New Site Design for May Richer Fuller Be!

Happy Monday, y’all! Notice anything different? (Hint: if you’re reading this on a feed or through your email, you might want to head to the site today!)

Over the weekend, I launched a new site design for May Richer Fuller Be! I’ve been thinking about giving the blog a makeover for awhile, and finally got a chance to put it all together yesterday. I wanted something simple, fresh and modern - but timeless so I don’t feel the need to a change in a few months. I had a lot of fun doing the design work and pushing my skills in Illustrator to come up with what you see today.

Here’s my branding board with all the new elements:

And here are a few of my thoughts behind the new design for those of you who like to know some of the behind-the-scenes deets:

The header was definitely the most fun to create. To gather inspiration, I made a secret Pinterest board and became a pinning machine for a few days to come up with lots of ideas for how I wanted the blog header to look and feel, and used that as a jumping off point for the design. If you’re at a loss for where to start on any sort of design project, I definitely suggest giving that method a try. I went through a lot of drafts for the header before I came up with the one you see here, and I’m really excited about how it turned out! I want to say a special thanks to a few of my blogging friends (you know who you are :)) for letting me show them a sneak peek and give me feedback on it before it went live.

The two brand elements - the hexagon cluster and the banner -  are simple and clean, which I feel like represents the look and feel I was going for with this design. I've always loved hexagons, and they were actually a part of the old site design, but you probably couldn't tell because they were subtly incorporated into the pattern I used to fill the header text (to see the old design, head to this post). The hexagon cluster is fun and modern, but still gives me a clean look. I love that it incorporates all of the blog’s colors: mint, coral, light gray, dark gray and white. I'm excited about incorporating the hexagon cluster and the banner into future posts!

As far as the colors go, I loved the aqua and grays theme that I had going before, but I wanted to tweak the aqua so that it leaned a little more toward mint family. I also added coral to the mix because I wanted a fun accent color to throw in every now and then. Coral has been one of my favorite colors to work with in DIY projects (like my headboard and this stool), so heck, why not add it to the blog design?

The typefaces (fonts) I chose are actually very similar to the others I was using before (Freebooter Script and Champagne & Limousines), but the new ones - CAC Champagne and Quicksand - just felt right for the fresh feel of the blog. Sometimes you’ve just gotta go with your gut on that stuff, ya know? They’re both free for personal and commercial use by the way, which is always a plus if you’re in the market for some new typefaces yourself.

All in all, I’m pretty psyched about the new site. I still need to do some tweaking on some of the pages, but for the most part, it’s ready to go. My about page got some new photos thanks to my mom and her awesome photography skills, so feel free to poke around there if you’d like. It was finally warm enough this weekend to get outside and take some photos without worrying about freezing our tails off! Hooray for signs of spring!

I’ve really found that I have a passion for simple and clean graphic design, so if you ever find yourself in the market for some design work and you like what you see here, shoot me an email. CSW Designs is for hire!

Have a great week!

State of the Blog 2014 {With Major Life Updates!}

Hey there friends! I hope y'all had great weekends. I thought that today I'd share a little about what's going on inside my head these days when it comes to the intersection of the blog, my life and my side business CSW Designs. We're gettin' a little bit more personal than usual up in here, so grab a cup of coffee and let's chat. Mmk?

My life has been full of changes lately and I want to talk about two of them today. I've alluded to both of these a few times over the past couple of months, but haven't expanded on them much. One, which happened in December, is that I got a new job. The second is that we're moving to Philadelphia! Last week we made it official, so I feel like I can share it with you here now. These big changes certainly have had effects on May Richer Fuller Be and CSW Designs, so I wanted to let you in on where my head and heart are these days.

Let's talk new job first. As you know from my mini home office updates (here and here), I started a new genetic counseling job where I'm now working from home instead of commuting to an office. This job was a huge answer to prayer for a number of reasons (I'll get to one of them in a second), but it was a really tough and stressful adjustment period for about the first eight weeks or so. There was a big learning curve, and I barely had the mental or emotional energy to do anything but that for those eight weeks. I felt really drained at the end of every day and blogging quickly fell to the bottom of my priority list since it's quite hard to be creative when your energy is completely sapped! Y'all may not have noticed since I was still consistently posting, but doing anything beyond that (interacting with y'all on Facebook and Twitter, etc.) just wasn't gonna happen.

I feel like I'm just now coming up for air and getting the hang of this new job, and therefore I'm getting my creative groove back. It feels really good.

One unexpected realization I had during that (challenging) time was that I truly missed the community that can come through blogging when I was deep in the trenches just trying. to. get. a. post. up. each day.

So can we hang out more often? I would love love love that. Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, email or comment here. Let's make this more of a two-way street. And if there's anything else I can do to make this a better experience for y'all as readers, please let me know!

Our next BIG transition that's coming up in a few short months is the move to Philly! My husband is going to graduate school there, so that means a move two-and-a-half hours north to a city I've now visited two whole times - and those two times came in the past month when we went to visit to make sure we actually liked Philly enough to make the move :).

Turns out it's pretty cool. We're really excited.

This brings me to one of the reasons that new job was a huge answer to prayer: I can take it with me when we move. I don't have to try and find a new job in an unfamiliar city where I have very few connections in my field. I'm really thankful. We're really thankful.

In a future post (or now if you'd like), I'd love to pick your brains about anything you know about Philly since we know very little about it.

So what does all of this mean for the blog? First, since we're moving in the next few months, there most likely won't be a lot of major DIY-type projects happening in our itty bitty city apartment. We'll be focusing more on winding things down and doing little projects and crafts here and there. I'm sorry if that's disappointing to some of you, but I hope that you'll stick around, because moving means a whole NEW home to decorate and make our own - on a tight budget! It's gonna be fun, y'all. I can't wait to share our new place with you. Once we find one that is. :)

During the next few months, I also want to focus more on my little side business, CSW Designs. Right now, I've got graphic design printables in my Etsy shop, and onesies and kid's t-shirts over here, but I'd love to grow those and maybe bring them together a little more in the coming months. Introducing my newest print - Washington, DC neighborhood art - was the start of that. I'm really loving graphic design these days, and I'm itching to grow my skills in that area this spring and summer.

So that's the State of the Blog for 2014 so far. In case you didn't get through all those words here are the highlights:

• I got a new job! It was a hard adjustment and blogging was tough going for awhile there, but I'm back, and ready to hang out with y'all more.
• We're moving to Philly soon! A move means more projects and more fun for y'all to read about.
• CSW Designs is growing! I can't wait to keep creating and develop my graphic design skillz. 

Phew! Thanks for reading, as always! Y'all are the best.

Washington, DC Neighborhood Map Art

I'm really excited to share a new print that's up in my shop with y'all today! It's a piece of typographic art that includes all the neighborhoods of Washington, DC - my current home! My hope this will be the start of a series of prints of many places all across the United States (and maybe the world?). One step at a time... :).

The inspiration for this print came partly from my Richmond Fan District art (also available in the shop!) and partly out of a shirt I bought in St. Barth that had the names of all the beaches and towns on it. I tend to make this kind of art when I'm feeling sentimental about a place, and DC is certainly one of those places. We'll be leaving here in just a few short months to move onto our next adventure (more on that soon). It'll be fun to hang this in our new home as a reminder of the past couple of wonderful years in this city. Our little neighborhood is tucked in there somewhere!

This print is available for instant download in an 8x10 size. It's easy to print at home on 8.5x11 inch card stock, which you can trim to fit an 8x10 frame. It's available in any of the colors you see above, but I can also customize them to be anything you'd like! Just email me at mayricherfullerbe{at}gmail.com or message me on Etsy with your idea.

I printed one myself in the green and blue colorway and added it to my gallery wall. Y'all know I like to switch that art up all the time!

I also love making custom art, so if you'd like one of these that's in the shape of your hometown, state or favorite place, let me know! And if you know anyone who loves DC, please send them on over to my shop - I'd love to get the word out on this print.

{Buy it here!}

Do y'all have any art that represents your hometown or where you currently live? Are you as sentimental about leaving a place as I am when you move?

New in the Shop: Christmas Designs and Kids' T-Shirts {and a Giveaway!}

Oh y'all, I'm so excited to announce some new additions to the CSW Designs shop today. I've added three new limited edition Christmas designs and they're available not only on onesies, but on toddler and kids' t-shirts as well!

There are classic Christmas trees, cute candy canes and three adorable gingerbread men. Each design comes in both chevron and polka dots. Here are a few examples of what they look like on onesies and t-shirts:

These would make great gifts, so if you want to go ahead and get some of your holiday shopping done, head on over to the shop to check out all the different options. :)

But wait, there's more! (Do I sound like a bad infomercial? Wait, don't answer that...)

I heard from a few moms that they love the designs, but their kids are too big for onesies. They requested t-shirts for their toddlers and bigger kids, so guess what? All of the modern-patterned animal designs are now available on toddler and kids' t-shirts too!

So be sure and add CSW Designs to your Christmas lists for the kiddos in your life. To order, head on over here, select your design and style (t-shirt or onesie), and the item will ship right to you from the printer.

I'm so excited about these designs that I want to give one away to one of you lovely readers! Use the Rafflecopter giveaway widget below to enter and spread the word!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GIVEAWAY from CSW Designs!

Woohoo! Giveaway time! 

If you're a regular visitor over here at May Richer Fuller Be, you probably saw my announcement about the launch of a new product line at CSW Designs - modern patterned baby onesies! I am so excited about them, and to celebrate the launch, I thought I'd give one of these away to one of my lovely readers. 

If you've got a little one of your own, this is a perfect item to add to his or her closet (they come in sizes from newborn all the way up to 24 months). Even if you don't have a child of your own, one of these would make a great baby shower gift! I might be a little biased, but I think they're pretty darn cute :).

From now until August 15th at midnight, you can enter to win one here on the blog. Earn multiple entries by leaving a blog comment, following May Richer Fuller Be on Facebook or Twitter, or tweeting the link to this post. Spread the word! Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Thanks for entering!

(If you're reading this in an email or feed reader, you'll need to click over to the blog to enter!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

July Project Round-Up

July was a really fun month over here. I loved all of projects I took on and there are lots of exciting things in the works behind the scenes that I can't wait to share with you. In fact, one of things is happening TODAY! I am guest posting over at Serenity Now. I'm honored Amanda asked me to be a part of her guest posting schedule this week while she's away. If you've been around MRFB for awhile, the crafty project I'm sharing might look familiar, but go on over (have I piqued your curiosity yet?) and say hello.

I'm hoping to make a few more announcements next week about the exciting things to come once they're set in stone, but you'll just have to wait a little longer to hear about them!

Now let's take a look back at some favorite posts from the past month. If you missed anything, this is a great way to catch up.

My biggest (and most exciting) undertaking by far this month was launching the onesie line for CSW Designs. You can read more about the announcement here. I had so much fun designing the animals, prints and colors for these guys. Again, I'd love for you to spread the word about these fun baby items - they're perfect gifts for your own little one or would make a great gift!

Green polka dotted elephant anyone?

My favorite DIY project for the month (and seemed to be many of yours too!) was this vintage kitchen cart makeover I did for my parents at their river house.

Just a hair behind that, my other favorite DIY was the upholstered headboard I made for our bedroom. It's sooo nice to have it after living without one for over a year!

I love the summery look of my Ralph Lauren-inspired aqua and white striped tray. It lightens up our big, dark coffee table so nicely. Ah, the power of paint. :)

I shared a bunch of photos from our Fourth of July spontaneous photo shoot, as well as some portrait photography tips in this post. 

Ever since I put up my vanilla almond granola recipe, I've been making it non-stop over here. It's definitely our new breakfast staple. I've even been adding some healthy stuff to it like chia and flax seeds - heyo! Considering how much of a sweet tooth I have, I'm pretty proud of myself for trying to incorporate some healthier things as well.

Operation {Re}Organization continued on this month in the kitchen. I'm right in the middle of overhauling the bottom half of it, so expect to see more posts about that in the near future. You can read the first three I wrote this week here, here and here. 

And lastly, many, many thanks to these wonderful blogs for featuring my projects over the past month - so grateful and humbled!

Craftivity Designs | Living Better Together  | Just Do It Y'all | The Shabby Creek Cottage | Roadkill Rescue | The Inspiration Gallery | Sparkles and a Stove | Serenity Now | Give Me the Goods Monday | Rain on a Tin Roof | Suburbs Mama | If It's Not Baroque | Tatertots and Jello | Lambert's Lately | Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home | Chase the Star

Announcement! Printed Animal Onesies Available in the Shop!

Y'all, I've got a really exciting announcement today! I'm thrilled to announce the launch of a line of simple, modern-patterned baby onesies that I've designed. CSW Designs: The Shop is officially open for business and stocked full of these adorable pieces. They would make perfect gifts for any little one - boy or girl!

There are six animals to choose from: giraffe, elephant, cat, dog, bird and turtle. Once you choose the animal, pick your color and style (chevron or polka dot) - there are lots of options. Here are a few of my favorites:

I would absolutely love if you'd come by "The Shop" by CSW Designs and take a look. If you like what you see, would you mind forwarding this post or the website on to your family and friends? Feel free to post the image above to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or even your blog! I would be so grateful if you did. I'd love to start this thing off with a bang!

So why do this now? 

If you've been around May Richer Fuller Be for awhile, you may remember I mentioned that a ton of my friends are pregnant right now or have just had babies. That meant lots of opportunities to make or buy baby gifts! During the spring, I put my design and DIY skills to work by sewing up a few appliqued onesies for these new little ones. The tutorial I shared was such a big hit with y'all, which was really exciting for this little blogger. That got me thinking that I might be able to do more than just make a few onesies for friends and talk about them here on the blog. Instead, why not actually design a line of onesies in the same kinds of modern patterns and designs, and make them available for people to purchase online? (And never have to worry about getting out that sewing machine!) That idea has now turned into a reality, and I'm excited to announce the launch this set of printed animal onesies.

If you or someone you know is looking for a baby gift, I'd love if you'd send them to CSW Designs: The Shop. If you want, you can send them here to the blog too - there's a new link up at the top (CSW Designs: The Shop), and the CSW Designs logo on the sidebar will take you to the website as well. (If you're reading this post in email or reader form, you'll need to click over to the blog.)

Thank you so much for helping me spread the word! Y'all are the best!