Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Adding a Blog Background

I thought I should add to my blog design series.  This one is pretty simple, but I will show you how to install a background in blogger template designer.


The first thing you need to do is to locate a "digital scrap paper" to use as your background.  My favorite resource for free kits is Summertime Designs.  She has the cutest stuff.  Her products are for personal use only though, so you'll have to contact her for licensing if you use your blog for commercial use.  My favorite place to buy kits is Scrap Orchard but you want to check the designers TOU to make sure you can use it on your blog.  Most are fine with it, but still check to be sure.

So I'm going to download THIS paper from Summer for this demonstration.  Just save it somewhere where you can find it, and then go and unzip the folder.

First you will open the paper in photoshop.  (Or any photo editing software where you can control the size of the document and the size of the file.)


Then go to image-image size- and resize your image. I have found that 1600 x 1600 pixels seems to be the magic number for me.



Then hit Save As.  A box will appear and you can adjust the image size you are saving it at.  You want to be sure it is smaller then 300K.


Next open your template designer in blogger.  Go to background- click the little arrow- and then click "upload image."


Upload your image and hit done.  Then you want to adjust the alignment to be centered, make sure it says "tile"  and also you can choose if you want it to scroll with the page.  I like my backgrounds to hold still, so I unchecked the box.


Hit "apply" and enjoy your new background!


Easy peasy!  The hardest part will be picking out a cute paper to use!

Have fun!

P.S.  If there is anything you'd like me to add to this series, be sure to let me know!