Inspiration Abounds, and Well, Change Is Good

I love blogging.  Blogging is my hobby.  Blogging is so much a part of my life that I can't imagine my life without it.  I blog here, on Art, Like Bread.  

 

I blog there (at Crochet Spot). I've blogged over there (for Sheep Thrills), and I even blog there (for the Crochet Guild of America).  Before that I blogged on MySpace-remember?  ha!  And now I'm starting a new thing.  I'm blogging education (way over here).  I had been struggling about how to integrate education talk into Art, Like Bread, and found that it doesn't fully fit in just yet.  Although education is me - through and through - it is not really what you've come to expect from Art, Like Bread.  

I love the creativity of making lesson plans and the collaboration between class and teacher.  Teaching is infinitely rewarding and inspiring.  I adore teaching and above all, I respect and honor my students.  Now some of them are grown and I have seen them do incredible things.  The sense of pride I feel for them is beyond compare.  While I am still connected to education, my part time work as a tutor has not been enough to satisfy that part of my identity and purpose.  Therefore I am slowing down the crafting and craft blogging in order to focus upon finding more meaningful education work locally in Broward County, FL.  

I will by no means stop my crafting.  But I probably won't be sharing as much of it with you.  I'll be taking time off from Crochet Spot.  My blogging contract with Sheep Thrills has ended.  I will continue my monthly commitment with CGOA.  And whatever lands here on Art, Like Bread will be here for you to enjoy.  I hope you will keep in touch, and thank you.  

See ya around.

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Honoring My Personal Voice on My #Craft #Blog

This is going to be a different kind of post.  The experiment of my blogging daily has been going well for me.

I want to go back a little to the beginning of Art, Like Bread and blog with my personal voice.  

Being personal is what works for me on this blog.  I've always been honest, but I realized that while listening to all the crafty business advice about "giving your audience high value posts" and "establishing what your audience cares about" I have shifted away from personal craft blogging a bit. I don't ever want to lose that on Art, Like Bread.

Loom Knitting Exploration (& Blogging Schedule)

Loom Knitting

As you might notice from my past few posts, I have been really into Creativebug these days.  Maybe I'll go into detail about it in a future post, but for now just know it's a creative space that is inspiring me.  My latest endeavor is loom knitting!

I am excited to be making this loom knit cowl because it's a use for my yarn stash and it's different.  I am loving this exploration!

Blogging Schedule

The idea is, and the hope is to post a blog every single day in 2016.  The purpose of this is firstly to improve my blogging skills - my consistency, and my writing skills.  The ultimate goal is to provide my readers with more valuable posts that they will enjoy.  

It's a goal I've made and I've made some plans to help it along.  I'm not sure what else will come up this year, but I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.  I love blogging and I truly appreciate your reading this.  

Having said that, I understand that if you receive this blog via email, you might be overwhelmed by daily emails.  If not, please stay subscribed and enjoy!  If so, I want you to know that you can still be apprised of my writings via my monthly newsletter.

I hope you'll stick around & share this journey with me.

What are you excited about trying this year?

Goodbye, Old Look!

At one point I updated the look of my blog right around Christmas break each year.  It just felt like the right thing to do.  Last year, that didn't happen.  I have been left with my lovely, crochet-laden, somewhat surrealist, definitely L A R G E blog header.

Out with the old!

Coming Home & Revamping!

Hello!  If you are reading this, I know you love Art, Like Bread and for that I thank you! 

I am on the verge of something big here.  I have many ideas percolating and developing.

I can't wait to share them with all of you in artlikebread.com's new iteration.

Unfortunately, I do have to wait because it's just me over here doing my thing.  I wanted to let everyone know that I have been blogging for Rachel over at crochetspot.com.

This is a link to all of my writings there.

Blog Tune Up, #Random Fun Stuff, & Pretty Pictures

This whirl of sponsored posts* and opportunities grown from this blog has gotten me thinking about how I run things over here.  I am lucky in that I never have a dearth of good ideas. I am and always will be the idea girl. Here are some changes I've made and will make.  And some random fun stuff, just for kicks.

completely unrelated yet nonetheless gorgeous glassware at
Mercado Sabado, San Angel, Mexico City

Hookin' Up Project Day 5: Saski's Crochet Adventures!

Big Thanks to Tamara, for reviewing me on her wonderful blog yesterday. It was a great experience for me to be interviewed, and Tamara's questions were terrific!  I feel so lucky!

