Finding Your True Colors

I was trying to match some colors from a picture that had that 'it' feeling when I looked at it. So I did a bit of looking around and found these two super-easy-to-use color palatte programs that I think you'll like to play with. Want to match colors in a picture? Or find the perfect color for your next painting project?

Start with this color palette match program from CSS Drive. It's so simple - you have the option to find the color palette in a particular photo with a quick photo upload, or find the palette for a web page that you like by simply entering the URL. The Palette Generator quickly gets results and even gives you light, medium, and dark shades within the same palette. And as if that's not enough, it gives you a full 49 shade palette with every subtle nuanced tone.

The second program is Color Scheme Designer. Just find the little black dot on the color wheel and move it anywhere around the wheel to get a palette according to the schemes you choose - Mono for similar shades, Complement shades, triad, tetrad, etc. I just had a great time moving around the wheel and watching the real-time color palettes appear.

Now it's time to click on some colors!

Until next time,
Mike

Map Yourself

Here's a fun little thing to do when you have an extra minute (literally, that's all it took). Map yourself on this interactive world map for bloggers from Latte Love.





And when you are done, continue your journey around the world with this post of recycled and repurposed globes (in case you missed it earlier this month).




Make sure to let me know when you travel through Sweden and I'll clear my schedule!

Until next time...
Mike

Blogger - Good Deeds Don't Go Unnoticed

Fun with QR Codes

Can you read it?

Make your own at QRstuff.com



Until next time...
Mike

Random Acts of Kindness

It's the random acts of kindness in blogland that really draw me in. For instance, this weekend I received help from not one, but two other bloggers. Neither of them know me. In fact, it's most likely that neither of them even know I exist. Yet both of them passed on random acts of kindness.

I was selling some of my kid's outgrown clothes and toys at a children's market this weekend (no surprise there, since you know me in the recycle/repurpose spirit of Blue Velvet Chair) and decided to take a few examples of children's gifts I'd made just to see if I could drum up interest before the holidays. I took two baby gifts I recently made, and a few examples of mosaic kid photos I'd also gifted recently. I needed some kind of business card just in case anyone 'bit', but don't have any since I don't sell my pieces (I'm game if anyone else is, though).

Here's what the original pics look like. The mosaics above are made with 1000 photo tiles of the kids (a minimum of 50 different photos give the best results). 

Okay, after that brief interlude, the spotlight goes on Mindy at Lil Mama Stuart. She recently posted a tutorial for making your own business cards. Nothing special about that as I've seen many toots on the subject before. But hers had a flair...hard to miss that she was representing something creative. So...I began to follow her instructions. Which led me to...spotlight 2...Aimee at Sprik Space. Mindy referred to Aimee in her post because of her lovely backgrounds (that come in so many colors). I found one that I thought would be perfect for my aesthetic and style. So I followed the instructions from both of them, made a few tweeks of my own to decrease the opacity of Aimee's backgrounds (I wanted mine to be a more transparent pattern in the background as it was a pretty strong design), and printed myself a small stack of business cards. 

They did just the trick. I only had one person express interest, but guess what - I had a nice looking business card to hand her and say "Call me". My "almost 10"-year old son liked them so much he asked if I would make a set for him. Absolutely!

If you don't have business cards and you are thinking about networking some of your own projects, hop over to Lil Mama Stuart's site and she'll get you started. It's pretty easy and possible to get done in an evening. Or, check out Aimee's backgrounds for your other crafting projects. I think you'll be pleased!

Until next time...
Michael


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Blog Tips: Grade Your Website

(för svensk versionen, se nedan)

Ever wonder how your blog looks to the outside world? Is it the best it can be from a 'technical' point of view? Is it set up correctly so that other people can find it?

Have a look at these websites to learn something interesting (and an objective view) about your site.

Woorank.com
Just type in your website address and click the 'Woorank Report' button to see what the 'pros' are looking at. For instance, I found out that a majority of the photos that I have on my site are missing the 'alt attribute'. Why is that important? It is a short code in the photo that allows the viewer to see a text description of your image if there is something wrong and they can't actually see your photos. If there is no 'alt attribute' text, the viewer doesn't see anything except a red 'x' in a small box.

Website Grader
This analysis tool is from HubSpot and it is a super simple report process. You can even get a comparison between your site and someone else's site - gives a bit of interesting insight.

There you have it. A little different view of your blog page and small steps to make it better (from the perspective of the World Wide Web).

Until next time...
Michael

Någonsin undrar hur din blogg ser ut till omvärlden? Är den det bästa det kan vara från en "teknisk" synpunkt? Är det korrekt inställd så att andra människor kan hitta den?

Ta en titt på dessa webbsidor för att lära sig något intressant (och en objektiv syn) om din egen webbsida.

Woorank.com
Skriv bara in din webbadress och klicka på 'Woorank rapport "knappen för att se vad" proffsen "tittar på. Till exempel fick jag veta att en majoritet av de foton som jag har på min hemsida saknas det "alt-attribut". Varför är det viktigt? Det är en kort kod i bilden som gör att betraktaren att se en textbeskrivning av bilden om det är något fel och de kan egentligen inte se dina bilder. Om det inte finns någon "alt-attributet" text, ser betraktaren ingenting förutom ett rött "X" i en liten låda.

