Blog Design-HTML Tutorials & How to's

Do you guys change your blog design up every so often or am I the only one that gets bored about every 2 months or so, LOL? It's been about a week since I implemented my newest design...what do you think? The New Year was calling to me and said it was time for a fresh new look :)

I've mentioned before that I would love to pay someone to do it for me, but in reality I don't have the cash and I would probably be the worst client ever. I would change my mind constantly and they would fire me! Haha! So alas I do it myself.. grunting and groaning through html and using my good pal GOOGLE! But it's a great learning experience, you just need the time and patience!

So for those of you that would like to give your blog a little pizazz, I've rounded up some tips and info to help you out...easier then spending 2 hours researching everything or paying $200 on a design!

First things first, I am self taught in this whole area and while the following methods worked for me, they may not be technically right, but they worked, so who am to complain :) I also am using the Simple Template on Blogger, while researching I noticed that many codes differed slightly with different templates. Also, when working with html, holding down the CTRL key and F key at the same time will bring up a shortcut for finding specific parts of code! All graphics used on my site are designed by me on Photoshop, although similar types of images could be made using other photo/paint type programs!

For a handy list of basic HTML knowledge, check out this post.


REMOVING YOUR HEADER

In your blogger dashboard, go to the TEMPLATE -HTML {back up your blog first!} Use CTRL + F keys and type in ".header-outer", to search for the following code...

/* Header ----------------------------------------------- */ .header-outer { background: $(header.background.color) $(header.background.gradient) repeat-x scroll 0 -400px; _background-image: none; }

Next, add the following code before the closing }

display:none; 

Instead of the top header look, I choose to use a lower header, aligning it with the top of my sidebar, like this...

To add that, go into Layout, and add gadget. Choose the HTML gadget and insert image HTML. Move above your blog post area :)

CHANGING SIDEBAR BACKGROUND COLOR

I used this tutorial to change my sidebar color...have fun with a million color combos :) For a full list of html color codes, go here. For a seamless look, when you are designing your images to place onto your sidebar, make sure the background color is the exact color of your sidebar background.

REMOVE BORDER/SHADOW FROM IN POST PHOTOS

In your blogger dashboard, go to the TEMPLATE-CUSTOMIZE-ADVANCED-ADD CSS. Paste the following code, pressing enter after the last line. 

.post-body img, .post-body .tr-caption-container, .Profile img, .Image img, .BlogList .item-thumbnail img { padding: none !important; border: none !important; background: none !important; -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important; }

CREATING ROLLOVER IMAGES

A rollover image is an image that changes when the mouse/cursor hovers over it. I used rollover images on all my FIND IT buttons on my sidebar. Head on over HERE to grab the cod. Go ahead and hover over the image below to see it in action...

So that's a wrap...I hope I inspired you to roll up your sleeves and get creative with your blog design, or to perhaps start to think about making some pretty changes :) One thing that I absolutely believe in, is that first impressions do count! 

linking up with 52 Mantels, Live Laugh Rowe, The Foley Fam {Unedited},Adorned From Above 

Blogging-3 Things I Wish I Had Known

Imprintalish has had my heart for just over 2 years, has gone through many changes and has grown in more ways then I ever imagined. I’ve learned so many things in the last year especially, and experienced lots of good and some bad. Today I wanted to share with you 3 things I wish I had known before I started blogging.

1. To get followers, you must reach out.
I had no idea that this 'world of bloggers’ exsisted. Sure, I knew that other blogs were out there. But I never knew the magnitude of support that would come from other fellow bloggers. I had no idea what ‘following’ was. If someone followed me, should I follow back? If someone commented on my blog, should I comment back? So many things to think about! It’s really a full circle kind of deal. What you put out, you get back. Maybe, back in the wee days of Imprintalish if I had concentrated a little more time on reading and commenting on my favourite blogs, I’d be a little more ahead. Who knows?! It is definetly a time thing though and you should do whatever fits into your schedule and time frame. Honestly, I could sit for hours browsing through blogs, but in reality, not feasible at all! Final thought on this, I do feel as though the genuine thoughtful commenting bloggers are the ones that grow.

