Did you miss the January newsletter? Well you'd best grab a cup of tea and settle down to catch up then!...

Dear all,

Welcome to my monthly newsletter. I apologise for this one being the first since November but I've been so busy with the site and just getting the weekly updates out which are proving more popular it seems!

Here's a round up...

NEWS...

• This month Hazel shared this news with the community: "I learned this week that pearl Jordan a USA character doll maker has passed away. She had been ill for a few years. She visited at Miniatura a couple of times and her dolls wereplaced in very realistic settings that told a story just by looking at them.
  She will be missed in miniature. Condolences to her family and friends." by Hazel
• We here at icklebits echo those sentiments

NEW MEMBERS...

Welcome to our new members! I would usually list them all here but we've had 34 members since the last monthly newsletter. 

 GALLERIES... 

• New...
  Kweeny
  • Savy Sense
  • Coia
  • PhredsFriends
  • Dollhouse Diva's Miniature World
  • Big Eye Betties Gallery
   

• New Photos...

  • New photo in McQueenies gallery. 1 new photo in Furniture.
• We now have 29 galleries.

BLOGS...

• New Blogs...
  Kweeny's House
  Savy Sense
  Big Eye Betties The Blog
  Diminutive Dwellings 

• TUTORIALS...
• New Tutorials Links...
  • Molded Ball Mask

• Video Tutorials (you must be logged in first)...

  • 179 new video tutorials since last newsletter!!!

  • *New Features!*
  • New tutorials will also be printed in an article on the projects page of the website. Click here to visit...
  • Layout of Video Tutorials section improved. Can now create a playlist, Add favourites, Create your own channel! 
• Click here to see all new tutorials for January
• We now have 708 tutorials listed on icklebits (including videos)!!!

ARTICLES...

• New Articles...
  • Medals for 2010 awarded! Did you win? 
  • Doreen Jeffries Stafford Fair Report by Hazel Dowd
  • The Importance Of Your Dollhouse Kits And Accessories by Therese Kuster
  • We Want Your Suggestions!
  • Victorian Era Dollhouses - What to Know Before You Start
  • Have You Seen Our Forum?
  • Why Can't I View Video Tutorials?
  • How do I view the latest posts on blogs?

COMPETITIONS...

• Raffle...
  • FREE for January!
  • You can enter as many times as you wish!
  • Prizes:
    • 1st = 300
    • 2nd = 200
    • 3rd = 100

• Medals and points have been awarded for 2010! 

  • Most Active - most active in 2010 (not including custom points which are prizes etc) - Lynxes (awarded 100 points)
  • Most Loyal - awarded to the person who achieved the most daily logins in 2010 - Lynxes (awarded 50 points)
  • Top Poster - awarded to the person who posted the most replies in the forum for 2010 - Hazel (awarded 50 points)
  • Top Inviter - awarded to the peson who successfully invited the most new members for 2010 - lisalou (awarded 50 points)
  • Top Rater - awarded to the person who rated the most articles in 2010 - Judy (awarded 50 points)
  • Honour Medal - Awarded to Hazel for all her contributions to the site. Hazel has spotted errors, posted loads in the forum, offered suggestions, submitted news and more importantly ideas! Thank you to Hazel (awarded 250 points).
• To view all medals click here.  

ICKLEPOINTS...

• New Ways To Earn Points...
  • Points will now be awarded when someone gets a medal.
  • 100 icklepoints awarded for any published poll.
  • 20 icklepoints awarded purely for suggesting a poll.
  • 1 point awarded for rating a tutorial video 

WEBSITE IMPROVEMENTS...

• Great response to the article...We Want Your Suggestions!
  • Removal of "Add Comment" from front page
  • "Read more" link made more prominent
  • Removal of the peel banner in the top right of most pages as its a distraction when reading.
  • Alteration to the welcome email to encourage new members to add a post in the forum introducing themselves.
  • Putting all miniature threads into one section rather than seperate to tidy it up a bit.
  • Method of submitting an article made clearer. 
  • Making donation method clearer. (Top right of screen)
  • Points awarded for rating tutorial videos (must be logged in first)
  • I wasn't aware that the video tutorials section wasn't showing all the categories. I'd wondered why it wasn't very popular! Anyway, that is now fixed.
• To-Do...
  • Setting up of a survey so we can better get to know what you want from icklebits.
  • Setting up of a book library including reviews and ratings. Also a way of purchasing them.
  • Setting up printables section (it's been very neglected)
  • Awarding points to members who submit their own printables
  • Awarding points to members when someone downloads their printables
  • Better menu navigation
• And here's the BIG ONE!......
  • I'm planning on starting to make some paper plates again in the next few months! This is subject to a few things but keep your fingers crossed. To keep an eye on that situation please make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter by clicking here. Will be a first come first served as will only be several hundred available at a time. May also only be on ebay. Undecided yet. Watch this space!

BUSINESS DIRECTORY...

• New Entries...
  • Hyland Park Miniatures
  • Click here to view the all of latest entries in our business directory. 

POLLS...

• New Polls...
  • No new polls this week. Why don't you suggest one? Email us at admin@icklebits.co.uk with your suggestion. 100 icklepoints for any published! (20 awarded regardless!)

NEWSLETTER... 

• Would you like FREE weekly updates sent to your inbox?
• These are just brief updates of new tutorials, galleries, blogs etc for that week to save you searching the website. We now offer that to your inbox for FREE!
• If you would like that then after logging in, click on Newsletter in the User Menu. Then go to My Subscriptions and tick "Yes" and Save. If you would rather we do that for you then email us at newsletter@icklebits.co.uk with your username and request and we'll do it.

See you next month!

Donna

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