i ♥ pixlr...

 ...and it's free!  a few months ago i was frustrated because i needed to edit a few photos and make a banner, but didn't want to buy adobe software.  there is a free one-month trial version available online, but my friend julia used the program and she said it was a pain - it kept making her computer crash. 

a photo i edited using the delightful service, pixlr

 

that's why i was so happy to discover pixlr!  it's pretty easy to use - the only quirk i've found is occasionally having difficulty opening my work once it's saved to my computer.  saving as a .png file seemed to help.  might not happen to you, though!

i created my etsy store banner and my blog banner with pixlr and was pretty pleased with the results...for now :)