Creating a button and a banner for my Blog

25th March 2012 Edit and update:

A tip for your picture - upload it to http://photobucket.com/ (you will need to have an account) and then re-size it and click save a copy - you will then see a box of links, choose Direct link, the second link which you can use as your url address of your uploaded image.

I recently did a button for the Fly Tribe Shoe Shots Blog Hop and the code looked like this:

<center><a href="http://fly-tribe.blogspot.com.au/"><img src="http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o551/ShellsintheBush/ShoeShotssmall-1.jpg"/></a></center>


Please leave a comment below if you have any difficulties and need help and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Thanks.


2nd November 2011 Edit and update:

This is a good site to check out:  http://jenieshell.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-to-make-blog-button.html 

Here are the basics in my own words:

1. You need to create a picture for your button about 150 x 150 pixels.

2. This picture needs an url - so upload it to a blogpost, post, then click on the picture to get the url for it.

3.  In Blogger you need to go into Design, Template, Add a Gadget and click on the HTML option.

4.  You need a code which requires the url for the uploaded picture and the url of the site where you want to link it to

• Copy the code below and paste it into the text section of your new HTML/Java Script Gadget.

<center><a href="URL address you're Linking to"><img src="URL address of your uploaded image"/></a></center>

• Replace the sections in red with the two url addresses that meet your needs.

• click save.

5.  then view your blog to see how you went....

My button code links to my website and looks like this:

<a href="http://shellsinthebush.com/"
target="_blank" >
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbxKKyeBnUhi_FHE6SXaHaNYCEYOSutU4dhcY76sY2Sd7poP48Y3Zj6i0rZp0aaiWAbPfFavEkmdrkfVL7L3Ejg1-XCfXMamUL8zukimhxTvf077jaSm-U3q5yOPnuzhszzVX884JCv4/s1600/blogbutton2.jpg"
alt="Alternative Name" /></a>

and the button I made today for  Your Heart Makes a Difference looks like this:

<center><a href="http://yourheartmakesadifference.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhte510MkXqiN6w3VgvX-JDw4Fbm1it9N5RP0Wwn2YbDuam_WshJArF10wgrgbHxJD4-NTbiZ9KUIWr5nPxmG1hDjjKPXBZnKVsVjIGYb_yVVkc9ycFiWRem-zgAK0v9eIlfjRAAcP07yU/s1600/yhmadlogo_words_200pxls.png"/></a></center>



I'm not too sure how this works for WordPress or other blog formats/designs.

Thanks,  Sox

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I'm following this blog button tutorial to make a button for my blog.

So I've created my button but am having trouble creating the scroll bar link thing even though I'm following this tutorial. 

http://jenieshell.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-to-make-blog-button.html

I finally made my scroll bar link but won't really know if it works until you try it out on your blog.  Go on...and let me know how you go.  Thanks.

Today I also made a banner for my blog through picnik.com which was also a lot of fun and time consuming to play with too.

Sizes - button - 125 x 140

- blog banner - about 1000 x 300-350

Here are a couple of banners I tried on....

2nd Nov 2011  Making another button for this site:

Kangaroos in the Bush

Yes, that's right, I do have kangaroos in my backyard!!!  I was out looking for some Blue Leschenaultia flowers when I came across this big guy and his family.  I was searching for flowers for a colour wheel challenge and took some pics of the beautiful flowers on my block.

This is why I love living here....

Tonight's beautiful, colourful sunset

Red Bottlebrush

Red Grevillea

Seville Oranges

Orange Fungus

Golden Wattle

Rosemary and Lavender

Hardenbergia - native wisteria

Grey Kangaroo


and the sunset got even better....

Flying Lessons with Kelly Rae Roberts

Pam Carriker's workshop in Cloth Paper Scissors magazine was one of my first introductions into mixed media collage portraits or girlie collages as I like to call them.  I read the instructions but still had no idea what to do as the language was so foreign to me - what was a substrate and what was a background stamp? - I remember asking myself.  I decided I wanted to create my own girlie collage so I worked it out on my own and found out I loved collage and scrapbooking paper but needed a little practice on painting faces.

