Oh my goodness I am soooo excited right now! I just found out that a blog I designed is up for an award that is being voted on. It is up for "best looking" blog! Can you believe it? I'm soooo excited! I think I already said that though! The blog that is up for award is The Secret is in the Sauce.
Vote Vote Vote!
once you actually go to the link and get to the "best looking" category you will need to scroll down within that category!
To vote please go to http://islandlife808.com/
Monday, June 9, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
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!
Friday, June 6, 2008
What should I do......
I'm liking the idea of the Thinking Back Thurday and want to continue the concept to other days to give my blogging some direction.....so that I'll be more consistent. I have some ideas but would like your help and suggestions. Here is what I've come up with so far:
Monday: Masterpiece Monday (I would take this day to update ya'll on my latest designs)
Tuesday: Tirade Tuesday (What's on my mind, what's bugging me, etc.)
Wednesday: Wordless Wednesday (pictures only)
Thursday: Thinking Back Thursday (this ones already set...no suggestions needed)
Friday: __________________________
So what do you think? Do you like what I've come up with? Any suggestions for changes? I definitely need suggestions for Friday. HELP!
please leave comments with your suggestions! Thanks! Oh and did you notice my "top commenter" meter.....where do you stand?
Monday: Masterpiece Monday (I would take this day to update ya'll on my latest designs)
Tuesday: Tirade Tuesday (What's on my mind, what's bugging me, etc.)
Wednesday: Wordless Wednesday (pictures only)
Thursday: Thinking Back Thursday (this ones already set...no suggestions needed)
Friday: __________________________
So what do you think? Do you like what I've come up with? Any suggestions for changes? I definitely need suggestions for Friday. HELP!
please leave comments with your suggestions! Thanks! Oh and did you notice my "top commenter" meter.....where do you stand?
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Haircut - Seventh Grade
I decided to start a new "segment" on my blog. I'm calling it "Thinking Back Thursday"
Each Thursday my plan is to post a story from my past. Maybe my distant past, maybe my recent past. You get the point. Someday when I move into my house and my scrapbooks are all unpacked I will be able to include pictures. That will make it more fun. But for now words will have to do!
I have extremely thick naturally curly hair. When I was in junior high I tried everything they had to make it manageable. After a few chemical treatments and a HORRIBLE thinning process something had to be done to rectify the problem. So it was off to the salon with my mother.
It's important that you know that just the day before I had broken up with my boyfriend, who had been my first kiss, because I found out that I was his "church" girlfriend and he had another girlfriend at school. I was "devistated" (everything is devistating in Jr. High!).
So, going into this haircut I don't think my head was totally screwed on right. The stylist said that I would have to basically cut my hair SUPER SHORT and "start all over". I guess I had no choice. So I let her do it! Oh I really wish I had the picture for you to see! When you have super thick curly hair and it is cut short, your head pretty much looks like a muffin! I was completely mortified! To make things worse, that night we had to go and have family pictures taken for the church directory. Yes, that hairdo is forever immortalized in the church directory that I'm well aware some people still have sitting in their junk drawers!
Jump ahead two days....ok, don't forget about the breakup with the boy from church.....
It is now Sunday and it was time to go to church. Guess who I would have to see there? Yes, the boy. C'mon now ladies, you know as well as I do that when you see a guy after you break up you want to look YOUR BEST so they know what they are missin'. RIGHT?! And here I was with my new muffin top hairdo! Once again....I was mortified. (can you imagine?) Oh I could see the smirk on his face from a mile away! I think his brother didn't even hold it in..he just laughed.
So, I crawl my way through that experience knowing that the next day I would have to go to school and display my new muffin top hairdo for the whole jr. high world to see!
We pull up to the drop off point and my Dad lets me out of the car. (deep breath...here goes nothing!) At the front of the school near the entry doors is a HUGE window. Sitting just inside that window was this eighth grade boy that I thought was SO CUTE! He was the first person to see me as I walked toward the door and see me he did! As soon as he saw me he literally pointed at me and started laughing! Once again....mortified!
oh people, can I just say that I NEVER WANT TO BE IN JR. HIGH AGAIN! Do I hear and Amen!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
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!!!!
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!!!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Held Tightly in the Arms of Jesus!
Today I just wanted to take time to honor my sweet niece... Hazel Hope. It was a year ago today that what we thought was going to be her birthday ended up being the day that she went home to heaven. We KNOW that she is being held tightly in the arms of Jesus and we are thankful for the peace and comfort that brings. We will never for get her sweet little face and precious little fingers and toes (those are actually her feet in the pic above). We will also never forget how her life and death drew us closer to our Lord, and deepened our faith in him.
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