How to create a blog header with a transparent background (using PicMonkey)

Happy Friday, yall!

I’ve been working on my blog design for the past week or so, and I came across a total game-changer yesterday! This is too good not to share.

I’ve seen so many tutorials on how to make fabulous blog headers using pictures or backgrounds, but I really wanted something simple and white—and seamless! I can’t tell you how many white rectangles I downloaded for my header and I could always see the border against the white background of my blog. They never looked crisp and clean.

I saw this tutorial on A Typical English Home yesterday which introduced me to PicMonkey. I love the tutorial and website, but I don't want pictures in my header, so I started doing some hunting around the site. I found this blog post from their site on tips and tricks, and one was transparent backgrounds—bingo!

This tutorial is really easy and makes for a sleek looking blog header.

Start by clicking “Create a collage” on the homepage.

Select “Create your own” at the top. It will have one square that fills the entire area.

Go to the background tab by clicking the paint tray on the bottom left.

Check the box next to “Transparent background." The image box should turn gray to match the background of the website.

You can save this for later use, so you don’t have to repeat these steps if you want to make another header, buttons, page tabs, etc.

After you save it, it will take you back to the main screen so you can continue working. Press the edit icon.

You can start by adding whatever you like. I started with text, the P icon on the left.

Add your text. Change the fonts on the left and the colors and sizing on the right.

 If you want to add another text box, just click “Add Text” again at the top left. If you want your text to have the same exact color, write down the number in the top right and type it in that area in your next text box.

There are tons of extras that you can find in all the tabs on the left. I wanted a seal around my monogram, so I went to the word bubble tab right below text and found what I wanted in the “Nautical” section.

I changed the color to match my blog design. The inside of many of the shapes is white, which shouldn't be a problem if your blog background is white. Right click the object and send it to the back, so your wording shows up on top.

Arrange everything how you want it.

At this point your image is a square. Most blog headers are a rectangle, so you can go back to the top atom looking icon and crop your image to a rectangle.

You can also rezise in this tab by clicking the resize button at the bottom. I resized mine to 900 pixles, but it will depend on the width of your blog. You can edit your widths in the blogger template. Make sure the box next to “Keep Proportions” is checked (it should be automatically checked).

 Save your new image by clicking the save button at the top.

Upload your new header to your blog, and you’re done! 

You’ll notice that the colors changed a little bit. That’s because in the editor everything has a shadow, but when you save you image, the shadow disappears and your image will be flat and crisp!


Linked to:

The 36th Avenue

da big bag and da font

Several months ago I saw this DIY "big bag" tutorial and have been itching to get down to Ikea ever since [but who wants to drive all the way to 610 and I10?? Mom.] I found our "as is" area to be quite a disappointment--pretty much Christmas stuff and banged up furniture. I did find this pillow cover for just $6 in the pillow section. Not as cool as the couch cushion, but it has a similar shape and a zipper, so it will do! I used an old top sheet of a faux burberry sheet set I bought on ebay a couple of years ago for the handles and casing across the front. 
**Disclaimer: This project contains SEWING! I can't sew, but I had a blast with my mom learning the basics and it's not too bad! I have actually already found several other sewing projects that aren't so intimidating now that I have a little experience.

Make no mistake, this bag is HUGE! You could easily conceal a medium sized dog, or everything needed for a sleepover. I can't wait to put mine to work!

Also, have you guys heard of the website dafont.com?? You can find the best fonts here and download them FO FREE to your computer! They show up in all programs that have a "font" bar including the booksmart program from blurb! I realize this might sound a bit like those spam facebook wall posts, but this is the real deal. They have almost all movie fonts [perfect for a theme party!] and a massive index of different kinds and styles of fonts. Here is a sample of the ones I recently downloaded:

My favorite? Sunshine in my soul. But it's a close race with all of them. 
One more thing: It's no secret that I am not very tech savvy [good thing my daddio and brudder are!], so this may be common knowledge, BUT you can save a powerpoint slide as a PICTURE! I just did it for the font "image" above! Imagine the possibilities.
Last thing, really: I was in my advisors office today for 3+ hours working on a grant proposal and she mentioned that using parentheses is her "typing tick." I'm thinking we have that in common.