Changes on the Horizon?

Just hang on. I am currently reading tutorials on how to use Photoshop to make your own Blog template. For those of you who don't understand computerese, that means I am trying to figure out how to redesign the look of my blog, without using someone else's design. Not as easy as it may sound. Back in the day (about 14 years ago), I could use enough of the html language to design my own website. But it was simpler then, and of course I have forgotten everything. And a blog has a lot more code, like the columns and links and the like.
I have never been completely satisfied with this layout, as I think the leaves make it hard to read the text, although I do like the yellow tulips.
And if you know me, you know I like change. I hate to stick with the same design all the time. I want to change it, but I want to make it my own design. I want a cleaner look. I want more space for writing and less for all the "fru-fru". I don't get why all the pre-made designs give so little space to the writing and some much more for the links and the like. I thought the main purpose of the blog was to read what I wrote. But then, maybe I'm wrong.
I'd like to get rid of the borders as well. How to do all that? Got me. I mean, I know how to use blogger to redesign some of the elements, but I can only use their layout, of size of columns, backgrounds, etc. I don't want to point and click. I want to make it my own. So I hope to begin to sit down and work through some of the concepts. If they work, then you'll see a new design. If they don't, then maybe my blog will just blow up. (I am, however,  smart enough to make a back up and not lose everything.)
So if my blog has some strange elements or is hard for you to read in the next few weeks, you will now know why, right? I may prove that you really can't teach an old dog new tricks!!!
By the way, the photos are of a couple of blogs I read and like the simplicity of the layout.
Oh, just to add a note, I am reading a terrific new book, published by Cruciform Press. They only publish one book per month, and they chose their publications very carefully. If you follow my Facebook, you've seen a lot of quotes from this book. It's really SO worth reading. It is called "The Organized Heart", which is something I really need. I have read two chapters this morning and I am loving what she has to say so far. This is the quote that really spoke to me in the introduction to the book: "The disorganization in my life was not due to lack of knowledge or skill and it was not due to a problem in my childhood. Rather, it’s a broken belief system: a heart issue, a sin issue. At the end of the day, it’s idolatry."