The Google Alert for Post Ideas

What is the most challenging part of blogging for you?  For me, it's finding content that will stand out from the other one billion posts published on on the same subject.  If you can relate, let me introduce you to Google Alerts.  It's a great tool that allows you to receive notifications on a particular search query providing you with the most current and relevant search results on Google.  In other words, if you'd like to receive notifications on social media, you would type social media in the search query box, choose your result type, how often you'd like to receive these notifications, and how many results you'd like to receive.  Google Alerts gives you two ways to receive this information. One is to your email address, the other is to your feed.  For a great tutorial on how to use Google Alerts, I recommend this article on wikiHow.

How to make a post gallery for your sidebar!

Hello readers of Cropped Stories! I'm Alicia and I blog over at A Sweet Fragrance. My family and I are American-born but live as expats over in SE Asia. I blog about our life overseas, recipes I attempt to make while substituting lots of ingredients, projects I do around the house, "tot school" lessons I teach to my toddler, and lessons I learn through parenting and walking with the Lord. I hope you'll stop by my blog for a visit!

Just before the year 2013 came to an end, I decided I wanted to redesign my blog. I had a picture of what I wanted for the new design in my head but getting that design to appear on my blog required turning my thoughts into HTML coding.

A Yum in my Tum Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcake Recipe!

Apparently, my website is turning into a regular food blog!  What can I say; I’ve been enjoying baking and food photography quite a bit.  Don’t worry, I don’t plan on making the switch to a food blog; I enjoy writing about an assortment of topics too much to make a switch.  Besides, I don’t always have the time to cook something new every day.  I don’t know how these food bloggers do it (God bless ‘em)!  Although, with the holidays quickly approaching, I thought what better time than now to start baking!

Felt Pinwheel Flower Tutorial (great for the holidays)!

If you guys remember my free customizable photo gift tags post, I made a promise that a felt pinwheel flower tutorial would follow.  These pinwheel flowers not only make fabulous gift embellishments, but ornaments as well!  They are easy to make and fun to decorate.  The supplies needed are few, and the end result is one you and the family are sure to love!  So, let me get right to it then.

Free Customizable Photo Gift Tags for the Holidays!

I’m going to share a little quirk about myself.  Now, I’m trusting that after you hear what I’m about to say, you don’t think I should be committed or something.  Okay, so here it goes.

There is something about a beautifully wrapped gift that puts me in an immediate trance.  The world around me could be in shambles, but I would have no idea if you just plopped me down in front of some beautiful presents like a little kid.  Scary, I know.  In fact, I’ve thought about wrapping empty boxes and decorating them with some lavish embellishments just to put around the house and use as holiday décor.  I’m still not sure why I haven’t done it yet.  Of course, there is still time!

Anyhow, this year, I was inspired by the many beautiful gift embellishments that I have been seeing online.  And in the process of crafting my very own embellishments, I thought why not design some photo gift tags to accompany them!  Especially considering that this blog of mine has been way overdue for some freebies!

Locate an email for a noreply-comment with G+!

Before I go into how to locate an email address for that <noreply-comment@blogger.com>, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND LEAVING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN ANY COMMENTS YOU LEAVE ON BLOG POSTS.  Not sure if you are a no-reply blogger?  If you are using Blogger/Blogspot, then assume you are.  Even if you’ve previously updated your profile settings to show your email address, which would correct your no-reply status, Blogger reverts you back to no-reply within days of your update.  And without your knowledge.  Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news here but, reverting your entire profile back to Blogger from Google+ will not resolve the issue either (see screen shot below).  I know; frustrating right?

Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

All I have to say is “Martha Stewart has nothing on me!”  I’ve got the baking bug, if there is such a thing.  And not only baking, but crafting as well!  I have some great crafts, freebies, and more recipes to share with you  over the next few weeks so be sure to check in with me.

I actually made this Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake last month.  Yep, you guessed it, another Taste of Home recipe from their special collectors edition!  I was hoping to share it before Thanksgiving, but never had the chance to draft the post.  Of course, it still comes to you at a great time before Christmas and all.  Not only is it a wonderful dessert to serve up for the holidays, but a crowd pleaser as well!  Isn’t it pretty?  I almost didn’t want to slice into it. 

