In The “It’s About Damn Time” Category…
Posted by Moose on November 9th, 2009. Filed under: My Brain Needs a Drink.Behold! For lo, I HAVE A NEW WEB DESIGN.
I am both giddy and very, very proud. I did it myself, you see. I downloaded Photoshop and I futzed with the fancy fonts I had to find on the internet to match the template I uploaded onto the server ALL BY MYSELF. Then I had to go back and download yet another version of ye olde tricksy font, because I didn’t get the right one. Apparently, fancy fonts don’t let you just hit the bold button a la MS Word. See! I’m learning so many new and useful things.
Thomas Edison made thousands of light bulbs before he managed one that did something other than gather dust as he knocked his balding pate gently against the wall. I may not have made thousands of new blog headings before I managed one that uploaded properly, but there WERE DEFINITELY DOZENS. Now that I’m halfway through this comparison, it doesn’t seem very apt, does it? REVOLUTIONARY LIGHT SOURCE VERSUS BLOG BANNER. Delusions of grandeur for $100, Alex? But the idea of kinship with Thomas Edison comforted me in my brave quest for a fetching new autumn url outfit. And at least I’m not balding. (But it was a close call. My hair is definitely standing up in odd, fist-encouraged bunches.)
This process took approximately 24 hours longer than I expected – and I don’t just mean an extra day. I think I actually spent a FULL 24 HOURS MAKING THIS SUCKER WORK. While my computer yelled things like “You want to change that? It’s not easy! GOOD LUCK FIGURING IT OUT, YOU NO-COUNT CODING RUBE!” But I persevered and eventually prevailed and became very thankful for my intransigent nature. Stubborn is a good thing when faced with millions of little buttons you have no idea how to work but must figure out, lest you be required to rename your blog “Blog Title Goes Here,” because Photoshop is a complete fucking mystery.
This has all been quite an education and I’m so proud of myself for figuring it out. I feel like I could arm wrestle Andre the Giant with my right while holding an army of angry weasels at bay with my left. In just a few days, I’m far more comfortable with all this widget-template-server-banner nonsense than I’ve ever been in my four years of blogging. I even avoided alienating my friends! HOW REFRESHING. I haven’t gone crying to Gasoline Hobo for his web expertise in whole entire days. And Jen, my former web guru (who has a new blog! HUZZAH!), was spared completely.
Suffice it to say, all you web designers out there have my full and wholehearted respect.
A few things still need fixing – the post titles are a random color and my widgets are possessed and my blog roll is missing again. But it’s more or less done. And I love it. It’s my all-time favorite color scheme, it’s far more user-friendly than my last design, it has a spot for my Twitter feed and Etsy shop (all those damn iPhone sweaters have to go somewhere), and IT’S POWERED BY CUPCAKES! Just like me! I may have chosen the template just for that. Maybe.
I hope you like it. I sure do.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I love it! I would totally pay you to redesign mine. Looking for some cash??
November 9th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
It’s lovely! Everything should be powered by cupcakes.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
GORGEOUSNESS!!!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Awwww, you know I LOVE it given my required daily intake of cupcakes.
And am SO impressed! I could never do anything like this!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
IT’S GORGEOUS. Also, I’m in serious awe of you. I can barely reply to an email, much less design a decent blog by myself.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Oh, I like it! I love the cupcake motif, and the photo of you holding a cupcake on your About page. I’m kind of obsessed with cupcakes, so I’m tempted to ask you what your favorite cupcake place is.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Thank you, everyone! I feel like a five-year-old who just learned to tie her own shoelaces. FIRST MY SNEAKERS, NEXT THE WORLD!
I should have said this in the post, but I forgot: the template is from Delicious Design Studios. I’ve been really pleased with them. They’ve been super-responsive to questions and very helpful.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
It’s adorable! I love the powered by cupcakes! I am powered by cupcakes also! (In my head, not on my blog.) Anyway, I have not spent much time with WordPress, but I have toyed with using it now and then, and I always leave because it seems incredibly painful to customize designs in any way, shape, or form. So I am very impressed with your WordPress-wrangling skillz.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Swoon! Love!
