The R.S. Women's Conference

Hope you are staying warm and toasty tonight!

A very special thank you to all of you who attended the classes last night. I am happy you have come to visit the blog.

I just wanted to share with you that I was having trouble resizing my header photo but from the very excellent instructions that Shelli added I was able to do it tonight. That is the fun of blogging there is always something new to learn. Thanks Shelli! Check out drpic.com when you are ready to resize your header photo. It is easy to use and does a perfect job once you know what to do.

A big Thanks to Steve and Marae for all their help as well. Blog on! Send me your questions through the comments!

Testimony

"I can shake off everything if I write;
my sorrows disappear,
my courage is reborn."
Anne Frank

I think this is so true. Writing is so cathartic. It helps me understand who I really am, how I feel and operate. I love to take it out, put it on paper/computer screen and examine what is really inside of me. Have you found this to be helpful in your own life. I find it to be a Godsend. Writing is liberating! Try it, you' ll like it!

How to Use This Blog

I was asked to give a presentation at a Women's Conference for our Stake Relief Society organization about blogging on the Internet. The building does not have reliable Internet access. Thus the dilemma...How to teach an Internet Class with no Internet? That was problematic along with the time allotment...30 minutes.

At best the class time would allow me to briefly share a few things and there would be virtually no time for a question and answer period or any time to evaluate where each class was in terms of their current knowledge of blogging. So I made a decision to actually create this blog as an electronic handout for the class participants.

Once you have a Google Account you are ready to begin. If you have already started a blog please become a follower of this blog in the allocated space at the right on the sidebar.

I have already done several posts on this blog about how to create a blog and how to use it. If interest continues I will make more posts on various aspects of blogging.

My disclaimer is I am not an expert on blogging, but I am practiced at it. I have written well over a 1500 posts in the last few years on various subjects. So I have learned how to navigate around the blogger platform and the blogsphere and can share the tips I have learned with you.

If any of those terms are unfamiliar to you, I urge you to go to the sidebar on the right and go to the Glossary of Terms Link regarding blogging. Clicking on the link with open it for you.

I would like to use this blog as a means to interact with you individually. Please comment. That way our interactions can be two-way communication. Other people will benefit from your questions as well. So don't be shy, please. You may also e-mail me at bonniejmattson at yahoo dot com. Or you can look up my phone at lds.org.

If just one of you gets the joy that can be had from becoming a blogger I will consider my time well spent. I have put a button or badge on my sidebar that has a picture of our street and says "One Designing Woman" which is the logo for my main blog. By clicking on it you can go directly to my main blog and you can peruse it and find some ideas there.

The price you pay will be learning far too much about my life, for which I apologize in advance. But if you see anything along the way that you would like to learn to do, or are curious about...let me know. Any comments on any of my blogs come directly to my e-mail first, so I will always get your messages right away. The advantage to comments on the blog is that others can benefit that way.

So come along with those of us that are blogging~what a fun way to keep some commandments!

Turning The Hearts

Passing it on...
Line upon Line...
Precept Upon Precept...

s-2

To Nurture & To Bless

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From the Family: A Proclamation to the World we read:

"Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."

To nurture is to be in charge of the influences that contribute
to the development of an individual according to the dictionary.

As Women we are the ♥ of the Home

Blogging helps us become the Glue of the Home
By keeping our families connected.

Sharing Your ♥~ One Post At A Time

http://bonsblogbydesign.blogspot.com
s-4

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God, for we know that it is by grace we are saved after all we can do." 2 Nephi 25:23

Leaving a Legacy

Click on the icon with the 4 small arrows to enlarge to full screen or watch in small screen by clicking play arrow.

By Nicole Nordeman

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Memory Keeping At Its Best

Exactly What Is A BLOG?

A Blog is a shortened name for a Web Log which is a place where you can go on your computer and save your memories, share your memories, communicate with others and discover the real you.

Why is this such a fantastic medium for Memory Keeping?

