Wall Tutorial

1. What you'll need to do this:
   a) a good graphics program.  I use Paint Shop Pro, and I like it a lot.  If you would like to try it, go here and download the demo.
   
   b) some graphics to use in your wallpaper.  You can try making your own, and there are plenty of textures in PSP and other programs to help you do that.  Still, sometimes it's easier to just use some free graphics.  Here are some places to start looking:
   
               ABTA Textures  One of my favorite background sites.  All the images are absolutely free.
               Free Clip Art and Images   Has links to many different sites that have clipart, including backgrounds and textures.
               About.com  Has links to lots of different sites with clipart (not all free of use, though)
   
   c. A pattern to follow for the wall, so that you know where to put chair rails if necessary (this is something that I did not do when I first started making walls, and my chair rails are too high for some of my walls!).  I recommend that you use the blueprint wall that comes with Homecrafter.  Here it is if you don't have it.
   
   

2. So I poked around on some sites, and picked out the following picture to use for my wallpaper:
   
   
   
   I decided that was a little too dark and gloomy for wallpaper, so I adjusted the brightness and contrast, and reduced the image to 64x64 pixels:
   
   
   
   

3. I created a new image that is 128x240 pixels.  I then copy and pasted my graphic into the new image several times, until it looked like this:
   
   
   
   

4. The wallpaper is a little obnoxious, but useable as it is now.  I'm going to jazz it up a little more, though, by adding some trim.  Here are a few suggestions for creating trim:
   
   a) use the one I have here    Feel free to use it, change the color, whatever.
   b) create your own by finding picture frames online--deform and elongate the picture frame until one side is long enough to cut out and use for some trim
   c) take a picture of some trim in your house, or elsewhere, scan it in, and then cut out the trim and use on your wallpaper
   d) create your own in Paint Shop Pro.  Make a new image that is approximately 140x15 pixels big.  Then use the bevel command (under Image/Affects/Outer Bevel).  The image has to be selected (Selections/Select All) before you can do the beveling.
   
   So anyway, I put the trim on my wallpaper:
   
   
   
   

5. Now, suppose I want to use that wallpaper on only part of the image, and make the top a solid color?  This is where that blueprint picture comes in handy.  Line the two pictures up next to eachother, and place your chair rail in the correct place:
   
    
   
   Now you can leave the image like that (it actually turned out okay looking, huh?), or fill in the top or bottom portion with a solid or textured color:
   
   
   
   And there you have it.  Make sure you view the images in Homecrafter to ensure that they tile properly (i.e. don't have gaps or look strange) before transforming them into walls.  Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.