How I decide what to blog about

I love blogging, and I love coming up with ideas for things to blog about. I like to blog regularly about lots of different things, and I hope that there are at least a few people out there reading what I write!

I realised that I get inspiration for the blog from lots of different places, so I thought that I'd share some of the ways that I come up with blog post ideas, and how I decide what I'm going to blog about.

* Most of my blog posts come from the long list of vague blog post ideas that I keep, both in a notebook and transferred over to my blogging Trello board. Some are sorted by season, for example when a craft that I'm working on over the summer sparks an idea for a Christmas variation. Or one craft idea will lend itself to other similar crafts that I can come back to at the same time next year. Every now and then I sort through my ideas and pick out the ones that I feel inspired to write up into full blog posts.

Related post - How I use Trello as a blogger

* If I'm really stuck for some seasonal content, I can often find some inspiration in lists of blog post ideas which have been created by other bloggers. I even refer back to the lists that I've written and shared myself, as I can often think of a new take on something!

Related post - An entire year of blog post ideas and inspiration

* Sometimes a post by another blogger will inspire me to write my own take on an idea (credited back of course, and shared with the original blogger if I feel brave enough). I like to keep up to date with reading other blogs, and follow them mainly via Feedly and on Twitter.

Photo credit - Jen Theodore via Unsplash

* Similarly a news story or current event might make me think about something that I want to share.

* Lots of my blog posts are inspired by conversations with friends, particularly those about issues that I'm facing with my parenting. Sometimes writing it all out helps me to think about and decide how to manage a situation.

* I'm always working on one craft project or another, and so I enjoy sharing my progress. It also helps me to keep track of what I've been working on and inspires me to keep at something!

* I like to round up ideas from previous blog posts. I've been blogging for over 8 years now and I've covered a lot of ground, so it's nice to dust off some of those older posts and bring them back out for a new audience as part of a round up.

* Looking back through old blog posts also often gives me ideas for writing an updated post, or re-writing an old post with a new take on the idea.

* I enjoy sharing holidays that we've been on and places that we've visited, and it also makes a nice memory for me to look back on, especially if we visit the same place more than once and you can compare the photos.

I find that once I begin making a list of blog post ideas the ideas keep flowing, and even if many of them never end up as full blog posts, the very act of brainstorming helps to unleash my creativity and makes me feel full of possibilities. Blogging is definitely a creative outlet for me!

Books that inspired me to make a change

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links

Over the last few years I've read several books which have really encouraged me to make a change in my life, and so I thought I'd share them here in case any of my readers might also be interested in them!

* The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron covers a twelve week course that aims to help you unlock your latent creativity and make your dreams a reality by recovering your creative self. I can't remember how I first heard of this book, but I followed the course through back when I first read it, which was probably nearly 15 years ago. I was in a very different place in life back then, before children, and had plenty of time to dedicate to the tasks required. One of the main components of the course is the Morning Pages - taking the time every morning to write three pages in longhand. These are a stream of consciousness which no-one will ever read, and are intended to help you get past the things that are on your mind and blocking you. I did these pages every day and found them really helpful.

Every week you are also given exercises and tasks to do which are designed to help you work through any issues that you may have surrounding your creativity. My favourite part was a weekly 'Artist Date' where you take a block of time to nurture your inner artist and do something fun to indulge yourself.

I found the whole course really fun to do, and having picked up the book again it's making me feel inspired to give the course another go now that I am in a different phase of my life.

* The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo. I've written about the Marie Kondo method several times here on the blog, and although I will admit that I haven't completed the festival exactly, I've taken a great deal from this method which has helped me to keep my home in a fairly decluttered and organised state. I often pick up the book again and dip into it when I'm feeling the need for a little more order.

* The Organised Mum Method by Gemma Bray. This was a very recent discovery (you can read my detailed review of the book here - The Organised Mum Method). Maybe it's still early days, but I've been following this cleaning plan for a couple of months now and I feel that it's made a massive difference to the tidiness and cleanliness of my house, and taken away a lot of the stress that I was feeling with regard to housework. The method is simple and relies on a little and often approach which really works, especially when followed over time.

* The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking. I picked up this sweet little book on a whim, and was so pleased that I did. Although the concept of hygge can be applied year round, it's definitely something that is appreciated more as the winter draws in, and the book was a big help in helping me make my home feel more cosy last winter. I love the idea of keeping a Hygge Emergency Kit close by, filled with things like a favourite book, soft blankets and some good quality chocolates, and the book is filled with cosy little pictures and easy to read snippets that you can dip in and out of.

Have you read any books which have inspired you to make a change for the better? I'd love to hear about them!

Mini Hama bead owl picture

This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

I'm busy working through my crafting to do pile, and this weekend I picked up a mini Hama bead kit which I've been looking forward to working on - the Small Mini Bead Owl Kit (affiliate link). Although I often come up with my own Hama bead designs I also like working from kits - there are some really sweet ones out there!

The Owl kit contains everything that you need to make the four different owl designs - a hexagonal mini Hama bead pegboard, ironing paper, easy to follow pattern and plenty of beads. Enough beads in fact to make a few more owls, so you don't need to worry if you lose any. The only other thing that you would find useful for the craft is some tweezers, as they make positioning the beads much easier. You can find lots of tips for using the mini Hama beads, as well as a tutorial video, in my blog post here: Mini Hama bead crafts - A guide

Mini Hama beads can be quite tricky to iron and even though I've used the beads before I still had a few mishaps! It's important to have the iron on a low setting and not heat the beads for too long as they melt very quickly. Unfortunately I have a tendency to be over cautious and not iron for long enough, meaning that the beads fall apart when I remove them from the pegboard - it's a very fine balance to get it right!

Related post - Ironing tips for Hama beads

Once finished, these owls would make lovely magnets, or you could even turn the smaller ones into pin badges like these Mini Hama bead heart badges. But I wanted to have them on display, as I like the fact that there are two adult owls and two child owls, reminding me of the members of our family.

I cut a small piece of poster board to an appropriate size (it measures about 18cm by 8cm), and mixed some acrylic paint to a shade of green that coordinated well with the colours of the beads. I painted a couple of coats, and when it was all dry I stuck the owls to the board using glue dots, which I've found work really well for mounting smaller and lighter Hama bead pieces. When mounting ironed Hama bead pieces, make sure that you choose the best side as sometimes the beads on one side will look better than the other.

I wanted to display the picture on my magnetic white board so I used some magnetic tape on the back, but you could just use blu tack or similar to stick it up as it's still very light.

I'm really pleased with my sweet little owl picture!

If you liked this mini Hama bead craft, you might also like my Mini Hama bead Russian Doll picture which is made using mini Hama beads in a wide variety of colours, and mounted on a cardboard background in a similar way.

Hama bead gifts for adults

With Christmas approaching fast, if you want to get creative and craft some of your own Christmas presents it's definitely time to be thinking about it. A few weeks ago I shared a blog post with some Hama bead projects that children can gift to their friends, and so I thought that I'd follow this up with a post on Hama bead projects that make great gifts for adults.

Some of these crafts are brilliant for children to make for the adults in their life, but there are also some projects, particularly those using the tiny mini Hama beads, that are fun to make for your own adult friends that can be both useful and decorative!

Related post - Ironing tips for Hama beads

These Hama bead covered pen holders are really easy to make, and take advantage of the way that an ironed Hama bead piece is pliable while still warm and can be moulded into different shapes. The Hama beads are ironed as a flat design, and then curved to fit the shape of the jar or tin before being glued into place. They are a fun way to brighten up the desk, and also make useful storage.

I love the Tiled Russian doll picture that I made a few years ago, and it sits on a small wooden easel above my desk. It's a really nice decorative piece, and the mini Hama beads make for a really intricate design. I think a picture like this would make a lovely and unusual gift!

Related post - A guide to mini Hama beads

I also used mini Hama beads to make these Mini Hama bead decorative plant markers. They were fun and simple to make, and a great way to brighten up plant pots.

Another decorative piece that I love is my Hama bead quilt style picture. This picture was a way to use up the odds and ends of Hama beads in different colours that we had left over from various kits. I keep it in the bathroom and it makes me smile while I'm brushing my teeth! A small child could easily put together a picture like this which would look lovely framed, and you could help them out by letting them choose from a selection of Hama beads in colours which work well together and which suit the recipient's decor.

Coasters are always useful, and I've written a whole post with lots of different designs for Hama bead coasters, also with different themes like Halloween or Easter. A set would make a lovely gift!

Hama bead photo frames are another good present that children can make for adults, and they can then be gifted containing a photo of the child, or a relevant print or postcard. I've made several different types of Hama bead frames over the years, and I think that these cheerful summer themed ones are my favourites so far.

Finally, magnets are always a useful gift, and these retro Tetris inspired Hama bead magnets will definitely appeal to adults like me that remember spending hours playing Tetris when they were younger! These designs are super easy to make and are also a lot of fun to play with!

And if you think that your adult recipient would also enjoy crafting with Hama beads themselves, you might like to point them towards this blog post - Ten Hama bead projects for adults!

A Halloween picture with Hama bead sugar skulls

I love using Hama beads for seasonal crafting, especially when I can make something decorative that can be brought out and reused year after year. Inspired by my Hama bead witch display which was created using some spare Hama bead witch designs, I decided to make a similar spooky picture featuring some Hama bead sugar skulls.

First I made lots of these simple Hama bead sugar skulls, using just the square pegboard and a selection of different coloured beads. It's a good way to use some odds and ends of different colours that have been accumulated from various kits!

Related post - Ironing tips for Hama beads

Then I chose my favourite four skulls to use for the sugar skull picture, trying to pick ones with a nice balance of different colours. I placed them onto some white poster board and measured a suitable size for the background. Then I cut it out and painted it black. I used children's poster paint, and painted a couple of coats. 

