Make a Blog Header!

Welcome Back!  I'm going to break from tradition, and try to...teach you what I learned today!  You might tune out (if you don't blog), or you might ThAnK Me! : ) heehee  I'm so excited.
Ok, did you notice I have a new background and header (thingie at top)?  Well..I have been playing around, and getting a teensy bit better.  I'd really like to pay to get my blog overhauled/redecorated, but I don't even know what I'd like..colors, design, theme, etc.  So, I'm playing around.  I don't think the red, white, blue color scheme would work long-term (if I spend the $, it'll be for a while!), but it's fun for July 4th!
Ok, don't get mad if it's not perfect-I've been working at it for a while, and I'm getting ready to take a class or get lessons.  Wanna take a class with me?  There's one on Friday mornings this fall from 9-12!  Photoshop is kicking my butt!

The Good Part:
Alrighty, here goes:
1-Must have Photoshop (I have Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac).  You can probably use something else, but I can't help you there! : )
2-I put a little Uncle Sam sticker on a red card stock background, and cut around it. (In real life, not digitally)  You could pick any little sticker, shape, words, etc. or totally skip this step.
3-I laid the little outlined Uncle Sam on a piece of basic scrapbook paper, near the center. (again, near the window to get a little shadow)
4-I took a picture (with my camera) of the paper/sticker from about 16 inches away, and used my zoom to get closer-only scrapbook paper in the frame.  (I did it near a window and used a flash, just to get no shine, but a clear picture.)  I did a couple, and did one without the sticker, just in case I changed my mind.
5-Then, I imported the pictures from my camera.
6-I opened them in Photoshop, and clicked Image > Resize > Image Size.
7-Change the resolution to 100 pixels/inch.
8-Change width to 6.5 inches, and height to 3 inches.  (I'm sure you could resize to something else, but this is what I've learned.)   Click OK.
9-You can go to Image > Crop, then drag around the sides to get it just right. (I wanted Uncle Sam to the left, so I pulled the box to the right.)
10-Now, you go to the left hand side, and click on the T (horizontal text tool), then click where you want to type inside the box/picture.
11-At the top of the screen, you can choose a font from your computer (or go to kevinandamanda.com for some awesome free fonts!)  Choose a size that fits, and then make it bigger, center it, whatever you need.  I centered and made mine pretty big.
12-Next, I just played.  I used the shift + 8 (for an asterisk) which was cute, and a huge period (like 72 pt. I think!), and copied lots of them.
13-Ok, to get them moved around (I swear this took me at least an hour to figure out!), click on the top left Move tool (a plus with an arrow-looking thing), double-click it, then move whatever you just typed.  I used this to center the asterisks and periods.
14-You can be done now, or you can keep going (this could go on all day!).
15-I went out to my desktop and played with some pictures of the kids that kinda went with my summer red/white/blue theme (swimming and fun).  To do this, I opened each one, changed the resolution to 100, and made them 1.5 inches tall, and whatever the width (about an inch).  I had to crop to make their heads about the same size.
16-Now, you have to import each one.  Go back to Photoshop, and go to Open > and find your picture(s).
17-It will open the pix big, and your background will seem to be gone (!).  You have to double-click on your background on the bottom work panel.  Now drag the (miniature/moved) little picture from the bottom panel up to the background pic that is now big again.  (use the arrow/+ sign to drag it where you want).
18-Keep playing till you get it just right.
19-Now, IMPORTANT: Go to File > Save As..  Go down to FORMAT: and choose jpeg, change your file name if you want, choose a location, and click OK.  (This is what tripped me up for over an hour-and I was yelling at my computer, but it was me! ha.)
20-Now, go to your blog page, and go to your Design (old Customize if you use Blogger) and Back to Blogger (if you ask me, it was better before they "changed it"!).
21-Add a gadget up at the top, or edit one you already have.
22-Click "remove image" if you already have one, then click "from your computer", and click Browse.
23-Choose your picture (header you just created), and wait for it to upload.  Click "save" and View Blog.
24-Do you see it?  Yay, you did it!
25-if you don't, keep trying.  I repeated this step a billion times.  I had the wrong format (still had .psd, and kept forgetting to change it).


Ok, hope you learned something, and it works for you.  : )  (If it helps you, and you learn-pay it forward, and teach somebody something!)


ps-We saw Karate Kid with the kids, and it was so good.  Such a real look at how we feel when we are out of our element (like me working on this!), and how it changes your life to have someone come along, teach you something (like kung-fu), and then you can integrate and are on top of the world! : )  I'm glad the kids got to see it too.  Clay was on the edge of his seat, and I loved seeing him into it and smiling.  Mary Claire and I held hands at the end during the big tournament scene, and it was good.  I love when the underdog wins.