How-to’s – Leanne Wildermuth : Artist by Nature

How To Make Photo Dough Ornaments

Leanne — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:55:58 +0000

Every year (since 2001), I’ve made these beautiful dough ornaments for our Christmas tree. This year I want to share with you my whole process, in case you’d like a crafty project or gift idea. It really is an any occasion craft, you can use different shapes, cutouts, themes and decorations to make it suit whatever you have going on. It’s a wonderful and sweet handmade gift!

The first part of the project (which I failed to take photos of) involves the dough ornament itself. First, you’ll need to pick out your shape. I have nested heart cookie cutters, so I chose the biggest one, and the second to smallest so that I have enough room for the girls photo. (I take the girls Christmas photos myself in my studio the day before.) Here’s my ornament shape:

The next task is making the dough – which is super easy. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt – and then add in 1 cup of water as you’re kneading the dough. This will make enough dough for about 10 of my ornaments, but I double the batch so the girls can make their own ornaments each year, too. Knead the dough really well, so it’s pliable and easy to manage.

Whatever surface you’re working on, you want to be able to get your dough up easily. Use a flexible cutting board, or wax paper to lift it off the table and peel back away from the back of the ornament. Put a little flour out on the surface and roll your dough to about 1/4″ thickness. If it’s cracking, you can dust some flour on it and then spray with a mist of water from a spray bottle, smoothing over with your hand.

Create your shapes using your cutter, and transfer them to an ungreased cookie sheet. To make holes for ribbons or hanging wire, just pop a hole into the shape using a straw, not too close to the edge so the dough doesn’t crack or break over time.

Before you bake them, use a toothpick to go around the edges and clean off any jagged dough edges. Once these dry, they take a bit of work to file off – so do as much beforehand as you can.

Bake your ornaments at 200 degrees for 2 hours. When they’re done, let them cool to the touch. Then, if you need to, use a nail file/buffer to clean off any jagged pieces from around the edges.

Now, you can prep your creative surface for painting! I use aluminum foil or wax paper to make it easy to move them around as they’re drying.

I’ve got my base color, dark blue, on a few of my ornaments already. The design is different each year, and usually I know how I’m going to paint them and have all of my materials/paints/backing/wire purchased before I start my project. Since my photo backdrop is a mottled blue, I decided to follow it through to the ornament. It’s also flecked with red, so I chose a red self-adhesive felt backing paper and red decorative wire.

Here’s my palette. I’ve got the dark blue drying, and I’m going to “sponge” on a light blue, white and pearly glaze. These are all acrylic paints you can pick up at Hobby Lobby for a couple of bucks. You really don’t need much, the small bottles are perfect. I put the paint on top of the other in a crazy pattern so it transfers to the ornament randomly. I paint through the holes and around to the back a little bit, just in case any edging shows through.

Prepare to get messy! I just wadded up a paper towel for this part, just dab it onto the plate and then onto the ornaments.

Here’s how they look after the first coat. It’s a bit too light, so I let it dry (acrylic takes a minute or two to dry) and add another coat of the dark blue over the top.

Once I finished blotting them and allowed the paint to dry, I went over the ornaments with a coat of Mod Podge to give it a really glossy lustre. This seals the dough and helps it last longer, too!

Next, I get the self-adhesive felt out. (I found mine at Hobby Lobby in the crafting area with all the felting tools.) I wish I had found this stuff years ago!! It made the whole process wonderful and opens up a variety of ways that these ornaments can be made and used.

Flip the felt over, and trace the outside of your ornament and mark the holes. Just do one at a time, because they do tend to all come out different based on how they cook, if they’re slightly misshapen in the transfer to the cookie sheet, etc.

I’ve printed the girls photos and sized them so that they’ll fit perfectly inside my little “window”. I set the photo under the opening and trace the opening onto the photo, then cut around it giving about 1/4″ overlap.

I cut out the felt, used a hole-puncher for the holes, and have everything ready to assemble the ornament.

Flip the ornament over, and align the photo to the backside, lifting to make sure it’s in position. Then just peel and stick your felt to the back, carefully lining it up to get it into position before pressing it down firmly onto the ornament.

Here’s the front side of the ornament.

Here’s the backside, felted.

