Blog Tips: How to Create Stand-alone Pages

Have you all noticed that now it's much simpler to do stand-alone pages in Blogger? Yep, it seems you don't have to go into "Blogger Draft" anymore!

I was going to post on how to do a custom background, but I could not ignore this cool new feature any longer!

If I am talking total gibberish to you, today's Blog Tip is on How to Create Stand-alone Pages. Again, this is totally from experience and there may well be other more technical ways of doing it, but this is mine :)

 

 

Stand-alone pages are pages that you can create that have a "stand-alone" or individual html address. within the Blog. Example: you can create an About or Contact page without having to actually post it! So it will exist "somewhere" and you can choose to include it in your Blog as a navigation or not.

Check out my buttons on the sidebar where it says Blog Parties or Sponsors and Links. You cannot find the published posts for those pages, but they still exist!

Previously, you had to go into "Dashboard" and then click "Blogger in Draft", "Edit posts", "Edit Pages"...I also found a few post formatting problems with Blogger in Draft.

Now, Blogger has made it easier to create stand-alone pages and this is how:

As shown above, 

Go to "Dashboard"
Then "Edit Post" and then
"Edit Pages"
Click on "New Page".

Just write the pages like a normal post and click publish the post as usual!

Once you click on "Publish Post", the following window appears and you are given 3 options:

1. To add the page to a sidebar navigation,
2. To add it as tabs (for instance, underneath your header)
3. No gadget. (Choose this if you want to link to that page manually via a custom button or word somewhere on your blog - This is what I chose for my Contact Me button)


Here I outline the options:

If you choose options 1 or 2 above, Blogger automatically adds the page you've just created as a sidebar or tabs.

If you choose option 3:

After the page is published you get the window shown above. Then, right click on "View Page" and select "Copy Link Location". This is the link you "attach" onto a picture or word so that when you click on it, it takes you to that stand alone page. Example: Look at my Contact Me button on the sidebar.

To add the stand alone pages as navigation, like beneath your header or on your side bar, you can also do so the following way:

Go to "Layout"
Click "Add Gadget". You then get the window above.
Then, click "Pages". The window below appears:

Here, you can see a list of all your stand-alone pages (I have 4 pages as you can see), their order, etc. This is where you manage your pages from. You are also able to change the order the pages appear by dragging and dropping them. 

When you're happy, just click "Save" and you're done.You can now drag this gadget either onto your side bar or under your header as tabs.

Depending on your blog template, you may not be able to add  any widgets/gadgets under your header. To make your custom template compatible involves a little more work,  and so I have left it for another post. Don't forget to check back!

For your chance to win a fabulous Le Creuset Stock Pot worth $66.95 click here to find how!

Before and Afters: Spicing it up

These are my latest thrifty finds - Full of potential!! (honestly!)

No, it's not junk...it's my treasure!!!

I got all this for 20€!! I'll tell exactly what I bought (from my local charity shop EMMAUS), so brace yourselves 'cause the list is long:

There are 6 shelves complete with their fittings, baskets, utensil holder, old padded picture (I've already transformed this one into a Princess Memory Board), numerous photo frames, wall-hook, a plastic frame that I used for my Red Kitchen, a huge Red Lampshade that I also used for my kitchen, two mirrors, a cheese platter with it's cheese knife, two gorgeous white pitchers, a vintage white serving plate, a wall candle holder, a red candle stick, an art-deco mantle clock, a small decorative wooden house, a wooden spice rack, 2 children's lampshades, 1 dusty medium-sized lampshade, two fugly wooden trays, a battered old pub sign (I already used the embellishment as a fish wall art in my kitchen too) and a key hook...Pheeewww!

There was sooo much stuff....I don't even think all of it is in the photo!!! I was "snappy-happy" as the hubs was still unloading the vehicle.

I intend to attack these items at my own pace, so please bear with me as I post as and when they came out of the "production" line  :)

Today, I'll show you what I did to the spice rack. I give you: (drumrolls please..)

