About This Blog Thing......

SOOOOOO, I wanted to make my blog look a lot a little better.  This was about the third or fourth day I began blogging.  I am one of those that is scared to click on anything because I am scared I will either 1. delete something important FOREVER!!!! or 2. mess it up so bad that it just is not worth it.  My husband is a computer man.  That is what he does for a living.  He does not understand my phobia about totally messing and/or losing everything up on my computer.  (But on the other hand I do not understand the fact that he does not love to read great books, so we get along great!) ANYway, soon after I began blogging I wanted my blog to look as wonderful as all the blogs I read.  I tried putting the wallpaper on the back.  No luck.  I tried adding the buttons on the side.  Only part of them work.  I tried to figure out how to put my signature on the blog. Nothing. I tried to figure out how to "frame" my photo's. Nope. I tried to make my photos bigger. Nada.  Get the picture?  I am computer illiterate....to say the least.  Then one day I clicked on the button that is on the far right on the toobar when one is typing their blog. The button says "insert jump break".  I had no idea what that meant so I clicked it again.  (I was thinking one click = on, click again = off.) Uhmmm, not so much. I have no idea what else I clicked, but now every single time I go to post pics, only part of them show.  I have tried everything.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.  I guess I will either have to break down and ask my hubby for help, or find one of the great women that do this (so easily) for a living and hire my blog format to be done. 
IN THE MEANTME---I was going to share something that I actually CAN control and  something that I actually DO have a little knowledge of.  If anyone is looking for a quick and easy way to enhance your photographs and you do not own Photoshop, then I would suggest picnik.com.  You can get a whole battery of photo enhancing for free.  For an additional $20something per YEAR you get even more photo enhancing abilities.  They are quick, easy and oh-so-fun!

Here I took a picture I took in color, changed it to black and white and then just put a color focal point on his face. (This is my nephew Ford. Isn't he handsome?)

Here is my photo as I took it.  Then after I changed it to black and white. 

Here is a photo of my daughters that I cropped to show just them (and the table!).  I then put the primary focus on the girls and blurred all the edges.  I also toned down the color.

Here is a picture of my kids (and one nephew) where just for fun--and experimenting--I added all the hats, balloons, strings, words, etc.  The original picture is just the kids standing on the bridge.  Every season Picnik adds special affects to match the season.  They also have a standard line.

People think I "fixed" the log the kids are on, but this was actually a log my children stood on at the edge of the lake.  That part is really true.  I did enhance--or downplay--the color some and do some blurring of the edges.  I love this picture!

Same picture I just added Santa hats and a quote.

Same picture I just made it into a Christmas card.  Yep, there are LOTS of card ideas to choose from!

Lots of collage ideas and options as well.

All sizes of collages.

You can put "sparkle" in eyes, change eye colors and make teeth whiter.  In this one, I enhanced my niece Caroline's eyes, blurred the edges and used the graphics.

In this one I enhanced the color. I wanted the wheat field to be very golden.  I blurred the edges and I actually cropped a sixth person from the picture, since I only wanted my chlidren in the picture!

In this one I took all the color out except the blues. I blurred it some.  (This was my take on the Beatles "Abbey Road" but uhmmmm, not so good!  This is more like "Robots on Parade"!)  I will try it again sometime!

Here is the same picture and I used the "60's Look" idea. (Same dorky Robot picture tho!)

Now you see him.......

Now you don't.  The magic of cropping!

I really am trying to get this blog thing down.  Stick with me while I figure it out.  In the meantime, check on Picnik.com and look at all the great things you can do!