Background image help please?

[makiyakinabe]

I've been trying out different looks for my journal and my latest try involves making an image repeat over and over in the background. The problem is that there are now white bars running down the page and from left to right across the bottom of the page (I think it's got something to do with the layout? maybe?) and since I'm new to CSS, I'm not sure how to get rid of them. Here's an example of what my journal looks like.

Here is my embedded custom CSS (please ignore the < br/ > s, I'm not sure how to get rid of them):

body {<br />background-image: url(https://makiyakinabe.dreamwidth.org/file/6808.jpg);<br />background-repeat: repeat;<br />background-attachment: fixed;<br />background-position: center center;<br />background-size: 50% auto;<br />}

Thanks in advance!