1. It is an easier way to keep memories than writing long hand in a journal or typing one on the computer. It is easier than keeping up with photo albums, scrapbooking, or worrying about all your pictures stuck in a box somewhere.

2. It is easy to store. Your blog is stored in cyberspace. It does not require any shelf space, there is nothing to dust, and in the event that your house catches on fire you don't have to it grab and run. The files are available from any computer at any time even if your computer is destroyed, crashes or is stolen. Blogging is better than fire insurance. Seriously, think about it!

3. Blogging is a fun way to keep the commandments to record our lives and experiences and memories for the future. Something that is fun is more likely to happen than something that is a drudgery.

4. Blogging is completely free once you have a computer and the Internet access. If you have tried scrapbooking you know how costly and messy it can be. It is fun but not everyone has the time and money to do it.

5. Blogging is very convenient. You can do it just about any place and you can stop and start whenever you want. You simply save your post as a draft and come back when you can. Once I did some scrap book pages of a two day trip to Disneyland with our kids and grandkids. The scrapbooking of that event took nearly as long as living it..
Who has time to do each life event twice? Most of us are scrambling to get it done the first time around!

6. Blogging is multi-tasking at its best. You can keep the commandments, record your life, save important articles and quotes and points of inspiration, organize and preserve your photos and anything else you keep on paper. You can scan your documents and include them in your blog You can quit writing letters and spending so much money on long distance phone calls, be the glue in your family, make new friends. You can find blogs written by experts in any field y0u can think of and learn, learn learn...all for free.

7. You can make your blog private or you can make it public or you can select who can read it.

8. You can print your blog and make it into a book to keep or give as a gift.

9. With your digital camera and your blog you never have to pay for photo developing, stamps, or therapy again. When you write and read about your life you begin to realize how beautiful it is in all its facets. It makes you grateful, your family happy, your Family History teacher ecstatic and it is legal, uplifting and calorie free.

10. It keeps your mind active and gives you something to do beside watch TV when you are old and gray. You can sit back, read about your wonderful life and remember your joys, your sorrows and your challenges and triumphs. Keeping this commandment has many layers of blessings for you.

11: Your Father in Heaven will be pleased and you will set a great example for others. As Elder Ballard has told us ( I have made his name into a link with the talk he gave attached. Click your mouse on the link to read the talk) a blog is an excellent missionary tool as well. As you record your experiences, your spiritual thoughts and your testimony who knows who may be influenced for good!

12. You'll be able to keep up with rising generation who already find e-mail antiquated.

♥ So What's Not To Love? ♥
Come on along and enter the Blogsphere~
The possibilities are endless.

Writing For Health and Well-Being

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittypinkstars/2786329983/

You can blog for others but it is important to realize how valuable this is to you as an individual. It is a wonderful stress reducer and a happy road to self-discovery. It been found to benefit a person not only psychologically but physically. It is wonderful way to keep our brains active and creative. We discover our blessings and gratitude produces happy people. Happy people are healthier people. So in the words of President Spencer W. Kimball....'Do It"...You won't be sorry!

"There is nothing more enlightening than reading journal (blogging) entries from several years prior to get a grasp of the growth that has taken place for you as an individual.

Journaling (blogging) is also a way to examine your own thoughts, values and beliefs. By understanding yourself better you are better able to make more intelligent decisions and take actions that are in line with your deepest values. Notebooks for journaling (and blogging) allow you to put your subconscious on paper and therefore decide what thoughts benefit you and which do not." This quote is taken from an article that can be found here.

Multi-Tasking With Your Blog

Ahhh~Blogging...
Talk about accomplishing 10 things at once!

It truly is Amazing!
Its Magic Memory Making!

But That is Only the Tip of the Ice Berg!


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What Do I Need To Begin Blogging?

1. A Computer
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2. Internet Connection

3. You will need a Google account. Go to blogger.com to register.

You can use any e-mail address to register with Google. This registration process takes about two minute and you are ready to roll.

