- A story of being sad -

Have any of you notices that I've been kinda MIA lately? In reality, I have been super busy with the kids, and with family, and a few other things, like FOR REAl, but I've also gotten a case of the blogging blues. 

I'm so sad that I can even catch such a thing. I don't get discouraged easily, and usually don't really care what others think, especially about me. I've always been proud of the fact that I do my thing, and don't have any desire to follow the crowd. I like being different, and that's what I thought I was. Then I started realizing, that maybe I'm not so different than most of you out there. In many ways we are all the same. We have so many things in common, yet can be completely different too. I love that. 
I think the fact that we are all bloggers unites us period. The fact that many of us are mommies, unites us even further. Then you can relate to other diy boggers, crafty bloggers, faith bloggers, and recently I started reading tons of health and fitness blogs. I've also been finding so many blogs on all my favorite topics of living a green and eco friendly lifestyle. All these things unite us, in my opinion, and all of a sudden, I'm no different than any of you. 
Now what do I do with myself?
There have been some new blog makeovers lately, anyone notice??? I know I'm not the only one who wishes their blog could look as amazing as you know who. Then you start doubting yourself, and start doubting what you are all about. I can't say for sure that seeing a beautiful new blog is what did it for me, but I think THAT it really set me deeper in a hole I was already digging for myself, with my own two hands, for no reason at all. 
As you all know I've been working hard on getting some amazing sponsors lined up for next months giveaway. I can't even begin to tell you how incredible everyone has been, and how generous. I imagine that if my blog sucked as bad as I've been feeling lately, nobody would give me the time of day, neither would I be coming up on 400 followers soon, and neither would I have some pretty incredible bloggy friends, whom I adore. Yet despite all of that, I've been feeling not worthy. Not god enough, and clearly with that kind of mentality, NO good can come. So I've not been blogging, honestly I've not visited my blog much the past couple days, I've been so sad. 
I've been taking care of emails, and all that, sure, but I know I should be doing better. What gives?
I've read many blog posts on having ups and downs, and even the most awesome bloggers out there, have been there, and done that, in regards to feeling the way I do. So I guess it's a relief to know I'm not alone, and that probably many of you can relate. I am just sad because I don't USUALLY let things like this bother me. I think I really have better things to worry about in life. Not saying that my blog is not one of them, BUT I simply HAVE no reason to feel the way I do. Nothing happened, nobody said or did anything to make me feel down. It just happened one day, like a switch, and it caught me off guard. The worst part is it just lingered, and wouldn't go away, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt sad, and the more I felt worthless. 
So my friends, I just wanted to let you all know what I've been dealing with lately. I  honestly have NO idea where it came from, but it did. I hate that I let it take over my thoughts, my mind, my happiness, but it did. I am ashamed that I let myself compare my blog with so many others. Thats so UNLIKE me. I can't help wanting to do everything I see, that's my nature. I can't help always wanting to improve things in my life, and well that includes my blog. Again, my nature, but what I was doing was destructive, and very counterproductive. I was letting my desires for a better ME, for a better blog, for a better tomorrow make me miserable TODAY because I couldn't make it happen fast enough. 
It may not be the new year, BUT last week WAS my 1st bloggy bday, and I think that I CAN do a whole lot better this year, staring NOW. I can't change everything overnight, and neither can I change yesterday, or even one minute ago for that matter. BUT I can change my attitude from this moment forward, and it's crucial that I do. 

Speaking of feeling happy, am I the only one who's ready to start wearing scarfs again?

Why OH why does this picture have to be blurry, I just LOVE it. 

So as I go to bed tonight, I will go to sleep knowing I'm OK, my blog is JUST fine, we are all healthy, happy, and I am loved. The rest should fall in to place, and as long as I smile, my heart will be happy knowing that tomorrow will be a better day. 

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PART TWO with the TIP JUNKIE - WOO HOO

DUDE, can I just tell you that I have a big smile on my face again, thanks to my awesome friend LAURIE - THE TIP JUNKIE

If you missed PART ONE of the wonderful tips, read HERE.

I was browsing my emails just now, and since organizing my gmail account, I didn't even notice this email come in, until now. It was in my twitter folder, lol. So glad I took a peak in there, YAY!!

So I wrote her back, thanking her a million times over, and have come to the conclusion that I will now call her my BLOGGY FRIEND, dare I say BFF, ok, I love her so much, so WHY NOT. Seriously, you can't even imagine how sweet is is to know that she took time out of her busy day, to write me a part TWO email, and with no further begging on my part. This was all her, just because she's sweet like that. Honestly people, take note, if she can find time to reply to someone like me, then what's your excuse when you hardly have any followers, and your blog is still small. (I've actually emailed other blogs, tried to connect, or ask questions NEVER to hear from them EVER) It's kinda sad!!

