2010 January | the pixel boutique | blog, web & print design

Archive for January 2010

Love {a Giveaway}

By Nicole

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway is #150, Ellen!

In a few weeks we will celebrate one little four letter word. And its funny how that one little word can mean so many things.

For instance…

I love Peanut Butter Captain Crunch.

I love being a mom of 3 boys.

I love how my husband makes the bed every morning…even if I’m still in it.

I love my dog, Nacho.

I love my country.

I love my fabric shaver (the thingy that removed the little balls off sweaters…love).

I love blogging.

I love that Snapfish is partnering with me for Blissdom this year and my wrist will be looking fab in this…

From the silly to the serious, the tiny to the tremendous…love covers it all.

Speaking of Snapfish (which I love…), they’ve got a gob of cool stuff to celebrate the ones you love this Valentine’s Day. Like these photo cards…

and this flip book (I have one of these…they’re super!)…

I love these key rings too…

And because Snapfish is all about love for the readers of The Pixel Boutique, they are generously offering a $50 gift card to one reader! You can buy your wife that cute little photo bracelet, or your hubby a mug with your mug on it, or your parents a flip book full of pictures of little Suzy and little Johnny!

Win It! Here’s how to enter:

Comment on this post telling me what you might buy with your $50 gift card if you win.
For extra entries, tweet about this giveaway up to once a day and/or subscribe to this blog (and if you don’t know about Twitter, check it out!)
Entries must be made by Friday, February 5 at 11:59 p.m. MST.

Disclosure: Snapfish is supporting me monetary for the Blissdom ’10 Conference. I am also receiving the photo bracelet for free.

Design Spotlight: Dessert Darling

By Nicole · Comments (0)

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Client: Jenny

Blog: Dessert Darling

Focus of Blog: Dessert Reviews

Platform: Typepad

Comments (0)

Look Who’s One {and Overnight Prints Giveaway}

By Nicole

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway is #24, Jeanne!

The traditional 1st year anniversary gift is paper.

Hmm. Boring, right?

Well, we can’t have boring for The Pixel Boutique’s one year blogiversary, now can we?

Take a look at these very “un-boring” business cards from Overnight Prints:

Nice, huh?

Overnight Prints also specializes in postcards

posters

stationery

and more. I didn’t know that, did you?

Overnight Prints offers bunches of quality pre-made designs, or you can upload your own. I love the rounded corners feature they offer too.

I want to say thank you to all the people who have made the first year of The Pixel Boutique a huge success. 67 blog designs, dozens of buttons, lots of learning, and countless new online buddies later, truly…I am blessed.

Win It! In celebration of my one year blogiversary, Overnight Prints is offering 500 free business cards to one lucky reader (perfect for all those blog conferences…). Woot! Here’s how to enter:

Comment on this post telling me how many years you’ve been blogging…or, if you aren’t a blogger, what you will use your business cards for if you win.
For extra entries, tweet about this giveaway up to once a day and/or subscribe to this blog (and if you don’t know about Twitter, check it out!)
Entries must be made by Friday, February 5 at 11:59 p.m. MST.

Design Spotlight: The Paper Life

By Nicole · Comments (1)

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

I haven’t been doing this lately, but I’d like to start showing off the wonderful people I get to work with and what we came up with for their blog design. First up? The Paper Life.

Client: Amy

Blog: The Paper Life

Focus of Blog: Scrapbooking/Papercrafting

Platform: Typepad

Comments (1)

In Search of Fried Eggs…And Other Stock Photos

By Nicole · Comments (2)

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

I say a good picture is worth much more.

There are times when just the right image is needed to complete a post. You’ve written your heart out and all you need is the icing on the cake. So where do you find such an animal?

You could take your own picture or look through your library of images (and there are plenty of great resources for improving your photography skills and then taking them to the next level with Photoshop Elements).

But what do you do when you cant find that perfect image of a clock, group of women talking, fried egg, tricycle or “for sale” sign?

Enter stock photos and graphics. There are a plethora of resources on the internet. Here are some of the ones I’ve used and had success with (click on the logo to go to the site).

Commercial Sites:

Free or Mostly Free Sites (be sure to comply with copyright laws!):

So what sources do you use? Feel free to share in the comments…

Comments (2)

How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop Elements

By Nicole · Comments (2)

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Sometimes, you image just needs a little love. When have an image to put on your blog or website, you want it to be the best it can be, right? Photoshop Elements helps you achieve that. In this video, I show you how to make a good photo, better.