Now I just take my wire (or ribbon, or hook, whatever you’re going to use) and wind it through the holes and around itself. I like to date my ornaments, this year I dated the back for everyone else and designed the front date of ours using a silver metallic sharpie, outlining in a black sharpie. Colored sharpies work GREAT for designing and decorating the fronts of these dough ornaments!

Here are a few of them all assembled, aren’t they sweet? Once they’re all done, I slip mine into a sandwich baggie do they don’t get scratched or damaged. I store years worth of these in a heart shaped container, each individually wrapped, and they all still look wonderful!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

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Have the Last Word.

Leanne — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:56:36 +0000

I’ve recently modified my message that displays after a guest leaves their first comment on my blog. I’ve received a few rude comments that leave me scratching my head, wondering how on earth you’d leave a snarky/rude/hurtful/hateful comment on the internet. I mean really, why wouldn’t you just click the little “X” in the top right corner of your browser window? Why do people find that being deliberately rude is such an impossible urge to ignore?

A few months ago, after receiving a slanderous comment about one of my clients on my blog, I decided to moderate all first time commentors. Since then, I’ve felt an added level of security – those people won’t even get one second of air time on my blog. Those people? They suck.

So here’s the message, revised:

Your first comment has gone into moderation.

I’ll release your comment very soon, if you’re a real person.
(and you should also be KIND, and drama free.)
(oh and funny would be GREAT. I love funny.)
Please come again!

Please note: If you’ve used every smiley I own just for fun, or said something rude, unkind or thoughtless that is going to serve no other purpose than to insult or hurt someone you don’t even know, I’ll save you the embarrassment and delete your comment before it ever hits the world wide web. I know you don’t want EVERYONE on the internet to know you don’t think before you hit that “submit” button!

You can thank me later.

Now in WordPress, you can customize your own message in your themes comments.php file. Just look for this line of code:

< ?php if ($comment->comment_approved == '0') : ?>

Beneath it there should be some text that says “your comment is in moderation” or something plain. Spruce it up. Personalize it with your own message.

Be sure that your text ends just above the < ?php endif; ?>.

It doesn’t take too much effort to set your blog to moderate – go into your “discussion” options and set “author must have previously approved comment.” – and that’s it. Once you approve someone, you don’t have to do it again.

And you, my friend, get to have the last word with that jerk that doesn’t know when to click the little “X”. Totally worth it.

Got Spam in YOUR Templates?

Leanne — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:14:05 +0000

This is not the first time I’ve seen this – spammers somehow hack into WordPress template files and add in their junk, styling it inline so it’s not visible on your blog. Hidden junk mail, basically, in your theme. It happened to me over a year ago, but this particular incident was a refresher course as I found it in a client’s header file while upgrading and updating her theme. Please, please please – check your theme template files regularly. Particularly your header.php, those buggers like to get their links in there and set up negative margins before your content begins on the page.

Here are a couple of screenshots – click to enlarge. You can see the menu_rll is the div id used to enclose the spam. In this case, they hacked into both the header.php as well as the main index.php.

Found in the header.php template

Found in the index.php templateIt is helpful if you change your admin password somewhat regularly, other than that I can’t tell you exactly how they manage to get in there. I’ve had a pretty secure password for years (I rotate it out) and keep my file permissions secure as well, so I’ve never been able to get a straight answer about the “how does this happen”. It’s aggravating – as these types of links should be PAID for and you should not be spammed or hacked into displaying them without your knowledge. I have tried to pursue these sites before (none of these links are live, I will not give them any free linkage here) – they always play dumb that they had no idea the people they pay to manage their links were hacking sites.

So folks, this might be news to you – but you might just find some spammy links in your template files. Go on and check, it only takes a minute. Look under presentation/theme editor and just scroll through your template files to make sure there’s nothing spammy going on with your website that you don’t know about. And also – if you’re not using the most current version of WordPress, It’s time to upgrade.. Eliminate any possible vulnerability.

UPDATE: Another WP user discovered massive amounts of spam in his template, it actually affected his Google ads – the ad content started getting “spammy” and he couldn’t figure out why. Check out his experience here.

