New Look

Tonight I just had to put something new up that I've been fiddling with for a few days. I got to a "stopping and using it" point. Actually I did this layout for a completely different idea. The problem is, I got that idea finished and then couldn't for the life of me figure out how to use it the way I wanted to. I may be web savvy but I'm not THAT savvy. There are limits to what I can do online. Takes time to figure out how to do stuff and time isn't something I have extra of. So the original has been sitting on my computer gathering dust. Finally a stroke of inspiration hit and I pulled it out to use it on this blog.

So I had to open the original file and change a bit to make it work how I wanted and where I wanted. (Obviously because it said stuff relevant to the other project.) Finally I have a unique look of my own for this blog. The one before was called "Aspire" and wasn't my personal creation, just some freebie I found on the interweb. I really don't have that much sentimental attachment to it so I'm not even going to try and show you what it looked like. It's enough to say I thought when I first saw it "I loved it" and it would be "perfect." But after awhile, it got really old. So time for a makeover right?

Anyhow, I'm not done yet. I've got a few more things on my mind to tweak here and there, but those will come gradually. This layout is ready to use. The added makeup will come.

Graphical Details: (or disclaimer, since my intention wasn't to steal someone's art online...)
Yes, I did all the graphics myself. I composed them from several images, fonts, and free items from all over the net. The celtic knot bars that frame the side of the middle of the page, those I got as some free graphic online a long time ago. It wasn't copyrighted, and I've changed the color, size, and placement. The castle photo, Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, England, I believe was from www.gettyimages.com as a "royalty-free" search. The original photographer was, Ian Britton. (But I did a search and found it at a few photo sites.) I used 2 different fonts: Zaphino and Baskerville. The rest are free brushes for photoshop I downloaded from various livejournal.com communities. A free digital scrapbooking page (also a free download), and a few other miscellaneous graphics. In all, if something I used was in question, I tried to manipulate the original image so it became something completely new. I'm not making any money on this site, it's just for my own networking and self expression. But it is always nice to give credit where it is due.