Making Simple Blog Buttons

For anyone who wants to make a button for their blog, I've written some really rough directions to get you started. How to Make a Basic Blog Button in Photoshop 1) To set the size choose: { File > New } and Type in a width of 1.22 inches and height of .44 inches 2) Choose a graphic for your background and open it. Size the graphic { Image > Image Size > Height/Width } Experiment until it looks like you want it. You can use photos, small graphics, pieces or graphics. --To use a piece of another graphic: Click on the Rectangle Tool in the top left corner of the Photoshop toolbar. Draw a box (click and drag) around the portion of the graphic you want to keep. { Edit > Copy }. Either paste this on your button file or paste it on a new file and make it the right size. Then { Select > All } {Edit > Copy} then click on the first file and {Edit > Paste }. Here's a piece of a photo of my Mitred Bag with the section I selected and copied outlined. 3) Now you are ready to do the lettering. Toward the bottom of the toolbar are two boxes, probably black and white. Double click on the front left box and choose the color you want your text to be. Now click on the Type Tool, the one with the big T. In the toolbar across the top of your page you can choose the font and size. Click on your button and type your blog name. This typing can be moved around with the Move Tool that looks like an arrow at the top right of the toolbar. 4) Now flatten your layers: {Layer > Flatten Image} and save: {File > Save As} Type in a name for the button here and choose JPEG image format toward the bottom. 5) Now place your button on your blog! Below is a draft button I did for this tutorial. I am not an artist, so I expect yours to be much better. :) *Tip* To make the view of the image bigger without changing its size, so it is easier to work with: { View > Zoom In } *Tip* There are many things that will enhance the lettering. You can find these techniques under: {Layer > Layer Style > ?? } For ?? choose the look you prefer. Have fun with this and feel free to email me with any questions. These instructions are very rough and will surely need clarifications.