Interview with Amanda

I have posted about Amanda over at kevinandamanda.com before, but I wanted to share the mini interview that I did on her over at Makin' Cute Blogs.  She was so kind to answer my email questions.  Go check it out here!

It's HERE! Makin' Cute Blogs

 I mentioned earlier that I was working on another blog, well the day has finally come to show it off.  I hope you like it.  It really is mainly geared toward designers, but it is great for the motivated do it yourself designers too!  I have posted a new tutorial over there on how to make your posts expandable.  I also have a new freebie that is available for personal AND commercial use.  Check it out, and drop me a comment on what you think.

http://makincuteblogs.blogspot.com/

Thanks!!

Finally a new Background!

So I have FINALLY taken a few minutes to create a new background and accessories to go with it! My life has be sooo hectic for the last 5 months (still hasn't slowed down), so I decided I better take a few and make something fun. This background was inspired by the little nest drawing, that I found in a super old book that I found in my mother's basement. The latest date I can find in the book is 1905, and no copyright, so I lucked out :) There are more fun images, including the bird that I put on the matching header, so hopefully in the future, I can include more of those in my designs. Click HERE to get these for your blog. Enjoy!

Featured on...

Hey I just wanted to share that I was featured over on Six Feet Under! I answered some interview questions about me and my blog, so if you would like to find out more about my start in blogging head over and check it out: http://sixfeetundersite.blogspot.com/2010/08/words-with-blogger-wednesday_11.html

MOVING!

So I just wanted a to take a second and VENT my frustrations with Moving! When it rains, it pours right. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am super swamped with work and with a disaster of a house that I have to be out of by next Wednesday. Anyway, I am so grateful for all the emails, but if you are wondering why I haven't replied to you yet, that is why.

PS. I have a new blog that I am working on for Custom Blog Designers and DIYers, so stay tuned, I hope to have it up within the next month and it will be so awesome!

My Talented Husband! { Utah Photographer }

I know that I have posted about him before, but I just finished his new blog design. It looks so good and his photos are fantastic, so please check him out and leave him a comment :)

Recent Custom Blog Designs

Bringing Up The Bly's
Dapheny is a military mom with her husband and little girl. I had a lot of fun with her illustration, because she wanted it to be girly and still show a little of her military life. Check her out and drop her a comment! http://bringingupblys.blogspot.com/

This is what she said about her design: My husband always says it was an ego-booster marrying me because I insist on always having the best of everything! So naturally, I went to Carolynn for my blog makeover. Her custom blog headers are beautiful and she did an amazing job doing everything she could to capture the little details of my family! I was so impressed! We're a military family and I'm leaving soon for training, so I was ready to get my blog up and running, but didn't want to share it with too many people until it was organized, so I inquired about a rush order and I had it in a matter of days! I can't wait to come back to her for add on's and new custom headers as our family grows and changes! Thanks so much, Carolynn!




Mrs. A in the Cove
Leanne has a blog that is definitely worth looking at. She has such a fabulous sense of style. We did a full makeover for her, so beautiful and simple. http://mrsainthecove.blogspot.com/




Jamie Fitzgerald Photography
It was so great working with Jamie! She is so talented. Check out her blog, we did a flash header, a logo design, and more! http://jamiefitzgeraldphotography.blogspot.com/



Mommy Tags
Maize was so good to work with, I love the Mommy Tags business that she runs, her Tags are sooo cute and unique! Check out what we did with her blog, and don't forget to go to her website too to see the her tags! http://mommytags.com/



Maize Hutton Blog
Maize from Mommy Tags, also had me do her blog. I love it, she found this great old book cover that I added a little color to, and we altered the template to work with it. It is fun and totally unique. Her blog has some really fun ideas and things, go read it and leave her a comment! http://maizehutton.blogspot.com/

Where is Minima?

So I panicked slightly when blogger started making all their changes. It at first appeared to me that with the new version of blogger that Minima was no longer available as an option for a template. This really bugged me, because there are so many great tutorials out there that use minima to alter the look of your blog. Anyway, for those of you who worried like, me.... I found it. All of the old templates are located on your "Edit HTML" page, at the very bottom.