Another update: I am also being told that when upgrading – it is HIGHLY advised to completely delete everything but the wp-config file and upload the fresh upgrade to ensure any files that were hacked are gone and avoid future vulnerabilities. For detailed and easy to follow upgrade instructions, see my post here.

Also see: TechCrunch “WordPress Security Issues Lead To Mass Hacking. Is Your Blog Next?“

How to Lose Weight the Right Way

Leanne — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:19:37 +0000

“How does one become a butterfly?” she asked pensively.

“You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”

~Trina Paulus

The quote at the meeting this week is so appropriate. Without these meetings, I might not keep things like this in mind, I would definitely not feel like I am holding myself accountable for my health and in turn – my weight.

See, it’s not so much my weight that is the issue. It’s my health. Not that my health is horrible, far from it. But there are people in my life whose health worries me, because they are carrying too much weight. The stress on their body is evident in their physical appearance, right down to their posture, and even though I can’t see that in the mirror in myself – seeing it on someone I love makes me realize that I have the look, too. Now think about the food choices you make or see your loved one make. If you combine “the look” with “the menu”, you feel your answer welling up inside of you, and you know what I’m talking about.

Over indulgence is bad. Poor food choices result in frustration, poor health, fatigue and weight gain.

It is, truly, just that simple. But then again, it’s not.

Socially, our system sucks horribly. We go out to eat and are presented with a meal that honestly? It’s 3 days worth of calories on one plate. And having been working toward a goal for several years on and off and recently again for several weeks, I can tell you from personal experience that I have yet to find a restaurant that provides the right balance of protein and carbs in one menu item. It doesn’t exist. (Ok, unless you’re a rabbit. If you’re a rabbit, it exists. If you are used to eating that full plate of food, it does not.)

There are few people concerned about this. I question our school system, who doesn’t provide any eduction on nutrition to our children – but jumps on parents who never learned about nutrition and have overweight/unhealthy children as a result. Do your kids know anything about nutrition?

Seriously – how many people really know what you need on your plate in order to not only feel satisfied, but have the proper balance of nutrition that fuels your system, makes you feel energized and burns the excess you’ve acquired over time or even eaten just that day?

People, generally speaking, don’t know how to eat. We eat at our leisure, we eat because it tastes good, we eat because it’s the socially “in” thing to do. When you go out, you grab a bite. You hang out with friends, there’s always food involved. Always. You can’t get away from it – unless you’re at a library. Make a good food choice in front of friends? They look at you funny, like you’re crazy for not choosing what “tastes good”. Trust me. I’ve gotten that look, too.

So not only are we not taught proper nutrition from a young age, we’re taught the opposite. Eat what tastes good, and you’re cool. Decline a brownie? Are you kidding? ::snickers behind her back::

Think about your grocery store for a second. Think about how many rows of products there are. Now imagine eliminating all of the poor food choices and boxed foods with preservatives. What’s left? Three rows? Four? That’s my guess for my own grocery store.

When I go to the grocery store now, I only go down about 4 aisles. Produce, meat, dairy and grains. Let me give you my typical grocery list for a week:

Meats
fish (fresh, salmon or tilapia)
turkey (lean, breast cutlets, tenderloins and deli sliced thin hickory smoked, turkey franks)
chicken (lean, breast)

Vegetables (all fresh, not frozen unless it’s out of season)
broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, onion, red & green peppers, mushroom, lettuce, tomato

Fruits (again, fresh and in season)
grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, apples, nectarines, bananas, kiwi, lemon/juice

Dairy
non-fat milk, non-fat or low-fat cottage cheese, reduced fat sliced cheese, eggbeaters, shredded low-fat cheese (mexican or co-jack blend)

Grains
high fiber whole grain bread (eat only one slice a day, cut in half for a sandwich)
success boil in a bag brown rice (1/2 c. day max)

other
ziploc storage bags in gallon and quart size containers
marinades (teriyaki, barbeque)

Normally, we cut up our fresh fruits and vegetables and put them into ziploc bags so it’s all ready to grab and eat. Grapes are washed and put into a container. I also put my meat into bags with the marinades and let them sit for several hours before grilling. We steam our vegetables in the microwave with this incredibly wonderful steamer from Tupperware.

We do season our foods, but we do not drench them with butter or anything.

