2011 May | the pixel boutique | blog, web & print design

Archive for May 2011

mom spark media: free opportunity for mom bloggers seeking support

By Nicole · Comments (0)

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

In my opinion, one of the best resources out there for mom bloggers is Mom Spark Media. I use it myself for review opportunities and to keep up with some great tutorial and classes from the experts.

So what is Mom Spark Media?

Its the brain child of Amy Bellgardt. Along with her amazing team, Amy brings bloggers information and opportunities from around the web. As a member of the Mom Spark Media community, you have access to blogging courses, a community of like minded bloggers, and opportunities to work with brands to post reviews and giveaways.

For a fee of $5/month or $40/year (only $3.33/month), you will have access to the Mom Spark Media group forum where you can collaborate, ask questions, and brainstorm topics regarding blogging, social media and more with experts to help.

Limited Offer:

Mom Spark Media is hosting a campaign to spread the word to new members. There is a limit and you have to be referred by a member, but from now until Thursday at 10:30 p.m. CST, you can sign up for a two week free trial using the promo code “THEPIXELBOUTIQUE” and have all the access of a paid member. This offer doesn’t come along very often, so if you’re at all curious and find yourself wanting and needing support for your blog, I’d highly recommend heading over and signing up. You can try it out and there’s no obligation.

Any questions? Let me know!

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help wanted: graphic designer

By Nicole · Comments (1)

Monday, May 30th, 2011

So before I head over to Craigslist and oDesk and open myself up to all the loons of the world, I’d like to tap the talent in my little corner of the blogosphere first. (Ok, just kidding…I’m sure there are no loons on Craigslist.)

I’m searching for a graphic designer (or two) to help me with overflow projects. The good Lord has chosen to bless me with more work than I can handle by myself. So I’m branching out and trying something new. Projects would include things like blog banners, background patterns, social media sets, etc.

What I’m looking for…

Someone with excellent design skills and a strong grasp of Photoshop and Illustrator
Preferably a woman, given that 90% of my clients are women and I need a feminine approach to most of my projects (though men are welcome to respond)
Someone willing to work on an as needed, sub contracted basis
Someone with an EIN or SSN (my expenses will be reported to the IRS)
Someone who can work on a quick turn around schedule
Someone who doesn’t want to deal with invoicing, client care, web applications, etc….who just wants to design
A SAHM, working mom, student…makes no difference to me

How to respond…

Please contact me via email or leave a comment below
I will ask for samples of your work or your portfolio
Please let me know what kind of compensation you are seeking

If you are interested but have more questions, please feel free to contact me!

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prinly: business cards and more {a giveaway}

By Nicole · Comments (72)

Saturday, May 28th, 2011

Update: The winners of this giveaway are #14 (Nikki) and #70, Julie!You know I’m always talking about the need for good business cards. Even if you’re a stay at home mom or a casual blogger, a business card always comes in so handy.

I recently learned about a new company called Prinly that offers printing services for letterheads, envelopes, business cards and post cards. They offer many options like thick, 16pt card stock, glossy or matte finish, rounded corners and double sided printing. You can choose from several thousand premade designs or upload your own. Ordering is very simple on their online ordering system.

Prinly also offers back a full, 100% satisfaction garauntee, no questions asked. I always like a company that stands behind their product like that.

I ordered custom cards using my own design in about 15 minutes and received them really quickly…within just a few days. The quality of the paper and printing is good and the pricing in reasonable at about $35 for 500 cards.

Prinly is offering a nice giveaway opportunity below, but you can also take advantage of 50% (yes! 50%!) off of your business card order using the coupon code “?contest565?”. How cool is that?

Win It! Would you like the chance to win business cards for yourself? Two lucky readers (open to US and Canada) will be randomly chosen to receive 500 free business cards, plus free shipping! Giveaway ends Saturday, June 11 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

To earn an entry, do any or all of the following:

Comment on this post telling me what you would use your business cards for…your blog, your business, your mommyhood profession?
Post about this giveaway on your Facebook page
Like The Pixel Boutique on Facebook
Follow @Prinly on Twitter
Tweet about this giveaway using the hash tag #thepixelboutique up to once a day
Need a suggestion? Tweet this: “Everyone needs a business card or two…or 500. Enter to win some from @prinly and #thepixelboutique http://is.gd/hkexKc”

I received free business cards fro this review. Opinions, as always, are my own.

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pinterest pretties: birds

By Nicole · Comments (1)

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Each week I recap some of the pretties I find on Pinterest. This week’s theme is…

birds

Don’t know about Pinterest? Click on over here to learn more about it!

Have a Pinterest recap post? Let us know in the comments!

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wednesday giveaway linky {5/25}

By Nicole · Comments (3)

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Hosting a giveaway? Link up here! For “Name”, use this format: Blog Name: Giveaway Item (End Date)

Looking for giveaways? Take a look at this week’s links!

Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets — Easy-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

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pinterest: how it works {and why you’ll love it}

By Nicole · Comments (203)

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

I first learned about Pinterest from Dessert Darling and Autumn Reeser when they asked me to design a little button for their sites.

Pinterest? I asked with perked ears.

And now, its my new favoritest thing on the web.

In a nutshell, it a virtual pin board where you can collect and share things that you love. Simple as that.

Its very visual in nature and a great way to organize ideas, inspiration…you name it. The sky’s the limit. You can have boards for recipes, boards for home decor…anything. Its also a great way to find such things. Because it is so visually based, when I need a little creative spark, I just start perusing some of the boards I follow and Im instantly inspired.

Here’s one of my boards I call “Design Inspiration”…

And who could go through life without a “Cupcakes” board?

So here’s a breakdown on using Pinterest…

1. Request an invitation here. Or if you know someone already on Pinterest, ask them to send you an invitation (you can ask me, too!). That way, you can get started immediately. But if you dont know anyone it only takes a day or two to get your invitation through the Pinterest team.

2. Sign up. You can sign up with your Facebook or Twitter account or create a new login/password.

3. Find some friends to follow. There are several ways to find friends who are already “pinning”. Just run the friend finder processes and it will search your Twitter, Facebook, and email accounts.

4. Create your boards. Create however may categories or “boards” to organize the pins that you want to add. They start you off with the standard set but you can add, change, delete, etc.

5. Start pinning! There are three ways to start pinning, basically. First, follow some people you already know and check out their boards. You can repin their pins onto any of your boards. Secondly, you can go to “Staff Favorites” under your Boards menu and search there. Also, try browsing the “Everything” category on the main page. You’re bound to get lost in pinning awesomeness.

6. Keep the pins coming. Once you are comfy with your boards and pinning, you can start adding new pins. The next time you come across a recipe or tutorial with great images, use the Pin It bookmarklet (that you will be able to add at sign in) on your browser to create the pin. Keep in mind it will only allow you to pin a page with a decent size image, to keep with the whole nature of the site. You can always upload your own image of things you find offline. There’s also a very handy iPhone app.

I will likely start doing a regular weekly update on my favorite Pinterest finds. Stay tuned.

Are you on Pinterest? Speak up! And if you want to follow my boards, I’m here.

Comments (203)