Lucky Chickadee

Lucky Chickadee has moved!

2014-07-05T19:46:00.001-07:00

As many of you can tell I don't post very often anymore. I would love to get into blogging but I'm not sure when that will happen. I've been busy building my skills, working with great clients and re-opening my Etsy shop.

This blog is done but please visit me at www.luckychickadee.com or www.meghan-wagner.com

Current Work: Community Catalysts

2013-08-29T20:56:00.003-07:00

Since I've moved to Vancouver in July, I've been busy, but not as busy as this past week.
Last Monday I was asked to develop a Wordpress site that needed to be live Wednesday August 28.
Plus I was working two jobs and Duncan was moving the same Wednesday.
Since I am that good, the website was up on time and my best work yet. Take a look!

Currently...

2013-07-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

Since it's been forever...

Living: In Vancouver! I officially made the move June 30 and couldn't be happier with my new apartment and its location. Just waiting for the man to join me, hopefully in August.

Listening: Feelin' Good in the 90's playlist on Songza.

Thinking about: My transfer to the roller derby league in Vancouver. Just waiting for my paperwork to go through...

Excited about: Duncan moving. We've been apart for more then a year and it's about damn time we're together again.

Drinking: Maple Whiskey Sour - Maple Crown Royal is officially my favorite.

Songza - The BEST Music App Ever!

2013-07-04T13:03:00.002-07:00

I was over at my sisters the other morning and was loving her playlist. I thought she had excellent taste in music but it was actually a app.
Songza to be exact and after that moment I've been in love.
Don't let the creepy mascot-thing scare you, Songza curates playlists for the time of day, your mood, activity or just by genre. All available free and the tip of your finger.

Making Friends in the Big City

2013-07-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've just recently moved to the big city, Vancouver British Columbia. This has been a dream of mine for years to move away from my small town life, but there's one thing I didn't expect. To feel so lonely.
It'll be at least a month before Duncan can join me here and although I do have a sister who's currently a 30 minute bus ride away, she has her own life and can't join me all the time.

So how do I meet people?

Roller Derby. This sport has grown into an intense love of my life but my skates are currently back on the Island until I retreave them and play the last game with my old team.
I've also signed up to volunteer at an upcoming Vancouver roller derby game but that's not for another 2 weeks...

Meeting people, and creating a friendly relationship with these people have never been a strong skill of mine.

Do you have any tips on how I can meet some awesome people?

I forgot about you...

2013-04-02T00:33:00.000-07:00

I have a blog? Oh right! Things have been crazy around here lately, just a couple more weeks of school, working part time at the hardware store and taking on clients. Crazy but good crazy. As soon as I finish up with my clients I will share!
But right now I made some changes with my own website. Just some tweaking, I don't think I'll ever be satisfied.
Check out the updated design.

I do have plans to start creating templates for Blogger and Wordpress to will be available through Lucky Chickadee Design store, on Etsy, but for now I am taking clients for May.
I'm really interested in working with someone who's using Blogger. I'm willing to offer some crazy rates starting at $100, so please contact me.

How Does Google Work?

2013-03-18T20:56:00.002-07:00

The other day I was trying to explain to a client how Google works...then I realized I had no idea where to start. There is so much information out in this big ol' internet world but I think the infographic below is a nice way to understand Google.

But why do you need to know how Google works? Well you want as many people as possible to see your blog or website, right? So you need to understand how the search engines work to optimize your site. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of your website or blog in a search engines "natural" (unpaid) search results.

So how can you optimize your site? This may involve editing your site's content and/or code to both increase its relevance to specific key words and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Plus the more backlinks you have leading to your site the more likely your site will be found. If you're self-hosted wordpress I suggest downloading the plugin All in One SEO Pack, and if you're with blogger this is a great article with tips and tricks.

Infographic by the Pay Per Click Blog

Bye Bye Google Reader

2013-03-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many of you may know that Google Reader is going bye bye as of July 1 2013. When I heard this news I'll admit I may have sucked all the air out of the room, I love my google reader, although it can be frustrating at moments I haven't found a equivalent blog reader I really love as much.

Source

As I've been reading around the web, a lot of people are switching over to Bloglovin', which I've been using a little. I've also heard of Feedly but find it not very user friendly as I don't understand how to view my blogs.

I know Google Reader isn't leaving until July I may as well do the switch as soon as possible so I can start using the new reader. Right now I've chosen Bloglovin' because they made it extremely easy to import my blogs from Google Reader. See how easy it is here.

But I have some issues with Bloglovin'. I hate that I can't see all the pictures or the whole post on Bloglovin' I actually have to change to the actual blog to read the entire post. Google Reader has a 'follow' button that can be used on any blog even if they don't have a follow button or GFC showing. I don't believe Bloglovin' has this, if it does I would LOVE to know!

What blog reader are you going to use to replace Google Reader?

