Workin' On...

Been working on websites A. Lot. Lately. Work...pay bills...work...pay bills...lather, rinse, repeat.

I'm not complaining...happy to have the work:)

Every day, I go back and revisit what I've done, and where I need to go next. I just love how this site shaped up. I think these bottom three boxes are so fun!

SO great when folks come to me with good pictures...makes a site really pop.

Happy:)

0

I am a big dork...

It's not exactly news that I've turned blog designing into my full time job...

I love blogs...I love designing them...I love design in general.

It's kinda like finally getting to use my two design degrees to pull together color schemes and logos and breathe a personality into web pages...I really love it.

So...today when I get feedback from my client saying..."I want the social bookmark icons to reflect the name of the blog..."...

Here's what I came up with: I think they are SO darn fun! (me whispering "hover over each of them") ...and yes...I am a big dork;)

11

To sum it up

I was asked to speak at a little conference up in Holland Michigan called Gleek Retreat.

It's actually been a while since I've been to a bloggy gathering. Long story short, I met some new friends, saw some old friends, and drank a sour apple martini...That's a pretty good weekend in my book! It was also very productive since pretty much all of the speakers were really on their game;)

I was asked to have my intro video here so you can check it out...

I also wanted to provide some links to great design resources I use to make the blog world a more beautiful place...so off you go...

Graphics:
Vecteezy- free illustrations, icons, patterns, and if you use Photoshop or Illustrator, they have free brush packs as well;)
Vector4free.com- I got a few of my vectors for the video from this site. Dig around, there is some great stuff here. 
Magic People- I'm new to this site, but if you dig around, you can find some great illustrations of people.
Fenderskirts Vintage Imagery- If you are going retro, or pin up girl, this site is for you. I REALLY love the images here. (most cost about $6) Go check it out for ideas, there's SO much here.
Tack-O-Rama- Another GREAT resource for retro images, background tiles, and photos. Some are free, some cost under $5...worth checking out.
Pixels & Cream- This is a cute site on Blogger with pretty (fabulous) freebies and premium brushes, patterns and illustrations. (Some really nice Doodle Frames here)
DaPino-Colada- I have never used any vectors from this site...but there are some really cute illustrations of women here.
stock.xchng- Just a great free stock photo site.
Stockvault.net- I don't use this one as much, but it's another free photo site.
Dreamstime- Has both free, and commercial photos for use.

Fonts:
dafont.com- If I had a dollar for every minute I spend on this site. Don't get lost...m'kay?

Color Sites:

COLOURlovers- Great free site for colors, patterns and palettes. Oh...an free;)
Kuler- Probably the coolest thing I've seen to do with color! No surprise it's from Adobe (Oh Adobe...I heart you so much...why don't you ever call me back?) I'd say watch this little video from Adobe TV (Why don't I work there?) before you get started with Kuler.

So WOW...that's a lot of links. I gotta think that will get you started towards a great blog design;)

5

Blog Design Matters

So, I told you I spoke about Design at Bloggy Boot Camp Philly. Well, I put together a little intro to my presentation. My goal was to get women pumped about their place in social media...and then to get them thinking about the foot they were putting forward with their look.

Without further ado...I give you...my blog design intro...

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Blog Design Resources

Well...I just got back from Bloggy Boot Camp Philly. (Where I had the privilege of presenting on blog design & branding yourself in social media)

First...What. A. Blast. I. Had!!! Loved speaking, loved meeting everyone, I even loved the appletinis I drank:P

I'll show the cool video from my presentation later this week, right now, I want to give everyone the list of resources to get your blog design rocking and rolling. Most of them are free, or pretty darn cheap. Like I said in my presentation..."Me likey the free:)"

Graphics:

Vecteezy- free illustrations, icons, patterns, and if you use Photoshop or Illustrator, they have free brush packs as well;)

Vector4free.com- I got a few of my vectors for the video from this site. Dig around, there is some great stuff here. 


