I learnt CSS in a similar way. I'd take Photoshop designs and try to recreate them in vanilla HTML + CSS:

https://jsfiddle.net/umaar/YNA5V/

https://jsfiddle.net/umaar/fu4TT/

I'd even make 3d graphics of things like the HTML5 logo: https://i.imgur.com/kuEYpSV.png

I posted this all to a community called "Forrst" (think of it like twitter, but curated for developers and designers).

I spent time giving feedback on other peoples work, I tried to ask insightful questions https://twitter.com/umaar/status/823915022917271552 to have an open discussion, I spent hours replying to comments every few days.

Then one day, Forrst got acquired by Zurb https://zurb.com/blog/zurb-acquires-forrst and later on it got shut down, and with that, I lost access to huge amounts of my work which I hadn't stored anywhere else (some stuff has been archived online, but not everything).

When it comes to web development tips, I now self-host on my own website and it's a really good feeling knowing that it'll be preserved: https://umaar.com/dev-tips/

I like what you have done with the site — very simple and easy to check out the tips. I subscribed.

Hey thanks for that appreciate it. Yes not spending time on fancy things/random enhancements let's me actually focus on creating new content.

I like that you'e carved out a space for yourself -- one that cannot just disappear due to an acquisition followed by a "pivot".

Thank you for making and sharing!

Some pseudo elements, a gradient and some transforms and you can do some really cool stuff. Highly recommend learning how to use these effectively:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/background-...

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/transform-o...

A lot of people make games or fun projects for #100DaysOfCode when their job might be updating a CRUD MVC app using Y framework. I think as long as it puts them in the "coding" mindset it's worthwhile.

I agree with that 100% — if it isn't fun, it's work. And if you build enough knowledge about how CSS works in general, when it comes to implementing specific layout or responsive design techniques you have a good understanding of the basics to build upon.

I looked at the one with glass and lemon and I want to cry. It's just crazy how much some people push things. I wonder how long it took though..