Over the weekend I had a burst of creative energy and came up with (and finalized) some new designed for my premade design shop.

Have a looksee…

Photolicious

Scalloped

She’s So Crafty

Click the images above to be taking to the premade blog design page (or go here!)

And? All themes now come with a coordinating 125x125px badge!

Enjoy!

You’ve started a blog. You’ve written the best blog post eva, and now you’re trying to insert that perfect image to finish it off. Only problem, its coming out ginormous or, at best, falling out of the posting area. What to do, what to do…?

Here’s my opinion on the easiest and best way to deal with images in your blog posts. Take a look…

The two sites I mentioned in the video are picnik.com and photobucket.com

Your turn: Have questions, feedback? How do you handle your post images?

Client: Connie

Blog: http://lymeschat.typepad.com/

Scope of Project: Typepad Blog Design

Focus of Blog: Offers support and information on Lymes Disease

Platform: Typepad

Client: Marian

Blog: http://tatertalesblog.typepad.com

Scope of Project: Migration from WordPress.com to Typepad, Blog Design

Focus of Blog: Motherhood

Platform: Typepad

Finally, to round out my series on favicons, below are instructions for adding a favicon to Typepad and Blogger. Take a look…

For Typepad:

For Blogger:

The link I mentioned above for hosting your favicon is http://www.iconj.com.

Good luck, bloggy friends…hope that was helpful!

Client: Libby

Blog: lwassociate.com

Scope of Project: Blog (acting as website) Design

Focus of Blog: Art Licensing

Platform: Typepad

Update: Design retainer spots are all full…but if you need design help, feel free to contact me anyway!

(…what is a Blog Design Retainer, you say? Oh, simple. Its a new service I provide that takes care of the yucky bloggy stuff like plugins and html and backups so you can focus on the blogging.)

1. You avoid making sidebar changes because the idea of dealing with HTML makes you want to pull your hair out.
2. You have 35 plugins that are all out of date.
3. Your spam count resembles the national debt.
4. You’d rather floss your teeth than deal with your widgets.
5. You signed up for Twitter 6 months ago but still haven’t linked it in your sidebar.
6. You need to add a page to your blog, but it keeps ending up at the bottom of your to do list.

Well, guess what? You’re in luck. In an effort to better serve my clients, I’v decided to offer blog design retainer services. This way, I can offer very individualized services for each blogger. If you’re unfamiliar with how retainers work, its a fee paid up front on a regular, predetermined basis for certain services. Here’s what my retainer service looks like:

1. We’ll sit down and chit chat about exactly what you need. Everyone is different, but you’re probably looking at something around $75-$125 per month.
2. Your services can include database/core file backup (WordPress), platform updates, sidebar & page updating, email support, discounted or free a la carte service (like ad buttons, etc., depending on your preference and need), head of queue placement for a la carte services, and free access to How To Blog: Video Tutor library.
3. Each month you’ll be automatically billed via a PayPal subscription.
4. After 3 months, we’ll look at the hours vs. the cost and reevaluate if needed.
5. Retainer can be canceled at any time; no minimum number of months are required.

This is a great option for:

• new bloggers
• business bloggers
• review bloggers
• any blogger wanting to focus on the writing

Now here’s the catch. I can only take on so many retainer clients and I currently have 5 spots available. 5 spots, people! So speak up…if you want to consider this service, contact me!

Now off to the orthodontist…to pay for that other kind of retainer.