Few people know this but I started my first blog thirteen years ago when I was 13. It was hosted on DeadJournal (I was going through a goth phase), before eventually maturing to LiveJournal, WordPress and then my own craft blog which would eventually become Cut Out + Keep. Blogging is the thing that has changed my life. It inspires me, encourages me to learn new things and motivates me to go out and have adventures. That's before I even mention the opportunities and doors it has opened. I've had the chance to interview my heroes, attended amazing events and sent some pretty awesome products - all thanks to my blog. And the greatest thing of all? Anyone can do it. You don't need any special equipment, money or knowledge and you can start today! But before you do, here are my tips for finding your focus and making your blog a success.

1. Find your focus

There are a lot of blogs out there so the key to making yours a success is to find your focus. This is what makes your blog unique and helps it stand out in the crowd. It should be something that you're either an expert on or just really passionate about. It can even be focused around a project or goal that you'd like to get better at - so you can learn as you write, like I'm doing with my organising. Here are some questions to help you find your focus:

• What are your passions?
• What are your interests?
• What are you good at?
• What do you do everyday?
• What's unique about you?
• What would you like to learn?

If you write about the things you love, you'll be able to keep up the motivation to update it day after day. However, if you pick a more unique angle, you'll be filling a bigger hole in the blogging market and give your blog a bigger chance at success. Try to find a nice balance between these two and you'll be on to a winner. Don't be afraid to combine two completely different passions, as it's sure to make your blog even more unique. For example, a baker who loves motor sports sounds like an awesome concept for a blog! It's not about blogging equally about each of your interests at the same time but using your passion from one area to bring a unique perspective to the other.

2. Choose your topics

Once you've found your focus, you can break it down in to the topics you'd like to write about. These are general areas you'd like to cover such as fashion, music, crafting etc. Create folders on your computer, or sections in a notebook for each topic and quickly brainstorm article ideas for each. Create a text file, or take a page in your notebook for every article idea that comes to mind. Just add a title to start with and you can flesh out the rest of the idea later. Try to add as many article ideas as you can, as this will give you a clear idea of which areas are your strongest. Start with just a few that you have lots of article ideas about as you can always add more later.

3. Pick your features

As well as articles and diary entries, you might want to commit to some regular features. These bring consistency to your blog and give readers an idea of what to look forward to. Examples include interviews, link round-ups, giveaways and reviews. Make a list of all the features you'd like for your blog and note how often you'd like to have them. You can have a mix of weekly, fortnightly and monthly features. Pick an easy going schedule that you're sure you can keep up with. You can always add more features or increase the frequency as you get the hang of things.

4. Start writing

Now that you've got an idea of your features along with a folder filled with article ideas, it's time to start writing. It's really tempting to write and publish an article as soon as you think it up, but if you work on it for a few days, or even weeks, it'll lead to a stronger article. A filmmaker friend told me that when he gets a new idea, he lets it stew in his brain for weeks and weeks, letting it flesh itself out before starting on it. I find that when I'm writing one article, ideas for another will pop in to my mind - so I often have multiple posts open at once. It may take a while to find your voice but just start writing straight away and you'll gain experience and confidence as you go. When one of the ideas starts to come together, you can then begin fleshing it out in to a finished article, ready to publish to your readers. I suggest building up a collection of posts before launching your blog, so that you can keep the momentum up in the first few weeks.

5. Stick with it

It can take a long time to build up a readership, so don't get discouraged if you don't get many, if any, comments in the early days. It's also very difficult to make money from a blog, so you have to enjoy working on it for fun rather than as a business. Don't worry though, rewards will come in other forms, from reader feedback to a positive change in your attitude. Some days I don't feel in the mood to do anything, but force myself to go out just so that I'll have something to write about. This has lead to the greatest unexpected adventures and I'm so thankful for it. The most important thing for success is that you start to love your blog and stay committed to updating it.

Resources:

• 100 Reasons Why It's Great To Be A Blogger from IFB.
• My friend Strawberry Anarchy on blogging, Should You Start A Blog?
• How to start a Successful Blog Today on The Minimalists.
• 19 Starting Points For Being A Unique Blogger on ProBlogger.
• 7 New Blogger Blunders To Avoid on Lifehack.

I hope this has given you some encouragement and ideas for creating your own blog. Good luck getting started. I'll be sharing more articles and tips about blogging and writing over the next few months, so check back and leave any questions you have below!

• Red telephone boxes with a twist.
• The Science of Social Timing will help you pick the best time to share a new blog post.
• Hipster Disney Princesses is so funny.
• Take a tour of Coco Chanel's apartment.
• This video of pandas on a slide is the cutest thing ever:

• These inspiration pads with wavy lines are sure to lead to creative note-taking.
• I want to drink buttered popcorn vodka in music glasses.
• Ikea's new catalogue uses augmented reality.
• On that note, I might need to hack an Ikea lamp in to an iPad holder.
• This video of lightning captured at 7,207 images per second is amazing:

• I want this bunny chair for my evil genius lair.
• This rainbow building in Paris is amazing.
• I'm working my way through Miquette's quirky film list.
• Life sized Monopoly has taken over the streets of Chicago.
• These amazing skulls make me want to bead my own.

What great links have you visited this week?

Ariel has been a member of CO+K since February 2011 which led her to my blog. She loves Instagram, Harry Potter, Good Charlotte and chocolate covered strawberries. One day, she hopes to be a student, her favourite colour is pink and her most prized possession is a doll of Woody from Toy Story.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was younger, I really wanted to be an animation artist for Disney. I actually have worked at Disney World since, but not in anything fancy like that! My dream job today changes a lot. It always stems around helping animals, and right now, it's working at zoos and museums to raise awareness for endangered species or helping them directly in the wild. I'd also love to be a paleontologist with a career focused on prehistoric environmental changes and the animals' adaptations, paralleling with today's endangered species.

