Once Upon a Pink October - blog theme

Once upon a cool September night an overworked graphic artist thought about the coming month of October... this had long been one of her favorite months, not just for the childhood strolls down memory lane with goblins and candy corn abounding, but for her annual participation in Going Pink for October, for another childhood memory was how she had lost her Mom to breast cancer.

She felt the annual struggle once again, of how to combine the beloved festiveness of Halloween with her fervent desire to once again participate and support the essential campaign for Going Pink in October. She thought long and hard and then it came to her... why not combine the two?? Pink witches on broomsticks?? Black damask with pink flowers?? Spiders weaving pink ribbons?? Why in her mind's eye it seemed quite possible. And so, with a little extra help from the fairies and elves, as well as a goblin or two, and in honor of my Mom... this artist presents to you...

Once Upon a Pink October

Simply click the link or images above to be taken to the code page in the new backgrounds section of my blog. All of the elements of these blog themes are free.

Enjoy!

More Magic - gifts of the heart

Following on the heals of the magical blog party I just participated in I have some personal magic of my own to share... this is the type of magic where generosity and kindness prevail in the form of lovely friends and gifts.

The first I would like to mention is this beautiful painting sent to me by the wonderful and talented Lisa of The Wright Stuff. Lisa titled this painting Plumrose. I can't begin to tell you how insanely gorgeous this painting is in person and wish you could see the detail for the hair to the hauntingly beautiful eyes. I love, love, love this piece and am thrilled beyond words to own one of her fabulous paintings.

The next gift was in the form of a lovely and thought filled gift from my friend Paula of Tattered Gold. I received the most enchanting envelope with beautiful ribbon and handmade adornments which now hang from my inspiration board. Inside was a magnificent quilled card of great sentimental value. I was utterly speechless and completely filled with joy, humility, gratitude and flowing tears. There were two lovely personal notes inside that completely touched my heart.

I plan on framing both of these beautiful pieces so that they will last a lifetime.

Gifts of the heart are truly awe-inspiring. They bring us to our emotional knees making us stop and take pause of the beauty in our lives and fill our hearts with a sense of humility and gratitude. I find this to be the case, not only with material gifts but with the heartfelt sentiments I receive from friends and bloggers. This truly is an extraordinary community of souls who have the power to touch each others lives in such profound ways to bring beauty, love, and magic into our personal worlds. Thank you to these lovely ladies for their immensely generous gifts and to you all for being the beautiful spirits behind the magic in blogland.

A Little Progress - organization style

Well I'm happy to say I've finally made a little progress when it comes to reorganizing my blog/website. There are now three new sections to house my assortment of backgrounds & themes, elements and tutorials. While more work is still needed to complete the updates, the golden frames at the top of my blog will now take you to newly reorganized sections ~ making it easier to find the items you're looking for.

Each is now easy to navigate as well as having their own individual 'looks' which relate more to their subject matter and will also hopefully make them easier to read (I know this fun/funky background can be a bit trying on the eyes at times).

My desire is to post new additions in their respective locations and then just put a little blurp up here on my main blog. I also hope to add a bit more of a personal touch as I miss sharing a few key events and details in life - such as those darling birthday photos from my son's birthday a few days ago... you know, the ones that would embarrass him if he knew they were up. ;D

Anyways, I do hope you find the chances to be an improvement and I will continue to upgrade and improve as time allows.

Enjoy!

Practical Magic blog party & theme

Ah there's certainly magic in the air today as it's finally time to celebrate the Practical Magic Blog Party, whose theme exclaims "there's a little witch in every woman". I certainly would agree that we're all capable of weaving our own magic, from the love we dish out on a daily basis, to the magical blends we come up with at supper time, a woman is synonymous with magic in my mind.

Blog parties are always SO much fun, there's loads of visiting and getting to meet new people, which I absolutely adore. There's also a tremendous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes, trust me - I know, and so I would like to extend a huge thanks to the shining stars of this event ~ Anna & Justina ~ Namasté. They also deserve a round of applause for those fabulous graphics too... aren't they just gorgeous!?! Great job ladies!!

My party visits will be a tad late as it also happens to be my youngest son's birthday today (♫Happy Birthday Josh♫) and so in my absence I've left oodles of party favors for you, my enchanting visitors, in the form of this blog theme appropriately titled Practical Magic. All of the elements are free and the background even comes in 4 different colors as well as the usual two formats. So, thank you to all of you who stopped by my little corner of blogland, I'm looking forward to visiting you too and in the meantime here is the...

Practical Magic - blog theme

white center
free - 2 column background code

<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-2Columnbackground.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

lavender center
free - 2 column background code
<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-2Columnbackground-lavender.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

green center
free - 2 column background code
<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-2Columnbackground-green.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

gray center
free - 2 column background code
<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-2Columnbackground-gray.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

free - 3 column background code

white center
free - 3 column background code

<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-3Columnbackground.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

lavender center
free - 3 column background code
<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-3Columnbackground-lavender.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

green center
free - 3 column background code
<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-3Columnbackground-green.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

gray centerfree - 3 column background code
<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url("http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/PracticalMagic-3Columnbackground-gray.jpg"); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style><div id="tag" style="position:absolute; right:0px; top:30px; z-index:50; width:150px; height:45px;"><a href="http://plumroselane.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i806.photobucket.com/albums/yy344/plumrose-lane/Blog%20Backgrounds/Bus%20Logos/online-PrL-signature-1.png" /></a></div>

The background codes are designed to be used with the Blogger Minima template and if you need help with installing it you can follow along with my step-by-step instructions by clicking here.

free - Decorative Sidebar Tags

If you need assistance installing these decorative tags just follow along with my step-by-step tutorial by clicking here.

free - Blog Headers/Banners
2 column
3 column
Click on the banner image to enlarge, then right click to save to your computer.

