As you can tell, the ones for Second Chance at Forever were my first tries at banner making. At the time I was using a free program called Paint.net and it just doesn't have the same capabilities as Photoshop.
I use Photoshop 7 and I just keep playing until I get the desired effect. I'm by no means a pro, but I'm very tickled with my creations and my progress with the program.
I must say that if you're looking for some tips and tricks Touchstone has some awesome tutorials. She's an amazing graphic artist.