Via Blogstar

2. Blogging is not easy money.
Ah yes, the dreaded money talk. When I first started blogging, my main reason was to document things that made an impression on me but I secretly had the thought of blogging as an income tucked away in my head for a rainy day. It wasn’t until last fall (a year and a half into it) that I actually started making efforts to see those dreams come true. Of course, the money didn't start flowing in just because I wished for it, and to be honest, it still doesn’t flow in, LOL. From my experience, to make money blogging, you have to have a heck of a lot of time to pour into your blog; design, posts, interacting with other bloggers, sponsorships and advertising. Meaning, maybe a mom of two boys under 3, with a part time job, a house to run, a husband and lots of creative ideas/projects, doesn’t exactly have time to dedicate full time hours to making money blogging….?! Unless sleep is not that important to you {and it is for me!}But then again, sometimes people are just lucky and get to have it all :)

2. You will constantly compare yourselves to others.
Everyone paints a pretty picture on their blog, why? Beacuse it's easy to do that, it's easy to focus on the pretty things and not the reael things. You will see the popular, bigger, better bloggers and you will want a piece of it. You'll go crazy trying to post 3 times a day, linking up to every single stinkin' linky party, pinning everyday, having lots of giveaways, trying to respond to all your comments and signing up for tons of guest posts...it’s hard to keep up with the Jones’…Doing all that stuff will suck the life out of you. I've learned this from my own mistakes. Obviously, you are free to take any of this advice with a grain of salt and do with it as you please. But if someone had told me that it is ok to only post when I felt like it, to not overwhelm myself with what everyone else was doing…things would’ve been so much easier and I probably wouldn't have been so hard on myself! I’ve learned to keep a ‘light’ schedule of posts and have cut back tremendously on things, like the amount of sponsors I have, as a result of burnout.

So there you have it! My 3 little things I wish I had of known before I started blogging. I hope that they come in handy for some of you, or at least make you think twice about what it is that you want from your blog. Blogging is truly a fabulous experience! The best advice I can give is to just be yourself and of course have fun...and when you feel uninspired, take a break!!!

Happy Wednesday!

5 Blogging Tips

I have been blogging for almost 2 years now! Can you believe it? I am ancient! LOL...I've seen tons of blogs out there that are fabulous and successful and that I keep going back to. So I asked myself why? It came down to a couple things-I can relate to their content, they post regularly and I loved their blog design! Then I got to thinking of other things that I hate about some blogs and compiled a list for you to use and implement or ignore-whatever you like! :)

1. Word Verification

You know when I first started blogging I had mine enabled. I hated getting junk mail in my mailbox and telemarketer phone calls, so why would I like to get Spam comments? Yes, it seemed like a good idea...but it's NOT! Do you like getting comments? Then disable your Word Verification! I love commenting on my favorite blogs...but if I'm in a rush, which more times then none I am...inputting the word verification is such a tedious process. Especially because for some reason I can never read the first one and have you noticed that they all contain TWO words now, not just one! There have been times when I was going to comment and then didn't when I saw the Word Verification come up...yes, I am mean...haha.


So word to the wise, turn it off!!!

2. Are you a 'noreply-comment@blogger.com?'

I have made a promise to myself to email all my commenter's back. Well, most everyone, life sometimes gets in the way. But I think it's not only polite, but a nice way to 'meet' your readers. There is one problem with this though and that is when one of my commenter's is a 'No-reply Blogger. Meaning I have no way to return your comment or answer your questions, without going on a mad hunt through your blog, looking for contact info and such. I must confess that in my early days of blogging...I replied directly in my comments section. But I know NOW that people rarely come back to check. I know that I don't!Shame on me! So everyone, go check your blogger profiles and make sure the little box' Show Email' is checked, pretty please? So I can say hi, when you leave a lovely comment :)

To fix both of the above issues head on over here for the quick run down on how to do it!And then I will visit your page more often..haha...no really...go do it!

3. Pretty Pictures

I am a HUGE visual person...I love pretty things and colors! One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing teeny, tiny photos on someones blog. You have all this space to use, so use it!! I would recommend making your photos at least 500 pixels wide (I always make mine 600 pixels), cause then I can see what your showing off without squinting! This also goes for fonts as well, keep it simple and please don't use caligraphy type or fancy script fonts as the main text of your page-it hurts my eyes!

4. About Me Page

Get an about me page (mine is a bit updated-but I will fix it soon!) When I come across a blog that grabs my attention (first impressions count!) I also want to know a little bit about the writer and to see if we have anything in common!

5. Search Box

Have a search box or label section on your blog. So if I'm looking for something, I can do it quickly and not have to spend hours going through your history!

That's it. For now. I could go on and on...but I hear a baby crying so I should get my butt of the computer and go check on him!

Do you have any blogger pet peeves?

Happy Tuesday!

Grow Your Blog-Advertising and Giveaways

Welcome to the 5th day in a fantastic series called Grow Your Blog. Myself and six other fabulous bloggers were recruited by Kelly over at Live.Laugh.Rowe to put together a knowledge filled week with tips on how to grow your blog.I hope you've been following along, cause the posts this week have been incredible! Yesturday's post by Carolyn at Homework, had some great tips on how to use Pinterest to grow your blog! Today, I am sharing my blogs growth story with you and talking about two things that have worked in my favour, Advertising and Giveaways. The common thread between these two...extra exposure!!

