
Blog design has always felt out of reach to me. It's a lot of coding, html, working with elements indirectly, and technical stuff that feels unnatural to me. I like to move things around with my hands and then move them back quickly when I decide I don't like it. I like to feel familiar with my tools and confident in what I'm creating.
I also know I need a big challenge every now and then to keep learning and growing.
I had the opportunity to work with Leigh-Ann of Freckled Nest Design back in 2009 on a blog redesign and was so happy with the final outcome. She was easy to work with, very professional, and helped me out with things I didn't even know I needed!
A year and a half passed, my blog grew, and my aesthetic changed. I knew it was time for a fresh look but couldn't settle on a color story much less a whole new design direction. I kept putting it off and putting it off because I wasn't sure what I wanted and other things were taking priority.

Somewhere along the way I had the notion that I wanted to learn to do it myself. I know how important it is to support people in their strengths and delegate when you need something that you don't have the skills or time to take care of but suddenly I wanted to take on this huge project that I knew nothing about.
I was on Twitter one day when I saw a tweet from Elise Blaha Cripe about having one spot left in her new Blog 2.0 workshop and went straight over to see if it was something relevant to my situation. I read the details as quickly as I could and then hit Purchase, holding my breath hoping I'd scooped up the last spot. I was in! Then suddenly I realized what I'd done.
I was terrified that I'd made a rash, unreasonable decision to give time to something I didn't have much time for to create something else that I REALLY didn't have much time for but also elated that I'd taken a leap and done something SO far out of my comfort zone. I haven't been more proud of myself in awhile.

Six weeks later I was holed up in my studio or bedroom every moment the kids were asleep or occupied with Brett. I was learning new photo editing software, Pixelmator, as well as everything offered in the workshop and making progress daily. I had never imagined how much work it would be or how much I would enjoy the process.
Almost everything I needed was covered in Elise's workshop and what wasn't (photo editing, switching blog content over from previous blog) I was able to figure out through YouTube tutorials or late night help from internet friends (thank you, Steven Haddox). I'll share more on what was helpful in a future post.
The ONLY reason I felt confident enough to take this on was because I knew Elise's workshop would walk me through the process, teach me the basics, equip me with tools to use for future makeovers, and leave me with a finished product. After taking the course I am even more sold on it. In fact, you can read my official blurb here.

The good news is that Elise has just made spots available to take her workshop again! If you've been thinking about a blog makeover or a switch to Typepad and want to have a new set of tools in your proverbial tool belt, I highly recommend Blog 2.0. Spots are limited so don't wait too long!
If you're in the market for a blog makeover or website design but don't have the time or interest in doing it yourself I can highly recommend the designers over at Freckled Nest. They offer a variety of styles, are very professional, and will work with you to reach an end result you're really happy with.
I'm already thinking of ways I want to improve upon the current design but I'm really happy with things (and things in progress) and so proud of myself for doing something hard and taking a bit of a risk.
Do you think taking calculated risks and challenging yourself with things that may seem scary are important for personal growth? Have you had success or failure with previous risks?
xoxo,
Rachel
NOTE: The class is taught using Typepad as a blog host, which was how I finally chose Typepad over Wordpress. I've heard great things about Wordpress and might have chosen it if I had the same opportunity but I've been very pleased with Typepad.