So I said I was going to get a blog design together in the next few weeks. And then I said early next week. And then I said by Thursday for sure. And then last night I was like "Welp, I can toss and turn in bed and think about HTML, or I can just sit at my computer and HTML it out."
This is how it is when I get ready for a new blog layout. It's like a hot mess of not being able to sleep, sweaty palms and tension headaches. But then it's done and life is good again.
So welcome to the new ENJOY IT.
It's basically the same!
But cleaner!
Just in time for her 9th birthday next week!
I don't know about you, but whenever a blog I like announces a new design, my first thought (as a blogger) is "Oh no." because it always makes me feel like (as a blogger) I need to get my ducks in row and re-do my blog too. And then my second thought (as a blog reader) is "Oh no." because I always worry that (as I reader) I have to update my RSS feeds and re-figure out where the main content will appear.
I am pretty sure this makes me lazy. I am also pretty sure this makes me human.
Change is scary. So scary that I avoided it for 2.5 years. That's right. TWO AND A HALF YEARS ago I talked with Elsie and Emma about co-piloting a blog design course with them. I lamented about how small my blog photos were and we all agreed that I should totally increase my main content column size. Do you want to know why I didn't do this? Because I had 6.5 years of posts with photos that were resized for a 500 pixel wide column.
Guess what I have today? NINE YEARS of posts with photos that are resized for a 500 pixel wide column.
DAMN. I should have done it then. I totally should have done it then. But I didn't. Every few months I would think about it and every few months I would say, "Nahhhh." Until finally I was over that crap and it was seriously time for an upgrade.
So what's new?
Well, the banner, for starters. It's cleaner but still looks like me. I moved the navigation up a bit. I tightened up my about page. I adjusted my FAQ page a bit. I created an affiliate link heavy "Where did you get that?" page to answer the most frequent question I get asked.
I also went cross-eyed reorangizing my archives. (I apologize for the pages that popped up in your RSS feeds. That was a total mistake.) You can see on the right sidebar that there is a link to both archives by date and archives by category. Clicking on the category link takes you to a page with almost all the topics I blog about. Clicking on those photos takes you to a unique archive page for that section.
For example, I now have a Yarn Projects page as well as a Sewing Projects page. I also divided up stuff like goal setting, small business and blogging, hopefully making it easier for you to find what you need. I also threw in an Indoor Plants and Gardening Archive because that seemed like the right thing to do.
I also cleaned the individual projects buttons off the sidebar. Now you can use the right sidebar to find a link to past projects and current projects (plus short descriptions of each).
I am highlighting some shop items on the sidebar since let's get real, this blog exists to promote the shop. I am also highlighting some popular posts (based on Pinterest) on the sidebar. I'm curious to see how these posts do.
Otherwise though, it's the same. Elise blogging about ALL THE THINGS. Heavy emphasis on timercam photos and spoiler alerts. A little more professional. A little more appropriate for my nearly 30 year old self. A little, "Hey! It's 2015 now and no longer 2007! Let's get fancy, but not confusing!"
I hope you'll continue to check in. And no need to update your RSS feeds.
EDIT : thanks for the "profile photo" thoughts. I have one on the way from my friend Cortnee and I'll see how that fits in on the top right. With the photo heavy banner I wasn't sure if it was necessary and it may not be but we'll see. I really appreciate your kind words and helpful suggestions. :)
Let me know if you catch any bugs or issues! I am on Mama duty today so it's unlikely I'll make updates, but Thursday I should be able to clean things up.
