5 Things You'll Find on the 516 Blog

You may have noticed that 5 1 6 has gotten a little facelift here in the last few days.  I am still working out some tweaks here & over on my portfolio site...but I thought I'd give you another little blog tour starting with why I chose to redo my blog, again.

the design

I am currently working on a super minimal, super contemporary, feminine blog design for the lovely Hayley of The Weekend File.  After toying around with her design for a bit I decided it was time to start taking blog designing seriously & stop doing the sorts of templates/designs that were filler.  I wanted to be more proud of my work rather than just keep trying out new things.  So I designed a new template for the shop called Vertical Stripes (which is what the new design of 516 based off of).  All of the new templates are completely edited through HTML/CSS. I've spent the past month-ish I've been in Michigan tweaking & learning more, more, more about Blogger's templates & HTML.  

Original Blog Design

Portfolio Site Design 
don't be surprised if you can't navigate it...somethings wrong & I don't know what to do!

New Blog Design

I describe Five Sixteenths as a brand that is eclectic & playfully sophisticated.  516 is colorful yet professional & it was time for the design to reflect that.  First starting with my portfolio site, I decided to bring the design over to the blog.  On my portfolio site the design really says experienced with the serif fonts, colors, & professional layout...but for the blog...I need something a bit more playful because this space doesn't need to be as serious, just as professional.  Since the beginning of August, I've based my idea loosely off looks sites like Anthropologie convey of a professional-twenty-somethings-feel as I worked on my Storenvy Storefront.  I love the mix of serif & sans serif fonts, all caps, & a hint of color for the artsy look.  The serifs just scream sophistication, class, & professionalism to me and the way they mix in sans serif screams modern.  In the eBook, I go into a little bit of detail regarding what different fonts suggest to a design & it was stimulated by how I saw the design of my brand going in the future.

So for the blog I chose to keep the overall design of my portfolio site with added tweaks to keep the artsy, crafty, lifestyle feel of the blog included a handwriting-esque header.

5 more things you'll find on 5 1 6

DIY tutorials & inspiration - One of the main goals of Five Sixteenths is to be a place of creative inspiration ranging from fashion to art to decor DIY's.  Living a creative life is very important to me & doing little creative things here & there keeps your creative mind active.  The tutorials here are also pretty affordable.  As a post grad starting her journey in unemployed-self-employment, affordability is the key!  A link is located at the top of the blog that will direct you to all the DIY tutorials here.

blogging tips + tricks - Since I am self taught in blogging & blog design, sharing with others how to achieve a certain look is important to me!  You won't find any complicated tutorials here just simple tricks to add some spice to your blog design.  Assorted freebies, blog related DIY's, & tips are a common theme here.

life, goals, & growth - When I first decided I wanted to try to make it on my own (self-employed), I found a lot of resources....that painted a pretty picture.  I didn't find a lot of resources that laid the truth of struggle flat out in the open.  I couldn't get a straight answer out of any articles, blog posts, personal experiences....so I decided I'd share with you my personal struggle in hopes that if you, too, were struggling you'd know you weren't alone.  Hardly anyone ever talks about how they doubt themselves & I am here to tell you it's not all unicorns & lolipops.  If you'd like to get to know me & know why, even though I struggle, I consider myself successful you can check out a handful of these posts here.

travel diaries - Not only have I documented my move, but I am looking forward to documenting my travels with Zach as he travels around for work.  Having a fun time driving all over the country this week (well, midwest I guess) has been amazing.  This trip has made me reevaluate what I want out of life & eventually I hope I am able to support myself through design, spending enough time at home to also pursue my love of ceramics & to photograph things so that I am able to go with Zach as he makes his way through the United States.  Now if I could figure out a portable kiln situation...

the life of a twenty something - I am a dreamer, a maker, a doer, & a coffee lover.  I spend too much money on coffee, feeding my vintage collections, cardigans, thrifted dresses, & art supplies.  5 1 6 is about this life & all I want from it.  So I hope you'll stay around as I make my way through ten years of twenties.  I may even turn 29 a few times just to keep it going.

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