Time Away

You may have noticed that I have not been posting very often these days. I apologize for that, but unfortunately it won't be getting any better. I have had some health problems for a while and finally met with a doctor that said surgery is the only solution. My operation is in less than 10 days and I am spending this time getting my house in order and everything ready for me and my family during my recovery. I don't know for sure how long I will be out but I probably won't be jumping back on the computer for at least a month, maybe two.

I want all of you to know how much I appreciate your kind words and support of me and my blog. I am amazed every day that so many of you have been able to find something useful here on my blog. It has been such a great experience for me so far and I hope to be able to continue. I have cut back on my posts quite a bit lately and I appreciate so many of you sticking with me. I have been making sure that my job as a mom is my full-time job and does not take a back seat to this blog. I still have a long list of tutorials I want to post and I hope to eventually get to them. Thank you so much for your patience.

You can still email me if you'd like but please don't expect a response any time soon. I'll be sure to update my blog with an update on my recovery!

Thanks to all of you for supporting my blog!

~Dani

How to Add a Post Icon (Simple Template)

Customizing the Simple Template - Part 4

Have you ever seen those cute little icons next to the title of each post? I have made several for my custom design customers and love them. They are just one more simple feature to draw attention to your blog without over doing it.

Making the actual post icon is very easy. And if you use the Blogger Simple template, adding the icon to your blog is even easier. You don't have to worry at all about editing the HTML and messing up your blog. You won't go anywhere near it in this tutorial.

Follow Part 1 of my Simple Template Tutorials to set your template to the Simple template.

Let's get started!

How to Make and Add a Post Divider (Simple Template)

Customizing the Simple Template - Part 3



Do you want a post divider for your blog but you are afraid to edit the HTML? If you answered yes, then this post is for you. In a previous post I showed you how to create a post divider like the one you see below:

My previous instructions showed you how to add the divider if your template is already set to the Minima template. This post will give you instructions on how to add the divider if your template is set to the Blogger Simple template. Follow Part 1 of my Simple Template Tutorials to set your template to the Simple template.

Let's get started!

How to Make Your Own Background (Simple Template)

Customizing the Simple Template - Part 2
 



In my last post, I showed you how to get your blog set up with the Blogger Simple template. Now it is time to start customizing it!

Let's get started with the background:

Customizing the Blogger Simple Template, Part 1

I have posted several tutorials on how to make your own blog background, post divider and such and I hope they have been useful to you. However, all of these tutorials have required that you use the Minima template. I like this template the most but this template does not allow you to take full advantage of the Template Designer. Also, many of you are terrified at the thought of editing the HTML on your own.

So, I would like to give you some instructions on how to add your own custom designs to the Blogger Simple template. If you use this template, you can adjust the widths of the columns, the arrangement of the columns and much more without having to edit the HTML at all! In fact, when you add all of your design elements, you won't ever have to click "Edit HTML"!

This first post will be all about getting your blog set-up with the Simple template of your choice. (There are several Simple templates. I'll help you choose!) My next post will show you how to add your own Custom Design Elements.

Ready to get started? Here we go!

Blank 3-Column Template

This template is a blank template, meaning there is no background image, no header, no designs on the blog. The template, however, has been modified to allow for 3 columns. My free 3-column backgrounds can be used with this template.

By using this template, you agree to the terms of use.
Read here for instructions on how to add a template.

