Big Net Changes for Dawne Design

I Need Your Opinion

With my desk moved under the living room shutters, I love my ceramic crane against the gorgeous glass background.

Oh yes, I’ve been absent from here for awhile — but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. 😆

Although I’ve really enjoyed blogging for free on WordPress.com, I realized that my glass business needed a more professional site — one that allows for a store, PayPal payments, a quick view of what I offer, & most especially, a site where the blah, blah, blah of my blog is not a mandatory read but a choice.

Of course, going ‘professional’ costs a few $$ but maybe not as much as you think.  At about $10 per year, the first step was registering a domain name: dawnedesign.net — which I did a few years ago [2? 3?].

At that time, I simply made a graphic in Photoshop that acted as an index [in tech-talk a ‘static landing page’] pointing to my free Dawne Design & Dawne Thoughts blogs, as well as what I was hoping would be my sales site — Rustic Glass Fusion.

But whoa, that site didn’t tie into my glass blog & it was a real pain trying to keep it up-to-date.  Why was I doing this the hard way?

So, I took the big step of purchasing my own hosting account.  I looked at a few hosting companies but that can be a confusing world for the newbie site builder — how do I choose?

Since I really love WordPress, my biggest priority was ensuring my host allowed WordPress.org installation & that they kept up-to-date with the latest version.  Most do, but how easy was the process? Some have great tools to help with this; some do not.

Since I’d registered my domain name at netfirms.com, I found their prices quite reasonable & they promised ‘one-button installation’ for WordPress.  Again, to keep things easier for me, I decided to keep everything with the same company.

Now at $5 per month, netfirms.com’s ‘Plus’ plan is pretty reasonable — the problem is you need to pay for at least a year up front.  So, my birthday present to myself this year was forking out $60 to cover my first year.  Easy, peasy & then I was set!

This is where WordPress.org comes in — the same ease at creating a site as WordPress.com but with much greater flexibility to make it uniquely mine.  Of course, this also means a bit of learning for me but netfirms.com‘s tools make even that a lot easier:

• installation really does happen with the click of one button;
• their Knowledgebase provides detailed instructions & video tutorials to help with every aspect of managing my new site;
• support includes an easy-to-use 24/7 text chat with technical specialists — I used it twice & found it quick, friendly, & most importantly, easy to understand instructions
• [support also includes telephone access but I haven’t found the need to use that yet].

Although there’s tons of WordPress ‘themes’ you could pay for, there’s even more freebies — I found everything I need in the Responsive theme.

I was extremely pleased with what I created [left] in only a couple hours — oh yeah :-D, I was patting my own back.

You can check out the full page at dawnedesign.net

It’s pretty simple right now but, oh yeah, I have lots of plans … like tutorials, store, PayPal payments, slide shows, …

Here is where you’ll find my glass work — panels, windows, shutters, headboard, garden planters, lamps, … you name it, I’ll try it.

Best of all, my Dawne Design blog is separated off from the ‘business’ section — on its own tab on the top menu or it can be reached directly at dawnedesign.net/blog

I invite you all to sign-up for future posts about making glass projects & what I do with them around my home — top right on blog page.

Another bonus is a sub-menu with tabs to all my other blogs:  Dawne Thoughts with my thoughts on everyday life; Dawne Enlightened where I deal with mental illness; & my new GrandLUV.net about the joys & concerns of the modern grandparent.  There’s also a choice to come here for the old Dawne Design blog — at some point I will move these old posts to the new blog, … later.

So, after all that blah, blah, I’d like to ask your opinion of the new dawnedesign.net — good, bad, or neutral.  I’d like to hear it all, please.  Please leave a comment [viewable by all] or, if you prefer, check out my Contact page where you can fill out the form & send a private message to me.

Thanks so much — I appreciate all your comments.

Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design

Functional glass & wood art on Vancouver Isle

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Moving Furniture Creates Zones

My desk & chair fit perfectly under the glass shutters.

I know I ask a lot of this skinny mobile home but by moving a couple of key pieces of furniture, I formed zones for:

1. a skinny area for both desks along wall with corner bookcases & glass shutters,
2. a larger tv/conversation area in the middle with the couch & entertainment centred & the two Ikea chairs forming a U,
3. my glass work area with tons of shelves stretching into the kitchen.

Quite a few problems were fixed.  Now, there’s a nice flow through the 26′ x 11′ space.  Now, there’s enough seating when a visitor comes over without having to move a chair into place.

And now, I have room for another shelving unit in my glass work area — of course, I have to buy the lumber & get it built first.  😉

My work table was piled high with junk but eventually I did find a place for [just about] everything.

It’s ready now for the start of my next commission — a 14″ x 18″ panel.

I’m excited to get going on this one because I’m going to experiment with depth of perception by grouping small glass pieces among the larger pieces in the design.

Hopefully, the idea in my head can be translated by my hands to the lead & glass design, … hmmm, we’ll see.

I was quite surprised my drafting table fit so well under the shutters but with its tiltable top & movable sides, it was no problem to lower it.

I especially love my ceramic crane with the stained glass panels of the shutters as a background.

Day or night, the sleekness of the bird’s neck & head is beautiful.  And I have a wonderful new writing spot.

Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design

Functional glass & wood art on Vancouver Isle

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Check It Tuesday – organizing x business & family √. . . next writing & glass

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Okay, yeah, I changed the name but haven’t changed being late!  A whole week!  Eeek!   😦 CHECK IT √  — tuesday Status Report:  ** √   wk 17–> business cards & grand-daughter joy x    wk 16–> down & out  😦 … Continue reading →

Check It Tuesday – organizing √ . . . next more org & glass gift

Notice the name change?  I figure since I’m always late trying to post on Monday, I might as well admit defeat & change the day.  A baby step to less stress.  😉 CHECK IT √  — tuesday Status Report:  ** … Continue reading →

Check It Monday – cleaning √ . . . next organizing

Yeah, late again!  Can’t seem to much right these days — exactly why I need to get better organized!  😉 CHECK IT √  — tuesday monday Status Report: √   wk 14–> cleaning house & keeping it clean √   wk 13–> … Continue reading →

Inspiration Kicks Off Changes

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Inspired by SlowWood’s MUN 15 desk with its cool sides & shelf, I started seeing stuff around my place in a different way: I always had a problem finding a suitable spot for this sturdy, dark brown wooden shelf [excuse … Continue reading →

Net Inspiration — Admin Desk

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Like so many DIYers, I get a lot of inspiration from gorgeous pictures available on the wonderful world wide net.  Here’s a few that I love: Holly at decor8 has again done a wonderful job inspiring me with a problem … Continue reading →

A Big Roundup

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Sneak peek of my first commission work-in-progress. It’s funny how life happens in waves, eh?  [Yup, obviously Canadian.]  And as an Island Girl, I know it takes energy & mental stress to fight the powerful water, so, I simply go … Continue reading →

Pets Feed in Style [Project 4]

😮

While I was cutting the glass for the tv centre, my room-mate decided to ‘whip together’ an idea I had which would solve a couple of problems.  It gelled from a DIY project I saw at Addicted 2 Decorating where Kristi transformed a small desk into a pet station.

With all this furniture-building experience, my room-mate has the cutting, clamping, & screwing down pat — bing, bang, boom, & he had this little baby built for me.

Lady Daisy May is a sloppy drinker — she leaves puddles

Little Jobs Count Too

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The bare light bulb of the hallway really bugged me.  Besides looking really ugly [yes, I tried hiding it with ceiling paint], it was also low enough that when I sat on my bed writing, its bright light speared me … Continue reading →

Window Installed [Project 3]

It was quite exciting to have my window installed in the new closet shelving unit.  I really like how the closet looks now — no longer think it needs ‘proper’ doors.

The cupboard door covers the closet rod as intended & connects the turquoise [not quite my blue but didn’t want the ugly green, nor the prissy pink or purple, nor the dull black or brown] fabric cubes [by Martha Stewart Living™ from Home Depot for $6.99@] with the colour scheme.

The sides of the unit are shorter than the door — a little weird I know but it’s whole raison d’être is to prop up the sagging closet rod.  Rather than make a complicated section over the rod, it’s been left open.

My novice ‘carpenter’ had problems cutting the $2+ per foot grooved molding — ah ha, that’s why the pros use a ‘mitre saw’!! 

Glass Cutting [Project 2]

🙂  Beautiful stained glass tops raise these simple tables to super-special.  🙂

Lots of fun cutting glass for my bedside tables!  The blue one was first & it was zip, zip, & both cuts were done & it fit pretty good [about 1/16″ from the wood] — ooh, it is absolutely gorgeous!