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A Giveaway!?

I know I never do these.
But I just HAD to this time.
I mean,
c'mon....
who wouldn't want to try and win a $50 credit photo session with the darling
Miss {er, should i say Mrs.} Karly Leavitt!?

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Karly is one of those awesome girls you just can't NOT be friends with!
I met her through this wonderful bloggy world,
and have always LOVED her photos!
Please,
take a good long look and "oooooo" and "ahhhhhhh" with me, if you will:

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Kevin and I are in great need of a photo shoot soon,
and I think I will be in heaven if I win.

So.
The details.
If you haven't already clicked on the links above and figured it out:

Click {HERE} to enter the givaway,
which is being held by Craze Texture.

Click {HERE} to *like* Craze Texture.

Click {HERE} to see more of Karly's mad photography skills,
or *like* her {HERE} on facebook.

And click {HERE} if you'd just like to learn more about this cool girl friend of mine!


Crackle Nails!

Here's what I've been excited about:
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Crackle nail polish!
I have been waiting too long to try this out.
Yesterday I went to Sally's and picked up a couple bottles though,
and I LOVE it!

Here's what you do:

1. Paint a base coat with normal nail polish (I used Shocking Pink by China Glaze).
2. Let it dry COMPLETELY.
3. Pain a thin coat of Crackle nail polish over (I used Cracked Concrete by China Glaze).
4. Watch in awe as the crackle stuff really "cracks"!
5. Let that dry COMPLETELY.
6. Paint a clear top coat over for protection.
7. Show all your friends!

LD Freebie: Dog Days!

Backgrounds

Probably a "make it or break it" feature to any blog is the background.
Just think of the blogs {or any site for that matter} you love to read.
Do they have crazy backgrounds or a wild print?
Probably not.
I enjoy reading ones that are simple,
fun,
and clear.
Thus,
I made my background white.
It's not fun to read yellow text on a white{or any color, really} background or vise versa.
Get it?
People steer clear of those because it's a strain on the eyes.
Another reason I chose a simple white background:
I love to accessorize.
So that kind of balances out the plain background.

Anyways,
enough talk.
Let's get to it.
How do I upload one?
and better yet
How do I create and upload my own?

Uploading a background is super easy.
The website you pick it from should give you clear instructions,
but if not,
here are mine:
1. Select a background.

2. Copy the HTML code given {usually found under the background selected}.

3. Log into blogger and click on the "design" tab,
and then make sure you are on the "page elements" screen.

4. From here, select "Add a Gadget".
Note: I don't add this to my sidebar, for clarity's sake.
I add my background to the very bottom "Add a Gadget" option.

5. Select  "HTML/JavaScript"

6. Paste the background code {from step 2} into the blank box that has appeared.

7. Save and admire blog.
Or if you're like me,
you'll do this 20 different times before you settle on "the one".
Ha!

......

Now, if you do happen to have Photoshop {or Gimp},
you have the fun option of creating your very OWN background!
That's what I did for this blog,
and I followed Amanda's instructions over HERE.
I think she does an amazing job at explaining everything,
and she knows a heck of a lot more about Photoshop than me!
I will add this though:
After you have created and saved your cute,
new,
personalized background:

1. Go to Tinypic and upload it, not Photobucket.

2. Log into blogger and select "Design", then ""Edit HTML".

3. Make sure the "Expand Widget Template" box is checked.

4. Hit "ctrl f".
A box will pop up at the top of your screen that let's you search for stuff.
This makes things go 10x faster.
Yay!

5. Search for:   body {
6. Right above/before that code paste this new code:
 background: url(http://i53.tinypic.com/yourimagediscription.jpg) no-repeat center fixed #FFFFFF;

Clickable Pictures

So we've all seen these buttons within the LDS community:

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Where,
when clicked on,
it sends the reader to another website or blog page.
I think it's pretty handy and awesome.
Would you like to learn how to do it too?
Of course you would!
So I found this site from googling,
and it's been on my "favorites" bar since:
http://www.bloggertricks.com/2007/12/adding-clickable-pictures-on-blogger.html


Sometimes words can get monotonous,
therefore, a clickable picture is helpful and exciting for a blog.
It adds interest.
The fun part is creating your own personalized link/button.
That's what these are:


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Technically,
the last two are "top bar links" {this post is coming though, i promise!},
but the concept is the same.

