Conceiving Piper: The Same But Different

OMG! You're changing what?

Many of you may have noticed, at least I hope at least someone noticed, that this blog's title was changed today. Don't worry, it's the same blog, with the same content and writer, I just decided it was time to update the title to better reflect where the blog is headed. Now for a brief explanation...

When I first began posting I was just starting on my journey into mommyhood, not yet even pregnant. Now, just over a year later, I have a beautiful daughter and my path to becoming a mommy is now complete, yet far from over. Now I'm into the fun part, actually being a mom rather than becoming a mom. With all the changes that have occurred in my life, it seems natural to let the blog follow those changes. Although it is now officially retired, I'm sure you all remember my old title and logo:

Sorry for the slight blur, but had to enlarge it just a tad.

So there it is, my old Single and Conceiving logo. I'm no longer pregnant or trying to get pregnant, and I am no longer trying to conceive, so of course it had to go! Plus, that's not even my belly! Sorry for anyone who thought it might be, but that pic was a generic one I borrowed off the net. I had no idea at the time how much my readership would grow, but now that it is, I feel I owe it to myself and fans to make my logo as personal as my writing.

Fast forward to today...

I have been contemplating changing my title and logo for awhile now, anyone who follows along on
Facebook is probably well aware of this. However, until yesterday I was sort of stumped how to go about making the changes I wanted. I toyed with changing the title to Single Modern Mom in order to reflect my domain name. Then again, I am hoping to one day actually turn singlemodernmom.com into a website with many various parts. Under that notion, I wanted to keep the blog title separate from the .com portion. after much mulling and contemplating, it hit me! When the title Conceiving Piper came to mind, I instantly knew where to go.

I like the "Conceiving" part because not only does it contain a portion of my last title, it also, when used in the new title, reflects an idea of more than just getting pregnant and having a baby. The new title, in conjunction with the actual blog, allows the "conceiving" part to encompass it's full myriad of definitions. Goodness knows I like a play on words, and it fits perfectly with that love!

I also love using Piper in the title. After all, she is the reason I do all this. From the first idea of her to her actual being, all of my blog focuses around her...even the acts of kindness since she is what inspired me to do them and she is the one I want to learn from them in the future. So having her name in the title, well it just seemed obvious.

After I had a new working title, it was simple to come up with the thumbnail logo. I simply took my favorite picture of Piper, dropped it into Photoshop, and played around with stylizing the title over it. Initially I had just "Conceiving Piper" on the logo.

One of my first drafts, okay yet not quite right!

However, a wonderful fan on Facebook questioned why I didn't use Single Modern Mom as my title. I know I've already explained my reasons for not wanting to use it as the actual blog title, but that question inspired me to incorporate Single Modern Mom into the thumbnail logo. This addition allows a direct reference to my domain name and future possible website, while not encroaching on the blog title itself, hence the final logo decision.

The final draft, I personally love it!

I am very pleased with my final draft of the logo, and glad it didn't take my perfectionist butt a year to finalize it. I played around with fonts and colors, but in the end, I liked the pink and black lettering that meshes well with Piper's outfit in this picture, and the font is very reminiscent of her name letter on her nursery wall.

Not the exact same font, but still hold the same feeling of whimsy!

Now that I finally implemented the changes, I am hoping people like the new title and logo. I'm also hoping I'll be accepted over a Top Mommy Blogs since I've been holding off submitting there while deciding on making changes here. I should find out soon if my blog has been accepted on their site, keeping my fingers crossed!

Well there you have it, the inside scoops on the small changes you may have noticed. I hope the changes draw in new readers and do not keep old readers from coming back, but I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, please drop my a vote over at Top Baby Blogs, where I still remain an active member and will continue to do so even if I also move over to Top Mommy Blogs, their sister site.

Top Baby, Daddy & Mommy Blogs on TopBabyBlogs.Com

Also, please feel free to come join me on my other social sites by following the links below. For all things Piper all the time, I highly recommend at least joining us on Facebook, where I post daily.