How to Make Your Own Backgrounds

So I really like my activities to be fun and appealing in their looks so my students are more attracted to what they have to do. It may sound weird, but think about an activity. Would you rather have to do this one...

...or this one?

Exactly!

There are lots of different programs and ways to do this. Here is how I make cute quick backgrounds for my activities.

First, I start in Publisher with a  shape or clip that I like. This one is a raindrop. I place them on the page in a random yet patterned way. I make some different sizes, too.

Once I have everything where I want it, I save the page as a .png with 300 dpi for better resolution.

Now I open it up in a photo editing program like Adobe Photoshop Elements. Paint on the basic PC Accessories can work, too, but the resolution and options aren't nearly as helpful.. I make all of my raindrops black and then save it again as a .png file.

Now I can reopen it and change the colors in the background and the raindrops. Elements lets me do this by changing the 2 colors I am working with and using the stamp tool.

Then this is what I get.

I can also back it up and switch my colors around for this effect.

Save the file as a new name like RaindropsBlue.png and keep them in an easy to find folder.

Now you can try and make a new cute background for any of your classroom activities, too! Enjoy these backgrounds for free personal or commercial use with a link back to my blog or TpT store.