SEO tips and how to improve your rankings in Google

Last night I co-hosted the #cbuk tweet chat with Hilary from Craft Blog UK - the topic was SEO and effective tips for increasing traffic to your blog. It was a great chat - lots of people chipping in and the hour whizzed by!

You can read my write-up of the chat with lots of information on SEO and things you can do to improve your blog over at Craft Blog UK.

If you missed it you can just search for the hashtag #cbuk on twitter to catch up and you can join in the next one on Sunday at 9pm. Topic is yet to be decided so let us know what you'd like to discuss - can be anything as long as it is relevant to craft bloggers.

An Introduction to Swishing

What on earth is swishing you ask? My sentiments exactly when I first stumbled across Sussex based company My Swish. Yet when I found out I was very excited and I hope you will be too...swishing is...clothes swapping! Yep - instead of spending lots of money on new clothes - you can take your old clothes along to the swish and exchange it for something else! I caught up with My Swish organisers Leila McKellar and Sarah Maddox to tell us more. 

Hi Sarah and Leila! For those that don’t know, what is ‘swishing’?

Swishing is basically clothes swapping. It's an amazing way to get rid of the unwanted clothes cluttering up your wardrobe and get some gorgeous new things at the same time. All without feeling guilty about overspending. 

Tell us a little bit about My Swish.

My Swish turns clothes swapping into a fun, girly afternoon out. Just exchange your clothes for a points card when you arrive, then relax with an afternoon tea and a treatment while we label and hang everything. When the swish opens you can try everything on and take whatever you want to the value of what you brought - 10 points for High St, 20 for high end High St and 50 for designer. 

Swishing

Your next swishing event is on January 29th at Hotel du Vin, Brighton. What can people expect from the event?

Our next event is in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and is sponsored by Bare Minerals mineral make up. It's in the gorgeous ballroom at Hotel du Vin Brighton (entry through Pub du Vin). Swishettes can enjoy complimentary vintage afternoon teas from Roses All Over, cupcakes from Cloud 9 Bakery, mini-treatments from Turn Beautiful and a Bare Minerals goody bag - all included in the ticket price of £8.50 in advance or £10 on the door - what a bargain! 

So many pretty things!

What else is in store for My Swish in 2012?

This year we are hoping to start running a swish on the first Sunday of every month - we should be able to announce the venue very soon, so watch this space. 2012 is going to be very eventful for me as I have a baby due in February, so perhaps you'll see us moving into babies' and children's swishes at some point in the future! 

If you are interested in attending a swish the next one is this Sunday 29th February at Hotel du Vin, Brighton. Click here for more information. 

You can also find My Swish on twitter and on facebook

A very British party

My lovely friend Claudia is originally from Switzerland. She has lived in the UK for 8 years and has now officially become a British citizen. To celebrate this she decided to have a party and so we all went to a fantastic little cafe in the heart of Kemptown called The Tea Cosy. 

In honour of the occasion I dressed up appropriately (or inappropriately depending on how you look at it!)

Even the outside of the Tea Cosy is amazing:

I bought the flag on the left for Claudia to proudly display in her flat (or hide away in the back of the cupboard): 

Claudia and her boyfriend Tom (with the best moustache in existence)

The whole of the Tea Cosy is covered with royal memorabilia:

I made Claudia a very British brooch which she claims she's going to wear when she swears allegiance to Lizzie:

The hostess made a fantastic speech about how after all this time in the UK stealing our jobs and our eligible bachelors she thought it only right she "become one of us".

Claudia sipping a cup of tea out of vintage china

I think all teapots should have a tea cosy:

So apparently high tea consists of copious amounts of (you guessed it...) tea, teeny tiny little sandwiches (yes there was cucumber) and about 10 rounds of cake! Needless to stay I was stuffed!

This little guy was in a glass cabinet. He's slightly terrifying:

It was such a lovely afternoon and what a great little cafe. If you live in Brighton or are visiting I can't recommend it enough. The lady who runs the cafe was so kind and friendly and the cakes were just divine!

