Teaching myself Photoshop.

Even though my primary form of creative expression is writing, I've always wanted a really, really pretty blog.

 I was an art minor in college, and although I was never very good at the actual skills presented (drawing, painting, making the human body look like something other than an amorphous blob), the best thing I took away from my art classes was a sharper eye.   I've always loved interior design, and on the rare occasion when I apply some effort to getting dressed, the outcome is usually pretty cool.  (I think.)  I'm not a craft or style blogger, but I follow a zillion because their blogs are so comely:  Here's Lookin' at Me Kid, A Beautiful Mess, Moorea Seal, the Free People blog.

So as Austin Eavesdropper gets made over this year, I've decided to take some baby steps into the world of Photoshop.  It should come as a surprise to exactly no one that I've never formally learned how to use this tool, so I am teaching myself.  Today's lesson: Tape Strips!  

Mocking up these images is probably child's play for some of you out there, but this was A REALLY BIG DEAL FOR ME.  Here's what I did:

1. Visited Pugly Pixel, a fantastic resource for blog templates and add-ons.  She has a free download for tape strips, so I nabbed it.

2. Trolled the internet looking for three vaguely peachy pictures.  I knew my friend Kelly Ann at The Flowerchild Dwelling would point me in the right direction, so I hit up her blog and followed various internet links to three cool artists: Violet Bella (top image), Cosestesse (middle image), and Herman Lee (bottom image).  Thanks to Pretty Zoo for taking me to that last one.

3. Googled "Photoshop put tape on picture" and found this tutorial.  I didn't follow it step by step, just figured out the bare basics:  Basically, how to layer one image (like tape) on top of another (like a peacock), and adjust the tape at a jaunty angle.

4. Felt empowered!

Like I said, this technique is laughably basic for a lot of people.  And especially those craft / design bloggers I worship.  But for me, a gal who not so long ago used Paintbrush as her image editing software ... it is a significant leap.

(P.S. Speaking of visuals, my blog redesign is almost here!!  It's so close I can taste it.  The designer is finished, and now we're just waiting for approval from her higher-ups at Freckled Nest before the template is installed.  If any of you are looking for a blog redesign yourself, by the way, I strongly recommend that team).