay to make a granny square notebook.
- Remember when Made in Lowell was on Martha Stewart with her polymer clay eggs?
Yarn
- Yarn dyeing for toddlers: a tutorial from Make it Handmade
- Forget food trucks. I want to visit Yarnover Truck!
- Adding a crochet border to knitting: a tip from WEBS
- An intriguing knit stitch demonstrated by New Stitch a Day: Indian Cross-Stitch
Fabric
- A few new twists on fabric-covered buttons by ARMOMMY via Spoonflower
- Speaking of granny squares that aren’t really granny squares
- Rounding out my granny square theme for today, this quilt from Blue Elephant Stitches
Business
- Crafty bloggers who do product reviews and/or affiliate programs should familiarize themselves with this.
- Artsy folks: marketing doesn’t have to be complicated and pricey. Keep it simple. by Thomas Knauer via Spoonflower
- Taming The Infringement Beast (without straightjackets or spendy lawyers): crafty biz tips from Oh My! Handmade
General Craftiness
- Candy terrariums from Martha Stewart by way of Angry Chicken
- This 12-year-old has got some serious skills: he built a house!
- A simple and sparkly button jewelry craft from Twinkle and Twine
That’s it for me! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Please feel free to leave me feedback about these weekend links. Are you enjoying them? Do you have any suggestions for things you would like to see here? Lay it on me!
I just realized how small my blog world is. One of your links this week is from a blog I copy edit for (the Tiny House blog). I remember getting the post about the 12 year old who built a house in my inbox and yelling for HB (he’s a highschool Tech Ed teacher) to come check it out. It’s really nice to see the post making it’s rounds on the internet!
I hope you and your family have a lovely Easter!
That’s pretty cool! Definitely a small world 🙂
You have a great Easter, too!