Blog Design Updates

Obviously when I started my blog I just picked a basic Blogger template. I didn't want to expend too much energy customizing and making things look perfect until I could prove to myself that I could manage to keep things updated -- I'm still not really sure I've proved that to myself (evidenced by my on-again, off-again weeks of blogging), but Friday night when I was tweaking some settings, I got tired of my heading being so basic and boring.

I was looking for something a little more visually appealing (like this!) than a plain teal block.

Naturally, my solution to that was to reach out to my FB friends list begging for assistance from my graphic design-inclined friends (I have quite a few!). I had a rough idea of what I wanted, but no technical skill with Photoshop to get it done. Luckily, several of my friends offered to help, and in particular, my friend Tanya whipped up a header for me.

Some of Tanya's work featuring her own fur-babies!

Tanya and I have been Facebook friends for quite some time, despite living a few hours apart. We met through horses (how else?). She is an incredibly talented photographer and artist -- several years ago I commissioned her to use one of my Langrish photos of Topaz to draw a Christmas gift for Topaz's trainer.

One of the few times in my life I've been tempted to keep a gift for myself instead of giving it....

Although Tanya has decreased the amount of time she spends on her art (opting instead to focus on her career, new husband, and son!), she is still very talented. I really love the header she created for me, and for any of my friends out there in the blog-o-sphere who are just using a static image, consider talking to Tanya about having her create a custom header!

To contact Tanya about having your own header done, check out her Facebook page at Tanya McFarland Art & Photography. For something similar to mine, her base price is only $20 -- what a deal! More or less complex designs would have their prices adjusted accordingly. She has a full-time job and a family, so let her know up front if you have any timing requests. She can also photograph for you if you need images for the header! She is based out of Rolla, Mo.