I Broke it: New Graphics!

Check it out!!! New Header! Proper Menu! Signature!

I’m super happy with the new look. When I first picked this theme it was out of desperation since it appeared that I messed up the other theme I had in fumbling through making it more mine. I then had this moment of panic thinking I wasn’t able to create a custom header in. So I started looking for other themes that I could have a custom header and then discovered I was just looking in the wrong place for the information. Amazing what you miss when your rushing because your 1 year old is going to wake up any minute.

So, The new header reflects the dots which I haven’t figured out how to take out. But I dig them anyways, so I figured lets go with it. Oh, and as I think about it. I’ve figured out that if I made the background image and didn’t repeat it I could put in something other then dots. I think. Hmmm….. might have to play with that one another night. So the dots and colours are a reflection of what I had to work with. The font for ‘Wide Asleep Mom’ is called Return to Sender. I fell in love with this on Pinterest. (ya ya… it has its moments of brilliance without making you feel like a failure) It felt fun and kinda whimsical, just made me happy in a pastel colour. But it looks pretty rockin in black too. I tried both ways and im 99% sure the pink is better then black. You be the judge.

The font for ‘Who needs sleep anyways?’ is called Pea Noodle Parlor.  I knew for the tag line I really wanted a handwritten look. It feels like these work together nicely and reflect my personality well, a little tough and a little sweet and funky. You’ll also notice I ditched a couple of the dots. The ones in the top right felt like they where off at some other party. So I uninvited them.

I had been thinking I’ve shared names of my family. But I don’t think I’ve shared MY name. I’m honestly not sure if its relevant, but since I’m sharing my personal thoughts and opinions, a name could be nice.

So I’ve made up a little signature that I am going to try out on a couple posts. So I’m using the same Pea Noodle Parlor font because constancy is important in creating a brand. Too many different fonts and you begin to lose your viewer. Then my blog friend was asking me for a button so she could share my blog. So I came up with this little guy. Again working with the same fonts and colours to keep the brand and theme consistent.

So, there you have it. Nothing crazy, but it works for what I need. And it kept me out of trouble on a Wednesday night. Ok…. It kept me from falling asleep at 730pm when putting Is to bed. Mark was great and took care of the girls so I could get a head start on some design stuff I’m working on. Soon I’ll share the birthday invitations I’m working on for my goddaughters 2nd birthday!

I Broke It: Now to Fix It!

This feels like too soon to be changing the look. But I am, cause I got sick of it. I liked what I had prior, the light teal and grey. But I didn’t love it. I wanted something brighter and more reflective of me. So I tried to make some changes this morning. Created a new header and button (since I hadn’t gotten around to doing that before) and then went to instal and ended up loosing what I already had. After messing around with it I got frustrated and started looking at new templates that abandoned the hour of work I had already done. I quickly stumbled upon this one and that was it. Sold, Adelle is it.

So right now i’m in the basic no customization yet. I will get there but my time was up on playing. So in the next week or so there will likely be some more changes. I’m hoping to create something I truly love and stick with it. A cool new addition (ok, there was a little customization) was adding the Goodreads widget! I recently discovered the app and fell for it. I have a post in works on book club and such. So you can keep an eye on what I’m reading, and maybe i’ll even write a little review.

Anyways, bear with me. Still learning how to fully operate WordPress and how to create an awesome blog. I’d love to hear your feedback, tips and suggestions. Feel free to comment and share your sites if your into this kinda stuff.

 

Here’s something to consider while you wait for me to get my ‘stuff’ together.

 

(click image to enlarge for those of us who can’t see so well anymore)

First Blog Graphic Work

Part of what I want to share on my blog is about my design work. As a full time stay at home mom I don’t have alot of time during the day to do design work. So I only take on the occasional project that I know I can complete in a reasonable amount of time. I want to start with the project that got me really up and moving on doing more with my blog. This was the first time i’ve ever done work for a Blog. So its all very exciting.

A friend of mine through my eldest daughters due date group writes a blog about her family. Her, her wife, and their daughter. When they celebrated the birth of their second daughter it was time to update all the graphics on the blog to reflect how the family had grown. So when Dana put it out there that she needed new art for LiL Family Blog I offered to help her out. I created a header and some link buttons for her.

 

It was important to Dana that the header reflect her family and her style. Her previous header had a stick figure drawing of the family, a house, white picket fence, and a rainbow. So I started there, I thought rolling hills and trees was a good start. There are four trees in various sizes and colours to reflect the four members in the family. I felt keeping the rainbow was also important in reflecting their family. It then evolved from there in adding drawings of everyone. I am really excited about how it turned out. The colours are vibrant and sharp. From there I took different elements to create the various buttons she needed.

Improvements

I’m working away slowly on creating a new look for Wide Asleep Mom. The previous theme was one I chose over a year ago when I attempted to start this blog. Before I jumped into the world of being able to do more custom themes.

Over the next little bit you’ll notice little changes as I grow an learn more as a blog designer. Thanks to some friends I have been given some great reasons to practice and work as much as I can in the evenings once my daughters are in bed. I will post about that work soon.