RS Designs

Hi, guys! I’m just popping in real quick to let you know that after a lengthy labor, my son was born last Friday, June 20. You can read his birth story and see some additional photos at my personal blog, The Porch Light.

I had expected to take the month of July off, but I guess I’m going to be absent a bit earlier. I may post a couple of times, but if I don’t, I’ll be back no later than August. I will still be checking my e-mail and answering messages directed specifically to me, but Linda is taking care of the majority of business operations. I know she will do a great job and that you will be happy with her customer care. She’s a great girl.

Thank you for your continued interest in RS Designs. I’ll be back before you know it!

Linda has added 8 pre-made Mommy Cards to our collection, and I furnished the remaining 4. You can view our whole selection at our Pre-Made Mommy Cards page. If you order cards from us, you might want to take advantage of VistaPrint’s current special to get them printed: 75% Off Premium Custom Business Cards at VistaPrint.com.

If you have been wanting a custom blog design, this is the offer for you. Summer has come to the northern hemisphere, and with the advent of summer comes the dispersal of children - to summer camps, to visit relatives, and to numerous other destinations. In an effort to help parents keep in contact with their absent children, we are offering a special Summer Custom Design Package. (Please note: this offer is available to everyone, not just parents.) This package includes the following:

• set up blog on Blogger (if needed)
• custom header
• custom background
• custom signature

No substitutions are allowed; any other elements desired must be purchased from our A La Carte menu. This special offer is available only from June 16 - July 15, 2008. To order this package, simply e-mail us at admin@designsbyrs.com and ask for the Summer Custom Blog Design Package.

Last week Revka told you about Colorzilla which is a wonderful thing for web designers especially. Well unless you use FireFox as a web browser this little tool won’t do much for you.

As a FireFox enthusiast I thought I’d tell you why I like it so much (and hopefully convince you of getting it)

According to Mozilla, the developers, FireFox help you stay safe on the net, helping you avoid scams. The other feature which makes FF very popular is the option of personalizing your browser with different themes and add-ons, FF is so much more than just a browser! While I’ve left the themes behind I have added a whole lot of add-ons that I use daily.

When I started using the Internet 10+ years ago I was introduced to Netscape. Everyone seemed to be using Netscape or at least it seemed like that. Then Internet Explorer became the standard browser and nowadays comes with every PC. Starting to use FF was a scary thing for me, I had only heard about it and was a bit reluctant to download it. “What if it was difficult to use? And what about that tabbed browsing - what is that anyway? And why would I need add-ons?” Those were questions I asked myself.

Because I am a very curious person in regards to new things I decided to give it a try. Sure it took me few days to get used to it but I have never looked back and now I prefer FF over IE.

The tabbed browsing: The latest version of IE does have this feature now as well however FF gives you options to color your different tabs, separating them, easy closing using only the keyboard and an easier overlook of your tabs.

Pop-up Ad blocker: Have to love this! No pop-ups - ever!

Toolbars: FF lets you add toolbars to your browser that can be easily hidden if you don’t want to see them. Example of toolsbars could be StumbleUpon, PayPerpost.

Add-ons: There are too many add-ons available to mentioned here, some are SEO tools, web designer tools, screen grab tools, finder tools, clocks, and much more. You can read more on what add-ons I like here. When adding add-ons they go either up on your current toolbars or create a new., which you can hide and customize the way you want. Many add-ons are added to the bottom of the browser.

Twitter: For those who like twitter there are various options available, TwitterFox or Tweetbar for example.

Additional goodies: I really like how you can use keyboard shortcuts for almost anything. Just a simple way to copy and paste saves time.

I highly suggest you give FF a try unless you already have. You will not regret it! To download FF click here.

I have been having fun creating these pre-made Mommy cards. I created three new ones in the past 24 hours. Linda and I plan to create 30 designs total. We will see how those sell before creating any more pre-made designs. To see all available designs, visit our custom and pre-made cards page.

The Sunny Johnson card is designed to coordinate with our Strawberry Ice Cream Exclusive Design.

The light blue border on the Stacy Jones card will not appear on the actual card. It is there only to define the card’s edge in the image; however, if you would like to keep the border, please state that when you order this card, and we will make sure the border coordinates with the other blues in the card and is included in the print area.

Click image to view full size.

I am excited to announce the release of our first Exclusive Design. Strawberry Ice Cream was inspired by that favorite summertime treat and was designed using shades of pink and brown. This Blogger design is loaded with special features:

• 2 columns
• Widget ready
• Custom header
• Customized background
• Customized content area background
• Customized sidebar boxes
• Customized blockquotes
• Custom Navbar
• Custom signature
• Custom 125×125 button
• Recent Comments widget (will be added directly to your blog)

–∫–æ–º–ø—é—Ç—Ä–∏

• Subscribe to Blog widget (will be added directly to your blog)
• Customized comments link (will be customized at your blog using your choice of wording)

Pricing and available Add-ons are as follows:

Template Pricing:

• Blogger template: $100
• Adapted for a platform other than Blogger: $120

Add-ons (the cost of each add-on selected is added to the base template price):

• Replace the header image with your logo or another image (or add your logo/other image): $15
• Color change: $30 (choose this option if you like the design but would prefer it to have different colors)
• Coordinating banner (468√ó60 - shown in screen shot): $15
• Add a column: $20
• Coordinating Mommy/Blog card - $10

Since this is an Exclusive Design, Strawberry Ice Cream will only be sold one time. To purchase this design, e-mail Revka. Please specify which pricing applies and if you would like to order any add-ons.

When CPA Mom contacted me to redesign her blog, Did You See That?, she pretty much gave me carte blanche as far as the design went. She told me that she loves my work and wanted to see what I could come up with. I had seen a bathing suit made in an aqua and light lime green pattern. The colors made me think of summer, and I decided to see if CPA Mom liked them, too. She did, and after I tweaked the header graphic a bit, she pronounced herself thrilled with the new design.

To celebrate her new look, she is giving away a brand new pair of Premier Jewelry earrings. Entry is easy - just leave a comment at her giveaway post (not here at RS Designs) no later than EST, Friday, June 13, 2008. If you wish to receive 5 extra entries, add her button to your blog or web site, and leave another comment letting her know you did so.

click images to view actual size

I love when we are able to expand the products offered here at RS Designs. A couple of weeks ago, I had mentioned that Linda and I would soon be offering new products. I am happy to announce that we are now creating custom business/blog cards ($30) and pre-made Mommy card designs ($20). We create a high quality image file that you can use through an online printer (such as Vista Print) or can take to your favorite print shop. Please understand that you are purchasing the image and we do not print any cards ourselves.

Everything about these custom cards will be designed to your specifications. The custom business cards are self-explanatory. (The RS Designs business card pictured above is what I created and had printed for myself - actual phone number included, of course.) The custom blog cards are created to match your blog’s design. You can opt for us to use your existing design, or you can order a pre-made template or custom design package and have us design your blog cards to match your new look.

We will continue to add to our selection of pre-made Mommy cards. Unless otherwise specified, only the text may be customized. Some cards (like the ones pictured above) will be designed to match our pre-made templates, and others will be stand-alone designs.

Please e-mail admin@designsbyrs.com if you have any questions or would like to place your order.

Have you ever visited a website and just drooled over a color or colors used in its design? The only problem is that you can’t use that color for your own blog or website because you don’t know the color code. If you use Firefox as your browser, you can find download a nifty extension that will allow you to find out the code for any color on the page.

Colorzilla is a monster of an extension. (I know - terrible pun. *laugh*) It is one of my favorite color tools because it includes an eyedropper with which you can learn the code for any color on the page (even images), a Webpage DOM Color Analyzer (analyzes the code on any page, shows you the colors and codes used, and shows you where they are used on the page), and an Online Palette Viewer (allows viewing, bookmarking, and sharing any color palette - here’s a sample palette). This tool has made my life as a designer much easier!

If you download this extension and cannot figure out how to use it, leave me a comment, and I will help you.

What is your favorite color tool?

I apologize for our absence these past 13 days. I had some family needs arise, and Linda has been quite busy as well. I intend to post at least once a week during June and hope to schedule some posts for July as well. (There are only 4 weeks left until my due date - hurray!)

125√ó125 button

125√ó125 button

125√ó150 button

I thought you’d like to know that Linda has created three great buttons (pictured above) for your blog, and they are free! If you like a button but wish it were a different color, she’ll even change the colors for you. E-mail her (Linda@designsbyrs.com) with your questions or requests.