The Best Frosted Banana Bar Recipe

Okay, I know I’m guilty of saying this before, but this recipe is to die for!  Not only are these banana bars delicious on their own, but the frosting, which I could eat by itself that’s how yummy it is, is seriously AMAZING!  It’s better than any frosting I’ve ever tasted.  And that’s including the very expensive birthday cake we purchased for Alivia’s 3rd birthday this past August which was also extremely delicious and, did I mention, from a very renowned bakery?

Yes, it’s another Taste of Home recipe, but this time from an old June/July 2000 copy thanks to my mom.  She raved about these bars while digging it out from her bin full of archived recipes.  Sure enough, it was tagged with a blue post-it note.  When I opened the magazine and saw the image, that was it; I was sold! 

The Anatomy of a Great Post Comment (a list of do & don’t tips)

Have you ever considered the content of a comment you leave on a blog post?  Even if you’re a veteran in the blog-0-sphere, there’s no harm in mulling over the message you’d like to convey.  And if you are a newbie, even more so!  Not only should the message you’d like to convey be considered, but HOW-TO convey it as well.  Enticing the author to reply back is essential if your intention when leaving a comment is to establish a relationship. If it blossoms into something more, then, hey, that’s just a bonus!  Feel free to give yourself a pat on the back and celebrate your new friendship, follower, and/or reader!

A tutorial for Studio Design: a free photo design app

Hey everyone, I'm Alicia and I blog over at A Sweet Fragrance. My family and I are American-born but live as expats over in SE Asia. I blog about our life overseas, recipes I attempt to make while substituting lots of ingredients, projects I do around the house, "tot school" lessons I teach to my toddler, and lessons I learn through parenting and walking with the Lord. I believe it's always a good time for coffee and I blame and also thank my husband for turning me into the coffee snob I am today.

 

The many uses of the Origami box - make one yourself!

If you’re a regular over here at Cropped Stories, I bet you read my post title and are thinking this is random.  Yes, it is unlike the usual topics I cover over here, but I felt the need to share something creative and artsy with you today!  With that said, I have a little secret to tell you… 

I like to dabble in the creative world of Origami.  In fact, I published a post in August of last year, Getting my craft on, showing off some of my work.  I was so excited with my creations that I had to share them with my readers!  And being that it was my first attempt at the craft, I was  especially proud of myself!  I was surprised how addicting it was and have been doing it sporadically throughout the year.  When I first started, I was addicted to making pinwheels and flowers.  They were the perfect party décor for my toddler’s 2nd birthday!

Adding and Customizing the Pin It Hover Button

In case you aren’t familiar with the Pin It Hover Button, it is a Pinterest icon that appears when you hover over an image on a website allowing you to click on it and pin.  Why is it fantastic?  Well, for one thing, it’s very convenient for your visitors.  It prevents them from having to go directly to Pinterest and click on the add a pin option and past the URL of the content they want to pin.  Secondly, it’s customizable which means you can create the icon yourself to keep it consistent with the design of your website.  Are you sold yet?

Easy to make Candied Teriyaki Chicken Wings!

Do you guys like chicken wings?  I sure hope so because I’ve got the best chicken wing recipe for you today!  And although it’s a cavity waiting to happen (you’ll see why), on the flip side it’s easy, quick, and finger lickin’ good!  These wings have always been a BIG hit at any event!  The trick, of course, is to cook them long enough so that the meat falls off the bone.  My hand written recipe is titled “Mom’s Chicken Wings” so I’m assuming it is in fact my moms, but I swear the first time I tried these was at my brother’s house when his ex wife made them years and years ago.  I actually mentioned this to my mom and it seemed like she wasn’t sure herself that’s why I don’t feel bad telling you all.  Of course, whatever the case may be, one thing I know for sure is that they are in a word “AWESOME”!  Oh, and addicting too!  Definitely addicting!

If you can believe it, we’ve gone through the years calling them “Mom’s Chicken Wings” but if you ask me, that doesn’t really describe them very well!  So today I name them!

Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Hey there!  Guess what?  Yep, I’m still on my bloggy break!  Go me!  Don’t worry though; I have you covered!  I’ve got another great Guest Blogger for you today and something tells me you are really going to like this post!  I think the post title says it all!  Who doesn’t love ice cream especially in the hot and humid Summer months?  When I first saw the pictures, my mouth immediately began to water!  Although it was tough, I managed not to drool all over my key board.  I’ll give myself a little pat on the back for that!  Now let’s see if you can do it!

