As I already announced on my facebook page, the winner was design number 9 (which you can now see proudly displayed on the blog)! A very special thank you to Mary Alice at Digital Insite Web Design!



I am still working on getting my widgets where I like them and a few other little things but it is getting there! Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope that everyone had fun and I will be working on a page of buttons of all who submitted designs.

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Just in case you missed the dramatic lead-in to this contest and you are interested in knowing why I am letting my readers, visitors, and the cyber world decide what my blog should look like you can read about why my blog needs a makeover.

In an effort to help you easily vote I have made this post so that you can look at each design with the corresponding facebook button right with it. Please note that the page may take a bit longer to load due to the facebook buttons so I appreciate your patience! You may vote for as many designs as you like! Also, designers, don't be shy. Feel free to vote for your own. I will leave the voting open until Tuesday(7/12/11)at 7:00pm EST. I can't wait to see the results!

Design #1


Design #2



Design #3



Design #4



Design #5



Design #6



Design #7



Design #8


Design #9



Design #10



Design #11

If you like me on facebook then you already know that the design ideas have been continuing to come in. So much so that I am missing my creative outlet! But, it looks like this may actually be the last one!

This one snuck in at the very last minute but I am happy to present you with a design by Pam Halligan-Sims. Cute story really. She is a single "mum", (I love that word) who started doing some designs by helping out a few friends. Then, before she really knew what happened she found herself as a web designer.

She also does internet marketing and runs a whole bunch of blogs (everything from a lingerie eCommerce site to home business and website traffic generation to money making ideas blogs). I am really looking forward to reading some of her blogs to see if I can do anything to optimize my site. Be sure to check her out at http://website-promotion-seo.net

You may "like" this design or any of the previous designs by going to that page and clicking the like button. But, in an effort to make your lives a little easier, I will be posting a page soon with all of the designs and their own facebook like button right next to it. Again, feel free to like as many as you wish!

Design #10
*this is different form the other entries in that this is a screen shot.




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This is another design by Maria, the one with the awesome name! This is from my post a couple of days ago:

This page was designed by a very strong and amazing woman, who happens to have a super awesome name. Maria found my blog and after reading just a few of her posts, I was hooked. Maria's journey is eloquently shared in a very personal and inviting way. I couldn't help but want to be in her cheering section. After a few e-mails and messages between us, I have learned that behind the blog she is the kind of woman you want to have in your corner. She is so caring, supportive, and genuinely hopeful for everyone she comes into contact with. She is going to make a wonderful mother one day. She is officially on my list of "internet friends" that I would love to meet in real life one day.

Design #8
Don't forget to click the Like button below if you think this should be the new look of LLAOTWM!




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This design comes to us from Mel @ Crafty Lil Fox. She has a very helpful and easy to follow blog that gives lots of suggestions and advice on how to design your own blog. And when I say easy to follow, I mean, even I, who just figured out how to adjust the placement of a picture, could follow it. If you are wanting to create you own background, looking for freebies, or customize your layout, she will tell you how to do it at Crafty Lil Fox. Her blog is just getting started but I look forward to learning all she can teach.



Design #7
Be sure to click the Like button below if you think this is the design for LLAOTWM!




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This page was designed by a very strong and amazing woman, who happens to have a super awesome name. After reading just a few of her posts, I was hooked. Maria's journey is eloquently shared in a very personal and inviting way. I couldn't help but want to be in her cheering section. After a few e-mails and messages between us, I have learned that behind the blog she is the kind of woman you want to have in your corner. She is so caring, supportive, and genuinely hopeful for everyone she comes into contact with. She is going to make a wonderful mother one day. She is officially on my list of "internet friends" that I would love to meet in real life one day.


She has sent me two designs so be looking for her other design in the days to come!

Design #6



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This is the third design proposed from e-fairy. To learn more about her and her portfolio, please see THIS post.

Don't forget to click on the facebook like button below if you think this is the design for LLAOTWM!

