Five Helpful Tips for Choosing a WordPress Theme

Choosing a theme for your WordPress site is one of the first steps to getting your blog up and running. A theme dictates the basic design and layout of your blog. With thousands of themes out there, picking the right one can be an overwhelming task. Here are some important things to consider when shopping around for the perfect theme.

1. Cost: How much do you want to spend on a theme? There are many free themes available through WordPress and other sites. There are also a variety of places where you can purchase a theme which will usually run anywhere from $10-$80. Or, you can go the more expensive route and hire a web designer to create one for you.

2. Support: Be sure with any theme you choose that there is good support offered. This support may be available from the company you purchased your theme from or through online support forums. Be sure to find out how much information is out there about your theme. In the event that you have a question about how to modify something within your theme, you want to be sure you have somewhere to turn.

3. Reviews: Check out what other people are saying about the theme you are considering. Look for a theme with a high rating and multiple reviews. Read through the reviews to see what people like and don't like about the particular theme before making your decision.

4. Style: It is important to choose a theme that fits well with your style. Focus on the layout of the theme. Do you prefer one, two or three columns? Do you like the sidebar on the left or on the right side of the screen? Most sites allow you to demo their themes. Activate the demo and poke around to see how you like it. After navigating around a few of them, you will start to get a feel for what you like. I personally prefer two columns and a sidebar aligned on the right side.

5. Customization: Find out what features of the theme are easily customizable. Some themes will allow you to change more items while others will be more limited. Assess what options you want to have the ability to change and make sure the theme you choose allows for it.

I am currently using a free theme through wordpress.com created by WooThemes. It fits well with my style and has been very easy to use. It has up to 7 different color schemes and has the capability to support a custom header and background image. Overall, it has completely met my needs as a first time blogger. I hope with these helpful tips you will be able to find the perfect theme to help you build your special place in blog world.

How To: Add a Search Bar on Your Blogger Homepage...and Why You Should.

Search Bars! Search Boxes! What the heck are those and why on earth would I want one on my blog?! Aww friend, I am SO glad you asked! Let me tell you all about this fun lil thing.

Search Bars/Boxes- What are they?

Simply put, a search box/bar works the same as any other search engine would (Ahem...Google, anyone?) except it's on YOUR BLOG and searches through YOUR STUFF! Wheeeeeeeeee! We like that.

For any Blogger users out there, this is in the form of a "Gadget", and is something we can SIMPLY add to our blog to give it a bit more blinggy-bling. 

Why Should I Have One on My Blog?

Well, there's a couple of reasons! For one, functionality! This little Gadget-O-Love adds a lot of functionality to your blog. It enables readers to search through all of your hard work and find exactly what they are looking for.

Why is that important? Because if any readers out there are ANYTHING like me, they don't have a lot of time to scroll through each and every post you've ever written until they find what they're looking for. They'll most likely give up along the way and go somewhere else (GASP!) to get their info. We definitely don't want that.

So, by adding a Search Bar/Box you are saying to your devoted readers, "Hey, I get it...time is money. Why not type in exactly what you're looking for and be on your merry way?"

That's exactly what it does. It creates a little internal search engine within your blog! So now, anytime you've tagged a post (I hope you're making precise tags within each blog post you publish) those tags get stored in your search engine. So let's say Sally loves your blog, is trying to do something she knows she's seen posted before, but can't remember when. By having a Search Bar/Box all she needs to do is kind of know what it is she's looking for (maybe..."fun fonts for free"), type those words into your bar, and hit enter. Your internal search engine will now do the work for her! It will search through each and every post you've written, and then bring up a nice little tidy list of previous blog posts that has something to do with her key words!

So instead of 700 posts, she now only has to go through a couple. Usually the search engine is so smart and precise, that it narrows it down to only 3-4. Badda Bing, Badda Boom. 

In essence, a Search Bar/Box makes your blog work the way it should, as well as making it engaging and helpful. This keeps your readers coming back time and again.

So now, How Do I Add One to My Blogger Blog?

Easy Peasy! Just follow these steps and you'll be there in no time at all :)

1. First and foremost, make sure you are signed into your Blogger account. Once you are, you're going to go to your blog's homepage and click "Design"- which is up on the top right!

2. By clicking "Design" you are able to see your blog's inner core- where you can do any and all changes you might want to make. There are so many lovely things you can do in this place, so play around! 

For our purposes we will need to find "Layout" and click it.

