Recent Work: Banjo & Scout

I had the wonderful opportunity to install another blog design last week. This time it was for the lovely Amber of Banjo & Scout. We've been following each other's blogs for quite some time, so getting to know her a little better while also designing something for her was a great experience. Below, I'll share a little about the design inspiration and process with you!

When Amber contacted me, I knew right away what sort of style and feeling she would want Banjo & Scout to evoke. With such a folksy title, we took a lot of inspiration from nature. I referenced photography from several of her past posts (specifically her outfit posts in wooded areas) for ideas. This was especially helpful when creating all the foliage, as I wanted it to feel authentic to Amber and be representative of her surroundings. Amber was not at all afraid of color, which is a real treat. It allowed me to pick some gorgeous, bold, natural colors and Banjo and Scout's color scheme just might be my favorite yet. Mossy green, deep mustard yellow, dark moody grey, a bold berry blue, and a bright fig inspired purple. The real magic was balancing out all the earthy, woodsy, moody elements with a streamlined and clean backbone. All that color pops beautifully against the soft white and linen.


To see the design in action, be sure to give Banjo & Scout a visit! I had a lot of fun with little details this time around, such as hover effects, so check all those out as well. Be sure to say hello to Amber while you're there, too! She's a great friend to have in the blogging community. Thanks so much for letting me design for you, dear!

xx Emorie

P.S. I mentioned before that I would be slowing down my design services a bit. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to schedule out clients, so I hope those of you who have already contacted me can understand and bare with me a bit. My design services are booked until the end of 2014 and I will be updating the information on the Design Services page soon to reflect some changes that will be happening. It's an exciting time! Thank you all so much for your interest in my services.

Recent Work: The Desert Poppy

My schedule has been a little hectic lately, so while I actually did the install for this design on Monday I'm finally getting a moment to tell you all about it on Friday. That's just life sometimes. Regardless, I'm so excited to share my most recent work with you! Designing for Kassandra was really fun — we have very similar styles and tastes, so getting to the same place creatively to envision the new look for her blog was relatively easy. I'll share a little about the design inspiration and process with you!

Kassandra's blog is titled The Desert Poppy, so rightfully I wanted to take a lot of inspiration from the desert. But, having already done a very deserty design, I didn't want the design to feel unoriginal. And as with the previous (Desert Darling) design, I didn't want it to be too deserty (think cactus) or come off as cheesy. Kassandra also wanted everything to come off more modern and clean and moody, so we made some bold choices that I think made all the difference. Adding a chalkboard sidebar really set the stage for this design. It added such a unique and interesting element! But, I didn't want it to be too distracting — so I kept it slightly grey instead of a harsh blackboard. This complimented the paper textured background and desert colors wonderfully. I went with a array of desert greens this time, with a pop of coral and poppy pink. The addition of hand-drawn desert floral and succulent accents really tied everything together.



Be sure to give The Desert Poppy a visit to see the design in action and see all the fun details at work. Be sure to say hello to Kassandra while you're there, too! Thanks so much for letting me design for you, Kassandra!

I'll be slowing down my design services a bit, as I just don't have the time to work on them as I used to. But if you are at all interested in having me design for you, don't hesitate to email me for more information and let's reserve you a spot!

Happy Friday!
Emorie

Recent Work: Alma's Darling Dailies

Happy Monday! I'm excited to share some recent design work with you today!

Alma contacted me wanting to completely redo her design. She told me about how she had stopped blogging because she had lost the desire to post due to frustration and boredom with her simple design. I wanted to bring everything about her blog back to life. We both agreed that what she needed was an entirely new look to accompany her new blog and blog name; that way Alma would be able to blog without the limitations her current blog was posing. And she needed a place to post freely and comfortably, a place that felt like herself, and to have everything posted beautifully.

Alma was a dream to work with. This girl has some serious style, and that style is adorable. The day after we began hashing out ideas she posted an image to instagram of her bike. The basket on her bike was stuffed to capacity with letters and packages for a trip to the post office. I knew immediately I wanted to incorporate that into the design; it fit perfectly! Inspiration for this design came easily, Alma spewed it out in every direction and I sure ate it up! I also took a lot of ideas from mod fashion and her adorable wardrobe. Polka dots were a must, but keeping them calm colors was key to them not overpowering the design. All the other colors were selected by flipping through her instagram and the great mood board she created for me on pinterest!