4. A Digital Camera is very good to have but not a necessity.

4. Know How to Write an e-mail.

5. A Desire to Learn a simple skill.

That's it!

Photo Attribution
computer~flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2943167751_d6daf4d8fe_b.jpg

Camera~flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/captkodak/271877082/

Creating A Blog Video~By Blogger Staff

A way to see how simple this is!

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Creating Your Blog

**All the pictures on this post can be enlarged by double clicking on them. Just click on your back arrow to return to the post after viewing the enlarged view.

Even though you have just viewed the blogger tutorial via a video, I wanted to show screen by screen so you can really check out the pages at your own speed.

Once you have a Google account you are all set. Go now to http:// www.blogger.com.

Log on with your user name you have selected for your Google account and enter your password for that.

This is the screen that will come up: Click on Create a Blog

Next you will see this screen:

Fill in the boxes with the appropriate information.

Sorry I couldn't get a screen print of this entire page at once. The funny word you see in the green lettering is called Word Verification.* Type it in the box as you see it. Read and accept the terms by clicking in the box that says Acceptance of Terms just under the word verification box. Click Continue.

This is the fun part you get to pick a name for your blog. Be creative! But remember there are a lot of clever people that blog so it may already be taken. You can have any name you want on your blog, it is the url that must be unique.

Most people try to use the same name and url address but you do not have to. As an example you can choose a name that you love, like Stephanie's Cozy Place and than for the url put in something like..stephaniedoescozy.blogspot.com. As long as your url is available you are all set. Add the word verification in the box and click continue.

One last page and your blog is created. Piece of cake, right? On this page you will be selecting a blogging template. I suggest you just pick the first one with the white background and the side bar on the right. You can fancy it up later.

Click Continue and you will see...
Your Blog Has Been Successfully Created!

*Word verification is used to insure that a real person is on the computer doing this and not a spammer. Spam is something that can be introduced electronically to your comments or creation of a blog by someone try to advertise or just is trying to be a nuisance! Don't worry there are ways to guard against this sort of thing. We'll talk about that later. For now we just want to get you up and running.

The Working Page of Your Blog

The Home Page of your blog is what will come up when ever you sign on. This is my Interior Design blog and if you double click on it you will see that above the Header or Logo for the blog is a tan tool bar. It says New Post, Customize, and Sign In on the right hand side. New Post is what you Click on get to the Working Page of your blog.

The very first time after you see the page that says Your Blog Has Been Successfully Created you will come to this page by clicking on Start Blogging Now. This only happens once after each blog you create. From then on you will enter on your Home page as seen above.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PAGE OF YOUR BLOG!
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This is the place where you make your blog exactly what you want it to be by setting the controls and parameters of the blog, adding your text, editing your text, and adding fun gadgets to your side bar. Blogger calls it the Text Editing Page but to me it is more than that. This is the behind the scenes place where you make it all happen. This is the place where you create the blog that is uniquely you. There are no two alike and you are the Queen of this universe. Exciting, huh?

You can do whatever you want on your blog as long as you follow the etiquette rules of blogging which of course you would because you are that kind of person. And you can even begin your sentences with And if you want to and end your sentences with prepositions because it is all about you and what you want to do. Do your own thing! I love blogging! Where else can you be completely in charge and you don't have to answer to anyone else?

The Elements of Your Working Page

The copy of the Working Page you see below is generated on my iMac computer from a feature called screen shot. It actually takes a photo of what is on my screen. That is why some of the pages you will see will not all fit on one photo. I would suggest that you double click on the photo to enlarge it and then print a copy for you to look at as we go through the various tabs. You might even want to makes some notes on your print out for when you actually begin your first post.

