Blog Tip: Creating Background Images

You can make a background image out of anything. I like to create mine in Photoshop. The easiest way to make a background is to create a pattern that will repeat. Here’s an easy monogram background that I made (with the help of Tristan’s Photoshop brushes {thank you!}.

b

Upload the image via your FTP, or in Wordpress you can use your Media Uploader, or in Blogspot use your Gadget Picture widget to upload an image. In any case, you’ll want to get the URL where the image was uploaded. {For Blogger, I uploaded via the picture Gadget and saved. Then I reopened the Gadget, right clicked on the image, chose ‘properties’ and copied and pasted the URL of the images. I don’t use Blogger much so tell me if there is an easier way to do this}.

Navigate to your stylesheet.

For Wordpress

In the admin section, Appearance/Editor, your file might be called “stylesheet.css” or some other “.css” file. If there are more than one, open them all and you’ll be using the longest one.

For Blogspot

In the admin section, under Layout/Edit HTML, your stylesheet is hardcoded all in one page with the blog. The styles are held at the top of the page between <style> tags.

Navigate to your body class {“body”}

Either replace the background image URL you currently have, or add this {replace my image URL with yours… be sure to keep the apostrophes and parenthesis around it:

body
{
background:url(‘http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lfC4pjYVJgg/SvNw_ngj-ZI/AAAAAAAADGY/bVToZrolTds/S226/b.jpg’) repeat top center;
}

This makes my background appear like this:

bs

If you don’t have Photoshop to create backgrounds

Get creative. Download something from istockphoto.com, crop something out of an image using Picasa, or use another image editing software.

You are more than welcome to grab my “b” background and cover it with any letter you’d like to use.

Good Luck!

Let me know you stopped by »

Jules
1. Jules

This is all so helpful, Brooke! I’m saving each of these posts in my reader, too. I have the sneaking suspicion you are posting these to keep me from blasting you with emails all day long…

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