
Here's an example of a simple banners created with PicMonkey:
Step 1
Go to www.picmonkey.com. It looks like this as of March 2014. You can use the Design feature instead of the collage feature now...but the tutorial is still similar, just skip down to Step 5.
Old Look:
Old Look:
Click on Make a Collage first.
Step 2
In the Collage feature, go to the second box down, called Layouts, and click Ducks in a Row.
Choose the three squares in a row (or whatever you like). And then click SAVE (at the top), (name it something easy to remember, like blankcollage or blankbanner), on your desktop is best and easiest to find for now. (If you would like to use previously edited photographs in your banner, upload them here. Click Upload and drag them to the position you like or wait till Step 6).
Step 3
Click the X in the upper right hand corner of your workbox (shown in Step 5) and that will send you to the start of PicMonkey again. This time you will select Edit a Photo (above where you just clicked Make a Collage). You will be prompted to upload a photo...you will select the collage blank we just saved on your desktop. This will open up and you will have your "template" to work with! Now you can get creative too!
Step 4
This is where I resized the image. You can also do this later when you are saving your final draft.
To resize now, just click Resize button.
Then you can enter the size you'd like your banner to be. I entered 900 pixels by 300 pixels. Remember to click Apply.
Step 5
Adding Text to your banner is super important, as this is your Blog's name and possibly a tagline. To find the text tool, click on the P in the left hand column of your PicMonkey screen. Choose a font and try out different sizes and colors.
Step 6
Overlays are very exciting and add dimension and drama. You get many choices of cute stickers, geometric shapes, symbols, scrapbooky-like elements, and you can even add your own elements by clicking on Your Own - this can be a photograph, clip art, etc. (If you add your own, they must be in a .jpeg format, as they won't upload .png files.) This selection has a crown by it so we'll have to pay for it eventually...use it now!
So play with Overlays and make it your own. Remember to click Apply when you are finished.
Step 7
The last thing I like to do is add a Texture and a Frame...some great options are Rounded Corners, Museum Matte and Simple Edge. Note: some of the options don't work for this size. Just play around until you get the frame you like best. Click Apply.
Step 8
When you're super stoked about your new banner design you can click SAVE and you will be prompted to save to your computer. You may wish to create a new folder titled My Banners and save all your creations in there!
UPDATE: Many of you had questions about a dark gray line/background around your header...you can either save as a .png file (not a .jpg) or use a transparent background now available on PicMonkey).
UPDATE: Many of you had questions about a dark gray line/background around your header...you can either save as a .png file (not a .jpg) or use a transparent background now available on PicMonkey).
Step 9
Then enjoy adding your new banner to your blog (or a test blog)...if you have questions...let us know.
UPDATE: Some of you are unsure how to add your new header to your blog...so here's a quick way to do it. In your LAYOUT, look near the top of all the boxes laid out, and click on the one that has your blog name and says HEADER. This box will appear:
Click the button that says "from your computer" and click the browse button. You will have to remember where you saved your new image (.png)...hopefully on your desktop.
Upload the image in this box...wait till it loads and then click SAVE. View your blog and the header will be at the top of the blog.
If you need to adjust the width of your blog, you will have to go to Template Designer and Adjust Widths until it looks balanced. Good luck!
UPDATE: Some of you are unsure how to add your new header to your blog...so here's a quick way to do it. In your LAYOUT, look near the top of all the boxes laid out, and click on the one that has your blog name and says HEADER. This box will appear:
Click the button that says "from your computer" and click the browse button. You will have to remember where you saved your new image (.png)...hopefully on your desktop.
Upload the image in this box...wait till it loads and then click SAVE. View your blog and the header will be at the top of the blog.
If you need to adjust the width of your blog, you will have to go to Template Designer and Adjust Widths until it looks balanced. Good luck!
Do you feel like a designer yet?
Note about BUTTONS:
You can use this post's simple tutorial to also create your own bloggy buttons!
To make your image small enough to be a button just begin with a blank collage (PicMonkey now has blank pallets available on their site, you can create a custom size as needed) and resize it to the button size you want, such as 150x150 etc.
Check out our new tutorial on How To Make Your Blog Posts Pinteresting Using PicMonkey
and you can use some our Blank Canvases to create your own super images!
Check out our new tutorial on How To Make Your Blog Posts Pinteresting Using PicMonkey
and you can use some our Blank Canvases to create your own super images!
this is absolutely awesome! Thank you so much. I just made one if you'd like to check it out.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly Jo! Thanks for stopping by. What is your blog...we'd love to stop by?
DeleteHey love! Mind checking out my blog The Best In Beauty? I hope you like it and find it interesting(: http://typebeauty.blogspot.com Thank you so much if you stop by!
