Today we meet South African mom blogger Lindall Atkins. She was also the winner in the Best Blog Post: Crafts and Things to Do with kids category in the #AckermansBYYSAPBAwards.
1.Tell us about yourself: I’m a working mom with 2 amazing kids. I’m passionate about making, be it DIY, crafting or creating. I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get all the ideas out.
2. Tell us about your family: This year my husband and I celebrated 20 years together, 8 years married. He is my rock, and I am blessed to have gotten to spend so much of my life with him.
We’ve got a little 6-year-old diva, Xavier. She’s our little miracle baby after a tumultuous pregnancy. And Joel, our 1-year-old whirlwind. I can’t talk about family without talking about my mom. She showed me what a strong woman looks like and she inspired me with her fear won’t stop me approach to trying new things. She would pick up a drill and build a cupboard on a whim or make my daughter a dress in an afternoon. It’s the trait I inherited and it’s the one I hope to pass to my kids.
3. Why did you start blogging?
To get out of my comfort zone, and face some of the fears I had about being seen. Let me explain: as a kid, I wanted to be a writer, I even won a writing competition, but I had this fear about letting people read anything personal and it was fear I never really got over. I went on to study Literature and Linguistics, but never worked in the writing field. I joined an airline after varsity as a cabin crew member for what was supposed to be a year or 2 but ended up being close to 14. I’ve always been creative, I have always made stuff and I decided to finally work on that fear and share the things I made, my journey as a new mom and my writing. It’s really been an amazing journey. It has built such confidence in me and opened the door to some amazing opportunities. Today I work in digital marketing, I get to write copy for a living. If that’s not testament to the benefits of working on the things that scare you, I don’t know what is.
4. What’s the story behind the name?
After High School, I took a gap year and joined an NGO doing community development work in rural parts of the Eastern Cape. I lived and worked in this little village called Cwebeni for almost a year. We worked in schools and provided whatever the community needed, a library, after school activities, training. It was during this time that I got the name Nwabisa, it means someone who is happy and makes others happy. It’s become a name I want to live up to. I want to leave a positive impact on the world. My blog comprises of the little things that make me happy and my hope is that it will make others happy too.
5. You are known as the DIY blogger and not only are you an award winning blogger you were also featured on expresso for giving kitchen tips. I also love the way you turned a passage into a playroom with the chalkboard and magnetic board. Can you give us some tips as moms to keep the kids busy – what simple things can we do in the playroom?
There are so many options, and I think what you do is dependent on your kids and what they are into. It’s an opportunity to foster their interests. Right now I’m working on a busy board for my son because he loves that kind of thing. Our playroom right now has loads of floor cushions, that my mom and I made, because my daughter loves to lay and read or draw on the floor. This past weekend we worked on storage for the playroom, which has already helped free up some much-needed space in that room and given the kids more space to run around and play with the things they already have. Also, I have loads of free pintables on my blog, that you can download and make with your kids.
An easy DIY- Vertical Lego Board
-glue a few Lego boards to the wall (I used double sided tape, you can use use No More Nails as well) and get the kids to play with their Lego in a different way.
6. How do you come up with ideas for your blog?
My blog posts have been a way of sharing the projects I’ve tackled for my home and kids. There’s so much still to do in our current home, I literally have things piled up waiting for me to have a gap, so I’ve still got loads of content to cover. It’s also been a way for me to give back to my community by creating free pintables, I do that seasonally.
7. What has been your most popular post?
Right now, it’s the Halloween party pintable. It’s a miniature Halloween party you can download for free and put together for your dolls, or even to use as part of your Halloween decorations.
The paper dollhouse printable is a close second. It a paper dollhouse you can put together with your kid. It folds into a book, perfect for travelling and keeping the kids busy at restaurants.
8. What didn’t work out and why? What did you learn?
My blog and Instagram accounts were at their most successful when I was consistent. Since I went back to work full time, it slipped. I realised that I could no longer post in the same way. I’ve been quiet lately, but I’ve been working on setting up a system for myself so that I can show up more consistently for my community without taking away time from my family.
9. Can you give any advice to bloggers and influencers out there – any wisdom to share from your experiences?
Don’t let fear stop you, you can do this. I think it’s also important to adjust your idea of what success looks like. What does a successful blog mean to you? Is it more followers? Awards? Views? Brand deals? For me, it is a way to overcome a fear and to add value. I think sometimes we chase that one meaning of success to us and we forget that success can look different on everyone. Chase your goals, your success, but also acknowledge that what you may dismiss, someone else may consider a win. Take the wins, you deserve it, you worked hard for it.
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Here is the link where I interviewed her:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CqGfNt6qjG2/
Find Lindall on her blog, Instagram and Facebook.
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