3.  Click on the title bar of the tube (the top portion) to select it.  Press SHIFT and D to duplicate the image.  Do this twice.  You will have 2 copies now.  Close out your original.  (Always work from copies, so as not to mess up your originals)

4.  Select one of your duplicate tubes.  Now we are going to crop a portion of this tube that you want to use to as your fill in your name tag.  This is what I cropped from the tube I am using.

5.  Once you have cropped the tube, LAYERS > MERGE > MERGE ALL (FLATTEN).

6.  Resize your cropped tube so that it is a perfect square.  This seems to give you a better look.  Select IMAGE > CANVAS SIZE.  The Change Canvas Size dialog box will appear.

As you can see, my original cropped image that I am working with is 80 x 72.  I am going to make it 70 x 70.  Normally I would have both of the "center image" boxes checked.  But in this case, I want to crop out some of that white on the left side from the fairy's dress.  Use your own judgment, play with the settings (remember, that is why we have UNDO!  I use it often myself).  This is what my resize image looks like:

7.    Now go to EFFECTS >PLUG-IN FILTERS and locate SIMPLE.  Select QUICK TILE.  There are no settings to adjust, which makes this "simple".  When you selected Quick Tile, this dialog should come up with a preview of your results.

8.    Click on APPLY.

9.    And you should have an awesome result like mine, that will not have any seams when you use it.  This is my result.

Can you see the difference between the 2?  Maybe, but not completely.  Take a look at these 2 examples.  The one on the left was made from our "raw" cropped image.  The one on the right was made from the image we resized the canvas to make it a perfect square and then applied the Quick Tile filter.  Big difference eh?  Those seams make a great tag look lousy.  Quick tile is the way to fix this problem!  Now if ya like the way your background turned out, you may want to consider saving it for use again (I save alot of mine!).

11.    Click the 3rd option from the left side (9 little "square dots" on it).  This is pattern.  A pattern will appear.  Click on the pattern that is in the background to open the dialog box.  The Pattern dialog looks like this:

The pattern dialog box will show all patterns in your "pattern" folder, as well as any images that you have open.  So you do not have to add a pattern to your pattern folder to use it.  But if it is something you use often, you may want to consider it.

 

12.    Click on the small black (down) arrow to the right of the current pattern shown.  You will see something similar to this (I removed many of the "default" patterns that I didn't use, so this wasn't cluttered since I use it so often):

 

 

13.  Using the scrollbar on the right of this dialog box, move it all the way to the top.  (NOTE:  Any images you have open always appear at the VERY top, this is helpful to know if you use this feature alot.)  Select your newly created background you just made.  It will look like this:

 

 

14.    If you like, you can change the Scale % or the angle.  I am not going to make any adjustments on this one, but I often do.  Play with these options to see what gives you the best look.  Once you are happy with your pattern setup, then click on OK.

 

15.    Okay, now your styles should look something like this:

 

 

Your foreground color can be whatever you want.  But be careful on your selection.  Remember you are using a pattern rather than just a solid color.  I prefer name tags with a white background, so I use Black here most often.  Other colors are fine,  but in general this color should be a substantially contrast from your pattern to ensure that it brings out the colors.

 

16.  Select your text tool, which of course looks like this:

 

 

 

17.    Select your text and type your name.  I am positioning my name at the top since I want my tube to hang from my name.  Depending on where you plan on placing your tube will dictate where you need your name positioned.  This is what mine looks like:

 

 

As you can see, I have "dancing ants".  If you wish to bevel or add a filter to your name, leave these selected.  I like a beveled look on my name, so I will continue so you know my settings.

 

18.    Click on EFFECTS > 3D EFFECTS > INNER BEVEL.  The Inner Bevel dialog box will appear.  These are the settings that I am using.  If you like the look, be sure to save the settings (Click on SAVE AS and then select a name for your settings).

