1. How to create a simple colorful plaid background
2. How to fill areas with your magic wand.
3. How to join 2 graphics together to create one
4. How to use the Transparency effect
5. How to change the Hue/Coloring on an image.

**New >> Part 2**
Create a Plaid to Coordinate with Colors in a Graphic
http://www.teas2dine4.com/hugbees/matchcolors.html

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1. Open a new canvas workspace in DIP, using the format menu size the canvas for this project to 6 x 6 inches square (**later on when you are comfortable with the steps in making a plaid, you can make your image any size you want)

2. Insert a Square shape onto the 6x6 canvas and stretch to fill the area.

3. Next we are going to fill this square shape with a Texture or Color from the Effects menu.
Choose Color Gradient. For this example choose the red, white and blue stripe and choose the style with the light bar down the middle.

4. Next using the magic wand (tolerance set at about 30-50) select each of the red and blue stripes. Hold down your keyboard Shift key to select multiple areas/stripes.

5. We are  going to now, fill those selected areas with a new Color Gradient,  using the Effects menu again as you did in step 3. This time we are going to fill those areas with a Rainbow color gradient, and use the same style for this coloring effect.

6. Back on the workspace, choose from the Edit menu to duplicate this rainbow striped image.
This will create an exact copy of the image, and it will be in your FILES area of DIP.

7. Drag this copy to the workspace and place over the first image, and using the arrow curved handle, Rotate this copy so that the stripes are now Horizontal, stretch image to be sure it covers 6x6 square.

8. To make narrower stripes, push with the handles on the horizontal striped top graphic, until the graphic is 3 inches tall and still 6 inches wide. Click on the Edit menu or the Copy button tool and copy this 3x6 inch graphic. Next click on the Paste button tool (looks like a clipboard) - this will paste the copied image on top of the image underneath it, Select this copy by clicking on it and move it, to fill in bottom of the graphic and together the 2 images fill the 6x6 square.

9. These 2 images need to be joined to create one solid image. Hold down your shift key and select each graphic (either in the Stack, or on the workspace graphic itself) - you should see then a small unlocked icon graphic below these 2 images selected - Click directly on that icon to LOCK the selected graphics together.

10. To create the Plaid effect, select the top graphic, with the horizontal stripes, and from the Effects menu, choose Transparency and Even.

11. On the next screen - slide the adjustment tool till you see the background become a plaid and stop when the effect you want has been achieved - click on Done.

12. That's it, your 1st Plaid background is done!!  Congratulations!!
**this has been resized for posting online**

Now you can name and save this image, and use it as a pattern to fill a small template, or use on a tile, a card, etc.

Have fun - you can change the hue/coloring on the image still on your workspace and save with a new name.

Once you have the basics down, you can vary the Gradient Color patterns, the hue coloring etc.
You can add more layers, squeeze the Vertical Stripes and layer on top of Horizontal ones, etc. 
There are no limits and no rules. 

You only need to use the Transparency tool to let the various layers
show through each other to reveal your patterns. You can control the
amount of transparency, and vary your designs. Remember with each change - to save the image background by a new name.
I prefer to save my creations in jpg format.

I give them names that I will associate with the file.
example: I would name this plaid that I created:
springmulti01.jpg, then the next one if the coloring was different
springmulti02.jpg, and so on - 
and I would save to my Folder I created for Plaids that I make myself MyPlaidBGs (**I have an external hard drive, and this is where I store these types of folders with these types of graphics etc.**)

Please NOTE : as of Spring 2007 - Microsoft has discontinued their line of the Digital Image software. The last version produced is the Anniversary Edition. You can still find the software at outlets such as Amazon or Ebay.

2 Websites with excellent  tutorials for DIP owners
Marys Graphics.com **no I am NOT this Mary**
http://www.marysgraphics.com/picit.html

Click on left hand side of the DIP Divas blog for a listing of DIP tutorial sites:
http://dipdivas.blogspot.com

Scrapbook-Bytes.com
Click on tutorials
http://scrapbook-bytes.com/
Digital Image Pro tutorials
http://scrapbook-bytes.com/cgi-script/tutorials/publish/cat_index_25.shtml