Magic People- I'm new to this site, but if you dig around, you can find some great illustrations of people.


Fenderskirts Vintage Imagery- If you are going retro, or pin up girl, this site is for you. I REALLY love the images here. (most cost about $6) Go check it out for ideas, there's SO much here.


Tack-O-Rama- Another GREAT resource for retro images, background tiles, and photos. Some are free, some cost under $5...worth checking out.


Pixels & Cream- This is a cute site on Blogger with pretty (fabulous) freebies and premium brushes, patterns and illustrations. (Some really nice Doodle Frames here)


DaPino-Colada- I have never used any vectors from this site...but there are some really cute illustrations of women here.


stock.xchng- Just a great free stock photo site.


Stockvault.net- I don't use this one as much, but it's another free photo site.


Dreamstime- Has both free, and commercial photos for use.


Fonts:

dafont.com- If I had a dollar for every minute I spend on this site. Don't get lost...m'kay?

Color Sites:

COLOURlovers- Great free site for colors, patterns and palettes. Oh...an free;)


Kuler- Probably the coolest thing I've seen to do with color! No surprise it's from Adobe (Oh Adobe...I heart you so much...why don't you ever call me back?) I'd say watch this little video from Adobe TV (Why don't I work there?) before you get started with Kuler.


So WOW...that's a lot of links. I gotta think that will get you started towards a great blog design;)


Thanks SO much Tiffany and Bloggy Boot Camp for giving me the opportunity to speak to, and meet all of the wonderful people I met at Boot Camp Philly!

15

Designer's Showcase

Amber was the winner of my Twitter page design contest! I wanted to show you what I cooked up for her. Up 'til now, she had this fabulous avatar with the pink and black hair (Can you see it up in the corner there?)

She was game for an illustration, and I kinda had fun with it. Truth is, I had a few designs come along that were photo based, and I was happy about that. I didn't want to become pigeon holed as the blog designer who illustrates. (I'll be showcasing those blog designs in the coming weekends.)

Bottom line, go check out Amber's new Twitter page, and follow her while you're at it...she's a cool chick, and I can't wait to meet her at Blogher!

Pah-leeze Mommy

On New Year's Eve, my gal pal Sissy had a fabulous party to go to with the beautiful people. She stopped by our place all decked out before she went to the ball. Miss Peach got all dolled up (yes, this is one of the ballerina dresses from the Joffrey Ballet sale).

Miss Peach: "Mommy, pah-leeze can I go out with Sissy?!?"

Me: "No Miss Peach, Mommy is sorry, but you can't go with Sissy tonight:("

Miss Peach: "Pah-leeze Mommy...I'll be home by 10 o'clock:)"

*This is a conversation I should be having with a teenager, not a 4 year old...Good Lord!*

___________________________________________

On a completely unrelated note...I've been MIA in the blogland:( You know how I wrestle with jumping my little Blogger ship to the land of self hosted? Well...I jumped.

No, not on this blog. I really like this blog. I like the look, I like the platform...I'm sticking around.

I did however want to kick my design blog up a level.

So click on over and check out the new and improved NW Designs!

I'm still getting settled...but you get the idea...What do you think...looks good, no?

20

The Great Debate

OK, truth time...or should I say "time-out"? By now, I sometimes think I am the only dinosaur who actually goes to the blog to read, and leave comments. (I do have Google Reader, but as a designer, I enjoy checking out other folks blog skins.)

I work on the three major platforms...Blogger, Typepad, and Wordpress (mainly self hosted). Lately, I have noticed that boatloads of Blogger folks have been jumping ship to Wordpress self hosted.

This is a cycle that goes round and round in my head. "Should I jump ship too?" I have even discussed it with other bloggers. Some say..."You'll never be taken seriously until you leave Blogger." Others say..."Your blog looks great, you should totally stay on Blogger."