Double Click and Print

Next to my name at the top you will see the word Dashboard. Your dashboard is like an internal table of contents if you have more than one blog. I know this will seem insane** to you but this is what my dashboard looks like right now. Yours will just show the one your have just created from you dashboard you can create a new blog on a different subject the process is exactly the same as the one you just went through. Easy and fast. You get to the dashboard by clicking the word dashboard on the right or you can also click on the red B right in front of the blog title on the left of your screen and go there that way.


This page, like your working page is only visible to the blogger. Your various blogs will be visible on your profile page however. If you double click on it you can see that from it you can edit your posts, access you various blogs, see how many post you have done in each blog, etc. You can also get to the places where you change your settings or layout here as well.

You will notice that the tab that is open by default is the posting tab. Let's go there first.Take a look at your text box. Doesn't it look vaguely like your e-mail text box? So you already know how to use most of the icon features on the tool bar, right? This is going to be just as easy as I promised you! In the next post I will show you how to write a post using some of those features. You are just moments away from being a blogger! Aren't you excited?

** It seems insane to have so many blogs but they are used for different subjects and I also use blogs as a filing cabinet for things I want to keep, or share privately with my family. I love it for storing recipes, quotes, church talks, household tips, you name it can be stored in a blog and you can de-clutter your life of all the loose paper stashed everywhere. It will open up a whole new world to you...you may not have to move to a bigger house with more storage after all!

Hitting That Creative Brick Wall

I know there are a lot of you that have hesitated to journal in the past because you thing that no one really wants to read about your life, right? I have heard people say I have nothing to say, nothing to write about. My life is so ordinary that no one including my kids would be interested. Or you are hung up by thinking you are not a good or interesting writer. You are, yes, you are! You just have to try!

I know that each of you have something fun and unique, or even ordinary that is worth recording. If you sit down to your computer and have a block, try something like this.

A fellow blogger named Peggy created a meme. (Pronounced like cream with an m.) A meme in the blog world is a blog party. She created a format for sharing called, "A Simple Woman's Daybook." People write these post every week and then link back to her. She lists them all out so you can, if you are so inclined, read what hundreds of women do on any ordinary Monday.

I have been writing a daybook entry most weeks for nearly a year. I rarely have time to read others but I have on occasion and it is very interesting. I have added and changed some questions just slightly for my own use, but you can check hers out too by going to her link on my page.

Here is how it works: Each week begin a new post and answer these questions:

The title of your post~ A Simple Woman's Daybook~Add the date

To join in focusing on the simple things and pleasures of your daily life or to read other people's entries, you can click here.(Peggy's Blog)

So, For Today...Put in the Date

Outside my window...

I am thinking...

I am thankful for...

From the learning room..

I am reading...

From the kitchen...

I am wondering...

I am wearing...

I am hearing..

I am going...

If I could change one thing...

I am quoting...

My spiritual thoughts include...

Around the house...

I am missing...

I am hoping...

I have been procrastinating...

One of my guilty pleasures...

One of my favorite things...

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Here is a picture and thought I am sharing with you...

********************

Here are mine if you want to take a look at them for ideas:

Give it a whirl...you can do it! Think about how much you would treasure something like this from a person that you ♥ that has passed on. It is also a great way to quickly preserve your history and organize your thoughts and plans for the week.

Go To:
http://magicmemorymaking.blogspot.com
For a Tutorial on how to do it
And continual help through commenting!
One step at a time you are on your way!

Creating a Post

The first thing you do is choose a title for your post and type. Sometimes I actually change it after I see which way the post goes. They seem to be born and evolve sometimes in a different direction that you originally intend. You can change it anytime. My first one was about why I decided to blog in the first place. It doesn't have to be long or elaborate in anyway. In fact, most people keeping them short. I have to say I am not good at keeping them short. You choose.

