I promised last week that I would answer the rest of your questions, which were all one way or another about blogging, in one go. Some of these were easy to answer, others took some thought and others(regarding advice and ideas) seemed way beyond my level of experience. I am going to answer them all though, as fully and honestly as I can and I hope that those of you who have been doing this a lot longer than me won't think me too presumptuous!
Why did I start blogging? I started blogging as a way of recording the beautiful things I noticed around me and as a record of the blessings in my life. It followed on perfectly from my gratitude diary and was a way of documenting all the things I create and find and of all the good times we enjoy as a family. I had been reading other peoples blogs for some time and I noticed that the ones which appealed to me were those with an honest and truthful glimpse into the lives of other creative Mothers. I liked to see that life was not always perfect and rosy (a bit of humanity) but I also loved to see how strongly some of these other Mamas managed to grasp hold of the good bits that had been thrown at them along with the tough. I know that for me it is often easy to forget how many good bits there are and just how many things I achieve. On the days when I feel I have taken 15 steps backward for every half step forward, it is really valuable to be able to sit and look back and see exactly how much I DO manage to do on a day to day basis. I am hoping that my children will enjoy this description of some of the ordinary miracles that happen to us as we potter along, learning as we go and if I can share some of that pleasure with other readers out there as well, that makes me even more happy.
How did you come up with the name for your blog? When I was little, I was always known as Mousy because of a special squeaking noise I made when I drank my milk from a bottle (suck, squeak, suck, squeak!). A few years ago, when Jack was a baby I started selling some cards through my local Post Office and I wanted a distinctive name to put on them. At the time Jack enjoyed watching the Tweenies and they sang a song called Little Mousy Brown, I found the song going around and around in my head and decided that Mousy Brown was a nice name to use for my cards. When I was trying to come up with a name for my blog I still wanted to use that name but thought that as my blog was going to be a home to all my creative stuff and I wanted to invite readers in - Mousy Brown's House had a nice ring to it. The picture of my house on the heading was by Sam, I loved the bright colours and it seemed just the right place for a little mouse to live, so with his permission it became the home of Mrs Mousy Brown.
What do you find most rewarding about blogging? This was definitely the easiest one, the answer is the friendships! I never guessed when I started how many truly amazing people I would 'meet' on-line or how supportive, inspirational, humorous, caring and just generally wonderful they would be.....belonging to this amazing group is by far the most rewarding part of the whole experience.
What has your greatest challenge with blogging been? TIME! I find it very difficult to get enough time to do the blogging and learn the technical stuff while still having time to read other peoples posts, answer comments and questions, make stuff and do all the crafting I want to and the rather important bits of my life like looking after my family and sleeping. It has become even harder since I started working part-time too! I just try and remember why I do it though and that it doesn't all need to be done today but this is still an area I am working on right now - balance!
What would be your advice to bloggers just starting out? This is the one I feel least qualified to answer, as I really consider myself a new blogger too! All I can say, from my own experience, if you are just starting out, enjoy every moment of the journey. Don't try and be anyone but yourself and don't compare yourself to what anybody else is doing. Take advantage of all the wonderful knowledge and generosity that there is out there, be inspired and have fun. Throw yourself wholeheartedly into the community and try and give back at least as much as you gain. Prepare yourself for a lot fun!
How do you decide what to blog about? I try and keep my reasons for blogging (see above) clear in my mind and then the ideas come without any effort, in fact I often find I have too many ideas and not enough time. I always jot my ideas down on post it notes or in my diary, as they come to me at the strangest and not necessarily the most convenient of times. If I am ever feeling that the ideas aren't flowing I take Snap for a long walk and by the time I get back you can guarantee I will have seen something or thought up an idea that is perfect for a post, if that doesn't happen then I accept that probably that is a day when blogging shouldn't be happening.
Well, all that really made me think, it was like a mini therapy session! I hope my answers told you all you wanted to know and for those of you who weren't interested, I will be back to crafty stuff in my next post. My paper cutting equipment has been seeing some action again and I will be very excited to share with you some new designs I have come up with later this week.