Here is my first girly collage titled:  Lady Autumn Leaves - April 2010

After a few attempts a deviant art friend said I should have a look at Kelly Rae Robert's portfolio - so I did and I rejoiced in the fact that I wasn't so weird after all and so did my husband - as my girls had long necks and tilted heads.  More of the journey of my girly collages can be seen on my deviantart collage gallery.

On Monday night I decided to enrol into Kelly's Flying Lessons e-course about tips and tricks to make your creative business soar and am really excited by what I've been learning and can't wait to continue on my journey.

Little Houses in Progress

Houses feature a lot in my dreams and in my paintings, so when I came across Lauren Gray's art and her blog featuring the houses she had turned into wall sculptures I thought I'd lke to make my own houses with a bit of colour. 

I already had a bit of timber lying around so I had a go at making a house myself and realised that I really need a mitre box.  My dad has a mitre saw and helped me to make the houses.  Then I sanded them, coated them with a sealer, and have gessoed some and collaged scrapbooking papers on to the 'worse' bits of wood.  In the next couple of days I will paint and varnish them as well as add windows, doors etc.

Whilst out at the shops today I found this wooden tray and scrapbooking frame to use as frames.  These I will also gesso and paint in a background too.  Stay tuned over the next week or two for updates on the progress of my little houses.

Last Night's Sunset

Last night's sunset - photo taken from my back verandah in the Perth hills, Western Australia, 5:39pm.

Positive Side of the Weekend

Paintings for sale over the weekend: 11

Paintings sold: 0

Paintings created: 2

Positive Feedback from public: Priceless

Positive comments, suggestions and mentoring from other artists: Priceless

Here's my display (painting bottom left is not mine)

Here's me painting - my dad took pics.

Well, where do I start. This weekend was the art sale and it was a disappoinment and a good experience too. I didn't sell any paintings, 0, none, zero, zip, nil, nada, not a sausage or a scrag, nothing.

So what happened? The weather was bad - storms - hard rain esp on Sunday, some sunny patches on Saturday. So people came up for the Truffle Festival and then went home, they didn't wander round the shops or come and see our art. The community centre had heaps of signs out as well as flyers and brochures. The centre (which is an old house) was set up beautifully, just gorgeous, I was 'stuck' out in the art shed but people popped in to see me.

About 100 family and friends came on Saturday and probably about 50 on Sunday. Not sure how many people went to the Truffle Festival - they were hoping 20,000.  My in-laws and my parents came along on Saturday morning, some of my friends popped in on Sunday.  Many locals don't leave home over the weekend as there is very little parking but we had heaps of parking at the centre.

I got some positive comments and mentoring from Andy - he's one of the dad's from school that I've worked in the cafeteria with last week and last term and has done an art course at Uni. He gave positive comments and then said how I could improve the paintings and encouraged me to increase my prices and have an exhibition.

A lady came in who used to own an art gallery and spoke to one of the volunteers and she said I should have an exhibition.  I have no where to put 11 paintings at home so I'm gonna have to get off my butt and approach some cafes and small galleries in the area to see if they could hang my paintings and find a venue for an exhibition.

Even though I was disppointed that I didn't sell any paintings it was a great experience that I'm so glad that I made the effort to finish paintings and spend two days painting in the art shed at the centre.

Here are the 2 paintings I created over the weekend - I chose subjects familiar to me so I wouldn't be so nervous/worried - they still need to be 'decorated'.On a positive note....

I got some good positive responses to my paintings. People enjoyed watching me paint and I enjoyed painting in front of people - it was my first time and I found that it doesn't bother me at all.  Two people said they were interested in my class - wanted to pay right then and there and one turned up Monday morning.