(Am am now heading into the kitchen to find a cupcake. I may need to venture down the street, however, due to the fact that I had cupcakes for breakfast. Ahem.)
xox
November 9th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
The new design looks fantastic! I love the cupcake.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I just honest-to-god squealed. It’s gorgeous!! Also: It is my fondest wish to be powered by cupcakes.
(Love, love LOVE the new look!)
xoxo
November 9th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
I love it!
November 9th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Ha! I just left a comment on your last post and then lo! The post appeared in Google Reader.
I LOVE IT.
(The design. Not Google Reader.)
November 9th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Hip hip! for new digs and delicious(ly adorable) cupcakes. OK, but admit it, you were totally wearing your cape today, weren’t you?
November 9th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
As a Wannabe Web Designer I am WOWED and IMPRESSED and SUPER JEALOUS. Gorgeous! These happen to be the same colors in my wedding, by the way, so GOOD CHOICE. Am now totally wondering if I have the time to redesign mine… for the 14th time. Gah.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
It’s pretty damn cute, I gotta say. And impressive with doing it all yourself, it’s been forever since I’ve done any web design but I remember how tedious it was.
November 9th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Loves it!
November 9th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Radtastic. The font foolery was totally worth it; everything looks great.
November 9th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Looks great! And I just checked out your iPhone sweaters on Etsy…any chance you could expand to making Droid sweaters?
November 9th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Oh, it is so beautiful!!! Congratulations, and great work!!!!!!!
November 9th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Oooh! I love it! Great job!
November 10th, 2009 at 12:09 am
This is DARLING. I know it was a big struggle, but I think it’s great that you powered through. Well done!
November 10th, 2009 at 1:03 am
I’m so proud of you! Good job!!
November 10th, 2009 at 1:34 am
OOOH PRETTY!
Now? Do mine. I have cake.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:18 am
I love it! It’s the perfect balance of bright and cheery and cute without being cutesy.
I’m one of those people who isn’t very good at the arts, yet takes art, dance, graphic design, knitting and all kinds of other creative classes. (Yeah, it’s sad. I’m the enthusiastic, well-intentioned bumble that everyone takes pity on in those classes.) My do-it-myself projects don’t always turn out so great. I’m glad that yours, here, did.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Looks great! Nicely done
November 10th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Oh I love it! Bravo!
November 10th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Looks great! Congratulations!
November 10th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Very lovely.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I love it! I am very impressed with your work! I know nothing about widgets and code. I just know about cupcakes. And that they are GOOD.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Very nice. Very nice indeed. Obviously everyone likes a cupcake, but my favorite part might be the possessed widgets.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:28 am
It’s adorable. I love it!
November 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Oh my stars, if this isn’t the cutest! The footer especially got me. I am all about that footer!
November 10th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
cuuuute! i keep thinking about doing something with my site, because i kind of hate the basic blogger templates. but then i think about all the time it will take me and the likelihood of me throwing my laptop out my third-story window, so it keeps taking a backseat to other things.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Very nice Amber! And cupcakes are ALWAYS good fuel
November 10th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I love it
November 10th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
First of all I want to start out with, I liked your old layout. But this one….LOVE IT! I need to learn how to do these types of things…they are right down my alley, I just can’t find the extra hours right now. Love the colors, love the cupcakes. Who doesn’t love cupcakes?
November 10th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
love it!!! the cupcake, oh the cupcake!!
November 10th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Looks great – it’s so cheery and fun colored. And now I don’t die from wanting that perfectly not quite baked but still totally edible cookie you had in the old header. Oh… now I want a cookie all over again.
Nice work!
November 11th, 2009 at 4:52 am
It’s super cute and the cupcake theme is awesome!!
November 11th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
you = rockstar.
and obviously my favorite part is that it’s powered by cupcakes.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I love it! It’s so pretty.
Good job, lady.