So, it's been a rather lame start to the New Year for me, but I'm back. The blog has been quiet for too long, and despite the fact things are shaky within my family, I need to jumpstart this again.
I'm leaving my advertisers (all of whom have expired, I believe) up for an additional day as some of the time the blog has been quiet and therefore hasn't had as many hits. It's only fair.
Anyway, updates! I purchased the tabletop press of my dreams and we're going next weekend to pick it up. I'm bouncing off the walls. I've got stuff designed, waiting for it so I can start printing and realizing the first part of my life goals. That's my baby up there! So excited!
As to my resolutions:
Lose weight. Yes, it's pretty much on everyone's list but if I'm going to fit into the wedding dress I've been eyeing, I need to chuck about 20 pounds. I've already lost 2.5 pounds since I started a week ago, so I'm quite content.
Start the sprinkles collection I've been talking about since a food stylist told me about hers. It sounds crazy, but I love the idea of collecting random sprinkles. Or jimmies. Whatever you want to call them. I bake a lot, so it would be a practical thing to collect, and they don't really ever go bad...
Launch my stationery line by May 2008. I'm absolutely determined. I'd already contacted a designer to help me with some of the backend stuff, but all the family stuff going on made it hard for me to know I'd definitely be able to partner with her to get what I want, so out of respect for her, I've pushed back the website until the product is completely printed. I do have a photographer lined up to shoot it all already - he's a friend of ours that we met out here by both being in creative circles in Minneapolis. He's phenomenal, so I expect great things.
If you're interested in knowing when the line launches, email me at trythisathome @ gmail.com and I'll happily include you on my mailing list announcing the opening. Anyone on that mailing list at the time will receive a coupon code to use within the first two months.
I know I said I'd be back by now, but unfortunately I have to extend my break. On Christmas Eve morning, my grandfather passed away and I've been involved with family ever since. I'm flying back in a few days and assume I'll start everything up again soon after, but we'll see. Happy New Year in the meantime!
Folks, Devon and I are off to New York to visit family - I'm originally from there; Dev's sisters live there now. We're also going to do some wedding site visiting, hence the dahlias (our primary flower for the party) which I'm sure you were all wondering about - those lovelies were shot by me last summer at the University of Minnesota Arboretum - gorgeous!
Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. So we're out on the East Coast, reveling in greasy latkes (my side of the family, most of whom D gets to meet for the first time) and pre-Christmas brunches (D's sister and her new boyfriend are apparently cooking for us! Yum.). Unfortunately, computer access is expected to be worse than limited as my mother runs an EBay business and therefore has the monopoly on the computer, but I'll try to schedule a few posts until I'm back. Failing that, I'll be returning on the 26th, so it won't be terribly long before Try This at Home is online again.
Thank you to all of TTAH's readers and sponsors who encourage me to continue and have supported me this first year. It's been a pleasure to write for you and only hope that this little baby of mine will continue to grow over the next few years.
Since I've had a lot of inquiries as to the rate change for next year, I figured I would post them earlier rather than later. The changes to the ad rates aren't terribly significant; they're still incredibly affordable. We are still trying to keep in mind that our original intentions for these spots were to be affordable to indie businesses, large and small, while still trying to break even on our own personal costs - we think the changes we've made still reflect those goals.
There are some other changes to advertising that will be coming soon. First, we incorporating a lower level group of ads that can be bid on through Project Wonderful. It will take the place of "TTAH Recommends", which will convert to a standard blog feature. Second, TTAH is converting to a Weekly-Monthly rate system to allow you to purchase smaller or larger ad blocks rather than our introductory bulk offer. Third, a bulk monthly feature will be offered. This rate is the per month ad cost if 3 months or more are purchased at a time. Weeks do not go into bulk discount, so 3 months plus one week would be calculated as follows: 3(bulk monthly) + weekly = total cost
If you were interested in advertising with Try This at Home, now is the time to get in while our ads are still $5 for two weeks. Ad prices are changing effective January first but we will continue to honor the old pricing until then, even if the advertising runs into the new year (provided the extra time is part of a continuous run - we will not pre-schedule advertising on the old pricing).
With deadlines creeping closer, it's time to remind everyone about the contests we're holding to celebrate our one year anniversary! After all, everyone likes to win stuff. Thanks to a great partnership with Jena from Modish, Try This at Home proudly announces two individual contests, for both our readership bases! (And yes, you can enter and win both of them!)
Try This Tutorial Contest
If you're crafty, this one should be a breeze! All you have to do is write and email me ( trythisathome [at] gmail.com ) a tutorial for any kind of craft project you're interested in, and the more unique, the better. Because we don't want people taking other people's tutorials and claiming this as their own, this tutorial should not have been posted elsewhere, even if you can prove it's your own (I'd rather spend time judging between amazing entries than verifying entrant's identities!).