3. Next, you'll see you're now able to see your blog's "skeleton" (in a sense). This is an outline of what you have on your blog, where everything you've added is placed, and an easy way to make any changes- like moving something around, deleting something, or adding on.

Find where you want to add your new Gadget (a Search Bar/Box is indeed a Gadget!)- this place doesn't have to be exact- but has to be around where you're thinking of having it go. I suggest having a search bar somewhere close to your main information on your home page (i.e.: profile pic, social media, etc). We can move the Search Bar around once it's installed.

Click "Add a Gadget".

4. Now we are seeing a list of all the different Gadgets available on Blogger! There's some neat ones there, so look around! You might find something you didn't even know you could do! As you can see, Blogger lets you know what's already been installed by simply saying "Already Added" on the right side of each Gadget.

Scroll down until you find, "Search Box" and click the little "+" on the right. This adds it to your blog!

5. Now we need to simply configure our Search Bar/Box. All this means is we're going to make it do exactly what we want it to do.

A. Here you can title whatever you want your bar to be. Keep in mind that this "name" will show up on your blog for all to see. You can also leave it blank should you choose.

B. Make sure this box is checked! This allows people to type in key words (i.e.: How To, Blog Design, Blog Help...) and your Search Bar will search ALL throughout your blog's posts for any post related to those words! Neat huh?

That being said, I personally want the Search Bar to ONLY search my blog, so I unchecked the following two boxes. I don't want people seeing results from anywhere else, other than my blog :)

C. Here is where you will see a nice little preview of what your Search Bar will look like :)

D. When you are satisfied, click "Save". This will apply those changes to your Search Bar/Box.

6. Now as you can see we're taken back to our blog's skeleton. And, as you can see in A. our Search Bar is automatically up at the very top of my Gadget list. I'm not happy with it being there, so to move the box around all I need to do is click and hold down on the box, and drag to where I want it (within that area). Usually just up and down. If you're wanting it somewhere completely different, you'll need to delete (by clicking "Edit"), delete the Gadget, and start over someplace else on your skeleton.

B. When you think you know where you want it, click "Preview" to be shown a mock-up of what your blog will look like once you hit "Save". Click out of that box and come back here to make changes. I usually have to "Preview" 3 or 4 times before I've got it right.

C. Again, once you're happy with your placement, click "Save Arrangement"!

7. Viola! When I go to my homepage, displayed in all it's glory is my new Search Bar/Box! It's easy to see (up towards the top) and is titled appropriately (so my readers know what it is).

8. Here's how it works! Let's say you want to find an old blog post, or your reader really needs to know how to do something: Just type in the key words into your Search Box and BOOM a beautiful list of ANY and ALL YOUR BLOG POSTS that include those words, shows up! 

Neat. Tidy. Easy. That's what we like!

Some Favorite Fonts: Part 1

I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden I've become utterly obsessed with fonts and all things typography!

I notice gorgeous eye catching fonts everywhere! Magazines, books, posters, stores, packaging- it's kind of all I see! I've even, hehe, said aloud once or twice, "Hey, that's the __________ font!" Oh boy.

What?!?! Who have I become? My husband, that's who. He's obsessed with typography- actually requested (and received) a book for his birthday last year FULL of nothing but 60's and 70's popular fonts. I laughed at him then. Now...I merrily stick my foot in my mouth.

Either that, or I've become a genuine blogger. Yeah, I guess that's more fitting. Bloggers LOVE fonts! The more fonts one has, the merrier! What better way to vamp-up your cute blog post pictures than with some snazzy fonts! And I have a blog. So, according to grade school mathematics:

(Me + Love of Fonts) + Owning a Blog Myself = A Bonafide Blogger

Anyway, now if you're anything like me, you fiend for new fonts. You search the web and Pinterest for any font you can get your hands on. Even more, you giggle with delight at FREE new fonts. Squeal!

Well friend, you're in luck! Luck, I say! Here are some of my favorite fonts- fonts that you most likely have seen time and time again on my blog! Oh, and yeah- they are totally free for all your blog picture bedazzling fun!

Learning Curve // Sketch Block // Simply Glamorous // Sail // Wisdom Script // Matilde // Mailart Rubberstamp // Before the Rain // Marcelle

How To: Remove the Blogger Picture Shadow

I don't know about you, but one of the first things that needed to go when I first started my blog, was the weird little shadow that formed behind every picture!

I mean, don't get me wrong- I LOVE BLOGGER and will forever hold them close to my heart. For the most part they are easy to use and just plain awesome! But that one little tick- that darn shadow...just BUGGED ME!

