My year 2014

As 2014 draws to a close it's natural to want to reflect on the year that has passed, and we've been lucky to have a lovely year. The children are growing up so fast and yet they are still so little. Christmas in particular this year was a magical time. We've had some wonderful holidays this year, we spent a week in Ibiza, a week in Snowdonia and finally had an amazing trip to Florida followed by a Caribbean cruise. Travel is really important to us as a family, and I know that we are very lucky to be able to have these experiences. We've also enjoyed lots of family days out, many of them using discount vouchers or in exchange for a review on my blog.

Harry started in Year 1 in September and he's coming along so well. In particular he is well ahead with his reading and in just a few months I've noticed a massive improvement in his writing. He's a sensitive little thing and dwells on things that worry and upset him, and he loves cuddles. Mia will start school in September 2015, although she doesn't feel as ready as Harry did at this point. I still think of her as the baby! She's tempestuous and demanding and she never sits still, but she's caring, affectionate and her imaginary play has really developed this year which is a delight to watch.

I've done well with my crafting this year, finishing my long term cross stitch project which was a great achievement for me. I've also carried on having fun with Hama beads, and more recently we've entered the world of stop animation.

It's also been a great year for my blog. I was so thrilled to find myself a Craft finalist in the MAD Blog Awards and I had a fantastic night out at the awards ceremony. I was also delighted to be once again shortlisted in the BiB Awards in the Craft category. I had a great time at Britmums Live 2014 and I'll be returning for Britmums Live 2015. I've also enjoyed some great blogger days out, with crafting events for DryNites and Hillary's and a lovely day at Butlins.

I spend a lot more time planning and writing blog posts than I do promoting them so I don't really spend a great deal of time on social media, but one social media channel that I've done really well with this year is Pinterest. I'm currently a featured pinner which has been amazing and has seen my follower count increase by an incredible amount. At the time of writing I have over 240,000 followers and it goes up by thousands each day. I've still to work out how best to use it to promote my blog though, I have far too much fun just using it to gather my own ideas and inspiration!

My most popular blog posts from 2014 are all ones that were written ages ago, and they are all based around seasonal crafts and activities. My most popular post this year by a long way has been How to make a Nativity Play Shepherd's costume from a pillowcase. If I'd known two years ago how popular it would be I would have taken more photographs of the outfit in progress!

Here's to a great 2015!