Large areas on your page which are monotone (a single colour) can look very drab. The best way to rectify this problem is by using a watermark. A watermark is a lightened area, as if someone had poured water onto it.
To start with, get your monotone slab. (Not really an award-winning piece of art yet) :)
(This step is optional, but adds to the watermark's effect) Choose a slightly darker shade of the colour, and put a gradient across the area.
To create the watermark shape, put some swirlies in. Choose font "Wingdings", and type "jk" in white. Increase the font size, and position the watermark symbols so that there are no "ends" on your image.
This watermark might look alright now, but if you were to put text on it, it would be unreadable.
Select your watermark layer, and decrease the opacity to 25%. This completes your watermark.