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and one month's worth of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home, which includes a sponsor write-up. Four runner-up tutorials will also be posted, which will get advertising for the writer's site within their post.
Judging will be based on the following:
Originality
Quality of Writing (you don't have to be Hemingway, just keep your capitalization in line and avoid Internet-speak!)
Photography (not required, but it earns bonus points based on its quality)
Supplier Sources (also not required, but bonus points for listing sources for required supplies)
For our requested format, please see the style in which we've written our own tutorials. Due date is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Spread the Love Contest
Another easy one. If you've got a blog or website, you're golden. Between now and December 1, post about Try This at Home on your blog, or link it on your website, then comment back on this post as to the location of where the link or post is visible. I'll check the links periodically between the date of your comment post and December 10th to ensure it's still there to keep you qualified. Qualified entrants will be entered into a database and one name will be selected at random to win the prize. Based on the style of link post and the length of time it's up, entrants have the opportunity of having multiple chances of winning the raffle through extra points scoring. Forum spam will not be permitted.
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and two weeks of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home.
Scoring will be based on the following:
Length of post: any entries received by November 16th will qualify for an additional raffle entry.
Type of post: any blog posts receive two base raffle entries; text/image links receive one.
Last date for comments is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Strange as it may seem, it's almost here: our one-year birthday on December 10th. Time really does fly! In just under one year, 155 posts, 79 comments and 7500 unique visitors - pretty impressive in my opinion, considering I thought I'd be blogging for just myself and my friends!
What better way is there to celebrate, of course, than with contests! Everyone likes to win stuff. Thanks to a great partnership with Jena from Modish, Try This at Home proudly announces two individual contests, for both our readership bases! (And yes, you can enter and win both of them!)
Try This Tutorial Contest
If you're crafty, this one should be a breeze! All you have to do is write and email me ( trythisathome [at] gmail.com )na tutorial for any kind of craft project you're interested in, and the more unique, the better. Because we don't want people taking other people's tutorials and claiming this as their own, this tutorial should not have been posted elsewhere, even if you can prove it's your own (I'd rather spend time judging between amazing entries than verifying entrant's identities!).
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and one month's worth of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home, which includes a sponsor write-up. Four runner-up tutorials will also be posted, which will get advertising for the writer's site within their post.
Judging will be based on the following:
Originality
Quality of Writing (you don't have to be Hemingway, just keep your capitalization in line and avoid Internet-speak!)
Photography (not required, but it earns bonus points based on its quality)
Supplier Sources (also not required, but bonus points for listing sources for required supplies)
For our requested format, please see the style in which we've written our own tutorials. Due date is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Spread the Love Contest
Another easy one. If you've got a blog or website, you're golden. Between now and December 1, post about Try This at Home on your blog, or link it on your website, then comment back on this post as to the location of where the link or post is visible. I'll check the links periodically between the date of your comment post and December 10th to ensure it's still there to keep you qualified. Qualified entrants will be entered into a database and one name will be selected at random to win the prize. Based on the style of link post and the length of time it's up, entrants have the opportunity of having multiple chances of winning the raffle through extra points scoring. Forum spam will not be permitted.
The Grand Prize for this entry is a $50 gift certificate to Modishoppe and two weeks of advertising for ONE site on Try This at Home.
Scoring will be based on the following:
Length of post: any entries received by November 16th will qualify for an additional raffle entry.
Type of post: any blog posts receive two base raffle entries; text/image links receive one.
Last date for comments is December 1, 2007. Winner will be announced December 10, 2007.
Hello folks, as I hinted at last night, there's a big project on the way that I'm undertaking - and there's no turning back now because the website's been ordered! That being said, I'm looking for some people who are interested in taking on a wholesale relationship with me for this project. What am I looking for, you ask? Anything that is a craft supply and is handmade (for example, handspun yarn, handmade paper or glass pendants, et cetera).
Because I'll be busy preparing the launch of this project, I'll only have time to get back to people whose work I'm interested in. If you'd like to apply, please email me at trythisathome @ gmail.com (spaces removed) with the Subject: Wholesale Application. Please include your name, business name, website or 4-6 images of your work, and wholesale and retail prices. I'd love to hear a little about your business, process and inspiration, too, but it's not required! We'll also happily accept 60/40 consigment inquiries as well, but please note this specifically in your email if it's your agreement of preference.
Applications are due by November 5. Once we're up and running, we'll have open applications again - so if you can't make it in before the deadline, no worries!
Okay, time for a surge of posts to catch up from my down time. Once again, I'm sorry for the two weeks of dead air! I still haven't checked my TTAH emails, so to those of you who sent me questions or, well, anything, expect a long apology to start off the email before I actually get around to the core of the response!
