GIMP Exercise: Web Banners

I used the following steps to create the following web banners:

Wedding Cakes Banner -

1. Created a 760x110 pixel document
2. Pasted the image of the wedding cake inside the document
3. Scaled the wedding cake to fit into the viewable area
4. Added a light blue to black gradient in the background
5. Used the text tool to write the company name
6. Applied the "Curve Bend" filter to the text
7. Applied the "Drop-shadow" filter to the text

Old Railroad Cafe Banner -

1. Created a 760x110 pixel document
2. Pasted the image of the train inside the document
3. Scaled the train to fit into the viewable area
4. Duplicated the train layer
5. Flipped the duplicated layer horizontally and moved to the left of the document
6. Created a new layer filled with a brown color
7. Set the brown-filled layer's mode to "Color"
8. Used a light brown font to type the company name
9. Used the "Perspective" filter to add the drop-shadow effect

My Business Banner -

1. Created a 760x110 pixel document
2. Pasted images of a logo I created earlier into the document
3. Scaled the images to fit into the viewable area
4. Used the text tool to type my company name
5. Used the "Emboss" filter on the type layer
6. Selected the top half of the entire composition
7. Copied all viewable content in the selection
8. Pasted the copied contents onto a new layer
9. Inverted the color of the pasted layer
10. Lowered the opacity of the pasted (for a glossy effect)
11. Added a small, white-to-transparent gradient at the top of the banner

Images: