Hello friends! I’d love for you to meet KariAnne, our featured client for the month! KariAnne is the amazing woman behind the blog Thistlewood Farm. KariAnne blogs about her home and family, she says, “This is the journey of how a house became a home. These are the pages of our story. Pages filled with chalkboards and burlap and homemade bread and befores that become afters and an occasional dust bunny or two.”

KariAnne is an amazing interior designer and a lovely writer. Keep reading to find out more about her and her gorgeous farmhouse!

How long have you been blogging?
I started Thistlewood Farms in December of 2011.

What made you decide to start a blog/site?
We purchased our turn-of-the century farmhouse and had been working on a major re-model for about two years. I wanted to join a community where other people had similar experiences and ideas and inspiration for the rest of the renovation journey.

What was the biggest unexpected perk or bonus of your site and being online?
I think the generousity of other bloggers is what surprised me the most. As a new blogger I have been so fortunate to have met so many mentors and individuals who have inspired me and challenged me to reach for the stars. I have made so many friends in my short blogging journey and I am continually amazed at the creativity in this small corner of the blog world.

What other blogs or sites inspire you?
There are so many, but a few of my favorites are It All Started With Paint, Eclectically Vintage and The Space Between.

Tell us about the design makeover process? How did you choose the colors, fonts and ideas that inspire your personal brand?
I worked with Erin and she was incredible. I had an overall idea of what I wanted the blog to look like and I described it to Erin. I will never forget when she sent me the first piece of the blog design, my blog header, and it was as if she took my dreams and my vision and re-created them on the pages of my blog. The different fonts on the buttons was also her creation and one that people comment about all the time on my blog. I think the key to success with the design make-over process is to start with a designer with creative ideas and great communication, have a clear vision of what you want and then work through the design process together.

How did you find / hear about Designer Blogs?
A friend of mine, the incomparable Kara, from June and Bear, has a incredible website designed by Designer Blogs and I knew when I saw hers that I had found my design team.

Anything else you want people to know about you or your blog?
I feel so grateful and thankful to be blogging and doing something that I truly enjoy. I also want to personally thank Designer Blogs for giving me the tools and the inspiration to make my blog the very best it can be.

Thank you KariAnne!!
It was such a pleasure working with you and getting to know you better.

You can visit KariAnne on her blog, Thistlewood Farm or follower her on

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or send her an email.

However, Blogger is now announcing that the new interface will soon become a permanent upgraded. That means we’re all going to have to step out of our comfort zone (eeeekkk!) and embrace the “fresh” and “new” look. In the mean time take a look at Blogger’s introduction to the new interface video and email us at info@designerblogs.com with any questions you may have.

Happy blogging!

Jennifer B!

Jennifer has won a $10 template of her choosing!! Congratulations!!
Please email us at info@designerblogs.com by the end of the May to claim your prize!!

For May we will be giving away a Facebook Cover Image!

To enter, simply add Designer Blogs to one of your Google+ circles (see sidebar) and you’ll be automatically entered to win!

Good Luck!

Three new designs in the $10 template shop. Yup, THREE!

Bentlee

Sterling

Nadia

Enjoy!

Carrie from Follow the Flammias!

How long have you been blogging?
I’ve been blogging about a year.

What made you decide to start a blog/site?

My husband, Bobby, was selected as an Olmsted Scholar, a military program that recognizes officers that have potential for leadership in the future. As a part of this program, we were matched with Florence, Italy, where he’ll be studying for the next 3 years. Before this, I always thought that blogging was interesting, but I didn’t really feel like I had anything to blog about. With the move to Italy, however, I thought it would be a great opportunity to blog about our adventures and keep in touch with our friends and family. The blog is my attempt to sort of “catalog” the memories and hopefully it will become something interesting that I can show our future children.

What was the biggest unexpected perk or bonus of your site and being online?

I think I am surprised how many friends and family members, many whom I had lost in contact with before the blog, express that they enjoy reading about our travels and looking at our photos. It has been great to reconnect with people that I haven’t talked to in a long time.

What other blogs or sites inspire you?

Baking is one of my greatest creative outlets. It is horrible for my waistline, but wonderful to make something new each time I bake. My favorite blogs are “I am Baker” , “Bake at 350” and “Bakerella.”

Tell us about the design makeover process? How did you choose the colors, fonts and ideas that inspire your personal brand?

I had a few ideas that I wanted to incorporate in my design. Because we are a military family, my husband is a pilot, we are always moving, and the blog would be a loosely-defined travel blog, I thought it would be great to create a header that uses a playful take on flying. For the background, I really wanted to use something bright and geometric and base it on the idea of Italian mosaic tile design. For the rest of the blog (fonts, layout, etc.), I let Erin do her magic. I was thoroughly happy with the way it came out!

