How to make a blog banner

It's taken me some time and messing around with different free online software programs but I finally came out with what I was after using the free PicMonkey.   What I had was a blue gray box with fuzzy writing and no texture in the background.  I wanted a textured neutral background with the heading centered and floating on top of the background.  It took several aggravating tries to come out the way I wanted it.  Because of that I decided to share what I learned and hopefully make it easier for someone else to make their own design.