About this time bloggers are rolling out their ‘Best of’s‘ for 2012. I was just sitting here preparing my own ‘best of’ post, clicking away at the keys about what I learned, how much I grew… yada yada yada. Then I realized…

I learned a lot from my success’s… but I learned a mega-ton from my misses too!

I mean COME ON… sometimes when you dive in with both feet, you just get wet!

So I highlighted and deleted whole paragraphs at a time completely dismantling my post and quickly changed the title too….

‘THE WORST OF 2012′

Why not!! No sense just celebrating all the posts that were tops…. let’s closely examine the ones that were flops too. The worst refers to the least amount of hits according to the stats.

We’ll look at 3 posts starting with my 3rd worst and then we’ll examine what nugget of wisdom I uncovered from them… this will be good for a laugh, ready?

3rd Runner Up

Summer Garden Tips

What the….??? How can THIS be in my top 3? I’m a craft / garden blogger for crying out loud! I KNOW this stuff…I’ve been gardening since I was a kid, I’m educated in horticulture….I’ve ran a bloody business in garden design….for like 7 years! This was a great post with ton’s of helpful tips. What in Sam Hill happened here?

Simple….bad timing.

I posted this August 6th, I know all too well from being in the industry that not a whole lot of gardening is going on in the very mid of summer.

People are on vacation, they aren’t working in their yards, their BBQ’ing in them!

Who’s all that concerned about their grass when there’s a game of Bocce ball going on. Heck, if people even remember to water their hanging baskets on a daily basis that would be a miracle…it’s SUMMER!

Now if I included a recipe for the best short ribs ever or an icy cool treat, then this post may have ranked higher on the list and Laundering Money ( another great post about homemade laundry detergent…if I do say so myself! ) would have made the top 3 instead.

There were other factors at play that may have contributed to the less than stellar performance of this post. In August I begin the task of turning Potters Nursery into a Christmas Store. My mind is very engaged at this time and my usual routine of blog partying and social media blitzing is put on the back burner. So what did I learn here?

Lesson: Don’t waste time and energy putting a lot of work into a post that you are not going to get out in a timely matter when people are looking for it. Good content or not, it’s bound to fail.

2nd Runner Up

Jewelry Tree Stand

Oh come on! This was brilliant… all recycled materials, cute little pot….. it’s even made from a REAL tree for Pete’s sake people! I don’t care, I love it and I use it everyday. It works great….just as long as I prop it up against the wall, it only topples over once in awhile.

Lesson: Just because I think it rocks doesn’t mean that other people will…..nothing to get upset about. Keep calm and carry on.

And the winner is….

Mini Chalkboard Memo Slats

Ok, I know…. it’s pretty bad. Go ahead, laugh. I’m still shaking my head, even a little embarrassed to share it. I made these for Valentines day in a desperate attempt to post something for this Hallmark holiday. You won’t even find a link to this one as I left it behind on my old blog. ( You may have noticed the watermark on #3 that says Sew and Dipity, my reason for changing this one little vowel is explained here. )

Why such a crappy craft? I don’t know, I guess I was feeling pressured to produce some content because everyone else was doing it.

Lesson: Don’t post something your not proud of just because you feel you need to push content. I get busy…blogging is only a part of my life. It reflects my creative endeavors and if I didn’t get time to do something I enjoyed creating, then I won’t sweat it.

So I promise not to let BGS- Bloggers Guilt Syndrome, cloud my otherwise good judgement by putting out crap and calling it content. Pinkie swear.

There you have it, the Good, the Bad and the downright Ugly of this past year. Now that we’ve explored The Worst of 2012, be sure to check back tomorrow when I release my bestest, proudest, posts of the year.

And if you actually came by to read this post about “The Worst Of 2012″….please leave a comment so that I can thank you personally. I’m SERIOUS!!

Cheers,

6 Responses to The Worst of 2012

1. Thanks for this Shelley! I think all three are cute. I agree with you about not posting something unless you truly love it just to have something to post. Although some of the things I LOVED last year totally flopped. Go figure!

   Happy 2013!

   • Ha ha, thanks Anne! Yes I picked my worse 3, but I did have some other projects that ranked way lower than I would have expected. Sometimes you think you got something great and for whatever reason…the response is just not there and sometimes your pleasantly surprised by the success of a silly little craft that just goes off like stink

2. thanks for this post, it’ll help out when I start my blog in the new year. And by the way, I am sorry I didn’t comment on the memo one, I am new to your blog and it’s awkward for me to comment on older posts because of the length of time that went by…

   • Lol..I actually made a couple more of the chalkboard memo slats in better colors and they look cute nestled into my houseplants..but the pink one, yeesh Have fun with your blog Marie…you’ll find your biggest fandom will come from other bloggers, start interacting, partying and commenting away…and you will have a great support group in no time!

3. Hi Shelley, this was pretty funny to read! I think I should do one myself. I particularly resonated with the Valentines Day craft. I made a corn husk door swag that looked, well, a bit x-rated, so I pulled it down in a day. Yikes!

   • Thanks Stephanie…I think, lol. I was surprised at how many hits this post actually got! Glad it makes people chuckle