Happy Valentines Special Offer!

Happy Valentines my lovelies!  

Sending some pretty pink Sweet Hearts greetings to you all.
Find the FREE Sweet Heart Crochet Pattern here and whip up a few of your own for your neighbors, colleagues, children, husbands, friends or the girl at the grocery store and the boy at the gas station. Make someone smile and give as many hugs as you can.

I'm celebrating my Valentines Day with anything and everything that makes me happy
including a fabulous:

Enjoy a
50% discount 

with the code
HappyValentines50
in my ETSY shop

and in my RAVELRY shop.

Offer ends Thursday 16th of February 2017.

Sending lots of hugs and kisses to this wonderful community.
If I could I would invite you all for cookies, coffee and crochet.
May your day be awesome.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

I Had Tea With An Old Friend This Morning!

This morning she popped up in my Bloglovin' feed, in perfect time for my morning tea. So pleased. She always was one of my favorite bloggers. She still is. She does her thing. Rambles about life in its simplicity. A simple girl in a simple home with a simple family and a simple everyday life and yet so special to so many of us when she allows us into her little simple world. Full of all that girly, dreamy and romantic stuff like a pretty cuppa served with a delicious looking homemade cookie or cake, some colorful flowers and a bunch of delightful yarny goodness. Oh my her crochet creations. Love, love, love! And for some reasons her cuppa with a delicious looking homemade cookie or cake never gets boring. Watching her crochet projects grow piece by piece is always inspiring and never gets dull.

Having morning tea with Coco Rose Diaries this morning really made me feel warm and fussy inside. Maybe because I think of her as a Blogland friend. We have chatted some through out the years. She is one of those few bloggers that I feel a real connection to. When she showed up on my "blog step", it felt like no time has passed although its been more than a full year. This is what makes Blogland so fantastic. We connect. We become "friends" and we make each other happy. It is a very special community we have.

If you haven't already seen it, read it and done the happy dance in front of your computer in delight over this new blog post from Vanessa, pop on over and enjoy. I know many of you are fans, just like me and this might just be a one off but who knows, maybe... just maybe she is back. With baby steps. Lets hope so.

Note: Photo from Vanessa at Coco Rose Diaries. 

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Back home, snow & dealing with tech problems

The house is warm. The Christmas decorations are down (see my tips on How To Organize Your Christmas Clean Up). The tree is ready to be thrown out, making an incredible mess on my living room floor. I cleaned the fridges (I have two!!!) and it is all shiny and bright in there. It is snowing. And although I would prefer just staying inside all day, I will have to get out there with the car for a dentist appointment with Emmy Bo this late afternoon. Suitcases are still not unpacked but the washing machine is running full speed. I'm dealing with a pile of mail and bills (!!!) and trying to get on top of things at home.

I've been wanting to catch up with you all for some time but I'm having some technical issues... I'm focusing on setting everything straight this week and hope to back in full speed as of next week. Some of you might already know about the Christmas Adventure that went down the toilet (I published a blinker on Instagram and Facebook while on vacation) but I still think I have a need of sharing the whole story with you here on the blog as a part of a process of getting over my great disappointment and to find some clarity in what really happened.

Anyhow. It is good to be back home. I'm eager to set my 2017 plan in action and share it all with you. I want to show you some nice pictures from a drive through a Swedish snow landscape, some jollyness from Christmas at my brother's summer house in Sweden, updates of my crochet projects and much more. Until then, snowy greetings from a Winter Wonderland back home in Switzerland.

PS Anyone out there who is a Mac/Apple geek? I could need help setting up a new machine. Any help is appreciated. :)

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

My Christmas Blog Header

Some of you have asked about my Christmas blog banner lately so I thought I would tell you a little bit about it. One of the most fun things with a blog, is that you can play around with its visual display as much as you want. When the First Of Advent arrived, I knew I wanted my blog to join in with the Christmas spirit here at home, so I started to search the net for backgrounds and illustrations to add to my header and side bars. I wanted a Scandinavian warm Christmas theme and red is of course the dominating color to use for that. After playing around with some free backgrounds, which were either too busy or too ugly (!!!), I decided to go with a simple polka dot background offered by Blogger itself and make a Christmas blog header to rule the rest. My first attempt on just swapping the pictures to seasonal ones did not work and I was delighted when I found Maje at GraphikClipArts on Etsy, as her Scandinavian styled clip arts and illustrations were just what I was looking for. I threw out the photos from my header and decorated it with some Scandinavian Christmas bulbs and snow flakes instead. And that Christmas tree is to die for!

