always good to start the new day with a laugh!

Fabulous new banner!

Thanks, Sue and Sharon! It feels really good to know that some people enjoy it, to make up for those who must be rolling their eyes and groaning, but too polite to say so.

I realized years ago that I would be taking much more gardening wisdom away from forums like this, than I could bring back TO the forum. But clowning and humor, THOSE I know I CAN contribute!

On many topics, I also know that I can contribute to the "what-NOT-to-do" body of gardening wisdom. I'm new enough to having my own garden that I remember many ways that DON'T work.

Like my college's policy of hiring some Teaching Assistants from the people who lamost failed the course the previous year, but then figured it out enough to get a "B". THEY know what it's like when everything the prof says is a confusing blur, and how to reword it so that it makes sense to people who DON'T know the subject yet. Grad students majoring in that subject are NOT the best tutors for newbies. Last year's newbies are the best tutors!

The PhD Nobel Prize winning gardener may know the best answer to advance a fellow expert's skills, but may be unable to explain anything to a kindergartener.

Hey, Rick, I LIKE rolling my eyes and groaning!

We aim to please!

Shoot away!

Soooo...how do you all get the banners the right size? The best I can do in Picasa is 1204 x 152 and they get rejected :(
It wants 1200 x 150 exactly.

I use the gimp for manipulating my images. It has a razor blade tool that you use to cut out precisely the size you want removed. I can make the shape (say, 1250 by 150) and then move the shape around until I get where I want it, then do the "crop" and my banner is ready.

The gimp is freely available for Windows, Mac or Linux.

I've got Gimp! oh, I had Gimp on the old 'puter, gonna have to go get it again. Thanks Dave!
My last attempt at a banner was close at 1200 x 149 LOL!!

Lovely banner!

I will have to try that too, I dropped the ball with a couple more that were good candidates because I grew frustrated with Picasa not getting me to the correct size and I got too busy and distracted to look for another online tool.

Wow is that ever a SUNNY banner!!

I an so technically challenged but I found the area on my laptop for resizing my pictures so I decided to give it a try. I submitted a few for possible banner use but it's real hard for me to tell what they look like after the resizing ... so Dave may fall over laughing when he reviews them!

I need to learn how to use that "Gimp" program.

I've been battling the Gimp program since Dave mentioned it above...nothing yet but a severe headache

threegardeners said:I've been battling the Gimp program since Dave mentioned it above...nothing yet but a severe headache

Uh Oh ... if it causes you a severe headache, it would probably have me hiding under the covers ... I get frustrated easily when it comes to technical stuff!

WOW! GOOD morning! Yow, that's a real wake-up banner, chelle!
There must be a way to do that resizing in Photoshop....I just haven't found it yet!

Lin, it was a very good attempt! But they won't work. Banners shouldn't be resized like that - they will warp and look very wrong. Instead, cut the 150x1200 area out of the existing photo, without resizing. That way the final image looks like the original one, just a small piece of it.

dave said:Lin, it was a very good attempt! But they won't work. Banners shouldn't be resized like that - they will warp and look very wrong. Instead, cut the 150x1200 area out of the existing photo, without resizing. That way the final image looks like the original one, just a small piece of it.

I wondered how it would look and had a feeling it might be all wonky! Some day I might take the time to try to learn to "cut" a photo ... without scissors!

Lin, hats off to you for trying

Just thinking about it makes me break out in a cold sweat