Are you a homeschooling mom or just want to update your blog for back to school? Here are two icons for email and twitter you might like! Add them to your sidebar and link to your email address and twitter profile for something fun and different…and FREE!
Again as always these are for fun and not for resale…
Your blog buttons for your personal or business blog can reflect your personality and what better way than to make them from photos you take!
And I know you take lots of photos!
Let’s take a photo of some yummy food…
Now this is my photo, one that I took. If it’s NOT yours, you must verify that you have the ability to use the photo for projects like this. Don’t be stealing other people’s photos…
Open picnik.com. If you don’t have the premium subscription that’s ok, but I WOULD ask for it for your birthday.
#justsayin’
Upload the photo into the editor.
Using the Edit>Crop function, add the size you want in the boxes…here it’s 150×150 and check the “Scale photo” box. This keeps the shape in tact.
Cover the area you want to use. You can drag the corners out or in to make it larger or smaller, and when you click OK the image will automatically resize to 150×150. There is a handy UNDO button if you make a mistake.
#notthatieveruseit
Some images would benefit from a border…easy.
Go to Create>Frames>Border
Here you can choose your color…we have taken the inner border to “0″ and are just using the outer border. You can even elongate the border for a caption.
Adding text is fun and easy. Create>Text and choose the font, size and color. Make sure you are using a font and color that is readable on a small button. Nothing more frustrating than a button no one can read.
Now your image is larger than 150×150 because of the border, so you can leave it or resize it at the Save page.
Save it to your comp and upload it to your photo server.
How cool and easy is that?
Here is the button, resized to 150×150…SWEET! Not into photo buttons? Try scrapbook paper and play around with the stickers.
You know what makes me smart? I have friends that are so much smarter than me..I…moi…whatevs…
That’s why I invited the fabulous Heather Solos of Home Ec 101 to guest post. I asked for doughnuts but got this post on being a good blog citizen which way better and calorie free… Take it away Heather:
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How many times have you read an excellent post and wanted to thank the author, but didn’t want to do it with a weaksauce -that’s internet for lame- “Great post! ” “That’s the best I’ve ever read.”?
Yeah, me too.
So what’s a good blog citizen to do? It’s simple, share what you like. Facebook has a nifty bookmarklet you just drag into your bookmarks. Then whenever you’re strolling around the blog-o-sphere and see that Linda has written something you enjoyed, just click the bookmark and a window pops up. If you aren’t logged in, it’ll ask you to do so. Then, click share, and go off on your merry way.
Best practice would be to note why you shared it, a Great post about Twitter Noise by Linda Sellers isn’t lame when it’s telling someone else.
You can also find a Twitter bookmarklet at Moopz.com. It works just like the Facebook bookmarklet and don’t tell me about Twitter noise. Sharing an item you find interesting is far less annoying than 70% of the blather on Twitter. How do I know? Let’s just say I’ve been on it since May of ’07, I can tell most of you about Twitter noise.
If you have a StumbleUpon account, they now have a toolbar for Chrome and have always had one for Firefox. Thanking an author for a great post is as a simple as pressing the thumbs up. Ok, if you’re the first good citizen to drop by, you’ll need to tag it with it’s NSFW or SFW status and give it a category.
Let’s review.
The absolute best way to thank a blogger for taking the time to write a post is to do so in a well thought out comment. If that’s too much effort, share the post on Facebook, Twitter, or StumbleUpon.
Why are these sites better than others like Digg.com? The big sites like Digg work great for sites that have a large following or for items with mass appeal, you know the items that are already going viral. Sharing sites with your peers helps the authors you enjoy reach people who may share some of your interests.
Got it? Teach your friends and they’ll return the favor.
Heather Solos is author of Home-Ec101.com
Life skills without the crazy.
Every night it’s hashtag after hashtag. I looked at my tweetdeck last night on several occasions and it was nothing but sponsored conversation. Yes, even if you aren’t being paid yourself, chances are that hashtag is sponsored by someone.
Don’t get me wrong, I have participated in many as a consultant. And got paid. Everyone is trying to make money online and twitter is one place where some people seem to be doing it. Not surprising that more people would jump on board. It’s an easily quantifiable medium. It’s all about the numbers when you are trying to prove your worth to a sponsor.
