I keep a personal blog, and I like to have a personalized top banner. Here’s what my blog looks like today. Notice the top banner with the title and picture at the right. I made that using Picasa and this tip will tell you how.
Create a Collage
I used Picasa’s collage feature to make that banner. You might not think to use the collage feature when you’re only working with one picture. That’s why I decided to write this tip. I started by selecting that photo of Jim and me and Odie in front of our Visited States Map. With just that one pictures selected, I clicked the collage button. I set the background to a solid red, and move the picture over to the right side, and create the collage.
Add the Text
Once the collage is done and I’m back at the Picasa library, I use the Text Tool to type ‘Geeks on Tour Blog.’ Using all the text formatting tools, I choose our special ‘geeky’ font (Coolvetica) and set the colors so they look good against the dark red background. After applying that, I add another block of text for the blog description.
Crop and Export
Now I have all the elements I want in my banner, I just need to make it banner-size. So I crop it. And finally, I export it to a separate folder that I use for uploading to my blog.
The export feature allows me to specify a size. The instructions for Blogger header images tell me to make it 910 pixels, so that’s what I specify:
There’s a lot you can do with Picasa’s collage feature … get creative!
Related ‘Show-Me-How’ Videos by Geeks on Tour:
Picasa 3: Basic Edits (membership required)
Picasa 3: Adding Text to Photos (membership required)
Preparing photos for other programs with Export (membership required)
Resizing Photos (membership required)
Picasa 3: Collage (Free)
Create a Picture Frame with Collage (Free)
If you’re not a member of Geeks on Tour, you can join here.
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I was trying to find a way to create a banner image for my blog without Photoshop and here it is. Thanks so much!
I appreciate the tips. I’ve been tweaking wordpress templates to create a unique design, so I think I’ll use these steps to make a banner for my freelance copywriter blog thank you!