New Layout
EDIT: I’m an idiot
… ’nuff said. It should work fine now… hopefully.
For some unexplained reason I am unable to manage an update during ‘normal’ hours….
Initially I was planning to write a really insightful post about my experience learning javascript, but it’s 2:30 am and I’m technically asleep (like I said before: I can sleep-type)… so hopefully I’m not talking/typing COMPLETE gibberish.
Comments, compliments, criticism?
P.S. Blogroll, is on the Links page. So yes I’m still linking you.
P.P.S. … and I almost forgot to publish this…


Ang
November 28th, 2007
I like the design! The little pawns remind me of the MSN peoples icon thingies.
Vera: yes, that was the initial idea
Rilla
November 28th, 2007
I remember your screenshot for this layout! I like the pawns too they’re really cute. Overall, it’s nice and organised and a lot less default-ish than the previous layout.
But I’ll throw in a “but”, your monthly archives in the navigation look messy and I don’t like how some of the category names are capitalised and others not. Otherwise, it’s lovely!
Vera: yes… I wasn’t sure about those either, but I disliked it even more when it was vertically aligned. I’ll look into alternative ways of displaying them. As for the categories, I’ll have to change the names in the database.
Amanda
November 28th, 2007
Mmm…I’m not really a fan of the way this comment box stretches all the way across the layout. In larger resolutions, it’s really just a bit too much. Could it be reduced to like…half?
I do like it though!
But yes, I suppose it can be too much.
Vera: I doesn’t do that in Internet Explorer, but only because it would break the layout …
Tracy
November 28th, 2007
New layout! Nice! The colors fit well.
The title of my site in my layout is kinda… missing. It’s in the navigation, instead of “home” or “blog” I put the site name.
I might change it
Vera: of course they do
I did get them from ColourLovers after all 
Oh I see… but I personally prefer to see the site title as a huge text that instantly jumps out at me.
Regina
November 28th, 2007
Well, it’s different and certainly nothing I would come up with cause I am not that original. The red thingies remind me more of chess pieces, you know those in the lowest chess social scale? Couldn’t think of anything more appropriate to describe them.
The colors are very nice, and I like it’s wide (it’s fluid, right?). I don’t mind the comment box so wide either. Overall, very nice, I like it a lot.
I am still looking forward about your post on javascript.
Vera: I think they are called ‘pawns’ in English. As a matter of fact that’s precisely what they are. I did name the theme “Chess”, after all. The idea to create them started out from a tutorial to create MSN-style user icons. My next post is likely going to be about Javascript.
Xuan
November 28th, 2007
For some reason I find the pawns and the font an absolute riot. Wheezing with laughter, for quite possibly no apprent reason. I think jazzing the look of h2 up a bit, just for the sake of something more distinct, but it’s probably just a personal preference. Oh, and in there’s more padding (margin?) to the right of this textarea than the left …
I like the colours, though.
*scrolls up and down repeatedly* Whee.
Vera: You do :huh: ? I never expected THAT reaction of all. The pawns were supposed to be more 3D looking… but I decided to fix that later. Maybe. Also, jazzing them up how? Border? Some sort of pencil icon like the FamFam ones? I’ll fix the textarea… the whole form, really.
Kimmie
November 28th, 2007
Your layout is very trendy, and not in a bad way. I like how big and spacious it is. I also like the color scheme a lot.
Vera:
that was my intention, simple, professional and trendy. Oh yes, I fell in love with it instantly, despite its name: Graphite & Blood
Emsz
November 28th, 2007
I like your new layout
The only thing I don’t like is the enormous space between the paragraphs (that’s what they’re called, right?)
Vera: the large blocks of text are called paragraphs. Will change that.
Susie
November 28th, 2007
I really like the colour scheme! And the pawns are really neat. All-together it’s trendy, like Kimmie said. I like it!
The only thing is the Monthly Archives that looks a little messy (as Rilla also pointed out – Hmm.. I’m only repeating things…). But that’s just a small detail of course.
Vera: right, fix monthly archives upon getting home. In this case, repetition is not necessarily a bad thing. If only one person complains I can choose to ignore it, if more are bothered it means it needs to be fixed.
Rachael
November 28th, 2007
Why is there so much space between each paragraph? :rolleye:
Vera: ’cause I like large spaces?
Crissy
November 28th, 2007
*gapes* Omg, Vera, this is awesome!!!! You added the content, made a wonderful layout with great color scheme and incorporated those little msn things you liked!!!!!!!!!!
Love it!!!
Vera: I’m glad you like it
Kaylee
November 28th, 2007
I’m not a fan of the colour scheme, but that’s just personal preference. The name, mail, and website fields seem way too wide
Other than that, I love the structure and the MSN icons/pawns
Vera: Oh… and um what color schemes do you like?
Mari
November 29th, 2007
Hmmm. Not bad. I was startled by a new layout. (I always am, though). I like the pawns, or whatever they’re supposed to be. Very 3D.
However, the title just seems a little squished up to me (vertically). Almost like someone took it between their fingers and pinched it. I suppose that was the style, but it just annoys me a bit. I love the font though. What is it?
I’m glad you’re starting to put the content up. I missed it.
Vera: I may have distorted it at some point
… the font is Abbey Medium Extended. It’s mentioned in the credits page.
Hanna
November 29th, 2007
It’s looking great
. And good that you got everything working finally
Both colours and pawns are looking very nice. ^^
Vera: :hehe:
Xuan
November 30th, 2007
@Vera: Hmm.
Good question. Maybe make the h2 a colour other than black? :huh: At a loss for suggestions here.
tar:
Vera: well the blog post titles are red (sake color as the site title in the image), but this is to show that they’re permalinks… I’ll think about it. By the way, the text is some dark red/brown not black
Beth
November 30th, 2007
I love the new layout, and the smilies
Vera: glad you do. The smilies were not made by me though. Aneesah‘s the mastermind behind them
Rafia
November 30th, 2007
I like the layout, those red things look like little people, chess pieces and thumbtacks! I’m really loving the red and grey combination lately.
I find myself blogging at weird hours usually. It’s so much easier to blog when everyone’s asleep, I find.
Vera: problem is that I have both European as well as US/Australian/New Zealand based visitors. So there’s no such things as “when all my visitors are sleeping”
Also, what are thumbtacks? :huh:
Brenda
December 4th, 2007
Three words: Neat, simple, sleek!
And I see two really 3D chess pieces on the top left hand corner.
Anyway – sorry for not having dropped by in a while! No, I haven’t forgotten you! -hugs.
Vera: good, that’s what you should be seeing
Don’t worry, I’m so buried in work (and sleep) that I can fully understand you
Kiera
December 4th, 2007
Me likes, me likes.
Although, I wish this layout was pink! Ok, ok, I’m partial to pink layouts, what can I say. :teeth:
But seriously, it looks great.
Vera: my dad has installed a fear of pink layouts in me. To him anything pink equates to “fresh knickers” o_0
Rafia
December 5th, 2007
I hope you don’t mind me commenting again, but I meant while everyone in my house is sleeping! If I figured out a time when all my potential blog readers were sleeping, I’d never blog!
Thumbtacks are those little pins you use to stick things on cork boards, usually. I call them thumbtacks anyways.
Vera: No I don’t mind
That rule was enforced because I recently had an e-drama post where the victim and her “supporters” consistently kept double posting. Oh I see: the red shapes are supposed to be chess pawns though. Any resemblance to pins is purely coincidental.
Yolanda
December 5th, 2007
Hey! Well, yes, the scrollbars AND sidebar are the only real differences between FF and IE…
Oh, and about the site owners, those were just personal ones I was referring to, because most of the ones I know are still in school.
^^ lol Nice site you’ve got here.
Vera: “Take a look at all of those amazing sites that you love: aren’t most of them run by people still in school?” I see no personal reference there. I was simply trying to prove the point that once you grow up, your interests also do.
Aneesah
December 8th, 2007
OMG! I thought the red things were thumbtacks too.
But they didn’t actually have the pin part, so I guessed they were pawns.
Maybe a chessboard/checkered-ish pattern thing somewhere could reinforce that theme?
Lovely tabs up there, and thanks for plugging my smilies.
Kat
December 15th, 2007
The pawns look like pawns at first glance, then when I look at them the second time around, they look like keyholes, lol! And yay, a bottom bar
Haven’t done one of those in a while.