Here is a link to my first post. Click on the red word link to go to the post. I love to add photos to my post but you don't have to. You can still add a little color or emphasis but using colored text, italics, bolding or different size text. You can also select a different font from the tool bar and the alignment features common on word or in your email. You will find the icons for doing these things right at the top of the text box. Simply highlight the word or phrases you want to change and click on the icon on the toolbar and make you selection. You will also find There are also icons for adding photos, links and videos which is a little different. I will explain those later. Fro now jsut take a minute and write something in you text box for fun.

No seriously go do it! When you are done just click on Publish down beneath the text box and you had done your first post. This screen will come up and click on View Post. Notice here that there is a place to edit it if you want to come back after viewing the post...arrow back on your main toolbar to come back to this same age and then click edit and you are right back at your Working Page. Magic!

Adding Photos To Your Post

I am really hoping you all have a digital camera. I am also hoping you know how to upload your photos from your camera and store them in your Picasa, or iPhotos, or in an online company that stores photos like Flickr, or Photobucket. If you don't contact me and I will write something about that in a separate post later.

This is how I add photos:
Be sure and revisit the Video about
creating a blog
to see the actual ease of adding a photo.
Written out step by step it
seems harder than it really is.

1: I think about what photos I will be using and place them temporarily on my desk top. On your iMac you can simply drag and drop them onto your desktop. On your PC right click and Save Image As and name the photo to your desktop or click on File on your main toolbar and Save As and name the photo to your desktop. This is an extra step but it helps keep it more simple.

2. Go the the little icon with the blue sky on the text box tool bar right next to the spell check. Click on the box this is the screen that comes up.

This is the first add photo screen
you may want to double click and enlarge it
so you can see it well and then print it.

This screen is important because you select how many photos you want to add and the position on the page and the size you want to upload.

Look at the diagrams and see what you like. I personally like my photos large and centered. So I keep that checked as the default unless I want it different occasionally. It will return to how you have it set so you are done with that part unless you need to change it. (Every time I do change it I forget to put it back the next time. Bummer.) Also check the size you want and you can then check the box that says use this layout every time. You are now ready to click browse. This is the next screen you will see.

Note how desktop is highlighted because that is where you put your photos you want to add. Then you just have a few things to glance through to select the photo you want. Photos will normally have a jpg extension behind a name you have assigned the photo or a number. Image 3143.jpg is the only actual photo on my desk top right now. (The other items that say picture are the screen shots I told you I can make with my i Mac for the tutorial posts I am making right now.

Next you select or highlight the photo you want to upload and click on open.
You are then brought back to this screen but you will notice that there is now some info in the browse box. If this is the only photo you want to add at this time you are ready to upload. If you want to add another photo click on Add Another Photo just above the browse box and repeat selecting a photo #2 exactly like you did it the first time.

IMPORTANT Message!!

If this is the first time you have done this you may see a little message right under the upload button that you need to check stating that you agree with their policies for upload photos. After that first time they will not have that on the screen again. (Since I checked it over two years ago I am not sure if this is still a feature of the first time you upload a photo.)

Now it is time for you to Click Upload. After a few seconds you will see this:


Click on the blue box that says done and your post text box will appear with your photo at the top.Once the photo appears on the top of your post, you can click on it and drag it into the place you want it to be. You can pull a photo down and right over other photos. Just make sure you let go of your drag while the cursor is in the text box. You can drop it between words or sentences and text will properly realign itself when you move the photo down to the place you want it to stay. If you let go outside the text box your photo ain't goin' anywhere!

Cinque Terra, Italy
2010 Vacation

A note about the browser you use. Blogger works best with Firefox for uploading photos.

I know this seems a little complicated on paper but honestly, it takes just a few seconds once you get use to it. Call me and I'll walk you through it or come over and show you how to do it if you need help. Or even better send me a comment if you need clarification. Seriously the learning curve is about ten minutes. So Happy Uploading!

Tags, Labels, and Label Clouds

Click Click It

Whenever you write a post go down to the bottom of the text box and include a tag or label. This is a keyword about the text and helps you locate the post later. You can use more than one tag or label so it is easier to find. Doing this from the very beginning is a good practice.