How did you find / hear about Designer Blogs?

A friend of a friend had bought a template from Designer Blogs and it looked so professional and “clean.” I kept looking online for a design that would fit my aesthetic and after a long search, I stumbled on my friend’s blog and was incredibly happy with what I found.

Thank you Carrie!!
It was such a pleasure working with you and getting to know you better.

You can visit Carrie on her blog, Follow the Flammias!!

Click here to read about how Designer Blogs got started and to enter to win a $10 Blogger template of your choice.

Good luck!

Meet Courtney.

Now you may recognize Courtney as one of our recent featured clients. She’s a past client turned designer and we’re excited to have her. You can learn more about her here or on her personal blog here.

She’s been busy getting some new premades added to our shop. Some are shown below and the rest you can check out in our Blogger Premade Shop.

Welcome Courtney!

Casey Cote!

Casey has won a custom blog signature!! Congratulations!!
Please email us at info@designerblogs.com by the end of the April to claim your prize!!

For April we will be giving away a $10 template!

To enter, simply add Designer Blogs to one of your Google+ circles (see sidebar) and you’ll be automatically entered to win!

Good Luck!

That includes business pages

as well as personal pages.

Everyone gets to adopt the Timeline look.

The new layout is a big change and you can watch Facebook’s Introduction to Timeline Video for more information on all the details and goodies that come with it. But really what we need to address to you our clients is the design aspect of the new layout. As you can see from the examples above, there is a large banner or cover image that appears at the top of your new Timeline. Although, having a cover images isn’t mandatory, this is your place to get creative. Also, cover images are public by default, just like your profile photo, so anyone visiting your page, friend or not, will be able to view it.

Instead of designing a landing page as we’ve done in the past, now we will offer cover image designs for your personal or business pages. The price will stay the same as a landing page.

If you are currently in the queue and have a Facebook Landing page selected to be a part of your design and don’t want us to design your cover image, than we will happily refund your order. However, as we have no control over this change, all previous landing page designs will not be refunded or redesigned for free.

Along with Facebook’s introduction video, here are a couple of other links that might come in handy as you make the switch to Timeline.

Facebook Blog

Facebook Help

Facebook Timeline Cover Image

How to Switch to Facebook Timeline

Hello all! I’d love for you to meet our featured client for this month,

Courtney from the blog Between U & Me!

Courtney says, “I’m an obsessive crafter, cook, novice sewer and occasional DIYer. I am also a wife (married 5 years) and a mom to two kiddos (ages 4 and 2). I have a pretty strong addiction to anything with glitter and I’m not embarrassed to say my kids have left for school glitterified and heck! my husband has gone to work that way, too!“

How long have you been blogging?

Well, I took it SUPER slow for the first year or so, but I’ve been actively blogging since October,… ish.

What made you decide to start a blog/site?

In the beginning I started blogging so that I wouldn’t forget things. Like, my favorite recipe for roast chicken or great ideas for home decor DIY. I also thought it would be an awesome way to document our family and all the awesome stuff my kids do.

What was the biggest unexpected perk or bonus of your site and being online?

That’s easy! All the wonderful connections, friends, crafty peeps, and everyone out there in the blog world is what has been the most unexpectedly cool thing about it! I feel such a connection with y’all that I truly feel like I have friends all over the world.

What other blogs or sites inspire you?

Oh my geez! There are so many! Um,… well off the top of my head,… Tatertots and Jello, Cheap Chic Home, Centsational Girl, and Domestic Imperfection. Ooh, I could go on and on

Tell us about the design makeover process? How did you choose the colors, fonts and ideas that inspire your personal brand?

I leaned on my designer a ton! Luv ya Lauren! I had a general idea of what I was thinking and then Lauren and I just worked together to come up with something fabulous!! Color was the absolute hardest thing for me! But, in the end, I just went with my gut! Yay for purple!

How did you find / hear about Designer Blogs?

I don’t even remember how I heard about DB. I was a longtime lurker first, just waiting for the most opportune time to commit to the switch from Blogger to WP and I finally jumped in and I knew exactly where I was going for the makeover.

Anything else you want people to know about you or your blog?

If you decide to come by, you’ll find everything from Lesson Plans for the kiddos to DIY projects. I dabble in a little bit of everything and I just love sharing my success stories and my big time fails! I hope you’ll come on over and check out the fabulous job that DB has done with my redesign and become a new friend! See ya soon!

Thank you Courtney!!
It was such a pleasure working with you and getting to know you better.

You can visit Courtney on her blog, Between U & Me, follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+!