Learning Photoshop Elements

 I finally got started with learning Photoshop Elements by taking a beginner's class geared for quilters at Always Quilting, it was taught by Lynn Koolish.  It was the perfect class for me, I got over my fear of using the program, finally figured out what layers are, and fooled around with a bunch of my pictures to get some really fun and different results.  Lynn was a great teacher, very prepared, very clear in her instructions to all the people in the class who were at very different levels.  I learned way more than I thought I would.  This program is really versatile and I was amazed at what you could do right away.

 A door in Port Townsend

Combining the door picture with the grapes.  This was one of my favorites, I think I'll make a t-shirt out of this image so I can wear it. 

 A silly one adding words to a picture of my dashboard, my digital readout has been spotty, especially when it is really hot in the car, I never know what parts of the numbers will show up.

 A pump from Vikingsholm in Lake Tahoe.

 With a zillion layers and some words that say: I Was Full In The Past

 A nut holding up our deck at home.

 Looks like a quilt design to me!

 I like this one even better.

 My hand on the river beach in Boulder Creek.

 HomeDepot plus J.R. Bob Dobbs was too hilarious to pass up taking a picture, remember Church of the SubGenius from the 80's?

I found that totally random pictures off my cell phone can end up making an interesting collage (at least to me!).  I think it is because the pictures I take with my cell phone are kind of like ripping out images from magazines that I like, so they go together in my brain somehow.  Anyways I like how this one turned out, a lot.  And yes that's an x-ray of my hip in there, hope it doesn't weird you out.

So will I use Photoshop Elements for the quilting or mixed-media art that I do? I would say yes, if anything for design inspiration, for a new way to collage, and also for things to print out on fabric to include in quilts.  There are a whole lot of possibilities...