Straight up, when I get a client who tells me they want to switch, I always ask them..."What do you want from Wordpress, that Blogger can't give you?" Sometimes they have an answer, sometimes they don't. Either way, I'm happy to move them, and then I go through it in my head all over again..."Should I jump ship too?"

I know my answer to the question. What is the one thing I want, that Blogger won't give me...wider post on the click-through. Do you know what I mean by that? Check out Dooce. Notice when you click on a picture...she drops the sidebar down, and the post area/picture widens. In a blog traffic world, this equals higher stats, plus I think it's really cool. I like it. Drupal is the platform she is on...quite frankly, I'm a bit intimidated by it:O

To my knowledge, I have not seen any Wordpress blogs doing this. (I am sure there is a way to code it, but code guru is not my forte. I design a mean blog, but I still have a lot to learn in the coding arena.) OhMommy has this feature, she however is on a YouJoomla template. I like her template, but I wasn't wowed by any of the other YouJoomla's. Again, I was a bit intimidated by YouJoomla. I am not sure if you loose your content by making the jump?

Then, I see someone like NieNie. Who was on Oprah a week or so ago. OK, this blog is easily up there with the big dogs (I know that Pioneer Woman reads her). Not only is she on Blogger, but she still has the .blogspot in her url, and the Blogger navbar is visible. You know what, I think her blog is lovely. I watched her blog as she was on Oprah. Can I just say that Blogger handled the Oprah traffic spike seamlessly (am I safe to assume there is an Oprah traffic spike?)...'cause it did. I have seen smaller self hosted blogs crash during traffic spikes.

All of this leads me to thinking..."Who do I think I am?" I'm certainly not in the league of NieNie and Dooce. Where do I go? Am I taken less seriously because I'm still on Blogger? Oh, and don't even get me started on whether or not I will loose all my Feedburner numbers. In a bloggers' world, this number is gold. (in my imaginary world, someday I will cross the 1,000 subscriber mark *she says wringing her hands like Mr. Burns*)

So I put this to the class. What do you all think? Do you have a lesser opinion of Blogger blogs? Does it matter what platform a blog is on? I'm curious...and I need my head to stop spinning:/

31

Deflated

Nothing like a conversation with your mother to make you feel like you've been punched in the gut:P Now, don't get me wrong, I have a good relationship with my mom. This is not a trash mom post. She does however, have the tact of a bull in a china shop at times...

Mom called me up today to tell me another story of a blogger who had been discovered *poof* movie deal. I said "quite frankly, I don't know how to take my blog to the next level." To which she replied..."Well, the way your blog looks now, I think you've lost your appeal to the mommy blogger market." Ummmm.....What?

First off, as a person who spent the last year designing over 60 blogs...that is really a blow to the ego. I mean, I am proud of my little bloggy business. I think I've learned a lot, and cranked out some really good work. That being said, I gotta tell you, my personal blog design was not intended to "appeal to the mommy blogger market". I never even thought about it. Should I have?

The design of my blog has evolved over time. I started with two columns, then went to three. I felt like my sidebars had gotten cluttered, so I figured out how to utilize the footer (I parked a lot of blog stuff there). Tabs, full page header, split sidebar...it all came one piece at a time. I really think my blog is clean. Have I stumbled into some bad lighting? Have I lost readers from my appearance? Is there something wrong with my look? I can feel my ego deflating like a punch balloon...plllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllt!

This conversation came about over my new header. If you are in a reader, click over. I felt like changing my header (I do it almost monthly). The thing about knowing how to design...it is both a blessing and a curse. It means no matter how your blog looks, you are never satisfied, and you always come up with new things to do. This current look...I felt the need to go sketchy. You know, kind of a deconstructed look. Me personally, I really like it. I added texture to give it kind of a designer paper look (although, I want to tweak the texture on the character a bit...see what I mean...never done).