Design #4



Anyone who is working on a design for this contest, please send your design(s) to me by Sunday night. I am thrilled with the number of designs that have been submitted and can't wait to see which one is the favorite!

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The moment we have all been waiting for...

I will be presenting you with the designs submitted to me in the order they were received. All designs submitted will be posted. Please remember to come back and click the facebook like button if you think this design is appealing to you and a good fit for my blog. For more information regarding sumbitting designs and what you will get please read this post.

Design #1 was designed by Michael Staake. His design was made for Wordpress and while I explained that I am on Blogger and wasn't prepared to be making any significant moves at this point, he offered to move my whole blog to Wordpress for me if this was the winning design. In addition he also has web hosting so if any of you are considering this, his costs are reasonable. I will add a link once I receive it from him.

Well here you go! Be sure to tell me what you think in the comments section! And don't forget to "like" it on Facebook if you think it is the one for LLAOTWM. And without further ado...

Design #1



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Let me start this post by saying that I have enough drama going on in my own life to get too wrapped up someone else's identity issues but I have to share a bit of background so that this post can make sense. A night or two ago while playing around on Twitter, a website that I follow posed a request to its followers. They said that someone mentioned that their website looked as if it was selling something and asked for opinions on what they appeared to be selling. Since I had a minute, I stopped by their site and offered my 20 second critique. I said that her site was a little flashy with ads and such and that it may contribute to giving a "buy me vibe". So without getting into all of the gory details, the person behind the website then went and asked on a forum of other site administrators if she should "trust my opinion given the state of my site." She then went on to compare me to a bag lady giving fashion advice.

At first, my feeling were a little hurt. Then I was angry. But, after talking with Doug and he helped me put it into perspective, I responded to her with this:

I am confused. You asked for opinions and then you turn around and critique my site. My poor site design has nothing to do with why or why not you site might appear to be selling something. I am just a new mommy blogger who is simply getting things off the ground. But, my lack of experience and traffic has little to do with what I see when I look at your page. If you were only interested in the opinions of people with more experience and knowledge of web design, it looks like this forum has a lot of fantastic members with lots of great input.

I could go on for hours describing all of the immature and tasteless comments she made (that she later erased by editing her posts) but that is neither here nor there. As always, Doug reminded me that I have to start somewhere. Everyone does.

As my readers know, I have tried to make a habit of finding the good in even the worst of situations so this is my idea. I am formally inviting anyone who has any interest in designing my website to show me what they've got. You don't have to be a professional. This is open to anyone who wants to design what they think looks best for Life, Loss, and Other Things.

What you get:

• Each entry will be posted with your name, website, and links.
• You can share any info you wish to about your design, your inspiration, etc.
  
• Your information will also be placed on a wonderful page with the other entrants for one year after the new design is chosen and launched.
  
• Should your design be selected, you will also get a FREE button on my homepage. The size can be 250x250 but since you will be designing the page, the exact dimensions can be tweaked to whatever is appropriate for the site. Who doesn't like free advertising?
  
• For as long as I am using your design, your link will also be in the footer with "This site designed by____."
  

I think it is only appropriate to have my website visitors choose the design since the opinions of my readers matter to me. Not only am I asking for your thoughts, I plan on following your lead. The winner will be decided by the number of facebook likes the design post gets. It is my readers who I want to make feel comfortable here. I like the connections I have made thus far and look forward to making Life, Loss, and Other Things a place you are proud to associate with. I am thankful that you have befriended this "Bag Lady," helped me push my grocery cart full of odds and ends, and am excited to let you help me wipe 6 months of dirt off my blog face.

A couple housekeeping things:

• All graphics or images must be created or owned by you.
• You have permission to use any images that are currently on my blog, only for the purpose of designing my site.
• You may submit up to 3 different designs if you choose to.
  
• The winning design, once launched, will become the property of Life, Loss, and Other Things.
• If you intend on making a page design, please email me or comment below indicating your intent to participate.
  
• Email your designs to me- Maria@LifeLossAndOtherThings.com
  

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