Create Your Own Background

I have a big surprise for you! Even if you don’t have Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or my personal favorite, Microsoft Digital Image Pro, you can make your own blog accessories (blog background and blog header) using Microsoft PowerPoint. You heard correctly, you can create with Microsoft PowerPoint.

I received an email from Jey (thanks so much by the way), asking HOW DO I MAKE MY OWN BACKGROUND? I was trying to think of something simple. I know there are great free sites out there, such as Scrapbook Flair, and Scrapblog, but they don’t allow you to size the images as you wish.

There are also other free photo editing sites such as GIMP, and Paint but I don’t know how to use them, and for simplicity I selected to use a familiar simple program, that most people already have on their computer.

Step 1 – Download your blog accessories kit (digital papers and embellishments)

You can find many freebie sites on the web. For my lesson today I am using my friend Linda’s new Showers of Flowers kit. You can get the freebie at Bon Scrapatit (but only for a short time). There are many other sites too. You can go to Creative Busy Hands, Digifree, and Ikea Goddess for more lists of freebies.

You will download your files as a zip folder. I always create a new folder in My Documents that has the designer and kit name. After downloading, you will unzip the files, by right clicking on the file, and selecting “EXTRACT HERE.”

Step 2 – Save the PP Blog Template

When you double click on the picture below you will be taken to the actual template image. It will open in a new window, right click on the image and choose SAVE IMAGE as or SAVE LINK and put it in the same folder as your kit from step 1.

Step 3 – Open a new PowerPoint

Format the size of your PowerPoint. Go to FILE/PAGE SETUP and choose CUSTOM slide size, and select the following:

Width: 11 inches ~ Height: 7.2 inches ~ and then hit OK.

Step 4 – Add the template

Select the Insert key and choose PICTURE, and then choose FROM FILE. Find the folder you created, and select the Blog Background template from that folder.

Step 5 – Add accessories

Using the template as a guide line, add papers and embellishments. The area in white should remain light for dark text. Please note that when you add the images they will be extremely large, so the first thing you will do is reduce the size. After you add an image right click on the image and select FORMAT PICTURE. Select size, and change the first number to 5 inches. Sometimes if you make the image small, it seems to disappear. Use your scroll bar and go to the far left, and top and you will usually find your image.

To move images about on your page, just click on the image and holding the mouse key move the image. To resize the image click on the corner to resize, otherwise you will lose the ratio.

You can move images to the front or back of the page (slide) by right clicking, and selecting ORDER.

Once you have a set of embellishments that you like you can group them together to move or resize. You group by right clicking and selecting GROUPING.

Step 6 – Save the slide

You will save the slide when you are finished as a PowerPoint image, which allows you to make any changes. When you have the final image that you want, you will save the image as a jpg. Go to FILE, SAVE AS and when the window opens, use your mouse to scroll to JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg). Save in the same folder so you will know where to find it.

Video Instructions – Click on image to view.

Step 7 - Upload your image

Upload your image to your favorite hosting site like Photobucket, and save the DIRECT IMAGE LINK.

Step 8 – Install your new background

Go to CUSTOMIZE/LAYOUT/PAGE ELEMENTS/ADD A GADGET and select HTML/Java Script.

Using the direct link you saved from Step 7, add this code, making sure to leave no spaces between the parentheses:

<style type="text/css">body {background-image: url(DIRECT IMAGE LINK); background-position: center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; }</style>

Click save and view blog!

Word Document Instructions can be downloaded HERE.

Here’s to more happy scrapping, and Hugs from the heart, Jeanette