CSS Style Cheat Sheet for Blogger

To Make extra large images on your blog re-size to the blog space available, add this code to your css.  You can change the max width percent if you want the image slightly smaller than 100%.


img {
max-width: 100%;
height: auto;
width: auto\9; /* ie8 */
}

To tighten up the space between gadgets (widgets) on your side bars use the following code, you will need to find out what your gadget (widget) id is and put it in place of the Red title.

Strange Happenings

I was up way too late last night messing around with my blog......
I was trying to find a better set of social sharing icons than the standard ones that came with my blog and finally found ShareThis.com which allowed me to customize exactly which buttons I wanted to appear on each post and I was easily able to add it to my blog without having to go into my blog's HTML coding!

So I got it all added and then was messing around with some of my older posts updating my signature line and the strangest thing happened......

I have been using blogger on and off for over two years and have never had this one happen to me....

Suddenly all of my sidebar gadgets were floating at the bottom of all of my posts!  My footer was still where it was supposed to be.  I went into the Design/Layout section of my blog and it still showed my sidebar off to the right where it should be.  Although I love a good challenge, I was not impressed!

• First I tried "restoring" my blog from a previous backup when I new that the blog was working fine - that failed, all of the sidebar gadgets were still at the bottom of my posts.  So I knew it wasn't a problem with my HTML coding.  Then I tried going into my design section and changing the layout so that my sidebar would be on the left instead of the right and that didn't work either.  

• I then noticed something else strange - notice how I have an outline box around each of my posts?  All of my posts looked fine except the last two, I had the very last post embedded within the second to last post.  In other-words, the last post still had a box around it, but the second to last post had a box all the way around it and the last post, so it was a box within a box.   

• As a last ditch effort I thought something must be wrong with my last post so I changed it to draft and looked at my blog again and I still had the same problem......Hmmmm, something very strange was going on.  As a last ditch effort I decided that maybe the problem was that I the "share this" gadget would not allow me to have so many posts on my front page (I had 7 showing).  So I changed it to show only 6 and still had the same problem.  I then went in and changed it 5 with the same problem and then tried 4 posts showing.  The MAGIC number seems to be 4 posts since my blog magically aligned and put everything where it should be.

I am still not sure if this was a quirk of the "Share This" gadget or something else going on with a post or just some strange bloggy behavior, but I decided to work with only having only four posts showing!  Needless to say I had to move some of my sidebar gadgets around since with only four posts showing my sidebar ended up quite a bit longer than the posts and it looked funny.  So after some final shuffling around this morning, I ended up with my blog looking like this.

Now I am operating on about four and a half hours of sleep (darn blogger), but it's really my own fault since one of my quirks is that once I am presented with a problem like this I HAVE to solve it or it would have driven me crazy!

So my question for you is this ~ have you ever had your blog go crazy like this or do something else that you had a hard time figuring out?  What did it do, please share so I don't feel so alone in this crazy blogging world!

UPDATE:  

Darn blog.....I discovered that if I went to older posts the second page was doing the same thing that my first page was doing.  I think I nailed the problem down to a particular post and once I changed the date on that post the whole blog problem seemed to be resolved.  I am now back to showing 6 posts on each page and everything is where it should be!

Blogger DIY - Centering

Some people like to re-arrange furniture and some people like to constantly change their home decor but what I like to do is find DIY ways to change and or customize the look of my blog.  Don't get me wrong I like to change things around at home too, but my space, budget and time is so limited that I don't often get to change the furniture or decor so my creative outlet is primarily limited to my blog! 
Since I am cheap budget conscience, I am always looking for a way to do things myself especially when I know they can or should be able to be done!

The other day I did a quick post about adding a Pinterest Gadget to my blog and today I will tell you how I centered both my Header Image and centered my Page Menu.

Both of these "fixes" are really simple to do!  Let's start with centering your Header Image.  First of all this fix will only work if you have chosen the check box to display your Header Image "Instead of title and description".

You would have done this when uploading your Header Image or it can be changed by going to Layout, then clicking on your Header Image to change it.  Once it is changed so that the check box shows "instead of title and description" you can go to the next step.

You should be in the "Layout Section" of your blog, then click on "Template Designer.

Once you have clicked on Template Designer you will come to a screen that looks like this:

You will need to click on Advanced, which will take you to this screen:

You will then need to click on "Add CSS", which will take you to a screen that looks like this:

 The blank White Box is where you add your custom coding to change things on your blog.

To center your Header Image You need to Copy and Paste this code into the White Box:

#Header1_headerimg {margin:0 auto;}

 

To Center the Page Titles You need to Copy and Paste this code:
.PageList {text-align:center !important;}
.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}

If you are doing both at the same time your code should look like this:

 Then you want to click on "Apply to Blog" in the upper right corner.  As the changes are happening you will be able to see the the preview of your blog.  Once the changes have been saved you are all done!