I say we ALL try a little harder to help out other bloggers, write them back, answer their questions if you can, and at the very least try to make them feel special. I am one very happy, and LUCKY gal, who is incredibly thankful for the time Laurie has taken to help me out, in turn helping all of you out as well. I  LOVE that, and THANK YOU LAURIE, I could just (knuckle bumps) and hug you right now!!

Here is what she had to say:

Hey Bella,

That’s a great question.  {snicker}  I think it’s more about determination than anything else.  I have a clear vision of what I want Tip Junkie to become and therefore I’ve been educating myself, networking, collaborating, and building in anticipation for that end result.

After 3 1/2 years of blogging, I hired my first part-time editor and a little while after that I hired a marketing director to lighten the work load.  However, now I find myself to be busier than ever. 

To answer your questions:

1.       When I started Tip Junkie 4 years ago, yes I commented on like 200 blogs a week.  I left warm and relevant comments on posts and made a lot of friends. Now I don’t comment at all. 

Back then that was the only thing you could do.  HA!  It wasn’t like it is today with hundreds of linky parties, people didn’t feature other bloggers like they do now, and there weren’t aggregated sites like Tip Junkie.  When I started Kim {from Today’s Creative Blog} and I were the only ones featuring other bloggers.  Well, that I knew about anyway.  
Now there are blog conferences every month that you can attend, people posting about what they are learning, and a lot of collaborations that are easy to be involved in.  None of those existed when I first started out. 

2.       Right now, I don’t tell people when I feature them.  I just hope that enough traffic is send their way that they notice a difference and it makes them feel special.  I used to e-mail each individual person when I featured them, but sadly I gave that up about a year ago.  Right now I feature 30-50 people a day so it’s not possible.  But if you can still do it, I would.  That’s going to help you maintain great relationships with people and allow you to start collaborating more.  It’s an important step to keep if you can manage it.


3.       I think I’ve always kind of been the ultimate tip junkie. :)  It’s really a passion of mine to promote women and tell people about cool things.  So I fell into this pretty naturally.  My goals are to solve peoples problems and organize things online so they are easier to find.  Therefore everything I create is to fulfill those 2 goals. 

Thank you for reaching out to me and you can read more blogging tips here:  http://www.tipjunkie.com/category/blogging-tips

Laurie Turk

Founder/Managing Editor

Tip Junkie.com - DIY projects, Printables, Homemade Gifts, Holiday Crafts, and more!

Twitter: @TipJunkie

Follow on Facebook

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Here's what THE TIP JUNKIE told me!!!

Guess what guys, I emailed Laurie THE TIP JUNKIE last month, and she sent me an email back, WOW. Like many of you, I love this girl, her blogs are amazing, and full of incredible ideas, for every single holiday, occasion under the sun. However every time I browsed I had ONE burning question I just had to ask her. This is the email I sent to her, quite frankly never expecting a response back. 

Hey Laurie, I have to ask you a silly question, but I wonder about it all the time. While my blog is super small still, I feature projects every week from my weekly party. I have a hard time keeping up with even the few that I do, BUT you have like a zillion sites, and do a zillion features daily, and I was just wondering, do you leave a comment for each person you feature? Did you used to leave comments before? What is the best way to go about keeping your sanity, and still letting people know you featured them. I know I had a couple friends who got featured on your blogs before, and they were soooo excited.

Also, if you ever have a couple minutes to chat, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to hear how you became the ultimate TIP junkie. I can't believe how many blogs you have, and how do you do it girl. Keeping up with ONE is almost impossible for me most days, and you have so many. You must be SUPER mom, and SUPER blogger too, :)

Love ya girl, you rock, and I am just a fan, who would love to hear from you.

Thanks for all the inspiration, and all the tips Laurie.

Hugs, Bella :) 

After sending this I got an automated response, telling me that if I had submitted a tip, there was like a six month wait in some cases, and that due to the number of emails received, she may not be able to respond to every single one. No surprise there, I mean seriously I can't even keep up with my inbox, and it's only a handful of emails daily. Sad I know, he he.  So anyway, I was ok with the fact that I was probably not going to hear back from her....... ever.
That is UNTIL Wednesday night when I check my email, and what do you know, I have a lovely email from Laurie, a really great email, full of wonderful advice. I was so excited! Here is the email :

Hi Bella!

Thank you so much for emailing me. I wonder the same things of other bloggers and women in business.

