Virtual Tour of the Website Remodel!

Hey y’all! In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been doing a little virtual remodeling! Earlier this year I hit the 3 year mark for my website & decided it needed a little sprucing up. I’m still working some things out, but I thought I’d give y’all the virtual tour & point out some new features. Let’s take a look!

New Menus

One of the first things I want to point out during this virtual tour is the new menu structure. The old menus were just for sewing, crochet, life lived, & DIY. Things were kind of lumped together under those topics. I wanted it to be easier for y’all to find things, so I reorganized the menus & made lists with more specific topics.

I’m going to share with you what these new menus & sub-categories are about below. If you’re viewing this on a PC or laptop, these menus are right up under the “Teadoddles” logo at the top of the page. For those viewing on a phone or tablet, there will be a “menu” button at the top left of the screen. When you click on it, you’ll see a list of all the menus & sub-categories.

Home

The home menu only has two sub-categories, About Me & Free Adult Coloring Pages. The About Me page will tell you a little bit more about me & why I started my blog. The Free Adult Coloring Pages can only be accessed if you’re a subscriber. You should have received a password for the page when you signed up for the newsletter. If you did not, please let me know & I will send it to you. Here’s an example of one of the coloring sheets you’ll find there. All drawn by me! : )

Life Lived

This menu has the things that don’t really fit into any of the crafty menus. You’ll find ~>

• Life Stories – posts I’ve written about my personal life happenings
• Teadoddles Talks – interviews with crafty people I’ve met
• Favorites Roundups – you’ll find posts with favorites lists here – crafty stuff & life stuff
• My Thyca Journey – a story about my experience with thyroid cancer
• Thyroid Cancer Information – a roundup of information about thyroid cancer
• Podcast Show Notes – show notes & links for my YouTube podcasts

Fabric Obsessed

You may have guessed that this menu is where you’ll find all the posts about fabric! I use this title for the segment in my podcast where I talk about new fabrics, what I’m sewing, & sewing related things. It seemed perfect for this menu title as well! Here’s how I divided it up ~>

• Clothes Making – making clothes and altering clothes
• General Sewing – organizing fabric, sewing tips, & sewing related things
• Quilting – quilt patterns, finished quilts, and such
• Home Decor – pillows, cushion covers, baskets, etc.

Yarny Goodness

Originally this category was just called crochet, but I realized I do more with yarn than just crochet. Another title borrowed from my podcast! ; )

• Crocheting – crochet patterns, finished objects, etc.
• Knitting – only one post about me learning to knit, but more will be coming!
• Fun with Fiber – weaving, using yarn for art, organizing yarn, etc.

Thrifty Fun

I called this menu Thrifty Fun because it’s about doing it yourself! I’m thinking about breaking up the DIY section more, but I’m still thinking on that.

• DIY – painting, home repairs, thrifty scores, etc.
• Gardening – my older posts about the gardening I used to do, ha ha!
• Organize & Clean – organizing tips & cleaning tips
• Holidays – makes & decor for all kinds of holidays
• Recipes – meals, desserts, snacks, etc.

Shop

I’m still working on this menu, but there is an affiliate page listed under it currently. That page lists all my affiliates for the blog. It really needs to be updated! I’m working on a Shop my Favorites page to add as well, which will include a link to my Etsy shop. There’s also a button in the sidebar for my Etsy shop.

Make Alongs

Look under this menu to find current & past make alongs. I’ve also put a section for the monthly roundups I used to do.

• 2019 Maker’s Finish Along – challenges for maker’s of all kinds, finishing UFOs, & prizes
• Merry Christmas Sew Along – make along from 2017 & 2018 with Christmas ornament sewing & embroidery patterns
• Monthly Roundups – I used to do a monthly roundup that included all the things I did during the month. When I started the podcast, I felt like it was becoming a bit redundant!

So, what do y’all think? Do you think these will make it easier to find what you’re looking for? I also put a search box right at the top of the sidebar {top right of screen on a phone} to help find what you’re looking for. These menus are still a work in progress, so if you see something in a menu that seems out of place just let me know. : )

New Newsletter

I used to do blog posts about 3 times a week. Monday was for the fiber arts, Wednesday was for DIY & Gardening, & Friday was for Life Lived posts. There were about 4 or 5 options for receiving posts based on what you wanted to see. Since I do videos for my YouTube channel, sew for my Etsy shop, & have more teaching hours this has been hard to keep up with!

Currently I’m aiming for at least one post a week on whatever day I can do it. I’ve changed my subscriber options to either receiving all the posts as they come out plus my new newsletter or just the newsletter. The newsletter will tell a little about my life that week, have links to all blog posts & videos from the week, & have links to fun things I’ve spotted around the web. The first one goes out this Saturday evening & I’m super excited for y’all to see it!

I hope y’all will take a moment to check out the new layout & tell me what you think. If there’s something you would like to see in future posts, feel free to share that too! I’ve found some series that kind of got lost in the shuffle & plan to pick those back up soon. Hope y’all have a wonderful weekend!