That's it for now, I hope this quick tutorial has helped you out!  Please comment to let me know if you used it so I can check out your blog!  If you have a DIY Blogger fix you cannot find or would like help with then post a comment and I will see if I can figure out the "How To" on it - I love a challenge!

Thank you for stopping by The Mix Gal! 
Comments validate my blogging efforts, so I would love to hear from you. 
Take care and Keep Life Simple by Mixing It UP!
~♥KerrieLynn

Trying Threaded Comments Again.....

I think I may just have stumbled upon gold.......in the form of a tutorial for threaded comments that seems to work and is not a third party application.  Many thanks to Artis Tutorial and specifically this post http://artistutorial.blogspot.com/2011/09/threaded-comments-for-blogger-comment.html
on adding threaded comments to Blogger Blogs!  The tutorial itself was easy to follow and within 10 minutes I had completely altered my comments and the ability to add a reply!  If you want to see it in action on my blog check out this post, it's comments and my replies!

The threaded comments seems to be working just fine - however if I run into problems I will be sure to post about it here.  Please let me know if you choose to take advantage of this tutorial and try the  threaded comments feature and how it is working for you.

~Keep Life Simple by Mixing It Up! TM

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My Blog Anniversary is Just Around the Corner!

I just realized that I have a one year blog anniversary coming up on November 4th!  Time flies so fast, I can hardly believe it has been a year already......I remember starting out and having no clue what I was doing in the blogging world.

One of the first things I did was join in a meme and didn't do it right.  The host sent me a nasty email and I responded back letting her know that I was new to blogging and didn't know the "rules" of these kinds of things.  I still remember receiving that email and it is a good reminder of how not to treat your followers or people who comment.  I hope that host learned to never assume anything and there might be a story behind someone's actions.  If I had not already been such a strong person already that email that I received might have killed any desire I had to continue in the blogging world.

Ultimate Blog Challenge

Today I took the plunge and decided to join The Ultimate Blog Challenge - 31 posts in 31 days!  I am sure that some of my followers have noticed that my blog posts have been further and further apart these days - it used to be that I would post one and sometimes two posts per day!  Lately it seems like I have let life get in the way of my "me time".  My "me time" consists of those things which make me happy and you know what they say, "Happy Wife, Happy Life".....

I've always tried to write my blog as a combination of all aspects of my life - both the struggles and the triumphs.  I love to read and sometimes I tend to over think or over analyze something and I think that is exactly what I have done in regards to my blog......I have been doing too much reading about what I should be doing with my blog that I have become overwhelmed with should have, should do, etc. that I have hesitated to do anything.

Make Your Own Low-Tech Blog Header/Banner

First and foremost this post is my 200th post....
So Happy 200th Post-a-Versary to me!  

I have gotten a few compliments and comments on my new blog header, so I thought I would share with you how to make your own.   For those of you who know me and have followed me for a while you probably know that I hate to pay for anything I can figure out how to do myself, because at heart I am a consummate cheapskate......

That being said I wanted one of the cute blog headers that are popping up all over with the illustrated woman (that looks way better than I ever could).  I wanted to find a woman who was working in her kitchen, who at least had the same hair and eye color as me.

Now I am not a computer guru, but I am persistent which I attribute to my Blog OCD.  I searched high and low to find something that was low cost, but I didn't even know what this style of design was called.  There were some freebies out there that various designers had available, but most of those would not allow me to make any modifications and the headers were usually a small part of a "Free Blog Theme".  I like the look and theme that I have so I didn't want to pursue that option.  Not to mention that using someone else's free design leaves me at their mercy should they decide to pull their free offer.

Finally I remembered using Dreamstime in the past - they have both "free" and "for purchase" images!  I logged onto Dreamstime and did several different searches using key words like Kitchen, Cooking, Recipes, etc. (make sure that you click Illustrations only, otherwise you will have photographs show up too).   I finally found the image I wanted and purchased it.  The purchase level that I choose allows me to make changes and use it in my own blog or other applications....there was also a much more expensive option if I had wanted to use the image in a design that I planned to sell.  I choose the smallest most inexpensive image I could, because even the smallest was more than suitable for my needs.  I am not a designer so I only have Paint, Publisher and Power Point on my computer.  I used a combination of Paint and Publisher to come up with my Blog Header, my Button and my Facebook Page Image.  I used paint to create the background behind the "Welcome to KL's Cupboard" text, but I used Publisher to marry everything together.

My total cost for my updated look was less than $9.00.  I am so happy with the results!   Let me know if you decide to give it a try - I would love to see your results!  

