My name is Merry (not always entirely appropriate but there you go!) a mum of 6, an ex-homed educator, business woman, blogger and all round good egg. I spend a significant portion of my life writing blogs in-between driving around in circles as a taxi driver and fighting a losing battle against mess. Fortunately for us all, my husband cooks. I’m never going to be a food blogger.
My blogging career started 11 years ago at Patch of Puddles, a parenting, home education and craft blog which is still updated to this day. If nothing else, I think longevity, commitment and consistency are words I would apply to my writing! I’m a versatile writer with a knack for mimicking a house style and a strong grasp of eloquent communication styles. I’m adaptable and able to write to suit commissions.
Over the last 11 years I have built up a thriving online business which now also employs my husband and one other as well as supporting my family. My role in our toy business ranges from buying and decision making to copy writing, SEO and social media. The Merrily Toys & Crafts Ltd business has been online since 2003, originally under the name BeadMerrily and progressing to include other name incarnations as it grew. Our sites include CraftMerrily and Jolly Dollies and I have design and build abilities with WordPress, Blogger, Magento, Jshop and Prestashop.
Over the last 4 years I have been a finalist in the MAD Blog Awards on a number of occasions (always a bridesmaid, never a bride!) as variously Blog Of the Year, Outstanding Contribution and Most Inspiring Blogger. Recently I wrote for the MADS Blog on the subject of craft blogging and spoke at Blogcamp on the same subject.
Alongside every day blogging, I write extensively on life after losing a child and contribute the the highly regarded Glow in the Woods on a regular basis. I have also contributed to Still Standing Magazine on the same subject.
In 2012 I headed up a child sponsorship collaboration to support the ShareNiger charity appeal with Worldvision, resulting in 60 parent bloggers coming together to take responsibility for supporting 11 children in Niger. I wrote for WorldVision’s blog on the subject of individual responsibility for global issues. More recently I have blogged for Save the Children both as part of their UK reading campaign and on the subject of Newborn Death and Girls’ Rights via Patch of Puddles. I recently took a petition to 10 Downing Street as part of the campaign.
On a personal note, we support our local SCBU who cared for our baby son for his entire life. Our JustGiving campaign has reached £3000 including money raised directly through our business to support them. I have been interviewed in newspapers, magazines and radio on the subject of life after infant loss.
My online presence includes building up my Patch of puddles Blog to a Page Rank 5 with over 500 RSS readers and a domain authority of over 40. That blog has between 500-1000 page views per day. On Twitter I have 3400+ followers, on Facebook over 700, and my spiritual social media homes are Instagram and Pinterest. I was recently picked as the Tots100 Instagrammer of the Month and over 15,000 followers on Pinterest.