If you just cannot climb in the same boat as me- no problem! No harm and no foul. Totally get it. But if you are sitting at your desk, hanging by the edge of your seat, going, "YES YES YES!" then this blog is for you. How to remove that silly little shadow around all of your images.

So as you can see, our blog images (and some images elsewhere) did indeed have that little bugger. I mean, I guess it's not the stupidest thing...but it sure bugged me! You Sir, gots to go!

This trick is like, SUPER DUPER simple. I promise. But I do need to say- this trick is (of course) only for Blogger users AND those that are using the SIMPLE VIEW template. So, if you're using DYNAMIC VIEW, this won't work. Also, my step-by-step will be using the new blogger interface. By "new" I mean the one you probably already have- because it was available back in like...2011 or something. 

Ok! Moving on!

1. Make sure you are signed into your blog. You can tell if you are by looking at the top right corner. On your blog's homepage, click on DESIGN.

2. Next, you're going to click on TEMPLATE on the left hand side.

3. Once that has been clicked, find the CUSTOMIZE box and go ahead and click it.

Notice, here is a great way to tell if you're using the SIMPLE template or another one. As you can tell, we are indeed using it!

4. Since we're good to go, on the left hand side, find ADVANCED and click.

5. A little scroll box will show up directly to the right. Scroll down until you find ADD CSS and go ahead and click that.

6. Next, a white box will appear. In that box copy and paste this code EXACTLY:

.post-body img, .post-body .tr-caption-container, .ss, .Profile img, .Image img,

.BlogList .item-thumbnail img {

  padding: none !important;

  border: none !important;

  background: none !important;

  -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important;

  -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important;

  box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px transparent !important;

}

Easy right? Once your code is pasted, make sure to hit ENTER after the last character, "}".

7. Once the code is pasted and you've hit enter after the last character, go ahead and click APPLY TO BLOG. If you're nervous it didn't work- you will immediately notice the shadow has been removed on the preview that shows below what you're doing :)

Violà! You've now removed those pesky shadows from any and all images on your blog!

If you decide you hate it and want those shadow frames back, just follow the steps again- except delete all the text in that white box, then click APPLY TO BLOG. 

Hope that helps, guys!!!

How To: Make a Blog Picture Watermark using Photoshop

Watermarking. We've all heard of it- we've even seen it on our beloved bloggers' pictures- but how do they do it?? It's got to be easy, right?

Well it is. 

In these following steps, I am going to show you how to make a basic watermark for all of your blog pictures, using Photoshop (my editing photo program of choice). These steps are for a text-based watermark! Believe me, it looks daunting, but it's rather easy! I promise!!! 

Seriously, if I can do this, ANYONE can. Totes.

1.

Like I stated earlier, we'll be using the Photoshop editing program for this How-To :)

So, open your photoshop program and open a new Document:

File > New

I generally like to start on the bigger side of things, always. It is so much easier to shrink something to the size you need rather than try and blow it up. Once saved small, anything blown up will pixelate and look grainy. So, save big, edit to a smaller size if needed- always.

When creating new watermarks (or any other brush for that matter) I like to open a new Document at 1000x1000 pixels wide. Hit "OK" once done.

2.

Once your new Document is opened, we can begin creating your fancy new text-based watermark!

1. First, select the "Type" tool on the left hand tool bar. 
2. On the top you'll see your "font" box- by clicking that arrow, a menu will drop down and you can scroll through until you find a font you like best!
3. Once you found the font you like, click it!

3.

Next we will need to change the font color- I recommend using white or black to begin with- I usually choose black.

1. On the left hand tool bar click the "Foreground Color Box". A new window will show up.
2. Drag your cursor to your color- again I suggest starting with white or (my preference) black!
3. When color is chosen, click "OK".

4.

Next we will need to pick a font size- I generally like to begin with an 8-10pt font size. We will resize this later.

Just click the menu at the top and find the font size you're comfy with.

5.

Now, in your white Document box, click your cursor somewhere on the left hand side. Make sure that "Type" tool on the left hand menu bar is still clicked.

Start typing your desired watermark text. I'm just going to simply do my blog name- Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe :)

6.

Once finished, click on the "layer 1" box on the right menu to set your text. The box should be highlighted.

7.

Now we will need to resize that text!

