Dogs and Grandkids

Yes, Mr Cabinet Maker, it will work!!!!

2012-12-06T10:06:00.004-05:00

When we remodeled the little farmhouse, the cabinet maker did not put a turntable in the awkward corner cabinet because "they take up too much room". So I was left with the following:

I had to put things in baskets to be able to get to them and the shelf was accessible only if I stood on my head.

I really needed to have a turntable in the cabinet so I called another cabinet maker. He wanted to take the shelf out to install the turntable. I wanted to know if the top shelf on the turntable would go on top of the shelf but he said no. He wanted to tear out the entire shelf.

Not to be deterred, I looked on homedepot.com and found the turntable with adjustable shelves! I ordered the kit and after much crawling around in the cabinet and sustaining many bruises, I got it installed.

The entire unit sits in front of the cabinet shelf and the shelf is usable!!!!

Things that are not used frequently sit on the shelf behind the turntable; the dog food sits beside it. The entire cabinet is so much more usable now.

The turntable was around $70; the estimate from the cabinet maker was $250. I think I saved a bit of money.

Visitors to the Little Farmhouse

2012-12-06T10:03:00.002-05:00

I was working out in the carport and caught a glimpse of a streak of bright red. This cardinal was sitting in a tree in the front yard.

When we open the door in the morning, we never know who is going to be in the front yard. These little guys are frequent morning visitors. When they hear the door open, they seem to turn into statutes.

Oh, no. Looks like Mr Squirrel beat us here.

Mr Squirrel does not like the rabbits competing for the bird seed that has dropped on the ground.

Guess we will go back to the field.

Of course, stopping to pose on the way.

All of these photos were shot with my point and shoot. It seems that I never have the big camera close at hand when these opportunities present themselves.

Love life at the Little Farmhouse.

Homemade Vinyl Siding Cleaner

2012-12-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

Having a house that is completely covered in white vinyl is a challenge to keep clean. The part of the vinyl covered by the front porch does not get washed in the rain, so was looking pretty dingy.
I found this recipe years ago but can't remember where I got it to attribute it to the author.
Vinyl Siding Cleaner

2/3 cup of Spic and Span
1/2 cup powdered Tide laundry detergent
1 quart liquid chlorine bleach
3 quarts hot water

Mix ingredients in a 2 gallon bucket and allow to stand for 4 to 5 hours. Pour into ordinary garden sprayer and apply to vinyl siding. Leave solution on siding for 5 minutes and rinse with hose. When you spray it on, you will see the dirt, film and mildew slide right off.

Pallet Wood Flag

2012-06-28T11:35:00.000-05:00

Several months ago, I put up some pallet boards to add some texture to a troublesome wall behind our TV.

I sanded the boards lightly and stained them with walnut stain. I liked the look, but it was much too plain. (a bad cell phone photo)

After seeing so many bloggers doing flags, I decided to try to paint the board and make a flag. I got out my acrylic paints and watered them down so they were just a wash. Some stars were stenciled on and I have a flag. (another bad cell phone photo)

I added my coffee filter wreath for a more layered look.

Since we have a very small house here at the Little Farmhouse, the TV is in our main living space. It is so hard to keep it from becoming the focal point in the room. I think the flag adds some color and draws the eye from the TV.

I am late to the party but wanted to link up to the patriotic projects at Funky Junk Interiors.

Estate Sale Goodness

2012-06-28T11:11:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month, we went to an estate sale at a retirement community near us. We found some really great things.
One of my favorites is this beautiful handmade quilt.

I am really happy with the soft colors it added to the bedroom. I moved my mother's quilt to the chair and put the new quilt on the end of the bed. An antique lace tablecloth is draped on the chair.

This fringed blanket was in the bag with the quilt. I added it to my basket of blank-blanks beside the couch.

Some antique kitchen utensils; the perforated one is a butter skimmer, a butter paddle, donut cutter, measuring cup and a teaspoon. I scoop up any old measuring utensils I come across.

