**LC's Adventures in Libraryland** A YA Book Blog: New Book Blog Design! Rotten Apple Reads

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

New Book Blog Design! Rotten Apple Reads

OH. MY. GOD. WHERE THE HECK HAVE I BEEN?!?!?

Yes, I am sure that a few of you have been wondering that :)

Well, a lot of crazy things have been going on in my life lately, and as much as I have wanted to keep up with reading, reviewing, blogging, and designing, and without going into all the gory details, it just hasn't been possible for the past couple of months. Bummer, I know.

BUT! Good news is-- I DO plan on getting back onto a semi-regular blogging schedule, complete with new reviews, new memes, new blog designs, and of course new V-LOGS too!! WooHoo! :D

...And today I wanted to kick things off with a brand new DESIGN that I have been hard at work on with a wonderful book blogger who goes by the name of Alice Belikova from Rotten Apple Reviews. So Alice has a really sweet book blog, and while she had a rotten apple theme going on to begin with, she really wanted to take things in a whole new direction-- with a Snow White theme!

So of course when I heard this, I rolled up my sleeves and was like, "YES!! Let's do this!!" Here are some of the things Alice really wanted in a blog makeover:

1.) It had to be light and fun, but also a little more soft and elegant than her current design.

2.) Sticking with the whole "rotten apple" theme, she wanted her version of Snow White to be shown right after biting into the poison apple, and there had to be books incorporated into the header as well (so that visitors could easily tell it was a book blog of course!)

3.) She wanted traditional Snow White colors of blue, red, and yellow but she wanted the color scheme to be softer and more muted-- basically a little easier on the eyes.

4.) Layout was very important! Rotten Apple Reviews had A LOT going on in the old layout, so new organization into a neat, easily readable format was key.

SO! With all that, I went to work on a brand new blog design for Rotten Apple Reviews-- starting with the header, I sketched out a version of Snow White and incorporated her into a "cut-out" type style. You may have seen how I do this in previous design posts, but here is a screenshot of me working on Alice's new header:

Alice also ordered a few extras, such as Custom Post Signature, Custom Rating System, and Basic Post Dividers. Here are the before and after pics of the Rotten Apple Reviews Makeover!!

~Before~

~After!~

As you can see, we really toned down the colors to make it softer and more elegant, and if you go to the live blog, you can see all the apple-themed details we added in. I am SO happy with how the design turned out, and the layout is now much easier to follow as well!

<----- I REALLY hope you will stop on over to Alice's blog at Rotten Apple Reviews by clicking on the NEW DESIGN IMAGE ABOVE or by clicking on her blog link-- ESPECIALLY since she is having an awesome GIVEWAY in celebration of her new look!! Yep, Alice will be giving away ONE (1) SIGNED COPY of Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie! Sweet deal right?!

~Grab a Button!~

And while you're add it, be sure to grab one of Alice's new blog buttons as well for your collections-- find the grab code below!

*****

Are you considering a new look for your blog? Do you just need an extra little something to spruce up the look you already have? Please stop on over and see me at Lea Christine Designs by clicking on the button below-- you can check out the services I offer and all the designs I have already done!