Notice there’s one very important thing about my grocery list – none of my food items come in a box, except for the brown rice, which is a whole grain. Incredible, isn’t it?

There’s still a lot missing, though. Like the quote says, you have to be “willing to give up being a caterpillar.” You have to want it bad enough to think about the choices you’re making and invest the time and more importantly the forethought about what you’re putting into your body. You have to educate yourself and consider a few more things before you are armed with the right information to change your eating habits.

What is your current weight?
What is your goal?
How many calories do you need to eat in a day to have a constant, healthy loss while you’re re-learning how to provide your body the nutrients it needs so that it doesn’t keep storing the excess in your hips/thighs/belly? Remember: as you lose weight, you need to recalculate your calories. You need fewer calories as you lose weight.
Do you know how to choose proteins – and do you know how many grams of protein you eat now, and how many you need to eat in a day to provide your body what it needs?
Do you know how to identify a good carb, and how to balance them with proteins for proper nutrition? Do you know how much you need in a day before your body will store it as fat?
Do you know that your body needs a certain about of healthy fats (like those found in fish, lean meat and low-fat dairy) to digest your proteins and carbs correctly? Do you know how many grams of fat you should limit yourself to in a day?

You really need to find out this information if you don’t know it already. Giving you MY information isn’t going to help you reach your goals or start choosing things correctly. I’ve provided a couple of links at the end of this entry so that you can learn and find out your own information.

There’s one very important thing that I’ve learned over the last couple of years on this mission of mine:

You can’t motivate someone else, you can only motivate yourself.

I spent most of the spring and summer inspired by my friend Taba’s progress. Did I do anything myself? No. I waited until she was at my goal before I got a little bit green, and felt the effect of my laziness and saw it in the mirror. Then someone I love glanced at my flabular biceps, and I knew it was time.

There are other factors in my success that I can’t ignore – and neither should you.

Family. Like it or not, you all eat together. You’re either going to “go on a diet” without them, or you’re going to fix your whole families nutrition. I chose the latter, and thankfully – everyone has been supportive and cooperative. If I had “gone on a diet” without them, I would still have food temptations around me, and I would “go off” and start eating that food again because, well, they are. They’re not. I am teaching my children about nutrition and how to pack a healthy lunch for school. We are all in this together, and that has a huge impact on all of us.
Education. Learn about what you need. EAT what you need EVERY DAY. Don’t reduce your calories, don’t eat less and think you’re better off. If you add an indulgence, KEEP EATING the right foods so that your body doesn’t hang on to your indulgence. DON’T OVER INDULGE.
Be Smart. Your body needs one protein, one carb and one fat at every meal. Learn what they are, and choose from foods that don’t come in a box.
Think First. Before I get too hungry, I eat 10 grapes. Learn about food and how small amounts of certain items can curb your appetite for 2 more hours. 10 grapes, that’s all it takes. While I’m munching on those grapes, I figure out what is worth 30-50 grams of protein and what is worth 50-70 grams of carbs. (Figure out what you need, first.)
Don’t Let Others Sway You! If you go to a party, ask what the food is going to be. If it’s not lean meat or there aren’t any veggies, bring a veggie/fruit/meat tray with you. I attended a barbeque and had people munching on my plate of turkey and chicken tenderloins.
Give Your Health Priority. If you’ve read this far, it’s most likely because you’re frustrated, and you don’t know what to do anymore. You have to allow yourself to do this. You have to spend the time educating yourself on proper nutrition and you have to really think about the choices you make and whether or not they are good for you and your goals. You have to choose more wisely. You can’t keep eating the way that you are and expect optimal health. Even if you’re thin – if you’re eating out of boxes, you can expect to see it in your health and energy levels.
Get up. I’m not saying you have to run around the block or join the gym. If you’re sedentary, then get up. When you chat on the phone, walk around the house instead of sitting down. Park further away when you go to the store. Pick up the pace while you’re in the grocery store. Increase your level of activity with just walking for 20 minutes a day. Even if it’s just pacing the house while you’re on the phone.
DRINK WATER. Lose the soda, pop, soda-pop, whatever you call it. Those are wasted carbs and even a whole can of pop doesn’t curb your hunger. Your body needs water and craves water, pure water, no sugar, no additives. Did you know that some people can’t tell the difference between hunger pain and thirst? Are you one of those people? Drink 3 large gulps of water before you eat, and you’ll eat less.

