The Ultimate Blog Party 2013

Just saw a post from The Home Girl about UBP13. So, I decided to take a look and join in, I always love a good party.

The hosts are Susan And Janice from 5 Minutes For Mom and it seems like a great way to share your blog in blogland and find some new friends! They do it once a year from April 5th through 13th and they feature thousands of blogs! And did I mention there are Prizes!

So if your visiting from UBP13 Thanks for stopping by, I'm Desiree @ YourCraftyFriend

and I love all things crafty from sewing to hot glue to cooking to scrapbooking and all things in between. So take a look around.

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 More About Me:

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. My name is Desiree and I'm married to my best friend Adam. We just celebrated our 10 year anniversary and due to things like Army deployments, we have grown together stronger then ever. (Army Strong)

We have two Lovely children.

Elizabeth, is now 9 going on 12, she is a mommy in training. She loves all things grown up and to be super glued to my hip.

Conner, is 7 and as boy as they come. He LOVES Lego's, Super Heroes, wait the list is too long. My son has a wonderful imagination, he could play with a rock for hours.

We have just moved from the warmth of Arizona to the snow in Utah. Hence, why I started this blog. We left all family, friends and city life to move to a small town in Utah that actually has a Main street.

1. I want to stay connected to friends and family.

2. I need an outlet for my creativity now that I live in a small town.

3. I love making new friends.

I love everything crafty, but best of all I love sharing with friends. So take a look around I hope your find something to inspire you. Remember to follow me and leave a comment I would love to connect with you.

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Life is crazy, hope to return soon.

Hello all,

I know it has been awhile since I've posted but Life has been crazy. I was working on some great stuff that soon I'll be able to post. But for the past 2 weeks I've been in and out of the Hospital with my poor Hubby. He has been internally bleeding, can we say SCARY!!! He is feeling lots better and I'm thankful for all the prayers sent our way. I hope to get to leave the hospital today and get back to regular life by Monday.

Even though I have been unable to post anything. I have enjoyed being able to look at a lot of great blogs and posts. You're great post have kept me occupied as I sit in the hospital. Great job everyone.

Adventures in Blogging #3

#3 Design Elements

So, I've gotten a few questions on my blog design. No I didn't use a designer just a lot of trail and error. (lots of choice words yelled at my computer)

1. I used great tutorials from Ashton at Something Swanky, She has a few DIY Design post you should check out.

2. She suggested to have a second blog, you use to host your blog pictures and design elements. A blog just for your eyes. I do that and love it, I often use it to test out things without worrying it will mess up my blog. 

3. Header  

I followed Ashton steps in; How to Create Your Own Social Media Icons, Make A custom Header and How to link multiple URLs to One Image. I also got my social media icons from Carrie at CarrieLoves.

A. I used PicMonkey to create my header, which includes my header, media icons and NavBar all together as one picture. 

B. I then posted the picture on my test/design blog to get the URL, so I could load it up to Image Maps. I used Image maps to link all my social media icons and NavBar (pages) to the one picture. I then got my HTML code and posted that to my test/design blog.

note: Make sure you link your main blog page to your header. So when you click on the feet picture or family picture you get taken to my main blog page.

Also, when linking the mail social media button use mailto:yourcraftyfriend@gmail.com, of course change it to your email address.

C. I then used the steps in Make a Custom Header to get rid of the generic header and NavBar in blogger and install my custom mapped header.

4. Signature

I used PicMonkey to make My Signature as a image. I used Image Maps to link my social icons. I then posted it to my test/design blog for easy access to it when I create a post. 

5. About

My about me was created in PicMonkey. I first went into create a collage and added the pictures and where the words are I left blank. I saved it like so.

Then went back into PicMonkey as edit picture to add words to give me this.

Tip: I went into my template (template - customize - advanced) to get the exact colors of my background and I use them in all my blog design elements to keep my blog looking cohesive. For example I found my blue to be #35b8c3 and when I'm in Picmonkey I can click on the color and enter in #35b8c3.

I hope this info helps you. If you have any questions on any of it please ask. Happy Blogging.