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I started blogging about two years ago. At first, it was just my own little space to document the things that made an 'imprint' on my life. Fast forward a year and I had grown a small following of about 30 people, some friends and family and some people who I never knew. It wasn't until the fall of 2011 that I truly started looking to 'grow' my blog. Along with networking with other bloggers, my first 'growing' step was through Advertising.

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Back then I had been advertising my Etsy shop on a couple of higher traffic blogs in hope of driving up traffic to my shop, and then one month as I was purchasing an ad space, I noticed that this particular blogger offered Ad Swaps (just in case your not familiar-an ad swap is when you and another blogger swap each other's blog button-for free-for whatever given time agreed upon). I thought, what a great idea! With hopes of introducing paid advertising in the future, but not really 100% on the whole thing, ad swapping sounded like the perfect opportunity to get my feet wet. So I took the plunge and that following month I introduced an Ad Swap program and it has been a huge success since! What's important to remember when growing your blog is to help other's out too...we are all in the same boat. The friendships you form through swapping with other bloggers is priceless. They have your back and you have your back, kinda thing. All in all (excluding a few negative experiences that I've had) the blogging community is really a supportive place! I highly suggest all blogs, big or small, to look at Ad Swapping, it's such a great way to gain a little extra exposure and to boost readership. Then, once your ready to start charging for Ad Space, it's just icing on the cake :)

One of my first steps when I started offering Ad Spots on my blog was approaching my favorite shops on Etsy. Some of them I had purchased from and had a great experience with, and some were shops that I had been window shopping at {a lot!} Either way I pretty much 'cold emailed' them. I introduced myself, shared a bit about my blog and what they would gain from advertising (extra traffic, exposure). I didn't dwell too much on my stats at this point, but gave them if someone asked. Plus, the advertising I was offering was free, and some of it involved no swapping...it was just me wanting to promote their shops and if I was lucky I would maybe get my button on someones sidebar. You really just have to wing it and hope for the best!

Having sponsors kind of opened up the door to hosting Giveaways. I already had some great shops on my sidebar, and I was building relationships with them (networking!). As part of my ad packages, I offer everyone the option of participate in a giveaway. I think this provides amazing exposure for them and increases traffic (more opportunity for a sale!). I know that I try and participate in a giveaway for my own shop at least once a month. Just getting your name out there is yet another reason to do it, you don't want people thinking you dropped of the face of the earth, do you?

Giveaways are fun! People like to have fun and who wouldn't want to win something? (Have you checked out the giveaway I currently have going on? Go here, haha, sorry, I couldn't help myself!) I remember the first time I won a giveaway, it was so surreal...and yes folks...you do actually get the prize, LOL! Giveaways are a great tool for growing your 'numbers,' obviously you want to have one of the mandatory entries be that the entrants must 'follow' your blog, through whatever source you feel is best for you.  But I want to point out a tiny little thing about Giveaways- as much fun as it is to see your numbers go up while hosting a giveaway, don't be measuring your success by these numbers! I am sure that more times then none, someone will come across your giveaway, follow your blog and never look back. They just followed to be able to enter. Or else they entered but never really followed!!  I always verify all winners that are selected to make sure they have done what they said they did! Mean? Nope, just keeping it fair! So yes, during a giveaway, your numbers will be rising, and it will make you happy, but don't get to tied up in it and think you need to host giveaways three times a week. I've seen some blogs go from pretty cool, to giveaway overload and then it's like they are neglecting their blog and I don't want to read anymore. The people that truly 'follow' you will want to read your regular posts too, not just hope to win something! I see Giveaways as a chance to give back to my readers, like a little bonus!

A few last words...Don't go chasing after every single person that has a shop-be selective and showcase the people/shops that you feel relate to your readers and the feel of your blog. Same goes for advertising. AND once you get your giveaway up and running, submit it to Etsy Giveaways-I get a huge response from this site-extra exposure!!

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All in all, if your looking to grow your blog you have to start somewhere and start small and Ad Swapping is perfect for this! The best part of Ad Swapping for me now, is just to showcase new blogs to all you guys. I can't believe the talent out there and I wish I could read everything! I have met some wonderful ladies and grown some fabulous friendships through swapping and helping to promote handmade shops! If your just starting out, go ahead and ask one of your favorite blogs...what's the worse that can happen? They say no? That's ok, try again later or ask someone else...or ask me, cause I would love to swap with you!!! ;) Go here, for all my advertising info (haha, couldn't resist again!)

I am so happy that my blog is where it is today, but I really couldn't do it without all you guys, my readers that visit on a daily basis, and without all those fabulous bloggers and shops on my sidebar!!! Go check them out, cause they are awesome! Tomorrow's post over at I Am Along for the Ride is all about engaging your readers and building a community, so make sure to take a little visit on over there! The whole week will be concluded on Sunday with a good ole' Blog Hop hosted by all 7 contributors, so be sure to come back on Sunday to link up your blog and network to your hearts content!!!