Hello there - blogging has taken a back seat recently because I've been busy linking! Have mentioned in earlier posts that I had not got a clue about how to do it. Now, thanks to help given by a fellow Etsian - CuffandCollar (www.Etsy.com/shop/CuffandCollar) - I've finally got the hang of "Liking" etc and have been taking a lot of action along the lines he recommended. He gave me about a dozen sites on which to log for starters, and I've since gone to several others I've found along the line. Have left messages on their Facebook pages in particular. Thanks a million CuffandCollar: am looking forward to seeing the effect that more folks are being plagued by me is going to have!
Not only have I been doing that, but I've also been reading more of other folks' blogs: particularly those from Scoutie Girl, who posts to me daily. As a result I commented/followed (again on Facebook) with nOelle.com who specialises in helping dilly folks like me to communicate about their businesses. Was terribly fortunate here, because the day after we made initial contact, she very kindly featured ColdhamCuddlies shop and this blog on her own blog - giving me some very constructive hints as to how I can improve this blog. The subject of her blog (www.nOelle.com) that caught my eye was the need for self-empowerment for us newbies on the internet: and boy has she given me a boost - am still terrified of what will happen when I get going, but so far with the linking, my confidence is gaining ground! Whatever happens, I'm deeply grateful to Noelle for the help to date - and her invitation to return if I need to consult! Have a feeling, I'll be doing so before too long!
Now to the updates promised in today's title: Miss Prim Fox was listed in the shop at www.Etsy.com/coldhamcuddlies yesterday: her listing is #75340524, and while I was at it, I renewed all the Foxes/Coyotes section at the same time. Visiting the shop a little while ago, Miss Prim has already been favourited by one person! Not bad going for a new girl, is it?
Talking about the Coyotes: there's been some news in the local newspaper, The Warminster Journal, this week about the Wylie Coyotes and a picture appeared in the edition of Charlie Coyote celebrating the fact that the After School Club had scooped a Healthy Eating prize after winning the Improving Healthy Eating in Children, Young People and Adults competition. The award ceremony took place at Salisbury City Hall last month and the competition is being run by Wiltshire Health and Wellbeing Partnership. The Club provides a home-cooked evening meal every evening for the children who attend, as well as a safe area in which to wait for parents to return home after work. Will include a scanned item (like the other item included in the blog last month) once I've got permission from Kate Brayne the Coyotes Manager. It is an even better picture of Charlie Coyote, who is very much in the foreground in this one!
Then a couple of days ago, I received a message from Mrs. B-P from Saudi Arabia. Apparently the Hairy Bear she ordered to be posted to Portsmouth arrived safely, is adored by his new one-year old friend, who cuddles him, says "aw........" and cannot get enough of him! So glad - it's nice to have such a satisfied customer - and I've been assured that the Saudi Arabian contact will be continued later in the year and there may even be a picture of Hairy Bear and chum to prove the new friendship as well!
Right - I've babbled enough tonight. Am going to print off Noelle's comments and recommended improvements and will begin to apply them to both the shop and the blog. Just hope that I'd don't lose some of the Archive in the process, but then Noelle's introductory article to our association was all about self-empowerment, wasn't it? Taking a deep breath.......results, good hopefully, soon!
Oh, and finally - a friend was visiting the other day and took some photos of Cy Bear, Miss Prim and I. Some now appear as profile illustrations at the shop (www.Etsy.com/coldhamcuddlies) and on my Facebook page, as well as on Google. Makes a change from the originals! It also explains the lack of action on the blog too, hopefully.
Bye for now. Isobel
After 50 years making Toys, describing how they are made and sold on www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES; plus histories of toys owned, met with or restored: plus odds and ends, as they occur.
