Monday, April 28, 2008

How to Change your Blog Background - Wallpaper






The first step is to find the new wallpaper or background you want to use. I have posted some more free samples below. I use google to find free options and I have also scanned pretty paper to make backgrounds myself. On google I use the terms "floral background" and "textured backgrounds" and "wallpaper" to bring up lots of pretty options. You can also search by color.

1 - Download your desired wallpaper to your computer with a .jpg name.

2 - Then Upload the .jpg image to the server of your choice. I use Auctiva.com (it is free and works for ebay too)***The codes for the blog template will need to access this new image from an online source.

3 - Once you have uploaded your new image to the server of your choice, copy the complete url (name) of the wall paper.

4 - Log into your blog. Click the "Customize" link at the top, then the "edit html" link after that.

5 - You will see all of the html codes (scary I know) for the blog template you currently have. You are looking for the codes called "Default settings". It is relatively near the top. Just browse the codes until you find it.

It looks like this:

/* Defaults----------------------------------------------- */body { margin:0; padding:0; font-size: small; text-align:center; color:$textColor; line-height:1.3em; background:#8E9D69 url("http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata_Your_New_Wallpaper.jpg") repeat;}

6 - The code for the wallpaper is in quotes, within brackets (underlined above), beside the category "background." Delete the existing url and replace it with the new image (name from your server). You copied this name/info in step three. Now you need to paste it into the html codes.

7 - Important: There is a preview button at the bottom of the "edit html" page, so you can see how the revised template will look. If you like what you see click save. If you do not like it press "clear edits" and you can try again (no harm done) with something else.

Have fun with it !

Pinks, Blues, Greens and Neutrals are Popular







Lots of pretty backgrounds to choose from:






Swirls and textures seem to make a better wallpaper background because they repeat well and blend in nicely (seams are less noticeable). Some florals end up looking like busy tiles, instead of wallpaper. These all work well:


















They can be changed into any colour you desire with photoshop. . . . I'm still working on learning that :-)


Friday, April 11, 2008

How to change the color of the trim

Part 2 (Optional) : Change the color of the trim on your blog ~ to match your new wallpaper.

I didn't like the brown trim that framed my blog ( since I now have green wallpaper on my ciderantiques blog) so I changed the brown trim to green. In html it is called the outer-wrapper and found under layout.

If you want a new colour, you need to change the code of the colour (called a hex-code because it has six digits). eg. The taupe trim on my ciderantiques blog is known as colour d2b48c.

Here are some codes:

pretty coral pink ~ ff9999

Pale pink ~ ffcccc

Antique White ~ ffefdb

Cream ~ ffffcc

Bisque ~ cdb79e

Seashell Pink ~ fff5ee

Taupe ~ d2b48c

Linen ~ faf0e6

greeny taupe ~ 999966

wood (brown) ~ cdaa7d

Old Lace ~ fdf5e6

To view over 200 color options you can google search for Hex Code colours. A good site is:

You do not have to upload this information. They are universal codes.

If you want to change your trim, look under the layout ~ Outer Wrapper (trim) and replace the existing hex codes. (I highlighted what you are looking for in green). It looked like this in my blogger template:

/* Layout----------------------------------------------- */#outer-wrapper

{ background-color:#8E9D69;

border-$startSide:1px solid #8E9D69;

border-$endSide:1px solid #8E9D69;

width:700px; margin:0px auto; padding:8px; text-align:center; font: $bodyFont;


Delete the existing 6 digit number and replace it (three times) with the desired new colour number you have chosen. Click preview to see how it looks and save when done (or clear edits to try something else).

Have fun with it! :-)