Sidebar Titles Freebie

I finished a new set of sidebar title tags and couldn't wait to share them with you. Introducing: The Rachel Collection! I threw in every title I could think of (they aren't all shown in the preview)...and an extra blank one for good measure. :) They are deliciously flowery and shabby and just fun. I'll add them to ShabbyBlogs.com eventually, but for now they are just for YOU, dear followers. Go. Download. Enjoy!

The Rachel Collection:

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Make Your Own Button Freebie

I'll be releasing oodles of new designs in the next week or two, but in the meantime, here's a cute little button I made just for you! It's sized to fit in your sidebar and ready to be customized any way you want. Use it for your favorite quote, family name, or any other text you'd like to shabbify. You can make as many different buttons with this freebie as there are finds at a flea market! I only ask that you do not redistribute it por favor.

Make Your Own Button Freebie:
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*Not sure how to add your own text? Try Blogger's BFF, Picasa. :)

Freebie: Flea Market Frame

Holy smokes! I have been soooo busy lately! Our little family is moving back to my home state of Michigan- which I am totally stoked about. What am I not stoked about? Packing. Ugh. Packing is now on my list of things I hate...right next to cellulite and mosquitoes. There are so many improvements and additions I want to add to ShabbyBlogs.com, but cardboard boxes have stood between me and my lofty goals. I haven't even had time to do our next Featured Blogger and I feel so terrible about that! I may just have to give some little shout-outs to some of the cool blogs and bloggers I have discovered through your comments until the dust settles and I can properly rave about you. :) In the meantime, please enjoy this shabbilicious frame I created for you using my latest flea market finds. It is sized to fit in your blog sidebar and can be customized using any program that supports layers. Have fun with it!

Flea Market Frame Freebie:

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Sidebar Frame Freebie

Here's a little frame for those pictures we all love to put on our blog sidebars. :) Using any program that supports layers, just plop your own photo in, merge the layers, and away you go! (You could use it for a favorite quote too!)

This frame was made using goodies from Michelle Underwood...who is currently hosting a giveaway on her blog. Check it out for a chance to win a gift certificate to her shop!

Sidebar Frame Freebie:
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Moms rock!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all of you have an awesome day filled with sloppy kisses and dandelion bouquets...whether you're a mom or not. Who doesn't need weeds and wet kisses? :)

A special "Happy Mother's Day" to anyone who may be a birthmother- especially "ours." Words cannot express how grateful I am for the sacrifice my daugther's birthmother made almost exactly six years ago today. I love you, Lindsey.

I made the frame above using goodies from Michelle Underwood's digital kits... and you can have it too! :) I included a plain version as well. Just plug in your own photos using any software that supports layers and off you go! Please note that these freebies are sized for blog use only and not intended to be used for your digital scrapbooking layouts. For that, you'll have to visit Michelle's store. :)

Fancy Frame Freebie:
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Collage Frame Freebie

I am a pathological picture taker. When one or two photos would suffice, I take twenty or thirty. (Can I get an amen?) Sometimes that makes blogging my photos difficult because I simply have waaaay too many to choose from. That's when I like to bust out a trusty collage. If you haven't tried this technique- trust me. You'll love it! I consider collages a blogging must-have. I'm sure I'll be giving out tons more of these in the future, but for now, here are four perfectly shabby collage frames that are both cute and functional. Enjoy them!

Shabby Collage Frames:
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*Click here for a free starter book on digital scrapbooking
*Click here for a tutorial on layering your photo with another image (like my frames)
*If you don't already own photo editing software that supports layers, such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, you can download a free trial version or a free program like Gimp or Paint.NET

Here! Have some tags.

I have tons of new goodies to add to the site, but heaven only knows when I'll get around to it. Not toooo long- I promise. :) In the meantime, here is an early peek at some new tags I made for you to use as sidebar titles. Aren't they cute?


I know that creating tags with white backgrounds seems kind of funny. In digital scrapbooking that would be just plain weird. But I do it for several reasons. 1.) The content area of my backgrounds are all white so it doesn't matter. 2.) Nope. I guess it's just the one reason. So why do all of my designs have white content (post) areas? Because then, no matter how funky the background, YOU are still the main focus. Your text and images are clean and clear for all the world to see. Also, with a pattern or color in the content section of your blog, it can be hard to view transparent images or images that are odd-shaped. They often display with white around them, which looks pretty icky on a colored background. But you won't ever have to worry about that. I'm looking out for you. Aaand, by giving you a white content area, I am also giving you the gift of super easily getting rid of those lines that are around everything in Blogger. I'm referring to the borders... borders everywhere! Just go to your "Fonts and Colors" page under "Layout" and change the border color to white. See? Looking out for you. ;)


On a totally unrelated note... I'm going to start featuring bloggers next week. Anyone who uses one of my backgrounds and leaves a comment on this here blog is in the running. So many of you are truly talented and deserving of a shout-out. I'm really excited to share your brilliance with our fellow shabby bloggers! :)

Sweet Life Tags:
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It's all about YOU!

Finding a blog design that really reflects who you are can be difficult. Hopefully, you've been to the Shabby Blogs site and were able to find something that represented your own personal style. Adding a customized header, gadgets, and most importantly- posts, is what really makes your blog a reflection of you. Shabby Blogs is taking blog couture one step further. How about a totally customizable background that features your own photographs? I've created this design, but YOU get to make it your own. In the photo editing program of your choice, layer photos beneath the frames to create a one-of-a-kind layout that is all about you!

Here is an example of what this design will look like when finished...using my own shabby girls as models. :)

If you are new to digital scrapbooking, you can check out this video tutorial for basic instructions on how to add your photos to an image like my background.

Here's what to do after adding your photos to this background:

1. Flatten the image and save it as a .jpeg- but be sure you adjust the image quality to be less than 1 megabyte. Anything 1.0 or higher won't display right.
2. Once it's saved, upload it to Photobucket, making sure that you've selected the 1 megabyte file size upload option.
3. In a new tab, log into your Blogger account and click on "Layout"
4. Now click on the tab that say "Edit HTML"
5. Scroll down in your code to where you see something like this:

body {
background:$bgcolor;
margin:0;
color:$textcolor;
font:x-small Georgia Serif;
font-size/* */:/**/small;
font-size: /**/small;
text-align: center;
}

and replace the line I highlighted with this:
background:url(YOURLINKHERE) top center no-repeat;

6. Now, in your Photobucket account, copy the direct link to your customized background and paste it in the above code where it says YOURLINKHERE.
7. Select "Preview" to make sure everything looks right. Depending on the size of your monitor, some of the background may be cut off, but don't worry! It's impossible to size background images of this nature to fit everyone's screen perfectly and the same way. Put photos in each frame so that even if you can't see it, others who have larger screens can!
8. If it looks good to you, save it. If not, don't blame me. Just kidding! Review these steps and try again. I'll do my best to answer any questions!

*It's always a good idea to save a copy of your template before playing with the code...just in case. You don't even want to know how many times I've gone all kung-fu on my HTML only to discover I did a bad, bad thing. Save it first so you can always return to Old Faithful if you get a little too carried away. :)

Happy blogging!!!

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Flea Market Frame Freebie

First of all, thank you to everyone who has stopped by to visit, become a follower, left a comment, and everything else you've done to show your support! I know my digital doors don't officially open until the 1st, but I couldn't resist sharing some goodies with you a little early! Enjoy this Shabby Blogs freebie from me to you- five super shabulous frames to use in your digital scrapbooking layouts and, most importantly, on your blog! Adding frames to your photos before posting them to your blog adds interest and style. You can use these in so many different ways! Can't wait to see what you do with them! :)

Happy blogging!

Download

*Click here for a free starter book on digital scrapbooking
*Click here for a tutorial on layering your photo with another image (like my frames)
*If you don't already own photo editing software such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, you can download a free trial version or a free program like Gimp or Paint.NET