Watermarks! a tutorial

While reading a few Q&A posts on a quilt designers group I've joined, I became interested in a conversation about Pinterest, photographs and watermarks.  The answers were quite interesting and one in  particular soon had me searching for downloadable programs that would allow me to add watermarks to my own photographs. 

Now, I have a relatively new computer and already there are signs of some sort of virus, so I think really hard before downloading anything, especially if it's free.  That hard thinking got me to wondering whether I could using something that I already have on the computer, and immediately I opened the Picasa 3 program that came with the computer.  I can't believe what I discovered: Picasa will watermark your pictures!

Now that's a shame, really.  I've used Picasa to crop, to contrast, to retouch my photos numerous times.  Couldn't I just see the button that's is RIGHT THERE?  Good grief. 

So, if you use Picasa 3, I've done the hard part....look at the buttons!  Start in the library and double click a photo.  I found an old photo that I could mess up and not care. 

Double clicking on a photo brings you and the photo to the editing page.  Make sure you're on the wrench tab--it's the one all the way to the left.  Now you can fix your photo.  There are 10 buttons: crop, straighten, redeye, etc.  Click on the text button. 
 

Now you're ready to write on your photograph.  I know, easy, huh?  Click somewhere on the photo and type anything.  Now just start on the top and format your writing: text, size, style and so on until you like the results. 

Click apply to set the type and then click file and save to save the photograph. If you want to keep a copy of the original without the watermark, click save as and give it a new name.  WARNING: once you click save, you can't change the watermark.  Well, I can't tell you how.  In my world, it's a done deal.