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Monday, August 23, 2010

Makeover

As you can see, I did a little work on the "aesthetics" of the blog this weekend. (Seriously, if Gretchen on Project Runway says one more thing about her aesthetic I might reach into the screen and flick her on the nose.)



I've been meaning to do it for a long time, because I've never loved the way anything looked before. But I was discouraged because my old computer, which is the only one we have photoshop on, likes to randomly turn off every few minutes. Also, it cannot type several important letters which is more than a little annoying. While the good computer was being fixed after HG's coffee spill, I actually did a couple posts on here copying and pasting every single T, G, and B.... son of a  i ch.

So I decided to try Picnik.com. I have heard a lot about the free photo-editing site on other craft blogs, but I was very skeptical that anything it could produce wouldn't look a little cheesy. Turns out, it was pretty good for a free service. I wish there were more fonts to choose from, and I wish you could overlay pictures as layers somehow like in photoshop. But really, there is a lot you can do on it- including, um, make fun of really super talented people. Totally worth using if you don't have any editing software, and you just want some basics, and you enjoy belittling reality TV stars.

Anyway, grab my new button-thangy over on the side bar if you'd like to say to everyone on your blog, "Hey everyone! Come read A Little Gray! It's super fantastic!!" (this is kind of a weird practice in blogland- but I'm in.)

My last little addition is a sign-off for each post. I made three. Let's try them all right now....






You can tell me which you like best. Or I might just switch between all three.

P.S.- does anyone on blogger know how to get rid of that little shadow thing they put around the images? I don't like. 


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9 comments:

  1. Wendy NormanAugust 23, 2010 at 6:41 AM

    First of all, LOVE the new design. It's so cute, and with the A Little Gray "aesthetic." ;)

    Second of all...how did you make the little Grab Badge thing?? Very cool...I want one! And I may be "grabbing" yours soon--I'll Facebook message you about that (because Facebook messaging is the new e-mail, duh).

    Third of all, I love all three sigs and I think you should switch between them. The monster for when you blog about something you made for Etsy, the mustache when you are hating on reality stars and such, and the little person when you are just blogging as Jessica the super crafty momma. Or, you could sign off on your Fyrefly posts with that one, unless you want to remain the mysterious guest blogger. :)

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  2. carmen @ life blessonsAugust 23, 2010 at 6:42 AM

    i love the mustache sig & the fun new layout. congrats!!

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  3. JessicaAugust 23, 2010 at 6:57 AM

    oh yeah, I should have said in the post how I knew how to make the button. Here's the button tute:

    http://smilemonsters.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-make-buttonbadge.html

    and here is how to make the little scroll bar underneath:

    http://smilemonsters.blogspot.com/2009/02/friday-wrap-up-short-how-to.html

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  4. OliviaAugust 23, 2010 at 7:43 AM

    I must say that while I love the designs Gretchen is making, she's hard to like...

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  5. NathanAugust 23, 2010 at 10:13 AM

    You are awesome! I LOVE the new design and all the little fun things you are adding to your site. Look out crafty mom blogs...here comes A Little Gray:)

    I am crazy proud to know you!

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  6. betsyAugust 23, 2010 at 3:39 PM

    i love gretchen's clothes!! wish she didn't say annoying things! i admit that i own tim gunn's last book and am excited for the next one coming out next month i think! love love love tim gunn so much i read about quality, taste and style :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. The W. D'sAugust 23, 2010 at 7:43 PM

    WAH HAHAHA...love the Gretchen bit. HILARIOUS (b/c I do like her stuff, she's just well...annoying, yah).

    I vote for Mustache Jessica signg off. Super cute. I've been trying to make some kind of signature but I have NO IDEA how. Got a tutorial for that?? and the Header? I just want something unique and am technologically challenged when it comes to it. boo. AWesome job!

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  8. Stephanie SabbeAugust 24, 2010 at 5:31 AM

    LOVE the new look! And I am still a big fan of the stache.

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  9. SarahAugust 24, 2010 at 11:33 AM

    The blog looks great! I am a fan of the little monster signature...adorable! It feels like the moustache is a little played out at this point.

    ReplyDelete

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