Collages

I would like to learn how to make a good collage.  I've tried through Picassa, but their randomness doesn't fit what I'm looking for. I'm pretty sure that Photoshop does it, but I'm not sure that I'll ever be proficient at Photoshop.

Any ideas? 

I did make this one, which I like, through Smilebox, but the problem is that it is created as a slide show and I can't seem to make a file out of it that I could print or save.

Any suggestions anyone?