Calling all Craft Bloggers!

Do you craft? Do you blog? Then this post is for you. Last Sunday Craft Blog UK hosted its first ever tweet chat. A tweet chat simply uses hashtags on twitter to have a group discussion. It's a great way for craft bloggers to exchange tips and tricks with other bloggers and go away with lots of new ideas they can try out on their own blog as well as making lots of new blog friends!

Last week's topic was all about which is the best blogging platform and you can read a summary of the tweet chat here. There were lots of great ideas and opinions so definitely worth having a look and adding your thoughts to the blog post.

How to get involved
We will be running tweet chats every Sunday evening at 9pm for one hour. The chat will be hosted by myself and Hilary from Craft Blog UK. This week's topic is:

'What SEO tips have you found effective for your blog?"

Don't worry if you don't know anything about SEO - we'll make sure by the end of the chat you do!

To get involved in the tweet chat follow the hashtag #cbuk and to contribute to the conversation just be sure to include that hastag in your tweet!

I'll be busy reminding people about the chat a few days before so make sure you are following either me or Craft Blog UK on twitter to be kept updated. 

Clothkits

For Christmas Tom got me a Clothkits set. Clothkits basically allow you to make clothes/homewares without having to use a pattern. When I saw they were doing this Rob Ryan cushion or bag set I was pretty excited!

Rob Ryan Cushion or Bag Kit by Clothkits

When Tom received the package through the post he was a bit disappointed that the box was a bit crushed - especially as it was a gift for me. 

It wasn't awful so Tom didn't write a complaint letter, but instead just emailed them with some suggestions on how to improve their packaging (he's an engineer - he's forever trying to make things more efficient!)

Clothkits replied and they had several exchanges of emails (Tom told me he was really impressed with how nice and friendly they were). They also insisted on sending us a free gift which I thought was really lovely!

The free gift they sent for me was a fuchsia pink apple doorstop. Needless to say I was thrilled! 

So this morning I've been busy making my doorstep and am really impressed! 

The instructions were fantastic - friendly, witty and full of banter (the best kind!) and the doorstop was very easy to make. I'm so happy with it. Here it is:

So thank you Clothkits for having such fantastic customer service to match your brilliant products. They are also a Sussex based company so it's nice that I'm able to support local. I can't wait to start using my Rob Ryan fabric.

So what should I make readers? A bag? Or two cushions?

Featured Etsy Seller: Robbie's Girl

This week I interviewed the lovely Max who runs a gorgeous etsy store called Robbie's Girl selling lots of lovely jewellery, accessories and much much more!

Max - Robbie's Girl

Hi Max! You run an etsy shop called Robbie's Girl - tell us a little bit about it. 

The shop is a bit of a random collection of things I think are pretty!  The general theme is vintage inspired/rockabilly with a splash of kawaii.  I also have a shop in eBay where I sell more vintage items - clothes, silver etc  

Pin-up Girl Earrings

Your handmade necklaces, rings and accessories are so cute! Tell us, where do you get your inspiration from?

I absolutely love all things vintage, especially things from the 50s.  Woman were so sexy then and the clothes were amazing!  I really love tattoos too, I have a million myself.  I'm also a massive geek and love video games, comics etc

I get alot of inspiration from my wonderful friends.  I'm very lucky to know some very talented people,  artists, musicians and some very glamorous ladies (Charlotte, Sonia, Gina)  who indulge my love for shoes and sparkles!  

Swallow Ring

What got you into making handmade?

My sister used to have a market stall selling rockabilly jewellery and clothes and I was shocked at how expensive the jewellery she was purchasing was.  I was sure I could make equally as pretty stuff for her for cheaper - so I did!  When she closed the stall she gave me back all the items I made so I opened an eBay shop and it sold so well I decided to carry it on and quit my job a few months later!

Skull Necklace

Where does the name of your shop come from? 

Robbie is the name of my (soon to be ex) husband.  My lovely friend Paula made me a beautiful headscarf with a tattoo style mermaid on and the name 'Robbie's Girl' it seemed perfect at the time and she made a watercolour version of the mermaid that is the logo I have today.  Robbie and I are no longer together so I'm unsure whether to keep the name of the shop or not.  Still thinking about that one!

What's your favourite piece in your etsy shop currently and why?

I've just learnt how to make hair bows so at the moment I'm loving them!

Green Polka Dot Skull Hairclip

 

What does 2012 have in store for Robbie's Girl?

Hopefully more vintage items. I've been watching lots of nature programmes recently and have been thinking about some animal themed accessories.  A bit random I know but I can't stop thinking about FISH! hehe

Owl Key Necklace

You can find Robbie's Girls on:

Twitter 
Facebook

Etsy

Ebay

Max has also been super generous and given the lovely readers of Skulls & Ponies a discount code!!! You can get 15% off all Etsy orders by entering SAP15 

Giveaway! Handmade giveaway to say a massive thank you

********GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!***********

Happy Monday lovely readers. I do hope it wasn't too horrible.

This week on twitter I announced I would do a giveaway on my blog once I reached 500 followers on twitter. Lots of you helped me achieve this by retweeting me or giving me #ff's and so I've now gone beyond this number! Hooray!

Without getting all mushy and acting like I've just won an oscar - I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone that reads my blog. I've also had several really lovely personal emails lately from people who just wanted to write to me to tell me how much they enjoy my blog, and how inspiring they have found some of my posts. This means so much - and I really appreciate all of the support you guys give me through comments, tweets, emails. It's ruddy awesome!

Anyway...here's the giveaway! I'm giving away a cushion cover, a little purse and a lavender heart - all handmade by me.

Teapot Purse/Make-up Bag

Teapot Print Cushion Cover

Cake Lavender Heart

How to enter

To enter simply leave a comment below!

For extra entries

1) Follow me on twitter

2) Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect, BlogLovin', RSS etc

3) Like my facebook page

4) Share this giveaway on facebook, twitter, your blog, Google + (please be sure to include the link to the competition)

Please make sure you leave an extra comment below for every extra you do - otherwise I won't be able to count it!

The giveaway deadline is the 6th February 2011. This giveaway is open worldwide. I will choose a winner at random and I'll be sure to blog who has won! I'll also contact the winner if I have a way to get in touch - otherwise make sure to check back on the 6th!

Good Luck!

Inspiring Bloggers: Lemons for Lemonade

Hello lovely readers – I hope you are all feeling smiley and joyful today!

As you probably have already guessed, I’m a bit of a blog addict. My Google reader is always full for lots of lovely treats for me to read, yet I am actually also very picky about what and who I choose to read. There are so many blogs out there on the internet that I think it’s really important that you only bother to follow and read blogs that actually mean something to you, or inspire you or leave you with a good feeling. I hate it when people are bitchy or mean or leave me with a sour taste in my mouth – so these days I’m pretty ruthless with the old unsubscribe button.

This leaves me with only blogs I truly adore and today I wanted to share with you one of these fantastic blogs.

The blog in question is Lemons for Lemonade written by the delightful Emma Blackie. Emma’s blog is just gorgeous! You know when you read blogs and you just click with it and want to know more about the person and meet them in real life? Emma is most definitely on that list!

Emma, like me, is a crafter but Lemons for Lemonade isn’t just about crafting – it’s about Emma’s everyday life and what inspires her.  Her blog is a window into her world and such a lovely, intriguing world it is too! Her positivity oozes out of every post she writes even when everything isn’t always so rosy – but this is what I love about Lemons for Lemonade – it’s about perseverance.

Emma also runs a gorgeous Etsy shop selling hand covered buttons and crocheted flower brooches which are just adorable!

Hand-covered buttons

Crocheted Flower Brooch

One of my favourite posts on Lemons for Lemonade is this one where Emma talks about wanting to run away and how by staying she’s fighting for what she wants out of life. It also details a great little anecdote about what a small world it really is! Definitely worth a read.

At the moment there is a fantastic giveaway happening over on Lemons for Lemonade which is right up my street! As a crochet queen Emma is trying to encourage others to take up the craft and so is giving away a fantastic prize – a soft touch crochet hook, some maroon double knit wool, a book on how to crochet and a hanging crocheted bird ornament!!

The giveaway closes on January the 30^th so head over there now to be in with a chance of winning this super awesome prize!

Podcraft - Twee as F$*k

Skulls & Ponies would like to introduce to you our first ever PODCRAFT entitled 'Twee as Fuck'.



What is a podcraft I hear you cry? Well it's a podcast about crafting. Genius.

My guest podcrafter is the lovely Alice and we talk you through how to make a Kindle cover.

Fran and Alice

Now readers, it was our first attempt so to be entirely honest it's more wit and banter than anything else but I hope you enjoy it.  You can find out how to actually make a Kindle cover by popping over here and reading the full step by step tutorial with clear guidelines and lots of pictures!

For those too lazy to listen to 8 minutes or if you want to get an idea of what it is all about here you go:

• We play The Boss to help motivate us.
• We start talking posh and talk about Kate Middleton and her new surname.
• We discuss  whether we need a cup of tea.
• We talk about cardigans.
• We get distracted by puppies.
• We actually do some sewing.
• Alice doesn't like seagulls. Oh wait it's pigeons. 
• We talk about cheeses. And jesus. 
• Have we made a sleeping bag for a snake?
• We fuck it up.
• Fran needs to tidy.
• We do some Irish accents. Ok Fran does. Badly. 
• We start spying on a woman and a cat out of the window. She may or may not put the cat in the bin.
• They spot us - it all gets a bit hairy.
• We finish the kindle cover!

Click here to view the tutorial on how to make a kindle cover

How to Make a Kindle Cover

My friend Alice developed a fear of her sewing machine, so we spent a lovely morning making her Kindle a cover and for me to show her how her sewing machine isn't so bad after all! So for you lovely readers, I have put together a tutorial for making a Kindle cover.

We also made a 'podcraft' - you can listen here

You will need:

• Outer Fabric
• Inner Fabric
• Wadding
• Velcro 
• Button 

Step 1

Cut out 3 rectangles from your outer fabric. You will need two rectangles measuring 17cm by 22cm and one smaller rectangle measuring 17cm x 8cm. 

Alice begins her cutting out

Step 2

Sew the two larger rectangles together so it makes one long rectangle. If you are using fabric with a directional pattern then ensure one is the right way up and one is the wrong way (as one of the rectangles will be the front and one will be the back). 

Then sew the smaller rectangle to one end. The small rectangle will become the flap on the kindle cover so if you are using a piece of fabric that has a directional pattern then you will need to sew this so that when the flap folds over the pattern is the right direction. Like this:

Step 3

Using the outer fabric piece you have just created as a template, cut out your inner lining and wadding. They will all be the same size. 

Handy hint: Iron your fabrics!

I get to test out my swanky new iron. Rock n Roll. 

Step 4

Layout your wadding. Place your inner lining right side facing up on top of it. Then place your outer lining right side facing down on top of that to make a little fabric sandwich (basically you want the fabric you want to see when it’s completed to be facing inwards). 

Step 5

Stitch the layers together leaving about 2cm around the edge. Leave a big enough gap on the side so you can turn it inside out. 

Step 6

Cut the corners and turn inside out. Slip stitch the opening by hand. 

Step 7

Fold up the bottom of the case (right sides facing you) and stitch along either side of the case to create your pocket. 

Alice was pretty darn happy with her creation!

Step 8

Sew on your Velcro and finally sew on your button for decoration! Voila!

Don't forget to check out our 'podcraft'!