Where should we visit if we come to your town?

Binder Park Zoo is a great little zoo in Battle Creek, MI. I especially love the red pandas and cheetahs. The office I work for did a fundraiser for them last year and will do the same this year. We were able to “adopt” three animals! For my last birthday, my mom offered me a pedicure or a “Zookeeper for a Day” program, and, of course, I chose the latter. It was a LOT of hard work, but it was a great experience!

Where do you look for inspiration?

I never really have a problem being inspired to create! I love to make stories come to life by making Harry Potter creations and other things like that. I have a plush Peeta doll from the Hunger Games I hand sewed out of felt. I have tons of clay characters like Harry, Ron, Hermione, Peter Pan, Wendy, Alice, the Caterpillar... My resources are definitely books, movies, and music. Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Elixir, Stargirl, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Great Gatsby, Disney Princess movies, Toy Story and other Pixar movies, Good Charlotte, Big Time Rush, Hilary Duff's music...the list goes on quite a while.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?

I've been picked on and bullied all my life, and my parents told me since I was young to do my own thing and not worry about what anybody else thinks.

What would your three wishes be?

I'm going to be honest- I'm taking a lot of time to answer this one! Obvious things are money, world peace, ending world hunger, no wars, and...more wishes!

1) Everyone to have a job that makes them happy. A job can truly make or break a person. It's what you do for most of your day for most of your life. Everyone has at least one thing that they can do spectacularly or one thing that makes them truly happy. I just wish that we could all get the education required and be able to do things well, day in and day out, happily, and get paid for it.

2) Everyone to properly understand each other's thoughts, feelings, and intentions. I truthfully believe that would end racism, sexism, and all arguments in the world.

3) Unlimited free travel accommodations for my friends, my family, and myself.

Ariel has just opened her first Etsy shop selling flower crowns, clay pendants, cards, and postcards. She also said to check out GalaDarling.com as her site has made a huge difference to her life!

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I love Regina's music and her tomboy pin-up style, so she was the perfect choice for this week's DIY the look. Grab your songbook and let's get started:

1. Add some mermaid waves to your hair with Sarah.
2. Accessorize with a combat cap like Expired Sanity.
3. Recreate Doe Deere's Russian royalty make-up.
4. Get magical powers from a unicorn ring like Mary.
5. Sew a ruffled t-shirt like Maja.
6. Add some Soviet kitsch to your look with Boebba's matroskas.
7. Write down your song ideas in Ashley's felt composition notebook.
8. Make a paper bag skirt with the help of Jule.
9. Add a little quirk to your look with Rachel's tiny terrarium necklace.
10. Turn old shoes new with bisozozo.

Do you love Regina's music?

Have you converted your Facebook profile to the new Timeline yet? If so, you'll have noticed the new cover photo option at the top. This is a great way to personalise your profile and show off who you are. The problem is, what should you put in it? I debated on this for ages, unable to settle on any one photo and in the end, decided I should create something unique filled with all the things I loved. Want some help with your own? Here are my tips for creating an awesome Facebook cover. You'll need image editing software (I used Fireworks) and a bit of tech know-how, but there's nothing too tricky that some Googling won't help.

First things first, make sure you've converted your profile to the new Timeline. Now is also a great time to decide if you want to allow subscribers. This is a good idea if you gets lots of Friend Requests from people you don't know who want to follow your updates.

1. Start with a photo or texture

Take a screen grab of the top of your current Facebook page and open it in your image editing software. Select the space taken up by your current cover photo and delete. Make this the top layer and lock in place. Create a layer below and either add a photo or fill it with a pattern. To add a pattern, draw a rectangle slightly larger than the cover image and set the Fill Option to Pattern before picking something you like. Check out SubtlePatterns.com if you're out of inspiration.

2. Put your stamp on it

If you've got a logo for your business or even yourself, add it to your cover. You can take your time to intricately chop it out but I just pasted mine on top and set the Layer Blending Mode to Multiply.

3. Add a speech bubble

A speech bubble is a nifty way to add more info to your profile and is a little more visible than the current About box. You can even add a cheeky link to your blog or website if you like. I created mine by combing a rounded rectangle with a triangle. I then used the standard Facebook font, Lucida Grande and colour to write my message. I also added a note above the Subscribe Button to make it stand out a little bit more.

Warning: If you're making a cover for your business page, you're not allowed to add any text, so miss this step out! For more information on restrictions for business pages, check out this FAQ.

4. Add things you love

Now you can really get creative by adding photos of all the things you love. Think polaroids, photo strips, favourite possessions or things you collect. Photograph each item against a white background, trace around the outline with the Select tool, choose Select Inverse and delete the background. Choose a position and size that looks right for each item and just keep adding until you're happy with the look.

5. Use shadows

You can make your possessions stand out by adding a shadow to each of them. Make sure to keep it subtle by adjusting the shadow settings for an even more realistic look. I also created a frame shadow around the entire cover image to make it look inset from the page.

Are you happy with how your cover looks? If so, delete the layer with your Facebook profile on and crop the image to size. It should be 851 x 350 pixels. Export as a jpeg and upload to Facebook. Stand back and admire your work. Now if only I could pick a profile photo I don't look stupid in... too bad there are no Fireworks tricks for that!

Resources:

• Facebook Help: Add a Cover Photo
• Transitioning a Facebook page to Timeline.
• Create an Instagram photo collage for your Facebook Timeline Cover.
• Facebook Timeline Cover Images: 6 Pointers.

What do you have as your Facebook cover image and what other tech tips would you like me to write about?