Grab a Sidebar Badge

For school today, Kitten experimented with the (free!) photo-editing program GIMP and created this fantastic sidebar badge for our homeschool co-op blogging class graduates.

How To Add a Sidebar Badge

Of course, this original image is too big to put in a sidebar, so Kitten saved it as a smaller size button that will fit perfectly. To see it in action, scroll down to the bottom of my right-hand sidebar, below the blogrolls.

Here’s how to add it to your blog:

1. On your Dashboard sidebar, click on Appearance and then Widgets.
2. Find the Text widget in the list. They’re alphabetical, so it’s near the bottom.
3. Click and drag the widget to your sidebar.
4. Then copy and paste in the following HTML:
   <a href="http://blogging2learn.wordpress.com/blogging-lessons/"><img src="http://blogging2learn.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/sidebar-blogging-class-img-small.png" alt="Ima Blogging Class Graduate" title="Blogging Graduate Badge" width="125" height="173" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1375" />
5. If you put more than one sidebar badge in your widget, you may want to click the Automatically add paragraphs box to make a small space between them.
6. Remember to click Save!

Get More Badges!

Many bloggers have fun collecting blog badges (sometimes called “buttons” or “awards”). You should put them near the bottom of your blog, so they don’t distract readers from the more helpful sidebar items. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Homeschooled Kids Carnival Buttons
• Join the Blogoverse Official Tour 2010. (Be sure to add all the other participants to your blogroll!)
• Did you finish NaNoWriMo? Post your winner’s badge.
• Try NaBloPoMo. There’s a new one every month.
• Download a copy of GIMP (or use Photoshop or another graphics program) and make your own!

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