We also found this Homan Silverplate pitcher. I just love the patina on this one.

As we were leaving, the lady at the sale gave me these two pottery bowls. Both of them are signed and hallmarked. I need to do some research on them.

We (the husband) also bought a collection of Tom Clark gnomes. The pieces range from the very small gnomes to large sculptures. We were told that there were 140 pieces in the collection, but when we got them inventoried, we found that we had 183 pieces. They had all been in storage for 15+ years and we had to go through all the boxes.

Nativity Set

Betsy Ross

I love this piece: Chief Hollow Horn Bear. I am going to keep this one and display him with this Lowell Ellsworth Smith print depicting an Indian Chief.

Doing all this research on the gnomes has proved addicting. I keep putting more and more pieces in my cabinet. I think I am getting into some Americana around here.

I will leave you with one final photo. I think this is my favorite piece of the entire collection. This is Lawrence. I love his face; he is so expressive. Lawrence sat with me as I was going through the boxes of gnomes. I think he felt sorry for me.

Psst, wanna buy a gnome?

Little Corner of Bedroom

2012-06-04T10:16:00.000-05:00

I decided to frame the crocheted rag doll that my grandmother made. The doll's dress is made of material either from a flour sack or some sort of feed sack. Her pigtails did not survive my childhood.

I have had the unfinished shadowbox frame in storage for years. I spray painted it Heirloom White and lined it with burlap over some thin sheets of styrofoam packing material.

One thing lead to another and one corner of our bedroom was made-over.

I hung a photo of my great-aunt Minnie over a shelf filled with treasured family pieces.

My mother's first grade perfect attendance gift; a Czechoslovakian lustre ware vase circa 1927 or 1928.

The only surviving piece of an antique English bone china chocolate set. My Mother had the set displayed on her mantle. A picture over the mantle fell and broke all the other pieces.

A little lipstick holder that my Aunt Minnie gave me when I was a child.

Aunt Minnie's sitting hen dish where she kept her earrings.

The little pink chair was one that my Mother sat in to put on her shoes. She bought it from a friend who restored antiques. I have thought about painting it over the years and finally broke down and painted it Pineapple yellow. I hated the yellow and then painted it green. The green turned out too minty, so I decided to go with a pink oops paint I found at Home Depot. I thought the pink would pick up some of the colors in the quilt on the end of the bed and add a spot of color.

The quilt was made by Mother after she retired from nursing.

The seat upholstery and pillow are Mother's original choices which I may change at some point.

My layout "My Little Corner" was name Layout of the Day at Digital Scrapbook Place for June 2, 2012.

I am linking to

Memorial Day Table

2012-06-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

My goodness, it has been awhile since I posted anything.

I created a very simple table for Memorial Day using the white Banana Republic plates I found at Goodwill in Charleston, SC. I folded my blue napkins to make the place mats.

The striped salad plates are clearance items from Home Goods. I loved the nautical motif on them.

I found the Pepsi crate on the Pottery Barn web site for $9.99. I filled it with my little milk bottles and vintage Pepsi bottle.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day filled with good food and good times.

What a Difference 15 Years Makes

2012-04-26T10:05:00.001-05:00

On Easter Sunday 2012, we decided to recreate a photo from Easter 1997.

The poor PawPaw is dwarfed by those boys now.

Laundry Soap Revisited

2012-04-26T09:55:00.000-05:00

Almost 4 years ago I was making laundry soap. I only used borax, washing soda and Fels Naptha soap then and it was just OK. I got inspired to try again when I saw this post StoneGable Laundry Soap using more ingredients.

