If "The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions" , then I must be teetering on the very edge of that fiery inferno.
In recent months a number of people have bestowed awards on me, to which I have not adequately responded. It has been my intention to reply to all and express my appreciation publicly. As a mere mortal who every now and then appreciates a pat on the back to say well done the awards go a long way to encourage me and spur me on to try harder. Thank you to all for honouring me in this way. I feel really awful for not replying sooner but time has not been on my side.
The move from South Africa has not been without its challenges, the most difficult of all being the financial consideration. The South African currency is approx R6 to one NZ $ and I had to convert my Rands to NZ $. Whilst I don't think NZ is that much more expensive than other countries I can't seem to shake the habit of converting all the prices to Rands and doing a comparison before purchasing anything.
When you earn local currency its a reasonable place to live, but when you use Rands then things get a tad expensive. I had to have some paintings framed the other day and the average cost was about $250 per frame.
These were not large paintings that had to be framed but I found it really expensive. That is the equivalent of about R1500 in South African currency. The same quality of framing there would probably only have cost about R500, so its about three times as much per frame. This all affects the sale price and I had to increase the prices drastically. The same applies to many other things I have had to purchase here.
Financial survival is paramount so I have had to concentrate my efforts on earning some local currency by selling my art here in NZ.. My blog has been running now for 8 months and if I consider the income earned for the time spent then my priority has to be focused on the traditional methods of selling my art.
My total income to date from blog adverts has been $899 from all sources including including AdSense, affiliates and click bank which amounts to a little over $100 per month. Whilst the extra income has been most welcome it does not pay the monthly bills.
I know there are many other sources of online income to explore, I read all about them every day when I do my entre card drops. I don't however have the time to fully explore all the options. During this time I have also managed to sell 2 paintings as a result of direct enquiries from my blog.
All said and done I am reasonably happy with my blogging results but have to keep a proper perspective on things and blogging has for now been relegated to second place in my busy life.
So there you have it!! I make time every day to drop 300 cards and will continue to do so as it is good for traffic and there are numerous blogs that I thoroughly enjoy reading which gives a bit of meaning to the ritual.
Today is one of those cold wet and miserable days here so my plans were changed and I am using this time to catch up on some blogging. As for following the rules of each award, this is often time consuming and when I do identify recipients I feel worthy of the award more often than not they already have it. I can't see the point of giving them the award again.
In recent months a number of people have bestowed awards on me, to which I have not adequately responded. It has been my intention to reply to all and express my appreciation publicly. As a mere mortal who every now and then appreciates a pat on the back to say well done the awards go a long way to encourage me and spur me on to try harder. Thank you to all for honouring me in this way. I feel really awful for not replying sooner but time has not been on my side.
The move from South Africa has not been without its challenges, the most difficult of all being the financial consideration. The South African currency is approx R6 to one NZ $ and I had to convert my Rands to NZ $. Whilst I don't think NZ is that much more expensive than other countries I can't seem to shake the habit of converting all the prices to Rands and doing a comparison before purchasing anything.
When you earn local currency its a reasonable place to live, but when you use Rands then things get a tad expensive. I had to have some paintings framed the other day and the average cost was about $250 per frame.
These were not large paintings that had to be framed but I found it really expensive. That is the equivalent of about R1500 in South African currency. The same quality of framing there would probably only have cost about R500, so its about three times as much per frame. This all affects the sale price and I had to increase the prices drastically. The same applies to many other things I have had to purchase here.
Financial survival is paramount so I have had to concentrate my efforts on earning some local currency by selling my art here in NZ.. My blog has been running now for 8 months and if I consider the income earned for the time spent then my priority has to be focused on the traditional methods of selling my art.
My total income to date from blog adverts has been $899 from all sources including including AdSense, affiliates and click bank which amounts to a little over $100 per month. Whilst the extra income has been most welcome it does not pay the monthly bills.
I know there are many other sources of online income to explore, I read all about them every day when I do my entre card drops. I don't however have the time to fully explore all the options. During this time I have also managed to sell 2 paintings as a result of direct enquiries from my blog.
All said and done I am reasonably happy with my blogging results but have to keep a proper perspective on things and blogging has for now been relegated to second place in my busy life.