Click Here for HTML/CSS Code

You can add/change:

•   the Blog title and description shown on the header
•   the font colors
•   the font  Click here to learn how.  (This template allows you to alter the date, post title and   sidebar titles with a different font for each one.) 
•   the background
•   the header

   Don't forget to add my button to your sidebar. Here's the code:

<center><a href=http://www.blogdesignsbydani.com/><img src="http://bdbd.blogdesignsbydani.com/Dani Button.png"/></a></center>

Cherished Love Header

Instructions on How to Add a Header

Use with the background: Cherished Love

http://headers.blogdesignsbydani.com/JustSoScrappy/Cherished Love%20Header.jpg

Images copyright Katie Castillo
(from her kit called Cherish)

Cherished Love

For those of you interested in just the background from the Cherished Love Template, here it is:

 2-Column (Standard Width)

<script>document.write(unescape("%3Cstyle%20type%3D%22text/css%22%3Ebody%7Bbackground-image%3Aurl%28%22http%3A//backgrounds.blogdesignsbydani.com/JustSoScrappy/Cherished Love.jpg%20%22%29%3Bbackground-position%3Acenter%3B%20background-repeat%3A%20no-repeat%3B%20background-attachment%3A%20fixed%3B%7D%3C/style%3E%20%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22tag%22%20style%3D%22position%3Aabsolute%3B%20left%3A0px%3Btop%3A30px%3B%20width%3A150px%3B%20height%3A50px%3B%22%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20href%3D%22http%3A//www.blogdesignsbydani.com%22%20title%3D%22http%3A//www.blogdesignsbydani.com%22%3E%3Cimg%20border%3D%220%22%20src%3D%22http%3A//backgrounds.blogdesignsbydani.com/tags/DaniRed.png%22/%3E%20%3C/a%3E%3C/div%3E"))</script>

   3-Column (Wide Width)

<script>document.write(unescape("%3Cstyle%20type%3D%22text/css%22%3Ebody%7Bbackground-image%3Aurl%28%22http%3A//backgrounds.blogdesignsbydani.com/JustSoScrappy/Cherished Love_3Column.jpg%20%22%29%3Bbackground-position%3Acenter%3B%20background-repeat%3A%20no-repeat%3B%20background-attachment%3A%20fixed%3B%7D%3C/style%3E%20%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22tag%22%20style%3D%22position%3Aabsolute%3B%20left%3A0px%3Btop%3A30px%3B%20width%3A150px%3B%20height%3A50px%3B%22%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20href%3D%22http%3A//www.blogdesignsbydani.com%22%20title%3D%22http%3A//www.blogdesignsbydani.com%22%3E%3Cimg%20border%3D%220%22%20src%3D%22http%3A//backgrounds.blogdesignsbydani.com/tags/DaniRed.png%22/%3E%20%3C/a%3E%3C/div%3E"))</script>

Images copyright Katie Castillo
(from her kit called Cherish)

Matching Header

Cherished Love Template

By using this template, you agree to the terms of use.
Read here for instructions on how to add a template.

Click Here for HTML/CSS Code

*This template may not show the header when you insert the HTML/CSS code. If it does not appear, do the following:

1. Go to the Design page and make sure you are on the Page Elements section.
2. Click on the Edit button on the Header box.
3. In the pop-up window, click "Behind Title and Description and then insert the following address in the box that says, "From the Web"

http://templates.blogdesignsbydani.com/loveyou/header.png

4. Click Save and View Blog. Your header should appear!



 This template includes:
  a wide 2-column layout
  a background
  a matching header
  a post icon (picture next to the post title)
  a post divider (picture in between each post)

You can add/change:

•   the Blog title and description shown on the header
•   the font colors
•   the font  Click here to learn how.  (This template allows you to alter the date, post title and sidebar titles with a different font for each one.)

   Don't forget to add my button to your sidebar. Here's the code:

<center><a href=http://www.blogdesignsbydani.com/><img src="http://bdbd.blogdesignsbydani.com/Dani Button.png"/></a></center>

Images copyright Katie Castillo
From her kit Cherish

Header Problems

Are any of you having problems with my headers? A few readers have complained of the headers being too big. Lately the "Shrink to Fit" button hasn't been shrinking my headers down to the right size for many blogs. If you are having this problem, please leave a comment or email me. I will resize the header for you and post a new code. Be sure to tell me which header you want.

Thanks,
Dani