YOU Can Help Fund Kristy's Quilt

I ran across a neat opportunity that I had to share. If you're looking for a heartwarming quilt-related gift for a child or grandchild, look no further! Brandy Lynn Maslowski, the host of CanadianQuilt Talk, is making a move to get her children’s picture book, Kristy’s Quilt, published and in the hands and hearts of quilters and children everywhere.  

Kristy's Quilt, perfect for ages 2-92, is a heartwarming quilt adventure based on a true story about 10-year-old Kristy, a spunky little quilter who blossoms at the In Stitches Quilting Retreat.

You can help fund Kristy's Quilt through the Kristy’s Quilt Kickstarter campaign, which runs February 14 through March 14, 2014. And just what is Kickstarter? Well, it's a site that allows supporters of the project (like you) to fund the book in exchange for early bird copies and other fantastic rewards. Basically, if you back the project for $20 or more you’ll be one of the first people on earth to get a copy of the book in your hands this spring. You can choose any level of funding from $5 and up for all kinds of great rewards including bookmarks, softcover or hardcover copies, a doll quilt made by Brandy herself, and more. And most importantly, once the book is in your hands, you’ll be able to share your love of quilting with a child.

So why don't you join me in helping fund Kristy's Quilt? Simply visit KRISTY’S QUILT PROJECT. I know I'm looking forward to my early bird copy! And thanks for sharing the heritage of quilting with a child. Also, you can connect with Brandy Lynn at www.BrandyLynnDesigns.com. 

How to Have a Full Life

I so enjoy the email newsletter I get from Morna McEver Golletz each week. She always has helpful info and an interesting story to share. A recent newsletter contained the following food for thought:

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Creative Arts Professionals where creative arts entrepreneurs craft business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a FREE subscription at http://www.creativeartsprofessionals.com.

ManageWP Helps Make Life Simpler!

Over the years, I've acquired a bit of online real estate. In addition to this blog, I have several more and also several websites. It's gotten to the point that I often can't even remember what all I have and it's become such a confusing mess that I'm desperate for a solution that will actually simplify my life rather than just add yet another layer of complexity.

So...is there an answer? Well, maybe there is.

I've long yearned for a simple way to manage my various WordPress blogs/sites, each of which has distinct login info to keep track of and type in every time I want to post or do maintenance. With just one or two, no problem - get three or more and it starts to be an annoying, time-sucking hassle. I like the way Blogger has a single dashboard with all my blogs hosted here available in one spot. Imagine my delight when I found out last week that there are options available to similarly manage multiple WordPress sites, too.

WordPress Multisite

Apparently, newer WordPress versions include a feature called Multisite. According to the glossary at WordPress.org:

"Multisite is a feature of WordPress 3.0 and later versions that allows multiple virtual sites to share a single WordPress installation. When the multisite feature is activated, the original WordPress site can be converted to support a network of sites."

Sounds great for the techies out there but not for me - I want simpler and just thinking about creating a network of sites supported by one site gives me a headache.

Finding Other WordPress Management Options

In my quest for a simple WordPress management solution, I typed "manage wordpress blogs" into a search engine and came up with lots of options! Why didn't I think of this years ago? Well, in my defense, these solutions are relatively new so wouldn't have been available back then... but still...

Instead of trying to figure out all the details of each option myself, I read some comparison posts, such as:

• WordPress Management Tools Faceoff: ManageWP vs InfiniteWP vs WP Remote
• 5 Tools for Managing Multiple WordPress Sites from One Location

and a few reviews, such as:

• InfiniteWP Review: BEWARE
• Why I’m Quitting ManageWP for InfiniteWP

In the end, I settled on the free account at ManageWP, which allows me to manage up to five WordPress blogs/sites at no cost (scroll down - there really is a no-cost option). And why did I choose ManageWP over the others? Mostly because my research indicated it was the one I was least likely to find frustrating. And so far, so good! I now have one dashboard from which I can access each blog and there are even things I can do to any or all of them from that single location. I'm loving the simplicity and am now a happy camper!

The Truth About Closed Doors

"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

 ~ Alexander Graham Bell