1~ 4lb 12 oz box of Borax

1~ 4 lb box of Arm And Hammer Baking Soda

1~ 3 lb 7 oz box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

1~ 3lb container Oxy Clean

4 bars Fels Naptha Soap, grated

2 containers Downy Un Stopables

I thought I would have to order the Fels Naptha like I did when I made the laundry soap before. I was surprised to find it in the laundry section at the local Wal*Mart store along with the other ingredients all nicely grouped together.

I grated my Fels Naptha using the fine side of my grater.

I love the smell of the Purex Complete Crystals Softener in the lavender scent, so I added that instead of the Downey Un stoppables. I used one 28 oz. container but will be adding at least one more since I just washed the first load with the mix; it is clean but doesn't smell as nice as I would like.

I took my ingredients outside when pouring them because of the dust they create. I mixed them in a plastic container and transferred some to glass container with a screw top to keep on the washing machine. I used the scoop that was in the Oxy Clean container to measure my soap. That is 2 Tbl shown in the scoop.

Another Try for Digital Elite Team (fail)

2012-04-07T10:39:00.003-05:00

I decided to enter the contest at Digitial Scrapbook Place for one last time. Again, I did not make the team.

For round one, we were given a wonderful kit by Z (Elizabeth Weaver) called January Birthstone: Garnet. Since I have one grandson born in January, I decided to use some of his photos. I called the layout "Born to Wear Garnet" since he is now a junior at the University of South Carolina where the team colors are garnet and black.

The second round was a wonderful kit by Erica Belton: Industrial Revolution Value Collection. I loved the colors and gears and rust and everything about it. I used some close-up of Rusty's new bike and called it "My Rival".

For the final round, we were to create 3 layouts using kits of our choice.
This layout is made with "Shades of Color: Green" by Meryl Bartho. I was honored to have this layout named "Layout of the Day". I used the photos of my St. Paddy's Day table for this one.

This next layout is my gorgeous granddaughter. We did a photo shoot while we were at the beach and I got some wonderful shots of her. This fantasy kit is by Nicole Young called Beyond the Moon Value Collection. I also used some bling from Marcee Duggar called Splatter Dottee Silver Set 1.

My third layout in this round also uses photos from the beach and a kit by Carole Harden, At One with the Sea Value Collection.

I have so many more photos from the beach to process and post, it may be another month before I finish them up. I took them all in camera RAW since I am really trying to learn to process photos better, but we'll see.

New Camera Bag

2012-03-15T10:08:00.000-05:00

I have wanted a new camera bag for ages. My big ole square camera was bulky, uncomfortable to carry and screamed "Look at me. Expensive camera onboard". I looked all over the net and the world of blogs. I finally found a pattern (sort of) and combined it with what I fancied about all the bags I had seen.

I bought a bolt of the checked material last for making some window toppers. It has since recovered a desk chair and covered some pillows for the sofa. I added some red duck fabric for the inside of the bag and some quilt filler for padding. I made the strap extra wide so it would be comfortable on my shoulder.

I have since added a burlap flower to the front flap.

The inside has padded pockets for extra lenses and inside pockets for cell phone and other paraphernalia I seem to insist on carrying around.

I ended up breaking 3 or 4 needles of my little sewing machine so I closed the last seam with fabric glue. Not very professional, but I love it.

Additions to St Paddy's Table

2012-03-15T09:50:00.000-05:00

When I photographed my table earlier, I noticed that I had left off glassware. *gasp* I added my Mother's 1940s Fostoria tea glasses and also found some shamrock plants.

So, here is the new and improved table!

I love the shamrock plants I found at Wal*Mart yesterday. These are going in my garden.

My granddaughter and I made cupcakes last night so we put out the individual covered dessert stands. Easy peasy recipe: 1 devils food cake mix, 1 can of pumpkin, about one half cup of chocolate chips. Fill muffin paper half way and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. We used mint/chocolate chips in these. We also pushed Andes Mints into the cupcakes just out of the oven for a melty surprise in the center. Green icing and another Andes Mint finished them off.

Some green bottles from an estate sale:

Love these napkin rings I bought last year from TJMaxx.

