Foto

Sparkle

11/28/2016


Went to see the olive trees this morning. To think that everything here was brown and incredibly dry just months ago, so dry the leaves turned grey and nothing grew here.. Now the wet ground is covered in grass and flowers, the trees look about double the size.. Birds, insects, life. Beautiful. I hope the drought is in the past now..



Pieni Lintu - MakroTex challenge

Blogger templates

Naima - Free Blogger template

11/25/2016

I think it's time I let this template go. I've been working on it for a couple of days now and I love it so much I will probably use a variation of it in the spring, or whenever I feel like the glam needs to give way to light and fresh colors. :)
I'll add that the inspiration for this design came mostly from my newly found favorite blog Bloomin' Rouge, I adooore her design and everything else about her blog. [Yes, you should go over there & subscribe. You're welcome.]
This template is btw based on my favorite classic Blogger template Minima, but don't worry, it works just perfectly in 2016. ;)

So here's the template:



Demo     Download


What I really love with this template is the soft, feminine & airy feel to it, but also some of the cool features, such as:

- Responsive

- Navigation menu that sticks to the screen as you scroll down, so your readers always have your menu easily accessible.

- Navigation bar background color can be easily changed in the design editor, and it automatically changes the background color of the "read more"-button and the email subscribe button too, so the colors always match. Oh, and it changes the comments reply buttons too.

- Stylish popular posts widget with large images, minimalist yet adds color to the layout. (Bloomin' Rouge, thank you!)

- Customized search bar, because the default Blogger one isn't so very pretty, unfortunately.

- Customized Email subscribe, a minimalist style that suits the design perfectly.

- Customized comments section.

- Share buttons only on post pages, to keep a clean and simple look. Also, remember to remove all elements from the blog post footer except comment link and labels. This is easily done on the Layout page, no coding involved. :)

- As with the sharing widget, the social media icons in the profile are actually fonts, so they always stay crisp and clear no matter which device you see them on. They also always match the font color you use.

- Customized Pinterest widget.

- The "read more"-feature is NOT automatic, so if you prefer full posts on the front page, don't worry. :) 


So let's talk about the codes you need to use. Most of the widgets are already imbedded in the template, such as the Popular Posts widget, BUT some need to be added by adding them in the layout section as widgets. 

The codes for the social icons in the profile:

<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with Twitter" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-twitter"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with Facebook" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-facebook"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with Instagram" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-instagram"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with Google Plus" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-google-plus"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with Bloglovin" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-heart"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with Pinterest" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-pinterest"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with YouTube" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-youtube"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with Tumblr" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-tumblr"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="LINK" title="Follow with RSS" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-rss"></i></a>
<a class="icon" href="mailto:LINK" title="Email Me" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a>

Replace the LINK in every line with the link to your own profile. Simply remove the lines of the icons you don't want. Credit for the code: These Paper Sites. More info there if you want to change the colors or size of the icons. I highly recommend that site btw for everything related to blog design.

Codes for the customized Pinterest Widget:

Go over to Kayluxedesign for the code and instructions, I tried to paste it in here but the javascript turns out wrong in the post so I guess we're not doing that. :)

Code for the search bar:

<div id='search'>
    <form action='/search' id='searchform' method='get'>
        <input id='searchsubmit' type='submit' value='Search'/>
        <input id='s' name='q' placeholder='Type & hit Enter' type='text' value=''/>
    </form>
</div>

Simply add it as a HTML widget where you want it on your blog. These Paper Sites gets the credit for this code too.
You can btw change the "Type & hit Enter" to whatever you want.

...aaaaand that's it, folks! As always, change what you like, just leave the footer credit link as it is, and don't forget to share this post by using the handy little buttons below. ;)
Also you might want to check out my little freebie roundup where I share a template, a pack of watercolor social icons and background borders to spice up your blog! Hope you find something you like. :)

Sharing this post with Sincerely, Paula, The Sits Girls, Dare to share Saturday

Blog bling/kits/icons

Freebie roundup - Graphics & a blogger template for your blog

11/19/2016

Need a new template? Try this one, it's easy to customize to suit your taste:


More info and download here.

How about a set of watercolor social icons? These are painted by hand on paper, and have a great texture to them. 


More info and download here.

Last but certainly not least, a set of gold background borders might be in order? Previewed on the free template above. Great match, don't you think?