So there you have it!! I make time every day to drop 300 cards and will continue to do so as it is good for traffic and there are numerous blogs that I thoroughly enjoy reading which gives a bit of meaning to the ritual.
Today is one of those cold wet and miserable days here so my plans were changed and I am using this time to catch up on some blogging. As for following the rules of each award, this is often time consuming and when I do identify recipients I feel worthy of the award more often than not they already have it. I can't see the point of giving them the award again.
Now back to the awards.
Sweet Home blog awards
I feel honoured that Louise from Island Wench feels that through my blog I have been able to share some of the beauty love and joy in the world around us with my readers.
Arte Y Pico Award
Thank you to SueEllen a talented Canadian whose fine art on the Creaky Easel has always inspired me.
My thanks also to Tink from the Netherlands whose site Tinkerbell always makes for some interesting reading.
My thanks also to Tink from the Netherlands whose site Tinkerbell always makes for some interesting reading.
The Brilliant Blog Award
To Durano from the Spitting Vessel, a site I try to make a point of visiting daily because of the brilliant writing and great content, thank you for honouring me this way.
The fashion site from California The Mommy and me Boutique whose array of beautiful aprons make being seen in the kitchen more exciting is worth checking out, thank you for this award.
"I Love Your Blog" award from Lea but unfortunately no link was left to help identify the site, or the actual award. My humble thanks for the award, it is always pleasing to know someone derives a bit of pleasure from my efforts.
Last but not least there are about 60 comments still to be published and attended to. The problem with procrastinating is that it compounds the work load and I must make an effort to attend to these daily. Thank you to all who have left comments I do appreciate them.
The fashion site from California The Mommy and me Boutique whose array of beautiful aprons make being seen in the kitchen more exciting is worth checking out, thank you for this award.
"I Love Your Blog" award from Lea but unfortunately no link was left to help identify the site, or the actual award. My humble thanks for the award, it is always pleasing to know someone derives a bit of pleasure from my efforts.
Last but not least there are about 60 comments still to be published and attended to. The problem with procrastinating is that it compounds the work load and I must make an effort to attend to these daily. Thank you to all who have left comments I do appreciate them.
10 comments:
That is quite a big amount to me. I wish I can have that every month. :)
It will sure solve part of my problem. Wishing more coming for you so that your bills can be covered too.
Congrats on ALL the very well deserved awards...all the best!!!
Hi Caroline,
Don't get overwhelmed. I know that everyone who bestowed you an award understands. That's how nice this internet world is. Perhaps we sensed that you were being mistreated and we heaped awards on you instead, to make those people realize what real talent and professionalism you have.
Go and attend to your financial objectives. We will always be here for you. Take care. :-) --Durano, done!
Congratulations on your awards, you deserve them. Happy Sunday.
congratulations on all the awards! You are certainly deserving of each of them!
We, your faithful visitors understand the issues you are dealing with right now and are content for the moment. I for one can't wait to see the art you produce in your new home. I know the bird life there is stunning and varied, so expect some dazzling works from you.
Get settled, get on with your life. Stop by and say hello when you have a moment.
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congratulations with your awards...
i hope i would earn even just one...
anyway,
i would like to invite you to my other blog: http://troubleshoot101.blogspot.com
it's about common computer issues and some troubleshooting steps we could do to fix them...
thank you and more power...
ingat po...
Congratulations on recieving so many awards. you have a nice blog and it is a tribute to your blogging skills.
I'm a Kiwi, but living in Australia, better weather and pay over here LOL. Beautiful blog - your pictures made me stop and look.
Its tough making money on the internet but you have real talent - not that I know anything about art I just find your stuff attractive: Have you thought about selling smaller pieces on trademe.co.nz ?
I'm been trying to make a living online for over a year now and its still only a few hundreds dollars/month - its going up slowly though every month so hopefully 1 day.
I don't paint but I do do embrodiery and framing is horribly expensive in NZ - no idea why. I'd suggest a framing class - save yourself a fortune and maybe do it as a sideline as there must be a huge profit margin in it!
Congrats for the award. It really showed that someone appreciated what you've done. And I think you deserved it. Keep it up!
congratulation keep the good work.
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