Here’s a video tutorial I created to show you how to make just a subject in an image bright, without raising the brightness of the entire image. This is useful for when you have a close subject against a bright background and/or a strong backlight.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Do you like the video? Should I make a non-video companion post that uses images and text? Is there anything I should do differently?
I’d like to show diversity in my portfolio by adding different types of work. Right now I have a custom Wordpress theme, a custom website layout, and a template revamp. I’m looking into adding installation and customization of scripts and website optimization. There are a few more things, but right now I’m going to focus on these. If you’re interested in getting these services free of charge, please comment here and I’ll reply back to you via email.
Today I decided that the Flickr link I had above wasn’t serving the purposes I had planned, so I’ve changed it to a Technorati link. Please click the Technorati link and add it as a favorite. You can also help me out by blogging about one of my posts or my site on your own blog and I will certainly return the favor.
I added a plugin to the site but wasn’t using it, and I found it broke my CSS validation. I didn’t realize that could happen, so I wanted to remind everyone to check their validation regularly, especially after adding plugins, etc. I also spent an hour trying to fix a problem that wasn’t in the CSS at all, but in the image code of an entry where Wordpress had added a bunch of unnecessary hooplah. That’s all cleared out now and I’m 100% CSS Valid again. XHTML Validation is going to be much more difficult because some of its issues are in my technorati link and inside Wordpress functions (the tag cloud). For the most part, though, it’s good.
Hoping to add some new content today as well. Looking for affiliates.
Here are thirteen texture photos for you to use in your graphics. They were all taken by me with my Nikon Coolpix, because my D60 was dead. I’m also entering these in the Thursday Thirteen and I hope that each week I’ll be able to bring you a new pack of resources to keep up with the Meme.
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen below.
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
When I’m creating a Wordpress them or editting one, I usually clip out snippets of coding and paste them into notepad incase I’ll need them later. You never know what you’re going to mess up or why, so it’s good to have the original coding to be able to slap back in whenever you need to. Sometimes, I want to keep that coding and saving notepad files in random places around my desktop has worked, but it’s not extremely efficient because when I save them I save them as the date I made them, and if I don’t know what the date was when I saved the clip I need.. well, you get the picture. So what I’ve started doing is saving notes in my wordpress theme. It’s easy to do without a plugin (though it’d be nice to have one).
- Open notepad and save the empty file as notepad.php
- Open your theme’s folder in FTP
- Upload the notepad.php file to the same folder as your other theme files
- Go to your Theme Editor and click on notepad.php
- Paste in your code with some guides that will explain to you what the code snippets are about
So it’s extremely easy and truly has been a life saver at times.
There’s a slight pause in content updating for a few days because I’m working on some new projects and some behind-the-scenes work on the blog.
I’m working on a design for a parenting blog, topsites, message board, and whatever else could possibly be put onto a site. A project like this will reward me with about $250 or more. This screen shot is a preview of the layout I’ve drawn up so far in Photoshop. It uses a daisy illustration and kind of reminds me of an old ad in the 70’s. Maybe not. Either way, it’s been extremely time consuming and I’m looking forward to having it finished and being about to post the result.
I’ve also been working on some things on this site. I’ve been working on the Portfolio page (which I realize is pretty empty) and I added a contact form as well. The Services page is nearly complete but I keep feeling like it’s missing something. It’s hard to sum up everything I’m capable of. I also noticed that, while I claim to be valid CSS and XHTML, my site actually wasn’t. So I’ve spent some time getting the CSS valid (yay) and now I’m working on making the site valid XHTML. You can see I crossed it out down there at the bottom. That really leaves the About page and the Order page completely untouched, but they will come in due time.
I have plans with a friend to make a new site and a few other projects, but I think the one we’re going to work on first is the site. I’m not going to say what it is because I’ve had ideas stolen before, but I’m really excited about it. She may have to design it though cuz I’m feeling a little tapped creatively.
Lastly, I’m working on plans for the first Radkitten Contest, to be held as soon as my content pages are done. I think any time before then is just wrong, why have people come to an incomplete site? So keep an eye out for that, too. I’m thinking that will start about June 21 and run through July 1. I’m really excited about that, too.
Blog content is aplenty when your blog is as new as mine, so I’d like someone to suggest a tutorial or guide or resource they’d like. I want to put up content my readers want. Please leave your suggestions in the comments.
My name is Amy, and I've been creating and designing websites for 10 years. I live
in the lowcountry of South Carolina where there is plenty of natural inspiration. 
