May Project Update!

Happy Monday everyone! Just a quick note to all current (and potential) clients that I will be out of town the next few days and will return all emails this Friday (May 17). May projects are coming along SO well and I'll be sending out a round of proofs on Friday to a handful of clients! Chat soon! -Melissa

Custom Rebranding for Skinnyluscious

I am SO excited to reveal my latest rebranding project for Dori over Skinnyluscious. She's a fabulous food blogger who focuses on providing healthy recipes to her readers (as well as gorgeous food photography!). I had so much fun coming up with her new design & love how it turned out! 

For her header design, I played off the "skinny" idea by highlighting the "i" in Skinny, to add a very subtle graphical element to the logo-type (that to some may read as a skinny little person!). I thought this was a fun way to add a hidden second meaning to the logo-type.

Be sure to stop on over to Skinnyluscious to check out the new design & take a look at her mouth-watering recipes!

Behind the Scenes at Melissa Rose Design

Today, I'm going to share with you a behind-the-scenes look into how I created a recent blog designs from start to finish. I'm big into hand drawn illustrations and I love the opportunity to whip out my sketchpad when starting a design. I'm a big believer in sketching out designs in the beginning, in order to fully conceptualize what type of layout is appropriate for that individual blogger.

I recently had the opportunity to work with Danielle over at Framed Frosting on her blog design/rebrand, and today I'm going to give you a little sneak peek at how I created it from sketchpad to computer!

When Danielle first came to me, she had a lot of ideas on what she wanted it to look like. Whimsical, watercolor, polka dots, use of glittery gold, were a few things she had mentioned she liked. 

So I set off to find a way to bring all these different elements together into one unified design. Like most of my designs, I began sketching on paper. With design so much geared toward computers these days, it's important for me to take a step back and conceptualize before jumping into a design. Sketching can not only lead to other great ideas, but it can also be the first step to creating organic & natural typography and graphics. Many sheets of paper later, I had a few "winning" sketches that I wanted to work with. I scanned them into the computer, where I vectorized them, and worked with them from there.

After laying down the "mood" of the design with the hand drawn elements, I then set off to incorporate watercolor into the design. I was unhappy with the watercolor images I was finding online, and knew that the only way to achieve the form, color, and quality I wanted was to produce it myself. So I whipped out my sophomore year watercolor set and began painting. I set off to achieve a shape that would fit well as a header and frame the top of the blog.

After producing the main graphic elements, the next step was to move to the computer. At this point, I sat down and figured out what types of fonts & colors would work well with the whimsical & organic feel I was trying to achieve. A mix of whimsical script & both clean cut serif and sans serif fonts turned out to be a great mix for a fun, young, and organic feel. Danielle had a certain color palette in mind, and after incorporating it throughout the design, everything came together! I loved working with Danielle to make her vision come to life and am so happy with how it turned out!

And that's how it all came to be! Like these behind-the-scenes types of posts

Let me know in the comments!

Looking for a custom blog design? Head on over to the studio website for package & pricing information! I'd love to take your brand to the next level!

Wall Art In Action!

I was SO excited when I went to check in on a past client's blog to find photos of my wall art designs in action! Erin, over at Cali-Land Chic purchased two of my shop's wall art prints & also had me create two custom ones for her! One of those prints was a custom print of her blog's new header logo (see below photo). I had so much fun creating these prints for her new (adooorrabllee!!) craft room. Be sure to check out her post with more photos of the prints in action!

(This print available here. Other print designs can be found here.)

See the print from above in her real-life space? It's in the top right hand corner! I LOVE seeing my prints get put to use. I also worked with her to design the other 3 prints on the left & center. So fun.

Click here for her Craft Room Makeover post 

& to see more photos of the prints live and in action!

Custom Blog Design for Framed Frosting

One of my latest custom designs for Framed Frosting!  I LOVED working on this soft, hand drawn, and whimsical design. Whether it be the pin-it hover feature, the social media button incorporation, or the hand-painted watercolor accents (yes, I got out my actual paints out for this one!), this design has all the bells and whistles!

Be sure to stop by again soon for a behind-the-scenes look at how this hand drawn design was created!

Head over to www.framedfrosting.com to see it in action!

Now Offering Hover Pin-It Button Service!

Exciting feature for Bloggers! You may have seen the "Hover" Pinterest button on images from other blogs before. Ever wonder how to get that for your own blog ? Pinterest is one of my MAIN traffic sources for my food/recipe blog and having the option to "Pin" your photos is proving to be very important in reaching new audiences through Pinterest.

For a limited time only, I will be offering a Custom "Pin It" Install/Coding service. It will include a custom button to match your site, as well as installation! This feature is compatible with many standard blog layouts. Be sure to include your URL in the email so I can check compatibility. Spots are limited, so book fast!

Offer ends February 8th or until spots fill up!

Custom Blog Design UPDATE

Attention potential clients: I will be closing down submissions for Custom Blog Designs on January 27th in order to get caught up with my current workload. Anyone looking to place a new order should do so by Sunday.

I will announce when the queue opens back up again. Premade templates will still be available during this time. Thanks for your cooperation!

Behind the Scenes: Custom Header for Bakeaholic Mama

Here's a behind the scenes peek of how a design comes to be! Carrie, over at Bakeaholic Mama to me wanting a new header that incorporated a stand mixer, a lot like the adorable earrings she just got!

So I got out my sketch book, drew a replica of her earring, scanned it in, redrew the vector, and then incorporated it into her new header. It was such a fun project & as a baking-fanatic myself, I was excited to take it on!

Head over to Bakeaholic Mama to see it live and in action!

K& Camera Photography Blog: Latest Design!

I had so much fun working on this latest design over at K&Camera. Kylie had a wonderful vision for her blog and I'm so excited to show you the finished product! This design was a little different style than the ones I had worked on in the past...but I absolutely LOVE it. It's simple, clean, and contemporary and makes her wonderful photography the center of attention.

Her design features simple hovering social media buttons, as well as a social media post footer! Great for business blogs or bloggers looking to network!

Thanks for being so great to work with, Kylie!

And for those who haven't checked out here blog, be sure to stop on over. 

Her photography skills are ahh-mazing!

CLOSED: Free Blog Post Signature Graphic!

Happy New Year everyone! I wanted to pop in and give A BIG thank you to all my 2012 clients & to everyone who has supported this page this year. As a little token of appreciation for all you bloggers out there, all Facebook fans will receive a free blog post signature.

Head on over to my Facebook page to snag yours up!

This special ended 1/15/13. Thanks to everyone who participated!

Business Card Special!

Ends 12/31/2012.

Order here!

SALE ALERT

I'm a little late on the Cyber Monday deal-io, so I figured I'd have a Cyber Tuesday Flash SALE instead! My most popular premade blog design "Chic & Sleek" is $10 off for today only (11-27-12).

Check it out here!

Spruce up your Ad Options!

Looking for a fun & informative way to present your sponsorship/service options? Custom graphics help your readers visualize exactly what they're getting! Check out this latest graphic I did for Living In Yellow:

Contact for more information on how to order custom graphics!

Featured Design: The Farmer's Wife

Super fun design alert. When Amy over at The Farmer's Wife came to me looking for a new design, right away, I had so many ideas running through my head from the beginning. It's not often I get to do "country-chic"in my designs, so it's safe to say that my country roots loved it.

Here's what Amy had to say about the vision for her new design:

"My blog is about my daily life. I LOVE fashion, and try to incorporate that in. I am also a farmer’s wife, hence the name of the blog “The Farmer’s Wife.” … I don’t however want my blog to scream “redneck in overalls” type of blog."

I'm glad our visions were similiar, Amy! After taking into account the color palettes she gave me, and a little country-chic, here's the design I came up with!

Thanks for being such a great client, Amy!

And for everyone else, stop over to her blog to read her hilarious & adventurous blog!

-Melissa

Reserve a Custom Design Spot in 2013!

After limiting custom blog designs the past few months, I'm happy to announce that I'm opening up about 5 new spots for the beginning months of 2013. 

Here are some of my recent custom design projects!

Spots will fill up in the coming weeks, so be sure to contact me to reserve your spot for the new year!

Details on custom blog design here!

Featured Design: Life After...

