Phew... so I just finished making 5 watercolor brush sets and a video tutorial to go along with it, explaining how I made the brushes.

We also have a few new affiliates, which you can see in the sidebar.

And keep sending in the applications to be on our staff.

Ugh I should probably go read the Iliad at some point. So far it's boring, but then again I'm still only halfway through the introduction (which is 70+ pages). But I finished all of the other books I had to read for summer assignments, so it's just this one and I'm done.

Compiled a new list of the most creative social network icons. I found a lot that were standard fare, pretty-looking icons, but I thought I'd make a list for the most unique ones for websites with a theme or creative bent.

We also have 2 new affiliates- Arid Seas and So Devious. Check 'em out on the sidebar.

As promised, I made new content for today - a list of 50 Photoshop Website Layout Tutorials. Enjoy.

Oops I was planning on posting this earlier and updating today, but I got caught up in doing a service event at the beach and having a meeting later. So I will make something new tomorrow . As for today, the winner of the background contest is... Fiona! Congratulations!

And thank you also to EliMarie for entering. Your background was great as well.

The backgrounds can be seen here.

And the winner of the yesterday's comment contest is Soph! I picked the winner using the highly scientific eeny-meeny-miny-mo method, with the tiger and mother additions.

Went to a sale this morning and got some cheap stuff like school supplies. Also picked up a fancy new design book for only 3 bucks. If I was further in the book I'm reading right now called Cheap, about the "high cost of discount culture," I'd probably feel guilty.

I compiled a new inspiration list- 328 Stunning Abstract Photoshop Brushes.

Background contest winner will be chosen tomorrow morning, so you still have tonight to enter last-minute submissions.

Even though nobody posted links for the last blog or linked to their own website, I'll just say Char and Kat are really cool people for commenting.

Comment Questions~
1. Pick one for the next inspiration list: layouts, brushes, graphic tutorials, coding tutorials, illustration, icons, fonts, photography
2. Light or dark?
3. Are you interested in seeing floral, smoke, or watercolor brushes as a list?

Gracias! One random commenter will get plugged in the next blog post.

And if you're into vegetarian stuff or food, I've been writing reviews at a site I started a couple weeks ago called Vegnificent (which is also suspiciously in our affiliate list ).

Phew so today I got a lot of website and other stuff done. I finished one of my summer assignment books (2 down), now just four more to go (and I've already read 2 of those, but I just have to go back and annotate them). I updated some boring things around the site, like adding better links to the rss feed, feedburner, and twitter, improving the search a bit, and experimenting with a 'related posts' feature (probably will take off thumbnails for it).

Also, as you can see there's a new layout! We had the last one for several, several months so I thought it was time for a change. It's the same basic layout, just a different header and colors. The textures are from regular-jane.

And last but not least, I made a huuuuge list of photoshop text effects. It took over an hour and half to compile. D= I tried to find the best tutorials, and mostly just one per type (i.e. one smoke text effect tutorial) so it wouldn't be repetitive. Even though these kinds of lists are common, maybe you'll find something you've never seen before. Hope you find it useful!

Background contest still going on. It ends tomorrow!

Mini-contest: if you know of any good websites or tutorials or resources for a new inspiration list, please post them in the comments! One random commenter will get plugged in the next blog and on our Twitter.

Whoooo Kat!!

Eeep no one entered the background contest... so I'm extending the deadline to Friday. :0 Here are the details again:

Using one of the brushes from the new brushset, make a background for our site. Size 500px by 500px or less, saved as .gif, .png, or .jpg. The winner will receive advertising on the sidebar with a button for a week! That's lots of exposure for your site.

Deadline: end of Friday, July 23rd.

You can submit as many entries as you want using the resource form on the submit page, and all accepted entries will be published on the site with credit even if you don't win. Good luck!

And as a side note, I saw Inception today. It was soooo amazing! Did any of you guys see it?

I'm also looking for a few new affiliates, as several sites have died recently. Contact us. Your site should wow me.

Whoooo Kat!!

I added 21 new buttons with the fleur de lis brushes and updated the button maker.

And the background contest is still going on! See the below post for more details. Enter before the end of Tuesday!

Whoooo Kat!!

Hola! I made a fancy new brush set. I think I'll use fleur de lis for some other stuff too . They're very pretty.

We're also having another contest. Using one of the brushes from the new brushset, make a background for our site. Size 500px by 500px or less, saved as .gif, .png, or .jpg. The winner will receive advertising on the sidebar with a button for a week! That's lots of exposure for your site.

Deadline: end of Tuesday, July 20th.

You can submit as many entries as you want using the resource form on the submit page, and all accepted entries will be published on the site with credit even if you don't win. Good luck!