Books in the City

Last week Colleen from Books in the City hired me to do a total blog makeover for her book review blog. She wanted something that reflected both her love of books and of her current locale, New York City. Here is a before shot of her blog:



And her is the after shot:





I used a combination of black and white photos and stock vectors to create the blog's new header, footer, navigation bar, signature, favicon, post divider, sidebar titles, background pattern, button, and three column design. I had fun doing it, and once again a bright color scheme has made me want to redo my main blog, Just Bloggled, with a summery color scheme. I doubt I'll redo it anytime soon so I'll just have to live vicariously through other people's redoes.

Manic Mother Photography

This past weekend I did a redesign for Beth from Manic Mother's photography site, Manic Mother Photography. She had seen a Wordpress design that she had liked at I Should Be Folding Laundry and wanted something similar in feel for her photography site. Here is a before shot of Beth's site:

And here is what I came up with:

(Click on pic to see her main page. It was too big for me to shrink so I had to shrink the about page.)

Beth is still trying to decide what she wants on her sidebar so if you want to see how each sidebar widget will be in its own green box like the Wordpress design she liked, check back soon or see my test site here: MMP Test Site.

I also designed these buttons for her Investment and Portfolio pages, using photos she had taken:

I tried to make their design echo that of the entire blog by using the peeking out images, the sidebar color, and the ribbon.

Manic Mother Photography operates out of Gainesville, Florida, so if you live in the area and are looking for someone to take photographs of you, your children, your entire family, or an upcoming wedding, check out Beth's site and give her services a try.

Get It Together, Domina!

The weekend before last Domina from Get It Together, Domina! hired me to makeover her blog. She wanted the design to have bright colors that popped and requested blue, pink, green, yellow, and orange in particular. Domina also wanted a header that depicted a cartoon image of herself. She wanted two versions of the image, one that depicted her surrounded by chaos and another one that showed her more put together. She opted for me drawing the images instead of finding one from a stock image company.

I wish I had thought to take a before shot of her blog. I did think of it...yesterday. I just didn't think about it today until I had already installed the design. Duh. I'll remember next time. Regardless, I can give you an approximation of what her blog looked like. I think she was using this design from Pimp My Profiles:

If it wasn't that one, it was something close. I remember those colors and a flower in the background.

After looking through a few of her family photos, I came up with this design for Domina, which also includes cartoon depictions of her children:

The design package that she chose included a header, button, background, equal columns, navigation bar, custom signature, and favicon, the last of which you can see by visiting her blog. Just click on the link or picture above. Domina is in the process of switching from a blogspot domain to a custom domain so if the above link doesn't work, try this one: GetItTogetherDomina.com. I know it's going to be a great blog once she gets to writing so be sure to check back often for content.

I don't have any before and after shots yet of the giveaway winner, Buggys from Cute As a Buggy. I'm still waiting on her to contact me regarding what she wants for her design. Once I have some, I'll be sure to post.

Need a New Book? I'm Giving Away The Map of True Places on My Blog

Hi, everyone. I am doing another book giveaway on my blog, Just Bloggled. The book this time is Brunonia Barry's The Map of True Places. Brunonia Barry is the New York Times and international best selling author of The Lace Reader. She is also the first American author to win the International Women's Fiction Festival's Baccante Award.

The Map of True Places is Barry's second novel. Here is a little synopsis:

"After Boston psychotherapist, Zee Finch’s impending marriage falls apart and she loses a bi-polar patient to suicide, she returns to the town of her troubled youth––Salem––to care for her ailing father. While there, Zee encounters danger as she falls into the puzzle of unraveling the mystery surrounding her own mother’s suicide when Zee was a child and realizes shocking parallels between the death of her mother and that of her patient, Lilly Braedon. She also finds new love with a man who has a mysterious past, which may or may not be related to Lilly’s death.

THE MAP OF TRUE PLACES asks fundamental questions about the nature of reality versus storytelling, development of self versus loyalty to family, and how to find your true north. Barry delivers an atmospheric Salem, Massachusetts setting, remarkable narrative tension, and an unforgettable ending that candy-coats nothing. Expertly weaving a story of secrets, identity, and love in which a psychotherapist begins to find the strands of her own life in the suicide of a troubled patient, THE MAP OF TRUE PLACES cements Barry’s place in the ranks of today’s best novelists."

And here is Barry talking about her book:

You can also read more about the book on Barry's website, BrunoniaBarry.com.

Once again I have two copies to giveaway. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on the post on Just Bloggled, Book Giveaway: Brunonia Barry's The Map of True Places. Only comments left on Just Bloggled will count as entries. As with my previous book giveaways, the contest is limited to U.S. residents only and will end a week from today at 11:59 p.m. I will either draw a winner or use Random.org to pick the two winners next Saturday. Good luck, and good reading!

This giveaway is sponsored by Wiredset.com.