Rising Out of the Button Bog

I have been drowning in the button bog for about a week now.  I have learned one thing about myself in this process, little graphics just fascinate me! 
I think that is why I love Pinterest and why I love blog buttons. Cute little graphics!

Again, after many a day exploring sites, I actually found the buttons that I wanted for my blog.   But of course, just like everything else, there were so many trials and errors. 
The first set of buttons that I knew I wanted to use were the social media icons. I started out with the icons that Blogger provides under the layout tab. Nice, easy to install, but just didn't go with the overall colors and feel of the blog. So, off we go again to the wonderful world of cyberspace to find the perfect set. 

After searching in Google and looking at site after site, I found some buttons that I thought were the ones, the Vintage Social Media Stamps.  I found them at Design Instruct under the Freebies section.  I installed them on my test blog, (another great tip from Karen Valentine's e-book, Building Beautiful Blogs) they looked great and I was happy. But then what did I notice?  No Pinterest button. That certainly would not do....but I really liked them, so off I went to find solution. One great site I found was 1st Web Designer.  Under their Freebies tab is a link to 45+ Fresh and Free Social Media Icons.  There are wooden, bottle cap, candy, and coffee cup icons, just to name a few. One of these years, I will need to start another blog, just so I can use the buttons, but they just weren't right for this one. 


I finally found the ones that I needed, an RSS feed and a Pinterest icon.  But here is a lesson, I thought I bookmarked the site, but I didn't. I can't find the source that I used but I will keep searching and give them credit.  The icons are heart shaped with a lacy background.  After several attempts to get all the icons to go to the right places, I finally had them set. Thank goodness....I was definitely drowning in the bog of social icons!

Now, it's time for me to stop the designing and begin the content. Thanks for reading my OCD Guide to Blog Building.  As I  learn more...and there is a lot to learn, I will add new installments. 


Teresa

Backgrounds and Layouts

The next step in my continuing journey to build the best blog ever was to delve into layouts and backgrounds.  I am going to preface this post by saying that all the websites that I visited are wonderful. The fault lies in me....so many choices and so many directions my blog can take.

The first thing I decided to do was use a premade background from Blogger. There are some wonderful ones and I didn't yet realize there was a whole cornucopia of backgrounds to choose from.
So, I chose one background, added some gadgets and thought....not quite, what else can I do? So out comes by resource books and low and behold..there are tons of sites that offer free backgrounds.

Off I went to cyberspace.  One of the first places I visited was The Background Fairy I love this site which is also associated with The Graphics Fairy. I found lots of choices, tried quite a few, but still not quite right.  Next stop, Shabby Blogs. Great choices. I found one I liked with a header to match no less.

So, back to the drawing board. New background, new layout. Loved it, but still not quite right. (sounds familiar, Goldilocks, perhaps?)  Next stop, Cute and Cool Backgrounds by Itkupilli. Ah, just right, funky and cool,  right up my alley. After trying out almost every background on the site, I finally, finally chose one that love, the one that you see today.

Background chosen, finally!! Layout....I have tried everyone that is available. The book Blogger for Dummies,  suggested not to choose layout 4 or 8 because there is not enough room for your posts, which are the heart of a blog.  Hmmm...guess which one I chose! So back to the drawing board a few more times. I think I have chosen the layout for me.. seems balanced which makes me happy, but who knows what time will bring.

That is as far as I have gotten and it has taken me about a month to get to this point.  The next installment will be buttons and graphics, the stage that I am in now.

Stay tuned!
Teresa

My OCD Guide to Blog Building

I have decided to share my journey into building my blog.  Last December I was introduced to Pinterest.  OMG!  My dream world was there in millions of pictures of anything you could think of.
Instantly, my obsessive gene kick in.  I was on Pinterest anytime there was a free moment. After 8pm or so, when the house was quiet, I would log in just to spend a few minutes, and it would be 10pm before I knew it. Needless to say, my pin count mounted rather quickly. In fact, I have around 15,000 pins at this point and counting. You can follow me on Pinterest by clicking here.

Anyway, the point of the paragraph above was to explain why I wanted to start a blog. I love my pins and would love to share them. I try whatever craft captures my fancy at the time and would love to share them. I am at a point in my life where I would like to have my voice heard.  So.....the adventure begins!!!

I will share each experience in a different post as to not overwhelm.....like I am. :)
Let's go back to about few weeks ago to the first of April:

I started looking at blogs that had been pinned on Pinterest to see where the blogs originated from. After looking around  many, many, days, I decided to go with Blogger. I created a gmail account and a Google+ account (which is a whole other story!). I registered a domain name, ordered Google Blogger for Dummies, Karen Valentine's ebook, Building Beautiful Blogs,  and thought, piece of cake! Famous last words!

Installment 2 tomorrow.....layouts and backgrounds, oh my!

Teresa

Welcome!
This is my very first post...so exciting, but please excuse me if I make some newbie blunders!  This is still a work in progress, but I couldn't wait any longer to get started!
I would like to give some credit where credit is due. The fabulous background, header, and some of the buttons are from Itkupilli at *Cute n Cool* Blog Stuff.

Formatting, tips and tricks, buttons, and just plain good information came from Karen Valentine's ebook, Building Beautiful Blogs. This book is available at Karen's website, Valentine Design.

Thanks, all, I will be a frequent visitor to your fabulous sites!

Teresa