1.05.2010

How To Make A Blog Header

mini heart garland

Well first off, thank you for all the header love! You've motivated me to keep on changing my header when the mood strikes. Which seems to be about once a month. Hmmm. And since you asked so nicely for a little tutorial, here it is.

Obviously I use Blogger, so these instructions are specifically for blogs hosted by Blogger. I upload all photos I use on this site to Flickr, and I create all of my headers over on Picnik. You can sign up for a free account on Picnik, and although Flickr offers photo editing options using Picnik, the editing options are much greater if you go straight to Picnik. You can link your Flickr account to your Picnik account, or select images straight from your computer.

To get started, determine the pixel width on your blog. Mine happens to be 950 pixels, but I've edited quite a bit of HTML to get it that size. Go to Layout on your Dashboard, select Edit HTML and scroll down until you see this:

/*Header
----------------
#header-wrapper{
width: 950 px

The number in red is your magic number. You will create a header this size for a custom fit. Exit Edit HTML before moving on. You don't want to mess up your pretty blog.

Next, go to Picnik and select your header picture. Open the picture to edit.

Crop the picture. I prefer the height of my header to be about a third of its width. Resize the picture to the right pixel size by typing your magic pixel number in the width box. The height will adjust accordingly. Edit your picture if desired.

Select Create then Text to add your blog name. There are many choices in font, size and color. You can also add a sticker (square, rectangle, heart, circle, oval, etc.) and put your blog name on top of the sticker. Save the header when you are done. I save my headers to Flickr.

Go to Flickr, open your new header, click on All Sizes, and copy the URL of the original size.

Go back to your blog, Select Layout, then Edit on the header box. Remove the existing image, then paste the URL for your new header. Select the option to have the picture instead of the blog title. Save changes. View blog. Pat yourself on your back. You give good header too.

Here's the header I made as an example:

how to make a blog header
I used the Cross Process effect and added a border around the picture. My preferred font is May Queen. The header is OK, but I have a feeling I'll come up with something different for January. The month has only just begun after all. And don't the hearts seem rather February?

Regarding borders, if you see a border around your header that you didn't put there, and you want it to go away, go back to Layout on your blog dashboard, select Fonts and Colors, scroll down to Border Color and change the color to white (assuming your blog background is white). The border will magically disappear and you will be happy.

Regarding the heart garland, I've crocheted a few and they're going into my shop. I'm also keeping a few for myself because they make me happy, just like new headers.

86 comments:

  1. you are SO great to take the time to do this!
    i love changing my header...
    and now thanks to you, i no longer have the border around my photo! THANK YOU!
    that edit HTML page scares me! :)

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  2. Oh THANK YOU! I'm gonna print this out and give it a go - in baby steps, of course - gotta check out that piknik thing first... how cool. I would LOVE to be able to do that - would give me a reason to get the camera out and play... and God knows I do need me some fun and play....

    so thanks again, the directions look clear even tho my knees shake when I even THINK about going into the template part of blogger.... we shall see :)

    mia

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  3. I love the tutorial, the button, the heart garland! And lordy what I wouldn't give for a little pot-bellied cast iron woodstove right now!
    xoxo

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  4. Yippeee! You totally rock Molly and yes, I think hearts are reserved for Feb. I'm sure you will make a lovely one for Jan.

    Thank you!
    :)

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  5. I also use picnik to do my editing and make my haeder.
    I have been into using the mosaic maker to add a few pictures in that I like...
    great tips on doing this...

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  6. Really nicely done Molly. If any of your readers want to take it any farther I have a tutorial here which talks a little more about the HTML part of the whole thing and background etc.

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  7. Thank you so much for doing this! i love your headers.

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  8. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'd figured out to crop a photo and put it into blogger, but then I had to change the font color so I could read it on top of the photo, and I so wanted to figure out how to do the text myself, and place it where on the photo I wanted. I can't wait to try this! (I've always admired your changing headers, by the way.)

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  9. Wow. Talk about finding your voice. Ever since you opened up your shop, your strides have been greater and greater. You rock!

    I hope to update my very stagnant border soon. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  10. You do not understand. I've been so wanting to know how to make a header!!! You rock.

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  11. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I could never get my header to "fit" in the box... it never occurred to me to change the color of the box border... duh! I had never used Picnik... so easy! You gave me the confidence to try something new... thank you again!

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  12. YAY!!!! This has totally made my day, my whole month really. Thank you so much. I am really really grateful!
    Jane in BC

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  13. Free at last, the sky is the limit now. I've about driven myself crazy trying to figure out a way to use other fonts on headers. Your instructions are great.

    Now tell us the name of your 3 column template. Is it a blogger template?

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  14. Thanks I did it and love it. I can't wait to change it again :) Many smiles to you!

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  15. okay. i love those hearts. and the snow on the chicken wire. and too, the kick in the pants to change my header. thank you, thank you!

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  16. Question: Is there a particular reason you use Flickr to host your photos? You did say you can link it directly to a Picnik account, but any advantage besides that? It seems so many other bloggers use Flickr too, makes me wonder what I'm missing out on! I use Blogger, too, but just upload photos directly from my computer (which I'm pretty sure automatically puts them in a Picasa web album). I really like your blog, by the way. I can't remember exactly how I first found it, but I've been following it for a few months now!