Here is what the link above will tell you:

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Pictures: Side-by-Side

Have you noticed that sometimes I will put up pictures like this:


Or this:


{p.s. all pics via pinterest, which i am now obsessed with}

I am going to show you how.
It's super easy once you get the hang of it,
plus I think this is a fun way for you to "spice" up your blog.
Picture
after
picture
after
picture
after
picture
can get old.

So here's what I do:
I can't remember where,
but I found this code that I have just kept forever:
{ha. sound legit enough, right?}

<table><tbody><tr> <td><img alt="" height="330" src="http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/AudreyFuller/119118100_kRWg0FiV_c.jpg" width="390" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="330" src="http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/AudreyFuller/83845813_S383LPb0_c.jpg" width="270" /></td></tr></tbody></table>


And now I'm going to try and break it down for you.
Color code style.
  • These are opening and closing "tags". Do NOT, I repeat: DO NOT delete these or mess with these. If even a bracket gets deleted, it can be frustrating to find and fix.
  • This is where, within the "", you can write what you want it to say when someone puts their curser/mouse over your picture.
  • This is the "direct link" that you copy and paste from photobucket.
  • The height and width, duh. {jk} This is where you can RESIZE your photos to fit how you want them to! Yay!
And then if you want to add more pics in the line up,
you simply add another line of script in like this...

<td><img alt="" height="310" src="http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/AudreyFuller/101092004_0M3u7G9h_c.jpg" width="180" /></td>
...and get this:

<table><tbody>
<tr><td><img alt="" height="310" src="
http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/AudreyFuller/101092004_0M3u7G9h_c.jpg" width="180" /></td><td><img alt="" height="310" src="http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/AudreyFuller/26486532_9rtGgP2K_c.jpg" width="260" /></td><td><img alt="" height="310" src="http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/tt173/AudreyFuller/117241257_pIEmCXka_c.jpg" width="200" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>

Does that kinda,
sorta make sense?
It's really not bad if you can just find where the tags begin and end.

So right before I open a post,
especially if I know I'm going to add in some cool "side-by-side" pictures,
I copy this code from a previous post {under "edit posts"},
paste it into my "new post",
and then just change the direct links.
Ta da!
Now you go try it!

Photoshop and Photobucket

Before going super deep into all of this,
I just wanted to tell you about the types of stuff I use to create and edit everything.

Back when I was an itty-bitty freshman at BYU-I,
I was an art major.
I took a graphic design class,
and during that class I learned about an insanely cool program called Photoshop.
I loved it so much that I bought the whole CS3 design standard bundle...
...well actually it was a Christmas gift from my parents.
I don't think I realized then,
how much I was going to LOVE these programs!

I edit almost everything in photoshop,
unless I'm being lazy and just open up my picture to HP MediaSmart {a free editing program that came with my new desktop}.
The big downfall to Photoshop is that it's so pricey.
I lucked out and got a super good student discount through my school.

However,
this does NOT mean that you cannot create insanely cute stuff too!
There are a billion programs out there that will give you the desired effect you want,
and here are just a few for you to check out:
{in no particular order}

Picasa
Pixlr
Be Funky

......

Another thing I would like to tell 'yall about is Photobucket.
It's like my blog buddy,
aka picture uploading lifesaver!
When I first started my blog,
I uploaded everything through blogger.
Wow that was torch.
Too slow!
So then one day when I was reading Busy Bee Lauren
she talked about how awesome this program was that lets her upload pics fast,
and place them exactly where she wants them to go in blogger.
Whoa.
Sign me up.
I immediately checked it out and BAM!
I was converted.
Goodbye you slow blogger uploader you.

Whenever I hop on my computer and pull up my blog,
I also pull up photobucket.

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Every time.
And this is how it works:


1. Log in and click on the green button that says "Upload now".
{upper left hand corner}

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2. Click on the next big green box that says "Select Photos and Videos".

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3. When you click on it,
a window will pop up like this:

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So you will then want to select the photo/video you want and click "Open".
*p.s. if you just hold down the "ctrl" button on your keyboard,
you can select multiple pictures from a file and upload all at once!
Typically,
I will select about 6-8 at a time.

4. When it's done uploading it will say this:

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So click on "Save and continue to my album".

5. When you get back to your main album page,
you will notice that when you put your mouse over each picture,
it brings up a menu that looks like this:

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For the purpose I am showing you today,
you will want to copy the HTML code only.

6. When you've done that,
go back to your blog and open up a "New Post".
Click on "Edit HTML".

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7. Paste that code you just copied into the box:

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8. Click back over to "Compose" mode and woola!
You've got your picture right there!

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Hopefully that was real straight-forward for everyone.

So after taking my pictures I always ALWAYS upload them to my computer.
Then when I want to write a post and use them,
I upload the pictures I want to photobucket.
I write out my post first,
and then just copy and paste the codes in last.
It's brilliant you guys,
and SO EASY!

NOTE:
Photobucket is free.
However,
a little while back I had exceeded my bandwidth,
 because I am constantly upload a gazillion photos to it.
I paid an extra $20 to store unlimited photos for a year.
Totally worth it for me,
or anyone who is doing a ton of uploading.

Blogger: Tips and Tricks

I am trying to contain my excitement right now.
GUESS WHAT?!!!
I have a special couple of posts coming your way!
All inspired by you and your questions.
I've had friends and family ask multiple times about how to add one thing and get rid of another....
Whelp,
I'm going to try and explain it all.
Or at least point you in the right direction!

First off,
you have to realize that I'm a blogging fanatic.
I love it.
My personal blog is like my journal and this one is for expressing my creativity,
and I want both to be as cute as possible!
Another thing-
I think it's FUN to play around with HTML codes.
So a lot of these tips came after long hours spent surfing the net,
typing in the right key phrases,
and lots of trial and error.
Also {last thing i promise},
my main blog {Him plus Her} and this one {Miss Audrey Sue} both have the older style blogger template {Minima}.
I started this blog off with the new style template {a Josh Peterson simple style}.
There are advantages to both,
but I really liked the old style template because I'm used to that HTML and can edit it fast.
The new style I haven't took time to really figure out {it's CSS},
but since blogger added the new "Template Designer" feature,
it doesn't matter too much.
I will try to help with both!

Stop chatting and give us the info you say?
Alrighty.
I'll start you off today with a list of links that I have saved to my favorites bar.
I find them super helpful and informative:


*FYI: This will continue to get updated as I find more awesome sites to share!

Are you getting excited to learn more?
Cuz I am soooo ready to help!

Two for Tuesday: Cutie Patootie!


Cutie Patootie


I must say that the monkey is my favorite.
Grab it now!
{just click on the pictures to get to the site}


Cutie Patootie


Thank You Box

I know I've shown lots of box-type things,
but I can't help but share another with you today.

Behold:

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"The Box".
I downloaded it from the Silhouette Studio with my complimentary $10 gift card.

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I wrote the "Thanks",
and decorated the bottom with this middle border:

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(also found in the Silhouette Studio Online Shop)

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And see this pretty flower?
Another download my friends:

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I can't get enough of this box.
It's perfect for giving away - with a sweet surprise inside - to that special someone!
Now pull out that Silhouette and you try it!

Two for Tuesday: Funky Doodlebats



I think doodlebats are one of the coolest things out there.
It's like a font,
but with sweet pictures!
And these two sets are too cute to pass up.

LD: Manic Monday Alphabets


Intricate Boxes


Sometimes it's hard to get going after a fun and crazy weekend,
but get a move on and GO GRAB these cute alphabets!
I think they are definitely too cute to pass up!

LD: Friday Freebie {Leapin' Lizards!}


Intricate Boxes


Happy Friday indeed!
Hurry and go download them before Sunday!
{just click on the picture to get more info and purchase}

The Intricate Box Collection

I've just GOT to show you what I've fallen in love with lately.
Introducing the Intricate Box Collection:

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Intricate Boxes


Intricate Boxes


I can't get enough of how awesome it is.
Seriously.
There are so many different ways to use it!
Just take a look at these cute creations:

They are bombin.
I used my time this afternoon to make myself a cute paper quilt...

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I absolutely love how sleek and modern the designs are!

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Really,
these things look good without any "extras".
But I wanted to add that POP of color.
Because I love me some COLOR!

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Sweet huh?
You should definitely go grab this set while it's on sale!
Like....NOW!