Hello, new site!…the best post ever :)

Surprise! Welcome to the NEW and completely adorable MakeBakeCelebrate.com! I am over the moon excited that today is finally launch day. I can’t wait for you guys to see what this new site design holds for us both! But wait – don’t get sucked into the clickable cuteness yet! I want to share a little bit about how this came to be and show you around some of my very favorite parts :).

…Once upon a time in a far away internet cafe… just kidding. :) When I first began my blogging adventure, I didn’t think it would be more then just friends and family reading my crafty baking rambles. But soon it quickly grew and all of a sudden I had people around the world reading my little rambles… and they seemed to like it!? ;) It became apparent that it was time to do a little digital upgrading… so I purchased www.makebakecelebrate.com, found a designer, and eventually moved into my own spanking new site at the beginning of this year. Unfortunately, after waiting all that time with anticipation and excitement, the design process and outcome was really a disappointment. The truth is, it just wasn’t what I had envisioned for the site. It really lacked some of the main features I desired and needed. The site was launched so I could keep on baking, but behind the scenes we’ve been hard at work building this new incredibly amazing site! I have just been dying to tell you guys about it…

Who is “we”, you ask? Well, in steps my dear, amazing, talented, funny, awesome, OCD, graphic designer (aka: the magical coding fairy) – Angela of HelloCuteness.com. (Insert magical sound here!) She has been doing graphic and web design for over 13 years. Every single thing she puts out is just plain awesome. I’m positive this lady processes code for dinner and counts cute graphics in her sleep at night. So of course went to her for help getting the original site design in a decent state and then next thing you know, we have plans of building a whole new site. That’s what happens when you mix two over achieving ladies who are addicted to sprinkles and cute graphics!

There is just not enough BOLD to explain how much I adore the new site and the process that came along with it! Each email with site content was like Christmas all over again. I’m absolutely astounded by her talent, unique ideas, attention to detail, commitment, and willingness to listen to what I desired. I wanted a site that was adorable, bright, clean, fun to visit, with space to grow, and above all user-friendly! A sweet place where my readers (new and old) could come hang out & read about my new baking adventures, while still being able to easily access old content and other information as needed.

Angela not only delivered that… she far exceeded, not my expectations… but my dreams. This site has everything I desired and so much more. Angela took my dreams for this site and brought them to life. She even pushed me to “grow” a little from my habit forming ways! Notice the still bright, but unique, shades of color? And for the first time ever, my page isn’t all white!? I now know the term “greige”… and I totally dig it :). But she didn’t just design the site. She made Make Bake Celebrate into a complete brand and total package… and I hope you guys love it just as much as I do.

So are you guys ready to see some of my favorite parts? Here we go….

There’s lots to do and see in and around the header. To follow along with MBC socially, you will find the adorable sprinkle bottles sitting on the shelf! Psst… they jump up when you hover over them… omg cute! Go ahead try it ;). The navigation bar offers an easy to use index for my treats, baking 101 posts, celebrations and crafts. And above the header image you will find the information pages.

So if you want to contact me or find out a little bit more about the site, you can do so right up top.

The sidebar features email subscription, favorite posts, drop down menus for sorting posts by category and tags and a few spots for ads! (Soon Make Bake Celebrate will be showcasing some great baking/party vendors!)

If you take a look at the footer, you will find even more fun stuff. If you want to see a little more of MBC and our life behind the scenes you can check out our instagram right in the center. Loving it!

Now to dig a little deeper… the Sweets Index! When you open the index from one of the several locations you will find these bright and cheery little treats just waiting for you to click on them.

So if you click on say, cupcakes, this is what you will find… All of the cupcake posts just waiting to be clicked on and read!

Pretty sweet, right?! I’ve had some time to play and check it out and I STILL keeping finding new things I love! That’s just a few of the locations and helpful spots. Wait till you guys see how user-friendly the site really is!

I started this process of “upgrading” seven long months ago. It’s been a long process of the site build(s), creating new posts, holidays, comments, emails… and uh everyday life! lol. So if you’ve noticed I’ve been slacking a bit (or a lot) here and there you now know why… and please accept my apology. You might also notice that many posts are still missing. I have actually been sifting though each and every post cleaning up and tossing out. I still have a few pages to go, so some posts will pop back up within the next few weeks and some I’ll be tossing out entirely. Just a warning on that. :)

I just couldn’t be more happy to say it’s done, it’s here, it’s mine, and I love it! And once again, I owe it all to my site designer, Angela of Hello, Cuteness! Angela did so much more then just build me a site, she gave me an huge opportunity! I can’t possibly thank her enough, true stuff. If you’re loving this site as much as me, make sure to please head on over the Hello, Cuteness fan page and say hello and let her know she rocks. Hard work should never go unnoticed :). And while you’re at it… head on over to Hello,Cuteness.com to see all her printables and graphic work. Trust me you’re gonna love it!

Thanks Angela! I’m thrilled to not only call you my graphics guru, but my good friend. :)

Alright it’s time for you to go check out all the clickable cuteness yourself!! Watch out… if you’re anything like me, you might just get sucked in a bit.

But wait…. you didn’t think I was really going to do this without a bit of a celebration did ya?!

Stop by tomorrow for our official launch party… where we’ll be giving away some awesome stuff from several SWEET vendors. You guys are gonna love it :).