Hashtag? Brilliant marketing. You are not only recognized by your name, your packaging, your brand, but now by a #word on twitter. Does all this conversation bother people? Some more than others.
Anon quote about twitter parties from a friend:
It makes it hard to have real conversations.. daytime.. fine.. every. single. night.. it’s like a really bad HSN
So where is the conversation? Do you find it hard to jump in sometimes? Maybe you just ignore. Or do you feel like you are intruding on someone else’s party if you try to talk to someone? And when there are 2 parties going on at the same time, how do you find people to talk to with all the hashtagged mumble?
You can filter the noise. I entered # in the tweetdeck filter under my columns, and they all disappeared. Every tweet with a hashtag. That’s fine, but I still want to talk to some of those people and companies who often use hashtags for their product are fun to engage with…and sometimes #peopleusehashtagsforfunandthatscool.
As twitter becomes more of a marketing tool than conversational tool, I have to wonder where we will go next. Right now I spend more time on skype with friends because it’s uncluttered conversation. I tweet when I need or want to engage, but not with friends the way I did when I first joined. It’s changed, and I’m still trying to figure out how to make it work for me on a personal level.
How about you? Do you filter, join in, or are you the party pooper!?
You can’t do this with a blog now can you?
When will stay at home moms, work at home moms, working moms, blogging moms…MOMS…get fair representation in the media?
Doesn’t traditional media get enough flack for their shoddy presentation of issues? You would think they would take the time to get it even mildly accurate before they hit “publish”…especially when writing about a group who’s main form of expression is …blogging? After reading the New York Times article “Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand, I feel a little bit of research would go a long way to re-building their brand and reputation. Oh WHATEVER, their reputation is shot. Maybe they could just cover a story with integrity because that’s what their JOB is. You know, the one they leave their homes and families to do during working hours to pay the bills.
Oh dang, that’s right! She got paid to write that piece…
It’s ironic isn’t it?
Jennifer Mendelsohn “reports” in the “FASHION AND STYLE” section…
“prepared for a daylong conference that offered to school them in the latest must-have skill set for the minivan crowd.”
“Teaching your baby to read? Please. How to hide vegetables in your children’s food? Oh, that’s so 2008.”
“Heed the speaker’s advice, and you, too, might get 28,549 views of your tutu-making tutorial!”
Wow, she’s as pithy as a mommy blogger tagline!
If you could throw more condescendingly inappropriate descriptions into one article, I’d think we were watching The Daily Show or The Onion. Some people consider those “almost news”. Compared to the New York Times, they might be right.
“Whereas so-called mommy blogs were once little more than glorified electronic scrapbooks”
Funny that the so-called writer at that so-called newspaper would choose these words. A blog takes many forms and to say any of our work is “glorified” anything is making light of the thousands of people who use blogging as a creative outlet, entertain, enlighten, motivate, and do it well.
Or God forbid make money.
Where are the real journalists? I can’t find them. Media bias is a plague in this country. It’s no wonder we don’t go to these print and online sources for valuable and believable information and instead run to each other on the internet for advice about the “warts and all experiences”. Moms who stay at home and work outside the home have long been a target of this bias for many different reasons. Now as we begin to work with companies in our online roles, the peanut gallery is constantly trying to define and qualify the space for us.
No need, we are defining it on our own. Pay attention to what we are doing and report accurately without slant.
Can they?
They don’t approach it with an open eye. That’s what ticks me off. To base an article like this on one mini conference and maybe a phone call or two and come out with this level of direct and indirect bashing of the demographic is ridiculous.
The fact that the writer was paid to do it is ludicrous.
NYT? I can hook you up with a list of so-called mommy bloggers who could do a much more professional so-called job. And even raise a few so-called outstanding kids at the same time.
I created this set of fun social media icons with Photoshop, and they are available for your use on your blog or sites. Free of charge. Hope you enjoy. I have more styles coming!
Just save the image to your server and upload to your blog or site. And please remember these are free just because and not available for commercial use.
If you need something custom for your blog, please contact me at shortpumppreppy @ gmail dot com.
Rite Aid has a contest going on right now where you can win a year’s worth of gas.
