Tag: year in review

A Look Back at 2016, According to the Stats

Posted on December 30, 2016 by Mama

It’s always fun to revisit the past year and see how it all shaped up, because I’m always so surprised to see which posts were popular according to the stats that be. I can definitely say that most of the posts that are my favorite rarely rank high in terms of traffic, but those simple surprises make year-end tracking so interesting.

So as the year comes to an end, I’m taking a look back at 2016 and Small Talk Mama’s top posts according to you, the readers. Interestingly enough, several of the posts making the list were not even written this year. I hope you enjoy the recap and I hope to see you again in the new year!

Happy 2017!

#12 A Real Mom’s Kitchen — Katie D. Claims Her Calm

Today we are visiting Katie D’s kitchen. I’ve known Katie for a couple of years now, but I had never seen her gorgeous kitchen until the morning I walked in with my notepad and camera. Katie is one of those gals who seems to have so much going on in her world, but never appears dazed, nor confused (hmmm. . . I’m not liking Katie very well right now). No, seriously, she is actually just one of those relaxed moms who will pour you a cup of coffee, grab a bar stool and chat about anything from preschool to Play-Doh.

homemade seed cake

#11 Wildlife Flock to Homemade Seed Cakes

So yesterday morning I pulled out one of my homemade seed cakes I made and stored last year and hung it outside the house. After a couple of hours about town, we came home to oodles of squirrels and a variety of birds already partaking of this tasty treat. My little guy and I sat for quite some time just watching them scramble for the food (and I felt terrible that I hadn’t hung it out sooner).

garage-door-designer-door-view

#10 Test Drive Your Garage Door Design

If you don’t know where to start when it comes to your garage door design, take a look at this great site I found by Overhead Door where you can upload your house photo and basically test drive garage doors of all colors, shapes, windows and price points. You can even print your design with specifications, which makes comparison shopping so easy.

pavers

#9 Build a Weed Wackless Flower Bed Border

I don’t remember where I originally saw this idea, but I’m so glad I did. I just created a large flower bed along the front of the house using “stone” pavers, but I set them into the ground just a bit so that the wheels of the lawn mover roll right across the top, virtually eliminating the need to trim along the edge. (Yes, honey, you may thank me, again.)

Iantern

#8 Mad for Plaid at Home for Christmas

Plaid is absolutely the bomb right now. . . wait a minute, I don’t think “the bomb” is the bomb right now, but eh, I’m going with it anyway. If you are as mad for plaid as I am, I have an easy and affordable way to add this colorful tartan to your holiday décor.

rustic wreath

#7 Industrial Whimsy Equals Spring Rustic Wreath

When I saw this old rusty thing in the antique store, I just knew it would make a cute wreath, and with a little help from Mom (she’s the most awesome bow maker I know) and a few adders from Michaels (all on sale), we came up with this super cute Easter wreath that brings a bit of whimsy to this industrial find.

This list is getting rather lengthy, so I think I’ll stop here for tonight and post the top six tomorrow. I know the suspense is unbearable. *grin*

My Top Crafty Card Picks of 2015

Posted on December 31, 2015December 30, 2015 by Mama

Today I’m sharing a throwback post to my days of creating cards for Operation Write Home. It became a yearly tradition to pick your favorite cards of the year and post them to an OWH new year’s blog hop; but alas, OWH has closed its doors and I’m left to my own devices. So here’s my personal walk down this year’s card crafting lane. I hope you enjoy my personal picks (in no certain order).

Firefly Dreams
I really like the simplicity of this card and how it became a farewell to summer for me. The paper and the lightning bugs just capture the season.

Washi, Pleats and Butterfly Feats
This card answered an OWH sketch challenge and turned out to be quite a colorful and multi-textured creation. I just recently sent it to my niece in college, and apparently it arrived at just the right time.

Colorful Marine Critters for OWH
These cute little cards were designed with kids in mind and were submitted to OWH as part of an Our Daily Bread Designs monthly challenge. I enjoyed playing with my Spectrum Noire markers to color these cute little critters.

Cozy Lodge Christmas Cards
This was one of only a few Christmas cards I made this year. I quickly discovered that my creative time was at a premium and focused on a few different things for the season. Even so, I was really pleased with how this card and its companion piece turned out.

adirondackcard1

“Down Home” Card Answers Sketch Challenge
This card was created for a Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge, and I really like the worn and tattered feel I created with all the different elements. I don’t normally do many patriotic cards, so this was a fun project.

Small Talk’s Top Posts of 2015

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Mama

As the year rapidly comes to an end, it’s always fun to see where the last year took us and how my blogging life was received. After the complete meltdown of Small Talk Mama the fall before, I was forced to make some decisions about the future of my little space of bloggy bliss; and after much deliberation, a false-start and returning to my first love, Small Talk Mama was reborn (slowly) and is still in the repairing process. I continually discover old posts that simply vanished forever, and I’m just so sure those were some of my best stuff.

Okay, enough wound licking. . . let’s get on to my best posts of 2015. These are not necessarily my favorite items, but now that’s why statistics exist. Here are the top five most visited posts of the year and although I find a couple of them surprising, I’m just going with it and hopefully learning a lesson or two. If you see something you missed, I hope you will give it a visit before we move on to 2016.

#5: Secret Subject Swap — Mike Rowe, Come Clean My Dreamcatcher
This was a post for Baking in a Tornado’s monthly Secret Subject Swap. You just never know what subject I will be writing about when it comes to these posts, but surprisingly it’s a lot of fun. This particular subject started out as one of my least favorites, but ended up being a lot of fun.

#4: My Saltine Packin’ Sister’s Spicy Ranch Crackers
My sister arrived for a visit one day toting these highly addictive and super delicious homemade crackers. While she was here, we made two more batches and a family favorite was quickly born.

#3: Cozy Lodge Christmas Cards
I created a couple of cards using some new Cozy Lodge Christmas paper and submitted them to Cards In Envy’s weekly challenge. To my joy, I won the top “First-Class” award for that week’s theme, which was a first for me.

#2: DASANI Drops — Delicious Anywhere, Anytime
Talk about a surprise! This was a sponsored post for DASANI Infusions that flavor basic bland water into something more enjoyable. It was a lot of fun trying out the different flavored drops; and in fact, I have several cans of DASANI sparkling water in my fridge right now. So I guess my little trial worked. . . for at least one person in the world.

Top Post of 2015: Mad for Plaid at Home for Christmas
This was a fun little post for a blog hop hosted by Country Living and Hometalk. It showcased just a few of the ways I used plaid fabric throughout my home for Christmas. Next year, I promise to start decorating early so that I can take some better photos, but first I have to take down all of the current holly and jolly. *sigh*

Iantern

photo credit: Sparkler / Wunderkerze II via photopin (license)