I will show you how to make a label cloud for the sidebar of your blog so your readers can find things easily too...drop me a comment. :-)

The Sidebar

Your side bar is located on the right hand side of this template and is where you can add gadgets and widgets (see the glossary). Essentially these are mini software packages that you can add under the Customize tab on your blog toolbar at the top right of yoru screen net to New Post. With them you can add fun things like a traffic feed, a visitor map, short texts like favorite quotes, a wish list, blog links of others with their current post including a photo. You can add music, blinkies, lots of embellishments of every kind, buttons and badges to other blogs, etc and even slide shows and videos. The possibilities are endless and I am willing to post about any that you are interested in adding. Just leave me a comment and I am on it!

Privacy Settings On Your Blog

Everyone has different ideas on how they want to present their blog. Some want total privacy so that only they can view it. Others want to open it up to family and friends only, and still others have an open setting so anyone can view it. The great thing is that no matter how you want it~you can have it by going to the Settings Tab on your working page.

Double Click photos to enlarge




These setting page all have defaults. I have just kept what they recommend except I did change:

Add Your Blog To Our Listings?
Default is Yes...I changed to No
Let Search Engines Find Your Blog?
Default Yes...I changed to No.

It just depends what you want. Remember...it is all about you!

Giving Permission To View Your Blog

This aspect of the blog settings is found under Permissions at the end of the Tabs shown here:

Click on the screen shots to enlarge.

On this screen you choose who can view and how many authors you want. Some people have appointed several others that can write posts on the blog~this is fun for families and special interest groups.

Comments

Many people reads blogs and never comment. This is perfectly fine. However, bloggers tend to love comments. It stands to reason that when you share something you love to get feedback and then respond so your blog becomes interactive.

Comment can post directly to your comment page or they can come to you first with a feature called Comment Moderation. This is so you can filter your comments before they can be viewed by anyone else. This is just a good idea for safety reasons and so you will always know when you have gotten a comment no matter how old the posting is.

What good are comments if you miss them? You have to change the default on that question on the pages below. Just read through these setting pages they are pretty much self-explanatory. And if you need help I am just a comment away.

I have copied these pages from my settings so you can see where I have changed the defaults when you are setting up your own blog settings. Click on Screen Shots to enlarge.

Blog To Book

Some people just have to have a journal they can sit down with and flip the pages. I am like that and one of my goals is to get my blogs published someday. One thing you can do is publish your blog by categories or you can make a special blog about a memorable event. I created an entire blog about with our recent month in Italy with some of our children. I am looking into getting the 39 post blog printed soon. I want the books for the grandkids and kids who live in Italy and and Jim's mom who came with us. She doesn't 'do computers' at 83 so this will be a gift for her to remember some major life experiences she never dreamed she would have. See this post. Of course I want one for us too!

My Italy Trip Blog is called "Prego Prego!"
This will be my first Blog Book Published

There are several companies that print blogs. A couple of the most popular are Blurb, Blog2Print and Blogger to Book even creates an editable backup for you and then you can print whatever you want from it. Brent Riggs the author and creator of Blogger to Book recommends Lulu as his preferred blog printer.



There are advantages and disadvantages to all of the printers/publishers so you just need to check it out and see what you like best. I have not decided for sure yet but I think I will be going with Brent Riggs for my blog books. He is a little more expense but I think what he offers is the best. He has a great blogging site too, by the way, and gives great tips on building a better blog. And he has a new publication about digital photography that looks great.

It is so exciting to be able to publish your book at a reasonable price. Just think what writers from the past would have given for that!

The Glue~Communication

Blogging helps us become the Glue of the Home
By keeping our families connected.

s-7

I wrote a series of posts about keeping the connection and communicating with the family. You can find them here.

