Good morning!!  It’s a lovely Monday here and I’m hoping for a miracle week, how about you?

I can’t even believe how booked I am with custom wordpress blog design jobs…. oh, my goodness.  It’s overwhelming in a really fabulous way!  My current workload will keep me busy through most of February, honestly.  Today I’ve got TONS to do (as I’m sure you do, too) and it sounds like my kiddos just woke up, so I’ll be quick with this post.

Lots of my custom wordpress blog design jobs are in the finishing up phase, which I swear is the longest phase… so crazy.  I’ve got a few others that are in the very beginning phase.  One of the jobs that I’ve been just barely getting working into is for a new fabulous food blog that will be called, “Nicolas & Cora.”  One of the writers for it is fairly well-known, so I’m not going to reveal who it is until the blog is complete.  But, I thought it would be fun to give you a sneak peek at their design file:

They want the look of the site to be really fresh and healthy.  One of the writer’s drew these adorable sketches of the two writers that we’ll be incorporating into the design.  It’s going to be really fabulous when it’s done and I can hardly wait to show it to you!

Have a lovely Monday!!  xoxo

p.s. Fashion Friday was unable to happen last week due to Angela having been really sick with an awful migraine (had lasted 3 days at that point).  We hope she feels well soon!  xoxo

Man!  I’ve had a rough weekend and have been sick in bed since Friday.  Today I’m going to the doctor to see what is up, but I thought I should quickly post the design Monday post from yesterday since I’m really excited to unveil this design.

First,  here’s her design file (to refresh your memory on the look, feel and style Emily wanted in her design):

And here’s her new, custom wordpress blog design:

I know I say this will all of my design clients, but I really did have so much fun working with Emily on this.  I love the look and style of her blog.  It fits her so well.  We’ll also be designing a Twitter background and business cards to match this design within the next week or so.  We’re also toying with the idea of adding a custom background to her blog, just to give it a more finished, pulled together look.  If you’re looking for a hilarious blog to add to your reader, you must subscribe to Emily’s blog: http://isthisreallymylife.com.

Now, I’m off to get the kiddos out of bed, make breakfast and then lie on the couch until it’s time to go to the doctor.  Much love! xoxo

Good morning!!!  Who’s looking forward to a beautiful day?!

I’ve got lots of design jobs happening right now, as usual, which is a real blessing.  I love designing blogs, especially.  We’re done with the TransformationTrainer.com wordpress custom blog-site design.  I did love the cantelope colors we were working with before, but the end result turned out really well and I like the colors a lot.

I also designed some business cards for her to use that go along with her site design:

Last week I also had the opportunity to make some really fun buttons for Vanessa of INeverGrewUp.net:

And along with all the design work, I’ve been really wanting to work on my TheArtisticMom.com mom-blog.  I’ll be writing recipes every Monday, art projects (to do with your kids) every Tuesday, random thoughts on “Wild Thought Wednesday” and then will write about my food photography endeavors on “Food Photog Fridays.”  For those of you that know me, I’ve had a food photog blog and have decided that I’d just like to have one blog that I can write about all the random miscellany in my life as an “artistic mom.”  I’d love it if you were interested in checking it out!  Should be a lot of fun!  There will be a full week of posts this week – woot!  Today’s is all about my whole wheat german pancake recipe.  The picture is not fabulous (I’ll definitely be the first to admit that since I’m a professional food photog, it turned out rather disappointing, but oh well), but the recipe is DELICIOUS!!

Anywho, lots of random thoughts, but this is where I’m at this week.  Wishing you a lovely Monday!!

It’s Monday again already?!  Wow, time is just racing by!!  I’m quickly updating today as I’m crazy busy again today with lots of custom wordpress blog designs.

Here’s a blog design file for Amy’s that I’m working on this week:

Amy is a photographer and we’re building her a portfolio site with WordPress as the platform.  I just adore working with Amy!  She is such a sweetheart.  Her photography really deserves a beautiful site to show it off on (one of her pictures is the lovely nature pic in the right side of her design file).  I also loved how specific she was with what colors she wanted me to use in her design: celadon and wedgewood blue.  It’s turning out to be a really gorgeous design because of these color choices.

Wishing you a lovely week!

p.s. Have I told you that I’m the Creative Director for a local business review group called “SassyScoops?”  I want to start linking to what we’re reviewing each week on my posts here, as the reviews are really fun and informative.  This week we’re reviewing Caputo’s Deli’s chocolate and cheese classes (and tasting!).  There’s going to be an awesome giveaway on Friday, which I’ll be sure to also link to here.  Check it out on SassyScoops.com: http://www.sassyscoops.com/food/preview-caputos-cooking-classes/!

Phew!  I’m just riding the tail end of a CRAZY past 24 hours.  All in all things are going well, but I’ll have to write more about the putting-New-Years-resolutions-into-effect-madness tomorrow.  It definitely deserves a full post and just doesn’t fit well for Design Monday.  Also, part of my resolution is having my time MUCH more structured and organized and I only have 5 minutes left of today until I need to be in bed, detoxing and then falling asleep.

To top it all off, because I’m INSANE, I’ve resolved to (amidst my other resolutions) remove all refined sugar from my diet.  This means I’m no longer able to binge on cheap chocolate when I’m stressed.  It’s a good thing for me, but IT’S AN ADJUSTMENT (to say the least).

Anywho – aaaaack!!!!  I’ve only got 2 minutes left!!! – here’s a custom wordpress blog/site design for a fab personal trainer that is in the near-completion phase that I thought would be fun to share now.  We’ll be customizing her site even more this week with photos and such.  So fun!  I just love the color combo:

Aren’t the colors just luscious?  The primary color is cantelope and it’s complimented by a lovely red-orange.. yum!  Since this design is for a personal trainer it needs to look simple and professional, while also fresh and inviting.  We’re still refining and fine tuning, so I’m sure next week I’ll have more to update.  I’m nearly done with two other custom wordpress blog/site designs that hopefully will be ready to unveil next week (or at least one of them).  It’s so exciting to me!  I really, really love making over people’s blogs and websites!

p.s. I’m booked until mid-January at this point.  If you’re anxious to get your blog/site on my schedule soon, email me at quinn{at}createdbychicks{dot}com right away!  I’d LOVE to makeover your blog/site design!!!

p.s.s. the colors we used for this design are a few of the 2010 trend colors.

As you can see, I took a bit of a holiday from updating this blog.  This week my husband is home from work – heaven! – and I’m working on getting back in the swing of things.  We had a lovely, quiet Christmas.  My kids were big enough this year that they really understood what Christmas is all about which made it really fun.

This week I’m primarily working on completing design projects.  Carrie’s WordPress blog design – ThisMamaMakesStuff.com – is close enough to completion that I can show you what we’ve created.

Here’s Carrie’s design profile you saw before:

And here’s what her site looks like, designed by moi – Ooh, La, La Blog Customization Package:

Isn’t it fun?  Carrie has been a blast to work with!  I just adore her and especially love her This is Me Journals that I’ll be featuring on here soon.

Meanwhile this week I’ll be finishing up some other custom wordpress blog design projects, along with organizing my house with DH.  Rock on.  Hope your holidays are merry!  How are you spending this week?

Busy, busy, busy here in design-land.  So busy, in fact that I can’t write much for this post because I’ve got to get back to designing.  However, I couldn’t let you down on giving you a sneak peek at a few of the blog design projects I’m working on right now.  Check it out:

As the title of this blog “The Savvy Grandma” would suggest, this grandma has CLASSY taste and we had to make the design show that.  She wanted something very simple, homey and classic-looking.  She loved the idea of using a pic of a white door with a wreath on it, which we have incorporated into the design.  She really wanted to use blue-tones.  I found a lot of these pictures where blue was used for decorating to inspire our color palette, patterns and design.  Expected completion date: Friday, December 11th.

Whenever a client orders a design project, I always send them my design questionnaire to get a feel of what style, look and feel they’re looking for.  The typical adjectives I hear clients use to describe what they want is “vintage/retro.”  Carrie of “This Mama Makes Stuff” was a perfect example of how we all tend to think of those terms differently.  Some think vintage means victorian era, while others think vintage means early 1900′s.  Retro is similarly broadly used.  The client behind this design wanted “vintage” and I was thinking vintage as in 1950′s.  My first proof showed this kind of design.  It didn’t appeal to her at all and she was frustrated because she wasn’t sure how to describe what she wanted.  I told her to send me pictures of anything – clothing, room decor, etc. – that had the look and feel of what she wanted in her design.  It worked like a charm.  Carrie used to be a clothing designer so, not surprisingly, she sent me a lot of clothing pics.  From that, I saw that her idea of vintage/retro was mostly rooted in 1970′s design and {ba-da-bing!} we were communicating on the same page and have created a blog design that fits her style.  Expected completion date: Friday, December 18th.

Sidenote: I really believe that good blog design reflects the blogger behind the blog, almost as if an extension of that blogger’s personality.  By getting to know the blogger’s style – fashion, decorating, etc. – I can tell a lot about the direction their design needs to go.

I’ve more projects to unveil soon, so stay tuned next week and I’ll try to showcase some more.  Also, on Friday I have a big ol’ special treat for you!  Woot!  I can hardly wait to tell you!

Blog design availability: I am still accepting blog design clients who need their design completed by the end of the year.  I will only be doing this for a week or so more, depending on my work-load, so if you’re anxious to get your new look going before 2010, send me an email (quinn{at}createdbychicks{dot}com).  xoxo

Today is my son’s birthday.  This year has been a little fun and different because I’m using One Charming Party to do EVERYTHING for the party!  It’s been so fabulous!  All I have to do is show up (house clean, of course).  Easy!  I did make the invitations, however (below), which I thought turned out really cute.  This is Tate’s first party with games and we’ve invited all his little boy friends that are close to his age.  He’s SOOOO excited!

