New Year's Resolution: Redefining myself, my brand and my blog.

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I've had various drafts of this post sitting here on blogger, unpublished, for quite some time now. You see, I tend to ramble a lot when I write  and that is completely contrary to the New Year's resolutions I am trying to outline here!

2012 has been a strange year for me. There have been ups and downs, and I feel like I've both accomplished very little and quite a lot at the same time, if that is even possible! Starting this blog and my small business selling handmade goods last August has definitely been a highlight, however I feel as though there is much I need to do this year in terms of redefining myself, my blog and my brand, in order to be successful.

First thing is first,

My Goals For Me:

This year I am moving out of home, starting uni and will be living with my boyfriend for the first time ever (sleepovers every night totally don't count, do they?). All these things are happening all at once (like, this month, eek!) and they are the mark of a completely new chapter in my life. I am completely terrified of what this will bring, and so thought I'd lay down a few resolutions/guidelines to help me through the transition period:

• Be smart with my money - This is important because I have never had bills or rent to pay before, or had to buy my own groceries, and I tend to be a frivolous shopper. I'm hoping to set down a good budget and stick to it throughout 2013.
• Get organised - I am a slob by nature, a mad procrastinator and an absolute stress-head! To get through this year I am going to need a schedule and list for literally everything! I have never had to do so much for myself as I will be doing this year, and to keep up with study, work, my blog and my household I will need to be as organised as possible!
• Be motivated - Typical New Year's Resolution, right? Well, for me, not really! You see, I am currently struggling with my health big time and have battled fatigue all year as a part of my health problems. No diagnosis as yet, but the doctors are thinking lupus, so to be motivated enough to keep up with the lifestyle I will have this year will be a big challenge, and I may have to take baby steps to get there!
• Be myself - This probably sounds kind of silly, but I am someone who has been bullied for most of my life, so having the confidence to be myself, to wear what I want to wear (ahem, vintage!), and do what I want to do is a big thing for me. This year my confidence has absolutely sky rocketed and I'm hoping that I can get to at least 98% happy with who I am by the end of 2013!

This photoshoot is one of the things that has boosted my confidence this year. I'm hoping to model more in 2013, even if only for friends!

My Goals For This Blog

Starting this blog has been one of the best things I've done in 2012, and I'm really hoping that I can make some success out of my writing this year, but to do that there are a few things I need to change, so hopefully these resolutions will lead me to a brighter blogging future in 2013!

• Get focused - When I first started this blog it was supposed to be all about my latest obsession - sewing. It didn't take me long to realise, however, that I do not sew nearly enough to focus a whole blog on the topic, nor do I know enough about it, being a beginner, to write about it in an informative and sophisticated manner. That is why I am working to redefine this blog and what it stands for in 2013. There will be a new layout and a new redefined focus of (broader) DIY, vintage and my soon-to-be-launched etsy shop coming to my blog soon.
• Get organised - Yes, my organisation problems spread to blog-land too! I feel at the moment like I am not nearly as inspired as I could be, nor am I a consistent blogger, and I really feel as though getting organised with my blogging will help to change that. This means jotting down post ideas, having specific focus areas (outlined above), and setting aside a particular day to "work" on my blog, do DIY's, photograph things and write.
• Be social media active and network - This one is simple - in order for my blog and business to thrive, I need to be more connected with social media. This means twitter, facebook, instagram and pinterest. Any others I should add? I also need to be more blog-active - commenting on other blogger's posts instead of just thinking "oh, that's nice!", linking up (although I'm pretty good at that already), sponsoring other blogs, and just generally making friends in the blog world. Since when has a friendly e-mail ever gone astray?

Vintage Bird Girl's guest post on my blog is the one I am most proud of, funnily enough. It is proof , to me, that I put myself out there and tried to make a friend in the blogging world. Leisa was also my first follower on this blog, and gave me the motivation I needed to keep going!

My Goals For My Brand:

Little Foal the brand, as it is now, sells a variety of things. From baby clothes to lavender bags, crochet neclaces to button jewellery. My brand has no focus - it is just a random collection of handmade items, housed in a local craft co-operative's store with a rarely updated facebook page, and that needs to change! There is so much I need to do to get this business properly up and running and to (hopefully) make it successful!

• Get focused - Yep, once again I need to redefine what Little Foal stands for, and if the above is any indication, you might be able to guess the direction I am taking with Little Foal the brand in 2013... Vintage inspired accessories! I will keep on making my crochet necklaces, as well as my yo-yo hair clips, but there will be plenty of new vintage inspired accessories coming out of Little Foal in 2013, many of which will be using vintage materials. My decision to bring focus to my brand and the products I make for it will not limit what I post about on this blog in the slightest - I will still post various DIY projects unrelated to my shop. Nor do I feel as though it is limiting the methods I use to make the products I will sell - in fact, I feel as though by creating a focus area for myself, I am challenging myself to be more creative and try new ways of making pretty accessories. I'm so excited to get this new focus area well and truly underway!
• Launch my Etsy shop - As I mentioned earlier, I am currently selling my products through a local craft co-operative called "The Corner Store". Although I dearly love my fellow co-op members and am passionate about what we do, it is time for me to move on to bigger and better things and use my internet presence to my advantage. Hopefully my Etsy store will be up and running by late February, but due to this massive transition I am about to make, I can't hold any promises!
• Create a designated craft space - EEK! I am so excited about this one! Jake and I will be moving into a two bedroom apartment this month and have struck up the most awesome of deals - I get the spare room and he gets the garage! Mua-ha-ha! (random, evil laugh, but I seriously feel as though I got the carrot and he got the stick here!). The spare room will hopefully present itself as a distraction-free environment for crafting, blogging and uni work - exactly what I need to stay motivated and keep focused! Plus, as an added bonus, I want to fill it to the brim with inspiration to study, craft and bog hard - so prepare for DIY overload once we get settled in! 

Some of the accessories I have made and sold, along with my business card. I am planning on expanding the range of accessories I sell , and launch an etsy shop soon. 

I'm really hoping I can see all of these resolutions through in 2013! I thought long and hard about the most important tasks I have ahead of me and what I need to do to survive this year, and to be completely dedicated to achieving these goals and making this year as perfect and successful as I so desperately want it to be would be just amazing to me. I am a quitter by nature, and rarely see things through even if they are things I enjoy, but I have surprised myself with my blogging and crafting this year, so these resolutions are extra special to me. I think I'll find it hard to do my blogging resolutions until I have gotten over moving and whatnot, but I hope to at least be more focused in what I post, even if I am only posting once a week.

Have you made any New Years Resolutions this year? I would love to hear all about them!