Wednesday, August 11, 2010

fill-in-the-blanks with brilliant blogger Kim of Everything Etsy


it's a fabulous new series on the blog, nicies! a fill-in-the-blank interview with some of our favourite super-bloggers from around the blogosphere that inspire each of us everyday with their writings! we all know that brilliant bloggers spend so much of their precious time crafting the perfect posts. so  i thought we'd give our fave wordsmiths a little break: i sent each nicey the questions below in grey { with lots & lots of blanks } ...  & they filled them in with their insights. hope you'll enjoy fill-in-the-blanks with our first brilliant blogger: the lovely kim layton of everything etsy!

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-->> interview key <<--
rikrak's words = grey
kim's words = blue 
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First, let me tell you just how thrilled I am to be over here at rikrak!  Kristal is one of those people that you would love to have as a neighbor, and I love this blog!  Anyway, let me introduce myself... {editor's note: thanks so much, sweetie! love you as a neighbour, too!}

I'm Kim Layton from, my little corner of Blog World, Everything Etsy!  I love Etsy! 

I
'm a mom to two growing boys & wife to a sweet & crazy husband.  We're one of THOSE homeschool families!  {The fun ones!}  And we're all addicted to travel...for real! :)

I blog about well...Everything Etsy  & Etsy business tips & beautiful craft rooms  & creative people {and things they've made} over here: Everything Etsy.

{You might be surprised to hear that I  am really very Southern...as in Florida Southern { and super sweet iced tea...yum}.  We live in a little yellow house by a harbor & palm trees and water inspire me to use bright, tropical colors all over our house and yard!}

Beyond blogging, my  perfect
day would be : on the road {traveling in a vehicle of some sort, not walking...he he}, with my whole family, eating eating Chick-fil-A, talking about where we're going to stop next, listening to the Jimmy Buffett XM station and joking around with each other.  {It's the thrill of the unknown adventures in our future.}  Mix that in with stops all over this beautiful country {and Canada} & it would be the perfect life! :) 


Here's my favourite photo of myself.
 
I love it because this is a not so recent {but one of my FAVORITES} photo of me and my fun family after a flight from LAX to Auckland, NZ without sleep {since we arrived in the morning}.  We were going like 100 miles and hour and spinning around on a JET BOAT.  And that was after visiting glow worm caves and hiking...we can be maniacs!  This jet boat was one on the most thrilling things ever!!!  Ever!  That's why I'm willing to share my no make-up, no hair style photo with you! :) 

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{about Kim!}


I just finished
making a few new necklaces for Fall and just started painting a bit with one of my boys.   I'm in the middle of a beautiful little embroidered house coin purse that I now believe I've ruined!  I might need to have a friend help me out...I'm in over my head on this one. :) 
 
I love making anything that turns lots of little thing into something pretty or cute & I always have a million projects around that are unfinished.  I'm sure I'm not the only one with this issue!! :)

I tend to gravitate towards little crafts because they're easy to mail...I can't stand the post office, and my sweet husband ends up going half the time for me. :)

My family makes me  crack up with laughter on a regular basis & hearing my boys say I'm the best cook in the world makes me smile!


A word I love to use  is  Sweet! I even have a whole section of my blog named "Sweet!"  Just doing my part to make the world a little sweeter. :)

And I may have made up the word
"pretties!"  I use it all the time now and I don't know where I got it! :)

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{about blogging}

I {heart} blogging!

The  photos and the creative Etsy finds inspire me!

I began blogging to
share my love of Etsy and all things handmade  and now I blog to shout it to the world!  I'm one of those people that believes the world would be a better place is everyone exchanged handmade gifts!  And taking other people's garbage and turning it into something beautiful is thrilling!

It amazes about blogging that 
there are so many great blogs out there!  I could read for days, and I find I lose track of time as I click from one blog to the next.  The information out there is amazing!