Be sure to head over to Alma's blog to get the full tour, say hi, and let her know what you think of the new design! She's starting over with this design, so show this new blogger some love! And don't forget to check out her About page. We did an adorable design for it, including an illustration of her pup and other doodles :)

And of course, if you're looking to redesign be sure to click that "DESIGN SERVICES" link up on the Navigation Bar to see the Design Services page. I'd love to design for you! You can read more about what a complete custom design from me includes here.

xx Emorie

Recent Work: Desert Darling

I'm so excited to share my most recent work with you today! I am so happy with how it turned out. Cam contacted me wanting to completely redo her design as she needed an entirely new look to accompany her new blog name. Along with a design redo, Cam changed her blog from Sincerely Cam to Desert Darling. I'll share a little about the design inspiration and process with you!

Cam expressed that she wanted to take inspiration from the desert (the new title is desert darling, after all) but didn't want the design to feel super deserty or come off as cheesy. I'll be honest, designing for Cam was pretty simple. We both started blogging around the same time and I've been following her from the beginning — I've gotten to know her style really well. Once she told me what she wanted, things started to roll out! I went with strong yellows, pinks, and oranges but kept their usage minimal. I downplayed the strong colors with a soft, sandy linen background. The main column and sidebar naturally became bright white, to make her posts pop and to gently contrast the sandy linen. The addition of hand-drawn desert floral accents really tied everything together and made the overall look more girly and a touch whimsical. It turned out rather 'desert-darling', if I do say so myself!



Be sure to head over to Cam's blog to get the full tour, say hi, and let her know what you think of the new design!

And of course, if you're looking to redesign be sure to click that "DESIGN SERVICES" link up on the Navigation Bar to see the Design Services page. For a limited time, you can get a complete custom Blogger design (including installation) for only $75. I'm increasing my prices at the end of the summer so reserve your spot now — they're filling up fast! You can read more about what a complete custom design from me includes here.

Happy Friday!

xx Emorie

Let Me Design For You

If you've been thinking about making some changes to your blog — and are interested in working with me to do so — now is when we should make that happen! Right now is the perfect time to redesign and have a completely fresh look just in time for Autumn. I absolutely love having the opportunity to work and design for fellow bloggers and working with you would be a real treat. Let me create a way to give your blog a fresh feel you’ve been wanting. I’ll take those ideas swarming around inside your head to create a site that will be gorgeous, efficient, and completely you. That way you can stop worrying about the appearance of your blog and get back to focusing on what you love. Let's get all your energy back to creating content and posts!

I'm busily working with a few fun clients right now (and I can't wait to share the results with you), but I have two or three spots left for the summer. Grab those spots now because come September Oh Whimsical Me will undergo a change of it's own — moving to a new place under a different name. And with that move, my super awesome summer discount design prizes will go up a bit!

This is a great opportunity to give your blog a major makeover without having to do any of the grunt work. I'll do it all for you, and at a great price! Hurry up and book your spot now and let's get brainstorming together!

Learn more about my design services at a great price on the Design Services page.

xx Emorie

Recent Work: Design for Some Call Me CJ

There are some exciting things going on today! Do you remember the Reader Appreciation Giveaway I did about a month ago (to celebrate One Year of Oh Whimsical Me)? CJ from Some Call Me CJ won a free custom blog designed by me! We had so much fun working together and I think it was a learning experience for both of us. I know you've all noticed that "DESIGN" link in the pages on my navigation bar, that has linked to an adorable picture of Pippin for months. Some of you have even expressed interest in working with me on designing your blog. I've been working hard to get ready and comfortable before beginning to offer my services to you. CJ was happy and willing to be my guinea pig, as this is my first ever complete custom design for someone else! I'm excited to share the results with you today!

Most of the work that went into this project started before I was designing and creating. Getting all our ideas on the same page and understanding exactly what CJ wanted was the most time consuming part. I'll definitely streamline this step more in the future and ask my clients much more specific questions from the very beginning. Once we figured out what CJ wanted the rest was a breeze; it was still a lot of work, but mostly just getting approval and opinion here and there.

CJ wanted a geometric and colorful design, while still maintaining a really sleek and streamlined look. I originally tried triangles, but quickly discovered that was far too busy and distracting. A Hexagon/Honeycomb pattern was a much better option. And oh boy, she really isn't afraid of color and I love that. I went really bold and bright, which makes everything very cheery — just like CJ! No but really, this girl is a dream to work with (here is proof). Will kept overseeing our iMessages (I had up on the computer) and he kept saying "Wow, she has got to be the nicest, most excited person ever!" Which is pretty much true. The colors suit CJ wonderfully. Because she wanted to go so bold with the background, I colored the spaces between the hexagons a light tan to soften it a bit. I kept the main blog background bright white to contrast the liberal use of color and to keep the attention at the content of the blog.