Tempting goodies scattered on the table.

The Queen Bess flatware tied with strips of cloth.

St. Paddy's Day Table

2012-03-08T11:04:00.001-05:00

I have had fabric to make napkins for St Paddy's Day for over a year. I finally gave up on getting them made and bought these beauties at TJMaxx. At least the pressure is off!!

I love the cut-work shamrocks on them.

Most of the things on this table came from the Dollar Tree or Michael's.

My much loved Queen Bess flatware. This is the pattern that my grandmother used.

All of my photos were shot in camera raw and edited in Photoshop CS3.

I will be joining:

Folk Magazine Giveaway Winner

2012-03-02T06:28:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Angie at Knick of Time. She is the winner of the Folk Magazine giveaway. Thanks to all of you who visited Dogs and Grandkids and entered.

New Magazine: Vintage Style

2012-03-01T18:42:00.001-05:00

While I was out looking for the latest "Flea Market Style" magazine, I came across this little gem "Vintage Style" Premiere Issue. It is a great addition to my magazine collection. I found this one at Home Depot and "Flea Market Style" was on the shelf at Wal*Mart. Pick this one up; you won't regret it.

It's March Already??? and a Reminder

2012-03-01T08:17:00.000-05:00

Well, this one certainly slipped up on me. My March to-do list is sooooo long since I signed up for so much this month.

Reminder: The drawing for the subscription to Folk Magazine ends tomorrow. Leave a comment here to enter. I am excited to get my first issue soon.

The Digital Elite Team contest starts today at Digital Scrapbook Place. It's a fun contest to select members of a team who serve a six month term creating scrapbook pages for the designers at DSP.

Also from Digital Scrapbook Place is a class on "Editing in Camera Raw" that starts today. I am looking forward to this one to improve my camera and editing skills.

Lastly, I am behind in Jeanne Oliver's Creatively Made Course. This has been so much fun, but I really got behind while I was sick. Fortunately, the videos remain active until the end of March.

Looks like I am going to be a crafty, creating fool this month!

Folk Magazine Giveaway

2012-02-24T14:33:00.005-05:00

I have been a bad blogger lately. Well, I have a good excuse; I have not been "up to snuff" for several weeks and also changed over from my old Dell to a Mac Book Pro. I now have stuff on 2 different laptops and 3 external hard drives. I would say I am in need of a little organization.

On to the giveaway: I entered a giveaway on the Folk Magazine Facebook page and received a subscription AND one to giveaway. I am a magazine addict and resisted the urge to sign up for Folk because I have so many stacks of magazines. I am really sorry I did not sign up right away because I have really missed out on some great issues.

Be sure to check out their blog American Folk Life. You can also find them on Facebook.

To enter, just leave a comment ~~begging me to choose you~~ telling me you would like to win this subscription. The winner will be announced next Friday, March 2nd.

Don't miss out like I did.

Joining the party at:

Is it tin? Or is it faux?

2012-02-03T07:52:00.001-05:00

I read about someone using the faux tin back splash panels from Home Depot. A light bulb went off in my head because I was thinking about doing something to the back of the hutch on my desk. It is black and my black cameras just disappear into nothingness.

This is the before; not so bad on a really bright day. It was decked out in the post cards from a post card exchange.

This is after the addition of the panels:

It required 3 of the panels which are 12 x 24. They are plastic and cut with scissors. Nothing on this hutch was square and required much trimming on the panels. The hutch is a bookcase from Hobby Lobby sitting on a Pottery Barn desk.

I am very happy with the outcome. It brightens the whole corner of the room.

I will be joining:

Project ±365 or So and E-Course

2012-01-12T08:59:00.000-05:00

I began an e-course by Jeanne Oliver at Creatively Made. I am so excited to have complete the cover of an Altered Journal. I have more work to do on the journal, but here is the cover. This is my photo for January 11.