WebsiteGrader.com
Det här analysverktyget är från HubSpot och det är en super enkel rapport process. Du kan även få en jämförelse mellan din blogg och någon annans webbsida - ger lite intressanta insikter.

Där har ni det. En liten annan syn på din blogg och små steg för att göra det bättre.

Tills nästa gång...
Michael


p.s.  If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll become a follower of my blog and a fan on FB.

Blog Tips: Blog Hops

Do you like to broaden your blog world knowledge like I do? Today's tip focuses on Blog Hops. Check out Blog Hops for an easy way to find new bloggers that share similar interests and new blog world connections. Here's several for you to hop over to just in time for Easter!

First, there's the Social Parade over at Smart and Trendy Moms.











Next hop on over to A Mommy's Sweet Blog Design where she has a fun Friday blog hop as well as adorable blog templates for a low price and great blog tutorials for us newbies.










Kim at Chubby Cheeks Thinks not only offers a weekly blog hop, but also lots of product reviews and giveaways.










Mrs. Marine has a direct connect to the U.S. military efforts, so support your local military family.












Real Mom Reviews shares not only their blog hop, but other good tips for bloggers.

Okay, there are your first five Blog Hops to check out if you aren't already hoppin'.  I'll post more in the coming weeks so that you have lots of opportunities to find new connections and like-minded bloggers.  Have fun!

Until next time...

Michael

Blog Tips: It Takes a Blog Village

The folks behind The Blog Guidebook have started a new Blog Club program that links a group of 5-6 bloggers together to provide support, ideas and inspiration for each other. What a great idea...I'm in!

Shortly after signing up I received my group info, and I now have 5 other blogging friends that are dedicated to providing me with information and inspiration to develop my best blog - and I will do the same for them. After all, it takes a BLOG village ;-)

Check out the program at The Blog Guidebook for yourself, and check out my newest blogging buddies.

Helen at The Blog Exhibit is passionate about helping other women establish a lifestyle that suits them, including earning money while staying focused on family. She's also obsessed with all-things-coffee and the country design associated with it, and is true to her faith.





Also new to the blogging world is Alli at Smalli Cat. I love the happiness and cleanliness of her blog template. She's sharing the things in her life that bring happiness.




If I just looked at the colors and the design aesthetic of Lisa's blog header at Joyful Jones, I would almost think she was Scandinavian! After an interrupted break in blogging, she's back to share her style of joy-filled living. Lisa also has a great giveaway with a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card, a Nicholas Sparks book, and a book tote - so get over the today to enter!





Kelly with Coupons, Crafts and Causes has merged her love of bargain shopping, crafts, and charitable giving/volunteerism. She provides information honed from her own years of learning to live thriftly and wisely combined with the handcraft skills past to her from her Grandmother.




Oh My Moomin is the blog face for Anne, who blogs about all things interesting under the sun. She's also challenged herself with the blog to see if she can finally keep a project going. There's no button yet for Anne...but we'll help her to get one soon :-)


There you have it. My latest blog therapy group. Visit The Blog Guidebook if you want to get involved in a support group of your own.

Until next time...
Michael

Blog Tip: Craftgawker

If you haven't heard of Craftgawker.com yet, now is the time to check it out! You can't help but be inspired and energized as you scan across the gorgeous photographs of arts and crafts. You can submit your own work, or the work of others and link it back to their site. But be aware! They don't accept every submission - only the most clear, well-staged photos. So make those cameras work for you! You can also check out their sister sites:  Weddinggawker, Foodgawker, and Dwellinggawker.

 Om du inte har hört talas om Craftgawker.com ännu, nu är det dags att kolla! Bli inspirerad och få energi när du skannar över den vackra fotografier av konst och hantverk. Man kan skicka in ditt eget arbete, eller andras arbete och länka tillbaka till deras webbsidan. Men var medveten om att De accepterar inte varje inlämning - bara de bästa bilder. Kolla in deras systerwebbplatser: Weddinggawker, Foodgawker och Dwellinggawker.

Until next time...
Tills nästa gång...
M

p.s.  If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll become a follower of my blog and a fan on FB.

Bee in The Blog Guidebook

Jackie over at Simple Home Life blogged about the relatively new Blog Guidebook, so I had to check it out. Glad I did!






They are putting together a guidebook of bloggers by category, and sign-up is free for a limited time. They are also offering a blog critique for a small fee (yep, I've requested one of those), and they have some really great initiatives coming up that you won't want to miss out if you want to connect with other bloggers and learn how to expand your blog world. Check it out and see if it is something for you as well.

Jackie på Simple Life Home bloggat om den relativt nya Blog Guidebook, så jag ville kolla upp det. Glad att jag gjorde det!
De sätter ihop en guidebok av bloggare efter kategori, och sign-up är gratis under en begränsad tid. De också erbjuder en blogg kritik mot en liten avgift (japp, jag beställde en av dem), och de har några riktigt bra initiativ på väg att du inte vill missa om du vill komma i kontakt med andra bloggare och lära sig att expandera din blogg värld. Kolla upp det och se om det är något för dig också.


Until next time...
Tills nästa gång...
Michael


p.s.  If you enjoyed this post, I hope you'll become a follower of my blog and a fan on FB.