Saturday 2 July 2016

This Funny Old Hobby of Mine...



It's a funny old world, the world of blogging. A world where people wear their hearts on their sleeves, where friendships blossom between people who've never met, where creativity runs rife. The blogging community was one I landed in accidentally. I'd been blogging away for about 5 years before I realised there were a whole bunch of other bloggers out there who were like-minded, super-friendly and hugely creatively inspiring. I have learnt so much from women all over the country sharing their lives, sharing their expertise, sharing their friendship.

Gathering together, last weekend, with hundreds of bloggers from all over the country, was a wonderful opportunity to pick the brains of some of my blogging heroines who have now become firm friends. It's lovely to realise that the people behind the blogs are just as genuinely lovely in real life as they are in the world of social media, and I had a great time having fun and picking the brains of some of the most inspiring bloggers I know. I was sad that the lovely Rachel from The Ordinary Lovely had to pull out at the last minute, but Lucy from Dear Beautiful, Katie from Mummy Daddy Me and others made sure I wasn't hovering around like a lost soul for the day!

Aside from the ground-level conversations that took place, the highlight for me was Jennie Maizel's Sketchbook Club... a whole session set aside for learning the tips and tricks of sketching from a hugely talented illustrator. I'm not sure how it will really help me on the blogging front, but it was such a fun and inspiring session, and I'll certainly use it in journaling, scrapbooking and another little project I have under my belt (more on that to follow!)

The session was so much fun... and while my sketch was nowhere near as good as any of hers, I felt kind of proud of it!


It was a great day... my second time to Britmums Live and such a different experience. It was so nice to walk in and recognise a few faces and not be meeting people for the very first time, it was lovely to be able to relax a little bit more and not feel I had to go to every single session. It was lovely to get plenty of baby cuddles, and meet new people.

So here are some of the lovely ladies I had the pleasure of hanging out with last Saturday, and their blogs in case you're after some new reads!

Lucy @ Dear Beautiful
Katie @ Mummy Daddy Me
Jenny @ Lets Talk Mommy
Kerri-Ann @ Life as Our Little Family
Esther @ Inside Out And About
Lucy @ Capture By Lucy
Natalie @ Little Jam Pot Life
Sophie @ Mumology
Fritha @ Tigerlilly Quinn

and so many more! It's a funny old thing, this blogging hobby... but it has enriched my life in so many ways! Here's to blogging friends!

5 comments:

  1. Lovely post Claire. I'm so glad you were brave enough to put on your big girl pants and go! That sketching session sounds and looks fab! I would love to have a go at something like that. x

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  2. It was so lovely to get to know you better; I loved spending the day chatting with you. I just wish I'd made it to that sketching session, it really did sound so good. x

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  3. It was lovely to meet you briefly! Sorry if I seemed pre occupied with baby. I found it so hard with a pram and feeding and nappy changes. It was quite overwhelming and tiring for me, but I enjoyed it anyway. The sketchbook session looks like it was fun! Wish I'd got to that as I adore drawing! X

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  4. I'm so sad to have missed all the fun. I followed along online but it wasn't quite the same :(

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  5. Oh envy envy to the sketchbook club session! I was so sorry to miss catching up with you in person but I couldn't swing two weekends in a row away from the family - I'm so glad it was fun :)

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