Migrants to IJ, 2007

This is really useful and thanks. What I am struggling with is trying to find a layout and look for my ij that accommodates a nice banner picture like I have here... http://sildil.livejournal.com/ . I ALMOST got it sorted, by using one of the layouts that seemed to allow one, but no matter what I did, the header ended up with the top 1/4" covered by the navigation strip and a HUGE gap between the banner and the actual journal entries. I really liked my LJ layout and it's one of the only things I will miss when I eventually migrate here fully. Any advice/links? I have a permanent account here and am not VERY good with 'do it yourself' coding, though can find my way round html a bit.