1. With your watermark's layer box highlighted (clicked and set) press buttons "command" and "t" at the same time, on your keyboard. If you're using a PC, you'll press buttons "ctrl" and "t". This will create a box around your text for easy resizing (and moving). You can let go of keyboard buttons now :)
2. Again on the keyboard, press and hold the "shift" button. While holing that shift button, drag your cursor to the corner of your box and drag out as far as you can go in your white document. When done, let go of mouse cursor and then "shift". By holding the "shift" button, you can resize your picture/text at an equal proportion. If you do not hold "shift" your text/picture can resize disproportionately. If at any time you mess up, just hit "command" and "z" at the same time (ctrl and z for PC) and it will take you back one step. 
3. Hit enter when sized to your liking. This sets it.

8.

Now we are going to crop our text and get rid of all that extra space.

1. On the left hand menu, click the "crop" tool. 
2. Starting at one corner of your text, drag a box around your text, as close to the actual words as possible, without cutting anything off. You can also bring the sides in manually once this box is created OR push them out a bit if you got too close.
3. When ready, hit "enter" on your keyboard.

Again, remember- if at ANY time you mess up a step- simply hit "command" and "z" on your keyboard at the same time. This will bring you back one step/undo last step :) 

9.

Once cropped, on the top menus, go to:

Select > All

This will select everything you've cropped in your new box/the entire image.

10.

Next, again on those top menus, go to:

Edit > Define Brush Preset

This creates your brush which will become your new text watermark!

11.

A window will pop up asking you to name your new brush. Go ahead and do so :) Hit "OK" when done.

Your watermark brush is now created!

12.

Now for the fun stuff! How to actually use your watermark!

Upload your photo to Photoshop.

1. Then on the left hand menu bar click on the "brush" tool.
2. Next, on the right hand side there will be another little menu, click on "brush". 
3. Scroll through all the possible brushes you can use for future projects ;) until you find your created watermark brush. Look closely! Once found, click it! 

13.

Now...

1. At the bottom right you'll need to click that "create new layer" button again. By doing this you'll make sure you are creating/editing/having fun with only your watermark created.
2. Make sure your new layer is highlighted, if it's not- click it. 

14.

Now "stamp" your watermark wherever you'd like! I stamped mine at the bottom left hand corner- it's hard to see because it's black. 

We'll need to change this watermark to another lighter color for this particular picture. Where I wanted my watermark to be, the picture had a lot of dark colors- so black won't work. Remember- because my "foreground color" box shows black, when I "stamp" my watermark it is going to show up black.

With watermark layer still highlighted, go to:

Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation

15.

 A window will show up allowing you to change that watermark color!

1. Play around with those 3 arrows! By moving them left and right you'll see you can choose from a variety of colors! For my watermark, I simply want white. To do so just move that bottom arrow all the way to the right- or until it says "+100".
2. Viola!

16.

Remember, if you need to move your watermark around, or resize it you can do so by simply pressing "command" and "t" at the same time on your keyboard when your watermark layer is highlighted. Holding "shift" and dragging any corner allows you to resize it, and clicking in the center of your box and dragging around allows you to move it around!

When done, hit "enter"on your keyboard.

Neat right?! 

Once you get this technique down, make sure you play around! There are so many lovely things you can discover, like making a multiple font watermark or image watermark. This is also a great way to make a custom brush for arrows, little banners, fun shapes, etc.

If you have an image you like, you can skip to steps 9 on and basically make the same thing. Just make sure your background of your image is transparent. Making one from scratch on Photoshop will do that for ya!

Got questions? Need help? We're here to help! Just email us and we'll get you back on track in no time!

Shop Basics: Tips On Using Your Blog to Advertise Your Shop

You have a shop and wonder if you should have a blog to share your work and creations? Yes!
Advertising is key to every business; if you don’t advertise how would anyone know who you are? Blogging is great for getting your name and product out there and a way to show people who you are behind the machine, glue gun, camera or jewelry pliers {in my case!} I am going to share with you some tips on how to utilize a blog as free (yes, free!) advertisement for your shop.