#1 Keeping The Connection

#2 Connections~First Things First

#3 Searching For The Connection

#4 My Connections

#5 My Connection To The Little Ones

Changing Your Background

I don't tend to change my backgrounds but I know many people love to do this. I asked my friend, Shelli, if she would guest post how to do it for you here. Thanks Shelli!

I know what many of you are thinking right now. You're excited to start, you see the benefits of blogging like keeping memories remembered and becoming a record keeping woman. But if you're like me you might be a little distracted by your desire to make yours CUTE. "How do they DO that??" you think, as you browse the blogger template options without seeing a single one you like. The answer, Sisters, is coming right up.

First of all, a warning. Do not - as a beginner - add a template if it tells you to change/edit your html code. Many of these, not all, delete your widgets. Widgets are the little additions on the sidebar like pictures you've added, lists, text, links you like, etc. Only add the backgrounds that are themselves a widget. I'll explain.

One of the best and easiest sites to use is www.thecutestblogontheblock.com. (You can right-click on the link and choose to open it in a new tab if you want to see it right now.) On the homepage there's a menu on the left-hand side. What you want are the Free Backgrounds so click there. Next, scroll down a little until you can click Blogspot Backgrounds in the little blue box with rounded edges. Perfect.

You're there! You can now browse for something that you love that fits your style. Now, you'll see on the right-hand side. You can browse there - by category - if you know you want one with polka dots or flowers or a certain color or whatever. Just click on the category you like. Otherwise you're free to just scroll down each page, clicking "Next" when you want to see the following page.There has to be something here you like, I hope. I've never found a site with more options than this one.

Once you've found a design you like, click on it.

**NOTE: You most likely have a 2-column blog, so the 3-column options won't fit yours. So if it's labeled 3-column don't click there, but find the matching background for the double column. Usually they're posted together, but not always.**

You'll need to scroll down a little to find the instructions. What you're doing is you're adding a widget to the sidebar of your blog that dictates what your background looks like. I'll paraphrase the instructions in case that helps some of you:

1. When you sign into blogger it takes you to your dashboard. Your dashboard lists all your blogs so you can choose which you want to work with. Under each blog listing you'll see a little blue box that says "NEW POST" followed by four other blue links. You want to click LAYOUT.
2. This should bring you to the "Add and Arrange Page Elements" page. You want to click on Add a Gadget on the right-hand side.
3. The third or fourth option that comes up is HTML / Javascript. That's what you want.
4. Hold that thought. Back on the cutest blog page there should be a paragraph of jibberish under the background you clicked on. Scroll down until you see it. It's labeled also, so it should be easy to find if you're on the right screen. Highlight that whole paragraph and copy it. (Right click, copy).
5. Go back to your new blogger gadget. Paste (right click, paste) the paragraph of html (the jibberish) in the "content" box. You can give it a title if you want, but I never do. Your title will show up on your sidebar, though, so keep that in mind. The jibberish doesn't though, so don't worry.
6. Click SAVE.
7. Now you'll be back to your LAYOUT page and you'll see the new addition highlighted in yellow on your sidebar. You can drag that entire html/javascript box down to the bottom of your blog if you want. That's what I do because I like my important gadgets to be at the top, like pictures or text or something. If that confuses you don't worry about it ... it's no biggie.

The Cutest Blog on the Block has TONS of free backgrounds, but also a lot of tips and extra things. Take a little look around. I learned some of my best blogging tips there. Here are a few other sites that offer free backgrounds that just require you to add an extra gadget on your sidebar:


http://hotbliggityblog.com/ - the html code is in the box below each background
http://www.delightfuldots.blogspot.com/ - find the html code by clicking either 2 column or 3 column (you probably have a 2 column)
http://www.scrap-e-blog.blogspot.com/ - the html code is in the blox below each background for this one as well

Happy experimenting, Sisters! Once you start poking around these sites you're bound to find several more you like. Many of the sites have their own tutorials also, so be adventurous and try whatever you want! And don't worry, if you mess up just delete the gadget and start again. There should be no permanent damage done. :) That's the best part of this kind of decorating ... it's free to do over and over again.