My 3 tips to a great blog would be:

Great blogs are made up of good information that's helpful to someone.  And beautiful photos never hurt.  I SO, SO LOVE blogs with beautiful photos!  I envy great photography skills.  {I have a great camera, but I'm lacking the skillz!}  And build relationships with others with blogs like yours.  It's funny how you can usually tell if you'd get along with someone by their blog.  Blogging is always more fun when you share with bloggy friends!

Gosh! It's challenging blogging when 
life is crazy and there's no time think creatively, but fear not, I just post a little less and sweet readers don't leave.  And if you share your struggles with them...they always have encouraging comments. :)  {My blog readers rock!...just sayin'! }

Some of my favorite blog posts I've ever written are my "Etsy Love" ones.  Here's an example.  They're short and made up of things I've found on Etsy that I just have to tell someone about.  And usually I end up buying one or two of the items I share {I can't help myself}.  I love how my creative readers understand my joy of finding such cool stuff!  :)

I {heart}  reading other blogs.

I love the 
One Pretty Thing blog because there's a million new creative ideas there every week!

and I 
 love the V and Co. blog because she's one of those creative, crafty people with beautiful photos!

and of course the
Alisa Burke blog because she's amazing!  I love her style and would be thrilled to take one of her courses one day.  Oh, and her photos are stunning!

And one more because she's a sweet bloggy friend, and has a great Etsy shop... Twirlie Whirlies!

One thing I wish I had learned sooner in bloggyville is that
comments don't measure the impact of your blog!  Comments are great, but soooo many people read your blog that will never comment.  It's just not their thing.

and don't worry: if  you put your heart and soul into a post that you believe will get lots of comments {or at least one sweet response} and it doesn't...don't let it bring you down.  It happens to everyone. 

 and don't worry: if  your subscriber numbers don't grow overnight.  It's a slow road to a good size blog & so many people follow your blog without subscribing.  Twitter and Facebook are very helpful for us!

My favourite part of blogging is meeting creative people { like Kristal}  that I wouldn't normally get to know due to us living WAAAAY away from each other.  It makes the world seem a bit smaller, and it's fun to make new friends on the other side of the world!

However, I could do without any kind of school-like, clicky things.  If I get around that too much I just want to stop blogging.  And I have stopped on a couple of occassions, only to miss it too much! :)
 
Something 
fun happens on my blog every Thursday.  Lots of creative folks gather for a blog party... I Made It!  Check it out here! everything etsy.


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wowsers, kim!
so many thanks for your warm & wise insights and thoughtful sharings!
i'm  such a fan of kim & her amazing blog where she cheers on handmade day & night. be sure to visit kim's many wonderful projects to get to know this superstar even better!

 &; have a superstar of a day, nicies!
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find kim:

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13 comments:

  1. Loving the blogs Kim suggested. Great to read her helpful tips, too.

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  2. i agree, leslie. such wise tips for all us bloggers out there! :) and so wonderful to see blogs she loves, too!

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  3. Great post. Lots of good tips and helpful advice. Thank you.

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  4. I love Kim and her wonderful blog...it is one I check on very often (along with the rikrak studio) ;-)
    Great interview!
    Janet
    xox

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  5. awww she has some great advice for bloggers here, and i love her "voice"! found myself smiling/laughing a few times! :)

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  6. Kim is so nice and helpful. I enjoyed reading your fill-in-the-blank interview. Blogging is a difficult things and you both do such a beautiful job!
    Thanks fun the post!

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  7. kim rocks! really-- she has an openness and common sense approach that's so wonderful!

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  8. yay to team kim! i'm glad to see we'll all delighted fans of hers!

    and thanks for all the kind comments, nicies!

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  9. and yes sandy + malia - kim's wonderful voice and her open approach is so endearing, isn't it!

    wonderfully, blissfully refreshing!

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  10. Kim had me at Chick-fil-a!!!!!

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  11. I always look forward to the great posts on Everything Etsy! Great interview Kim and super cute pic of you and your family.

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  12. What a great interview! It was so much fun to learn more about you and I LOVE that rafting picture! Your smile is awesome! Thanks so much for the mention- and among such great company as well. I'm honored!

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thanks so much for your comments, nicies!
it's a joy to read what everyone writes here.
thank you!