
Your Weekly Dose of Cozy Blog Design Inspiration!
Hi folks! There’s some good freebies in today’s post and a couple of fun things to share too.
The holidays are so close and thus there are a ton of holiday downloads going around this week. I hope you find them useful for your holiday blog buttons, ads, post images and projects!
For those of you who don’t know, Friday Faves is a collection of lovely freebies and design stuff I’ve found throughout the week. It’s usually a sampling of what I share on my Facebook page so be sure to like me there for even more cool stuff!
DYOB Update
Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!
Is it cold where you are? It is soooo cold here in Colorado, we are having below zero days for the entire week!
Yesterday morning our weather throughout the state was COLDER than the North Pole! How is that even possible??

Colorado winter weather – CHILLY!
Opt-In Tutorial Status
Part 3B is coming very soon. I plan to have it done this weekend. I know it’s been slow coming out and I apologize. It’s my first video screencast and I am having a hard time hearing my voice so I keep re-recording it! Vain, I know… :[
Don’t know about the tutorial? Start here with Part 1!
Recent Posts
Are you making any projects for the holidays? I’ve been scouring Pinterest for two weeks on Advent Calendars because I just love them. Then of course on the night of the 1st I got the idea to do a Photo Challenge Advent Calendar. Yeah, my timing is always on point :p
Anyway, we’re only 6 days in and if you want to join us, I’d love to see your Instagram creativity! Each day has a new photo prompt that you can interpret however you wish.
Check out everyone’s submissions so far to the right in the sidebar!
I’ve joined a few Instagram challenges before and it’s fun to see the different takes everyone has on a single concept. Plus I’ve met quite a few fellow Instagrammers this way.
Next year I’m printing out my numbered shots and I’m going to create some sort of physical Advent Calendar with a little activity on the back of it for that day. I can’t wait!
Join the Holiday Advent Calendar Photo Challenge, it’s never too late!
Emerging + Current Design Trends
Did you know that Pantone released the Color of the Year 2014 this week? It’s very exciting news in the design community, so expect to see a lot of the color Orchid in coming months!

Pantone Color of the Year 2014 is Radiant Orchid! 18-3224
Favorite Friday Font
Won’t this Ribbon Font be perfect for the holidays?
Free Downloads
Free Holiday Downloads Galore!
From all the usual suspects:

Free holiday stock photo downloads
- Cinammon sticks from Bigstock Photo
- Man with gift from Lightstock Photo
- Tree vector from Fotolia
- Peppermint hot chocolate from Masterfile
- Christmas baby from Fotolia
- Tinsel Christmas Trees from Love from Ginger
Blogging Resources
Stocksy
I just found out about this new cooperative stock photo startup, founded by the former founder of iStockphoto, Bruce Livingstone.
What’s so cool about it is that they have a very well curated collection so the selection is amazing. No free options yet, but web size images are only $10. Not bad.
Another awesome thing is that because it’s a co-op, it pays it’s photographers and artists 50% in royalties as opposed to the industry standard 20%.
Check out their collection, it’s eye candy!
SnapWidget
Want to display your Instagram photos on your blog? This cool little widget displays them in a variety of formats including slideshow, grid, etc. You can choose to show all your photos or just photos with a specific hashtag. That’s what I’m using in my sidebar right now.
It works on any blogging platform, you just add some HTML into a text widget or gadget in your sidebar.
Web Font Blender
Another font combination tool. I love these because they really help you to test and see how different fonts look together.
Other Lovely Things That Inspired Me This Week
Lovely Blog Crush
The 36th Avenue is the place to go for adorable crafty ideas. This girl is seriously creative.
Friday Funny
Have a Lovely Weekend!
For more Friday Faves posts, click here.
If you like tips like these, you’ll want to follow my Facebook page and Pinterest boards where I share a lot more of this cool stuff every single day!
After you click “Like” on Facebook, hover over it then click “Get Notifications,” so you’ll always be notified whenever I post something new. It might be worth your while as I post a lot of free, time-sensitive downloads!
Your Turn!
I’d love to know where you’re from and what your weather’s like right now, seriously! Please comment below!
As always, please share this with your friends!
