Make it for Monday #19

Welcome!  So happy you could Make it 4 Monday!  My entry is the following tutorial on how I make my signatures and headers. Gina from Three Ring Cottage had asked me about how I did my signature below my posts.  I figured it might help others too.  I sorta learned by trial and error, myself.  But I like change and keeping things fresh, so I'm all about playing with pictures :)

First, find a picture for your background.  I've used my own and pinched them from other places around the web who offer their stuff for free.  My current picture (and header) comes from Banner of Blessings.  Just download it to your computer.

I use Picasa to play.  It's free and it's not complicated.  I sometimes use Photobucket too.  I use that mainly if I want to make the picture a particular size, say for a button, or to post a picture on my sidebar. Anyway, in Picasa all I do is click on the picture I want to use. That will bring up a page with the picture on the right, and a menu on the left with three tabs.  The first is Basic, and includes cropping, color adjust, red eye, and text where you can play with fun fonts and colors.  I like 1001 Free Fonts to find ones I like and download them to my 'puter.  Did you see the 'free' in there?  I'm all over free, girls.

So for my signature, I downloaded this picture from Banner of Blessings:

Put it in My Pictures file which automatically adds it to Picasa on my computer.  Open Picasa, click on the picture you snagged and start playing.  I cropped it, and added the text using my two favorite fonts (Poor Richard and Rage Italic) to get this:

You can change the color, size, angle....tons of fun.  Here's the signature I used previously, which was a shot I took myself (it was also my original banner, at the very beginning):

In Picasa I used the third tab labeled Effects, and first turned the shot 'black and white', then hit 'warmify' (I like to use them together as I think it looks more natural than a straight 'sepia'), then used a touch of 'glow' then 'soft focus'.  This is how I did most of my pictures on the blog up until a couple months ago....now I crop if needed, use the middle Tuning tab to give it a touch of warming. Then I go back to the first Basics tab and add the text.  See?

My previous bird's nest header was done the same way, but I used the 'focal black and white' along with the other stuff I mentioned above.  Here's the original with a bit of warming and soft focus:

And here's after I played:

I use this all the time.  My 'email me' button is another example.

Now my current banner I actually made into a collage so I could get more specific with width and getting the shadow effect.  I found a fantabulous tutorial on how to use Picasa to make a banner collage for your blog's header on Clover Lane.  In fact, I've used it to make a banner for my newest blog (which is a private blog for now).  But here's the banner I made for it:

Aren't the colors pretty?  I will have more to say about that blog another time....

Here's a banner I downloaded from the cutest blog on the block.  I picked the background template, and added the coordinating banner.  Then I added the text:

So, there ya have it, my tutorial on signatures and banners.  Aren't ya glad I could Make it 4 Monday?  Let me know if I need to clarify anything.  I admit I have to ask my computer geek hubby to help me alot.  Maybe he can field questions too :)

Now how 'bout some awesomeness from last week's party:

Eclectic Thrifty Chic

A Day in the Life

Goodbye, House! Hello, Home!

Le Chateau des fleurs:

Bird and Berry:

The Painted Hive:

Junkblossoms:

Urban Whyte:

She Endeavors:

The Lemon Cottage:

House of Hepworths:

Tales of a Golf Gal:

Here's MckLinky.....Make a post about something you made for your home and be sure to include either my button or a link back to here somewhere in your post.  It gets you double points.  Not there there's a prize or anything. :)  Then post that URL in MckLinky and have fun visiting everyone else!