Blogstyle: Becky’s Carolina Journal
Becky at Becky’s Carolina Journal has graciously offered to be my first victim guinea pig volunteer for the new Blogstyle column here at BloggedIn. I knew I was going to like Becky when I saw that her Blogstyle critique request included, “We’ll sit on the porch and have a glass of iced tea.” Why, thank you!
Becky’s blog has a charming yellow house in the header. I’m not sure if it’s her actual house, but it’s possible since it appears to be the same house pictured at the top of the sidebar under “Welcome to My Home.” I have two recommendations for Becky on the header. First: the colors on the photo are washed out compared to the more vibrant colors in the sidebar picture. I would recommend some simple photo editing in a program like Google’s Picasa, a free download. They’ve got some good basic editing tools including one called “I’m Feeling Lucky!” that should brighten that picture right up for you! I would also recommend removing the bar that says “essays, notes, recipes, books, photos.” The colors clash with your header image and it cuts across the bottom of the photo while leaving some of it hanging out at the bottom.
Second: there’s something about the shade of red on the post dates that really bothers my eyes, but maybe it’s just me; white or the lighter blue color of the links in the posts would be a good alternative. I think I would make the dates a little smaller, too.
All in all, Becky has a very inviting, uncluttered blog that makes good use of photos. I love that book widget in the sidebar. Becky, thank you so much for inviting us over for a visit and a glass of sweet tea!
Think you’ve got blogstyle? If you’re interested in hearing our opinion, submit the contact form for consideration in an upcoming Blogstyle feature.
Becky’s blog is VERY inviting. I love, love her header, washed out or not. But this is very cool. I think it’s great that we can get advice on how to make the whole appearance of our web site nicer.
I think you’re right. I think the header is an actual photo of her home. What a pleasure it would be to sit on her front porch and enjoy a glass of iced tea. Very, very inviting.
Oh, my gosh! Your profiled me!!!!!I am thrilled that you did. Thank you so much.
Yes, this is my home. We painted it yellow two years ago and love the color.
I will take you suggestions for my blog seriously. And, I appreciate so much your very nice compliments.
The iced tea is waiting…