Oh and if you missed yesterday’s post, Propagating Basil is Easy by Marci, don’t forget to check it out!

Propagating Basil is Easy

I don’t know about you, but I love having fresh herbs to cook with.  If you feel the same way, than you are sure to love this post by Marci at Stone Cottage Adventures!  For those not familiar with Marci, I’d definitely recommend stopping by especially if you are interested in sewing, crafts, recipes and gardening!  She even has an entire page dedicated to things you can do in and around Northwest Arkansas (which is great if you ever plan to visit or vacation there). Honestly it could be so easy for me to go on and on about all my Guest Bloggers if I wasn’t so focused but, since I am, I’m going to stop right here and let Marci take over.  Enjoy!

 

And if you missed my previous Guest Blogger’s post, A Nautical Theme Kids Party, I sure hope you’ll check it out! 

How to Make your Website Visually Appealing!

Just think PRETTY.  As a blogger, I am always searching for ways to improve my website design to attract new visitors and keep it visually appealing for the ones that visit on a consistent basis!  Let's face it, Blogging is a shallow business. A lot of it is based around looks and first impressions.  If you don't have a well designed website, you may as well retire it.  If your following is not increasing, than consider this: your website design may be to blame!  It's unfortunate because I'm sure you are putting a lot of time and effort into researching topics, creating, and writing fresh content for your site and even still it is not making a difference.  It can get quite frustrating!  With that said, I'd like to help!

Organizing your Workspace in Photoshop with these 6 Toolbars

Are you new to Photoshop or does Photoshop frighten you?  C'mon, you can tell me.  It frightened me terribly when I first opened it so trust me when I say I understand completely!  Can I tell you a little secret though?  It’s not as scary as it looks.  That’s right.  In fact, with a little workspace organization, you will be up and running in no time!  Promise!

HTML to insert images into your posts!

You know when my bloggy life changed?  The day I realized I should be using html to insert my images into posts. 

I was having some major issues with the insertion of images into my posts.  Whether I used my hosting server (Blogger) or blogging tool (Windows Live Writer), the image quality always suffered.  It used to drive me absolutely bonkers!  There is nothing worse than spending the time to process a beautiful image just to have it be compressed during insertion.  The scary thing?  I was even resizing my images and saving them as maximum quality .jpgs thinking it would make a difference!  You would think resizing them would negate the servers necessity to decrease the image file.  Unfortunately this is not the case and they were still being compressed.  Do you know what happens to an image during compression?  Pixellization (I promise, it’s a word).  In a larger image, the pixels are difficult to see since there are more of them and they are smaller.  With compression, you start to lose pixels and they become larger (and more visible).  This usually results in a block type appearance which can be confused as an out of focus image.  And let’s face it, there is nothing worse than a blurry/fuzzy image especially when your subject is a person.  Is it too much to ask that my blog readers see the beautiful, crisp, un-pixelated (okay, I’m not sure if this one’s a word) images I see in my photo editing software?  I don’t think so.

Make eyes pop in Photoshop! (video tutorial)

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to make eyes in your images pop?  If so, I have a great video tutorial for you today!

Duration: 11 minutes
Software: Photoshop CS6
Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Touches on the following topics:

- duplicating layers
- dodge/burn tool
- layer opacity changes
- using filters (unsharp mask)
- creating layer masks
- inverting masks (to reveal effects)
- brush tool (using white to reveal)

Tone your images in Photoshop! (a video tutorial)

I don’t know how you prefer your images, but I usually like mine to have a lot of contrast.  I’m not talking about so much that the whites and blacks in the image have lost their detail, but I do like to make the shadows and highlights really pop!

Then there are times that I just want to tone everything down.  Do you ever feel that way?  It was taking me awhile to figure out why I wasn’t completely happy with the processing of an image but then it was like a light bulb went on over my head and I was certain of the look I was going for!  I know toning can mean a different things when it comes to photography so the type of toning I am speaking of is when the overall colors/shadows/highlights of the image blend together to create a smoother appearance.  I guess the opposite of the toning I am speaking of would be less contrast.