Here’s my Top 10:
1. Make sure your shop and blog have the same name. It’ll be easier for people to remember and find you.
2. Build a relationship; you need to interact with your readers. Don't be afraid to be yourself.
3. Find your Community and join Blog link ups. If you don’t know where to start remember Google and Pinterest are your friends. Find those creative link ups to gain more views by people with similar interests. {We will be sharing a list of blog hops and link ups next week, so look for those!}
4. Get a button for your blog or shop. You can make one on PicMonkey like Ashley showed you here. If you don’t have time to make one, you can find a Seller on Etsy to design one for you inexpensively. You’ll be able to use it to advertise on other blogs and readers can grab it off your blog and put it on theirs.
5. If you want to swap buttons with other bloggers make sure you do your research. Don’t agree just because they asked you. You want to make sure their blog reflects the same values as yours and shares a similar audience.
6. It does take Money to make Money. Find a blog you have the same views with and see if they have an option of advertising on their blog. I do recommend this, but don’t go out and buy ad space on every blog you come across. It’s not Monopoly; you need to make sure you’re not spending more than you’re making in the long run.
7. If you decide to offer advertising for other blogs don’t sell yourself short. A popular hosting website to use is Passionfruit Ads. It’s easy to put the plugin on your blog with your prices of ad space you offer next to it.
8. Periodically have giveaways. It doesn’t have to be an expensive item from your shop. This will drive traffic into your blog and shop. For my giveaways I use Rafflecopter it’s a great tool to use and free.
9. Be consistent, you get back what you put in to it.
10. Get Google analytics; it's a free tool that shows what search keywords they searched for to get to your blog, what website they entered your blog from, how long they were on your blog, and so much more. It will help you put together your posts more efficiently in that more posts will get more hits when you research the information that brought them to your blog in the first place. People on your blog=people in your shop=sales!

Do you have a shop you'd like to share? A blog as well? Let us know below so we can come check you out!

Be an Encouragement

We've all been there- you worked long and hard on a blog post, poured all your (figurative) blood sweat and (maybe literal?) tears into the meat of what you're sharing, and just as quickly as you publish you get a nasty comment back. Boom...your blogging self esteem falls through the floor.

I know this feeling so well, friends. In fact, it just happened to me last month. Not even joking, I literally spent 3 good whole days testing, retesting, photographing, editing, and composing a recipe blog post only to have some of the nastiest comments I've seen written within like 2 hours of it being up. I mean, really? The best part? It was "signed" as "Anonymous". Oh Anonymous, how you make me sad. Thank goodness for comment moderation! I hope you all have that option going on. If not, click that box! You definitely will want to start moderating your comments (ie approving them before they're published)- not only for the totally uncalled for posts, but also for spam- which sadly, happens in your comment feed.

Anyway, here's the meat of what I'm getting at- blogging is hard work. Like, very very hard work. Bloggers will sometimes pull all nighters, bloggers will work without breaks, bloggers ARE WORKING in general. Yeah you- if you're a blogger- what you're doing is indeed work! :) That being said- when interacting with each other, all of us bloggers need to make sure what we're putting out is encouragement. Be an encouragement in the blogging community.

Blogging community? Oh yes. See, whether you knew it or not- bloggers are a part of this wonderful tight knit, creative community. Or at least we all should strive to be. Think about what it means to be in a community: There (should be) support, love, encouraging words, positive interactions, shared laughs and shared sadness. We are all allowing each other to be a part of our life and world. The more open we are means the more vulnerable we are, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In a community we know each other, we listen to each other, we interact with each other...sometimes on a daily basis.

This is what blogging should be about. As bloggers, we should really strive to support our blogging sisters and brothers. Make our interactions with each other uplifting. Encourage them with kind comments on their blogs, if applicable- constructive criticism (done always in love), positive interactions via their social media sites, etc. Sort of follow that "do unto others as you would like to be done unto you" thing. Remember, we are all real human beings, with real human emotions. Feelings can get hurt.

And this is the absolute truth- its a community! Not a place for competition, not a place where streams of inappropriate and rude criticism flow, and not a place for harshness. Nor should it be a place for you to create such a thing!

Also, blogging should definitely not become a vice for you to leave feeling "less than" or not good enough. There's a temptation to browse others' "better" blogs where big time advertisers are on the front page, they have one kwazillion GFC followers, and 6 million comments per post. Their life looks perfect, kids are always best behaved, house looks straight from Country Living Magazine, etc. You know what I mean. Well that's them. That's their life. It's not yours perhaps and certainly isn't mine. It doesn't mean you are a less than blogger, it means you're not them. Don't become discouraged when viewing their blog space, rather see it as inspiration! Get inspired by things you see and like! Speaking to myself here as well. I am so guilty of browsing Pinterest and my "favorite" blogs only to leave going, "Shoot. My blog basically is the worst! I only get one or two posts up a week while they do every single day! My home page isn't a $5,000 paid graphic designer made page! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!" The truth? Nothing! Nothing is wrong with me- I'm just not them. Neither are you. We are to make a home out of our blog- make it a place others feel at home! Make it somewhere you'd love to visit. Be friendly, be REAL, be honest, and as much as possible be open. And that's it. Nothing more and nothing less. Please leave all competition at the metaphorical door. Do what makes YOU happy and what YOU love to do. It's your blog, by the way.

