Here is  a tutorial on how to make you own blog banner in MDS (My Digital Studio).

Ok, Here we go...open your MDS and choose Multiple Output Options.

Choose the size paper you want to use. This one we will do in MDS on a 8.5" x 11".

I chose the Create You Own Option. If you want to use some of their pre-made ideas you could go to Designer also.

Next it will ask you to name your project and where to keep it. I keep all of my work on an external hard drive since I work back and forth between my laptop and my desktop. That way all of my projects are in the same place.

Then you will have the options of a blank or they will give you a variety of layouts. I choose blank page since I want to start with a fresh canvas.

In order for me to keep my back page blank and create the banner I want in the size that I want I will use the square punch to create my background.

Once I have my square punch stretched to the size that I want it (7" wide x 2" high) I can go ahead and click the paper fill button. If you fill the punch and then stretch it your pattern will be distorted.

I have decided to make this one a Christmas background to match the background I did earlier. I'm using Designer Kit/ Christmas Jingle Paper 2. For the Banner I want a mating around the edge so I click on Mat.

Since the default color is black and I want to use Chocolate Chip I will need to change that also.  Above the change button is a slider where you can choose how thick of a mat you want.

Now that my size is right, my image is filled and I put my border or mat on I am free to move the banner to the center of the paper. It will make it easier to work on for me.

So now I need to decorate.  I have decided to bring in another punch and I wanted to use the Photo Corner punch. They come in in a gray color.

So I put it on the banner where I wanted it and clicked the fill color button.

Since I do not want it flat on the banner so I have decided to click the drop shadow button which causes this to open.  You can decide how much of a shadow you want in a percentage and you can also drag the shadow in the red image box to adjust how ever you want it.  You can even change the color of the shadow in this option.

Now I need to add another punch to be able to write the title on.  I have chose the Modern Label Punch.

It comes in actual size and I want to make it bigger so I grab one of the corners and pull it out to the size I want it to be.

After I have it the size I want it and the place I want it I am going to change it to the color I want it with the Fill Color option.  I went with Very Vanilla to match the background I will be putting this with.

I also added a mat to the punch where I am going to add the text and I added a drop shadow.  Next I am going to add an embellishment.

I want to add a couple of Real Red brads.  I know here I have clicked the Riding Hood Red, but I did end up using the Real Red.  Since I wanted 2 I changed the quantity to 2 before I hit Apply and then Close.

So here are the 2 little brads that will be dragged and dropped into the right place.

Next I am going to add some Text.  So I click on the add text button and...

 a text box will pop up in the middle of the screen.  On the side you can change your font, size, alignment, color etc.

One of the things you cannot do, that I would like, is to mat your fonts.  So I am going to add this ion here. 

Click on the font you have just made the way you want it to be (make sure you have the size, font and color all set before you do this process.)

Next you can go to the top and click (where the first arrow is) the copy button.

Then I am going to go over 2 buttons. The first button with paste the image you just copied off a bit but we want our image exactly on top of our one we copied.

Now that the title is the way I want I am going to add a subtitle in smaller words. 

I have now added a couple of snowflake punches.  I have made them the size I wanted, filled with the color I wanted and added a drop shadow so that they do not blend in with the paper.  I have also decided that I want to add some stitching to the Photo Corner Punch.

So first I have rotated it so it is up and down.  Next I am going to click on it.  I did not discover this on my own.  I actually saw someone else post it concerning shortening ribbon.  I am sorry but I do not know where it was.  So thank you to whomever discovered this!!  If you double click in the stitching it will pop up this little box.  You may need to play with the numbers a bit but this will shorten it with out distorting it.  I did have problems doing this on my desktop with Windows XP but have no problems with it in Vista.

You need to make sure you unclick the Keep Proportions box or the image will not just shorten in length but height too. Place it in the position and you are ready to go.

 So here is my completed banner in MDS.

Next you will need a photo editing program. I use Microsoft Picture It 10 (or now called Digital Imaging). So I brought in my JPEG blog banner. I am going to go to my crop image option here.

I am going to crop everything outside of my 2"x 7" area off.

You will need to make sure that your image held it's size. If it does not you can either re-size your image so it does (but watch your pixels) or create a blank 2" x 7" canvas and place your blog background to fit on that.

After your image is how you want it to be you will need to save it as a JPEG. (Remember where you put it :) )

Here is the complete blog banner. 

Off to blogger we go. Now I have an extra blog (why not, they are free) to store images and play around with codes. So I'm going there.

On your blog page you are going to want to click Customize in the navigation bar in the upper right hand corner of Blogger. It will take you to the following page.

On the top of your page is your header, click Edit there. 

From here you can  upload your banner from your computer.  You will need to unclick the Shrink to Fit box (if your banner is the right size) and make sure you have clicked instead of title and description.  If you leave it on Behind Title and Description the Title of your blog will be put there by Blogger and will be on top of your created banner.

You are all ready to hit Save and then view blog to see how your new banner looks.

So here is the new banner that I have created. I hit F11 so I could show it as a full screen. I hope this has helped those who want to create their own blog banner with MDS but did not know where to start. If you have any questions feel free to ask!!

Don't Forget to check out the Blogger Background Tutorial