I used material that I had on hand, but plan a major shopping trip to Hobby Lobby and Michaels today.

I am trying to do the Project 365 this year, but to keep the pressure off I am call my project “Project 365 or So” or “Project ±365”. I can't post some photos because they are of the granddaughter trying on her pageant clothes and you know those are top secret. : )This photo was taken on the 9th and is one of my favorite places. This is looking down the drive from the front porch on a rainy day.

I took these this morning. The sky was gorgeous here in the country.

Blog Design Series #6 — Use Proper Typographical Punctuation

2012-01-10T12:42:00.001-05:00

“Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. There is only effective and non-effective communication.”
— Peter Bilak - Illegibility

Curl your quotes, decode your dots and dashes. Proper punctuation marks give your documents professional polish. Straight quotation marks (primes) and three dots in place of an ellipsis may be acceptable for word processing, term papers, and email but not for desktop publishing.

These step-by-step tutorials show how to get proper typographical punctuation marks and offer tips on fine tuning the characters that are in most fonts.

How to Type Quotes, Apostrophes, and Primes

Avoid the look of an amateur by properly using typographer’s quotation marks (curly quotes) and apostrophes and primes in your desktop published documents.

How to Create and Use Dashes and Hyphens

One mark of professionally set type is the proper use of hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. Each is a different size and has its own usage.
Learn how to create, modify, and typeset en dashes (–), em dashes (—), and hyphens (-) in desktop publishing.

How to Create an Ellipsis

Elliptical periods, more commonly called an ellipsis, indicate the omission of text or an interruption or hesitation.

While it is quite common to use three periods, the more typographically desirable way to insert an ellipsis is to use the ellipsis character available in most fonts or create a custom ellipsis. In both cases, some finetuning is often necessary.

The degree of fine tuning is up to the individual designer and the requirements of the client; but, headlines and other display size text almost always benefit from careful attention to detail.

The Bottom Line: For typeset material, use typographer's marks and adjust the spacing for best visual appearance and professional polish. For typing or word processing, such as manuscripts, term papers, email, and for most Web pages, such detailed typographic standards are generally not necessary.

Source: About.com

Common html codes:

Each code begins with &#, then 3 or 4 numbers, ending with ";". Type with no "," or spaces.

¢     &, #, 162, ;    cent sign
©    &, #, 169, ;    copyright symbol
®    &, #, 174, ;    registered trademark symbol
°      &, #, 176, ;    degree mark
¼    &, #, 188, ;    one-quarter
½    &, #, 189, ;    one-half
¾    &, #, 190, ;    three-quarters
– &, #, 8211, ; en dash
—   &, #, 8212;    em dash

Full html code table.

Blog Design Series #1 — About Centered Text
Blog Design Series #2 — Choosing a Font
Blog Design Series #3 — Use One Space Between Sentences
Blog Design Series #4 — Balance Line Length with Type Size
Blog Design Series 5 — Use All Caps With the Right Font

Blog Design Series #5 — Use All Caps with the Right Fonts

2012-01-09T01:01:00.003-05:00

“Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. There is only effective and non-effective communication.”
— Peter Bilak - Illegibility

Balance Line Length with Type Size

Stop shouting. Online TYPING IN ALL CAPS is considered shouting and is frowned on in most cases. In print, shouting is never worse than when it is done with decorative or script typefaces. It’s ugly. It’s hard to read. Just don’t do it, PLEASE!

That said, there are times when words set in all capital letters are necessary and acceptable. Just pay close attention to the fonts you use. Acronyms, such as NASA, and abbreviations such as PM or USA generally appear in either all caps or small caps within body text.

Note that acronyms and abbreviations within paragraphs are just a few letters set in all caps and are easy to read. Long headlines and especially paragraphs set with all caps are much more difficult to read and usually don't look as good as mixed case. Decorative fonts draw the eye and provide emphasis. All caps do the same thing. Combining the two techniques can overpower a page and overpower the reader.

