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I guess there are basically two sides to this blog redesign series … the artistic side, and the more tech related side. We’ll be kind of jumping back and forth week to week from one to another – this week it’s the artistic. You know, the fun stuff! 😉 I have six blog tips to share plus a worksheet to start making some design choices. So far in this series, we’ve talked about getting a vision for your branding so you can know what you’re aiming for, and then the next week we covered where to blog and how to … Read more

Why is it that we blog? Why not just write in a journal? The specific answers may vary, but in the end it all comes down to the audience – the readers. Maybe you want to make people laugh, maybe you want to offer people help, maybe you want to share stories, maybe you want to draw traffic to make money. It’s all variations on a theme: finding readers. Because if we didn’t want readers, we would just write in in a private journal. So when people land on your site, if they are your target readership, you want them … Read more

Hey everyone! First of all, thanks soooooooo much to all of you who commented on last week’s post about blog branding! It is hugely helpful to me as we move forward in this weekly series to know what is working and what people find useful, and how the process is going for you! (Plus, it’s just a lot of fun to hear from you. Comments = candy for a blogger.) Also, before we get into the meat of today’s post, I want to tap into the collective blogging minds that are reading this and ask you a question — do … Read more

I’m soooo excited! This is the beginning of the DIY blog design makeover series (which I’ve really been looking forward to!) where I’ll be taking one person’s blog and doing a 10-part complete redesign, makeover and transfer to WordPress — and giving tutorials and tips, as a graphic designer, on how to do your own blog makeover as well. I hope that any of you who are bloggers as well will find it helpful- at the end of this post there is a free printable worksheet, as pictured above, which I have made to help you start down this road. … Read more

Well, we’re preparing for the big move! And I don’t mean our move to Boston, although we are leaving for that TOMORROW! (WOOHOO!) But actually, in the context of blogging, I’m talking about how to move from Blogger to WordPress. This series is now in week 8 and we’ve been making great progress working on Lori’s blog redesign (and hopefully you’ve been making progress on your blog too!) as we’ve been going through this series. The goal was to use Lori’s blog, In My Kitchen, In My Life as a demonstration on how to create a new fully branded look, … Read more

Well, I’ll be perfectly honest – I’m going to be stepping on my own toes for this week’s “Seek the things above” post. It’s about want vs. need. I wish I had more of the attitude expressed here in Proverbs 30: give me only what I NEED. I’m more fond of wants and comforts than I wish I was. And, sure, many people in our society wouldn’t look at my life and call it the most luxurious. We don’t make tons of money by US standards. But is that really the standard? Compared to many countries today and throughout history, … Read more

I just love the following verse. It’s been awhile since I’ve made any more verse printables, and the principle of this verse is something that we, as a family, have been talking about lately, so I decided to make it into a printable. Plus, I’ve been wanting to tell you about the “Family Improvement Game”, and it just ties in so well … Openness in family communication is just soooo important. And by openness, I don’t mean just-say-the-first-thing-that-comes-into-your-head-who-cares-if-it-is-kind-or-right … I don’t think that is what this verse is talking about, and is directly opposite of being “quick to hear, slow … Read more

I’ve been working on the final post of the Creative Biz Challenge on marketing for today – but I’ve just realized there is no way I’m going to be able to get it all finished in time and be able to do any sort of justice to the subject! So I’m going to postpone that post until Monday, Lord willing, and work on having it done for then. BUT in the meantime, I thought this would be fun to do … share your ideas, and I might include your tips and give a shout-out to your shop in my post … Read more

I’ve been working on the final post of the Creative Biz Challenge on marketing for today – but I’ve just realized there is no way I’m going to be able to get it all finished in time and be able to do any sort of justice to the subject! So I’m going to postpone that post until Monday, Lord willing, and work on having it done for then. BUT in the meantime, I thought this would be fun to do … share your ideas, and I might include your tips and give a shout-out to your shop in my post … Read more

I’ve been working on the final post of the Creative Biz Challenge on marketing for today – but I’ve just realized there is no way I’m going to be able to get it all finished in time and be able to do any sort of justice to the subject! So I’m going to postpone that post until Monday, Lord willing, and work on having it done for then. BUT in the meantime, I thought this would be fun to do … share your ideas, and I might include your tips and give a shout-out to your shop in my post … Read more