IM Bacgrounds Text

Tools needed:Enkis here
Tubes here
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This was written in PSP 9 but can be done in other versions.
This idea was given to me by Brenda Manager of Fanciful Images
Tube © Chris Ortega www.chrisortega.com

Open your messtube1
Window, Duplicate and save for future backgrounds.
I have supplied a tube that I used for the example shown, but really the possibilities are endless.
I will show a few other effects at the end of this tutorial.

Open your tube by Chris Ortega
Window, Duplicate.
Delete the text layers on your layer palette
Now duplicate the imag approximately 6 times.
Spread over the canvas until no transparency can be seen.

Layers, Merge Visible.
Effects, Plugins, Enki's, Wallpaper Deluxe

Back to your messtube1 canvas.
With your magic wand, click the white area.
Flood fill with the pattern you just made
Selections, Select None.
Again, using your magic wand, this time holding your shift key at the same time,
click inside the two transparent boxes.

Layers, New Raster Layer
Flood fill with a darker colour from your stripes.
Selections, Modify, Contract by 3

Hit your Delete Key.
Selections, Select None.
Layers, Merge Visible.
Effects, 3D Effects, Drop Shadow

Repeat, this time changing the Horizontal and Vertical settings to -5.
New Raster Layer.
Flood Fill with a lighter colour from your tube.
Move this to the bottom layer

Select your tube,
Copy and paste as a new layer.
Position so you can see them in the boxes.

New Raster Layer
Add your © information, and position this inside the text box

Layers, Merge All Flatten
Save as a .jpg.

To use these with your MSN Messenger:-
Open a message window.
Click the Backgrounds button,
Click Create Background
Browse for your image you have just made.
Ok, Ok.

You can also share these images with your chat buddies.
Click the Backgrounds button again
Click Share Current Background.

Here are a few examples:

This one, I used a texture and the bottom layer was a large vector image.

This one was a blend Add Effects challenge.

Bear in mind when you load these onto your messenger, the text box area does become a lot lighter.