Be sure to head over to Cj's blog to say hi and let her know what you think of the new design!

I'm also happy to announce that I am now offering design services! Click that "DESIGN" link up on the Navigation Bar to see the Design Services page. For a limited time, you can get a complete custom Blogger design (including installation) starting at only $50. Reserve your spot now! You can read more about what a complete custom design from me includes here.

Happy Monday!
xx Emorie

Inspiring People I've Met Online: Gabrielle of Hippie Go Lucky

I'm starting a new feature series today and the lovely, talented Gabrielle of Hippie Go Lucky has agreed to go first. One of my favorite things about blogging, and other online communities I have been apart of, is all the inspiring people I have come to know. I just can't resist the urge to share some of these beautiful people with you. Some of the people I introduce you to will be dear friends of mine, some are individuals whose work I am continuously inspired by, others will be people I have just come across yet for some reason I can't stop obsessing over what they bring to this wonderfully vast online world.

I'm so excited to start and introduce you to some rather remarkable folks.

Without further ado, Gabrielle of Hippie Go Lucky.



I first came across Gabrielle's blog in a slightly interesting way, through a 'similar blogs' link on passionfruit back in the day when I still used them to manage my swaps. I instantly feel in love and was impressed by her photography. But that's not the interesting part. This had been an almost falling asleep on the keyboard late night find, so I made a mental note to visit her blog the next day and find out if she participated in ad swaps. Being as I was far less organized back then in reference to my blog life (and still no idea what I was doing, oh wait that's now too) I easily forgot about it and her blog was forever lost in the abyss of my internet history just waiting for me to remember. A few months later I got a new follower on instagram and she was super sweet, liking a bunch of my stuff and commenting on things. And she looked super familiar. Her profile picture at the time (the same as used for her button on my sidebar) is pretty iconic. When she started commenting on my blog I quickly followed a link to her's and I was so happy I got to happen upon her blog again. I'm telling you people, the internet is so awesome!

I am a huge fan both Gabrielle's photography and her blog. Her work is something I am constantly inspired by. She is kindly answering a few questions today and sharing a generous sampling of some photography, so you can all get to know her a little better and quickly fall in love with her, too.

Q: Can you share a little about yourself and what you do?

A: I love to create, feel and listen. I am obsessed with symmetry, but I am far from symmetrical. I’d say I am messy and lazy type, very empathetic and carefree.

I am a graphic designer by day and photographer by night.



Q: Where did the inspiration for your blog/to start a blog come from?

A: I wanted a place to share my everyday life in pictures. For me blogging wasn’t about writing at all. Although I love reading other people’s blogs, my pictures speak more than any words I could write. I have been following blogs for over 5 years now and I have to say, it completely changed my life.



Q: I love your instagram feed and your ability to beautifully capture everyday moments in a unique way. Do you have any tips for how to do so?

A: I guess what motivated me to capture unique photos was my routine. I’ve been biking on the same trail everyday for the past six months, so I started analyzing my surroundings and amusing myself by finding new things on my path to photograph. Everyday I challenge myself to take a picture of something in my surroundings that I had not noticed.



Q: What is your favorite subject to photograph?

A: I love what humans bring to a picture; feelings and movement.



Q: Are you a morning or night person? What is your perfect morning/night (depending on which is your favorite) routine?

A: I am, without a doubt, a morning person. I love to wake up to the sun rising, just lie in bed and have the time to think, get up & make coffee, sit where the sun peaks and chat with D about life.



Q: What is a favorite thing of yours to do where you live?

A: I love going to coffee shops early in the morning. Bluebird coffee is my favorite – A cozy little place with jazz music, great coffee and huge windows.



Q: I have noticed your wardrobe is full of many thrifted items. Do you have a favorite place to thrift? And what is your secret to finding such great pieces among the piles of discarded clothes?

A: Two years ago I decided to only encourage handmade, fair trade or recycled clothing. You can read more about it here. I actually buy almost all my clothes at The Salvation Army. I love the feeling of finding a great vintage piece among the piles of discarded clothes. Looking through all of the rasks of clothes can get overwhelming, you have to keep in mind you will almost never find what you are looking for on the first try. You need to take your time and be patient.

You can find more of Gabrielle's beautiful photography and work on her blog Hippie Go Lucky.
For even more find her on Instagram (highly recommended), Pinterest, Facebook, Youtube, and Tumblr.

Thank you so much for sharing a bit of yourself with my readers, Gab!
xx Emorie