Top 10 Posts of 2016

Hi Everyone! It’s great to be back on the blog again. Today, I’m sharing with you the Top 10 Posts of 2016.

But first, I want to say ‘thank you’ for visiting. Your interest in this blog is incredibly humbling and only encourages me to continue to grow as a crafter and style enthusiast and to share all that I can with all of you. In fact, I cannot imagine creating without sharing – which is why this blog is such an integral part of my creative thinking. Just knowing that there are others, like me, who love to create and make a real ‘nest’ of their homes only motivates me further to share a piece of me with all of you 🙂

But before we begin a whole new year of ‘creating, decorating, and prettifying,’ I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the most popular posts of 2016. Based on the list below, you’ll see that there was an OVERWHELMING interest in the art of weaving. It’s one of those age-old crafts that has received a recent resurgence among creatives and crafters alike. And, I can’t blame them. It is incredibly addictive. But there were also a few non-weaving posts that made it into the top 10 list – including one that really surprised me (more on that later).

So, without further ado, let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? And, who knows? – maybe your favourite made it onto the list.

1.  HOW TO MAKE A BASIC LOOM

By far the most popular post of the year, this DIY came out of my desire to have a loom that could be versatile enough for small-to-medium sized projects. I also knew that I didn’t need anything fancy and did not want to go out and purchase an expensive loom. In fact, with the exception of the nails I used as pegs along the top and bottom, I had all of the rest of the supplies at home.

2.  DIY WEAVING TECHNIQUES:  5 SIMPLE WAYS TO ADD TEXTURE

This weaving came out of a desire to add something fun and textural into our living room. Although it is #2 on the blog, it has had the most pins on Pinterest – and it’s still making the rounds!

3.  CRAFT CORNER DREAMS

Okay, so this particular post’s popularity surprised me the most. I wrote it after deciding to, once and for all, begin planning my craft area in the basement. It is such a hassle to be hauling things up and down the stairs (I currently craft on my dining room table) and so, I began daydreaming about my future craft corner. I suspect that many of you have the same dilemma and, perhaps, you too hope to carve out an area of your own. Well, I’ll keep you posted on my progress very soon!

4.  FEATURED BLOGGER:  AN INTERVIEW WITH KATE FROM ‘THE WEAVING LOOM’

I first encountered Kate on Pinterest. I was so excited to see another weaver sharing her tips and tricks – though she is much further along in her weaving journey than I am. I just knew I wanted to pick her brain about weaving – and this is how the idea came about for interviewing her on the blog. She is such an inspiration!

5.  DIY MINI FRAMED WEAVING

This project came out of a desire to create a textured art piece that wasn’t too fussy. While I love the ‘fringy-ness’ of traditional wall weavings, I wanted to have something that could integrate easily into a gallery wall or as a single piece of art without drawing too much attention to it. It’s moved around in my Great Room quite a bit, but was most recently tucked away to make room for Christmas decor. Who knows where it might pop up next 😉

6.  DIY WOVEN COASTERS

Possibly the cutest little weaving project I’ve done to date, I loved making these coasters. The idea for them came after I decided to get a couple of coasters for our guest bedroom. And since I love making coasters (you can see some of my other coaster projects, here and here) then it was not much of a stretch for me to decide to weave them. And I made them the simplest way possible – without a loom – using material available in my home.

7.  HOW TO DIY A WOVEN PILLOW

I have to say, this was a bit of a headache to make. While I am in love with the final results, it took forever to create. If you look closely, I used a thin, worsted weight yarn, creating a lovely tight weave, but boy oh boy, this labour of love was more labour than love – at least while making it. That said, I am thinking of making another woven pillow in the future! I can’t help myself 🙂

8.  3 MINI WEAVINGS, 2 TECHNIQUES

This was purely a fun project with no real planning other than to create some cute mini weavings 🙂

9.  10 TIPS FOR A LOVELY LIVING ROOM LAYOUT

Finally, another non-weaving post! This is only the second design/decorating post to make it into the top 10 (that is, if you count my ‘craft corner dreams’ post in that category). If you’re like me, you are always interested in how others space plan and decorate their homes. I am always up for reading a good post that contains all the tips and tricks that bloggers use to create a cozy and comfortable space.

10.  HOW TO CREATE WHITEWASH ABSTRACT ART

This last post almost didn’t make it into the blog. In fact, the photos I used were taken well before I began blogging. At the time, I took several photos with my husband’s iPhone documenting the process. I think, however, that the blog was only a glint in my eye at the time. Several months later, I decided to frame this piece and even blogged about it (see “How To Frame Canvas Art”).

There ends my top 10 posts for 2016.  Did your favourite make it onto the list?

Until next time, happy crafting, DIY’ing and decorating 🙂

 

For more craft, DIY and home style ideas from around the web, see the following link parties: Family Joy Link Up, Best Friday Features, Snickerdoodle Create-Bake-Make, Craft Schooling Sunday,  Sweet Inspiration and Inspiration Spotlight.