Before the Paparazzi - Mandy - Sugar Bee Crafts

Our first blogger up is Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts!  Welcome Mandy, can't wait to pick your brain, but before we do, let's get to know Mandy a little better.  I stole this from her 'About Me'.  Shhh don't tell.

Mandy is a stay at home mom with a degree in Sociology, she has four amasing kids, ages 2,4,6 and 8. Her and the hubby have been married 9 years.  He even funds her fabric splurges and has taken apart her sewing maching to clean and oil it.  She has always loved crafts and sewing.  Her latest hobby is photography.

Let me tell you, she is crafty, check out her tutorial page, she a ton of fun things to teach you.  Tuesdays she has a party where you can show off what you do, Take A Look Tuesday.  

Here are a couple examples of her craftiness.

 Check out her play room.

And this cute shirred pillow case dress.

On to her questions and answers.

Thanks Mandy for helping us newbie's navagate the blog world!  I really appreciate your insight!

What have you learned when it comes to the mechanics of blogging that you didn’t know right away as a newbie?

It's great to blog ahead - (I need to remember my own advice!) - that way you don't have to write a post each night - just write several and be set. Things go smoother that way. It might also be beneficial to have a schedule - for example, I have a link party every Tuesday and a show-off every Wednesday - not only to readers know what to expect, but I know what my post is going to be about so I don't have to think about what I should do for that day.

What have you learned as far as reaching new readers?

I started gaining a lot of new readers through link-ups. I would link up my projects and they would find my blog that way. I'm sure you could link up to 10+ blogs a day - sometimes it seems like a hassle, but just think of all the new readers you're reaching! It gets really great when you get featured on link-ups - even now, I get so excited when I see someone feature me - blogging high! Along those lines it's great to guest post on other blogs and reach people that way.

What advice would you give to newbies?

You have to love what you're doing! I started my craft blog just as a place to show-off my projects. I loved to show them to the world - and it grew from there. I would still blog even with 50 followers - I just love doing it!

Who has influenced you most and been a resource to you?

There's not one specific person, but I am definitely influenced by the craft blog world - it's not just me so I have to watch all the other blogs and see what's going on and who's doing what. Comment on other blogs - real comments, not just canned ones - and get to know who else is out there in the craft blog world.

What tricks and tips can you give us?

I have no tips! I'm still learning as I go! When I can't figure things out, I google it (from HTML stuff to advertising and everything in between) - there's so much information out there, so just search for what you need. If someone has a trick to add more time to the day so I can get blog stuff done, let me know!

What do you think your readers most like to read about?

Tutorials! I guess that's what I like to read about the most, so I figure that's what everyone else likes too - I love seeing how to do something and thinking "Hey, I can do that!"

Mandy, thanks so much, for taking the time to help out us 'newbies!'
Don't forget to stop by Hyphen Interiors, Kristy's guest blogger this week is Andrea from Oakridge Revival.