As everything else on this blog, I've switched up the bottom of my posts pretty frequently-- 

it's usually been some variation of links parties I participate in, social media icons, 

and/or a brief, friendly thanks for stopping by!

There are lots of ways to utilize the bottom of your post, and today I'm going to cover a few of the FAQ's I get about mine.

Before I get to some of the specific questions, here's a step-by-step for installing anything into your post footer-- once you install anything, it will automatically come up in all of your post unless you go back and delete it.

1. Anything you want to install other than text needs to be in HTML form.
2. Go to your DASHBOARD --> SETTINGS --> FORMATTING --> POST TEMPLATE
3. If you're wanting to add something to the bottom of the post, type in </br> </br> </br> first, and then paste your HTML code after. This way, you have a couple of lines of space to start your post when you go to write a new one.
4. Save!

1. How did you get all of the blog party buttons so nice and neat under your post?

My answer: painstakingly.  

 I'd do it differently if I were doing it all over again!
Here are a couple of different ways I've thought of...

METHOD #1: Use Picmonkey Collage

• Visit the different blogs you regularly link up to (and I'd limit this to only the blogs that require you to have their button in your post-- most of them don't!) and save the image of their button to your desktop.
• Once you have all the images saved, open up a new collage in Picmonkey (Yes! They offer collage now!)
• Select "ducks in a row" (or another layout if you see one you like better), and upload the button images. Arrange the images in the collage.
• Save to desktop and resize to be small enough to fit in your post (this sample one is 600px).
• Create an image URL, and map it to the appropriate blogs using Image-Maps. (click links for tutorials on doing both of those).

Here's how it would look (mine's not linked up)...

• Grab the code from Image-Maps and scroll up to installation.

METHOD #2: Use Inlinkz (easiest to do, easiest to edit) 

• Create an account with inlinkz.com. You get one free image collection with inlinkz, so you don't need to pay for the subscription if this is the only reason you're signing up with them. (If you're planning on hosting link parties, you'll need a subscription!)
• Create a collection (I won't be going over how to use Inlinkz in this tutorial, but it's easy to figure out). Keep the images small, but add enough columns to stretch the width of your post (you don't want 5 rows of link party buttons going down your post!). For example: I know that 5 columns of 125px images fits nicely in the width of my post. So, if I were doing this, I'd estimate making my collections images about 50px and 12 columns across. You can play around with it some, since you can always go back and edit the collection.
• Add all of the party links/buttons and then close the collection (otherwise PEOPLE WILL ADD THEIR OWN LINKS!).
• Grab the code for this collection and scroll up to installation.

METHOD #3: Create individual Image URLs and links.*

• Save the blog buttons images to your desktop and resize all of them to be a uniform, small size. Create an image URL for each one.
• Create an image link for each one by using this code:<a href="LINK URL"><img src="IMAGE URL" border="0" /></a>
• Copy and paste each code, side by side into the post template box (scroll up to installation).

*When I first started asking other bloggers how they were able to do this, Vanessa from Nifty Thrify Things said that she simply copy and pasted the button codes into her post and was able to adjust the size and arrangement of them in her HTML code. I wasn't able to do that, but just know-- there may be an even easier way out there!

2. How Do I Install "Permanent" Social Media Buttons At the Bottom of My Post? 


If you're wanting to add Social Media Buttons meaning: a Sharebar which would allow other people to share your post to on their social media accounts...

• I recommend using addthis.com. I can't say I think their sharing gadget looks the best or has all my favorite options-- but they're pretty good, pretty easy to install, and-- most importantly-- I haven't experienced any major technological glitches using this one.
• Sharethis.com has a prettier format that I would really prefer to use (and they have a pin it button!), but I experienced some serious malfunctions with this gadget a couple of weeks after installation. I installed it on several of my design clients' blogs as well-- about half of them had the same problems I did, half of them had no problems. So it seems to be about a 50/50 chance!
• Sexy Bookmarks is another great looking and functional one, but (to be totally honest here) I haven't been able to successfully install it yet. If you figure it out-- let me know!

All of these share bars are gadgets, so you won't need to install them into the post template. 

If you're wanting to install YOUR OWN social media icons (that link to your profile/pages), simply follow the instructions in this tutorial for creating your own social media icons, and install that code into your post template.


3. Other Ways to Utilize the Bottom of Your Posts:

• Install your profile picture and a brief bio
• Include links to your most popular posts
• Download the Linkwithin gadget to direct people to related posts
• Direct people to you "Party Page" with links to all the parties your participate in
• Direct people to other features on your blog (for example, I try to direct people to my Ziplist Recipe Box)

Remember, you can use Picmonkey and an Image URL to create pretty much any graphic you want! Have fun making your posts pretty!

I loathe carrot cake. Like, a lot.

Which really isn't a huge deal in my life. 

I just don't make carrot cake.

Except in June. Wretched month that it is.

June brings Father's Day and my husband's birthday.

And his favorite dessert is carrot cake. Of course.

Sometimes I just ignore him and make what I want to make anyway.

But now that he's a father and has two holidays in one month, I feel pretty obligated to make what he wants for at least one of the two days.

And guess what-- I think I've solved the problem. I made a carrot cake that I like.

I made a carrot cake that I can't stop eating.

Let's just say I ate more of his birthday cake than he did, mmm k?

Things that make this carrot cake a must-make-today recipe:

Layers of no bake cheesecake made with Philadelphia's White Chocolate Indulgence cream cheese.

Caramel, caramel, caramel!!

Did I mention the White Chocolate Cream Cheese??

 Caramel Carrot Cake and White Chocolate Cheesecake Trifle

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Ingredients

• Baked and cooled carrot cake, box mix is fine
• Caramel Sundae Sauce
• 2 c. pecan pieces
• 8 oz. Cool Whip
• 1 lb. Philadelphia White Chocolate Indulgences cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Using a hand mixer, whisk together the cream cheese and the sugar until smooth and creamy.
2. Blend in the cool whip, salt, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set mixture aside.
3. Cut the carrot cake into 1" squares. Place 1/3 of the squares in the bottom of a trifle dish. Drizzle caramel over the cake (I like a lot, so I probably used 1/3 c. here, but you could use less).
4. Spread 1/3 of the cheesecake over the cake and sprinkle with 1/3 of the pecans.
5. Repeat layering, ending with the cheesecake and pecans on top. Drizzle with some more caramel! Chill for at least an hour and serve!

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