Shout out! Kevin & Amanda

I am all about free stuff, so just wanted to give a shout out to one of my favorite sites! KevinandAmanda.com I have been a regular to their site for quite some time, but I just felt the desire to share it with all of you. If you have never been their before, she has a bit of everything, from Free Fonts (YES FREE, which I use all the time), to recipes, and tons more!

FREEBIE: "Sweet N' Summer" Mini Digital Scrabook Kit!

I am so sorry that it has been sooo long since I have posted or done anything with my website, I have been sooo busy and I just had my baby (my 2nd)! I had him on May 17th, so I am just getting back into the swing of things now.

I am really excited to share this with you! I have NEVER even attempted to digital scrapbook before, and I really don't know why. Anyway, I have always thought it would be fun to try my hand at it and of course I wanted it to be my OWN design.... so why not make my own kit! I really hope you enjoy it. For you that are pros at digital scrapbooking (unlike me :), I am sorry in advance if I didn't make the kit right.... I don't really know how they are traditionally made, so I just did it the way I assumed they might be :p

DOWNLOAD
This Digital Kit is free for Personal and Commercial Use.  Files are NOT to be sold as is.  They MAY be used to create items to be sold, but may NOT be sold by itself in it's original form.  I do very much appreciate a link back and/or credit, but it is not required.  Thanks!

(This is my new baby! Isn't he sweet??)

Need Photography?

My Husband has done photography on the side for quite some time, but only recently has he decided to really pick it up. He just put up a blog, still in the works, but I would love for you to go look at it! Leave him a comment for me ;)

Anyway, if you are lucky enough to live in the Utah County Area, (or anywhere in Utah, we travel :) He is offering 50% off for the first 10 sessions booked (he already has super reasonable pricing, so this is a steal!).

http://lastingphotography.blogspot.com/

2 Newest Blog Makeovers

I just wanted to share with you my newest makeovers!

First was Jacki's Blog: I loved drawing her beautiful family! Go check out her blog and make sure to leave her a comment!

http://nurturemewhole.blogspot.com/

Second was Season's Blog: This was the first flash header that I have ever done! I actually quite liked how it turned out. I don't have it on my pricing yet, but if you are interested in one, just email me and I can quote you a price. Her photography is so beautiful, so make sure to visit her site!

http://seasonatwaterphotography.blogspot.com/

Tutorial: How to post your images in Blogspot Larger than the Default

I made this tutorial, because I really liked being able to changed the size of your image with out having to upload it to Photobucket or some other Picture hosting site. This makes it easy to change the size of your images right in blogger!

This tutorial is so great for photography blogs and just for anytime that you really want your pictures to stand out.

Custom Blog Makeover Winner!!!

And we have a winner!


Thanks to everyone who entered all our giveaways!!

Most Recent Custom Blog Designs

I just wanted to share with everyone my most recent blog designs! I really had a lot of fun with these.

For "Sun Kissed Mama", we did a custom illustration header. Which if I do say so my self turned out awesome. I drew her up to reflect how she looks and surrounded her with the things she loves. We even added a Tattoo that she is getting! It was one of my favorite illustrations that I have done. So go check out her blog: http://sunkissedmama.blogspot.com/

This is what she said about her design: "Carolynn, I LOVE the new look of my blog...you rock!! I loved working with you! You are helpful, polite and promt. You totally got "me" and it reflects on my blog! It is clear, colorful, and very hip, just want I wanted! Thank you so much again!! ~Tab"


"The Red Barn" is just like it sounds a big beautiful Red Barn, so for her, we did a nice red wood for the background. I do a lot of illustrations, so this was fun to be able to get out of Adobe Illustrator and use Photoshop, to manipulate the color of the wood and to play with old paper and fruit. It was a good change from my norm, and I just love the way it turned out! Check out The Red Barn at: http://redbarnblog.blogspot.com/