When I first landed on the spirited blog Crochet Adventures, I knew I liked the blogger, Saski.  Who doesn't love an entomologist who crochets?   I scrolled down a bit and found out we have similar taste in toasty scarves. 

It looks like Saski started her blog only a few months ago, but she already has some great pattern links up, including this gorgeous coaster.  You should follow the link on her blog to find it!

Look at these lovely stitches!  Photo source: Saski's Crochet Adventures

This woman seems to have a passion for amigurumi.  Did you know I've NEVER crocheted amigurumi?  Well, that used to be true, until I stitched up Saski's Happy Geisha.  It is truly adorable!

You can make one, too, with Saski's free pattern.

 I'll end the post with a little crocheted treat for you from Saski's blog.  It looks adorable, mouth-watering, and impeccably stitched.  I love the use of beads for sprinkles!

Image Source: Saski's Crochet Adventures

This post was written as part of the Crochet Concupiscence Hookin' Up blog project. 

Check out Saski's Blog tomorrow for a review of another cool crochet blog!

Here are the terrific blogs participating in the project so far :

• July 1:  Crochet Concupiscence
• July 2: KRW Knitwear
• July 3: Underground Crafter
• July 4: Crochet with Tamara
• July 5: Art, Like Bread
• July 6: Crochet Adventures
• July 7: Donna’s Decembers
• July 8: Ambassador Crochet
• July 9: Chez Mukweto
• July 10: Anastacia Knits
• July 11: MomWithAHook
• July 12: My Hook and Yarn Adventure
• July 13: The Yarn Stop
• July 14: Yarns and Musings
• July 15: Crazy Crochet Ladies
• July 16: Rip it Good
• July 17: Twisted Strands
• July 18: Poppy and Bee
• July 19: Crafty Corley
• July 20: All the Strange Hours
• July 21: Abinocoe
• July 22: Affordable Wonders
• July 23:
• July 24: Crochet Your Way
• July 25: Purple Butterfly Crochet Collection Blog
• July 26: Shorty’s Sutures
• July 27: Yarn Dharma
• July 28: Crochet with Cris
• July 29: An Open Book
• July 30: Cute Crochet Chat
• July 31. Coming full circle we’re back on Crochet Concupiscence for a roundup.

Hookin' Up #Crochet Blog Project

 I recently signed up to connect with and promote other crochet bloggers through the Crochet Concupiscence Hookin' Up blog project. 

This exciting project will run from July 1-31, and feature one blog per day in order to spread the crochet love!  Each blogger will feature a post about the next person scheduled.  I think this is really fun! If you write a crochet blog, you should sign up! I am pretty sure that there is still space left! :)

Blogging: How to Import Your Delicious Bookmarks into Blogger

I just figured out how to make a linkroll on Delicious! 

image source: www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com

What's Delicious?  Delicious is a place to archive your online bookmarks, and organize them by tag.  I've found it to be very helpful in organizing my craft bookmarks, particularly because I read so many blogs and I have numerous ideas and goals.  Delicious helps me to know that I won't lose them!

I also use Delicious for other things, like education bookmarks, gift ideas, and shopping wishlists.  Here, again it helps because whenever someone asks me what I want for my birthday or Christmas, I have no idea what to tell them. Now I just look on my Delicious account for ideas.  And I don't worry about gift ideas being found on my account because there is an option to keep your bookmark private.

It also helps to curb the online shopping somehow. I think it's because I know I "have" it in Delicious, and if I really want to buy it, I can find it very easily from any computer.

Delicious can also help you reduce clutter in your home.  Ever tear out a page from a magazine just because you wanted to save one website or explore one item?  Well, you can keep these items virtually, and there's even an area where you can write notes to remind yourself why you wanted the bookmark in the first place!

The other cool thing about Delicious is that it is also a social network.  I haven't explored that aspect of it yet, but it's there. You can subscribe to other user's bookmarks and they can do the same for you.  You can also send bookmarks to other users.

Why Import? I decided to import my bookmarks because this way I know I can provide high-value content to my readers on an almost daily basis.  Reading craft blogs & newsletters, following twitter, and listening to podcasts are daily activities for me, and nary a day goes by that I do not link up to something I've found on Delicious.  However, for me, blogging is a less-frequent endeavor.  I feel bad that my readers have to wait so long in between posts because in reality I am very active on the web.  I have come to realize that people really do want to visit a daily blog.

OK, How? Importing your bookmarks is sooo easy! I don't know why I didn't do it before.   Follow my simple photo tutorial to do the same. :)

1. On your Delicious home page, scroll down to the very bottom and click "tools".

All the way at the bottom!

