Two years ago today, a very timid message went out to the world: To whatever curious eyes may be peering in, I’m here to share a few crafts, nothing more, nothing less. No name, no age, none of those personal details that might flesh out this weak voice. A few brief sentences would accompany rudimentary photographs, the occasional online pattern may be divulged, and that would be it, nothing more for another day or two. Through many shaky posts, it was uncertain whether this unknown other might continue to whisper through the keyhole.
But somehow, by some incredible miracle, here I am. I don’t believe I’ve formally introduced myself once through this entire wild ride, so Hello, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Hannah, I just turned 19 years old, and today is my second blogiversary. Can you believe it? I sure can’t. Making the leap from no one, absolutely nothing at all in just two short years, this blog has changed me for the better. Not just the blog itself, but more to the point, you: You lovely people who have been reading, commenting, trying my recipes and patterns, encouraging me to break from my re-enforced, bullet-proof shell. It’s impossible to deny that you guys out there have shaped the person that I am today, and the path that I am headed down, looking toward the future. Thank you all, a million times thank you. If I could bake a cupcake for every last reader out there I would, but my stats have soared from my early numbers of maybe 30 page views a day, to over 3,000.
This picture I’ve included was taken in May 2007 by my good friend Nancy (Thank you so much for your patience! I’m still not good about being in pictures) and demonstrates my usual setup. This is exactly how I shot the pictures of My Sweet Vegan– In my kitchen, a poster board is propped up against the back of my laptop, house lights are turned on or off accordingly, and I would snap away with my little point-and-shoot. Now I do have a new and improved model, but everything else has stayed the same. I just wanted to illustrate this little “secret” for you, because the truth is that I don’t have any secrets about how I put together my blog or book: I simply love what I do, put a little thought into the presentation, and the rest follows.