If you need assistance installing a blog banner/header click here for a helpful step-by-step tutorial.

Enjoy!

Double Pleasure

I recently finished two projects where I had the immense pleasure of creating not one but two fabulous blog themes for Teresa Martens Writes and Embracing My Goddess-Self. Both blogs are hosted by the lovely and talented Teresa.

There were so many fascinating elements involved in the creation of each theme and I especially enjoyed working with the personalized items Teresa chose to bring the aspects of these two very unique blogs to life. Each blog offers it's own flavor, dipping into enchanting and mysterious worlds. To check them out you can click the links above and as always...

Enjoy!

A Feature... or two(!!)

As one of my many British friends might say, I'm absolutely chuffed to be featured in this week's Tuesday Etsy Feature presented by BeckLee Cottage Designs! It's been ages since I participated in such a feature and certainly never as a graphic artist so I found it particularly enjoyable. Sometimes we learn so much about ourselves in just hearing our own responses to questions and this certainly was the case. The interview was well rounded and diversified and I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

BeckLee Cottage Designs is run by a fellow Etsian, Linda, who also shares a love for jewelry making and all things etsy. Linda hosts these weekly features on her blog and I'm personally looking forward to visiting more of her wonderful features in the future. Here's the link if you'd like to stop on by and have a read. And a huge thank you to Linda!!

{UPDATE: Unbenounced to me the elves and fairies were hard at work across the pond assisting one of my dear friends (and cherished favorite writer/artist) in creating a magical post about... ME?!? I'm absolutely bowled-over with this surprise second feature on The Wright Stuff.

You may remember Lisa's blog from a recent post I wrote about how much I enjoyed redesigning her blog and she was so kind-in-turn to give my work a shout out then as well, so I'm awestruck to find another feature on her blog today. And as if that weren't enough to make this little GA take pause and blush, I understand this gorgeous TWS painting is being whisked on fairie's wings to my little corner of the world as we speak!

So thank you so much to Lisa, not only for her unending kindness, generosity, and awe-inspiring talent, but for the drop dead GORGEOUS painting she's gifting me.
✻´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*´¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´✻✻✻thank you…
thank you… thank you…♥ (¸.·´ (¸.·´✻

Enjoy!

About Time - A Few Features

I figured it was about time I stick my head in here. It's not that I haven't been around ~ always working in the background with the elves & fairies ~ but I just haven't posted anything new in a bit and that's never a good thing.

I was busying myself with a new blog theme project, one I created for the lovely Lisa of The Wright Stuff. It was an absolute pleasure working with this talented writer/artist/mum and she made the job nearly effortless in supplying her own artwork for the background.

I also wanted to mention a recent purchase I made from a fantabulous etsy shop "A Soulful Journey". While I often make purchases on through this fantastic online venue, some purchasing experiences are more memorable than others. There's certainly something to be said about taking your time in packaging your creations in a lovely manner and I am fully confident in saying that this seller outdoes them all.

My purchase was that of a couple of handmade gift tags with a vintage motif ~ beautiful in their own right with the hand folded flowers glazed in iridescent fairy dust with beautiful adornments and dangling ribbons & wisps ~ but I must say the entire experience of opening the package with its individually hand wrapped containers adorned in lace, ribbons, flowers, feathers and decorative tags, left this creative soul feeling that nothing short of ¸.·*´magic´*·.¸ must have accompanied my purchase.

And so it's my pleasure to recommend A Soulful Journey and it's enchanting owner, Paula, her shop title speaks for itself - even down to the tiniest handmade tag.

I'm currently working on a few large tutorials and several custom blog projects but hope to have a new theme up in the midst so while you wait, as always, I hope you...

Enjoy!

Giveaway Winners

Well the time has finally come for us to close the doors on our little jewelry store, Mana Moon Studios and with that comes the conclusion of our Giveaway Extravaganza. I would like to say a big thank you to all of you who participated and helped spread the word - I believe it helped us tremendously in acquiring some last minute sales.

While we did not have any eligible angel sales and therefore I won't have the pleasure of giving away an angel prize I do have the honor of selecting the four winners for this giveaway. And so, without further ado here they are...

Paula of Tattered Gold
Emiliana of Lucky Finds
Lisa of Wright Stuff
Kim of IM Girl

{Update:} Our winners have selected the following prizes...

Paula - Sterling Silver Bracelet
Emiliana - Woven Wire Beaded Bracelet
Lisa - Swarovski Crystal & Oxidized Sterling Earrings
Kim - Woven Wire Beaded Key Holder

✻CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS✻

The winners will select their prizes beginning with the first selecting her choice of prize and so on until all 4 prizes are awarded. So please contact me via email at: plumroselane at gmail dot com with your choice of prizes in order and your mailing address. I will follow up with an addition to this post letting everyone know which winners select which prize.

Thanks so much and as always...

Enjoy!