The End of Beauty Design Studios…And the Beginning of Something New

I have some big things to share with you in this post.

I began Beauty Design Studios in October of 2010 under the name of Beauty {free blog designs}, and offered just that – free blog designs. I grew a lot and began charging for my work, and then changed the name to what it is currently. The business has been doing wonderfully, and I have enjoyed every second of it, but quite a few months ago I realized that my path in design lies in a different direction. I resisted the feeling for as long as I could, but now is the time to give in and embrace what my future holds. I’ve com to the understanding that I need to re-create my brand, to make what I do professionally much more personal than it is now, that I need to simplify and consolidate what I present and offer.

So, with that, I announce that Beauty Design Studios will be no more as of June 1st, and that something new {and secret for now} will be born then. Nope, I’m not telling – but come back here on the first of June to find out. (And also to enter a fabulous giveaway that I will be hosting! Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.)

Some tiny details – although this blog will be no more, the tutorials blog will remain as it is, and the community blog will remain very active. The name Beauty Design Studios will be applied exclusively to the community, and there will also be a site redesign for that blog. Everything else will be going, though, so be sure to copy and save any of the freebies or posts before June 1st!

The Beauty in Design Challenge Kickoff!

The challenge starts today! Check out the rules for this week and be sure to enter! Submissions will be accepted until December 4th, and voting will begin on the submissions on December 5th.

We Have An Announcement To Make

Emily Grace and I have come up with something new – a challenge for all serious designers, amateur designers, and those who just have a bit of an interest in graphic design. We’re calling it the Beauty in Design Challenge – a fun way to experiment with graphic design and to learn from others about it through weekly contests. So go check out the full story here! We’d love to have you join!

An Update

I’m back for another update! I have four new designs to show you all, but first I want to say this.

Some of you may have noticed it already – but Blogger has put the “Edit HTML” button back up in Blogger in Draft and the new Blogger home! We all had quite a scare a few months ago – but they have thankfully reverted back to the original capabilities they provided. However, I will still send them the petition that you all signed, so they can know how much that feature means to us.

Alright – on to the latest designs!

Hannah’s blog was fun to design – and she was fun to work with! She asked for a vintage look with soft pinks and brown – and I think we pulled it off. Be sure to check out her blog!

 

Arianna had a specific color palette in mind when we started working on her design, which was great to have. We had fun experimenting with different fonts, colors, and styles until the design was perfect!

 

Some of you may have seen my Twitter and Facebook posts about working with Tori on her fashion blog – it was neat working with her! I enjoyed creating the fresh look, especially with the Eiffel Tower in the background. ;) Can’t go wrong with that, can you?

 

Ruth asked for a simple, clean design with soft colors and a pretty font. She also provided a great list of blog designs she loved, which was a great help in creating her design!

*I now have a personal blog – check it out here!*

It Doesn’t Rain But it Pours {or, “Sorry for Disappearing”}

I just dropped off the face of the earth last month, didn’t I? Sorry about that – it wasn’t planned. ;) But it happens, unfortunately – dropping off the earth, that is. Good news is that I’m back, and I’m going to do my best to stay on top of all my blogs! =D And because I’ve been gone so long, you all are going to be bombarded with freebies and lots of new blog designs for the portfolio. The freebies are up here - http://freebies.beautydesignstudios.com/2011/09/it-doesnt-rain-but-it-pours-freebie.html – and here - http://freebies.beautydesignstudios.com/2011/09/fall-background-for-blogs.html.

I loved working with all my clients these past two months – they were all wonderful to work with, and the process was fun. Be sure to check out their websites and blogs!

Holly and I are still working on putting up site content, but the design of the website is complete! It was great creating a more crafty-looking design.

Stay-At-Home Daughter was my first Wordpress design, and Ashley was so sweet and gracious with me as I worked with her on her blog design!

I re-designed the Bloom! Magazine staff blog to match the new website, and enjoyed the challenge of matching everything up. ;) Don’t forget to visit the new website, too, designed by Amanda from FarmgirlWrites.com!

It was an honor to design Emily’s blog for her – and it was fun creating the summery theme!

Ellie was so sweet and fun to work with! The designing process went very quickly – and I loved playing around with a different color palette.

It was a great honor to design CWRC’s website. Check out the site – there’s some great material up there!

(And P.S. – I just created an account on DeviantArt! Do you have one too? I’d love to connect with you there! My page – beautydesignstudios.deviantart.com)

Back on Board!

I'm finally back after quite a long time, to let you all know that Valerie over at Savories of Life is hosting a giveaway - the prize being a complete blog design from me! So head on over and enter!

I've changed the design of this entire website and all the blogs - and have even changed most of the content. I'm working on moving in a more professional direction, and want my website to reflect that. I also want to focus more on general graphic design as well as websites - creating logos, newsletter design, business cards, etc.; and I've gone and tried to showcase those services. So check out the new site and let me know what you think! (I'd love your opinions. ;) And isn't the background photo gorgeous? The photographer was very gracious to allow me to use it!)

*Many more portfolio posts to come, as well as more freebies and tutorials!*

Photography Website and Blog {parting is such sweet sorrow}

I just finished up designing Sarah Elizabeth’s website and blog! We had a lot of fun working on it – she wanted something swirly and coral for the logo, while keeping the website professional, and we based the rest of the website and blog on that logo design. Sarah was so sweet to work with and I greatly appreciated her flexibility and graciousness! =D

Unique to this website was the incorporation of flash slideshows and a custom portfolio gallery. Her stunning photos are displayed on the main page of the website in a slideshow, while there’s another one on the about page. =) I enjoyed adding those new elements!

Check out her sites and don’t forget to follow her!

*This will be the last post until August, so I bid you all a fond farewell! ;) I’ll be back in August with new tutorials and posts.
Have a great summer!*