Good news and Bad news.
I’ll start with the bad news. Everyone likes getting the good stuff at the end. 😉
The Hookin’ Up with HoH link party is going kaput. Donzo. Bye-bye. Outta here. This week will be the last weekly Hookin’ Up with HoH party House of Hepworths will ever host. Sniff. Next week I’ll have one last party (let’s end on a good number like 165) to share all the features, but at the end of the features there won’t be any party to link to.
The good news? You can link up all your awesome posts to the group Pinterest board I created last week to replace the link party. Click here to join the other 65+ bloggers who have already joined and are pinning fools.
“But Why? Why oh why are you retiring the best link party to ever grace the blogsphere?” (Said through gnashing teeth and wailing.)
I started this party a month after I started my blog over three and a half years ago. Blogging has changed a ton since then. When I started, pinterest wasn’t invented. There was no Instagram. DIY/Home Blog conferences were just a far off dream. It’s just time to move on from the link party. It did it’s job. It was a lot of fun. I met a ton of new friends and found some of my most favorite blogs. But now, blogging has changed. It has evolved. And as fun as some traditions are, you just have to ride the wave and let it take you where it goes, even if it leaves some great things behind.
I’ll admit though, I’m sad. It’s bitter-sweet. I have never known blogging without my link party. For the past three and a half years, I have had an alarm go off on my phone at 6pm every Wednesday night reminding me to “do my link party tonight”. I can’t really explain it, I just “feel” like it’s time to move on from the link party and focus on other ways to help all of you share your content. Please know that I have enjoyed hosting you guys each week. I have loved getting to know you, meeting some great new friends, finding awesome blogs, and the best part for me, helping each of you to share your blogs with a larger audience. I am very fortunate to have a “popular” (that’s a relative term) blog, and I have loved being able to help each one of you grow your blog. There doesn’t need to be one head-dawg blogger out there. We can all shine. There is room for all of us.
Keep on blogging. Continue to have your little corner in the blogsphere. What matters isn’t the pageviews or impressions, but the impression that you are leaving on each and every person out there. There’s a real person behind every “pageview” you receive, and if your voice touches even one person, that matters. It’s isn’t about who has the most comments. Each and every one of those comments is an actual person who took the time to read your blog and then talk to you. Appreciate them and celebrate with them. Blogging should be about the connections and the relationships, not who has the most followers on facebook or instagram.
Okay, off my soap box now. I will miss seeing you guys each week, but will continue to be inspired by your projects every time I check out the new group pinterest board. And now for the last link party ever (minus the features party next week). Have fun!
Please refrain from posting links to shops and stores.
Please note: RECIPES/FOOD is a separate link. Please make sure you are linking in the appropriate section.
Here are some of my favorites from last week’s party:
I am loving these geometric succulent planters Desert Domicile created.
It’s Always Autumn created the sweetest little lace blouse and I am ogling over it.
I always feel a little bad about cutting apart a book, but aren’t these book pumpkins just so adorable from Upcycled Treasures?!
Let’s Get Crafty! DIYd a beautiful greek key message board.
I’m not usually a fan of promoting sponsored posts in my link party, but this duct tape clipboard was literally too cute to pass up. You can thank That’s What {Che} Said for the adorable idea.
The House of Wood made this amazing media console and even shared a play-by-play so all of you can make one too.
I am finding this watermelon craft exceptionally adorable tonight. Check out the tutorial over at The Princess & Her Cowboys.
Teal & Lime created some rolling toy storage crates that have me wanting to redo my whole house in an industrial theme.
This back-to-school mantle is one of the cutest things ever. Courtesy of The Happy Housie.
Night Owl Corner renovated an awesome, but worn out, play kitchen. It is so fun now.
I am adding this garlic tip from The Creek Line House to my must-do list next time I reach for a clove (usually because I’m making guacamole).
To see the InLinkz party you will need to click through!
To view the remainder of this post please
If you’ve been featured you are AWESOME so grab a button and tell everyone!
Post about anything you’ve worked on recently.
*Please link back to my blog pretty please! Buttons can be found HERE.
A few things to remember:
Link directly to your specific post.
I pin all the weekly features. Check out the pinterest board here.
By posting to this party you are giving House of Hepworths the right to feature one of your photos.
Please do not pin from House of Hepworths, click through to the actual tutorial and pin from there.
A few DON’TS:
* Don’t link up your SHOP, STORE, OR ETSY to my party.
* Don’t link up your GIVEAWAY to my party.
Ready. Set. Post!
Thank you so much Allison for hosting us for so long! It is a lot of work for you to do and it has been much appreciated. Take care, Sharon
Thanks for hosting for so long. I’m enjoying the new pinterest group!
