Personalizing the journal and making your own background isn't too hard - more time consuming than anything else. If you're anything like me, once you've decided on a journal style, then you'll piddle around with the colors, the wording, and the pictures you use. It took me a couple of days of fine-tuning before I settled on the look of my journal.
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As for mood icons, it's a bit more extensive. I'm currently working on my own, but here's where you go to learn how: http://www.livejournal.com/doc/html/moodicons.html#diytheme#diytheme
Good luck, and have fun! :)
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