1. Open Gimp and type in some text in whatever color and font you want. I'm using a fairly thick font (arfmoochikncheez) so the bevel will show up better.

2. Go to Filters- Decor- Add Bevel. I changed the thickness to 3, but it just depends on how much of a bevel you want. Then uncheck 'work on copy.' Ta da!

1. Open Gimp and copy and find the pictures you want to use (we're going to just use 2, but you can use as many as you want). I am using this and this.

2. Paste in the first image and click on the new layer button once. This will make your floating layer (the image you pasted in) a real layer. Paste in the next and click on the layer button. Use the move tool to position the images how you want.

3. Click on the rectangle select tool, check feather edges, and change the radius to around 30. Select the part of the top image you want to delete and press delete on your keyboard.

4. You can see that the blending is pretty blocky looking, so grab a big soft eraser brush and erase parts at the top and bottom (you can take circle fuzzy (19) and change the scale to 10 or so). Go to layer- merge down.

5. This part is optional, but if you want your pictures to look better blended, you can change the colors. First go to colors- brightness/contrast and change each to 5. Then go to colors- levels and change the settings to 25, 1.3, and 245. Then go to colors- curves and change the settings very slightly, depending on what colors need to be blended (I moved the curve up a tiny bit for blue and red since those are the colors that need to be blended). This whole step only makes a little difference, but it helps even out the colors and lighting. You can also use the smudge too, as I did, to blend it even more.

Here is the finished blend:

1. Open Gimp and make a new image size 100 px by 100 px. Find a stock photo (I'm using this one) and position it how you want it for the icon using the Move Tool.

2. Go to Colors- Color Balance. Apply these settings (or something similar):

Midtones: Cyan Red -15, Magenta Green 30, Yellow Blue -15
Shadows: Cyan Red 41, Magenta Green -12, Yellow Blue -30
Highlights: Cyan Red -12, Magenta Green -4, Yellow Blue -20

3. Make a new layer and fill it with white. Then use the gradient tool to add a diagonal gradient across the icon (I'm using Brushed Aluminum). Change the opacity to 40% and the layer mode to Addition.

4. Make a new layer and add tiny black text, perhaps in the font Georgia, to the canvas and move it so there's some open space around it. Change the layer mode to Grain Merge. Make another new layer and use the smallest brush in black to draw some messy overlapping circles around the text. Change the layer mode to Soft Light. Save and you're done!

1. Open any photo in Gimp. I'm using this cookie stock photo.

2. Go to Colors- Curves and match these settings:

3. Next go to Colors- Levels and change the numbers to around 42, 1.20, and 236.

4. Go to Colors- Hue/Saturation. Click on the Master button and change the Lightness to -10 and the Saturation to 20. Next go to Colors- Color Balance and for Highlights, change Red to 10, Green to 5, and Blue to 15. Here is the finished product:

Using this picture effect is great for making Valentine's Day layouts or graphics. It's pretty, airy, and somewhat romantic, and it will really make your graphics fit this lovey dovey holiday.

1. Open whatever photo you want to use in Gimp. I'm using roses because they're already very Valetine-esque and romantic.

2. Resize it how you want and use a soft eraser to get rid of the background.

3. Go to Layer- Duplicate Layer. Change the layer mode of the new layer to Grain Merge. On the first layer go to Filters- Enhance- Sharpen and change the Sharpness to 50.

4. Make a new layer, and change your foreground color to pink (I used ea69a5) and the background color to white. Then use the blend tool to make a diagonal gradient across your picture. Change the layer mode to Screen and the opacity to 90.

5. Make a new layer and use a size 4 soft brush to draw a swirl across the canvas. Change the layer mode to Dissolve and the opacity to 10. Make another new layer and use varying sized brushes to draw glows across the picture. I finished with a border, and here's the completed picture:

1. Make a new file and paste in the image pack you want. Click on the new layer button (a piece of paper) to make your floating selection into a layer.

2. Go to Select- All. Then go to Layer- Transparency- Color to Alpha. You should see in the preview that the white background is gone from the brushes. Click ok.

3. Click on the Free Select Tool or the Rectangle Select Tool (all of our brushes have enough space around them to use the rectangle tool, but for squished brushes the free select tool is necessary).

4. Right click the selected brush and click on Edit- Copy and then Edit- Paste As- New Brush. Name the brush something unique and you're done! Just repeat for all the other brushes you want.

1. Open Gimp and type in whatever text you want. I'm using the font CAC Pinafore.

2. Go to Filter- Noise- Slur and use the default settings.

3. Go to Layer- Duplicate Layer and then click on the bottom one. Go to Filter- Blur- Gaussian Blur and use a radius of 7.

4. Make a new layer above everything else and use a white 1px pencil to draw a few extra sparkles here and there. Ta da~

1. Open up GIMP, and put in your desired text on your image.

2. Click layer, then click on duplicate layer.

3. Now click on blur, then Gaussian blur. This window will pop up:

4. Change the blur radius around, I recommend to change it around to four-seven, I decided to use four.

5. Go to layers, merge down, so those two layers will be merged together.

6. Press filters, Light and Shadow, then click 'Drop Shadow'. This window will come up:

7. Change both the offset's to one, blur radius to zero, color to white or keep it to black or something, and opacity to one hundred.

Finished product: