Monday 23 November 2015

My New Look Blog

When I started blogging back in 2014 my blog looked terrible, I am not just saying that either as it truly was horrendous. I did not have a clue what I was doing when I signed up to blogger and had no idea that you could buy templates so I had a basic free blogger template that I kept trying and failing to look nice, as I had no idea what on earth I was doing. 

I did not mind that my blog looked a mess though as I had no idea that people would actually read my blog as it was set up to simply record my pregnancy with baby number three and document my girl's childhood. I never knew that bloggers were paid to write posts or that brands would send you things to review or send you on trips. I had no idea how many blogs were out there and that you could change the look of your blog without being a technical wizard. 

newcastle family life blog logo
I soon realised that you could buy templates fairly cheaper off Etsy and I brought my first one, it was bright pink and I soon realised that it did not look so great. I brought a second template off Etsy a few months later and I was slightly happier with this one as it was fairly simple and not so bright but it was not 'me' it had bunting on for a start and I am not really a bunting fan. I have never really been happy with my blog as it has never looked how I wanted it too, I read so many blogs that look amazing and well polished and professional, my blog was far from that. 

I have never wanted to show my blog off or promote it much as I have never felt truly happy with it, this is my little space on the web which I love dearly but I was not proud of it. I was always amazed that brands wanted to work with me and I was earning money when there were so many more amazing looking blogs out there. 

When I went to Britmums back in June I came away inspired with a head full of ideas on how to change and improve my blog, I wanted to work hard on my blog and finally be happy with it. I came home from Britmums and did not implement a single thing that I learnt as there was just so many things I wanted to change and I felt overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to do. Since the summer I have sort of lost my way with blogging, my heart has not been in it as much as it should be, writing has been a chore at times and I kind of felt a bit embarrassed by my blog as it did not look that great.   

I decided to take action and a few months ago I contacted the super talented Helen from Ellie Illustrates to book my blog in for a makeover. I had no idea what I wanted my blog to look like, I did not know what colours I wanted or anything and simply said I wanted a blog that showed us as a family and something that showed Newcastle as obviously that is my blogs name.

Helen worked her magic and has created an amazing header for my blog which I adore it has our family in cartoon form, I only wish that we looked that happy and perfect in real life. It also has the Tyne and Millennium bridges in the background symbolising Newcastle and it has two very cute Magpies as obviously, they symbolise Newcastle football team. I also have a nice blue background which really complements the header and the whole blog looks cleaner and fresher and nicer. I now have a blog that I am proud of and want to show off as I finally feel happy with it. 

I have a few little jobs to do to make things complete, I have to update my pages and photos and I have already spent all last week going through all of my links fixing broken links after my DA dropped last week (thanks Moz). I have also been thinking lately about the direction I want this blog to go in and I have decided that I am going to be making some changes, I want to feature more days out and I will be posting fewer reviews and weight loss posts as lets be honest no one wants to read review after review or how I lost half a pound last week. 

What do you think of my blog makeover?  I would love to know in the comments below. 
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28 comments

  1. I'm pleased to hear you got your mojo back! I know exactly what you mean about not being able to get your blog how you want it. I played and played with mine on blogger and just never really got it to somewhere I was 100% happy with. Since moving to WordPress, I finally managed to get it how I want it to look! I love your header and I really like the social media buttons, the design is really cute :)
    Debbie

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    1. Thank you, I love the social media buttons too as they are so different xx

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  2. It looks amazing, Ellie did a fantastic job creating your Blog header logo. Very welcoming and family orientated

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    1. Thank you Sam, I am so happy with it and finally feel happy with how my blog looks xx

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  4. awesome! I'm happy for you and love the new design and feel! :) Angela

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  5. You know that I love it! It looks so fresh and clean and it just looks fab! I've been waiting since the summer to see the redesign and I just love it! :)

    Gemma xx

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    1. Thank you Gemma, I have been waiting since the simmer too and it was so worth the wait xx

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  6. This looks blooming gorgeous!! I love it, it suits you so well :) x

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  7. Ellie is such a good illustrator, i've seen a lot of her work floating around the net. I'm in the middle of having my blog redesigned, like you i brought a template of etsy but ended up hating it once I started to enjoy blogging and knew people were seeing my blog

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    1. She really is an amazing illustrator, I love her designs xx

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  8. Helen really is brilliant at what she does. Your blog looks great and the header really represents you well.

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  9. Your blog does look professional and the header looks good. I think it takes a while to get your head round stuff and it's always changing too.

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  10. Thank you for the lovely review! I really enjoyed working on your design and hope it helps you to continue to enjoy your blog for a long time to come! xx

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    1. You are so welcome, I love my new design it is amazing and you have done such a fantastic job xx

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  11. Love your very pretty new header logo! It's so cute and really captures what you blog about x

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  12. I'm reading this on my phone so I'll take a look on my laptop later. Love the new header though! She's really talented. I also hated the blog theme I began with and bought my current one from etsy earlier this year. It was only around £35 so a complete bargain. I'll be relaunching next month when I launch my shop so need to buy another theme from etsy :) xx

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    1. I have went through four themes before I found a one that I liked. Looking forward to seeing your new design and shop xx

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  13. I love your new look. I was really nervous when I got my blog design done by Ellie, I had no idea what to expect. but She is brilliant and I love mine.

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