More info and download here.

I hope you found something you liked! Be sure to check back soon, new templates and other freebies are on their way. ♥


{ Sharing with Sincerely, Paula }

Blogging tips

Making sure your template doesn't suck

11/13/2016



I have just recently started learning about how to make templates responsive. I never gave it another thought before but now it seems like it's kinda important. Most templates nowadays are responsive and rightfully so, since humans have their noses stuck to some kind of mobile device most of the day.

I downloaded my awesome template from Beautytemplates but I changed it quite a lot, it is responsive however when I double checked it, it turns out the color of the menu is different from the one you see on bigger screens/computer. It's great that you can change the color in the template editor but unfortunately the color of the mobile menu stays the same.

How did I figure this out? I found Screenfly. Here you can check your website/blog and see how it looks on just about any device. The problem comes if you did find something you didn't like and don't know how to change it.. But then there is always the option to switch to Blogger's default mobile template, if Blogger is your platform, of course. ;)

Happy blogging! ♥

Blog bling/kits/icons

Free watercolor icons

11/11/2016


I've got some social media icons for you today. :) Some of the most common platforms + a blank one so you can make your own if you find that something is missing. Download these cuties here.

Blogger templates

Free Blogger template

11/10/2016


Here it is! My first design in a long, long time. It's a simplistic one, no fuss, all the focus on the content of your blog.

It's also my first one ever that's responsive. I am not a CSS-pro so I basically scrambled this together using tutorials. Your blog will work on all devices, but if you want the responsive mobile template and not the default Blogger one, you have to deactivate the Blogger mobile template on your dashboard. Also like I said, it's my first one. I've checked it on all devices and screen sizes and it does work, but see for yourself first before you decide to activate it. If you don't it will still work just as great with Blogger's default mobile templates.

Some features to make it stand out:

All black & white
Popular posts widget with big images
Customized comments section (and if you are familiar with CSS you can change it yourself easily)
Matching but discrete share buttons in every post

***

As always I recommend that you install it on a test blog first to see if you like it, before you change the template on your main blog. I'm not responsible for messed up templates. You download, you test it, you decide if you'll use it or not. Just saying. :) But you can be sure that I would never release a template for downloading if I didn't love it enough to use it on my own blog.

Demo

Download

Blogger templates

10 free feminine Blogger templates

11/07/2016

I love me some simplistic but cute templates! ♥ Inspired by my own new template I decided to collect the best ones I've found so far and share them with you guys. It took some searching but I think this makes a nice list. These are mostly for personal/lifestyle bloggers, some with sliders to show off your photography skills, others are more simple and great for those of us who just can't stop writing once we get started. So, back to the subject, here's the list!

1. Amalie




This is the template I'm using right now. I fell in love with the simplicity, and that it's cute at the same time! It has the round share buttons at the end of each post and I like that it displays the whole post without a "read more"-link, a popular feature these days. Call me old fashioned but I like to see the whole post right away. It's also compatible with the Blogger editor so you can easily change the font, navbar colors etc.

2. Brownie




Now this isn't exactly my style but I like the fresh feeling of it. And it is sort of unique, isn't it?

3. Familia



Similar to Amelia above but it has some small differences in the design, and it's also with a slider, so if you like Amelia but want to show off your photos, try this one.

4. Rosemary Beauty




Bright, light and pink! Also with a slider.

5. Fashion Elegant



Bright, bold PINK. Can that ever go wrong? Probably yes, but not here! Great magazine style template to show all the latest fashion news. Or pics from your camping trip. You know, whatever you'd like. :)

6. Elegant



BIG slider on this one, and stylish muted yellow accent color.

7. Impreza



A grid type template for all your grid type blogging needs. It's light and fresh and of course, works great to display your photos. I can imagine this one for a travel blog..

8. Beauteous



The complicated name aside, this adorable template is available in 2 versions, with 2 different sliders. The other version doesn't have the photo background but it's just as cute without it. 

9. Gracious



Great template for your personal blog to put your pics in focus. Slider, photo links to labels, super stylish popular posts widget and accents in turqouise. Can't go wrong.

10. Modern



Slider, grid, white, fresh. Need I say any more?

I hope you found something you like, and hopefully soon I'll be adding my own templates to the collection. :)