Revamping My Tutorials Page

Hey Readers.  I'm working on some major improvements for my Tutorials page.  (I'm updating it, for starters.  I currently have only three tutorials even listed.  Bad blogger!)  But the fun part of the announcement is that I'm going to post YOUR tutorials, too!  (Interested?  Read on.)

If I talk about a tutorial you did (you inspired me to make your project, or you guest blogged on my site, for example), then I will forever immortalize your tutorial on my Tutorials page.

So, please bear with me as I make this update.  And if you'd like me to feature a project you're super proud of, just leave a comment on this post or e-mail me at jillmadeit.blog@gmail.com.  I'd love to take a look.

Cute Cake Pops!

Aren't these adorable?  We learned how to make them last night in our craft group.  (In case you're wondering, the spiky white thing is supposed to be an Easter egg.  Maybe it's a Martian Easter egg...)

The instructions for making these came from a cookbook called Cake Pops by Bakerella (as in the blog, bakerella.com).  It's just full of super-cute ways to decorate these delicious treats.  (Yeah...these didn't make it until Easter.)

So these are my first attempts at the cake pops. (Not including the ones that fell off their sticks--oops!)  I can't say they were easy, but I do think that, once I get the hang of them, they won't be hard.  And they're delicious and adorable, so I'm definitely going to make more of them!

Update:  Here's a link to Bakerella's basic instructions for making the cake pops.  Browse around her site for lots of cute decorating ideas!

Diamonds Blog Backgrounds

Hi everyone!  Here are some new blog backgrounds for you.  I designed the pattern for my friend to use on her blog, and I'm sharing the results with all of you, too.  I have lots of color schemes available.  Which one do you like the best?

These backgrounds can be used for any non-commertial purpose.

I think that these backgrounds work best with the alignment set to Center Top, and the tiling set to Tile Vertically.  Right click on the background and save it to your computer.

So you know...

For a while, I have been posting every Monday, and then again later in the week if I could manage it.  Unfortunately, even just this is taking too much time away from my family.  So now I'll just post occasionally.  I hope you keep reading my blog, though.  I recommend you follow me via e-mail.  (See where it says, "Follow My by Email!" right above my followers?  That's where you sign up.)  This way, you'll get an e-mail each day that I post something (and no e-mail when I don't).

Thanks to everyone who has supported my blog, and I hope to keep adding fun things...just less often.

Fresh Homemade Strawberry Jam

Yummy goodness.

Sweet and natural perfection.

What am I talking about?  Fresh homemade strawberry jam, made the day after the berries were picked.  Is there anything better?  Mmmmmmmm..........

All you need are strawberries, sugar, pectin, jars, lids, and ... the things you screw onto the top of the jar that keeps the lid on.  Bands?  Anyway...the recipe for the jam is in the pectin box, so I won't write that here, but here are some tips from my experience:

Fresh picked-when-they're-ripe strawberries are the best, but remember that you really do need to make the jam immediately.  (Or the pie, or the ice cream topping--whatever goodness you have in mind.)  The strawberries you usually see at the grocery store were picked green and put out when they are nearly ripe--they last longer than strawberries that are allowed to ripen on the plant.  (You can put whole, unwashed berries in the refrigerator, and they last longer.)  The strawberries we jammed the first day were a lot happier with life than those that had to wait until the second day.

Don't buy three flats of strawberries all at once, as amazing as that may sound at the time.  That was too much jamming to do so quickly, before the fully ripe and wonderful berries turned into, well, you know--less than wonderful berries.  (Although I admit I will not be complaining as I'm eating the jam all year long...)

The recipe in the pectin box probably says you have to process the jam, that is, boil it in a canner for a while.  But you don't.  Follow the directions up until the jars are full and the lids are screwed on, then just flip the jars upside down, let them sit  for five minutes, them flip them back over.  You should soon hear little pops that let you know the jars sealed.  (You can check to make sure the button on the lid is down if you don't hear all the pops.)  Any that for some reason didn't seal can just go in your refrigerator, but we didn't have that problem.  If you're worried, go ahead and follow the directions in the box; that will of course work, too.  But my mother-in-law has never had a problem with this method.  (This is my first jam-making experience, but she's done it a lot.)

Enjoy!

How To Make Custom Navigation Tabs

(Once again, the evil laugh of success.)

I told you in my post about adding navigation tabs (aka Pages) under your blog's heading that I had an idea for how to make these customized.  Well, it worked.  (Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!)  I'd read other tutorials about how to do this, but they involved all this html stuff that I really didn't understand.  So I just kept thinking about it and hopeing there was an easier way to accomplish the same thing.

Then it occurred to me--What is the difference between a blog button and a navigation tab?  Nothing.

So here's what you do.

First, whip up some completely awe-inspiring Pages.  (You do not have to have added the Pages gadget to do this.)

Then, use your favorite image editing software to design your new, unique tabs (one for each page).  Upload the images to Photobucket or some similar website.

Next, on Blogger, go to Design-->Page Elements (Update:  It's under "Layout" now)-->Add a Gadget right under your header, like in my other tutorial.  This time, add the HTML/JavaScript gadget.  (If you already have the Pages gadget, you can delete it.  Don't worry, your pages won't disappear.  I tried it just to make sure.)

Now paste this into the space for "Content," and replace the red text with your own info.

<a href="the url of the page you want this tab to take you to" mce_href="the url of the page you want this tab to take you to"><img src="the url where the image is hosted aka Direct Link on photobucket" mce_src="the url where the image is hosted aka Direct Link on photobucket" border="0" /></a>

(I don't know why everything is there twice; all I know is that this does work.)

Do this for each of your tabs (in the same HTML gadget--you don't need to add multiple gadgets).  Click Save, and you're done!

Here are my tabs.  What do you think?  I'm not completely in love with them, myself, but the'll do for now.

Swap Followings @ Homemaker On a Dime

The blogger at Homemaker On a Dime is hosting a Swap Followings Linky Party.  As part of the party, I am featuring two of the other participants.





First up is Homemaker in Heels.  This is who she is in her own words:

Hi! My name is Crysta and I am so glad you stopped by! Here you will find a random mix of posts on crafting, cooking, decorating, faith, random domestic tips, any bargains I find, along with any other random thing that comes to mind, all with a Southern twist. 

I will update this post later this week with the next featured blog.  I hope you enjoy the blog hop!

Update!
The second blog I am newly following is Lisa Made It.  (I like her blog's name.  You know what they say about great minds...)  This is what her blog is in her own words:

Welcome to my BLOG where I will be sharing all of my creations such as recipes, sewing and crafts. There may even be the odd post about my kids cuz I made them too! 


Have a great day, everyone!