Applying Holly's Ideas.

My blog looks different, as those of you who read regularly can see...

This change is the practical application of some of the lessons in my Blogging Your Way class by Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring of Decor8 and A Creative Mint respectively.

One of the lessons for my blogging class was doing a mood board for my blog. The point of the exercise was to help determine the style of my blog. Here is my first attempt at a mood board for my blog:

Do you see any themes in the board? (Blue, green, natural, swirls, pretty, white, hearts, India, - to name a few.)

Now, here is a picture of the old blog (in case you don't remember.)

Do you see any commonalities between the mood board and the old design? Yeah, me neither.

I worked SO HARD on that design but alas, my efforts were for naught (yes, I just used "alas" and "naught" in a sentence.) There is nothing in that old design that I really like. As a matter of fact, the thought that was rolling around my head every time I looked at it was "1950's Diner." 

The Doo Wop Diner. Maybe they'd like my design for their menu.

Now, there is nothing wrong with a "1950's Diner" motif, if you like 1950's diners. I'd like to visit a 1950's diner but I have no desire to live in one or feature one as the central theme on my blog. My blog reminded me of daisies and red-checked oilcloth tablecloths. FANTASTIC! But not me.

Obviously this discrepancy between the mood board and the old design meant that I needed to make a change.

So again, here is the mood board:

and here's the new look and feel:

I feel harmony restored.

The truly ironic thing is that I spent hours and hours on the old design but I just whipped the new one right up. I guess that's what happens when there is something tangible to work from. I'm also getting past the idea that I have to illustrate every element myself. Those swirly vines in the header are a font called DB Dainty Swirl. 

Another change is the little "About" blurb in the header. I'll also be adding an RSS feed button, a subscribe via email button and a Flickr button. Actually, I've made the buttons and I'll put them up as soon as I figure out how to create the links. I'm going to be tweaking it throughout the weekend and hopefully, I'll be able to figure out how to do some of the HTML to make it look exactly how I want it to look.

I'm really happy with how this looks now. I feel like it actually shows my style and aesthetic! Yeah, it still needs some tweaking but it's close!

Have a fantastic weekend!

H