 

 

19.    Click on OK

 

20.    Click on SELECTIONS > SELECT NONE

 

21.    Select your tube by clicking on it.  Click on EDIT > COPY

 

22.    Select your name tag and click on EDIT > PASTE > AS NEW LAYER (pasting as a new layer allows you to move, resize, etc. an image independently of everything else in your creation.  This is the ONLY way to create as far as I am concerned!)  Here is my result so far:

 

 

23.    As you can obviously tell, my tube needs to be resized.  Resize by clicking on IMAGE > RESIZE, then the Resize dialog box will appear.  It will look like this.

 

24.    I prefer to resize based on percentages, it is just a personal preference.  You can use either.  I am resizing my tube by 50%.  I find that the "RESIZE TYPE" of "SMART SIZE" gives you the best image.  Here is what the dialog box looks like with my settings:

 

 

25.    Once you are satisfied with your settings, click OK.

 

26.    Click on EFFECTS > SHARPEN > SHARPEN.  This step should be done every time you resize your image to keep it looking it's best.

 

27.    Now use your MOVER tool to position your tube (and your name if needed).  The mover tool is this one:

 

 

28.    Mine is now in position where I want it.  Now I am almost ready to add some drop shadow.  But first I am going to merge the layers.  Depending on where your tube is, you may want to add drop shadow (if any) to both layers separately.  Click on LAYERS > MERGE > MERGE VISIBLE.  And now this is what my tag looks like:

 

 

29.    Okay, now I am ready for the drop shadow.  Click on EFFECTS > 3D EFFECTS > DROP SHADOW.  The Drop Shadow dialog box will appear.  Below is the dialog box with the settings I am using.

 

 

30.    Click OK.

 

31.    Click on LAYERS > MERGE > MERGE ALL (FLATTEN).  You should now have something like this:

 

 

32.    Okay, now we need to get rid of some of this "extra white".  This is often an overlooked step.  This is important for a few reasons:

 

• Do you realize how big this image is currently?  97.6KB

 

• I don't know about you, but I have a cable modem, but many others don't.  Keep your image sizes at a "reasonable level".

 

• How about the fact that "white space" is well, UGLY!!!

 

• Also remember since you are probably sending this "signature" in an e-mail on a graphics list, there is probably at least 1 more graphic in that mail.  Not to mention all those members from that list get alot of mail.  I know that when people are constantly sending super large sized tags, I delete their mail without reading them, and I am not the only one.  Just think about it.

 

Ready to get rid of that UGLY "white space?  It is time to crop your image.  Select the crop tool:

 

 

33.    Draw a rectangle, square whatever around your name tag.  Now remember, the cropping tool allows you to "pull" on the solid  line it just drew.  This will allow you to be precise in your cropping.  Be sure you crop well, don't crop off any of your shadow.  You should now have something like this:

 

 

34.  If you have your "black cropping line where you want it, then finish the crop by clicking on IMAGE > CROP.

 

35.    Your image should now look something like this:

 

 

36.    Okay, now this tag looks great, but it is still kinda big.  Let's resize it to a reasonable size.  Resize by clicking on IMAGE > RESIZE (see step 23 if you need to see the dialog box).  Since I started with an image of 600 x 300, I am going to resize by 75% which will be 370 x 193.  This is what my tag looks like now:

 

 

 

 

37.    Click on EFFECTS > SHARPEN > SHARPEN.  Remember, do this every time you resize an image.  The sharpened looks like this:

 

 

 

Can you see the difference in the "before" and "after" the sharpen was applied?  I can, it really does make a difference.  So if you haven't been doing it, you should really start!  Oh, and just another note, the file size of my tag is now 16.8KB (BIG difference from what we started with!)  Here are a few other results by me using this technique:

 

 

 

   

   

17.  You are done!  I would love to see your results too!  Send them to me at:  Yourwebness.  Also, If ya need any help, e-mail me at that same link!  :)