Why Weight Watchers helps me. When I joined WW, it was because I knew I needed the accountability. If I am only accountable to myself, I am very forgiving when I eat poorly. I can excuse it away all the way down to “my body craved it, so I have to eat it”. I already knew what I needed to know about nutrition and HOW to eat, I just had no inclination to actually do it – because no one else but me even cared. Now I have the support and encouragement from my family AND a group of women with the same mindset. It helps to have my meetings on Monday mornings, since weekends are usually very tempting dining-out days.

If you’re like me, you may need that same kind of support system.

This is the part where I give you links so that you can find out what your caloric intake should be, and how many protein/carb/fats you should eat:

CalorieKing.com – Diet Diary (free download for 7 days, $49 download) This is the one I use, I bought the download and keep track daily, it allows you to “favorite” foods that you eat a lot of, create “meals” and click and drag foods to your daily diary.

SparkPeople – I understand they also have a guide to tell you your target calories, protein, carbs & fat grams, and that’s free. (It’s online only)

Nutritional Resource: Nutrition Source : Harvard School of Public Health

Now go, learn. Find out what you can and if you have questions, come ask me. I will help you figure it out or lead you to a place to find the information.

How To Upgrade WordPress

Leanne — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:26:59 +0000

I ran through several of my blogs yesterday and upgraded them the latest version of WordPress. (Hey, I was waiting for a client to get back to me. I had to do something.) I get asked a lot about upgrading people, and it seems the majority of folks are afraid of messing things up. I’m here to tell you – that’s hard to do. Really. If you can install a plugin, you can upgrade your blog.

I’m giving you a step-by-step tutorial so that you can upgrade yourself. Really, there’s no reason to not be using the most current version, except that it costs money unless you’re willing to do it yourself.

UPDATE:

WordPress 2.7 and above has auto-upgrade built-in. If your installation requires upgrading, you will see a prompt at the top of your admin panel. Look under “Tools” and select “Upgrade”, and follow the on screen instructions.

* * * END UPDATE * * *

For versions previous to 2.7: There’s a plugin for this, as well. WordPress Automatic Upgrade is available here. Be sure to read through all of the instructions before use. This plugin DOES THE BACKUP FOR YOU. I recommend you proceed with “manual” steps in the plugin so that you can download the backup to your own computer.

Without further blab, here’s how you do it (manually):

1. Create a backup of your domain through your CPanel, before changing anything on your domain. Delete your backup after you have successfully upgraded, as they can take up quite a bit of space.

2. Deactivate all plugins.

3. Download and unzip the most current version of WordPress to a location you’ll remember on your hard drive. For example, I keep all of my downloads in a WORDPRESS folder and I create a subfolder for the latest version release.

4. Open your FTP Client. For the purpose of this tutorial, I am going to use and recommend SmartFTP. What is it? “SmartFTP is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client which allows you to transfer files between your local computer and a server on the Internet.” The personal edition is free, however you do get a popup telling you to license it when you open it.

5. In the address bar, input your FTP access information. This most often is the same Login and Password used to access your CPanel. Your FTP address is most often your domain, like mine is intricateart.com. Some require ftp.yourdomain.com, most do not. Usually you receive all of this information from your hosting provider when you sign up for your hosting account. If you need to create an FTP, you do that in your CPanel – and if you need instructions for that let me know.

6. Once you’ve accessed your domain via FTP, you’ll look for your public_html or www folder (www ONLY if you do not have a public_html). Open your public_html by double clicking it. The contents will appear in the right pane:

7. If your blog is in the root directory (for the purpose of this instruction, I assume that it is), you will look for, select and hit DELETE on the following (delete individually so you don’t include something you shouldn’t) :

wp-admin folder
wp-includes folder
**note, if you have custom smileys or other custom images, open your wp-includes folder and delete all but the images folder.**
index.php
wp-app.php
wp-atom.php
wp-blog-header.php
wp-comments-post.php
wp-commentsrss2.php
wp-cron.php
wp-feed.php
wp-links-opml.php
wp-login.php
wp-mail.php
wp-pass.php
wp-rdf.php
wp-register.php
wp-rss.php
wp-rss2.php
wp-settings.php
wp-trackback.php
xmlrpc.php

**do NOT delete wp-config.php. This contains information that tells WP how to access your database.**

8. Now that your old version is completely gone, you will click and drag from the folder where you downloaded the most recent version – do this in small clumps, as your server may disconnect if you try to do too much at once.

