Collage Pics...

Tehehehe, I wonder how clever you will think I am after I reveal my magic collage technique...!

We have been very blessed in the computer department. Both my husband and I had computers from studying and when we got married it meant we had a few parts. Both the computers we were using we very old (I bought mine for less than $100 in 2000, it was old then! I think my Hubby had his given to him for free about the same time), but a computer savvy friend pulled them apart, as well as some other old parts we we given, and put them together into something a bit better. That did ok... not great. Then another friend gave us his old computer for free when he got a new one, so we jumped from a 586, to a Pentium 1, and that was exciting, and now due to a few more parts, its a little better still!
Anyway, the point of my rambling, is that the programs we have are only what happens to be on the computer. When we got given the Pentium 1, it had Kodak easyshare on it (I don't know whether this is a standard thing or not? Maybe you can download it?), and my all time favourite program:- PAINT!
It's funny actually, we were given a canon camera for Christmas and birthday present combined from my parents, but the programs won't run on this computer cos it is too old. So I actually save everything as paint pictures, and use Kodak for some editing!
So that's my secret people, I use paint to make my collages. I did learn however that if I edit my images using the Kodak easyshare program and save them in size as "best for web" they all turn out roughly the same size, and that makes it much easier to use. Also saving them as jpeg instead of bitmap in paint makes them easier to upload to blogger.

So, here are my tips for making a easy collage:
1. Save you image first. I save all my images in paint on their own, cos that way if I make a mess I still have the pic somewhere easy.
2. Make sure the image is the size (or close to it) that you want, as it is hard to adjust them without squishing.
3. Use the edit menu, and select "paste from" to find your image, or simply cut and paste.
4. Position it exactly where you want it before you do anything else, cos it becomes harder to move things around after you click off it.
5. Save often. That way you have something to go back to if disaster strikes!
6. Save as jpeg, better for net and blogger. (at least for me)
7. HAVE FUN!!

To demonstrate, I made a collage of wedding pics, very simple, took just a few minutes but saved 20 minutes trying to download separate pics to blogger!
So my advice, is go play! If you have never even heard of paint before, it is a standard feature (on IBM's at least), found usually in your Start; Programs; Accessories menu, next to things like the calculator etc.