It’s amazing that you’ve hosted this party for so many years! I’ve enjoyed being a part of it for the short time that I’ve been blogging. And thanks so much for inviting us to pin on your awesome group board…I’ve already seen a bunch of repins! You are very kind to support other bloggers and we really appreciate it!
Oh Allison, that’s so sad 🙁 I understand, it’s now time for you to move on and I’m glad I’m already part of your Pinterest board! Thanks a lot for giving us the opportunity to share our projects on your awesome blog!
Wow! It’s like the end of an era! Thank you so much for being a faithful host for such a long time, Allison! I look forward to continuing to connect with you on your blog and the group pinterest board! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
~Abby =)
I hope I’ve made the right decision. I’m getting sad about it. I will miss all of you each week!
i am so sorry to here that you are hanging up your ‘hosting’ shoes. . .
it has been fun.
i have been on pinterest, but have not taken the time to get familiar with what’s what over there. guess its time to learn!
thanks for hosting.
Oh, I will miss your link party each week. But I so love that you created a huge, fun Pinterest board in its place. Love it! And I’ll keep dropping by. You have some of the BEST tutorials. 🙂
What a bummer–I’ve loved the posts you’ve featured each week. But I do understand how it’s time to move on. Thanks for sharing all these great blog posts over the years.
I’m going to miss the party. Thanks for all you have done. However, you had some great word of wisdom and encouragement.
Shannon @ bohemianjunktion.com
Sad to hear, but so very glad I discovered your blog thru your party! I’ve enjoyed following your stories, and will continue to do so {us Texas gals gotta stick together!}. (: And I can completely relate to your “soap box.” Know that you are inspiring… (:
I have really enjoyed your party thanks for all your time hosting! I will check out the pinterest board!
OOOHHH, so sad – I have loved being part of this party in my first half year of blogging- it has been an awesome source for me of making connections with other amazing bloggers. But I totally get your reasoning and just hope you know that the time and energy you have put into this party is truly appreciated by SO MANY bloggers!! Thank you Allison! And I am soooo thrilled about my Back to School Mantel being featured tonight. Thank you!! And thank you for the pinterest board:) I wonder if next Wednesday night you will have this eerie feeling that you have forgotten to do something:?? Have a great week- and looking forward to your fab projects and tutorials on your blog:)
~Krista
I really appreciate the positive feedback. I have enjoyed doing the party, I just have been burned out on it for awhile now and am ready to do other things. I think I will cry next week when I post the last features. I’m already getting weepy. Who knows, maybe I’ll miss it so much that I’ll start it back up one day.
Awe,so sad to see it go, but thank you for hosting it every week. And yes please keep sharing you wonderful creations!
I will try. I want to do more around the house. Hopefully I will have time now that the kids are back in school.
Oh no!! For three years I’ve been right along with you. I’m so sad for me but happy for you that you are moving on to better things. You are ending as I’m beginning a new linky party starting next Thursday! I feel like I’ve been handed the spirit stick…LOL
Best of Luck on your next venture, Allison!!
xoxo
Denyse
Take the stick and run with it! You will do great.
I’ve really enjoyed the linking party. Thanks for hosting it all this time!
I’ll miss linking up here, Allison, but I completely understand how things change. Thanks for all of the great parties! I’ll pinning on your board. Thanks again! Enjoy your day!
All I can say is “But WHY? Why oh why are you retiring the best link party to ever grace the blogsphere?” 🙂
Thanks for hosting a great feature so devotedly for so long!
You are welcome. I appreciate you!
What are you going to do without your ONE guaranteed post a week? It will be missed!
I guess I’ll have to start writing more posts. 😉 I apologize that I haven’t been around as much lately, but this blog is not a business, it is my hobby. I get busy. I am a mom first, blogger second. I will blog when I have actually completed a project, or when I have time to. I want to be here with all of you, but not at the expense of my family. This is why I will never make HoH into a full-blown business. I like having it be my fun outlet.
Sorry to hear that, but understandable and it’s appreciated that you shared this instead of just dropping the party without a word. I’ve had similar thoughts, but I’m keeping my party going because I feel like I’d lose the personal connection. While I like a lot about Pinterest, it does make it too easy to be faceless and not bother to actually interact with one another.
This is true and a good point. I am hoping all of you will continue to come back and comment on my other posts and really keep the dialogue going. I also chat with people a lot on facebook and instagram. Also, the link party use to be a lot more social, but I feel like people just quickly come, link up their stuff, and are gone again. I have a lot of people who link up, never even say hello, and never bother to come back until the following week. And they can’t even read the directions and keep the party straight – I have two link-ups, one for DIYs and one for recipes. I get tons of DIYs in the recipe section because people are in such a hurry to quickly post their stuff and move on they don’t even realize they are posting in the wrong party. Sometimes I feel like I am being used for my party. I want to help people grow their blog, but I also don’t like feeling like I am being taken advantage of.
Anyway, I think link parties are jumping the shark. I’d rather move on now.
I totally agree with this and understand Allison. People do just link up to parties to get traffic. There is no way someone can really engage in 30 link parties a week. Yet some people will link up to that many. I linked up some times, but only when I felt I had time to visit other peoples projects. If I knew I was too busy, I wouldn’t link up.
Now I only link up to one or two parties a week, but I make a point to visit the others projects and comment and pin. And I am on G+ a lot for engagement. I would much rather spend time there than link parties at this point.
Thanks again for hosting each week.
There are so many ways to spread your content now, I just feel like link parties are a little bit old school. They will still be around for awhile, I just want to focus more on my blog and my content, stress less about the party, and try to find other ways to keep in touch with you guys and help share your content. Blogging is a group effort. If we all help share each other, we will all have great traffic.
Thank you for your encouraging words! It’s easy to sit here, alone in the dark in my pjs, and get down on myself at times…and one of my favorite things about the blogging community is that it seems more encouraging and collaborative than competitive and brutal…I’m looking forward to following the pinboard!
I think we all have those moments. Keep your chin up. The blogging community is what you make of it. There is cattiness and drama, but there are also people who are supportive and encouraging. I just choose to be the latter and associate myself with those types of people. I avoid the drama makers!
Thank you for hosting. I’m still new at this blogging thing and I’ve truly enjoyed your party every week. Good luck with this next blog chapter.
Thanks for hosting and even though I’m new to you I will also miss the weekly link up! Looking forward to seeing more on Pinterest!
Thanks for hosting and I’ll miss the linky. Good luck in all your future endeavors and happy blogging!
Lori
Thanks so much for hosting for the past 3 years Allison! I’ll miss your weekly parties -but understand you’re moving onwards and upwards and look forward to reading more on your blog!
Enjoy the last of your week!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the party!! Aside from the group board, I am brainstorming ways to continue to engage with each of you.
Wow…I’m really touched with what you said about blogging…May I please quote you on my FB page! Next month God willing it will be my 1st blogverssary and what you said is exactly what I want to echo in my celebration. I want to make people feel that I’m grateful for all the relationship and connections I’ve made with people I have never met throughout blogging. I’m really going to miss the party, so many times I felt like just writting HOH on the description of the link because for some reason I always wrote the wrong thing and had to go back and fix it, LOL…just kidding! It was a great party and I’m glad to have been part of it! Thank You Allison! for everything! Looking forward to more of your blog and hoping you remember to visit my little corner of blogworld sometime! Hugs, Lizy
You may quote anything I’ve said that you’d like. I’m glad you were touched by my rambling. lol Congrats on your 11+ months so far! It goes by so quickly. I’m glad you enjoyed my party each week. It was fun to meet all of you, but it was a pain to host! I will remember you, especially if you post on that group board because I’ve been checking it hourly to see what you guys are up to!
Sad to see the link party go, especially since yours is one of my favs! Thanks for hosting it as long as you have. HOWEVER…..I’m totally loving your group Pinterest board. Thanks for doing that!! And as long as you don’t stop blogging all together, it’s all good (because THAT would be terrible)!
I am still planning on blogging, and I’m really hoping that now that I have the dreaded link party off my plate it will help me to look forward to blogging again. I got kind of burned out the past several months and I’m really wanting to get my passion for it back.
So happy for your decision. It’s a touch one but we quit link parties for the same reason! Link and runners are users…we always make a point to say thank you at least. I love that you’re being a mom first. We all know we’re not going to die to have God will say “Good job ignoring your kids for your blog!” LOL!
Will miss your parties but will still see you on FB and IG! Thanks for letting us share our ideas all these years! xo
I agree. At the end of the day, my family matters most to me. But now they are back in school and I am ready to be a good blogger again!
are we still going to hear from you and follow your progress in your new house ??
Of course! I will be posting more about the house now that I don’t have a link party.
Hi Allison,
I’VE BEEN CHEATED! OH MY! I’ve just started my blog a few weeks ago….was all geared up when I found your blog to join your party every week! 🙁 sad face…..
Well, I will still come by and enjoy your blog! I just love the way you think! I hope I have as much fun as you do blogging and yes you are right, its not the number of clicks that counts its who’s doing the clicking and how they become part of your everyday life…..!
Thanks,
lois
Lois, you should check out the pinterest group and email me for an addition!
very nice