www.reflectingthedesigner.com

Well, I’ve been very busy on some projects recently as well as other “life” stuff that have kept me from being able to post as much as I’d like to. I just completed a full WordPress website for a company that I did a WP blog for several months ago. They wanted their whole site transformed and consolidated into one WordPress Site. It was a huge process as I had to set up WordPress in their current hosting location, transfer the old blog over to it, and completely design and add content to their site from top to bottom.

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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’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 »

I just finished designing a blog for my sister-in-law who makes the most amazing and creative cakes! She also makes adorable handmade cards, and both are done inexpensively and simply (which is a key when you have a family of 6!) You can check out her blog by clicking on the picture below. Please note that this blog is just getting started, so it doesn’t have a ton of content yet and still needs some tweaks.

This blog was a fun design to make. I first created the polka dot pattern in Photoshop, I then created the ribbon pattern, sidebar sheet and main sheet, cropped them all into one horizontal layer and used that for the blog’s background. Using the ribbon image, I created a texture for the block headers as well as the main menu background. I decided to go with original title button designs for the left side of the blog for items that I know won’t change and are of the same category, while I used the template headers I created for the right side of the blog for items that can be more easily edited and changed. You’ll also notice my original post dividers, signature graphics, scrolling twitter, rss, facebook, and back to top button, as well as other little details. You can find out how to do all of those yourself by visiting my Bloggers Scrapbook blog.

I purchased Artisteer back in the spring, and it has more than made up the money I invested into it by the ease at which it allows you to create templates for WordPress, Blogger, Dot Net Nuke, Joomla, and Drupal. I use it all the time, and actually just used it again to give this site a little refresher. The beauty about Artisteer is that it allows you to implement your own designs into the template completely so that the design is all yours from the background images, textures, and glare all the way down to the individual icons. Now, while Artisteer is a great tool, I wouldn’t be able to accomplish an original and customized look without the use of design software like Photoshop. This post will explain just a few of the steps in creating a great, customized look using both of these tools.

The Background

You’ll notice that I have a great bead board background as well as a semitransparent sheet with a shadow and a yellow sidebar column with a pattern in it and shadow as well. You’ll also note that using Artisteer alone, it is impossible to get one sidebar background to look different from the other, and it is also impossible to get a drop shadow around the main sheet alone and not the header. In order to accomplish this, I needed to create a vertically tiled background that accomplished all of this for me. The first thing I did was to search online for bead board image. When I found the the style I wanted, I pulled it into Photoshop, and selected only about 1 pixel tall and as wide as the image was and Defined it as new a Pattern.

I then created a box and using the fx toolbar created a Pattern Overlay using my newly created bead board pattern. I could than re size that image however I wanted without losing my pattern. I used that layer as my background, then created the other elements on top of it. I created grid lines for my header height and sheet width, than created my semi transparent sheet with a shadow and my yellow column with a pattern overlay. (Hint: for the pattern in the column, I just copied and pasted the screen shot of Artisteer using one of their textures, than I created my own pattern out of it in Photoshop).

When my basic background was completed with the beaded background, the sheet, and the column, I again cropped the image in such a way that it would repeat seamlessly when stacked vertically. I went to Insert Image or Texture from file, centered it, and chose repeat vertically to complete the background. I then made sure that my sheet and footer in Artisteer were transparent so that my background “sheet” and “column” would show through as if they were the main sheet and side bars.

Using Glare

Now, even though I could make a header image using that same bead board pattern for the background, I still had a shadow on either side of the header because of my main background image I created. The easiest way to fix that, is to create a custom glare to cover up that shadow! The ribbon, and small squares of the bead board on either side of the header served as my glare and helped give the appearance that header blends in seamlessly to the background. Also, note that I chose a transparent background for the menu bar so that it looks like my ribbon is the menu bar. (Hint: You’ll need to make sure that you create a png for your glare, and that you size it to fit exactly to correct width and height of your header. Also, make sure to center it on your sheet in Aristeer. This can be a time consuming process to get it exact, but it is well worth it.)

I hope that this was helpful. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this post, or if you have any questions or suggestions on creative ways of using Artisteer. Please email me if you are interested in an original and completely customized WordPress or Blogger Theme design.

No, I’m not posting about an actual scrapbook, but about my updated blogger blog called Blogger Scrapbook. Click on the image to check out this blog. After finishing my recent design project, I finally had the brainstorm I needed on how to use my recently created blogspot blogs. I gave this one a fresh, scrabook feel and it is designed to give information on how to personalize and customize your own blog. It already has a lot of great tips, and I will continue to add more on a regular basis. It will also feature free blogger themes and graphics.

Some of the tips you’ll find on this blog are the following:

• How to add a favicon to your blog
• How to add a signature to your blog (to all posts past and future)
• How to add post dividers to your blog
• How to get rid of unwanted text like “Showing all posts from…”
• How to customize your Profile Widget or make a brand new one
• How to add more widgets to every part of your blog
• How to create and manipulate scrolling and fixed buttons on your blog

And those are just the starters. So, please stay posted to Blogger Scrapbook if you use Blogspot, and make sure to leave comments or your own tips, too!

Well, I just finished one of my favorite design projects of all time! Ashley was so much fun to work with and our sense of style really are almost identical. I completely redesigned Ashley’s blog and web presence from head-to-toe. I designed and customized each element of this blog to carry through the complete theme. In fact the only parts that are not original to me is the vector girl at the top, and even that I edited and customized. Also, the background pattern is available through Artisteer, but the colors I tweaked. So what did Ashely get when she asked me to help her design and streamline her blog and make a Twitter page for her?

• Color scheme and layout to fit her individual needs
• Original and unique Header Image
• Original and unique Logo Design
• Original and unique Block Header Images and Icons
• Original and unique Post Divider Image
• Original and unique Signature Graphic
• Original and unique Customized Web Button (I have one on my site, too)
• Original and unique Widget for Under the Menu
• Original and unique Back-to-Top Button
• Horizontal Menu
• Help with Organization and Streamlining the look and information flow on the blog
• Complete Theme Set-Up (including widgets and making extra widgets accessible)
• Original and unique Twitter Background Graphic Images to use for other applications such as Facebook, etc.
• A complete uniform and professional look for every aspect of her web presence
• A design that not only looks nice but validates in multiple browsers
• A turn around time of just a few short days
• And the entire package for an unbeatable price!

Click on the image to visit Beauty 4 Moms.

So, are you looking for a site Blogger or WordPress refresher? Feel free to contact me to discuss options and prices. I had so much fun doing site, I feel the need to redesign my own site and blogs which have been sadly lacking due to time constraints. Let’s face it, I’d rather be designing for you!