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Matching a patterned background and a side graphic
1. Open a new image 1024 x 400. Open the graphic you want to use. With the freehand tool, (lassoo) make a selection from the middle of the graphic, keep well away from the edges.
2. Click Selections/Convert to seamless pattern.
3. Click on your background strip, click on the bucket tool, in the control panel, (If it's not already open click on View/Toolbars/check control panel/ok) click options, set it up as here,
 making sure that the seamless tile you've just made is selected, then click on your strip.
4. Click on your graphic, Click Edit/Copy. Click on your strip, and click Edit/Past as new layer.
5. With the Mover tool, move the graphic to the extreme left of the strip. Make sure that the graphic fits squarely into the background, like this
6. With the Selection tool set to rectangle make a selection on the graphic, this is going to be your bar.
7. With the Dropper tool, select a colour from the graphic, and spray the bar, and fill with colour. Now select another colour from the graphic, and spray the top and bottom of the bar, like this
8. Click Image/Effects/Cutout and set the box up like this
Click ok.
9. Click on Image/Effects/Drop Shadow, and set the box up like this
click ok.
Have you noticed that I made the bar much too tall for the graphic? There's a good reason for doing this. When the drop shadow, or cutout is applied, it leaves a dark line in the bar which looks horrible. When a drop shadow is applied to the outside of the bar, it will stop short of the true length of the bar (it's in the nature of shadows to be at an angle so it's bound not to meet top and bottom). By making the bar too long, you have to crop it at the same time as when you crop the strip, thereby getting rid of that gap in the shadow, the black line in the bar where a cutout has been applied, and the nasty rolled ends when the buttoniser has been applied. All three of these things stop the bar, and therefore the entire stationery, from being seamless.
One thing to remember with a patterned background, you must be able to write on it - it's not so much of a problem with plain or slightly textured backgrounds, but with a pattern letters are harder to see. So, with the rectangle tool, select from the right-hand side of the bar to the edges of your background (don't lighten the border, there's no need), go to Colours/Adjust/Gamma Correction,
make sure the 'Linked' box is checked, then slide the slides to lighten the background.
6. With the selection tool set to rectangle, select the area where you see the pattern repeat. Remember, if you start the selection at the top of a pattern, you must end it at the top of a pattern.
7. Click Edit/copy. Make a new large image 1024 x 900, Click Edit/Paste as new layer twice.
Move the first layer to the top, and the second layer to join the bottom of the first.
If they don't match, make another selection from your strip, and try again.
When they do match, go back to your strip, click Image/Crop to selection, Click Layers/Merge Layers and save as a .jpg
The finished stationery will look like this
The finished stationery will look like this in Outlook Express
I hope this step by step has been of use to you.
There are more help files on my
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