MissMerFaery's Lensography

So, who is this MissMerFaery?

I've been writing for Squidoo since January 2009. I started off quite well, then let my lens-building lapse, particularly when my first baby was born in November 2009.

Around April-May 2010, I returned to the world of online writing with a vengeance, first putting out lots of articles on the other site I write for, Suite101, before venturing back to Squidoo. I became a RocketMom and graduated in Session 7, and that really motivated me to write lots of lenses on all kinds of topics. Before I knew it, I had 50 lenses and a RocketMoms lensography to celebrate, and even made Lens of the Day!

In July 2010 I successfully applied to be a Giant Squid, and also began following the Get Cracking with Bonnie and Robin challenges more closely. Getting involved in things like RocketMoms, Get Cracking and the wonderful Squid Clubs was very motivating for me, and consequently spurred me on when it came to making more lenses.

In September 2010 Squidoo came up with an even greater motivator - monsters, trophies and level-up points! Completing the quests for the new-look Squidoo was great fun, and one of the lenses I completed for the RocketMoms Session 10 quest won me my second Lens of the Day!

My next goal was to reach 100 lenses - well, this was it, lens number 100! I figured I really ought to make my lensography at this point!

So, my next Squidoo goal was to make the Giant 100 Club, and I made it, on 6th January 2011. After that, I wanted to reach that holy grail - the Squidoo Top 100! Well, the very next day, on the 7th January 2011, my lens 101 Best Baked Potato Toppings jumped from #146 to #70, giving me my first ever Top 100 spot.

So, what next for this Giant Squid? I put myself on the list to be a SquidAngel, and decided I would like to get a lens on the Squidoo home page by reaching the top five in a category (before Squidoo redesigned the home page to feature random lenses).

SquidAngel Blessings by Steve Thompson/tagsforkids

On the 13th January my 101 Best Baked Potato Toppings jumped up to #4 overall, not only getting me to the number ONE spot in the Food & Cooking, and therefore onto the Home Page, but into the Squidoo Top Five! It only lasted there a day, but has remained in the top 100 to this day, only dipping out on occasion (usually during seasonal peaks like Christmas and Halloween).

I also became a Squid Angel. I spent a couple of weeks in January blessing lenses across the topics, then was invited to become part of the new Squid Angel Team, as Community SquidAngel for the "Birthdays" and "Wiccan, Pagan & Druid" neighborhoods. Squid Angels have now gone back to blessing generally, and I still have my angel wings at present.

After a couple of months of inactivity, I am back with a new goal to reach - 200 lenses - and am still continuing with my ongoing challenge of making a lens for every sub-topic on Squidoo (that one may take a while...). I also reached a milestone of earning over $300 a month on Squidoo, so am looking to increase that in the coming months.

So,,, I hope that has inspired anyone reading this that you CAN achieve things on Squidoo! It took me almost two years before anything significant happened, but if you work hard and persevere, you will find that everything starts to snowball and you receive lots of lovely rewards at once!

Having found my niches, and with a list of lens ideas as long as, well, several dozen arms, I look forward to writing many, many more lenses here on Squidoo!

In October 2010, a SquidPaws Quest was held in the form of a "Day in the Life of your Dog" photo contest. My lens about our family dog, Yarrow, made the 13 finalists. The winning accolade went to OhMe and her gorgeous bulldog pup Bruno, but Yarrow got to be one of the runners-up!

You can find the winner and all of the finalists HERE.

For Halloween 2010, the challenge was set to create 5 new SquidBoo lenses in order to win a "You've Got Brainssss" trophy!

Squidoo HQ then had the huge task of picking the best lenses from all those who qualified (around 200 lensmasters - that's at least 1000 lenses!) and whittling them down to a mere 40. Voting then opened up for 48 hours - the 13 lenses with the most SquidLikes by close of poll got to be King of SquidBoo, gaining a highly coveted King of SquidBoo trophy!

I was honoured to have my Audrey Hepburn Costume lens (below) chosen as one of the final 40, but to actually be one of the final 13 winners was fantastic! A big thank you to everyone who voted for my lens!

I really loved making this lens, being a huge fan of Audrey, and it was well worth the time spent building it, because it made the Squidoo top tier as well!

Me, myself and I lenses!

These lenses tell you a little more about me, what I have written, and some of the art and craft projects I have created.

I created the RocketMoms Lensography to celebrate reaching 50 lenses, as I felt RocketMoms was central to helping remotivate me on Squidoo and get me to that big 50.

Some of the other lenses were created in response to Squidoo Jenga - such as Writing for a Living, where I was challenged to make a lens about my Squidoo achievements.

I have a real passion for nature. I have always loved animals, I love being outside, and I simply adore the sea, the woods, and pretty much anywhere wild, really.

Whether it's spotting birds in the garden, pottering about among the plants, gazing up at an awe-inspiring ancient tree, absorbing an incredible view or enjoying the spectacle of Mother Earth's creatures, wild or domesticated, you will find me there!

I have always loved learning new things and so I love to find out as much as I can about the birds, animals, plants and places of the wild, wild outdoors. And of course, I can't possibly keep these discoveries to myself... I have to turn them into lenses!

I am a creative soul, primarily with the written word, but I also like to express myself through art as well.

In addition to painting, drawing and doodling, I also more recently rediscovered the joy of clay (having once upon a time enjoyed pottery at primary school and making Fimo figures at secondary school!) through the art of polymer clay sculpting.

When I first moved into my own home, I also discovered the joy of crafting! I happened to watch one of the craft shows on the shopping channels and have been hooked ever since. I am eager to try anything and everything, from papercrafts to jewelry making, scrapbooking to needlecrafts. Some I am better at than others, but practice makes perfect, right?

It's official. I am a bookaholic. One of the first rooms that got decorated in our house was the mini library I had dreamed of! Two custom-made wall-to-wall bookshelves and four purple-painted walls later, I was one happy bunny in book paradise.

Add to the equation the fact that I used to be a school librarian, and you can only begin to imagine just how much I LOVE books!!

Fantasy novels are my absolute passion, but I still like to read a wide variety of fiction, and non-fiction as well.

I haven't made many book lenses yet but there are lots on my infamous To Do list, I promise! From favourite authors to reviews of my favourite stories, this is the section to check back to for book-loving Squidfans of MissMerFaery!

I do love to cook. Despite this, it took joining the RocketMoms for me to actually kick-start myself into writing about cooking!

I am a big advocate of home cooking and baking - there are so many unnecessary additives and nasties in food these days, that it is much better for you and your family to cook from scratch. Far from being a chore, it is quick and easy if you do it right, and so much tastier! I will never go back to ready-meal spag bol or casserole after tasting the real thing!

I do have a confession to make, though. Before I moved out to live with my fiance, I had never so much as boiled an egg. Our family kitchen was tiny and although mum made delicious dinners with lots of fresh veg, the main part was always a Marks & Spencer meal! When I moved out in 2008, I taught myself to cook. I have not learned how to make everything yet, but love making everything from crumbles and cupcakes to casseroles and soups!

I have made up for lost time with my food lenses... and here they are!

I am very much a homey person, and I like to be creative in the home, from theming rooms to trying to make the housework more fun and bearable!

The environment is also important to me, and so I am passionate about eco-cleaning and trying to maintain a green home.

Being a huge fan of cooking (see above!) I also love to entertain, so as well as house, home and living lenses, you'll find party and entertaining ideas too.

I'm a mom, a former school library manager, and a passionate advocate of literacy and reading for kids.

I also love to get creative and turn popular kids stuff (like TV shows, toys and popular trends) into a means of education, from fun craft ideas to topical projects.

Here you'll find lenses on everything from education and literacy ideas to toy reviews, homemade baby food and kids TV. Some of it is already here, some of it is still in my head. All in good time, all in good time...

I'm not a celebrity addict, I confess. You won't catch me reading celeb gossip magazines, although you might find me obsessing over a Twilight blog or two, but that's another lens section...

There are numerous actors, musicians and other fabulous people whom I do admire and enjoy, however, and you will find them here, in my collection of SquidWho's.

I particularly love music, so I aim to build a collection of lenses on my favourite musicians and bands, and as you already know from above, I love books too, so there will be an author or three here too no doubt. Add to that my favourite actors and actresses, chefs, comedians, presenters and sports personalities, you get a pretty good idea of what's in store!

In other words, Halloween, Easter and Christmas, right?

Well, yes, but earth festivals make up part of my spirituality, so I celebrate other holidays throughout the year too. Here you'll find a mixture of pagan celebrations and fabulous ideas for our more traditional holidays as well!

Once upon a time, I was somewhat of a Shopaholic. I read those Sophie Kinsella books, Confessions of a Shopaholic and so on, and inwardly blushed at many points in the book because there were moments that were scarily familiar.

Now I'm a little older, wiser, and, being a mum, most definitely broker. So shopping is a treat these days, and value for money is right up there on the priority list!

I am still a bit of a collector, though. Once a collector, always a collector! It's in the blood, and I inherited that from both my parents! So you'll find plenty of collectibles lenses here right now, and in the future, from retro toys to TV merchandise, freaky dolls to mythical ornaments.

From product reviews to gift ideas and everything in between, here are my shopping lenses.

I am a very spiritual person and, while I don't follow organized religion, I incorporate Pagan and Celtic Christian elements into my beliefs. I am psychic, with particular interest in ascension, healing, angels, crystals, Earth-based traditions and all things Celtic.

I find God in the wild places, and try to find sacredness in every day living.

I'm not the most technical person in the world but I know a thing or two about sound and conferences, having been a sound technician for over 12 years.

I am also a total Apple addict, I love my Macbook Pro and iPhone!

From places I LOVED to visit, to places I would really LOVE to go, here you will find everything from local coverage from North West England, to extensive coverage of my favourite part of England - Cornwall - to lenses on places further afield.

Again, not much in this department yet, but watch this space!

I love a good film, and while I try not to watch too much TV, I do have my favourites in that department, too!

In addition to films, good telly and kids retro TV, there is one subject that you will find quite a lot on in this section... yes, I confess, I am a Twi-Mom and proud! If you don't know what that means, where have you been?? It means I'm a mom who loves The Twilight Saga of course, and you'll find my extensive collection of Twilight lenses below.

I am also known as The Crafty Twilight Mom and have several lenses dedicated to Twilight-themed cakes, crafts and parties too.

When I first ventured into online writing, I tried out several sites, and accumulated them into a lens reviewing them all.

I have many more writing lenses planned, from Squidoo tips to advice on writing novels and much more!