Bottom line, and I know it's ironic for a blog designer to say this, I don't think design matters if you have good content. That being said, if you can get a great look for under a hundred bucks...why wouldn't you? I think it is fun...like getting a new pair of shoes:)

Which leaves me right back where I started...Is there such a thing as an offensive design? Is there anything about my look that turns you, the reader off? What appeals to you in the look of a blog? Who am I? Will I ever feel like a grown up? Are Jack and Kate going to blow up the island (oops...that's another post)...let 'er rip, I promise...I can take it (excuse me while I go sit in the corner and bite my nails...)

31

Blogger Can be Cool! (Part 1)

Quite frankly, many times people treat Blogger like it is the c-list blogging option. It's like, you start blogging on Blogger, then you grow up and leave Blogger to self host. I always get this from clients. (I have nothing against self hosting, I just don't think it is necessary for everyone) I think the problem is that folks don't know that many of the things you see on self hosted blogs, can be achieved on Blogger. You just have to dig around for some smart person who has figured out how to do it.

A client came to me this week, and she didn't mind if I blogged through the process. Soooo, I'm going to just show you what kinds of things can be done (not all things have to be done, it's a matter of picking and choosing what is right for you).

The client is I Need a Martini Mom. Let me say first off, you don't have to have a pimped out site to have a great blog. Miss Thang gets bucco traffic to her site (she has over 700 followers, gee...I feel small time). That said, there are many things that can be done to make her look fabulous! Let's look at a screen shot...
I'll tell you right here and now, the first two things I would do right off the bat are...

1) I would host that bad boy on it's own domain. You will not loose your followers, and it won't affect your Feedburner numbers (Feedburner is not a worry unless you change hosting, in this instance, you are still hosting with Blogger). You will lose your Google Pagerank, which is a bummer:( I'd still drop the .blogspot.

2) I would hide that Blogger Navbar. I don't know why, but I have grown to hate that thing:P I think it's bulky and cheap looking. It is very easy to hide. Check here for simple details on how to do it.

Now then, the next thing I do is go away and design a look/graphic (I don't go to Istock, I draw something no one else will have). This project was easy peasy...I have been dying to do a hot mamma in a martini glass (so psyched for this to come my way!)
*Poof* Here's the graphic I drew. Don'cha LOVE our Martini Mom!?!

Now, I go to a test site, and put together the whole look for client approval. I will be posting that step in the next few days. (I gotta do it first)

I will tell you, if you are going to Blogher...I signed up for the Geek Lab Room of Your Own Series. Go vote if you would like to have some tips and tricks for pimping out your blog, as well as branding and coming up with an overall look (not just code stuff)...you have to search to the bottom of the page (mine is Blog Design) Let 'em know if you would attend in the comments (so far, I have no one...sad I know)

That being said, I think branding is the funnest (is that a word?) part of the whole thing. I LOVE coming up with looks for peoples blogs. It's so fun! I LOVE the graphic I came up with for Martini Mom, and whether you can draw or not, there are so many avenues for coming up with your own look....I am getting off my soapbox...now:)

I am going to go away and pimp the test site...then I'll post again to show you what else I came up with to complete this makeover...more later;)

17

Magic Time

OK, so this project came across my computer. The blog's name is "Where the Wild Kings Are" The client had no idea what she wanted, just that she wanted her family of 5 worked into the header (the client wanted a custom header only)

I could not resist the opportunity to take on a project like this! I mean, how could I not make this look like the book by Maurice Sendak "Where the Wild Things Are"? Now then, while I was sure I could do this...it was not a style I had illustrated in before. The client was totally on board with it...so off I go to create a her family version of a Maurice S. style header...

I started by illustrating each character in the woods setting like the book...Now you would think "wow Warden, you can draw" but here's the thing. I sketch the heck out of an illustration, then I clean it up (a ton) in Photoshop. What I lack in drawing skills, I make up for in Photoshop skills;) Believe me...I doctored the sh*t out of this pic. OK, so I get sketch approval from the client, now it's magic time...