Because of birthday madness around here today, I’m just doing a helter-skelter post with lots of randomness… you ready?  I found this adorable dinosaur a little too late to order for Tate’s big day (click on pic to be redirected to RobotDinosaur’s site).  Isn’t it sweet?

Also in my “dinosaur vintage” google search I found this picture.  I’ve been thinking a lot about my personal style and if it really reflects what I like.  This picture (minus the alcohol) really appealed to me.  I know it’s kinda crazy, but I love this chick’s look (she’s wearing a dinosaur shirt, btw, which is why she showed up in my search).  I think it’s her pencil skirt, the funky tee and over-sized bag that caught my eye.  While I do love this look, I’m not sure I could pull it off now.  I’m nearing my late twenties and have had three babies… does this style work when hauling kids around?  I just don’t know.  Maybe Sarah Ward could help me navigate this fashion quandry, too.

It’s Monday.  The weekend is over; it went by so quickly… it always does.  However, I have a feeling that this is going to be a GREAT week for all of us!!  It’s in the air!

Mondays I like to share a little about my design work, thus the title “Design Monday.”  Today I’m going to share “what I’m cookin’” (working on).  Whenever a design is ordered, I create a “design file” to use as reference during the creation process.  I have the client send me links to designs they like and links to the style they like.  I also have them suggest fonts and colors that they love and could possibly see using in their design.  I ask a lot of questions to feel out exactly what style and feel they want their design to have.  Everyone has a different preference and I really like each of my designs to well-represent that client’s tastes and personality.

Here are two design files from a few blog design projects I’m working on right now:

Emily wants a really retro theme to her new blog design.  She is looking for something sassy.  She loves Diet Coke so when we found the vintage Coca Cola ad, we thought it was the perfect fit for the feel of the blog.  She also likes paisley so we’re finding ways to incorporate that into her design.  She sent me this image of an Anthropologie display window because she thought the design would fit well with her theme (& she just LOVES Anthropologie).  Em is also a big fan of chocolate so we’re pulling all of these images and genres together to create something really special and unique.  Em’s blog has been really fun to work on!  Expected completion date: Nov. 20th.

Holly is looking for a sophisticated, but warm blog design.  She sent me the image of the cupboard door and picture frames to show me the country, rustic feel she also wants incorporated into her design.  Holly is a food blogger, so we felt it was important to put a gorgeous food pic into her header.  This cupcake pic has the feel we’re looking for: it has sophistication while also being warm and inviting.  Holly feels that her writing style is very non-pretentious so she’s been very concerned that readers will feel welcome and not intimidated by her blog design.  I envision her blog design to be like enjoying homemade goodies on a beautiful country porch with friends.  Holly’s design has been delicious fun to create!  Expected completion date: Nov. 11th.

I can hardly wait to finish both of these designs and unveil them to you!  I’ve really enjoyed working with both of these creative women and together we’ve come up with some really fantastic design ideas.

If you’d like to get your blog design or other design project on my schedule, contact me quickly.  I am booked through Thanksgiving and the wait is only going to get longer.

Also, I’m now an Etsy seller – woot!  You can purchase my design work at my brand-spankin’-new Etsy store, or by emailing me directly at quinn{at}createdbychicks{dot}com.

Last week I announced how I’m now offering my design services for hire for your blog, blogsite and small business!  This week I’m doing a “Soft” Grand Opening, just because it sounds more fun.  It’s a “soft” launch and as such, I’m softening the prices on all the Blog/Blogsite Design packages for one week only!  Woot!

Order any Blog/Blogsite Design package this week (Nov. 2 – 7) – Oh, So Suave Customization, Ooh, La, La Customization, All That Jazz Customization or Petite Customization – and get $50.00 off*. Isn’t that a great deal?!  It’s like getting your Accessory Buttons or Ad Buttons for FREE.

I’m really excited to get this project off the ground and fill up my schedule for the next month or so.  I’ll only do ONE client’s order per week, so a couple of orders will keep me booked into December/January.  So… don’t wait if you want me to design your blog/blogsite!

Order now by emailing me at quinn{at}createdbychicks{dot}com.

Tell me which design package you’d like, as well as sending me a link to your blog/blogsite you’d like me to design for.  I’ll send you a quick questionnaire to nail down your design style so we can identify the exact look and feel that’s right for your blog/blogsite.  Upon receiving your questionnaire I’ll put you on my schedule.  During the design process  you’ll hear from me quite a lot and will get to see what I’m working on for you to give your input.  Then you’ll receive the images or have me install them and…

ba-da-bing! You’ve got an AMAZING-LOOKING blog/blogsite! va-va-voom!!

Here’s a small portfolio of a few designs I’ve done recently: Portfolio.  Can’t wait to design for you!  xoxo quinn

*does not include Random Combos and Individual Menu Items; offer not valid on any other design packages than those specified for blogs/blogsites.