Unfortunately competition and nastiness exists. Why? Because there are what I like to refer to as "Blogging Wolves in Sheep's Clothing". Although it would be lovely to only have encouragement and positive loving people around, thats not the real case. There are those few that for whatever reason, like to break down, discourage, be rude, jealous, whatever- and take it out on you. Sometimes a mean comment will happen. Sometimes your picture will be stolen. Sometimes you'll lay in bed wishing you never blogged in the first place. Remember- these things are just lies. Their sole purpose is to bring you down. Don't let them win. And seriously, now's the time to really get into that blogging community you've created and surround yourself with your blogging friends.

We're to lean on each other. We're to be joyous with one another's successes and cry with one another when life gives us some storms. We are to love one another. Blogs should be a place to feel at home and get inspired by other moms (or dads) or people who are in your same shoes with your same interests. It should be a place to meet someone new, click and become friends, and share in each other's lives.

Blogs should be intimately inspiring.

Most importantly have fun bloggin. It's what it's supposed to be- fun. Sure it's work- but work can be fun right? Don't lose sleep over your blog. Be inspired with your blog. Don't lose time with your husband and babies. Work when you can (maybe during nap time?) Spend as much time as your life permits, and nothing more. Don't compare yourselves to the other blogs out there and don't think yourself less than them. Remember, look at others' and be inspired. I guess that goes in life as well...but that's a whole other blog post for another day.

Showcase yourself and your friends! Showcase what a neat person you are or what super neat deal you just scored! Show your followers that you're just like them. Be personable. Be identifiable. Be real.

Blog Basics: Design 101

Now that you've joined the blogging world, I bet you're wondering how to get yours personalized. There are a ton of different designs and layouts out there that it can almost make your head spin. Even between all of the contributors blogs, we all have different designs, layouts, fonts, colours etc. This is the beauty to the blog world! Your blog is a way to express yourself through every detail that is put on there. 

It also means there's so much choice & variety that it's easy to get caught up in all the cool things you can do to personalize your blog. There are some basic blog design tips that can help make your blog appear more professional and aesthetically pleasing to your readers. These tips can be applied to any blog, whether you designed your own site or hired someone else to do it for you.

Basic Blog Design:

• Use a clean font that is easy to read and use the same font throughout the post. It's tempting to get those funky fresh fonts but they can be tiresome when reading longer chunks of text. Use something simple for the bulk of your post like Verdana or Georgia. Use a cool font in place like the post title, widgets in your sidebar, page tabs, etc.

• Use a simple background. A lot of blogs, including my own, use just simple white backgrounds. By using a clean background you are directing the focus of your blog to the posts and not distracting the reader. It also makes your text easier to read. If you choose to use a background image, DO choose one that is not too busy and doesn't distract from your content.

• Choose a color scheme for your blog and stick to it. By weaving the same color palette throughout your blog it creates an overall consistent look and defines your blog's brand. Try to stick to 3-4 colors at most to ensure that your blog doesn't look disorganized or overwhelming. Use these colors throughout your blog in places like your header, social media buttons, links, dividers, buttons, etc.

• Align your paragraphs either left-justified or full justified. Left-justified is the typical alignment we all use where your text is all aligned on the left margin. Full justified is when the paragraph is aligned to the left, but all spacing and wording is adjusted so the text falls flush with both margins. You can see examples of left justified here and full justified here. These formats are easier to read and don't take as much effort for your readers to search for the start of the next sentence. This seems insignificant, but it makes a reader want to read on more if it's less work on their eyes. Centered and right justified are tempting, but these can be harder to follow while reading.

• Try to format your pictures to be the same widths throughout your post. Having all your photos the same width creates a cohesive look while producing a better flow to the post. Of course not all photos can be the same size, especially if you are using sourced images, but try to do this as often as possible.

• Express who YOU are through your design! Ultimately your blog should be a reflection of you, your point of view and your creativity. 

By using some of these design tips, combined with your individual style & taste you can create a blog that is both visually appealing and true to you. Remember, these are all just tips - there are no hard & fast rules to blog design. If you really like to do something a certain way, there's no one stopping you! These are just tips after all ;)

If you have any questions or looking for some help, leave us a comment! We'd love to help a fellow blogger out =)