How To Enlarge Your Photos

This is the normal large size photo for Blogger

This is the enlarged version of the same photo.

To accomplish this change go to your edit html tab on your text screen after you have uploaded your picture. I have found this works best with portrait rather than landscape photos.

The photo html code will be several lines of code. You will scan through and find something that looks like this Width: 334px; Display:block; height: 400px;

Delete the numbers I am showing you in red for width and height so you then will just have :; where the numbers were.

Down toward the end of the code you will see something like AAAAAEF a few more letters and then you will see this /s400/ delete that s400 and replace with s640. Save it and preview to see if your photo has enlarged. Don't fret if you deleted the wrong numbers or whatever. Just delete the photo and upload it again. You can't hurt anything, just try again.

So to recap...just delete the first two numbers and replace the last one with s640. It is not that complicated once you have done it a few times. The hardest part is just scanning the code to find the numbers you want to delete and the one you want to change.

I am thinking it doesn't work so well on the landscape shaped photos because of the parameters set by the blogger template. It might work find on other types of blogs. If this doesn't do it for you leave a comment and your e-mail if I don't have it and I'll send you the instructions via an e-mail. Blogger would not let me put in the full body of the photo code as a teaching tool as I think it seemed like I was trying to insert a photo without uploading it. Computers are only so smart, as you know...!

Changing the HEADER

The header width of a standard blog is 660 pixels. To have an image fit perfectly within the borders it needs to be 12 pixels shorter, so 648. This is how I do it:

1. Choose an image you want to use and save it to your desktop for easy access. It doesn't matter how tall it is, but it needs to be at least 648 pixels wide. You can find out how wide an image is in the next step.
2. Go to www.drpic.com. You can upload your picture there, and it will tell you exactly what the image's dimensions are. For example, on the upper right-hand side of the uploaded image it might say something like 800 x 600.
3. Click RESIZE on the left-hand side of the screen.*
4. In the pop-up window specify that you want the image to be 648 pixels wide, maintaining the width to height ratio. (The drop-down menu lets you choose pixels rather than percentages.)
5. Right-click on the image after it's resized and save it to your desktop.
6. You can now go into blogger, to EDIT LAYOUT. Click Edit Header.
7. Click to browse for a new image. You can specify whether you'd like the header to appear behind the title and description of your blog, or instead of it. (You can add words to an image using the program Paint, which comes standard with most computers. Otherwise, just place the image behind the blogger title and description.)
8. Click save and you're set. Click VIEW BLOG to see if it worked correctly.

* From Dr. Pic you may want to crop the picture to only include part of the image you selected. Make a rectangle over the section of the image you want to keep and click crop. If your image was large enough you may still be able to resize it to 648 pixels.

Fun Resources

Backgrounds

http://www.scrap-e-blog.blogspot.com/

http://www.delightfuldots.blogspot.com/

http://hotbliggityblog.com/

http://scrappinblogs.blogspot.com/

http://shabbyblogs.com/

http://dottydotdotdesign1.blogspot.com/

http://blogsandblings.blogspot.com/

http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/

Photo Edits

Picasa
Dr. Pic
Picnik
Paint.net (I LOVE this free program! It's similar to Photoshop.)

Choosing Colors

Colour Lovers - you can search for color palettes that match your background (I use keywords like aqua or moss when I'm looking for that perfect shade to coordinate my blog.)

Comments and Settings

Did you know that there is an easy way to get responses to your comments on people's blogs? I ran across a blogger that sets out how to do this very clearly and you can find it here.

I think this would make a conversation so much easier, don't you? I have had my settings set this way for a long time and I love it when people respond back when they can. This way any questions can be answered with an e-mail.

And if you really want to make your commenters happy go into Settings and then Comments and select "No" for word verification and Save your changes.

Anyway, just a thought....Happy blogging!