The following are designers who offer free blog backgrounds (sometimes called skins). Instructions on how to load them are provided by the designer. Addie Designs Affordable Designs For You Allie Browns Layouts Almost Ready Blogs Aqua Poppy Designs Ashley’s Layouts Babbling Brook Designs Bling on the Blog Blissfully Just Me Layouts Blog-ology Blogaholic Designs Blogaroozer Blogger Boutique Bloggin’ Beautifully Butterflygirlms Blog Designs Cute n Cool Blog Stuff Cutest Blog On The Block Daisy Gray Design Delightful Dots Designer Blogs Dotty Dot Dot Backgrounds Easy … [Read more…]
Some exciting changes are in store for Beautiful Blog Designs! In just a few days this sweet little blog is merging with Blog Designer Network, run by the incredibly talented April Durham.
April has incredible vision and determination and I know that she will take very good care of the content and resources that are what make up Beautiful Blog Designs. She has been an extraordinary source for bloggers to learn how to create their own designs as well as teaching those with the desire who to become blog designers.
If you have not already, I highly recommend you stopping by BDN and looking at all she has to offer. She is a champion for both bloggers AND blog designers!! Love you, April!
The purpose of the Blog Designer Network was to create a place for bloggers to find designers that could best suit their needs, and also to provide tutorials and learning opportunities for those who wanted to do it themselves. Many people have turned “blog design” into a business venture, or even a full-time career. Blogging continues to grow exponentially, and with more blogs comes more opportunity to design for them.
If you’d like to learn how to start your own “Blog Design Business” we are now offering a comprehensive four-week workshop that will teach you how to design for Blogger and WordPress. It will cover CSS and HTML, Adobe Photoshop, business practices, and will offer hundreds if invaluable tips, resources, and insider info so that you can turn a fun and creative hobby into a potential career.
The Blog Designer Workshop is better than ever! Check out the new features!
Week 1: Learning Design
This week will go over how to design graphics using your OWN photo editing software! You may choose to use Adobe Photoshop (suggested) or choose from a variety of both inexpensive or free photo editing programs from our approved list. This session will focus on teaching good design principles, how to use your software, and incorporating external graphics into blog designs.
Week 2: Blogger Installation
This week will be dedicated to learning how to install a full blog layout on the the most popular blogging platform!
Week 3: WordPress Installation
This week you will learn how to set up and install your own self-hosted WordPress website/blog using the Genesis Theme Framework by Studiopress.
Week 4: Business Practices
From setting up your own services, to understanding taxes, to dealing with clients – this week is the final step before starting your own design business!
Included with this workshop: – *NEW* Weekly tests and homework. (Hey, it’s a good thing…we promise!) – *NEW* Comprehensive e-Book/notes with each course. – Video copies of each course. – Unlimited help and support for up to 1 month after your graduation. – Membership to an exclusive forum where you can ask for help, post questions, and more.
– *NEW* Special exclusive discounts for select websites such as iStockphoto.com, hosting providers, and more.
Take a look at what some past graduates have accomplished already!
The next Blog Designer Workshop occurs from September 12th – October 3rd for two hours on each Thursday night at 6pm Mountain Time. (5pm Pacific, 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern.) Special accommodations can be made for those who aren’t able to attend the LIVE sessions. Only 25 spots will be allowed in this workshop, so sign up early to be included.
EARLY BIRD PRICE (Through August 31st): $100 (Use the coupon code EARLYbird2 to get this price.)
Our shop will soon be filled with every course we offer, from basic Blogger design, to Blogging Essentials, to Learning CSS and HTML. Each video and notes (if included) will be available for delivery right to your inbox!
Registration for live courses is limited to 25 people, so we decided to give those who aren’t able to attend (or didn’t register in time) the benefits of taking the class too!
The main difference between the live and downloadable workshop versions is the live support. During the live class you are able to ask questions and interact with other students and the teacher. The downloadable classes offer unlimited e-mail support, but not the live interaction. (Those who register for the live class already get these in their inbox.)
The next installment of The Blog Designer Workshop is September 15th, through October 6th. As of this post, there are only three spots remaining, and you can register here. The notes and videos will be released 24 hours after each session has occurred. (Even for the downloadable purchase. Later these will be available immediately.)
Advanced registration for the November installment of the Blog Designer Workshop is currently available as well, and you can register here.
We are so excited that so many people are expressing interest in tapping into their creativity and learning this highly sought-after skill. These workshops have helped many start their own business – but more importantly their own drive and determination helped them learn even more than what we teach here. We hope that everyone who takes our workshops will do the same and share their success!
Welcome to a new series by the BDN which highlights select designers who have been nominated by their former clients to become a featured designer!
We are proud to announce our first featured designer, Jessica, from The Frilly Coconut.
I’m Jessica, owner of The Frilly Coconut Design Shoppe! I am a graphic designer and I’ve found my passion in blog and website design. I take pride in the amount of time I put into each project I complete, making sure it’s the perfect design for my clients’ needs and that it represents their purpose and goals. I’m so grateful to do what I love and I’m forever grateful to my supportive and loyal clients – what an honor it is to be featured at The Blog Designer Network because of them!
Here is what some of her former clients had to say in their nominations.
When it was time for me to design a new logo for my business, I searched for a designer who would be easy to work with, had great & new ideas, but was also affordable. Jessica was the one!! She did not let me down!! She was exactly what I hoped for. She was FABULOUS!!! I have recommended her to my friends many times. And will continue to recommend her in the future. – Lucy Doo
I have worked with Jessica exclusively on my website. I had the tiniest idea but no idea where it would lead. Jessica knew exactly what I wanted and helped me form an online persona that I just love. She is so creative and the easiest person to work with. I haven’t had one complaint from start to finish and she goes above and beyond to help and answer questions. I just love her and can’t imagine ever using anyone else. – Carolyn West, This Talk Ain’t Cheap
Jessica is not only a fabulous designer, she is a delight to work with. Great communication and and eye for current trends. She put together parts of the design that I LOVED and didn’t even know that I wanted until I saw them on my site. I can’t wait to work with her again and would recommend her to anyone! – Amanda, They Hold My Heart
Here are some samples of work from The Frilly Coconut. You can find more in her portfolio!
You can follow The Frilly Coconut on Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to check out her design site too – where (as of today) she is now taking new orders!
If you are interested in the nomination process, or would like to nominate your blog designer – please read this post and fill out the corresponding form. Thank you!
The BDN is proud to recommend these sponsors who offer a range of design, hosting, and web consulting services (and more)! Please take a look at their amazing sites, and if you’re a BlogHer ’11 attendee be sure to find me and get a business card for SPECIAL discounts through select designers! To find me, just tweet @the_bdn anytime during the conference and we can meet up!
Tonight at 7pm Mountain Time (6pm Pacific, 8pm Central, 9pm Eastern) we will have a class on Graphic Design in Adobe Photoshop!
This course will teach you how to navigate and use the Photoshop software to make graphics for both web and print. Great for Photoshop beginners, or those who could use a refresher course. We will go over both beginning and advanced techniques in graphic design, with a brief tutorial on photo editing. By the end of this course you will have all the information necessary to create graphics for blogs, websites, invitations, business cards, logos, and more. Students should have Adobe Photoshop CS3 or higher already installed on their computer. A video copy of the class will be provided for your reference 24 hours after the course has ended!
Registration is open but there are only a few spots left, so be sure to register ASAP!
Not sure what to expect in our workshops, or are you super new to the blog world? Take this free online class to get some awesome tips and tricks for your blog design! This one hour session this Thursday night at 7pm MT will cover how to use great design principles with both designing your OWN blog, or when hiring a blog designer. Space is limited to only 25 participants – but we want it FULL! So share this on Facebook, Tweet it, Stumble it – it’s FREE! Videos are included with our other workshops – but not this one. So be sure to set aside some time to sit in on the class!
Click here to register, or find the class in the list below!
Are you looking to decorate your blog for Halloween? Oh yeah? Well, are you looking for someone to do it for you for FREE? I thought so.
Hi – my name is Dawn and I do design-y kinds of stuff at Dawn by Design. I have just released a new Halloween blogwear set and I would LOVE to not only give you a free copy of it but I’d also LOVE to see it on your blog. I would love it so much that even though I have some fantabulous DIY blogwear tutorials over at my place, I will install this particular blogwear set for FREE for one of you BDN fans.
How do I enter to win?
So glad you asked. Your first job is to make sure your blog is on Blogger. This giveaway is intended for Blogger users only. Your second job is to do one or all of the following. Leave a separate comment for each action you perform. Each comment will be one entry into the drawing. The actions are:
That’s it – four easy ways to enter. If you are already doing one of these things then just leave a comment saying so.
This giveaway will end at 9PM Pacific Time on Thursday, September 29, 2011. At that time I will use Random.org to find a winner and an announcement will be made on this post soon thereafter. Good luck and thanks for playing!
P.S. Here are a coupla closer looks at this blogwear set:
