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Monday, February 18, 2013

New Year, New Blog Design

It wasn't until my junior year (3rd of 4 years, to non-Americans) of university that I realised I enjoyed learning. I worked really hard those last two years, absorbing everything I could, from the history of media to the art of negotiation. Since then I've tried to challenge myself to learn new things: I taught myself to sew and started a children's clothing line, Spike and Ella almost 10 years ago. I still sew today.




 I've taught myself a lot about interior design and styling.




I've taught myself to be an expert mover (I've lost count how many times...)


I've taught myself to be a (sort of) confident public speaker.


and I've taught myself a lot of DIY. 





But one thing I have avoided learning at all costs is how to do anything complicated with a computer. No Photoshop, no Illustrator, no html coding. I only learned how to make an Excel spreadsheet a year ago. And the truth is, this lack of knowledge has held me back. I've never felt in control of my brand design and even though I've had ideas I've never been able to put them into action because I haven't had the tools. (My blog banner is a piece of fabric I scanned, but couldn't figure out how to make smaller, which is why it's so damn big!)

For me 2013 is about finally learning to do the things I've avoided and sort of feared. And since I learn through doing, not reading, I thought I'd have a crack at re-doing my blog. A new header, mood board collages, navigation bar, photo-shopped bits and pieces - pretty basic things that any blogger should know how to do.

It turns out, after finally buckling down and doing some "learning", it may not be that hard. x
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2 comments:

  1. Heather (love your space)February 18, 2013 at 3:48 PM

    Oh, my, this does sound familiar! Right now, if I need something done with images etc, I either leave it be (like your too-big header!) or ask my husband. Which is hard for me, because really I tend to do everything myself. Perhaps I will take inspiration from you....

    Good for you for going for it, and putting your plans out there for accountability!

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  2. Emily HensonFebruary 18, 2013 at 4:15 PM

    Thanks Heather! In my opinion your blog already has some great personal touches. In case you're interested I bought this tutorial for about $35 - http://abeautifulmess.com/e-course-catalog.html. Some of it's pretty basic but I've found it to be useful so far. I'm sure you can find all this stuff free on youtube but I like the little package.

    And yes, you have to go public!! I'll feel like such a loser if I fail now!
    As always, thanks for reading. x

    ReplyDelete

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