www.reflectingthedesigner.com

I’ve been working on several different projects which have kept me from being able to post as regularly as normal. One of these projects has been the complete blog theme redesign and reorganization for Health, Home, & Happiness.

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I was just browsing through some new twitter followers blogs, and I couldn’t help but notice some well designed themes, and some very poorly designed WordPress and Blogger themes. Most of these have great content, but a lot don’t really make you want to stay on their site very long because they are either not friendly on the eyes or they are difficult to navigate through.

Here are some simple tips to help you make your blog or site keep more viewers. (Note: not all of these tips are even used on my own site, but should be.

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This blue and brown binder graphic set pictured on the right includes individual graphics designed to be printed and inserted into a 1″ half sheet sized 3 ring binder. These images were created to be printed easily to a home computer on standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper. Printing on photo paper or card stock is recommended.

Simply print, cut out the graphics along the edges, and hole punch as necessary. Note: I’ve included two separate versions. One includes text that matches the free prayer journal I’ve made available on this site, and one has no text so that you can add your own as desired. Hint: You can easily open these graphics in a Word Document, add your own text, and print to your own printer if desired. These would be ideal for a special event or as gifts. Each down-loadable graphic pack comes with the following: Read the rest of this entry »

This beautiful binder graphic set pictured on the right includes individual graphics designed to be printed and inserted into a 1″  half sheet sized 3 ring binder with clear cover pockets. These images were created to be printed easily to a home computer on standard 8.5″ x 11″ paper. Printing on photo paper or card stock is recommended.

Simply print, cut out the graphics along the edges, and hole punch as necessary. Note: I’ve included two separate versions. One includes text that matches the free prayer journal I’ve made available on this site, and one has no text so that you can add your own as desired. Hint: You can easily open these graphics in a Word Document, add your own text, and print to your own printer if desired. These would be ideal for a special event or as gifts. Each down-loadable graphic pack comes with the following:

• One high resolution cover graphic (dimensions 8.5″ x 6.75″)
• Four high resolution tab insert graphics (dimensions 8.5″ x 5.75″)
• One high resolution binder graphic (dimensions 8.5″ x 1″)

Click this button below if you would like to purchase and download the full text version to match the free prayer journal. After clicking on Buy Now and entering in your payment information, you will be able to download the zip folder containing all of the graphics. You can print these graphics as much as desired, but please do not alter the images in any way.

Binder Graphics Pack With Text Included – $10

Click the button below if you would like to purchase and download the text free version to edit yourself. Again, while you are free to add your own text into the blank fields, please do not edit or alter the image itself in anyway.

Binder Graphics Pack Without Text – $10

Please contact me if you need customized binder graphics for a business or ministry event. I offer exceptional prices and very quick turn around, and would be happy to discuss your graphics needs.

I have created buttons for several other sites (such as the ones in my right side bar), but I’ve finally gotten around to creating a button for this site that people can add to their own blogs, etc. as a way to advertise my site. Here are simple instructions for how you can create your own button with visible code so that people can easily grab it to add to their own site and further promote your blog or site. It will look exactly like my button in the right side bar (with the title “Grab My Button,” except your own image and link will appear in whatever dimensions you create your image in. It is very simple!

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Here’s a brand new theme with some extra goodies thrown in. It is a widget ready theme that includes a top menu and a fun scrolling brick wall background. Click here to download this theme. The first screen shot pictures exactly what the theme looks like. Notice that there is plenty of space in the header for you to add your own png or gif to personalize this WordPress theme to fit you. Please see my post on how to add images or buttons to your header for simple instructions on how to do this. Note: instructions are at the bottom of the post.

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Well, as you can see if you’ve visited my site before, I’ve just updated the theme again. I like to create new design themes for my own site both for variety as well as to demonstrate some nice Artisteer, Photoshop, and WP tweaking techniques. I’ll list a few of those techniques in this post.

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Here is another Christmas card that was a “spur-of-the-moment” job. I’m posting this one to demonstrate a few simple Photoshop tips that can help you turn around designs quicker for customers just like this one. As the title suggests, there is great advantage in using many layers in Photoshop. I’m just going to focus on the background of this card itself. There are 3 separate layers used just for the green background.

The bottom layer is actually a black and white plaid I found online and turned into a pattern. Need a refresher on creating your own patterns? (NOTE: if you are using Artisteer and want to know how you can make your own textures, this is it!) Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been working to update my Blogger Scrapbook site to make it more visually appealing and easier to navigate, so make sure to check it out! I’m very pleased with the results. I was also able to add a search box and some social icons that I created to the header for further usability. The icons I added simply by the “Add a Gadget” method, but the Google Search Box I added by creating a new div in the Header code.

Here’s how I added a new div to the html: Read the rest of this entry »

These are some buttons I designed for a Western themed sites I did recently (email me if you are interested in seeing the working site), and I wanted to make the buttons available to you for FREE for all 4 button images. I offer more free buttons (and will continue to add to this collection) on my Blogger Scrapbook Site. These, however, are a very special design with a rustic wooden feel and are perfect for a Western Themed or Rustic Themed blog or site design. The image on the right depicts all of the buttons as they are displayed on a site that features a wood background. These images were designed to be scrolling images on the side of the screen, but they can be incorporated anywhere you desire to put them on your site.

How to Download these Buttons:

Simply click on the picture to the right, and you’ll be directed to a zip folder containing the buttons that you can download to your computer.

How to add these as scrolling buttons to your WordPress Site: Read the rest of this entry »