2.  Click on Linkrolls.

3.  On the Linkrolls page, scroll down to the Display Options, and make any changes you like.

I like to limit the search by tags, increase the number of links, change the title to be more descriptive, and uncheck the tag & notes boxes.

Like so.

4.  Now scroll up to the code box, and copy it, but leave the window open just in case!

5.  In Blogger, open to any field where HTML is accepted (Like an html code gadget, or right on a post like this one).

6.  Paste the code where you'd like the linkroll to appear.

7.  Save, and then admire your beautiful work! :)

Blog Burst, & A Fun, Crafty Chica Read

Woah! I'm happy to see that I've posted at least once each month. I'm also super-excited to have the new content automatically imported to my tabs.

What are tabs, you ask?  If you look to the area just under the header, you will see some pretty little orange tabs, which will take you to pages I made just for you!

Tumblr is my place to post things that catch my eye in the blogosphere.  I use it as a visual stream to remember some of the breathtaking or inspiring images I see on the blogs I stalk.  Tumblr is a quick blogging format that allows me to reblog someone's post with the touch of a button.

Twitter is my other microblog and a social network where I post random thoughts and ideas, with each post equaling 140 characters or less.

Delicious is a trove of high-value craft bookmarks.  This is where I bookmark crochet patterns, tutorials, craft business tips, and all kinds of good stuff. 

Visit my tabs and visit often!

The other really exciting thing I've done is created a facebook page for the blog!  Please visit and "like" it. :) If you do, you'll automatically receive Art, Like Bread postings in your facebook News Feed.  

In regular posting news, I have quite a few ideas about what to post, but I have to get my act together and schedule ahead, so I'll leave you with my latest crafty read, Kathy Cano-Murillo's Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing.   

New Pages!

Hey, everyone!  In an effort to consolidate my online presence and provide more content for you right here on the blog, I'm beginning to embed my other homes online. 

Keep your eyes on the tab bar for changes.  I've already imported my Tumblr.  Fun! :)  In order to make room for this fun, new feature, I'm moving my other tab pages to the regular blog. 

Let me know what you think!

Thank You for Following Art, Like Bread

This just a quick shout out everyone who follows my blog on a regular basis. It means the world to me that you read my blog and I hope it is a good resource for you, as it is very fun for me to produce!

This is a card I designed for a friend's baby! Property of artlikebread.

Click on card for a list of links to card tutorials, techniques, and inspiration!

Please comment with links to your blog and I'll check you out!

All the best,
Cami

The 5-cent tutorial dream made possible - Flattr

Leethal.net blogged about micropayments and the possibilities with the new service called Flattr. Let's make it happen! Link over.

Future Plans & PRADA!!

I've been thinking about this blog and where it will go in the future. I don't like the idea of just abandoning it for months at a time - What a bad blogger I am! I love Art, Like Bread and I want to see it continue. So my goal is at least one post per month (with hope for more).

I believe I will find my camera this weekend, so more inspiration can be captured and recorded here. I've been really active over the years in bookmarking free projects and connecting to blogs that are completely inspiring to me. I have also been reading craft books and trying all kinds of new craft products. I hope to bring some reviews to all of you.

The most exciting thing I will be able to do this year will be opening my Etsy Store. The reason I haven't done it already is - THE POSTAL SYSTEM IN MEXICO SUCKS!! Once I get to the U.S. for the summer (3-4 weeks) I will (hopefully) be selling every day and posting some patterns for sale that can be emailed. We'll see how it goes! :D

I'm about to say goodbye to my sweet Spring Break, and my endless amounts of time to be totally crafty. So before I leave the internet for a while, I'll send you some inspiration which I found via Twitter @twistcollective . (It's PRADA knits on the runway!)

Mo Rocca Knits on CBS + LINKS!

I know I've been sooo MIA lately, and for that I must apologize. It's not that I haven't been crafting - I HAVE! I've been reading blogs, too. I've been bulking up my queue in Ravelry and continually crocheting. I've been listening to podcasts and all kinds of good stuff. I've been tweeting about my latest creations, and posting them (pictureless) on Ravelry.

So, is this just turning into a crochet blog? I'm not sure. I'm not sure what it is, actually. I enjoy blogging and I've seen some amazing, inspiring things here in Mexico that I'd love to share with you. I just have this camera problem, you see... And it's getting me NOT to post pictures online. It's been quite a while, no?