First, I decided to add the color in Photoshop...Now, this looks pretty good, but the point of this project is not to make it pretty good. The project is to make the design look like the illustration work of Maurice Sendak. So, here is what I decided to do...I printed the image. Then, I did pen shading over the top. I knew on paper, that would look great, the unknown was "how will it look once I scaned it back onto my computer?"

Guess what, it looked better than I expected:) I was really pleased with the scanback...but it wasn't quite right...Then it hit me! I added a film gradient filter to it, and pow! It was done...Check it out...For this post, I shrunk the pixel size. Real size the film gradient is quite stunning. Basically,the goal was to give her family a Maurice Sendak, story book feel. I was winging it a bit, but I'm really happy with the result:)

On a completly unrelated note, I have been buried in blog work this week and I so have to play catch up with everyone:P I know it's lame, but I'm trying here. Oh, I emailed potential BFF...she wants to do a play date on Monday...Yay! I'll let you know how it goes...

33

I've LOST That Lovin' Feeling

Well blah de friggin' blah! LOST gave us NOTHING! Was it me, or did they run more commercials than content? Will some company pah-lease buy the show up and do an hour role through? C'mon Apple, I'm typing this on my Mac Book Pro. I'll go out and buy an Air, or the new Shuffle, or an Iphone...whatever. If you make LOST run commercial free, I'll even buy a new Mac Book Pro! Who's with me!?!

I got nothing this week:P I'm loving Sawyer in charge! Way to smack down Jack in the Sawyer Juliet love shack...loved it! I refuse to believe that Sawyer turns on Sayid next week. Not. Going. To. Believe. It. You just know the sh*t is gonna hit the fan with Juliet and Kate...CATFIGHT! Holy whacked on the side of the head Sun...well done! I totally got a chuckle when youth Ben said his name to Sayid (cue creepy music) Other than that, I got nothing:P

As usual, we are hanging 'til next week:(

_______________________________________

A lot of folks have been asking about the Illustration Site. So far, the college dude is in the wind (way to bum me out) They were on spring break last week. I did send a follow up email on Monday morning. I just don't get how someone can be so gung ho about a project one moment, and in the wind the next? I just don't get it? Rest assured, I don't give up so easily (think dog chewing on a bone) There are many art schools in The Big City (and I have attended them all) Tom. I am calling my other alma mader...Keep your fingers crossed xxx...

On the design front...I have been buried in new projects. Which is excellent on the one hand. It does however put adding new work to the stock site on the back burner (I'll get there) I swear to you...I finished The. Best. Header. I've. Ever. Done! I'll show it to you all tom. I want the client to see it first. Every once in a while, I have a moment where I think "I actually CAN draw" It's rare, but it happened with this one...More tom:)

9

Strange New Years

What a strange New Years it was for me. I'm not sure if I totally am allowed to go into the whole saga, but let me start and see where we get to...

I didn't have any plans, I spent the day wandering around the blogosphere, and installing a new design. Somewhere along the way, I came across a blog I designed that had been made over by a new designer. It looked great...and I get that everyone likes to change (seriously, how often do I change my blog?) I don't know, I have/hate to admit...my nose was a bit out of joint over it:P
I know there is no rational reason for this:P I just can't help but wonder "did they not like what I did for them" or "why didn't they ask me to do the re-design" or "is so-in-so's work better than mine" let's not forget "do I suck?" I so know I am overthinking this...I do. It's not like I'm someones hairdresser and they dumped me, that would be a way bigger deal;) Then I found myself hating my design blog's look and in dire need of changing/updating it...We are talking downward spiral.....

Insert break here

Now I found myself driving down town to the hospital. This was so not what I had intended for New Year's Eve! It was so weird, like I was watching a movie. Here I was on Michigan Avenue, watching all the girls in their heels and short, cute, going out garb...and I was on my way to the hospital!?! How did this happen? (Now, everyone is OK, but I have to get permission before I go into detail on the hospital situation)

So, I sat in the hospital for about an hour and a half, then I went home. Seriously, a hospital on New Years is not what anyone plans for...

