Blog design, need some feedback/help!

Well, there it finally is! (go to my blog if you aren't reading it from there) My very own custom made blog design! I'm happy to have personalized my blog at least a little bit. I'm not completely done, but I was getting really tired of looking at the "out-of-the-box" design I had going on. And I've been working on it for over a month and really wanted to show it! I really didn't think it would take me so long to get it together, but, yeah... Well, I did most of the graphics the first week back in December, during my study breaks.

I LOVE my header, and I hope you do, too!! Please, please, please let me know what you like or don't like about my blog design! I also love my social media buttons, it's so cute! Is it too much? But at the same time, simple and elegant isn't my style, either. But if you hate it, I totally won't be offended, everyone has their own taste.

Ok onto the help part.

The part that took me so long, and in the end I still haven't figured out, is for a menu bar under my header. See, someone pointed me to The Blog Design Network and the first post I saw was how to use CSS image sprites, to have images change at hover. Sure it might be a little advanced, but I just loved the idea so much, and for me it really doesn't matter how complicated it is, if it does what I want it to, I will learn how to use it.

So that's how I designed my social media button image. For some reason, it looks a little wonky (the first button, Facebook, is a little higher than the other 2, and also there's a green dotted line above the other 2, have no idea why it's doing that). But at least it works, and I can like with a bit of wonkyness.

I also designed a menu bar with the same technique/code, but for some reason it just won't work in blogger. I mean, I test it out in a visual editor, and it looks just like I intend it to, but when I put it in a widget, which I position under my header, there is nothing. I really am at a loss of why it will not work. I've found an other way of doing it (still trying to figure out how to add the last image so it doesn't jump to the next line, that's why there's a gap), but if I could get the css sprite way to work, I'd rather have that. I tried asking for help on the Blogger forum, and on the post's comments, but no one is responding. I'm hoping that maybe someone will read this and know what is wrong. Please help me!

I'm probably still gonna tweak it, still want to make a post separator, signature button, put a picture of myself (IF I can get a decent one! I seriously do not have many), but you get the picture. Also, not liking my button, I feel completely uninspired for it (unlike the rest: background, header, social media buttons), or it's not coming out well when I do have an idea. Ok, nevermind, I just tweaked it and am now satisfied, maybe even like it now.

I realize I still have a lot of work to do, but I also desperatly need help for the menu bar, and so this is my cry for help! And a little update.

I actually have quite a few posts in the works, that I have the pictures for, but yet have to edit them and write it. I feel so overwhelmed with house work since I finished my exams (also spent the holidays away), and that is coming first, but I'm almost done, and so you should see more posts from me by next week (there I said it, must keep my word!).