Meghan Wagner

2013-03-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

My business site is up and I'm so excited about it! I feel like an actual professional, but of course I am :)

So if you're looking for some help either in design or development, a re-design or starting from scratch. I am officially open for business!! Visit the site here

How To Remove Shadow Box from Images

2013-03-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed the ugly shadow boxes that appear on your images when placed in a post or even on your header image. This look can be useful, by allowing a more layered look but most of the time it leaves your site looking unpolished. So here is a quick tutorial on how to remove that box!

First thing to do is locate the CSS file for your site, usually style.css for wordpress. Within this file search for this:

.entry-content img,
.comment-content img,
.widget img, img.header-image,
.author-avatar img,
img.wp-post-image {

/* Add fancy borders to all WordPress-added images but not things like badges and icons and the like */
       border-radius: 2px;
       box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
}

This code is responsible for the border and the box shadow on images. If you are wanting to keep the border box shadow but want it darker, thicker whatever here is where you would do that. To stop this from showing you can either delete the lines of code or I prefer to just comment them out.

.entry-content img,
.comment-content img,
.widget img, img.header-image,
.author-avatar img, img.wp-post-image {

/* Add fancy borders to all WordPress-added images but not things like badges and icons and the like */
   /*border-radius: 2px;
box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);*/
}
It's always best to preview your page before saving. If it looks right then save your file and your done! Congrats, now that wasn't that hard!

Menu Design

2013-02-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

I've been assigned to design a menu for a restaurant of my own creation. I chose a English pub theme based on the name Pie n' Mash. I wanted to be fun but not lose the feeling of England. What do you think?

Podcasts

2013-02-26T10:06:00.000-08:00

So I've just finally understood what Podcasts are. I don't know why it's taken me this long to understand what and why you would listen to a Podcast but I officially listened to my first one the other day, driving Dunc home from the airport.

My point of this post is to share ShopTalk my new Podcast obsession.

ShopTalk is a web design and development Podcast. I listened for the first time and it blew my mind, there is so much information out there and I was constantly googling throughout the show to find out more of what they were talking about.
Some of the questions were slightly over my head but I think that's a good thing since a goal of mine is to listen to a full cast and understand everything their saying.

If you're interested in web design and development I definitely recommend you check out ShopTalk and keep it as a resource for constant information.

Do you have any Podcasts you love? I would love to hear about them. Hook me up!

Help Is Here

2013-02-25T16:09:00.001-08:00

Glass

2013-02-24T21:32:00.002-08:00

Google Glass to be exact. Have you heard of this product? It's pretty mind blowing, Google is trying to create a smartphone-like format hands-free and can interact with the internet via voice controls.

Since Google Glass is still in it's early stages their looking for people to test it out. You can apply to be a tester, but be warned you have to pre order the glasses for $1500 if your chosen. So if you have the extra cash hanging around and you want to apply, find more information here.

Check out the video below to see how they work and feel.

I'm Back!

2013-02-23T09:17:00.002-08:00

Back again...shady's back...tell a friend...you know that slim shady song...anyway

Well it's been almost 2 months since I last posted. Time has just flew by and things have been busy.
I took a break from blogging for a couple reasons.

1. Lack of inspiration and it's a lot of work.

I wanted to post at least 3 times a week, I even created a schedule but I fizzled out and realized that other things in my life were a bigger priority.

2. ROLLER DERBY!

I benchmarked (so I was allow to play) in November but my first scrimmage wasn't until January then February was all about derby. I played two scrimmages, attended a bootcamp and our team had numerous meetings and gatherings. I loved every minute of it but it took up time.

3. School

Now school is and must be my highest priority right now. I came to the Island away from Dunc to go to school, to learn as much as possible and to start a career that I love. Things are going well although with half the semester gone, stress is creeping up again.

All in all I find myself wanting to blog again. At least to start being a resource for those who may need coding or design help.

I'm excited and oh so nervous about the future, things are changing but I know it's for the better.

Where To Go From Here

2012-12-26T22:38:00.000-08:00

I finished my first semester over a week ago, ending up with straight A's. This has never happened before, I've always been about a B student, basically because I haven't given a crap about what I've been learning. But this, right here makes me happy.
I love web design, especially the coding end, it seems to come more naturally to me. I'm so excited for my second (and last) semester to start but I'm also nervous.

I'm nervous because in 4 months I get thrown back into the world of being an adult, of finding an apartment, paying bills, FINDING A JOB, and this is what scares me the most. What if I can't find a job? Everyone is either looking for a degree or a whole lot of experience.
I know I'm a smart lady and problem solving makes me super happy so why wouldn't anyone want to hire me? Give me a task I'll figure it out! ...so why am I nervous?

So to combat some of this crazy nervousness I'm offering to anyone who will let me, to build a website for you, for free!
I want and need experience working with a client and pushing myself to see what I'm capable of and what I need to work on.
So if you would like a FREE blog make over - either blogger or wordpress - or you're looking for a upgrade to your site or need one built for you, I want to be that person!

At this point I'm only going to take on one project as school still needs to remain my main focus but I promise to give your corner of the web 110% and as much time as I can, so if you're interested either comment (please leave your email) or send me an email at meghan(dot)wagner2(at)gmail(dot)com. Tell me a bit about your blog/site and what you would like the outcome of our partnership to be.