BLOOMIN' BLOGGER SUNDAYS & FREEBIE

Welcome to "BLOOMIN' BLOGGER SUNDAYS" where every Sunday you can stop by and pick up a new blogging tip or two! 

I started this weekly featured post because I too, am new to blogging and wanted to be able to share the things I am learning each week with other new bloggers. Learning the tips & tricks to blogging can be very time consuming & exhausting......so now you can save some of that exhaustion by stopping by my blog every Sunday! 

It will also hold me accountable for one of my blogging New Years Resolutions, which was to make at least one post every week! 

Now on to the tip of the week.........

 Bloomin' Tip #2:
Today I will share with you how to take the graphic design we made last week (or another), resize it, and so you can use it as your "Blog Button." 

You will need:
A photo editing program- I use Gimp 2. You can download it for free {here}. 
Your graphic design

Step 1: Open the graphic design you made in PowerPoint and save it as a png file to your computer. 

Step 2: Open Gimp 2 that you downloaded above.

Step 3:  In the Gimp toolbar, click on 
>file, then
>open
>locate the graphic design that you saved as png to your computer  (this will be found wherever you saved your image)
>double-click your image. It will now be displayed in GIMP.

Step 4: In the GIMP picture toolbar, click
>image
>scale image

The "scale image" screen will open. 

Step 5: Change the height and width to a size between 125 & 175. Height and width should be the same so that your button is a perfect square, and click
>scale

Tip: According to the research I found when I made my button......the size of your button should be 125x125, however,

I found this to be too small when I inserted my button on my blog. So my blog button is 175x175. You may have to play around with this to get the appropriate size.

Step 6: Click
>File
>Save as, 
>Change the name. Do not save it as the same name of your original image you started with in case you need to revert back to the original. 
>Click save. 
A "save as png" window will appear. 
>Click save.

Step 7: Now you will need to go to a Photo Hosting Website of your preference to get an html code for your new button. I use www.photobucket.com. You will need to create an account, but it's FREE! 

Step 8: Photobucket Steps
>Click upload
>Browse files
>Locate the graphic design you resized and saved, and double click.
It will appear in your library at the bottom of the screen.
>Click your image
>To the right, under "image links," click HTML Code

Step 9: Now to insert it into your blog.
>Go to your blogger dashboard, click 
>Layout
>Add a gadget
>Scroll down & click on "html/javascript"

The html/javascript screen will be displayed

>Give a title (e.g. my button, grab my button, etc.)
>In "Content" right click and paste your the html code you got from photobucket.
>Click save
>Drag & slide your button where you want it positioned on your blog.
>Click save arrangement. 

That is it! You now have a lovely blog button, so that others can easily identify you and share your blog with others. 

I hope these steps worked and walked you through with ease! If you have any difficulty feel free to leave me a message and I will do my best to assist you! 

STAY TUNED NEXT SUNDAY FOR HOW TO ADD PINTEREST BUTTONS TO YOUR BLOG! 

If you made it through this & still have your wits......you definitely deserve a FREEBIE...............

Here I have for you "Addition Fact Homework Practice" 1-10. I have a student that cannot seem to master her math facts, so I came up with this for her nightly homework. I send the same fact sheet home everynight until the student has mastered those facts. It only took her two weeks to master the 2's. 

Click {here} to download this FREEbie! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will spread the word about my weekly "BLOOMIN' BLOGGER SUNDAYS!"

BLOOMIN' BLOGGER SUNDAYS

Welcome to the very FIRST feature of my new "BLOOMIN' BLOGGER SUNDAYS" where every Sunday you can stop by and pick up a new blogging tip or two! 

I started this weekly featured post because I too, am new to blogging and wanted to be able to share the things I am learning each week with other new bloggers. Learning the tips & tricks to blogging can be very time consuming & exhausting......so now you can save some of that exhaustion by stopping by my blog every Sunday! 

It will also hold me accountable for one of my blogging New Years Resolutions, which was to make at least one post every week! 

Now on to business...........

 Bloomin' Tip #1:
Today I will share with you how to make a graphic design like the one I have above. This is also how you will design a customized  "Grab Button" for your blog. 

You will need:
Clipart
PowerPoint (I am using version 2007, so if you have a higher or even lower version my directions may slightly differ)

PowerPoint is the way to go for designing all of your graphics. It is extremely user-friendly and doesn't have all of the hangups of MS Word. It also allows you to save your work in jpeg and png formats which allows you to use them on the web without distorting your image.

Step 1: Get some cutesy clipart that you like. 
You'll need a background and a frame, and if you like, clipart images to add a finishing touch. Some places do offer free clipart, but I have found that the cutest clipart comes with a price. However, it is very expensive; ranging from $1 to $5.00 for kits. These kits will contain the frames, backgrounds, and images. I love Dollar Graphics Depot, where all clipart is always $1. You can often find free clipart from many teacher blogs as well. I also find alot of free clipart just from visiting "FREEBIE FRIDAY" hosted every Friday by Teaching Blog Addict. 

Visit my Pinterest clipart board {here} for some of my favorite  places to get clipart! 

Step 2: Open PowerPoint and insert your background. 
At the top of the toolbar in ppt, you will:
>Click on insert
>Click on picture (not clipart)
>Locate the background you will use for your design that you downloaded & saved to your computer.
>Double click the image and it will be inserted on your blank ppt slide. That easy!

Step 3: Now do the same to add your frame or border. 

Step 4: Add your text. 
>In the toolbar, click on insert
>Look to the right, and click on text box
>Click anywhere within you border or frame and begin typing. It doesn't matter where your text is at this point, because you will move it where you want it. 

Step 5: Move & arrange your text. 
>Click on the text to make sure there is a highlighted box around it.
>Position your cursor over the highlighted line until you see an image of an intersecting line appear
>Hold your left mouse button down & drag and position the text where you want it. 

You will repeat step 2 to add your cutesy clipart images. And then drag them just as you did your text to position them. 

Step 6: Saving your graphic design.
Once you have your design like you like it. 
>In the toolbar, click the "office button" in the top left corner. It is the round colorful button all the way to the left. 
>Click save as
>In the save as screen, at the bottom (file type), pull down the file type drop down menu and choose to save as a png file. 
>Choose the location of where you want to save it on your computer & click save. 

You're done! Now to insert it into your blog post.....
>On your posting page, in the toolbar click the picture image
>Click upload
>Locate your design where you saved it on your computer
>Double click your design & it will begin uploading to your post. 

That's it! You have created your own graphic design. 

I hope you found this information very helpful, and that you now have yourself a beautifully designed graphic. If you get stuck or have any problems, you can email me at dontracibender@gmail.com. 

Join me next Sunday for tips on how to resize this image (or another one) and add it to your blog as your blog button.