Back to the design crisis

I got up this morning, went back downtown to pick up _____ from the hospital. I was still wrestling with the whole idea of change and designing better blogs. I decided I didn't hate my look...I just needed to update it. Sooooo, I got home and sat in bed (with Miss Peach who was sick) and redesigned my NW Designs site (and added a custom domain to boot...went with www.nwdesignsit.com) Go check it out...I'll wait:) Looks good, don't you think? It is amazing how much better I feel now (yes I will be seeking help from the blog designers hotline)
There you go...that was my New Year's. If I get the OK, I will tell you all about the hospital...I really want to.

Give me something good...How was your New Years???

27

Questions

Well...you are the blogosphere, so I'm putting it to you. By now, you know I am a stay at home Mom. I do custom illustrating and blog design when kiddos nap. I finally came to the end of my orders. So what's a Mom to do? Well, I've decided to get together a portfolio on Istockphoto.

I already have a few illustrations to submit, but I want to do a few more while I have the time to draw. One of my questions for you is..."What kind of images would you want?" I am just looking for ideas of what to draw. Should I just stick with women on laptops...or women shopping...what else? Quite frankly in my travels through designing, most of my illustration requests are for women. I'm kind of thinking I should stick with that, but what else should they be doing? Ideas please...

My other question, which I have already put to you is..."How about (www.nwbrand.com) for my url?' I need to drop the .blogspot from my design site, and I can't deciede what the url should be:P You all gave me some great ideas...but I want to stick with "NW" I don't want to change the business name. I'm not sure why, but I don't want to spell out Nap Warden in the name? I don't want to limit myself to "blog design" since I do custom illustration work. I also want to keep the url fairly short. I know I'm over thinking this:P It is driving me crazy...I think I can live with "nwbrand.com"...Do you hate it? What do you think?

19

Got The Look

If you are reading in a reader...click on through. I have changed my look! There are many different platforms one can use to blog on. I have switched many of you to Wordpress, I have worked on Typepad. I really see the pluses and minuses of both.
That being said...I kinda love Blogger. I started on Blogger, I think it can do much more than most folks know (check out these Blogger blogs)(or this blog...it is on Blogger! Way!). Note to self...figure out Flash.

Soooo, I set out to make my blog look better. I wanted to clean up the sidebars. I was tired of the typical sidebar, post, sidebar (not that there is anything wrong with that). After digging around some of the bigger blogs, there were two things I decided I really liked...

1) I like the wide sidebar post area, followed by a split sidebar.
2) I like column utilization of the footer.

It seemed to if I could get that look in Blogger, I would be happy:) Guess what? You CAN get that look in Blogger! Now, I am not going to take credit for any of this. The split sidebar, I had a blogger friend of mine (who at this time will remain nameless) get her code guru brother to figure that out (thank you, I love it). As far as the footer (scroll down and check it out) I found this great site (Blogger Busters). They explained how to get the three columns in the footer.
I love this look! It cleans out the sidebars and puts the blog business at the bottom in an organized fashion. I feel like I just cleaned out my closets or something!

One last thing I did...and I would like your opinion on this...I have only three posts on the front page. The reason I did this is, I find the load time is sooo much faster if the page doesn't have to load 8 or 10 posts. I like the fast load time. I am not sure if people often read past the first three posts...

What do you think? Digging the new look?

33

The Winner is...

I have been a total slacker. Well, maybe not total? For those of you wondering...Confessions of a Mississippi Mom won my blog makeover giveaway! I am currently working with her on a fabulous new look! (fwiw, it is hot!)
I was so psyched to have so many of you comment and I wish I could give you all free makeovers...but I can't:( A girl's gotta eat, ya know? Here's what I can do...I'll give everyone who commented $5 off either a custom header, or a custom blog design. Yay!!! So if you are in need of a slick new look, or if you just need a holiday splash added to your blog, shoot me an email (napwarden(at)yahoo(dot)com) and we will make you look FABULOUS & FESTIVE!

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