I Have to Confess....

I have to confess that I don't know a thing about analyzing my blog stats, SEO, Blog Grades or any of the "other" gadgets designed to let me know how I'm doing.  I know that SEO is short for Search Engine Optimization and when I had a self hosted WordPress I was able to add on a widget that took care of all that, but now that I'm using the blogger platform I don't have a clue. 

You are probably wondering why I would move from Self hosted WordPress to Blogger - the answer is simple, it was all about cost!  I spent $150 last year to have my Self hosted WordPress Blog and this year I spent $10 for my domain name and I'm using the FREE Blogger platform.   So I would say the difference was $140 clams.  I do have a blog grade posted on my blog and it goes up and down depending on what I change.  I improved it from 83 to the 95 it is today, I think I must be doing something right (the total score is 100) since my Blog got an "A".


So what is Search Engine Optimization and why would I need it?  What is the difference between a Unique Visitor and a Regular Visitor?  I know that a unique person is one who stands out from the crowd and is different, but I somehow don't think that explanation is the case here.   So....in conclusion, HELP!  Hopefully
 someone knows the answer and will post it on a comment!

 

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~Keep Life Simple by Mixing It Up!

Blog OCD??

I love to blog, but sometimes it seems like I spend more time on the layout and design of my blog than I do on actual articles. I think I have finally figured it out - I suffer from Blog OCD with a little Blog ADHD mixed in!

I love to read other blogs and as I'm reading I find myself suffering from the "shiny blog syndrome". I love the article, but my brain starts thinking, ooh I love the font they are using or that layout is great! The next thing I know I am behind the scenes of my blog trying to mimic the look. Then the OCD part kicks in and I'm not happy until my blog looks "just right".

The good news is that I'm not a lost cause....I do get frustrated if it (the blog) doesn't come out the way I want it to, but I will close it down and leave it "as is" if I can't figure out how to get the look I want. Of course, I have usually already spent way too many hours (yes I said hours) before I get to the point of "I give up". 

Blogging ~ Adding Threaded Comments

One of the most frustrating things about the Blogger platform is the lack of ability to reply to a comment and not having those replies show up as "threaded" similar to a forum.  I am sure that many of you who use  blogger know what I am talking about!  The standard comment feature that Blogger supplies basically only gives you two options to reply to comments:

1. The first option is to reply to a comment by sending an email.  This option works great by letting the reader know that you got their comment and you can answer any questions or let them know what your next action is.  The problem is that when you respond via email other readers do not get to see your response.

Well....That Was Painful! Does Your Blog Need to See the Doctor?

So I am participating in a couple of blog hops, one is a weekend blog hop and one is a week long "Ultimate" blog hop.  I still consider myself fairly new when it comes to blogging, but I have managed to form some definitive opinions along the way, particularly when it comes to finding and following blogs.  My session this morning was particularly painful and frustrating as there were so many blogs that I went to that I couldn't find a way to follow and/or comment so I just left.  I thought I would take a couple of minutes to share my thoughts written from the perspective of a potential follower. 

It Took Awhile, But It's Finally Here!

So if you are wondering what "IT" is......IT is a chat box for my blog.  I have been trying to figure out how to add one forever and this morning I finally decided to get serious about it ~ after the many frustrations that are always involved whenever learning anything new it is now working (you can see it about 1/2 way down my page).  The ultimate goal of this chat box is that it can facilitate me doing online parties which would include playing games and giving away prizes!

What is a Blog Hop? And it's Weekend Hop Time....

It's weekend blog hop time.....

I like to join blog hops as it is a great way to meet new friends and discover new blogs to follow. There are many "Hops" out there to choose from, but the ones that seem to work the best for me are the ones that don't list a bunch of rules that need to be followed. I am fairly new to blogging so it did take me a while to figure out how the whole "Blog Hop" experience works.

This is my take on the blog hop experience.

1. Each blog hop has a starting point somewhere with the original "host". The host is the one who has the "linky" (the list of all participating bloggers). Sometimes there is more than one host.
2. The graphic button for the hop should link or take you back to the host when you click on it.
3. For most blog hops you will need to have either a blog post url or your blog url to add to the linky code.

How to Add a Table to Blog Posts

I ran across something that is worth sharing - How to Add a Table into Your Blog Posts. 

Once the table is added, it will look like this:

GOOG	505.00	2006-01-12
BRK-A	110,000.00	2006-01-12

By replacing the text/numbers with code of your choice you can easily have a table of graphic buttons as shown on my Affiliates / Buttons Page.

Ramblings

For anyone who reads my blog you have probably figured out that I have a lot to say about multitude of things....I've recently begun reading about what makes for good blogging and I've come to the realization that I am probably doing everything wrong - but that's o.k. because I blog about what interests me.

The first tip I read was that I should find a "niche" or "target" for my blog, which would severely limit what I write about!  Oh well, I think I will continue this blog the same way I started, by writing a little bit about everything.  I will just continue to use my tags (categories) on each of the posts that I write.  In regards to tags, I did read one article that made sense - the need to limit the quantity of tags.  Too many times I stumble across a blog that has a huge amount of tags and then they top off the confusion by putting the tags into a tag cloud - no thanks!  I will continue to keep my tags in an alphabetized list, which I will refine along the way as I need to.

Also, I follow quite a few blogs about being frugal, being frugal in this economy is a necessity.  However I think I would categorize myself as a "cheapskate", in my book this is a step or two above being frugal.

Coupons are great, but you can usually save even  money by buying generic or store brands, so I usually avoid coupons.  Now FREE is always good, but if you have to buy something first before the FREE kicks in I think that the FREE part is a moot point.

Here's a great tip, stay and help clean up at events or family gatherings and you will probably be taking home a bunch of freebies!

 I think I've rambled enough for this post, so I must sign off until next time when I continue with my "unfocused" blog writing!

FREE Blog Helps - Backgrounds, Buttons, Resources & More!

Not too long ago I was a beginner blogger - my previous experience had been with self hosted WordPress, which is a different world than Blogspot. I knew what I wanted my blog to look like and I had an idea of what was out there in regards to FREE Resources, but I had no idea on how to find anything (first you have to know the appropriate "blog language" to know what to search for).

I spent many hours to get to where I am today with my blog. Along the way I discovered many FREE resources, which I am happy to share with you today. Some of these I use on my blog and some I do not. I don't advocate any particular resource over another - just passing along the information that I found.  
 
FREE  Backgrounds, Buttons, Headers & Blinkies:

Free Blog Tips!

So you think you are ready to write a blog or are you struggling with your own blog?  There are a lot of blogs out there ranging from free (like mine) to paid for with a dedicated URL.  I've had both, in fact my "paid for" blog is a self hosted WordPress blog and it is due to expire soon.  I've only been blogging for a year and I've learned a few things along the way.  I started out with a WordPress.org blog dedicated towards all things related to pets.

Self hosted WordPress is not necessarily for the novice blogger, since it involves questions of who to choose as a host, where do you get your URL registered and things like that.  So unless you savvy about those things or are willing to pay someone to get your blog set up for you, my personal thoughts are to go with one of the free blog sites (Blogspot, WordPress.com, etc.).  There are pros and cons to each. 

Free Blog Helps!

I like free stuff so whenever I find it on the web I usually grab it!  My two newest finds were a couple of blogs that have given me the design tools to give my blog a much needed update and the best part is that it was FREE!

The first site that I found was Kevin & Amanda - their site is well laid out, full of information and articles and also includes FREE Custom Fonts and a tutorial on how to apply the fonts to your blog.  You will notice that I took full advantage of changing my side bar titles and post titles.  I think it gives my blog that little something extra that it was lacking.  So thank you Kevin & Amanda!

Kevin & Amanda's site also had links to several sites that had FREE Custom Backgrounds.  I found the one I liked at Shabby Blogs.  Again it was FREE and super easy to install.  So another Thank You goes out to Shabby Blogs.

My current blog background is courtesy of Cutest Blog on the Block - again everything was free, my background, the extra which include divider bar and buttons (favorites, labels, family, etc).  

Why Blog?

Mirror, mirror on the wall -who has the best blog of all?

I was contemplating this morning what makes it so that so many people want to blog including myself.  I used to be of the firm belief that blogging was narcissistic behavior, especially those whose blogs are personal in nature. Now I am not so sure that this is the case.  I'm sure that narcissism still plays a part in blogging, but besides that what makes us want to display our personal lives across the Internet?

I did some soul searching on this and the answer for me is that I want to make a difference!  I want to let others know in a small part what makes me tick.  I want my kids and my husband to be proud of me and I want to be able to pass along the small things in life that are important to me.  Of course there is enough narcissism in me that I want my blog to be followed by many along with positive comments on what I choose to write about.  Getting a new comment is like unwrapping an unexpected gift....the excitement and anticipation is there to see what others think.  You get a happy glow when you get a positive comment and it validates you in some small way.

I am not perfect, nor do I claim to be, I am just like so many others struggling to get by and along the way trying to do what is right.    I don't think of myself as a writer, as I know I do not have a gift for "flowey" words or putting prose to paper, but what I do think is that I am just like millions out there - we are all the same while we are uniquely different.

My blog celebrates a little of both, what makes me unique while being like everyone else.....