Win a free blog design!

With the new year here upon us, I'm sure nearly every blogger is looking forward to a new look in 2013 to really give their blog a fresh start. And today I'm giving one reader the blog of their dreams for free! That's right. One blogger will win a complete blog design, designed by yours truly.

Mandatory Entry: Be a follower of Modern Buttercup and leave a comment stating why you should be chosen to receive a free blog design. (The better it is, the more chance you have at winning!)

Make sure to leave a comment for each entry! 1 comment per entry please.

Extra Entries:
+ take the 10 question reader survey (2 entries)
+ tweet/fb about this giveaway (3 entries)
+ pin this giveaway  (3 entries)
+ follow this blog on bloglovin (1 entry)

This giveaway will end in one week, January 9th and the winner will be announced soon after.
Blogger platforms only -- sorry!

Giveaway is now closed. The winner has been contacted -- thank you for entering!

Good luck!

xoxo, Nat

blog design 101: choosing colors for your blog

Blog design is pretty much everything in a blog and ultimately determines whether or not a new reader will continue reading your blog or move on to another one. And the most important thing about a blog design? Your blog's color scheme. They're are a huge part of your blog design and keep it looking neat and put together, while giving your blog a branded look.

How many to choose

Keep it simple. Only use 3-4 main colors in your blog design. Too many look a crazy and messy!

What to choose

I'd recommend choosing a few of your favorite colors to start out with, and then branching out a bit and seeing how they do next to another color you're not too sure about. Try out some 'weird' color combos if you'd like! It might help spark some new ideas and combos. (For example, maroon and light grey)

Below, I'll show you some great examples of excellent blog colors that make the blog designs look neat and cohesive.

little chief honeybee

Kaelah's blog colors are yellow, pink, purple, and green, with a hint of grey. She also has a pretty watercolor thing going on and it looks just lovely! It gives it a bold yet dainty look. Color use: A+

a beautiful mess

Emma & Elsie's blog is also nice -- clean, simple, with handmade touches. Main colors being: green, blue, black, and white, also with hints of dark grey. The design also consists of pops of color and looks beautiful (no pun intended)! I also love the black color used for the header. It makes it look bold and modern. Color use: A+

scathingly brilliant

Kate's blog is one of my favorites. Super simple with only 4 main colors: pink, cream yellow-ish, white, and some grey. It makes the blog look very branded and gives the blog a really cohesive look that says "Kate" For color, this blog is a shining example!

Color use: A++

And for my blog, I use these main 4 colors:

Very simple, and with light pastels.

Anyway, that's today's blogging lesson, and I hope you enjoyed it! What are your blog's main color scheme?

a new look

Modern Buttercup has a new look! Yes, it's true. Although I did love my old blog design and super proud of it, I felt it was time to re-launch it and get back into the swing of things. It needed a bit of a boost and what better way to do that than with a beautiful blog makeover? This time, I saved myself a bit of work and lots of time, and purchased a template from blog milk. Such pretty layouts to choose from! I'm still tweaking it a bit, so there will be some minor changes made to it as time goes on.

With this new look and blog re-launch, I will be saying hello to new features and bidding farewell to others. I'll also be changing slightly what I post about. I'd like to make it a combo of inspiration and lifestyle for now, and it'll probably define itself once I decide what I'll dedicate my blog to. Most likely a mixture of things and topics.... I guess we'll have to just wait and see.

Thanks again, my lovely readers for hanging on and patiently waiting for the small blog hiatus to end. I have lots of amazing posts in store you won't want to miss!