NUMBER 196

so i'm trying something a little new for the new year - hoping for a little feedback. as you can see below, i've designed a january calendar for your downloading pleasure! hope y'all enjoy! i tend to make these for myself anyway, so i just figured i'd share the love!

desktop | android | ipad | iphone 3/4 | iphone 5

if you don't see your device in the list below, or find that the sizes i've supplied aren't compatible, let me know about it, and i'll try my best to help you out! hope everyone has a great weekend!

NUMBER 191

thanks so much for the great responses on my last post. it really put me at ease, knowing i'm not the only [late] twenty something who still feels like a shy little girl sometimes!

let's lighten things up a bit today, shall we? christmas cards seem to be the running trend in the blogosphere today, and it just so happens to be the day i've planned to do myyy big reveal. i can tell -- you're really excited!

yes, that is our house, and yes, those are our kitties. i really enjoy designing our own christmas cards each year, and although i do have to sacrifice on paper quality (eek!), i'm really proud do deliver something that i made and has our own little touch.

i hope everyone is having a wonderful week! i'm over-the-moon excited because tonight, sweet "annie" has arranged a charlotte blogger dinner and ornament exchange! i'm pumped to meet some new friends and have a blast with these great gals!

NUMBER 188

hey y'all! last week, i promised a trip through our past years christmas cards, and i've put together a little somethin' for that. i really enjoy recieving christmas cards from loved ones and like to think that our friends and family like seeing our happy smiling faces when they receive ours too!

2009

this was our first christmas as a married couple and right when i started dabbling in graphic design. it was a really simple card, and the envelope had a gold liner. hindsight, i wish i had done a pretty photo card with one of our wedding pics. oh well, what can ya do?

2010

we're lucky enough to have a friend who is a professional photographer, and were on vacation with them this summer. the pictures were very casual, and kind of unplanned, but turned out cute, so we decided to stick them on the christmas card!

2011

again, our good photog friend visited us in our new city! this sesh was pre-planned and the pictures turned out gorgeous - it was an amazing fall day in uptown! this is my favorite card out of the 3 so far!

i've designed a couple of holiday invites over the years, so i thought i'd throw this little guy in the mix. (that’s not our current address. sorry, stalkers.) it's such a cute invite for a holiday party, don't you think? if anyone's interested in purchasing this design for an upcoming holiday party, contact me!

hope everyone's having a great work week and really getting into the christmas spirit. i've had the holiday tunes blasting on full force! i think everyone's in agreement that mariah carey's christmas album (the original, not the recent-ish crappy remake) is the best christmas album OF ALL TIME, no? still obsessed – after all these years!

number 178

so i opted for a re-design instead of an actual post today. #sorryimnotsorry

see y’all pretties next week!

number 167

since i got a pretty good response from y'all for last week's tip, here's another one that's quick and to the point, and will be beneficial to YOU and your readers:

this is something that's so simple! for the longest time, i overlooked this tiny task that could have really helped me out. let's say i'm posting about a really cute dress over at queen of the tailgate. be sure to check the tiny box at the bottom of the hyperlink window to "open this link in a new window". (see below!)

this little task will enable your viewers to simply "x" out of the site you've linked out to, and return back to your blog to read for another 3 hours. otherwise, if they're like me, they're getting lost for days browsing the virtual aisles of pottery barn or, worst case, the black hole that is pinterest. 

so maybe you already knew today's trick, maybe you didn't. is there a web trick you'd like to know how to do? ask me! if i don't know, i'll try my best to find out and we'll learn together!

number 165

hey y’all! as a quick follow-up to yesterday’s post: queen of the tailgate is giving all OLQC readers 10% off!!

10% OFF
at
promo code:
QUEENCITY

so head on over and stock up on your football frocks!! thanks, QT!

number 163

i've mentioned before how much i really enjoy web/graphic design, and i really do enjoy sharing these talents/fun facts/boring stats with others. (sometimes without their consent!) i've learned so much in the past few years, and would love to start sharing some tidbits that have helped me along the way. i give you – for lack of a better title – mousy monday! like a computer mouse? sure!

…so you’ve been asked to do a guest post!
congrats! you must be pretty interesting! i didn’t have the slightest idea how to coordinate a guest post with someone until recently. so let’s get started…

1. upload any images you’ll use in your post onto photobucket or another free photo sharing program. this will ensure that your photos are viewable - even from another blogger’s account
2. log into blogger using YOUR account information and compose your post as you normally would using direct links, provided by photobucket, for inserting your photos
3. once you’re finished, click the “HTML” tab in the top left corner of your post editor – your post WILL turn to a ton of jumbled code, but don’t fret! (see below!) now, copy all of that code.
4. open a text editor on your computer (Word, Notepad, etc.), and paste the copied code into the editor
5. save the text file, and email it to your bloggy friend!

the blogger hosting the guest posts should know what to do, but if not: it’s a simple case of working the above steps backwards. they would…

1. create a new post in their blogger account
2. copy the html code sent from the guest blogger
3. click over to the “HTML” tab in the post editor, and paste the code
4. flip back to adjust any necessary formatting
5. publish!

see? sooooo much easier than having to exchange passwords (eeek!) or add contributors (eeeeeek!). i hope this tutorial answers some lingering questions, or maybe makes you have that “OHHHHH, so that’s how you do it!” moment! if so, let me know!
ok, so now that you’ve listened to me drone on about html codes and the like, is this something that you’re interested in hearing more about? would you like me to continue on my path to more mousy mondays? if so, please leave a comment below, and i'll keep ‘em comin!

number 157

y’all, get ready for a real game-changer. yesterday, i downloaded a new app, and i just can’t hold my excitement in. i have to share the love! after reading this post from witty & pretty, i downloaded songza. yes, i realize i already have 4 apps for music on my phone, but thought i'd give it a go. songza is a “music concierge” which is a fancy way of saying it blows the pants off of pandora.

you simply choose your activity (everything from “working out” and “drinking at a dive bar” to “getting lucky”…yeah), and select from a few playlists that have that “vibe”. since downloading it for my phone yesterday afternoon, i now have it on my kindle fire and laptop as well. i tried out a few playlists and was really pleased with what i got. oh and i haven’t even gotten to the best part: it streams for FREE and has NO COMMERCIALS! see ya never, spotify and pandora! i'm a little hesitant to share my love with the world because i'm afraid once the wonderful word gets out, they’ll throw in some “catch”. we shall see?

in the meantime, i'll share a few of my favorite stations: buns of steel: ‘90s workout, headbands & legwarmers: ‘80s workout, cowgirl kiss-offs, and feelin’ good in the ‘90s…ok, so i love ‘90s music – we can’t be friends if you don’t too! sorry, i'm not sorry!

so yeah! there ya go! give it a download – it’s free, nothing to lose! and when you decide that you love it too, come back and let me know!

number 139

it’s no secret that i like digital design: sometimes i take my little inspiration/friday fives/what im loving wednesday boards to an extreme. my job has taught me so many tips, techniques, and new programs, and i'm really fortunate to have picked up on them fairly quickly. i'm really lucky to have a job that i love and that challenges me every day (and not in the "my jobs really sucks and is really hard" way, but in the "think of something NEW, FRESH, and CREATIVE" way). so today, for my friday five, i'm sharing some design tidbits that i use every day and can't live without:

1  |  i realize that i'm very fortunate to have access to the adobe suite every day at my work. this is my second job that has provided these programs to me, and just having access to them every day, along with some trial and error, has taught me just as much as any class could. *mental note: take a class on adobe suite. i use fireworks, dreamweaver, photoshop, and illustrator every.single.day. whether i’m blogging or not.

2  |  i've always had a fondness for fonts. my work computer and home laptop are stocked full of fun fonts (a lot of which i've never ever used, but still love). i've listed some current favorites - which will change next week, i'm sure. i think for most of these if you google the name, you can download them for free. confession: i've never paid for a font.

3  |  never underestimate the power of inspiration. i'm a big fan of looking to those who are bigger/better than me to learn and grow. everyone i work with is really good at what they do, so i'm constantly learning new things. for blog and design inspiration, i love looking through kelly/fabulous k's awesome designs. she's definitely one of my designer role-models, AND she's really sweet - she always tweets me back!

4  |  quickly followed by #4, knowing that i'm still a beginner. i do tend to get "down" sometimes when i see awesome designs and think "man...i wish i could do that". us beginners need to stand back, relax, and realize that we're learning all the time. i can't expect to be an expert right off the bat. design success, blogging success, career success: these all take lots of time and energy -- just gotta put in the work!

5  |  sweet friends who are my guinea pigs. i've done a handful of designs for friends, and i'm really thankful that they give me a shot every now and then to practice on them! save the dates, wedding invitations, blog designs, even christmas gift tags - i really do enjoy putting these things together and working with my girlfriends to design something that's "just perfect" for them. ps. head over to alex’s blog and tell her how much you love her new design!

ok ok! i'm hopping off my soapbox! if you have some tips for design or a cute blog/website that you draw inspiration from, i'd love to hear about it!

like every other friday, i'm linking up with my favorite, alex and sweet lauren today for their own “friday five” and “high five for friday”.

happy weekend!

number 130

today is the first day of summer and i'm SO excited! the weather has been gorgeous this week and it's totally inspired me! i've been really proud of myself for sticking with the blog for the past few months. there's a great community out there, and i'm happy to be a part of it! in celebration of summer, and just because i'm feeling thankful, i'd love to offer everyone FREE advertising for the summer! there are a limited number of spots available, so head on over to the sponsor page and reserve your spot (1 month at a time!). be sure to use my promo code (QUEENCITY) at the checkout in order to get it FO FREE! not even a dime!

FREE advertising! promo code: QUEEN CITY