Avoid setting almost any Script typeface in all caps. Black-letter fonts don't usually do well in all caps either.
Avoid using fonts with extreme serifs, swashes, or other decorative elements for all caps.
Short headlines in all caps are better than long headlines in all caps.
Fonts that are suitable for body text (serif or sans serif) are generally a better choice for all caps headlines than more decorative fonts.
Nameplates and other text that serves as graphic embellishment can often be successfully set with all capitals that are slightly more decorative than typical body text.
For an elegant and more readable look than all caps, set headlines or short phrases in small caps or specially drawn all caps Titling fonts designed to be readable in all capitals.
Pay careful attention to kerning (space between letters) when setting any headlines, including those in all caps, to avoid unsightly gaps between pairs of letters.

The Bottom Line: Readability is the guiding factor when using all caps. Use all caps in moderation. Stick primarily with plain sans serif or basic serif typefaces or specially designed Small Caps and all caps Titling fonts for text in all capitals. Short headlines and other large type, such as newsletter nameplates, can take somewhat more decorative fonts in all caps. Save the unreadable all caps for certain logo designs or graphic text that is meant to grab attention by its appearance, not its actual text message.

Source: About.com

Blog Design Series #4 — Balance Line Length with Type Size

2012-01-08T08:02:00.001-05:00

“Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. There is only effective and non-effective communication.”
— Peter Bilak - Illegibility

Balance Line Length with Type Size

Lines of type that are too long or too short slow down reading and comprehension. Combine the wrong line length with the wrong type size and the problem is magnified. The shorter the line length, the smaller the font should be — allowing more words to the line. The longer the line, the larger the font can be.

There is a four-step process that can help determine the best line length. Keep in mind that these formulas work only when using the selected font. Changing the font and type size alters the results of the line length formulas. Follow through on all four steps when determining the ideal line length to get a range that best works with your layout and font size.

If the desired size of type and the line length used in the page layout are incompatible, one of them needs to change. Typically it is the font size that gets adjusted but don't be afraid to re-evaluate your page layout to accommodate wider or narrower text columns.

The Bottom Line: The line length rule applies primarily to body copy. Headlines, subheadings, and other small bits of text have more flexibility. Almost any reasonable line length will work in a design if combined with the right size font. The longer the line, the larger the font can be. The shorter the line, the smaller the font can be.

All information in this series is from Ask.com.

Source: About.com

Blog Design Series #1 — About Centered Text
Blog Design Series #2 — Choosing a Font
Blog Design Series #3 — Use One Space Between Sentences

Blog Design Series #3 — Use One Space Between Sentences

2012-01-07T01:01:00.009-05:00

“Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. There is only effective and non-effective communication.”
— Peter Bilak - Illegibility

Use One Space Between Sentences

Should you put one space or two spaces after a period? The debate over how much space to put between sentences (whether they end with a period or other punctuation) may seem petty, but often it's the little details that make or break a design.

It is generally accepted that the practice of putting two spaces after a period (or other punctuation) at the end of a sentence is a carryover from the days of typewriters with monospaced typefaces. Two spaces, it was believed, made it easier to see where one sentence ended and the next began. Most typeset text, both before and after the typewriter, used a single space.

Today, with the prevalence of proportionally spaced fonts, some believe that the practice is no longer necessary and even detrimental to the appearance of text.

With mono-spaced typefaces every character takes up the same amount of space on the page. M uses the same amount of space as i. With proportionally spaced fonts, the characters take up an amount of space relative to their actual width - the i needs less space than the M.

The use of proportionally spaced type makes double spaces after a period unnecessary (if they ever were). The extra spacing is often distracting and unattractive. It creates ‘holes’ in the middle of a block of text — trapped white space on a smaller scale.

Habit and reluctance to change are only some of the reasons given for retaining the 2 spaces habit. Readers also cite readability, age, and appearance.