DeleteI just discovered it this past week and I am with you on it. Pretty great place. I am also enjoying iPiccy. Keep up the great posts! They help me more than you know.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
This is a great help. Thank you so much! Hope you don't mind if I pin it. Do you know if picmonkey has a way that you can save something you're designing as a draft to go back to and work on later. I have a chore chart I want to work on, but so far the only option i know is to save it to my computer, which won't allow me to go back in and edit on picmonkey.
ReplyDeleteSo far, no you can't save...probably will be an option soon.
Deletethank you for sharing these valuable things
ReplyDeleteGreat help! Thank you :) x
ReplyDeleteYay! Glad to help you out with some PicMonkey tutes!
DeleteI think maybe I am not computer savy at ALL. But I am having issues with putting text on my header. Could you please explain further because this is a struggle
ReplyDeleteJasmine, I'd love to help you out. Do you mean text in the PicMonkey banner step 5? Send me an email and I will help you! sarah@blogguidebook.com
DeleteThank you so much! Super easy to follow steps... I've been too intimidated to try PicMonkey, not any more. Look forward to checking out your other posts.
ReplyDeleteExcited to give this a try!!
ReplyDeleteWow - thanks!!!!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic! I just did this. How easy is this? Loving it.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful!! I made a really cute banner, but, wanted to also add a photo to it, but, have no clue how to do this.
ReplyDeleteCan you please help with this? Many thanks!
This is the most helpful tutorial ever! Just finished making my bog banner and I am so pleased with it. Thank you!
ReplyDeletehttp://sydneydoesdiy.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you for posting this! I just made my own blog header! THANK YOU!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.enjoyingthislife.com/
Thank you for your post! I just created my banner for my blog Territoire-infirmier. Thanks a lot!
ReplyDeletehttp://territoire-infirmier.blogspot.com
Thanks soooo much for this! I had no idea PicMonkey existed and I think I'll be using it a lot more to spruce up my blog some. Am new to your blog too btw (via Pinterest) and will definitely be back - you are now in my Fave bookmarks :)
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
http://hksdesigns.blogspot.com
So glad you found it! It's a great resource and very affordable! :)
DeleteJust followed your tutorial and made a new header for my blog, thanks it was really easy to follow and I'm thrilled with my new look!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much...this is just what I was looking for!
ReplyDeletethank you so so much for these tips! so helpful!! i recently decided to create a blog and this was the perfect start up. love your blog!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you've started blogging! You'll have a blast!
DeleteThank you so much for this! I'm quite proud of my cute new header!
ReplyDeletethanks so much for your easy to follow tutorial! I finally able to create my own blog header!
ReplyDeletethank you for this so easy to follow tutorial. I have struggled for so long trying to follow instructions on how to make my own header. With this one it was so simple. I love how i have been able to personalize it so much to fit my style of blog, it's just the thing i have always wanted. Thank you.
ReplyDeletecountrychickbutcitygirlatheart.blogspot.co.uk
wow, this was very helpful, I just re-did the banner for my sight with pic monkey this time. I used paint the first time and it was too plain and excruciatingly time consuming.
ReplyDeleteYes, Paint was annoying for me. Glad the monkey worked for you!
DeletetHANK YOU;, I have had problems with the size of my banner and clarity, this fixed it some what. Take a look.. I appreciate your help, its not exactly what I wanted for width but hey.... its better than the little sq I had..
ReplyDeleteDo you need help resizing? I can do that for you! What do you need?
DeleteAhhh an answer to one of my many blogging questions. Your website is awesome!
ReplyDeleteYay! Good news!
DeleteI am trying to make a banner in Picmonkey following it won't let me save the blank collage. HELP!
ReplyDeleteCindy, you need to save the blank to your computer's desktop, not ON PicMonkey. They don't allow any saving onto their servers. Let me know if you need more help.
DeleteLove this!! Created my banner, but it's too big for my blog. Do I resize the photo, or change the size in picmonkey? Thank you so much!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Deborah you can resize in PicMonkey. Do you know the width you need for your blog? Use that size.
DeleteThank you for sharing this! I am new to the blogging world and this is just what I needed to spruce up my site, I will no doubt be spending lots of time playing around with designs to keep improving. ;) Would love it if you popped in sometime? X
ReplyDeletehttp://cupcakesandcouscous.blogspot.com/
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis tutorial is AH-MAZE-ING!!! Thank you so much it was such a great help for someone who is such a blogger novice!!
ReplyDeletejoiedevivre02.blogspot.co.uk
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletethanks for your information,
ReplyDeletethanks for this one! i'm new to blogging and i think this is much easier than using a photoshop software! I try this on my own blog: http://i101today.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, the only kicker is it isn't free any more :( dang!