Oh boy did I love working on this design for Kay over at Life After. (I know I say that a lot on here, but I truly love working on each and every one!) Kay is mom to a super adorable little boy, and her blog talks about just that!

She gave me some fun color palettes to work with, but for the most part let me have fun with it! I wanted her blog design to be light & fun, to reflect her bubbly personality (trust me...her blog is hilarious.)

Take a look at the final design!

Enough of my talking...get yourselves over to Kay's blog to see the design live and in action!

-Melissa

Premade Blog Designs (Affordable & Quick Facelift!)

Looking for a fast blog design facelift? With the relaunch of my website, I added ALOT of fun, fresh, and new premade blog design templates! Take a look:

You can place an order or just check them out here!

Custom Blogger Design: Miss Tweedle

My oh' my was this a fun & colorful design to work on. Katie over at Miss Tweedle had a clear vision on what she wanted her new design to be.

Her goal for her blog is for it to become  the "it" blog for the new homemaker. With her talent for cooking, sewing, and more...I have no doubt her blog will spread like wild fire.

Here's part of the "vision" she gave to me to work with:

"Black bold capital font right across the middle of the header quite big saying "Miss Tweedle". Above it, the black silhouette of Miss Tweedle hanging things on the clothesline with heels on and a crinoline apron and the clothes on the line are bright colours like turquoise, fuschia, orange, yellow, lime green and neon pink."

In addition to her home page design, I did 2 custom content pages for her. Custom pages not only help unify your blog, but they also help readers easily navigate around it!

I love being able to take a client's "vision" and make it come to life through design! Thanks for being so great to work with, Katie! Hope you're enjoying your fresh new design! :

Melissa

Custom Blogger Design: Tiffany Leigh Interior Design

Boy do I have a treat for you all today! I got the opportunity to work with Tiffany over at Tiffany Leigh Interior Design to redesign her blog. She came to me knowing exactly what she wanted, but just needed someone to make it come to life. It was so fun to take her vision and create a web presence that portrayed her as the super talented interior designer she is.

Take a look at the final design AND be sure to scroll down to see the sketch she sent me! 

This is the sketch she sent me!

"First impressions count. That's why I decided to invest in a total blog redesign.
I hired Melissa because her rates are fair and her portfolio is stunning.
She was friendly and professional throughout the entire redesign process, even assuring me that I wasn't being a clientzilla (even though I totally was...a nice one though!). I had a clear vision for the design I wanted, and Melissa really brought it to life. I couldn't be more pleased with the final look! 

Since the launch of my redesign, my number of followers and page views has grown considerably. I'm so excited that Melissa has expanded her services and am looking forward to working with her again in the future"

-Tiffany at Tiffany Leigh Interior Design

How fun is that? Making her vision come to life was SO fun. Stop over to her blog and give this budding interior designer some blog love!

-Melissa

Custom Blogger Design: The Daily Tay

Okay, folks. Today's feature blog design was for the oh-so-hilarious Taylor over at The Daily Tay. (Not kidding. This girl is laugh-out-loud funny.)

She came to me wanting a very simple, chic design for her daily lifestyle blog. She already knew she wanted a black, white, and yellow color scheme, so the next step was for me to come up with a way to incorporate these colors into her design.

She also knew she wanted to somehow incorporate images into the header. Many times, my clients know exactly what they want, they just need someone else to make it come to life. So that's where I came in. I love being able to take a simple idea and transform it into a design they can be proud of!

Take a look at the finished product!

"I asked Melissa for a design that was "clean, classy and chic." Low and behold, within just hours of installation I already had comments from readers describing my new layout with those exact words! Melissa magically captured the image I had in my head, and transformed it onto my new blog. Melissa was patient, kind and courteous every time she'd send me a new proof and I found a  little detail or button I wanted her to implement. If my words aren't enough to convince you, I'll let the numbers speak for themselves- literally within the first twelve hours of having my new design live I jumped up about 20 followers. You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but nobody ever said you can't judge a blog by its design. I would absolutely recommend Melissa to any blogger who is contemplating getting a new design. If you're like me, you're on your blog for numerous hours a day, why not make it looks its very best?"

-Taylor at The Daily Tay

Okay peeps, go over and read her blog! I promise that you will be very entertained. While you're there, check out her header design live and in action!