Thrifty Thursday - Yoghurt Pottles

 Lily likes sometimes likes yoghurt so we have a few pottles gathering momentum in the recycling bin so cue a Pinterest induced binge on how to upcycle yoghurt pots.  And did I hit the jackpot - no pun intended, well not really.  So here are some of the best ones I found, tutorials and links to the original source are found underneath each photo.

Start off with something simple like Sensory Play - kids LOVE water so scooping, pouring and usually drinking the water with yoghurt pottles is always fun.

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Yoghurt pots are the perfect size for storage of crayons, felts and crafty bits.  

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They are also great for sock, underwear or jewellery storage (if you are that organised)

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They make great herb pots for you and seed pots for the littlies

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Make inexpensive toys like this train or hot air balloon - I love the dolly passenger in the hot air balloon.

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Seeing as Fathers Day is around the corner how about a trophy for Dad or anyone you think deserves one!

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Something nature inspired like this Bird Cake recipe will keep the birds coming back for a snack and hanging out in the garden.

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Yoghurt Pottles  also make great serving containers for a dessert at a party - you could use ice cream, jelly, fruit, mini trifles or all of the above!

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For more ideas check out my Upcycled Yoghurt Pottles Pinterest Board

Happy Upcycling x

I'm back!

After a bit of a break, to sort out a few things (basically sort out my crazy busy life, and by no means does crazy busy mean glamorous!)  and to refuel the inspiration tanks I am back and I have so many cute things to share so I thought I would give you a sneak peek........

With organisation being the keyword around here, I have come across a few cute ideas to organise things in the home, I not only fell in love with these gorgeous blue kitchen utensils but the idea of a baking corner - that blue is gorgeous *sigh*

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It's no secret Washi tape is HUGE right now and I have come across the cutest little Washi tape projects you ever did see (and upcycled too!)

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I have fallen in love with wigwams, tablecloth houses, pup tents and hula hoop hideouts, keep your eyes peeled for this feature, there is sure to be something cute for everyone (even me!)

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And there will always be Thrifty Thursdays, with upcycling ideas galore.  I am always amazed by how many cool upcycling ideas there are out there, not much actually makes it into the recycling bin these days, I always pause before I throw it away and think to myself 'I wonder if there is an upcycling idea for this?' and yep usually there is.

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And last but not least I am finally going to start a Quiet Book for Lily.  She is at that age where sometimes she needs something to keep her occupied for when we are at appts etc.  So I am super excited to be starting it but sharing my progress along the way. I am thinking the first page might be something simple from over at Imagine our Life, I do quite like the Mailbox or the Sock Dryer or the...you can see where this is heading don't you?

Mailbox Quiet Book Page

With all that said I am happy to be back sharing all the things I find, and I hope this blog continues to be for some their happy place and also becomes a happy place for a few more of you.

I also hope you like the blog's new layout, (it has now hit a few of you that things are looking very different around here) thanks to my friend Kim from Hello Lemming who helped me with the design, it has been on my to do wishlist for ages!

Top 7 Web writing tips–keeping it natural while sticking to the ‘rules’

Top 7 Web writing tips–keeping it natural while sticking to the ‘rules’

Learning about Web writing has been a bit like learning a new set of road rules.  Before working through the Writing for the Web course I drove pretty casually with my writing like off road on the farm.  After learning Web writing skills it’s a bit like driving on the road using road rules.

A bit of background

I generally like to write about cute things and share them with people on my blog.   This is where I write naturally and mostly write and let the words flow onto the page never thinking about ‘rules’. 

At Not Socks I write copy and articles related to gifts and I work to rules and guidelines as outlined by my Manager so I had a few ideas about web writing.

What I have learnt

The most interesting part about web writing for me was learning that there are lots of rules and guidelines for how you write for the web, basically so that people will:

a.            Read your content

b.            Find your content interesting and easy to read

c.             Traffic will be driven to your site

d.            Get as many of your Web pages credited by the search engines with the

right keyword phrases on each page.

The top 7 most important writing rules I have learnt and will continue to use in all my web writing are:

Headings and subheadings – See if you can spot these above.  People don’t have time to read lines and lines of writing – they want to know quickly what your content is about, the headline grabs them and pulls them in.

Write less! 

Bullet points – breaking up is hard to do….but making it easy for the reader to scan your content is important

Short paragraphs – try not to fit it all into one BIG paragraph.  Make it easier for the reader to scan your writing

Use hyperlinks and anchor text – to important links. 

Think about what search terms – what do you think people will use - put yourself in the mind of the user to find key word phrases.  What keyword phrases would you enter if you were looking for a product or service on Google

Create trust – with the reader by writing good content, using simple design, and checking grammar. 

So now I have my set of ‘road rules’ I am writing better content that will be seen.  And eventually after you have been driving on the road for a while it becomes a little bit more natural every time you drive.

What I have been working on lately - NZ Writers College & Writing for the Web course

Over the last year I have been working through Writing for the Web course through NZ Writers College.  I had chosen to do this course as a way for me to learn the basics of Web Writing.  I have been working on the last few modules this last month so that's why things have been a bit quiet on the blog lately.

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Writing for me generally has always been a way for me to write about, well pretty much what I like really.  When I started the Writing for the Web course I didn't realise how technical writing could be and I was a little bit overwhelmed (only just a little bit)

However after completing the course and using writing in a number of different contexts it has become almost a natural process now.  The different contexts were Facebook, Google Ad words, Blog posts, Press Releases, Email Newsletters, Twitter and Creative Writing.  So I definitely flexed my writing muscles.

I am able to use my new skills in both my personal life on my blog and in my professional work in my chosen career.  My Manager has seen the improvement in my writing and has complimented me on my recent pieces of writing. 

Karen is a great tutor and provided me with some very valuable feedback and knowledge of all types of Web writing.  Her module content is very easy to read and the resources are valuable, and the assignments are challenging – I figure if it's not challenging then you aren't learning.

After completing the course I can now say that I can still write about pretty much anything, I just have to think a little bit more about it.   If I want people to read my content there has to be a structure with a few rules.