Monday, May 7, 2012

How To Make Dividers For Your Page Using Pixlr Editor

One of the things that I discovered during the challenge was there are quite a few people that don't know how to put dividers on their pages and articles. I wrote this article about finding free dividers for your site or hub and many people responded with saying they had always wondered about  how to get these dividers.

One of the things I like best about writing online is the artistic creativity that it offers. There are so many ways you can "pretty up" your page, and there is always more to learn. One thing I learned recently was how to make my own dividers using free software found online. I had read about the process from a couple of talented writers on Hubpages:  GreenLotus  and MissOlive.

At first, I found it very difficult to do, and you can see my first attempts here:

http://prairieprincess.hubpages.com/hub/More-Cute-Plus-Size-Tops-From-Amazon


After quite a time on Hubpages and with doing a fair bit of online pages, things just felt easier. I guess it "clicked" for me. Down below is a divider I recently created for my hub about user names, Why I Call Myself prairieprincess.

I think you will agree that it is quite a bit nicer than my first attempt at divider-making:

This was  a divider I created for Hubpages. The cool feature that Hubpages has is that it will automatically size your divider image to go across the width of the page. In Blogger, because there are all kinds of blogger page widths, you would have to figure out your width and then create it to go across.

To create a customized divider for use in Hubpages and other sites, using Pixlr, do the following steps. This tutorial assumes that you have Pixlr Editor installed on your computer or browser. If you do not, this would probably work in a similar fashion with other programs but I am only familar with Pixlr Editor. 
  1. Upload an image that has the colours you want in your divider into Pixlr. 
  2. If necessary, using the "image size" button, re-size your image so that it is approximately 400-500 pixels in width and height. If the image is already this size, you don't need to resize it. 
  3. Once the image is down to the right size, use your crop button (in your toolbar) and resize the image so your height is 10-30 pixels high, depending on how high you want the divider to be. I think 15 pixels is ideal but try different heights to be sure. 
  4. Save the image to your hard drive. 
  5. To use as divider, simply upload the image to Hubpages, if that is where you are using it, and the tool will automatically size the image to be a divider across the page. 
  6. If you are using the image elsewhere, you will have to figure out the width of your page, which will vary from site to site. 
  7. If the image is not public domain, be sure to attribute your image properly, giving credit where credit is due. 
 Here are some more of my homemade dividers: 





Here is one of my latest creations, as it looks on the page. If you can see, the divider is actually a slice of the kitten: 
http://prairieprincess.hubpages.com/hub/What-Our-Cats-Can-Teach-Us
I hope this is helpful. Please comment if you have any questions or if you do find it useful. I would love to hear from you!




Friday, May 4, 2012

Some encouraging articles about working at home

BE ENCOURAGED! 
For this post, I want to share some of the most encouraging articles I have read lately about writing and working at home. Those of us who work at home often find that we feel alone, and overwhelmed. I have been feeling this way lately, and was so happy to run across these encouraging articles, and to realize that I was not the only one feeling this way.

Here is some encouragement coming your way: 






These are all great articles that I highly recommend. 

The other thing I recommend is to reach out to other people in your same situation. Make a comment (even on this blog!), join a writing group online and even talk to other writers in real life. It's normal to feel overwhelmed and I believe there are strategies to help get out of it.

Be encouraged, fellow work-at-homers! 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

A Reflection Time on Being Sure of My Direction

I've stopping blogging here for a while, and it's always hard to come back. During the last couple of months, I have had a hard time being motivated for weight loss. I need to be motivated but I'm not.

I just can't seem to put in the energy that it takes to track every day, exercise every day and monitor everything I do. I do it for a while and then it just seems overwhelming. I am tired. Tired. That's about all I have to say.

Life as a woman is tiring for all of us, I think. There is always a lot to do: housework, paid work, relationships, worship, and losing weight just feels like one more thing. The last couple of months, I let losing weight go for a while and focused on other aspects of my life. To be honest, it's been nice. Nice to not be focused on that all the time.

A picture my website for tutoring English
I've been busy with other things. For one, I feel more of a direction with my work. I have decided to stick with online writing (this is one of the places where I write) and tutoring together. Since we last talked, I have gained two students for tutoring in ESL and I enjoy it very much.

I spoke to a gentleman the other day who knows a lot of international students and he said there are many students looking for help with their English, so I feel confirmed in the decision.

 I am also committed to writing as a career. This has been the most agonizing decision for me. For the last year and a half, I have thought about it constantly. Is is worth it? Am I making a fool out of myself?

But something has clicked for me in the last while and I know that I am going to continue to do go on this writing path as long as I can. It is hard because the money is tight but I feel it's where I am supposed to be.

I have to find the motivation to keep on the weight loss journey now. It's like certain important parts of my life have been decided and now I am free to get back to the health part of the equation.  I hope you will stick with me as I explore my way back to caring about losing weight again.

This blog is my first step. I find my back through writing: that's what helps me do it. This blog is about exploration, and it's not always pretty but I can't claim to be perfect. I try but I am far from it. The next few blogs are going to focus on the thoughts and insights I have had about losing weight in the last while.

I tend to think first and do after. This drives some people nuts, which I understand but it's the way I do things. Thinking and reflecting helps me get to the doing. If I don't have that reflection time, I burn out and don't end up doing anyway. I don't know if anyone can relate but that's how I am.

I also wanted to say a big hello to a couple of new readers to 100togo. Hellllloooo!!! Thanks for coming!!!

Love Sharilee. If you like what you are reading, sign up for regular updates with Blogger or through my Facebook page.

I Did the 30 Hubs in 30 Days Challenge!

Well, I did the challenge! The Hubpages 30 Hubs in 30 Days Challenge, that is. I wrote 30 hubs in 30 day, and my portfolio went from 82 hubs to 112 hubs. That meant that I crossed the 100 hubs mark, which meant a lot to me. Read about the advantages and disadvantages of writing so much material in a short period of time. 

To me, having 100 pieces of work on a place is significant: it means that you have shown commitment. And I do believe that having over 100 pieces of writing has the potential for more income, and for establishing an online presence.

One of the things that I am learning about writing online is that you need to establish an online presence. To do that, you need to have a significant number of articles, hubs or blog posts. And you need to establish credibility as a writer by producing regular content that readers appreciate and trust.

During this challenge, I felt like I had reached some kind of "tipping point" and become committed to the process. I also started to see some more income coming in, including Amazon sales.

This challenge also cemented my decision to continue to pursue the writing and online work. For the last year, I have had a toe in the water but have been afraid to immerse myself by committing fully. I would read about people's failures and problems and think I should get out and do something else. But I am in now and I don't intend to quit. This feeling of commitment is a good feeling and frees me up from worrying about if this is what I am supposed to be doing, energy which is better spent actually writing and creating.

What about you? Have you ever reached a "tipping point" in your work? What happened and how has it affected you?