Sadly, I used to be a lot more diligent in leaving comments than I do now. I strongly believe in leaving comments as a great way to meet like-minded women to collaborate with and learn from. {This goes into the say as I do category. Ha!}

Especially if your blog is still young, it's a great way to get the word about your site as well as great SEO value. Every time you leave a comment - you leave a link to your site which Google loves. In fact, If you really want to get some good SEO juice - don't leave a link to your homepage in the "website" form when leaving a comment. Leave the permalink to your favorite post! Or a post that you really want exposure on. {evil laugh}

I also used to email every person individually when I featured them but thats no longer possible. One thing you could do is @ them on Facebook from your Facebook fan page! This way your readers can like their page and vice versa. That would be little faster but really boost your Facebook presence. Time Way better spent

Than an email.

Honestly, I contribute Tip Junkies success to collaboration and education. I'm always learning something new and trying to expand my skills and brand. I also attend blogging conferences as much as I can. 

My advice is to figure out what your most passionate about and what your goals are for your site.

Mine are to promote creative women through their projects and products. And to help busy moms create enduring memories for their family. Therefore, I make sure that everything I do meets those goals. If what I'm offered doesn't fit into my goals - then I  graciously decline the offer.

Thanks again for your email and

I hope that answers your questions.

Laurie

TipJunkie.com

SO there you have it!!! Could there be any better advice, I love it!!!

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How to change an ugly background in pictures with Fotoflexer "for the beginner"

Have you ever looked at at picture and WISHED you could have a different background? Yeah me too, and no I'm not talking about all kinds of complicated stuff, palm trees, or the moon. How about just having a plain solid color background?
For our cake business, we take LOTS of pictures, and since my mom is usually the one taking pictures, I'm often left with a very messy cluttered background for a really beautiful cake. Until I get the photo box made, which obviously needs to be on a much larger scale due to the nature of what we will be photographing, I'm stuck with hundreds of pictures, that need editing. 
I know there are programs out there that can probably do this with a click of the mouse, with very little effort on your part. I don't have any such programs, and am a TOTAL BEGINNER. Even then I managed to do pretty good, and I'd like to show you how I did it. 

Here is the before picture of this really cool graduation cake she did. Notice the background? The mixer, the hooks, the crap back there. Hardly does anything to showcase this cake right? 

Ok, now you have to see what I did with this picture. It's nothing really spectacular, but it is a HUGE difference, and I really want to hear what you think!!!

CHECK OUT THE AFTER HERE

Oh and while you are there, make sure to check out my new linky party. 

Link up ANYTHING PARTY related. 

Food

Cakes

Desserts

Invitations

Decorations

You get the idea right! This is BRAND SPANKING new, and I'm terribly excited about it. Will you please help me by linking up, and adding it to your linky list?

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Editing food photographs - from a beginner...

Ok, so after resisting the idea of editing any photos, I'm finally glad to say I can see the light now, and will slowly but surely go through my posts and do a quick edit of any pics that could use it. Which is probably  all my pics, but for now I'll just stick with the ones that really need it. 
Since I'm not the best photographer, and hardly know anything about staging my pictures, especially food, AND I use the dreaded flash on way too many pictures, I found that even then, a simple edit can make all the difference. Just editing with my iphoto seems to be enough, and does the job. All without having to upload anything to yet another program, which is the whole reason I never messed with editing in the first place. Doing it in iphoto is so much easier, and for the time being I think that is where I will do my basic editing. If I could figure out watermarking with that program, that would be awesome. Does anyone know if that is possible. 
Anyway, here are a couple food pics, that I edited really quickly. I couldn't stand how crappy they looked before, and what a difference it made just adjusting the colors, or exposure. I am a total newbie to this, so ANY tips and tricks, or advice is very much welcome. 

SUPER Yummy KIMCHI PANCAKES

EGG CURRYSO yeah, I think it's a HUGE difference, and while the colors might be a bit off, or even too bright now, I love it. The food pops almost, and I'm very happy with the way it looks. Even without any fancy plates, settings or camera, the before and afters are just amazing. 
Again I need everyones feedback, I might be getting all excited over nothing here. So tell me honestly, if my after pics look better, and possibly make you drool. I want my food posts to eventually get to the point where they make you drool. I know how yummy it is, but how the heck do I make you want to try it for yourselves. I love cooking, and love sharing my recipes with all of you, thanks for being so patient with my crappy pics. If you have any suggestions for staging food, I'd love to hear it. I'm really clueless int that department, and am totally rustic in my approach. I don't do fine china, lol, and we rarely use silverware either, you know eating with your hands rocks. 
Anyway, I promise to try harder, and make them better from now on. At the very least, I can do a quick edit if nothing else right?