The Bottom Line: Professional typesetters, designers, desktop publishers, and anyone who truly cares about fonts and typography should use only one space after a period or other ending punctuation. Save the double spaces for typewriting, casual email, term papers (if prescribed by the style guide you are using), or personal correspondence. Remove extra spaces. For everyone else, do whatever makes you feel good.

Source: About.com

Blog Design Series #1 — About Centered Text
Blog Design Series #2 — Choosing a Font

Blog Design Series #2 — Choosing a Font

2012-01-06T11:04:00.002-05:00

“Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. ;There is only effective and non-effective communication.”
— Peter Bilak - Illegibility

I did a post about centering text on blogs here. I decided to turn this into a series of posts on “desktop publishing rules” hoping that it would help some people in their blog design. All of these tips in the series can be found at About.com.

Today, I want to address font choices. My #1 rule to make sure that the font is readable. It is one thing to have a “pretty” font and one that is readable.

About.com has this to say:

How many fonts are too many for one project and how do you know where to draw the line? A generally accepted practice is to limit the number of different typefaces to three or four. That doesn't mean you can't use more but be sure you have a good reason to do so.

Be consistent in the use of fonts. A different font for every headline, for instance, is confusing and can give your design a cluttered look. You can usually get away with more fonts in longer documents with many different design elements where only two to three different fonts appear on any one page spread.

Select a font for body copy and another for headlines. Use bold, italics, and different sizes of those fonts for captions, subheadings, decks, and other design elements. Depending on the design you might use a third font for initial caps, pull-quotes, or other selected items. You might add a fourth font for page numbers or as a secondary body font for sidebars, but usually two or three are sufficient.

Don’t use more than four fonts in any one publication.

“As a general rule, when designing a publication I never use more than four fonts. Realistically, how many do you need? For a newsletter layout, you could use one font for headings, one for body text (which could also be used in italics or bold for captions) and one for subheadings. You may not even need that fourth one.”
— Stuart Gardoll's Desktop Publishing Do's and Don'ts

It is also wise to not make sudden typeface changes within a paragraph. Use the same typeface for body copy, using only bold or italics to add small amounts of emphasis, if necessary. If greater emphasis is required — create a pull-quote, set that copy in the margin, or create a sidebar using a different font to really set the information apart.

The Bottom Line: No hard and fast rule says you can't use five, six, or even twenty different fonts in one document. However, consistency and readability are important to good design and too many font changes can distract and confuse the reader. Make your font choices carefully and consider how many typefaces will be seen together — longer, multi-page publications, such as magazines, can often tolerate a greater variety of typefaces. For brochures, ads, and other short documents, limit typefaces to one, two, or three.

Blog Design Series #1 — About Centered Text

2012-01-04T12:57:00.004-05:00

“Right and wrong do not exist in graphic design. ;There is only effective and non-effective communication.”
— Peter Bilak - Illegibility

One thing I have noticed about some blogs is the tendency to use centered body text. I find those blogs extremely hard to read and would like to offer some “rules” from my years in the printing industry.

These are from About.com.

Centered text:

Lends a formal appearance to text, which is why it is often used in formal wedding invitations, certificates and on plaques.
Is generally harder to read longs and multiple paragraphs of centered text.
Works best with fairly short lines and extra leading (space between lines of text).
Centered headlines work best over body test that is fully-justified.
Is harder to read because the starting position of each lines changes, forcing the reader to work harder to find where each line begins to continue reading.
For large blocks of text, try to avoid centered text.
Numbered and bulleted lists should almost always be left-aligned to aid in quickly scanning the list.
Save centering for invitations, greeting cards and certificates.
Even recipes are easier to follow if they are not centered.

The Bottom Line: There is no right and wrong way to align text. Use the alignment that makes the most sense for the design and that effectively communicates your message.

However, for most body copy situations, avoid centered text.