{New Header and Blog Design}

I've been working on some style changes here at {A Charming Nest} blog.  I hope you like what I've done!  Please let me know what you think! 

I've gotten some emails and comments asking how I make my blog look a certain way, so I thought I would share with you how I made the new header.  The new header was pretty simple to do (and I'm sure there is an easier way to do all of this), and I was pretty happy with the results.  This is how I did it:

I use Picasa as my picture editing software for all of my photos.  For the header,  I used their "collage" feature to make a collage of images from our home and our blog. Once I got the collage the way I wanted it, I then uploaded it to Picnik.  The great thing about Picasa is that you can just click on the Picnik icon and it will take you right to the website and you can automatically start working on your photo.

This is what Picasa looks like:

I used the "Edit" tabs and re-sized the picture. This is different from cropping, because you won't lose parts of your image, it just makes it bigger or smaller depending on what you need. Do this before you add your text, so the letters won't look blurry in your final product!

This is what Picnik looks like:

Once in I was in Picnik, I went to the "Create" tab and used the effect "HDR-ish" at 100% to give the photos a more vintage look.  I think it makes the collage a little more interesting.

Then I went to the Frames tab, and added the "Museum Matte."  I changed the color to the numbers 334755.  I also changed the inner thickness to 100, so I could add text later.

Then I used the Text tab, and added the "GeosansLight" text in the matte, using the same color #334755.

Once you're finished and have it looking the way you want, save your photo and simply just upload to your blogging host.

***HINT: My header is 978 px wide, which fits perfectly in Blogger for the header image.

***To take a "screen shot" of your computer screen to use, just press Control and the Print Screen/SysRq buttons together.  Picasa will automatically save this as a photo for you to use!

***Please know that I do not get paid in any way from Picasa, Picnik, or Blogger.  These are just programs that I use to edit my photos and publish my blog.