At any rate, I was reading the blog of my new favorite yarn, Stitch Nation Yarn by Debbie Stoller and Red Heart, and I was excited to find that she was recruited to teach everyone's favorite NPR comedian, Mo Rocca, to knit! After the Ravelrous controversy about it, I was itching (haha!) to see what happened. The result was broadcast on CBS, and you can view it here.

What are my future plans? I plan to open my Etsy Shop (at long last) this summer for a month (so I can ship from the United States; Mexican post is unreliable.) I plan to learn photoshop! This has been a dream of mine for a long while. I'm thinking I can do free downloads and maybe post some cheapie downloads on Etsy, too! I have been thinking about actually KNITTING for a while. I love the knit kits put forth by Leeanne at Leethal.Net. I want those cuffs, baby!!

I've been crocheting hearts and flowers, along with my famous Julio and Julia armwarmers. (pattern available soon!) I love this pattern by Drew Embrowsky, the Crochet Dude from Leisure Arts. I made a couple of those. I've been enjoying Debbie Stoller's AWESOME Stitch Nation Yarn and yearning for more of it!! I have to get those worsted weight patterns in queue, because when I come home this summer, I'm going to be returning with a very nice stock of that stuff.

In about a month, I'll be attending the Craft Expo here in Mexico City. That should be a hoot! We'll see if I can meet my best friend Rebecca Pick again (or Bex, as I like to call her!)

I'll see if I can't come up with some reasonable schedule for this blogging thing. I don't like to have it run my life but I do enjoy sharing my crafty adventures with anyone who'll listen! <3 HUGS!!

Bored?

How could you be bored with the whole internet right in front of you?  I think I use the internet much more than I'd like to admit, but if you want to see what is interesting to me (besides what actually makes the blog), then check out my other homes on the web.

Tumblr - I love Tumblr!  It's technically another blog, but I use it to harness crafty inspiration that I just don't want to blog about.  It's super-quick and easy to upload pictures there, so it's like an online inspiration book for me. *LOVE*

 

Twitter - I, like almost every other twitterer, use the site to connect with others and spout off about whatever is in my head.  It's interesting (to me) (most of the time). Occasionally I tweet my lesson planning, as in my real life I am a 7th-grade teacher.  I mainly do this to document my ideas at the moment.  I re-tweet whatever random crafty news or celebrity gossip catches my eye.  I LOVE pop culture!!  I also send off some great links to tutorials every now and then.

Delicious - Every single link that I like I bookmark here.  I have been amassing crafty ideas for quite a while now and I am getting a bit overwhelmed by what I have there.  I will be going through to harness the best of the best and organize them all for you, but if you want to get lost in a sea of craft, really, really gooood craft, then check out my Delicious page.

Ravelry -  This is the site where I post many of my crochet and knit projects.  I organize much of my yarn stash there, and I have a queue where I can list off the projects I'd like to start.  I am often in the forums of my favorite yarns, magazines, regions, and podcasts.  You will always see me on Ravelry trying to start a stitch group that no one wants to join.  :(  To enter Ravelry, you have to join with a free login.

Pinterest -  It's like my Tumblr 2, but I can tell it's going to quickly take over that little endeavor.  Pinterest is a new site where you can "pin" your web inspirations to an electronic bulletin board. It's visually-driven, and interacts with Twitter.  I love it!  It's easy to use and it's kinda perfect for me.  Squee!

Lip Gloss Teen Magazine Beta - Lip Gloss was started by a college friend of mine as a positive influence for young women.  My friend was on MySpace a lot and didn't like what she saw.  She created this online magazine to represent strong, powerful, diverse girls and it has taken off.  The idea is to do your own thing and to own it!  Recently she and her team launched Lip Gloss Teen Magazine Beta, which is an online community.  I can't think of a better place for any teen girl to hang out online.  I started my profile there, and I hope to blog there- not only about crafts, but also to reflect on my life, personal, cultural, and political beliefs.  As a teacher, I might have a lot to say. 

Flickr - I am so blaze about my flickr page.  I put nothing up there but pictures for Ravelry.  Not everything makes it to my Ravelry page, but if you want more detailed shots of my projects or yarn, you'll see them there.

My Sewing Circle - This is billed as "the Ravelry for Sewing", so I started a profile to try to organize my stash and notions.  At first it seemed a bit buggy, but I think it might still be sorting itself out.  I'm going to stick with it...eventually.  I don't have a very strong presence there right now, but who knows?

If you're still bored, watch TV, free, anywhere you can get internet!   Yay, Cucirca!

{This is an archived tab page that was moved here on 5-6-11.}