I usually drag over the wp-admin folder, wait until that transfer is successful – then do all of the individual php files (select the first one, then press your shift key, and click the last one – then drag over to your ftp):

**note – the license.php, readme.html and wp-config-sample.php do not need to be transferred if you already have them. They are basically unchanged, but you can include them/overwrite if you wish.**

I do the wp-includes folder last, as that one is the largest. If it stalls out, just drag it over again and select “skip” on the files that were already written. If you’re familiar with creating folders, create the wp-includes folder and then open and drag over the contents in smaller chunks.

Once you’ve transferred all of the files from the new WordPress version to your domain via FTP, there are just a couple of things left to do.

9. Open a browser window to your blog address, and at the end of your address in the address bar, type:

/wp-admin/upgrade.php

So the final address, for example: http://yourblogaddress.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php

Hit enter. WordPress will prompt you through the upgrade process and tell you when it’s complete. There’s only one step, and depending on what versions you’re upgrading from and to, it could take a minute to upgrade the database, it could not require a database upgrade at all – you will get that information on the upgrade screen.

For the purpose of this instruction, I’m going to assume you’ve done it all right and you’ve gotten your success screen. Congratulations! If you did it wrong and something has gone amuck, you will have to hire someone to fix it, most likely. If you followed my instructions, you should be in good shape.

10. Login to your admin panel and reactivate each plugin ONE AT A TIME. Refresh your blog and make sure that plugin is working. If it does not work or breaks your blog, DEACTIVATE IT and look for an upgraded version of that plugin. WordPress will not allow most plugins to work if they cause fatal errors, but some of them still get by and cause errors.

You have now sucessfully upgraded your blog. Assuming it’s all hunkey-dory, you can delete your backup and write a wonderful self inflating post about how you just did it yourself and how easy peasy that was!

The end.

How To Grow Grass, Fast!

Leanne — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:01:47 +0000

Over the past 11 years that we’ve owned our home, we’ve made several failed attempts to fill a lot of bald spots in the yard. This year, me and my new green thumb have finally got it all figured out.

The grass pictured above is seed that I put down Sunday, July 1st. We saw growth in just 4 days, folks. Now that’s fast. This is day 5, and it’s over an inch long. I know you’re all just dying to know my secret, right? Well just pretend you are, because I’m going to tell you anyway.

The dirt in the bare spot needs to be raked over, just a bit – I didn’t go very deep, maybe just 1/4 or 1/2 inch. I spread a nice layer of Miracle-Gro potting soil (the moisture control is good, too) over the area – then put down some generic fast growing grass seed – unless you want the special stuff, that will probably grow quickly too, but you can always seed the good stuff in the fall. Over the grass seed, spread a nice thin layer of Miracle-Gro again, then keep it really well saturated. Water in the morning and at night, and any time you notice the Miracle-Gro has dried out.

We had a torrential rainfall on Tuesday night that washed much of the Miracle-Grow and seed both in a pile at the end of the area that I seeded. I gently raked it, spreading it back to its original spot, and added more soil and a little more seed, then drenched it all again. It’s all filling in and I’m excited to see so many bare patches filling in with bright green grass!

And there you have it. Now go, sow some grass. Your bare summer feet will be very happy, because baby grass is very soft, and it tickles.

UPDATE April 19, 2009

I’d like to show you before and after photos of this area of our yard.

BEFORE:
AFTER:
Note: We added a privacy fence, and neighbor cut down all of their trees,
added a room and a door on the side of the garage.
Taken on overcast day.

The first photo was taken in 2004, just after we’d had a room addition put on the house and were left with a huge mound of dirt. We left the mound for several years and planted on it, using it as part of the landscape. In July 2007, we transplanted everything and leveled the mound, and started growing grass. The summer of 2008 it was patchy and young, still filling in. Now, April 2009, you can see it’s thick and lush and very, very green.