Spicy Crafty Storage for....Crafts!! :)

Now, the before and after shots:

This spicy little number was in good condition, just a little dusty, with a few stains. All I did was to clean it, paint with mat white and distress it a little with sand paper to add  more "spice" and a little vintage character :)

Then, I added a couple of heart embellishments and a little loop-hook to hang my measuring tape from. Once it goes up on my craft-room wall, I will add a couple of hooks to bottom of the rack. 

You could also use it to hold beauty products, postcards, scrapbooking supplies, photos, ribbon spools, or even...spice jars!

If you haven't seen some of my previous re-vamps, the following are entirely for your benefit!! :)

 From so, so to...Hellooooo!!!

Re-vamped and re-purposed!!

That's all for today my friends, but more yummy transformations in the pipeline, so don't forget to watch this space!

Tomorrow: More BLOG TIPS!!!

I am linking to these Parties


For your chance to win a fabulous Le Creuset Stock Pot worth $66.95 click here to find how!

I am being Featured at...

Today I am guest posting an awesome TUTORIAL over at Someday Crafts!! Yeepeee!!

So go over there to check it out and pleeeeeease, leave some love!!
 

 Talk to you soon,

Oh, oh, and don't forget to enter my fabulous Le Creuset GIVEAWAY!!!

Civet de Sanglier - French Valentine's Recipe

As promised, I have brought to you a very yummy, but easy to prepare French recipe for Valentine's!!

Civet de Sanglier

The Civet de Sanglier is  a very traditional French recipe using wild boar. Wild boar has a similar meaty texture to pork, but slightly more game-y. So if you can't get wild boar use pork instead.

The French word civet means a ragout or stew prepared using "cives" or "civettes", which means onions, garlic and other edible bulbs, where "cive" comes from the latin caepatum (de caepa, "oignon") according to Wikipedia (and you thought I was that clever, huh?!)

The civet in the south of France is traditionally prepared with red wine. The French have several ways of cooking it depending on the region, so the recipe I am giving you is a tried and tested, southern version. It is a very simple, one-pot meal that you can make in advance. Because let's face it, who wants to spend Valentine's Day slaving over a hot stove??

The wine you use has to be a good drinking wine. If it's not "drinkable", then don't bother using it for cooking...Here in France, we can buy wine in 10 litre boxes directly from the vineyards and it's cheaper than water!!! There is a little tap on the box, and you just put your mouth glass underneath and press to open!

What I also like, are the outside of the boxes printed with wine-related, famous French quotes!  They are so poetic and romantic...I shall do my best to translate:

"(Wine) It's an admirable masterpiece from that famous poet called the sun" - Victor Hugo

"One evening, the soul of the wine was singing inside the bottles..." - Charles Baudelaire

"Wine, it is time in a bottle" - Denis Diderot

"The tree that drinks wine, loves that we sleep in its shade..." - Robert Desnos

Then again, you don't need to be a French literature buff to appreciate the good stuff inside the box!

I was so inspired by the booze quotes, that I have added my own...

 (If after all that wine tasting you still remember to cook...here's the recipe)


Ingredients:

Preparation : 15 min

Cooking time : 1h45. You can make this in advance and re-heat it on the day. I have found the flavours also improve this way!

For 4 people : If you are only 2 for Valentine's, just cook the lot and freeze the rest

or halve the ingredients.

800 g of diced wild boar or pork,

2 beef stock cubes or homemade beef stock,

2 tablespoons of flour,

2 tbspoons cooking oil,

A little butter,

Salt and pepper to taste

4 tb spoons of silver-skins small pickled onions (optional - I tried this once and thought it added a really nice tangy flavour to cut through the richness of the sauce)

chopped chives to garnish

For the marinade : 3 carrots peeled and sliced, 1 large onion peeled and sliced, 4 garlic cloves peeled and crushed, 1/2 litre or 1 pint of good red wine, 2 bay leaves, 1 clove, pepper corns, the zest and juice of 1/2 orange (I used a tangerine and it works just as well)

How to:

Mix the meat with the marinade and leave in the fridge overnight.

