Step 1:  create a new image according to this 

Step 2:  fill the image with your choice of colors using your color fill tool - in PSP, this is a bucket. 

Step 3:  under the Effects (different places in different versions), add noise according to below image

Step 4:  From the Effects category, find and select Filter Factory's B set and then 'Fluttering FLag' filter and set the setting to match the image below

Step 5:  Using selection tool set to no feather and anti-alias unchecked, set cursor at point 35,0 watching the coordinances in the lower left-hand corner of you status bar and drag the selection all the way to the lower right-hand corner of your graphic (dragging line past boundaries of the image will not hurt), then crop to selection 

Step 6:  Minimize this image for now and create new image with the settings in this image 

Step 7:  Using the zoom tool (magnifying glass), click about 8 times on the graphic to increase viewable size  (*You can also use the 'View/Zoom in by 5' twive)  

Step 8:  Now you will select a foreground and background color for the border tubes (later you may choose to use the tubes or not according to your preferences according to the pad colors),  chose one darker shade of the background color you used and then one just a bit lighter, but not pale. 

Step 9:  Now you will set up your flood tool  (the bucket) to flood with a gradient according to the appropriate image below

PSP5 & PSP6

PSP7

Step 10:   Now,  if you're graduating foreground to background, the foreground will be at the top in this case, So switch the foreground/background colors so that the foreground is the darker color (hope that's not backwards);  using the selection tool, section off the bottom 5 pixels the full width of the image (starting at the 0,6 position) and then flood the color in using the bucket tool dark at bottom

Step 11:  Reverse the foreground/background colors by clicking the line connecting the swatches of color 

Step 12:  Using selection tool, starting at position 0,0 select through 20,5 

Step 13:  Using flood fill tool, fill selection with color dark at the top

Step 14:  Change foreground to white (or a paler tint of the color you are using - white gives a sharp highlight while a lighter tint of the same color used for the rest gives a satiny look);  change flood fill type from linear gradient to solid color;  using magic wand selection tool, select the center section that is not colored 

Step 15:  Using flood fill tool, flood selection with white (or other color you chose) 

Step 16:  Rotate you image by 90 degrees either direction

Step 17:  Create a new image, using these settings 

Step 18:  select the image area of the rotated image by using the 'Select' menu and choosing 'Select all' then click in the center of the image using the selection tool

Step 19:  Set up fill tool by this image 

Step 20:  Flood the new image with the flood tool then kill the short image

Step 21: Maximize padded image;  while new 'border tube' image is active (inactive in the pic below);  copy (CTRL + C) image by then make padded image active and paste (CTRL + E) tube to it, slide it to the left. (*Copy/Paste: I use keystrokes to copy/paste, others are more comfortable with the Edit Menu also, I don't paste to a new layer on this tute as it isn't necessary.)  

Step 22:  Now we will use Eye Candy using the settings below for this tute (you can play around with the settings later if you wish) and hit the checkmark

Step 23:  The tube should still be in the clipboard, so paste it to the padded image again and slide it to the far right this time.
 

Step 24:  Back to Eye Candy/Drop Shadow and match the settings below and hit the checkmark 
 

Step 25:  Now you should have this 

Step 26:  Now we will increase the image to full length and add a sub layer
Using the Canvas size function, match the settings of the image below 
should now have something like this

*Note: If you have a problem with this step, Joyce's note may benefit you on this step. You will find it at the bottom of the page.

Step 27:  Add layer 

Step 28:  Move new layer to bottom 

Step 29:  What you do here is up to you.  You can flood fill with a pattern, a solid color, a texture or a muted image.  I will offer a few helpful hints to help you along
If you flood with a pattern, make sure the pattern is already tiled and sized to a height of 150 pixels.  If you fill with a solid color and then texturize, make sure the texture doesn't need to be tiled.  If you fill with a textured tile, first resize it to 150 in height. As a personal preference, I Always create a texture tile to fill with and then deskcheck it for tiling, then resize it to fill the background.  Trying to texture a background en route is just too messy for this ole girl.

Step 30:  Make top layer active 

Step 30:  Eye Candy's Drop Shadow can be applied to this layer without selecting a portion of it, match your setting to  image 

Step 31:  Desk checking the imaging before merging can tell you if it is going to tile properly at this point while it's still easy to activate the bottom layer and change it.  You do this by getting a new image with transparent background set to width of 1024 pixels and height of 600 pixels.  Then you follow above steps for flood filling with a pattern and choose your completed border as the pattern and flood fill the new image.  Check to see if you can spot the tiling easily; if you can, back up and fix it.

Step 32:  Merge all layers 

Step 33:  is once again up to you, the adding of the trim on the border if you want trim and then your padded border tile is complete.  This is my background tile from following this tutorial.  I used a tube and my initials.
 Clik on graphic to see it tiled.
 

As with all tutorials, this is just a guide line and once you are comfortable with it, you may find many ways that make it a more natural process for you. Basically, the tutorial is just to step you through the way I do it and not to say this is the ONLY way it can be done.

*Joyce's note: You just reminded me of a shortcut, easier way to assure the seamless tiling. I think I told you before, but here goes again: The image created in step 26 should be 1024 x 130. Then when pasting in the pad image, zoom in by 1, then use the mover tool to position it. Slide it up and/or down. You have 20 pixels to "play" with, so getting it placed without a telltale pixel at either the top or bottom is no problem. Then by doing everything on layers, the shadowed layer can be slid upwards or downwards to again assure no line or break.

This tutorial is now complete and your background tile should be ready to upload to your site or use in your email.

Zipped tutorial in pdf format is a 1.54MB download.
 

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* I do not generally compress my graphics but for the sake of loading time - the tutorial graphics are compressed!