This is what she said about her design: "Working with Carolynn has been great. While doing my custom blog design, she offered several suggestions and was easy to work with all along the way (even when I made her redesign, and go back to original designs!) Her prices are better than many other competitors, yet her work sticks out among them. I will come back to her with any of my future design needs. - Chelsea"


"Brands 4 Bargain" was another really fun illustration project. We did manikins, and I drew them to wear the type of clothing that she sells. We did something different for her homepage too, which I thought turned out really nice. Made her blog look more like a website by having different blogs for each page, and the homepage, I got rid of everything except links to really direct you right where you need to go. Then when you get into the other pages it looks more like traditional blogs. It was a fun experiment though, something that I hadn't tried before, but I think it turned out really nice. Check her blog/site out here: http://brands4bargainonline.blogspot.com/



If you are thinking about getting a Custom Blog Design, now is your perfect opportunity, I still have 3 openings left for 50% off Custom Blog Design orders. Get all the details here.

Advertising (2 Blog Background Sponsorships) Winners!!

The winner of the "Simply Sweet" Sponsorship is:



and the winner of the "Bzzz" Sponsorship is:



Email me at: carolynn[at]dforte[dot]com to claim your prize!

Sidebar Header Giveaway Winner!

Congrats! Email me at carolynn[at]dforte[dot]com to claim your prize!

Final Website Grand Opening Giveaway!!

I am so excited for our final Giveaway! I am giving away a full "Pro Blog Makeover" package!!!
To enter this giveaway, you MUST:

~ Subscribe to Our Website Feed Via Email (When you do, you will receive a verify email, you must submit that to complete your entry)
~ Then leave a comment that includes the first part of your email address (if you email address was blah1234@soso.com, you only need to comment the blah1234 part, so that I can verify that you subscribed, then I can also contact you if you won!)

***Your entry will NOT count if you do not do these first 2 things.


For 1 additional entry (do the same for our Blog Feed):

~ Subscribe to Our Blog Feed Via Email (When you do, you will receive a verify email, you must submit that to complete your entry)
~ Then leave a comment that includes the first part of your email address (if your email address was blah1234@soso.com, you only need to comment the blah1234 part, so that I can verify that you subscribed, then I can also contact you if you won!)

**** The subscribe via email is located on the left sidebar.

This Giveaway ends Monday, April 19th at Midnight! The winner will be contacted via email.



Reminders: There are still 4 openings for the 50% off Custom Blog Design. Click Here for all the details! Also, Giveaway#2: Set of 6 Custom Sidebar Headers is still open until midnight tonight (Monday, April 12th)! Giveaway#3: Advertising (2 Blog Background Sponsorships) is open until tomorrow at Midnight (Tuesday, April 13th)!

Custom Signature Giveaway Winners!

The winners are......





Winners, please email me by Tuesday at carolynn [at] dforte [dot] com

Giveaway 3: Advertising (2 Blog Background Sponsorships)

Everyone wants more hits on their blog, so I am giving away 2 Blog Background Sponsorships. So what is a Blog Background Sponsorship??? Find out all the details here: http://ilovemyblogmakeover.com/blog-background-sponsorships/

I am giving away these 2 backgrounds ($30 value each!) including an Ad Spot on the website and free ad design for those :

Simply Sweet

Bzzz

To enter:

• Leave a comment

Extra Entries (you must leave an additional comment for each entry):

• Become a Follower
• Follow on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
  
• Use one of our Free Blog Backgrounds
• Post About Our New Website
  

This giveaway ends on Tuesday, April 13th at Midnight. The winner will be announced on the 14th, and winners will need to contact me by Friday. the 16th, or it will be awarded to someone else.

Reminders: There are still 4 openings for the 50% off Custom Blog Design. Click Here for all the details! Also, Giveaway #1: 3 Custom Signatures is still open until Friday, April 9th and Giveaway#2: Set of 6 Custom Sidebar Headers is still open until Monday, April 12th! There is one more giveaway to come (and it is the biggest one:) ), so keep checking in!