Saturday, January 1, 2011

Happy New Blog!

I can't think of a better way to start the new year than with a new blog!
(well, perhaps I can think of a few...lose 5 lbs, a pair of Christian Louboutin heels, a place to wear said heels, healthy happy children...bleh bleh bleh)
Every year I try to make New Year's resolutions that I can actually accomplish. Sure I want to be a better wife, mother, person...but I think those should be everyday decisions. Not something you can ever really check off, you know? For my resolutions I keep them pretty shallow & pretty attainable. I love patting myself on the back for getting things done so I'm not really going to go crazy here. First one I decided a few months ago, to gain a basic understanding of html code. In particular, I wanted to be able to change my blog's design myself.

CHECK!

I gotta say, the only reason this one is done by the end of day one is because it's so much easier than I ever thought it'd be! I took step by step screenshots of how I built my baby deer header (isn't he cute?) so look for a tutorial on that in the next couple of days but for everything else there's already such awesome tutorials out there that I'm just going to pass those links along to you...
How to make a navigation bar
How to make your image larger than Blogger allows (this was HUGE for me, like life changing I wanted to weep with happiness HUGE! I've been trying to figure out how to have larger images because that's um, kind of crucial for detailed tutorial shots & this worked perfectly!!!)
How to make a photo header using Picasa (my tutorial will be with Picnik)
This page has a great general blogger tutorial list
Picnik photography editing tips
How to use Picnik for creating printables (this totally got me started on the Picnik kick, now I'm an addict)
How to center your header

I really used Sneaky Mommy Blog Design for most of the help, what a great resource.
I also used 3 online programs to do all the image work (and they're all free, woot! woot!)

Picasa (photo storage & editing) Picnik (photo & design editing) & Photobucket (online storage, generates html code for images)
All three are super user friendly, I HIGHLY recommend them!

Last I'm hoping you guys will let me know if I left anything off in the new design that maybe you really liked about the old one. (or really like on other blogs) There are still a few things to tweak (the tutorials list will be back, still working on a signature) but it's mostly done.

So be honest (but gentle) do you like it???

***By the way...does anyone know how to make each of my columns wider? My base template is blogger's 'simple' template but each column seems really narrow when I compare it to other blogs. Anybody know? Anyone? Bueller?
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37 comments:

  1. JennyJanuary 1, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    That little deer is so cute! You did a great job on the new design!

    Thanks for all of the links too!

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  2. AshleyJanuary 1, 2011 at 11:00 PM

    Congrats! It looks awesome! Now I'll have to learn myself :)

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  3. Gabby MalcuitJanuary 1, 2011 at 11:00 PM

    Great job. I made my own blog look using online tutorials, too. I love that there's so much helpful stuff out there that people are willing to share. Thanks for posting these links. I have no clue about photo editing or making printables, so I'll definitely check those out.

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  4. Random Thoughts from CrystalJanuary 1, 2011 at 11:42 PM

    Love it!!!

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  5. emma_GJanuary 2, 2011 at 12:29 AM

    Love the new design it feels very fresh to me :)

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  6. SayonadaTJanuary 2, 2011 at 12:43 AM

    ok... so I just spent 90 minutes and already have a new header and bigger pictures! Thank you so very very much... I'm linking to you in a scheduled post on the 2nd!

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  7. Megan EllisJanuary 2, 2011 at 12:45 AM

    You can adjust the width of your columns in the "Template Designer" under the "Design" tab. Go to "adjust widths" and drag the little arrow all the way over to "max". Then you can adjust your sidebars to whatever width you want! Looks good! I love the little deer :)

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  8. Jaya PJanuary 2, 2011 at 12:47 AM

    wow, thank you for giving us the links to all the tutorials... thats a great idea, to get a basic understanding of html.

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  9. Jaya PJanuary 2, 2011 at 12:49 AM

    oh, i forgot to add, love the new look. so fresh. and that deer is a.do.rable!

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  10. AlexandriaJanuary 2, 2011 at 1:16 AM

    I switched my blog over to Wordpress over the summer. But when I was on Blogger Sneaky Momma was a HUGE resource for me. I literally did every single design aspect on my blogger blog just by using her tutorials. It was time consuming but I loved it. As much as I loved my homemade design I'm in the processes of having a complete professional one done. But you'rs looks great!

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  11. crafterhoursJanuary 2, 2011 at 4:25 AM

    I love it Natasha! I mean, your old one was great too, but I have personal issues with purple, so I really really love this one :)
    -A

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  12. KatherineJanuary 2, 2011 at 9:00 AM

    thanks for the links! what a great new year's gift! i might actually know what i'm doing now!

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  13. AnonymousJanuary 2, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    it's beautiful and serene! Love it!

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  14. JaimieJanuary 2, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    Looks pretty good! I like the simpler white background. Nice and clean!

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  15. NatashaJanuary 2, 2011 at 10:51 AM

    Thanks Megan but I tried that, I'm already at the max width...I think I need to find out how to adjust the template's restrictions ):

    Thanks for all the compliments guys, so happy you like it!

