Make Your Own Low-Tech Blog Header/Banner

First and foremost this post is my 200th post....
So Happy 200th Post-a-Versary to me!  

I have gotten a few compliments and comments on my new blog header, so I thought I would share with you how to make your own.   For those of you who know me and have followed me for a while you probably know that I hate to pay for anything I can figure out how to do myself, because at heart I am a consummate cheapskate......

That being said I wanted one of the cute blog headers that are popping up all over with the illustrated woman (that looks way better than I ever could).  I wanted to find a woman who was working in her kitchen, who at least had the same hair and eye color as me.

Now I am not a computer guru, but I am persistent which I attribute to my Blog OCD.  I searched high and low to find something that was low cost, but I didn't even know what this style of design was called.  There were some freebies out there that various designers had available, but most of those would not allow me to make any modifications and the headers were usually a small part of a "Free Blog Theme".  I like the look and theme that I have so I didn't want to pursue that option.  Not to mention that using someone else's free design leaves me at their mercy should they decide to pull their free offer.

Finally I remembered using Dreamstime in the past - they have both "free" and "for purchase" images!  I logged onto Dreamstime and did several different searches using key words like Kitchen, Cooking, Recipes, etc. (make sure that you click Illustrations only, otherwise you will have photographs show up too).   I finally found the image I wanted and purchased it.  The purchase level that I choose allows me to make changes and use it in my own blog or other applications....there was also a much more expensive option if I had wanted to use the image in a design that I planned to sell.  I choose the smallest most inexpensive image I could, because even the smallest was more than suitable for my needs.  I am not a designer so I only have Paint, Publisher and Power Point on my computer.  I used a combination of Paint and Publisher to come up with my Blog Header, my Button and my Facebook Page Image.  I used paint to create the background behind the "Welcome to KL's Cupboard" text, but I used Publisher to marry everything together.

My total cost for my updated look was less than $9.00.  I am so happy with the results!   Let me know if you decide to give it a try - I would love to see your results!