Have you wondered how your friends get those fun, sparkly, animated graphics to add to their photos,making them unique? It may very well be that they have created Blingees. If you want to get in on the action, read on to learn how to make a Blingee.

Have you wondered how your friends get those fun, sparkly, animated graphics to add to their photos? It may very well be that they have created Blingees. If you want to get in on the action, read on to learn how to make a Blingee.

• You may have seen Blingees on your friends' MySpace, Facebook, Freewebs or Friendster profiles, or even come across them on some of your favorite blogs. Although Blingees were orginially created graphics for use on MySpace, they have since become a popular tool for many Internet visitors. Creating Blingees of your own is fun, and best of all, it's free.

• You can create Blingees of your own on the official Blingee website.

1. Go to www.blingee.com
2. Click on the box that says "Make a Blingee now!"
3. Note that to save and share your Blingees, you will have to sign up for a free account. Instructions for account sign up are provided below

• In some cases, you may recieive a message that says: "Sorry, we have reached the maximum number of guest users currently building their Blingees. Please login or signup, It's FREE! Thank you."

1. If this is the case, click on the pink text "Please login or signup, It's FREE!" to be taken to the Account Signup page
2. Enter your user name, email address, password, birth date and select your gender
3. Be sure that to check the "Terms of Use" box
4. Click on the "Sign Up!" box

(Creative Commons photo by amysphere)

• Your next step is to pick a photo you want to add some "Blingee" to. On the left hand side of image upload page, you will see a selection of four ways to upload an image to Blingee. You can upload a photo from:

1. Your computer
2. Your Photobucket collection
3. Your Bebo profile
4. From Flickr or another web page by selecting the "Image URL" option. Note that you cannot upload an image from any website; the image itself must have its own URL address

• Simply click on the tab relating to the type of photo you will be uploading, and then select the photo from your chosen profile, use the "Browse" option to locate it on your computer, or enter the image URL in the box provided. Once you have found a photo to upload, click on the "Make a Blingee" button.

• After your photo has uploaded, you will be taken to an edit page where you can add graphics and text to your picture. Along the left hand side of the page, you will see a selection of icons. By placing your mouse curson over these icons, you will be provided with a brief explanation of what each icon does.

• The graphics that you see on most Blingees are called "Stamps." To add stamps to your photo:

1. Click on the "+" (add Stamp) icon
2. Scroll down the page a bit; below your photo you will see a collection of stamps
3. Select a stamp by clicking on it
4. The stamp or color with which you are currently working will appear below the editing icons, just to the left of your picture
5. You can make the stamp smaller, larger, or move it around using the editing options
6. To add color or text to your photo, select the appropriate option and then select colors from the "Ink" stamps
7. If you alter your photo in a way you aren't happy with, simply hit the "Undo" button
8. If you want to erase all the changes you have made to your photo and start over, hit the "Reset" button

• Along the left side of the stamp collection, you'll see options you can click on to browse stamps by category, such as "Most Popular" and "Most Dynamic." There is also a search option you can use to find particular stamps. To use the stamp search:

1. Click on the "Search" button. This will open up a new window
2. Enter a keyword or words describing the types of stamps you are looking for
3. Select your desired stamp from the results by clicking on it
4. This stamp will then be added to your "Goodie Bag"
5. Access your goodie bag by clicking on the "Goodie Bag" button located directly above the search button

• Once you have made your Blingee look just the way you want to, click on the "Save" button located on the left side of the page, just below the "Save" and "Reset" buttons.

• On the next page, enter a title, description and tags to your Blingee. Once you have done so, click the "Save" button.

• On the next page, you can select from the options on the right side of the page to create an e-Card, further edit your Blingee or enter it into a Blingee competition. If you want to add the Blingee to your blog or social networking profile, click on the "Get Codes or Download" option, choose a size and then follow the directions to get the proper code for the website to which you want to add your Blingee.

• Once you have learned to create your own Blingees, you can use the website to not only add fun photos to all your online profiles, but also to make unique e-cards for all your friends and family members. Spend some time experimenting with the different stamps and functions to perfect your Blingee-making skills.

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• Introduction
• Step 1: Go to the Website
• Step 2: Upload a Photo
• Step 3: Customize Your Blingee
• Step 4: Add Stamps
• Step 5: Save and Share
• Conclusion