I'm completely Insane!

Ok, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to add a new blog to my to-do list....but that's what I've done! It's a blog all about great party ideas. The plan is to feature party ideas from women all over blogland! People will submit a post from their own blog featuring their fabulous and creative party/entertaining ideas....... and then I will re-post their content and feature them on my new blog. The blog is www.creativepartiesandshowers.blogspot.com

All the info is over on the new blog...so hop on over and check it out! And don't be afraid to sumbit your party post! The whole idea is for it to be a place where other people can come and be inspired!

Cute Party Goods!

My not so baby girl is feeling better today. We definitely had the 24 hour bug!

Ok, so a few posts back I made reference to a blog client with super cute Party Decor! Remember her? Jess at Polkadots & Pirates.....


Well, I finished the blog and I have to say, it's one of my all time favorites! Everytime I look at it I get a smile on my face. It's one of those that just makes me happy! Have a look....


Jess has an Etsy friend that makes bibs that compliment her party decor. People...these are fabulous. I've never seen anything cuter for a birthday bib. I did iron on's for my kids. But this is waaaay cuter and to die for!
You can check out GOLDEN's etsy store to see more!



She makes hats too!

A Fresh New Look for ECD

I just finished the redesign of my design site. I wanted to streamline it to make it easier to read, understand, purchase, and get questions answered. Hop on over and have a look at the new ECD!

Get into the Awards Spirit....

My good blogland friend,Laurie over at Tip Junkie is hosting the first annual Tip Junkie Awards! There are lots of categories to choose from including.....BEST BLOG DESIGNER {{hint hint}}

Jump on over there and do some VOTING!! There are prizes for the winners! (click on the button below)



Doesn't the tip junkie girl look cute all dressed up!! I've been having fun "dressing" her for all of Laurie's fabulous ideas!

And don't forget to spread the word!!! It's way more fun when LOTS of people participate! So grab the button off her site and post about it! The nomination deadline is January 17th.

I won! I won!

My friend Darcy had a giveaway and guess what....I won! Soon a starbucks giftcard for $20 will arrive in the mail! I wish Darcy could join me...but alas, she lives FAR AWAY! She is a fellow blog designer and we have developed a friendship over the last several months. I honestly hope to meet her someday and have a cup of coffee! We instant message all the time! She has been a real encouragement to me as I've grown my business this past year! I don't know where I would be as a designer without her! Thanks Darcy! Isn't her link button super cute!



Ok, now onto way more trivial matters! I confess...I watch the Bachelor. I've watched every season except the one with the guy from France. Did you watch tonight? Did you see the last couple minutes when they did the overview of the upcoming season? Did you see that DeeAnna (the bachelorette from last season that let him go at the very end and chose the other guy) CAME BACK to tell Jason she made a mistake???!!! Did you see the shot of him in the midst of a gut wrenching cry that seemed to almost bring him to his knees???? Oh my goodness! It's gonna be an interesting season!! I know some of ya'll are judging me right now....OH WELL! What can I say, I've got issues!! LOL!

Two super yummy blogs!

I think it's some kind of cruel joke that as soon as I get into this plan to eat right for real....I end up doing two food related designs! The first is for the Glass Sipper Cakery. She likes to think of herself as a modern day Cinderella!

Then I did a professional blogsite for Jenny from the Picky Palate. She has several FABULOUS looking recipes for you to check out!

Wow, I think it might actually look professional!!!

Well, I've been working on this for awhile now and it's finally ready for the world to see! My new and improved website!!! I really wanted something that looked professional and came across looking like a website rather than a blog. I hope I accomplished that! Take a look and then come back and tell me what you think!

www.eightcrazydesign.com

Giveaways Galore!!!

First things first....I'm being featured Thursday by both the SITS Girls and Tip Junkie! Am I the luckiest girl in the world or what!!!! So exciting! I've been blessed to have Tiffany, Heather and Laurie all as blog design clients of mine! They are the best!

I've got two giveaways to share with ya'll! The first one is July 3rd only! Head on over to Tip Junkie to win a $28 gift card towards and EightCrazy Designs Blog Design. You know you want to "eightcrazyify" your blog!! Oh, and after today her giveaway continues with lots of other great stuff! CHECK IT OUT!!




The next is some BEAUTIFUL jewelry from Gems By George!! Head on over to her blog to enter to win a fabulous piece of jewelry vauled at $40!!!

giveaway

by the way....
come back tomorrow because I'm being featured by Tip Junkie and participating in a giveaway. You could win a $28 dollar gift card to eightcrazy designs!

20 Day giveaway coming up on Tip Junkie!!

Tip Junkie is celebrating her blogiversary with a 20 day giveaway! It's June 30th - July 28th Monday - Friday. *EightCrazy Designs will be participating in the giveaway on July 3rd!!



GO CHECK IT OUT!!

Another crazy Giveaway from the SITS Girls!

ok, seriously people. Now the SITS girls are giving away a bounce house!! A BOUNCE HOUSE YA'LL!! That's crazy! These girls know how to do a giveaway!!

You gotta check it out! Oh and if you go to SITS, grab their button code and add it to your blog...then go back to SITS and leave a comment and mention me....I get extra entries (only if you are new to SITS because of this though)!

I really want this for the church so we can use it at VBS and the church picnic! Wouldn't that be awesome!!

Create Your Own Experience

Laurie from Tip Junkie blessed me with the opportunity to redesign her personal blog. Take a trip on over to her blog and enjoy her creativity! She encourages you all to Celebrate Life as a Woman, Wife, and Mother!

Who knew?

Who knew that this blog designing thing would actually turn into something!? It really just kind of fell into my lap! About a year ago I took an html code class at the local community college because I'd really like to get into designing web pages. Well, for a designer code pretty much makes your brain go haywire! It's NOT my thing...all those formulas and stuff. I did up a webpage for my husbands business with what I learned but as a designer I was not satisfied.

Fast forward about 5 months......I knew two people who had blogs. My SIL and my friend Michelle. I would check them everyday and enjoyed getting the updates. I decided "what the heck" I'd jump into blogland. And so I did. I soon discovered the html code section and with the little bit that I learned in the class I figured out how to manipulate it to make my blog look just how I wanted it! FUN! So soon I was offering to spruce up my family and friends blogs as well.

Fast forward about 4 months......one of my new blog buddies, Jennifer P, sent me an email saying, "hey I purchased a blog design from this other designer but she flaked out on me. If I pay you will you design my blog for me?" Well twist my arm Jennifer! Then one of her friends who had the same thing happen emailed me too and Taffy Talk was my next design. It just spiraled from there into what it is now! I'm staying busy and I'm making a little moo-la along the way! Which is exciting because I will be able to purchase the design programs I need to further my website design education & capabilities!

Even more unexpected than having this business dropped into my lap is the fun I have going through the process with each client. Each client is different and I feel like I have these intense week long friendships with them. I miss them when I am done and it's fun to stop by their blogs and see what they are up to. One of the best parts is when they make comments like, "you don't even know me but the blog design you did for me looks JUST LIKE ME!" It's been strange yet fun and challenging to take the info the client gives me and translate their personality into a design.

The other unexpected benefit is how it helps to fill my "love tank" up. Gary Chapman has a book called The Five Love Languages. Basically there are 5 different ways that people give and receive love: 1. Acts of Service 2. Gifts 3. Quality Time 4. Physical Touch and 5. Words of Affirmation. For me the way that I best receive love (my love language) is through Time and Words of Affirmation. But I would say that words of affirmation is my number one! So for me it's been a blessing to do these designs and have my clients be so happy with how it turns out that they in turn have showered me with lots of affirmation. And then I get the added bonus of going to their blogs, reading their comments, and hearing the affirming comments from their readers about the new design.

So who knew when I started this little blogland adventure last summer that it would end up being something that......
*provided extra income
*would be a stepping stone to my goal of website design
*would be so fun
*would be a place where I would receive prayerful and scriptural encouragement at times from readers
*would speak my love language to me

I didn't know! But now I do.

I did two blog installs in the last couple days. Both of these women were so great to work with and they definitely spoke my love language to me OFTEN!! Thanks ladies. The first is Suzanne from At Home with the Farmer's Wife. What a great gal! Check her out!



The other is Marie who lives all the way over in FRANCE! She is a vintage postcard distributor and this week I will be duplicating the blog design for her in a French translation version (no I do not speak French...but she does!) We are in different time zones obviously and so my night owl tendancy paid off here. I'd be up late working and then she would get up, check the progress and we would communictate. Then she'd say good night and I'd say have a great day! Someday when my hubby and I go to Europe I may even take her up on her offer of a place to stay!! How fun would that be! I joked with her that since I now have an international client....does that make me a "world renound" blog designer! LOL! You should hop on over to her blog Cpaphil-Vintage Postcards and check out all those vintage postcards. They are fabulous!

Want to win a FREE Blog Design and MORE!

I recently designed a new blog for Mrs. R from the R Family Diaries and Heather from Mindless Junque. They have joined forces to create a new blog together. Their new blog venture is called The Secret is in The Sauce. They plan to feature a new blogger everyday! Their goal is to promote YOUR blog viewership AND increase your comments!!

They are kicking things off with a HUGE GIVEAWAY! The giveaway includes a custom EightCrazy Designs total blog makeover! If you love the way your blog looks already, you could use the makeover as a giveaway on your own blog or give it as a gift to a friend! Oh, did I mention that the blog design makeover isn't the only thing they are giving away...I did say HUGE GIVEAWAY! So head on over to their new blog The Secret is in The Sauce and check it out!!!!

Just Spotted.....The Painted House

I did a couple more blog designs recently.
just-spotted is a blog focusing on "Real Moms. Real Lives. Real Finds. The Real O.C." It's a blog that's just getting up and running...so run on over and check it out!



Then I did one for Angela over at The Painted House. She is a talented artist and we used her artwork to create her blog look. Angela and her family are currently celebrating her husbands "CANCER FREE" test results! So head on over to The Painted House and join in on the celebration!

Bloggy Giveaways

Came across this site that helps with blog giveaways. Thought some of you might find it of interest for the next time you do a giveaway. If you want more info click below. And for those of you who like giveaways...getting free stuff....you can visit this site to see what giveaways are out there.

Creative "Birthday Card"

As I was blog hopping today I came across this ADORABLE idea for a "birthday card" from Kim at For the Love of Paper. She has some more detailed pics as well as a ton more great paper projects!

Fabulous Blog Find

I came across a blog that I recently added to my list on the side. It has so much great inspiration for tableware, entertaining, decorating, etc. It's Kim Vallee and she is worth checking out!

Pretty little blue bird.......

Ok, so remember the blue bird design that was for sale that I sold? Well it has been installed at it's new owners blog home.....Linda at Restyled Home! If you are a Restyled Home regular you'll know that it fits her perfectly! I think this is my favorite blog that I've designed! Go check it out!

Super Cute Place card for Thanksgiving

I've been blog cruisin'!! And I'm finding some cute stuff so I just had to share!

Found this super cute pumpkin place card idea just in time for Thanksgiving dinner! I found the idea at Paperfections.


There are more detailed directions here on Emily Giovanni's Blog where she actually uses the same technique to create a christmas ornament. This could be a fun project to do with the kids!


This technique is actually the same process you can use to create a star album. Except that with the star album you do several layers.

Looks like I'm headed to the craft store on Monday to buy some autumn themed/colored papers to make my placecards. Maybe I'll see you there!