ReplyDeleteHi Ang, thanks for your comment. Actually, PicMonkey is still free. You can use all their free tools or upgrade to their Royale features for about $30 per year.
DeleteThanks for the tutorial! I made one for my blog: http://leanandgreenfrugalliving.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial!!! Just did mine!! thanks!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cynthiasnydose.com/
That's a great tutorial.. Thanks :) I just completed my blog header... U made it soo simple & fast !!
ReplyDeleteHow do you add a banner to your blog after you make the banner?
ReplyDeleteSophia did you figure out how to add it to your blog? Go to your Layout and click on the white box near the top that says (header). This will give you the option to upload your .png or .jpg. Make sure and click save.
DeleteThank you thank you thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteI love this! Thank you so much. I'm just having trouble actually putting my photo onto my blog...any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteHa...nevermind! I read the comment just above mine. :)
DeleteThank you sooooo much for this!! I was trying to figure out how to make my own header for the longest. You made it quite simple . :))
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post but I do have one quick question. My banner keeps showing up as grey and not white on my blog and i have no idea how to fix it. Can you help? :)
ReplyDeleteEmail me your blog url so I can take a look. Did you use one of the backgrounds from here to create? Maybe the white isn't white enough?
DeleteMine is grey as well :\ and I cant figure out how to fix it.
DeleteI was looking for just this! Your step by step directions helped me so much! Thank you :)
ReplyDeletefromydesktoyours.blogspot.com
Hello Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI went through your blog here and it is quite interesting how you help us make wonderful headers for blogs.
I have my book blog on wordpress and was wondering if you could help me design a header for my site.
The address is http://acornerfullofbooks.wordpress.com/
Please suggest the best!
-Asha
This was perfect! I've been trying to make my own button using other programs and directions from other bloggers with no luck. Thanks so much for sharing! :0)
ReplyDeleteThis post really helped me, check out my blog? mollymunslow.blogspot.co.uk
ReplyDeletexo
Thank you so much!I will try:))
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!I will try:))
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing was very helpful!
ReplyDeleteXoxo
Teresa
www.chicaffordable.blogspot.com
How do I get the banner on my blog now? I am really not good at following the blogger instructions for adding things to my blog... couldn't figure out where to put the code for tracking stats. Help!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find the 2nd part of the button tutorial. I thought that might give me an idea. :(
actually that was a dumb question. It is done in the layout page not the template page. It's been so long since I changed my blog format I'd forgotten that.
DeleteYou guys made this really easy. So easy that I've done both my main blogs (www.aogstudios.blogspot. com and www.sherola1701.blogspot.com), made a thank you card and transformed my "dead" artwork into some great digital art for print. I couldn't be happier to no I can get a good product without buying Photoshop.... for now. I might get addicted to digital art and then I'm all undone. As it is I am thinking of upgrading at Picmonkey.
Thanks. You guys rock!
Just made one... You're a star!! x
ReplyDeleteBecause of this post I was able to make a banner for my blog. Thank you so much! You don't even know how happy you made me! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://thegoodthebadandthesweaty.blogspot.com/
Iloveeyou SO MUCH! Thank You, you have no idea how helpful it was :) Thank you a million times.
ReplyDeletep.s. Hope You follow my blog too :* thanks again <3
I also made a banner and the background is white everywhere but on the blog itself it is grey. I saved the white blank collage on picmonkey. What could I be doing wrong?
ReplyDeleteMine turned grey too!
DeleteMine too!
DeleteI was in desperate need of help and these instructions were so easy to follow. I am not a techie but I do love my little blog and wanted it to look somewhat personalized. I'm grateful to you sharing your expertise.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this! I made a new sewing header for my sewing blog! You can check it out here: www.MySewingHabit.blogspot.com
ReplyDeletebtw: mine turned grey also on the background, but it's okay since the sides of my blog are grey.
Thanks so much!
-Reyna
this was so helpful thank you xx
ReplyDeleteHi thank you so much for this! I have a problem though... when i upload the header it turns grey when I want it to be white and it is white when i save it to my desktop. I don't understand what I am doing wrong. ahh help would be greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteMake sure and save the file as a .png not as a jpeg.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehi..firstly i want to said thank you very much because for you i can do blog header by my own..by i have a problem.. how can i save my blog header without background.
ReplyDeleteYou go on canvas colour and then click transparent canvas. Had the same problem but then found the button!
DeleteThis is really mind blowing.......I prepared my own header using your tips. Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Didn't have a clue how to make a header and now I do!