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Copy and Paste, How to leave a GREAT comment.

Today I wanted to talk to you about something I do to make my life easier when leaving comments. I copy and paste, ALOT!!! Read the whole post before you go judging me OK. I may sound like I am breaking the number one rule of leaving sincere comments, but in fact it couldn't be further from the truth. 

We all know that visiting blogs, and leaving comments, is probably the number one way to get people coming to visit yours. However  leaving a cookie cutter comment, JUST won't cut it, if you know what I mean.


I admit, that I love seeing pictures, so when I visit a post with a tutorial, I'm usually all about scrolling down to see the pictures. No harm done right, but I do try and read a bit of the post, always. I actually am a pretty big reader, and that's one of the reasons why I get stuck at blogs, and it takes me forever to leave comments. I get sucked in. Especially if you are funny, and have a way with writing, I'm all ears, and really enjoy reading the posts. 


This, and the fact that I really try to get a feel for the person writing the blog, by reading their profile, or about me. Looking over their categories, or archives, also gives me a good idea about the kind of stuff I may find on their blog. I like to do this all, the first time I visit a blog. It's really important to me. I like to feel a connection with the writer, and always try to pass that on when leaving a comment. 


How do I do that exactly? Obviously I comment on the post I am leaving the comment on. Trying to be as detailed as possible with WHY I loved their post, or recipe, or project. We all know the feeling when we get comments, that are left without much thought, and sometimes we get some that we wonder if the person payed attention to our post at all. That's no good. 


Here is what I do, when I leave comments. On my MacBook, and all Macs actually there is a app called, STICKIES. It's basically just post it notes that you can have up on your desktop, and with options like being translucent, and floating, I can have the ones I use daily, up no matter what, but I just scroll them to the bottom of my screen so they are not in my way. I have one sticky for example, that reads :

I loved it so much I FEATURED you, I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Come grab a button girl, and display it proudly!

**Features from week #35** @ Bella Before and After

Thanks girl :)

Hugs, 

Bella

This is usually left on posts that I've featured. I make sure to leave the link to the post where I did the feature, because sometimes, the person may have a hard time finding it. Now obviously if I just went around leaving ONLY this as my comment, that would be not cool. I haven't addressed the person by their name, I didn't tell them WHY I loved their post, and what if they already saw that I featured them, before I could leave them a comment, he he. This happens sometimes, then I change the comment up, by saying :

I know you already saw that I featured you, just wanted to say THANKS again for linking up, I really appreciate it. 

Or something along those lines. Here's an example of what I would say for this cake my friend Maria from Mommy Made did. 

Hey Maria, I love that guitar cake you made for your little guy! How creative using the two cake pans, and all those candies to make the decorations. The rice crispy treat was a great idea too. I am so impressed with how it turned out, good job mama. 

I loved it so much I FEATURED you, I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Come grab a button girl, and display it proudly!

**Features from week #35** @ Bella Before and After

Thanks girl :)

Hugs, 

Bella

Super easy, and to the point, but I left a sincere comment, you see. I also had some standard things I needed to say, so why not copy and paste that part. You see the link, I didn't just add it it, I made sure it was CLICKABLE, which is also really helpful. That leaves one less step for the person to do, they only need to CLICK on the link, rather than copy and paste. It also can lead to other people seeing your comment, and clicking on the link out of curiosity. I know I've done that many times. 

Don't know how to leave a CLICKABLE LINK, here's how. This is obviously where having this on a sticky can come in handy, so you don't have to remember the code all the time. 

< a href = "your direct link"> what you want your link to say < / a>

**** Make sure there are no spaces in the section I highlighted above , I don't know how to write the code in here, without it turning into a link, lol. ****

Pretty simple right???

Yes, I admit my comments are usually rather long, especially compared to other peoples, but so far I've NEVER had anyone complain, in fact I always get told how much they appreciate my kind comments, and sincere words. I do try my best to leave good comments, and if I can't figure out a really good thing to say, then I just don't leave a comment. You don't have to leave one for every post you visit, only the ones that you REALLY enjoy, and then you should have something really nice to say, right?

Here are some other examples of things I have on my stickies. 

This one is for when I visit a post, and I'd like to invite them to link up to my party. 

I'd love if you linked this up. Stop by anytime to say hello!!!
Hugs,Bella :)http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com/search/label/Amaze%20me%20August%20Challenge">**AMAZE ME AUGUST** @ Bella Before and After  

Or this when I am leaving a comment for something I've linked up to a party.

I linked up my Garage Remodel PART 2 .

Hope you can stop by to say HI.

Hugs, 

Bella :)

Sometimes, I want to invite them to see my PINTEREST boards, maybe I've added that post to my inspiration post, and I want them to check it out. 

Also I would LOVE to invite you to check out my new http://pinterest.com/bellab4andafter/">PINTEREST BOARDSI added your awesome dress on my-- I WISH I COULD SEW THIS board.  Let me know what you think!!  

Remember, all these are just PART of the comments. I always add a personal message to each one in addition to the above. Those are just things I would leave standard on each one, but now I don't need to rewrite it each time. Saves a lot of time. 

So here are my top tips for leaving comments. 

1. Try and use the persons name, when leaving your comment.

2. Leave at least one specific reason why you liked their post, two is even better.

3. If you want them to visit your blog, or party, try and INVITE them to do so, rather than saying just do it, lol. 

4. Leave a DIRECT CLICKABLE link to either the party you want them to link to, or to your homepage in general, if it's just an invite to your blog.

5. I like to leave this link next to my name, so that it reads:

Bella :) Bella Before and After

6. Be sincere, and don't leave a comment expecting a reply, or visit, leave it, to make that person happy. The more you do this, the more others will do it for you too. Just watch and see.

Here are some tips from my readers. 

Patricia from THE MOM ZONE adds:

If I'm visiting someone from a Linky Party, I will put my comment and end with "Found you @ Bella Before and After" (or wherever the linky party is, obviously). Same goes for if they're featured somewhere and I click through to see their post. 

These stickies, are very useful for me. I hope I gave you an idea of how easy it is to leave a great comment. SO there is no excuse to leave lame comments from now on, or not leave comments at all. We all love comments, but lets all try to leave the best ones we can. It really makes a difference, and sometimes, even a few kind words can make all the difference to  struggling blogger. It's really easy to feel like you did a really great post, and them nobody leaves comments. I sure know the feeling, but hang in there. With time, you will find your followers, your friends, and sometimes, perfect strangers leaving the sweetest comments, that just make your day. Try to remember that feeling, and strive to make others feel like that too, with every comment you write. 

Hope this helped some of you. 

Just curious, do you have any tips for leaving comments, or any other suggestions you'd like to add? I'd love to hear about it, just leave me a COMMENT below (wink).

             

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How to magically replace blog buttons without updating them everywhere.

Are you wondering what I'm talking about?
You know when you replace or get a new blog button, it sucks trying to get everyone to grab your new button, right? What if you could replace the blog button magically, no matter where it is. What if your blog button could just magically update on your friends blogs, without anybody having to do anything. Would that be cool?

I'm going to let you in on a little secret, and it's super easy. 
STEP ONE
First things first. Make sure you write down EXACTLY the link to the current button. I have mine uploaded to photobucket, and you need to write down exactly how you saved it on your computer.


For example, when creating my buttons I usually name them something like :


bellafeature.jpg -- I don't actually name it .jpg, BUT since that is how I saved it, that is now the name of the button. 


When I save it to my computer, and upload it to photobucket, the direct link will contain the picture name bellafeature.jpg.


Also if you have more than one ALBUM in your photobucket, make sure you have are saving the new button to the SAME EXACT album. 
STEP TWO
Once you have written down the EXACT name and album location of the old button you will be replacing, you need to DELETE it from your photobucket account. 


Don't freak out, it will tell you that once deleted your image will be forever lost, and won't show up anywhere anymore. Yes this is true but it will only last a total of ten seconds. 


Now you simply UPLOAD the new button image, that you have previously SAVED on your computer with the SAME EXACT name of the one you just deleted. (This of course just replaced your image on your computer right, make sure that you REPLACED it, otherwise your computer would have automatically saved it bellafeature1 by default, and that is not the same thing as bellafeature.)


Once uploaded on photbucket, you don't have to do another thing. The past couple times I did this, I noticed that when actually uploading the new button, the old one still shows up, until I save to my album, and then the new one shows up. So I know that it saved it, but it might take a couple hours for you to see it changed on your blog, or anyone elses for that matter. 


I know this is the hardest part, to just sit back and wait, BUT, I promise it's there. I even emailed photobucket about this, I was freaked out, and they said to clear your cache, and it should take a while for the new image to register, but if it does't after a couple hours to contact them again. I never had to contact them, because I had people emailing me, asking me HOW I GOT MY BUTTON TO CHANGE AUTOMATICALLY on their blog. I was like what, I didn't know it worked, and went to go see. Sure enough, the images had changed. So don't stress, it just takes a while for it to register.


If you think about this, it is a super simple process, so don't be scared. Your buttons link to your BLOG, and to your photbucket account for the image url. If you save a new button with the same exact name as the old one, then you don't have to change anything within the code, and neither does anyone else. You've literally just swapped out one imagine for another. Pretty neat right?


Hope this helps you guys out. Please let me know if it worked for you. I already helped one friend do it, and it worked for her, so I know I'm not crazy, lol.


SPEAKING OF BLOG BUTTONS

Would you like to sport some new buttons yourself. 
I had a dear friend design these for me.
AGAPE LOVE DESIGNS
Please feel free to grab your choice of yellow or blue.


I used my little trick above to replace the old buttons, but it's not showing up on my computer yet. Is it showing up on yours? Applies to those who already have my button up, lol. I'm so very curious to know if it worked, again. 


If it did, but you prefer the yellow, just grab it. 
Here are all the buttons for you to choose from.


Also in case you are wondering why you may have a button on your blog that didn't update, the only reason I can think of, is when I first did this, I freaked when the buttons didn't update automatically, and just uploaded them with a different name to see if it would work, obviously it did, but the magic was gone, he he. Anyways before I confuse the heck out of anyone, just know that if for some reason the button didn't update on your blog, you just have to grab a new one, and then from now on, if I change the button, it will, OK. 

<a border="0" href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/bellabeforeandafter/bbabuttonyellow.png"/></a>

<a border="0" href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/bellabeforeandafter/bbabuttonblue.png" /></a>

<a border="0" href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com/search/label/Amaze%20me%20August%20Challenge" target="_blank"><img src="http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/bellabeforeandafter/amabuttonyellow.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>


<a border="0" href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com/search/label/Amaze%20me%20August%20Challenge" target="_blank"><img src="http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/bellabeforeandafter/amabuttonblue.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>
<a border="0" href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/bellabeforeandafter/bbafeaturedbuttonyellow.png" /></a>

<a border="0" href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad234/bellabeforeandafter/bbafeaturedbuttonblue.png" /></a>

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Noreply @ blogger HELP, & how to leave a clickable link in a comment.

Lets talk pet peeves, shall we? 
How frustrating is it, when you go to respond to a comment, you write it up, it's rather long, because you actually had tons to say, and you hit send. Then you realize, all the effort was for nothing, because the dear person has not set up an email in their profile section, so that people can respond to them. 


It's really annoying, and I for one, just say the heck with it, and the dear person, usually never gets a response to their comment, because by this time I am just a little pissed. Not at the dear person, because dear person probably doesn't even have any idea this is happening, but because I just spend time writing up a response, and now I have to go back to my blog, click on the comment, click on their profile, click on their blog, then leave a comment on a post, and PROBABLY have to enter word verification too, which makes it even worse. So basically I tend not to do that, and dear person is left wondering why they never get a response to their awesome comments they leave. Sucks for everyone RIGHT?


Lets get this resolved shall we, it's really easy to do, and I hope you go do it right now, otherwise it may slip your mind again, and you know, again people will get frustrated, and you will wonder why nobody responds to you. 
How to fix the dreaded NOREPLY@BLOGGER problem


STEP ONE:
Get to your DASHBOARD. An easy way to do this from your blog, is clicking on the big B on the top left of the screen. 
STEP TWO:
Click on EDIT PROFILE. Click SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS. 
STEP THREE:
Go down a bit further, and enter the email address you want people to reply to. I have a email address set up only for all things blog related. This is where people respond back to me. I urge everyone to set up a blog email address, BUT also to have at least one more email address associated with your account, just in case you get locked out of one. 
STEP FOUR:
Make sure you save your settings. Now sit back, smile, and enjoy, soon enough, you will be getting all kinds of sweet responses to the sweet comments you take the time to leave. HOORAY!!


HOW TO LEAVE A CLICKABLE LINK in the comments.
This is also a pet peeve, although hardly as big as the last one. 


You know when people want you to visit their blog, or a site, or a post, and leave the url. Only you have to copy and paste it, rather than just clicking on it. May not be such a big deal to you, and it's really not that bad, but why not make it clickable especially when it' so easy to do. 


Here's how to do it, using some simple html code.
Use the following code, replacing everything with your information. 


<a href="http://bellabeforeandafter.blogspot.com"> Bella Before and After </a>

Your code will read like this:

Bella Before and After
Easy enough right. Now you have no excuse for not leaving a clickable link.

Oh and as an added bonus, I will tell you how to actually leave the code in your blog post, so it actually reads like code. It took me forever to learn this. Every time I tried leaving the code, so you could see it, it automatically turned into a link, which is what the code is meant to do.

Here is what you need to do to actually leave the code above in a post.

Replace < with this &gt;
Replace > with this &gt;

For a great tutorial on more tips and tricks, including things like this below: go HERE.

Here are some of the codes that will produce characters and symbols:

&raquo;     »      right double angle quotes

&laquo;     «       left double angle quotes

&lt;     <      less than sign

&gt;     >      greater than sign

&bull;     •      bullet

&#9829;     or     &hearts;      ♥      black heart

&#8734;    ∞      infinity symbol

&mdash;    —      long dash

&amp;    &      ampersand

&quot;    "      double quotes

Table of ascii characters and symbols - More HTML codes.

FOR AN EASY WAY TO TRANSLATE YOUR CODE AUTOMATICALLY, JUST ENTER IT IN THIS SIMPLE CODE PROGRAM, ITS VERY EASY.

Hope this was helpful to you. Please let me know if it worked, and if you have any questions. I did a post on how to easily leave comments using copy and paste, and stickies (an online post it). However blogger decided to make make that disappear, when they were having some issues last week. So when I get a chance I will write it up again. 

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WOO HOO, looky here, Billie helped me get it RIGHT!!!!

I heart all of you who offered their help and advice on my latest blog problems,,,, seriously I got like tons of responses right away. You ALL are like seriously the BEST, for offering to help me so quickly. 


Love all of you, but one girl, and her sweet fiance, ACTUALLY gave me the winning answer. It was indeed SUPER simple, but without their help, I'd still be stuck, when you don't have a clue, what's a girl to do?


Here is the latest message she emailed me, and INSTANTLY is worked. I'm in LOVE,,, with BILLIE, and my new BLOG.... lol.  So at the bottom of my html, lies the

<  div id ... and that = my outer wrapper

which was causing all the problems. All I had to do was specify that I wanted the margin to

< div id.... outer wrapper.... STYLE.... = MARGIN : 0 auto

Easy right?,,, I don't even know how to type this us so you guys can see it, lol

When I tried posting this earlier I noticed that it didn't show up in the post, I guess the html got all weird when I tryped it up on compose, or something.

Oh well, if you guys need more help, ON THIS particular thing, I can surely pass on the info.

THANK YOU again to all who offered their help, and for all of you who were so patient while I tried figuring this all out. I promise things should be smooth sailing from now on. :)


Go say hello to my girl, she's AWESOME!!!





THANKS A MILLION BILLIE!!!


Please visit my Link party Directory

PARTY HARDY EVERYDAY

For the coolest parties, I participate in. 

Feel free to add yours, if you think I'd like it :)

             

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How to add 3 columns to a minima template

I've been working on my blog, as you can tell. Sorry about the mess, but work is still in progress, and it's going slower than I thought. However I am learning tons of fun, new stuff, and it's all about blog design, and html. YAY.


I wanted my blog layout, to be wide, like a bunch of other blogs, I love. Do some research, and it's the OLD MINIMA template that provides you with all that room. So I switched. I'll show you how later, lol. 


There of course are a few things with this template that I didn't like, for example, it only had one sidebar, I wanted two, on either side. 


Then I wanted a footer that had three columns, and this only had one. Hmmm, what to do, google of course. 


Came across THIS old tutorial, but it worked PERFECTLY, and it was so easy.  

Please visit my Link party Directory

PARTY HARDY EVERYDAY

For the coolest parties, I participate in. 

Feel free to add yours, if you think I'd like it :)

             

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I LOVE Making CUTE Blogs, sooo much!!!

As you can all see, my blog is all over the place. I found THE MOST awesome place for blog design, blog help, blog tutorials, and of course a BLOG DESIGNER.

MAKING CUTE BLOGS

Is my new addiction, I'm telling you, please disregard any silly thing I ever said as far as blog help. Come on, I don't have a clue what I'm taking about, yet, lol. But, hanging out at this blog, should help me out, with that. Whatever you see me doing on my blog, I'm learning over there. Her whole motto there, is 

How much better can you get than that????


I'm telling you, go check out Carolyn, @
MAKING CUTE BLOGS


I bet you guys will FALL IN LOVE, just like me. I would love to hear, what you guys think about my blog SO FAR,,, I have so much to do still, BUT, what do you guys think about the new layout? I have sooooo much more room now, I've been longing for this for so long, but I was soooooo ,,,, SOOOO,,,, sooooooo very scared to mess with my template, html, and switch to the old format, I was practically dying when I saw what it looked like right after switching. Honestly I started crying, BUT, then, I just followed the tutorials, and little by little it started coming together. I ALMOST feel like I can go in there, switch something up, and not freak, EVEN if I mess up, no biggie, just go fix it. (Write down what was there before, silly, or copy and paste it somewhere else, even better) The point is, WE CAN DO IT...... YES WE CAN!!!


THANK YOU CAROLYN, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!


You are seriously my new hero, I LOVE you. 


Please visit my Link party Directory

PARTY HARDY EVERYDAY

For the coolest parties, I participate in. 

Feel free to add yours, if you think I'd like it :)

             

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Bellas Blogging Tips, lesson 101- how to add linky buttons to every post easily.

Go visit my Link party Directory

PARTY HARDY EVERYDAY

For the coolest parties, I participate in. 

Feel free to add yours, if you think I'd like it :)


Then, copy the parties you participate in, I simply grabbed all of my Monday parties for this example. Pasted it on here, and they adjusted to fit. Easy enough so far, right???


Keep in mind, I set mine up to be small 80px buttons, so for what I am trying to do now, it is super perfect. Won't take up a lot of space, and still gives credit ON THE post of the project you link up, and it looks neat!!!


Next I will copy just a few of my Tuesday parties, and TRY to paste them where the DIY party ends, lets see, if this works.

1. Craft Link Party Monday

2. Market yourself Monday

3. MMM @ CRAFT

4. Amaze me Monday

5. Motivate me Monday

6. Organizing Mission Mondays

7. Craftomaniac Mondays

8. DIY Showoff Parade

1. Amaze me August

2. Twice Owned Tuesday

3. Take a Look Tuesday

4. Show me what you got

5. Totally Organized Tuesday

Ok, didn't want to work, I guess I could go mess with all the html, and try to make it align all pretty, no thank you. Ok, so it just copied it to the the next row, no problem, still looks neat to me, and in fact even gives a bit of separation in the days of week, alright. 

Now I'm going to try adding just one, from here, and one from there, ya know like maybe you don't want to link to all these parties everyday. Lets see, if this works.     

1. Whatever Goes Wednesday

2. Tea Rose Sewing Party

1. Thrilling Thursday

2. Hooking up with HOH

3. Making it with Allie

 

Um yeay, that doesn't work very well does it??? Lets try one more time shall we, OK.

1. Frugalicious Fridays

2. Feature Friday

3. I'm Lovin it Friday

Ok, for whatever reason when I grabbed three in a row, they aligned properly, lets keep trying. 

1. Frugalicious Fridays

2. Feature Friday

Alright, two worked also, lets try one again, not that, at this point you couldn't just copy the actual ONE button from the party you are participating in, but just to see, let me try. 

1. Frugalicious Fridays

   

See, weird right, don't ask me, I have no idea, no answer for you, but you've seen what the different things that can happen are, right? 

Alrighty so lets recap, we all know that linking to parties, is fun, so make sure to link up to mine OK..... :)

Ok, sorry about that, lol, THIS is isn't about my party 

AMAZE ME AUGUST

which takes place EVERY TUESDAY, and lasts all week long, that I really would like to get up to 100 links every week by THIS year, lol, I mean THIS MONTH, lol. This tutorial is about you, and showing you something I just discovered that might save you some time, and make all your party hosts, ME INCLUDED, very happy.

Since, we all want to do the right thing, and since we all don't have all day, I just thought this would help you out, it's pretty easy, even if you just add the top row, or for goodness sake the whole days parties like I did in my first example. There is nothing wrong with promoting more parties right???

Remember these already link directly to the party, how cool is that, and with ONE click of your mouse you could copy and paste a bunch of little buttons, all cute, perfectly sized, and accurate, all by visiting my 

LINKY PARTY DIRECTORY

PARTY HARDY EVERYDAY

Disclaimer, I don't know if it's ok, with anyone else for you to go grab their buttons, of their party directories, you might want to ask, but feel free to grab from mine, I let you, and now you might be more inclined to add your party to it too, and of course LINK back to me, and my party WHEN you LINK up your projects, which I hope you all will do religiously from now on. 

THANK YOU!!!

Oh, and P.s. I am pretty new to all of this, so if this for some reason does not work for you, don't hate me, just ask, I MAY be able to figure it out, but more than likely not, lol. BUT if it does help you out, feel free to pass the tutorial on to your readers, and let me know, you found it INCREDIBLY helpful. 

SPEAKING of LINKING UP

check out some places I'm linking this up to. Go say hello, and check out many other WONDERFUL ideas.

1. Recipe Link SUndays

2. Etsy Shop Saturdays

3. Weekend Wrapup Party

4. Party everyday ISVC

5. Not Bad Sundays

6. Show and Share Sundays

7. Sew Crafty Saturdays

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