2009 January | the pixel boutique | blog, web & print design

Archive for January 2009

Design Focus: The Red Clay Diaries

By Nicole · Comments (1)

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Today’s Design Focus goes back almost 20 years (dont worry…I’ll make this brief).

Stephanie and I knew each other in college. Well, kinda. I probably remember her more than she does me. We had a few mutual friends and our school was small enough that you could actually know a vast majority of the student body.

Forward nearly 20 years. Enter Facebook, the greatest thing since sliced bread. You know how it goes…my friend is your friend and pretty soon we’re Facebook friends. Love it. So we reconnected and discovered we were both bloggers. I had the privilege of helping Steph redesign and move her blog over from WordPress.com to a self-hosted platform.

Stephanie writes about motherhood and life in the rural south in her appropriately named blog, The Red Clay Diaries. She makes me laugh pretty much every day. And come next Thursday, I get to share a room and fight over a bathroom sink with her at BlissDom. Who’da thunk it 20 years ago??

So thanks, Steph. It was truly a privilege to work on your blog with you.

And I’ll take the bed on the left.

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Bloggy Giveaway Carnival Winner!

By Nicole · Comments (0)

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

So its time to pick a winner for the blog banner and mommy card design giveaway. Thank you to everyone who entered! But, there can be only one, and that is:

#118 – Tara

Congratulations, Tara! I’ll contact you shortly.

Be sure to try again next quarter…I plan on doing something similar when the carnival is back in town!

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Q & A Kickoff

By Nicole · Comments (0)

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

When I first started blogging I was O.Ver.Whelmed. There is just so much to learn, so many styles, so many choices to make. I’m still navigating my way around sometimes and don’t know that one can ever learn all there is to know about blogging because something new is always on the horizon.

Even with 15 years experience in the graphic and web design industry, there was still a learning curve that took place before I felt somewhat comfortable with it. And resources like ProBlogger, Blogging Basics 101 and my blogging mentor, Metropolitan Mama were a few of the many resources I went to to find the answers to my questions.

Therefore, one of the weekly features on this here new blog o’ mine will be a Q & A series every Thursday. And, yes, I fully realize I am posting this at 9:19 p.m. on the very first Thursday of the series. I’m a mom, ok? I have kids to nag chase nurture. And they will always come first.

So if you are new to blogging, or just have a burning question, please send them my way. Anytime. Not just on Thursdays. You can Twitter me too. I will pick one or two a week and feature them (and you) in a post and hopefully (*crossing fingers*) will be able to answer your question. And if I cant, I’ll make something up. Just kidding.

So ask away…anything goes (Well. you know…)

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Bloggy Giveaway Carnival: Its a Design Giveaway!

By Nicole

Monday, January 26th, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I just love the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival that Melanie puts on every quarter. She does such a great job of organizing, promoting and providing such a fun even for bloggers and non-bloggers alike. So thanks, Melanie.

This is my second go around with the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival and in honor of launching my new site, I am giving away a custom blog banner design (and matching background, if desired) and a mommy/business card design to the winner. Last quarter, I had the privilege of working with Audrey on her blog, Today’s Parent.

To enter, please leave a comment here by Friday, January 30 by 12:00 a.m. (MST).

Now for the fine print.

This giveaway IS open to international readers…since there is no shipping involved.
Please leave a meaningful comment. Comments like “Win” or “Pick me” or “I want this” will certainly not “win”, “be picked” or “get that”. I need a little more effort than that. Only one entry per person.
The winner will be selected randomly using random.org.
One comment per person…or Twitter about it and get an additional entry (indicate you twittered in your 2nd comment.)
Please provide a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. I will contact the winner via email and that person will have 72 hours to claim their prize. After that, an alternate winner will be selected.
Giveaway will include one full design draft with two rounds of modifications. Sorry. I know I’m being a meanie, but I have to set boundaries, according to Dr. Phil.
Enough fine print. Good luck!

Design Focus: Its Catch Up Time

By Nicole · Comments (0)

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

Its been a while since I’ve done a Design Focus on my other blog. I’ve been busy as a bee working on some fun blogs:

Tangerine Times

Myrna writes about the abundant life and times of a mother with teens. She wanted a design that portrayed both the sweet and sour parts of motherhood. We designed her blog on WordPress.

Cindi Speaks

Cindi is THE woman to read if you are a soaps fan. Cindi had her banners already designed and we created TypePad blogs to accompany her website, Cindi on Soaps.

Goddess in Progress

Liz is the amazing mom of two beautiful twins. As a mom of multiples, Liz has plenty of wisdom to share. We designed her blog using WordPress.

Serious Whimsey

Grace is a wonderful, godly woman who is a kindred spirit. She is also a mom of three grown boys…and has lived to tell about it. She is my hero. Her blog was designed using the WordPress.com platform.

Facets of Success

Dena runs a very successful business as a Cookie Lee director. She wanted a blog to offer resources and tips for her team of consultants. I had great fun designing this fun and girlie blog. We used WordPress for her blog.

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Welcome to the Pixel Boutique

By Nicole · Comments (4)

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Today is the big day.

The grand opening.

The start of something new.

And I’m so glad you’re here!

Here you will find a variety of things. Do you need some information about your specific blogging platform? Do you need to learn how to add a text widget to your sidebar? Maybe you need a new business card design or want to start a blog or e-commerce site. I can help you!

Feel free to browse around and please visit often as I will usually post every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (and Monday, Wednesday, Friday on my personal blog, Apron Strings Aflutter). And keep an eye out next week as I will be hosting a special design giveaway as part of the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival!

(And if you feel so inclined, please subscribe to my feed).