Dear Blogshop, Photoshopping is Fabulous

When I received an email yesterday telling me that I could win a copy of Photoshop CS6 if I posted some of my skills I learned at Blogshop, I had a moment of complete and utter determination. I would, could, must, got-to win this thing. Up until my class with Blogshop a few weeks ago (3 to be exact), I had not even opened the Photoshop program...much less downloaded it. It actually scared me. Since my blog's inception, I had been using PowerPoint to make all of my moodboards and fashion posts. If something didn't have a white background, I didn't use it. If the picture was too small or too big, I didn't use it. My screen was cluttered with screen shots (yeah, me and command, shift, 4 were t for tight). Picture sizes were all over the place. My blog looked fine, but it didn't look good.

Now, I can proudly say, that I have used Photoshop with each and every post I have written since Blogshop. Click and drag, command T, hold shift, masks, levels...these are words that mean something to me now and have transformed this little blog of mine. My Friday's Fancies posts have been unique with large pictures that help you see the items I am featuring. The stocking stuffer gift guides I've created not only have dotted lines, rotated texts, and clear images, but they're actually templates! I've had the pleasure of starting a new series on my blog called Spot on & Notable in which I've featured small businesses and their products. With Blogshop & my Photoshop knowledge, I've been able to send business owners the template ahead of time so that they can see what their featured post will look like, and it encourages them to take part. I've even guest-posted with my skills. And, all of my pictures are the same width, people! This, too, is huge.

Oh, and did I mention that since taking the class, the number of people that read my blog has not only doubled, but almost tripled?! Um, hello little blog(ger) that could!

I am not a graphic designer, I am not a photographer, I am not working in a field in which Photoshop is a part of my daily work. But now, it is a part of my daily routine. I cannot wait to see where this new knowledge takes me. I hope you'll be around for the ride!

So, this is my official entry into the Blogshop Photoshop contest. I am determined to win because hey, all of my posts used to look like this:

And now, they look like this:

#pickme

CANON camera / WACOM bamboo tablet / PHOTOSHOP CS6