When the paint was dry I used glue dots to attach the Hama bead skulls firmly to the background -  two per skull should be plenty. It's best to lay the design out first and work out the best position for the skulls before you start sticking them down, as they need to be lined up as well as you can. Also make sure that you are displaying the best side of the Hama beads, sometimes some of the beads melt more than others which can make it look uneven.

This setup works perfectly for me, but if you wanted a more permanent display you could use a glass photo frame to keep the Hama bead picture dust free and to make it look more professional.

It will look great on the mantel piece this Halloween!

Here is the design for the Hama bead sugar skull:

If you liked this craft you might also like my other sugar skull themed crafting posts:

Painted wooden sugar skulls

Mini Hama bead sugar skull earrings

Hama bead sugar skull bunting

And if you are looking for more spooky Halloween crafts using Hama beads then you might like this post - Hama bead crafts for Halloween

My ten most popular Hama bead craft posts

I've been writing about Hama beads for a long time on this blog. Recently I was sorting through some old posts and decided to have a look and see which ones were my most popular!

I discovered that I've written over 50 posts which are solely about Hama beads, and many many more where they get a mention. Interestingly, the most popular post of all isn't a Hama bead craft post. It's my post full of Ironing tips for Hama beads!

So here, all in one place, are my ten most popular Hama bead crafts.

10 - In tenth place are my Christmas ribbon and Hama bead bauble tree ornaments. These are simple to make and look really effective on the Christmas tree, especially when teamed with some festive ribbon.

9 - Hama bead heart frames. A great way to display a favourite photo, or to send as a Valentine's Day gift. You can add a magnet to the back so that it can be displayed on a fridge or other magnetic surface.

8 - Minecraft Hama bead keyrings. These were very popular when we used them as party bag gifts for my son's Minecraft themed party. We've also used the same designs to make fun magnets.

7 - Different Rangoli to make with children for Diwali. This post isn't solely about Hama beads, but it does contain a variety of different designs in different sizes so I thought that it was worthy of inclusion. We use these rangoli designs as coasters and food mats for Diwali.

6 - Mini Hama bead decorative plant markers. I love these little plant markers for cheering up plant pots around the home. Working with mini Hama beads lets you make some really intricate designs, it's a great craft for adults.

Related post - A guide to Mini Hama beads

5 - Hama bead Roman mosaic border designs for children. My daughter is studying the Romans this term, we may have to make some of these for her creative homework!

4 - Some more mini Hama bead projects. Again finding out that the mini Hama beads are popular with crafters too! These were my first mini Hama bead projects, made using a couple of kits and an ideas booklet.

3 - Hama bead elephants. My Hama bead elephant designs have always been popular, especially this version of Elmer the elephant!

2 - A 3D Hama bead gingerbread house. My Hama bead gingerbread house always sits on the mantelpiece at Christmas, I keep meaning to get around to making a whole village of them! In my post you can see instructions for the different parts that you need to make and assemble.

1 - And in first place, we have the Mini Hama bead Easter Egg cake toppers! This was a really quick craft that I made one Easter when I had lots of mini Hama beads in different colours and was looking for a fun way to use them. They could also be used as embellishments for Easter cards or decorations.

You can find many more Hama bead projects on the Hama bead page of my blog!

Simple iced Halloween gingerbread biscuits and cookies

I love gingerbread biscuits, and this Halloween I decided that I'd have a go at some Halloween themed iced gingerbread cookies. I must admit that I'm not very well practised when it comes to icing, so I was quite pleased with the results!

Below is the recipe that I used, it's the best one that I've tried so far. The dry and wet ingredients are in the correct proportions, and the biscuits keep their shape well while cooking.

Ingredients:

450g plain flour

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

115g unsalted butter

5 tbsp golden syrup

150g soft light brown sugar

1 large egg

Royal Icing sugar and water to decorate

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease baking sheets.

Sift the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl.

Put the butter, golden syrup and brown sugar into a saucepan and heat until the butter has melted.

Stir the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients, add the egg, then mix to a firm dough.

Roll out the dough and cut out your shapes. For these biscuits, I used a circular cutter (for the spider webs), a gingerbread man (for the skeletons and mummies), and and Easter Egg (for the skulls). Place onto the baking trays.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. 

When the biscuits are cool they can be iced. I used powdered Royal Icing and added enough water to make a thick icing, then I used a piping bag to ice. I came up with four different designs - the mummy and the skeleton use the gingerbread man base, and the spiders web is drawn on a circular biscuit. The sugar skull uses the Easter Egg cutter turned upside down, which I think works really well!

As I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to icing, I kept the designs very simple. The mummies were definitely the easiest, and once I'd got the hang of the spiders webs they weren't too tricky either. The sugar skulls took a bit more practice but I was pleased with them once they were done - I'd like to have another go at them using some different colours of icing!

These would be great to share at a Halloween party or as party favours for guests. 

A whole heap of Halloween themed iced biscuits!