I have a confession to make: I’ve always wanted a Bedazzler.

There’s a reason I hadn’t purchased one. If I did, everything in my life would be bedazzled. My clothing. My blankets. My curtains. My cat.

Let’s just say that it’s a situation that would not end well.

The point is that I’m a huge fan of accessorizing. I love things that sparkle and glitter, and I love showing off my personal style. If you see me at BlogWorld Expo this year, you’ll likely notice that I’m wearing something that I’ve either modified or made myself.

And if you visit any of my blogs, you’ll notice that I like to modify there, too.

Over the past five years, I’ve talked myself to hack WordPress themes through trial and error. It isn’t always pretty, but I’ve learned how to slice together multiple themes to make the exact theme I want. This isn’t just about themes though – I like my sidebars, posts, pages, and more to reflect the exact style I want for whatever blog I’m working on. Just like I like my outfits to be perfectly styled to my taste, I like my blogs to be…well..bedazzled.

I’ve come across a number of tools over the last several year to help make that happen as easily as possible. Sure, you’re still going to have to get up close and personal with your css and php files if you true want to stylize your blog, but these tools, widgets, buttons, and more go a long way in helping you create the perfect blog style.

(Most can be used across a number of platforms, though some are specifically for WordPress)

RSS Buttons

1. RSS Button Maker
2. Adam Kalsey’s Button Maker
3. Online Marketing Blog’s RSS Button Tool

Twitter and Facebook Buttons

1. Social Media Buttons
2. Buttons Hut
3. 100+ Twitter Icons and Buttons (from various designers)
4. SociableBlog.com
5. Web2gfx

Other Social Networking Buttons

1. Digg Button
2. JPF Add to Reddit
3. Share This
4. Sociable
5. Socializer Plugin

Load Graphics Generators

1. Ajax Loading Gif Generator
2. Ajax Load

Music, Pictures, and Video

1. Flixn – webcam streaming (currently unavailable, projected to be back late 2010)
2. Flickr Flash Photo Stream Badge
3. TubePress – create a YouTube gallary
4. BlinkxIt – embed videos
5. Scissors – simple image editing
6. Facebook Photos
7. ImageShack Uploader
8. WP Wetfloor – creates a reflection effect for pictures on your blog
9. iTunes Spy – shows recently played songs

Weather, Clocks, and Maps

1. iBegin Weather Widget
2. ClockLink
3. Google Map Widget
4. ClustrMaps.com

Graphs and Charts

1. Create a Graph
2. XML / SWF Charts

Show Off Your Stats

1. PageRank Button
2. del.icio.us Tagometer
3. WP-UserOnline
4. Alexa Rank

Communication

1. 3Jam – receive messages to your cell phone without giving out your number
2. Skype Button
3. IM Online – shows you IM status across a number of services
4. Shout Box

Poll Creation

1. Poll Daddy
2. Poll Code
3. Vizu
4. WP-Polls

Form Creation

1. Web Form Factory
2. PHP FormMail
3. Wufoo

Favicons

1. Favicon.cc
2. 256pixels
3. Web Script Lab Favicon Generator
4. HTML-kit Favicon

Make Money

1. Create an Amazon store
2. ebay Sales Lister

Other Ways to Bedazzle

1. LibraryThing – show the latest books you’ve been reading
2. WP-PostRatings – allows readers to rate your posts
3. Gravatars – displays gravatars with comments on your blog
4. Netflix – display your Netflix queue

At the time of publishing, there were 55 ways to bedazzle your blog on this list. Leave a comment with your favorite tools, and I’ll update the list to include even more awesome ways to make your blog shine.