1. The following day, take a large stock pot - Le Creuset,  preferably ;)
2. Drain the meat from the marinade and toss in the flour
3. Fry it in the oil with a little butter just until lightly coloured
4. Take them out of the pan and reserve
5. Get the veg out of the marinade (keep the juices for later) and put them in the pot where you've just cooked your meat with a little more oil.
6. When they are golden, add the meat to the pot.
7. Add the stock cube, the marinade juices and enough water to just cover (or just cover with homemade beef stock and the marinade juices) 
8. Bring to the boil to evaporate the alcohol, then cover and simmer gently for about 45 minutes. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
9. Add the pickled onions if using, and simmer for another 20 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Garnish with chives on the plate.

Serve with mash, rice, potato gratin or anything else you fancy!

Hope you enjoy making this, and let me know if it tickles your taste buds?! :)

Oh, and don't forget to pop by tomorrow, for a great TUTORIAL!!

For your chance to win a fabulous Le Creuset Stock Pot worth $66.95 click here to find how!

Pink is the new black!!!

Lately I have been away from my craft room, (sniff) but with good reason.. I was setting up my brand new Etsy Shop! Yeepee!!

It's harder than it looks, you know?! There is first of all the stock, because what good is a shop without stuff in it to sell? So I had to sort that first.

Then there are the photos of your items to be taken, about 5 shots of each (which means taking about  105 shots to keep the best 5...) so that they convey as much information as possible to the customer, while still looking attractive (a process that can take several days due to poor lighting, formatting issues and lack of photography skills...). 

Then the very important but ever so booooooooring tedious lengthy steps of working out prices (think accountancy spreadsheets, carefully factoring in each raw material's cost, fees, packaging, etc, etc, etc...) and then the setting up of the shop itself!! This means designing a banner, the shop appearance, writting shop policies, setting up payment system, etc, etc, etc...

After all that, I have finally put some items for sale!! But there is plenty more to come....as soon as I can be bothered get the time to do it! (Did I also mention that my little girl is poorly and very clingy at the moment?)

I have some really exciting Party Printables going in the shop very soon, so don't forget subscribe to the blog's email feed to get the latest news first!! :)

Here are some of Bird Crafts Shop current stock:

Actually, not all the stock is pink...but to see more you'll just have to stop by my Etsy shop, won't you?! ;)

I have posted pink because I am taking part in Pink Saturday!

So Happy PS to everyone!!

For your chance to win a fabulous Le Creuset Stock Pot worth $66.95 click here to find how!

Blog Swap with: Making the World Cuter

Today I am swapping blogs with Tiffany from Making the World Cuter! Yeepee!!

Tiff is a really nice, generous friend whose talent I admire a lot, and whose crafts I drool over...I am sure you'll fall in love with her stuff too! So Take it away Tiff, and show these good folks what you're made of :)

Oh, and don't forget to pop over to Tiff's blog to read my post today (There are Valentine goodies to be had!!!)

Bonjour Bird Readers!

I love Bird and all her craftiness, she is a breath of fresh air, and makes me smile every single day!

Let me introduce myself.

I'm Tiffany, you can call me Tiff.

I blog here at Making the World Cuter...

...and I take pictures here at Pumpernickel Buttons. Photography.

I am mommy to three of the cutest little ones on the planet (in my own biast opinion of course).

And I like to do crafty things too!

I post a new tutorial every week, and love to share the fun projects that people share with my on Making the World Cuter Mondays (a linky party to share your stuff with everyone).

Here are a few of the projects I have put up recently...
Burlap and Giant Buttons WreathBurlap Napkin Rings (no not all my projects use burlap...but I do like it)Desktop Calendar and FREE Printable Calendars PDFScrabble Tile Pendants

I've got lots more up my sleeve! Come over and see!
Thanks Bird for having me, can't wait to see what you link up on Monday! :)

Thank you Tiff, I've had a blast!!

And hey, don't forget to enter my fabulous Le Creuset GIVEAWAY!!!  Hurry, you've only got until Feb 13th!!