Are you a sucker for a good font? I sure am. I currently have over 6000 fonts and the list continues as I find new ones almost daily. I wanted to share with you some of the places I get them, and how I manage them without my computer crashing.

First things first. Managing fonts is pretty simple. I downloaded a great program called The Font Thing and put all of my non-Windows fonts in a separate folder, (not in the Windows Font Folder, which can be found by visiting your control panel.) Courtesy of Kay's Kreations, here's a quick list of the standard Windows fonts, just so you don't accidently move any of them. It's important to leave your standard Windows Fonts in place so you can read pretty much anything online and in your daily routine.

Why do we separate the fun stuff? When your computer boots up, it needs to load all the fonts in your Windows font folder. If you had 6000 fonts in there, your computer would be slower than molasses. So do yourself a favour and make up that folder for your Font-o-holic tendencies. Because when I'm done with you, you'll be an addict.

Now on to the fun stuff. Create that folder on your system and call it Extra Fonts, Fun Fonts, whatever you please. With 6000+ fonts, I use sub-folders within that main folder to organize different types of fonts, such as script fonts, dings, kid-type fonts, etc. This helps if you will be needing certain kinds of fonts for design.

Once you download and install The Font Thing, you simply open up the folder you have created with your fonts in it, to use them. It has a preview on the right so you can scroll through your fonts easily.

So Karen, where do you find fonts? Well I'm glad you asked. Here are a few great places to start:

Deliteful Delites - Delite posts a zip file loaded with fonts nearly every Friday. Plus she is an entertaining blogger friend of mine.

Fonts for Kids - Very. Cute. Source.

Custom Tracer Pages - this site helps you build a page for your children to learn their letters.

1001 Free Fonts

Fontgarden - a gorgeous site with many fonts, including some really pretty dings.

Font Search Engine - just as the name implies!

Font Face

Fonts Two Go - an MSN Group

Handselecta - an amazing collection of Graffiti Type fonts. A paid font site, where the contributors get a share of what fonts they can sell. A true art form.

High Fonts

Type Now - a wonderful resource

Jeff's Fonts and Dingbats

There are a million more out there - that's just a select few that I use. I also signed up to Yahoo Groups, searched for fonts, and joined a few mailists that do all the work for me. Very advisable if you are pressed for time or would rather be doing something else.

To get you started, I've created a zip file of some of my favorites here. Here's a sneak peek at what they look like:

Download here (46 fonts included):
WinRAR file

WinZIP file

Font on, Wayne.

For more about dressing your blog up, see the following BlogHer Entries:

Graphic Design Series, Part One: Sourcing Images for Graphic Design,

Contributing Editor