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I had asked whether someone would step up and give some tutorials on Photoshop Elements. Kelly from Letters from the Loony Bin agreed. I am ever thankful for the expertise she has offered, and this post is entirely her work. If she helps you out even a tiny bit...please go give her a big kiss. Or you could simply say "thank you."

Photoshop 411

Layers and Other Basic Operations

Mamma recently asked in her BlogFrog Community whether someone would be willing to put together a Photoshop tutorial, and I was happy and excited to oblige. This tutorial should be helpful across the board; no matter if you are using Photoshop Elements, Photoshop CS3 or CS4. Just for the record I am using Photoshop CS3.

Layers are without a doubt the single most important feature of Photoshop, so important that they have their own layers palette in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Layers also have their own menu at the top of the screen. You can add layers, delete layers, duplicate layers, add effects to layers, and other infinite possibilities that I can’t even wrap my mind around. To put it simply, layers are objects (photos, shapes, text, brushstrokes) stacked one on top of another.
Let’s get started by opening a new document. Under the file menu select New .

OK , your screen should look like this.

A box will pop up for you to choose the dimensions of your document. For our purposes here today I have chosen a standard 8.5x11 size. Note: My resolution is set to a very high 600. It is not necessary to create all documents with this high of a resolution, 200 to 300 in adequate in most situations, but that is just how I roll!

After choosing your document size and clicking

To the right is layers palette, which you will begin to see is indispensable. At the top is the layers menu. I will admit that I don’t use the layers menu too often. I am more likely to use keyboard shortcuts and the commands on the layers palette to accomplish the same tasks that are available under the layers menu. The background layer is automatically added upon creation of your document.

Now let’s add a photo to the document. Under the file menu select Place and select the photo you wish to use in the document.

As you can see in the layers palette a new layer, your photo, has been added and is highlighted because it is the active layer. Use the handlebars to resize you photo as desired.

How about some text? Why not?! Click on the T button on the left hand tool bar to create a text box. Drag box to desired size and type in text. Again a layer has been added to the layer palette. f x button on the bottom of the layers palette, choose drop shadow and click OK.

The document now has a background layer and two other layers. I am a slave to layer effects, so let’s add a drop shadow to our text layer. Make sure your text layer is highlighted and click on the

The order that your layers are listed on your layers palette is important. Whatever layer listed first, is the top layer and so on. Look what happens when I switch around my text layer and photo layer. A layer also is not active if it is not highlighted, meaning it can’t be moved or modified. To activate a layer simply click on it in the layers palette.

Which I’ll now switch back because it wouldn’t make any sense to keep it that way!

There you have it, the 411 on Photoshop layers. I am from the school that believes every element in your design should have it’s own layer. It makes for much easier modification down the road. Too many layers? Never! Once you learn to use them, you’ll see that layers are your friends!

Thank you Kelly for such an informative post! I can't wait to give it a try. Kelly has mentioned that she will be doing some more tutorials in the future, so be sure to head her way and check out her blog.

I'm a mom from the middle of nowhere, South Dakota. Our little town has a population of just over 1,000 now - but when we first moved here, it was still working up from the 900s. Our big family of six didn't quite push the town over the top, but we came close. We moved out here from North Carolina when my youngest wasn't even one year old - now, that was a road trip - so my husband could be near his parents and help keep up the family farm. We also thought it would be a calmer, quieter place to raise a family than the big city of Raleigh.

Our kids had some trouble adjusting at first, but now they love living here and are always begging to visit their grandparents on the farm. Grandma always spoils their dinner with root beer floats and helps them make crafts out of coffee filters or her big jar of colorful buttons. Then there's Grandpa, who gets out the old train set and teaches my son all about golf while the sounds of putts and drives from the TV fill in the background. There are pet cats, cows, and sheep galore, and one friendly dog who greets the kids with slobbery kisses every time they arrive at the farm. It's a great place to grow up, and I'm so glad we decided to give them the opportunity to enjoy it.

Stress and the City

Of course, life isn't always paradise. I left my family back in North Carolina so we could raise our kids in the country, and there were times when I missed Raleigh and the people I had left behind. My mother's age and deteriorating health started to worry me, and sometimes I feel overcome with the desire to move back so I can take care of her. I have brothers in the area, but let's face it - when it comes to care-giving, boys aren't always the best nurses.

One day, I was sitting at home, feeling sorry for myself as I folded the laundry. Always fascinated by "grown-up" activities, my youngest daughter was "helping" me fold the endless heap of clothes that accumulates when you have six people living in one house. My husband came in from work and saw that I wasn't my usual self, so he asked how my day had been. I told him that it had been fine, and he gave me a quizzical look. After a few seconds, he asked what was bothering me if everything was fine. In a moment of overflowing frustration that had been building for weeks, I said, "If you can't figure out how to be sympathetic every once in a while, you'll just have to take me to the funny farm!"

I was about to burst into tears because I knew he didn't deserve my anger when I heard the excited voice of my daughter: "Mommy, mommy! Can I come, too?"

Of course, she didn't understand that I was referring to a mental institution, not her grandparents' farm. To her, "funny farm" was a logical name for the place she loved so much. I couldn't help it; I started laughing until tears rolled down my cheeks.

I was a tired mom at the end of the day, and my daughter had just provided the perfect punch line to help me see how petty I was being. Although her words brought laughter, they were also a profound reminder to me that my husband and I had moved to South Dakota for a very good reason. I believe that it's the best environment for raising my children, and I know my mother would want that every bit as much as we do.
My family visits North Carolina once a year, usually at Christmas, and my mom is doing just fine. Every time I start to worry about her, I remember that I'm making the right decision for my whole family by living here and raising my children to love life on the farm.

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online degrees, and what it takes to succeed as a student getting an online associates degree remotely from home. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

I have seen this several times on other's blogs, and decided today was the day to try it out. It's Supah Mommy's Post it Note Tuesday. But please don't forget to read my guest featured recipe from today. Quirky Momma gave us a good one!