By guest contributor Melissa Coleman.

Working with color should be simple, but it can often the biggest hang-up when designing. Today we’re going to tackle color palettes and how to implement them into your design. It’s far less technical compared to last week, but it can make or break your design.

Whether you’re designing for your blog or a special project, it’s good to start with a color palette. Illustrator has a lot of preset Swatch Libraries you can choose from. Make sure your Swatch Palette is available by going to Window> Swatches. Click the down arrow on the top right of the window and select Open Swatch Library. You’ll see a multitude of palettes to choose from. This can be a little overwhelming. I always seem to find myself at Design Seeds for inspiration. She has a site full of beautiful palettes. Let’s start there.

By guest contributor PJ Feinstein. Photography by Lantern Hill.

As a blogger, there are few things more frustrating than writer’s block. After all, the nature of blogging is that it’s timely. A Christmas-themed DIY, for example, loses it’s impact when published on December 26th. I’ve found there are a couple main causes for writer’s block. The first is the need to refill your creative juices. The second is having a fantastic topic in mind, but feeling overwhelmed by the blank page on your computer screen. The next time you experience either version of writer’s block, give these creativity-boosting tricks a try.

When you don’t know what to say:

• Step away from the computer. Take the night off from blogging to check out the hottest new restaurant in town, or participate in a class or creative workshop. Who knows, something you ate, saw, or learned might inspire your next blog post—or even a blog series!

By guest contributor Ciera Holzenthal. Photography by Stitch/Craft Create.

Starting a Facebook page for your blog opens you up to one of the largest audiences on the internet. Sharing content on Facebook is so easy and convenient, especially since your readers most likely already use Facebook regularly. With this in mind, here are a few useful tips for using Facebook to grow your blog:

Post Pictures

Facebook is very visual. Often times, text posts or links can be easily overlooked. Each time you share a new blog post on your Facebook page you should do the following: upload a photo, write a short description of your post in the photo caption, and then add a link to the actual post.

Create photo albums for the different sections of your blog (recipes, style, round-ups). This is a great way to show potential readers what to expect from your blog.