Stop back and let me know how well this works for you – and share your before & after photos!

While you’re here, grab one of my amazing photos for your desktop, or visit my shop!

How To Leave Blogger

Leanne — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:34:06 +0000

Finally, the long awaited (and long overdue, sorry ’bout that) instruction manual has arrived! For those of you “stuck with blogger”, “sick of blogger”, and who “want a real blog”, this is all the information you need rolled up into one tidy little post. If I forget anything, I’ll update it. If you know something I don’t know, tell me, and I’ll update that, too.

(updated 2.18.10)

PICK A BLOGGING PLATFORM

Lots

WordPress

SELECT A HOST

Here are the requirements

WordPress

WordPress has a list of highly recommended hosting providers, here. However. Proceed with caution if you’re looking at hosting with Yahoo – there are several issues with Yahoo that may cause your scripting and plugin use to be limited. For limited use, you get a cheaper price. Better to pay a couple dollars more and have unlimited capabilities with your blog, I say!

My personal and professional recommendation is HostMonster, for (currently 2/10) $5.95 a month you get fantastic service, someone who actually picks up the phone without waiting 20 minutes, and they have top notch people who will stay with you until you have the answer you’re looking for.

CHOOSE YOUR DOMAIN NAME

GoDaddy

Please, please, please. Hang on to every stick of e-mail you get confirming your purchases, logins and account information. Do. Not. Ever. Delete. It.

GET HOSTED

Once you have selected your host and chosen and purchased your domain name (so far you’ve spent about $10, not too shabby), you’ll want to actually sign up with the host. Once you have confirmed and purchased your hosting account, you’ll receive confirmation information that will give you instructions on how to point your domain to their servers (aka Nameservers).

POINT YOUR DOMAIN TO THE RIGHT SERVERS

You need to get the nameserver information from your new host and log back into the account where you registered your domain, and change the nameservers to the ones your host gives you.

WAIT.

It takes some time for the new domain, nameservers, and host to all get resolved. Once everybody starts talking to eachother, you’ll be able to get things all set up!

INSTALL WORDPRESS

You can usually perform the installation easily through your CPanel, most hosts have Fantastico Script section that has an automatic installation process for many programs, including WordPpress.

TRANSFER/IMPORT YOUR STUFF

WordPress

THEME IT

If you’re looking for an outstanding and professional blog designer who knows how to whip up a design that will keep your readers happy in whatever browser they use, here are a few of my own personal favorites:

Still, only spent about $10 to do everything so far. All you need to do now is blog, find your way around the WordPress Admin panel, and save up for a whole new look. You can install plugins right from within your admin panel plugins page (there are hundreds of neat little program “add on’s” that you can add to your blog to have all kinds of neat functions), you can hire someone to install them, you can change your theme, download from hundreds of free WordPress themes, the possibilities are endless with WordPress.

Keep in mind, too, that you’re in charge of your blog when it’s on your domain. You are the one with ultimate control over every single thing that happens to your account, the only thing your host is providing you is space to keep your stuff on their servers, which you rent on a month to month basis (or annual, depending on the package you choose). That being said, it’s up to you not to break it. If you want to fiddle with stuff, make a backup copy before you fiddle – then have at it – and if you break it, restore it. Otherwise you will be charged to have someone else do it for you.

Leaving Blogger means no more waiting. No more frustrating and weird server lag time and sluggish posting. No more complete loss of everything you’ve ever posted for no apparent reason. You don’t have to host your images with Flickr, or have a separate account. Your images can be uploaded right through your own admin panel and they’re stored on your server. If your host’s server goes down, it’s a rare thing – because they’re getting paid to keep them up and running whereas blogspot is not. No more comment verification, because WordPress has a backend spam plugin, Akismet, and you’ll never need anything else. No more problems – just a really cool and super flexible program that will do whatever you want it to do. Want a photoblog? Yep, it does that too. A group blog where a bunch of people can post? You can have as many authors as you want, each with their own login and password, and you set the authority. You can see from all of my own projects- my dream blog, this blog here, my gallery (which is done with one single installation of WP), my weight loss blog – and the recipe section on that blog. All powered by WordPress.

Questions? Comments? Additons? Recommendations?

Updated 1/11/07: Read How to Market your blog here.