ReplyDeleteThis is the BEST and most in-depth blog post I've come across on how to create a header. It took me 10 mins after reading your instructions. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! :)
ReplyDeletePeace & Love!
shannachloe.blogspot.com
This was such a huge help! I just made my new header and I am in love! Cannot thank you enough!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot mate, this is very useful information to the newbie blogger.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this! I just created my first ever header :)
ReplyDeleteHere's my blog-- I know the header is a little strange looking, but it'll do for now!
justtastefulmusings.blogspot.com
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. this was very helpful and easy to follow tutorial :) thanks again
ReplyDeleteThanku- very helpful!
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog post. Your explanation is so awesome regarding adding banner to the blog. I did not try it yet. Hope this would be more helpful to make my blog so elegant. Thank you for providing such as interesting blog.
ReplyDeletethank you so much!!!im gonna try it now and hopefully make a decent blog!if you want check out my latest post on ariasecho.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful tutorial and helped me create a unique and personal header for my blog which has definitely improved its look (well I think so!) would love for you to check it out: http:bonjour-katie.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you! x
Oh my goodness. This is absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteHey if you have time to reply my comment, please do.
ReplyDeleteAfter uploading the header, it will turn out dark. What's wrong? I have followed everything you said. Thank you in advance. x
Make sure and save it as a .png file.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMine turned out gray too :( So dissappointing
ReplyDeleteOK! I figured it out :) ANYONE WHOSE BANNER ENDED UP DARKER WHEN APPLIED TO BLOG: use the "transparent" tool in pic monkey. Your banner will have white and grey squares while you edit but they disappear when downloaded :)
ReplyDeleteI found this so helpful! Really pleased with how it turned out - still getting to grips with blogger but it has made such a huge difference to the appearance of my blog!
ReplyDeletePlease take a look @ http://glass-in-the-park.blogspot.co.uk/
Ashley
Thanks for such a nice and step-by-step tutorial. It kept me engrossed for hours. Finally came out with a lovely banner for my blog. Pls do check it http://nivedithatm.blogspot.in/
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I've been stumped for almost a year!
ReplyDeletewww.denalihetzel.blogspot.com
Love this! I am new to blogging and I'm just wondering how you get it on your blog as the header??
ReplyDeleteI added a quick tip on how to add to your blog. Hope it helps!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU! I've spent way too much time trying to find a way of designing my own header, then trying to add it to my blog on so. This was really clear and easy - I'm really not technical so thank you so much for making such a great tutorial that works.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have fun experimenting :)
Just created my very first blogger header from your guidance, it's been so helpful thank you so much! I would love to hear what you think of mine www.lifeasapetite.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete<a
I finally created my own header (with your instructions), but it's not centered! I've adjusted width, but on the layout I've chosen, it's still to the left a little too much. Any help?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you knew how to add a picture to a blog banner? I've done it before but when I did it in lunapic or picmonkey, I adjusted my picture but it never fit into the spot for the picture like it should. The picture covered some of the banner....it should set back in it and mine sorta sat in front of it...if that makes sense. It supposed to sit there like it's in a frame and mine doesn't. I wasn't sure if you would be able to help me with this. Can you leave me a comment on my blog telling me how?
ReplyDeletetheyarbroughsblog.blogspot.com
Thanks so much.
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ReplyDeleteI have had problems with the size of my banner and clarity, this fixed it some what. Take a look.. I appreciate your help, its not exactly what I wanted for width but hey.... its better than the little sq I had..gambar payudara
ReplyDeleteSo helpful thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I have just discovered this blog but it has been super helpful! I'm from Portugal and I recently started a beauty blog. Even tho most of you may not understand what is written there, I would love if you could check it out and see if you like the header I made using this post's tips.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
http://mylittlecorner7.blogspot.pt/
I just stumbled upon your blog and it is really helpful. Thank you so much. I'm gonna try to follow this tips and make my own header.
ReplyDeletegochummypiggy.wordpress.com
Thank you so much! This really helped me out massively! Now I have my own header :)
ReplyDeleteTilly xx
http://www.justtilly.blogspot.co.uk/
Thank you! This really helped me a lot :)
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ReplyDeleteThis was just what I needed to spice up my blog at www.delightfulstruggles.com. Thanks So much!
ReplyDeleteThank you! this worked so well!
ReplyDeleteOmg......Thank you, Thank you! You've made my life much easier!
ReplyDeleteHow have I not found this site before! You just made making a banner for my blogger blog so easy - planning a new design now! Thanks - and SO happy to have found your site!
ReplyDeleteYay! Thank you very much! I am 12 & just started my own style & fashion blog & this has helped me & my mom figure some stuff out!
ReplyDeleteSo helpful, thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat! (:
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