I'm extremely pleased with the outcome and can highly recommend Etsy for any graphics you might need for your blog. And clip arts can be used for so many things part form your blog; invitation cards, adverts, gift tags, framed gifts... There are so many talented shop owners out there. Most of them take custom orders too. It is quick, easy and very simple to add to your blog. And it is not overly expensive either, saves you the headache and time to make your own.

Now Christmas is here and there and everywhere, isn't it? I'm all in! Drowning in it. High on Christmas spirit I'm packing wrapped up gifts to the kids' cousins and preparing for the big day. I so love this time of the year. Give me more, give me more, give me more!

Note: All photos from GraphikClipArts.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Lets Talk About Blogs

I sit at my computer, looking out the window as the sun rises quickly over my garden. Blogging. I've been doing it for 7 years now. Very humble at first, got brave, connected, threw myself in there, took a ride to the top and slid back down a bit... Lost focus and mojo. But half way down I have sat myself still.

For a long time (I mean a loooong time) I've been contemplating to stop. Yes, there you have it. It has very much been going in wild waves here. I seem to get this big swirl wind of energy and motivation every now and then but then the wind dies. And I mean dies. Life gets in the way.  Kids are growing up so fast. I lost my job and fell back into laundry piles and picking up toys and socks, running to the grocery shop and just walking around chore circles here at home. I just didn't feel that great really. And to be honest, social media started to stress me out (and that we can talk about another time...). I lost my blog voice. I forgot the reason behind My Rose Valley.

People dropped out. Bloggers I've followed for a long time. They closed down. Said good bye and farewell. Some tried hard to stay in the blogging loop and expressed their frustration (similar to mine) in blog posts. It was good to know I wasn't alone feeling this way. At the same time it made me wonder: "Is blogging over? Is it a dying phenomenon? Is it replaced with quick fixes as Instagram and other social media platforms?"

Behind commenting doors, I spoke to many other bloggers about this. They said they felt the same way. Through conversations I reached out for a branch of hope to hold on to. Again I could confirm I wasn't alone. So what was I going to do about it? Stay or go? The thought of letting go of My Rose Valley and say "Thank you for this time. It was a hell of a ride." is overwhelming and very heart breaking. I took a pause... Stepped away for a while. It was good to get some perspective.

After a few months of "slow" blogging I feel strongly that I can NOT let go. Even if I lost my blog voice and focus a bit lately, I know it will all come back to me if I just persevere. I'm so proud of this space. I created this. Me and only me. I found you and with your support and encouragement this place has turned into a very special place not only for me but for many others. I couldn't have done all this without you.

This is a great place. I love this community and I'm not giving up. I read this interesting post over at Blogging Your Way (read it!) and it inspired me to keep going. I'm staying because I want to and because this place makes me feel good. My blog fulfills me, it is a part of me and it is my way of keeping a journal over my life and everything it holds. It is my space where I can express my creative self, share and connect with other like minded people all over the world. It is freaking amazing if you think about it and I want to make this place even better for both me and you. My Rose Valley is not just my happy place but also my very own craft and lifestyle blogazine where I decide what is being published or not. I control this space, no algorithm (Je déteste l'algorithme!). I write, I publish and you follow, interact, understand and connect. That means a lot to me.

So what do you think about blogging? Is it dying? Do you still read blogs? What do you read? And if you blog, why do you blog? I'm curious to know. I'm looking forward to hear what you have to say.

Have a lovely day my dear readers.


Note 12 hours after pressing Publish: THANK YOU all for your sweet response on this blog post. I am reading every single comment sincerely and they all make me so happy!!! This is the reason why I want to be here and will stay here. :) You're the best.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Letting go and new beginnings

I'm packing Tilda yarn orders. This is the biggest order yet, 240 balls!!! Someone in the Netherlands is going to be totally beside herself of happiness when this big order arrives. It is with certain sadness I'm letting go of the last few balls of my Tilda yarn stock. But knowing the receiver will have so much fun with this yarn stash is somewhat comforting. I'm letting go. To make new beginnings.

I have new plans. New directions. I'm excited and I will share with you soon. I'm just not ready yet. It is still so fresh in my mind (only about 72 hours fresh!!!) but it seems like a very exciting adventure is about to start. I'm terrified, I'm excited and I'm bubbling with enthusiasm. And no, I'm not going to write a book. No, I'm not going to design my own yarn line. And no, I'm not going to travel the world as a crochet teacher (although all of that sounds super cool too!). This is different. This is for me. For my future. For my family. And for you.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Hooking for cash in Simply Crochet #44

Did you see it? Did you read it? In the latest issue 44 of Simply Crochet I'm being featured in an article about being an Etsy shop owner. It is always a weird feeling to see yourself pictured in a magazine... I'm actually quite shy so I simply blushed when opening up to see this. Little me in the Simply Crochet magazine, I'm humbled...

