facebook timeline cover: MINT

Just thought I'd share this one, too. :)

make your own facebook timeline cover

While Facebook does not offer the large timeline cover image for pages, you can certainly deck out your profile if you have a little Photoshop knowledge.

Recently I saw a design site offering templates for $40. Ahem. Here's a very simplistic way for you to begin making your own and saving your dough (if you have Photoshop).

Here's the short version of how I did mine. It's short because I'm going out on a limb to think you might have a little knowledge and I don't have much time. When I have more time, I'll give a step-by-step.

• Start with a canvas sized 851 pixels x 315 pixels.
• Fill in with a solid background color.
• Use brushes to create a flourish (mine are hearts in the top left and bottom right). My brush is part of a package called My Heart Brushes by ~mcbadshoes. It's a free download and you can get it here. After installing the brush in Photoshop I was able to use it. I added a drop shadow to each flourish. I performed a Free Transform on the upper left flourish to turn it around.
• For the images, I opened the ones I wanted to include, reduced their size, and drag-and-dropped them onto the canvas. 
• For the framed image, I used the Custom Shape Tool and chose Frame 7. I kept the color of the frame the same as the quote text and added Outer Glow.
• As a placeholder for my Facebook profile pic, I added a white box and applied the same frame style around it. The profile pic appears 2 cm off the left and extends approximately 10 cm up into the canvas. The box should be about 10 cm x 15 cm. 

Photoshop 7.0 screen-shot

Inserted into Facebook

Will this help you generate some ideas? I'll hope to have more of a tutorial later. To help me know if that's necessary, I'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to leave a comment. And don't go spending $40 for someone to create one for you.

lightbulb moment!

This can't be an original idea, but in case it is, let me throw it out there.

Just a while ago I was nuking my lunch in the break room at work. I'm having one of those Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers. While watching it boil in the microwave something dawned on me. Why not reuse the packaging to make my own?

If you're not familiar with this product, it's a clear, plastic container with dried pasta and a separate container with sauce. You add water to the line on the bowl and microwave the pasta for 3 minutes and 30 seconds before stirring in the sauce.

Since the lid has a built-in strainer, why not reuse the container to boil your own pasta from home? You can bring a container of spaghetti sauce and have spaghetti, or perhaps macaroni and cheese (sliced cheese melts easily on hot pasta), or whatever pasta/sauce combination you desire.

It sounds like a great way to save money on lunch for work (I think I bought this as a 2-for-$5 deal), if I do say so myself. Even if the bowl only stands up to one or two more microwaving sessions you've saved a few bucks.