My New “Something About Love” Blog Banner for 2014, January 05, 2014 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #496)

Ta da!  How do you like my new Something About Love blog banner for 2014 that I made?  I went for soothing and relaxing colors in a slightly more sophisticated presentation.  Well, I think it’s pretty. Ha!

N.B. The Richard Armitage (RA) character and portrait image credits for my 2014 blog banner are RANet (www.RichardArmitageNet.com) or my own caps.  Images from left to right:  Richard Armitage as himself in the Esquire UK December 2013 issue (see paragraph below); RA portraying Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit films (2012, 2013, an 2014), RA portraying John Thornton in the BBC’s 2004 mini-series drama North & South with Daniela Denby-Ashe portraying Margaret Hale; RA portraying John Standring in the BBC’s 2002 mini-series drama Sparkhouse; RA portraying John Porter in Sky’s 2010 miniseries Strike Back (mini-series 1) with  Laura Greenwood portraying his daughter (whom Porter is hugging in this cap) and Nicola Stephenson as his wife; RA portraying Sir Guy of Gisborne in the BBC’s Robin Hood (2006 – 2009); RA portraying Harry Kennedy in the BBC’s The Vicar of Dibley in 2006; and RA portraying Lucas North in series 7-9 (2008 – 2010) of Spooks with Paloma Baeza portraying his wife Elizaveta Starkova in series 7.

Of course the Richard Armitage portrait at far left is an RANet cap (with my masking out the background) from the Esquire UK December 2013 issue (click to see the online article interview) with a luscious 6 page spread of RA in various couture tuxes.  I had resisted buying that issue–til now–its $15 USD price tag for 6 pages of Richard Armitage seemed a little steep for my fangirl purse.  But the Richard Armitage portraits by Blair Getz Mezibov are even more stunning when you gaze upon the real and slightly oversized pages (by today’s standards) magazine as I did a few weeks ago at a local bookstore. Coveted is more like it.  Ha! If we don’t get the blizzard predicted on Sunday as this essay posts, then I am racing to my local bookstore and purchasing the Esquire UK issue with Richard Armitage in it.  For those also looking to buy it, this issue has two cover options–Joaquin Phoenix or Scarlett Johansson.    And I think we are still close enough to Christmas to call me buying the Esquire UK issue with RA in it a belated Christmas present for myself.  Ha!

The background image for my new blog banner is a seriously complex manip that I made–you didn’t really think that there  was a fireplace mantel that wide, did you?  Ha!–from a lovely MS Office Clip Art image (keyword mural or fireplace, Ha!). At right is the original image for comparison:

And I think I was drawn to that mural image behind the fireplace because the dining room in our home when I was growing up had a wallpaper on three of the four walls that was a painted mural scene (no repeats).  So using this mural in my blog here is a bit of a nod to my childhood memories.   And possibly also because I have spent quite a bit of time in waiting rooms lately reading  the Traditional Home magazine which I adore.  I have to subscribe to that and House Beautiful again.  Sighhhh!

And completing this new 2014 blog banner image was literally an all day Saturday process to get it to where I was satisfied–and my calibrating the Vivaldi font in the right size for the smaller secondary wording (size 32, and size 60 on the blog name, if  anyone is interested) so that it was readable.  Ha!  But overall, I’m very pleased with my new banner.  Which is a good thing, since you and I will both see it every day for the next year.  Ha!

And I know, I’m going against conventional wisdom in creating this new, more quiet banner for 2014–with regard to my not using attention getting bold colors like I did with the red banner that I made last year for 2013 (below):

But, I like variety.  Ha!

And then there was my first real blog banner that I made and used for 2012 that required a heavy background image manip (to extend the image to the left, and completing the door at far right:

Finally, just to have a complete parade of my past Something About Love blog banners for the herstorical record, here is the image that I used from August through December 2011, when I first began blogging (image credit is my hubby) (below is the 2011 banner; then bottom left is another view of that area, and at bottom right is a gorgeous 3 story waterfall picture he took in that park as well):

  

These waterfall images that my hubby took were about fifteen years ago when our knees could take climbing down the ravine four stories (ha!)–with a convenient wooden stair for the first story, and then a concrete stairway for the last three stories–then walking to either end for him to take these spectacular views!

Cheers!   Grati  ;->

P.S.  Apart from being a loving hubby and a great photographer, my hubby was also inspired to start his own blog on WordPress last year.  His blog revolves around his bycycling obsession passion.  So if you feel so inclined, please visit his blog and look around.  His blog is the Midlife Cyclist Blog.  Thanks from Mrs. Midlife Cyclist Blogger