I'm excited to say I'm rubbing magazine spread shoulders with creative and talented women like Becky Skuse at Make Me Do, crochet designer Hannah Cross at HanJan Crochet and Cécile Balladino at Gipsybazar in this article by Judy Darley. It turned out to be a great article filled with inspiring stories, tips and tricks about Hooking for cash, as the headline says.

I thought I should write a post about being an Etsy owner as a complement to the article. How is it really? Was it hard to set up the shop? Is it time consuming to run an Etsy shop? What about currencies, fees, prices, shipping costs, packaging...??? You know... just some pointers out of my experience... So I started to write but found it hard to know where to start and what to talk about so... I thought I should ask you instead:

 What would you like to know about
being or becoming an Etsy shop owner?

Ask me anything you would like to know about it and I'll do my best to share my story and tips and tricks with you in a future blog post. And before I go - THANK YOU so much for all your comments and messages on my Ravelry blog post. I feel so much more confident there now and have learned so many new tips and tricks about it. Looking forward to keep on exploring. You have been a fantastic help. Forever grateful. :) I still need to fix a Ravelry button in my sidebar... and at the bottom of the blog posts... It is noted and added to my To-do list...

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE:

Etsy Pattern Shop Testing & Crafty Business Rambles...

Hi my lovelies. Have you seen that ETSY has launched a new website/e-commerce feature called Pattern Shop? Well, of course I had to try it out. All the information is already there and all I had to do was to tweak my About page a bit and load up an avatar. It is like having 2 shops in 1.

I guess the idea is to hook up another domain with the Pattern Shop feature top gain more traffic, but I haven't done that yet. You can find me as myrosevalley.patternbyetsy.com for the moment. I'm just trying it out for 30 days (Free Trial) and then we'll see. Not sure I want to add another 15 dollar cost to my monthly Etsy bills...

For a long time I wanted a "real" shop where I could sell my Tilda yarn and as I have mentioned before I have been working on this quite a lot lately (read about my creative escape here). I really wanted a place for my yarn to make them justice and become more approachable for you all. But I have come to a stall... It is more complicated than I initially thought and to be honest I think my efforts sometimes just make things more complicated than they are.

I'm not a big business and I like it to stay small and cozy, personal and simple. I don;t want to feel pressured to produce tons of patterns to always have something new to offer my dear and loyal customers. I just want it to be my little Happy Shop Corner.

When I started selling on Etsy I did it because I loved selling what I made. Later I stepped into pattern design and it showed that you loved the patterns I made as much as I do. My Etsy Shop started to thrive. I started selling Tilda yarn in my Yarn Shop here on the blog because I love working with Tilda yarn, and so I was thrilled to make Tilda available worldwide instead of just available for us Scandinavians.

I started out from the heart and it became a success. Truly beyond my imagination. Little me selling patterns to near and far, seeing your interpretations of my designs in social media... It is the greatest feeling. I'm so thankful.

Small business and small blog grew big and I kind of lost control along the way. For a long time. My blogging mojo has been a serious roller coaster for such a long time and I've been so close to just call it the day and close down it all so many times.

It's like that crazy first love affair where you just dive in head first and after a while you start to question who you are, who your love is and what the hell you are doing because it grows complicated, big and overwhelming... Should I stay or should I go? And although it tears you apart at times you just don't want to let go. Because it fills you up with the greatest feeling at times. A feeling you don't want to loose.

Today I'm just letting it all pour out, frustration, fear, doubt and love. Because I don't know how to move forward. I'm in a bit of a tough place right now privately and I feel a bit stuck in a hamster wheel. I run and run and run, but I just don't get anywhere. And while running my To-Do list grows longer and longer and longer and I don't know where to start. Patterns are unfinished, photos needs to be taken, shop needs to be updated, yarn needs to shown, graphic designs are left half done, website is stuck, messages are to be answered, blog flow is frozen, the calendar is smock full...

So today I'm trying Etsy's new Pattern Shop feature. I'm updating my platforms with a new graphic design. I'm writing a little on the Maybelle Blanket pattern and that is good. I'm taking baby steps. And I truly think I need to do just ONE THING AT A TIME. Otherwise I will be stuck in that hamster wheel forever.

Now it is lunch time and kids are coming home any minute. So I will turn off Blogland for now and escape to Real Life Me. And be present there. Not in a million places at once. I didn't mean to write this. It was just gonna be a blinker about The Pattern Shop. Well, I guess my heart steered it in another direction this time. That happens... I think I boiled over a bit. :)

Thanks for listening and thanks for just being around. Always.

Kärlek
Annette

FOLLOW  My Rose Valley HERE: