Realistic AS3 smoke particle effect with Desuade Partigen 2.. #FlashDevabout 9 hours ago

50 Amazing #Photoshop Text Effects #Tutorial http://su.pr/1KXdvs(via @wpbulk)(via @wpbulk) RT: @hashphotoshop:about 9 hours ago from TwitterFox

5 Must-Use Tips for Negotiating w/ Clients| via @sitepointdotcom | http://bit.ly/Oh5Tz #entrepreneur #freelance #designabout 9 hours ago

ActionScript 3.0 Design Patterns” http://bit.ly/2BqQym RT: @jasonwalz: Retweeting @web2000: “about 9 hours ago

Very interesting comments going on over @ “Hi, I’m Grace Smith: Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me” http://bit.ly/YcXgp (via @seandelaney)about 9 hours ago

JQuery File Upload Plugin Script – Nice plugin http://icio.us/iiur1t RT: @andysowards:about 9 hours ago

7 Essential Steps to Creating an Efficient Mobile Office http://bit.ly/17ge7u RT: @sitepointdotcom:about 9 hours ago

50 Extraordinary and Attractive Billboards http://tinyurl.com/nawnrw #advertising #photoshop #design(via @photoframd) RT: @hashphotoshop:about 9 hours ago

30 Funny Photomanipulations of Animals by HumanDescent http://bit.ly/ygVoX – super cool, will have try too via obstgemuese RT: @abduzeedoabout 9 hours ago

jQuery plugin – Easy Image or Content Slider | Css Globe | Squico – http://bit.ly/MzeLq RT: @open4gjoomla:about 9 hours ago

7 Awesome Resources to Test Cross Browser Compatibility of Your Website http://bit.ly/f3GAz RT: @webdesign_news:about 9 hours ago

30 Clean and Bright Website Designs http://tinyurl.com/ljew2r #photoshop #web #design(via @photoframd) RT: @hashphotoshop:about 9 hours ago

Texture Thursday: Rusty Shapes http://ow.ly/15LMbJ RT: @cheth: Psdfan-about 9 hours ago

What makes a good logo? http://bit.ly/UGPsB RT: @DesignerDepot:about 9 hours ago

35 Best Flash Websites Ever. http://twurl.nl/eab8vt RT: @jasonwalz:about 9 hours ago

Corporate Blog Design: Trends And Examples http://bit.ly/1AI4Ceabout 11 hours ago

6 Simple Ways For Freelancers To Increase Productivity http://tinyurl.com/kvnvgaabout 11 hours ago

“250+ Resources to Help You Become a CSS Expert | Webdesigner Depot” – http://bit.ly/1rbbyC RT: @cheth: Reading:about 12 hours ago

* what a great idea i love it * Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me via @gracesmith http://tinyurl.com/mbmy4nabout 13 hours ago

How To Create A Simple Portfolio Site Running On Surreal CMS. http://twurl.nl/hgy8b2 RT: @jasonwalz:about 13 hours ago

How To Create a Flash XML Slideshow Player – http://bit.ly/35hwd RT: @Minervity:about 13 hours ago

60+ Unusual Business Card Ideas & Designs. http://twurl.nl/6g6ygy RT: @jasonwalz:about 14 hours ago

Time Management Tips for the Busy Freelance Designer: http://bit.ly/VemtU RT: @chadengle:about 14 hours ago

Using the Loader Class in AS3 #pji #as3 #flash #flex http://bit.ly/xL1LC RT: pjinteractiveabout 14 hours ago

16 Logo Design Processes Of Top Logo Designers | Pixelactic http://bit.ly/4BdKw RT: @seanHodge: RT @pixelacticabout 14 hours ago

Free Flash-XML Image Rotator. http://twurl.nl/whpj4c RT: @jasonwalz:about 14 hours ago

10 Professional Looking Free CSS Menu’s – http://bit.ly/VgZ3j RT: @Minervity:about 14 hours ago

10 Vital Lessons for Web Start-Ups http://bit.ly/4xyQlD (via @BoagLinks) RT: @Minervity: RT @smashingmag:about 14 hours ago

25+ Awesome New Textures http://ow.ly/kHqS RT: @cheth:about 15 hours ago

25 High-Quality, Adobe Illustrator Tutorials for Creating Cute Characters http://bit.ly/bnUfr *cute #vector characters, my fav subject RT:about 15 hours ago

Essential Tips for Designing an Effective Homepage http://bit.ly/GepzN RT: @spicydesign:about 15 hours ago

50 Extraordinary and Attractive Billboards http://bit.ly/18rHJW RT: @spicydesign: #Inspiration:about 15 hours ago

15 Beautiful Free Web 2.0 #Fonts http://bit.ly/g8Yo0 RT: @spicydesign:about 15 hours ago

Interview with Envato Founders Collis and Cyan http://bit.ly/jSU9P RT: @VECTORTUTS:about 15 hours ago

Illustrator Tutorial: How to Make an Icy Cocktail http://bit.ly/GHGHa *looks yummy RT: @seanHodge:about 15 hours ago

30+ Dazzling and Interactive Media Facades http://bit.ly/4DpBH1 RT: @seanHodge:about 15 hours ago

Beautiful Twitter Icon Sets Mega Pack http://bit.ly/1Ce4Y RT: @seanHodge:about 15 hours ago

22 Beautiful #Photoshop Web Layout Tutorial Sites – http://bit.ly/zoLFw #webdesign(via @bkmacdaddy) RT: @hashphotoshop:about 15 hours ago

52 Professional Website User Interface Photoshop Tutorials – http://bit.ly/CqHah RT: @andysowards: RT @Minervityabout 15 hours ago

Duplicate Movieclip with AS3 #pji #as3 #flash #flex http://bit.ly/319ivl #FlashDev RT: @AS3hash: RT @pjinteractive:about 15 hours ago

30 Superb Anime Art Illustrations – http://tinyurl.com/l72lyv via @TheWebBlend: RT: @mistygirlph:about 15 hours ago

20+ Amazing iPhone App Websites http://bit.ly/nWhy6 RT: @VECTORTUTS:about 15 hours ago

The Big Collection Of Amazing Photoshop Actions | http://bit.ly/5TQT5 | #adobe #photoshop(via @adobeshack) RT: @hashphotoshop:about 15 hours ago

10 tips: How to improve your Photoshop Skills – http://bit.ly/Ah4il – old but still very useful post RT: @abduzeedo:about 15 hours ago

25+ Stunning Photoshop vector Icon Creation Tutorials #design http://bit.ly/2l9rpb RT: @webdesignjoy:3:59 PM Aug 19th

Buy Windows 7 in Europe … at Half the US Price! http://bit.ly/1Hmhsz RT: @sitepointdotcom:9:52 AM Aug 19th

75 Free Useful Icon Sets for Web Designers and Developers. http://twurl.nl/xat2bj RT: @jasonwalz:9:52 AM Aug 19th

14 Easy to Implement Drop Down Menu Solutions http://snurl.com/qil7p RT: @webdesignledger:9:51 AM Aug 19th

72+ Brilliant and Most Creative USB Sticks Ever Created – http://bit.ly/mpcsf RT: @Minervity:9:49 AM Aug 19th

How To Create a Realistic Golden “Bling” Text Effect – http://bit.ly/LGqIC RT: @Minervity:9:49 AM Aug 19th

How To Create a Realistic Water Text Effect – http://bit.ly/jSEdX RT: @Minervity:9:49 AM Aug 19th

Photoshop 101 – Working With Alpha Channels | Design Reviver #photoshop #photo http://bit.ly/20GdE0(via @weblittlepieces) RT: @hashphotoshop9:48 AM Aug 19th

jScrollPane is a jquery plugin which allows you to replace the browsers default vertical scrollbars http://tinyurl.com/bxt9v89:48 AM Aug 19th

CSS Sprites with Inline Images. http://twurl.nl/vz5b3z RT: @jasonwalz:9:16 AM Aug 19th

Web Analytics Tools – Analyzing The Traffic On Web. http://twurl.nl/tmykax RT: @jasonwalz:9:16 AM Aug 19th

How To Create a Flash XML Playlist Music Player – http://bit.ly/GX6rv RT: @Minervity:9:16 AM Aug 19th

HTML 5 Drag & Drop. http://twurl.nl/wsomsn RT: @jasonwalz:9:13 AM Aug 19th

jQuery & CSS scroll control plugin – http://u.nu/7dmy RT: @9swords:9:13 AM Aug 19th

15 Helpful Web Based Broken Link Checkers. http://twurl.nl/qmcyjy RT: @jasonwalz:9:06 AM Aug 19th

40 Impressive Flash Photography Websites http://bit.ly/Gb0Fj ★★★★★ RT: @Woork:9:04 AM Aug 19th

250+ Resources to Help You Become a CSS Expert – http://ow.ly/kpu9 RT: @juice_creative: RT @gaksdesigns9:04 AM Aug 19th

20 Top Design Blogs Looking for Freelance Writers http://bit.ly/g49Uz RT: @juice_creative:9:04 AM Aug 19th

10 Handy & Cool jQuery Plugins http://su.pr/2oeuxY RT: @howsthedotcom:9:04 AM Aug 19th

12 Alternative Digital Image Manipulation Tools – http://bit.ly/1BEGyp RT: @Minervity:9:04 AM Aug 19th

Mastering “Bevel and Emboss” – From Beginner to Pro – http://bit.ly/7ISPV RT: @Minervity:9:03 AM Aug 19th

How To Create a Flash XML Slideshow Player – http://bit.ly/35hwd RT: @Minervity:9:03 AM Aug 19th

9 Tips to Help Freelancers Prepare for a Vacation. http://twurl.nl/oano6n RT: @jasonwalz:9:03 AM Aug 19th

Make a Shiny Glowing Glass Button – http://bit.ly/11zcXD RT: @Minervity:9:03 AM Aug 19th

How To Create a Realistic Water Text Effect – http://bit.ly/jSEdX RT: @Minervity:9:02 AM Aug 19th

10 Beautiful Customizable Photoshop Twitter Background Templates – #Photoshop – http://bit.ly/wMDTb RT: @cheth:7:21 AM Aug 19th

500++ Free Twitter Icons Ultimate Collection – http://bit.ly/24avjf RT: @cheth:7:20 AM Aug 19th

30 Designers, Portfolios + Work You Must-See & Bookmark! http://bit.ly/uV0mG #design RT: @andysowards: RT @bkmacdaddy7:10 AM Aug 19th

33 super engagers to follow http://bit.ly/2KkvSD RT: @andysowards:7:10 AM Aug 19th

How to Create an Illustrated Cartoon Character – http://bit.ly/npEe7 RT: @Minervity:7:09 AM Aug 19th

5 Different Ways To Create Stylish Contact Form Layouts – http://bit.ly/vyBFf RT: @Minervity:7:09 AM Aug 19th

How to Create a Slick and Clean Button in Photoshop http://tinyurl.com/cwmz92 #photoshop(via @binoyxj) RT: @hashphotoshop:7:09 AM Aug 19th

Totally Free Web Graphics and Backgrounds – http://www.hooverwebdesign…. RT: @vickylyn:7:08 AM Aug 19th

12 Useful Web Based Twitter Tools! – http://bit.ly/M6aUB RT: @Minervity:7:08 AM Aug 19th

How to Create Stunning and Bold 3D Text #design http://bit.ly/c4dGx RT: @webdesignjoy:7:08 AM Aug 19th

Mastering Photoshop With Paths http://bit.ly/ibqqC7:07 AM Aug 19th

10 Useful WordPress Hook Hacks http://bit.ly/3DixZ37:07 AM Aug 19th

Android GUI PSD Vector Kit http://bit.ly/1Muno7:06 AM Aug 19th

Taming Advanced CSS Selectors http://bit.ly/ZBMsZ7:06 AM Aug 19th

Free and Commercial Stock Photography Sites http://bit.ly/Bec9c7:05 AM Aug 19th

How To Effectively Communicate With Developers http://bit.ly/P8TZj7:05 AM Aug 19th

AnythingSlider jQuery Plugin. http://twurl.nl/bv45er RT: @jasonwalz:11:00 AM Aug 17th

“Be prepared” with these edible business cards: http://bit.ly/11X4nM RT: @DavidAirey:10:58 AM Aug 17th

Manipulate Smoke to Create Hyper-Real Images http://ow.ly/15LkAz RT: @cheth: psdtuts+10:58 AM Aug 17th

The 13 Most Powerful Words In Marketing http://bit.ly/oW9nZ RT: @Alvin: RT @the_gman: RT @phaoloo:10:58 AM Aug 17th

96 Typography Blogs & Resources http://bit.ly/1XYVKZ | Via @chadengle @thedayafter @behoff @evajais RT: @imjustcreative:10:57 AM Aug 17th

5 Best SEO Tips For Bloggers http://bit.ly/HRcvu RT: @BuzzEdition: RT @phaoloo:10:57 AM Aug 17th

90 New And High Quality Photoshop Web Layout Tutorials http://bit.ly/5txlS RT: @seanHodge:8:52 AM Aug 17th

How to Effectively Organize your Photoshop Layers | Webdesigner Depot http://bit.ly/13ypm1 *simple, but goog info RT: @seanHodge @tweetmeme8:52 AM Aug 17th

25 Amazing Inspirational Vector Illustrations http://bit.ly/hi3SU RT: @spicydesign:8:28 AM Aug 17th

Taming Advanced #CSS Selectors http://bit.ly/TP7jd RT: @spicydesign:8:28 AM Aug 17th

5 Best And Colorful Collection Of Dual-Screen Wallpapers : http://su.pr/18eZgc (@SmashingApps) RT: @naldzgraphics: RT @naveedjavaid8:27 AM Aug 17th

40 Incredibly Inspirational Retro & Vintage Photoshop Tutorials http://bit.ly/mRowl RT: @PSDTUTS:7:49 AM Aug 17th

Creating Realistic Surreal Compositions http://icio.us/jvayr1 – RT @seitengestalter @PhotoshopPLUS @hashphotoshop: #photoshop #tutorial7:49 AM Aug 17th

11 Outstanding & Fresh Blog Designs You Should Check Right Now http://bit.ly/15LHUf RT: @Minervity: RT @buysellads:7:47 AM Aug 17th

53 Insanely Dark And Macabre Photo Manips To Scare Your Pants Off – http://bit.ly/3GYR5i RT: @Minervity: RT @bkmacdaddy:7:46 AM Aug 17th

21 Total Mayhem Photoshop Tutorials – http://bit.ly/C66AJ RT: @Minervity:7:15 AM Aug 17th

The Ultimate Collection of The Best Ornament Photoshop Brushes – http://bit.ly/16wCwV RT: @Minervity:7:14 AM Aug 17th

10 User Interface Design Fundamentals via @carsonified http://bit.ly/GtAKP RT: @designwashere:7:14 AM Aug 17th

27 Useful Logo Design Tutorials and Tips http://bit.ly/2nVQTv RT: @designwashere: RT @VECTORTUTS:7:14 AM Aug 17th

38 Impressive Graphic Designer Portfolios ? Wanna have an Ideal Portfolio?? #design http://bit.ly/BBZVl RT: @webdesignjoy:7:13 AM Aug 17th

30 HQ Shopping Cart Templates to Help You Sell: http://digg.com/d310yJM?t RT: @styletime:7:13 AM Aug 17th

Building a Kick Ass Website or Web App – The Motherload of Resources & Links: http://bit.ly/WV2if RT: @gracesmith:7:13 AM Aug 17th

19 Firefox Add-ons For Designers http://bit.ly/JGh94 RT: @sitepointdotcom:7:12 AM Aug 17th

Super Cool Retro Poster in 10 Steps in Photoshop http://bit.ly/HfaA RT: @paulogabriel: RT @PSDTUTS:7:12 AM Aug 17th

Useful Web Design E-Mail Newsletters http://bit.ly/3uMhpZ RT: @styletime:7:12 AM Aug 17th

Can HTML Keep up with other RIA technologies? http://tinyurl.com/lrpsss by @davidyack #html #ria #FlashDev RT: @AS3hash: RT @carlosfigueroa1:57 PM Aug 14th

InpsireMix | Your Daily Design Inspiration http://inspiremix.com/ RT: @Woork:1:57 PM Aug 14th

@gracesmith hey thx a lot for the #followfriday )1:45 PM Aug 14th

InDesign Quick Tip: Indent To Here http://bit.ly/S7nJJ RT: @VECTORTUTS:1:43 PM Aug 14th

10 Important Traits of a Great Blog Design: http://bit.ly/hLo3S RT: @DesignerDepot:1:43 PM Aug 14th

6 Keys to Effectively Promoting Your Website Through a Blog: http://bit.ly/13lrbu *Must read post RT: @gracesmith:1:42 PM Aug 14th

3D Tag Clouds Using jQuery – http://bit.ly/nCj7N RT: @open4gjoomla:12:16 PM Aug 14th

how to make an old western wanted poster in #photoshop http://bit.ly/HSV9n(via @100twits) RT: @hashphotoshop:10:52 AM Aug 14th

The 65 Most Annoying things about the Web Today | UXbyDesign.org – http://bit.ly/nJqnE RT: @cheth:10:40 AM Aug 14th

20 Great Designs using Black & White http://bit.ly/2Gar9x RT: @cheth: I love black! >10:16 AM Aug 14th

25+ Astonishing Examples of Creative Photoshopped Ads: http://bit.ly/brwbi RT: @cheth:10:16 AM Aug 14th

30+ Fantastic HDR Photos by Grey Jones: http://bit.ly/2pdL8F RT: @cheth:10:16 AM Aug 14th

Top 30 Design Blogs for Great Tutorials & Inspiration – http://tinyurl.com/o8c6e3 RT: @jasonwalz: Retweeting @TheWebBlend:9:23 AM Aug 14th

CSS3 rounded corners for every browser? An alternative quick solution without headache http://tinyurl.com/o28fxz ★★★★★ RT: @Woork:9:23 AM Aug 14th

Create a Realistic Candle in Inkscape http://bit.ly/EGQic RT: @VECTORTUTS:9:23 AM Aug 14th

7 Things You Can Do to Boost a Stagnant Freelancing Career – http://bit.ly/Q2NdZ RT: @gracesmith: Level Up:9:22 AM Aug 14th

Creative Textures in Hi-Resolution for Print & Screen. http://snurl.com/pvmpb RT: @jasonwalz:9:04 AM Aug 14th

15 Awesome Inspiring Artworks by Nik Ainley. http://snurl.com/pvmq9 RT: @jasonwalz:9:04 AM Aug 14th

Best Photoshop Tutorials To Boost Your Skills! | Best Design & Development Resources http://ow.ly/2bnUpZ RT: @seanHodge: RT @antsmagazine8:15 AM Aug 14th

80+ Logo Designers Huge Essential Toolbox http://bit.ly/ed4Zy RT: @spicydesign:8:15 AM Aug 14th

40+ Awesome Tutorials and Techniques For WordPress Theme Developers http://bit.ly/zMNfD RT: @spicydesign:8:14 AM Aug 14th

21 Fonts That Shouldn’t Be Free…But Are! http://bit.ly/iF8NC RT: @styletime: RT @gaksdesigns:8:14 AM Aug 14th

Photoshop Grunge Brushes – The Ultimate Collection http://bit.ly/NjzS2 RT: @designwashere:8:13 AM Aug 14th

8 Pivotal Developments in Web Typography http://bit.ly/22c87 RT: @webupd8: RT @yasendimov RT: @creattica:8:13 AM Aug 14th

Shadow Effect with CSS3 http://bit.ly/sB5ji <- text, box and rounder corners RT: @webupd8:8:13 AM Aug 14th

25 Awesome Slider Techniques NEED TO HAVE for any Web Developer http://bit.ly/eC99H RT: @webupd8: RT @paviles RT @BebopDesigner:8:13 AM Aug 14th

6 jQuery growl-like notification systems http://is.gd/2gbK8 RT: @webupd8: RT @paviles RT @phpcamp:8:12 AM Aug 14th

35+ incredible Digital Abstract Arts http://ow.ly/k2k4 RT: @mistygirlph:8:12 AM Aug 14th

How Popular Website Designs Looked Like In Late 90’s : http://su.pr/1fM2c1 (via @SmashingApps) RT: @naldzgraphics: RT @naveedjavaid8:11 AM Aug 14th

5 Regular Expressions Every Web Programmer Should Know – http://bit.ly/TcVJe RT: @smashingmag:8:10 AM Aug 14th

The Quest for Inspiration – http://bit.ly/uODLW RT: @Minervity:8:10 AM Aug 14th

20 Beautiful Examples of Urban Decay Photography http://bit.ly/199XzK RT: @andysowards: RT @r27 RT @PSDTUTS:8:10 AM Aug 14th

30 PHP Best Practices for Beginners http://bit.ly/NGaB9 RT: @andysowards:8:09 AM Aug 14th

40 Great Web Interface Design #Photoshop Tutorials – http://is.gd/2fhjA (via @accessko)(via @EFranz13) RT: @hashphotoshop:8:09 AM Aug 14th

Free Hi-Res Swirls and Flourishes #Photoshop #Brushes: http://bit.ly/zPcVb(via @writer_sheri) RT: @hashphotoshop:8:09 AM Aug 14th

The most creative and skilful corporate web designs of all times http://bit.ly/10y5p3 RT: @seanHodge:8:08 AM Aug 14th

20 Top Design Blogs Looking for Freelance Writers http://bit.ly/15a6Qx RT: @styletime:8:08 AM Aug 14th

40 Fresh High-Quality Free Fonts For Your Designs | Fonts | instantShift http://bit.ly/2ynRta RT: @seanHodge: RT @instantshift8:08 AM Aug 14th

40 Absolutely Stunning Dark #Ads http://bit.ly/Ke8X3 RT: @webupd8: RT @webdesign_news #Inspiration:8:07 AM Aug 14th

20 Free Keyword Research Tools – Comprehensive Insight http://bit.ly/UFKt5 RT: @webupd8: RT @webdesign_news #SEO:8:07 AM Aug 14th

15 Great Free Online File Sharing Alternatives #design http://bit.ly/u76g0 RT: @webdesignjoy:8:07 AM Aug 14th

20 portfolios from great logo designers – http://is.gd/2gEak (via @mlane) *love some of these logo designers RT: @seanHodge: RT @VECTORTUTS:8:06 AM Aug 14th

How To Create the Photo Manipulation “Brightness Tomorrows” http://bit.ly/19nYGo RT: @PSDTUTS:8:06 AM Aug 14th

Here are the solutions for our background woes!  Take a look at these Web sites that offer you the ability to quickly make your own.  Or you can use one of the seamless repeating images available on the other sites, all polished and ready for your web needs.  You may find some of these backgrounds to be especially inspiring!  I know I have.

So let’s get started  with 10 Quick & Dirty Tricks for Easy Custom Web Backgrounds.

BG Patterns

This site has some impressive options for making your own background.  There is a large selection of graphics to choose from for the repeating design.  It doesn’t end there, they give you endless possibilities.  You can select your ‘canvas’ style which changes the 3D texture of the background as well as the size of the block and texture opacity.  The color selection page comes with a RGB color chooser and even a place to put your hex code in so you can perfectly match your website design.  You can even apply the image to the page’s background to see how it looks.  Then download the image or save it to ‘my patterns’.

2) Pixelknete’s Background Dotter

Pixelknete can give your website a Pop Art/Lichtenstein look.  The dot style shading can be added to your background as a horizontally repeating image and it looks fantastic.  Just put in your hexes and hit ‘OK’ and it generates your image for you!  Or try hitting ‘random’ and create something wild and funky.  Some of the combinations that came up were really nice.  Once you’re done, right click on the background and select ‘view background image’ in firefox or ‘save background image’ in IE.

3)  Stripe Generator

Exactly what it says it is!  A stripe generator with some pretty amazing options.  Hex code color selection with an RGB eyedropper if you choose to use it, change the size of the 2 different colors of stripes, change up the background, add a gradient, change the gradient height…whew!  Just remember to click the square every time you make changes so it will refresh and show you what the new change looks like.  You can also see other people’s stripe designs, save your own and even make a tartan with your colors!  Speaking of tartans…

4) Tartan Designer

Tartan designer was put together by the same folks at Stripe Generator.  It has similar fantastic options with a fun UI for you to play with.  Mess around with everything, there are some great features!   The resulting textures are great too, just a hint of a textile look that really punches up the style.

5)  Striped Backgrounds

Another stripe based background creator but very different from Stripe Generator.  You can choose up to five different colors using their hex codes or you can just hit ‘randomize’ and see what you get.  An extra bonus is getting to choose the size of the image you want with a helpful drop down guide that lists pixel widths and heights.  Very nice!

6)  bgMaker

A fun little way to make and test your pixel based backgrounds.  Watch it change as you add new colors and pixels!  Your options are fairly limited but you can save your image and browse other saved images and download them to use.  Some of them are really nicely done!  Also their RGB sliders are easy to use and if you make a mistake you can hit CTRL + Z to undo.  Very handy!

7)    Hip and Twendy

A really cool little site with a nice selection of downloadable backgrounds for use on blogs or twitter or whatever you need.  You don’t make your own here but you are sure to find some great ones.

Hot Bliggity BLOG

“the best free blogger backgrounds site on the entire interwebular planet. No exaggeration.” So they say!   And so far it’s holding up pretty well, they have some really beautiful backgrounds here, perfect for your blog.  I love the selection and the textures they use look almost touchable.  You can even hotlink to them using their provided code  or download an extra large .jpg and adjust it to your site exactly how you like.

9) Mel’s Brushes

I remember Mel’s work from back in my young web designer days.  She does excellent brush work and she’s expanded on her skills and now makes repeat patterns as well as other things.  She has a very nice selection, some are for sale and others are for free.  Don’t forget to check her other free resources on her page.

10)  Squidfingers

Travis Beckham offers some really stunning patterns for his site visitors.  150+ designs and counting!  Beautiful pixel work, from mod to Victorian looking designs.  He’s amazingly talented, I spent a lot of time on there!

If you’re really looking to get your hands dirty and try your own here is a nice ‘draw it yourself’ seamless pattern tutorial by Julie that can be mimicked easily in photoshop or illustrator.  You can try this tutorial with real life patterns and textures too by hitting Texture King and getting some of their amazing free textures.

Keep in mind as you visit these sites that they may all have different usage policies on their backgrounds.  Happy background making!

SEE THE ORIGINAL POST HERE >>

This maybe not be a cheat sheet, but it certainly is an endless supply of Wordpress help and support, this should be the first place everyone (pros and novices) should start with any WP development issues.
Is there better documentation for any other web or even desktop application? I don’t think so, its simply The Wordpress Bible.
View HTML Cheatsheet : View Codex »

WordPress Optimization/Cheat Sheet

View HTML Cheatsheet : View Cheat Sheet »
Source : codex.wordpress.org »

WordPress Cheatsheet v1

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : andywibbels.com »

The WordPress Help Sheet (Basic)

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : wpcandy.com »
Notes : Cheat sheet is also available in the following languages: Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese, Swedish and Danish.

The Advanced WordPress Help Sheet

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : wpcandy.com »

WP Help Sheet (HTML)

View HTML Cheatsheet : View Cheat Sheet »
Source : frozr.comg »
Notes : This is the HTML version of the cheat sheet from WPCandy.

My Wordpress Cheat Sheet

View HTML Cheatsheet : View Cheat Sheet »
Source : graphicrating.com »

Wordpres SEO Cheat Sheet

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : tekka.de »

Wordpress Theme Development Check List

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : wptoy.com »

WP Theme Tags Cheat Sheet

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
View HTML Version : View HTML Cheat Sheet »
Source : bueltge.de »

Wordpress Template Tag Reference Guide

View HTML Cheatsheet : View Cheat Sheet »
Source : dbswebsite.com »

WP Loop Cheat Sheet

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : bueltge.de »

WP Widget Cheat Sheet

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : bueltge.de »

WP Plugin API Cheat Sheet

Download PDF : Download Cheat Sheet »
Source : bueltge.de »

A header gives you room to play and be creative, especially on the homepage, and there are a number of techniques you can use to connect with your user.

Take a look at these 5 different types of header design and see how the examples have used them creatively to make an impact.

The Huge Header

Takes up a lot of room and can be risky as you’re taking up valuable space, but done right it looks great and makes an impact.

Lewro’s Blog

Chris Hortsch

enRoute Film Festival

Simple Art

Alpha Multimedia Solutions

The Web App

Web apps generally want to show a screenshot of their product with a prominent call to action button that will immediately entice users to find out more or signup.

Ekklesia 360

PlanHQ

Campaign Monitor

Wufoo

Traffik

The Illustrated Character

Illustrated characters are currently a popular trend. They add character, personality and a sense of friendliness to your website.

MailChimp

Digimurai

Enrichment

Wishlistr

Cleverful

The Portfolio Screenshots

If you want to show off your work then use this layout to show different examples of work alongside a tagline introducing yourself.

Tony Greer

Mark Lamb

OnWired

Design Moves Me

James Lai Creative

The Carousel

Carousels allow you to fit in more information into the header with a slider effect. Useful for websites with many features or for showing off your portfolio. With the Javascript libraries currently available they are very easy to implement.

Rob Palmer

Icon Designer

Jason Larose Design

Benjamin David

Paramore|Redd

SEE THE ORIGINAL POST HERE >>

In this article, we’ll take a look at the footer and see what exactly makes for a good website footer. Keep in mind that just because the footer is at the bottom of the page doesn’t mean you should slack off with good design practice.

We’ll look here at what to include in footers, the importance of site maps, usability practices and styling ideas and trends. We’ve also compiled almost 50 well-designed footers to give you ideas and inspiration for your own footer designs.

What To Include In Footers

Before we go over how exactly to design the footer, let’s talk about common elements to include in footers and the importance of each. Of course, you don’t need to include all of these items; just use this list to gather ideas.

Site Map

Usability is foremost in importance in Web design. Providing a site map in the footer, no matter how small, improves usability. It’s one of those small elements that often go unnoticed but are occasionally useful to some. One benefit of providing a site map is its convenience for users. A site map is simply a detailed list of the pages on a website, divided into categories. It tells a user exactly what pages and information can be found on the website and provide access to those pages.

SEE THE ORIGINAL POST HERE >>

Note: This article is also available as a PDF download.

1: One of the “Big Three” (.NET, Java, PHP)

Unless there is a radical shift in the development world (akin to an asteroid hitting Redmond), most developers will need to know at least one of the Big Three development systems — .NET (VB.NET or C#), Java, or PHP — for the near future. It’s not enough to know the core languages, either. As projects encompass more and more disparate functionality, you’ll need to know the associated frameworks and libraries more deeply.

2: Rich Internet Applications (RIAs)

Love it or hate it, in the last few years, Flash is suddenly being used for more than just animations of politicians singing goofy songs. Flash has also sprouted additional functionality in the form or Flex and AIR. Flash’s competitors, such as JavaFx and Silverlight, are also upping the ante on features and performance. To make things even more complicated, HTML 5 is incorporating all sorts of RIA functionality, including database connectivity, and putting the formal W3C stamp on AJAX. In the near future, being an RIA pro will be a key resume differentiator.

3: Web development

Web development is not going away anytime soon. Many developers have been content to lay back and ignore the Web or to just stick to “the basics” their framework provides them with. But companies have been demanding more and more who really know how to work with the underlying technology at a “hand code” level. So bone up on JavaScript, CSS, and HTML to succeed over the next five years.

4: Web services

REST or SOAP? JSON or XML? While the choices and the answers depend on the project, it’s getting increasingly difficult to be a developer (even one not writing Web applications) without consuming or creating a Web service. Even areas that used to be ODBC, COM, or RPC domains are now being transitioned to Web services of some variety. Developers who can’t work with Web services will find themselves relegated to legacy and maintenance roles.

5: Soft skills

One trend that has been going for quite some time is the increasing visibility of IT within and outside the enterprise. Developers are being brought into more and more non-development meetings and processes to provide feedback. For example, the CFO can’t change the accounting rules without working with IT to update the systems. And an operations manager can’t change a call center process without IT updating the CRM workflow. Likewise, customers often need to work directly with the development teams to make sure that their needs are met. Will every developer need to go to Toastmasters or study How to Win Friends and Influence People? No. But the developers who do will be much more valuable to their employers — and highly sought after in the job market.

6: One dynamic and/or functional programming language

Languages like Ruby, Python, F#, and Groovy still aren’t quite mainstream –  but the ideas in them are. For example, the LINQ system in Microsoft’s .NET is a direct descendent of functional programming techniques. Both Ruby and Python are becoming hot in some sectors, thanks to the Rails framework and Silverlight, respectively. Learning one of these languages won’t just improve your resume, though; it will expand your horizons. Every top-flight developer I’ve met recommends learning at least one dynamic or functional programming language to learn new ways of thinking, and from personal experience, I can tell you that it works.

7: Agile methodologies

When Agile first hit mainstream awareness, I was a skeptic, along with many other folks I know. It seemed to be some sort of knee-jerk reaction to tradition, throwing away the controls and standards in favor of anarchy. But as time went on, the ideas behind Agile became both better defined and better expressed. Many shops are either adopting Agile or running proof-of-concept experiments with Agile. While Agile is not the ultimate panacea for project failure, it does indeed have a place on many projects. Developers with a proven track record of understanding and succeeding in Agile environments will be in increasingly high demand over the next few years.

8: Domain knowledge

Hand-in-hand with Agile methodologies, development teams are increasingly being viewed as partners in the definition of projects. This means that developers who understand the problem domain are able to contribute to the project in a highly visible, valuable way. With Agile, a developer who can say, “From here, we can also add this functionality fairly easily, and it will get us a lot of value,” or “Gee, that requirement really doesn’t match the usage patterns our logs show” will excel. As much as many developers resist the idea of having to know anything about the problem domain at all, it is undeniable that increasing numbers of organizations prefer (if not require) developers to at least understand the basics.

9: Development “hygiene”

A few years ago, many (if not most) shops did not have access to bug tracking systems, version control, and other such tools; it was just the developers and their IDE of choice. But thanks to the development of new, integrated stacks, like the Microsoft Visual Studio Team System, and the explosion in availability of high quality, open source environments, organizations without these tools are becoming much less common. Developers must know more than just how to check code in and out of source control or how to use the VM system to build test environments. They need to have a rigorous habit of hygiene in place to make sure that they are properly coordinating with their teams. “Code cowboys” who store everything on a personal USB drive, don’t document which changes correspond to which task item, and so on, are unwelcome in more traditional shops and even more unwelcome in Agile environments, which rely on a tight coordination between team members to operate.

10: Mobile development

The late 1990s saw Web development rise to mainstream acceptance and then begin to marginalize traditional desktop applications in many areas. In 2008, mobile development left the launch pad, and over the next five years, it will become increasingly important. There are, of course, different approaches to mobile development: Web applications designed to work on mobile devices, RIAs aimed at that market, and applications that run directly on the devices. Regardless of which of these paths you choose, adding mobile development to your skill set will ensure that you are in demand for the future.

Source http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=643

Today we’re pleased to introduce the newest member of the Tuts+ family: Flashtuts+

Go on, open a new tab, check it out, leave a comment, then keep reading to learn more about our plans for the site.

We’ll be publishing a combination of step-by-step written tutorials and screencasts, with preview .SWF files of each effect so you can see the final result of each tutorial before you invest time in it. We’ll be providing Flash, Flex and ActionScript techniques for use in multimedia, web and UI design, games and apps. In most weeks we’ll be publishing 2 – 3 high quality tutorials, so make sure to subscribe to the Flashtuts+ RSS feed so you don’t miss a thing.

If you think you have the skills to create a screencast or text and image tutorial for Flashtuts+, it’s easy to familiarize yourself with the guidelines and pitch your idea. We’re hungry for user contributions and pay $150 USD for an accepted tutorial.

Meet the Editor, Ian Yates

Ian Yates is a British graphic designer specializing in illustration and web design. He’s also a regular Vectortuts+ author with a passion for Flash! Based in Spain, Ian works with clients far and wide and is proud to be part of the world’s growing community of freelancers.

We hope you enjoy Flashtuts+!

Original Post Here

No other company has managed to come up with such a crisp and brilliant style of presenting its recent designs as a new breakthrough innovation that will change our lives for a long time. Apple has found an extremely effective way to deliver its message to a wide audience, and Apple’s look and feel has played a major role in shaping that way.

In this post, we present a collection of beautiful Apple-inspired Adobe Photoshop tutorials. We collected them not because we are religiously in love with Apple, but because you may find these tutorials useful; for instance, if you are developing a new Mac or iPhone application or designing a concept for a new product. In these cases, you may want to consider Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines and our Designer’s Guide To Icon Design For Mac OS X. Please feel free to suggest further tutorials in the comments to this post.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE

A while back, Tantek Celik released A Study of Regular Polygons, which used a little-known CSS trick to create non-rectangular shapes such as triangles and pentagons with nothing more than an ordinary HTML element. The experiment is very interesting and really cool, but the practical takeaway wasn’t immediately clear.

Recently however, we’ve been working on building the markup for upcoming jQuery UI widgets, we came across a case that prompted us to take another look at the technique. The tooltip widget design, fairly common in websites these days, uses a small triangular “speech bubble” pointer that is typically created quite easily with a background image. However, we wanted to maintain our commitment to keeping our jQuery UI widgets entirely themable, and using an image for that purpose wouldn’t fit with the flexibility jQuery UI requires. How to solve this problem without any need for images? That challenge led us to the experimental approach using polygonal CSS, shown below.

The Design Approach

The jQuery UI planning wiki page has several examples for the tooltips we intend to build into the library. For this article though, we’re just focusing the following simple tooltip design:

The challenge in executing this for jQuery UI is that we’ll need to pull it off without relying on images for the triangle shapes, because the jQuery UI CSS Framework enables markup to be entirely re-themable, using an infinite combination of backgrounds, borders, corner radius, and more. Using custom images for the pointer triangles would never match the flexibility and scalability of CSS alone. Since polygonal CSS can create non-rectangular shapes without images, perhaps it can provide the means to achieve our goal.

Polygonal CSS works by setting an element’s width to something small and then setting thick borders on less than 4 sides. To make a triangle shape, 2 of those borders have to have transparent color, essentially masking out the one visible border at an angle in attempt to connect corners.

The concept is easiest explained through a code sample. The following CSS will style a div into a red triangle:

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE

If you are a smart shopper, it is not that easy to persuade you to actually buy something. There is the science behind how the products are organized, labels are written and sections are ordered to guide you through to making a purchase. That’s a wealth of tricks based on psychological theories and practices that in the end “convert” you from a regular visitor into the buyer.

One of the most powerful methods to appeal to a potential buyer is applying color theory to (e)commerce. Has it ever occurred to you why you feel safer in one store and more energetic in another one? Have you ever noticed that landing on some web page you feel like clicking some button/link and keep browsing the site? While other pages prompt you to stay and keep reading? To some extent, this might be the choice of colors for the page elements.

Color is believed to be one of the most powerful elements of design for web sites, direct mail, ads, and other marketing materials. It carries meaning through associations and/or your body physical response. Color associates can vary from country to country but in Western culture they are basically the same.

So don’t let (online) sellers affect your decision by showing you what you want to see. Let’s see how color choice may affect your shopping behavior and habits – for you to be able to buy with a cool head.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE