Madigan made... a quote for August and some blog updates.
After I procrastinated and was a little late with last month's quote, I figured I should change the chalkboard since we are now one week into August. (If you are new here, I update my
"They must often change, who would be in happiness or wisdom." - Confucius
This month's quote is all about inspiring change for me (and this blog). Little changes are important. Just like Confucius suggests, sometimes to stay inspired, happy and motivated, you may need to make a few changes. I mixed up my blog routine (a little) this summer and tried some new types of mediums. My summer
On a personal note, I'm also hoping to get into a healthier lifestyle by exercising more and eating better (more on that maybe another time!).
I made some changes recently on the blog and I wanted to get your feedback.
If you are reading this post from your RSS reader, why don't you come on over and click around? There is a lot of new, fun stuff!
After attending a blog workshop in August - I decided to change my blog header (again). I wanted to incorporate more pictures into it to show new readers the type of topics seen on this blog.
So, I got rid of my navigation bar and turned the pictures into link buttons. (the old navigation bar is still at the bottom of the page and I think it works down there.)
Within the header pictures, I have direct links to crafts, recipes and decor... since those topics are my blog's focus.
I also added a picture of me so you can see right away who is behind this blog. I was initially nervous about adding that picture on the front page... but I'm over it.
My side bar needed updating, too. I realized that the sidebar was turning into a dumping ground of my links to other projects (summer projects, popular projects, etc.). I was not even sure it drove much traffic to those pages. I think those links were nice to have, but the quantity of them was a little cumbersome.
I wanted to simplify and break things up a bit but still give you ways to navigate and find stuff. So, I came up with a couple areas to accomplish that goal.
First, check out the fancy schmancy slide show of popular topics. I put it near the top of the page and I hope the movement is not too distracting. (Let me know, please!)
I also added more navigation buttons to help you locate the project gallery, a home tour, my blog inspiration page and the 'be featured' information page.
Oh. Wait. Did you catch that? Yep, there is now a home tour!!
My Twitter and Facebook friends got a sneak peek of the tour this weekend.
The page is still a work in progress (like the rest of this house...) but I have enough posted now to be able to show you 'round our little pad. Check it out! It is jammed packed with pictures and links!
Finally, towards the bottom of the page, I made some fun buttons linking to popular and seasonal labels / topics.
As I mentioned above, I'm already getting excited for fall. So, I included a button for fall topics. Right now, it will take you to last year's projects if you wanted some inspiration.
(And just a word of warning... I may be digging back through some of my older posts this week to make sure that everything here has a correct label.)
If you are looking for something very specific, there is still the large label cloud waaaay at the bottom of the blog. I figure if you make it that far down, I should reward you with more goodies! My Twitter stream is there, too.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new design! Let me know if you see any glitches. The best way to learn about them is from my readers! :D
Eventually, my contact and about pages may need a fresh look. But today, I think I'm done with the blog updates
These little tweaks helped me get excited again about my blog's design and got me thinking about other directions I may want to take with posts/projects.
So if you are in a blog slump this summer, consider playing with your blog design. Think about different ways to bring your readers to all your content. It was a helpful exercise for me!