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  16. LoriJanuary 2, 2011 at 3:47 PM

    Love the new look and thanks for all the links! One of these days I need to update the look of mine (and actually post more regularly).

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  17. baileyJanuary 2, 2011 at 4:12 PM

    Here is a link to a tutorial that really helped me - I also hated my super narrow columns and was able to fix them - yay!

    http://beginner-blogger-basics.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-change-width-of-blogger-blogs.html

    Love the new clean look. :) You might already have this planned, but linking the photos of you and your kids to an 'about me' would be super cute!

    Have fun!
    Bailey
    traveling-anchor.blogspot.com

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  18. BrookeJanuary 2, 2011 at 6:46 PM

    very cute. Love the deer.

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  19. DiannaJanuary 2, 2011 at 8:21 PM

    Love it! Nice work!

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  20. JenniferJanuary 2, 2011 at 10:55 PM

    Great job!! Love the header. And thanks for sharing. I have alot of reading to do now :) Wishing you a happy New Year...

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  21. jBrinkJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    Awesome job!!

    I have a blog design question - how did you make your crafting and cooking pages? I have been trying to figure out how to make a page that collects the label posts, but am not having any luck. Can you point me in the right direction? I think I am calling it the wrong thing. :P

    Thanks so much!!

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  22. dottologyJanuary 3, 2011 at 6:29 AM

    OMG! thank you so much for this. this is a big help especially for someone who's thinking of starting her own blog. thank you!!!

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  23. NatashaJanuary 3, 2011 at 8:51 AM

    hi Little Feet, what you're looking for is a navigation bar, there's a link to the tutorial in the post.

    When it came time to link each image (cooking, crafting, etc...they're actually each images) I just linked them to the label pages like http://samstermommy.blogspot.com/search/label/naptime%20crafting

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  24. VickyJanuary 3, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    Looks amazing. You definelty deserve more than a pat on the back for doing it yourself.

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  25. jBrinkJanuary 3, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    Thank you! Yup - totally calling it the wrong thing!! :)

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  26. AlexandriaJanuary 3, 2011 at 11:55 AM

    i thought i had left this comment the other day but its not appearing. anyway the design looks great i would just recommend you make the pictures of you & the girls either un-clickable or link to the homepage or maybe even separate about me pages because right now they link to your photobucket page

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  27. UnknownJanuary 3, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    awesome, way to go doing it yourself! I think I need a new layout, my Older and Newer page links are gone and I can't fix them and I think I need to start fresh. I'm procrastinating for now though, seems like it might take me a while! I do know html already but it's the css and stuff that kills me... and the time-killer part, considering I can't just rattle off code like I could back when I was a teenager and coding pages with only html, before css and javascript became so necessary. Soooo.... do mine for me? hahaha.

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  28. Heather G.January 3, 2011 at 9:07 PM

    Believe it or not, this is one of my resolutions too. So glad though I have a resource now to go to instead of having to do ALL that research myself! Thanks a bunch! Your design is precious. You did a great job & I can't wait to see what else you do.

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  29. TheSavvyKitchenJanuary 4, 2011 at 10:48 AM

    Thanks for sharing all these great posts! I've started a new cooking blog myself and would love any feedback or comments you can give, so please be sure to check out The Savvy Kitchen at www.savvykitchen.blogspot.com. I look forward to continuing reading your blog in 2011!

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  30. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2011 at 5:22 PM

    very cute but i dont know where to find your previous post(there usually on the side)..i dont know if im not looking hard enough but there not in the same place as the old format,but other then that everything is SO cute! i love the new look!!!

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  31. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2011 at 4:50 AM

    Ugh, when anyone starts talking HTML I get cross eyed. But I know what you mean, I would love to be able to design my own blog page so much better than the basic one I have now. Your new page is great. I really like it. :-)

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  32. Lil Mama StuartJanuary 6, 2011 at 11:22 AM

    thank you so much for all the resources! i too am on a quest to make a better blog. i just figured out how to make a signature! even though you already had one :)

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  33. Lil Mama StuartJanuary 6, 2011 at 11:28 AM

    oh - i think it's helpful to have a listing of your DIY tutes. That way I can skim through the listing instead of scrolling through every "crafting" post where I have to keep clicking

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  34. MindyJanuary 10, 2011 at 7:35 PM

    Thank you a ton for the resource. I made a new banner for my Etsy shop. It looks way more professional that the old one I had. And best yet I did it all myself!
    http://mindy-thislittlelightofmine.blogspot.com/

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  35. Binge CrafterJanuary 18, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    Thanks for the information! I used one of your links to create a new header for my blog and now I'm trying to get some followers! Love your blog- I added you to my favorite blogs list. :) Angela
    www.bingecrafter.blogspot.com

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  36. Lil Mama StuartMarch 24, 2011 at 4:50 PM

    did you figure out how to widen your columns outside of the templates max?

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  37. UnknownApril 15, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    ditto on the last question, I also have the simple template and I want it wider :(

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