Um…
I had to read further. It’s not that I’m ungrateful…but I’ve had 48 year’s worth of gas and now my dogs are so gassy we gave them their own room…ventilation not connected to the rest of the house.
It’s the only way we can survive.
I just got rid of the gassy ex-husband and I’m not looking to “fuel” the teens.
So….Rite Aid, it’s really nice of you to offer, and I know you have a whole aisle devoted to handling gas issues…Beano, GasX…and this could be a real win for you…hope you sell bunches.
Imagine…the guy in the cubicle next to the winner. He’s a goner if he doesn’t keep something handy…thinking those bird flu masks might help? The spouse…the kids… for sure they will stock up on those products just to be prepared for …Gasaggedon.
I hope you will re-think this for next year, and moving forward give away something that would beautify the world.
#justsayin
I’m so excited to be going~! Relevant ’10 is a Christian blogging conference held in Hershey, PA, and looks like a fabulous opportunity for fellowship, fun and learning. They have a rockstar panel of speakers and I’m sure it will be inspirational.
And I get to hang out with cool bloggers for a few days. I’m all over that.
Are you going? Or have any plans to attend conferences this year?
Did we celebrate or what? Yes, I had a ball at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. I mean who wouldn’t? Being treated like rockstars all week.
Dinner celebrations with characters, entertainment, including a concert with Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato and food prepared by Food Network’s Mr. Dinner Impossible.
Characters everywhere and at every event…
I could concentrate this post on the media fast pass that allowed us to get immediate fastpass tickets even when they were sold out…and ride Toy Story in 4D over and over and …
I could talk about meeting Disney Channel stars and how cool that was for my kids…I mean how often does a kid get to plant trees and chat with Allison Stoner discussing teen stuff?
Guy Kawasaki, Kathy Ireland, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Chris Brogan and Maxine Clark just to name a few, shared their insight.
I could share all that amazingness, but I have something else to share.
It’s a fabulous program offered at Disney this year. Give A Day, Get A Disney Day…and it’s focus is on volunteering in your community…one day in exchange for a one theme-one day pass at the Disney Parks.
How cool is that?
You can check out the places in your area where you can volunteer…it’s all explained on the site.
And while you’re at it, check out the initiative the Disney Channel Stars are championing the Friends For Change project, (as seen on the Friends for Change Fact Sheet encouraging kids and people to do just the little things to help the environment.
Turning off the water while you brush your teeth…turning off lights when you leave a room….the little things that all add up.
We were so fortunate to experience these and other events at Social Media Moms Celebration. And let me tell you it is a week we will not soon forget. We came away with some fun and over the top experiences, but also an appreciation for volunteerism and making changes in the world.
Disclosure: We received a “sweetheart” deal from Disney to attend the event which included tickets, accomodations and meals at a discount to our family.
I’m feeling all powerful in the kitchen right now, and it’s all about the Frigidaire.
I’m feeling a little like Bobby and Buddy put together. I cannot fail!
Yes I know that’s totally irrational and way over the edge, but this new Range and Microwave have me giddy. And I’m rarely giddy.
It’s not a good look for me.
Let’s talk about my range. Let’s talk about the TOP OF THE RANGE KNOWN AS THE STOVETOP.
Or Betty…I think it suits her.
I can run 4 burners and a warmer all at once…..
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SEE? It’s the Grand Central Station of stove tops. And I’m not even really cooking in this photo and you are still impressed!
This Frigidaire Range has 2 burners on the left that can become one long one for pancake griddles NOM NOM….a large burner in the front right and a smaller burner in the right back and a …wait for it…
WARMING BURNER IN THE CENTER
see?
You are giddy too, and oh my, it’s actually a good look for you!!
Want to learn more about it?
Real stainless steel with a protective coating that reduces fingerprints and smudges – and we smudge a lot – so it’s easy to clean.
Preheats fast! Boils water fast! HAS A PIZZA SETTING I. KID. YOU. NOT.
Has more racks than you know what to do with, and we will show that in another post because you will not believe.
Share my love for my Frigidaire, and check back for more about this piece of heaven in my kitchen!
“I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Range/Microwave to facilitate my review.”