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  17. Thanks Molly. I've always admired your headers. Helps that you start with one of your kick ass pictures! I'm going to follow your tute and see if I can get a better result. I've been increasing the size of my picture a different way than you described and it often makes it fuzzy and not so pretty.

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  18. Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

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  19. Thank you! This is just what I needed to help zap the "lame header blues" on my blog. That heart garland is gorgeous by the way.

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  20. ohhh, thank you! and, if you wouldn't mind, I second Linda's question... I've been trying to figure out how to do a 3-column template and been dinking around in HTML. Any advice?

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  21. Many Thanks! My poor header is very much in need of a fresh start this new year!

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  22. um, yeah. You totally rock for doing this.

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  23. Thank you so much for the header making advice! Mine looks kinda funny at the moment and I just haven't had the patience to fiddle with getting it right. I'm going to try to fix it asap -- now that I have some idea of how to go about it.
    Thanks again & love your blog,
    G

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  24. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I have wanted to learn to do this for oh so long.
    Warm wishes,
    Tonya

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  25. many THANKS for this detailed tutorial!! can't wait to change mine as well.

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  26. This is so fabulous! I get email asking about this all the time. I'll be linking!

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  27. Thank you , thank you, thank you! I have a blog but am not computer savvy. I know, I know, this doesn't make any sense. This is going to be such a help to me because I have been trying and trying to do something more interesting, but nothing was working. Can't wait to try with your instructions.

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  28. What a great tutorial! I found a link to this from http://martawrites.blogspot.com/2010/01/am-fan.html

    I love learning new things & had been bemoaning the boring state of my blog. I followed your steps and it took me less than 5 min. to get a simple, new header up on my page.

    Thank you so much for making this how-to.

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  29. You have no idea how glad I am to have found this tutorial via RW - thank you!

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  30. Hi Molly, I can't find your email to save my life - but thanks so much for that photo editor idea - it's so easy and quick - and i'm havin a lot of fun playin, but my html and yours dont quite look the same - mine doesn't give a width, just padding and margin :) can you give me an email when you get a chance?? This is so fun, I have to start lookin' around at stuff that would work well for banner pics :) THANK YOU!!

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  31. Amy and Linda, about 3-column templates, I just recently switched my blog format to three columns using this guide: http://www.threecolumnblogger.com/2008/09/adding-third-column-to-blogger.html There are different directions available depending on what Blogger template you are starting out with (mine is Minima Lefty Stretch--I might change it though b/c I'm not sure I like it stretching across the entire page). Hope that helps!

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  32. Hi this is the first time I've come over to your blog and it looks beautiful. I saw your comment on the purple house and thought I'd come over to your blog. Love the strawberries and thanks for the banner info. by the way found stainless steel straws on amazon. How awesome!

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  33. You're so awesome, Molly! Thanks so much for the tutorial. The sizing is what I've had so much trouble with, so I'm off to do some tinkering.

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  34. Thank you for posting this! I appreciate the link for editing!

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  35. thank you thank you thank you! I am "new" to blogging and I appreciate your help

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  36. Oh, my gosh...I did it!!! I am SO not html savvy; but not only was I able to make a new header, sleep deprived, too late at night, in mere minutes (ok, so it needs help, but it's better than what I had!), but I was able to remember your clear directions without having to look them up again (up until the border; when a reread fixed it in a sec!). Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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  37. Thank you Molly! I am WAY overdue for a makeover of that sort.

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  38. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I can't tell you how I have longed for this information!!! My best friend, Kelly and I have had too many conversations over the phone while staring blankly at computer hieroglyphics. You have my eternal gratitude!!!

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  39. Thank you for the nudge! It was on my list of things to do, but I never managed to get around to it until today. And thanks also for the info about Picnik - what an easy way to edit quickly. Much less intimidating than CS Photoshop.

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  40. Thanks for the tutorial, much easier than my way.

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  41. Thank you so much for sharing this...I had a great time at Picnik and ended up inproving on a header I already liked but that needed some tweeking. You are so nice to share!

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  42. i was wondering how did you get your blogger layout 3 column?

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  43. Thank you so much!!
    You have no idea how much i needed this info but just didn't know it!
    Now i am so excited to start designing my own blog headers YAY!!
    xx

    http://nikki-inthenet.blogspot.com/

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  44. Hi! GREAT Tutorial! I love your headers!!! So...question!? When I scroll down in my blog html, this is what I get...

    /* Header
    -----------------------------------------------
    */

    #header-wrapper {
    margin:0 2% 10px;
    border:1px solid $bordercolor;
    }


    Don't see anything about width here??? Is it because of the template I using? I will play around with it a bit more! Thanks again!

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  45. Thanks Molly for taking the time to share this with all of us.

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  46. Hey, this was such a serendipitous post for me to read today! I now have a new header for my new blog! Thank you so much for sharing your skills!

