2015 "Grow your Blog Party"

Hi everyone! I'm a little late writing this post but I want to thank Vicky @ 2 Bags Full for hosting this amazing "Grow your Blog" party and give everyone of us a chance to increase exposure and reach new audiences. The purpose of this party is to meet new bloggers and find new friends and sources of inspiration. According to Vicky, there are over 400 blogs participating this year, so it is huge!!!

I still have a long list of blogs to check out, but I wanted to leave a word for all new visitors about me and my blog.

I have been blogging for a little over a year now. Actually, my first blog anniversary was last week, but I was down with the flu so I kind of missed it. I was planning a special post that ended up not being published, so I'm taking this opportunity to reflect on this past year and leave some hints of what I'm planning for the future.

For years I have been reading and following other people's blogs. Last year I decided I was ready to create my own blog, to share some of my crafty creations. It was not an easy decision. Although I love to craft, I'm also married, have two kids, and work full time out of the house, so time is scarce. I didn't want to start blogging and then discover I had no time to continue posting regularly or, even worse, just give up. I needed to make sure I was ready for that type of commitment.

Well, a year has passed and I'm a very happy blogger. I may not have the best blog in the world, I may not share the most interesting projects around, and it is not always easy to find the time to write coherent posts, but blogging has helped me to be more organised in my everyday life. I have completed more projects in this past year than ever before.

Although I write my blog exclusively in English, English is in fact my second language, so please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes. I'm Portuguese and I live in Portugal but I love to read (another of my hobbies) and rarely wait for the Portuguese translation of any book that has been written in English, French or Spanish. English was my natural choice when I started blogging. I recently received a Liebster Award, so check out that post for more random facts about myself.

I have started to craft very early in life. My mother is an avid knitter, my grandmother loved to crochet, and they both passed on bits and pieces of their knowledge. I also love to cross stitch and I have been trying to learn to sew ever since my husband gave me a sewing machine a couple of years ago. As a general rule, I like to make stuff, so my blog is a mix of all those things.

I feel that I've evolved a lot this past year and I'm ready for new challenges. I'm thinking about updating the layout (have to learn more about html), I want to design my blog buttons and I'm planning to create and host a link party of my own.

Along this past months I have tried to create specific pages to organise my main posts into categories, so check them out if you want. The "about me" pages also contains links to my social media pages or you can reach me by e-mail: keepingitrreal@gmail.com. If you send me an e-mail or leave me a comment I will always try to get back to you, though (realistically) it may take me some time.

If you've survived this post, you may also want to check Vicky's post with the full list of bloggers participating in this event. Have fun!

In the meantime, thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back again and share my journey though the blogging (and crafting) world!