Leggi questo post in: Italiano
Happy Thanksgiving, folks! It has taken me the time from one American holiday to another four months later to get around to giving you all a virtual tour of my blog on its new platform. On July 4th, I posted my first (very quick) post on www.cucicucicoo.com. But I still had to get the design finished as well as split up the two languages so they wouldn’t be all mashed together like before. I still have some odds and ends to finish up, but seeing as it’s pretty much done, let me show you around my new virtual home!
The most important new feature on Cucicucicoo is that English and Italian are separated nicely so you can read in your preferred language without distractions. You can switch language in the top header menu…
…or from within a specific post.
The two languages are completely separated as if in two separate websites, so I also had to make two separate feeds. What’s a feed, you ask? When you like a blog and want to receive all new posts either within a feed reader or directly by e-mail, you need to subscribe to the feed. You can sign up to receive all Cucicucicoo posts in English via e-mail on the sidebar of the English version of the website (or click here to sign up now!). Update: the feed is no longer available for Cucicucicoo, however you can still sign up for the weekly newsletter!
Underneath the form to sign up for all blog posts by e-mail is the form to sign up for my newsletter with information about my washable cloth products, including new products and sales. I hardly ever send out newsletters, only when there is something really interesting, maximum twice per year. The newsletter is also separated by language, so to receive it in English, you need to sign up on the English part of the website (or you can click here to sign up now for the Newsletter!).
Something else new is how all my archives, so my posts over the past almost five years, are displayed. First of all, you can find a drop-down menu of all my tutorials for easy access right on the top header menu.
(In alternative, you can always choose from any of my categories, browse by month or search by keyword from the sidebar.)
And you will see a very convenient and viewer-friendly display of the posts of that particular category or month, making it quick and easy to find what you were looking for or discover projects that you’d missed! You can click on either the image or the text to be redirected to the right post.
And last of all, after having various problems over time with sharing my free downloads with readers through external services, I have uploaded all those files to my website and they can be viewed and downloaded immediately in PDF format from my Free Download page.
I have been very busy implementing these and many other changes, which is why I haven’t always been posting regularly. A huge portion of my time and energy have gone into separating the languages of all my past posts, though I must say that I’ve enjoyed going through my past work, seeing how much has changed over the past five years. My family has gained a member and lost another. My daughter has grown a ton (Look at the difference between here and here!). I’ve developed a very definite focus on eco sewing (refashioning) and eco crafting (upcycling). My photographic and writing styles have changed. I, myself, have changed! Besides having different glasses over time and gone in and out of pregnancy, my hair’s run the gamut of styles (with or without bangs; long, medium or short; straight or wavy/frizzy). It might not be so interesting to any of you, but it was for me!
I am also preparing a mega post on how to set up a bilingual or multilingual blog with WordPress. I’ve learned a lot along this journey, so I’m hoping that I can pass on a bit of what took me quite a while to figure out in bits and pieces on my own.
Hope you are having a great Thanksgiving, fellow US people! Stay tuned for lots of eco-friendly goodness; I’m currently working on a series of posts on ecological holiday gift wrapping, two guest posts on children’s Christmas crafts, as well as lots of other fun stuff! And don’t forget to subscribe to the Cucicucicoo Newsletter! 🙂
I love your new site — it looks great and is so easy and pleasant to read and search. Thanks for highlighting a few past links — it’s fun to see how you and your little ones have changed (and emerged) these past years! Amazing!
Thanks, Linda! I’m so glad that you like the new site, you being an expert and all! I also thought it was fun to see all the changes!