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  47. so....when i tried this, the header on my blog ended up HUGE (http://www.dearlittlewater.blogspot.com) Any of you have any idea why??? of course this would happen to me :)

    otherwise, this has been such a fun experience-- i could create headers all day long!

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  48. oops-- nevermind! i think i figured it out. I just have to use the medium size, instead of the original size, for some reason.

    thanks again! so fun!!!

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  49. Thanks for the tutorial... I needed a kick in the pants to make a new header for my blog :)

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  50. THANK YOU! I have wanted to do this for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. YOu would think that blogger would have a decent help section, but no.

    Gratefully,
    JIll

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  51. Many thanks! I am really so clueless as how to make adjustments. This is great information!

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  52. Thank you so much for this tutorial. I haven't managed the three column blog (for some reason the extra sidebar is being put on the right instead of the left) but I have managed a header and had enormous fun doing it.

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  53. More thanks, thanks, thanks.

    I'll try my hand at it this week.

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  54. This is a great tutorial but for some reason, blogger will not let me change my header. I've tried everything and it refuses to change it. Any suggestions? I even reverted my blog back to the plain old blog template, thinking that I had messed up something int the html that was preventing me from changing my header and it still won't work. :(

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  55. wow... this is brilliant. i am so excited to make my own header!! and i am so thrilled to have found your blog... it is wonderful. thank you for taking the time to share your creative energy and inspire the rest of us to join in.
    i have a very novice question... how do you make your comments visible to everyone? i can't figure it out?? i also use blogger.

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  56. I've been wondering how to do this and didn't have a clue. Thank you!

    I know nothing about html. And I haven't tried picnick yet. But you've inspired me.

    Thank you thank you thank you!!!

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  57. thank you thank you thank you!

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  58. I found you after googling how to make a blog header. So glad I landed here - what a lovely blog.

    Thank you for this excellent tutorial.

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  59. thank you so much for taking the time to post about this. you helped me out so much! my site looks better and i feel like i learned something! thanks!

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  60. Really glad I dicovered this! I have a lot of beautiful pictures I clicked but I had no idea how to do this.
    Thank you so much!

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  61. WHoo Hoo! I did it! Thanks for the great info!

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  62. HOORAY!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much!!! :D

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  63. this was soooo helpful. thank you so much! i would have NEVER figured that out on my own!! wow! i made a new header and i love it. also, thank you for introducing me to piknic. omg! i had NO idea! i am having a blast already!!

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  64. I finally had a chance to play with this and in 10 minutes I'm already happy with the results - thanks for the easy to understand tute!

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  65. Thank you so much!! I was so frustrated with my blog header until I found your post! I love it!

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  66. I love your new header! And I totally respect your internet-free decision, so if you don't have time to reply to this, I get it. But just in case...I've been using your wonderful directions to create my headers, and it's time for a new one, but Flickr's changed, and I can't figure out how to put the picture into blogger once I create the header! Any tips?

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  67. Thank you!!! Now my blog can be pretty :)

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  68. thanks so much for this post. I am finding some of my blogs need some experienced help..such as this one...going to try Picnik now

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  69. Great tutorial, i didn't even have to finish reading it! it was that easy... Thank you :-)

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  70. i could kiss you!! i knew how to do my header in picnik (disregard that i just opted to do a photo of portrait orientation rather than landscape). i did not know how to make that darn border go away!! my blog background is not white, but i was able to adjust it to make the border disappear. thanks!! ;)

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  71. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy!! it was so easy!!
    i did it with acdsee pro. thanks so much!! :D
    now my blog is purrrddy.. woohhooo :D

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  72. Just found your beautiful blog through a google search on Headers. I have been so frustrated but your tip about picnik solved the problem! Thank you! I'll definitely be back to look at your blog again.
    Sandra

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  73. Dear Lord where have you been all my life? Thankyou so much.

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  74. yes, THANK YOU!
    I feel like my blog is now somethin special!!

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  75. Thanks a million for these simple, easy-to-follow directions! They were just what I needed :)

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  76. I just wanted to say THANKS very much. I have hated not having a banner for SOOO long and today after finding this post I was finally able to pop one up and I just LOVE it! Nicolex

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  77. Thanks so much for this tutorial! I just applied it to my blog and it had made a world of difference from the original option.

    http://kitchencactus.blogspot.com/

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  78. Wow!!! Thank you so much! :)

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  79. Thanks for posting this awesome tutorial!!! Makes making headers a breeze!

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  80. thanks for the tutorial ,its so helping me..!!!~
    ^____^

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  81. Hey, that was one of the best tutorials I've found ~ thanks a bunch!

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  82. Love! Thank you it was simple and fast!

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  83. I adore your current header and would like to do something like this for my footer. Would you consider doing a tutorial on the line of circles? It's so unique!

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  84. Thank you so much for this - I'd been fiddling round for days and with your tutorial it took mminutes!

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  85. Hello,
    I found this via a google search for how to create a blog header. I just wanted to join everyone else above in saying thank you very much - this was easy and well explained and I just created my first blog header on Picnik, and I love it!
    I am now very sad to see that Picnik is closing down in April - I will have to create loads of headers and save them, until I find another site as good.
    Thank you!

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