Polymer Clay Blog – Quick Answers To Your Bead Making Questions
Site Navigation Tips To Help You Find Information About Polymer Clay Beads:
Lately it has been getting very busy around here on the blog. Comments and questions have been flying in fast and furious! I love it! Thank you to EVERYONE for being part of this growing beads and beading community.
In regards to all of your wonderful questions… my promise is to get to each and every one of them. Often the requests for help do back up a bit, though. So at times, it can take a little longer to respond than I would like.
That being said, I would like to offer some advice on how to use the navigation features here at the blog… to find answers on your own. Since many questions have already been addressed, you may be able to find what you are looking for much quicker than the time it takes me to respond.
Site Navigation Tips
1) Search Box: At the top left hand side of this blog page there is a search box. If you type in a word or two of what it is that you are looking for, and then press the 'search' button, a list of articles will pop up with posts on that subject. Try a few different ways of wording it, if you don't find what you need right away. For example, try bake, bakes, baked or baking when you are looking for info on baking beads.
2) Home Link: When you click on this 'Home' link in the top navigation bar, a list of 30 posts with pictures will appear. They start with the most recent date at the top, and then descend in chronological order. At the very end of these 30 posts is a "Next Page" link that will display the next batch of 30 posts. This is what I call "picture scrolling" through all of the articles at the blog.
- I do this all the time when I am looking for something that I know I wrote about, but forgot exactly what date it was published on. I am a very visual person, so the photos help me to find what I'm looking for very quickly.
- Just the other day a lady wrote in asking about a round lettering tool for polymer clay that she saw a while ago, but couldn't find again. Since she was unable to find it using the search box, this "picture scrolling" method may have worked well for her.
3) Topic Categories: In the left side of every page at this blog is also a list of categories. Click on these links to narrow your search.
4) Tag Navigation: Right below the 'Topic Categories' are tag navigation links that will take you to some of the most popular topics. The larger the font in the tag, the more articles there are on that subject.
5) Archives by Month: On the right hand side of the blog (at least that's where this feature is located at the time of this writing), you can use the drop down arrow to select all of the archived article titles listed in a single month. This is great for looking at seasonal information such as spring color recipes, holiday themes, etc.
6) Five Most Recent Posts: Under the archives on the right hand side is a list of the last five articles posted on the site. This is a very quick way to keep up to date on what's happened most recently.
Six months ago I wrote a similar article to the one posted here today. The information does overlap with today's tips, but there are a few additional points that you might want to check out as well: Here's the link: 5 Tips For Finding Polymer Clay Instructions and Info At This Blog
Today's post was by no means meant to discourage you from asking me questions. In fact I love questions! I have always told my children, "The more questions you ask, the smarter you get!" So keep them coming. But knowing how to find stuff on your own, is a great way to get quick answers when you just can't wait.
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Comments on Polymer Clay Blog – Quick Answers To Your Bead Making Questions
8:41 am
Which navigation feature or features here at the blog, do you use? Which ones don't you use? And also… based on stuff you have see at other blogs, are there features that you would like me to add? I'm *really* looking forward to your responses to these questions.
11:08 am
Still learning every day.You keep me on my toes!
I did not know how to use your search mode. Thank you for the info.
11:17 pm
I've only been here a month or two so i still have recollections of which month I saw something so I use the monthly search, the word search, and the topics if I want to catch up on what has gone before. I like the fact that you don't have things that flash, move or generally distract from the information or the message of the day.
9:17 am
@Louise: You're welcome! Hope you can find what you need now.
@Ken: Yeah I don't really like those flashy things either. Some of the ads that come up do have some moving parts but I don't have control over which ones come up. I do my best to keep things as simple and clutter free as possible. (If only I could do that for my studio!) :-)))
11:28 pm
But a cluttered desk is a sign of an organized mind. ;o)
3:48 pm
Well then I must have a pretty organized mind! LOL :-)
11:41 pm
Still very happily learning….your instructional blogs are great.
8:32 am
Hi Cindy, just wanted to say that I love the way you have everything set up. It's easy (for me) to understand how to navigate your site and use it to it's fullest. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to all of us, whether seasoned or new, on all the techniques and color recipes you provide for us.
Happy claying,
Adrienne :-)
9:14 am
Thank you Adrienne for voicing your opinion. Feedback like this helps me to keep forging ahead.
@All: I just posted another rather lengthy article about how to navigate this blog site as well as how to find stuff at the members library site. The two sites are separate from each, but also linked together. If you did not know this, or if you want to pick up a few tips that will make your experience here more efficient, then please follow the link by my name. It will take you to the latest "Customer Support" article.